Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

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

Summer On Long Island

Check out the July and August Nickerson Beach (& Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge/East Pond) IPT offerings here and consider joining us to learn a ton, make lots of great images, and improve your image processing skills.

What’s Up?

I have not had this much fun on an IPT in ages. After screwing up the first morning sunrise things have been getting better and better. We had a very nice sunrise on Monday (but not as great on the one on Sunday had been). Like Sunday morning, things got hot fast but we enjoyed some excellent photography. Monday evening was the bomb with a cool north wind and an indigo black cloud to the north. We did lots of flight photography. Tuesday morning was blessed cloudy and we shot lots of large tern chicks on the clean sand. Tuesday night was fabulous as we photographed dozens of Royal Tern chicks in the wash on a cloudy bright afternoon. Until two very overweight rednecks drove at high speed right through large flocks of birds (including the terns that were right in front of us) on their e-bikes. They hit a young Laughing Gull and broke its wing and passed by us laughing. When they returned, they paused to give us some lip. We called the cops and they did come. Not sure if they found them.

The birds returned after a while and were amazingly tame. At 6:45pm the sheriff came to shoo us off the beach so I took Steve and Sandy out for dinner at the Palms Fish Camp Restaurant. The food was quite good and we had a great time.

I just finished downloading and learned that I have 5830 images to edit from our great day. And most of those were made with the (slower frame rate) a-1. As there was little wind in the afternoon, there was not much flight photography so I rarely used the a9 iii.

Today is Wednesday 17 July and we will be back out there early hoping for a killer sunrise to make up for the one we missed. I hope that you have fun too.

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.

Save 15%!

If you’d like to try out a new lens or if you need a lens for a specific trip or project (or for an IPT), LensRentals.com is the only way to go. To save 15%, simply click on the logo link above, arrange for your rental, and type in BIRDSASART15. If you type the gear you are looking for in the search box, it will pop right up. LensRentals.com offers affordable insurance. You can decline it, opt for LensCap: Damage Only, or select LensCap: Damage & Theft. Then hit PROCEED TO CHECKOUT. After you enter all of your info but before completing your order, be sure to scroll down to Promo Code box and enter the BIRDSASART15 code to save 15%.

I checked on renting a Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens for a week. The cost is only $122.00. LensCap: Damage Only coverage can be added for a very low $18.00. Going with LensCap: Damage & Theft would be $27.00. The shipping charge varies. They offer an interesting program called Lensrentals HD. By signing up for this shipping discount program ($99.00/year), you’ll get free Standard Shipping on all the orders you place.

Renting a Sony 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens for a week will cost you $536.00. The two coverage options come in at $76.00 or $114.00. Less your 15% discount when you enter the BIRDSASART15 code into the Promo Code box at checkout and enter the BIRDSASART15 code in the Promo Code box at checkout to save 15%.

Remember, to save the 15% on your rental you must start your search by clicking on the logo above, or on this link: LensRentals.com

B&H

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. B&H will reopen on Fri April 14. 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.

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.

Bedfords Simplified

Click here to start your search. Choose standard shipping, and when you get to the payment page, enter BIRDSASART in the discount code box and hit apply. You will be upgraded to free second day air Fed-Ex and receive 3% cash back on your credit card once your stuff ships. Either is greatly appreciated by yours truly.

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, prior purchases.

Visit the Bedfords website here, shoot Steve Elkins an e-mail, or text him on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592.

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 stave 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 by multiple IPT veteran Steve Shore on 15 July 2024 at Huguenot Memorial Park on the third morning of the extended JAX IPT. Seated on dry sand behind his flattened tripod, he used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 1600. 1/1000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead solid perfect. AWB at 7:44:13am on a blessedly cloudy morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Sandwich Terns with fish for tern chick

The Situation

We were sitting on the beach near a patch of pretty clean sand facing east on a cloudy morning. There were handsome tern chicks of varying sizes everywhere. The relatively small chick featured in both of today’s images, confused the heck out of us. With its orange bill, it sure looked like a Royal Tern chick. For more than an hour, several adult Sandwich Terns landed nearby attempting to feed it. Though it was begging constantly, it was never fed. At times, one or two more adult Sandwich Terns would join in the coffee klatch.

My advice to Steve was to trust Tracking; Zone AF, acquire focus, and blast away whenever there was some action. Why not be more selective with both framing and focus? If you tried to see a good pose you would not be fast enough to capture it before it was gone. So we both sprayed and prayed and each of us made several fine images.

Remember that Steve switched to Sony at my urging before the last spring Fort DeSoto IPT that he attended. His progress has been astounding. He cannot believe the sharpness he is getting at 1200mm.

This image was also 15 July 2024 at Huguenot Memorial Park on the third morning of the extended JAX IPT. Seated on dry sand behind my flattened tripod, 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, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 1600. 1/1000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be 1/3 stop short of perfect. AWB at 7:44:50am on a blessedly cloudy morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Sandwich Terns with fish and a tern chick

My Best

I used the same approach that I had advised Steve to use and got really lucky on this one. I sprayed and prayed the field. I rarely look at images on the back of the camera in field and thus was totally amazed when this one popped up.

Color Balance

Though the two images were made within a minute or so of each other and we were both using. AWB, note that Steve’s image, #1, is bluer with a darker background than my somewhat warmer image. I did not realize thatI had optimized them so differently. Which color balance do you prefer?

