Come On Down Right Now for Ospreys and More

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Bob Eastman and I had a fabulous morning at Sebastian Inlet on Wednesday. We had three Ospreys dive into the water within 20 feet of us. All caught a fish. Each struggled to get it out of the water. Each failed. But oh, what an adrenaline rush. Check out the images then get in touch with me via e-mail or cell phone: 863-221-2372 ASAP, and get yourself a plane ticket. There is lots of room for you at the nicest AirBnB I’ve ever been in.

Today is Thursday 31 October 2024. Whatever you opt to do, I hope that you choose to have a great day.

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This image was created on 30 October 2024 at Sebastian Inlet State Park,FL. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 4000. 1/3200 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 8:19:14am in the shade before the sun broke through. RawDigger showed the raw file brightness to be perfect. Zone AF-C AF with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Osprey taking flight after a missed strike

Challenging Exposures

The day began with heavy cloud cover. That followed by bright sun at about 8:15am. To make things even more difficult, the birds would fly in and out of the shadows thrown by the bridge behind us. By 9:00am the sun was so bright that we decided to head home early. By the time we got over the bridge, it was cloudy dark We decided to try a different spot, and by the time we got in position, it was cloudy bright. I almost forgot to mention that we had several rainbows. The sun cam out with a vengeance at 10:00am so we hit the road, celebrating a great morning.

This image was also created on 30 October 2024 at Sebastian Inlet State Park,FL. Again, standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 5000. 1/3200 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 8:22:09am in the shade before the sun broke through. RawDigger showed the raw file brightness to be dead solid perfect. Zone AF-C AF with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Osprey struggling to take flight wit fish in its talons

Do Not Be Afraid of High ISOs

Image #1: ISO 4000. Image #2: ISO 5000. You wind up with much higher image quality and much less noise by using a high ISO than you’d get by underexposing at a lower “supposedly better” ISO. Don’t be a high ISO chicken.

My double Noise Reduction technique worked wonders on all of today’s featured images, including and especially #s 1 & 2. This technique, scoffed at by many, is detailed in the Digital Basics III Video Series.

This image was created on 30 October 2024 on an Extended IPT at Sebastian Inlet State Park,FL by my good friend Bob Eastman. Seated in a low field chair he used the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 500. 1/3200 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be 1/6 stop short of perfect. AWB at 8:25:35am on a then sunny morning. Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Snowy Egret midair squabble Image courtesy of and copyright 2014: Bob Eastman

Kudos to Bob on This One!

We both got on this fight quickly and — thanks to Sony Zebra technology, came up with the right exposure in an instant. That was no easy chore. I got some good ones, but would trade them all for Bob’s two best. As I say often, less experienced photographers with their cameras set up properly and a modicum of instruction can — in a given situation — create better images than a professional using the same gear. I was a bit to Bob’s left shooting the 300mm f/2.8 with the 1.4X TC and a v2.02 a-1.

This image was created on 30 October 2024 at Sebastian Inlet, north of Vero Beach, FL. Standing at full height, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/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 800. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/4000 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 8:50:17am on a then sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #4: Osprey carrying fish

Going Long

I grabbed the 600 with the 1.4X, took my tripod to a little used vantage point, and waited for an Osprey to catch a fish and fly into the wind toward me. It did and I shot.

This image was also created on 30 October 2024 at Sebastian Inlet State Park,FL. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600. 1/4000 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 8:22:09am on a then cloudy fairly bright morning. RawDigger showed the raw file brightness to be dead solid perfect. Zone AF-C AF with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #5: Brown Pelican sub-adult in flight lookin to dive

White Sky Photography

When we tried a new spot after the clouds came, we ran into a guy with a lens who was leaving. We started chatting and when I told him that I preferred clouds to sun at 9:30am he was astounded. He was terribly in fear of high ISOs. We chatted a bit more and I learned that he was shooting in Manual mode with AUTO ISO, and that he did not know how to view the histogram on his R6. When I tried to explain a few things to him he was totally resistant. So, I wished him a happy birthday and went off to create Image #5.

Just for the record, if you use AUTO ISO with manual mode you lose all control over exposure; when you do wind up with a good or perfect exposure, it is due to pure luck.

Do not click on the composite image; simply scroll down for the best viewing. While Sebastian Inlet is justifiably famous around the world for the Ospreys diving for migrating saltwater fish each fall, there are a variety of desirable avian subjects there as well in October and November. Keep reading if you would like to join me on what will surely be a memorable photographic and learning experience.

Pick Your Own Dates Short-notice Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More BAA Personalized Instructional Workshops

Ridiculously Inexpensive!

Dates: October 29 (arrive on the afternoon of Monday the 28th) thru the morning session on Saturday 22 November

Right now I have four folks for the last week, 17-22 NOV. So any few days (or a week!) after 28 OCT and before mid-NOV would be fabulous.

As BIRDS AS ART lost more than $100,000 in tax year 2023, I am moving forward looking more at sharing expenses than at making money. Simply put, for more reasons than I will list here, sharing an AirBnB or VRBO place maximizes learning while reducing your overall travel costs.

Consider joining me at Sebastian Inlet this fall for some great bird photography and a ton of learning. Life is short; what are you waiting for? While a 600mm f/4 lens is ideal, you could do the whole trip with a variety of other lenses including a 500mm f/4, a 400mm f/2.8, a 400mm DO, a 200-600, a 100-500, a 300mm f/2.8 with TCs, or one of the great new Nikon Z telephoto or telephoto zoom lenses.

Bob Eastman is driving from Wisconsin and doing all 26 days, from 28 OCT thru the morning session on 22 NOV, prime time for Ospreys diving and catching a variety of saltwater fish. There are four bedrooms in this great AirBnB property that is just 22 minutes from the south jetty at the State Park, 24 minutes from the northwest pool where the Ospreys spent a lot of time last year. Please note that NOV 21-22 are sold out.

Hopefully, those who come would stay for a week or ten days (or all 26 days!) to maximize the opportunities. As above, fewer days would work also. Fly to Melbourne (MEL) or Orlando (MCO) and rent a car. Local folks who would like to arrange a morning or two of In-the-Field Instruction during October should get in touch via e-mail.

Here, if you stay in the AirBnB with me, are the ridiculous low rates for the in-the-field sessions (that include the daily Image Review and Photoshop sessions).

$250 for a morning session

$150 for an afternoon session.

Brunch and dinners at the AirBnB will cost you $20/day.

If you are interested, let me know your preferred dates via e-mail and I will get back to you with the per/night price for the lodging.

Typos

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