Which is the stronger image? Is it even a question?

Homer Late Registration Discounts

If you are at all interested in traveling to Homer with me in FEB/MAR 2023 to photograph Bald Eagles, shoot me an e-mail for late registration discount info.

San Diego IPT Late Registration Discounts

If you are at all interested in traveling to San Diego to improve your photography and enjoy the phenomenal Brown Pelican photography this month, please shoot me an e-mail for late registration discount info.

New Listings

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

BAA Record-low Price!

Neal McEwen is offering a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for a BAA record-low by far $1099.00. The lens was recently serviced by CPS with the 11-Point EF Lens Maintenance Service. The sale includes the original box and packing materials, the front and rear lens caps, the tripod collar, the lens hood, the carrying case with strap, 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 Neal via e-mail or by phone at 1-404-326-0505 (Eastern time zone).

This incredibly versatile zoom lens — with its amazing .98-meter close focus — was my favorite Canon telephoto zoom lens ever. By far. It is easy to hand hold, great for tight portraits, for birds in flight, for quasi-macro stuff, and lots more. For flight, it is fabulous with an EOS R, R5, R6, or R7! This lens sells new for $2399.00 so you can save a handsome $1300.00 by grabbing Neal’s lens ASAP. artie

What’s Up?

With less than ideal conditions on Monday morning at the La Jolla Cliffs I enjoyed yet another spectacular 3000+ image morning. After feasting on pelicans I headed down the coast and found four cooperative Black Oystercatchers on their favorite rock shelf. I’ve been creating so many great images that I have been staying in every afternoon in order to get some work done.

I was glad to learn that Barbara White’s husband took advantage of the late registration and spouse discounts and will be joining us on IPT #3. And I was thrilled to learn that Mark Smith, bird photography’s You Tube rock star, will be joining me in Homer for two or three of the Bald Eagle IPTs.

Today is Tuesday 3 January 2023. The forecast is for rain early replaced by light rain at about 8am. I have been on such a hot streak that I will surely give it a go. This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes two hundred eighty-one days in a row with a new, educational post just for you. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

My plan is to continue to post every day until the streak reaches one year and then go back to every other day.

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!

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.

Induro GIT 304L Tripod

Out of production for more than two years, BAA has just one of my favorite-ever tripods left in stock. The 304L was my go-to tripod for more than a decade. Best to grab this last one here right now.

This image was created on 26 December 2022 at La Jolla, CA. While standing at full height, I used the no-longer available (except from BIRDS AS ART) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1250. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/400 sec. at f/4 (wide open). When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be perfect.When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect.AWB at 7:15:10am, 25 minutes before he sun would come over the hill to the east. Tracking: Spot (S) was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #1: Brown Pelican sub-adult high key

High Key Simplicity

I call this one “Charcoal Grey High Key.” It is hard to imagine a simpler image: a pelican on a rock in the pre-daw shade with a white water background. The yellow bill tip, the pink eye skin, and the red and olive of the bill pouch add just enough color to bring this one to life. I even like the hint of CYAN in the water.

The Lessons

1- In the first few frames, the feet were lost behind the out of focus rock mound in the foreground. To get taller, I pulled in the legs of the tripod. Bingo.

2- The key to success of high key images, is to push the exposure far to the right and then some. This ensures that the darker tones will not be under-exposed.

This image was created on 2 January 2023 at La Jolla, CA. While standing at full height, I used the no-longer available (except from BIRDS AS ART) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/4 (wide open). When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be dead-solid perfect plus a bit as I needed to overexpose the sky to get the best out of the bird’s dark feathers. AWB at 7:49:02am as the sun broke through the clouds in the east ten minutes after the sun came over the hill to the east (albeit behind the clouds at first). Tracking: Zone was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #2: Brown Pelican backlit braking to land on cliff

Morning Backlight at the Pelican Cliffs

I’d done some backlit stuff at the pelican cliffs in year’s past. Thanks to the very talented Phil Colla for the reminder. You can see Phil’s eclectic images here on Instagram or on his Natural History Photography website, OceanLight.

Anyhoo, when the sun peeked through the clouds on Monday morning I traded the 400mm f/2.8 for the 600mm f/4 and went to work.

So, just what is special about this complex image? The backlight is superb. The braking pose is dynamic as the bird turned to its right to land. The color is sweet, though I may have overdone it a bit — the raw file was pretty bland. I love that you can see a hint of the other pelicans that are roosting on the cliff.

The Better Image?

So, which is the stronger of today’s two featured images? If you leave a comment, please let us know why you made your choice.

Typos

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