Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

The Best Image?

Of today’s three featured images, which do you think is the best one? All are invited to leave a comment sharing their choice and the reasons they made it. And while you are at it, let me know what bugs me about Image #1.

What’s Up?

I hope that everyone had a fun April Fools Day yesterday. While many were expecting yet another April Fools Day joke from me — it has been a long-standing tradition — many fell victim to my shenanigans. I got more than two dozen congratulatory e-mails. And two folks kindly offered to purchase my Sony Alpha a1. One suggested that I send him all of my SONY gear since I didn’t need it any more. Note that the two previous blog posts laid the groundwork for my deception.

Kudos to Brian Small, the only one who noted that Isoroku Yamamoto was a Japanese Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of their Combined Fleet during World War II; he was the guy who (fortunately) botched the Battle of Midway that turned the tide of the war in the Pacific.

I sold my Canon 100-500 and have a buyer for EOS R5. For me, the decision to go all in on SONY was an easy one. I have more confidence with the SONY gear for flight photography than I did with the Canon gear. I routinely make sharp images at 1200mm, even of birds in flight. And yes, the Zebra technology makes getting the right exposure as close to child’s play as possible. I will miss creating in-camera Multiple Exposures and flight HDRs, and I will miss the light weight, the four-foot MFD at 500mm, and the hand hold-ability of the RF 100-500. But working with two systems causes huge amounts of brain strain and in addition, I found myself missing some shots because of a moment of two-system confusion …

In the long run, it is all about the process and the images. I chuckle when I hear comments like this: “I used to follow artie’s blog until he switched to ______. You can fill in the blank.

I enjoyed yet another fantastic morning with the Sandhill Crane chicks on Thursday. They have consistently been foraging in the same area every morning. The weatherman must have been on crack as the weather was gorgeous with no thunderstorms in sight, scattered or otherwise. If you would like to join me for a morning of In-the-Field Instruction here at ILE on Saturday, Sunday, and/or Monday, please shoot me an e-mail or text or try me on my call at 863-221-2372. Lodging in the guest room gallery is available.

Today is Friday 2 April 2021. I will be meeting another first-timer, Rajat Kapoor, at Stick Marsh at 6:45am. His Nikon D850/200-500 rig should be perfect for the spoonbills. The forecast for Fellsmere is for sunny turning partly cloudy. The forecast for northeast winds changed to northwest. Though I have never photographed at this site with a northwest wind, I suspect that we will do well with the incoming spoonbills in flight. I will be sending out the third Stick Marsh Site Guide Subscription Service e-mail tomorrow sharing what I have learned on my last two visits. 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 101 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.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now at 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. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

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 #1: Sandhill Crane chicks — little chicks in a big world

Little Chicks in a Big World

Early on, both chicks wandered far from their parents and hung out in the center of the peninsula. I saw the opportunity to create an image with a definite message. The contrast in subject size in today’s featured images is intriguing … I was quite impressed that the AF system grabbed the face of the bird on our left. That brings us to:

What Bugs Me About This Image?

Something about this image bugged me. I saw it through the viewfinder and prayed, but my prayers were not answered. If you think that you know what it is that bothers me about this otherwise very fine image, please leave a comment.

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 1600. Exposure determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:53am on a clear morning. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #2: Sandhill Crane chicks — striding along the crest or the slope

My Favorite Perspective

Images like this, with the chicks at the top of the slope, show my favorite perspective: low enough to eliminate the lake, the far shoreline of the lake, and the sky from the background, while being low enough to make it seem that I was lying flat on the ground with that creamy, dreamy background. The fact that the chicks at a bit more than a week old are mega-cute does not hurt the resulting images! This one was headed for food but not running or flapping its wing stubs.

This image was created on 31 March 2021 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the hand held Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS Lens (at 400mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1600. Exposure determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. 1/800 sec. at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:12am on a clear morning. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #3: Sandhill Crane chick — 100-400mm head portrait

Clambering Around at 1/1000 Second

Folks might ask, “Why 1/1000 sec. for a static image like this?” Especially in light of the a1’s fabulous IBIS (in-body-image-stabilization) and the great OSS system in the 200-600 G lens? There are two reasons:

• 1- When doing the baby cranes very recently, I am working on a slope that leads down to a canal. The ground is very uneven. It is difficult to stay balanced. Heck, yesterday I almost fell backwards into the water! I am moving left and right to follow the foraging family of four while staying roughly on sun angle. And I am moving up and down to control the perspective. The latter is why many of the image look as if I am either sitting or lying down on the ground. Anyhoo, things are quite unstable.
• 2- The winning shot here — I am still trying for it with the new chicks, is the one when one of the little ones runs toward one of the parents at high speed to grab a succulent bug — mole crickets are their favorites, flapping their tiny wing buds as they go.

