In today’s post, I share ten of my favorite images from the most amazing day (so far) of the 2025 Homer IPTs. All were made with the incredible Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM/a-i ii combo. Be so kind as to leave a comment noting your two favorite images as well as the two weakest images in this small collection. An explanation is optional. I will share my thoughts with you here soon.
If you are impressed by the images, the image optimization sessions, and the learning that its going on here, and are seriously interested in joining me here next year, please LMK ASAP via e-mail or via text to 863-221-2372.
The Last Blog Post
In the last blog post, One Lens. One Favorite Bald Eagle Image From Days 1-4here, my very favorite image was #3, the Bald Eagle calling from perch with wings raised photo. Why? Sharp, clean, well lit, graphic, light blue sky, dramatic, and a behavior that had eluded me for more than two decades. And yes, Image #1 was a close second. Thanks to all those who commented, especially Chuck Carlson, who wrote:
February 19, 2025 at 6:45am
Image #3 Bald Eagle calling from perch. It shows more of the eagle: its energy, its gape, talon detail, underwing coverts, plus I get to hear this one.
Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART responded/February 19, 2025 at 12:55pm
Thanks, Chuck. I could not have said it any better myself.
with love, artie
Employment Opportunity
Seeking experienced nature photographer for photo editing …
Multiple IPT veteran and friend of 3+ decades Robert (Bear Bob) Sabin is looking to hire someone to download, edit, organize, and optimize thousands of his images. Nassau County, Long Island, NY. Hourly wages — terms negotiable. If you are interested, please contact me via e-mail or via text to 863-221-2372 and I will put you in touch with Robert.
Today’s Post
Including the time spent on the ten image optimizations, this post took about 7 hours to prepare. Despite the absence of any snow cover, Tuesday past was one of the epic days of my 42+ years of bird photography. It was a fun and challenging day. As you can see by checking the images and the EXIF for today’s ten featured images, the light was changing fast and often. Over the course of the morning we went from ISO 5000 for flight to bright sunshine. Along the way we experienced everything in between. Huge advantage: Sony Zebra technology for stills. Though I created nearly 8,000 images, I did not fill my Delkin Black 480GB card and thus, never had to change cards. After deleting more than six thousand perfectly wonderful images, I kept a ridiculous 285 photos after the first edit.
Elisabet Shore made it safely back to Dallas, TX on Wednesday. Old friend Brian Bowers joined Anita North, Bob Sabine, and Steve Shore to fill out Homer IPT group #2. With lots of wind on Thursday, we had a ball with flight photography. Bob Sabine and I got very lucky when we were following one adult eagle in flight when another entered the scene. I will share several of the resulting totally lucky, totally unexpected images with you here soon on the blog.
Today is Friday 21 February 2025 and we are excited as we had a light dusting of snow overnight. As usual, we will be the first eagle photography boat out of the harbor to ensure that we get our chosen spot. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I ordered my second a-1 ii two days ago. Every day that I use mine, the more I am amazed by speed and accuracy of the Bird Face-Eye tracking in AF-C and the overall performance of the camera.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention at Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared to both the a-1 and the a9 iii and that the 51MP files are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
This image was created on 18 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the last day of the first 2025 Homer IPT. Standing at full height on the beach at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 5000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 5000: 1/2500 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:16:26am early on a then cloudy day.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #1: Bald Eagle dorsal view flight against powder blue sky
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Early Morning
When we first got off the boat at Peterson Bay, there was a bit more light as compared to the previous cloudy mornings as the eastern sky was showed some signs of clearing. To properly expose to the right, I went with ISO 5000 after choosing 1/2500 sec. as my shutter speed. The wide open aperture, f/2.8, was the obvious choice. Not the powder blue (early!) sky color and that the entire bird was sharp as it was covered by the depth of field even at f/2.8. There is rarely any need to stop down when doing fight photography. The distance to the subject will almost always provide the necessary depth of field.
This image was also created on 18 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the last day of the first 2025 Homer IPT. Standing at full height on the beach at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 5000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 2500: 1/2500 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:38:23am on a cloudy morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #2: Bald Eagle taking flight
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Wings-fully-raised Take-off Shot
Though I was well back from the perch and placed the bird in the lower left third of the horizontal original, I clipped about 1/2 inch off the tip of the third primary of the bird’s right wing. After cropping to a vertical and expanding canvas the missing wingtip was added by painting a Quick Mask of the tip of the fourth primary of that same wing. The selection was moved into place and rotated using the Move Tool (V) and then slightly warped using the Warp command with the Transform Tool.
This image was also created on 18 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the last day of the first 2025 Homer IPT. Standing at full height on the beach at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 5000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 2500: 1/2500 sec. at f/3.2 (stopped down 1/3-stop in error) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:56:25am on a then sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #3: Bald Eagle incoming above beach grasses
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Seeing the Slot and Seeing the Shot
With most of the group near me, I noticed that as some birds flew in low and left of the perch, there was — for a brief moment, a clean shot of a bird just above the yellow beach grasses with a perfectly clean background of Kachemak Bay and sky. Then, when a bird would approach just the right spot I would call out, “In the zone!” Everyone with me got the shot.
Well-Framed Bald Eagle Approach
This five-second Photo Mechanic quasi-video shows that while hand holding the Sony 300mm f/2.8 lens I was able to keep the bird in the frame in all but one image where I clipped a wing with the lower frame edge. Note that the amazing Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Sony’s Latest Greatest Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera, were used to create all ten of today’s featured images. every single image in the video is tack sharp on the eagle’s eye or eyes.
This image was also created on 18 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the last day of the first 2025 Homer IPT. Standing at full height on the beach at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 5000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 2500: 1/3200 sec. at f/3.2 (stopped down 1/3-stop in error) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:57:33am on a then partly sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #4: Bald Eagle braking to land
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Pick of the Litter
I kept an even dozen images from the uncluttered, all perfect, less-than-two second end of the 26-frame sequence; Image #4, above, was my favorite. By a very slim margin.
This image was also created on 18 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the last day of the first 2025 Homer IPT. Standing at full height on the beach at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 5000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 640: 1/4000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:19:16am on a then sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #5: Bald Eagle taking flight
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Challenging and Changing Light
As the clouds thinned a bit, the light came and went. Cloudy one moment, full sun the next. Sony Zebra technology is a tremendous advantage as you simply adjust the ISO with the Thumb Dial so that you see a few Zebras on the birds head. That said, I toasted the heads of a very few adult eagles in flight when the sun burst out while I was creating a sequence. Challenging but great fun. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, full sun with the wind in your face is death on bird photography. We were blessed with a nice breeze from the east.
This image was also created on 18 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the last day of the first 2025 Homer IPT. Standing at full height on the beach at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 5000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 1600: 1/3200 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:21:57am on a then partly cloudy morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #6: Bald Eagle taking flight
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Up is Better Than Down
Most of the birds dropped down off the perch to get their beaks on the tossed herring chunks. With the wind picking up, this bird obliged by flying up off the perch. Not that when a light cloudy momentarily covered the sun, I raised the ISO to get yet another dead solid perfect exposure.
This image was also created on 18 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the last day of the first 2025 Homer IPT. Standing at full height on the beach at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 5000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 500: 1/5000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:46:05am on a then bright sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #7: Bald Eagle on perch with storm cloud background
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Dark Storm Cloud Backgrounds
With the wind and light behind you, dark clouds opposite the sun always create dramatic situations and images.
This image was also created on 18 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the last day of the first 2025 Homer IPT. Seated on the black gravel beach at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 5000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 400: 1/5000 sec. at f/3.2 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:51:59am on a then sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #8: Bald Eagle striking
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Change of Scenery
As conditions change, the best place to be often changes as well. When the wind picked up even more, I led the group down to the beach left of the big rock outcrop at Peterson Bay. We sat on the black gravel beach and made hay when the sun shined.
This image was also created on 18 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the last day of the first 2025 Homer IPT. Again seated on the black gravel beach at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 5000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 500: 1/5000 sec. at f/3.2 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:56:42 am on a then sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #9: Bald Eagle incoming flight pano crop
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Classic BIRDS AS ART Style
Clean, tight, and graphic with an out of focus blue background seemingly made in heaven. As the sun is low in the sky in Homer in winter, there is no such thing as “bad light” on a sunny day. The golden light just an hour before noon adds tremendously to the success of this image.
This image was also created on 18 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the last day of the first 2025 Homer IPT. Seated on the black gravel beach at Peterson Bay, I used the foot-pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 5000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 400: 1/4000 sec. at f/3.5 (stopped down 2/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 11:21:34am on a then sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #10: Bald Eagle on black gravel beach — ground level vertical!
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Sony a-1 ii Articulating Rear Screen
For years I cursed the a-1 for the lack of a rear screen that could be tilted for vertical ground level shooting. With the a-1 ii, those days are over. Though it takes a bit of practice along with my reading glasses, the results can be quite pleasing.
Summing Up
The Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens coupled with the new a-1 ii is an incredible flight combination when working birds at close range. It is hand holdable and unless the operator screws up the initial focusing acquisition, every image with be sharp on the eye down to the pixel level. It is almost unfair.
For those who did not use my link to purchase their Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens, you can order your a copy here for $209.93.
Click on the image to enlarge and to be able to read the fine print.
The BAA Sony 300mm f/2.8 Lens Guide
Impressed by my (or Pat’s) Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) images? Use either my Bedfords or B&H affiliate link to purchase your Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens and shoot me your receipt via e-mail and request a copy of the first-ever BAA Lens Guide. I thought that it would take only minutes to create this guide, but I was dead wrong. In the process of creating it, I learned a ton about the lens. And even better, I discovered a simple yet potentially fatal flaw that was resulting in sporadically unsharp flight images. The set-up fix is simple. Just be sure to use one of my affiliate links and get the guide for free.
If not, you can purchase a copy here for $209.93. Yes, it never hurts to use my links and it never costs you one penny more. And if you contact me via e-mail before you make a major purchase, I can often save you some money.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
In today’s post, I share one of my favorite images from each of our first four days of the first 2025 Homer IPT. All were made with the incredible Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM/a-i ii combo. I have yet to even think about adding a teleconverter. I had twenty favorites from Day 2 🙂 For me, one of the images is head and shoulders above the other three. Which one is it? And why do I love it so?
If you are impressed by the images, the image optimization sessions, and the learning that is going on here, and are seriously interested in joining me here next year, please LMK ASAP via e-mail or via text to 863-221-2372.
The Last Blog Post
In the last blog post, The Challenges of Making Very Special Songbird Images — Pre-Capture, Fast Shutter Speeds, and Crazy High ISOshere, only four folks commented on what I thought was a pretty spectacular collection of songbird images. Three of the four mentioned the Boreal Chickadee with the swept back, jet fighter wings as one of their two faves. That was my first pick by a mile. As noted, I could not have made that image (and others in the post as well) without one second Pre-Capture. Image creating an image when you did not press the shutter button until after the bird took flight!
What’ Up?
With the increasingly warmer days, we lost our snow cover and with it, the light that illuminated the eagle’s underwings so beautifully on Days 1-3. Thus, Day 4 was out most challenging. In spite of that, everyone made some great images. Both Elisabet and husband Steve Shore have been improving by leaps and bounds by adding to what they learned at Sebastian Inlet. Robert “Bear Bob: Sabine finally listened to me and purchased a Canon 70-200mm, the EF f/4 version. As a result, his eagle images have improved dramatically as compared to previous Homer IPTs. Anita North is, as expected, making fabulous images every day despite the fact that we have seen the sun for a total of about four minutes in four days so far. Though the unseasonably warm, cloudy weather is supposed to continue, we continue to pray for snow.
With the ongoing renovations at Lands End, it took me a day to find a convenient spot to do our Image Review and Photoshop sessions; we have, therefore, been making lots of hay every evening producing Image Optimization videos that are shared with the group. In today’s bird photography workshop climate these daily, intensive, two hour sessions are pretty much unique.
Today is Tuesday 18 February 2025 and we will be sailing earlier than usual to ensure our getting the location we want Elisabet is flying back to Anchorage on this afternoon and old friend Brian Bower will be joining the group tomorrow. I am especially proud of her progress with bird photography. Not to mention that she has a great eye for landscapes and has been wowing everyone with her scenic photography. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
This image was created on 14 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the 2025 Homer IPT. Standing at full height on a spit in Poot Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 2500. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 2500: 1/2500 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 11:30:17am on a cloudy day.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #1: Bald Eagle gliding flight above dune grasses in light snow
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Day 1
With an overnight inch of fresh snow, conditions at Poot Bay, one of my favorite locations, were excellent. The wind, however, was not from the usual ideal direction so I moved the group around the spit all morning to put us in the best spot as the wind direction shifted over time. Though difficult to see unless you blow up the image, the fine, falling snow helped to create a magical soft light that makes this moody image special for me. The beach grasses are a big plus.
With a fixed focal length lens, the 300mm f/2.8, choosing the appropriate distance to stand away from a perch is an important consideration. If you get to close, you will be clipping wings every time. Steve Shore has also been using his Sony 300mm f/28 GM lens most of the time. Thus, he has been hanging back with me as I encourage the folks with the 70-200s to get closer by moving forward.
This image was created on 15 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the first 2025 Homer IPT. Standing at full height on the shoreline at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 2500. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 2500: 1/2500 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:25:41am on a cloudy day.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #2: Bald Eagle adult about to touch down
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Day 2
As mentioned here ad nauseam recently, the light reflected off the snow perfectly illuminates the eagle’s dark underwings (especially on cloudy days). Peterson Bay offer several really attractive, relatively tall, lichen-covered perches. In this image, I love the wings fully spread braking pose, the soft light, and the inclusion of the top of an evergreen tree in the frame.
This image was created on 16 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the first 2025 Homer IPT. Standing at full height on the shoreline at Peterson Bay, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 2500. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 1250: 1/2500 sec. at f/3.2 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 11:13:07am on a cloudy-bright day.
Tracking Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #3: Bald Eagle calling from perch with wings raised
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Day 3
Until Day 4, I used the Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) pretty much exclusively. With the cloudy, low light conditions, the f/2.8 speed of this lens enables you to work with relatively low ISOs. With the new a1 II Mirrorless Camera pretty much every single eagle image I have made in the first four days — more than 25,000, has been razor sharp on the eye. The very few unsharp sequences — less than a handful, were caused by me mis-handling my gear as a result of fatigue. I was exceedingly lucky to be the closest one to this bird when it began calling. When another eagle flew by below, the calling bird raised its wings briefly in defense of its perch. Lucky me.
Note: I can say with complete confidence and accuracy that I have trashed more than 15,000 sharp, pleasing to the eye, perfect Bald Eagle flight images from our first four days of shooting. With the science-fiction-like accuracy of the AF systems of today’s top mirrorless camera bodies, the standards as to what makes a great flight image have been raised. The factors involved include flight pose, wing position, lighting, and background & environment. Amazingly, sharpness is a given. For me, the a- ii stands well above all others.
This image was created on 17 February 2025 at Kachemak Bay, AK on the first 2025 Homer IPT. Working from the boat, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 1000: 1/2500 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 11:13:07am on a cloudy-bright day.
Tracking Spot XS/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper high resolution version
Image #4: Bald Eagle adult on colorful rock
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Day 4
When I first saw this eagle on this amazingly colored rock, it was partially obscured by another large rock. I had our captain/guide reposition the boat so that all had a clear view of the rock. Fortunately, the eagle answered my prayer and stayed put. Though RawDigger showed a dead solid perfect exposure for this raw file, it is the huge, amazing dynamic range of the sensors of today’s aforementioned top mirrorless camera bodies that allow us to open up the dark tones after having preserved the detail in the adult eagle’s white heads.
With many of the IPT students (and the leader as well, on rare occssaion), under-exposing their raw files, many of our image optimization videos cover in detail the best methods for opening up under-exposed dark tones while minimizing noise. Note: as always, the best first step to controlling noise is to learn to expose well to the right.
If you can identify the type of rock, please leave a comment.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Which two images of today’s six featured images do you like best? Why?
In a Previous Blog Post
Thanks to the many who left comments at The Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM Lens & DeSoto’s North Beach blog post here. Several folks liked the scratching GBH best, but the practically monotoned Snowy Plover image, #1, was the clear favorite. It is strange how such a simple image with worm hill curves and light tans, grays, and beiges can be so successful.
What’s Up?
With an unexpected inch of fresh snow, the first Homer group has been 100% blessed. The light reflects off the snow and illuminates the undersides of the eagle’s wings perfectly. In addition we’ve had clouds and relatively warm temperates with little wind. In short, pretty close to perfect. And we’ve ended each sailing with a harbor session photographing Harbor Seal (of course), Sea Otter, Common Goldeneye, Common Loon, Short-billed Gull
Today is Sunday 16 February. We are meeting the captain at 9:30am. Whatever you do, I hope that you have as much fun as we do.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #1: Pine Grosbeak, bright male on Mountain Ash berry cluster
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Pine Grosbeaks
The Pine Grosbeaks were not as plentiful at the Anchor Point feeders as they had been in previous years; and the males were scarce. We learned on our first morning that they came in quite early so on Day 2 we arrived 30 minutes earlier than we had on Thursday and were blessed early on by the presence of this handsome male and several females — one below.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #2: Pine Grosbeak, female on Mountain Ash berry cluster
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Shutter Speeds
Those who viewed the epic and comprehensive Shutter Speeds for Bird Photography YouTube video (5,600+ views) here, know that when mild action might be expected, you are a lot better off at 1/800 or 1/1000 second than you are at 1/500. On day one, I lost some nice images at 1/400 and 1/500 sec. to motion blur. Those latter shutter speeds (and even slower ones down to /60 sec.) are perfectly fine if the birds are perfectly still (as with Image #1, above).
