Three Very Good Days at Stick Marsh & A Big Editing Tip

Your Calls

Which are the two strongest images? Which are the two weakest images? Why did you make those choices?

The Last Blog Post

The times they are a’ changing …

In the last blog post, Important Rerun: Field Etiquette for Nature Photographers, here, I was a surprised that only a single reader, David Policansky (Dr. Fish), left a comment that was on point. When the article was first published on the blog 23 years ago, there were 17 comments.

Have we gotten so used to lots of photos, ten-second IG reels, and whatever goes on at TikTok (I have never visited) that a 2500 word essay is simply too much to handle? If you have any ideas as to why only one person had a story to share, please do tell.

Dr. Fish made a good point. If you keep your eyes open you can often use the behavior of oblivious folks to make a great image simply be getting ready for the take-off shot! They scare the bird or birds and you make a great image or two.

What’s Up?

Anita North and I headed back to Stick Marsh on Sunday morning and enjoyed another excellent session. With a fairly brisk wind from the southeast, things were different but the results were excellent. I created 1600 photos, about half the images that I made on each of our three previous 2025 visits, but wound up with 140 keepers after the first edit. Those included a few that I really like.

Today is Monday 17 March 2025. The forecast is for partly cloudy with a WNW wind so we will be heading down to the lake early despite the less than favorable wind direction, hoping — of course, for more clouds than sun. Whatever you plan on doing, I hope that you too opt to have a wonderful day. Do remember that happiness is a choice — Byron Katie, The Work.Com.

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.

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Amazing Stick Marsh Spoonbills

Sit with me at my laptop as I comment on selected keeper images from three pretty good days with the Roseate Spoonbills at Stick Marsh. Learn that while picking your keepers it is very important to consider the potential crops and to visualize a plan for the image optimizations. In this 20 minute video I share my thoughts on exactly what I am looking for in the field and the gear I am using — mostly the Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM and the incredible a-1 ii. You will learn what I am looking for when I pick my keepers and why your vision for the crop and the image optimization process are vitally important as you are deciding which images to keep and which to trash.

Stick Marsh

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The Stick Marsh Site Guide Subscription Service

The Site Guide Subscription Service currently consists of seven e-mails:

Stick Marsh Site Guide e-Mail #1: The Basics. It includes specific directions to the site, and a map of the rookery with specific instructions on wind direction, light, and where-to-be advice. There are lots of photographers at Stick Marsh most days. Many are skilled at hand-holding 500 and 600mm f/4 telephotos lenses. But with all due respect, none of them can come anywhere near me when it comes to analyzing the photo opps at a given location. With the exception of a very nice and very helpful man I met, Fred Vaughn, every single photographer got to their favorite spot and never moved. We moved around a lot and had great and different chances all day long.

The six e-mails that follow detail additional photographic discoveries and shooting recommendations with annotated maps and lots of images. I did not send any updates in 2024 or 2025 as the first seven e-mails cover all the relevant situations. I will be sending a March 2025 Update soon.

To sign up for the Stick Marsh Site Guide Subscription Service, send a PayPal for $100.00 to us at birdsasart@verizon.net and be sure to include the words Stick Marsh Site Guide. Or, call Jim MON thru THURS at 1-863-692-0906 to pay by credit card.

I fully understand that you can go to Google Maps, find Stick Marsh without much trouble, visit, and likely make some good or great images. You might think, I can do fine just without artie’s advice. But you will do a whole lot better with it. Please contact me via e-mail to explore the possibilities of a morning In-the-Field Instructional Session or two at Stick Marsh.

This image was created on 7 February 2025 at Stick Marsh. Seated on a milk crate and two pillows, I used the I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800: 1/4000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 7:08:48am on a cloudy-bright morning. Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger, inexplicably sharper high res version. Image #1: Incoming Roseate Spoonbill in early morning light Image courtesy of and copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

A Dime a Dozen

With today’s amazing mirrorless camera bodies, images like this, though perhaps not as perfect as Image #1 above, have become relatively commonplace for folks who visit Stick Marsh regularly. The sweet early morning light, the bits of green, and the perfectly illuminated underwings with zero shadows make this one very special for me. As I have been so often and have many dozens if not hundreds of similar images, I have recently been grabbing the 600mm f/4, often with the 1.4X TC, in an effort to come up with some new and different stuff.

Made for Stick Marsh

The Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens was made for Stick Marsh. With dozens of incoming birds early every morning with the right winds, the focal length is perfect and the fast f/2.8 aperture enables you to transition early on from pleasing blurs to sharp. It was also my go-to lens on the 2025 Homer Bald Eagle IPTs.

While Nikon has been introducing some fabulous telephoto lenses recently, including several super-telephoto lenses with built in teleconverters, the huge hole in their lens line-up is a lightweight Z 300mm f/2.8. The Sony version weighs 3.25 pounds and is easily hand-holdable for most folks. The most recent Nikon version, the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II, weighs a whopping 6.38 pounds. Similarly, Canon does not offer a lightweight RF 300mm f/2.8 lens. Their most recent version, the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, tips the scale at a rather embarrassing 5.29 pounds. Vasili Chernikoff’s favorite lens, the versatile Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens (Canon RF), comes in at a hefty 5.7 pounds.

