Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Roast Turkey with Hazel’s apple and celery stuffing. I-Phone 15+ image

What’s Up?

On Wednesday at about 2pm Bob and I decided to head to Publix and grab some turkey parts. I wound up purchasing a 16.2 lb. bird and all the fixings.I did my best to remember my late Mom’s stuffing recipe it turned out to be the star of the meal. In fact, the entire project was a huge success. Other than noting that for the past two days I have been eating far too much.

As the action here at ILE has slowed down a bit recently and yesterday was the first cloudy day in forever, we put up a new perch in the South Marsh. Not only did Bob do most of the work, but that morning he had fixed my broken pool pump and heater! The man is amazing. Since he likes white meat and I love the dark meat, we continue to be the perfect team.

Today is Saturday 30 November 2024. We will be heading down to the lake early as usual. Wherever you are, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.

I am thinking of renting an AirBnB for two months next fall. If you are interested in joining me for a month or two after reading today’s blog post and checking out Elisabeth Shore’s wonderful images, please get in touch via e-mail.

Please remember to use the B&H 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!

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.

Was it the Sony 200-600 G Lens? Was it the Sony α-1 with Firmware v2.02? Was it My Sony α-1 with Firmware v2.02 Camera Setup (.DAT file)? Or was it My Teaching Ability?

I was thrilled when Steve Shore told me that his wife Elisabeth would be joining him for a week at Sebastian. Steve cautioned me that Elisabeth was new to bird photography and that I would need to work with her extensively. So I did.

I’d be remiss by not stating that the four of us had an absolute ball in our shared AirBnB.

She was using the Sony 200-600 G lens with an α-1 with Firmware v2.02 with my settings. The best news? She was an excellent student who was seriously interested in improving. And to boot, she made some great Swedish meatballs.

At first, she was reluctant to zoom to 600mm preferring the comfort of framing wide. I stayed on her and as you can see with her images below, she quickly became comparable zooming out a bit or working at 600m when it was needed. I did a shutter speed program for the group and Steve, Elisabeth, and Mr. Eastman all found it helpful.

After the first three days, Elisabeth became comfortable selecting a shutter speed and then raising the ISO as needed to expose to the right. As will be clear as you continue, her day by day progress was fabulous bordering on astounding.

Please remember that Elisabeth had never photographed a bird in flight prior to arriving at Sebastian.

What factor or factors do you think contributed to her incredible success?

This image was created by Elisabeth Shore on on the Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More Extended IPT. Seated, she used the knee-pod technique with the the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 456mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1250: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB on a then cloudy morning. Tracking Expand Spot AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: White Ibis on shoreline Image courtesy of and copyright 204 Elisabeth Shore

An Important Lesson

Folks who show up with decent gear often want to learn to create dramatic flight and action images on Day One. I explain to them that once they master the basic skills by photographing a bird just standing in one spot that the flight and action images will follow. What are these basic skills:

1- See the shot.
2- Select an appropriate shutter speed and set the wide open aperture.
3- Adjust the exposure by increasing the ISO. With Sony zebra technology, doing this just takes a bit of practice.
4- Select an AF method that will yield a pleasing composition.
5- Zoom to an appropriate focal length.
6- Keep the lens still and make a series of images.

With Image #1, Elisabeth checked all the boxes.

This image was created by Elisabeth Shore on the Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More Extended IPT. Crouching, she usethe the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 400mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB on a then cloudy morning. Tracking Expand Spot AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Wood Stock with fish intestines wrapped around base of its bill. Image courtesy of and copyright 204 Elisabeth Shore

Photo Tip

At locations near water, be sure to check out any fish cleaning locations. Many species of gulls, terns, and wading bird are often attracted by fish scraps and wind up being silly tame. This Wood Stork was working a large carcass that he been properly disposed of down the chute. But with the low tide, the storks were having a feast.

I got excited when a long string of the Jack Crevalle’s intestines became twice wrapped around the base of the stork’s bill. We all made some nice images of a unique moment. That Elisabeth’s best image was as good as mine, it just proves my oft-stated point: Equipped with some decent gear with their camera set up properly and a modicum of quality instruction, beginning bird photographer’s can create images as good as those made by a professional with four plus decades of experience. And once the basics are mastered, the same is true with flight and action shooting.