The bottom line is that working with a lower ISO at 1/500 second just does not produce consistently sharp images.

The Lesson

It is always better to sacrifice ISO to ensure a fast enough shutter speed that will enable you to create consistently sharp images. After two decades of digital photography, I still struggle at times to implement this strategy …

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 19 folks. Early on (as noted above) 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 tomorrow.

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, they can call Jim weekday afternoons at 1-863-692-0906 to pay via credit card. New members will receive composite e-mails that summarize all previous discussions.

All of the images were created at Fort DeSoto in April or early May. Click on the card to enjoy a larger version. Fort DeSoto IPT card A

Fort DeSoto Spring IPT #1

Fort DeSoto Spring IPT #1. 3 1/2 DAYS. SAT 10 APR thru the morning session on TUES 13 APR 2021. $1499 includes three lunches. Limit: 6. Openings: 5.

While DeSoto is one of the rare photo hotspots with the potential to be great any day of the year, it absolutely shines in spring. Many of the wading birds and shorebirds are in full breeding plumage. The terns and gulls are courting and copulating. We will have lots of flight photography opportunities. Did I mention that many of the birds are silly tame?

A $499 deposit is required to hold your spot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due immediately after you sign up. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. If you cancel due to COVID 19 concerns, all of your payments will be refunded.

All of the images were created at Fort DeSoto in April or early May. Click on the card to enjoy a larger version. Fort DeSoto IPT card B

Fort DeSoto Spring IPT #2

Fort DeSoto Spring IPT #2. 3 1/2 DAYS. MON 26 APR thru the morning session on THURS 29 APR 2021. $1499 includes three lunches. Limit: 6. Openings: 5.

Not only am I conversant in all three major camera systems used in the US — Nikon, Canon, and SONY (sorry Andy Rouse …), I have used all three within the past four years. Those include both SONY and Canon mirrorless. On both of these IPTs you will learn how to get the best exposure, how to get the most out of your AF system, and how to get close to free and wild birds. And tons more.

A $499 deposit is required to hold your spot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due immediately after you sign up. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. If you cancel due to COVID 19 concerns, all of your payments will be refunded.

All of the images were created at Fort DeSoto in April or early May. Click on the card to enjoy a larger version. Fort DeSoto IPT card C

Fort DeSoto Spring IPTs Expected Species

With any luck, we should get to photograph the following species: Laughing, Ring-billed, Herring, and Lesser Black-backed Gull; Royal, Sandwich, and Forster’s Tern: Great, Snowy, and white and dark morph Reddish Egret and Great Blue, Little Blue, and Tricolored Heron; Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Wood Stork, Roseate Spoonbill, and Brown Pelican. We will see and photograph lots of shorebirds including American Oystercatcher, Black-bellied, Wilson’s, Semipalmated, Snowy, and Piping Plover, Marbled Godwit, Willet, Dunlin, Red Knot, Sanderling, and Western and possibly White-rumped Sandpiper.

Sign up for both IPTs and enjoy a $200 discount. Most of us will be staying in nearby Gulfport.

Typos

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

This Just In!

Just got back from an amazing session down by the lake at ILE (I created 468 images in a less than 45-minute session!). It is now 8:50am. Despite the “partly cloudy” weather forecast the fog lifted quickly to reveal clear skies. With some moisture in the air, the light was gorgeous. I found the small crane chicks right were I left them. They are more accepting and curious each day. I was working with the SONY 200-600 G lens but the chicks were getting so close that I went back to the car for the closer focusing 100-400 GM. I wound up making great head portraits of the chick with the 1-4! If you doubt me, click here to send me an e-mail requesting a screen capture of one of the full frame chick head shots. (It is now 9:30am: 58 lovely keepers after the first edit.)

The weather is looking great for the coming weekend with Friday looking perfect. In all seriousness, this is a once-in-a=lifetime opportunity for most folks. If you would like to explore the possibility of joining me for one or more mornings (FRI/SAT/SUN), please contact me immediately via e-mail or text or try me on my call at 863-221-2372. Lodging in the guest room gallery is available.

What’s Up?

Ron Santini and I enjoyed a stellar morning at Stick Marsh. Ron was amazed by the fact that we were often within ten feet of gorgeous spoonbills. In the predawn, I set up the C1 and C2 modes on his R5 so that we were able to work on creating pleasing blurs early on and then switch quickly and easily to working with high shutter speeds once it got brighter. We had many dozens of great incoming spoonbill chances and Ron was a quick study.

