Attention NANPA Members

If you are currently a NANPA member who enjoys and benefits from your membership and would like to see the organization grow and improve, please contact me via e-mail on a matter of urgent importance.

Homer IPT Multiple Trip Discounts Increased

Save $1,500.00 by doing back-to-back trips. Save $2500 by doing all three trips. Please e-mail for couples’ discount info.

On Getting Better

Consider joining me on a BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). The DeSoto, San Diego, Homer, and the yet-to-be announced July 2023 Jacksonville and July 2024 Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime all offer the opportunity for you to dramatically improve your skills both in the field and at the computer and to make some astounding images as well. Click here and see which IPT might be best for you.

All images from Homer or Kachemak Bay, AK

2023 Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPTs

IPT #1: MON 20 FEB 2023 through the full day on FRI 24 FEB 2023. Five full days/20 hours on the boat: $5500.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 3.

IPT #2: SAT 25 FEB 2023 through the full day on THURS 2 MAR 2023. Six full days/24 hours on the boat: $6600.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 3.

IPT #3: FRI 3 MAR 2023 through the full day on TUES 7 MAR 2023. Five full days/20 hours on the boat: $5500.00. Limit 5 photographers. Openings: 2.

Save $1,500.00 by doing back-to-back trips. Save $2500 by doing all three trips.

These trips feature non-stop flight photography as well as many opportunities to create both environmental and point-blank portraits of one of North America’s most sought-after avian subjects: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Other reliable subjects will include Sea Otter, Glaucous-winged and Short-billed (formerly Mew) Gulls.

In addition, we should see Common Murre, Black Guillemot, Pelagic Cormorant, two or three species of loons, and a smattering of ducks including two species of merganser, all three scoters, Common and Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Bufflehead, Harlequin, and Long-tailed Ducks. Close-range photographic chances for these species will require a ton of good luck. Some of these species, especially when in flocks, can, however, often be used effectively when creating bird-scapes.

If we need to be out early, we will be the first boat out. If conditions are great, we will stay out. And when there is a chance for sunset silhouettes, we will stay out and be in the right spot.

We will be traveling through gorgeous wilderness country; landscape and scenic opportunities abound.

Also featured is a professional leader, often referred to as the world’s most knowledgeable bird photography trip leader, who is conversant in Canon, Nikon, and Sony.

All images from Kachemak Bay in 2022!

What You Will Learn

You will learn practical and creative solutions to everyday photographic problems. You will learn to see the shot, to create dynamic images by fine-tuning your compositions, to best utilize your camera’s AF system, and how to analyze the wind, the sky conditions, and the direction and quality of the light. This is one of the very few trips Homer trips available where you will not be simply put on the birds and told to have fun. You will learn to be a better photographer. But only if that is what you want.

You will learn to get the right exposure when it is sunny, when it cloudy-bright, when it is cloudy, when it is cloudy-dark, or when it is foggy. Not to mention getting the right exposure when creating silhouettes.

You will learn to make pleasing blurs working in manual mode and to create silhouettes working in Shutter Priority mode.

Most importantly you will learn to pick your best flight images from tens of thousands of images.

You will enjoy working with the two best and most creative boat captains on their sturdy, photography-spacious, seaworthy, open-deck crafts.

The second and third IPTs are the only Bald Eagle workshops that feature an incredibly helpful first mate.

Only five photographers (not the usual six), plus the leader.

Small group Photoshop, Image Review, and Image Critiquing sessions.

All images from Homer or Kachemak Bay, AK

What’s Included

One four hour or two two-hour boat trips every day (weather permitting), all boat fees and boat-related expenses (excluding tips), ground transportation to and from the dock and back to the hotel each day, in-the-field instruction and guidance, pre-trip gear advice, small group post-processing and image review sessions, and a thank you dinner for all well-behaved participants.

What’s Not Included

Your airfare to and from Homer, AK (via Anchorage), the cost of your room at Land’s End Resort, all personal items, all meals and beverages, and tips for the boat captain and/or the first mate.

Please Note

On great days, the group may wish to photograph for more than four hours. If the total time on the boat exceeds 20 hours for the five-day trips, or 24 hours for the second trip, the group will share the additional expense at a rate of $225/hour.

Some folks may wish to rent their own vehicle to take advantage of local photographic opportunities around Homer.

Deposit Information

A $3000 non-refundable deposit/trip is required. You may pay your deposit with credit card or by personal check (made out to BIRDS AS ART) and sent via US mail only to Arthur Morris. PO Box 7245. Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. Your balance, due 90 days before the date of departure, is payable only by check as above.

