Which of today’s two featured images do you prefer? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice. This one is a close call.
The First DeSoto IPT
If you are interested in the first DeSoto IPT, 3 1/2 Days, Tuesday 27 September through the morning session on Friday 30 September 2022, know that I just reserved a three-bedroom AirBnB in Gulfport. Share it for four nights with many multiple IPT veteran Monte Brown and me and save a ton on lodging: $83.69/night/person for a whole home. AirBnB photos available upon request. If interested, shoot me an e-mail.
What’s Up?
Me, early, packing for the drive up to Jacksonville. I am planning on leaving at about 10:00am and doing some grocery shopping along the way. John Dupps, David Pugsley, and I will be hitting the beach for our first session this afternoon.
With nine deposit checks in hand, and with good friend Ed Dow grabbing a single cabin, there are only three openings left on the 2013 Galapagos Photo-cruise of a Lifetime. The trip is now a go. If you have any interest in joining us, it would be best to get in touch via e-mail ASAP.
Speaking of IPTs, I am still looking for someone to do all three Homer Bald Eagle trips and driving the round trip from Anchorage to Homer and back with me. Toward that end, I am offering a ridiculously high discount of $4500.00, $1500 off each trip. The offer may not last long because there are only two slots left on the second IPT. If you are interested, or would like additional details, please contact me via e-mail.
Today is Friday 15 July 2022. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about ninety minutes to prepare and makes one hundred seventeen 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. The 304L was my favorite tripod for more than a decade. They are now $699.00 each (originally $799.00), and the price includes insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906.
This image was created on 19 September 2021 on a Fort DeSoto IPT. Sitting on wet, muddy, sand, I used the knee-pod technique with the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 419mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 2500. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:11:32am on a cloudy morning.
Tracking: Spot AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the hi-res version.
Image #1: Red Knot in fresh Juvenal plumage feeding
Getting Better with the BLUEs
On cloudy days, the water in properly exposed images ranges from gray to white. I have only recently learned how to transform into pleasing BLUEs. In the same vein, I am often unhappy with my blue-sky tones on sunny days. I have been working hard for a year on creating pleasing BLUE tones in Photoshop. The process begins during the raw conversion and sometimes continues in Photoshop. The main color work is done in the Color Mixer tab during the raw conversion. I am very pleased with the tones in the blue water in both of today’s images and was thrilled with the two blue sky eagle images in yesterday’s blog post. A year ago, I could not have gotten these blue tones so pleasing. It is wonderful not having to settle for washed out BLUEs that are too CYAN or not enough Magenta.
If you would be interested in purchasing a Getting the BLUE Tones Right video, please leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail.
This image was also created on 19 September 2021 on a Fort DeSoto IPT. Again, sitting on wet, muddy, sand, I used the knee-pod technique with 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 1600. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1000 sec. at f/7.1 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:22:03am on a cloudy morning.
Tracking: Spot AF/C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the hi-res version.
Image #2: Sanderling — moderately worn juvenile with marine worm
Juvenile Shorebirds
Migrant sub-Arctic-breeding juvenile shorebirds will be arriving across the US in about a month. The first adults left their tundra breeding grounds in late June and began arriving just days after that. The adults are wearing the same feathers that they wore when heading north in spring. Their feathers are worn, and the colors and patterns have faded. Many have already begun molting into their drab basic (winter) plumage. On the other hand, the young birds are stunningly patterned. Most species feature neat, even patterns, each feather edged with a buff or whitish border. Enlarge the Red Knot photo, Image #1, and you can see that each upperparts feather has a fine, black, sub-terminal band outline each a feather. In many cases, it is easier to determine the age of a shorebird in August or September than it is to identify it as to species.
If you found the above interesting, you will surely want to grab one of the few remaining copies of my soft-cover book, Shorebirds: Beautiful Beachcombers.
Intermediate Telephoto Lenses and Shorebirds
Join me on a Fort DeSoto IPT and learn the tricks to getting close enough to shorebirds to photograph them with handheld intermediate telephoto lenses. Details below the kudos.
Unsolicited via e-mail from Pete Myers
I just spent 4 days in the field in a graduate course in bird photography taught by Artie Morris at Fort DeSoto. After almost 50 years of experience pointing cameras at birds from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, New Zealand and beyond, I thought I was good enough. But what I learned from Artie in just four days has taken me to a whole new level. As he aptly puts it, “birds as art,” not simply bird photography. One of those 4 days was the most satisfying I’d ever experienced, anywhere. The IPT left me euphoric about what I’d learned, and frighteningly committed to recreating my portfolio with the techniques and insights he taught me.