This image was created by Elisabeth Shore on the Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More Extended IPT. Standing on the South Jetty, she used the handheld Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (at 122mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 160: 1/60 sec. at f/4 (stopped down one stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:30:05am about fourteen minutes before sunrise. Tracking: (center) Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Brown Pelicans in flight at sunrise. Image courtesy of and copyright 204 Elisabeth Shore

That Magical Morning

In the middle of the action on our magical sunrise morning, I asked Steve Shore, “Where’s your wife?” “She went back to the car to get a card.” Long story short is that she made it back before the color faded completely. I felt terrible that she had missed the best of it so I offered to trade her my 70-200 for her 200-600 as the shorter lens was perfect for the huge sky full of color.

To get the purple hues, we lowered the color temperature during the raw conversion.

This image was created by Elisabeth Shore on the Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More Extended IPT. Standing on the South Jetty, she used the 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 via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 3200: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB on a cloudy afternoon. Zonet AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #4: Osprey in flight on white sky afternoon with fish in its talons. Image courtesy of and copyright 204 Elisabeth Shore

Exposing to the Right on White Sky Days

Nine out of ten bird photographers will drastically underexpose white sky flight images. Period. By following instructions (raise the ISO until you see a few Zebras on the sky, Elisabeth nailed the exposure for this image. Kudos to my very fine student.

This image was created by Elisabeth Shore on the Sebastian Inlet Ospreys and More Extended IPT. Standing on the South Jetty, she used the 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 via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB on a partly sunny morning. Zonet AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #5: Osprey in flight with Yellow-tailed Menhaden in its talons. Image courtesy of and copyright 204 Elisabeth Shore

Bingo!

By working hard for several days to master the basics, Elisabeth was ready when a great opportunity arose right in front of her. Not bad for someone who had never even attempted to photograph a bird in flight before coming to Sebastian Inlet!

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The 2025 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and More!) IPT

Price reduced $100.00 from last year!

2025 San Diego IPT: 4 1/2 DAYS: SAT 11 JAN 2025 thru the morning session on WED 15 JAN 2024: $2599.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6/Openings 2.

Shared AirBnB lodging and trip transportation with the leader is available and maximizes learning as well.

Please e-mail for information on personalized pre- and post-IPT sessions.

Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (nesting) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Ducks; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Northern Shoveler and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heermann’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others are possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions (both depending on the current regulations and restrictions). And as you can see by studying the IPT cards, there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Not to mention a ton of excellent flight photography opportunities and instruction.

I discovered some really neat new spots on my 2024 visit. We will be visiting all of them early next year.

Please note: where permitted and on occasion, ducks and gulls may be attracted (or re-located) with offerings of grains or healthy bread.

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Learning Exposure, Whether You Like It Or Not

Whether you like it or not, we will be beating the subject of exposure like a dead horse. In every new situation, you will hear my thoughts on exposure along with my thoughts on both Nikon and Canon histograms and SONY Zebras. Whether you like it or not, you will learn to work in manual mode so that you can get the right exposure every time (as long as a bird gives you ten seconds with the light constant). Or two seconds with SONY zebras … And you will learn what to do when the light is changing constantly. What you learn about exposure will be one of the great takeaways on every IPT.

Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT, there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

It Ain’t Just Pelicans

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning, there is usually some excellent flight photography, at times with 70-200mm lenses! And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You will be guided as to how to make the best of those opportunities. Depending on the weather, the local conditions, and the tides, there are a variety of other fabulous photo chances available in and around San Diego. Each IPT will include one or two duck sessions.

Did I mention that there are lots of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter? Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include five 3-hour morning photo sessions, four 1 1/2-hour afternoon photo sessions, and four working brunches at my AirBnb. Those will include image review and Photoshop sessions. On rare cloudy days, we may — at the leader’s discretion, stay out in the morning for a long session and skip that afternoon shoot. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. And so that we can get some sleep, dinners will be on your own as well. In the extremely unlikely event that Goldfish Point is closed due to local ordinance (or whimsy) — that has never happened in the past fifty years, I will of course do my very best to maximize our photographic opportunities.

