March 15th, 2021 Sunday Morning Excitement
As I stood at a kitchen counter working on yesterday’s blog post, the house began to shake gently. Then the vibrations got stronger and it got very loud. My first thought was Earthquake quickly followed by But we are in Florida. The noise got even louder and it felt as if the house might collapse. Next I thought, The home’s central air conditioning unit is getting ready to explode. Then I realized, Rocket launch. . The thought processes above took about six seconds. I went online and quickly found this:
A veteran SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 60 new Starlink internet satellites into orbit Sunday, March 14. Liftoff at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center is at 6:01 a.m.
Ironically, we were right across the Indian River from the launch site. Had we known about the launch, we could have set up our 600mm lenses in the backyard and photographed a different kind of blast-off!
What’s Up?
Donna, Bev, Magic, and I were blessed on Sunday morning with an incredible Fire in the Merritt Mist sunrise. I love my new SONY Alpha a1 that I found myself switching camera bodies when I went from the 200-600G to the 600mm f/4 GM. Photos soon. We quit early, and rested up for the better part of the day. Well, they rested, and I worked on the R5 Camera User’s Guide. A question by Bruce Dudek led me to discover that I totally screwed up the naming of three very important camera controls. I am currently in the process of going through the entire guide and making the needed corrections. Not fun, but better is far better than worse.
John Dupps made it to our AirBnB in south of Titusville. It is a spacious and amazing house in the woods with a trail down to the Indian River. Built in 1927, it features 5G WiFi! Donna and Bev went to the refuge early and Jim Dolgin met us at Black Point. The sunset was fair at best, terrible as compared to Saturday night.
Today is Monday 15 March. The forecast for Merritt Island is for clear skies with very gentle winds from the south/southwest switching to south and then southeast.
Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.
This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes eighty-three days in a row 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.
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. Yesterday Goeff Newhouse shared an excellent treatise on SONY Eye-AF systems including the Alpha a1’s new Face/Eye Subject Bird option. You can see some the images he made recently with his Alpha a1 on his flickr page here.
And I woke up this morning to an informative e-mail from Craig Elson that contained some excellent questions. I will hit Reply All and chime in with my thoughts after I shave and shower.
All who purchased their Alpha a1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link receive a free subscription to the Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info Updates. 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. New members will receive all back issues.
Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide
I worked on incorporating Bruce Dudek’s edit of the final draft (as noted above). I should have the final PDF done in a few days but I do not want to rush things. I should be getting the complete guide along with the link for the Educational R5 Image Gallery video out no later than Thursday. I hope.
Two weeks ago, I sent out about a dozen copies of the almost finished Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide for review to folks who had previously gotten free copies of the R5/R6 AF e-Guide by using my affiliate links to purchase their Canon mirrorless gear. In the same vein, I contacted everyone who purchased the R5/R6 AF e-Guide last week. More recently, folks who purchased the R5/R6 AF Guide were offered the opportunity to purchase a copy the pre-publication guide for review. Many folks have responded with thoughtful reviews, most recently, IPT veteran Warren Howe. And Bruce Dudek has continued to be a valuable resource.
Because the camera and the Menus are so complex, this guide has required a ton of research, a huge amount of time, and a lot of effort; I am thrilled that it is almost finished. The final update of the R5/R6 AF e-Guide has become part of the complete Camera User’s e-Guide; it has already been revised and expanded.
The complete Camera User’s guide will sell for $75.00. Folks who purchased their Canon gear using my links will receive a $65.00 discount; the guide will cost them a nominal $10.00. Folks who spent more than $7500.00 on Canon mirrorless gear using either of my affiliate links (B&H or Bedfords), will receive the Camera User’s e-Guide for free. Folks who purchased the R5/R6 AF e-Guide will receive a $10.00 discount on the User’s e-Guide. The best news is that the end is in sight.
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 on 9 March 2021 down by the lake near my home at ILE. Standing on the North Field, I used the handheld Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens (at 300mm) and the highly touted 45MP Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 1600. Exposure determined by test exposure & histogram and blinkies evaluation: 1/500 second at f/7.1 in Manual mode. RawDigger showed this one to be a very slight over-exposure. AWB at 7:27am on a slightly cloudy morning.
