August 22nd, 2021 Your Fave?
Which of today’s five featured images do you like best? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice.
What’s Up
Saturday morning at the East Pond was very good, but with large groups of birders visiting on the weekend along with a few photographers, photography was not as good as it had been on the previous morning. With lots of birders around you do not have as much freedom to approach the completely tame birds as you do when there is nobody else around. Most of the birders that we ran into had no problem flushing the birds that we had approached so closely and carefully by butt crawling. Speaking gently, without getting pissed off at all, I suggested several things that they could do to minimize the disturbance of the birds as they made their way up the eastern shoreline. The response? “I’ve been doing this for 25 years.” They went on, 100% ignored my suggestions (stay close to the reeds and hold your tripods — they all had spotting scopes — in front front of you rather than on your shoulder), and flushed all the birds when they came upon to the next photographer …
Today is Sunday 22 August and the forecast is for rain all day long. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.
Please note that it is best to click on each blog image to view it larger. For unknown reasons, the images — even the verticals that are not rendered larger, look sharper once they’ve been clicked on.
Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) 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 like me, who 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.
This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes 235 consecutive days with a new one. 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. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.
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The Saturday morning In-the-Field group at JBWR in August
From left to right, Brenda Gates and IPT veterans Dianne Heggie and Anke Frohlich.
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Impromptu Trash Bag Butt Mud-Guards
The ladies all sported impromptu trash bag butt mud-guards. Yours truly opted to sit in the mud with quick-drying slacks and quickly wound up with a wet butt. The ladies stayed clean and dry.
Recipe
One box of heavy duty trash bags (compactor bags would be better).
On roll of paper tape.
One pair of scissors.
Some ingenuity.
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The iPhone Photography e-Guide
To order your copy of the iPhone Photography e-Guide, please click here.
The PDF is sent link by e-mail for downloading: the file is relatively huge at 216 MB.
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Hard to Believe
Yes, Cliff has a great eye and wonderfully creative vision. Yet it is still hard for me to believe that he can make so many great images with “just“ an i-phone. Almost more amazingly Cliff captures with his iPhone and does all of his post-processing on the phone! In this great new e-Guide written for BIRDS AS ART you will learn to use set up you iPhone quickly and efficiently and how to use it. In addition, there are dozens and dozens of tips on Cliff’s favorite apps and his favorite gear. Scroll down to the bottom to see the Table of Contents.
The iPhone Photography e-Guide: $20.00.
To order your copy of the iPhone Photography e-Guide please click here.
Dr. Cliff Oliver
Dr. Cliff Oliver is an award-winning photographer, former photography instructor for the San Diego Natural History Museum, cutting-edge integrative health care professional, and international workshop leader. He created and taught the first 5-day immersion iPhone photography workshop at Hollyhock, Canada’s premier Leadership Learning Center. He teaches quarterly iPhone photography classes at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library School of the Arts (these include Art on the iPhone, iPhoneography, Portraits and Selfies, and Practicing in the Field). His images have been on the cover of WildBird magazine, on display at Scripps Oceanography Institute, and been honored with multiple first-place finishes in the International Exhibition of Photography Del Mar. The San Diego Natural History Museum’s, “Birds of the World” centennial exhibit featured several of his images. One of his iPhone images received an honorable mention in the Athenaeum 23rd annual juried exhibition. He has displayed images at Art Speaks: Expressions of Hope and Healing and has produced a series of books, called Zen I, II, III, IV, V, VI and VII that feature original images that promote inner peace. The last 4 books feature only images taken on the iPhone. He teaches individuals and groups the skills of capturing iPhone/mobile photographs and then how to create personalized works of art.
To see some of Cliff’s iPhone images, click here. Learn more about Cliff and what he does on his Center for Balance website here. And don’t forget, if I had never met Cliff I would be pushing up daisies somewhere. To request my Health Basics File that contains the whole story, please shoot me an e-mail by clicking here..
