This all-new card includes only images created on my JAN 2022 visit to San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
The 2022/23 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and more!) IPTs
San Diego IPT #1. 3 1/2 DAYS: WED 21 DEC thru the morning session on Saturday 24 DEC 2022. $2099.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 5.
San Diego IPT #2. 4 1/2 DAYS: SAT 7 JAN thru the morning session on WED 11 JAN 2023: $2699.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 2.
San Diego IPT #3: 3 1/2 DAYS: FRI 20 JAN thru the morning session on MON 23 JAN 2023: $2099.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers.
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.
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 as well, often 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.
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. 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 2022/23 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.
What’s Up?
I skipped my Wednesday morning walks and my photo session to get ready for my DeSoto road tip. I’ll drive over later today.
Speaking of which, today is Thursday 6 October 2022. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes one hundred ninety-five 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!
Instagram
Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.
BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)
Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.
Induro GIT 304L Price Drop
Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.
This image was created on 19 January 2022 on a San Diego IPT. Standing at full height, I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 640. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/500 second at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 10:02:11am on a mostly sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #1: Brown Pelican, Pacific-race juvenile
Pacific-race Brown Pelicans
Separating adult Pacific-race Pelicans from the adult pelicans is child’s play. The fire-engine red/olive green bill pouches of the pelicans on the west coast are both distinctive and remarkable. The young birds, however, are quite similar, if not indistinguishable in the field. The Sibley Guide to Birds does not mention any differences in the young western and eastern birds other than that the Pacific birds average larger. Though not as flashy as their parents, their light yellow lower mandibles and bill pouches, and the varying shades of brown feathers combined with their white breasts yield handsome youngsters. In some years at La Jolla as many as 20 percent of the birds on the cliffs are juvie. In other years, you might only see one or two on some days. Visiting photographers are urged not to dismiss the young birds just because their parents are better looking.
This image was created on 19 January 2022 on a San Diego IPT. Standing at full height, I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 640. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/500 second at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 10:02:18 am on a mostly sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #2: Brown Pelican, Pacific-race juvenile preening
Image Optimization Tip
When converting similar images from a sequence, carefully convert one of the images. Bring the next image into Adobe Camera Raw, place the cursor on the second image, hold the Control key down and left click. Then select Apply Previous Settings and you will be close to perfect. With the bird facing forward in Image #2 (the second image to be converted), the top of the head was somewhat darker than in the first image so I added 0.20 stops to the Exposure and moved the Shadows slider a bit more to the right to +32. Using Apply Previous Settings saved me several minutes of work.
These two images were created just seven seconds apart. The file numbers are 13 apart so it is likely that there were twenty or more images in the sequence. Of those, I kept only two, my favorites, today’s two featured images. Which of those is your single favorite? Please leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.
Do take note of the absolutely perfect preening head and bill angle.
Click on the screen capture to better read the fine print.
Image #2A: The RawDigger screen capture for the Brown Pelican, Pacific-race juvenile preening image
Ho Hum, Another Perfect Exposure
What can I say? The combination of Zebras live in the viewfinder (with your camera set up properly) and post-capture study of the raw files in RawDigger makes it pretty much child’s play to come up with perfect exposure after perfect exposure. It would be impossible to overstate how much I have learned by studying RawDigger and how much better my exposures have become since I started with the program almost two years ago. The raw file exposure for today’s featured images are both daed-solid perfect with the G channel almost making the 16000 line. The 17 OvExp pixels out of 51,000,000 are less than negligible 🙂
RawDigger — not for the faint of heart …
Nothing has ever helped me learn to create perfect exposures to the degree that RawDigger has. I think that many folks are reluctant to learn that most of their images are underexposed by one or more full stops and that highlight warnings in Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One, and your in-camera histogram are bogus as they are based on the embedded JPEGs. Only your raw files tell the truth all the time. Heck, I resisted RawDigger for several years … Once you get over that feeling, RawDigger can become your very best exposure friend no matter what system you are using. On the recent IPTs and In-the-Field sessions, we have demonstrated that fact. Convincingly.
The RawDigger Adapted (pink) Histogram
In the RawDigger e-Guide, you will learn exactly how to set up the Adapted “pink” RawDigger Histogram and how to use it to quickly and easily evaluate the exposure or raw file brightness of images from all digital cameras currently in use. RawDigger was especially helpful to me as I have struggled with R5 exposures and learned my new camera body, the Sony Alpha a1.
