What’s Up?

After driving almost 90 minutes to Sebastian Inlet State Park, I arrived only to find it closed. Driving over the bridge, I was stunned to see not a single person on either jetty. There were, however, dozens of Osprey over the inlet. I learned that the park was without power after the recent storm and was 100% closed. You can check out the Florida State Park Storm Updates here. Anyhoo, I found a legal pullout, parked, walked a half-mile to the inlet ,and found that the promise of diving Ospreys was far greater than the reality. There were lots of pelicans fishing and diving, but the South Jetty was closed off with yellow do-not-enter tape and a couple of sawhorses. Bummer. I spent lots of time sitting on the beach photographing distant diving pelicans, running turnstones, running Sanderlings, Willet, and a young-of-the-year Reddish Egret. As the sun was setting besides the clouds to the west, I got back to the entry path where there were two silly tame Wood Storks and the aforementioned Reddish Egret. Working as I had all afternoon with the 200-600, I had a ton of creative fun in the soft light. Images soon.

Today is Saturday 12 November 2022. I may head to Lakeland this afternoon. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes two hundred thirty days in a row with a new one. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have fun too.

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.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords 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.

Your Choice: Black & White or Gold?

This image was another created on the wonderful morning 8 November 2022 at the Circle Bar B Preserve in Lakeland, FL. Standing at full height I used the no-longer available Induro GIT 204 tripod/Levered-clamp FlexShooter supported-Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: 1/1600 sec. at f/9 (wide open). RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 7:58:47am on a misty, partly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #1: Anhinga calling — black & white version

The Situation

As was mentioned in the Some Days are Diamonds: Part I — Anhinga/Spanish Moss-scape blog post here, on partly foggy or partly cloudy mornings, there are lots of backlit/silhouette opportunities along the east-facing shore of Lake Hancock. On November 8, the sun was peeking in and out of a mostly cloudy sky, but was rarely visible. The closer to the location of the sun behind the clouds, the brighter the backdrop. There are many Anhinga perched in the trees east of the path, but most are either fairly distant or sitting on very cluttered perches. The bird in today’s featured image was relatively close to the path and sitting on a single horizontal branch with the nothing behind it but the bright sky.

200-600 Versatility

Adding the 1.4X TC to the 200-600 gives you a 280-840mm zoom lens that is f/9 at the long end. As seen in yesterday’s blog post, the 200-600 on the lightweight Induro tripod allowed me to make sharp images while working at intermediate to long focal lengths with relatively slow shutter speeds of 1/200 or 1/250 sec. For today’s featured image, I need to get a bit taller to get over some intervening vegetation between me and the bird. Since the GIT 204 is on the short side, I pulled the tripod legs in and was able to get about six inches taller, just enough to get over the bushes right in front of me. The bird croaked every few minutes. Bingo!

This image was created from the same raw file as the image above. Keep reading below to learn how that was done. Image #1: Anhinga calling — gold version

What Folks Do Not Realize

Most photographers do not understand that when they are working backlit against seemingly white skies that there is lots of color that can be enhanced during the post processing. The raw file for Image #1, properly exposed well to the right, looked very much like the optimized version that opened this blog post. Simply setting the WHITE Point and the Black Point produced the contrasty, dramatic B&W look.

To create Image #2 from the same raw file, I simply raised the color temperature and played around with the YELLOWs and the ORANGEs on the Color Mixer tab by adjusting both the Saturation and Luminosity sliders. Whenever the sun is backlighting the sky there are lots of gold tones available in post-processing.

Your Call

Which version of today’s featured image do you like best, Image #1, the B&W, or Image #2, the gold silhouette. Please leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide You can purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide

126 pages, 87 photographs by Joe Przybyla and Arthur Morris.
The PDF for this e-Guide is an electronic download sent via e-mail.

Purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

I had thought about doing a guide to some of the great but little-known photo hotspots around central Florida for about a decade, but those plans never came to fruition. I met Joe online in the Avian Forum at BirdPhotographer’s.Net about two years ago. Joe’s photography has improved tremendously over the past few years; he credits the BAA blog, my books and PDFs, and his participation on BPN. The one thing that I learned right from the get-go about Joe is that he is a hard and tenacious worker, always striving to improve his skills and to grow his knowledge base. As he knew of more than a few good spots in central Florida, I broached the idea of us doing a photographic site guide that covered many of the little-known photographic hotspots from Brandon to Lakeland to Joe Overstreet Road to Indian Lake Estates (my Florida home for the past 20 years or so). After more than many, many dozens of hours of effort, The BIRDS AS ART Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide is now a reality. Thanks to Joe’s wife Dottie for her review of our writing. We all learned once again that writing is a process, a back-and-forth process. All thanks to the white pelicans of Lakeland. Here are the locations that are detailed in this e-Guide:

• Indian Lake Estates: Sandhills Cranes with chicks and colts, lots of vultures, and Ospreys up the kazoo!
• Gatorland, Kissimmee: Learn to make great images of wading birds in a cluttered rookery.
• The Brandon Rookery: Great for nesting Wood Storks, Great Egrets, and more.
• Circle Bar B Reserve, Lakeland: Here you will find a great variety of avian subjects in a great variety of habitats.
• Lake Morton, Lakeland: There are lots of silly tame birds here including and especially American White Pelican during the colder months.
• Lake Mirror, Lakeland: Tame Anhingas, Limpkins, and a zillion White Ibises at times.
• West Lake Parker, Lakeland: Here you will have a chance for two difficult birds, Snail Kite, and Purple Gallinule.
• Joe Overstreet Road, Kenansville: Crested Caracara, meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrike, and much more on the fenceposts and barbed wire.

Each location includes a map, a detailed description of the best spots, best season, light and time of day instructions, the expected species, and an educational and inspirational gallery that is designed to open your eyes as to the possibilities.

You can purchase a copy here in the BAA Online Store.

Your Call

Which version of today’s featured image do you like best, Image #1, the full frame original, or Image #2, the tall, skinny crop? Leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.

Click on the image to better see the green eye-AF boxes in action. Sony Alpha 1 Flight Photography AF Points!

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group: $150.00 (or Free)

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. The group is now up to up to an astounding 131 lucky and blessed folks, and more than a few folks own two or more a1 bodies! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. The best news is that everyone in the group receives an e-mail that includes a .DAT file with my a1 settings on it, and explicit directions on how to load my settings onto your a1; talk about convenience! I am now offering a .DAT file compatible with firmware update 1.20. Your entry into the group includes a consolidated Sony a1 CAMSETA2 INFO & GUIDE. New a1 folks will now receive six e-mails instead of the previous 28! You will receive new e-mails as they are published. Simply put, this e-mail guide is an incredible resource for anyone with an a1.

All who purchased their Alpha 1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link — B&H or Bedfords — will receive a free Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up Guide and free entry into the Info Updates group after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.). Others can purchase their guide here in the BAA Online Store.

Typos

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

Canon EOS R6 Mirrorless Camera Body

BAA Record-low Price!

Victor Banerjee is offering a Canon EOS R6 mirrorless camera body in near-mint condition for a BAA record-low $1898.00. The sale includes the original box, the front body cover, the original battery and charger, the strap, the manual, and and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only.

Please contact Victor via e-mail.

The R6 is virtually identical to the R5 but for the 20 MP raw files and the smaller price tag. The Menu is easy to navigate.The Face Detection plus Tracking technology (though not perfect) is superb. The Custom shooting modes (C1-C3) allow the user to save many items including and especially Customize Buttons, Customize Dials, and Shutter Mode settings. That makes the Custom shooting modes a huge plus for users who do not need to waste time fiddling around with various settings. One of three different Mount Adapters EF-EOS R enable folks to use their Canon EF lenses seamlessly with all of the great R6 features maintained. AF performance with the adapters and EF lenses is superb. Purchase Victor’s body and enjoy a $20.00 discount on the R5/R6 Camera User’s Guide. artie

What’s Up?

