The 1200mm Advantage to Canon. Learn Why ...

Stuff

Things got a bit better on Monday morning at the Gilbert Water Ranch Riparian Preserve. I had some great chance with Black-necked Stilts in very early morning light with dark green water backgrounds. And I made a few nice frames of a displaying Snowy Egret. Then I tried another spot and did well with both Northern Shoveler and drake Cinnamon Teal. The males shovelers are exceedingly difficult to photograph as their dark green heads look black with most head angles but seem to light up to a uniform green only when they are turned slightly away from you and the light.

We had a ball photographing ducks in flight on Monday afternoon. And the dinner in the room and early to bed.

The Streak

Today makes two hundred eighteen days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about 40 minutes to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not…), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections and my continuing insanity willing.

The Used Gear Page

Action on the Used Gear Page recently has been fantastic. You can see all current listings on the Used Photo Gear page here.

Booking.Com

Several folks on the Spoonbill IPTs used the Booking.Com link below and got great rates and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks whom I see in the field, and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created last spring on the Fort DeSoto IPT on April 20, 2017. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted BLUBB-supported Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering plus about one stop as framed: 1/1250 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. AWB. 9:14am on a clear day. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -10. Three AF points to the right and one row up from the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was placed on the bird’s eye. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Royal Tern in breeding plumage with shaggy crest

1200mm Advantage to Canon. Learn Why …

As I have said before, though I am able to create sharp images with the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III, and the Nikon D850, I am not nearly as confident with the rig as I was with my similar Canon set-up. That may come with time but I am not sure of that. One of the big problems with the Nikon 600/2XTC/D850 rig is that as you move the focus points away from the center AF point the camera has more difficulty focusing. And once you get to the outer AF points the camera is pretty much blind.

My feeling right now is that I need a lot faster shutter speeds to make sharp images at 1200mm with Nikon than I did with Canon. I am not sure if that is because of any differences between Nikon’s Vibration Reduction (VR) system and Canon’s Image Stabilization (IS) system or if it is due to any presently unknown factors … Time will tell.

Royal Tern in Breeding Plumage

Royal Tern in breeding plumage is a splendidly handsome bird with its jet-black crest and bright orange bill. At times, getting close is a snap and you can make head portraits with an intermediate telephoto lens. At other times, especially when they are actively courting a mate, you will need your longest lens and a teleconverter. Fort DeSoto in spring is the best place that I know of for getting close to them and making lots of great images.

Spring at DeSoto is often magical

DeSoto IPT #1 Sunrise: 7:07 am. Sunset: 6:22pm.

3 1/2 DAYS: SUN 15 APR thru the morning session on WED 18 APR: $1599. Limit 5 photographers.

You must purchase a season Parking Pass in advance for early entry. Click here and scroll down for info. If you are not a local, the six month pass if fine. Best to order by mail. Join me to photograph a wide variety of birds of the shore including pelicans, gulls, terns, sandpipers, oystercatchers, heron, egrets, and night-herons. Many in full breeding plumage. Most are ridiculously tame. Osprey likely. Learn to get the right exposure, flight photography techniques, my secret DeSoto locations, how to see the best situations (nobody is better at that than me), and how to make great images in extremely cluttered situations. Enjoy some great sunrises and sunsets.

Which will offer better opportunities, Desoto #1 or DeSoto #2? I have no idea. Both have the potential to be great.

DeSoto is one of the very few bird photography hotspots that can be great any given day of the year/strong>

DeSoto IPT #2. Sunrise: 6:41am. Sunset: 8:12pm.

SUN 13 MAY thru the morning session on WED 16 MAY: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1599.

You must purchase a season Parking Pass in advance for early entry. Click here and scroll down for info. If you are not a local, the six month pass if fine. Best to order by mail. Join me to photograph a wide variety of birds of the shore including pelicans, gulls, terns, sandpipers, oystercatchers, heron, egrets, and night-herons. Many in full breeding plumage. Most are ridiculously tame. Osprey likely. Learn to get the right exposure, flight photography techniques, my secret DeSoto locations, how to see the best situations (nobody is better at that than me), and how to make great images in extremely cluttered situations. Enjoy some great sunrises and sunsets.

Which will offer better opportunities, Desoto #1 or DeSoto #2? I have no idea. Both have the potential to be great.

Help Support the Blog

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If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

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Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).