My Sebastian Mantra -- Give Me One Good Chance

What’s Up?

John Johnson drove up from Naples to spend three days at the inlet with Bob Eastman and me. Monday morning was like August in Florida. It was hot and still (with no-see-ums!). We worked the northwest pool and had a very few good chances. The South Jetty was not a whole lot better but for a Wood Stork that had grabbed a fairly large fish and had a hard time swallowing it. JJ and I got some good ones while the rest of the photographers there ignored the action despite the fact that the sky was empty of Ospreys.

I have one room available from now until we head home on 23 November. Join us! Scroll down for details.

We showed some good patience with the Ospreys and after as while, I pointed to the water about 100 yards away and said, “You never know, at any moment, an Osprey might hit the water right there, right down sun angle and come up with a big Yellow-tailed Menhaden. Less than two minutes later that is exactly what happened and we all got some really nice images.

How hot was it? John Johnson’s Canon EOS R5 II overheated right after the Osprey with the bunker departed the scene. I had Jim deliver some fresh fish on his way home on Friday so we enjoyed fresh seared tuna on Sunday night and three spot flounder fillets on Monday.

Both afternoons were challenging with sunny skies and an east wind, classic wind against sun conditions. I took a walk down the beach and came up with some nice images of an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. We have been seeing the Sabine’s Gull on both our morning and afternoon sessions.

Today is Tuesday 12 November and we will be leaving for the state park at 5:45am sharp.

This image was also created on 9 November 2024 at Sebastian Inlet, FL. Standing at full height in a foot of water, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted 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 1250. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/2500 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 7:09:32am early on a mostly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #1: Osprey with talons outstretched

No Memory

When a four-frame sequence including this one popped up in Photo Mechanic, I had no memory of getting on the bird in time to get the outstretched talon pose. I mis-framed a few of the bird trying to lift the fish out of the water and then got back on it as it flew to my left. See the next image for the best of that series.

This image was also created on 9 November 2024 at Sebastian Inlet, FL. Standing at full height in a foot of water, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted 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 1250. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/2500 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 7:09:34am early on a mostly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #2: Osprey with summer flounder

Two Seconds Later

I kept seventeen from the 70+ frame sequence of the Osprey leaving with the flatfish. I had three that I really liked and picked this one out of the proverbial hat.

Give Me One Good Chance

I visited Sebastian Inlet for the first time on 27 October 2019. It was cloudy bright and the Ospreys were diving and catching fish one after another. Right in front of me. I figured, “Wow, this place is amazing.”

Over the years, I have come to realize that that day was the exception to the rule. The inlet is long and wide. The Northwest Pool is perhaps 350 X 250 yards. Even when the birds are diving and catching, chances of your being in the exact right spot on a sunny day are slim.

Thus my Sebastian Mantra: Give me one good chance every morning. That meant when that chance comes up, you need to be concentrating and have the right exposure.

Do not click on the composite image; simply scroll down for the best viewing. While Sebastian Inlet is justifiably famous around the world for the Ospreys diving for migrating saltwater fish each fall, there are a variety of desirable avian subjects there as well in October and November. Keep reading if you would like to join me on what will surely be a memorable photographic and learning experience.

Pick Your Own Dates Short-notice Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More BAA Personalized Instructional Workshops

Ridiculously Inexpensive!

Dates: October 29 (arrive on the afternoon of Monday the 28th) thru the morning session on Saturday 22 November

As BIRDS AS ART lost more than $100,000 in tax year 2023, I am moving forward looking more at sharing expenses than at making money. Simply put, for more reasons than I will list here, sharing an AirBnB or VRBO place maximizes learning while reducing your overall travel costs.

Consider joining me at Sebastian Inlet o weeks for some great bird photography and a ton of learning. Life is short; what are you waiting for? While a 600mm f/4 lens is ideal, you could do the whole trip with a variety of other lenses including a 500mm f/4, a 400mm f/2.8, a 400mm DO, a 200-600, a 100-500, a 300mm f/2.8 with TCs, or one of the great new Nikon Z telephoto or telephoto zoom lenses.

Bob Eastman drove down from Wisconsin to join me for all 26 days, from 28 OCT thru the morning session on 22 NOV, prime time for Ospreys diving and catching a variety of saltwater fish. There are four bedrooms in this great AirBnB property that is just 22 minutes from the south jetty at the State Park, 24 minutes from the northwest pool where the Ospreys spent a lot of time last year. Please note that NOV 21-22 are sold out.

Fly to Melbourne (MEL) or Orlando (MCO) and rent a car. Local folks who would like to arrange a morning or two of In-the-Field Instruction during November should get in touch via e-mail.

Here, if you stay in the AirBnB with me, are the ridiculous low rates for the in-the-field sessions (that include the daily Image Review and Photoshop sessions).

$250 for a morning session

$150 for an afternoon session.

Brunch and dinners at the AirBnB will cost you $20/day.

If you are interested, let me know your preferred dates via e-mail and I will get back to you with the per/night price for the lodging.

Typos

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