I visited the Circle Bar B Preserve in Lakeland again on Wednesday morning. As noted below, there was not much going on. After my nap, I spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for my B&H Event Space presentation. Everything ran smoothly and there were lots of good questions. If you missed the program — Photographing Bald Eagles at Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska, you can view it here.

Today is Thursday 10 November 2022. It is cool and windy here in central Florida as predicted. This blog post took 90 minutes to prepare and makes two hundred twenty-eight days in a row with a new one.

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.

Some Days are Diamonds: Part I — Spanish Moss-scape

Tuesday at Circle Bar B was quite excellent. Wednesday? Not so much. Because it was dark and totally cloudy, I walked 3.5 miles with the 400mm f/2.8 on the monopod. Carrying the big lens as shown in the monopod video is actually easier than carrying the lighter 200-600 and the light tripod. In any case, there were very few birds on Wednesday. Some days are stone. I did, however, have one very good chance near the end of my 3.5-mile walk — a handsome adult Great Blue Heron posed with an armored catfish and eventually swallowed it.

This image was created on 8 November 2022 at the Circle Bar B Preserve in Lakeland, FL. Seated on a crushed limestone path, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 287mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera ISO 640. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: 1/2500 sec. at f/8 (stopped down 1 stop). RawDigger showed that the exposure was just short of dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:39:47am on a misty, partly cloudys morning. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #1: Anhinga Spanish Moss-scape image

The Situation

I love mixed clouds with some sun for my favorite morning walk along the east-facing shore of Lake Hancock. On clear mornings, the sun is simply too strong for photography, but when the sun is somewhat muted by light clouds of fog, there are lots of dramatic back-lit possibilities.

Why the 1.4X TC?

I created 167 images of this bird. I began with the zoom lens alone. The first images were similar to today’s featured image. Then I added the 1.4X TC and zoomed in. I made two series of images of the bird alone filling more than half the frame, those at 791 and 840mm. I did not like any of them. Then, with the TC still in place, I zoomed out and went back to creating wider images, images that again included lots of the hanging Spanish Moss.

Spanish Moss

Hanging from tree limbs, especially live oaks and cypresses, Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is a familiar part of Florida’s environment. Despite its name, Spanish moss is not a moss, but a bromeliad, a perennial herb in the pineapple family. Most bromeliads, including Spanish moss, are epiphytes. It is gray when dry and light green when wet. Spanish moss used to be harvested for stuffing material in automobile seats, furniture, mattresses, and even home insulation. Today it is sometimes used for stuffing or packing material, but it is more widely used for floral arrangements and mulch.

I found an interesting article entitled Eleven facts you need to know about Spanish Moss on the Explore Beaufort SC website here. None of the research that I did for this article mentioned that Ospreys use Spanish Moss to line their nests.

This is a tall skinny vertical crop of Image #1, above. Image #2: Anhinga Spanish Moss-scape image

Your Call

Which version of today’s featured image do you like best, Image #1, the full frame original, or Image #2, the tall, skinny crop? Leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.

Click on the image to better see the green eye-AF boxes in action. Sony Alpha 1 Flight Photography AF Points!

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group: $150.00 (or Free)

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. The group is now up to up to an astounding 131 lucky and blessed folks, and more than a few folks own two or more a1 bodies! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. The best news is that everyone in the group receives an e-mail that includes a .DAT file with my a1 settings on it, and explicit directions on how to load my settings onto your a1; talk about convenience! I am now offering a .DAT file compatible with firmware update 1.20. Your entry into the group includes a consolidated Sony a1 CAMSETA2 INFO & GUIDE. New a1 folks will now receive six e-mails instead of the previous 28! You will receive new e-mails as they are published. Simply put, this e-mail guide is an incredible resource for anyone with an a1.

All who purchased their Alpha 1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link — B&H or Bedfords — will receive a free Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up Guide and free entry into the Info Updates group after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.). Others can purchase their guide here in the BAA Online Store.

Typos

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