Been thinking of joining me on the San Diego IPT? It is getting very late. Consider taking advantage of the largest-ever late-registration discount. Scroll down here for details.
The Stronger Image?
Which of today’s images do you like best? Do understand that Images 2 and 2A are different versions of the same image. Everyone is invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice. Note: be absolutely sure to click on each image to view a larger, high-res version.
What’s Up?
Apologies for not realizing until this morning that many of the comments on yesterday’s post were being held for moderation. I just approved all of them without comment. I was glad to see that all of the comments were civil, and was (happily) surprised that I did not receive a lot more flak than I did. IAC, you might find some stuff of interest by revisiting the comments.
Saturday morning was decent as the light fog lifted early. I had another Little Blue Heron on The Perch, and got some more nice images of the vultures. Sunset was not bad, but I did not get anything spectacular (as had been the case for the two previous evenings) he said modestly.
I was glad to learn on Saturday afternoon that multiple IPT veteran Shelly Lake will be joining me Tuesday morning at Lakeland for a Your Pick In-the-Field session. If you would like to join me for some In-the-Field instruction at either ILE or Lakeland in the next ten days or so, shoot me an e-mail or try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up. The details are below.
Today is Sunday 2 January 2022. The forecast for this morning is for decreasing cloudiness with a breeze from the South. As almost always when I am home, I will be heading down to the lake for a bit. 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 including the time spent on the image optimizations. This post makes 53 consecutive days with a new one.
Please remember that 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 save 3% 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.
Your-Pick In-the-Field Sessions
The beauty of the Your Pick In-the-Field Sessions plans below is that I am free most days from now till mid-January and we can schedule sessions to coincide with the perfect weather forecast. They are ideal for central Florida locals or folks visiting the region for whatever reason. Interested? Get in touch via e-mail or better yet, try my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up. Inquire for couples and group rates.
Indian Lake Estates In-the-Field Sessions
Two hours of intensive instruction: $300.00. Add a working brunch with image review: $100.00. Sunset shoot: $100.00. Guest room lodging available. Mix and match.
Sunny mornings with east winds are best. Likely subjects include ridiculously tame Sandhill Cranes along with Black and Turkey Vultures, Crested Caracara, Limpkin, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, and more. Bald Eagle possible; crane chicks coming soon.
Lakeland or Circle B Bar Preserve
Two hours of intensive instruction: $325.00. Add a working brunch with image review: $100.00. Mix and match.
Sunny mornings with east winds are best at Lakeland. Likely subjects include point-blank American White Pelican, Anhinga, Limpkin, Common Moorhen, White Ibis, a variety of wintering ducks including Ring-necked and Wood Ducks, and lots more.
Cloudy mornings or afternoons (shooting session only) are best at Circle B Bar Preserve. Likely subjects include Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Common Moorhen, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Alligator, Wild Boar, and more. If you wish to mix and match, loving at ILE is available.
Sony Alpha 1 Bodies in Stock at Bedfords/free card offer!
Steve Elkins of Bedfords let me know late yesterday that he had several Sony a1 bodies in stock. If one of them has your name on it, please click here and be sure to enter the BIRDSASART coupon code check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. Right now, in lieu of the 3% credit refunded to the card you used for your purchase, you will receive a Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card, a $399.99 value!
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 30 December 2021 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working off the pier, I used the no-longer available GIT305XXL Grand Series 5 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). Multi-metering +1.3 stops/Auto ISO set ISO 3200. 1/1600 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. AWB at 5:40:16pm several minutes after a nice sunset.
Tracking: Zone AF-C Bird Face/Eye detection performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1: Mottled Duck departing at sunset
The Situation
The weather for the past week has been fairly consistent. It has been foggy in the mornings, partly cloudy during the day, and mostly clear in the late afternoons. With the winds (or breezes) from the south or southwest, the birds coming into roost would be landing away from me so I have been working from the pier as the birds fly over it and toward the roost, from south to north. The most commonly available shot features one or two or three silhouetted Cattle Egrets. I usually create several hundred of those each evening. The size of the bird or the birds in the frame, the wing position or positions, and the background color — water or sky, determine the very few keepers.
