Homer Variety and Exhilaration!

What’s Up?

Everyone from Group 2 of the 2020 Homer IPT is headed home. Very happy. My early morning flight from Homer to Anchorage that began in a light snowfall was short and uneventful. As the flight was not full, I got to carry on my wayward Think Tank rolling bag. I began working on this blog post on Sunday 8 MAR 2020 at the Anchorage Airport during a six-plus hour layover and continued on the flight to Seattle and finished it while laying over for the red-eye flight to ATL and finally arriving at about 9:15am (if no delays are encountered). I should be home at about noon.

Please leave a comment and let us know which of today’s images is your favorite and why you liked it.

This blog post took more six hours to prepare; please use the links 🙂

Feeling Great!

On my last check-up right before leaving for Alaska, I learned that my a1C was 5.7 without having taken a single insulin injection for nearly four months. The combination of intermittent fasting and a ketogenic diet was amazingly effective. With my daily swims and the Cardio-Bursts program, my blood pressure was a record-low 130 over 70 in the doctor’s office. Best of all, the slightly elevated kidney function values of the past few years disappeared. Buoyed by my success, I did fall off the wagon a bit in Homer but will get back on the program when I get to ILE today, Monday 8 MAR 2020.

In the same vein, I was totally stoked in Homer, full of energy and feeling great. My left knee did not bother me at all and I never once wished that I could sleep in. Everyone on both IPTS was amazed at my get-up-and-go and my passion for both bird photography and teaching.

The Sony Camera Videos and Pre-publication e-Guide Costs and Discount Info

The cost of the SONY e-Guide is $100.00 US and will include one of the camera set-up videos — we offer one video each for the a7r iii, the a7r iv, the a9, and the a9 ii — and the written guide with the galleries. The guide is now 98% done and you will — of course, receive the final version when it is completed. I sent out the third draft today to those who have purchased the Guide with or without the discount.

Folks who have used my B&H links or purchased their SONY gear from Bedfords will receive said discount based exactly on how much they spent. If you spent more than $10,000 you will receive one free video and the e-Guide. Additional camera videos are $25.00 each. If you spent $2400, you will receive a 24% discount, and so on and so forth. And again, additional camera videos will be $25.00 each.

I will need time to verify your B&H purchases so folks will need to send their receipts and then be a bit patient. It is much easier to verify Bedfords’ purchases but I need those receipts as well.

If you have not used BAA links, please do so in the future. If that is the case and you would like the e-Guide now, please send a Paypal for $100 US to birdsasart@verizon.net and be sure to include the words “SONY Pre-publication Guide” in the Paypal e-mail along with the name of your camera or cameras so that you can receive the correct video or videos. Please add $25 for each additional camera video. Be sure to send a copy of the Paypal transaction to me via e-mail.

Folks who have used BAA links to purchase their SONY gear should send their receipts to me via e-mail asap and let me know which camera videos they need. I will verify their purchases as quickly as possible and send a quote to be paid via Paypal as above.

Thanks to all who have properly used my B&H links or gone through the fabulous Steve Elkins at Bedfords, and thanks to everyone for having faith in the information that I provide, knowing that it will be the best available anywhere.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase over $1000.00, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H. Those include the SONY a7r IV, the SONY 200-600, the SONY 600mm f/4 GM, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is eager to please.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers 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 on 7 MAR 2020, the last day of the 2nd Homer IPT. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) with the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 2500. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 3:02pm on a cloudy afternoon. Tracking Flexible Spot M AF-C performed well. Click to enlarge and enjoy a slightly larger version. Imager #1: Bald Eagle, immature: head portrait

The SONY 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens/a9 ii Combination