Deposit Info

A $699 deposit is required to hold your slot for one of the 2025 San Diego IPT. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART”) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due two months before the trip.

Variety is surely the spice of life in San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Getting Up Early and Staying Out Late

On all BIRDS AS ART IPTS including and especially the San Diego IPT, we get into the field early to take advantage of unique and often spectacular lighting conditions and we stay out late to maximize the chances of killer light and glorious sunset silhouette situations. We often arrive at the cliffs a full hour before anyone else shows up to check out the landscape and seascape opportunities.

Typos

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

Your Call?

Which is the stronger image, #1 or #2. Why?

What’s Up?

Bob Eastman and I continue to have a ton of fun doing bird photography, now at Indian Lake Estates (after our 26 great days at Sebastian Inlet). We got back to my house at 1:00pm on Saturday past and four hours later we were down by the lake a bit before sunset. As below, we were blessed with decent sky color and a Great Egret on The Perch II, the perch that I erected several years ago with the help of neighbor Ralph. We did well on Sunday and Monday morning with some fire-in-the-mist conditions. Sunday afternoon was a dud. On Monday we made some nice crane silhouettes again a vivid orange sky. I am planning on buying a chain saw and with Bob doing most of the hard work, we will be erecting several more perches along the lakefront. That after finalizing the revision of the Flight Guide co-authored by Arash Hazeghi.

Today is Tuesday 26 November 2024. Bob Eastman and I will be headed down to the lake just before 7:00am. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, we hope that you too choose to have a wondrous day.

Please remember to use the B&H 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!

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.

Supporting My Efforts Here

If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.

If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.

In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.

It’s Safe to go in the Water Now

Sony a-1 Firmware Update Update

Last spring, Sony announced firmware update v2.00 for the a-1, its flagship camera body. In short order the firmware story became an embarrassing fiasco. Over time, they announced v2.01 that caused terrible problems when the camera was used with the hugely popular 200-600 G lens. After some time, they released v2.02. About six weeks ago, with some trepidation, I purchased a used a-1 and updated it to v.2.01, and then to 2.02. I am happy to report that it is now possible to go back into the water.

The last update, v2.02, offers some great stuff for bird photographers.

v.2.02 Benefits

Battery life with 2.02 is fine. There are no issues with the 200-600 G lens. Bird Face-Eye AF is significantly improved. Formatting a card takes about two seconds as compared to 10 seconds or more with previous firmware versions. But the very best news is a brand new feature called Focus Recall. Huge thanks to Arash Hazeghi for pointing it out to me as we worked on an update to the Sony a-1 (a9 iii) flight guide. I took what he taught me about programming Preset Focus/Zoom to a single button for flight photography and turned it into what will surely turn out to be a huge game-changer for general bird photography.

I call it “double button focus recall.” I programmed two easy-to-reach (previously unassigned) buttons to PRESET Focus Distance. I can then register a close focusing distance to one button and a far focusing distance to the other. A tap of either button instantly brings me to either as needed.

Here is a practical, real life example. I am walking out on the pier. There are some very tame Turkey Vultures and a Limpkin perched on the railing. As I slowly approach the birds, I focus on the nearest one and then press and hold the near-focus button. Th camera registers the focus distance my current close focus distance. I might or might not create a few images. Before continuing my approach, however, I take a moment to focus on the end of the pier and this time I press and hold the far focus button. That becomes my far focus distance. Then I tap the close focus button for the birds on the railings and go to work.

I glance up and see an Osprey carrying a large Crappie in its talons flying over the end of the pier. I tap the AEL button to get to my pre-registered far focusing distance. The AF system will have a relatively easy time of seeing the subject. And once the bird is framed, initial focusing acquisition will be virtually instantaneous. Had the AF system been left at the close focusing distance (while working the birds on the pier railing), there is a good chance that the system would have been temporarily blind when I attempted to acquire focus on the Osprey in flight.

Understand that neither the close nor the far focusing distances need to be anywhere near precise. As long as the AF system is in the general neighborhood (as far as focusing distance is concerned), it will not struggle to acquire focus. Once the Osprey flies by, Artie simply taps the AF-On button to instantly get back to the approximate focusing distance for the birds on the railing.