I really get excited when something different flies through the color. Every day, a pair of Mottled Ducks feeds on the south side of the pier in the evening, pretty much in the dark. They blast off headed west soon after the sun disappears. On Friday evening, I happened to get on the birds as they took flight and flew through the color. Image #1 is a decent crop to eliminate the second (out-of-focus) bird. On Sunday night I was on some Cattle Egrets when the ducks left. I was too late to get on them …
This image was created on 31 December 2021 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working off the pier, I used the no-longer available GIT305XXL Grand Series 5 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). Multi-metering +2 stops/Auto ISO set ISO 5000. 1/2000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. AWB at 5:38:47pm several minutes after a nice sunset.
Tracking: Zone AF-C Bird Face/Eye detection performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #2: Great Blue Heron dorsal view at sunset/MORE YELLOW version
More Excitement!
I saw the great blue coming at about 500 yards. It was headed right for the richest water color. I stayed on it for quite a while. Conservative me fired off more than one hundred images. Even at 1200mm, every single one was sharp. I kept seven. The one above, one of the last that I made, was best by far. One image with an almost identical wing position had some vegetation at the bottom of the frame. I did not like that, but I do love the dorsal views that can be had when you are working from the pier. This was my alternative version.
This is the same image as above, processed differently.
Image #2A: Great Blue Heron dorsal view at sunset/MORE ORANGE version
Processing Silhouettes
Because I always strive to expose to the right, the colors in the raw files often look washed out. When processing silhouettes, you have lots of options when it comes to the look of the image. You have many tools at your disposal. During the raw conversion those include but are not limited to the Color Temperature and Exposure sliders, setting the white and black points, the Highlights and Shadows sliders, and the Vibrance and Saturation sliders. Most mar conversion engines allow you to work on the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance of the individual colors. In Adobe Camera Raw, you can find those sliders under the Color Mixer tab.
You can tweak the colors of your .TIF file in Photoshop after the raw conversion with a Vibrance adjustment. Hue/Saturation allows you to work on the individual color channels. I often use a Levels adjustment to further blacken the BLACKs and to control the midtones. As I final step, I will often try Image > Auto Tone or Auto Color, almost always reducing the Opacity significantly. The results can be magical. Which color version do you prefer with the GBH image?
1200mm Sharpness
I could never have conceived of the fact that I would one day be shooting flight off a tripod at 1200mm and making consistently razor sharp flight images … Even more scary is the fact that others, far more skilled and younger and stronger than I, are routinely creating sharp flight images at 1200mm while hand holding their Sony 600 GM lens with the 2X TC and the Alpha 1. It is a whole new world out there. I am glad to be part of it.
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 for working on the color of your images, and tons more great Photoshop tips and techniques — along with all of 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 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.
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.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
This image was created on 3 November 2021 at Indian Lake Estates. Talk about being lazy? This image was created from the driver’s seat of my SUV. Talk about versatility? I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens(at 248mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) ISO 2500. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/800 sec. at f/16 (stopped down 2 2/3 stops) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:49:10am on a soon-to-be sunny morning.
Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
To the Dawn of a New Year
Happy New Year
Today is 1 January 2022. My right-hand man, Jim Litzenberg, my older daughter and BAA Executive Director & accountant, Jennifer Morris, and I wish you nothing but the best in the coming year. May all of you and your families enjoy good health and prosperity.
I am hoping that our country gets back on track in the coming year. If you think that everything is just dandy, you might want to stop and ask yourself: just exactly where are we with all the restrictions, mandates, shutdowns, vaccinations, joblessness, bankruptcies, foreclosures, and increasing rates of depression and suicide?
While I strive to keep the blog free of COVID-related and political topics, I am making an exception today. Why? I feel that I some point, someone has to speak up. I truly wish all of us the best …
What’s Up?
Jim and I enjoyed another 2 1/2 mile walk at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland on a cool, very cloudy morning. I continue to work on small-in-the-frame mostly Great Blue Heron bird-scapes with the tripod-mounted Sony 70-200 II and the a1. Yesterday, I made one at 70mm! At some point, I will share the best of those with you here. Sunset color was great again last night. Working from the pier has been challenging with very few keepers, but almost every night I have come up with one spectacular image. Last night it was a late Great Blue Heron that flew by right through the brightest color.