RawDigger e-Guide with Two Videos
The RawDigger e-Guide with Two Videos
by Arthur Morris with Patrick Sparkman
The RawDigger e-Guide was created only for serious photographers who wish to get the absolute most out of their raw files.
Patrick and I began work on the guide in July 2020. At first, we struggled. We asked questions. We learned about Max-G values. We puzzled as to why the Max G values for different cameras were different. IPT veteran Bart Deamer asked lots of questions that we could not answer. We got help from RawDigger creator Iliah Borg. We learned. In December, Patrick came up with an Adapted Histogram that allows us to evaluate the exposures and raw file brightness for all images created with all digital camera bodies from the last two decades. What we learned each time prompted three complete beginning to end re-writes.
The point of the guide is to teach you to truly expose to the mega-Expose-to-the-Right so that you will minimize noise, maximize image quality, best utilize your camera’s dynamic range, and attain the highest possible level of shadow detail in your RAW files in every situation. In addition, your properly exposed RAW files will contain more tonal information and feature the smoothest possible transitions between tones. And your optimized images will feature rich, accurate color.
We teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We save you money by advising you which version of RawDigger you need. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values for your Canon, Nikon, and SONY camera bodies. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you. And lastly — thanks to the technical and practical brilliance of Patrick Sparkman — we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures and the raw file brightness quickly and easily the Adapted RawDigger histogram.
The flower video takes you through a session where artie edits a folder of images in Capture One while checking the exposures and Max-G values in RawDigger. The Adapted Histogram video examines a series of recent images with the pink histograms and covers lots of fine points including and especially how to deal with specular highlights. The directions for setting up the Adapted Histogram are in the text.
If we priced this guide based on how much effort we put into it, it would sell it for $999.00. But as this guide will be purchased only by a limited number of serious photographers, we have priced it at $51.00. You can order yours 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.
Not much. I walked/rope flow walked early on another gorgeous day; one small benefit of Hurricane Ian has been the fabulous dry weather it left in its wake. I stopped briefly at the Vulture Trees without much success. I swam early, finally finished my 2021 taxes, and got the information to my accountant, Chip Jackson, who had been vacationing in Europe for most of September.
In this post Anita North kindly shares four of her favorite images from her trip to the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia in September. Kudos to Anita for not worrying about the ridiculously high ISOs. If you want to make sharp images, it is best not to be concerned with the ISO settings that you need to make good exposures. Anita went as high as ISO 32,000! If you have a favorite image, please leave a comment and let us know what you like about it.
Today is Wednesday 5 October 2022. I will be packing to get ready to head over to Fort DeSoto for IPT #2. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about three hours to prepare and makes one hundred ninety-four 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!
Instagram
Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.
BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)
Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.
Induro GIT 304L Price Drop
Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.
Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Animal Face/Eye Detection performed well. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. And be sure to scroll down to see the original.
Image #1: Spirit Bear with salmon in stream/mixed light
Image courtesy of and copyright 2022: Anita G. North
Introductory Background Text by Anita North
In February 2016, there was a great international celebration. After a 20-year struggle, led in part by the Indigenous Tribes that have lived there for thousands of years, the Canadian Government finally signed the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement. What began with blockades, protests, and hundreds of arrests, ended with an unprecedented environmental stewardship agreement with 85% of the Great Bear Forest permanently protected from industrial logging.
Greenpeace International
The story of the campaign to protect Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, and how a landmark agreement has so far secured the protection of half of the natural old growth forest. The Great Bear Rainforest campaign demonstrates that out of conflict and peaceful resistance, it is possible to work towards solutions. It inspires our work in the Amazon, the Congo and Indonesia today. Learn more in the 3-minute YouTube video here.
Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Animal Face/Eye Detection performed well. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #2: Spirit Bear walking on rocks near stream
Image courtesy of and copyright 2022: Anita G. North
A Critical Gear Error
Astoundingly, Anita made it to BC with her 600mm f/4, her 400mm f/2.8, and her 200-600 GM lens. As soon as she arrived, she realized that she had made a big mistake. With the low light levels in the rain forest, she should have left the 200-600 at home and taken the much faster (f/2.8 as compared to f/6.3) Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 II GM lens. Taking a look at the EXIF for Image #2 — created at only 200mm, you quickly realize that if Anita had the 70-200 in her hands, she could have saved 2 1/3 stops of ISO. Instead of needing ISO 25,600 for the image above, she could have maintained the same shutter speed and exposure level by working at ISO 5000. And with the lighter lens, she could easily have made sharp images at 1/500 second. That would have brought her down to a very attractive 2500 ISO.
That said, thanks to the great Sony A1 raw files and Topaz Denoise, Images #1 and #2 look pretty darn good to me.
National Geographic
In this well-worth-watching YouTube video, NG photographer Paul Nicklen tests his patience in an effort to capture the rare spirit bear — a potential key to saving a pristine corner of British Columbia. After a month in the rain and having spotted zero Spirit bears, he was worried about failing on a project that he proposed. He imagined his boss saying, “We’re a magazine; we publish photos, not excuses.” He says of his experience in the rain forest with the Spirit Bears, “One of the most powerful moments of his career.”
Watching this video will give you a good idea of why I never had a desire to be a National Geographic photographer.
Scroll down here to see another inspirational Paul Nicklen/Spirit Bear video.
This image was created on 13 September 2022 by Anita North. She used the hand held Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1250. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/800 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB.
Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Animal Face/Eye Detection performed well. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #3: Spirit Bear in stream in mixed light
Image courtesy of and copyright 2022: Anita G. North
More From Anita
I recently returned from a 2-week trip to Hartley Bay, British Colombia, the home of the Gitga’at First Nation. Native guides take you by boat to Gribbell Island to sit by the river and wait for the Spirit and Black bears to arrive for salmon fishing.
The Spirit Bear is a magnificent and rare subspecies of the American Black Bear. It’s white/creamy yellow fur and white nails are the result of mating between black bears that both carry a recessive gene. They are only found in north central British Columbia, Canada. They now number approximately 150 and the largest concentration of these very special animals are found on 3 islands –Gribbell, Prince Royal, and Roderick. Recently, all bear hunting was banned in the Great Bear Forest. Spending time waiting, watching, and having a chance to photograph this rare, ethereal bear, surrounded by equally rare, unspoiled temperate rainforest was a great blessing. Thanks to Arthur for sharing a few of my images on the blog. You can see more of my images here on Instagram (anitanorth1).
Huge thanks to my guide, Marvin Robinson. He truly is the “spirit bear whisperer.” He is a Guardian Watchman who has the responsibility of managing and restoring wildlife populations in the newly protected areas. He is an utterly amazing individual who has been and is making a huge contribution.
Spirit bears and the Great Bear Rainforest — from the Blog of Tim Irvin
Spirit bears are a variant of the American black bear with a recessive genetic trait that makes their fur white. These magnificent bears are extremely rare and are only found in a small corner of the Great Bear Rainforest. Existing population estimates vary between 100 to 500 individual bears and are likely to be closer to the low end of that scale. By comparison, the latest population estimate for wild pandas is just over 1800. Witnessing a white spirit bear in its dark green rainforest home is an extraordinary experience. The Great Bear Rainforest is the largest intact temperate rainforest on Earth. This is a place where the ocean, mountains and ancient forests teem with wildlife including bald eagles, salmon, humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, grizzly bears and black bears, wolves, wolverines and more.
You can learn about booking a trip to see the Spirit Bears here.
Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Animal Face/Eye Detection performed well. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1A: The original for the Spirit Bear with salmon in stream/mixed light image
Image courtesy of and copyright 2022: Anita G. North
Dealing with Mixed Light Over-exposure
The screen capture above represents the raw file at the default settings. The red overlay on the highlights indicates the areas that are grossly over-exposed.
Note: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART (that’s me), did the four raw conversions, the image optimizations, and the clean-up work for each of today’s featured images. As you can see, photographing in mixed light is a huge challenge, one that I strive to avoid. With sun on the log in this image, two raw conversions were done, one properly exposed for the bear, and a second, very dark one for the highlights. After running Topaz DeNoise on each image, the dark image was dragged atop the one that was exposed for the bear. Next, a Hide-all (Black, or Inverse) Mask was applied. The mask was painted away over the toasted areas in increments with a 33% opacity brush.
BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)
Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.
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 techniques mentioned above, 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.
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.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
To learn about DeSoto #2 IPT late registration discount or pro-rated days on this or any other IPT, please get in touch via e-mail.
Fort DeSoto in fall is rife with tame birds. All the images on this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or very early October. I hope that you can join me there this fall. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Caspian Tern, Great Egret, Sandwich Tern with fish, Willet, Black-bellied Plover threat display, Snowy Egret, 2-year old Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron, juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron.
The Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tours
Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #2
3 1/2 Days: 7 October through the morning session on Monday 10 October 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers/Openings three.
Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #3
3 1/2 Days: Monday 31 October through the morning session on Thursday 3 November 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers/Openings: 5.
Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, and gulls that winter on the T-shaped peninsula. With any luck at all, we should get to photograph one of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher is pretty much guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. And we will get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two.
On this IPT, all will learn the basics and fine points of digital exposure. Nikon and Canon folks will learn to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, and SONY folks will learn to use Zebras so that they can be sure of making excellent exposures before pressing the shutter button. Everyone will learn how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly, you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it). The best news is that you will be able to take everything you learn home with you so that you will be a better photographer wherever and whenever you photograph.
There will be a Photoshop/image review session during or after lunch (included) each full day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.
These IPTs will run with only a single registrant (though that is not likely to happen). The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with Gulfport AirBnB information. If you register soon and would like to share an AirBnB with me, shoot me an e-mail. Other possibilities including taking a cab to and from the airport to our AirBnB and riding with me. This saves you both gas and the cost of a rental car.
A $600 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check two months before the trip. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with six folks, so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand, or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.
Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, juvenile Tricolored Heron, Marbled Godwits, Great Blue Heron, juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, Wood Stork, smiling Sea Scallop, Ruddy Turnstone scavenging needlefish, Great Blue Heron sunset silhouette at my secret spot, and southbound migrant tern flock blur.
Up Early, Stay Out Late!
Obviously, folks attending an IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of the sweetest light and sunrise and sunset colors (when possible). The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers are arriving. The length of cloudy morning sessions will often be extended. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
Spoonbills at DeSoto
Over the past years, Roseate Spoonbills have become regular visitors to Fort DeSoto Park. I know when and where to find them and can teach you to approach them successfully. Do consider joining me on one of the DeSoto IPTs.
What’s Up?
I skipped both my walk and the Vulture Trees on a clear sunny morning with a nice breeze from the north. I worked the base of the pier with the 600/2X rig on the tripod and did not fare very well. With a huge overnight mayfly hatch, there were hundreds of birds feeding in the pools on the edges of the flooded lake. Most were Cattle Egrets and White Ibises but, there were enough juvenile Little Blues Herons to pique my interest. So, I grabbed the 400 f/2.8 with the 1.4X TC and an a1 and handheld the rig for a walk down and back the South Peninsula. I kept a few.
Today is Tuesday 4 October 2022. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about an hour to prepare makes one hundred ninety-three 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!
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BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)
Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.
Induro GIT 304L Price Drop
Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.
This image was created on 20 September 2021 on a Fall Fort DeSoto IPT. The park is in Tierra Verde, FL, just south of St. Petersburg. Seated on damp sand, I used the lowered, no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 800. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/3200 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 8:51:29am on hazy, sunny morning.
Tracking: Upper Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #1: Roseate Spoonbill, one year old sky pointing
Three Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Bird Photography
#1 — On sunny days, point your shadow as closely as possible at the subject. In today’s featured image, note that shadow of the leg on the ground is directly behind that leg. It is rare to be perfectly on sun angle, but with Image #1, that was the case. Working subjects that are far off sun angle ruins countless images before the shutter button is pressed.
#2 — As your choice of perspective determines the background, choose it carefully. Be sure to note how each change of position affects the background. And be sure to check the edges of the frame for distractions.
#3 — Getting low will improve at least four out of five images of birds on the ground. Don’t be lazy: get your butt on the ground (if physically possible). Yes, I know that it gets harder and harder to get up, but the results make it well worthwhile. Learn to use the knee-pod, ankle-pod, toe-pod, and foot pod techniques without having to lie belly down in the muck.
Image Questions
Would you have chosen a different perspective? Why?
If you like this image, what do you like best about it?
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
