What’s Up?
Tuesday, my next-to-last photography day in San Diego this year, seemed not quite as spectacular as Monday had been, yet I created more than 5,000 images. No worries, I picked my 209 keepers in 31 minutes using Photo Mechanic! The forecast had been for partly to mostly cloudy all day. It turned out to be barely cloudy to sunny and clear. Today’s two featured “surfing” images were created late in the morning. I met Cliff Oliver and Annie for lunch at El Pescador on Pearl Street, and then returned to the cliffs without a nap! All in all, it was a great day.
Please be absolutely sure to click on the surfing pelican pano to view the spectacular high-res version!
Folks who own the San Diego Site Guide and want to try for the surfing pelicans, walk south past the Green Patch on the rocky shelf with your longest lens. Sunny mid-mornings with a south wind are best.
Today is Wednesday 26 January 2022. The forecast for this morning is for cloudy with light rain. Well, I might have lots of time for packing; I fly home oh-dark-hundred tomorrow. Oh-dark-hundred is flight attendant-speak for very, very, early. I need to be at curbside check-in when it opens at 4:30 sharp.
Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes 75 days in a row with a new one.
Please remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks who, like me, spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.
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Sony Alpha 1 Bodies in Stock at Bedfords/free card offer!
Steve Elkins of Bedfords let me know recently that he had several Sony a1 bodies in stock. If one of them has your name on it, please click here and be sure to enter the BIRDSASART coupon code check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. Right now, in lieu of the 3% credit refunded to the card you used for your purchase, you will receive a Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card, a $399.99 value!
Brand New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy
Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.
Money Saving Reminder
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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. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.
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This image was created on 25 January 2022 at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height on the low cliffs south of Green Patch, I used the no-longer-available Induro GIT 304L/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 400. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 11:11:53am on a sunny morning with lots of moisture in the air from the big breakers. Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Human-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #1: Surfer riding wave |
Photographing Surfers
Cliff and Annie, now both shooting the Sony 200-600/a1 rigs, have developed a decent business selling images of surfers to the individual surfers. To see some of their work and to learn more, see their Creative Surf Photography La Jolla website here.
There was a big surf yesterday with six to eight foot waves. So while I was waiting for the pelicans to fly south, low over the breaking waves, I tried my hand at photographing a surfer or two. Cliff and Annie shoot only JPEGs so they must guard against ever over-exposing the whites of the breaking waves. When they saw some of my images — I had to download at lunch as I needed one clean card for the afternoon, they were astounded at how washed out my raw files looked I explained the need to expose-to-the-right when shooting raw and then explained that the images would look great after being optimized.
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This image was created on 25 January 2022 at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height on the low cliffs south of Green Patch, I used the no-longer-available Induro GIT 304L/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 400. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 11:14:19am on a sunny morning with lots of moisture in the air from the big breakers. Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Human-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #4: Four Pacific-race Brown Pelicans flying south over breaking waves |
Surfing Pelicans
I had tried the surfing pelicans on Monday. With the clear skies and south winds, I tried again yesterday morning. I did not have many good chances either day. Checking the time on my camera, I said to myself, “I will leave at 11:30 sharp.” Anyhoo, when I looked far to the north and saw four pelicans flying south, I was happy and hopeful. I got the lens on the flock of four and was thrilled when they turned and flew toward me, low over the waves. I was using Tracking: Center Zone and could do nothing but trust it.
I placed the center of the zone on the brightest bird, the one in the back left with the red bill pouch, and then re-composed by panning. The AF system tracked the bright bird! All of the four subjects were reasonably sharp due to the great distance to the birds. Remember: as the distance to the subject increases, depth-of-field increases dramatically.
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The San Diego Site Guide |
The San Diego Site Guide
Whether you are visiting San Diego for photography for the first time, or live in the area and have done the pelicans many dozens of times, you will learn a ton by studying the San Diego Site Guide. Why spend days stumbling around when you can know exactly where and when to be depending on the wind direction and sky conditions? In addition to the pelican primer, there is great info on the best beaches for the gorgeous gulls, on Marbled Godwit, on the lower cliffs, Lesser Scaup, and Wood and Ring-necked Ducks as well.
This is one of our oldest guides, so the photos are not great. But the information is still solid and relevant. All of the great spots are detailed. I met a nice man shooting a Sony 600 GM with the a7r IV. He did not know where to be every morning. He will be there this morning!
In any case, you can learn more or purchase your copy here.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Well worth the wait, Artie. Fabulous shot.