Face Detection plus Tracking grabbed and tracked the eye of the colt on our right.
Click on the image to see a smaller image that fits into your browser window.
Sandhill Crane adult ruffling
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My Last R5 Image For A While. And Why …
I made this image the day before Donna Bourdon arrived at my home for three days of In-the-field sessions. Those included two very productive mornings on Clemens Van der Werf’s flats boat. Donna ordered an R5 from Steve Elkins at Bedfords along with one of the EF-RF Adapters. I loaned my RF 100-500 to Donna when she arrived and she will be using it for the entire IPT.
Thoughts on Today’s Featured Image
It was a slow cloudy morning with not much around to photograph. This adult crane was the only cooperative bird around the lakefront. I started photographing this bird from the driver’s seat of my SUV but was not happy that the demarcation line of the field and the marsh was distracting. You can see a hint of that line in the upper left corner of the frame. Knowing that I had to get taller and closer to eliminate that line, I got out of my vehicle and approached slowly. I zoomed out to give the bird’s feet at the bottom of the frame enough room, checked the exposure, and acquired focus easily with Face Detection plus Tracking AF.
When everything was just perfect, the bird leaned forward ever-so-slightly and ruffled. I snapped off about a dozen frames. And then I headed home to get to work. I kept four of the images after the first edit. The one above was my favorite. In the soft, flat light, I boosted the color and contrast a bit and was happy with the optimized image.
The Lesson
Be patient or lucky; a bit of interesting behavior can transform a boring image into something nice.
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Click on the screen capture to view a larger version.
Topaz DeNoise AI on the Sandhill Crane adult ruffling image
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Topaz DeNoise AI
Topaz DeNoise AI on Auto continues to amaze. As do the Canon R5 and the Sony Alpha a1. With many mega-Exposed-to-the-Right images I need to blow the original (upper left) up to 400% to see the noise. As always, noise is more visible in the darkest shadowed areas of an image. Note the placement of the Navigator box in the upper right of the screen capture; I placed it on a small shadowed area just below the tip of the slightly raised wing. Here, DeNoise and and AI Clear were both clearly a bit better than Low Light. I chose to go with the namesake option, DeNoise.
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.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
March 14th, 2021 What’s Up?
Clemens, Donna, and I had a great morning in the Stick Marsh near Vero Beach. After the session, Clemens headed back to West Palm and Donna and I headed back to ILE. After brunch, I started packing for the drive to Titusville. That was followed by my last swim till next Sunday and more packing. We left at 2:30pm. Huge thanks to Donna for doing the driving while I worked on the laptop. We arrived at Donna’s VRBO at 4:30 and met Donna’s partner Beverly Still and their dog Majik, a very large and affectionate labradoodle. I tried and failed to nap. When I awoke, I noted the wind against-sun-conditions and the potential for sunset color so we all hopped in my car and headed to Black Point Wildlife Drive.
The western sky began to get gorgeous as we looked for one single bird to silhouette. We found a Great Blue Heron in just the right spot and worked on varying our image designs with the SONY 200-600s. On the way out, the sky got even more spectacular so we stopped for some wide angle Florida postcard scenics.
Today is Sunday 14 March 2021; did you remember to spring the clocks forward? The forecast for Titusville the morning is for clear with very little wind. We are heading out very early in search of some sunrise images.
Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.
This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes eighty-two days in a row 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.
Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide
Incredibly, the supremely helpful Bruce Dudek finished his edit of the final draft and sent it to me. I will be incorporating his edit today and getting the final PDF made ASAP. I should be getting the complete guide along with the link for the Educational R5 Image Gallery video out no later than Tuesday.
Two weeks ago, I sent out about a dozen copies of the almost finished Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide for review to folks who had previously gotten free copies of the R5/R6 AF e-Guide by using my affiliate links to purchase their Canon mirrorless gear. In the same vein, I contacted everyone who purchased the R5/R6 AF e-Guide last week. More recently, folks who purchased the R5/R6 AF Guide were offered the opportunity to purchase a copy the pre-publication guide for review. Many folks have responded with thoughtful reviews, most recently, IPT veteran Warren Howe. And Bruce Dudek has continued to be a valuable resource.