Via e-mail from Jim Miller
I can’t stop thinking about how much fun the DeSoto Fall IPT was, and how much I learned. There were so many things that suddenly made perfect sense after I had been confused for so long. Thank you very much for the wonderful trip, and for being a great teacher. As I worked through the raw files last week, I realized what a fantastic lens the 600 GM is. Thanks for the rental! Maybe someday I will be able to afford one. Some images for critique are attached.
By the way, the plant we were looking at along the sidewalk in Gulfport is Blue Porterweed. It is worth a few minutes on the internet to read about it: native of Florida and the Caribbean, used for medicine in The Bahamas, etc. We have it in a large pot in the front yard and it takes a lot of water, but it blooms Spring through Fall. Thank you again, Artie. It was really wonderful to be with you and learn from you.
Via e-mail from Lee Sommie
I want to thank you for making the Fall 2017 Ft. DeSoto IPT such a fun and educational experience for me. I truly did not want the adventure to end. I now look through the viewfinder with an artist’s mindset. And the real bonus was making new friends with fellow students. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm for wildlife photography. I had a great time with you and look forward to more adventures on future IPTs.
Followed by this one
BTW. I downloaded Photo Mechanic and started using it in my workflow. Since I like using Lightroom for my adjustments, I found a way to incorporate Photo Mechanic and Lightroom together. Lightroom was driving me crazy with how slow it is to import and preview photos. I was impressed with how fast you could preview photos and start editing your photos on the DeSoto Fall IPT. Life is too short to wait for applications to import and preview photos and Photo Mechanic solves that problem.
Via e-mail from Muhammad Arif
I had a great time at Fort DeSoto. Thank you for all the instruction, for your help and pointers; my photography has already improved tremendously, and I’ve never made such good bird photos before. I wish I could’ve joined you on Monday and Tuesday morning as well, but work got in the way. It was also nice meeting the folks on the IPT. Thanks again for everything and I hope to join you at a future IPT sometime again.
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 #1
3 1/2 Days: Tuesday 27 September through the morning session on Friday 30 September 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers/Openings five.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Which of today’s three featured adult Bald Eagles images is the strongest? Why did you make your choice? I have a feeling that I may be the odd man out. I do believe that all three are superb, but I do have a clear favorite.
An Additional Monopod Comment
I forgot to mention that if you are using a ballhead atop your monopod rather than the Wimberley MonoGimbal Head you are making your life very difficult.
What’s Up?
The webinar went well. About 250 folks attended, there were lots of questions, and NANPA board member Eric Bowles was happy and appreciative. After the program, IPT veteran Muhammad Arif got in touch via e-mail:
Loved, loved, loved your presentation today, Artie. I think this is the best one I’ve seen among your various YouTube, B&H, and camera club presentations. It was chock full of great info.
With nine deposit checks in hand, and with good friend Ed Dow grabbing a single cabin, there are only three openings left on the 2013 Galapagos Photo-cruise of a Lifetime. The trip is now a go. If you have any interest in joining us, it would be best to get in touch via e-mail ASAP.
Speaking of IPTs, I am still looking for someone to do all three Homer Bald Eagle trips and driving the round trip from Anchorage to Homer and back with me. Toward that end, I am offering a ridiculously high discount of $4500.00, $1500 off each trip. The offer may not last long because there are only two slots left on the second IPT. If you are interested, or would like additional details, please contact me via e-mail.
The downpours continue here at ILE most every day, including and especially yesterday. An early evening monsoon struck, and it rained torrentially for more than two hours. Today is Thursday 14 July 2022. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about ninety minutes to prepare and makes one hundred sixteen 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. The 304L was my favorite tripod for more than a decade. They are now $699.00 each (originally $799.00), and the price includes insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906.
