Which of today’s two featured images is the strongest? Why?
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear.
Summer On Long Island
Check out the July and August Nickerson Beach (& Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge/East Pond) IPT offerings here and consider joining us to learn a ton, make lots of great images, and improve your image processing skills.
What’s Up
Yesterday, IPT veterans Sandy Calderbank and Steve Shore joined me on the first day of the extended (Sunday thru Friday morning) Jacksonville IPT. Steve survived nicely despite the fact that American Airlines opted to leave his single checked bag in Dallas. We were greeted by record numbers (at least 4000 plus) of Royal Tern chicks on the beach. Though there are still some small tern chicks around, the vast majority are either 3/4 grown or fledged and flying. The variety of plumages on the young birds is staggering. Some have golden tones, some are a very fluffy white, some are starkly patterned black and white, and others do not fit neatly into any category.
After being delayed by leader error, we caught just the tail end of a spectacular sunrise so we are hoping for a repeat this morning. With the wind in the morning from the west (bad), the clouds helped for a bit, but unfortunately, we had full sun by 7:45. We had a great brunch at the AirBnB that Steve and I are sharing and followed that up with two plus hours of image review and Photoshop. We made one Camtasia image processing video as I optimized one of Sandy’s photos.
We got back to the beach before 5pm. The wind had switched to the south/southeast (bad in the afternoon). The bright sun (bad) soon gave wave to clouds (good with the SE wind) and we enjoyed an excellent hour with the terns, some young Laughing Gulls, and some Brown Pelicans. When the wind swung briefly to the W/SW we enjoyed some good flight photography. Then the skies cleared and the wind freshened from the south limiting us to flight photography only with birds flying the “wrong” way. All of the handsome young terns sitting on the clean beach were angled away from us — classic wind against sun.
I was glad to learn yesterday that Homer IPT veteran Mark J Harrington recently sold his Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 LUSM lens in excellent plus condition for a BAA record low $423.00 (was $523.00), a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens in excellent plus condition for a BAA record low $949.00, and a
Canon Extender EF 1.4X III in excellent plus condition for a BAA record low $228.00.
Today is Monday 15 July and we will be headed out earlier than yesterday. The forecast (west wind in the mornings and SE in the afternoons) is the same for at least the next two days. We will do our best and there will continue to be a ton of leaning going on.
Upper Center Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1: Royal Tern, adult with fish for chick
Think Fast/Work Fast
I called out, “Adult with fish” as this bird landed on the ridge in front of me, pretty much right down sun angle. At 1200mm, I knew that I had way too much lens so I shouted, “Front end vertical” as I rotated the lens to vertical in the tripod collar. I set upper center Tracking: Zone AF/C on all of my bodies to save an instant or two in such situations. The AF system tracking the bird’s eye perfectly as the bird turned its head slightly toward me (good!). I fired off about ten frames before the bird took flight. Three, made before the bird turned its head away into the west wind, were quite excellent. The three of us looked very closely at the three images for more than a few minutes while discussing the merits of each. Finally, we all agreed on the second image, now optimized above.
The Goal: One Family Jewel per Session
Folks often ask me, “What are you trying for when you head out into the field. I usually reply by saying something like this: I am trying to make one family jewels type image, a photo that makes me happy. Most of those will be both artistically and technically excellent (if not perfect). Once I get one, I am always hoping and trying for more. After both the morning and afternoon sessions, I knew exactly which images I would be most proud of. Mission accomplished.
This image was also created on 14 July 2024 at Huguenot Memorial Park on the first day of the JAX IPT. Seated on damp sand, I used the heel-pod technique with the handheld Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens (Sony E), the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and the ridiculously amazing Sony a9 III Mirrorless Camera.
The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 1250. 1/2000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 6:12:26pm on a then cloudy afternoon.
Tracking: Expand Spot/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
This handsome young tern was sleeping on the clean, hard-packed sand. First there was a gull behind it, then a tern. I was hoping that it would stand up and not run or fly away. Seated, I pushed myself forward and right with my hands with the lens on my lap and butt-advanced to get into position. The gull flew away. Then the tern flew away. Then, the handsome young tern woke up and walked a few step to my right so I followed, again by butt-advancing. Finally I was in perfect position and the bird rewarded me, first with a ruffle and then with a double overhead wingstretch. Image #2 above was the last frame in the series as I quit shooting knowing that I would clip the wingtips.