Because the camera and the Menus are so complex, this guide has required a ton of research, a huge amount of time, and a lot of effort; I am thrilled that it is almost finished. The final update of the R5/R6 AF e-Guide has become part of the complete Camera User’s e-Guide; it has already been revised and expanded.
The complete Camera User’s guide will sell for $75.00. Folks who purchased their Canon gear using my links will receive a $65.00 discount; the guide will cost them a nominal $10.00. Folks who spent more than $7500.00 on Canon mirrorless gear using either of my affiliate links (B&H or Bedfords), will receive the Camera User’s e-Guide for free. Folks who purchased the R5/R6 AF e-Guide will receive a $10.00 discount on the User’s e-Guide. The best news is that the end is in sight.
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This image was created on 13 March 2021 at the Stick Marsh in Vero Beach aboard Clemens Van der Werf’s flats boat. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 500mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 7:41am on a clear morning.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed well. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image #1: Roseate Spoonbill downstroke flight
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Roseate Spoonbill Mission Accomplished; but it was tough!
It was a beautiful morning but again the wind was more north than east: most of the birds were flying and landing away from us. As far as exposure is concerned, the Roseate Spoonbills needed one-third more light than the Great Egrets, and we never knew which bird was coming next. In addition, as the morning wore on, some light clouds came in making getting perfect exposures that much more difficult; RawDigger showed both of today’s images to be about 2/3-stop too dark.
I created more than 3,000 images. Half were insta-deletes because parts of the bird were cut off by the frame edge. That was usually caused by my being too greedy (and not zooming out as I did with Image #1 above. Most of the rest were deleted because of a poor wing positions, signs and distracting birds (and their reflections) in the background, harsh shadows, and bird-flying away issues. On the first edit I kept about 160 flight images. That will be pared down to about 30 after the second edit.
Flight photography can be tough even with a great rig.
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This image was created on 13 March 2021 at the Stick Marsh in Vero Beach aboard Clemens Van der Werf’s flats boat. I used the handheld 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 640. Exposure determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 7:24am on a clear morning.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed well. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image #2: Roseate Spoonbill flying low
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The Sony Alpha a1
My new camera continued to amaze. Out of the more than 2,500 flight images made with the a1/200-600 G rig, about six were not perfectly sharp on the eye. When the light got harsh, I experimented with flight photography with the 2X TC added. Nearly all of those images were insta-deletes but amazingly, I did get a few good ones.
I sent out the first issue of the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Notes (#1) yesterday afternoon and followed that up with issue #1A answering a good question by Larry Master and sharing some new stuff that I learned from Patrick Sparkman.
As I am pretty sure that I will never do a formal Sony Alpha a1 Camera User’s e-Guide, all who purchased their Alpha a1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link have been subscribed to my Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info Updates. This same service may be purchased by anyone with an a1 body via a $150.00 Paypal to birdsasart@verizon.net indicating payment for Alpha a1 Info Updates. All getting the updates will be encouraged to shoot me questions with the answers copied to all in the group.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
March 13th, 2021 Via blog post comment by Barry Barfield
Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info updates
Will you be creating a Users Guide for the Sony Alpha a1? I bought the Guides for the A9ii and the A74R from you and have loved my Sony bodies – I may just upgrade the A74R though …
My response:
Hi Barry, Good question. After just two days of working with the Alpha a1 — with its superb image files (see below) and a better AF system than the a9 ii, I can firmly state that it instantly obsoletes all a7r series bodies and all a9 series bodies. Its $6498.00 price tag will be prohibitive for many who will enjoy bargain prices on some great SONY used gear.
At this point, having almost completed the R5 Camera User’s e-Guide, I am pretty sure I will never do a formal Alpha a1 Camera User’s guide. Too much work, too few folks using the camera. The options with the a1 are similar to what is available on the a7r series bodies and all a9 series bodies but the menu system is both confusing and different. And then there are the AF options … My early thoughts are that the Face/Eye Subject: Bird technology on the Alpha a1 performs better than Face Detection plus tracking on the Canon EOS R5 (and R6). The new SONY technology performs in a totally different manner than the Canon technology. They are quite similar in that neither is perfect: at times both may fail to detect and track a perfectly visible bird’s eye.
