You Tube Video: Mid-Summer Surprise
I had not been down to the lake since I got home from Colorado, assuming that there would not be much to photograph on the hot, sunny mornings. As it turned out, I was wrong; yesterday, Sunday morning, was fabulous. The juvie Osprey in the lake excited me most. As I go through my July 8th 2025 keepers, I share my thoughts with you in this nine minute video. There is a ton to learn.
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What’s Up?
Buoyed by my success yesterday, I headed back down to the lake today, Monday 8 July. Though I had three Ospreys in the lake at once, I did not make any images better than what I got yesterday. I am, however, pretty sure that my whistling duck horizontal portraits, made at 840mm and 600mm with the lens on the BLUBB on the ground, will be my best ever as the early light was sweeter than it was when I created Image #1 below.
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This image was created on 7 July 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Seated on damp sand I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 1000. 1/1250 sec. at f/9 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 9:00:39am on a mostly sunny morning with a touch of haze in the air. Tracking: Expand Spot/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Black-bellied Whistling Duck field guide portrait |
The BLUBB on the Ground
Over the years, I have supported big lenses with a BLUBB that had been placed on the ground. On Sunday morning, this technique worked quite well on several occasions. With the whistling ducks, it is relatively easy to exit my vehicle on the driver’s side, place the BLUBB on the ground, get out holding the 600, and get to work. Doing the same thing with an Osprey in the water is a lot more difficult as raptors in general are a lot more wary than the ducks. There are some good tips in the video that work well with this technique.
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This image was created on 7 July 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working from the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the ridiculously amazing Sony a9 III Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1000. 1/4000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:44:40am on a mostly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face-eye AF enabled performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Osprey — juvenile in lake with wings raised |
Almost Bathing …
In the video, you can see that the Ospreys tend to stay close to the shoreline in about 2-4 inches of water. I keep hoping that they will venture a bit deeper and enjoy a full fledged bath. Not yet. Image #2 was created from the vehicle with the BLUBB on window frame with the window fully lowered. There are other images in the video made when I was out of my SUV with the BLUBB on the ground. It should be easy to see the difference as the lower perspective yields much more intimate photos.
I had switched from the a1 to the a9 iii in anticipation of some action. I made a few images when the bird in Image #2 touched down briefly but then took flight. This one should have been my favorite from the get go as more of the bird’s right wing is visible.
The dark streaks in the center of this bird’s breast show it to be a (young) female.
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Image #3: The BLUBB on the ground supporting the Sony 600mm f/4 GM lens with the 1.4X TC and the a1 |
Not Cock-eyed
Though everything looks askew, the green/green level shows that the subject is perfectly square to the world. The trick to succeeding with the BLUBB on the ground is getting out of your vehicle without disturbing the birds. You cannot beat the low perspective when it comes to intimacy.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Artie
Very sweet video and the photos are very nice and at 1200mm, thank you for that!
I have been working the Osprey going in for fish in the evening as the sun is behind me not much I can do when one dives to my right/left other than get him in the frame and shoot but the ever changing light as they fly is hard under the clouds than blazing sun than hit the water and dark so I am constantly changing iso.
Love the video and your working you’re a good egg to 🙂
Always with love b