Eagle-eyed Margaret Saves the Day!

What’s Up?

Lots of spoonbills flew in for sticks in the predawn on Thursday morning, my second with Anar. After a gorgeous, fog-muted sunrise, the barely perceptible breeze from the southwest was not our friend as the spoonies were landing to our left and away from us. We moved to what turned out to be a better spot and had some good chances on fly-by spoonbills with nesting material. Those plus a very persistent Cattle Egret that must have flown to the same spot fifty times to gather nesting material and then flew right at us on the way back to the colony. When that action slowed, we went over some basic and some advanced a1 video techniques. Anar got to practice on the numerous Turkey and Black Vultures. When you are learning common birds like gulls and vultures make excellent practice subjects.

Grilled tuna brunch, my bursts, a half-mile swim, some work, and some NBA playoff basketball on Tivo filled the rest of the day. Today is Friday 6 May 2022. The morning forecast for ILE is for clear skies with a gentle SW breeze. I may head down to the lake for a bit to see if the big tom Wild Turkey is displaying. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes fifty-six days in a row with a new one.

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!

Stick Marsh In-the-Field Sessions

6:30 to 9:00am: $250.00/person

Two 1/2 hours of intensive flight photography instruction: $250/person. Cheap! If you are interested, please contact me ASAP via e-mail and we can set up a session or two based on the weather forecast. The weather is looking fine for this coming Monday and Tuesday.

Gatorland In-the-Field Session

Sunday 8 May 2022. 7:00 to 9:00am: $200.00/person

Two hours of intensive instruction. Cheap! You need to have a season photo pass or purchase one for that date to enter. If you are interested, please contact me ASAP via e-mail. You can also learn exactly to make the better photographs at Gatorland in The BAA Middle of Florida Site Guide here .

B&H Mother’s Day Specials

Click here or on the logo-link above to see a changing line-up of Mother’s Day Specials. You do not have to be a mother to click or to make a purchase!

BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

And Please Remember

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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.

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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 1 May 2022 at Stick Marsh. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 280mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras. ISO 3200: 1/2000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:00:22am just after sunrise with a cloud blocking the sun. Tracking: Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: The originally posted version of the Roseate Spoonbill landing with marsh in background image with the two extra primary tips above the end of the bird’s left wing.

Eagle-eyed Margaret Saves the Day!

In the Stick Marsh Better Than Expected! blog post here, Margaret left this comment:

I love them both, but choose number 1 because of the wing spread. However, there are two cloned primary tips above the left wingtip in number 1.

My initial reaction was, “I did not use the Clone Stamp Tool on that image. I would never have missed that. Margaret must be seeing things.” But when I went to the post and clicked on the image (now immediately above) to view the high-res version, there were indeed two extra primary tips in the sky. Thanks a stack, Margaret. You have a really sharp pair of eyes!

Image #1A: a tight crop of the Roseate Spoonbill landing with marsh in background with the two extraneous primary tips circled

The Two Extraneous Primary Tips

I am still trying to figure out how Margaret spotted the barely visible extra feathers. To create the image, I used the background from one image and the best bird from another in the series. My error was not the result of sloppy Clone Stamp Tool work, but rather the result of sloppy Quick Masking work. While I checked the area around the bird’s right wing very carefully as it came close to the new greener background, I neglected to check the area above the left wing at all. Thanks, Margaret, for catching that!

This image was created on 1 May 2022 at Stick Marsh. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 280mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras. ISO 3200: 1/2000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:00:22am just after sunrise with a cloud blocking the sun. Tracking: Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1B: This is the cleaned-up version of the Roseate Spoonbill landing with marsh in background image

The Repair

Using the Patch Tool, the repair took less than five seconds once the master file opened in Photoshop. I simply circled the two tiny feathers and dragged the patch to a clean area of water just to he left. The beauty of the Patch Tool is that it blends. Regular readers know that I rarely use the Clone Stamp Tool.

I love the area of darker gray water below and to our right of the bird.

Click on the composite image to enjoy the incredible quality of the hi-res JPEG. Clockwise from upper left clockwise and back around to the center: Royal Tern in flight with squid for chick; Royal Tern chick on beach; Royal Tern in flight with shrimp for young; Royal Tern chick — double overhead wing stretch; Royal Tern landing with greenback for chick; Royal Tern in flight with juvenile mahi mahi for chick; Brown Pelican — large chick preening; Laughing Gull in fresh juvenal plumage; Royal Tern chick begging; Many Royal Terns with many chicks on face of dune.

Jacksonville IPT: #1: 4 FULL DAYS — the afternoon of 16 June thru the morning of MON 20 June 2022: $2,099.00. (Limit 6 photographers)

Jacksonville IPT #2: the afternoon of FRI 1 JULY thru the morning of TUES 5 July 2022: $2099.00 (Limit 6 photographers)

Jacksonville IPT #3: the afternoon of FRI 15 JULY thru the morning of TUES 19 July 2022: $2099.00 (Limit 6 photographers)

Ride with me: add $200.00. I do not like to disappoint: each trip will run with one participant. If necessary.

I first visited the breeding bird colony at Jacksonville in late June 2021. I was astounded. There were many thousands of pairs of Royal Terns nesting along with about 10,000 pairs of Laughing Gulls. In addition to the royals, there were some Sandwich Terns nesting. And there are several dozen pairs of Brown Pelicans nesting on the ground. Flight photography was non-stop astounding. And photographing the tern chicks was relatively easy. Folks could do the whole trip with the Sony 200-600, the Canon 100-500 RF, or the Nikon 500 PF or 200-500 VR. With a TC in your pocket for use on sunny days. Most of the action is within 100 yards of where we park (on the beach). As with all bird photography, there are times when a super-telephoto lens with either TC is the best tool for the job.

Morning sessions will average about three hours, afternoon sessions about 1 1/2 hours. On cloudy mornings with favorable winds, we may opt to stay out for one long session and skip the afternoon, especially when the afternoon forecast is poor. Lunch is included on the first three days of the IPT and will be served at my AirBnB. After the first lunch there will be an introductory program. On days two and three we will do image review and Photoshop after lunch.

We will be based somewhere west and a bit north of Jacksonville where there are many AirBnB possibilities. The deposit is $599.00. Call Jim at the office any weekday at 863-692-0906 to pay by credit card. Balances must be paid by check.

What You Will Learn on a Jacksonville IPT

• 1- First and foremast you will learn to become a better flight photographer. Much better.
• 2-You will learn the basics and fine points of digital exposure. Nikon and Canon folks will learn to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, and SONY folks will learn to use Zebras so that they can be sure of making excellent exposures before pressing the shutter button.
• 3- You will learn to work in Manual exposure mode even if you fear it.
• 4- You will learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography, especially the photography of birds in flight.
• 5- You will learn several pro secrets (for each system) that will help you to become a better flight photographer.
• 6- You will learn to zoom out in advance (because the birds are so close!) 🙂
• 7- You will learn how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them.
• 8- You will learn to spot the good and the great situations.
• 9- You will learn to understand and predict bird behavior.
• 10- You will learn to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system.
• 11- You will learn to choose the best perspective.
• 12- You will learn to see and control your backgrounds.
• 13- You will learn to see and understand the light.
• 14- You will learn to see and create pleasing blurs in pre-dawn situations.
• 15- You will learn to be ready for the most likely event.

And the best news is that you will be able to take everything you learn home with you so that you will be a better photographer wherever you are and whenever you photograph.

Typos

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