The forecast for this morning is for mostly to partly cloudy with a gentle breeze from the south. I will be heading down to the lake soon. 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 51 consecutive days with a new one.
New Laws Proposed in New York State
If you think that the video above is completely bogus, below is a section of the proposed bill, A416, cut and pasted from the New York State Senate website here.
2. UPON DETERMINING BY CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE THAT THE HEALTH OF OTHERS IS OR MAY BE ENDANGERED BY A CASE, CONTACT OR CARRIER, OR SUSPECTED CASE, CONTACT OR CARRIER OF A CONTAGIOUS DISEASE THAT, IN THE OPINION OF THE GOVERNOR, AFTER CONSULTATION WITH THE COMMISSIONER, MAY POSE AN IMMINENT AND SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH RESULTING IN SEVERE MORBIDITY OR HIGH MORTALITY, THE GOVERNOR OR HIS OR HER DELEGEE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE COMMISSIONER OR THE HEADS OF LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS, MAY ORDER THE REMOVAL AND/OR DETENTION OF SUCH A PERSON OR OF A GROUP OF SUCH PERSONS BY ISSUING A SINGLE ORDER, IDENTIFYING SUCH PERSONS EITHER BY NAME OR BY A REASONABLY SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE INDIVIDUALS OR GROUP BEING DETAINED. SUCH PERSON OR GROUP OF PERSONS SHALL BE DETAINED IN A MEDICAL FACILITY OR OTHER APPROPRIATE FACILITY OR PREMISES DESIGNATED BY THE GOVERNOR OR HIS OR HER DELEGEE AND COMPLYING WITH SUBDIVISION FIVE OF THIS SECTION.
(Bold italics mine.)
All civil comments are welcome.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Been thinking of joining me on the San Diego IPT? It is getting late. Consider taking advantage of the largest-ever late-registration discount. Details below.
The Stronger Image?
Which of today’s two featured images appeals to you more? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice.
What’s Up?
It was so foggy on Thursday morning that you could barely see one short block. I went down to the lake anyway. For the first time since The Perch was erected more than six months ago, I had an Osprey on it. When it comes to using the perch, the birds have taken their sweet time. But I have had some decent action for the past two weeks or so. I made lots of images of the handsome raptor from my SUV using the BLUBB. I deleted more than 100 and kept 9. After processing the best image, I deleted seven more.
I was about four minutes late getting down to the lake for sunset. As I was walking out on the pier, about 50 Cattle Egrets flew by right through the color. Then, when I was adjusting the settings on my a1, another 100 birds did the same thing. I had a very few good chances after that. A surprise was one killer frame of a Mottled Duck leaving the scene through an incredible patch of deep yellow water.
Today is Friday 31 December. With a forecast for mostly cloudy in the morning, Jim and I are heading to Lakeland, probably to Circle B Bar Reserve. If you would like some In-the-Field instruction at either ILE or Lakeland in the next ten days or so, shoot me an e-mail or try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.
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 including the time spent on the image optimizations. This post makes 51 consecutive days with a new one.
Please remember that 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 save 3% 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.
Your-Pick In-the-Field Sessions
The beauty of the Your Pick In-the-Field Sessions plans below is that I am free most days from now till mid-January and we can schedule sessions to coincide with the perfect weather forecast. They are ideal for central Florida locals or folks visiting the region for whatever reason. Interested? Get in touch via e-mail or better yet, try my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up. Inquire for couples and group rates.
Indian Lake Estates In-the-Field Sessions
Two hours of intensive instruction: $300.00. Add a working brunch with image review: $100.00. Sunset shoot: $100.00. Guest room lodging available. Mix and match.
Sunny mornings with east winds are best. Likely subjects include ridiculously tame Sandhill Cranes along with Black and Turkey Vultures, Crested Caracara, Limpkin, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, and more. Bald Eagle possible; crane chicks coming soon.
Lakeland or Circle B Bar Preserve
Two hours of intensive instruction: $325.00. Add a working brunch with image review: $100.00. Mix and match.
