Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

What’s Up?

On the way down to the lake on Wednesday morning I spotted a single Black Vulture on Park Drive. I went over to investigate and saw that the bird was on a fresh, road-killed Marsh Rabbit. I scooped it up and put it in a plastic bag and then into a cardboard box with the turtle. As conditons were pretty good, I put out a nice road-kill buffet on the South Peninsula and set up along the edge of the canal so that I was at eye-level with the birds. Though I did not have many good flight photography opportunities, I had had lots of good chances with both Black and Turkey Vultures and Crested Caracara. I headed back down in the afternoon despite a stiff east wind and did not do well at all …

This image was created on 21 APR 2020 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. I used the Induro GIT 204/FlexShooter Mini-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 400. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AWB at 9:04:332am on sunny morning. Upper Center Zone Continuous/tracking AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1: Cattle Egret capturing mayfly

The Big Mayfly Hatch

About four days ago, the large, golden mayflies began to hatch. Many species, led by large numbers of Cattle Egrets, have been feasting on them mornings and afternoons. Other species enjoying the mayfly bonanza include Great Egret, Sandhill Crane, Boat-tailed Grackle, and Crested Caracara. As I mentioned recently, trying for good images that depict a Cattle Egret grabbing a mayfly is quite challenging. With Image #1, I succeeded to some degree.

Click the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1A: Unsharpened 100% crop of the Cattle Egret capturing mayfly image above

The 100% Crop!

Above is an unsharpened 100% crop of today’s featured image. It looks pretty sharp to me. What do you think?

This image was created on 21 APR 2020 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. 9 on the Fort DeSoto Sandbar Secrets IPT. I used the Induro GIT 204/FlexShooter Mini-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 400. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AWB at 9:04:332am on sunny morning. Upper Center Zone Continuous/tracking AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #2: Cattle Egret swallowing mayfly

The Next Frame

This image was created in the same one-tenth of a second as Image #1. It shows the bird gulping down the mayfly seen in Images #1 and #1A. As the bird closed its nictitating membrane, I borrow the eye from Image #1 and placed it carefully onto Image #2. To line up the new eye layer with the underlying layer, first, reduce the opacity of the new eye layer to about 40%, then use the arrow keys to position it perfectly, and finally raise the ISO to 100% opacity. This is just one of the many dozens of great Photoshop and workflow tips in The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II).

Image Optimization Question

Enlarge Image #1 and Image #2 and let us know what differences you see that would indicate that one of the two images received more care during the post-processing in Photoshop. (Both RAW files were converted in Capture One using the same parameters.)

i-Phone 11 image. Image #3: Mayflies on SONY 600 GM

Mayflies on Lens

I used a trick I learned in Cliff Oliver’s i-Phone Photography e-Guide to create this image; I used Portait mode to completely soften the background.

The iPhone Photography e-Guide To order your copy of the The iPhone Photography e-Guide please click here. The PDF is sent link by e-mail for downloading: the file is relatively huge at 216 MB.

Hard to Believe

Yes, Cliff has a great eye and wonderfully creative vision. Yet it is still hard for me to believe that he can make so many great images with “just“ an i-phone. Almost more amazingly Cliff captures with his iPhone and does all of his post-processing on the phone! In this great new e-Guide written for BIRDS AS ART you will learn to use set up you iPhone quickly and efficiently and how to to use it. In addition, there are dozens and dozens of tips on Cliff’s favorite apps and his favorite gear. Scroll down to the bottom to see the Table of Contents.

The iPhone Photography e-Guide: $20.00.

To order your copy of the The iPhone Photography e-Guide please click here.

Dr. Cliff Oliver

Dr. Cliff Oliver is an award-winning photographer, former photography instructor for the San Diego Natural History Museum, cutting-edge integrative health care professional, and international workshop leader. He created and taught the first 5-day immersion iPhone photography workshop at Hollyhock, Canada’s premier Leadership Learning Center. He teaches quarterly iPhone photography classes at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library School of the Arts (these include Art on the iPhone, iPhoneography, Portraits and Selfies, and Practicing in the Field). His images have been on the cover of WildBird magazine, on display at Scripps Oceanography Institute, and been honored with multiple first-place finishes in the International Exhibition of Photography Del Mar. The San Diego Natural History Museum’s, “Birds of the World” centennial exhibit featured several of his images. One of his iPhone images received an honorable mention in the Athenaeum 23rd annual juried exhibition. He has displayed images at Art Speaks: Expressions of Hope and Healing and has produced a series of books, called Zen I, II, III, IV, V, VI and VII that feature original images that promote inner peace. The last 4 books feature only images taken on the iPhone. He teaches individuals and groups the skills of capturing iPhone/mobile photographs and then how to create personalized works of art.

Learn more about Cliff and what he does on his Center for Balanve website here. And don’t forget, if I had never met Cliff I would be pushing up daisies somewhere. To request my Health Basics File that contains the whole story, please shoot me an e-mail by clicking here..

i-Phone 11 image. Image #4: Mayflies on SUV headlight

Mayflies on Headlight

I wanted to include Images #3 and 4 to give folks an idea of the magnitude of the hatch. On Wednesday evening while driving through the grass adjacent to the North Marsh with both windows rolled down, my car was almost instantly filled with mayflies. The don’t bite and they don’t feed. They hatch and mate and then die in short order. But they sure feed lots of birds!

