Junior Officer Friendly!

Your Call

Thanks for all the recent comments. Which of today’s three featured images of the silly-tame skimmer chick best tells the story? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice.

What’s Up?

Wednesday morning was spectacular. The forecast was for a north wind. Predawn, it was NW. Not great for bird photography, but not terrible either. Once the sun was up a bit, the wind miraculously switched to the northeast. I headed down and into the ocean to better get on sun angle for the terns fishing in the wash. Working with the tripod-mounted 600mm f/4 and the 1.4X TC, the small waves were slapping both the tripod and my calves. As the tide came in, I had to move farther up a bit; as the sun moved to the south, this put me further off sun angle as the morning progressed. I got lucky when a small flock of skimmers landed on the berm about 60 feet from me just to the right of sun angle. Other skimmers flew in one after another, sometimes skimming right at me and sometimes seemingly bathing on the wing. After landing, many walked out into the shallow surf to bathe. And then, to flap. The gorgeous light and the breaking waves made for some truly great action photography. I created 3348 raw files and kept 152 after the first edit. Images soon.

Wednesday afternoon was similar to Tuesday afternoon, but with the wind south by slightly east instead of south by slightly west as it have been on the previous day, I had a tough time. The twenty degree difference was huge as the birds were all flying and angling slightly away from us rather than slightly toward us. There were, however, a zillion skimmer fights. Shooting them at 840mm with the big lens on the tripod was very challenging. BTW, since I was standing in the exact same spot for considerable periods of time, the tripod was the clear choice over the monopod because somebody has to hold a monopod in place.

Today is Thursday 4 August 2022. The forecast for Lido Beach this morning is for clear and sunny with the breeze from the southwest. While that makes for a great beach day, it is the kiss-of-death forecast for bird photography as the sun rises north of east. The birds will be flying, landing, taking off, and facing into the southwest wind, directly away from the sun, My best chances will be for predawn silhouettes and blurs. Il will be handholding the 200-600 and headed back to the car very early. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes one hundred thirty-three days in a row with a new one.

So far, six folks have been in touch about joining me at either Nickerson or JBWR in the coming weeks. My first In-the-Field client will be joining me on Thursday afternoon. See the details below.

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.

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 on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

If You Enjoy the Blog …

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 2 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the the Thumb Dial. ISO 1250. 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:28:42 pm on a sunny afternoon. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Image #1: Black Skimmer chick about six days old looking for its parents

Small Chick, Big World

As I shared yesterday:

Just before 7:30pm on Tuesday, I noted another photographer sitting well back from the colony ropes. It seemed as if she were pointing her lens at an empty sand beach. I instantly knew exactly what she was up to so I carefully made my way around her to get on sun angle without disturbing her subject and then sat down on the beach just off sun angle.

Image #1, made at 600mm was created to emphasize the chicks’ small size in comparison to the very large beach. Note the narrow zone of focus and the placement of the subject in the lower right corner of the frame. Is anyone familiar with the Rule of Fifteenths?

This image was also created on 2 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Again, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the the Thumb Dial. ISO 800. 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:30:08pm on a sunny afternoon. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Image #2: Black Skimmer chick running towards photographers

Running at Us!

When some small skimmer chicks perceive the human form they run the other was as fast as they can. This little one actually ran right at us. The chick walked up to me, scooped out a scrape right next to my left sneaker, and rested for a bit. The other photographer and I sat smiling in amazement. Image #2 was my favorite of the large-in-the-frame images as it was close to being on sun angle, showed the chick kicking up the sand, and was razor sharp on the eye.

This image was also created on 2 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Again, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the the Thumb Dial. ISO 2500. 1/500 sec. at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:37:09pm in the shade on a sunny afternoon. RawDigger showed the exposure to be about 1/6 stop too dark. In other words, pretty darned good. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Image #3: Black Skimmer chick running towards photographers

The Final Insanity

Above, the chick was looking for a warm, save place to get out of the wind and spend the night. We were both laughing aloud but the baby skimmer did not care. We rejoiced when the little bird made a u-turn and headed back to the colony ropes in search of mom and dad. And safety.

Officer Friendly?

Officer Friendly is a program to acquaint children and young adults with law enforcement officials as a part of a community relations campaign.

So, I came up with the clever (or not) tile, “Junior Officer Friendly,” because the baby skimmer was acquainting itself with humans 🙂

Typos

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