Clemens and I had a spectacular sunrise at Lake Blue Cypress. The morning, however, bore no resemblance to the weather forecast All things considered, we enjoyed a great, cloudy-bright morning with many Ospreys. We did lots of scenics; the Cypress Trees are gorgeous. I did lots of blurs of single trees. And the 400mm f/2.8 shined for flying Ospreys in the cloudy-bright conditions. I created 3029 yet un-culled images. On the way home, Clemens’ boat trailer had a flat tire on the driver’s side. Actually, it was more of a mini-blow-out. Miraculously, the tire blew as Clemens stared at it while we were stopped for coffee at the Yeehaw Junction Pilot truck stop. Had it occurred earlier or later, we would have been changing the tire on SR 60 with traffic whizzing by us five feet away at 65mph. Yikes.
Today is Saturday 4 June 2022. The forecast for dark and dreary with drizzle followed by rain. I will be heading down to the lake just because. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes eighty-one days in a row with a new one.
Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn! Shoot me an e-mail for Jacksonville IPT #1 late registration details.
Induro GIT 304L Price Drop
Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $749.00 (was $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906.
Wanted to Buy
If you have any Canon Series III teleconverters (the 1.4X III or the 2X III) that you’d like to get rid of, please shoot me an e-mail if you are interested in turning them into cash. I have an interested buyer.
BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)
Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.
This image was created on 24 February at Kachemak Bay, across from Homer, AK. Standing on an open deck work boat, 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 400. 1/8000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide-open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be perfect. AWB at 9:28:37am on cloudy-bright 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: Glaucous-winged Gull taking flight
The Beginning of the End
The day after Harry Lerner loaned me his Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM lens for the first time, he offered it to me again. So anxious was I to give it a second go-round, I photographed the first thing that flew by. Even though it was “just a gull.” Not to mention that I love gulls. Close to three decades ago, I wrote an article entitled “Go for the Gulls” for the then-prestigious Birder’s World magazine. Gulls make great subjects for bird photographers striving to improve their skills. When you point your lens at a gull, it will often do something interesting quite soon.
This image was created on 24 February at Kachemak Bay, across from Homer, AK. Standing on an open deck work boat, 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 400. 1/8000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide-open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 9:30:00am on partly cloudy/very bright 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 #2: Bald Eagle flat flight
Autofocus Needs Light to See
Just as we do, autofocus needs light to see. The more light, the better AF sees (and performs). With the ultra-wide for-a-super-telephoto-lens aperture of f/2.8, the performance with AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection is improved considerably. You get to see the tiny green box indicating Eye tracking more often than you do when working with slower lenses. That was quite evident yesterday when photographing Ospreys in flight.
This image was created on 24 February at Kachemak Bay, across from Homer, AK. Standing on an open deck work boat, 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 400. 1/2000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide-open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 9:30:00am on then cloudy bright morning.
Tracking: Spot S 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: China Poot scenic
Good Photographs are Where You See Them
For as long as I have been photographing birds, I have seen the world in small, 2X3 frames (or boxes if you would).
When I looked up at the mountainside and saw the tree, the ridge, and the snow-covered peaks topped by a small fog bank, I thought, “There just might be a nice image there that fits into a 400mm box. I switched to Tracking: Spot S AF-C, focused on the tree, and recomposed right. Since there is no Tree/Eye AF I stuck with Bird/Eye AF. It stuck like glue and tracked the tree as I pointed the lens to my right. I was glad to see that I was right about the image design.
This image was created on 24 February at Kachemak Bay, across from Homer, AK. Standing on an open deck work boat, 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 400. 1/3200 sec. at f/2.8 (wide-open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be perfect. AWB at 9:59:16am on then cloudy bright 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: Bald Eagle tight flight
The Final Nail in the Coffin
When I saw the raw file for this point-blank flight shot, I thought, “I just might purchase a 400 2.8.” Though it took me more than three months to pull the trigger, I am thrilled with the performance of Fat Boy. And I am finding new uses for the lens every day, and discovering the many previously un-realized advantages of the f/2.8 aperture. After three hours of photographing Ospreys in flight yesterday, however, I would admit that my right shoulder was a bit sore.
The Huge Lesson Repeated
First, note that all of today’s featured images were created at the wide-open aperture, f/2.8. Then note that the birds in Images #1 &2 are sharp from wing tip to wing tip. And note that in the mountain-top scenic, everything is sharp. It is all about the distance to the subject. For example, the eagle in Image #2 was 35.07 meters from the camera (according to the EXIF as displayed by A7INFO). The depth of field with a full frame camera body is .63 meters on either side of the point of focus. That is more than deep enough to cover the whole bird.
