Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

What’s Up?

On Sunday I headed to Stick Marsh and quickly cancelled both IPTs. The four folks who had signed were offered the option of a full refund or applying their deposits to a future IPT. I can tell you one thing for sure: the Roseate Spoonbill do not like the S-96 construction project. With an east wind the birds would usually be flying right at you on a sunny morning. It was sunny with a brisk east wind, yet every spoonbill — there were not many, turned immediately to the west after taking flight. I am not sure if they do not like the considerable noise from the pump that is now running constantly, or the huge crane, but it is surely one of the two. Or both. In addition, I did not see a single spoonbill carrying nesting material. Folks in the Stick Marsh Site Guide E-mail Group (details below on that), will be learning the complete details along with my suggestions on possibly making a few good images this season. I plan on continuing to visit to see how the spoonies do in the long run …

I’ve been swimming every day since I got home and enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. I got some neat stuff of the young eagle flapping in the nest on Monday morning. In addition, the two large crane chicks that I spotted on Saturday had crossed the canal to the South Field Sith along with their folks. Lastly, I discovered a crane on eggs in a nest at the North Marsh! Today is Tuesday 8 March 2022. The forecast for this morning is for partly to mostly cloudy skies with a gentle breeze from the southeast, perfect eagle nest photography weather. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too had a great day. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes one day in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links on this page and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. And please consider joining a BAA IPT.

Be sure to scroll down and let us know which of today’s two featured images is your favorite. I hope that you can join me in Homer in 2023 (as below).

From BPN-friend Kevin Hice via unsolicited e-mail

Again artie, that was a great trip. I was more than pleased. For me, I could see right away that you knew how to get us and the boat in great position for the best eagle photography. You took into consideration all the factors including the sky conditions, and wind and sun angles. It was a real pleasure to meet the captain. His knowledge of the wind and the currents helped to put us in great position all the time and he did his very best to help on all fronts.

Thanks again, Kevin

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

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.

Save $1,000.00 by doing back-to-back trips. Save $1500.00 by doing all three.

This trip features non-stop flight photography as well as many opportunities to create both environmental and point-blank portraits of one of North America’s most sought-after avian subjects: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Other reliable subjects will include Sea Otter, Glaucous-winged and Short-billed (formerly Mew) Gulls.

In addition, we should see Common Murre, Black Guillemot, Pelagic Cormorant, two or three species of loons, and a smattering of ducks including two species of merganser, all three scoters, Common and Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Bufflehead, Harlequin, and Long-tailed Ducks. Close-range photographic chances for these species will require a ton of good luck. Some of these species, especially when in flocks, can, however, often be used effectively when pleasing creating bird-scapes.

If we need to be out early, we will be the first boat out. If conditions are great, we will stay out. And when there is a chance for sunset silhouettes, we will be in the right spot.

We will be traveling through gorgeous wilderness country; landscape and scenic opportunities abound.

Also featured is a professional leader, often referred to as the world’s most knowledgeable bird photography trip leader, who is conversant in Canon, Nikon, and Sony. You will learn practical and creative solutions to everyday photographic problems. You will learn to see the shot, to create dynamic images by fine-tuning your compositions, to best utilize your camera’s AF system, and how to analyze the wind, the sky conditions, and the direction and quality of the light. This is one of the very few trips Homer trips available where you will not be simply put on the birds and told to have fun. You will learn to be a better photographer. But only if that is what you want.

You will learn to get the right exposure when it is sunny, when it cloudy-bright, when it is cloudy, when it is cloudy-dark, or when it is foggy. Not to mention getting the right exposure when creating silhouettes.

You will learn to make pleasing blurs working in manual mode and to create silhouettes working in Shutter Priority mode.

Most importantly you will learn to pick your best flight images from tens of thousands of images.

You will enjoy working with the two best and most creative boat captains on their sturdy, photography-spacious, seaworthy, open-deck crafts.

The second and third IPTs are the only Bald Eagle workshops that feature an incredibly helpful first mate.

Only five photographers (not the usual six), plus the leader.

Small group Photoshop, Image Review, and Image Critiquing sessions.

All images from Homer or Kachemak Bay, AK

What’s Included

One four hour or two two-hour boat trips every day (weather permitting), all boat fees and boat-related expenses (excluding tips), ground transportation to and from the dock and back to the hotel each day, in-the-field instruction and guidance, pre-trip gear advice, small group post-processing and image review sessions, and a thank you dinner for all well-behaved participants.

What’s Not Included

Your airfare to and from Homer, AK (via Anchorage), the cost of your room at Land’s End Resort, all personal items, all meals and beverages, and tips for the boat captain and/or the first mate.

Please Note

On great days, the group may wish to photograph for more than four hours. If the total time on the boat exceeds 20 hours for the five-day trips, or 24 hours for the second trip, the group will share the additional expense at a rate of $225/hour.

Some folks may wish to rent their own vehicle to take advantage of local photographic opportunities around Homer.