Yesterday I sent the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Notes e-Mail J (23 OCT 2024) Firmware Update Update item to the entire group; it began like this:

Dear a1 Gang,

I hope that all of you are well, having fun, and making some great images. Big time thanks and congrats to the twenty folks in the group who have gotten my v2.02 settings onto their a-1 bodies. Many of them helped by letting me know of typos and other errors in the two instructional e-mails. After ten full days or working every morning with my v2.02 Firmware a-1, the 600mm f/4, and the 300mm f/2.8 (each with either TC), I can wholeheartedly recommend that most everyone with an a-1 would be best to update to Firmware v2.02.

If you are a member of the a-1 group and have not received e-Mail J, please e-mail me with your current and correct e-mail address 🙂

a-1 Group members can receive the two e-mails by sending a PayPal for $50.00 (with the words a-1 v2.021/v2.02 Firmware updates in the Subject line) to birdsasart@verizon.net or by calling the office at 863-692-0906 with a credit card to pay the $50.00. No worries if you have already updated to v2.02 — pay the $50.00 and I’ve got you covered.

If you are not a member of my a-1 group and would like to update your camera body and get all of my current setting on it, you will need to either send a PayPal for $125.00 (with the words a-1 v2.021/v2.02 Firmware updates in the Subject line) to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 with a credit card to pay the $125.00.

All of the images in today’s blog post were created with my v2.02 CAMST202.DAT on my α-1 mirrorless camera body.

This image was created on 23 November 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL (after 26 days of great photography at at Sebastian Inlet, FL). Seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported 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.. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation (EC) on the thumb dial. Shutter Priority +0.7 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 250: 1/5000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 5:21:17pm on a clear afternoon with just a hint of haze in the low western sky. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead solid perfect. Tracking (upper center) Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed to near perfection. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #1: Great Egret taking flight from The Perch II

The Fields are Dry and Good Fortune was With Us

After weeks of no rain, the North and South Fields and the South Peninsula are completely dry and safe to drive on. We arrived a bit early and — once I positioned my vehicle, we began doing white sky silhouettes. As the sun dropped lower and moved to the west, the sky color behind the perch got richer and richer. After shooting this situation for too many years at 1200mm, I finally realized that working at 840mm would give me a much better chance of creating some properly framed take-off and early flight shots. Had the bird stayed on the perch for another 5 minutes, we would have had the sun ball right behind the bird. Ten minutes before the time of sunset, however, the bird took flight and then turned to the northwest.

This image was also created on 23 November 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL (after 26 days of great photography at at Sebastian Inlet, FL). Seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported 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.. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation (EC) on the thumb dial. Shutter Priority +0.7 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 250: 1/5000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 5:21:17pm on a clear afternoon with just a hint of haze in the low western sky. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead solid perfect. Tracking (upper center) Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed to near perfection. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #2: Great Egret having just taken flight from The Perch II

The Key to Success

When shooting off the BLUBB, the world’s best big lens beanbag, it is vitally important to move the Direct Manual Focus (DMF) switch on your lens to the OFF position. If you fail to make a habit of this, the manual focusing ring will throw off the focus whenever you re-compose or, as with Image #2, attempt to pan as a bird takes flight. I say attempt because it is extremely difficult to pan with a super-telephoto lens on a BLUBB. No fault of the beanbag of course; it is simply a difficult proposition.

Anyhoo, I created about 30 images as the bird pushed off and took flight. I avoided clipping any wings in the first 20, yet there were only three decent wing positions (including images #1 and #2). I did not pan fast enough to keep the whole bird in the frame for the last ten. All in all, I was thrilled with my new approach. And, as below, thrilled with the improved Bird Face/Eye tracking with Sony α-1 Firmware v2.02.

Image #2A: Great Egret having just taken flight from The Perch II

AF with Sony α-1 Firmware v2.02

Bird Face/Eye AF-C was significantly improved with Sony α-1 Firmware v2.02. With v1.32, the α-1 would almost never continue to track the bird’s head as it took flight. As you can see above, it did a much better job with v2.02.

There have been additional improvements (and a single important difference) in the AF system with v2.02. Those will be detailed in the next e-mail to my α-1 Info and Updates Group sometime this week.

Typos

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