The coolest thing about this image is that while I was optimizing it I thought that it was an a-1 file … a9 iii image quality is quite superb despite that fact that the raw files (24 MP) are slightly less than half the a-1 raws (51 MP).
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
We may (or may not) have a temporary blog post notification fix in place. Time will tell. I know that some or many or you received 19 “old” post notifications. Part of the problem is that there were 36 missed posts. So what happened to the other 17? Be assured that we are working hard on the problem.
In the meantime, enjoy the video below.
Today is Saturday 13 July. I will be driving up to Jacksonville for the IPT and will be picking up old friend and IPT vet Steve Shore at JAX today at about 4pm. Have a great day. Tomorrow: 15,000 plus pairs of terns and Laughing Gulls with chicks of all ages.
Huge Price Drop
Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens
Price reduced a shocking $600.00 on 13 July 2024
Used Gear Page veteran Robert Hollyer is offering a Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens in Like-New condition for a BAA record low $9398.00 (was $9,998.00). The sale includes the front lens cap, the rear lens cap, the lens hood, the lens strap, that hard case & strap, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Bob via e-mail or by phone at 1-206-359-0018 PST.
I purchased my Sony 400mm f/2.8 two years ago to complement my 600mm f/4. Robert is selling his because he rarely uses it, opting instead for the 600mm f/4! It is far easier for me to handhold the 4 ounces lighter, much smaller, and better balanced 400 f/2.8 than it is to handhold the 600mm f/4. The 400 kills for flight with or without the 1.4X teleconverter. This lens sells new right now for $11,998.00 at B&H and there are used copies going for $10998.00 as well. Act quickly to save a handsome $2,000.00 by grabbing Robert’s might-as-well-be-new 400mm GM lens. And you can’t beat the f/2.8 Bokeh! artie
A Really Good Morning Down by the Lake with Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART (21 minutes)
With lots of packing to do for my trip to Jacksonville, I took a peek down by the lake in hopes of finding a bathing Osprey. Instead, I had a fine morning with a young Great Egret, some adult and young White Ibises, a perched adult Osprey, a pair of Sandhill Cranes, and a very cooperative pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Learn a ton about bird photography by sitting next to me as I do the first edit. You will see me delete hundreds of perfect images and relegate them to the Trash. I kept only 79 out of 1146 images, all but one of the keepers made at 1200mm working off the BLUBB (Big Lens Ultimate BeanBag — https://birdsasart-shop.com/blubb-big), and all but one in sharp focus. More soon. The more of this video you watch, the more you will learn.
If you would like to see a short video of the second edit, please leave a comment.
This image was created on 12 July left of the pier down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working from the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 800. 1/1000 sec. at f/9 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be dead solid perfect. AWB at 8:57:10am on clear sunny morning.
Tracking: Expand Spot/AF-C performed perfectly even at 1200mm. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1: Black-bellied Whistling Duck with bill open
Eyeball Replacement
As you saw in the video, the bird had the nictitating membrane partially down in one of my favorite images. I replaced the eye with an open eye from another image in the series. Then I cropped to a vertical for impact.
Yikes
After completing the video I realized that with all my talking my two favorite images had NOT been tagged as keepers. As I hade already cleaned the cards, I went to Trash, selected all, and pasted them back into the July 12 folder. It took only a few seconds to tag the two I had missed and to delete the untagged.
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 technique mentioned above (eyeball replacement) and tons more great Photoshop tips and techniques — along with my complete digital workflow, Digital Eye Doctor Techniques, and all my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.
Please note: the Divide and Conquer technique was inadvertently omitted from DB II. It is detailed in a free excerpt in the blog post here.
Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: most of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.
You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About three years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One and did that for two years. You can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here. Today, I convert my Sony raw files in Photoshop with Adobe Camera Raw.
You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.
The Digital Basics III Video Series
The Digital Basics III Video Series
I realized about a year ago that my digital workflow had changed fairly significantly and was toying with the idea of writing a Digital Basics III. More recently, I have learned and begun working with two great new Photoshop Tools, the Remove Tool and the Luminance Targeted Adjustment Tool. The former is like a smarter Spot Healing Brush Tool on steroids and the latter is a huge step up from the fabulous Color Mixer Tool. During that same time frame, I came up with a new and improved 2-step noise reduction technique. I still use Divide and Conquer, Quick Masks, Layer Masks, an expanded array of personalized keyboard shortcuts, and tons of other stuff from both versions of Digital Basics.
