April 5th, 2021 What’s Up?
I headed down to the lake early on Sunday morning hoping to find the new crane family coming off the nest in the South Marsh. I arrived 15 minutes before sunrise, only to find the family of four feeding right where they have been for the past ten days. Needless to say, I had fun. I even tried some head shots with the hand held 200-600/1.4X TC/a1 combination.
I headed back down to the lake about an hour before sunset. I put up two perches on posts near a recently dismantled boat dock. I am hoping that nobody takes them down. And if that works, I am hoping to get a nice Anhinga or a Little Blue on one of them in the morning. Sunset was very good with a stiff east wind and some decent color.
Today is Monday 5 April 2021. Rajat Kapoor is driving over from his beachside hotel in Melbourne with his younger son to see and photograph the cranes chicks and the single surviving large colt. The forecast is perfect: clear with a 10mph wind from the east. Though there have not been a lot of vultures around, I will likely put out the raccoon that has been in the fridge for far too long. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.
This blog post took less than an hour to prepare and makes 104 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.
R5 Guide Kudos
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Fernando Ramos
The excellent Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide is unlike anything I’ve encountered. Your detailed instruction supported by excellent reasoning is exactly what I needed to set-up my Canon EOS R5. Thank you for sharing your expertise with me; as a result, you saved me immeasurable time. Fernando
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Joel Eade
Thank you so much for the R5 guide! It is a wonderfully written, extremely comprehensive document that would benefit any R5 user. It is evident that a tremendous amount of time and effort was required to create it. After reading through, I can say it that flows in a logical fashion and that each item is carefully described in a way that is not difficult to follow. I agree with 99% of your set up suggestions 🙂 Joel
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Cover Image courtesy of and Copyright 2021 Brian Sump (Sump scores!)
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The BIRDS AS ART Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide: $75.00
The guide is 82 pages long: 21,458 words. More than 50 DPP 4 Autofocus-depicting screen captures. And a 31 minute 44 second educational video. This guide took three and a half months of hard work and a ton of help from at least seventeen very helpful and generous folks.
The guide covers — in great detail — all Menu Items that are relevant to bird, nature, and wildlife photography. It does not cover video. The section on AF methods and the AF Gallery has been expanded from the R5/R6 AF e-guide. It remains the one of the great strengths of this guide. I share my thoughts on what I am sure is the single best AF Method for photographing birds in flight. As most of you know, the guide includes a simple and easy way to change AF Methods that was introduced to me by Geoff Newhouse. In the AF Gallery you will see exactly how Face Detection plus Tracking AF works. In the Educational R5 Gallery video, I share my favorite R5 images along with dozens of bird photography tips and techniques.
In addition, I teach you how to get the best exposures with your R5. Detailed instructions on using the great In-camera HDR and Multiple Exposure features will be appreciated by creative folks who like to have fun. The three shutter modes are explained in detail as well. Bruce Dudek solved the can’t-get-to-Auto ISO problem that had stumped everyone at Canon. This information is of course shared in the guide. You will learn how to set up your EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) and Screen toggle options. Not to mention that the mysterious performance of the Q Button is revealed and simplified. Brian Sump’s images reveal how well you can do when using the R5 with EF lenses using one of the three Canon EF-EOS R Mount Adapters (as Donna did with Image #1 below). You will learn how I use Customize Dials to put either ISO or EC on the Thumb Dial and how to set up and save Custom Shooting Modes (C1-C3) that can remember both your Customize Dial and Customize Button settings! That is something that none of the SONY bodies do. 🙁 Near the end of the guide I share my all-important MY MENU items with you.
Like all BAA educational materials, the R5 guide is written in my informal, easy-to-follow style. I am quite proud of this guide and look forward to hearing your thoughts on our hard work.
You can purchase your copy of the BIRDS AS ART Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide for $75.00 here in the BAA Online Store or by calling Jim in the office weekday afternoons at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.
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. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.
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This image was created by multiple-IPT veteran Layton Parham on 27 March 2021 at Stick Marsh, Fellsmere, FL. He used the handheld Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens (at 428mm) and the highly touted 45MP Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 800. Exposure determined via test image and blinkies evaluation: 1/4000 sec. at f/9 in Manual (M) mode. AWB at 9:38am on a sunny morning. Please see the BIRDS AS ART Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide to learn the best R5 AF Method for flight and action.
Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image courtesy of and copyright 2021; Layton Parham
Roseate Spoonbill and damselfly (in serendipitous flight!)
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Serendipitous Flight
Both the spoonbill and the damselfly were sharp and in the original frame. Layton did a nice job of moving the damselfly to improve the compositional balance.
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Layton Parham
I can’t thank you enough for the hard work you put into preparing the R5 Guide! It is worth way more than the $75.00 price tag. Upon receiving it, I stayed up late, read the whole thing twice, and changed my camera settings as recommended in the guide. Early the next morning, I headed to Stick Marsh. I made more that 600 photos, all in tack-sharp focus! I only had to delete six. Enclosed are a couple of the good ones. Layton
The Stick Marsh Site Guide Subscription Service
The Site Guide Subscription Service is a new concept. I e-mailed the first issue last week: Stick Marsh Site Guide e-Mail #1: The Basics. The Basics e-mail includes specific directions to the site, and a map of the rookery area with specific instructions and wind, weather, and where-to-be advice. I e-mailed the second installment recently. In it, I shared several new shooting locations and strategies. I will be sending e-mail #3 on Monday with lots more to come.
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. At some point, we will get this item in the BAA Online Store.
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 whole lot 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.
April 4th, 2021 What’s Up?
Saturday morning turned out a lot better than the weather forecast. It dawned sunny with a good breeze from the north that turned northeast before swinging to the northwest at about 9am. I found the baby cranes foraging with and getting fed by the adults in the same spot they have been every morning since I found them. I photographed them for a bit and then got back in my SUV to go hunting. I was rewarded by finally getting some really good images of the single surviving colt. I worked from my vehicle with the hand held 200-600 and the a1.
With light clouds moving quickly and partially or fully blocking the sun at times, Zebras saved the say. Working with shutter speeds between 1/1000 and 1/1600 second and the aperture set at either f/6.3 (wide open) or at f/7.1 (stopped down 1/3-stop), the ISOs varied with almost every frame I kept ranging from ISO 500 with the sun fully out to ISO 1250 when the sun was totally obscured.
On the EVF-BO front, I am glad to report that the a1 has not blacked out in more than a week.
I got a ton of work done on the Zoom Webinar presentation I will be doing for the South Shore (Long Island, NY) Camera Club on April 7th. It is entitled Designing and creating pleasing and dramatic natural history images. I should have it pretty much completed by today but usually wind up changing around a slide or two ten minutes before the presentation.
Today is Sunday 4 April 2021. The forecast for ILE this morning is for partly cloudy skies with north/northeast winds at 10mph. I will head down to the lake early to see if I can locate the baby crane nest … Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.
This blog post took almost two hours to prepare and makes 103 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides or discounts. And doing so often earns my great appreciation.
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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.
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The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)
The basics of grabbing a bird’s eye from one frame and using it in a second frame (as with Image #1A below), are detailed in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. This guide also includes all of the clean-up techniques that I use on most every image that I create and tons more great Photoshop tips and techniques along with all of my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — are covered in detail. (Note RAW conversions in Capture One RAW Conversions) are not covered in DB II. 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 two years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One Pro 12 and continue to do so today.
To purchase Capture One, please use this link. Then 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. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and edited by yours truly. Please use this link to purchase NeatImage.
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This image was created on 30 March 2021 at Stick Marsh, Fellsmere, FL. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 344mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. Auto ISO set 640. Exposure determined with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Multi-metering +2.3 stops: 1/40 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Shutter Priority (S) mode. AWB at 7:31am with clouds on the eastern horizon.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly.
Image #1: Roseate Spoonbill SQUARE landing blur
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Yesterday …
In yesterday’s Three Squares a Day blog post here, many folks were partial to Image #1, the Roseate Spoonbill SQUARE landing blur. But nearly everyone wished that the eye (and the face?) were sharp or at least sharper …
Carol Nichols Comment: April 3, 2021 at 12:48pm
I also love the first image, but would prefer a sharp eye and bill. Would that even have been possible? If so, what could you have done to get that result? Thanks.
Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART Response: April 3, 2021 at 1:06pm
Good question, Carol. At times, when creating blurs of flying birds at shutter speeds between 1/30 and 1/125 second (or even as slow as 1/15 second), it is possible to get the face and eye sharp or even very sharp if you pan smoothly and your panning rate exactly matches the speed of the bird in flight and, if the birds head is not moving up or down. In other words, it ain’t easy. with love, a
ps: there are, of course, Photoshop option …
Carol Nichols Reply: April 3, 2021 at 1:11pm
Thanks for the explanation.
Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART Reply: April 3, 2021 at 1:36pm
YAW. And stay tuned for the ps: PS option. with love, a
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This image was created on 30 March 2021 at Stick Marsh, Fellsmere, FL. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 344mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. Auto ISO set 640. Exposure determined with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Multi-metering +2.3 stops: 1/40 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Shutter Priority (S) mode. AWB at 7:31am with clouds on the eastern horizon.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly.
Click on the image to see a slightly larger, slightly sharper (?) version with the much sharper eye.
Image #1A: Roseate Spoonbill SQUARE landing blur with the eye replaced
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Is This Any Better?
To create Image #1 A above, I grabbed the sharp eye from yesterday’s Image #3 via a Quick Mask, moved it into place with the Move Tool (V), and used the Transform command to warp, rotate, and re-size it. As it looked just a bit too sharp, I softened it a bit by applying a one pixel Gaussian Blur. I re-learned a long forgotten lesson: when working on tiny selections we need to use very low pixel values when applying a Gaussian blur. I typically use a 65 pixel Gaussian blur to soften problematic backgrounds.
Is this better or does it need the face (and bill) sharper too?
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This image was created on 31 March 2021 at Indian Lake Estates. 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. ISO 3200. Exposure determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:40am on a clear morning.
Click on the image to enlarge it and see if you can figure out what bugs me …
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and somewhat amazingly, performed perfectly.
Image #2: Sandhill Crane chicks — little chicks in a big world
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The Full Frame Original
Little chicks in a big world was the consensus pick of the litter in the Little Chicks in a Big World, My Favorite Crane Chick Perspective, and Clambering Around at 1/1000 Second blog post here. I liked all three images equally.
I asked what bugged me about the image.
Kathy J Kunce Comment: April 2, 2021 at 11:53am
Head angle (of the left-hand bird) is a little off, and the head is a bit soft focus.
Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART Response: April 2, 2021 at 12:06pm
One out to two ain’t bad … with love, a
See my additional comments below.
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Click on the image to see a larger version.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and somewhat amazingly, performed perfectly.
Image #2A: An unsharpened 96.5% crop of the Sandhill Crane chicks — little chicks in a big world image
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What Bugged Me …
The only thing that bugged (and still bugs) me about this image is the head angle of the chick on our left. Close examination shows that it is pretty much perfectly parallel to the imaging sensor. But that is not good enough. As stated here often, the best head angle (for a side shot), has the bird’s head turned one to three degrees toward us. Let’s call it two degrees on average. For tight shots, this puts the bill tip on the same plane as the birds eye so that lack of depth-of-field is less of an issue. But more importantly, a slight head turn toward the viewer creates a connection between the subject and the viewer.
Note: Image 2A represents only 3.5% of the original pixels! How’s that for image quality?
Believe it or Not …
Believe it or not, as I framed up the image with the hand held 200-600 at 600mm, I was begging the left hand chick to turn its head just a bit toward me. After I made four quick images, I uttered a sharp kweek, kweek in hopes that the offending chick on my left would give me what I wanted. It did not work. The cute side-by-side pose had lasted only about four seconds. With most bird photography, it pays not to tarry. And that goes quadruple when trying to create nice juxtapositions invoking two live subjects!
The Lesson
Head angle matters even with tiny-in-the frame subjects.
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Click on the image to see a larger version.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and somewhat amazingly, performed perfectly.
