Two Markus Leinberger San Diego Killer Images

Your Call?

Which of Markus Leinberger’s two featured images is your favorite? Why?

My Call

Obviously, I loved both images in Friday’s blog post. My favorite, however, was image #2 in part because I love the aqua color of the Gulf water, and also because I anticipated the action as the male hopped off his lady friend. I was lucky with Image #2 as — contrary to my usual style, I stayed back to include the bystander tern. I got two frames with the intruder bird in the frame. In the second of those it was positioned perfectly to tell the story.

2024 Galapagos registrant David Pugsley (with wife Michelle) read my mind when he left this spot-on comment:

April 15, 2023 at 10:14 am

#1 is simply epic and my favorite. One wouldn’t even think to photoshop such a grouping, let alone expect it to actually happen. Was serendipity a factor? Absolutely! That’s part of the fun. #2 shows an expected behavior after copulation so you were ready and waiting.

My response:

You nailed it 🙂 Image #1 is the full frame horizontal image. And yes, I had seen the display just minutes before with another pair. They do not always follow up with that.

much love, a

Thanks to buddy Bob Eastman, Adam, Chris Davidson, and others for their heartfelt comments as well. You can read them and additional responses in the blog post here.

What’s Up?

Saturday morning at DeSoto was excellent. It dawned for what seemed would be a hazy, hot, and humid Florida day, but a fairly dense fog rolled in and cooled things off until late morning. I worked the terns in the fog and then got low on four handsome Marbled Godwits feeding on a small, clean sandbar. Then I spent an hour with a flock of molting Red Knots in a tidal stream right in front of the North Beach parking lot. Sunday morning at DeSoto was excellent again at the New Far Bar. After creating more than 1300 images of a (likely) mated pair of dark morph Reddish Egrets, I concentrated on the Royal and Sandwich Terns. I took both afternoons off.

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Canon EOS-1DX Mark III dSLR

Tom Torget is offering a Canon EOS-1DX Mark III body in near-mint condition for $4,749.00. The sale includes three Canon batteries, the battery charger, the strap, the front lens cover, the manual, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 addresses only.

Please contact Tom via email at e-mail or by phone at 1-830-377-5483 (Central time).

The 1DX III is Canon’s top-of-the-line professional digital camera body. It feature’s Canon’s best-ever dSLR AF system. It is fast and rugged. BAA friend and many multiple IPT veteran Clemens Van der Werf absolutely loves his and killed with it in Homer even during blizzards! The camera sells new right now at B&H for $5,999.00; grab Tom’s camera today and save a very handsome $1250.00 on his as-good-as-new body! artie

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV dSLR

Tom Torget is offering a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV body in near-mint condition for $1,111.99. The sale includes one battery, the charger, the strap, the front lens cover, the manual, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 addresses only.

Please contact Tom via email at e-mail or by phone at 1-830-377-5483 (Central time).

What can I say? The 5D IV was my favorite-ever Canon digital dSLR. I owned and used three of them while my 1DX II sat on the shelf in my garage. A new 5D Mark IV, with its 30.4MP full-frame CMOS sensor, sells new for $$2,499. If you have been dreaming of a 5D IV, grab Tom’s body right now and save a neat $1,300.00. artie

Canon EOS 7D Mark II dSLR

Tom Torget is offering a Canon EOS 7D Mark II body in near-mint condition for $449.00. The sale includes one battery, the charger, the strap, the front lens cover, the manual, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 addresses only.

Please contact Tom via email at e-mail or by phone at 1-830-377-5483 (Central time).

If you are looking to get started with a Canon dSLR, Tom’s 7DII is for you. Both Patrick Sparkman and I used and loved the 7D Mark II until about five years ago when we both committed to using full-frame Canon bodies. We both made some truly great images with it. Two of my three 2016 Nature’s Best honored entries were created with the 7D II, one still, and one video. The 7D Mark II remains one of the greatest-ever values in a digital camera body. artie

CANON EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens

Tom Torget is offering a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II USM lens in near-mint condition for BAA record low $797.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 addresses only.

Please contact Tom via email at e-mail or by phone at 1-830-377-5483 (Central time).