Deposit Information

A $3000 non-refundable deposit/trip is required. You may pay your deposit with credit card or by personal check (made out to BIRDS AS ART) and sent via US mail only to Arthur Morris. PO Box 7245. Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. Your balance, due 90 days before the date of departure, is payable only by check as above.

In Closing

I have been going to Homer off and on for close to two decades. Every trip has been nothing short of fantastic. Many folks go in mid-March. The earlier you go, the better the chances for snow. The only way to assure that you are on the best of the three trips is to sign up for all of them. Can you keep up with me? If you have any questions, or are good to go for one, two, or all three trips, please let me know via e-mail or give me a call on my cell phone at 863-221-2372.

This image was created on 26 February 2022, Day One of the second 2022 Homer/Kachemak Bay IPT. I 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 500: 1/1600 second at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 9:47:35am on a sunny morning. Tracking: Upper Zone with Bird/Face-Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Bald Eagle posing on perch

Controlling the Background via Perspective Choice

You can often change the appearance of the background in an image by changing your perspective, i.e., the place that you choose to stand and your choice of up or down or somewhere in between. As we approached the bird — I did not want to flush it from its perch as several folks in the group were with me, the first image featured a distant headland in the background. Note that I created more than one hundred images of this bird posing on the perch. No two were identical. I wound up keeping perhaps six or eight images.

This image was created on 26 February 2022, Day One of the second 2022 Homer/Kachemak Bay IPT. Again, I 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 500: 1/1600 second at f/7.1 (stopped down 1/3 stop). AWB at 9:49:17am on a sunny morning. Tracking: Upper Zone with Bird/Face-Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Bald Eagle posing on perch

Getting Closer and Higher

As we were walking up a gentle slope, we got a bit higher with each step we took. By getting “taller” and moving slightly to my right, I was able to get a pure blue water background, usually one of my very favorites.

Your Fave?

Which of today’s featured images do you like best? Why? Which background do you prefer? Why?

The Stick Marsh Site Guide Subscription Service

The Site Guide Subscription Service is a new concept. I e-mailed the first issue last April. Stick Marsh Site Guide e-Mail #1: The Basics. The Basics e-mail included specific directions to the site, and a map of the rookery area with specific instructions and wind, weather, and where-to-be advice. There were four additional updates last year. More will follow this year, the first one will be sent next Monday.

To sign up for the Stick Marsh Site Guide Subscription Service, call Jim in the office weekday afternoons at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand or send a PayPal for the $100.00 to us at birdsasart@verizon.net. Please be sure to include the words Stick Marsh with your PayPal.

I fully understand that you can go to Google Maps, find the Stick Marsh, visit, and likely make some good or great images. You might think, I can do fine just without artie’s advice. But you will do a world of better with it. The annotated map alone is worth the price of admission.

Typos

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

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Your Fave?

Which of today’s two featured images is your favorite? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice. Though the images are quite similar, I have a clear favorite and will share it with you here in the next post.

An Important Air Travel Tip

When you check one or two bags for a flight, be sure that you get the little sticky-back stubs from the computer-generated bag tag. Most airlines will put them on the back of your boarding pass. Some airlines will simply hand the small tag or tags to you. Make sure that you put the bag tags in a safe place where you can find them. I am in the habit of placing the tags (or the boarding pass with the tag or tags affixed to them) in my left rear pants pocket. Once you have your bags at your destination, the tags can be safely discarded. If your bags do not show up, you at least have some recourse and may be able to help the airline locate your missing luggage. Or make a claim.

In addition, when I hand my bags over, I visually inspect the tags to make sure that they are correctly routed to my destination airport. BPN friend Kevin Hice was in a big hurry to catch his next flight when he got to Anchorage the other day. And so was the agent. While Kevin arrived at bag claim, his bags did not. He could not find his bag tag. And Delta has no record of him even checking a bag.

They stated that there is a big round-up at end of the month where and when they inspect all “found” luggage. Good luck, Kevin.

What’s Up?

With nearly perfect weather for the 2nd IPT under our belts and 7.75 hours of overtime shooting on the books (each tip is slotted for 4 hours per day), those who were driving back to Anchorage opted to get out of town a day early on Wednesday to avoid the snowstorm forecast for the Seward Highway. Making the drive in a blizzard is beyond hazardous. Harry Lerner and John Carelli made their flights. Mukesh Patel and Indranil Sircar made the trip with me. Indranil had a flight for Wednesday night and made it home safely on Thursday. Mukesh was able to change his flight and he too made it home easily. I tried to change my ANC to SEA to MCO flights but was unable to do so. My flight leaves very early (12:35 am) on Friday morning. I have a 4 1/2-hour layover in Seattle and if all goes well, Jim will be picking me up in Orlando at about 6pm.

Everyone on both trips agreed that the photography exceeded all of their expectations. The photo opps were (as I had expected them to be), so spectacular on the two trips that I will be doing three Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagles IPTs next season. The dates and details will be announced here very soon.

Please remember to click on each image to enjoy the spectacular high-res versions. The smaller JPEGs as presented are not very impressive.

At 3pm local time I enjoyed the greatest-ever Panang Curry at So Thai Restaurant in Anchorage and then returned my huge rental GMC Yukon at the airport.