Can a Sandwich Tern Chick Have an Orange Bill?

I am pretty sure that the chick was in fact a Royal Tern as Sandwich Tern chicks have slimmer bills that range from yellow to black with a bit of yellow … But I would not bet my life on it. If it was a Royal Tern chick, the only explanation is that the adult birds were somehow confused.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

We may (or may not) have a temporary blog post notification fix in place. Time will tell. I know that some or many or you received 19 “old” post notifications. Part of the problem is that there were 36 missed posts. So what happened to the other 17? Be assured that we are working hard on the problem.

In the meantime, enjoy the video below.

Today is Saturday 13 July. I will be driving up to Jacksonville for the IPT and will be picking up old friend and IPT vet Steve Shore at JAX today at about 4pm. Have a great day. Tomorrow: 15,000 plus pairs of terns and Laughing Gulls with chicks of all ages.

Huge Price Drop

Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens

Price reduced a shocking $600.00 on 13 July 2024

Used Gear Page veteran Robert Hollyer is offering a Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens in Like-New condition for a BAA record low $9398.00 (was $9,998.00). The sale includes the front lens cap, the rear lens cap, the lens hood, the lens strap, that hard case & strap, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Bob via e-mail or by phone at 1-206-359-0018 PST.

I purchased my Sony 400mm f/2.8 two years ago to complement my 600mm f/4. Robert is selling his because he rarely uses it, opting instead for the 600mm f/4! It is far easier for me to handhold the 4 ounces lighter, much smaller, and better balanced 400 f/2.8 than it is to handhold the 600mm f/4. The 400 kills for flight with or without the 1.4X teleconverter. This lens sells new right now for $11,998.00 at B&H and there are used copies going for $10998.00 as well. Act quickly to save a handsome $2,000.00 by grabbing Robert’s might-as-well-be-new 400mm GM lens. And you can’t beat the f/2.8 Bokeh! artie

A Really Good Morning Down by the Lake with Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART (21 minutes)

With lots of packing to do for my trip to Jacksonville, I took a peek down by the lake in hopes of finding a bathing Osprey. Instead, I had a fine morning with a young Great Egret, some adult and young White Ibises, a perched adult Osprey, a pair of Sandhill Cranes, and a very cooperative pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Learn a ton about bird photography by sitting next to me as I do the first edit. You will see me delete hundreds of perfect images and relegate them to the Trash. I kept only 79 out of 1146 images, all but one of the keepers made at 1200mm working off the BLUBB (Big Lens Ultimate BeanBag — https://birdsasart-shop.com/blubb-big), and all but one in sharp focus. More soon. The more of this video you watch, the more you will learn.

If you would like to see a short video of the second edit, please leave a comment.

This image was created on 12 July left of the pier down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working from the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, 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. 1/1000 sec. at f/9 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be dead solid perfect. AWB at 8:57:10am on clear sunny morning. Tracking: Expand Spot/AF-C performed perfectly even at 1200mm. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Black-bellied Whistling Duck with bill open

Eyeball Replacement

As you saw in the video, the bird had the nictitating membrane partially down in one of my favorite images. I replaced the eye with an open eye from another image in the series. Then I cropped to a vertical for impact.

Yikes

After completing the video I realized that with all my talking my two favorite images had NOT been tagged as keepers. As I hade already cleaned the cards, I went to Trash, selected all, and pasted them back into the July 12 folder. It took only a few seconds to tag the two I had missed and to delete the untagged.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II). You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a PayPal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. Be sure to specify Digital Basics II.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

The technique mentioned above (eyeball replacement) and tons more great Photoshop tips and techniques — along with my complete digital workflow, Digital Eye Doctor Techniques, and all my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

Please note: the Divide and Conquer technique was inadvertently omitted from DB II. It is detailed in a free excerpt in the blog post here.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: most of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.

You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About three years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One and did that for two years. You can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here. Today, I convert my Sony raw files in Photoshop with Adobe Camera Raw.

You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.

The Digital Basics III Video Series

The Digital Basics III Video Series

I realized about a year ago that my digital workflow had changed fairly significantly and was toying with the idea of writing a Digital Basics III. More recently, I have learned and begun working with two great new Photoshop Tools, the Remove Tool and the Luminance Targeted Adjustment Tool. The former is like a smarter Spot Healing Brush Tool on steroids and the latter is a huge step up from the fabulous Color Mixer Tool. During that same time frame, I came up with a new and improved 2-step noise reduction technique. I still use Divide and Conquer, Quick Masks, Layer Masks, an expanded array of personalized keyboard shortcuts, and tons of other stuff from both versions of Digital Basics.

As soon as I realized that I did not want to take on another large writing project, I realized that by creating a series of videos I could much more easily share all the details of my current digital workflow and much more easily incorporate additional new tips, techniques, and tools as I went. And so, The Digital Basics III Video Series was born. You can check out Volume I/#1 here.

You might opt to purchase single videos or to subscribe to Volume I and save $26 by ordering the first five videos in one fell swoop. You can purchase the five videos in Volume I by clicking here. The videos will be most valuable for folks using the latest version of Photoshop (2024) or Lightroom along with Topaz DeNoise AI and Topaz Sharpen AI.

Typos

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