Ron and his wife Mary are traveling in a small but wickedly neat/cool van/motor home. Sitting inside it brought back many wonderful memories of the two trips around North American that my late-wife Elaine and I made in our tiny Winnebago Minnie-winnie during the sabbatical year just before her death from breast cancer in November of 1994. As Ron, Mary, and I said our goodbyes, Ron said, “I learned more about bird photography and my R5 in two hours than …” At that point, he was lost for words.

I headed into town on Tuesday afternoon to do some shopping and to deposit the checks that I had received on Monday — one for each of the two SONY a9 ii bodies that I sold last week …

Today is Wednesday 31 March 2021. The morning forecast for ILE is for partly cloudy with a gentle breeze from the south/southeast. I will be heading down to the lake early to check on the two new baby cranes.

This blog post took more than two hours to prepare and makes ninety-nine 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.

Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Fernando Ramos

The excellent Canon EOS R5/R6 Camera User’s e-Guide is unlike anything I’ve encountered. Your detailed instruction supported by excellent reasoning is exactly what I needed to help me 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/R6 guide and I am honored to have had an image included! 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

Cover Image courtesy of and Copyright 2021 Brian Sump (Sump scores!) The BIRDS AS ART Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide

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.

Canon R5/RF 100-500 Composite

Reasons to love the Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital camera body

There are lots of reasons to love the highly touted 45MP Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital camera body. Here are just a few:

• 1- The superb 45MP CR3 files handles large crops easily.
• 2- The Menu is easy to navigate.
• 3- The Face Detection plus Tracking technology (though not perfect) is superb.
• 4- The Date/Time/Zone menu item shows the date and time without the need to press a second button!
• 5- The Custom shooting modes (C1-C3) allow the user to save many items including and especially Customize Buttons, Customize Dials, and Shutter Mode settings. That makes the Custom shooting modes a huge plus for users who do not need to waste time fiddling around with various settings. When I want to go from shooting flight and action in Manual mode with ISO on the Thumb Dial to creating pleasing blurs in Tv mode with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial I simply switch from C1 Mode to C2 mode.
• 6- With the R5, users can create in-camera High Dynamic Range (HDR) images with a slew of options. I love creating funky in-camera HDR images of birds in flight in cloudy-dark conditions.
• 7- With the R5, users can create two different kinds of Multiple Exposures with zillions of options.
• 8- To create HDR images or Multiple Exposures I select C3 mode that with the Shutter Mode saved to Elec. 1st-curtain. This is another great time saving convenience.
• 9- Formatting a card takes about one second …
• 10- One of three different Canon EOS R Adapters enable folks to use their Canon EF lenses seamlessly with all of the great R5 features maintained. AF performance with the adapters and EF lenses is superb. Learn all about the adapters (and lots more) in the Canon Comeback Fueled By Mirrorless Bodies & Lenses. The skinny on everything that you wanted to know about Canon Mirrorless but were afraid to ask … blog post here.

In the interest of fairness and balanced coverage, I must mention this: Donna Bourdon, currently on an Alan Murphy workshop in the Rio Grande Valley, told me that it was very hot in the blinds on the first day; Donna’s R5 had an overheating warning and the R5 of another participant shut down completely. While overheating problems when shooting extensive video with the R5 are common knowledge, this is the first I have heard of the problem when shooting stills.

Reasons to love the Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM Lens

There are lots of reasons to love the Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens. Here are just a few:

• 1- Its light weight and relatively small size make it eminently hand holdable for most folks.
• 2- It is superbly sharp.
• 3- The 100-500mm focal length range makes it an incredibly versatile lens.
• 4- The less than four-foot Minimum Focusing Distance (MFD) at 500mm adds tremendously to its versatility.
• 5- It plays extremely well with both the Canon Extender RF 1.4x and even the Canon Extender RF 2x.
• 6- It is an excellent lens for photographing birds in flight and in action.
• 7- It also makes an excellent quasi-macro lens for a wide range of subjects like snakes, frogs, dragonflies, butterflies, and medium-sized and large flowers.
• 8- It kills when working at close range with tame birds. It allows the user to create super-tight head portraits and abstract body-parts and feather-pattern images.
• 9- Zooming out toward 100mm often enables users to create pleasing bird-scapes that feature lots of habitat.
• 10- The lens construction is sturdy and the 1-5 zooms smoothly in and out over the entire focal length range.

If I left out something that you love about your R5 or RF 100-500, please leave a comment.

Typos

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