I got two hours of sleep from 8:15 to 10:15pm when I was awakened out of a sound sleep by my cell phone alarm. I grabbed the hotel shuttle to the airport and was sitting at the gate by 11:15am. I will board at 11:55 AK time, enjoy the long layover in Seattle, and should get to Orlando just before 6pm. Today is Friday 4 March 2022 and I’ll be flying all day, so the forecast does not mean much to me. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes 1 day in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links on this page and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. And please consider joining a BAA IPT.

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 28 February 2022, the third day of the second Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPT. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 280mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was set using Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial: ISO 640: 1/6400 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 10:05:40am on a sunny morning. Tracking: Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Red-breasted Merganser drake in flight

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet!

Both Red-breasted and Common Mergansers occur in Kachemak Bay. Both are speedy fliers. And both do not like either humans or boats. In general, they are extremely wary. We had just stopped the boat and tossed some herring chucks to attract the eagles. As usually occurs, the gulls were first at the picnic table. I had set up for the gulls at ISO 640, 1/8000 second at f/4. If an eagle flew in, I was ready to go two clicks slower on the shutter speed to 1/5000 second at f/4. At the same time as I saw the bird, the captain shouted. Merganser at 12 o’clock flying right at the bow. I reduced the exposure by one-third stop because the necks of the drake mergansers were a fairly bright white; not as white as the gulls, but a bit brighter than the adult eagles. That proved to be a good decision.

As the drake merganser steamed right at us at about 60 miles per hour — they have been clocked at eighty-one, I raised the lens and fired off a thirty-some-odd frame burst as it veered to my right and passed us just to the starboard. I was not shocked to see that every frame in the series was tack-sharp on the waterfowl’s eye. I was thrilled to find two very nice wing positions in the lot. There were two poor wing positions between today’s two featured images.

When I used Canon, I had many opportunities to shoot-slower flying ducks (and cormorants and many others) coming right at me. They were always sharp. On the bird’s feet. The AF system simply could not keep up with the subjects. I remember saying to the late Chuck Westfall and my good friend Rudy Winston, Canon’s top two technical folks at the time, “What we are really looking for is science-fiction like autofocus.” Today, with the Canon R5 and the R3, the Nikon Z9, and the Sony a9, a9 II, and the Alpha I, we have that in spades. As regular readers know, I give the edge to the Sony A1 for several reasons including and especially the Zebra technology and the glorious 51 MP files.

The Flight Speed of a Red-breasted Merganser

Max C. Thompson, Arctic Health Research Center, Anchorage, Alaska, November 25, 1960. Quoted from here.

In the course of investigating the terrestrial avifauna of the Cape Thompson area of northern Alaska for the United States Atomic Energy Commission, several low aerial reconnaissance flights of the Kukpuk River (Latitude 68 — 22N’, Longitude 166O — OO’W) were made. On May 29, 1960, a flock of six Red-breasted Mergansers (Yergzcs serrator) was flushed from the river ahead of the airplane. The area in which this flock was flushed was bordered on the south by a sheer bluff, rising to about30 feet, and on the north by a bank4 feet high. The wind was blowing from the west at 20 miles per hour. At the time the ducks were flushed, we were flying east up the river. When the ducks took flight, all the birds turned aside except one male which flew slightly below and ahead of the airplane. This bird with a burst of speed, managed to keep his position in relation to the aircraft for about 1500 feet before finally losing ground and turning aside. The air speed of the airplane during the chase was 80 miles per hour. The 20 miles per hour wind from the west added to the 80 miles per hour air speed would give the bird a ground speed of 100 miles per hour.

Cooke (Flight Speed of Birds, U. S. Dept. Agr. Circ. 428, 1937) did not list the flight speed of the Red-breasted Merganser in her compilation of flight speeds. The fastest speed of a duck that she recorded was that of a Canvasback (Aythya ditieriu) with a clocked speed from an airplane of 72+ miles per hour.

This image was created on 28 February 2022, the third day of the second Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPT. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 280mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was set using Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial: ISO 640: 1/6400 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 10:05:40am on a sunny morning. Tracking: Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Red-breasted Merganser drake in flight

Large Crops

Both of today’s featured images are made up of about 40% of the original pixels. Sharp a1 files can stand up well to relatively large or even huge crops.

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up 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. The group is now up to an astounding 111 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 all who wish, can request 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. I finally finished the consolidated Sony a1 CAMSETA2 INFO & GUIDE and distributed it yesterday. New a1 folks will now receive three e-mails instead of the previous 28! It is a lot easier on me and is an incredible resource for folks new to the a1.

All who purchased their Alpha a1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link will receive a free subscription to the Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info Updates group after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.) This same service may be purchased by anyone with an a1 body via a $150.00 PayPal sent to birdsasart@verizon.net indicating payment for Alpha a1 Info & Updates. Alternatively, folks can call Jim weekdays at 1-863-692-0906 to pay via credit card. New members will receive composite e-mails that summarize all previous discussions.

Typos

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