I created this image on 19 February on one of the 2022 Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPTs I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (at 2000mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. ISO 640: 1/2000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 10:19:46am on a cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone-AF/C with Bird Face/Eye performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1: Bald Eagle — adult in a banking turn ready to dive
Imagine …
Imagine yourself sitting beside me in the restaurant at Land’s End Resort on the Homer Spit, the finest hotel in or out of town. The restaurant is closed and dark and we are the only folks there. We are reviewing the 13,942 images that you created on the first day of the IPT. You have purchased and installed Photo Mechanic, and with my help, set it up. As we go through your images, we talk about exposure, sharpness, wing position, and image design. You tag only your keepers, and after a while, you are so confident of your newly acquired skills that you are zipping through your images at the rate of fifty every minute or two. When you are done, you learn to select the untagged images and delete them so that you are left only with your 1,978 keepers. In the coming days, you will learn to be a lot more selective.
I created this image on 19 February on one of the 2022 Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPTs. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 324mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 3:49:43am on a sunny afternoon.
Tracking: Zone-AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the hi-res version.
Image #2: Bald Eagle — adult, dorsal view flight
Imagine …
Imagine that after just two days on the boat, you are 100% confident about getting the right exposure for black and white subjects on cloudy days (Image #1), and equally confident about getting the right exposure for the adult eagles on sunny, blue-sky days (Images #2 & #3) as well. Regardless of your camera system, you have learned to expose to the right to the max to maximize the details in the dark tones without toasting the WHITEs on the eagles’ heads.
Tracking: Zone-AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #3: Bald Eagle — adult striking
Imagine
Imagine being with me in Homer for five or six or eleven or even sixteen days. Imagine learning to read the wind and the light and to recognize poor, good, and great situations. Imagine slogging through the snow to create stunning portraits of Bald Eagles with just an intermediate telephoto lens. Imagine sailing though pristine and scenic bays, the slopes covered with hemlocks and firs and pines. And with snow. There are dozens of eagles in the trees and on the rocks, and if we are lucky, we get close to a mother Sea Otter with a pup on her chest, of a pair of Barrow’s Goldeneyes. Imagine photographing eagles in flight until you can barely lift your 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. And imagine sitting with me as part of a small group while learning to improve your image optimization skills by leaps and bounds. We will do countless raw conversions, learn to restore detail in the highlights, to lighten the irises, darken the pupils, and lighten the feathers around the eye that are always shaded by the birds’ prominent brows. Imagine …
Homer 2022 Bald Eagle Highlights and Handholding Compositional Tips by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Enjoy and be inspired by just a few Homer Bald Eagle highlight images. Hand holding intermediate telephoto lens will always yield slightly different compositions. Learn more about that topic in this short (3:14) video.
All images from Homer or Kachemak Bay, AK
2023 Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPTs
IPT #1: MON 20 FEB 2023 through the full day on FRI 24 FEB 2023. Five full days/20 hours on the boat: $5500.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 4.
IPT #2: SAT 25 FEB 2023 through the full day on THURS 2 MAR 2023. Six full days/24 hours on the boat: $6600.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 2.
IPT #3: FRI 3 MAR 2023 through the full day on TUES 7 MAR 2023. Five full days/20 hours on the boat: $5500.00. Limit 5 photographers. Openings: 4.
Save $1,000.00 by doing back-to-back trips.
These trips feature non-stop flight photography as well as many opportunities to create both environmental and point-blank portraits of one of North America’s most sought-after avian subjects: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Other reliable subjects will include Sea Otter, Glaucous-winged and Short-billed (formerly Mew) Gulls.
In addition, we should see Common Murre, Black Guillemot, Pelagic Cormorant, two or three species of loons, and a smattering of ducks including two species of merganser, all three scoters, Common and Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Bufflehead, Harlequin, and Long-tailed Ducks. Close-range photographic chances for these species will require a ton of good luck. Some of these species, especially when in flocks, can, however, often be used effectively when pleasing creating bird-scapes.
If we need to be out early, we will be the first boat out. If conditions are great, we will stay out. And when there is a chance for sunset silhouettes, we will be in the right spot.
We will be traveling through gorgeous wilderness country; landscape and scenic opportunities abound.
Also featured is a professional leader, often referred to as the world’s most knowledgeable bird photography trip leader, who is conversant in Canon, Nikon, and Sony. You will learn practical and creative solutions to everyday photographic problems. You will learn to see the shot, to create dynamic images by fine-tuning your compositions, to best utilize your camera’s AF system, and how to analyze the wind, the sky conditions, and the direction and quality of the light. This is one of the very few trips Homer trips available where you will not be simply put on the birds and told to have fun. You will learn to be a better photographer. But only if that is what you want.
