The Goal is Always the Same: One Great Image per Session

A Real Challenge

Don’t be lazy. Take a moment to leave a comment and let use know which of today’s two spectacular featured images you wish was yours? And do let us know why you made your choice.

What’s Up?

Wednesday morning was Northern Fulmar chicks in the nest. The afternoon was flying and perched puffins. Thursday morning was mostly kittiwakes flying in a fierce wind, with more flying and perched puffins that afternoon. On Wednesday morning, fulmars in flight were superb.

If you would like info on Greg Downing’s 2024 and/or the 2025 Grimsey Island puffin trips, please shoot me an e-mail by clicking here.

Today is Wednesday 26 July 2023. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

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!

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.

If an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

The Fact$ of Life

The market for editorial sales of natural history images has virtually disappeared. The incomes of the world’s top stock photographers are down by at least 90%. Like me, many depend on income from photo trips, the sale of educational materials, and income from this or that affiliate program.

In 2001, BAA sold the publication rights to images for nearly one-quarter million US dollars. That amount dropped to about $20,000 by 2011, and in 2017, to slightly more than $2,000.00. We’ve stopped counting. IPTs used to fill within days. Now I am happy to go with one or two folks, but I’d much rather have you along. And so it goes. In 2009, I turned to creating educational blog posts, now to the tune of 4052! Yes, 4052 educational blog posts. Please, therefore, remember to use either my B&H or Bedfords affiliate links for your major purposes. It will not cost you one cent to do either.

B&H

Many folks have written recently stating that they purchased a Sony a1 from B&H and would like their free membership in the Sony 1 Info and Updates Group, a $150.00 value. When I check my affiliate account, their orders have not been there. When I let them know that they get credit for B&H purchases only if they use one of the many B&H affiliate links on the blog or begin their searches with this link, they are always disappointed. If in doubt, please contact me via e-mail and request a BH link. I am always glad to help and to guide you to the right gear.

B&H Simplified

To ensure that I get credit for your B&H purchases, you can always click here. The tracking is invisible but greatly appreciated. And, you can use your PayBoo card. You must use the website to order. Thanking me for the past 4000 educational blog posts could not be any easier and will not cost you one penny. Please shoot me your B&H receipt for major purchases.

Bedfords Simplified

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Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard-to-get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a 1, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

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. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often save you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. 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.

This image was created on 25 July 2023 on my Grimsey Island, Iceland visit. Standing at full height at the edge of a cliff on a very windy morning, I used the handheldSony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 280mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras. ISO 1000: 1/3200 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 10:20:01am on a cloudy morning. Tracking: Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Black-legged Kittiwake returning to nest

The Goal is Always the Same: One Great Image per Session

Every time I grab a lens and head into the field, the goal is always the same: I try to create one Family Jewel-type image each session. I’d guess that I succeed about half the time. On Tuesday, I was two for two. I created the kittiwake flight shot in the morning, and the puffin with the cliff background that afternoon.

The kittiwake was quite upset. It flew in and out of its cliff nest repeatedly. It would land and offer to regurgitate partially digested fish to its chick by leaning in close while opening its bill to reveal the red throat that replaces the pecking spot of the larger gulls. The problem was that its chick was dead. Very dead. But the bird, becoming increasingly agitated, refused to give up. Several times it flew screaming back to the nest. By being in the right spot, I had some very good chances.

This image was also created on 25 July 2023 at Grimsey Island, Iceland. Standing at full height on a small rise, I used the Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod topped by the Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 2500. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 6:17:25pm on cloudy evening. Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #2: Atlantic Puffin flying to the nesting cliff with sandeels for chick in burrow

Pre-focusing

The key to photographing fast-flying, erratic subjects like Atlantic Puffins is to pre-focus at the approximate distance you expect the bird to be. With dSLR bodies I always recommended that folks pre-focus to a distance well greater than the spot you expected the bird in flight to appear. But with mirrorless bodies, you want to be focused to a distance that approximates the spot where the bird will appear. By doing that, you can pick up the bird in flight and track it right in until it fills half the frame and then begin firing. As the action was fast and furious and I needed the reach of the 600, I turned to the Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod topped by the Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro. I was quite pleased with ow well I was able to keep the speeding puffins close to the center of the frame.

Typos

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