Back of the Left Hand on the Beach! 200-600/a1 Lethality

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Why?

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Despite the cloudy-with-thunderstorms forecast, Monday morning at Jekyll Point was still and fabulous. And clear and sunny. We arrived in the dark to shoot the pre-down orange glow. I re-learned an lesson that I had learned many years ago — and had forgotten … Image and lesson here soon. With breeze against sun at sunrise, we killed on incoming backlit gulls and tern landing right at us. As the wind shifted lightly to the south we had a gorgeous Snowy Egret and some Willets in a tidal creek. After our morning session, Eric and I headed to Brunswick to do some grocery shopping. With wind against sun on a beautiful afternoon, we opted not to make the walk out to Jekyll Point and instead, visited several other spots on the island with the expected results. As Meatloaf says, Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.

Today is Tuesday 5 April 2022. Eric and I will likely be headed to Harris Neck NWR in Richmond County, GA. The forecast for the morning is for partly cloudy with a gentle SE breeze followed by severe thunderstorms for the entire afternoon. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes twenty-six days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn …

This image was created on 3 April 2022 at Jekyll Point, Jekyll Island, GA. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 2000. 1/1600 second at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 6:34:39pm on a sunny afternoon. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird/Face-Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Dunlin in surf

Back of the Left Hand on the Beach!

To work at ground level, behind by sitting down.On clear days you need to try to get on sun angle. Then place the back of your left hand on the beach with your palm facing the sky and supporting the lens. You will work the tilted rear screen. Reading glasses are a must for me. It is a good idea to keep the monitor level activated so that you at least have a clue as to what level is. Handling the lens and framing the subject is awkward, and zooming in or out is difficult at best. I clipped lots of tails, and missed on tons of action and take-off chances. But getting a few good ones right at water level makes the risk worthwhile for me. As with many images made using this technique, this one needed to be leveled.

This image was also created on 3 April 2022 at Jekyll Point, Jekyll Island, GA. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 2000. 1/640 second at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 7:01:21pm on a sunny afternoon. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird/Face-Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Laughing Gull in surf calling

Trusting AF

When working at ground level, it is necessary to trust your camera’s AF system implicitly. Having the level activated clutters the viewfinder and makes it difficult to see how well the autofocus system is performing. That’s where the trust comes in. And as always, you can get to Carnegie Hall by practicing, practicing, and practicing some more.

This image was created on 3 April 2022 at Jekyll Point, Jekyll Island, GA. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 524mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 2000. 1/1600 second at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 7:26:55pm on a sunny afternoon. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird/Face-Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Laughing Gull screaming at fly-by

Sony 200-600 Lethality

It has become obvious to me that the Sony 200-600/Alpha 1 combo is the best-ever by far walk around super-telephoto rig for bird photography, zoom or otherwise. To be able to take a walk on the beach without a huge heavy lens and a tripod and make images like those featured here today is a blessing. In addition you have a deadly flight photography lens and a rig that does very well with the 1.4X TC on sunny days getting you out to 840mm. If you can hand hold this less-than six pound combo, you need to seriously think about switching to Sony …

If you cannot afford the a1, the 200-600 with an a9 II is a close second, and still better than anything else out there.

High Level Questions

1- Which of today’s three images was the most difficult to create? Why?

2- Which of today’s three image succeeded in part because of sheer luck?

Click on the composite image to enjoy the incredible quality of the hi-res JPEG. Clockwise from upper left clockwise and back around to the center: Royal Tern in flight with squid for chick; Royal Tern chick on beach; Royal Tern in flight with shrimp for young; Royal Tern chick — double overhead wing stretch; Royal Tern landing with greenback for chick; Royal Tern in flight with juvenile mahi mahi for chick; Brown Pelican — large chick preening; Laughing Gull in fresh juvenal plumage; Royal Tern chick begging; Many Royal Terns with many chicks on face of dune.

I first visited the breeding bird colony at Jacksonville in late June 2021. I was astounded. There were many thousands of pairs of Royal Terns nesting along with about 10,000 pairs of Laughing Gulls. In addition to the royals, there were some Sandwich Terns nesting. And there are several dozen pairs of Brown Pelicans nesting on the ground. Flight photography was non-stop astounding. And photographing the tern chicks was relatively easy. Folks could do the whole trip with the Sony 200-600, the Canon 100-500 RF, or the Nikon 500 PF or 200-500 VR. With a TC in your pocket for use on sunny days. Most of the action is within 100 yards of where we park (on the beach). As with all bird photography, there are times when a super-telephoto lens with either TC is the best tool for the job.

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Typos

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