You will learn to get the right exposure when it is sunny, when it cloudy-bright, when it is cloudy, when it is cloudy-dark, or when it is foggy. Not to mention getting the right exposure when creating silhouettes.
You will learn to make pleasing blurs working in manual mode and to create silhouettes working in Shutter Priority mode.
Most importantly you will learn to pick your best flight images from tens of thousands of images.
You will enjoy working with the two best and most creative boat captains on their sturdy, photography-spacious, seaworthy, open-deck crafts.
The second and third IPTs are the only Bald Eagle workshops that feature an incredibly helpful first mate.
Only five photographers (not the usual six), plus the leader.
Small group Photoshop, Image Review, and Image Critiquing sessions.
All images from Homer or Kachemak Bay, AK
What’s Included
One four hour or two two-hour boat trips every day (weather permitting), all boat fees and boat-related expenses (excluding tips), ground transportation to and from the dock and back to the hotel each day, in-the-field instruction and guidance, pre-trip gear advice, small group post-processing and image review sessions, and a thank you dinner for all well-behaved participants.
What’s Not Included
Your airfare to and from Homer, AK (via Anchorage), the cost of your room at Land’s End Resort, all personal items, all meals and beverages, and tips for the boat captain and/or the first mate.
Please Note
On great days, the group may wish to photograph for more than four hours. If the total time on the boat exceeds 20 hours for the five-day trips, or 24 hours for the second trip, the group will share the additional expense at a rate of $225/hour.
Some folks may wish to rent their own vehicle to take advantage of local photographic opportunities around Homer.
Deposit Information
A $3000 non-refundable deposit/trip is required. You may pay your deposit with credit card or by personal check (made out to BIRDS AS ART) and sent via US mail only to Arthur Morris. PO Box 7245. Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. Your balance, due 90 days before the date of departure, is payable only by check as above.
In Closing
I have been going to Homer off and on for close to two decades. Every trip has been nothing short of fantastic. Many folks go in mid-March. The earlier you go, the better the chances for snow. The only way to assure that you are on the best of the three trips is to sign up for all of them. Can you keep up with me? If you have any questions, or are good to go for one, two, or all three trips, please let me know via e-mail or give me a call on my cell phone at 863-221-2372.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
The webinar is today — Wednesday 13 July 2022 — at 4pm eastern time. The details are immediately below. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about ninety minutes to prepare and makes one hundred fifteen 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!
The One Big Secret to Making Great Bird Photographs
With Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART — Free NANPA Webinar
Yes, boys and girls. There really is just one big secret. It will be revealed at the very end of the webinar. Join me on July 13 from 4:00 to 5:00 pm EDT to learn a ton. Click here to register. This program is free and open to all. Covered topics will include seeing the shot, finding the best perspective, getting close to free and wild birds, the importance of wind direction in bird photography, understanding the direction and qualities of natural light, flight photography tips, getting the right exposure, image composition and design, and lots more.
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.
Please Remember
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
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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… 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.
Tracking: Upper Left Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Great Blue Heron adult preening neck
Image Design Question
Should I have cropped this to a vertical? Why or why not?
Smart Folks
Kudos to Bob Peterson who left this comment at yesterday’s post:
As to tilting the monopod, that keeps the center of gravity of the camera over the foot. If you drop a plumb line from the camera to the ground, that is where the foot of the monopod should be. Bob
His motion was seconded by the immensely talented Tony Whitehead (NZ).
Agree – The tilt puts centre of mass over monopod tip.
More On Monopods
Here are some facts, “artie-facts” if you would. (Thanks, Gil.)
1- A tripod will always be more stable than a monopod.
2- When seated, using the knee-pod technique is more stable than using a shortened monopod.
3- When using a monopod to keep your lens on this or that subject for extended periods, the monopod supports the weight of your lens and camera body. Note, however, that fatigue will become a serious factor over time as it requires some effort on your part to stabilize the rig, to keep the monopod in the same spot. Lactic acid will build up, especially in your left arm. With a tripod the three legs provide the support needed to keep the lens in the exact same spot with no effort required on your part.
4- You cannot shoot at ground level with a monopod.
5- Unlike a tripod, you cannot use your monopod as a clothes horse on which to hang your vest. In the same vein, simple tasks that are easily done when working on a tripod are much more difficult to execute when working on a monopod. These tasks including adding or removing teleconverters, switching cards, or changing a battery. Why? You need to hold the monopod. You do not need to hold a tripod.