Sunny mornings with east winds are best at Lakeland. Likely subjects include point-blank American White Pelican, Anhinga, Limpkin, Common Moorhen, White Ibis, a variety of wintering ducks including Ring-necked and Wood Ducks, and lots more.
Cloudy mornings or afternoons (shooting session only) are best at Circle B Bar Preserve. Likely subjects include Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Common Moorhen, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Alligator, Wild Boar, and more. If you wish to mix and match, loving at ILE is available.
Sony Alpha 1 Bodies in Stock at Bedfords/free card offer!
Steve Elkins of Bedfords let me know late yesterday that he had several Sony a1 bodies in stock. If one of them has your name on it, please click here and be sure to enter the BIRDSASART coupon code check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. Right now, in lieu of the 3% credit refunded to the card you used for your purchase, you will receive a Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card, a $399.99 value!
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 4 January 2020 at La Jolla, CA. While standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 493mm) and Sony a9 ii (now replaced by The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) ISO 640. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:25:53am on a mostly sunny morning.
Tracking: Spot (S) AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment OF exposure and worked just fine. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the hi-res version.
Image #1: What is It?
Head Throw Strategies
Ever since I created a BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition-honored head throw image (with Fuji Velvia pushed one stop to ISO 100!) at La Jolla in the mid-1990s, I have been trying to do better. It ain’t easy. Creating good head throw images is a huge challenge. My best advice is to frame wider than you think is necessary. Much wider. If you are doing verticals (as I was for image #1), you will clip the bill as the first one second usually works best as a horizontal. If you start off working in horizontal format, you will surely clip the bill at the apex of the throw.
So what’s the answer? Frame wider than you could ever imagine and then crop as needed. Sometimes to a square, as with Image #1 above. If you zoom in in an effort to create tighter images, you will always clip something … Though you might miss some of the action with that approach, you might wind up with a contest-winner as the bill pouches of the Pacific race birds in California feature incredible colors — fire-engine red and olive-green for starters, along with incredible detail. On the San Diego IPT I will do my best to teach you the behavioral signals that usually signal that a head throw is coming.
BTW, head throws are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication.
The Lesson
When attempting to photograph Brown Pelican head throws, framing wider rather than higher will lead to lots more keepers.
This image was created on 4 January 2020 at La Jolla, CA. While standing at full height, I used the no-longer available GIT304L Grand Series 5 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted-Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and Sony a7R IV (now replaced by The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). ISO 400. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:26:47am on a on a mostly sunny morning.
Expand Flexible Spot S AF-C performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a higher-res version.
Image #2: Brown Pelican Pacific race in breeding plumage with bill pouch distended
The Classic Head and Shoulders Portrait
For me, images like this are one of the main reasons to visit San Diego. The distant Pacific-blue backgrounds complement the colors of the breeding plumaged bird perfectly. And the sweet early morning light is a given on most days.
Lesson
The greater the distance from the subject to the background, the softer the background will be rendered.
Shorter Focal Lengths Yield Greater Depth of Field
The bird in Image #1 is the same individual as in Image #2. I made both images while standing pretty much in the same spot. Note that the ocean background in image #1 has some detail in the waves (especially toward the bottom of the frame). In Image #2, however, the ocean background is super-smooth, completely defocused. That despite the slightly smaller aperture, f/7.1 as compared to f/6.3.
Lesson
When the photographer-to-subject distance is constant, the shorter the focal length, the greater the depth-of-field (at a given aperture).
San Diego, California: A Bird Photographer’s Paradise!
I’ve been visiting San Diego, California for more than 50 years, and photographing there for almost four decades. It truly is one of my favorite bird photography locations on the planet. The Pacific race Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches, are indeed the stars of the show, but there are lots of other great birds there that are relatively easy to photograph. Check out this five minute video to see the potential.
Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking here.
San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
The 2022 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and more!) IPT. Monday 17 January thru the morning session on Friday 21 January 2022. Four full and one-half day: $2999.00. Deposit: $899.00. Limit: 8 photographers/Openings: 6
Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (nesting with eggs and possibly chicks) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Northern Shoveler, and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heermann’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others are possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lions. And as you can see by studying the IPT cards, there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Not to mention a ton of excellent flight photography opportunities and instruction.
Please click here for more info and registration details.
Typos
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