Image #2B: SONY a1 Animal Eye Face Tracking AF image
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SONY a1 Animal Eye Face Tracking AF
In yesterday’s blog post, I mentioned that with Image #2, the AF system — for whatever reason — could simply not recognize and track the plainly visible eye of the handsome spoonbill. But I also mentioned that the performance of Animal Eye Face Tracking AF with the a1 was almost always superb.
With a relatively tiny-in-the-frame subject, the performance of Animal Eye Face Tracking AF with this image is nothing short of astounding. How in the world could the system detect and track the face and the eye of a tiny crane chick more than 100 feet away?
Sony Alpha a1 AF Magic …
The AF system of the a1 — set up as detailed in e-mails to the Sony Alpha a1 Info & Updates group, continues to amaze me. Early on there was lots of discussion within the group with many preferring multiple back button approaches. For me a simple shutter button approach with the right AF settings that yield 99% sharp on the eye images is best. By far. Super-simple and mega-effective. Note: info on the program that I use to ascertain SONY AF point information is detailed in one of the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group e-mails. I plan on making that information available here soon for all SONY camera users.
SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group
The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based advice. We are now up to 20 folks. Early on, we discussed the best AF options. More recently, we have been in contact with folks at SONY sharing our thoughts, experiences, and frustrations with the EVF blackout problem. There will be more on that topic here soon.
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. 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, you can call Jim weekday afternoons at 1-863-692-0906 to pay via credit card. New members will receive composite e-mails summarizing all previous discussions.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
April 3rd, 2021 If …
If you feel strongly either way about any of today’s three featured square crops, please leave a comment letting us know how you feel and why.
What’s Up?
Rajat Kapoor from Kentucky, vacationing in Florida with his wife and younger son, joined me at Stick Marsh for an In-the-Field session on Friday. The forecast had been for northeast winds at about 10mph. Instead, a cold front had roared through overnight and we were greeted by 20mph northwest winds with gusts to 30. With clear skies. As I write here often, strong northwest winds on sunny morning are death on bird photography. It was brutal. I was glad that I had my parka and gloves in the car. We started with some nice pre-dawn palm tree silhouettes. Then, exactly zero spoonbills flew into the usual hotspot. We had about one hundred Cattle Egrets roosting on the North Rookery island. We did some wide stuff and talked a lot about exposure. After that, we got down on our butts at one point and got some nice head shots of Black Vultures with blue water backgrounds (and talked a lot about exposure). After that we moved around a lot without much success. We did have some flyby spoonies and Great Egrets (and talked a lot about exposure).
Rajat was amazingly nice and amazingly understanding. I am hoping that he can make it here early on Monday for a free make-up session with the crane chicks.
Here is what he had to say about our morning (via unsolicited e-mail):
Hi Artie, Thank you so much for taking the time today. I really enjoyed my time with you this morning and definitely learned so much. You were generous and helpful in offering me valuable advice. I could truly see your remarkable passion in spreading your vast knowledge so that everyone of us can benefit. I witnessed it personally today when I noticed you interacting with people you may not even know, but wanted to help them unselfishly to improve their skills. I also want to thank you for extending me the offer to come and join you for a session to photograph the Sandhill Crane chicks. As you know, our schedule is quite hectic — my son really wants to go see the Kennedy Space Center). I cannot promise for Saturday or Sunday, but Monday morning could be possible.
I really would love it too, if my wife and son could meet you as well. best regards Rajat.
The wind was strong from the northeast at 7pm last night, perfect for sunset silhouette photography. But I was so busy working on the webinar for the South Shore Camera Club that I totally missed sunset and headed to bed early.
Today is Saturday 3 April 2021. The forecast for ILE this morning is for partly cloudy with 10mph north winds. I will be headed down to the lake fairly early as it is generally calm for a while right around sunrise. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.
This blog post took almost two hours to prepare and makes 102 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides or discounts. And doing so often earns my great appreciation.
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This image was created on 30 March 2021 at Stick Marsh, Fellsmere, FL. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 344mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. Auto ISO set 640. Exposure determined by Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Multi-metering +2.3 stops: 1/40 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Shutter Priority (S) mode. AWB at 7:31am with clouds on the eastern horizon.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly.
