NANPA Board Exposed. And Willets in the Sebastian Surf

NANPA Board Exposed

The small group that is trying to save NANPA had a great day on Saturday. We gathered enough votes to serve the board with a Referendum requiring that they put the question of a merger with ASMP to a vote. That they attempted to execute this merger in complete secrecy is at the very least unethical and possibly illegal. Not to mention a few other choice adjectives. Immediately after learning of the referendum on Friday past, NANPA sent an e-mail to the membership telling them how great the merger would be for them. The funny thing is, I thought that you were supposed to tell the truth from the beginning of an important issue and have a discussion of the pros and cons. Their e-mail implied that the merger was already signed, sealed, and delivered, but at this point, there is no reason to believe anything that they say.

ASMP’s goals have nothing in common with NANPA’s goals. ASMP’s membership has been declining and they would be broke but for a grant from SONY. NANPA’s membership has been stable for eight years despite continuing mismanagement. And NANPA currently has $350,000 in cash on hand. How does the NANPA president explain her claim that “The current course of the organization is not sustainable long term, as it is not sustainable for many photography and arts organizations.” I asked her that question a week ago. She did not bother to answer. Several of us began asking her questions a month ago. She evaded and stalled, never answering a single question.

The worst part is there is so much more to the story that it is actually disgusting. And all of it damning of the board’s actions. E-mail for additional details if you wish.

If you are a NANPA member and did not receive the Referendum e-mail, please check your Spam and Junk folders. If you do not find it, or if you would like to express your views, please shoot me an e-mail so that you can add your Yes vote on Sunday. That goes double if you are a lawyer.

Jeffery Pawlan’s e-mail was representative of the many that I received:

I paid my renewal for two more years of NANPA membership just 4 days ago. Then, I received the rather dismaying and completely unexpected email about the merger yesterday. I was quite upset. I am only interested in nature photography and helping conservation with my photography. I have ZERO interest in video and ZERO interest in social media, vlogging or Visual Content Creation business. Please keep me posted on how your efforts are progressing.

Regards, Jeffrey

What’s Up?

I was quite busy yesterday with the NANPA business (as above) but still managed to get lots of work done on the San Diego B&H Event Space program.

Thanks for all the nice comments at yesterday’s well received post, especially this one:

James Saxon/November 19, 2022

The Reddish Egret is my favorite. The stretch in the neck ands the position of the feet create a curve that moves my eye back and forth through the image. Very nice. FYI, thanks for all you do for us photographers that read the blog. It is always a learning experience reading, looking at photos and reading the comments by others. I know I have, as you say: “learned a ton.” Thanks again.

You might enjoy reading my reply to each and every comment made yesterday.

Today is Sunday 20 November 2022. Most of the day will be spent working on the Event Space program. I will likely head down to the lake this morning for the first time in a very long time. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes two hundred thirty-eight days in a row with a new, educational post for you. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

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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

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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. 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.

This image was created on 11 November 2022 at Sebastian Inlet, FL. While seated on dry sand (with an already very wet butt), I used the foot-pod technique with the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 524mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 800. 1/3200 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 4:15:13pm on a then-sunny afternoon. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Willet in basic plumage standing at the edge of the surf

Sebastian Inlet State Park Was Closed

When life gives you Willets, make Willet-ade. When I arrived at the state park on the afternoon of November 11 only to find the park closed, I found a legal pullout and walked the 1/2-mile to the jetty. There were lots of Ospreys and pelicans diving the inlet, but the South Jetty was closed. (Learn more about what turned out to be a pretty good afternoon in the “Soft Light and the In-Heaven Motif” blog post here.

Willets can be found on most Florida beaches. Many of them are used to people and are easy to approach. The trick to making effective images is to try for something different. As a storm had passed that morning, there was a big surf. So, I zoomed out and made many wide images while standing. They looked good in the viewfinder and on the rear monitor, but on the computer, they were not anything that you would want to write home about. The first time I sat down, a rogue wave came along with the incoming tide and soaked me up to the bottom of my fanny pack. After that, I kept moving to stay on sun angle, sat down often, went to the foot-pod technique, and created today’s two featured images. As happens often, the key to success turned out to be getting ultra-low.

This image of the same bird was also created on 11 November 2022 at Sebastian Inlet, FL. While seated on dry sand (with an already very wet butt), I used the foot-pod technique with 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 Thumb Dial. ISO 800. 1/3200 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 4:16:18pm on a then-sunny afternoon. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Willet in basic plumage in the foam of a breaking wave

High Frame-Rate Mirrorless Camera Bodies and Breaking Waves

There have been many blog posts stressing the fact that the position of a breaking wave or wavelet in the frame can either ruin an image or make it special. IMHO, the latter was the case in both of today’s featured images. As the breaking wave or sea foam is approaching the ideal position — usually somewhere near the bird’s feet, the best strategy is to hold the shutter button down so that you can select the bingo image from the series. Images #1 and #2 were each part of a family long frame sequence of from 10-15 frames. Not surprisingly to me, each was clearly best by far.

Image #2 was cropped from a horizontal. Thus 66.6% of the original pixels were cropped away. The stellar images quality of sharp Sony a1 51MP .ARW files can handle even larger crops.

You Know the Drill

All are invited to leave a comment letting us know which of today’s two featured images they like best, and why they made their choice.

Typos

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