What’s Up?
Today is Friday 27 MAR 2020. I am headed down to the lake soon to try for the large crane chicks in a marsh setting. After the fog lifts.
Martin Flight Photography Info
In the Martin Flight Photography blog post here, the two images were created from the same RAW file. I optimized Image #1 first but when I posted it, it looked way too dark to me. So I brought it into Photoshop and pulled the curve up a bit. Then, working on a duplicate layer I selected the bird using the Quick Selection Tool and — using Selective Color — took out some BLACK from the WHITEs and the Neutrals. I added a Regular Layer Mask and painted away 33% of the lightening on the near-underwing. No NIK or additional sharpening was used on Image #2 which was simply a lightened version of Image #1. Kudos to the many folks who get that right,.
Alternative Medicine
About 32 years ago I learned that I had a bleeding ulcer. The diagnosis had been missed by my family physician for several years. When he was on vacation I saw a lady doctor who listened to my symptoms, stuck her gloved finger up my butt, tested for blood, and nailed the correct diagnosis. I was put on Prilosec (the “purple pill” of TV advertisements) for seven years. While it alleviated the symptoms, it did nothing to heal my ulcer.
I met Dr. Cliff Oliver about 24 years ago when he attended a Bosque IPT. He counseled me on my eating habits (I asked him …) and when I told him about my ulcer, he said, “That’s an easy one.” I started a three-month regimen of L-Histidine, L-Glutamine, and DGL, a licorice tablet. My symptoms disappeared in 90 days and so did my bleeding ulcer. I was impressed and have been working with Cliff for nearly a quarter of a century now.
Dr. Klinghardt on Coronavirus
Three days ago directed me to a series of YouTube videos, ‘Dr. Klinghardt’s latest discoveries on COVID-19.”
If you would like to see if an alternative view of coronavirus makes sense to you (it does to me), check these out:
Dr. Klinghardt COVID-19 Q&A 10th March 2020
Dr. Klinghardt Corona interview Klinghardt Institute March 2020
Dr Klinghardt Corona interview Klinghardt Institute March 25 2020
Dr. Klinghardt is a world-renowned medical doctor and researcher, famous for his ground-breaking work on Autism and Lyme Disease. He explains how the disease progresses and his successes in treating patients with COVID-19. When you are done watching the videos you will want to turn your wi-fi off as often as possible. You can access the three videos above and one more on the same subject on the Klinghardt Institute YouTube page here. Learn about the institute here.
Based on the videos and advice from Dr. Oliver, I have ordered the following from Amazon:
- BRIOTECH Topical Skin Spray – All Natural Pure HOCl Hypochlorous Solution
- Beekeeper’s Naturals Spray 95% Bee Propolis Extract-Natural Immune Support & Sore Throat Relief Antioxidants (any spray-able Propolis will do)
- NatureBell Quercetin 1000mg
- Progena Meditrend – Andrographis 200mg
Arrival dates vary but nothing is coming really soon as the stuff is hard to get. I will likely try to get the HOCl and the Propolis spray locally today as they are both preventative.
If you would like to learn how I will be using the stuff above, please send me an e-mail.
Today’s Entertainment
Grace VanderWaal: 12-Year-Old Ukulele Player Gets Golden Buzzer – America’s Got Talent 2016
BIRDS AS ART
BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The Nikon 500mm PF Lens
Steve Elkins at Bedfords asked me to let folks know that he has two of these hard-to-get-your-hands-on lenses in stock. The 500 PF was my very favorite Nikon lens. Save $50 by getting in touch with Steve as noted below.
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.
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This image was created on 12 MAR 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 397mm) with the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 640. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 5:45pm a sunny afternooon. Tracking Flexible Spot M AF-C did the job. Image #1: Osprey in nest on dead palm tree |
The Low Osprey Nest
A visiting friend discovered this new Osprey nest atop a dead palm about two weeks ago. It is the lowest osprey nest I have seen here at ILE, about 40 feet up. There are several natural nests that are too cluttered to be great for photography and lots of platform nests from 60 to 80-feet high.
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This image was created on 12 MAR 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the Induro GIT 304L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the blazingly fast Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body) that features incredibly accurate AF. ISO 3200. Exposure determined by Zebras: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:10:17 am early on a sunny morning. Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Osprey landing with nesting material |
Osprey Landing With Nesting Material
I went with 840mm by going to a longer focal length allows for a lower angle of inclination — I am able to move well away from the nest so that I do not have to elevate the lens as much as when I am hand holding the 200-600. The wind and sky conditions determine how well I will do or if I will even try. Note the virtually noise-free SONY ISO 3200 image, a result of exposing well to the right.
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This image was created on 12 MAR 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the Induro GIT 304L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the blazingly fast Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body) that features incredibly accurate AF. ISO 800. Exposure determined by Zebras: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:10:17 am early on a sunny morning. Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #3: Osprey landing with nesting material |
The SONY a9 ii 20 fps Frame-Rate Has Its Advantages
This frame (_A925143) was actually the second image created after Image #2 (_A925141). _A925142 was deleted because I clipped a wing. In fact, even though no wingtips were clipped, I did expand the canvases with both Image #2 and Image #3 to give the bird more room in the frame.
The Stronger Image?
Which is the stronger image, Image #2 or Image #3? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each image?