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This image was created on 21 August 2021 at the East Pond, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY. While standing at full height, I used the and held Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/5000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) on a then mostly sunny morning.
Tracking: Spot S/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed beyond perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version.
Image 1: Lesser Yellowlegs, juvenile on rotting board
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Almost Famous …
I spotted this young LEYE standing peacefully on an old rotted plank — a remnant of the former baymen’s community know as the Raunt (circa the 1940s & 50s), got into position square to the old board, and made some images. At one point, the lens got too heavy to hold in place while standing so I owe it. The bird executed the most lovely near-wing stretch with its head turned slightly toward me. I missed it 🙁
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This image was created on 20 August 2021 at the East Pond, JBWR, Queens, NY. While seated on wet mud, working off the a1’s tilted rear screen on the splayed Induro GIT 304L topped by a Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro– with the Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter(at 840mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1250. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: RawDigger showed that the raw file brightness was dead solid perfect: 1/1250 sec. at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 11:00am on a then cloudy morning.
Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly by tracking and nailing the bird’s eye.
Image #2: Short-billed Dowitcher stretching
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Dull Day Processing
On a mostly dingy day, the properly exposed raw files were dull and washed out. After setting the white and black points, I increased the contrast just a bit, I boosted the Vibrance to an unprecedented 85. Did I overdo it?
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This image was created on 21 August 2021 at the East Pond, JBWR, Queens, NY. While seated on wet mud, working off a lowered Induro GIT 304L topped by a Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro– with the Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter(at 840mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1600. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: RawDigger showed that the raw file brightness was dead solid perfect: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 11:06am on a then cloudy morning.
Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly by tracking and nailing the bird’s eye.
Image #3: Wilson’s Phalarope, molting juvenile and molting adult foraging
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East Pond Phalaropes
There were as many as three Wilson’s and three Red-necked Phalaropes on the pond in early August. We were thrilled on Friday morning to find and photograph one molting adult juvenile Wilson and a molting juvenile. We found them again on Saturday. They were both utterly tame. Here, I rather like the juxtaposition of the sharp juvie and the out-of-focus adult.
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This image was created on 21 August 2021 at the East Pond, JBWR, Queens, NY. While seated on wet mud, working off a lowered Induro GIT 304L topped by a Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro– with the Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter(at 840mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1600. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: RawDigger showed that the raw file brightness was dead solid perfect: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 11:16am on a then cloudy morning.
Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly by tracking and nailing the bird’s eye.
Image #4: Wilson’s Phalarope, molting adult foraging
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Molting Adult Wilson’s Phalarope
The six or eight grey feathers covering the folded wing show that this is an adult birds molting into winter (basic) plumage. The juvenile shown in Image #3 is has only three new, gray feathers coming in as it molts to first-winter.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
August 21st, 2021 What’s Up?
As I had hoped, the East Pond was better than it had been in a decade. The water level is perfect with acres of exposed mud flats. There were dozens of Lesser Yellowlegs, two Wilson’s Phalaropes – a juvie and an adult molting to winter plumage, hundreds of juvenile Short-billed Dowitchers, good numbers of Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers (both ages), a few white-rumps, a single young Greater Yellowlegs, and several dozen adult and fresh juvenile Semipalmated Plovers. All of the bird’s were ridiculously tame. We even did some flight photography with the 600 f/4s. All in all, it was thrilling.
Today is Saturday 21 August 2021. I am meeting three private clients for an In-the-Field workshop at 5:45am. Sunday is looking like a total rainout. Monday is looking great. If you would like to join me on Monday (or possibly Tuesday) please scroll down. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.
Please note that it is best to click on each blog image to view it larger. For unknown reasons, the images — even the verticals that are not rendered larger, look sharper once they’ve been clicked on.
Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) 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 like me, who 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.
This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes 233 consecutive days with a new one. 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. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.
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All from the East Pond at JBWR in August
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Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge/East Pond Shorebird In-the-Field Workshops
Monday 23 (and/or possibly Tuesday 24) August 2021.
