No Comments, But At Least I Got One Piece of Fan Mail ...

What’s Up?

Early on Tuesday morning I spotted the young eagle in a pine near the nest tree. Then it disappeared for the rest of the morning. The crane on eggs is still on eggs. And the 2-colt crane family remained in the marsh while I was at the south end of the South Peninsula. I made a few images of an atypical group of seven cranes standing in the North Field doing nothing. Last and best was a session with a tame Eastern Meadowlark photographed from my SUV while working off the BLUBB at 1200mm.

I headed down at sunset and things were looking good for a while with a nice east wind and a hazy sun. I fanned on a fly-by American Bittern that flew from north to south while I was looking to the south. I had a few grackles and blackbirds on The Perch, but the party was ended by a single dark cloud about 10 minutes above the horizon. I packed up and drove off only to look back and see that a huge sun ball had broken through below the afore-mentioned cloud … And so it goes.

Today is Wednesday 22 March. The forecast for this morning is for mostly to partly cloudy with a freshening southeast breeze. I am not sure what I will be doing early. I have gotten lots of work done on my first GNPA keynote program, A Bird Photographer’s Story, and have assembled nearly 400 images that will be re-crafted to for the second keynote, Lessons from the Field. To learn more about the GNPA Expo early this April click here.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn …

Fan Mail

The Handoff. Gatorland Update. Sony 200-600 Versatility blog post here, generated zero comments. I was gratified, however, to receive some fan mail regarding that post. Here is my e-mail conversation with Robert C. Parsons:

AM: Dear Robert,

re:

RCP: Interesting comments about your day at Gatorland this past Saturday. I was one of the “dozen or so” photographers you noticed with decent gear …

am: Perhaps you were …

RCP: … who you observed “probably didn’t get a decent shot”. As a retired professional commercial photographer, I was wondering how you could ascertain the quality of my images by simply “observing” as you stated.

AM: After 38+ years of photographing birds, I generally have a very good idea of what the photos made by someone I observe in the field will look like, good or bad. I can often tell simply by the way they handle their gear. And I can certainly hazard a very good guess after I see what they are pointing their lens at. It is frustrating to watch folks shoot well off sun angle with their lenses pointed at cluttered nests completely blocked by sticks and vegetation with zero chance of success.

RCP: Your work is truly stunning …

AM: Thank you.

RCP: … but your apparent attitude …

AM: Your “apparent” is my “probably” (above).

RCP: … about less accomplished or experienced photographers who don’t avail themselves of your workshops or training media is in …

AM: I do take issue with your statement above. There are lots of folks who have never purchased a book or a PDF from BIRDS AS ART and have never attended a BAA Instructional Photo-Tour who consistently make great images. I have respect for the images, not for how the person got there. That said, many of today’s finest bird and nature photographers have learned from me and/or been inspired by me in one way or another …

RCP: … my opinion,

AM: You are of course entitled to your opinion.

RCP: … arrogant and condescending to others who are simply discovering the joys of photography as I did over 50 years ago.

AM: Perhaps you are right. I can see how you reached that conclusion without knowing me. I do, however, always love seeing folks excited about bird photography. I often ask beginners if they would like a tip. It was so crowded at Gatorland on Saturday past that I refrained from doing that.

I invite you to send me one good image from your Saturday session. It was a very challenging day. If you do, I would be glad to apologize profusely and personally to you on the blog. Either way, I will run our e-mail conversation in the blog on Wednesday. If you send me one great image, I will run it in the blog, admit that I was 100% wrong, and apologize as above.

With love, artie

Important Note

As of the time of publication, Mr. Parsons had not responded to numerous e-mail requests to see his best image from last Saturday, nor did he acknowledge receipt of any of my e-mails as requested.

And Please Remember

You can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks who, like me, spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard-to-get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a 1, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link immediately above). My link works with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

Please Remember Also

Please, if you enjoy and learn from the blog, remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so just might make it possible for me to avoid having to try to get a job as a Walmart greeter and will not cost you a single penny more. And if you use Bedfords and remember to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout, you will (still!) save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I lost about fifty thousand dollars in income due to COVID 19 — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

This image was created on 19 March 2022 at Gatorland. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 456mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 500: 1/1000 second at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 8:20:22Am on a mostly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone with Bird/Face-Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Great Egret — Male passing twig to female

No Comments At All

In The Handoff. Gatorland Update. Sony 200-600 Versatility blog post here, I wrote:

If you see any evidence of significant Photoshop clean-up work, please leave a comment and state your case clearly. All are invited to share their thoughts on today’s featured image, good or bad.

That post generated zero comments.

The Image Clean-up

The Animated GIF above shows Image #1 right after the raw conversion (the BEFORE) and Image #1 after the image optimization in Photoshop (the AFTER). The work took about 30 minutes. After I started on the lower right corner, I could not stop. I used my usual cadre of clean-up tools and techniques. Those included the Patch Tool, the Clone Stamp, the Spot Healing Brush, Divide and Conquer, and Content-Aware Fill.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II). You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a PayPal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. Be sure to specify Digital Basics II.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

The techniques mentioned above and tons more great Photoshop tips and techniques — along with all my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my MacBook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: all the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.

You can learn how and why I converted all my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About three years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One and did that for two years. You can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here.

You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.