So, on Day 2, I promised myself to work just a bit faster. 1/800 sec was just fast enough to yield a sharp face and eye when the lady grosbeak violently ripped a berry from the cluster and sent the frost flying.
Shutter Speeds for Bird Photography
Learn about choosing a suitable shutter speed for all types of bird photography — for static subjects, for flight, and for various types of action. Not to mention for creating the pleasingly blurred images that I love. There is so much info in this 46 minutes video that serious bird photographers will wish to bookmark it for study.
Learn more and see my expanded summary in the blog post here.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #3: Gray Jay taking flight
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Learning More About Making Pre-Capture Miracles
I made some progress on Day 1, but on Day 2 things really jelled. Understanding that at age 78, with my reflexes and reaction time totally shot, that with Pre-Capture set to one second with the a-1 ii I could press the shutter button after the bird took flight and still create some very special images. That of course, provided that you had the shutter button half-pressed (as discussed here recently).
To reiterate, while I strive to press the shutter button just as the bird leaves the perch, doing so is not 100% necessary. As above, you can press the shutter button after the bird leaves the perch and still come up smelling like roses.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I ordered my second a-1 ii two days ago. Every day that I use mine, the more I am amazed by speed and accuracy of the Bird Face-Eye tracking in AF-C and the overall performance of the camera.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention at Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared to both the a-1 and the a9 iii and that the 51MP files are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #4: Boreal Chickadee taking flight
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Using Crazy High ISOs
To utilize super fast shutter speeds like 1/4000, 1/5000, and even higher when attempting to photograph songbirds in flight in low light, the use of very high ISOs is mandatory. That said, most of today’s flight and action shots were somewhat under-exposed. My double noise reduction techniques detailed in Digital Basics II and the Digital Basics III Video Series yielded clean smooth noise-free backgrounds with today’s images.
Note: here again, the shutter button was not fully depressed until after the bird took flight. This image was 100% possible for me only because of Pre-Capture.
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.
Please note: the Divide and Conquer technique was inadvertently omitted from DB II. It is detailed in a free excerpt in the blog post here.
Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: most of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.
You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About three years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One and did that for two years. You can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here. Today, I convert my Sony raw files in Photoshop with Adobe Camera Raw.
You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.
The Digital Basics III Video Series
The Digital Basics III Video Series
I realized more than a year ago that my digital workflow had changed significantly and was toying with the idea of writing a Digital Basics III. More recently, I learned and began working with two great new Photoshop Tools, the Remove Tool and the Luminance Targeted Adjustment Tool. The former is like a smarter Spot Healing Brush Tool on steroids and the latter is a step up from the fabulous Color Mixer Tool. During that same time frame, I came up with a new and improved 2-step noise reduction technique. I still use Divide and Conquer, Quick Masks, Layer Masks, an expanded array of personalized keyboard shortcuts, and tons of other stuff from both versions of Digital Basics.
As soon as I realized that I did not want to take on another large writing project, I realized that by creating a series of videos I could much more easily share all the details of my current digital workflow and much more easily incorporate additional new tips, techniques, and tools as I went. And so, The Digital Basics III Video Series was born.
You can order the first five videos in Volume I — 15 detailed image optimizations that cover a wide variety of challenges, by clicking here. The videos will be most valuable for folks using the latest version of Photoshop (2024) or Lightroom along with Topaz DeNoise AI and Topaz Sharpen AI.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #5: Pine Siskin, bright male on Mountain Ash berry cluster
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Square Crops
As with Image #1, above, and as seen here often recently, square crops often work exceedingly well. While I am not a fan of the horizontal gray area in the background in front of the bird’s feet, the square crop reduced its impact on the image as compared to the original 3X2 capture.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #6: Black-capped Chickadee taking flight
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Faster and Whiter!
The Black-capped Chickadees are absolute speedsters as compared to the Boreals. And the brighter white feathers require 1/3 stop less light than the other species. I accomplished that by raising the shutter speed click. The key to getting an action shot of a black-capped is to get on them quickly and acquire focus ASAP. You usually do not have to wait long for this jittery species to take flight.
Note: this is another Pre-Capture miracle; I did not press the shutter button until after the bird took flight.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Helen Hays and her ubiquitous smile in the doorway of the Banding Room on GGI wearing a flowered hat designed to keep the sharp beaks of the protective Common Terns from opening up her scalp. August 3, 2014.
Helen Hays
I was saddened to learn yesterday of the recent death of legendary ornithologist Helen Hays, in a nursing home in Scarsdale, NY, of dementia, at age 94. Helen was the founder and director of the Great Gull Island (GGI) Project for 50 years. The Great Gull Island Project is a monitoring study of Common and Roseate Terns nesting on Great Gull Island, a tiny islet in Long Island Sound off Orient Point on the North Fork of Long Island. Additionally, GGI connects with scientists in Brazil, Argentina, and the Azores, where many of the banded birds from Great Gull Island spend their winters. Over the years, Helen and her team relied on hundreds of volunteers who visited the island each summer to help gather data on the birds and to improve and maintain the site. Those volunteers including my older daughter Jennifer and my son-in-law Erik Egensteiner, who met on GGI in May 1990. As you might suspect, Jen and Erik’s marriage was not the only one born on GGI. Many GGI volunteers went onto to become noted ornithologists.
Wanting to do something more substantial than the above, I spent an hour this morning doing an online search to find some of the stuff I had written about this amazing woman and GGI but came up empty. In addition, I did an article for Birder’s World several decades ago about Helen entitled “One Good Tern Lady.” It is in my office somewhere on a floppy disc. If I find what I am looking for in the next month, I will do a follow-up. The word I used most while describing Helen is badger (as a noun). That’s how tough she was. I visited GGI about eight times over the years. I once asked Helen how many times she had stooped over to grab an eggs or a chick from a ground nest. With her ever-present smile, she said, Millions, I guess.” I’ll close here by saying that Helen was always very nice to me. And everyone else as well.
Learn more in the NY Times obituary here. Though there are some factual errors, it will give you a glimpse into her amazing life and accomplishments.
I was thrilled to find this at the last moment; you can see and hear Helen talking about the project in a program she did at a Long Island Natural History Conference in 2016 here (on YouTube).
What’s Up?
Our two songbirds session went well despite slow starts each morning. The Pine Grosbeaks and Boreal Chickadees were the stars of the show. On Wednesday, I did something that I thought might never do, fill a Delkin 480GB card! I made more than 15,000 images including a very few good ones. And I enjoy learning more about Pre-Capture with the Sony a-1 ii. I will be sharing the best images with you here soon.
Today is Friday 14 February. At 10:00 Alaska time, we will set sail on our first eagle boat ride. We are praying that the light snow in the 10-day forecast turns into a blizzard. Whatever the heck you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.
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.
High Capacity Delkin CF Express Type A 4.0 Memory Cards
At present, there is no longer a need to change a memory card in the field. Both the new Delkin 480GB and 960GB cards have more than enough storage for 99.9% of field applications. Using these new cards, I have never hit the buffer with my a-1 ii despite hammering the shutter button on occasion. Regular readers know that I have been depending on Delkin cards for just about a quarter century. In that time I have never lost a single image due to card failure. I’ve put my Delkin cards in the washing machine and dryer and — after two days, retrieved one from a bag of barbecued spare-rib fat and bones. I got the images off those cards without a problem. Most amazingly, after dropping a card in the parking lot at Nickerson Beach IPT, participant Carlotta Grenier found the card near the ladies’ room four days later after it had been run over by numerous vehicles. After consulting with Delkin, I ripped the mangled cover off the card, put it into the Delkin card reader, and got to enjoy each and every image. I sent the card back to Delkin and they kindly sent me a brand new one. Please do not try that with Sony or San Disk or any of the many cheaper off brand cards.
At a recent dinner in San Diego, Delkin founder, president, and CEO Martin Wood told how his folks were able to recover the data from an industrial card that survived a military jet fighter crash that burned for more than two hours at 2000° F.
The specs for both the Delkin 480GB and 960GB cards are identical:
Max Read Speed: 1830 MB/s
Max Write Speed: 1710 MB/s
Min Sustained Write Speed: 500 MB/s
Records Raw 8K, 6K, and 4K Video
Records High Bitrates and Frame Rates
Records Raw Photos and Rapid Bursts
To help facilitate card usage in almost any environment and keeping your content safe, Delkin has built its BLACK Series with a rugged design that is water and shock proof and is resistant to temperature extremes. In order to further enhance reliability and functionality, the BLACK Series is serialized and protected by a limited lifetime warranty and a 48-hour replacement guarantee upon registration with Delkin.
I have never bought the story that putting all your eggs in one basket is a big mistake. Having to use multiple cards during a single shooting session greatly increases the chances of losing one or more.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
If You Are Really a Birder, or Know One a Real One, You Will Laugh Your Ass Off
In the last blog post I mentioned how much I enjoyed the writing of my friend Julian Hough. Every time we chat, I begin by spelling his first name one letter at a time with a British accent: Haych, Oh, You, Gee, Haych. Below, with permission, is the tongue-in-cheek article he posted on his blog (Naturescape Images/The Anglo-American Birding of Julian Hough)here in 2021. He did the writing posing as his son Alex.
Observations of Life by Alex Hough (allegedly). May 31, 2021
While my Dad was away, I thought I’d hijack his blog this month to offer some of my thoughts.
2020 was a year that COVID-19 wreaked havoc on all our freedoms.
Everyone has been confronted with difficult times, but as a teenager the stress of lock-downs came at a time when I was already trying to cope with something that’s affected me all my life. As an adolescent, I thought my DAd’s mood swings and irrational behavior resulted from a neurological mis-wiring of sorts, or maybe “being on the spectrum”, or perhaps even a kind of generalized seasonal disorder. Dealing with it left me overwhelmed with anxiety, frustration and despair. Over the years it became clear that my issues were the result of something worse. Much worse.
You see, my dad is a birder. He watches birds. Who knew that was a thing? It’s an obsession but it looks like an addiction. Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand the toll it takes on those closest to him. He’s had this horrible affliction for as long as I can remember and apparently there is no cure. From the outside, you’d never know he has a terrible disease based on his physical appearance. Aside from making soft grunts every time he moves a little too quickly, he has a full head of hair; exercises regularly; and looks generally healthy (well, as much as a 50-something desperately trying to pass for 40 again can look healthy). People who know my Dad ask me what it’s like to have such a “charming and fun father”. If people only knew the degree of mental suffering that lay beneath that self-appointed façade. He tells me that many of his close friends have the disease too. Many of them occasionally visit our house and knowing that now helps explain a lot about his friends. I think that knowing there are other people suffering the same malaise makes him feel less alone.
There are times when my Dad is a functioning member of society, but seasonal fluctuations in behavior, particularly in the first two weeks of May, or from mid-August to early November, make living with him particularly intolerable. Siblings, parents, partners and friends of birders all know what it’s like to live with them during these tough times. I try to be understanding and patient. I really do. My Dad is wonderful and caring, but he just gets so self-absorbed. It’s hard to connect with him sometimes. When he’s going through seasonal withdrawal symptoms, he paces around the room and just stares out the window, mumbling despondently to himself about, “Where are all the cold-fronts?” or “Will it ever go Northwest?”
After all these years I can often predict when he is about to have a full-blown meltdown. The trigger is multiple phone messages usually in short succession. He disassociates from reality and his eyes glaze over while he reads the incoming texts. I don’t know where he goes in that moment. It then abruptly shifts into frenetic running around the house, interspersed with a lot of Tourette’s-like outbursts. He doesn’t usually swear in front of me, but when he does I know it’s a big deal.
“Where the @!!*##$$! are my @!!*##$$! keys?”, is quickly followed by the always predictable yelling of, “Alex, get your shoes on! Turn that computer off! Get in the car. Now! What are you doing? I asked you to do ONE thing! For the love of God, why are your shoes still not on? COME ONNN! We have to go. NOW!”
In those moments, he turns from being the most attentive and loving father to an impatient, maniacal asshole. I start to get anxious. I try to escape to my room to play Minecraft before he can force me into the car to drive hours to some shithole sewage pond to look for a “Mega” or a “Crippler”. I have no clue what those are, or what it all means. It’s like he’s suddenly talking in tongues.
Kidnapped for a twitch to see a Gyrfalcon (for the third time!) and made to hold up the book to feign interest.
I just want a normal Dad like my friends have: a Dad that wants to push me on the swings; a Dad that will chase me around at Tag; a Dad that wants to take me to the park to bond with me (and not just because the park is next to a good gull spot). I remember walks where I would run around, playfully kicking up fall leaves into the air while he often seemed uninterested and distracted. With his head tilted skyward, he would ask in a quizzical manner, “Alex, Do You hear that?“
Sometimes I want to scream, “No! No, Dad, I don’t hear that {F@!!*##$$! } Blackpoll Warbler”. I say the word “F@!!*#$$!” in my head, because he doesn’t like me swearing. I know F@!!#$$! is a bad word, but he is F!!*##$$! making me say it. I don’t like to go outside. I don’t want to look at gulls. I don’t want to walk down the beach for owls. I don’t care about the best way to tell “long-billed” juvenile Semipalmated from a Western Sandpiper. I just don’t. I love you Dad. I just don’t understand you.
Seagulls suck! A trip to a local park magically coincided with the presence of a Ketchup Gull, or whatever it was called, some seagull from Asia that looked like all the rest. While there is presently no cure for what my dad has, and I know he can’t control himself, it makes me angry when he loses sight of what’s important in the world. I wish he would love me as much as he loves birds. But I know that will never happen.
I know there are other kids out there suffering with parents like mine. My heart goes out to them and those selfless people that choose to live with these tortured souls that suffer with this lifelong addiction.
As a young child, I had no choice. No way out. But now, as a teenager, it’s time to stand up for myself. It’s time to set some boundaries. I will no longer be tricked into going out with him for “just a little while”. I can stay home alone now. I offer this letter as hope to others. Just know you are not alone and there is light at the end of the tunnel. It’s time to stand strong and take your life back.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Multiple IPT veterans Steve and Elisabeth Shore joined Anita North and me on Tuesday for the drive from Anchorage down to Homer, AK. We arrived at Land’s End Resort on the Homer Spit at 3:30pm and checked into our rooms. We did a bit of shopping after dinner.
Today is Wednesday 12 February 2025. The four of us will be doing two days of songbird photography at a private home in Anchor Point. The first 2025 Homner IPT begins on Friday. If you are in Anchorage or will be in Homer between now and 23 February and would like to join us on the boat for a session or two with the eagles, please get in touch ASAP via e-mail or by text to 863-221-2372.
North Beach at Fort DeSoto Park (south of St. Petersburg and Tierra Verde, FL) has been closed since Milton, the second major 2024 hurricane, destroyed much of the park’s infrastructure. It is slated to be re-opening soon and I hope to visit this spring. The first four of today’s featured images were created on its wild beaches and sandbars. Also of note in each of today’s images is the sharpness and versatility of the Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens either bare or with either teleconverter. I cannot understand why nobody has grabbed Robert Hollyer’s practically new used copy (below).
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.
High Capacity Delkin CF Express Type A 4.0 Memory Cards
At present, there is no longer a need to change a memory card in the field. Both the new Delkin 480GB and 960GB cards have more than enough storage for 99.9% of field applications. Using these new cards, I have never hit the buffer with my a-1 ii despite hammering the shutter button on occasion. Regular readers know that I have been depending on Delkin cards for just about a quarter century. In that time I have never lost a single image due to card failure. I’ve put my Delkin cards in the washing machine and dryer and — after two days, retrieved one from a bag of barbecued spare-rib fat and bones. I got the images off those cards without a problem. Most amazingly, after dropping a card in the parking lot at Nickerson Beach IPT, participant Carlotta Grenier found the card near the ladies’ room four days later after it had been run over by numerous vehicles. After consulting with Delkin, I ripped the mangled cover off the card, put it into the Delkin card reader, and got to enjoy each and every image. I sent the card back to Delkin and they kindly sent me a brand new one. Please do not try that with Sony or San Disk or any of the many cheaper off brand cards.
At a recent dinner in San Diego, Delkin founder, president, and CEO Martin Wood told how his folks were able to recover the data from an industrial card that survived a military jet fighter crash that burned for more than two hours at 2000° F.
The specs for both the Delkin 480GB and 960GB cards are identical:
Max Read Speed: 1830 MB/s
Max Write Speed: 1710 MB/s
Min Sustained Write Speed: 500 MB/s
Records Raw 8K, 6K, and 4K Video
Records High Bitrates and Frame Rates
Records Raw Photos and Rapid Bursts
To help facilitate card usage in almost any environment and keeping your content safe, Delkin has built its BLACK Series with a rugged design that is water and shock proof and is resistant to temperature extremes. In order to further enhance reliability and functionality, the BLACK Series is serialized and protected by a limited lifetime warranty and a 48-hour replacement guarantee upon registration with Delkin.
I have never bought the story that putting all your eggs in one basket is a big mistake. Having to use multiple cards during a single shooting session greatly increases the chances of losing one or more.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens
Price reduced a shocking $600.00 on 13 July 2024 Price reduced a shocking $400.00 on 0 February 2025
Used Gear Page veteran Robert Hollyer is offering a Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens in Like-New condition for a BAA record low $8998.00! (was $9,998.00). The sale includes the front lens cap, the rear lens cap, the lens hood, the lens strap, that hard case & strap, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Bob via e-mail or by phone at 1-206-359-0018 PST.