This image was created on 9 February 2025 at Stick Marsh. Seated on a milk crate and two pillows, 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 Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: ISO 1600; 1/2500 second at f/7.1 (stopped down 2/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:42:03am on sunny morning. Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #2: Roseate Spoonbill flat incoming flight Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Right Down the Lens Barrel

As you saw with more than a few of my Homer Bald Eagle images, I am a sucker for birds flying directly at me while staring right down the barrel of the lens. With 840mm of reach, the bokeh of distant backgrounds could not be any sweeter. Different is good.

The Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro

It goes without saying that the Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro is by far the cream of the current tripod crop. This counter-balanced ballhead (say goodbye to ballhead flop) acts like a gimbal is smooth and lightweight. Flight photography with long lenses is a dream. Simply put, there is nothing out there close to it. If yo are trying to use a Really Wrong Stuff BH-55 ballhead with any telephoto lens use it is a fishing sinker for deepwater codfish instead and get yourself a Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro.

In addition, there is no longer a need to travel with one tripod head for super-telephotos and another for scenic photography. How so? The Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro features a bi-directional clamp.

This image was also created on 9 February 2025 at Stick Marsh. Again seated on a milk crate and two pillows, 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 Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: ISO 1600; 1/2500 second at f/7.1 (stopped down 2/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:42:05am on sunny morning. Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #3: Roseate Spoonbill in flight (tight vertical) Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Incredible Mirrorless AF

Autofocus with the high end mirrorless camera bodies is so good that I encourage folks to keep shooting even when the bird is well beyond filling the frame. Be sure to compare the optimized version above with the original in the video to see how I cropped this one and added lots of canvas at the top.

This image was created on 15 February 2025 at Stick Marsh. seated on a milk crate and two pillows, 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 Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: ISO 1600; 1/2500 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:10:30am on sunny morning. Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #4: Roseate Spoonbill with stick for nest Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

I Just Could Not Do It

Check out the original in the video and you will see that the wing of a young spoonbill was in the background and merged with the neck of the subject. I tried and tried and tried to preserve the fluffy feathers on the neck just above the upper breast, but could not manage it. So, I cropped most of them away from below and eliminated the rest of them with the Remove Tool. Bummer.

This image was also created on 15 February 2025 at Stick Marsh. Standing at full height I used the hand held 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 Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: ISO 1250 1/4000 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:37:39am on sunny morning. Tracking: Spot XS/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #5: Roseate Spoonbill (tight) flap Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

The Dreaded Water Hyacinth

As you saw in the video, the bird was bathing quite close to the ramp and the leaves of water hyacinths at the bottom of the frame were problematic at best. Thus, the somewhat pano crop for Image #5.

This image was also created on 15 February 2025 at Stick Marsh. Standing at full height I used the hand held Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a-1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 500. 1/4000 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:44:29am on a clear sunny morning. Tracking: Spot XS/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Be sure to click on the image to view a larger, high res version. Image #6: Roseate Spoonbill bathing Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Decent at Last

There were lots of folks photographing the bathing spoonbill so space was at a premium, especially as I was somewhat late to the party. I was much too tight at 840mm so I removed the TC and was delighted that the bird bathed a second time. As he was a bit farther from the shoreline, I only had to remove only a single hyacinth leaf. Again, we were fighting the leaves at the bottom of the frame because they were quite distracting.

Note the prefect look-back head turn in Image #6.

This image was created on 15 February 2025 at Stick Marsh. seated on a milk crate and two pillows, 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 Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: ISO 1600; 1/2500 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:10:30am on sunny morning. Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #7 Roseate Spoonbill preening

Why a Square?

As you saw in the video, the reflection of a large white sign in front of the South Island Rookery in the upper left portion of the frame that necessitated the square crop. Remember that it is important to consider all the cropping possibilities before marking a given image for the trash bin.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II). You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a PayPal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. Be sure to specify Digital Basics II.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

The techniques mentioned above and tons more great Photoshop tips and techniques — along with my complete digital workflow, Digital Eye Doctor Techniques, and all my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

Please note: the Divide and Conquer technique was inadvertently omitted from DB II. It is detailed in a free excerpt in the blog post here.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: most of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.

You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About three years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One and did that for two years. You can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here. Today, I convert my Sony raw files in Photoshop with Adobe Camera Raw.

You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.

The Digital Basics III Video Series

The Digital Basics III Video Series

I realized two years ago that my digital workflow had changed significantly and was toying with the idea of writing a Digital Basics III. More recently, I learned and begun working with two great new Photoshop Tools, the Remove Tool and the Luminance Targeted Adjustment Tool. The former is like a smarter Spot Healing Brush Tool on steroids and the latter is a step up from the fabulous Color Mixer Tool. During that same time frame, I came up with a new and improved 2-step noise reduction technique. I still use Divide and Conquer, Quick Masks, Layer Masks, an expanded array of personalized keyboard shortcuts, and tons of other stuff from both versions of Digital Basics.

As soon as I realized that I did not want to take on another large writing project, I realized that by creating a series of videos I could much more easily share all the details of my current digital workflow and much more easily incorporate additional new tips, techniques, and tools as I went. And so, The Digital Basics III Video Series was born.

You can order the five videos in Volume I by clicking here. The videos will be most valuable for folks using the latest version of Photoshop (2024) or Lightroom along with Topaz DeNoise AI and Topaz Sharpen AI.

Typos

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