By Popular Demand. Singh-Ray NDs. And with all due respect to Canon and Nikon mirrorless, and all dSLR folks

San Diego IPT Late Registration Discount

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 IPT #2 late registration discount info. The photography has been consistently and astoundingly good.

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. Several folks are in the process of registering so do not tarry.The first IPT is looking very sold out as I await the last two deposit checks.

What’s Up?

Day 3 of the 2nd San Diego IPT was quite amazing. With no big waves things were a bit difficult at the main pelican cliffs so I took the group down the hill. I quickly found a spot with great flight photography for Royal Terns and Brown pelicans. I created 5210 images. All but one of the folks in the group created more images than I did!

Today is Tuesday 10 January 2023. For more than a week, the forecast for today had been for 100% rain all day. By last night it was down to 80%. This morning is showing no rain for many hours beginning at 7:30am so that is when I will meet the group. This blog post took more than two hours to prepare and makes two hundred eighty-seven 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.

It is looking as if Homer may be sold out fairly soon. Please do not forget to use my B&H or Bedford’s affiliate programs for your new gear purchases.

My plan is to continue to post every day until the streak reaches one year and one day and then go back to posting 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 just sold its last one. The good news? We have located two more new-in-the-box tripods. They will be available for shipping at the end of January. Best to order yours now to be sure that you get one. We will not run your card until your item ships. The 304L was my go-to tripod for more than a decade. Best to grab order yours right now to avoid being disappointed.

This image was created on 6 January 2023. I used the no-longer available (except from BIRDS AS ART) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 200mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with a twist with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 50. 1/2 second at f/14 (stopped down 4 2/3 stops) in Manual Mode. AWB at 8:57:56am on a mostly sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Manual focus with focus peaking performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Children’s Pool breakwater on huge surf day/100% juiced up version

Three Versions

Today’s post features three versions of the same image, my favorite from the huge surf day in San Diego, 6 January 2023. Image #1 was my first effort and featured juiced up colors. I lowered the color temperature to bring up the BLUE and then played around with the Saturation and Luminance of the AQUAs and GREENs under the Color Mixer tab to really boost the colors. Image #2 was converted conservatively with the original color temperature, the white and black points set as usual, the Highlights slider at -40, the White slider at +20, the Blacks at -50, Clarity at +10, Dehaze at +2, and Vibrance at +10. To create a middle-of-the-road version, I dragged a 50% opacity layer of Image #3 onto Image #2.

This image was created on 6 January 2023. I used the no-longer available (except from BIRDS AS ART) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 200mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with a twist with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 50. 1/2 second at f/14 (stopped down 4 2/3 stops) in Manual Mode. AWB at 8:57:56am on a mostly sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Manual focus with focus peaking performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Children’s Pool breakwater on huge surf day/straight up conversion version

Singh-Ray 5-stop Mor-Slo Solid Neutral Density (ND) Filter

To get down to 1/2 second, I used a Singh-Ray 5-stop Mor-Slo Solid Neutral Density (ND) Filter that was screwed on to the front of the lens. Note that I still needed to stop down to f/14 for the right exposure at 1/2 second. A 10-stop Mor-Slo™ Solid Neutral Density (ND) Filter would have been better as it would have allowed me to work at a wider aperture. I am not sure if my artie10 discount code still works at Singh-Ray but I will let you know.

Here is some advice for Sony folks that might help others as well. When shooting long exposure blurs, I find that setting the exposure to show no Zebras avoids over-exposing the brightest highlights.

Singh-Ray Filters

Singh-Ray filters have been used by the world’s top photographers for many decades. Who? Art Wolfe, Tony Sweet, Ian Plant, Denise Ippolito, Nevada Weir, Brenda Tharp, Cole Thompson, Chuck Kimmerle, and the late Galen Rowell among others. Singh-Ray has been and is the name in quality filters. I often use a 77mm warming polarizer set to dark at Bosque to get to a slower shutter speed in too-bright conditions. Toward that end, BIRDS AS ART is working with Singh-Ray to produce a 5-stop Neutral Density filter to fit the filter drawers of Canon Super-telephoto lenses. Stayed tuned for info on that.

No other filter manufacturer comes close to matching the quality of Singh-Ray’s optical glass that is comparable to that used by NASA. And they continue to pioneer the most innovative products on the market like their ColorCombo polarizer, Vari-ND variable and Mor-Slo 15-stop neutral density filters. When you use their filters, you’ll create better, more dramatic images and, unlike other filters, with absolutely no sacrifice in image quality. All Singh-Ray filters are handcrafted in the USA.

Best News: 10% Discount/Code at checkout: artie10

To shop for a Singh-Ray 5-Stop Mor-Slo Fliter (for example), click on the logo link above, click on “Neutral and color
Solid Neutral Density Filters (glass), then click on “Mor-Slo™ 5, 10, 15 and 20-Stop Solid Neutral Density Filters (glass),” choose the size and model, add to cart, and then checkout. At checkout, type artie10 into the “Have a coupon? Click here to enter your code” box, and a healthy 10% discount will be applied to your total. In addition to enjoying the world’s best filter at 10% off you will be supporting my efforts here on the blog. I use the George Lepp models in 77mm and 95mm for my 3-stop NDs.

This image was created on 6 January 2023. I used the no-longer available (except from BIRDS AS ART) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 200mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with a twist with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 50. 1/2 second at f/14 (stopped down 4 2/3 stops) in Manual Mode. AWB at 8:57:56am on a mostly sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Manual focus with focus peaking performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Children’s Pool breakwater on huge surf day/50% juiced up version

Breaking Wave Blur Shutter Times

While photographing the huge surf just four days ago, I did lots of experimenting with shutter speeds ranging from 1/8 second to 15 seconds. Shutter speeds in excess of 2 seconds produced creamy milky water that showed little shape or form. Those in the range of 1/2 to 2 seconds showed the most pleasing bridal veil effects where the water ran down in streaks. My very favorite for those was right at about 1 second.

Your Call?

After clicking on each image to enlarge it, all are invited to leave a comment letting us know which version they liked best, the juiced up version (Image #1), the conservatively processed version (Image #2), or the middle-of-the-road version, Image #3. Please let us know why you made your choice. I have a very clear choice.

With All Due Respect

With all due respect for all the faithful bird photographers using the latest Canon mirrorless bodies, those using the vaunted (and large and very heavy) Nikon Z9, and anyone using a dSLR, the Sony a1 is the cream of the crop by far. It is the easiest to learn to use efficiently and the easiest to use efficiently. And as far as getting the right exposure, Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb wheel leaves all the others in the proverbial dust. If you would like to receive an e-mail explaining in greater detail why the Sony A1 is best y far, please click here

Click on the image to better see the green eye-AF boxes in action. Sony Alpha 1 Flight Photography AF Points!

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group: $150.00 (or Free)

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. By June 1, 2022, the group was up to an astounding 124 lucky and blessed folks. (More than a few folks own two or more a1 bodies! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. The best news is that everyone in the group receives an e-mail that includes a .DAT file with my a1 settings on it, and explicit directions on how to load my settings onto your a1; talk about convenience! I am now offering a .DAT file compatible with firmware update 1.20. Your entry into the group includes a consolidated Sony a1 CAMSETA2 INFO & GUIDE. New a1 folks will now receive six e-mails instead of the previous 28! You will receive new e-mails as they are published. Simply put, this e-mail guide is an incredible resource for anyone with an a1.

All who purchased their Alpha 1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link — B&H or Bedfords — will receive a free Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up Guide and free entry into the Info Updates group after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.). Others can purchase their guide here in the BAA Online Store.

Typos

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