In the Last Blog Post
In the last blog post, A You Tube Video: Taking a Second Look at Images from Not-So-Great Morning at Fort DeSoto Park, here, my very favorite image was #1, Great Egret perched on Red Mangrove roots. I love the soft light and the pattern of the roots — a lovely environmental portrait. Two folks mentioned my favorite as the worst of the lot. Images 3, 4, 5, & 6 were all tied second place for me. Note that three of those four were “just portraits.” I thought that Image #2 was the weakest of the lot.
What’s Up?
On Sunday morning Dr. North and I headed back to The Celery Fields in Sarasota in hopes of having some good chances with the single Sandhill Crane chick that she had photographed on Friday morning. Our hopes were realized. The two crane chicks that had hatched here at Indian Lake Estates during the last week of February perished in early March within days of each other. I’ve been hoping for at least one more nest to hatch. On Monday morning, that hope was realized when I discovered a pair of 3-4 day old crane chicks at ILE. We did very well again.
On Sunday evening, Anita went down to the lake and found a second crane family with two somewhat larger chicks! Will miracles never cease?
I was happy to learn that Tim Griffy purchased the better of my two Induro GIT 304L Stealth tripods.
Today is Tuesday 24 March 2025. We will be driving over to Vero Estates for almost two weeks of Roseate Spoonbill photography at Stick Marsh. I will be there from 24 March through the morning of Tuesday 8 April. All In-the Field Sessions are sold out until the morning of April 6th. I have room for at least two folks at the AirBnb for the nights of the 5th, 6th, & 7th. If you would like to join me for a morning or three of Stick Marsh In-the-Field instruction please LMK via e-mail.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
|
Peter Kes is job hunting |
Peter Kes
Peter Kes, friend of 3 decades and longtime BAA blog webmaster, is a brilliant IT (information technology) and computer expert. He is currently running a Bushveld Farm in Dinokeng Game Reserve, Pretoria, Gauteng, RSA (Republic of South Africa) and is looking to re-locate. You can learn more about Peter and check out his impressive resume at his LinkedIn profile page here. You can contact Peter via e-mail.
Used Induro Tripod Bargains at Give-away Prices/One Sold on Day One
Your truly, Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, is offering the following used Induro tripods for sale as below. Each includes only the legs and insured ground shipping to your lower 48 address. Please contact artie via e-mail.
Induro Stealth GIT 304L Tripod
Price reduced $25.00 on 25 March 2025
Induro Stealth GIT 304L in very good to excellent condition: a steal at $250.00 (was $275.00) as this one is also in perfect working condition. The 304L was my go-to tripod for more than eight years. It is perfect for big lenses for folks as tall as 6 feet or so.
Induro Stealth GIT 505XL Tripod
Price reduced $50.00 on 25 March 2025
Induro Stealth GIT 505XXL (used only very rarely) in like new condition: an absolute steal at $475.00 (was $525.00). This is the monster of all tripods. It offers maximum strength and rigidity and can support 88.2 pounds of gear with ease. It stands 81.3″ tall with the legs fully extended. It is perfect for folks desiring maximum stability in windy conditions, those working from a fixed position with very slow shutter speeds, and in situations where you need to get very tall such as when working a tree nest possibly while standing on a ladder. This is not a tripod that you want to be carrying around in the field unless you are Superman.
I could not find a single one for sale anywhere in the world. I paid B&H $802.50 for this one when it was purchased new in 2021.
|
|
This image also was created on 22 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 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 640: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 (stopped down one stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:01:31am on a sunny morning. Wide/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #1: Royal Tern in breeding (alternate) plumage |
Head Hunting on My Own
Much as it had been on Thursday morning, North Beach was deader than dead at dawn when we returned on Saturday (only there were even fewer birds). I left early for my favorite morning backup spot as it had been pretty good on Thursday. But there were very few birds around so I headed back to North Beach to look for Anita. On the way up Outback Key, I ran into a small group of Royal Terns resting along the shoreline on a small sandbar. I knew that I could get close but I also knew that I did not want to sit down in the cold water to get on sun angle. So, I walked them away from the shoreline onto the sandbar just with a good sized tidal pool just beyond that. I eased onto the ground perhaps ten or twelve feet from the birds. The small flock re-shuffled but they did not fly. Once that I was on the ground, I knew that I had it made in the shade.
