Your Call
Which of today’s two featured images do you prefer? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice.
What’s Up?
The Google-maps supposed drive of “three hours 44 minutes” took five hours 44 minutes with a few pit stops, several construction delays, one grocery shopping stop, and two big accidents. We headed out to the beach a bit to early at about 4:30pm and encountered a bright early afternoon sun with the wind blowing directly at it from the southeast. It was time to employ the wind against strategies covered in recent blog posts. So we did. A big dark cloud late in the day provided our best opportunities.
Today is Saturday 16 July. The forecast looks perfect for both morning and afternoon with big thunderstorms scheduled for midday. 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 one hundred eighteen days in a row with a new one.
Saturday morning was excellent. The wind, however, was not as advertised. It blew gently from the north by a bit west. Fortunately it clouded over by 7:30am. I created another 2800 images, mostly flight. I taught David and John the basics of positing yourself near a group of terns with the wind behind you so that the incoming adults with fish are flying right at you as they come in to look for their large chicks. I call this “sitting on a flock of terns.” It works on any beach anywhere. The one problem that we had to deal with was having too many birds in flight in the frame at the same time!
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 to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!
JAX In-the-Field Sessions
I have room for one photographer for four sessions at Huguenot Memorial Park along with an inexpensive shared room at our lovely AirBnB. Sunday afternoon through Tuesday morning. If interested, please e-mail ASAP.
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This image was created on 15 July 2022 at Huguenot Memorial Park, just northeast of Jacksonville, FL. I used the Robus RCM-439 4-Section Carbon Fiber Monopod, 65/Wimberley MonoGimbal Head-supported Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Royal Tern — circling fly-by with shrimp |
Wind Against Sun and Circling Flight
With the wind blowing almost directly against the sun, we eventually found some circling birds less than one hundred years from my SUV. Many, like the bird in Image #1, were carrying for items for their young. Though I had not begun picking my keepers from the first afternoon, I did grab two images for today’s blog post. Now I have almost 6000 photos to go through. I am hoping to get a few more good ones (and am pretty sure that I will).
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This image was created on 3 July 2022 at Huguenot Memorial Park, just northeast of Jacksonville, FL. I used the Robus RCM-439 4-Section Carbon Fiber Monopod, 65/Wimberley MonoGimbal Head-supported Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enable performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Royal Tern — backlit, braking to land |
A Really Good Situation
We were doing well with the circling birds. At about 7:00pm, a light cloud edged in front of the sun. I turned around to check out the sky and was glad to see the sun right on the edge of a large dark cloud to the west. Best of all, lots of terns were landing right at us with their tails gently backlit. I suggested setting a “compromise” exposure, one that would not toast the brightly backlit birds near the sun, and would be only slightly exposed for the bird’s against darker cloud backgrounds (like Image #2).
Image Design Question
Would you have moved the sea oats stalk in the middle of the frame to the left side of the frame? Why or why not?
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Number 2 for me. Like the composition and the open mouth of the bird.
I prefer the second image. I see the bird better, because the shrimp in the first one confuses the view of the tern’s head, and we see MORE of the bird in the second shot. I also like the leading lines from the vegetation in the second image, whereas the first only has clear blue sky behind the bird. I prefer the action in the second image, instead of the static flight shot of the first. I much prefer the second!
I like the second one best. It’s the way I usually see terns – open-mouthed and screaming! I absolutely love them – but I wear a sturdy hat when I’m near them. 🙂
Thanks, Andy. The Royals are not anywhere near as aggressive as the smaller Sterna terns like the commons and the Arctics.
with love, artie
Yup – the arctics are seriously all about themselves – and so gorgeous! Hope to join you to see these one of these days – and to talk A-1! (just switched from Nikon to Sony and love it!)
Both of these bird photos are cute and interesting and well made Arthur!!!
I like #2 a lot–the gold on the right wing tips, the oat stalks, wing and tail positions, open bill. I would take out the oat stalk in the middle but leave the faint two on the right. The one in the middle, being fairly strong black, takes away from the bird and also unbalances the image a bit.
Oh yes, I like the white sky a lot too.