In Image #4, there is a slight fall-off of sharpness at the talons, the tips of the tail feathers, and the trailing edges of the wings. That is because the eagle is a large bird and because the total depth of field at 19.3 meters is .39 meters, about 1.3 feet. But with the eye sharp, who cares? Not me for sure.
Homer 2022 Bald Eagle Highlights and Handholding Compositional Tips by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Enjoy and be inspired by just a few Homer Bald Eagle highlight images. Hand holding intermediate telephoto lens will always yield slightly different compositions. Learn more about that topic in this short (3:14) video.
All images from Homer or Kachemak Bay, AK
2023 Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPTs
IPT #1: MON 20 FEB 2023 through the full day on FRI 24 FEB 2023. Five full days/20 hours on the boat: $5500.00. Limit 5 photographers
IPT #2: SAT 25 FEB 2023 through the full day on THURS 2 MAR 2023. Six full days/24 hours on the boat: $6600.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 4.
IPT #3: FRI 3 MAR 2023 through the full day on TUES 7 MAR 2023. Five full days/20 hours on the boat: $5500.00. Limit 5 photographers. Openings: 4.
Save $1,000.00 by doing back-to-back trips. Save $1500.00 by doing all three.
These trips feature non-stop flight photography as well as many opportunities to create both environmental and point-blank portraits of one of North America’s most sought-after avian subjects: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Other reliable subjects will include Sea Otter, Glaucous-winged and Short-billed (formerly Mew) Gulls.
In addition, we should see Common Murre, Black Guillemot, Pelagic Cormorant, two or three species of loons, and a smattering of ducks including two species of merganser, all three scoters, Common and Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Bufflehead, Harlequin, and Long-tailed Ducks. Close-range photographic chances for these species will require a ton of good luck. Some of these species, especially when in flocks, can, however, often be used effectively when pleasing creating bird-scapes.
If we need to be out early, we will be the first boat out. If conditions are great, we will stay out. And when there is a chance for sunset silhouettes, we will be in the right spot.
We will be traveling through gorgeous wilderness country; landscape and scenic opportunities abound.
Also featured is a professional leader, often referred to as the world’s most knowledgeable bird photography trip leader, who is conversant in Canon, Nikon, and Sony. You will learn practical and creative solutions to everyday photographic problems. You will learn to see the shot, to create dynamic images by fine-tuning your compositions, to best utilize your camera’s AF system, and how to analyze the wind, the sky conditions, and the direction and quality of the light. This is one of the very few Homer trips available where you will not be simply put on the birds and told to have fun. You will learn to be a better photographer.
You will learn to get the right exposure when it is sunny, when it cloudy-bright, when it is cloudy, when it is cloudy-dark, or when it is foggy. Not to mention getting the right exposure when creating silhouettes.
You will learn to make pleasing blurs working in manual mode and to create silhouettes working in Shutter Priority mode.
Most importantly you will learn to pick your best flight images from tens of thousands of images.
You will enjoy working with the two best and most creative boat captains on their sturdy, photography-spacious, seaworthy, open-deck crafts.
The second and third IPTs are the only Bald Eagle workshops that feature an incredibly helpful first mate.
Only five photographers (not the usual six), plus the leader.
Small group Photoshop, Image Review, and Image Critiquing sessions.
All images from Homer or Kachemak Bay, AK
What’s Included
One four hour or two two-hour boat trips every day (weather permitting), all boat fees and boat-related expenses (excluding tips), ground transportation to and from the dock and back to the hotel each day, in-the-field instruction and guidance, pre-trip gear advice, small group post-processing and image review sessions, and a thank you dinner for all well-behaved participants.
What’s Not Included
Your airfare to and from Homer, AK (via Anchorage), the cost of your room at Land’s End Resort, all personal items, all meals and beverages, and tips for the boat captain and/or the first mate.
Please Note
On great days, the group may wish to photograph for more than four hours. If the total time on the boat exceeds 20 hours for the five-day trips, or 24 hours for the second trip, the group will share the additional expense at a rate of $225/hour.
Some folks may wish to rent their own vehicle to take advantage of local photographic opportunities around Homer.
Deposit Information
A $3000 non-refundable deposit/trip is required. You may pay your deposit with credit card or by personal check (made out to BIRDS AS ART) and sent via US mail only to Arthur Morris. PO Box 7245. Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. Your balance, due 90 days before the date of departure, is payable only by check as above.