I purchased my Sony 400mm f/2.8 two years ago to complement my 600mm f/4. Robert is selling his because he rarely uses it, opting instead for the 600mm f/4! It is far easier for me to handhold the 4 ounces lighter, much smaller, and better balanced 400 f/2.8 than it is to handhold the 600mm f/4. The 400 kills for flight with or without the 1.4X teleconverter. This lens sells new right now for $11,998.00 at B&H and there is a used copy in 9+ condition selling for $10,197.95. Save a handsome $3,000.00 by grabbing Robert’s might-as-well-be-new 400mm GM lens. With either TC, the versatility is amazing and remember, you can’t beat the f/2.8 bokeh! artie
This image was created on 16 November 2023 at Fort DeSoto Park. Seated on damp sand, I used the foot-pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 600: 1/1250 sec. at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:10:17am on a cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1: Snowy plover (probably worn first winter plumage) on lugworm burrow mounds
A Snowy Dreamy Plover
I have very little if any memory of creating this image. Recently, a dear friend from the Cape May, NJ days, Julian Hough, an expat Brit, asked me if I had this exact shot — non breeding, not an adult. He needed it for an article he is doing on Kentish and Snowy Plovers for his local Connecticut bird club journal. I found several old ones that fit the bill but was not happy with the quality. Then, I found this one. we were both thrilled.
If you enjoy really good writing, check out Julian’s blog here. He calls it Naturescape Images/The Anglo-American Birding of Julian Hough. The guest post, allegedly written by his son Alex, is a hoot. He does not post often but his writing is superb and I enjoy hearing what he has to say whenever I visit.
As for the photo, I love the soft light, the gentle curves of the worm hills, and the matching color of the subject and the background.
This image was created on 15 April 2024 at Fort DeSoto Park. Seated on dry sand, I used the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 800: 1/4000 sec. at f/3.2 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:22:49am on a hazy, partly sunny morning.
Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #2: Royal Tern breeding plumage in flight
The Knee-pod Rest Position
When hand holding super-telephoto lenses for flight photography, sitting can be a great option. By resting your left forearm atop your left knee, you only need to raise your big lens a few inches to get the viewfinder to your eye. Not having to raise the big lens from your side greatly reduces potential fatigue,
This image was created on 15 April 2024 at Fort DeSoto Park. Seated on damp sand, I used the foot-pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1000: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 10:15:53am on a cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #3: Red Knot molting into breeding plumage — preening neck
Wintering Red Knots
Some North American populations of this species winter as far south as southern Argentina while some birds remain along the Gulf coast’s of North America. In some years, flocks of as many as two hundred can be fond at Fort De Soto Park from November through early spring. In late April and early May, some individuals are molting into their handsome breeding finery with brick red breasts and spangled silver and black upperparts. They breed only above the Arctic Circle, most often on Banks, Victoria, and Baffin Islands in northern Canada.
This image was created on 16 April 2024 at Fort DeSoto Park. Seated on damp sand, I used the knee-pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 800: 1/1600 sec. at f/9 (stopped down 1 1/3 stops) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:19:47am on a cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #4: Sandwich Tern in breeding plumage — head portrait — unusually long bill
Stopping Down at Close Range
When working close to the Minimum Focusing Distance (MFD) of a lens, consider going to a smaller aperture to so that you have enough depth-of-field to cover the subject. Remember that at a given aperture, depth-of-field increases quickly as the distance to the subject increases.
Bill and Cap Clean-up
The more you use the Remove Tool, the more adept you become and the better your results will be. It can be used to erase or eliminate, to add, to blend, and to paint. Used properly, it is magical when used to refine edges. The more I experiment with it, the more I am amazed. Its introduction has been a life saver for me.
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.
Please note: the Divide and Conquer technique was inadvertently omitted from DB II. It is detailed in a free excerpt in the blog post here.
Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: most of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.
You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About three years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One and did that for two years. You can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here. Today, I convert my Sony raw files in Photoshop with Adobe Camera Raw.
You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.
The Digital Basics III Video Series
The Digital Basics III Video Series
I realized more than a year ago that my digital workflow had changed significantly and was toying with the idea of writing a Digital Basics III. More recently, I learned and began working with two great new Photoshop Tools, the Remove Tool and the Luminance Targeted Adjustment Tool. The former is like a smarter Spot Healing Brush Tool on steroids and the latter is a step up from the fabulous Color Mixer Tool. During that same time frame, I came up with a new and improved 2-step noise reduction technique. I still use Divide and Conquer, Quick Masks, Layer Masks, an expanded array of personalized keyboard shortcuts, and tons of other stuff from both versions of Digital Basics.
As soon as I realized that I did not want to take on another large writing project, I realized that by creating a series of videos I could much more easily share all the details of my current digital workflow and much more easily incorporate additional new tips, techniques, and tools as I went. And so, The Digital Basics III Video Series was born.
You can order the first five videos in Volume I — 15 detailed image optimizations that cover a wide variety of challenges, by clicking here. The videos will be most valuable for folks using the latest version of Photoshop (2024) or Lightroom along with Topaz DeNoise AI and Topaz Sharpen AI.
This image was created on 1 May 2024 at Fort DeSoto Park. Seated on dry sand, I used the toe-pod technique with the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1000: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 (stopped down 2 stops!) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:19:06am on cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #5: Ruddy Turnstone in breeding plumage
Full Breeding Plumage
Several species of shorebirds including but not limited to Black-bellied Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Western Sandpiper, and the aforementioned Red Knot complete molting by late April or May and on occasion, can be found and photographed at Fort DeSoto. For me, each find is a treasure. A RUTU this richly colored is almost surely a male.
Do not ask me why I stopped down two stops for this one. That said, this image is incredibly sharp at 800mm with the 2X TC in place.
This image was created on 1 May 2024 at Fort DeSoto Park. Seated on dry sand, I used the toe-pod technique with the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 (stopped down 2 stops!) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:50:14am on a cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #6: Great Blue Heron scratching
Shooting Up
There are several locations at Fort DeSoto where you can get right below the birds and shoot up at a variety of herons and egrets. Several types of images can be made when you find the right bird in the right spot. Stopping down is generally a good plan though in this instance with a side view of a scratching great blue, it was not entirely necessary.
I love all the angled lines in this one.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Which of today’s five featured Vasili Chernishof Canon EOS R1 images do you like best? Why? (Be sure to click on each image to view the larger, sharper high res version.)
What’s Up?
With the handwriting on the wall and the Eagles up 17-0 in the second quarter, I opted to hit the sack at 7:30pm. Somewhat miraculously, I slept through to the alarm at 2:45am.
Today is Monday 10 February 2025. Bob Eastman and I were headed to the airport by 3:20am After dropping me off at Alaska Airlines, Bob heads for Paducah, KY and expects to be at his place in Reedsburg, WI by Wednesday afternoon (barring the severe snow and ice storms in the forecast), The temp should be about 5° F when he gets home. As for the Chiefs, things only got worse as the Eagles put a 40-22 beating on my favorite team. Bob arrived in Florida near the end of October and as regular readers know, we had a blast since then. Thanks for everything, Bob, and safe travels on your long journey home. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Image #1: Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage in flat flight
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Vasili Chernishof
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Vasili and the Canon EOS R1
Vasili showed up in San Diego looking to put his brand new Canon EOS R1 Mirrorless camera
to the test. And that is what he did to the tune of between 80 and 100,000 images in a single week. I took a peek at most of those images and was thoroughly impressed by both the speed and especially the accuracy of the Bird Eye tracking and the rich natural colors of the raw files. In today’s blog post, I share five of his best images; I believe that each was improved by my pano crop. As I did, Vasili used his tripod-mounted RF 600mm f/4 lens only sparingly on the trip, often, again as I did, often with the (RF) 1.4X Extender.
The last time I photographed with him he was using a ridiculous Gitzo tripod head that severely hampered him. After quite a bit of badgering by yours truly he finally purchased a Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro from the BIRDS S ART Online Store. He loves it as it allows him to work efficiently with his 600mm f/4 that he can hand hold only for brief moments. Shooting flight with the Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro is a dream: smooth effortless panning without any ballhead flop.
This image was created on 22 January 2025 on a San Diego In-the-Field session by multiple IPT veteran Vasili Chernishof. Standing at full height, he used the hand held Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens (at 170mm) and the remarkable Canon EOS R1 Mirrorless Camera. ISO 2000: 1/4000 sec at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:46:26am on a cloudy morning.
Image #2: Brandt’s Cormorant incoming flight
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Vasili Chernishof
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon EOS R1 Impressive Autofocus
As I have said here quite a bit recently, I was very impressed by the R1’s AF system. With this image, the bird’s face and eyes were incredibly sharp despite the fact that the top of the bird’s head was barely in the frame. A significant amount of canvas was added above and to each side to create the panoramic format.
The 100-300mm f/2.8 Canon Lens
Vasili loves his Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens and used it either alone or with one of the two Canon TCs for much of his San Diego photography. Weighing in at a hefty 5.7 pounds, the lens is quite heavy for most folks and is only minimally lighter than the Canon 600mm f/4. Add another 1/2 or 3/4 pound with one of the relatively gargantuan Canon teleconverters and you are lugging around quite a load. With its smaller physical size, however, Vasili was easily able to hand hold it for long shooting sessions.
Bob Eastman and I are very happy with our Sony 200-600s.
This image was created on 23 January 2025 on a San Diego In-the-Field session by multiple IPT veteran Vasili Chernishof. Kneeling on damp sand, he used the hand held Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens with the Canon Extender RF 1.4x (at 420mm) and the remarkable Canon EOS R1 Mirrorless Camera. ISO 160: 1/1000 sec at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:15:31am on a cloudy morning.
Image #3: Sanderling
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Vasili Chernishof
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Spotlighting
Chances of creating spotlit images in nature photography are rare. (Several folks liked the spotlit preening Western Gull in the last blog post.) Vasili caught this first winter Sanderling running across the black sand at Coronado Beach just as the sun poked briefly between two distant condos and lit up the small shorebird. The spotlighting is quite dramatic and I love the reflection of the sunlight off the bird’s belly onto the sand. The choice of a pano crop here was quite obvious.
Image #4: Cinnamon Teal drake in flight
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Vasili Chernishof
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Ducks in Flight
Again, like yours truly, Vasili was challenged as to what lens to use for the ducks in flight at Santee as you never knew how close or how far away they would be landing, In this case, the 600 and the RF 1.4X TC was the winning combination. The teal are small, fast, and erratic fliers. Kudos to Vasili for nailing this one.
This image was created on 24 January 2025 on a San Diego In-the-Field session by multiple IPT veteran Vasili Chernishof. Seated on a dirt bank, he used the hand held Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens with the Canon Extender RF 2x, (at 483mm) and the remarkable Canon EOS R1 Mirrorless Camera. ISO 2500: 1/4000 sec at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 3:20:22pm on a sunny afternoon.
Image #5: Lesser Scaup hen skidding to a landing
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Vasili Chernishof
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Landing Skid
For this one, Vasili went with his hand hold-able (for him) 200-600 rig. The splashdown pattern made the pano crop an obvious choice.
Vasili Chernishoff, unsolicited via e-mail
I wanted to thank you again for such a fantastic learning experience; The San Diego trip exceeded my expectations, and I truly appreciate everything I gained from the workshop. I’m already looking forward to several more in Florida! Vasili
Vasili will be joining me again at Stick Marsh in late March and then again at Jacksonville — end of June through early July. I look forward to continuing to guide him on his bird photography journey. And like I am, he is looking forward to the Ospreys at Sebastian Inlet next fall.
Thanks for Vasili for allowing me to share his wonderful images with you here on the blog. More soon.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Which of today’s four featured images do you find most interesting? Why?
Please Note
As only two folks left comments at the last blog post, I responded to them here.
What They Said About San Diego
Colleen O’Connor, the Irish Lass, unsolicited via e-mail
Artie–Thank you for … everything you taught me. It was the single most impactful learning experience in my life. I hope to join another IPT in 2025 to reinforce and build upon what I learned in San Diego. All the Best — Colleen
ps: Wow! The optimization videos are terrific; thank you for taking the time to do them. So much learning to be had. I’ve looked at two and am very excited.
Warren Robb, USN retired fighter pilot, via blog comment
Observing and photographing the amazing pelicans at La Jolla was great fun and a personally rewarding experience. Your expert guidance on first “seeing the shot” and then on the mechanics of capturing a sharp, properly exposed, well designed image with the right gear was invaluable. Thank you Artie for another great IPT. Warren
Adrian Whitchelo-Scott, unsolicited via e-mail
Good morning Artie, A huge thank you for an outstanding IPT. I learned a great deal from your wisdom and knowledge, from exposure to choosing the ideal shutter speed and so much more. Kindly extend a thank you to Bob for taking on the task of driving us around and lots more. I hope to participate in another IPT in the future. In the meantime, I will be watching my sun angle! Be well, (Yo) Adrian
Vasili Chernishoff, unsolicited via e-mail
I wanted to thank you again for such a fantastic learning experience; The San Diego trip exceeded my expectations, and I truly appreciate everything I gained from the workshop. I’m already looking forward to several more in Florida! Vasili
What’s Up?
Note: three of the six San Diego participants have already signed up for another IPT! If you would like to learn about changing your life by joining me in San Diego for the 2026 San Diego AirBnB IPT experience, please get in touch via e-mail or shoot me a text to 863-221-2372. No rental vehicle needed!
On Friday, Bob Eastman and I headed early to Lakeland. With overcast and fog, our first stop was Circle B Bar Preserve. We walked three miles and created only a few hopelessly bad images. Next stop was Lake Morton. The American White Pelicans were finally in. We also had a male Redhead and lot of flying Double-crested Cormorants. We stopped in Winter Haven so that Bob could pick up 10 pounds of fresh tuna from Fish Store Mike to freeze and bring back to Wisconsin after he drops me at the airport early on Monday morning for my flights to Anchorage. He should be home by Wednesday.
On Saturday evening, we drove around for about 30 minutes with nothing to shoot. That despite the fact that a lovely orange-red sunset was shaping up. Then, for no reason at all, I picked a spot and said, “This should do it.” In the last five minutes before the sun disappeared the following showed up:
1- A Bald Eagle harassed an Osprey and eventually wound up with the fish. All of that occurred in the color.
2- A large flock of Cattle Egrets that had been flying as it usually does just above the surface of the lake, made a u-turn, then made another u-turn and flew through the color and right in front of the sun.
3- Then, a Great Blue Heron flew through the brightest color and passed right in front of the sun.
After 42 years of bird photography, I have an uncanny knack for putting folks in the right spot at the right time.
It is very early on Saturday 8 February 2025. Though I have been thinking a lot about packing, I have yet to put a single thing into either of my checked bags. So, I have lots to do on Saturday. After, of course, we get back from a short morning photo session down by the lake. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I ordered my second a-1 ii two days ago. Every day that I use mine, the more I am amazed by speed and accuracy of the Bird Face-Eye tracking in AF-C and the overall performance of the camera.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention at Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared to both the a-1 and the a9 iii and that the 51MP files are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
Tracking: Spot XS/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version.
Image #1: California Sealion riding wave
I’ve spent hours trying to create images like this. Without very much success at all. On Tuesday the 14th, I tried for two minutes, using the technique that I had taught to the those in the group who wanted to try: Shutter Priority mode + 1v stop with AUTO ISO. I know that I nailed this one right off the bat so I went back to concentrating on birds.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version.
Image #2: Western Gull preening primary feathers
The Spotlit Effect
With the sun making its way through a group of tall palm trees and spotlighting a single adult Western Gull on a nice pedestal perch, going vertical was the obvious choice. Exposing for the whites was easy using Zebra technology and left the dark rocks close to black. The preening pose was the cherry on top.
Focused on the horizon and then turned AF off. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #3 The Green Flash
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Green Flash
Google AI Overview
The green flash is a brief, green flash of light that occurs at sunrise or sunset when the sun is disappearing or rising above the horizon. It’s a meteorological optical phenomenon that happens when sunlight disperses through the atmosphere, similar to a prism. The sun’s light disperses through the atmosphere as it sets or rises and the atmosphere acts as a prism, allowing only green, blue, or violet light to reach the viewer’s eye. The green flash is a result of the light reacting with the sky at the right angle. Green flashes are more common over water sunsets because the water heats the air, creating greater thermal contrast. They can be seen regularly on the Pacific horizon.
Key West, FL is supposed to be a great place to see the green flash. If you are not too drunk. I’ve never been. I have tried without success to photograph the green flash on the west coast of Florida as the sun sets over the Gulf. Image #3, over the Pacific, is my most successful attempt ever.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version.
Image #4: Royal Tern braking to land
Higher Standards for Flight Photography
With the speed and accuracy of Bird Face-Eye tracking on the latest mirrorless camera bodies surpassing anything we ever dreamed of, the bar keeps being raised higher and higher. I created many, many thousands of images of Royal Terns in flight. All but a small handful were razor sharp on the bird’s eye or eyes. I kept less than 1% of them. Why so few keepers and so many in the trash bin?
1- Poor, uneven backgrounds.
2- Harsh shadows.
3- Less than perfect and/or uninspiring flight poses and wing positions.
4- Less than perfect subject to film plane orientation.
5- Off angled or uneven lighting.
6- Underwing shadows.