I butt-crawled a bit forward and a bit to my left trying to get the handsomest bird, the one with the raised crest, right on sun angle. That done, I bent forward at the waist to get a bit lower. The tidal pool made for a gorgeous blue background. After about ten minutes all the birds up and down the beach took flight at once. I am not sure what scared them; it might have been a raptor.
If I had been with another photographer, I am pretty sure that I would not have been able to duplicate my stealthy actions; sometimes, shooting by your lonesome pays large dividends.
|
|
This image also was created on 22 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 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 640: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 (stopped down one stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:02:41am on a sunny morning. Wide/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #2: Royal Tern in breeding (alternate) plumage |
If Possible, Stop Down When Working at Point Blank Range
Understand that with more than 99% of my bird photography, I am working at the wide open aperture so that I can use fast shutter speeds in conjunction with relatively low ISOs. When I am working close to the minimum focusing distance of a lens, however, I will stop down for some additional depth-of-field. When working relatively distant subjects with a telephoto lens, it is never necessary to stop down as depth of field increases exponentially as the distance to the subject increases.
With today’s Royal Tern head portraits, I worked at 1/2000 sec. at f/8 (stopped down one stop). An option would have been to go with 1/1000 sec. at f/16 (stopped down two stops).
Which is the Stronger Image
When selecting the two images for today’s blog post, one of today’s featured images really caught my eye. But in retrospect, I am not so sure which one I like best. What do you like about Image #1? What do you like about Image #2? Which one do you like best and why?
The Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM Lens
The more I used this lens either alone or with either TC, the more I have come to love it. It is fast, sharp, versatile, small, light, and eminently hand hold-able by pretty much everybody. Getting onto the terns with any lens on a tripod simply would not have worked as tripods are cumbersome and awkward to use. In short, if you need to get close they will scare the birds. A hand hold-able 600mm f/5.6 lens is nothing to sneeze at. Nor is a 300mm f/2.8 or a 420mm f/4, the latter my favorite flight rig when the birds are fairly close.
|
|
For those who did not use my link to purchase their Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens, you can order your 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 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. Be sure to use one of my affiliate links so that you 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.
BILD EXPO Presented by B&H
Why Attend? Speakers, Gear, Deals, and More!
Bild Expo is back! Join us at The Javits Center in New York City for an unforgettable event featuring 100+ expert speakers, 250+ exhibitors, hands-on experiences, and the world’s greatest creative community. B&H’s incredible show specials will be the icing on the cake! Whether you’re a seasoned pro, an enthusiast, or a beginner, at Bild you will get inspired, learn, meet like-minded people, and celebrate being part of this amazing world of creativity.
Click here or on the logo link above for more information.
Click here to register.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
They’re both great shots. Maybe #2 gets a slight edge. But just so, more back feathers as noted previously and head angle more on plane with the sensor. But minor details. Happy to have seen ’em. Did you find Ms. North?
I like #2 because the back feathers are more in focus. So I have company in Maggie, I liked #2 best yesterday as well.
Art: A couple of typos in the “What’s Up?”section of the blog: II instead of I and 8 February instead of 8 April.
Thanks, Pat. I fixed those two plus one more
with love, artie
I tend to lean toward image #1 with the tern’s head in a more upward angle. There is more separation and the pose feels more dynamic to me.
Great to see you commenting often Adrian.
with love, artie
In your heading, you mention a 600mm lens. Surely this should read 300mm?
For me, I prefer Image 1 as the bird appears more alert.
Surprised you felt yesterday’s Image 2 was your least favourite. I felt it was showing the bird in its environment, with a very pleasing sky…. augmenting the attractive landscape, but still not detracting from the bird as the main subject.
Thanks for your comments. The 300mm f/2.8 with the 2X teleconverter becomes a lightweight 600mm f/5.6.
I am glad that you liked my least favorite image. Yesterday your and Bob’s leas favorite image was my pick of the litter. Different tastes make life interesting.
with love, artie