What’s Up?

The first morning of the 2nd DeSoto IPT was fair to good. The early pink/purple/blue western sky was lovely, as were the Snowy Egrets and a single juvie Little Blue Heron in a dead calm pond — white on white, but they flew off too soon. My backup location was quite good with lots of opportunities on the common birds — great for teaching and great for learning, especially with regards to working with bright sunlight.

We had a spectacular afternoon with folks kneeling or sitting in six inches of water. We had a family of tame American Oystercatchers, a dancing Reddish Egret, a Willet, a Greater Yellowlegs, and a mega-rare shorebird from Siberia right in front of us. Details on the shorebird on Tuesday. I sat in the same spot in the water for nearly two hours and let the birds come to me. I used the 400mm f/2.8 with the 2X TC. The light got sweeter as it got later and later, and using the toe-pod technique ensured gorgeous backgrounds of tan and green.

Today is Saturday 8 October 2022. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took more than 90 minutes to prepare makes one hundred ninety-seven 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!

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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 🙂

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. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often save you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. 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.

Canon EF 180mm Macro f/3.5L USM Lens

Multiple IPT veteran Bob Willmschen is offering a Canon EF 180mm Macro f/3.5L USM lens in excellent plus plus condition for a BAA record-low price of $798. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, the lens 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 Bob via e-mail.

As regular readers know, I love the 180mm focal length for macro applications as it allows for tons of working distance and its narrow field of view (as compared to shorter focal length macro lenses) enables you to eliminate clutter and produce sweet, out-of-focus backgrounds. I use mine regularly with the Sony a1 and a Metabones Canon EF/EF-S Lens to Sony E Mount T Smart Adapter (Fifth Generation). With the adapter, it does very well with any of the older Sony bodies, especially the a7R IV.

It is a shame that this fine lens is no longer in production. There is a used one on B&H in the same condition as Bob’s for $1,006.95. If you like a long focal length lens for your macro work, it would be best to grab’s Bob’s almost near-mint copy right now. artie

Dead as a Doornail, But Beautiful Anyhoo

This image was created on the morning of 6 October 2022 down by the lake near my home at ILE. I used the Induro GIT 304L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM lens with the Metabones Canon EF/EF-S Lens to Sony E Mount T Smart Adapter (Fifth Generation) and The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera body. ISO 800: 1/13 second at f/16 in Manual Mode. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial and was determined by RawDigger to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:27:52am in the shade of my torso on a clear morning just after sunrise. Manual focus with (red) focus peaking. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1: wing detail: female Belted Kingfisher (deceased)

An Unexpected Find

I took an early walk on Thursday knowing that did not have time to do any photography; I needed to finish packing and head over to DeSoto. I walked to the Vulture Trees at the end of Banyan, made a u-turn, and returned to my vehicle to grab my flow rope for the walk to the end of the pier and back. I saw it after just a few steps — a dead Belted Kingfisher. The bird did not have any apparent injuries. When I flipped it over, the few orange feathers on the bird’s breast indicated a female. With all my photo gear in the neatly packed trunk, I knew that I needed to make a few images. I grabbed the Canon 180mm macro lens, an a1, and the tripod, placed the carcass on the hood of my SUV, and began making images. When you need to shoot down at a subject, the FlexShooter Pro is perfect for the task. Remember to place the slot on the head facing the subject and tighten the silver knob. Then, loosen the black lever, point the lens roughly at the subject, and tighten the black lever. Small adjustments are then made by loosening the silver knob and/or rotating the lens in the tripod collar. Once you are happy with the image design, but sure to tighten all the knobs to ensure the sharpest possible image.

I spread one of the bird’s wings to flatten it and held it in place with my iPhone. The biggest challenge was to get as parallel to the subject as possible. Because the surfaces of the wings are somewhat rounded, even f/16 did not yield enough depth of field to ensure edge to edge sharpness. I used the 5-second self-timer to avoid having to press the shutter button at 1/13 second.

This image was created on the morning of 6 October 2022 down by the lake near my home at ILE. I used the Induro GIT 304L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM lens with the Metabones Canon EF/EF-S Lens to Sony E Mount T Smart Adapter (Fifth Generation) and The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera body. ISO 800: 1/13 second at f/16 in Manual Mode. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial and was determined by RawDigger to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:30:09am in the shade of my torso on a clear morning just after sunrise. Manual focus with (red) focus peaking. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #2: bill detail: female Belted Kingfisher (deceased)

The Bill

I re-positioned the bird on the hood of my X5 and used the same technique described above to photograph the kingfisher’s sharp bill.

Your Call

Which of today’s two featured images floats your boat? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know what they like or do not like about each image.