Morning session: 6:00 until 9:00am (Limit: 6
For many decades, the East Pond at JBWR was the premier spot in North America to photograph southbound migrant shorebirds: small sandpipers (known affectionately as “peeps”), plovers, godwits, dowitchers, yellowlegs, and lots more. The pond, the spot were I would like my ashes to be scattered (in about two decades), has not been good for many years because of gate valve malfunction and mismanagement of the resource. Combined, these resulted in water levels that were too high; the mudflats that normally would provide roosting and feeding locations for large flocks of shorebirds were covered.
The refuge staff finally seems to have things under control this year. Water levels at the south end are reported as the best in a decade. The young birds usually arrive around 15 AUG. They are much, much tamer than the skittish adults that begin arriving around 1 July each year. The tides are perfect for 21-22 AUG. That weekend will potentially offer the best juvenile shorebird photography in many, many years. Weather and migratory patterns permitting. You will need to get your butt muddy as you cannot do the shorebirds while standing.
Consider joining me to learn the history of the pond, to learn to identify and age a variety of shorebird species, to learn how to approach the birds, and to improve your photography. I am expecting to have some very good chances for creating images of single birds in flight.
In-the-Field morning session alone: $350/session. With brunch and image review: $425/per session.
An option would be to stay over, grab a motel room, and do both morning sessions. In addition, you might want to add in a 6pm till sunset session at Nickerson Beach for only $250.00. To learn more or too register, please shoot me an e-mail.
My Bad! Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L USM Lenses in Stock at Bedford’s
The personable, helpful, and always eager-to-please Steve Elkins let me know yesterday that I screwed up. Due to my inability to read, I mistakenly advertised that Bedfords had a good stock of Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM lenses in stock. Bedfords has none of those. Steve, however, does have a good supply of the previously impossible-to-get Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L USM lenses. Grab yours here.
Remember that if you spend more than $7500.00 and use the BIRDS AS ART code at checkout, you earn a free copy of the R5/R6 Camera User’s Guide. Spend less and shoot me an e-mail to learn of your discount. The R5 and R6 are Canon’s best-ever bodies for flight photography and the RF 100-500 lens is a great all-around lens for bird photography. The 28-70mm f/2 is the landscape photographers dream lens.
By e-Mail From Hawaii’s Best Best Photographer
Aloha Artie,
It’s been a while. I always enjoy your blog; it’s the first thing I read each morning! Better than all of the sad Covid news that’s going around.
I sold almost all my EOS cameras and lenses (except for the 500mm f/4 that I bought from you years ago 🙂 and switched to the Canon R5. I bought it through Bedfords and used the BIRDSASART code to get a great discount. Steve Elkins was wonderful to work with. Many thanks for all of this. I’m ready to order the R5 Camera Users Guide from you. Somehow I didn’t know you were giving discounts on the Guide for purchases from Bedford’s. So, what do you need as proof of purchase? I spent $7577 for my new gear at Bedfords Order #45765.
Hope to see you out here one of the days.
All the best,
Jack Jeffrey
Pepeekeo, Hawaii
(Note: Jack received his R5 Guide for free.)
Please Remember
With income from IPTs now close to zero, 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 save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — 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.
New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!
You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.
Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.
Money Saving Reminder
Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day 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 use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists 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 a9 ii, 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.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) 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.
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This image was created on 20 August 2021 at the East Pond, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY. While seated on wet mud, working off the a1’s tilted rear screen on the splayed Induro GIT 304L topped by a Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro– with the Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 2500. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) on a cloudy morning.
Tracking: Spot S/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed beyond perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version.
Image #1: Lesser Yellowlegs, juvenile charging forward
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This One Amazed Me
We had soft light and beautiful backgrounds. I was at the pretty-much minimum shutter speed for any type of action: 1/1000 sec. I raised the ISO to 2500 and say blinkies on the few light tones on the water. The AF system was tracking the yellowlegs when suddenly and for no reason, it charged straight toward us; I had switched from Tracking: Zone to Tracking: Spot S. As I was working off the rear screen with the tripod very low to the ground at a relatively slow shutter speed, I did not even check the images on the back of the camera. I was shocked and thrilled when I saw the series on my laptop.
