Change Your Life

Consider changing your life and becoming a much better bird photographer by joining me on a BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). DeSoto, San Diego, Homer, and the yet-to-be announced July 2024 Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime all offer the opportunity for you to improve your skills both in the field and at the computer and to make some astounding images as well. Click here and see which IPT might be best for you.

This all-new card includes only images created on my JAN 2022 visit to San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The 2022/23 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and more!) IPTs

San Diego IPT #1. 3 1/2 DAYS: WED 21 DEC thru the morning session on Saturday 24 DEC 2022. $2099.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 5.

San Diego IPT #2. 4 1/2 DAYS: SAT 7 JAN thru the morning session on WED 11 JAN 2023: $2699.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 2.

San Diego IPT #3: 3 1/2 DAYS: FRI 20 JAN thru the morning session on MON 23 JAN 2023: $2099.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers.

Please e-mail for information on personalized pre- and post-IPT sessions.

Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (nesting) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Ducks; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Northern Shoveler and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heermann’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others are possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions (both depending on the current regulations and restrictions). And as you can see by studying the IPT cards, there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Not to mention a ton of excellent flight photography opportunities and instruction.

Please note: where permitted and on occasion, ducks and gulls may be attracted (or re-located) with offerings of grains or healthy bread.

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Learning Exposure, Whether You Like It Or Not

Whether you like it or not, we will be beating the subject of exposure like a dead horse. In every new situation, you will hear my thoughts on exposure along with my thoughts on both Nikon and Canon histograms and SONY Zebras. Whether you like it or not, you will learn to work in manual mode so that you can get the right exposure every time (as long as a bird gives you ten seconds with the light constant). Or two seconds with SONY zebras … And you will learn what to do when the light is changing constantly. What you learn about exposure will be one of the great takeaways on every IPT.

Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT, there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

It Ain’t Just Pelicans

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography as well, often with 70-200mm lenses! And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You will be guided as to how to make the best of those opportunities. Depending on the weather, the local conditions, and the tides, there are a variety of other fabulous photo chances available in and around San Diego.

Did I mention that there are lots of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter? Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The San Diego Details

These IPTs will include four or five 3-hour morning photo sessions, three or four 1 1/2-hour afternoon photo sessions, and three or four working brunches that will include image review and Photoshop sessions. On rare cloudy days, we may — at the leader’s discretion, stay out in the morning for a long session and skip that afternoon. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. And so that we can get some sleep, dinners will be on your own as well. In the extremely unlikely event that Goldfish Point is closed due to local ordinance (or whimsy) — that has never happened in the past fifty years, I will of course do my very best to maximize our photographic opportunities.

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Deposit Info

A $599 deposit is required to hold your slot for one of the 2022/23 San Diego IPTs. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART”) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due three months before the trip.

Variety is surely the spice of life in San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Getting Up Early and Staying Out Late

On all BIRDS AS ART IPTS including and especially the San Diego IPT, we get into the field early to take advantage of unique and often spectacular lighting conditions and we stay out late to maximize the chances of killer light and glorious sunset silhouette situations. We often arrive at the cliffs a full hour before anyone else shows up to check out the landscape and seascape opportunities.

What’s Up?

I walked/rope flowed 2.8 miles on Saturday morning, and then spent another 45 minutes at the Vulture Trees. I was so busy that I did not get my “morning” swim in until after 1:00pm! I did 48 lengths, and then 40 lengths at 5:00pm after dinner for a total of one mile. The heavy, afternoon rains of the last three months have continued to tape off, but tropical storm Ian is headed this way and is forecast to be a category 3 hurricane when it hits Florida midweek.

Today is Sunday 25 September 2022. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took almost three hours to prepare makes one hundred eighty-four 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 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!

70-200mm Versatility is the Name of the Game at La Jolla

This image was created on 20 January 2022 on a BAA San Diego Instructional Photo-Tour. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (at 156mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 250: 1/125 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 10:21:21am on a cloudy morning. Tracking: Spot S AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Brown Pelican — La Jolla cliff-scape

Going Wide for Bird-scapes

While my usual style involves clean, tight, and graphic, I try to keep my eyes open for bird-scape opportunities. The usually bird-covered cliffs across from Goldfish Point provides interesting background fodder. If you do not have something wide with you as I did that day, think iPhone.

This image was also created on 20 January 2022 on a BAA San Diego Instructional Photo-Tour. For this one, 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 1600: 1/1600 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 10:29:41am on a cloudy morning. Tracking: Spot S AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Brown Pelican adult and juvenile on cliff

The Lower Ledge

The perch rocks at the western end of the lower ledge at Goldfish Point are among my favorites. They are best worked by climbing down so that you move the ocean well away from the subject. Working from above, as I did for Image #2, brings up background detail. Over the years, you have seen photos of many birds perched on the right-most rock.

This image was also created on 20 January 2022 on a BAA San Diego Instructional Photo-Tour. I went with the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter (at 255mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 1000: 1/2500 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Mnaul mod. AWB at 10:34:04am on a cloudy morni Tracking: Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection produced a sharp on the eye image. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Brown Pelican — Pacific race adult in flight

Concentrate on Flight

The pelicans are so tame, close and beautiful that it is hard to concentrate solely on flight. I almost always get sucked in to shooting the perched birds and wind up missing lots of great incoming flight opportunities. The best way to make some great flight shots is to commit to doing flight photography while resisting all the nearby temptations. You may want to do just that on mornings with winds from the east or northeast so that the birds are flying at you and into the sun. Wish me luck. Or join me there.

Your Favorite?

Which of today’s three featured images do you like best? Why?

Typos

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