Image #1: Roseate Spoonbill SQUARE landing blur
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Three Squares a Day
As I have been doing intermittent fasting for the past two years, I eat only two meals a day. But three squares on a single day of photography has got to be a good thing! I am not sure why I have suddenly acquired a taste for 1:1 crops, but I think that the perfectly square crops work well with all three of today’s featured images. With this pleasing (for me at least) blur, the square crop was necessitated by my failure to pan fast enough to keep the bird back (to our left) in the frame.
Does this image need the face and eye to be sharp to be a success?
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Click on the image to see the amazing job of noise reduction in the after image on our right.
Image #1A: Topaz DeNoise AI on the Roseate Spoonbill SQUARE landing blur image
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Topaz DeNoise AI Rocks
Note the placement of the navigator box on the darkest mangroves in the upper right corner of the frame and the 400% Zoom (magnification). And be sure to click on the screen capture to see the amazing job of noise reduction in the after image on our right. With the last update, Topaz DeNoise AI got a lot faster. That is a big plus as I run it on almost every image I process as the first step in my workflow (immediately after bringing the converted TIF into Photoshop). If needed, I will execute a Delete Cropped Pixels crop before running DeNoise so that the program does not have to work quite as hard (or as long).
Great Topaz News!
Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plug-ins), will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. If the stuff is on sale (as it usually is), you save 15% off of the sale price! To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.
Those who purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or any other Topaz plug-ins using my link and then entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. Please include a copy of your Topaz receipt that shows the discount. Aside from the basics, the guide explains how to install the plug-ins so that they appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu.
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This image was created on 30 March 2021 at Stick Marsh, Fellsmere, FL. 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. ISO 800. Exposure determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:26am on a then clear morning.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and did not do such good (again quoting my late-Dad).
Image #2: Roseate Spoonbill SQUARE portrait
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Depth of Field …
Like the Canon R5, there are times when the a1 fails to detect and track a very obvious to us bird’s eye. The AF system was convinced that the distal end of the bill was the spoonies eye. And would not let go even when I bumped the focus. I should have switched to ZONE AF and moved it to the upper right. But I did not want to lose the pose so I pushed the shutter button. Topaz Sharpen AI (surprisingly on Focus), did a nice job of sharpening the bird’s face and eye.
By comparing the EXIF for this image with the EXIF in Image #3, you will see that I properly reduced the shutter speed by half to save one full stop of ISO. As I was seated using the knee-pod technique (and thus quite stable), setting 1/500 sec. at f/9 would have been a better choice (especially if I had known that the AF problem would arise). Do understand, again, as with the Canon R5, that the a1’s eye-tracking AF is consistently amazing (though not 100% perfect).
Image Question
Would you have removed the liver spot (???) near the end of the bill? Why or why not?
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This image was created on 30 March 2021 at Stick Marsh, Fellsmere, FL. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 243mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:30am on a then very slightly cloudy morning.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly.
Image #3: Roseate Spoonbill SQUARE braking to land orchestra conductor pose
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200-600 G Lens Versatility
Note that with Image #3 I had zoomed out to 243mm. In retrospect, zooming out to 200mm would have been an even better choice. Compare that with 600mm focal length that worked perfectly for Image #2. I felt bad for Rajat that it was too cold and windy for the spoonbills to fly in to grab some sticks for the nest. The weather, however, is looking excellent for my two Stick Marsh days (this coming Tuesday and Wednesday) with the M&M boys. — Morris Herstein and Mike Gotthelf, both multiple IPT veterans. I am hoping that Rajat can make it here early on Monday.
The Stick Marsh Site Guide Subscription Service
The Site Guide Subscription Service is a new concept. I e-mailed the first issue last week: Stick Marsh Site Guide e-Mail #1: The Basics. The Basics e-mail includes specific directions to the site, and a map of the rookery area with specific instructions and wind, weather, and where-to-be advice. I e-mailed the second installment yesterday. In it, I shared several new shooting locations and strategies. I will be sending e-mail #3 this afternoon or tomorrow at the latest.
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. At some point, we will get this item in the BAA Online Store.
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 whole lot better with it.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
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