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Image 1A: The AF point for the Lesser Yellowlegs, juvenile charging forward image
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Shockingly Amazing!
I could barely believe that the a1 AF system locked onto the right eye of the young yellowlegs and maintained focus as the bird charged towards me at full speed.
SONY a1 AF: Beyond Belief …
a1 Bird-Eye/Face Detection has gotten much better since the V1.10 firmware update that completely eliminated the EVF Blackout problems. It has become easier to trust the AF system whether working birds perched or on the ground, when doing flight photography, or when working off the tilted rear screen with the tripod almost at ground level. In short, thee a1 AF system is amazing.
SONY and artie
Switching to SONY, first with the a9 and the a9 II, and then to the remarkable a1, has enabled me (and others, like Mike De Rosa as seen a while ago in the blog post here), to create images of birds in flight and in action that I could not have even dreamed of when using Canon for 33 years and then Nikon for more than two. Most of the time I am using one of two AF methods that together, cover about 99% of the commonly-encountered bird photography situations. At present, I am experimenting beyond those … Learn more by joining the group!
From Long-ago IPT veteran Keith Kennedy via e-mail
Absolutely great information. I am calling Jim in a few minutes to order a couple of Delkin 128GB UHS-II cards. Your timely email has saved me a ton of money! Many thanks
In the same vein, via e-mail from John LeClair
Well, e-mail #21 alone was worth the price of admission!
From Pamela Viale, after receiving artie’s a1 settings along with detailed instructions on how to copy them to her SONY a1 via e-mail
This e-mail group has been an incredible boon to me! Thank you so much!
From Joe Barranco via e-Mail
Thanks for your great ideas on the A1 set up. I have been getting MANY more keepers doing things your way!
From Barbara White via e-Mail
Wow, I just gotta say – I learn so much from the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info group! My camera is on my desk, and I’m always picking it up and changing something that I’ve read about in the e-mails.
Thanks, Barbara
From Janet Horton via e-Mail
Hi Artie, Mystery solved. Yes, I was able to replicate what you did. I forgot that you have to set self-timer using the upper dial. I am used to that being a MENU selection.
Thanks much, Janet
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. With two folks joining yesterday, we are now up to an astounding 77 lucky and blessed photographers! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. More recently, we have been in contact with folks at SONY sharing our thoughts, experiences, and frustrations with the EVF blackout problem.
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 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.
August 20th, 2021 Your Call?
Which of today’s two featured avian images is best? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice.
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM Lenses in Stock at Bedfords!
The personable, helpful, and always eager-to-please Steve Elkins let me know yesterday that Bedfords just received more than a few Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM lenses. Grab yours here right now to secure one. Remember that if you spend more than $7500.00 and use the BIRDS AS ART code at checkout, you earn a free copy of the R5/R6 Camera User’s Guide. Spend less and shoot me an e-mail to learn of your discount. The R5 and R6 are Canon’s best-ever bodies for flight photography and the RF 100-500 lens is a great all-around lens for bird photography. The 24-70 is the landscape photographers dream lens.
By e-Mail From Hawaii’s Best Best Photographer
Aloha Artie,
It’s been a while. I always enjoy your blog; it’s the first thing I read each morning! Better than all of the sad Covid news that’s going around.
I sold almost all my EOS cameras and lenses (except for the 500mm f/4 that I bought from you years ago 🙂 and switched to the Canon R5. I bought it through Bedfords and used the BIRDSASART code to get a great discount. Steve Elkins was wonderful to work with. Many thanks for all of this. I’m ready to order the R5 Camera Users Guide from you. Somehow I didn’t know you were giving discounts on the Guide for purchases from Bedford’s. So, what do you need as proof of purchase? I spent $7577 for my new gear at Bedfords Order #45765.
Hope to see you out here one of the days.