In Closing
I have been going to Homer off and on for close to two decades. Every trip has been nothing short of fantastic. Many folks go in mid-March. The earlier you go, the better the chances for snow. The only way to assure that you are on the best of the three trips is to sign up for all of them. Can you keep up with me? If you have any questions, or are good to go for one, two, or all three trips, please let me know via e-mail or give me a call on my cell phone at 863-221-2372.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Despite perfect conditions on Lake Kissimmee, Clemens Van der Werf had to work very hard to make a few good images. Why? Sun yields harsh shadows and almost all the birds that landed were on very cluttered perches. Such is bird photography. Be sure to click on today’s image to enjoy a high-res version and note the work that I did on the dark shadows.
Today is Friday 3 June 2022. The forecast for this morning is again calling for mostly sunny skies with a breeze from the ENE. We will be heading very early to Lake Blue Cypress with Clemens’ boat in tow. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes eighty days in a row with a new one.
Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn! Shoot me an e-mail for Jackson IPT#1 late registration details.
Induro GIT 304L Price Drop
Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $749.00 (was $799.00) and now includes the shipping to lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906.
Wanted to Buy
If you have any Canon Series III teleconverters (the 1.4X III or the 2X III) that you’d like to get rid of, please shoot me an e-mail if you are interested in turning them into cash. I have an interested buyer.
BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)
Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.
And Please Remember
You can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks who, like me, spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.
Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.
Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy
Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.
Money Saving Reminder
Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard-to-get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a 1, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.
Important Note
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link immediately above). My link works with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂
Please Remember Also
Please, if you enjoy and learn from the blog, remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so just might make it possible for me to avoid having to try to get a job as a Walmart greeter and will not cost you a single penny more. And if you use Bedfords and remember to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout, you will (still!) save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I lost about fifty thousand dollars in income due to COVID 19 — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.
This image was created on 2 June 2022 aboard Clemens Van der Werf’s flat boat on Lake Kissimmee. While seated, I used the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens, 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 800. 1/3200 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 7:57:12am on sunny 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: Snail Kite male with meat extracted from snail
Snail-Mail by Air-male
The male Snail Kite was headed to its fledged and flying chick with a small meal. Photographing dark gray birds in flight on sunny days will often produce images with dark underwing shadows. I worked hard (but not too long) to open up the underwings. I used the Shadow slider (judiciously) during the raw conversion, and Tim Gray Dodge and Burn once I had the .TIF file in Photoshop. Conversely, I selected the brightest portions of the snail and ran a Linear Burn on that.
Do you like today’s featured image? Why or why not?
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 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. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my MacBook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.
Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: all the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.
You can learn how and why I converted all 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.
You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Wednesday morning seemed slow, but I created more than 1000 images. Those included today’s featured image, so it could not have been that bad. Two out of three of the young Ospreys in the low pole nest just left of the pier are now flying. And I am betting that the third one will be flying soon as it was flapping above the nest for 20 minutes as I fired away.
Today is Thursday 2 June 2022. The forecast for this morning is again for mostly sunny skies with a breeze from the ENE. I will be heading early to Lake Kissimmee for a session on Clemens Van der Werf’s Flats boat. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes seventy-nine days in a row with a new one.
Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn! Shoot me an e-mail for Jackson IPT#1 late registration details.
Induro GIT 304L Price Drop
Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $749.00 (was $799.00) and now includes the shipping to lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906.
Wanted to Buy
If you have any Canon Series III teleconverters (the 1.4X III or the 2X III) that you’d like to get rid of, please shoot me an e-mail if you are interested in turning them into cash. I have an interested buyer.
BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)
Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.
This image was created on 1 June 2022 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Standing at full height, I used the no-longer available Induro GIT304L Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted-Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, 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. 1/1000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 7:57:11am on sunny morning.
Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
There was a Snowy Egret and a Tricolored Heron hunting just to the left of the pier, so I grabbed the big lens with the 2X and got into position near the shore. A pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (BBWDs) landed well to the left. Then some Limpkin walked by several times, and pair of Mottled Ducks landed right down sun angle. The BBWDs swam slowly right at me. That led to my favorite image of the morning.
Which crop do you prefer, the perfect square crop with Image #1, or the higher vertical crop — Image #2? If you leave a comment, please let us know why you made your choice.
Perspective Question
If I was standing at full height behind my tripod, why does it seem that I was much lower?
Click on the screen capture to better read the small print.
Image #1C: RawDigger screen capture for the Black-bellied Whistling Duck image
Ho Hum, Another Perfect Exposure
Note that all the 1075 OvExp pixels are in the specular highlights. They are profited by the red OvExp warnings on the upper base and the tip of the bill. You never want to expose so that specular highlights do not show as over-exposed. If you do that, the image will be grossly under-exposed with tons of noise and muddy colors. Thus, the exposure for today’s featured image is dead solid perfect with data in all three channels going right up to the 16000 line.