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The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site GuideYou can purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store. |
The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide
126 pages, 87 photographs by Joe Przybyla and Arthur Morris.
The PDF for this e-Guide is an electronic download sent via e-mail.
Purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.
I had thought about doing a guide to some of the great but little-known photo hotspots around central Florida for about a decade, but those plans never came to fruition. I met Joe online in the Avian Forum at BirdPhotographer’s.Net about two years ago. Joe’s photography has improved tremendously over the past few years; he credits the BAA blog, my books and PDFs, and his participation on BPN. The one thing that I learned right from the get-go about Joe is that he is a hard and tenacious worker, always striving to improve his skills and to grow his knowledge base. As he knew of more than a few good spots in central Florida, I broached the idea of us doing a photographic site guide that covered many of the little-known photographic hotspots from Brandon to Lakeland to Joe Overstreet Road to Indian Lake Estates (my Florida home for the past 20 years or so). After more than many, many dozens of hours of effort, The BIRDS AS ART Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide is now a reality. Thanks to Joe’s wife Dottie for her review of our writing. We all learned once again that writing is a process, a back and forth process. All thanks to the white pelicans of Lakeland. Here are the locations that are detailed in this e-Guide:
- Indian Lake Estates: Sandhills Cranes with chicks and colts, lots of vultures, and Ospreys up the kazoo!
- Gatorland, Kissimmee: Learn to make great images of wading birds in a cluttered rookery.
- The Brandon Rookery: Great for nesting Wood Storks, Great Egrets, and more.
- Circle Bar B Reserve, Lakeland: Here you will find a great variety of avian subjects in a great variety of habitats.
- Lake Morton, Lakeland: There are lots of silly tame birds here including and especially American White Pelican during the colder months.
- Lake Mirror, Lakeland: Tame Anhingas, Limpkins, and a zillion White Ibises at times.
- West Lake Parker, Lakeland: Here you will have a chance for two difficult birds, Snail Kite, and Purple Gallinule.
- Joe Overstreet Road, Kenansville: Crested Caracara, meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrike, and much more on the fenceposts and barbed wire.
Each location includes a map, a detailed description of the best spots, best season, light and time of day instructions, the expected species, and an educational and inspirational gallery that is designed to open your eyes as to the possibilities.
You can purchase a copy here in the BAA Online Store.
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 :).
I prefer image #2. The bird is a bit to left of center and is flying into the frame. The bird in #3 has passed the center point and is beginning to fly out of the frame, but is still so centered that I feel the composition is more static compared to #2.
Artie both nice images. I like Image #3 the best. In Image #2 Number the head intersects with the wing. Carrying nest material adds greatly. And #2 has a better wing position but only on one side.
I assume you know they are two different birds one of the birds has a broken alula.
Kevin, Thanks for commenting. The bird in each frame is the same bird. The wing position and the feathers interacting with the wind has changed the position of the feathers you refer to. Not that the images were made in the same second and that the nesting material in the talons is identical …
I will assume that you will agree 🙂
with love, a
I love image #2 with the wider wingspan that shows a little more well done Artie
I am a little confused though under #2 you wrote, Note the virtually noise-free SONY ISO 3200 image, a result of exposing well to the right but one of the captions states an ISO of 800.
Both images are beautiful and anyone would love to have but i am a fan of #2
Hey Bob,
Thanks for pointing out my second cut and paste typo; both ISO were 3200. The error has been fixed.
with love, artie
I like the wing position on #2 but the added brightness in the underwing of #3. Since the exposures are the same (in manual) I am assuming the difference may have been your choices in post.
I would be proud of either, had I been fortunate enough to have made them. Outstanding sharpness and detail. Thanks.
Thanks, Guy. The difference in brightness is mostly due to the angle of the wings to the light …
with love, artie
On a different note if I may, I have the two DVD set of “The Johnny Cash TV Show” I bought it some years ago on Amazon. Watching his shows will take you back in time to all those singers and groups you grew up with, and Johnny made a stipulation if he did the show he would choose all the guests, which the producers gave into. My favourite singer growing up was Waylon, he was one of the guest and lived with Johnny for a while, there he was with his good looks and slicked back hair, very different from his “Outlaw Years”. You will also see a very young Bob Dylan, but the one that surprised me most was a young good looking well groomed Hank Williams Junior.
What impressed me watching these shows was how gracious and kind he was to his guests, also just how relaxed he was with everything, to me Johnny Cash was the coolest dude I have ever had the pleasure to watch!
Thanks. There are a bunch of the shows available on YouTube and in some of the retrospectives as well.
with love, a
They are both strong, beautiful images, but my favourite is image #2. By seeing more of the underwings I am able to see the beautiful patterns all the different individual feathers make.
Sandhill Crane(?) nest on dead palm tree
It looked like a crane when I pressed the shutter button!
with love, artie
ps; cut and paste typo was fixed. With thanks.
Would choose #2. Like the wing position better in #3 but like the placement better in #2 and the diagonal outstretched wing draws your attention to the bird. Both very nice.
#3 is my fave because: the underwings are more beautiful (to me) with more lighting and the feather detail shows up more. I like the white head feathers against the wing as they show up more than the feathers against the sky. The bill in #3 shows up better because it is against the sky –not the tip merging with the wing as in #2. This took some hard thinking because on first look these are both great.
I also like the head turned more parallel to the camera better in #3