Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

What’s Up?

After watching the second half of the Super Bowl on Monday morning on TIVO, I was on a bit of a high. Peeking out the pool deck door, I saw that it was going to be a clear sunrise. With the wind from the northwest, I realized that conditions would be perfect for a backlit flapping-in-the-nest eaglet image. I glanced at the clock: 7:25am — too late.

On a health note, I completed a 36-hour fast on Monday morning and celebrated the Chiefs win and the end of the fast with the end of the scallops and four ounces of butternut squash. My overnight blood sugar readings had been fabulous and I only made one pit stop while getting 8 1/2 hours of otherwise solid sleep. I will run that by Dr. Oliver and consider adding a weekly fast-day. At the suggestion of DeSoto IPT participant Bob Ries, and my chiropractor, T.J. McKeon, I began wearing a FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitor about two months ago. The sensor on the back of my upper arm sends blood sugar readings to my phone every minute. I can only say that the program has been educational, inspirational, and motivational. Questions are welcome.

Today is Tuesday 14 February 2023. I will be leaving early to pick up In-the-Field student Gary Chappel in Winter Haven and continue on to the American White Pelican location in Lakeland. After our morning shoot we will head toward Tampa and grab brunch somewhere. We will be meeting multiple IPT veteran Mike De Rosa and wife Norma at the secret rookery in North Tampa and then heading to our AirBnB in Riverview for the 1-1/2 Day Hooptie Deux Spoonbill IPT. It will be great to spend some time with Captain James Shadle (aka Froggie) and do some catching up. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes three hundred twenty-two days in a row with a new educational post. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Please, please, pretty please remember to use my B&H or Bedford’s affiliate programs for all your new gear purchases. If you use B&H, please be sure to click on any B&H link in the blog to start your search. Or simply start with this link. There is always the option of e-mailing me for gear advice and for the correct links.

The plan is to continue to post every day until the streak reaches one year and one day and then posting every other 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.

Please remember that 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.

Induro GIT 304L Tripod

Out of production for more than two years, BAA sold its last one in December. The good news? We have two more new-in-the-box tripods. They are now available for shipping. The 304L was my go-to tripod for more than a decade. Best to grab order yours right now to avoid being disappointed.

Bedfords Amazing BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

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 12 February 2023 down by the lake near my home at ILE. Standing at full height, I 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 800. 1/2000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect with portions of the sky over-exposed, just as I wanted it. AWB at 8:17:44am on partly cloudy morning. Tracking: Expand Spot/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 #1: Osprey in flight with stick for nest

Always Give It a Shot

I am often too lax. I see a situation and think, That won’t last long enough for me to get a shot. But when I saw this Osprey flying around with a big stick trying to land in a ridiculous spot and build a nest on a telephone pole, right by a big transformer, I thought, Why not? So I grabbed the 400 f/2.8 from the pillow on the passenger seat of my SUV, got out, set the exposure, and turned off Zebras. It was difficult shooting through all the utility wires, but the bird kept trying and failing so I have a few good chances. I created 56 flight images of the bird seen above and kept one.

The Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM Lens

After telling folks for several decades that the 400mm f/2.8 lenses were worthless for bird photography, I borrowed one in Homer last year and purchased my own within months. Every week I am finding new and different uses for this super-fast, super-sharp lens. Though it weighs only four ounces less then the Sony 600mm f/4GM, I can handhold it forever. I can handhold the 600 only for a very few minutes. How can that be? The weight in the 400 f/2.8 is much further to the rear of the lens. Easy-peasy.

This image was also created on 12 February 2023 down by the lake near my home at ILE. Seated on grass, I used the foot-pod technique with 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 1000. 1/2000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be about 1/3 stop too dark. My excuse: the sun was going in and out. AWB at 8:31:13am on partly cloudy morning. Tracking: Zone/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 #2: Sandhill Crane foraging in dirt

Dirt

The powers that be here at Indian Lake Estates have destroyed several acres of wetlands vegetation near the pier to construct a beach. Right now they are paying folks to re-arrange the dirt. Many truckloads of expensive white sand are soon to arrive. Who is gonna swim with alligators?

Anyhoo, some of the local cranes along with a few Cattle Egrets are enjoying foraging in the disturbed earth. I liked the tan background, so I again got out of the car and went to work. With the bird foraging right in front of me, I used the foot-pod technique to get really low. Tracking (center) Zone was the way to go. I created more than one hundred images of this one bird feeding. And kept just one. At one point, the bird grabbed a snail shell and whacked away at it, eventually getting the meat out for a small treat. As the bird was facing directly away from me, I never created a single frame.

This image was created on 12 February 2023 down by the lake near my home at ILE. Seated on grass, I used the knee-pod technique with 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 800. 1/2000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be about 1/3 stop too dark. My excuse: the sun was going in and out. AWB at 8:36:45am on partly cloudy morning. Tracking: Expand Spot/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: Sandhill Crane scratching

Scratching

Your Call?

Which of today’s three image do you wish was yours? Why?

I got up and down many times in an effort to stay square to the subject as it enjoyed the dirt beach. At one point, the bird began to scratch its chin. The knee-pod put me on the right level. First he scratched for quite a few seconds. Then it took a short break and scratched again. I created 140 scratching images and kept just three in addition to this one. After the dust cleared, I had kept six raw files out of 306, a less than 2% keeper rate. That despite the fact that more than 250 of those images were perfectly usable.

Storage is Cheap/Why Edit So Tightly?

Two days ago, blog-regular Anthony Ardito left this comment (in part): |

To comment on culling images (picking your keepers), I do agree that now with high MP files data adds up. However, storage is, relatively speaking, cheap when compared to the investment in camera bodies and lenses.