All who purchased their Alpha a1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link will be subscribed to my Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info updates. This same service may be purchased by anyone with an a1 body via a $150.00 Paypal to birdsasart@verizon.net indicating payment for Alpha a1 Info Updates. All getting the updates will be encouraged to shoot me questions with the answers copied to all in the group.
What’s Up?
Clemens, Donna, and I had a great day on Friday. We started in Lakeland, had a fast food breakfast on the run, and found a good wine shop on the way home. After my nap, neighbor Ron called to say that he had re-located the sole surviving chick (of the four hatched this year). Clemens and Donna headed down to the lake, found the chick, and had some fun. After they took a short break, they went back down to the lake to search for the chick. That found it but were unable to photograph it. They picked me up at 6:05pm and with the perfect conditions — a somewhat muted sun and a northeast wind, we had some great action right around sunset. Then it was up to the pool deck where we dined on grilled bone-in rib-eye steaks, a huge salad, and some fine wine provided by Donna. I hit the sack fairly early and woke at 2:45am to work on this blog post.
Today is Saturday 13 March 2021. We are leaving at 5:30am for Stick Marsh near Vero Beach with Clemens’ boat in tow. We are hoping to photograph Roseate Spoonbills and possibly other wading birds in flight. The forecast is for clear skies and north/northeast winds. Not bad for flight photography but not good … Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.
This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes eighty-two days in a row 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.
Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide
Two weeks ago, I sent out about a dozen copies of the almost finished Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide for review to folks who had previously gotten free copies of the R5/R6 AF e-Guide by using my affiliate links to purchase their Canon mirrorless gear. In the same vein, I contacted everyone who purchased the R5/R6 AF e-Guide last week. More recently, folks who purchased the R5/R6 AF Guide were offered the opportunity to purchase a copy the pre-publication guide for review. Many folks have responded with thoughtful reviews, most recently, IPT veteran Warren Howe. And Bruce Dudek has continued to be a valuable resource.
Because the camera and the Menus are so complex, this guide has required a ton of research, a lot of time, and a lot of effort (and will continue to do so until it is complete). It should be finished by the first week in March. 2021. The final update of the R5/R6 AF e-Guide has become part of the complete Camera User’s e-Guide; it has already been revised and expanded.
The complete Camera User’s guide will sell for $75.00. Folks who purchased their Canon gear using my links will receive a $65.00 discount; the guide will cost them a nominal $10.00. Folks who spent more than $7500.00 on Canon mirrorless gear using either of my affiliate links (B&H or Bedfords), will receive the Camera User’s e-Guide for free. Folks who purchased the R5/R6 AF e-Guide will receive a $10.00 discount on the User’s e-Guide. The best news is that the end is in sight.
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.
A Bad Start Turns Around …
We arrived plenty early at my favorite Lakeland morning location but rather than sitting on their favorite bulkhead, the American White Pelicans were scattered around the lake. Working at 1200mm we were able to get some nice stuff on floating pelicans in pleasingly colored water. I headed east for a bit working on some pelicans, a Wood Stork, and a few Anhingas. I saw that Donna and Clemens were working a single cooperative pelican that had made its way onto the bulkhead. There are usually 15 to 20 of the huge birds on the bulkhead and isolating a single bird is difficult. Yesterday, with just one bird, doing that was very easy.
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This image was created on 12 March 2021 at my morning back-up location in Lakeland. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger: 1/1000 sec. at f/10 (stopped down 1/3-stop). AWB at 9:02am on a clear morning.
Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image #2: Wood Duck drake resting
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Let’s Make a Wiggle
At about 8:30, I suggested that we make a wiggle. Clemens and Donna agreed so we headed to my Lakeland back-up morning location in search of Anhinga, Limpkin, and some ducks. We found a handsome Anhinga right on the steps where The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide says that you will find them. We worked that bird for a while. I glanced to my right and said, Wood Ducks coming! We were all astounded when a pair of woodies climbed up on the steps right in front of us. We switched tracks and worked them at point blank range for another 30 minutes. When the swam off they were replaced by a pair of Lesser Scaup, a tame Common Gallinule, and a hen Ring-necked Duck. All in all it had been a great morning.