In Closing

I have been going to Homer off and on for close to two decades. Every trip has been nothing short of fantastic. Many folks go in mid-March. The earlier you go, the better the chances for snow. The only way to assure that you are on the best of the three trips is to sign up for all three. Can you keep up with me? If you have any questions, or are good to go for one, two, or all three trips, please let me know via e-mail or give me a call on my cell phone at 863-221-2372.

What’s Up?

Take a look at today’s three features images and leave a comment letting us know which of those you feel is the strongest. While each image is sharp and technically perfect, I have a clear choice as to which one is the most pleasing artistically. What do you think?

I drove down to the lake on Saturday morning. The pools that formed as a result of the flooding from Hurricane Ian have attracted several species of shorebirds in addition to the dozen or so Greater Yellowlegs that were present for a few days after the storm. Present yesterday were well more than a dozen Common Snipe, three Pectoral Sandpipers, and half a dozen fly-by Semipalmated Sandpipers. The pectorals were new for me at Indian Lake Estates. I still have lots to do to get ready for ready for my trip to OKC next Thursday.

I was glad to learn yesterday that Monte Brown sold most of his Canon EF and Rf lenses within hours of listing. He still has a Canon R6 for sale at a great price. I was glad to learn that Charlie Curry will be joining us on the 3rd Homer IPT. Best to sign up soon if you would like to make this incredible trip.

Today is Sunday 16 October 2022.I will wake at 4:30am and head back to Sebastian Inlet in search of migrating schools of mullet and other baitfish. 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 two hundred-four 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 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!

Iceland

My decades-long dream of spending time with the puffins on Grimsey Island, Iceland — 13 days in this case!, will be realized this coming July. If anyone else would like information on the world’s greatest Iceland/Atlantic Puffin trip this coming July, please contact me via e-mail.

Instagram

Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.

BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.

Is Larger-in-the-Frame Always Better?

This image was created on 26 February 2021 at Kachemak Bay, Homer, AK. While crouching, I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (at 121mm) and the Sony a9 II (now replaced by The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb wheel. ISO 800. 1/1600 sec. at f/3.2 (stopped down 1/3 stop). AWB at 1:36:06pm on a cloudy afternoon. Expand Flexible Spot AF/C performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Bald Eagle juvenile bird-scape

The 70-200mm Lenses in Homer

The 70-200mm lenses, especially the f/2.8 versions, are always my most valuable lens on a Homer IPT. Alone, the offer great light gathering capabilities, always a huge plus on cloudy days. At the long end, the 4X magnification is great for the diving eagles that often surround the boat. On brighter days, they perform superbly with either the 1.4X or 2X TCs. The latter was used to create today’s Image #3. The Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G OSS II lens is the best I have ever had my hands on.

For this image I was 21.5 feet from the subject working at 121mm.

This image was created on 25 February 2021 at Kachemak Bay, Homer, AK. While standing, I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (at 165mm) and the Sony a9 II (now replaced by The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb wheel. ISO 800. 1/2000 sec. at f/4.5 (stopped down 1 2/3 stops). AWB at 3:57:29pm a cloudy bright afternoon. Expand Flexible Spot AF/C performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Bald Eagle juvenile — whole bird facing portrait

Bigger in the Frame

When I first began photographing birds nearly forty years ago, I did my best to come as close as possible to filling the fame with the bird, It took me a few years to realize that for artistic reasons, you need to give the bird lots of room in the frame. Had I opted to get closer or zoom in further, this image would not have been very pleasing.

For this one I was 17 feet from the subject working at 165mm.

This image was also created on 25 February 2021 at Kachemak Bay, Homer, AK.. Seated on the snow, I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 280mm) and the Sony a9 II (now replaced by The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.) ISO 800. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2000 sec. at f/4.5 (stopped down 1/3-stop). AWB at 3:56:20pm on a cloudy afternoon. Expand Flexible Spot AF/C performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Bald Eagle juvenile head and shoulders portrait

The Head and Shoulders Portraits

I freely admit to being a head hunter when it comes to bird photography. I love making tight images that reveal details of a bird’s head, face, and neck. Implied is that you have excellent field skills and have earned the bird’s trust in allowing you to got so close. In addition, you often feel as if you can ascertain a bit of a given bird’s personality.

For this image I was 15 feet from the subject working at 280mm. Yes, the eagles at Homer are quite tame and are comfortable around the folks who are feeding them herring.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.