I have a 12 TB external drive that is a backup drive. It cost next to nothing. It will never get filled up. Nor will your 8TB Macbook M2 drive. (You will upgrade to the next MacBook Pro before your current drive is even half or three quarters full.

Have a backup plan with cloud storage in mind. You get 1 TB cloud storage free with MS OneDrive. Adobe & Google also have free cloud storage although not as generous. Organize your files in a way to utilize that free storage.

FLY EAGLES FLY!

Anthony missed two important points above.

#1 Kansas City was the better team in the Super Bowl.

#2: He makes a huge assumption when he talks about organizing your files. Folks who shoot aggressively and rarely if ever edit their image folders by picking the keepers and deleting the rejects are simply burying themselves in images. I know many photographers who have way too many hard drives and have no way to find a given image. They are simply opting to bury themselves in digital photographs. As noted in the IPT confirmation letters, I urge everyone to strive to edit their session or day folders before they head back onto the field. It’s either that, or get buried by images.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

My Saturday morning photo session qualified as “one-of-those-days.” There was a gorgeous sunrise, but both eaglets were sound asleep and neither of the adults were at the nest tree. After photographing a crane sleeping in the marsh, I drove around to the sunny side of the eagle nest. As I pulled up, the larger eaglet was jumping up and down vigorously in the nest for more than a minute. I set up with the ladder and waited patiently (in vain) for more flapping. I kept a very few frames of the adult jumping up to the perfect perch.

I spent a good part of the day doing a second edit of my JAN 2023 San Diego folder. More on that below.

Like Bob Eastman, I preferred the wider of the two eagle nest images in yesterday’s blog post. Why? Because the eaglets were not doing anything interesting when the adult jumped out of the nest and landed on the perfect perch just south of the nest.

As Joel Eade first suggested, I had the two tripods set up right next to each other. I worked in Manual (exposure) mode and manual focus (with focus peaking). The trick to making the images was to have an inexpensive Vello RS-S2II Wired Remote Switch for Select Cameras with Sony Multi-Terminal Connector plugged into each camera body. Whenever I saw any action, I pressed and held each remote release button. That was easier to do than I thought it would be.

Take a shot at this one: what recent experience motivated me to shoot tight and wide on the backlit sunrise eagle nest images at the same time?

Today is Sunday 12 February 2023. The forecast for today is for partly to mostly cloudy skies with a brisk wind from the west in the morning swinging around to the northwest in the afternoon with gale warnings. I will head down to the lake for a bit in the morning to check out the baby eagles but would not expect to do much photographically with that forecast. The afternoon might be good for Ospreys flying in with nesting material. This blog post took more than two hours to prepare and makes three hundred twenty days in a row with a new educational post. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Oh, and BTW, good luck to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in today’s Super Bowl game: Chiefs 38, Eagles 21.

Please, please, pretty please remember to use my B&H or Bedford’s affiliate programs for all your new gear purchases. If you use B&H, please be sure to click on any B&H link in the blog to start your search. Or simply start with this link. There is always the option of e-mailing me for gear advice and for the correct links.

The plan is to continue to post every day until the streak reaches one year and one day and then posting every other 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.

Please remember that 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.

JAN 2023 San Diego Second Edit

On January 21, 2023, blog regular David Policansky left a comment asking:

What do you do with all the images you keep? 181 today. if I multiply that even by 100 (instead of 365), that’s 18,100 a year. Even if it’s only 5,000 a year, that still is a lot.

When I began the second edit of the JAN 2023 San Diego folder, there were 3291 raw files (plus 39 optimized .TIFs.) I deleted 2123 raw files while keeping only 1168 (35.5%). With 23 days of photography, that works out to 50 keepers/day. Remember that photography in San Diego was especially fantastic this year and that I will probably delete another 20% of those images as I optimize more images for the blog. The current size of the folder is 71.52 GB. With an 8TB hard drive in my Apple 16.2″ MacBook Pro with M1 Max Chip (Late 2021, Space Gray), this folder takes up less than 1% of my storage space. His current laptop is being replaced by the faster Apple 16″ MacBook Pro (M2 Max, Silver).

And whenever I have some free time, I do third and forth edits of older folders to keep the total images well below 3TB. Right now, I have 5.84TB available out of eight. With tight editing, I have three years of images on my laptop that take up only 2.16TB.

As I see it, huge storage problems exist today because many folks do not keep up with their editing. They have many GBs of unedited image folders, and when they do get around to editing a folder, they keep far too many images.

This image was also created on 12 January 2023 at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, I used the no-longer available (except from BIRDS AS ART) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 7:45:30 on a sunny morning. Tracking: Expand Spot/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Brown Pelican Pacific-race head throw

Perfect?

Do you see today’s featured image as perfect? Why or why not? Do you see evidence of any significant Photoshop hanky pinky?

This all-new card includes images created on my JAN 2022 visit to San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The 2023/2024 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and more!) IPTs

San Diego IPT #1. 3 1/2 DAYS: WED 27 DEC thru the morning session on Saturday 30 DEC 2023. $2099.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: photographers.

San Diego IPT #2. 4 1/2 DAYS: TUES 9 JAN thru the morning session on SAT 13 JAN 2024: $2699.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers.

San Diego IPT #3: 4 1/2 DAYS: TEUS 23 JAN thru the morning session on SAT 27 JAN 2024: $2699.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers.

Please e-mail for information on personalized pre- and post-IPT morning 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 spots on my 2022/23 visit. As a result, the first and second IPTs may include an afternoon or two of landscape photography.

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

These IPTs will include four or five 3-hour morning photo sessions, three or four 1 1/2-hour afternoon photo sessions, and three or four working brunches that 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.

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.

Deposit Info

A $699 deposit is required to hold your slot for one of the 2023/2024 San Diego IPTs. 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 three 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.