The 24-70II is the serious landscape photographer’s dream lens. It sells new for $1,699.00 so you can save a sweet $902.00 by grabbing Tom’s near-mint copy today. artie

This image was created in San Diego, CA on 24 January 2023 by Markus Leinberger. He used the handheld Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 800: 1/2500 second at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. Image #1: Female American Kestrel carrying lizard Image courtesy of and copyright 2023 Markus Leinberger

Markus Leinberger

Markus Leinberger lives, works, and photographs in Germany. Over the years, I’ve met him and his lovely wife at many North American bird photography hotspots. Last winter in San Diego he kindly shared a tame lady American Kestrel with me. The bird hunted regularly in a large field on Fiesta Island. I was standing right next to him on the afternoon that he made this fine image. I had the perfect rig in my hand — the Sony 400mm f/2.8 lens with the 1.4X TC and then a1 — when the bird flew right at us with its lunch. I came up empty. It was the hat’s fault! Actually, it was operator error. Learn more below.

It was the Hat’s Fault!

Actually, this is a great hat for bird photography. I purchased it last year on the advice of Christy Cox whom I met at the GNPA Annual Conference last year at Jekyll Island, GA. She attended the post-event IPT. It took me a while to get used to the hat. The rear drape was a royal pain as it is held on by tiny plastic hooks. When one broke, I simply ditched the rear drape. With the sun behind me I keep the front sun drape tucked in. They only make one size but over time I have stretched mine so that it fits well. This hat replaced the beyond bedraggled one that I had been wearing for three decades. It was a gift from Alfred Forns of Miami.

On the kestrel afternoon I learned an important lesson. When you are doing flight with the sun and the wind (properly) behind you, you must get in the habit of tilting the front brim up. I do that now reflexively. But on that fateful afternoon in San Diego, I neglected to flip the brim up. (Operator error.) Anyhoo, when the bird flew right at us and right down sun angle, I raised the lens and my shooting hand got tangled up in the brim :-(. That was the last time I made that mistake. If you see me on a sunny day I will be wearing one. I just ordered two more.

An Unsolicited e-Mail from Cristy Cox

Artie, What an adventurous, no-nonsense, get straight-to-the-point, information filled, awe-inspiring IPT! It pushed me beyond my comfort zone on many levels and I have been forever changed! I appreciate your direct approach to life and your invaluable knowledge, insight, skills, and expertise in photography. You are an amazing trailblazer in the industry, which makes one of your first photos, Fire in the Mist so fitting! You are still setting the world on fire.

I appreciate you “making me famous” with the blog post. I am excited to put into practice all the techniques you provided to be a better photographer!

Safe Travels! Be Well! Hugs and Love! Cristy

This image was created at La Jolla, CA on 22 January 2023 by Markus Leinberger. He used the tripod-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 6400: 1/800 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. Image #2: Brown Pelican quartet sunset flight silhouette with one midair head throw Image courtesy of and copyright 2023 Markus Leinberger

Image Sharpness Question

With both dSLRs and mirrorless bodies, the modern standard shutter speed for flight photography is 1/2500, 1/3200, or faster as conditions allow. Aside from the fact that Markus was on a tripod, what was the #1 factor that enabled him to create a sharp sunset silhouette at “only 1/800 second?

Improving Your Nature Photography

I’ve said it here often, “One of the very best ways to improve your nature photography is to look at and think about as many excellent photos as possible.” Markus posts regularly in the Forum för Naturfotografen here. Only members see the names of the posters, and the jpegs are small and don’t look such good, but many of the images are spectacular. they include birds, flowers, macro, scenics, and mammals large and small. Check ’em out.

Oh, and attend an IPT 🙂

The 2023/2024 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and more!) IPTs

San Diego IPT #1. 3 1/2 DAYS: WED 27 DEC thru the morning session on Saturday 30 DEC 2023. $2099.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: photographers.

San Diego IPT #2. 4 1/2 DAYS: TUES 9 JAN thru the morning session on SAT 13 JAN 2024: $2699.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers.

San Diego IPT #3: 4 1/2 DAYS: TEUS 23 JAN thru the morning session on SAT 27 JAN 2024: $2699.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers.

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

I discovered some really neat spots on my 2022/23 visit. As a result, the first and second IPTs may include an afternoon or two of landscape photography.

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, at times 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. Each IPT will include one or two duck sessions.

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 shoot. 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 $699 deposit is required to hold your slot for one of the 2023/2024 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.

Typos

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