Was it the Sony 200-600 G Lens? Was it the Sony α-1 with Firmware v2.02? Was it My Sony α-1 with Firmware v2.02 Camera Setup (.DAT file)? Or was it My Teaching Ability?

Roast Turkey with Hazel’s apple and celery stuffing. I-Phone 15+ image

What’s Up?

On Wednesday at about 2pm Bob and I decided to head to Publix and grab some turkey parts. I wound up purchasing a 16.2 lb. bird and all the fixings.I did my best to remember my late Mom’s stuffing recipe it turned out to be the star of the meal. In fact, the entire project was a huge success. Other than noting that for the past two days I have been eating far too much.

As the action here at ILE has slowed down a bit recently and yesterday was the first cloudy day in forever, we put up a new perch in the South Marsh. Not only did Bob do most of the work, but that morning he had fixed my broken pool pump and heater! The man is amazing. Since he likes white meat and I love the dark meat, we continue to be the perfect team.

Today is Saturday 30 November 2024. We will be heading down to the lake early as usual. Wherever you are, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.

I am thinking of renting an AirBnB for two months next fall. If you are interested in joining me for a month or two after reading today’s blog post and checking out Elisabeth Shore’s wonderful images, please get in touch via e-mail.

Please remember to use the B&H 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!

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.

Was it the Sony 200-600 G Lens? Was it the Sony α-1 with Firmware v2.02? Was it My Sony α-1 with Firmware v2.02 Camera Setup (.DAT file)? Or was it My Teaching Ability?

I was thrilled when Steve Shore told me that his wife Elisabeth would be joining him for a week at Sebastian. Steve cautioned me that Elisabeth was new to bird photography and that I would need to work with her extensively. So I did.

I’d be remiss by not stating that the four of us had an absolute ball in our shared AirBnB.

She was using the Sony 200-600 G lens with an α-1 with Firmware v2.02 with my settings. The best news? She was an excellent student who was seriously interested in improving. And to boot, she made some great Swedish meatballs.

At first, she was reluctant to zoom to 600mm preferring the comfort of framing wide. I stayed on her and as you can see with her images below, she quickly became comparable zooming out a bit or working at 600m when it was needed. I did a shutter speed program for the group and Steve, Elisabeth, and Mr. Eastman all found it helpful.

After the first three days, Elisabeth became comfortable selecting a shutter speed and then raising the ISO as needed to expose to the right. As will be clear as you continue, her day by day progress was fabulous bordering on astounding.

Please remember that Elisabeth had never photographed a bird in flight prior to arriving at Sebastian.

What factor or factors do you think contributed to her incredible success?

This image was created by Elisabeth Shore on on the Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More Extended IPT. Seated, she used the knee-pod technique with the the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 456mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1250: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB on a then cloudy morning. Tracking Expand Spot AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: White Ibis on shoreline Image courtesy of and copyright 204 Elisabeth Shore

An Important Lesson

Folks who show up with decent gear often want to learn to create dramatic flight and action images on Day One. I explain to them that once they master the basic skills by photographing a bird just standing in one spot that the flight and action images will follow. What are these basic skills:

1- See the shot.
2- Select an appropriate shutter speed and set the wide open aperture.
3- Adjust the exposure by increasing the ISO. With Sony zebra technology, doing this just takes a bit of practice.
4- Select an AF method that will yield a pleasing composition.
5- Zoom to an appropriate focal length.
6- Keep the lens still and make a series of images.

With Image #1, Elisabeth checked all the boxes.

This image was created by Elisabeth Shore on the Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More Extended IPT. Crouching, she usethe the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 400mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB on a then cloudy morning. Tracking Expand Spot AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Wood Stock with fish intestines wrapped around base of its bill. Image courtesy of and copyright 204 Elisabeth Shore

Photo Tip

At locations near water, be sure to check out any fish cleaning locations. Many species of gulls, terns, and wading bird are often attracted by fish scraps and wind up being silly tame. This Wood Stork was working a large carcass that he been properly disposed of down the chute. But with the low tide, the storks were having a feast.

I got excited when a long string of the Jack Crevalle’s intestines became twice wrapped around the base of the stork’s bill. We all made some nice images of a unique moment. That Elisabeth’s best image was as good as mine, it just proves my oft-stated point: Equipped with some decent gear with their camera set up properly and a modicum of quality instruction, beginning bird photographer’s can create images as good as those made by a professional with four plus decades of experience. And once the basics are mastered, the same is true with flight and action shooting.

This image was created by Elisabeth Shore on the Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More Extended IPT. Standing on the South Jetty, she used the handheld Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (at 122mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 160: 1/60 sec. at f/4 (stopped down one stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:30:05am about fourteen minutes before sunrise. Tracking: (center) Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Brown Pelicans in flight at sunrise. Image courtesy of and copyright 204 Elisabeth Shore

That Magical Morning

In the middle of the action on our magical sunrise morning, I asked Steve Shore, “Where’s your wife?” “She went back to the car to get a card.” Long story short is that she made it back before the color faded completely. I felt terrible that she had missed the best of it so I offered to trade her my 70-200 for her 200-600 as the shorter lens was perfect for the huge sky full of color.

To get the purple hues, we lowered the color temperature during the raw conversion.

This image was created by Elisabeth Shore on the Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More Extended IPT. Standing on the South Jetty, she used the the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 3200: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB on a cloudy afternoon. Zonet AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #4: Osprey in flight on white sky afternoon with fish in its talons. Image courtesy of and copyright 204 Elisabeth Shore

Exposing to the Right on White Sky Days

Nine out of ten bird photographers will drastically underexpose white sky flight images. Period. By following instructions (raise the ISO until you see a few Zebras on the sky, Elisabeth nailed the exposure for this image. Kudos to my very fine student.

This image was created by Elisabeth Shore on the Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More Extended IPT. Standing on the South Jetty, she used the the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB on a partly sunny morning. Zonet AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #5: Osprey in flight with Yellow-tailed Menhaden in its talons. Image courtesy of and copyright 204 Elisabeth Shore

Bingo!

By working hard for several days to master the basics, Elisabeth was ready when a great opportunity arose right in front of her. Not bad for someone who had never even attempted to photograph a bird in flight before coming to Sebastian Inlet!

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.

The 2025 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and More!) IPT

Price reduced $100.00 from last year!

2025 San Diego IPT: 4 1/2 DAYS: SAT 11 JAN 2025 thru the morning session on WED 15 JAN 2024: $2599.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6/Openings 2.

Shared AirBnB lodging and trip transportation with the leader is available and maximizes learning as well.

Please e-mail for information on personalized pre- and post-IPT 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 new spots on my 2024 visit. We will be visiting all of them early next year.

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

This IPT will include five 3-hour morning photo sessions, four 1 1/2-hour afternoon photo sessions, and four working brunches at my AirBnb. Those 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.

Deposit Info

A $699 deposit is required to hold your slot for one of the 2025 San Diego IPT. 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 two 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.