It was my first opportunity to work with the Alpha a1’s Face/Eye Subject: Bird technology. I was pretty much astounded and interestingly enough, it works in a totally different manner than the R5’s Face Detection plus Tracking. So not only did I make lots of wonderul images, I learned a ton about my new camera.
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Click on the image to view a larger version.
Image #2A: Topaz DeNoise on the Wood Duck drake resting image
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Topaz DeNoise
As expected, Topaz DeNoise AI on Auto kills with a1 images. Remember that here we need to expose for the WHITEs. Doing that properly will always leave the dark tones about 1 2/3 stops too dark. If you do not get that concept you are referred to the section on Exposure Theory in the original soft cover The Art of Bird Photography. Order yours by phone and let Jim know that you would like me to personalize it for you.
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Click on the image to view a larger version.
Image #2B: 200% screen capture of the Wood Duck drake resting image
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200% Screen Capture
The sharpness and fine feather detail (FFD) of a1 image files is incredible. And don’t forget that this was made with the supposedly inferior SONY 200-600 G lens with the 1.4X teleconverter … If you go for an Alpha a1, be sure to use my B&H affiliate link or Bedfords.
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This image was created on 12 March 2021 down by the lake at ILE. I used the Induro GIT 404L/Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. Auto ISO set ISO 1000. Exposure determined via experience with the situation with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Wheel. Multi Metering +2/3 stop: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Shutter Priority (S) mode. AWB at 6:30pm on a clear evening.
Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image #3: Snowy Egret landing at sunset
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A Great Ending
Donna and Clemens picked me up right on time at 6:05pm and we were greeted by some nice color with the wind right behind us. We had some good chances. I need to go back and see if I can determine what caused the posterization. I like came with the raw file as a result of the sun being in the frame …
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The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide
You can purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.
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The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide
126 pages, 87 photographs by Joe Przybyla and Arthur Morris.
The PDF for this e-Guide is an electronic download sent via e-mail.
Purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.
I had thought about doing a guide to some of the great but little-known photo hotspots around central Florida for about a decade, but those plans never came to fruition. I met Joe online in the Avian Forum at BirdPhotographer’s.Net about two years ago. Joe’s photography has improved tremendously over the past few years; he credits the BAA blog, my books and PDFs, and his participation on BPN. The one thing that I learned right from the get-go about Joe is that he is a hard and tenacious worker, always striving to improve his skills and to grow his knowledge base. As he knew of more than a few good spots in central Florida, I broached the idea of us doing a photographic site guide that covered many of the little-known photographic hotspots from Brandon to Lakeland to Joe Overstreet Road to Indian Lake Estates (my Florida home for the past 20 years or so). After more than many, many dozens of hours of effort, The BIRDS AS ART Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide is now a reality. Thanks to Joe’s wife Dottie for her review of our writing. We all learned once again that writing is a process, a back and forth process. All thanks to the white pelicans of Lakeland. Here are the locations that are detailed in this e-Guide:
- Indian Lake Estates: Sandhills Cranes with chicks and colts, lots of vultures, and Ospreys up the kazoo!
- Gatorland, Kissimmee: Learn to make great images of wading birds in a cluttered rookery.
- The Brandon Rookery: Great for nesting Wood Storks, Great Egrets, and more.
- Circle Bar B Reserve, Lakeland: Here you will find a great variety of avian subjects in a great variety of habitats.
- Lake Morton, Lakeland: There are lots of silly tame birds here including and especially American White Pelican during the colder months.
- Lake Mirror, Lakeland: Tame Anhingas, Limpkins, and a zillion White Ibises at times.
- West Lake Parker, Lakeland: Here you will have a chance for two difficult birds, Snail Kite, and Purple Gallinule.
- Joe Overstreet Road, Kenansville: Crested Caracara, meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrike, and much more on the fenceposts and barbed wire.
Each location includes a map, a detailed description of the best spots, best season, light and time of day instructions, the expected species, and an educational and inspirational gallery that is designed to open your eyes as to the possibilities.
You can purchase a copy here in the BAA Online Store.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
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