Flying at the Beach with Nikon

Your Call

Which of today’s five featured Nikon flight shots do you like best? Why?

BIRDS AS ART Office Phone Out!

A tree fell on our phone lines while I was in Deland last week. 863-692-0906 is currently down. If you need to get in touch with BAA, please try my cell at 863-221-2372. If I do not pick up, please shoot us a text. The land line is scheduled to be repaired this coming Wednesday.

What’s Up?

After a short and fitful night’s sleep on the Auto Train, I started working on this blog post at 5:00am on Monday morning. It took just about 2 1/2 hours to prepare.

When it is published, it will be Tuesday 2 August and I will be on the way for my first Nickerson Beach session. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post makes one hundred thirty-one days in a row with a new one.

So far five folks have been in touch about joining me at either Nickerson or JBWR in the coming weeks. See below for details.

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 to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

Clockwise from the upper left corner back around to the center: Wilson’s Phalarope, JBWR; just fledged Common Tern, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, adult skimming, Nickerson; Black Skimmer killing tiny skimmer chick, Nickerson; American Oystercatcher foraging at sunrise, Nickerson; Common Tern chick swallowing baby bluefish, Nickerson; Short-billed Dowitcher, juvenile, double overhead wing stretch, JBWR; Black Skimmers, predawn flock blur, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, 10-day old chick, Nickerson. Click on the card to view a larger version. Nickerson Beach/East Pond JBWR composite

Nickerson Beach/East Pond at Jamaica Bay (JBWR) In-the Field Workshops

Both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at JBWR offer some of the best midsummer bird photography on the planet. Hundreds of pairs or Black Skimmers and Common Terns along with more than a dozen pairs of American Oystercatchers breed at Nickerson each season so there are lots of chicks of all sizes and handsome fledged young to photograph. Provided that the water levels are low, hundreds of young shorebirds in their handsome fresh juvenile plumages stop by the pond each August on their way south.

Nickerson often reveals nature at it rawest, most basic level. Most days we get to photograph all sorts of dramatic behaviors ranging from skimmers and terns fishing and feeding (and tending) their you. There are often chances to shoot a variety of predatory encounters — gulls eating large skimmer chicks, skimmers eating skimmer babies, and Peregrine Falcons hunting. And rarely, if we are lucky, Peregrine Falcons catching! Consider joining me to learn a ton both about bird photography and the birds.

I took the Auto Train north on 31 July and will happily spend all of August on Long Island. I head south on 31 August and should be back home on 1 September (barring anything unforeseen). I am offering In-the-Field sessions at both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. If you are interested, please get in touch via e-mail or text me at 863-221-2372.

Whether you are a local or would like to fly in for several days of instruction — a sort of private, or small group. — at worst, IPT, LMK via e-mail so that we can work on a schedule that could possibly include both Nickerson and Jamaica Bay.

The First DeSoto IPT

If you are interested in the first DeSoto IPT, 3 1/2 Days, Tuesday 27 September through the morning session on Friday 30 September 2022, know that I just reserved a three-bedroom AirBnB in Gulfport. Share it for four nights with many multiple IPT veteran Monte Brown and me and save a ton on lodging: $83.69/night/person for a whole home. AirBnB photos available upon request. If interested, shoot me an e-mail.

Instagram

Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.

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.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.

This image was created on 17 August 2018 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Mongoose-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR lens with the Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering plus about 2/3-stop off the sky: 1/5000 sec. at f/5 (stopped down 2/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB on a sunny afternoon. Center Group AF-C/Shutter-button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: -4. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #1: Black Skimmer adult in flight above dune gasses

Flying at the Beach with Nikon

In 2018 and 2019 I was using Nikon gear. I had stayed with Canon for about four years after I was released as an Explorer of Light. I had been honored by being one of the original 55 in EoL. I switched because I came to believe that Nikon AF at the time was better than Canon AF. And it was. And then along came Sony.

Nickerson Beach in August offers great opportunities for photographing birds in flight. Black Skimmers, Common Terns, and several species of gulls are the main flight subjects. On sunny days, you will want the sun and the wind somewhere behind you. On cloudy days, you just need the wind behind you.

This image was created on 13 August 2019 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Mongoose-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR lens with the Nikon D850. ISO 400. Shutter Priority +1.7 stops with Auto ISO (250): 1/60 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB early on a cloudy morning. Center Group AF-C/Shutter-button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: -4. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #2: Black Skimmer flock and Common Terns chasing Peregrine Falcon

Discovering a Peregrine!

I never saw the peregrine in this image until the morning of 1 August 2022 when I optimized it for the first time, about 35 months after the image was created. Better late than never, I guess. I am not sure how I missed the raptor as its shape is so distinctive. The two Common Terns out in front of the flock were the brave ones as they pursued the intruding predator. After taking a closer look, I believe that the upper chasing bird is a young Black Skimmer; it is the one right on the peregrine’s tail.

This image was also created on 13 August 2019 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Again, I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Mongoose-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR lens with the Nikon D850. ISO 1000: 1/2000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB on a sunny but hazy morning. Center Group AF-C/Shutter-button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: -4. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #3: Common Tern landing with Atlantic Silversides (spearing) for chick

The Nikon Exposures

As today’s featured images were created pre-RawDigger, each was from 2/3- to 1-stop underexposed. That was due to operator error and ignorance and was in no way the fault of the D850. Images #2 and 3 were optimized early this morning. Images 1, 4, and 5 had been optimized soon after they were created. All of the today’s images benefited greatly from a visit to Topaz DeNoise at the Low Light setting.

This image was created on 13 August 2019 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Mongoose-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR lens with the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and the Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering plus about 2/3-stop off the sky: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 (stopped down 1 1/3-stops) in Manual mode. AWB on a partly cloudy afternoon. Center Group AF-C/Shutter-button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #4: Black Skimmer adult stalling in flight

Horizon Lines and Flight Shots

I prefer the design of Image #1 to the layout of Image #4. Why? In the first image the bird is above the horizon line. In Image #4, the bird is just below the horizon line, but I love the stalling flight pose. There are times when a sharply defined horizon line cuts right through the center of an otherwise superb flight shot. I delete 99% of those.

This image was created on 15 August 2019 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. I used the handheld Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens and the Nikon D850. ISO 500. Matrix metering plus about 2/3 stop off the blue sky. 1/3200 sec. at f/7.1 (stopped down 2/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:16:21am on a cloudy, very-bright morning. Group AF-C as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: -2. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #5: Black Skimmers battling in midair

Midair Skimmer Battles

Midair skimmer squabbles are often common occurrences. It is fun and challenging to photograph the brief fights. Hot sunny afternoons often provide lots of action but I have gotten some great battling stuff on cloudy mornings. June and July is better for squabbling Common Tern as they begin breeding earlier in the season. Hand held telephoto lens, including the zooms, are best as they allow you to follow the action more easily; the birds do not stay in one spot long!

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Lens (with an extra)

BAA Record-low Price!

John Armitage is offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens in excellent condition for a for a BAA Record Low $2496.95. The sale includes the original lens foot, a RRS stuff foot, the front and rear caps, the lens strap, the soft case, the original box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact John via e-mail.

Yes, I loved this even now hard-to-get lens a ton when I used Nikon gear. The Nikon PF series telephoto lenses are tremendously popular as they are relatively small and light and offer great reach. Both do well with the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III. On my bucket list trip for the Emperor Penguins I brought two D850 bodies, the 500 PF, and the Nikon 80-400 VR lenses! The 500 PF is still hard to come by and sells new for $$3,296.95. At $2496.95, John’s lens is a steal as you save an even $800.00. artie

Typos

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