6- If you are doing flight photography at the beach with the monopod and you want to switch to the knee-pod technique, where do you put the monopod?
7- If you are close to your vehicle and waiting for action in an otherwise static situation, say at an eagle or Osprey nest, for example, choosing a monopod over a tripod is insanity.
8- Blog regular Adam posted this comment yesterday: I returned to the redtail nest the next day with a big lens and a monopod — I didn’t want to drag the tripod through the overgrown field. I regretted every moment of as one of the fledglings kept making high speed passes at me; tracking the bird was problematic with the lens on the monopod. Once I went to handholding, there was no problem keeping the bird in the viewfinder.
Adam is 100% correct. But. Providing you can handhold a big lens or an intermediate telephoto lens for that matter, for short periods of time, most folks will generally do a lot better handholding than working off a monopod or a tripod. But, here are the buts:
a- many folks including me are not capable of handholding a 600mm f/4 lens, even the latest greatest lightest versions.
b- for most folks, including all mortals, handholding a big lens for extended shooting sessions is simply not possible.
9- Here is the great news. I have developed a new technique for shooting flight with big glass on a monopod. It’s like handholding with the lens on a sky hook. It is much easier to shoot flight off the monopod using this method than it is when working off a tripod. At places like Jacksonville, where the flight photography is nonstop, but you want and need to be light and mobile, this new technique will be a Godsend. I can’t wait to try it on the IPT that begins this weekend. I will be doing a video revealing this technique and additional monopod/monoball tidbits in a week or two. Folks who purchase a Robus RCM-439 4-Section Carbon Fiber Monopod, 65 using the B&H link and a Wimberley MonoGimbal Head from the BAA Online Store will receive the Monopod/Monoball Video for free by providing the receipts. Otherwise, the cost of this short video will be $37.00. To complain about the cost, please shoot an e-mail to ICouldCareLess@birdsasart-att.net. Stay tuned.
10- A slight revision: when walking a distance, I simply point the lens at the ground (rather than the sky), tighten the locking knob, and hold the rig with either hand with the rig hanging below the monopod. This prevents the lens from smacking into your leg with every step and places zero stress on your shoulder.
11- Folks who work with intermediate telephoto lenses who walk and stalk and point and shoot (can you say warblers and songbirds?) and have trouble with the weight of their rigs, may very well do much better with a monopod that with straight handholding. They too will benefit from the information in the Monopod/Monoball Video. (Thanks to Roger Smith whose comment led to item #11.)
12- I have removed the hand strap from my Robus RCM-439 4-Section Carbon Fiber Monopod, 65 because I have no use for it and it occasionally gets in the way. On a related note, if you have a camera strap on your camera body when using any telephoto lens, ditch it fast.
13- Another slight revision: when doing pure flight, I lengthen the monopod so that the viewfinder is right at eye-level.
14- The Robus RCM-439 4-Section Carbon Fiber Monopod, 65 is 65 inches tall. It should be good for flight for folks as tall as about 6-foot 1 or 2 inches tall. The only viable option that I can find is the Gitzo GM4552L Series 4 Carbon Fiber Monopod. At nearly 75 inches tall, this one would work for flight for all but the very tallest NBA players, those over 7-foot 1 or 2 inches tall. It is, however, a Series 4 model that weighs 1.6 pounds, 1/2-pound heavier than the recommended Robus model. And it cost $300.88 more than the RCM-439 4.
In My Opinion
In my opinion, purchasing a monopod stand (stabilizing base) makes no sense at all.
I-Phone 11 Image
Great Blue Heron adult on pier railing
Monopod Calming Effect?
One thing seems perfectly clear to me, approaching a bird is a lot easier with a monopod-mounted lens than it is with a tripod-mounted lens. Most of the Great Blue Herons that sit on the pier railings do not allow a close approach. They tend to fly off when you are a mile away. Perhaps the monopod/monoball combo is having some sort of tranquilizing effect on the birds at ILE.
The Situation
When I created today’s featured image, I was only 16.7 meters (54.8 feet) from the bird. Note the Great Egret in the distance on the righthand railing. Note, also, the single piling sticking out of the water on the right side of the pier (plus another one just breaking the surface). Before the heavy rains of the last two weeks, there were about a dozen short pilings sticking out of the water, perfect fishing perches for the Green Herons.
Situation Question
Why did I want to be a far to the right as possible?
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