During my 15 days on and off the eagle boat, I used the SONY 70-200mm f/2.8 OSS GM lens most often with the a9 ii and the 1.4X teleconverter more than any other combo. Comparing those two rigs reveals that the 70-200mm with the 1.4X TC is faster at the long end by 1 1/3 stops (f/4 as compared to f/6.3) and is a lot lighter (3.26 pounds as compared to 4.65 pounds.). Thus, the 200-600 often requires higher ISOs when photographing flight and action, but the reach advantage and focal length range are hard to beat. On our epic last day (2500+ images with 297 first-edit keepers for me), I decided to leave the 70-200 in my rolling bag and work entirely with the 2-6. My somewhat new strategy for photographing flight and action — we had plenty of both — was to start at the short end — somewhere between 200 and 300mm — in case an eagle appeared out of nowhere at close range. When I spotted a bird flyng in from a distance I would zoom to a longer focal length — usually somewhere between 400 and 600mm and zoom out as needed (often anticipating the best focal length). Focal lengths in the low 200mm-range were often the sweet spot. For head portraits zooming in to 500 or 600mm was often the ticket. As high ISO noise with properly exposed SONY files being practically negligible, I think that going to the amazingly versatile 2-6 more often might have been a good idea … Though I used the 2-6 for all six hours on our last outing, I was not at all fatigued when we got back to the harbor … The implications of the information in this paragraph (along with the less-than $2K price tag) are huge for the average bird, wildlife, and nature photographer.

Do understand that the 200-600 may be too heavy for some folks. If that is you your images will suffer as fatigue sets in; you will have trouble properly framing your images and image sharpness may fall or as well, even with th4e SONY a9 ii.

This image was also created on 7 MAR 2020, the last day of the 2nd Homer IPT. Again, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 329mm) with the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 1250. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 2:43pm on a then cloudy-bright afternoon. Tracking Flexible Spot M AF-C performed quite well. Click to enlarge and enjoy a slightly larger version. Image #2: Bald Eagle adult, walking vertical

Shooting Verticals with Tracking Flexible Spot M AF

Shooting Verticals with Tracking Flexible Spot requires lots of practice. In the new guide, we talk about the necessity of being relatively stable when using Track Flexible Spot so that you can place thee box with care and then keep it on the bird’s face while re-composing. Doing that with verticals is far more difficult than with horiztonals. In the RAW file for this image, I struggled: the bird wound up off-center and too low in the frame. Expanding canvas using Content Awaree Fill allowed me to create the rather pleasing image design above.

This image was also created on 7 MAR 2020, the last day of the 2nd Homer IPT. Again, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 329mm) with the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 1250. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 2:52pm on a then cloudy-bright afternoon. Tracking Flexible Spot M AF-C performed amazingly well here. Click to enlarge and enjoy a slightly larger version. Image #3: Bald Eagle adult taking flight

Tracking Flexible Spot M AF

Here, the bird bolted forward right at me and I simply fired. I was astounded that the Tracking AF tracked perfectly. The SONY AF technology is nothing short of amazing. In this case it succeeded in a situation where I gave it no chance at all …

This image was created on 7 MAR 2020, the last day of the 2nd Homer IPT. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 329mm) with the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 2500. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 2:01pm on a cloudy afternoon. Center Zone Continuous (C) AF got the job done. According to Raw Digger, the area of sharpest focus was at the base of the near-wing right on the same plane as the bird’s eye. Raw Digger showed 0% overexposed and 0% underexposed pixels. Learning to use Zebras correctly with ISO on the rear dial makes getting the right exposure child’s play. Click to enlarge and enjoy a slightly larger version. Image #4: Bald Eagle taking flight from frozen waterfall

Variety and Exhilaration!