7- Distracting birds in the background.
8- Clipped wings or poor framing.
I had many keepers with pure white breaking wave backdrops. The background for Image #4 was the dark, almost black face of a cresting wave.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
High Capacity Delkin CF Express Type A 4.0 Memory Cards
At present, there is no longer a need to change a memory card in the field. Both the new Delkin 480GB and 960GB cards have more than enough storage for 99.9% of field applications. Using these new cards, I have never hit the buffer with my a-1 ii despite hammering the shutter button on occasion. Regular readers know that I have been depending on Delkin cards for just about a quarter century. In that time I have never lost a single image due to card failure. I’ve put my Delkin cards in the washing machine and dryer and — after two days, recovered one from a bag of barbecued spare-rib fat and bones. I got the images off those cards without a problem. Most amazingly, after dropping a card in the parking lot at Nickerson Beach IPT, participant Carlotta Grenier found the card near the ladies’ room four days later after it had been run over by numerous vehicles. After consulting with Delkin, I ripped the mangled cover off the card, put it into the Delkin card reader, and got to enjoy each and every image. I sent the card back to Delkin and they kindly sent me a brand new one. Please do not try that with Sony or San Disk or any of the many cheaper off brand cards.
At a recent dinner in San Diego, Delkin founder, president, and CEO Martin Wood told how his folks were able to recover the data from an industrial card that survived a military jet fighter crash that burned for more than two hours at 2000° F.
The specs for both the Delkin 480GB and 960GB cards are identical:
Max Read Speed: 1830 MB/s
Max Write Speed: 1710 MB/s
Min Sustained Write Speed: 500 MB/s
Records Raw 8K, 6K, and 4K Video
Records High Bitrates and Frame Rates
Records Raw Photos and Rapid Bursts
To help facilitate card usage in almost any environment and keeping your content safe, Delkin has built its BLACK Series with a rugged design that is water and shock proof and is resistant to temperature extremes. In order to further enhance reliability and functionality, the BLACK Series is serialized and protected by a limited lifetime warranty and a 48-hour replacement guarantee upon registration with Delkin.
I have never bought the story that putting all your eggs in one basket is a big mistake. Having to use multiple cards during a single shooting session greatly increases the chances of losing one or more.
With the heavy fog (as predicted), I was not excited about heading down to the lake on Tuesday morning. But boy, I was glad that we went out. Bob and I made some excellent images and I learned some new stuff about exposure and on optimizing foggy morning images. Though the weather was much better on Wednesday morning, we did not do quite as well. Strange both mornings was a young Black Skimmer, only the second one I’ve seen at ILE in 25 years. It did not look to be too well on Tuesday but had a lot more life in it on Wednesday.
I’ve been getting a lot more work done on my 2024 taxes. I was glad to learn that the newer of my two Sony a-1 bodies sold the first day it was listed. The market for used copies of this great camera body is, as expected, holding up well. I am keeping the older one for now as a back-up for the Homer trip. I am not sure when I will receive my second a-1 ii. If you order an a- ii be sure absolutely sure to use one of my links to get the three set-up e-mails for free. Otherwise you will either need to go it alone or send a PayPal for $227.43 to birdsasart@verizon.net.
Bob is dropping me off at the Orlando Airport early next Monday and then beginning his drive back to a very cold Wisconsin.
On Wednesday evening we enjoyed a nice sunset with the skimmer and a White Ibis available for silhouettes. None were inspiring.
Today is Thursday 6 February. Though I have a ton of organizing and packing to do, we will surely head down to the lake for a short morning session. Whatever you opt to do today, we hope that you have a great day and that you too choose to be happy.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
In the Last Blog Post
In the last blog post, Four Very Special San Diego Not Flying Duck Images. Part Ihere, my very favorite image was the Northern Shoveler drake. Why? A good photo of this species in soft light had been eluding me for several decades. In addition, I loved the swirly water. Thanks to Dr. Fish for suggesting that I lighten that one. And to Anthony Ardito for suggesting that I lighten the Wood Duck drake head portrait.
For me, the other three images were tied for 2nd place as each was very strong.
These four raw files (each exposed well to the right), were created on 4 February 2025 down by the lake near my home at ILE while working from the front seat of my SUV with my BLUBB-supported super-telephoto rig.
Photo Mechanic screen capture of four foggy morning photos
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Exposing Way to the Right
Note that all of today’s featured images were created at either +2 or +2.3 stops (once again in Shutter Priority mode with EC on the thumb Wheel and AUTO ISO). Why? With the uniformly light-toned backgrounds, working in Shutter Priority as above allowed me to quickly and efficiently set my shutter speed, add a ton of light, and concentrate on making sharp images.
The key to getting the color right in each image was the final step: running a layer of Average Blur Color Balance as detailed in Digital Basics II. I should do a short video on this one …
This image was created on 4 February 2025 down by the lake near my home at ILE. Working from the front seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering +2.3 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 640. 1/125sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. Amazingly, RawDigger showed even +2.3 stops was not enough; the exposure here was a full /3 sto short of perfect. AWB at 7:45:46am on a very foggy morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #1: Mottled Duck and grasses on foggy morning
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Image Clean-Up
By clicking on the Photo Mechanic composite screen capture above to enlarge it, you can see that I did some neat clean-up work on the grasses, especially the clump below the bill. All done with the Remove Tool as detailed in the Digital Basics III Video Series. The pleasingly arranged grasses that I opted to leave create a peaceful easy mood.
Not to mention that the contrast and color are improved 1000% from the raw file.
This image was also created on Tuesday 4 February 2025 down by the lake near my home at ILE. Again, working from the front seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering +2.0 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 400. 1/125sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 7:50:06am on a very foggy morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #2: Black Skimmer in worn first winter plumage
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
It’s Better Side …
On Tuesday morning, this young skimmer’s right eye was cloudy and barely open. Thus, I waited for the look-back pose to create a pleasing image. As mentioned above, the bird looked much better on Wednesday. But the left side of its face was still its best side.
This image was also created on 4 February 2025 down by the lake near my home at ILE. Again, working from the front seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering +2.3 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 400. 1/125 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. Even though this one was created at +2.3 stops, RawDigger showed that it was a full half stop too dark. AWB at 7:51:45am on a very foggy morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #3: Mottled Duck pair, male with yellow bill on our left
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
A Double Miracle!
Like today’s first two images, this one was created at the wide open aperture to save on ISO. As the ducks were swimming (albeit slowly), the sharpness of this image involved two miracles:
1- There is almost no motion blur on the heads — both eyes are sharp.
2- The two ducks were exactly on the same plane; both eyes are razor sharp.
Do remember that if you are using a long lens on a beanbag, you must remember to turn off Direct Manual Focus (DMF) to avoid throwing off the focus accuracy. With Sony, the switch is conveniently on the barrel of the GM lenses. G lenses (like the 200-600), do not offer this feature. With Canon, I believe that you need to turn DMF on and off via the menu. I am not sure with Nikon.
It is always good to be lucky but folks who do things gooder always tend to be luckier. Gooder is a Bob Eastman-ism for correctly or better.
This image was also created on 4 February 2025 down by the lake near my home at ILE. Again, working from the front seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering +2.0 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 1250. 1/125 sec. at f/8 (stopped down two stops) in Shutter Priority mode. Again, RawDigger showed that the exposure was a full /3 stop short of perfect. AWB at 7:57:17am on a very foggy morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #4: Killdeer preening tail feathers
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Two For the Price of One
While photographing the young skimmer, I noticed a preening Killdeer perhaps five yards further up the shoreline. Good photographers keep their eyes moving at all times in search of something better 🙂
I am not sure how or why I wound up at f/8 here as stopping down two full stops cost me both shutter speed and ISO. I did eventually make a few frames of the skimmer sleeping at 1200mm at f/8 and then at f/16 to be used in a future blog post on stopping down for bird photography. That inspired by a question left in a comment by Thomas Redd at the Los Tres Amigos Do a Tiny, Feisty Colorful Jewel blog post here.
Image #4A: Square crop of the Killdeer preening tail feathers image
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Your Call?
Which version of the preening Killdeer do you prefer, Image #4 at 3X2, of #4A, the square crop of the same photo. Why?
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Your challenge today is a tough one as each of today’s featured images is quite strong. Once again, I ask you to judge them by placing the strongest image first and your least favorite last. Your comment might look like this: 2, 3, 1, 4. Feel free to justify one or more of your choices. I will share my rankings with you here in the next blog post.
Sony Alpha 1 (a-1) Mirrorless Camera Body
Your truly, Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART Is offering his rarely used backup Sony a-1 (ILCE-1) mirrorless camera body in excellent plus plus condition for a ridiculously low $3,498.00. This body has been updated to Firmware 3.00 that reportedly improves Bird Face-Eye tracking to levels attained by the a1-ii. The camera has my current a-1 set-up on it. The sale includes the current Buttons and Dials Guide and the Info Sheet, the original product box, one battery, the charger, the camera strap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact artie via e-mail or y text to 863-221-2372.
I have used Sony a-1 bodies as my workhorse cameras for more than three years. They produce stunning 51MP files with vivid natural colors. The AF system is science-fiction-like. They are rugged and dependable and 30 frames per second is nothing to sneeze at. With a brand new A-1 ii going for $6498.00, you can save an even $3000.00 by grabbing my nearly as good as new copy ASAP Right now, B&H is offering a used a-1 in 9+ condition for $4,097.00.
artie
What’s Up?
As expected (by me, at least), our direct flight from San Diego to Orlando was blessedly uneventful. After being in the air for only a shade over four hours to fly across the country. Due to horrendous traffic on I4, it took us well more than two hours to get back to my home at Indian Lake Estates. Just for the record books, the flight covered 2431 miles in about 250 minutes, about 9 miles/minute or 540 mph. The car ride covered 77 miles in about 140 minutes, .55 miles/minute or about 33mph. All distances as the crow files. Go figure.
Monday morning dawned completely foggy so Bob Eastman and I went more than two full days without making a single bird photograph. Practically unthinkable. I was glad to learn that Dane Johnson sold his second a-1 body (in recent weeks) for $3550.00.
Today is Tuesday 4 February 2025. The forecast for the next three mornings at least is for fog, fog, and more fog. Big time bummer. I have lots of work to do getting ready to fly to Anchorage, AK next Monday for the 2025 Homer IPTs. Whatever you opt to do today, I hope that you have a great day and choose to be happy.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
In the Last Blog Post
As was clearly stated in the last blog post here, Bob Eastman’s spectacular top shot of a leaving the scene male Cinnamon Teal was the strongest image. By far. I did forget to mention that another factor that often comes into play with Bob’s great success is that he is always more shutter button aggressive than I am.
Anyhoo, asked to pick the second best photo, several were mentioned; #2, the landing-in-soft-light Mallard drake, #5, the hen Lesser Scaup touching down, and #6, the braking Gadwall hen each garnered two votes. Image #4, the landing hen teal got a single vote.
My favorite was #5, the hen Gadwall on final approach because of the sharpness, the super-soft background, and the elegant braking pose. Thanks to all who commented.
This image was created on 10 January at Santee Lakes Regional Preserve on the Expanded San Diego 2025 IPT. Seated on a dirt bank, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 478mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering +0.7 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 2000: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 3:46:47pm on a sunny afternoon.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #1: Gadwall drake — front end vertical portrait
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Duck Too Close — What to Do?
If a duck is so close to you that it does not fit into the frame, simply turn your camera body on end and go for a front-end vertical portrait. In general, the lower you can get, the better. At Santee, the problem is that it is usually impossible or at least very difficult to get close to water level as the banks around the lakes are raised at least a foot or two.
This image was created on 12 January at Santee Lakes Regional Preserve on the Expanded San Diego 2025 IPT. Seated on a dirt bank, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and the and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the Sony a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 800: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 8:12:59am on a sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #2: Northern Shoveler drake floating
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Getting Lucky on a Usually Shy Species
There are lots of Northern Shovelers at Santee Lakes Regional Preserve. They are exceedingly difficult to photograph. As many as several hundred are seen regularly surface feeding in large swirling groups of many dozens in the vicinity of aeration outflows in the middle of the first two lakes. They are not at all interested in tossed scratch, a supplemental treat for ducks made from a mix of grains and seeds. If you spot a handsome male swimming by the near bank and attempt to get into position, it will immediately turn tail and swim directly away from you until it reaches the other side of the lake. As the males are a high contrast subject, photographing them in anything but sweet light is a hopeless endeavor.
Several of us were sitting by the Wood Duck Oak Tree early one morning when a gorgeous male shoveler floated right by us at fairly close range. Because it was angled slightly away from me the rear half of the duck was in the shade. As Anita North taught me last week, I used a Linear Gradient in Adobe Camera Raw and subtracted the background. I’ve been struggling to learn to use a Linear Gradient for more than two decades and I am thrilled to have it down now. It will be one of the new techniques featured in Volume II of the Digital Basics III series that should be available in mid-April 2025.
Image #2A: Northern Shoveler drake floating (lighter)
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
A Lighter Version for Dr. Fish
Perhaps I have been in a dark zone …
This image was created on 24 January at Santee Lakes Regional Preserve on an Expanded San Diego 2025 IPT. Seated on the dirt bank, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering -0.7 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 1600: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 3:22:34pm on a sunny afternoon.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #3: Wood Duck drake head portrait
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Road As Background
At times, several of the duck species that come to the scratch climb up out of the lake onto the bank or the road to forage for dropped tidbits of grain and seed. The drake woodie paused on the asphalt road for several seconds and gave me time to adjust the exposure compensation to avoid blowing the white patches. Making images that show the purple cheek patch requires exposing well to the right along with a healthy dose of reflectance luck.
Speaking of Shutter Priority with Exposure Compensation (EC) and AUTO ISO
As we saw in the previous blog post here, using shutter priority for ducks in flight often leads to spotty, inaccurate results for a variety of reasons. (Remember that for the same reasons, similar results come with Manual mode.) When doing swimming ducks or posing waterfowl, however, you generally have a bit more time, and you know which species you will be photographing at a given moment, and have a pretty good idea as to the tonality of the background. Thus, it is easy to pick your shutter speed, use Zebras to dial in the correct EC, and create consistently good or excellent exposures.
Image #3A: Wood Duck drake head portrait
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Lighter, for Anthony
After Anthony Ardito left the comment below, I realized that he had a good point. So, I brought the image back into Photoshop and pulled up the curve. What do you think?
Anthony Ardito: February 4, 2025 at 9:45am
Yes #3 is quite stunning with the head peaking in from the left frame. That composition makes it really stand out! And I know you say exposure was dead on, but I think it would look even better brightened up just a tad.
My response
Thanks, Anthony. Do understand that exposure and presentation brightness are unrelated.
Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #4: Ring-necked Duck hen sipping
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Why 1200mm for Swimming Ducks?
Even when sitting, the pleasing reflections of live or dead vegetation are often confined to the far side of the pond. I go to 1200mm and try to be patient enough to wait for some ducks to swim through the pretty colors. Windless conditions are of course best as choppy water breaks up the reflections. A second benefit of working with super-long focal lengths is that your angle of declination is reduced. With more distant subjects, it often appears that you are photographing from a very low perspective.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Friday was ducks all day. On Saturday morning at La Jolla Bob Eastman and I created some predawn blurs. Then we spent some time at Children’s Pool working the Harbor Seals. Two had newborn pups. Last we worked the gulls by The Green Patch and some cooperative shorebirds at The Crevice: a handsome Whimbrel and a very busy Spotted Sandpiper. There was an occasional fly-by group of Brown Pelicans. Bob created a really neat image of an adult Black Oystercatcher harassing a pelican that was apparently diving for fish. We spent Saturday afternoon packing for our flight to Orlando that leaves at 10:48am tomorrow. Longtime friend Patrick Sparkman (AKA Sparky Patman) and wife Robin joined Bob and me for dinner at our AirBnB on Saturday evening. Patrick co-wrote the original Sony Guides with me and was responsible for developing the Zebra setting values that are still used with great success on the a-1 and a-1 ii bodies
Today is Sunday 2 February 2025. It’s been a great trip but I am ready to get home and get ready for Homer and the Bald Eagles. Our flight is scheduled to leave at 10:48am. Jim is picking us up at MCO at about 7:00pm as we lose three hours flying west to east.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
In the Last Blog Post
In the Thrilled To Say That I Was 100% Wrong blog post here, my rankings were 4, 1, 3, 2. Colleen O’Connor, the Irish Lass, agreed. All but one of the many folks who commented went with #4 as the strongest. Many went with #2 as second best and David Pugsley, a very fine photographer picked that as his number one image. For me, #2 was boring in part because the bird is not brightly colored. I loved the dynamic flight pose of #1 and the bright breeding plumage of #3.
Thanks to all who left a comment.
Your Call?
As Mr. Bob’s spectacular Cinnamon Teal top shot, Image #7 below, is clearly the pick of today’s litter, the question for today is Which of the other six flying duck images is the strongest?
This image was created on 10 January at Santee Lakes Regional Preserve on the Expanded San Diego 2025 IPT. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 326mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Flagship Body, the Sony a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering -0.3 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 1000: 1/4000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was 2/3 stop short of being perfect. AWB at 3:27:04pm on a sunny afternoon.
Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #1: Ring-necked Duck head in flight — wings fully down
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Sony a-1 ii Does Fast and Erratic Ducks in Flight
The ducks at Santee are challenging flight subjects: but for Mallard, they are small, fast and often erratic flyers; several species flash their white wing linings when braking to land; some, like the ring-necked and Wood Duck drakes, have small slashes of white or bright silvers while others are more uniformly toned, in other words, an exposure nightmare; at times, many fly right at us at all at once so picking out the more desirable species adds to the challenge.
Throw in sometimes changing light and varying background tonalities, and you really have your work cut out for you. If you are blessed to own more than one telephoto lens, simply selecting the best one can test you. Fixed or zoom? Focal length? Tripod or hand hold? One thing that you can be sure of is that whatever way you go it will be wrong at least some of the time.
This image was created on 29 January at Santee Lakes Regional Preserve. Seated on a dirt bank, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering +1.7 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 4000: 1/3200 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was very close to dead solid perfect. AWB at 4:20:00pm on a then cloudy afternoon. .
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #2: Mallard drake braking to land
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Exposure Mode Challenge
For the many reasons noted above, deciding whether to work in Manual Mode or in Shutter Priority Mode with AUTO ISO is a tough choice. This year, I did the flying ducks almost exclusively working in Shutter Priority Mode with AUTO ISO and Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Bob stuck with Manual mode. Either way, one thing is for sure:
1- Your exposure will be less than perfect about half the time, often well less than perfect.
Why? You never know what’s coming at you so there is no time for most folks to make any changes in the exposure settings. In addition, the wing positions are changing constantly so you never know if the white wing linings will be revealed when the wing are full raised or hidden when the wings are fully down. For me, working in Shutter Priority mode when photographing ducks in flight gives me the greatest chance of getting it right.
When a cloud covered the sun, I immediately dialed in +1.7 stops of EC; the result was a dead solid perfect exposure.
This image was created on 29 January at Santee Lakes Regional Preserve. Seated on a dirt bank, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering at zero. AUTO ISO set ISO 640: 1/4000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 3:37:45pm on mostly sunny afternoon.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #3: Ring-necked Duck drake splash landing
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Dead Solid Perfect Exposure at Zero EC
The bright white markings on the bill and the very white breast combined with the splashing water at touchdown yielded a dead solid perfect exposure when this drake ring-necked hit the water. See the next image and remember that you never know what duck will be flying at you at high speed.
This image was created on 29 January at Santee Lakes Regional Preserve. Seated on a dirt bank, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering at zero. AUTO ISO set ISO 640: 1/4000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was more than a full stop under-exposed. AWB at 4:02:07pm on mostly sunny afternoon.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #4: Cinnamon Teal hen on final approach
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
More Than a Stop Too Dark at Zero EC
Mallards and Ring-necked Ducks are the two most common subjects at Santee Lakes. The trick is to pick out something different when as many as a dozen ducks are flying right at you. I knew that zero EC would avoid over-exposing any bright whites on a sunny afternoon unless I had a drake Wood Duck fly in against a dark green background. Anyhoo, when I got on this incoming Cinnamon Teal hen at the last second, there was simply no time to add one full stop of light for the relatively mid-toned subject. With today’s amazing mirrorless camera bodies, however, it is a lot easier to deal with significant under-exposures than it is to deal with significant over-exposures. As with film, you cannot give away the whites.
This image was created on 31 January at La Jolla, CA. Seated on the dirt bank, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering +0.3 stops AUTO ISO set ISO 1600: 1/4000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 3:49:11pm on a sunny afternoon.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #5: Lesser Scaup hen touching down
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Separating the Hens
Female Ring-necked Ducks and female Lesser Scaups are fairly similar. The former always show a distinct white ring around the bill while the latter always have dark, rich chocolate brown heads. At Santee, the ring-necks outnumber the scaups by at least 30 to one.
This image was created on 31 January at La Jolla, CA. Seated on the dirt bank, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1000. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi-metering =0.3 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 400: 1/4000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 4:22:33pm on a sunny afternoon.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #6: Gadwall hen on final approach
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Fortuitous
Feeding the waterfowl at Santee is encouraged. The always pleasant volunteers who man the pay booth are happy to sell us bags of scratch, healthy duck food, for $2.00 a pop. “You want ten bags of scratch???”
AI Overview: scratch is a supplemental treat for ducks made from a mix of grains and seeds. It’s meant to encourage natural foraging behaviors and provide an energy boost.
Tossing handfuls of scratch in the right location will often result in dozens of ducks flying right at you, all in a hurry to get in on the free food. Late in the day on Friday we got very lucky. With more than a hundred ducks right in front of us, someone on the east shore of the lake began feeding directly opposite of us. They all flew away. I had been working at 1200mm with the big lens on the tripod when the ducks that had left us began flying back to us in anticipation. I quickly grabbed the a-1 ii and mounted it onto my 300mm f/2.8 that had been placed carefully on the bank. When this hen Gadwall flew in high, I was thrilled in part because like Lesser Scaup, Gadwall is uncommon at the preserve, and in part because the high flyers yield the softest, sweetest backgrounds. Especially at f/2.8.
This image was created on 31 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA by my good friend Bob Eastman. Standing at full height, he used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600. 1/3200 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 3:54:22pm on a sunny afternoon. RawDigger showed the exposure to be within 1/2 stop of dead solid perfect.
Tracking: Spot (XS) AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #7: Cinnamon Teal drake — dorsal view, flying away
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Bob Eastman
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Bob’s Eastman’s Trusty Sony 200-600 G Lens with the Sony a-1
It has become a standing joke. As I am deciding on which lens to use for a photo session, Bob will always chime in with, “I think I’ll take my two to six.” It is his only long telephoto lens and as you have seen here, he consistently created some fabulous images. Things were no different at Santee. More than ten years my junior, Mr. Bob is stronger, has faster reflexes, and better hand-eye coordination than I. Thus, he is better able to get on the smallest, fastest flying ducks like Cinnamon Teal. I would trade all six of my images above for Bob’s spectacular top shot of the drake cinnamon showing the sky blue greater coverts and the green feathers of the speculum.
The Photo Mechanic screen capture shows the full frame original.
Image #6: Cinnamon Teal drake — dorsal view, flying away
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Bob Eastman
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Photo Mechanic Screen Capture
The Photo Mechanic Screen capture above shows the crop I used when optimizing Bob’s fabulous image. The problem was that the light blue reflections in the lower right corner drew the viewer’s eye from the subject. I use several tools and techniques to eliminate the somewhat distracting bright reflections.
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 I used to optimize all of today’s featured images and tons more great Photoshop tips and techniques — along with my complete digital workflow, Digital Eye Doctor Techniques, and all my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.
Please note: the Divide and Conquer technique was inadvertently omitted from DB II. It is detailed in a free excerpt in the blog post here.
Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: most of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.
You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About three years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One and did that for two years. You can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here. Today, I convert my Sony raw files in Photoshop with Adobe Camera Raw.
You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.
The Digital Basics III Video Series
The Digital Basics III Video Series
I realized more than a year ago that my digital workflow had changed significantly and was toying with the idea of writing a Digital Basics III. More recently, I learned and began working with two great new Photoshop Tools, the Remove Tool and the Luminance Targeted Adjustment Tool. The former is like a smarter Spot Healing Brush Tool on steroids and the latter is a step up from the fabulous Color Mixer Tool. During that same time frame, I came up with a new and improved 2-step noise reduction technique. I still use Divide and Conquer, Quick Masks, Layer Masks, an expanded array of personalized keyboard shortcuts, and tons of other stuff from both versions of Digital Basics.
As soon as I realized that I did not want to take on another large writing project, I realized that by creating a series of videos I could much more easily share all the details of my current digital workflow and much more easily incorporate additional new tips, techniques, and tools as I went. And so, The Digital Basics III Video Series was born.
Save $26 by ordering the first five videos in Volume I by clicking here. The videos will be most valuable for folks using the latest version of Photoshop (2024) or Lightroom along with Topaz DeNoise AI and Topaz Sharpen AI.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
After clicking on each of today’s four featured images (the first four only), rate them in order with the strongest first and the weakest photo last (in your opinion.) Your comment might look something like this:
4, 1, 3, 2. I will share my ratings and reasons with you in the next blog post.
What’s Up?
We did well again on the flying ducks at Santee Lakes Preserve on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning superseded Tuesday morning as the worst session of the trip. I created a meager 1325 images and kept only 11. My abysmal keeper rate was less than 1%, an all-time low. I am having dinner tonight at the fabulous King’s Fish House in San Diego with Martin Wood, president and CEO of Delkin Devices, Scott Clarke also of Delkin, Bob Eastman, and my great friend and health advisor, Dr. Cliff Oliver and Annie, his significant other.
Today is Friday 31 January 2025. The plan is for Bob and me to head out early to Coronado Beach for a final visit — we fly back to Florida on Sunday. We’re hoping for a sunny morning filled with Marbled Godwits and Heermann’s Gulls. After seeing only a handful of the West Coast’s most beautiful gull in more than two weeks, 40 showed up in La Jolla about three days ago and for the last two mornings, there have been more than a hundred present along with several hundred Royal Terns. The handsome Heermann’s were likely wintering to the north and are beginning their southward journey to their breeding grounds in Baja, Mexico. Whatever the heck you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day and be happy.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #1: Brown Pelican, Pacifc race juvenile turning in flight
Thrilled To Say That I Was 100% Wrong
In the How Good is This One? Or Not? blog post here, I wrote in part:
Most impressive is the AF performance (of Vasili Chernishoff’s Canon EOS R1 Mirrorless Camera) with birds in flight at 1200mm with the RF 600m f/4 and the RF 2X teleconverter. My gut feeling that AF accuracy is better at 1200mm than the Sony a-1 ii with the 600mm f/4 GM and the 2X TC. And that, my friends, is sayin a lot. The difference however might be operator error (on my part), but I do not think so.
I was standing on the downhill sidewalk at La Jolla watching some distant pelicans flying in and landing on the low shelf when I realized that I had never tried the a-1 ii for birds in flight with the 600mm f/4 GM lens and the 2X TC. In my mind, I was comparing the a-1 AF at 1200mm to the R1 at 1200mm. Results with the a-1 at 1200mm were somewhat sporadic.
Since the opportunity presented itself, I went to work with the a-1 ii at 1200mm and when I got the images on my MacBook Pro, I was thrilled to learn that I had been 100% wrong. All of the flight shots were tack sharp on the bird’s eyes. Hooray. That makes the Sony a-1 ii even deadlier for bird photography. And with 51MP and Zebra technology, the a-1 ii versus the R1 (with 24 MP) is simply no contest.
Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #2: Brown Pelican, Pacifc race adult in soaring flight
a-1 ii AF at 1200mm
The Bird Face-Eye tracking of the Sony a-1 ii AF at 1200mm is as good as it is with the 300mm f/28 GM lens alone. And that, my friends is saying a lot. Most impressive is when Zone or Tracking: Zone grabs and tracks the eye of a bird flying away from you.
Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #3: Brown Pelican, Pacifc race, bright breeding plumage adult in flight
High Flyers at 1200mm
When you are fortunate enough to have some birds flying well above the water, or the ocean as with Image #3, the background detail is pleasingly smoothed out. And working with a long focal length like 1200mm heightens that effect.
Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #4: Brown Pelican, Pacifc race, breeding plumage adult in flight — braking to land
Pano Crop
The full braking flight pose here made the choice of a pano crop an obvious and easy one. There is nothing in the world that says that 3X2 or 2X3 are the only acceptable proportions for an image. And the same is true for square or boxy crops. You are the artist; feel free to crop your images to maximize the artistic feel and impact of your photographs.
The Photo Mechanic screen capture for my favorite-ever Brown Pelican Pacific race mega-breeding plumage tight flight image
Another Creative Crop
When I saw the raw file above for the first time on my laptop, I was quite thrilled with it. But in its original form, above, it simply did not work. Just the right crop — as shown above by the marching ants, was needed. I am happy with the result, now below as in the previously linked to post.
Due to a registrant’s family illness, I have had a cancellation on both Homer IPTs. If you’ve been dreaming of eagles and are interested in joining me for one or for both IPTs, please get in touch via cell phone or text to 863-221-2372 immediately. Time is very short.
What’s Up?
Incredibly, Brown Pelicans have been relatively scarce for the past few days. On Monday morning, using mostly the 300mm f/28 GM lens with the 2X TC and my newly beloved a-1 ii, I made some lovely Western Gull images that are featured in today’s blog post. On Monday afternoon, I experimented with the tripod mounted 600mm f/4GM/2X TC/a-1 ii and had some good chances on flying pelicans. My findings will be detailed in the next post. Tuesday morning was the toughest (i.e., worst) morning of the trip. There were no pelicans at the point and not much flying at the Bridge Club. My goal was to make some nice flight shots of the newly arrived Heermann’s Gulls. I got one very nice one, a nice top shot or two of Royal Tern, and a decent image of a fly-by pair of Black Oystercatchers. On Tuesday afternoon Bob Eastman and I headed to Santee Lakes Regional Park. The ducks were in a flying mood and the wind was right. Even so, it is a very challenging situation: widely varying subject tonalities, varying lighting conditions, ducks in flight at varying distances, and at times, too many ducks in the air at once.
Today is Wednesday 29 January 2025. Bob and I will be headed back to La Jolla for what looks to be another cloudy morning. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
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Wild Alaska Salmon and Seafood Company
Ever since my two daughters sent me a big box of salmon filets and sea scallops from Wild Alaska Salmon and Seafood Company for my birthday a few years ago, I have been ordering salmon and scallops from them. Now that Junior’s Fish Market in Lake Wales is closing, I will be depending on Wild Alaska every month. I always order Sockeye filets and the Sea Scallops. The stuff comes frozen solid, is easy to prepare, and tastes pretty much as good as the fresh stuff would.
You can save $20 on your first order by clicking here. Eating wild caught seafood is about as healthy as you can go. The scallops are a real treat. When you sear them, be sure to cook them in the liquid that comes in the bag and be sure not to overcook them. I bake or broil the lightly seasoned salmon filets skin side down in olive or coconut oil.
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This image was also created on 27 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Multi Metering +1.0 stop in Shutter Priority mode. AUTO ISO set ISO 200: 1/125 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open). AWB at 7:12:53am on a then cloudy morning. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect:
Tracking Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #1: Western Gull on poop covered rock
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The White-washed Rocks
The white-washed sandstone rocks often catch my eye. The patterns can be beautiful. For this one, I placed the bird in the upper right corner to create a poop-streaked vertical bird-scape with the patterns of the whitewash dominating the image. The gull is probably in its third year.
iPhone 15+. JPEG from the raw file. Time: 7:10:44 AM; Model: iPhone 15 Pro Max; Focal Length: 6.8mm; ISO: 80; Aperture: 1.8; Shutter: 1/120 sec. Exp Comp +1.1 stops.
Image #2: Western Gull on poop covered ridge image
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Your Ever-present Wide Angle Lens
As I approach age 79, one of my main goals is to go lighter and lighter. I cannot remember the last time I headed out with two rigs. Nor can I remember carrying an extra lens. I have become something of a one-trick pony. I enjoy the challenge of walking around with a single lens and seeing what I can do, knowing full well that what I have in my hand will not always be the best or most appropriate focal length. Anyhoo, I never have a wide angle lens with me in the field. But I almost always have my iPhone. The result: another small-in-the-frame poop-scape.
Just as I was putting the cell phone back into my pocket, the bird executed and held a perfect wing-stretch pose. It did not, however, hold it long enough for me to get any shots with the 300mm f/2.8. Another negative: though I made sure to capture in raw, the image quality of the optimized image is quite suspect. At best.
This image was also created on 27 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 7:34:53am on a then sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #3: Western Gull — head, neck, and upper breast portrait
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Storm Clouds on the Horizon
The morning forecast on Monday called for clouds and drizzle. By 7:20am, however, the sun broke through. There was a big storm cloud to the west so the Pacific Ocean became a stunning indigo blue black, a perfect backdrop for the breeding plumage adult Western Gulls. Pelicans would have been nice, but there weren’t any. Needless to say, I made lots of images that included a few good ones. It is hard to beat the color scheme.
Note that when you properly expose for the bright whites, the ocean is rendered at least one stop underexposed. That makes the water bluer and blacker and pleasingly increases the contrast to the dramatic levels seen in this and the following image.
This image was also created on 27 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA. Again, standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3 stop — gasp!) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 7:56:59am on a then sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #4: Western Gull — beginning yawn
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Almost Left Too Soon. Again.
Bob and I had decided to move the car down the hill and then head over to the Bridge Club. On our way to the steps, we saw a nice adult Western Gull resting on a rock. I knew that I had the exposure set correctly for the situation so I instinctively raised my lens and framed the shot. Within a second, the bird began a tremendous yawn. I simply pushed the shutter button and continued firing until the yawn quit. I was happy. Bob, who had not raised his lens, was pissed.
This image was also created on 27 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA. Again, standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3 stop — gasp!) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 7:57:01am on a then sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #5: Western Gull — wide yawn
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Open Wide Please!
What began as a simple yawn quickly became cavernous. I was shocked to see that the a-1 ii lost focus for three frames mid-sequence. But was thrilled to see that the beginning and the end of the run were tack sharp on the bird’s eye, even in Image #5 where we can barely get a glimpse of the eye with the bird looking right down the lens barrel.
Image #5A: 100% crop of the Western Gull — wide yawn image
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The 100% Crop
The huge crop here yielded a spectacular, perfectly illuminated look at the inside of the gull’s mouth. I remember making a shot very much like this at La Jolla, on film, I think. That was probably close to three decades ago. The photo might be in The Art of Bird Photography.
