Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

What’s Up?

Sunday: worked on taxes, took a 2.4-mile flow rope walk, watched US Open Tennis, swam 1/2-mile, napped, and did my bursts.

Today is Monday 5 September 2022. The schedule for today: finish this blog post, watch the Kyrgios/Medvedev US Open Tennis match, take an early flow rope walk, take care of some AirBnB business, work on taxes, swim 1/2-mile, nap, and do my bursts. And watch some more tennis. 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 and makes one hundred sixty-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!

Canon 100-400mm EF f/4.5-5.6L IS II Zoom Lens

Price reduced $100.00 on 31 August 2022
Price reduced $50.00 on 5 September 2022
BAA Record-low Price!

Multiple IPT veteran Geri Georg is offering a Canon 100-400mm EF f/4.5-5.6L IS II zoom lens in excellent-plus to near-mint condition for a BAA record-low $1249.00 (was $1399.00). The sale includes the original box, the front and rear lens caps, the carrying case with strap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-40 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Geri via e-mail or by phone at 1-970-219-4493 (Mountain time zone).

This incredibly versatile zoom lens — with its amazing .98-meter close focus — was my favorite Canon telephoto zoom lens ever. By far. It is easy to hand hold, great for tight portraits, for birds in flight, for quasi-macro stuff, and lots more. For flight, it is fabulous with an EOS R, R5, R6, or R7! This lens sells new for $2399.00 so you can save a handsome $1150.00 by grabbing Geri’s lens right now. artie

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 22 September 2021 on a DeSoto IPT. I used handheld Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lens (at 24mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 500. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/200 second at f/8 (stopped down 2-stops) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the raw file brightness was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 7:27am on a partly cloudy morning not long after sunrise. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly as it held focus on one of the spoonbills. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #1: Large, Surreal Storm Cloud on the Eastern Horizon

When to Take the 24-105mm into the Field

On the way to North Beach (or to any seaside photo location) in the morning, I check all four horizons for nice cloud formations. When I see something interesting, I’ll grab my old my X-tra Hand vest from the back of my SUV and stick the Sony 24-105mm lens into one of the large pockets, protected by a woolen watch cap. That move paid off on the morning of 22 September. If we will be in one spot for a while, I put my car keys into one of the small, zippered pockets, take the vest off, and place it on a high spot well above the high tide line. I can’t leave without my car keys, so it is impossible to totally forget the vest.

In the same vein, see how multiple IPT veteran Jim Miller saved the day by having his Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM lens super wide-angle lens in his small photo backpack in the “Rainbow Image Optimization & Color Magic Trick” blog post here.

This image was also created on 22 September 2021 on a DeSoto IPT. Standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the raw file brightness for this image was perfect. AWB at 8:07:03am on partly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to view a hi-res version. Image #2: Roseate Spoonbill resting in lagoon

The Super-telephoto Decision

Whenever I am headed to the beach, I face the same decision: do I bring the 600mm f/4 GM lens with the tripod topped by Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro, or do I go with the lighter, more versatile, closer focusing 200-600? If I opt for the former, I have both the 1.4X TC and the 2X TC in my fanny pack along with a soft paintbrush, an extra card, and two extra batteries. When I opt to be more mobile with “just” the 200-600, I leave the 2X in my vehicle.

When it is cloudy, I will almost always lug the 600 f/4 to save 1 1/3-stops of ISO in the low light. On clear days, I will often go fast and light with the 200-600. Though I did so regularly many years ago, I cannot remember the last time I headed afield with the 600 on a tripod and an auxiliary lens on my shoulder via a Black Rapid Curve Breathe Camera Strap.

If a client or IPT participant is working with a Sony 200-600, a Canon 100-500, or a Nikon 200-500, I will usually opt for my 200-600 so that we are more on the same page. On my recent month-long Long Island trip, I used the 600 f/4 about 75% of the time and the 200-600 about 25% of the time, the latter usually in the afternoon. I did not take the 400mm f/2.8 and the monopod out of my vehicle until the very last morning when we created the Monopod video (coming soon to a theater near you). With all the tame birds at DeSoto, I plan on using the 400mm f/2.8 lens on many if not most mornings. And yes, I am blessed to be able to own all three of these great lenses.

Anyhoo, the 200-600 turned out to be just fine for Image #2. Note that the spoonbill in that image was one of the four birds pictured in Image #1.

Image Questions

#1: Which of today’s two featured images do you like best? Why?

#2: How would Image #2 been different had I sat rather than stood?

#3: Why did I move back to include the complete reflection and the two strips at the top when creating Image #2 when I could have stayed in the same spot and zoomed out? (Note: this is a high-level question.)

Spoonbills at DeSoto

Over the past years, Roseate Spoonbill have been 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 a DeSoto IPT.

The Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tours

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 unlikely 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.

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.

Typos

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

Your Call?

Which of today’s two sharp, tight flight images do you like best? Why? I have a clear choice.

What’s Up?

On Friday, I got some work done on my 2021 taxes and got into the pool for my 1/2-mile swim for the first time in more than a month. Older daughter Jennifer and her husband Erik and younger daughter Alissa and her son, Idris, came over for dinner. Lissy and my grandson came down from Long Island for a short visit. Tuna and Brussels sprouts were on the menu. We began on the pool deck but were driven inside by a violent thunderstorm right over the house.

Today is Saturday 3 September 2022. I’ll be taking an early rope flow walk and then getting back to work on my taxes. 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 and makes one hundred sixty-two 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 also created on 19 January 2022 on a San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA.. While 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 and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2000 sec. at f/4 (wide open). RawDigger showed that the raw file brightness was perfect. AWB at 9:49:50 on a rare cloudy morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #1: Brown Pelican Pacific race adult in flight

Tight Pelican Flight Why

Sharp, tight flight shots will always reveal detail, color, and patterns that we do not see in wider flight images. They will impress your friends. And they are fun to make, and fun to crop. Note: both of today’s images were relatively small crops.

This image was also created on 19 January 2022 on a San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA.. While 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 and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2000 sec. at f/4 (wide open). RawDigger showed that the raw file brightness was perfect. AWB at 9:49:50 on a rare cloudy morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #2: Brown Pelican Pacific race adult in flight

Tight Pelican Flight How

When working with a variety of dSLRs for several decades, sharp, tight, flight images were a rarity because the AF systems were simply not up to the task. With birds angling toward or right at us, most of the images were sharp on the feet, not on the birds’ eyes. But the AF systems on the top-of-the-line mirrorless camera bodies are — most of the time, able to track flying subjects quite well, even when they are flying toward us, and even as they get larger and larger in the frame.

Even though these mirrorless cameras offer AF across the full screen and can track the birds’ eyes anywhere in the frame, keeping the subject somewhere near the center of the frame will improve your results. Can you say “Operator Error”? Almost all quality telephoto lenses have limit range switches. For most flight photography, I recommend keeping that switch at the Not Full setting as initial focusing acquisition will be quicker. Why? The lens does not have to focus down to the lens’s minimum focusing distance (MFD) (and then ratchet back to the subject to find it). If the birds are flying at you and are getting closer and closer, you will need to remember to switch (sorry for the pun) to the Full setting so that the system can continue to track the bird right down to the MFD.

Old habits are, however, hard to break. It takes practice (and a good bit of confidence in your gear) to hold the shutter button down long after the bird has filled the frame. I am still working on that. I look forward to practicing this skill on my 5-week San Diego visit. Do consider joining me on one of the three IPTs.

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 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: 3.

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/Openings: 5.

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.

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 $599 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, 3385, 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.

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.