Your Call?
Which of today’s six featured images from a not-so great Thursday morning at Fort DeSoto Park do you like best? Why?
In the Last Blog Post
In the last blog post,The Top Two Tips for Shooting in Harsh Sunlight,
here, I thought that all three images were pretty darned good (as is usually the case). I was the odd man out however, as my favorite image was #2, the saluting White Ibis with the yellow background. I loved the pose, the soft light, the high level of skill involved (though that should not matter), and best of all, the yellow background that pretty much nobody else liked. No worries there as judging images is 100% subjective.
What’s Up?
We nearly froze to death on Friday morning at the Celery Fields in Sarasota. Most of the birds were hunkered down with from the strong north wing. Anita North persevered and got some nice images of a 4-day old Sandhill Crane chick. That afternoon we did very well at my favorite afternoon spot at Fort DeSoto with a variety of the usual suspects shorebird species. Some bathing! On Saturday morning North Beach at DeSoto was a bad as I’ve ever seen it, actually it was the second worst ever morning there. That despite our early arrival, clear skies, and a nice breeze from the east northeast. After a stealthy approach to within ten feet, I did get some nice head shots of a breeding plumage Royal Tern with its crest blowing in the wind. On Saturday afternoon, we headed up to the North Tampa Rookery, arrived a bit late, and had many excellent opportunities.
Today is Sunday 23 March 2025 and we are headed back to the Celery Fields as Anita wants another crack at the baby crane. 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.
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Learn a Ton from a Not-So-Great Morning at Fort DeSoto Park with Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Sit beside me on my laptop as I take a second look at my keepers from the morning of 20 March 2025 at Fort DeSoto. You will learn a lot about what makes one image better than the next. In part two of this video I examine the best of more than 2500 images of a handsome Laughing Gull that stood in the same spot at the edge of the surf for more than ten minutes. You can see the original for all of todays’ featured images in the video above.
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This image was created on 20 March 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. Crouching a bit in Hidden Lagoon, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 404mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Flagship Body, the Sony a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 4000: 1/160 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 7:41:56am in the shade on what would become a sunny morning. Tracking: Spot XS/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #1: Great Egret perched on Red Mangrove roots |
a-1 ii Improved Optical Stabilization System (OSS)
Where I come from, making a tack sharp image at 1/160 second at 404mm while crouching is nothing to sneeze at.
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This image was also created on 20 March 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 474mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Flagship Body, the Sony a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 4000: 1/25000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 7:53:08am on a sunny morning. Tracking: Set XS/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #2: Laughing Gull breeding plumage flapping after bath |
AF for Bathing Birds
Regardless of your system or your camera body, you must choose your AF method (pattern) for bathing birds with care. With the original a-1, I always went with Tracking: Zone for bating birds. With the a-1 ii, I noticed that it was more likely to grab the water droplets or the water in front of the bird so I tried Tracking: Spot XS (extra small) and have been nailing both the bathing shots and the after bath flaps.
When shooting bathing birds, experiment with both wide area and spot settings with your gear so that you can best take advantage of these exciting opportunities.
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This image was also created on 20 March 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. Seated on damp sand, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/2000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 8:57:33am on a then cloudy morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #3: Laughing Gull breeding plumage in surf in soft light |
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This image also was created on 20 March 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. Still seated on damp sand, I again used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 320: 1/4000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:05:07am on a then sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #4 Laughing Gull breeding plumage preening primary feather |
Does a Bird Need Eyes and a Head for an Image to Work?
Wile the chin and bill are visible above, the bird’s face and eye are not. Does this image work for you? Why or why not?
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This image also was created on 20 March 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. Still seated on damp sand, I again used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 320: 1/4000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:05:53am on a then sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #5 Laughing Gull breeding plumage with foot raised |
The Man Loves Clouds
As much as I love the rich, golden light of early mornings and late afternoons, I love working on cloudy days and in the shade just as much. You can shoot all day long if you wish and you never have to worry about shadows, harsh or otherwise. And by properly exposing to the right your images will feature rich glorious colors.
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This image also was created on 20 March 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. Seated on damp sand, I again used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:32:54am on a sunny morning. Wide/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #6: Red Knot beginning molt to breeding plumage |
A Real Grab Shot
Anita North, Tom Redd (who recently purchased one of my a-9 iii bodies), and I were standing around chatting. I glanced behind me and saw that eight red Knots had landed on the edge of the surf. I got on the ground, switched the .4X for the 2X TC, and went to work for two minutes before the small flock moved off.
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For those who did not use my link to purchase their Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens, you can order your a copy here for $209.93. Click on the image to enlarge and to be able to read the fine print. |
The BAA Sony 300mm f/2.8 Lens Guide
Impressed by my (or Pat’s) Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) images? Use either my Bedfords or B&H affiliate link to purchase your Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens and shoot me your receipt via e-mail and request a copy of the first-ever BAA Lens Guide. I thought that it would take only minutes to create this guide, but I was dead wrong. In the process of creating it, I learned a ton about the lens. And even better, I discovered a simple yet potentially fatal flaw that was resulting in sporadically unsharp flight images. The set-up fix is simple. Just be sure to use one of my affiliate links and get the guide for free.
If not, you can purchase a copy here for $209.93. Yes, it never hurts to use my links and it never costs you one penny more. And if you contact me via e-mail before you make a major purchase, I can often save you some money.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Images 4, 2 & 5 are my favourites, in that order. I do like a bit of action! 3 & 6 are just portraits, splendid portraits, but don’t really appeal to me other than to admire the birds plumage. Agree with Bob re Image 1.
Different strokes. I’ve lived for the last 40 years striving to make splendid “just portraits.”
with love, artie
My favorite is #4 for the pose and reflection. IMO, an eye is not necessary when a preening pose is just right.
Thanks Pugs. See my DeSoto report sent via text 🙂
a
Art: I forgot to say, thanks for the video, I picked up some tips!
You are welcome, Pat. And thanks for catching the auto spell check typo; it has been fixed.
with love, artie
Art: My favorite is #1, I love the white egret against the red mangroves. Typo under What’s Up:
“within ten feet” rather than “wishing ten feet.”
Artie
While you were giving your birds a “T” (as a keeper), I was having my Tea watching yet another great Video 🙂
I love them all however not really feeling #1 with the background a little busy. I am really feeling #3-#4-#5-#6 that soft blue lights in the waters is really sweet to my eye love the raised foot.
Hopefully you and Anita get on the baby Sandhill as I’d love to see some of your images showing cute. Love you guys
Always with love b
Thanks Robert! One reader’s favorite is another reader’s loser 🙂
We did great on the Celery Field crane chick this morning!
with love, a