All the best,
Jack Jeffrey
Pepeekeo, Hawaii
(Note: Jack received his R5 Guide for free.)
What’s Up?
I spent most of Thursday packing up for my upcoming four-morning trip to Jamaica Bay. Today is Friday 20 August and I will be headed west very early. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.
Please note that it is best to click on each blog image to view it larger. For unknown reasons, the images — even the verticals that are not rendered larger, look sharper once they’ve been clicked on.
Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) 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 like me, who 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.
This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes 232 consecutive days with a new one. 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. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.
Please Remember
With income from IPTs now close to zero, 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 save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — 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.
New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!
You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.
Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.
Money Saving Reminder
Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day 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 use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists 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 a9 ii, 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.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) 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.
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Image #1: Butt-advancing image
Image courteous and copyright 2021: Clemens Van der Werf
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Beach Butt-Advancing
Advancing on your butt with the lens resting across your thighs is not as difficult as the look on my face might indicate 🙁
As detailed in yesterday’s blog post:
It is always best to get on the ground sooner rather than later. Flushing a flock of birds as you approach will not help your chances. Then set the lowest shutter speed that will enable you to make sharp images and have a chance to freeze slow-developing action … For me that is 1/500 sec. or thereabouts. Next for me with my Sony gear is to dial the ISO until I see faint Zebras on the subject. With your Zebras set properly as noted in the a1 SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group e-mails and in the SONY Camera User’s Guide, getting consistently excellent exposures is child’s play. (Note: a1 Group members receive a free copy of the SONY User’s Guide for reference.)
Next I set my AF method. For both of today’s images I went to Tracking: Spot S/AF-C. E-mail #23 to the a1 Group — coming soon — will detail recent changes I have made to further simplify how I used the AF system. Next I place the lens on my thighs and push myself forward with both of my hands (made into fists). You need to be careful that the lens does not fall off into the sand. With practice it becomes easy. One of my main goals is to isolate a single bird or a feeding situation. Such situations are most often found on the edges of the flock, so I go left or right as needed, often to stay on sun angle. On cloudy days like 15 August, you are not restricted by sun angle. Once I get into position, I brush the sand off my hands on my long-sleeved shirt.
Thanks to Clemens for allowing me to share this image with you here.
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Image #2: artie Knee-podding image
Image courteous and copyright 2021: Clemens Van der Werf
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Knee-podding
I use this technique often. I rest the proximal underside of my left forearm on the back of my left knee and the distal upper portion of my left thigh. It yields a relatively low perspective while enabling me to eliminate potentially distracting elements in the background that would come into play if you worked with the lens on or near the ground. And it allows for the use of shutter speeds as slow as 1/60 second as long as the subject is still.
Thanks again to Clemens for allowing me to share this image with you here.
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This image was created on 29 July on one of the Jacksonville IPTs. While seated on wet sand using the knee pod technique, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 452mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1600. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:25pm on a cloudy afternoon.
Center Zone/AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and created a sharp-on-the-eye image.
Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger, often inexplicably sharper version.
Image #3: Laughing Gull, adult flapping after bath
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Bathing Gull (and Tern) Tips
When you see a bird dipping its breast and head into shallow water, it will almost always flap at some point. Get closer or zoom in to create dramatic images of the splashing water, or move back and zoom out to create images of the after-bath flapping. It is best to move back or zoom out more than you think is necessary to avoid clipping the wings. I kept ten of 13 sharp images from this series with only one tiny primary tip clipped. There were so many interesting images that choosing just one was difficult.
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This image was created on 29 July on one of the Jacksonville IPTs. While seated on wet sand using the knee pod technique, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 535mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1600. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:31pm on a cloudy afternoon.
Tracking: Flexible Spot/AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and created a sharp-on-the-eye image.
Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger, often inexplicably sharper version.
Image #4: Laughing Gull, juvenile preening after bath
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After Bath Preening
Do you need to see a bird’s eye or eyes in order to have a successful image?
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
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