First Blood with the Handheld Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM Lens

What’s Up?

It was gorgeous again on Wednesday morning at ILE. And as has been the pattern recently, things began slowly, and I was ready to head home early. Then I saw another black Volkswagen in the North Field. Again, it turned out to be a displaying Wild Turkey tom (and two hens with about twenty poults). What began as a slow morning turned into a 1949-image photo session.

Steve Elkins asked me to let everyone know that Bedfords has the Canon MC20 Maintenance Cartridge in stock for $14.99 each. This hard-to-get part is vital for operating the popular Prograf 1000 printer. Limit four per customer.

Today is Thursday 26 May 2022. The Lakeland forecast is for cloudy. Jim and I will be headed early to Circle Bar B to see what’s about. (The 400 f/2.8 will not be making the trip …) I had planned to continue on to Lakeland to pay off the lease on my SUV. The guy at the car dealership had told me on Monday that I could come by “any time” to make the payment and asked that I let him know in advance. I texted him early yesterday asking if he would be in between 10 and 11am today and letting him know that “the money was in the bank.” He wrote back, “I will be in.” Then, late in the day, he texted me and said that several folks who need to administer the payment were on vacation. So much for “come in anytime.”

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 seventy-two 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!

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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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 24 May 2022 down by the lake at ILE. Working from the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 400. 1/5000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be perfect. AWB at 7:55:09am on sunny morning. Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Sandhill Crane calling

The First Session

On a whim, I unboxed the 400mm f/2.8 GM lens on Tuesday morning and threw it in the back of my SUV on some pillows. I figured that I would only use it when I was out of my vehicle. That changed soon when I found a way to place both the 600 f/4 GM and the 400 f/2.8 GM on the front passenger seat. The cranes at ILE are so tame that when they are standing in one place preening you can slowly drive right up to them.

Please remember that as I own the 600 f/4 that the 400 f/2.8 was an extravagant purchase. I did not think that I would find a lot of opportunities to use it at ILE, but it is likely that I was wrong. That said, traveling by air with both big lenses will be close to impossible.

I love the silky-smooth backgrounds and the razor-thin depth of field. Though the 400 is only a few ounces lighter than the 600, it is much easier to handhold because it is shorter with the weight concentrated at the rear of the lens. And I underestimated the value of the super-fast f/2.8 aperture … There are dozens more things that I love about the 400/2.8 that I will be writing extensively about the 400 f/2.8 in future blog posts.

Thinking of a nickname for the 400 2.8, I may go with “Fat Boy”, a blend of the nicknames for the two different types of atomic bombs produced by the Manhattan Project near the end of WW II. They were code-named Fat Man and Little Boy. Fat Man, which was dropped on Nagasaki, was the more complex of the two was a bulbous 10-foot-long bomb. (Learn more in the interesting article here.)

This image was also created on 24 May 2022 down by the lake at ILE. Standing on a slope near a canal, I used the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 400. 1/2000 sec. at f/3.2. (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:04:59am on mostly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Limpkin fledgling with adult

Lots of Limpkin Families

There are several Limpkin families in the marsh this year. I photographed some large fledged chicks by the pier about a week ago. The chick in this image was the smallest of four accompanied by two adults. I got down by the canal and positioned myself so that they would be coming toward me at eye level. I clipped the feet of the larger chicks as they ran by me to catch up with the adults; I was fortunate to get this one completely in the frame. As autofocus needs light to see, the wider the maximum aperture, the faster the speed of initial focusing acquisition. Needless to say, AF with the 400 f/2.8 is lightning fast and very accurate.

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: 4 FULL DAYS — the afternoon of FRI 1 JULY thru the morning of TUES 5 July 2022: $2099.00 (Limit 6 photographers)

Jacksonville IPT #3: 4 FULL DAYS — the afternoon of FRI 15 JULY thru the morning of TUES 19 July 2022: $2099.00 (Limit 6 photographers/Openings: 5)

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.