With their stunning 51MP raw files, sharp Sony a-1 and the a-1 ii images can stand up to immense crops. The creation of Image #5A involved discarding a shade under 95% of the original pixels. In short, the crop-ability of sharp a-1 and a-1 ii images is astounding.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #6: Western Gull taking flight
Flight Photography Off the Tripod
If you cannot easily hand hold a given lens for flight photography, the only solution is to put the lens on a tripod. Though I tried a monopod for a while, and found the Wimberley Mono-Gimbal Head to be great for those who use a monopod, I have given up on them. Why? If you are going to carry something in the field to stabilize your (heavy) lens you might as well go for the most stable solution. With one-point contact, all monopods move around far too much for my taste. With a Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro atop my Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod, flight photography off a tripod is an absolute pleasure. With three points of contact, stability is ensured and fatigue is eliminated. And as with most skills, the more you practice, the better the results. That goes double for flight photography.
Pre-Capture
Pre-Capture on the Sony a-1 ii was 100% responsible for the creation of this image. I keep mine set to 0.3 seconds. Always shooting at 30fps, that means that each and every time I press the shutter button to begin a new sequence that ten previously recorded raw files will be saved to the card. Interestingly enough, I have never hit the buffer with my a-1 ii. That is due in part to the fact that when doing flight photography, I cannot keep the bird in the center of the frame long enough to slow down the camera. I can, however, do that when shooting a fight or action sequence. Though such opps are rare, I have yet to hit the buffer.
Vasili Chernishoff uses his remarkable Canon EOS R1 Mirrorless Camera for bird photography. As I do, he leaves Pre-Capture on at all times. I believe that at present, the only option for him is for 0.5 seconds. Working at 40 fps, that means that 20 pre-capture images will be saved every time he presses the shutter button. In no way is that the major factor for the obscene number of images that he created last week, in excess of 80,000. He needs to learn to stop shooting specks (tiny-in-the-frame birds and quit shooting when the background becomes distracting. In short, he needs to learn to be more selective by separating the good situations from the bad situations.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Due to a family illness, I have had a cancellation on both Homer IPTs. If you are interested in joining us for one or for both, please get in touch via cell phone or text to 863-221-2372 immediately.
My Call
The Brown Pelican flight image in the last blog post is my very favorite pelican image. Ever. In addition, it is easily one of my top ten all time best photos. Ever Several folks pretty much agreed. Elle summed up my feelings perfectly when she left this comment:
January 25, 2025 at 3:16pm
I am enamored of this one because it is unusual and artistic. I love the curve of the wing leading the viewer’s eye to the beak and the bird’s eye. I love all the orange details in the head against the complementary deep blue background. The texture of the feathers contrasts beautifully with the smoothness of the background.
Thanks, Elle!
What’s Up?
After a cloudy morning session on Sunday morning, Vasili Chernishoff headed back to LA a happy man. When we got back to the AirBnB, I finished cherry picking his best images from the more than 80,000 he created during a week of shooting. I had picked nearly 300 pretty good ones. We sat together at my laptop and got that file down to below 200 after a second edit.
On Saturday morning, Bob Eastman and Vasili headed down to the Brandt’s Cormorants while I hung out with the pelicans for a bit. I grabbed my 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II lens and headed down the hill. I did not make it far when I spotted a gorgeous male Allen’s Hummingbird. I quickly headed back to our SUV and grabbed the 600mm f/4 GM, both teleconverters, and my now beloved a-1 ii. The bird flew away but returned quickly. I called Bob to let him know. I kept shooting and the bird kept flying away and returning. I called Bob a second time and told him to come quickly and to bring Vasili. We all got in on the action. After less than 50 minutes, I created 6048 raw files. I kept 40 and processed four of those for today’s blog post.
I could not help but think of Jim Brandenburg’s amazing Zen/quasi-religious self assignment, Chased by the Light. Having “lost his passion for photography,” Jim gave himself a challenge: for ninety days between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, he would make only one photograph a day. The result? Immense personal growth, an exquisite book and a National Geographic article that featured all 90 images. I have a signed copy of the fancy version of that book that is inscribed, “To the master, in the name of shared passion.” It is beyond a prized possession.
Things are quite a bit different today with mirrorless cameras that capture at 30, 40, and even 120 frames per second, and can even save as many as 120 frames recorded before you even press the shutter button. I guess the question is, “In retrospect, do I feel at all guilty? The short answer is “No, not at all.” I love what I do and I love being alive to be able to enjoy today’s amazing mirrorless technology.
Today’s post features six very special male Allen’s Hummingbird images, four by yours truly and one each by Bob and Vasili. Oh, and by the way, Go Chiefs! Go Patrick (Mahomes)! Condolences to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Again
Today is Monday 27 January 2025. Bob and I will be headed back to La Jolla for what promises to be another cloudy, drizzly morning. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #1: Allen’s Hummingbird male — wing raised display
Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Getting the White Sky Exposure Right
With the relatively dark hummingbird set against a near white sky when the clouds covered the sun, I knew that I needed to add a ton of light to the exposure to avoid under-exposing the subject. I raised the ISO until the sky was completely Zebra-ed and then hit a convenient button to turn them off so that I could compose the image.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #2: Allen’s Hummingbird perched male side view
Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Changing Perches
The bird switched perches often, fly off, and then return to one of about four favorite perches. Note that though the background for Image #2 was the distant cliff wall, the exposure remained exactly the same as it was in Image #1. Why? The amount of light falling on the subject had not changed.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #3: Allen’s Hummingbird male scratching
Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Why 6048 Images?
Not really sure. I can only say that photographing a tiny, feisty bird at 1200mm is a difficult challenge. I stuck with 1/500 second at ISO 2500 rather than going to a faster shutter speed and a much higher ISO. At 1/500th, I knew that I would lose some images to motion blur. Even perched hummingbirds rarely sit still. They are constantly looking around. As the position of their head changes, the reflectance of the gorget, the richly colored feathers about the neck, changes almost constantly. So, to capture the brilliant iridescence of the gorget feathers, making lots of images never hurts. And when they display or scratch or spread their wings, the best policy is to keep the hammer down.
Iridescence is the optical phenomenon where a surface appears to change color depending on the angle of illumination or viewing. The word “iridescent” comes from the Greek word iris, which means “rainbow”. (Google AI Overview).
This image was created on 25 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA during an In-the-Field session by my good friend Bob Eastman. Standing at full height, he used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 6400. 1/2500 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 9:23:05am on a partly cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be within 1/6 stop of dead solid perfect.
Tracking: Spot (S) AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #4: Allen’s Hummingbird male — raised wings display
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Bob Eastman
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Bob’s Eastman’s Trusty Sony 200-600 G Lens
It became a standing joke. As Vasili and I were deciding on which lens to use for a session, Bob would opine, “I think I’ll take my two to six.” It is his only long telephoto lens and as you have seen here, he consistently created some fabulous images. As the hummers at this spot are ridiculously tame, Bob was able to get closer than Vasili and I as his Minimum Focusing Distance (MFD) is roughly half that of the 600mm f/4 primes, 7 feet as compared to about 13. None-the-less, Bob’s optimized image utilized slight more than 25% of the original pixels, a further testament as to the quality of sharp Sony a-1 raw files. Kudos to Bob for raising the ISO enough to create a perfect exposure in difficult conditions.
Image #4A: The Photo Mechanic Screen Capture depicting the full frame original for Image #4, Allen’s Hummingbird male — raised wings display.
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Bob Eastman
Large High ISO Sony a-1 Crops
As noted above, sharp a-1 files can stand up to relatively large crops. In this case, 75% of the original pixels were discarded. Note also the cleanup job that I did on the leaves.
Sony Alpha 1 (a-1) Mirrorless Camera Body (with Extras!)
Price reduced $200.00 on 27 January 2025
Used Gear Page regular, IPT Veteran, and BAA friend Dane Johnson is offering his rarely used backup Sony a-1 (ILCE-1) mirrorless camera body in like-new condition for a ridiculously low $3,598.00 (was $3,798.00). This body has been updated to Firmware 3.00 that reportedly improves Bird Face-Eye tracking to levels attained by the a1-ii. The sale includes a like-new Really Right Stuff Modular L-plate set (a $215.00 value), a Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card (a $268.00 value), the original product boxes, the owner’s manual, the USA warranty card, the body cap, the camera strap, one battery and the charger, the cords, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Dane via e-mail or by phone at 559-593-0989 (Pacific time zone).
I have used Sony a-1 bodies as my workhorse cameras for three years. They produce stunning 51MP files with vivid natural colors. The AF system is science-fiction-like. They are rugged and dependable and 30 frames per second is nothing to sneeze at. With a brand new A-1 ii going for $6498.00, you can save $3100.00 (plus the two great extras) by grabbing Dane’s pretty much as good as new copy ASAP Right now, B&H is offering a used a-1 in like-new condition for $4,397.00. That makes Dane’s body package an absolute steal. artie
This image was created on 25 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA during an In-the-Field session by my good friend Vasili Chernishoff. Standing at full height, he used the Gitzo tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM lens with the Canon Extender RF 2x and the remarkable Canon EOS R1 Mirrorless Camera. ISO 8000. The exposure via the in-viewfinder histogram and JPEG review: 1/1000 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 9:29:44am on partly cloudy morning.
Bird-Eye/Face AF-C performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #5: Allen’s Hummingbird male — raised wings display
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Vasili Chernishoff
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Well Done Vasili!
Though Vasili needs to continue to work on being more selective, he created some outstanding images. As I cherry picked his 80,000 photos (sorry, Jim Brandenburg), I was incredibly impressed by the Bird Face-Eye tracking accuracy and the high ISO performance with regards to the noise levels. I loved Vasili’s choice of perspective and the angled line of the perch. You will be seeing more of Vasili’s excellent images here soon.
Huge Thanks to Anita North!
Huge thanks to Anita North who helped me with the optimization of Vasili’s fine image. The sky to the left of the subject was bright. Anita explained to me by phone how to apply a Linear Gradient in Camera Raw while subtract the subject. This is a technique that I have been trying — without success, to learn for about 20 years. I think that I’ve got it now!
Multiple IPT veteran Vasili Chernishof is learning a ton. And he is also shooting a ton. Yesterday I cherry picked 211 of his very best images from three flash cards (two 1TB and one 2TB) that held more than 40,000 images. Yes, 40 thousand. He surely needs to learn to be more selective. Right now — “I’m learning my new camera” — he shoots long sequences of anything that moves regardless of the often mega-distracting backgrounds. And he needs to learn to make consistently good exposures. I continue to be impressed by the AF system of his Canon EOS R1 Mirrorless Camera. With “only” 24MP he is shooting at 40 fps with 0.5 second pre-capture. Except for the rare instance where he completely misses focus, probably more than 99% of his images are sharp on the bird’s eye. Most impressive is the AF performance with birds in flight at 1200mm with the RF 600m f/4 and the RF 2X teleconverter. My gut feeling that AF accuracy is better at 1200mm than the Sony a-1 ii with the 600mm f/4 GM and the 2X TC. And that, my friends, is saying a lot. The difference however might be operator error (on my part), but I do not think so.
Every session has been wonderful and productive. We’ve been doing great at Santee with Wood Ducks and ducks in flight in general. There is a gorgeous leucistic Wood Duck hen that has been very productive. Pelican flight was fabulous on Friday morning. On Friday night we left Santee early after a great session and headed to La Jolla for sunset. The sunset was spectacular but zero birds flew in the color.
Today is 25 January 2025. With some cloudy weather and a bit of drizzle in the forecast, we are headed out early to La Jolla. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I ordered my second a-1 ii five days ago. Every day that I use it, the more I am amazed by speed and accuracy of the Bird Face-Eye tracking in AF-C.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention at Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared to both the a-1 and the a9 iii and that the 51MP files are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version.
Image #1: Brown Pelican Pacific race mega-breeding plumage tight flight
How Good is This One?
Your honest opinion is valued. Be sure to click on the image and then let us know your overall impression. What do you like? What don’t you like? I will share my thoughts on this image in the next blog post.
You’ve Heard it Here Before
Autofocus with the top-of-the-line mirrorless bodies is so good that when you can no longer fit the whole bird in the frame, the best course of action is to keep firing. Why? Bird photography is like the proverbial box of chocolates.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
On Tuesday past, our first morning with multiple IPT veteran Vasili Chrnishoff, there were few pelicans on the main cliff but we did well with them in flight near the bridge club. With the tripod-mounted 600mm f/4 GM lens/1.4X TC/a-i ii combination, I made my favorite/best-ever flight image of a stunning breeding plumage Pacific race Brown Pelican. I will share that one with you here at some point. It was slow afternoon at Santee but for a lovely leucistic hen Wood Duck that made our afternoon. On a partly to most cloudy Wednesday morning, we did well with the pelicans and some spiffy Double-crested Cormorants . Again I went forth with the hand held 400mm f/2.8 and both TCs. Later in the morning I switched to the tripod-mounted 600mm f/4, again with both TCs. Vasili showed up with the Canon 100-300mm f/2.8 lens and his brand new Canon EOS R1 mirrorless body along with a Canon 600mm f/4 and nothing TCs. The 100-300 is an intriguing rig; with the 2X TC in place, he has a very sharp, very versatile 200-600mm f5.6 lens that is hand holdable for him. At the long end, it is a third stop faster than the Sony 200-600, but is larger and bulkier And with the 2X TC in place, it weighs 1 1/2 pounds more. It is a great rig for La Jolla.
In today’s post, learn how and why the knee pod technique — taught here for at least a decade, can save the day when photographing bird behavior. In more than three decades of photographing Brown Pelicans on both coasts, I have never before seen the attacking behavior depicted in today’s featured image. And then it happened (albeit with a twist), twice in a three day period. You gotta love bird photography.
Today is Thursday 23 January 2025. The tres amigos will be headed out early to Coronado in search of Marbled Godwits and Heermann’s Gulls. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I ordered my second a-1 ii four days ago. Every day that I use it, the more I am more amazed by speed and accuracy of the Bird Face-Eye tracking in AF-C.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention at Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared to both the a-1 and the a9 iii and that the 51MP files are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
This image was created on 17 January 2025 by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART on the last morning of the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the knee pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 559mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/4000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:59:03 am on a mostly sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #1: Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage attacking a honeybee
Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
A Knee Pod Technique Advantage
One of the great advantages of sitting and resting your left forearm on the top of your left knee is that you do not have to hold the lens up while waiting for action. I made a few static images of this bird when that very thought entered my mind; if this bird does something neat all I need to do is push and hold the shutter button. Not three seconds after that thought passed my mind, the bird violently swung its bill at a tiny bug.
Sony a-1 ii AF tracked the bird’s eye without missing a beat despite the frantic movement. When I magnified the image, it was clear that the offending insect was a honeybee. Check out the two tighter crop of this image below.
This image was created on 17 January 2025 by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART on the last morning of the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the knee pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 559mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/4000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:59:03 am on a mostly sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #2: A tight crop of the fifth frame in the sequence. Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage attacking a honeybee image
Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Bee
In this frame, it seems fairly obvious that the honeybee was fighting back and was in no way happy with the pelican’s actions. Perhaps it was trying to sting the bird’s eye …
Image 2AB: This is an even tighter crop of the fifth frame in the sequence. Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage attacking a honeybee image
Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Sharpness and Detail
In short, Sony a-1 ii autofocus is indeed beyond belief. Yes, the bee in this photo was pretty much right on the same plane as the pelican’s eye. And in addition, the shutter speed, 1/4000 second, was fast enough to freeze the bee in flight. Anyhoo, the sharpness and detail in all of these images is remarkable.
Note that with the huge crop here, the details are beginning to get a bit crunch.
This image was created on the magical nearly 9,000 images for me morning of 19 January at La Jolla. CA. Sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the hand held Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 1000: 1/2500 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:39:26am on a blessedly cloudy to cloudy-bright morning.
Tracking Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #2: Brown Pelican Pacific race juvenile attacking a just preened feather
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
More Unexpected Action
This young pelican was preening its belly when a preened feather took to the air, caught by a gust of wind. The pelican was pissed and reacted in the same manner as the bird in Image #1 when it was bugged by the honeybee, swinging its bill about violently in an effort to swat it away. Again, a-1 ii autofocus was Johnny on the eye. Both of the action sequences were over in a fraction of a second resulting in about six images. Had I been standing for either of these moments, I would never have been able to hold the lens in place long enough to have the action develop. And if I had to lift the lens from the rest position and frame the image, I would have come up with nothing. Best of all is that it is a lot easier to move around the cliffs with a hand holdable lens and your knee pod that it is to maneuver around with your rig on a tripod.
I’ve never seen a bird attack one of its own feathers before.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Which of two of today’s five featured images do you like best? Please be so kind as to leave a comment and let us know why you made your choices.
2025 San Diego IPT Feedback
Via e-mail from Adrian Whitchelo-Scott
Good morning Artie,
A huge thank you for an outstanding IPT. I learned a great deal from your wisdom and knowledge from exposure to choosing the ideal shutter speed and so much more. Kindly extend a thank you to Bob for taking on the task of driving us around. I hope to participate in another IPT in the future. In the meantime, I will be watching my sun angle!
Be well,
Adrian (Yo Adrian)
From many multiple IPT veteran, USN retired fighter pilot Warren Robb in a blog comment; January 19, 2025 at 2:13 pm
I would also like to add that for me observing and photographing these amazing birds was great fun and a personally rewarding experience. Your expert guidance on first “seeing the shot” and the mechanics of capturing a properly exposed image with the right gear was invaluable. Thank you Artie for another great IPT.