As soon as I realized that I did not want to take on another large writing project, I realized that by creating a series of videos I could much more easily share all the details of my current digital workflow and much more easily incorporate additional new tips, techniques, and tools as I went. And so, The Digital Basics III Video Series was born. You can check out Volume I/#1 here.
You might opt to purchase single videos or to subscribe to Volume I and save $26 by ordering the first five videos in one fell swoop. You can purchase the five videos in Volume I by clicking here. The videos will be most valuable for folks using the latest version of Photoshop (2024) or Lightroom along with Topaz DeNoise AI and Topaz Sharpen AI.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
It looks as if we are back to square one as far as post notifications 🙁
What’s Up?
Having finally gotten in touch with the brilliant IT guy who created the BAA blog 15 years ago — he is now living on a farm in South Africa, online with Starlink!, — post notifications have currently been restored (we hope). His temporary solution was to drop back from the latest versions of WordPress and PHP to older versions that are compatible with the Post Notifications plugin that had worked since the blog was first published on 12 March 2009. Going forward, we may update to a newer plugin called Newsletters. If that happens, the change should be seamless. I should know in a few hours if the post notifications for today’s post were sent … I am optimistic.
The Plan
My plan, at present, is to publish a blog post every day alternating between re-published posts (beginning with this one that was originally published 5 May 2024), and brand new posts. In a bit more than two months, we should be caught up. Tomorrow’s new post on the gun violence photography of Dr. Greg Gulbransen, will blow most folks away. Apologies to the few who are seeing this post for the second time. Some might be interested in reading the comments on the original post here.
Your Call?
After clicking on each to enlarge, which of today’s featured images do you like best? Why?
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars.
This image was created on 30 April 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working from the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 2000. 1/800 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be dead solid perfect. AWB at 7:23:36am on sunny morning.
Tracking: Expand Spot/AF-C performed perfectly even at 1200mm. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1: Sandhill Crane post-preening pose
Looking for Different
I head down to the lake most every morning when I am not on the road, and most every morning, there are Sandhill Cranes to photograph. Sometimes I get bored with the cranes. The challenge therefore, is the quest for something new and different, or at least for something perfect. Image #1 fits into the latter category. Most of the cranes are tame. When the adults are foraging, they are difficult to photograph as they are moving constantly. When I see a pair standing in one spot, they are almost always preening; it is easy to drive into point blank range. I’ve made many thousands of images in such situations. Heck, possibly tens of thousands. Is there anything about Image #1 that bugs you?
This image was created on 3 May 2024 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working from the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 800. 1/400 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be perfect. AWB at 7:11:46am as early clouds and fog blocked the sun.
Tracking: Expand Spot/AF-C performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #2: Sandhill Crane adult and young bird-scape with tree and ground fog
Different for Sure
When I headed down to the lake on Friday morning, there were some low clouds to the east and some ground fog on the North Field. I drove past the adult and colt foraging to see if there was any possibility of fire in the mist conditions by shooting back into the soon-to-come sunrise. But the fog was not thick enough. So I made a U-turn to check out the bird-scape opportunities. I stayed far back so that I could put the birds in a corner of the frame and include the ground fog. That is when I noticed the tree. As the sun had not broken through the clouds, I was able to shoot south to north as sun angle would not be a problem. Image #2 was the best of the lot.
The Digital Basics III Video Series
The Digital Basics III Video Series
I realized about a year ago that my digital workflow had changed significantly and was toying with the idea of writing Digital Basics III. More recently, I have learned and begun working with two great new Photoshop Tools, the Remove Tool and the Luminance Targeted Adjustment Tool. The former is like a smarter Spot Healing Brush Tool on steroids and the latter is a huge step up from the fabulous Color Mixer Tool. During that same time frame, I came up with a new and improved 2-step noise reduction technique. I still use Divide and Conquer, Quick Masks, Layer Masks, an expanded array of personalized keyboard shortcuts, and tons of other stuff from both versions of Digital Basics.
As soon as I realized that I did not want to take on another large writing project, I realized that by creating a series of videos I could much more easily share all the details of my current digital workflow and much more easily incorporate additional new tips, techniques, and tools as I went. And so, The Digital Basics III Video Series was born.
You can purchase Volume I and save $26 by ordering the first five videos in one fell swoop here. #5 was sent last week. The videos will be most valuable for folks using the latest version of Photoshop (2024) or Lightroom along with Topaz DeNoise AI and Topaz Sharpen AI and for those familiar with the techniques detailed in the earlier versions of Digital Basics.. Especially Digital Basics II.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