What can I say? The combination of Zebras live in the viewfinder (with your Sony a1 properly set up) and post-capture study of the raw files in RawDigger makes it pretty much child’s play to come up with perfect exposure after perfect exposure. It would be impossible to overstate how much I have learned by studying RawDigger and how much better my exposures have become since I started with the program almost two years ago. The raw file brightness for today’s featured image is perfect with the G channel almost making the 16000 line. In other words, the raw file brightness is perfect.
RawDigger — not for the faint of heart …
Nothing has ever helped me learn to create perfect exposures to the degree that RawDigger has. I think that many folks are reluctant to learn that most of their images are underexposed by one or more full stops and that highlight warnings in Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One, and your in-camera histogram are bogus as they are based on the embedded JPEGs. Only your raw files tell the truth all the time. Heck, I resisted RawDigger for several years … Once you get over that feeling, RawDigger can become your very best exposure friend no matter what system you are using. On the recent IPTs and In-the-Field sessions, we have demonstrated that fact. Convincingly.
The RawDigger Adapted (pink) Histogram
In the RawDigger e-Guide, you will learn exactly how to set up the Adapted “pink” RawDigger Histogram and how to use it to quickly and easily evaluate the exposure or raw file brightness of images from all digital cameras currently in use. RawDigger was especially helpful to me as I have struggled with R5 exposures and learned my new camera body, the Sony Alpha a1.
RawDigger e-Guide with Two Videos
The RawDigger e-Guide with Two Videos
by Arthur Morris with Patrick Sparkman
The RawDigger e-Guide was created only for serious photographers who wish to get the absolute most out of their raw files.
Patrick and I began work on the guide in July 2020. At first, we struggled. We asked questions. We learned about Max-G values. We puzzled as to why the Max G values for different cameras were different. IPT veteran Bart Deamer asked lots of questions that we could not answer. We got help from RawDigger creator Iliah Borg. We learned. In December, Patrick came up with an Adapted Histogram that allows us to evaluate the exposures and raw file brightness for all images created with all digital camera bodies from the last two decades. What we learned each time prompted three complete beginning to end re-writes.
The point of the guide is to teach you to truly expose to the mega-Expose-to-the-Right so that you will minimize noise, maximize image quality, best utilize your camera’s dynamic range, and attain the highest possible level of shadow detail in your RAW files in every situation. In addition, your properly exposed RAW files will contain more tonal information and feature the smoothest possible transitions between tones. And your optimized images will feature rich, accurate color.
We teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We save you money by advising you which version of RawDigger you need. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values for your Canon, Nikon, and SONY camera bodies. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you. And lastly — thanks to the technical and practical brilliance of Patrick Sparkman — we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures and the raw file brightness quickly and easily the Adapted RawDigger histogram.
The flower video takes you through a session where artie edits a folder of images in Capture One while checking the exposures and Max-G values in RawDigger. The Adapted Histogram video examines a series of recent images with the pink histograms and covers lots of fine points including and especially how to deal with specular highlights. The directions for setting up the Adapted Histogram are in the text.
If we priced this guide based on how much effort we put into it, it would sell it for $999.00. But as this guide will be purchased only by a limited number of serious photographers, we have priced it at $51.00. You can order yours here in the BAA Online Store.
Image #1D: Unsharpened tight face crop of the Black-bellied Whistling Duck image
Amazing FFD!
Click on the screen capture to view the high-resolution JPEG and note the incredible fine feather detail (FFD). It really is hard to believe that this image was created at 1200mm.
Click on the image to better see the green eye-AF boxes in action.
Sony Alpha 1 Flight Photography AF Points!
The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group: $150.00 (or Free)
The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. By June 1, 2022, the group was up to an astounding 123 lucky and blessed folks. Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. The best news is that everyone in the group receives an e-mail that includes a .DAT file with my a1 settings on it, and explicit directions on how to load my settings onto your a1; talk about convenience! I am now offering a .DAT file compatible with firmware update 1.20. Your entry into the group includes a consolidated Sony a1 CAMSETA2 INFO & GUIDE. New a1 folks will now receive four e-mails instead of the previous 28! You will see new e-mails as they are published. Simply put, this e-mail guide is an incredible resource for anyone with an a1.
All who purchased their Alpha 1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link — B&H or Bedfords — will receive a free Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up Guide and free entry into the Info Updates group after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.). Others can purchase their guide here in the BAA Online Store.
Typos
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