What’s Up?
After hearing that hundreds of pelicans were hanging out on the closed Ocean Beach Pier, Bob Eastman and I drove down early on Sunday morning to check things out. There were no pelicans there so we headed north to La Jolla. Early on, there were no pelicans. As multiple IPT veteran Vasili Chernishoff would be driving down on Monday, I was thinking, “Boy, I am glad Vasili is not here today.”
Some birds began landing on the cliff, so we walked up the hill and headed down the steps. The clouds to the east provided a respite from the almost constant sunshine of the past ten days. For the first time on this trip, I opted to use the 400mm f/2.8 GM (with both TCs in my fanny pack). No tripod. On what turned out to be a cloudy day, it was the perfect choice.
Bob and I carefully got into position as more and more pelicans landed below us. There were about 15 photographers behind us and all but one of them did not bother to see what we were doing — photographing the birds on the westernmost corner of the lower shelf.
Early on, the few gorgeous birds, one luscious breeding plumage adult and a chocolate covered cherry — a brown young pelican with a glorious fluorescent orange bill pouch, were blocked by other pelicans. With patience, we had many great chances. For me, the clouds were to die for. Bob and I were giddy. At about 8:15, I happened to turn around and was shocked to see that all the photographers had left. The place was empty.
As the perched birds were well below me, all of today’s images were made while I was sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy. I did not mention below that while moving around while seated, my palms became covered with gull and pelican poop and my new a-1 ii covered in red dirt dust. You gotta love getting down and dirty!
When the smoke cleared, I had created 8,957 images and kept 367 after the first edit, a less than 4% keeper rate. About 75% of the keepers will make their way to the trash bin after the second and third edits. For the first time in a quarter century of digital photography, I had filled two 160GB cards. That before 9:00am. Then I filled a third card and started on a backup UHS II card. All Delkin, of course. It was one of the best days I have ever experienced in La Jolla. I wound up thinking, “I wish Vasili had been here.” That afternoon I stayed in to watch the two more NFL games.
In the previous blog post, most everyone picked the head shot as their favorite. Multiple IPT veteran and great BAA-friend Pat Fishburne liked Image #5: Brandt’s Cormorant female on seaweed nest best. I also liked that one best because I worked so hard to get it — the perfect framing was a big challenge.
On Monday morning about eight teenagers were having a party on the pelican cliffs, replete with a big picnic basket. On the lower shelf. Zero pelicans landed. And no birds landed on the down the hill cliffs either. There was nary a pelican in sight. It was hard to believe that we were in the same place as the day before. We headed to the bridge club and worked the Royal Tern flock and enjoyed a few nice flyby Brown Pelicans. Then I said to Bob, “Let’s head down the coast to the Green Patch and see if we can rustle up some shorebirds.
When we arrived, there was one Black-bellied Plover; we both made some excellent images with our 200-600s. Though it was still early, we turned to give up and head back to the AirBnB. “Come back,” I yelled to Bob as a handsome first winter Black Oystercatcher flew in and landed pretty much right in front of me. We both got some killer images. Then a Willet flew in and after a few minutes, it nailed a small black crab and I nailed it with its breakfast. Then we worked two Black Turnstone and finally a tame Spotted Sandpiper was hunting and catching flies. 5,228 images and 124 keepers later, Vasili arrived at our new AirBnB. The keeper rate was less than 2 1/2%, but the good ones were really good.
Today is Tuesday 21 January 2025. Bob, and Vasili and I will be headed early to La Jolla to see if we will be the dog, or the hydrant. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
The Befores and Afters for Images #1, 3, 4 & 5.
Merge Avoidance & Seeing the Crop In the Field
The pink coded images represent the raw files, i.e., the originals. The aqua coded photo depict the optimized images. Most of the time, if two avian subjects are merged in an image, overlapping, it is exceedingly difficult or impossible to do the cleanup because the patterns of the edge feather detail are far too complex for any selection method that I know of. When there is some interesting behavior going on and the subjects are overlapping, the best course of action is often to wait until the two subject are not touching. If the action is frantic, disregard my advice and fire away. That said, removing the second subject is a lot easier without any avian merges.
The cloudy skies were a blessing as they allowed us to photograph until nearly 11:00am. But note the dreary looking gray ocean in the raw files. Color Mixer enables you to bring out and brighten the blues. I used Divide and Conquer to cut up the offending birds in Images #1 and 5 and then remove the sections using the Patch Tool. All as detailed in the two offerings below.
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.
Please note: the Divide and Conquer technique was inadvertently omitted from DB II. It is detailed in a free excerpt in the blog post here.
Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: most of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.
You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About three years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One and did that for two years. You can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here. Today, I convert my Sony raw files in Photoshop with Adobe Camera Raw.
You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.
The Digital Basics III Video Series
The Digital Basics III Video Series
I realized more than a year ago that my digital workflow had changed significantly and was toying with the idea of writing a Digital Basics III. More recently, I learned and begun working with two great new Photoshop Tools, the Remove Tool and the Luminance Targeted Adjustment Tool. The former is like a smarter Spot Healing Brush Tool on steroids and the latter is a step up from the fabulous Color Mixer Tool. During that same time frame, I came up with a new and improved 2-step noise reduction technique. I still use Divide and Conquer, Quick Masks, Layer Masks, an expanded array of personalized keyboard shortcuts, and tons of other stuff from both versions of Digital Basics.
As soon as I realized that I did not want to take on another large writing project, I realized that by creating a series of videos I could much more easily share all the details of my current digital workflow and much more easily incorporate additional new tips, techniques, and tools as I went. And so, The Digital Basics III Video Series was born.
You can save $26 by ordering the first five videos in Volume I by clicking here. The videos will be most valuable for folks using the latest version of Photoshop (2024) or Lightroom along with Topaz DeNoise AI and Topaz Sharpen AI.
This image was created on 19 January at La Jolla. CA. Sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the hand held Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/1250 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 8:28:56am on a cloudy to cloudy-bright morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #1: Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage looking at neighbor with bill pouch distended.
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
In the Field Seeing and Planning
When I saw the bird on the right with its big pouch distended, I knew that removing the extraneous bird would be a snap so the key was making images when there was no overlap. A 3X2 crop eliminated most of the second bird. Before digital, we would never press the shutter button when the second bird was a distracting element. Things, however, have changed drastically for the better.
This image was also created on 19 January at La Jolla. CA. Sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the hand held Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/3200 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect: AWB at 8:49:04am on a cloudy to cloudy-bright morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #2: Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage on final approach to a cliff landing.
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Bare Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM for Flight
Though the lightweight Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens weighs only 4 ounces less than the 600mm f/4, it is far easier for me to hand hold than the six. It is nowhere near as long physically and all the weight is at the rear. Being seated when doing flight with this lens is a huge advantage; by resting your left arm on your bent left knee, you only need to raise the lens a few inches to swing it into action. The soft backgrounds at f/2.8 are to die for.
With image #2, several pelican heads were eliminated from the bottom of the frame by the pano crop.
Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens
Price reduced a shocking $600.00 on 13 July 2024 Price reduced a shocking $400.00 on 20 January 2025
Used Gear Page veteran Robert Hollyer is offering a Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens in Like-New condition for a BAA record low $8998.00! (was $9,998.00). The sale includes the front lens cap, the rear lens cap, the lens hood, the lens strap, that hard case & strap, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Bob via e-mail or by phone at 1-206-359-0018 PST.
I purchased my Sony 400mm f/2.8 two years ago to complement my 600mm f/4. Robert is selling his because he rarely uses it, opting instead for the 600mm f/4! It is far easier for me to handhold the 4 ounces lighter, much smaller, and better balanced 400 f/2.8 than it is to handhold the 600mm f/4. The 400 kills for flight with or without the 1.4X teleconverter. This lens sells new right now for $11,998.00 at B&H and there are used copies going for $10998.00 as well. Act quickly to save a handsome $3,000.00 by grabbing Robert’s might-as-well-be-new 400mm GM lens. And remember, you can’t beat the f/2.8 bokeh! artie
This image was also created on 19 January at La Jolla. CA. Sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the hand held Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/3200 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 8:28:56am on a cloudy to cloudy-bright morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #3: Brown Pelican Pacific race braking to land.
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Vertical Original Flight!
Vertical original flight shots are rarer than the proverbial hen’s teeth. I attempt them most often in Homer with the eagles with the far lighter 70-200 f/2.8. With the 1.4X TC in place on the 400mm f/2.8, I started turning to vertical because the birds were too close to fit into a horizontal frame. Fitting the whole bird in the frame here was a complete miracle.
This image was also created on 19 January at La Jolla. CA. Still sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the hand held Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/5000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:01:25am when the sun peeked out briefly.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #4: Brown Pelican Pacific race preening back with bill pouch distended.
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
A Rare Sunny Moment
Let me rant here for a bit. Sony Zebras are a huge advantage for all types of photography, nature or otherwise. Neither Nikon nor Canon offers in-viewfinder evaluation of exposure. Those folks need to have the viewfinder cluttered by a histogram and then check for blinkies (highlight alerts) after each new situation. With Image #4, the sun came out when my eye was to the viewfinder. I simply raised the shutter speed until I noted faint Zebras on the white stripe on top of the pelican’s head. Another dead solid perfect exposure.
Another rant. As far as I can figure, if you are using a Nikon Z8 or Z9 and working in an automatic exposure mode, you need to press a button and then dial in exposure compensation. I hated that when I used Nikon and it still makes zero sense to me on a high end mirrorless camera body.
And the same is true if you are using AUTO ISO in Manual mode. To me, the latter approach is insanity though it seems to be a big favorite with Nikon folks. Nobody should be using AUTO ISO in Manual mode. Why? Manual mode is about having 100% control of the exposure parameters. If you use AUTO ISO you are ceding control to the camera’s metering system. If you do get a good exposure, it is the result of sheer luck.
Can Exposure Compensation be assigned to a dial with either of the Nikon bodies that I mentioned? If you know how to do that, please leave a detailed comment.
This image was created on 19 January at La Jolla. CA. Sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the hand held Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/1250 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:06:23am on a cloudy to cloudy-bright morning.
Tracking Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #5: Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage preening
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Seeing the Crop and the Clean-up In the Field
Once you realize the potential of your high-end mirrorless camera body, you can learn to visualize the crop and the clean-up in the viewfinder. At times, the top of the adult bird’s head merged with the preening young pelican to our right. I simply waited until there was some space between the top of the adult’s head and the young bird.
The trick to pulling off what I call the “horizontal bill preening images” is to press the shutter button when the plane of the bird’s face and the bill are perfectly parallel to the back of your camera body, aka the imaging sensor.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I ordered my second a-1 ii three days ago.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention at Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared to both the a-1 and the a9 iii and that the 51MP files are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
The recent dearth of pelicans has not stopped Bob and me from making some great images every day. On Friday morning, we met recently retired San Diego PD Detective Sergeant Juan Gonzales early at La Jolla. Juan is looking to get into and improve as a bird photographer. He showed up with Nikon gear: a brand new Nikon NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR Lens (Nikon Z) and a Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera. I quickly got him squared away on sun angle, getting the right exposure, wind direction, and flight photography. Like many beginning bird photographers with their first long lens, proper framing consistency was a problem. But — do not be shocked, he made some very good images. I will be sharing a few of them with you here soon. He did quite well considering his total lack of experience with bird photography.
Late in the morning I finally found a sweet breeding pelican teed up for Juan. He got a few frames of the bird but had to head back to his car for a third battery. Right after he left, the bird had a fight with a honeybee. A-1-ii Tracking: Zone nailed the eye in every frame of a wonderful sequence. I will share the best one or two here soon.
Bob and I headed back to La Jolla on Friday afternoon and worked the Brandt’s Cormorants as hundreds of tourists passed by; many stopped to chat about the amazing birds as close as three feet away on the breeding ledge below the sidewalk. We ended a great day with an early dinner at the Promiscuous Fork. I tried something brand new: I used only the 300mm f/2.8 with the a-1 ii. It was an eye-opening experience and the results merit a YouTube instructional video.
I finally got around to ordering my second a-1 ii body yesterday, this one from B&H as I had several Gift Cards to use. I got my first one from Steve Elkins at Bedfords.
On Saturday morning Bob and I headed to Coronado Beach — conditions were perfect with a gentle east breeze and clear skies. We worked several small flocks of relatively tame Marbled Godwits in the sweet early morning light. Next was an assortment of gulls and smaller shorebird species. For me, the rest of the day was NFL football. Go Patrick! Go Chiefs!
Today is Sunday 19 January 2025. We will be headed out somewhere early. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, we hope that you too choose to have a wondrously happy day.
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.
Sony a-1
BAA friend and brilliant bird in flight photographer Arash Hazeghi is offering a Sony a-1 in excellent plus condition for $3850.00. The best news is that Arash is leaving his personal birds in flight settings on this a-1. The camera has had an LCD protector screen in place since Day One so the LCD is pristine. There is a bit of paint loss on the EV (Thumb) dial and on the flash hot shoe, the latter from normal flash use. Photos of the camera are available upon request. The camera has been used with electronic shutter virtually 100% of the time; the mechanical shutter count should be very low if any. The sale includes all the original accessories (still wrapped), the original box and paperwork, one extra Sony OEM FZ100 battery, a RRS camera body baseplate (made in USA), a Watson dual charger with USB output, and fully insured FedEx shipping with tracking — direct signature will be required upon delivery — US addresses only.
I have used Sony a-1 bodies as my workhorse camera bodies for three years. They produce stunning 51MP files with vivid natural colors. The AF system is science-fiction-like. They are rugged and dependable and 30 frames per second is nothing to sneeze at. If you are looking to get into bird photography with Sony, a used a-1 is the way to go! With a brand new a-1 ii going for $6498.00, you can save a bundle by grabbing Arash’s body today. Right now, B&H is offering a used a-1 in like-new condition for $4,397.00. Do the math. artie
This image was created on 15 January on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Standing at full height above the breeding shelf, I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (AT 200mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 2000. Exposure was poorly determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/3200 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was one full stop too dark (due to operator error). AWB at 8:11:29am in the shade on a sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #1: Brandt’s Cormorant inbound with seaweed for the nest
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Incoming Flight
The standard flight lens for the Brandt’s Cormorants returning to their nests just below the sidewalk near the Bridge Club is a 70-200mm f/2.8. No teleconverter is necessary. Early mornings are best. Even with a super-fast mid-range telephoto lens, high ISOs are required. Even though you will be working in the shade early and late in the day, my great preference is for cloudy (rather than for clear) days. Folks with f/5.6 or f/6.3 lenses will need to use ridiculously high ISOs in order to obtain decent exposures with the required high shutter speeds.
Though I urged folks on the IPT to bring along a 70-200 2.8 lens even if they had to rent one, only Warren Robb had one along. Super-fast lenses are a huge plus when shooting the Brandt’s Cormorant nesting shelf in La Jolla.
This image was created on 16 January on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Leaning on the railing above the breeding shelf, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/250 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 8:29:06am in total shade on a sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #2: Brandt’s Cormorant breeding plumage male head portrait
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Easy-Peasy Head Shots
There are several spots along the railing where you can get very close to the cormorants, sometimes as close as two feet, much too close to focus. Anyhoo, there are lots of chances to create head portraits of the handsome males as well as the females and young birds from last year. Fast lenses are ideal but are not a vital as with the flight photography.
To get as low as possible and ensure a distant background without any distractions, I leaned over the railing and worked off a-1 ii’s the tilted rear screen. With my reading glasses on and the level activated.
Image #2A: unsharpened 100% crop of the Brandt’s Cormorant breeding plumage male head portrait
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Amazing Detail
The combination of an a-1 or an a-1 ii, the 1.4X TC, and the 300mm f/2.8 GM lens provides incredibly rich and sharp detail in competent hands, even at the wide open aperture.
Enlarge the photo by clicking on it and you can see me in the center of the bird’s pupil along with the railing. Just to our left, you can see the head of a second cormorant peeking above the horizon.
This image was also created on 16 January on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Leaning on the railing above the breeding shelf, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/500 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:18:40am in total shade on a sunny morning.
Tracking Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #3: Brandt’s Cormorant breeding plumage male displaying
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Hey Honey; Look at Me!
The male Brandt’s display all day and pretty much all season long. They are quite impressive as they tip their heads back, partially spread and vibrate their wings, and show off their turquoise blue gular pouches. Good photographs can be created with just about any focal length up to and including 1200mm.
This image was also created on 16 January on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Standing at full height above the breeding shelf, I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (AT 145mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 160. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/30 sec. at f/4 (stopped down one stop for no particular reason) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 7:34:04am in total shade on a sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #4: Brandt’s Cormorant landing at shelf
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Early Morning No Light District
In the early mornings, the hills and homes of La Jolla block almost all light until an hour or more after sunrise. Not to mention that the prime nesting shelf is in the shade for most of the day. Thus, very early and very late are the prime times for creating pleasing blurs. Folks who hate blurs get to sit on their hands for an hour or two. Everyone in the IPT was open to at least trying.
You can get varying degrees of blurring by experimenting with different blur speeds. With Image #4, I love the two blurred nests that frame the incoming bird.
This image was also created on 16 January on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Leaning on the railing above the breeding shelf, I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (AT 146mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 400. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/250 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 7:34:04am in total shade on a sunny morning.