Photographing at Kachemak Bay with Clemens Van der Werf and Greg Gulbransen on a 4-day busman’s holiday/IPT scouting foray and experiencing several epic days with and without snow, I was not positive that the first Homer IPT would be quite as wonderful. It was, and each day was totally different as we discovered and created a variety of new, different, and incredibly exciting situations. For six days. Then, I enjoyed my sole day off and thought that the second IPT could not be as lucky as I (and the first IPT group) had been. I am thrilled to say that I was wrong. For five straight days, the second IPT group experienced thrilling new opportunities each day. And tons of variety. In addition to the eagles, we photographed Sea Otters, Harbor Seals on ice, and large flocks of Rock Sandpipers. Thanks to multiple-IPT veteran Kevin Watson for correcting my “Purple Sandpiper” mis-identification. Jeez, I almost forgot to mention that we were constantly surrounded by stunning scenery pretty much everywhere you looked …

On Saturday, we finished off the trip with yet another epic day that began (and ended for me) on the Homer Spit photographing gorgeous Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches. In between, we got to photograph the eagles at a new, rarely-visited location, enjoyed a two-hour session at a frozen waterfall, and absolutely killed at my very favorite spot, The Perch. (The forecast snow did not arrive till evening.) After we returned to the harbor, the group headed back too Land’s End to warm up and head for dinner. I headed back out for another shot at the rosy-finches. What can I say? I love bird photography.

The Greatest-ever Bald Eagle Experience IPTs

IPT #1: SAT 20 FEB 2021 through the full day on THURS 25 FEB MAR 1, 2021. Six full days: $5499.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 4.

IPT #2: SAT 27 FEB 2021 through the full day on WED 3 MAR 2021. Five full days: $4599.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 4

Please note the slightly revised dates for IPT #2 above.

From Homer, Alaska

We will do two 2-hour or one 4-hour boat trip to Kachemak Bay each day (weather permitting). Our schedule will be flexible and driven by the wind and sky conditions. We will have numerous and varied mind-boggling opportunities to photograph Bald Eagle, a hugely popular species. We will be feeding the eagles to attract them into photographic range. The trip is costly because chartering the boat is expensive, the fish are very expensive at $1.25/pound (all on me), the costs of in-room breakfasts and one sit-down meal/day are included, hotel to dock transfers are included, as is lodging (double-occupancy). The cost of a single supplement is $90.00/night

We will do lots of flight photography from the boat and on land until you can no longer lift your lens. We will get off the boat on various islands to photograph the birds both perched and in flight. This species takes five years to reach maturity; we will get to photograph birds os all age-classes from juvenile plumage to full adults with their gleaming white heads (and everything in between). There will be numerous informal Image Editing, Photoshop, and Image Review sessions throughout each trip. As I am conversant in Canon, Nikon, and SONY I can help you better understand your gear no matter what you are shooting.

Going up earlier than all other tours this year proved to be fantastic with tons of snow on the ground to light up the eagle’s underwings. You will usually not enjoy those conditions on the March tours (unless you are very lucky). In addition, the eagles are more ravenous early in the season. In FEB 2020 we often had 30-40 or more eagles in the air around the boat with as many as 75 perched in trees or resting on the black sand beaches. Folks who want to do some photography locally during down-time may wish to rent a vehicle.

It is best to register right now to save your spot. Register for both trips and apply a $300 discount.

A $2000 credit card deposit is required to hold your spot. Call Jim ASAP at the office weekdays at 863-221-2372 to leave your deposit. Your balance will be payable only by check no later than July 31, 2020. If you fail to pay your balance, your spot will be forfeited to someone on the waiting list and you will lose your deposit. If you plan on joining me, please e-mail immediately or try me on my cell at 863-221-2372 with any questions or to let me know of your plans. First come, first served.

Not included: your round-trip airfare from home to Homer, AK through Anchorage and back. Your second sit-down meal each day. Alcoholic beverages at our sit down meal.

On these IPTs you will learn:

• 1- The basics and fine points of digital exposure; how to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure (or before if you are using SONY gear).
• 2- How and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).
• 4- Lots about bird behavior and how to use that knowledge to help you create better images.
• 6- To spot good situations and to choose the best perspective.
• 7- To see, evaluate, and understand the light.
• 8- To design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system.
• 9- And perhaps most importantly, to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography.
• 11- More than you could ever imagine.

If In Doubt …

If you are 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 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 or Bedfords, 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 or Bedfords 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 regularly visit 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 :).