This image was created on 22 APR 2020 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 400. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AWB at 9:33am on a mostly sunny morning. Tracking Flexible Spot M AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed superbly. Image #5: Cattle Egrets on pier railing

After the Feast

On Wednesday morning, after the feast, a large group of Cattle Egrets flew to the pier to roost on the railing. I got out of the car and stayed well back looking to create a different image. Image #5 is a photo illustration; I added the bird in flight from a similar frame. I coulda’/shoulda’ done a better job …

Your Favorite?

Which of today’s featured images is your favorite? Please let us know why.

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.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

All the techniques mentioned above and tons more (with the exception of Capture One RAW Conversions) — along with all of my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. 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.

To introduce folks to our MP.4 videos and the basics involved in applying more NeatImage noise reduction to the background and less on the subject, I’d be glad to send you a free copy of the Free Noise Reduction Basics MP.4 Video. Simply click to shoot me an e-mail to get your free copy.

If In Doubt …

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Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog or Bedfords, for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

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Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

What’s Up?

My two photo hunting trips yesterday were fairly successful with cranes and Cattle Egrets on the menu. There was huge hatch of the large mayflies three days ago. It took the Cattle Egrets a day to find them but for the last two days as many as a hundred of the small white egrets having been gorging themselves all along the lakefront.

I was getting ominously dark at 1pm so I jumped in the pool early for my swim. Then the thunderstorms came. And then the sun came out so I headed back down to the lake “for a few minutes.” I stayed for close to two hours. With my work on the SONY e-Guide pretty much done, I finally got to spend some quality time in the Avian Forum on BirdPhotographers.Net. BPN: It ain’t just birds! Where honest critiques are done gently.

I will be heading down to the lake early today — Tuesday 21 APR 2020 — to do some hunting with my SONY gear.

Ask and ye shall receive …

Thanks a stack to the dozens of folks who commented on the last two blog posts. Though I disagreed with about half of those comments, all were greatly appreciated.

Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. The SONY e-Guide by Patrick Sparkman and Arthur Morris

The Sony Camera Videos and Pre-publication e-Guide Costs and Discount Info

The cost of the SONY e-Guide is $100.00 US and will include one of the four (4) camera set-up videos — we offer one video each for the a7r iii, the a7r iv, the a9, and the a9 ii — and the written guide with the galleries. The guide is now 98% done and you will — of course, receive the final version when it is completed. I sent out the third draft today to those who have purchased the Guide with or without the discount.

Folks who have used my B&H links or purchased their SONY gear from Bedfords will receive said discount based exactly on how much they spent. If you spent more than $10,000 you will receive one free video and the e-Guide. Additional camera videos are $25.00 each. If you spent $2400, you will receive a 24% discount, and so on and so forth. And again, additional camera videos will be $25.00 each.

I will need time to verify your B&H purchases so folks will need to send their receipts and then be a bit patient. It is much easier to verify Bedfords’ purchases but I need those receipts as well.

If you have not used BAA links, please do so in the future. If that is the case and you would like the e-Guide now, please send a Paypal for $100 US to birdsasart@verizon.net and be sure to include the words “SONY Pre-publication Guide” in the Paypal e-mail along with the name of your camera or cameras so that you can receive the correct video or videos. Please add $25 for each additional camera video. Be sure to send a copy of the Paypal transaction to me via e-mail.

Folks who have used BAA links to purchase their SONY gear should send their receipts to me via e-mail asap and let me know which camera videos they need. I will verify their purchases as quickly as possible and send a quote to be paid via Paypal as above.

Thanks to all who have properly used my B&H links or gone through the fabulous Steve Elkins at Bedfords, and thanks to everyone for having faith in the information that I provide, knowing that it will be the best available anywhere.

This image was created on 19 APR 2020 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working from inside my SUV, I used the Induro GIT 204/FlexShooter Mini-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4xteleconverter, and the 61-MP Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 1000. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. was perfect. AWB at 9:14am an overcast morning. Tracking Flexible Spot (M) AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection allowing me to create a pleasing image design with the subject well back in the frame. Click the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1: Sandhill Crane in marsh grasses

Add Green Whenever Possible

I am not sure if I first wrote those words in the original, softcover, The Art of Bird Photography or in the digital follow-up, The Art of Bird Photography II (ABP II on CD or via electronic download for our overseas friends). In any case, the advice is still right-on today. With both featured images in this blog poast, I followed that advice in spades.

Both publications above are still worth their weight in gold — and combined — have been the how-to bibles for a generation of skilled bird photographers.

This image was created on 20 APR 2020 at Inidian Lake Estates, FL. Working from inside my SUV, I used the Induro GIT 204/FlexShooter Mini-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 1600. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1250 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode was a perfect exposure. AWB at 8:07 on aa very overcast morning. Tracking Flexible Spot (M) AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection allowing me to create a pleasing image design with the subject well back in the frame. Click the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #2: Cattle Egret in grass

Exposure and Image Design

Putting ISO on the control wheel and using Patrick Sparkman’s brilliant Zebras technique allows photographers to learn to consistently make perfect exposures. And practicing with and becoming skilled at using Tracking Flexible Spot (M) allows folks to create pleasing image designs using technology never before available in a digital camera body. As advised in both ABP and ABP II, keeping the bird “back in the frame” is the key to creating effective horizontal photographs.

The big concern with both images here was to be sure to leave room for the virtual feet … Questions on that are welcome

Advantage SONY!

Your Favorite?

Please take a moment to let us know which of today’s two featured images is your favorite (and why). Again, I have a clear favorite and will share my thoughts here on the blog for sure.

Gotta run!