Made in the Shade! And Last Chance for Stick Marsh!

Which of Today’s Two Featured Images Do You Like Best?

Why?

Click on the composite image to enjoy the incredible quality of the hi-res JPEG. Clockwise from upper left back around to the center: spoonbill with mangrove background; spoonbill head and shoulders portrait; spoonbill braking to land; spoonbill dramatic landing pose; adult Black-crowned Night-Heron; spoonbill with nesting material; Great Egret returning to nest; incoming spoonbill; and Limpkin landing.

Last Chance for Stick Marsh In-the-Field Instruction

Tuesday 10 May: 6:45 to 9:15am. $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 tomorrow.

From Anar Daswani via unsolicited e-mail:

Thanks so much for the two In-the-Field sessions. I appreciate all the knowledge and the guidance that you shared. I certainly feel like I am far better equipped to make stronger photos. Of course, there is always more to learn, and I definitely need a ton of practice. I learned a lot more from you in the two classes than I did in other, more expensive workshops. I truly appreciate your patience and kindness. I am excited about getting started with videos on a correct footing. And I can’t wait to go out and practice the pleasing blurs using all the techniques you have taught me. Not to mention getting the right exposure!

What’s Up?

Same old, same old at Gatorland on Sunday morning. Few photographable nests, few photographers, and some really good opportunities. There were more than a few fledged Tricolored Herons around; none cooperated for me. It kept threatening to cloud over, but the sun prevailed so I was on my way to the car by 8:30am. I took an early nap, did my bursts and a 44-length swim, had an early dinner, and took a one-mile walk. Use it or lose it 🙂

On my Friday walk, I missed the turtle laying eggs. On Saturday afternoon, I had a Swallow-tailed Kite and the young eagle flight right over my head. So from now on, I will walk with The Sony 70-200 II, the 2X TC, and an a1. On Sunday afternoon I created a lot of Osprey images on my walk. As the lens is very light I will take it every day and see if I get lucky.

Today is Monday 9 May 2022. The forecast for the morning is for sunny with a northeast breeze. I will surely head down to the lake for a bit. 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-nine 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!

Gatorland In-the-Field Session

Saturday 14 May & Saturday 21 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 via e-mail. You can also learn exactly to make the better photographs at Gatorland in The BAA Middle of Florida Site Guide here .

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

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 8 May 2022 at Gatorland. Standing at full height, I used the no-longer available Induro GIT304L Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted-Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 1000. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/160 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the raw file was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 7:22:29am on a sunny morning in the shade of a shelter. Tracking: Spot-S with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #2: Great Egret, large chick resting

Made in the Shade!

Folks often ask “What’s the best strategy for photographing birds on a bright sunny day? Many folks think that I am kidding when I answer, “Find some birds in the shade.” Fortunately, at Gatorland there are several wooden structures that provide varying degrees of shade on sunny mornings. Both of today’s images were of large Great Egret chicks in a well-shaded nest. I have been photographing the chicks in this very accessible nest for almost two months.

When I saw this nice juxtaposition, I put the tripod down in a spot that I thought might put the visible eye of each bird on the same plane. As this image was created at the wide-open aperture, I’d say that I hit that nail squarely on the head!

This image was also created on 8 May 2022 at Gatorland. Standing at full height, I again used the no-longer available Induro GIT304L Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted-Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 1000. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/160 sec. at f/7.1 (stopped down 2/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the raw file was about 1/3 stop too dark. AWB at 7:32:14am on a sunny morning in the shade of a shelter. Tracking: Spot-S with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #2: Great Egret, large chick resting

Working It …

When I first saw this neat pose, I was working with the big lens and the 1.4X TC. I fired off a single frame and then the bird woke up from its rest. I switched the1.4X for the 2X and waited for the bird to assume the position. It did. I had about forty images made with the 2X and just one with the 1.4X. I liked the extra room. I brightened the image by moving the Exposure slider to +0.25 during the raw conversion, warmed it up by moving the Temperature slider to 7000 to eliminate a BLUE cast, and took a bit off the left. The last steps were a bit of crud clean-up and selectively brightening the bill. It pays to create varied image designs.

Would you have eliminated the little buff triangle in the upper left corner? Why or why not? What words would you use to describe (the mood of) this image?

I believe that the bird in Image #2 is the bird on the left in Image #1. By the time these two chicks got fed, the nest was partially lit by bright sun. I will only very rarely make an image a bird or birds in that are both lit by the sun with parts of them in the shade …

Typos

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