Tracking Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #5: Brandt’s Cormorant female on seaweed nest
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I will be purchasing my second a-1 ii today.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention that Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is significantly better than on the a-1 and that the 51MP file are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
We finally struck gold with the pelicans on Wednesday morning with many dozens of them flying in and landing right below us. No matter, the Extended 2025 San Diego IPT is winding down. Multiple IPT veteran Judy Stepenaskie had to leave a day early so say goodbye to her beloved cat. New friend Adrian Whitchelo-Scott and the Irish Lass, Colleen O’Connor, were done after our Wednesday morning session. Colleen, somewhat overcome by how much she had learned and improved, was quite emotional as we said goodbye. Adrian is headed back up to the LA wildfires. We are all praying for his safely.
Today is Thursday 16 January 2025. Multiple IPT vets Warren Robb and Dietmar Haenchen are doing one last morning with Bob and me, a post-IPT session at La Jolla. Warren is flying back to Texas this afternoon and we are dropping Dietmar at the Rental Car Center as he is staying on a few days with friends. Whatever you choose to do, we hope that you too choose happiness.
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.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I will be purchasing a second a-1 ii quite soon.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention that Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is significantly better than on the a-1 and that the 51MP file are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
This image was created on 15 January 2025 by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART while leading the 2025 San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 397mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Multi Metering +1.0 stop. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. AUTO ISO set ISO 400: 1/15 sec. at f/6.3. RawDigger showed the exposure be perfect: AWB at 6:49:47am in the shade two minutes before sunrise on yet another clear morning.
Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #1: Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage braking to land
Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Hard to Believe I
After noting the EXIF data for each image, it is hard to believe that each of today’s three featured images was created with the same versatile, hand hold-able for most rig, the Sony 200-600 G Lens & a-1 ii. As noted previously, the Bird Face-Eye Tracking with the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared to both the a-1 and the a9 iii. Though not shown with any of today’s images, one area of huge AF improvement is the ability of the camera to track the eve of a pelican or other large bird that is flying away from you and turning. It is quite remarkable.
This image was also created on 15 January 2025 by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART while leading the 2025 San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Crouching a bit, I used the braced, hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 481mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Multi Metering +1.0 stop. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/8 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead solid perfect: AWB at 8:43:21 am on a sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #2: Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage on rock
Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Hard to Believe II
It is hard to believe that you can make a hand held image of a static bird at 1/8 second. Even with my arm securely supported and braced by the wooden railing above the cliff. Why such a slow shutter speed? When I saw the waves breaking behind the subject, I knew that they would look swirly-sweet at a ridiculously slow shutter speed (if and only if the subject was sharply rendered). I attribute the success of this image to the remarkable improvement in the Sony Optical Stabilization System (OSS) that had previously been somewhat lacking as compared to Canon and Nikon.
To prove that point, I was amazed when (after being inspired by my comments in the field), Dietmar showed me a sharp pelican photo that he had created at 1/8 second with his EOS R7 (also hand held and also securely braced).
This image was also created on 15 January 2025 by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART while leading the 2025 San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 404mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/4000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure to be dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:22:02am on a sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #3: Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage dorsal view in gliding flight
Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Hard to Believe III
It is hard to believe the consistently accurate Bird Face-Eye tracking with the a-1 II. If you get and keep the bird in the middle of the frame as you half press the shutter button, it will grab and track the bird’ eye accurately 99% of the time. While picking your flight shot keepers, it is no longer necessary to enlarge the image and check the eye for critical sharpness. When I was using Canon dSLR (for 34 years, 19 of them as one of the 55 original Explorers of Light, and still a Canon Explorer of Light Emeritus — whatever that means),I would be shocked when a flight shot was sharp on the eye. Since switching to Sony, I am now even more shocked when a flight shot is not sharp on the eye.
Please understand that my comments above refer to dSLR gear. The current high end Canon and Nikon mirrorless camera bodies feature superb, vastly improved AF systems (though perhaps not quite as good as with the Sony bodies). Zebra technology for stills and the light weight of both the Sony bodies and lenses are the main reasons that I feel Sony is currently the best system for bird photography.
After enlarging Image #3 by clicking on it, most will find the color, clarity, sharpness, and fine feather detail also hard to believe considering the low cost of the Sony 200-600: $1998.00. Pair a new one with a used Sony a-1 and you are right there for less than $6K. With my settings on your Sony mirrorless camera body and five minutes of instruction, you will be able to begin creating superb images right out of the box. Please be sure to use one of my two affiliate links to reap the benefits of doing so.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
The San Diego IPT is turning into a love fest. Everyone is getting along great and everyone is learning a ton. On Monday, there were zero pelicans on the main cliff. We started off doing Western Gull pink/purple sky setting full moon-scapes. Then lots of California Sealions, Black Oystercatchers, and finally, some decent chances with the pelicans by the Bridge Club. We headed to Coronado for the afternoon and saw only two Heermann’s Gulls; in most years, there would be many dozens of that most handsome gulls at this location. We did well with Ring-billed and Western Gulls both on the beach and in flight, and ended with glorious sunset silhouettes of the gulls with colorful, streaked wet sand backgrounds. Then it was off to the AirBnB for dinner.
I was glad to learn that I sold my second Sony a-9 iii body and that Dane Johnson sold his Sony a-1 as well. He already has his a-1 ii. I will be selling at least one of my two remaining a-1 bodies. I will be purchasing a second a-1 ii today.
Speaking of today, it is Tuesday 14 January 2025. We will be headed out early in hopes of proper breeding plumage Pacfic race Brown Pelicans. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, we hope that you too choose to have a wondrously happy day.
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.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I will be purchasing my second a-1 ii today.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention that Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is significantly better than on the a-1 and that the 51MP file are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
Sony Alpha 1 (a-1) Mirrorless Camera Body (with Extras!)
Used Gear Page regular, IPT veteran, and BAA friend Dane Johnson is offering a rarely used Sony a-1 (ILCE-1) mirrorless camera body (Firmware v2.02) in like-new condition for a ridiculously low $3,798.00. The sale includes a like-new Really Right Stuff Modular L-plate set (a $215.00 value), a Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card (a $268.00 value), the original product boxes, the owner’s manual, the USA warranty card, the body cap, the camera strap, one battery and the charger, the cords, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Dane via e-mail or by phone at 559-593-0989 (Pacific time zone).
I have used Sony a-1 bodies as my workhorse cameras for three years. They produce stunning 51MP files with vivid natural colors. The AF system is science-fiction-like. They are rugged and dependable and 30 frames per second is nothing to sneeze at. If you are looking to get into bird photography with Sony, a used a-1 its the way to go! With a brand new a-1 ii going for $6498.00, you can save $2800.00 (plus the two great extras) by grabbing Dane’s pretty much as good as new copy ASAP Right now, B&H is offering a used a-1 in like-new condition for $4,397.00. That makes Dane’s body package an absolute steal. artie
This image was created on 11 January on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Standing at full height I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/4000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 8:08:59am on a sunny morning.
Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #1: Western Gull jumping up to a higher perch
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Sony a-1 ii/1.4X TC/300mm f/2.8 GM Rig
This lightweight combination is the deadliest setup I have ever had in my hands for photographing birds in flight and in action at fairly close range. Over the weeks, I have come to realize that the Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared with the a-1, especially with birds in flight. I love the larger body with more room on the grip for the fingers (of your gloved hand), I love the rear screen that tilts both ways, and the greatly improved in-camera body Optical Stabilization System (OSS).
This image was created by Warren Robb on 13 January on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Standing at full height he used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1000. 1/4000 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 9:24:26am on a sunny morning. RawDigger showed the raw file brightness to be dead solid perfect.
Zone AF-C AF with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #2: Brown Pelican sub-adult in flight
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Warren Robb
Warren Robb
Warren Robb, retired US Navy fighter pilot, had us all on the edge of our seats at dinner in the AirBnB as he told the harrowing story of taking off and landing on his carrier in a driving rainstorm during the Vietnam War. The cockpit was drenched when he entered his aircraft (an A-7E) and got strapped in. Not surprisingly, he could not see the target for his load of ten 500 pound bombs. As you cannot land on a carrier with your bombs, he was told to jettison them over the jungle. None of several bomb release methods worked so he was ordered to fly 200 miles south, land at the airbase in Danang, and have the bombs off-loaded. He was surprised when they ordered him back to the USS Kitty Hawk as all the other planes had already been landed.
When he got to the ship, he couldn’t see a thing as the rain still poured down. During and instrument landing, the rule is that if you cannot see the carrier at 1/2 mile 200 feet, you must abort the landing. He told the landing officer that he could not see the ship. The guy told him to keep coming. So, on blind faith, he did after turning on his taxi light as instructed. The first things he saw were other planes on the deck as the plane’s hook caught the three wire!. Later, Warren thanked the guy and told him that having him turn on the taxi light was a great idea. The guy confessed that he had never seen the plane until it landed but that it sounded good!
Warren summed things up by saying that his scariest landing ever had been quite an e-ticket ride.
On Sunday, Warren borrowed my Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM lens to do the Brandt’s Cormorants. He liked it a lot. On Monday, he borrowed my Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens and fell in love instantly. He will be ordering one when he sells his Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS II lens here on the BAA blog (soon). “I can’t believe how light and easy it is to hand hold” he said after our morning session. If you might be interested in this lens, shoot me an e-mail.
This image was also created by Warren Robb on 13 January on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Standing at full height he used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 800. 1/4000 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 9:55:30am on a sunny morning. RawDigger showed the raw file brightness to be dead solid perfect.
Zone AF-C AF with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #3: Brown Pelican non-breeding adult head throw
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Warren Robb
Right Response, Right Place, and Right Lens
We were past the bridge club doing flight, sea lions, and Black Oystercatchers and working hard to get anything decent. I had called “15 minute warning” at 9:45 but I decided that we should head back to the big SUV a bit earlier. I, of course, was the last to leave. Just as I took the 600 off the tripod, a pelican landed on a nice rock. I caught Warren’s attention and signaled to him to come quickly and bring the rest of the group. Just as he got on the bird, it did a lovely head throw.
You can see that we were a bit off sun angle. I explained why to the group:
1- We were square to the plane of the subject’s body.
2- We avoided a very ugly rocks and sealion background and exchanged for a Pacific Ocean background.
As I was at 840mm, I managed only some tight head and bill pouch images.
For those who did not use my link to purchase their Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens, you can order your a copy here for $209.93.
Click on the image to enlarge and to be able to read the fine print.
The BAA Sony 300mm f/2.8 Lens Guide
Impressed by my (or Pat’s) Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) images? Use either my Bedfords or B&H affiliate link to purchase your Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens and shoot me your receipt via e-mail and request a copy of the first-ever BAA Lens Guide. I thought that it would take only minutes to create this guide, but I was dead wrong. In the process of creating it, I learned a ton about the lens. And even better, I discovered a simple yet potentially fatal flaw that was resulting in sporadically unsharp flight images. The set-up fix is simple. Just be sure to use one of my affiliate links and get the guide for free.
If not, you can purchase a copy here for $209.93. Yes, it never hurts to use my links and it never costs you one penny more. And if you contact me via e-mail before you make a major purchase, I can often save you some money.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Which of today’s featured images is your favorite? (It’s OK to mention several). Why did you make your choice(s)? Note: all but Bob’s images were optimized by yours truly using the techniques detailed in DB II and in the DB III Video Series, Volume I.
Please note: you will be seeing some of Colleen O’Connor’s images here soon. She is staying nearby with her husband.
What’s Up?
San Diego is fantastic. The photo opps have been fantastic. The group is fantastic. Six of us are staying in a large AirBnB place and everyone has been getting along fantastically. We have been having our fantastic brunches at Cafe Vahik where we are routinely teased and insulted by the fantastic owner and chef, Vahik himself — No bagel for you! Everyone in the group has been enjoyed the fantastic dinners prepared by Bob Eastman and me.
Yesterday, I created 8508 images that I have not looked at yet!!! Thank God that it was not a great day. Or was it?
Today is Sunday 12 January 2025. We are headed early back to Santee Lakes to try for some fire-in-the-mist and some Wood Ducks. And yes, we all hope that you too choose to have a fantastic day.
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.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I will be purchasing a second a-1 ii quite soon.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention that Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is significantly better than on the a-1 and that the 51MP file are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
Sony a-9 iii Mirrorless Camera Body
The First Buyer Changed Their Mind
Yours truly, Arthur Morris, AKA artie, is offering a Sony a9 iii Mirrorless camera body (Firmware v1.00), this one in excellent plus plus condition for a ridiculously low $3998.00. The sale includes the original product box, the body cap, the battery charger, one battery, the strap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Your purchase will also include my latest a9 iii Set-up e-mail, the new Buttons and Dials Guide, and the new INFO Sheet. This body already has my latest settings on it so you will be good to head out and start making great images as soon as you review the e-mailed materials.
This camera’s incredible frame rate, an unheard of 120fps, gives you at least four times as many wing positions and flight poses as the other top-of-the-line mirrorless camera bodies. With the incredible AF system that is even better than the AF system of the a-1 with Firmware v2.02, most every single image will be sharp on the bird’s eye. And the raw files can stand up to decent crops. A new one sells at B&H for $5,998.00. B&H has two used a9 iii bodies list right now, one for $5,217.95 and another for $55217.95! And KEH is offering a used like-new a9iii for $5823.00! Used Gear Page regular Karen McCormick sold a used a9 iii for $4298.00 last month. If you have been thinking of an a9 iii, grab my lightly used a9 iii right now and save a sweet $2,000.00. artie
ps: You can see some of my a9 iii images in the blog post here.
This image was created on 10 January 2025 by Bob Eastman on the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, he used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 467mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:56:50am.
Tracking: Spot XS/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #1: Pacific race Brown Pelican head throw
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Bob Eastman
Bob Eastman and His Trusty 200-600
Head throw images are challenging and difficult. After coming to La Jolla for more than 30 years, I have only a very few that I am proud of. So, what does Bob do? He makes a great one while I am standing next to him helping Judy Stepenaskie with her framing of the same bird. To make matters worse; I had called the head throw one minute before it happened. Man, you gotta love it.
This image was created at La Jolla, CA on 10 January 2025 by multiple IPT veteran Warren Robb on the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT. Standing at full height, he used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: ISO 1250. 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:20:39am.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #2: Pacific race Brown Pelican adult preening
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Warren Robb
Warren Robb, USN Retired Fighter Jet Pilot
One our pre-IPT morning I signaled Bob to bring Warren and Judy to me because I had a lovely sub adult pelican teed up and isolated. The first three images here are of that same bird. Though it was the BAS (best available shot), only one of the other 15 photographers made their way to our spot. You gotta love it. Warren nailed this over-the-back preening shot.
This image was created by multiple IPT veteran Judy Stepenaskie at La Jolla, CA on the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT. Standing at full height, she used the hand held Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the impressive Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using the in-viewfinder histogram and confirmed after evaluation of blinkies on the JPEG. AWB at 11:52:22am on a sunny morning. ISO 1000: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1.
Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #3: Pacific race Brown Pelican sub-adult
Image Courtesy of and Copyright 2025: Judy Stepenaskie
Judy’s Beauty!
Judy joined me at Nickerson Beach last summer and learned to use her Canon gear. You can read the whole story and see some of her fantastic images from that trip here. As she has not had many chances to practice bird photography since then, she needed a bit of extra help on our first morning. I am super-impressed by the clean, bright colors of the R6 ii images.
This image was created on 10 January 2025 by (Yo) Adrian Whitchelo-Scott on the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT at Santee Lakes Preserve in Santee California. Seated on the bank, he used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 467mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Shutter Priority -0.7 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 320: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 3:58:40pm.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #4: Ring-necked Duck drake swimming
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Adrian Whitchelo-Scott
AWS
My first contact with Adrian was this past Wednesday when he left a question on a YouTube Video. That afternoon he purchased a new Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens from Bedfords using my discount code. I sent him the Firmware 2.02 settings for his a-1 and he loaded them right up. He got his new lens on Friday morning, got into his car, and drove down from LA for the entire San Diego IPT. He made it in time for a complimentary afternoon session at Santee Lakes. You will be hard put to find a nicer human being.
This image was created by multiple IPT veteran Dietmar Haenchen on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Standing at full height he used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 214mm) with the Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R and the Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via the histogram and blinkies review. Aperture Priority +1.0 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 6400: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6. (wide open). AWB at 9:04:57am with the cliff in the shade on a sunny day.
Image #5: Brandt’s Cormorants on nesting wall.
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Dietmar Haenchen
14 Years Ago!
Dietmar attended a San Diego IPT 14 years ago. He joined me on a Galapagos trip in 2017. I was thrilled when I learned that he would be joining me in San Diego. Dietmar is to be commended for the creativity he employed to come up with this delightful almost whimsical image. I am impressed with the raw files from his relatively inexpensive Canon body.
This image was created ON 11 January 2025 by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART while leading the 2025 San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Seated on the bank, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 4:06:44pm on a sunny afternoon. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly.
Image #6: Cinnamon Teal drake braking to land surrounded by three perfectly placed, out-of-focus Ruddy Ducks
Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Your Truly
I was thrilled yesterday afternoon to have a chance on a drake Cinnamon Teal in flight. I was so excited that I did not look at the sequence on the back of the camera in the field. I wanted to first see them on the laptop. When I finally did, I was thrilled. We had some great flight photography chances as a result of thrilled scratch (duck food) throwing by yours truly. Everyone in the group helped by yelling on command as I tossed a load of grain and seeds into the pond. Feeding the ducks is encouraged at Santee where they are glad to sell you the scratch for $2 bucks a bag!
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
