I have been relaxing and getting stuff done here on Long Island. I spent a few hours at the Sayville Summerfest mostly listening to music. I had no clue that my friend Tom Pfeifer was a rock star. I enjoyed his group, the Norman Bates Project. Check out their cover of Little Red Riding Hood here with Tom on guitar as lead vocalist. I arrived early to catch Pete Mancini & the Hillside Airmen; their Americana/alternative country style was right. up. my alley. You can learn more about Pete here and sample the band’s sounds by clicking on the Music tab.
Last for me — again highly recommended by Tom, were The Hideaways. Chris Laybourne was simply amazing on tenor sax; I was captivated by his skills, his energy, and his stamina. I loved their cover of Deep in the Heart of Texas; you can give that a listen here (from April of this year). To learn more about this great band, click here. You can listen to samples of their music by clicking on the Amazon, Apple Music/i-Tunes, or Spotify links at the bottom of the page.
All in all, it was a great afternoon of music and people watching (during the breaks).
Sunday: Jersey Boys (for the fifth time!)
I took the LIRR into the city on Sunday morning and walked from Penn Station to my hotel on East 52nd Street. My room was ready just after 12:00 noon. I had lunch at the Irish pub right next door; the burger was good. I walked back to the theater on the west side at 50th Street, delayed only briefly by the 37th Annual Dominican Day Parade. The off-Broadway theater, New World Stages/Stage 1 was maybe one-fourth the size of a typical Broadway theater. I first saw Jersey Boys on Broadway with understudy Dominick Scaglione playing the role of Frankie Valli. He killed it, and I fell in love with him and his co-star, Quinn van Antwerp as Bob Gaudio. I saw them together again on Broadway just weeks before they both would be leaving the show and months before it closed on Broadway.
So when I noted on Sunday that understudy Joshua Charles Skurnik would be performing the role of Frankie Valli I was not disappointed. He, Austin Colby as Bob Gaudio, and the rest of the stellar cast killed it to the tune of a rousing four-minute standing ovation. I was surprised, almost stunned, by the quality of the production.
I walked back to the hotel after the matinee and enjoyed a dish of delicious goat korma at Darbar Grill on E55th. St. just off Third Avenue. I first tired Korma at an Indian Restaurant in Dunbar Scotland and loved it then too. All in all, I walked an even five miles; amazingly, I rarely missed a traffic light the entire day.
B&H Event Space Program
I will be doing a B&H Event Space Program this afternoon, Monday, August 12, 2019, 1:00 to 3:00 PM eastern time at the NYC super-store. You can register to attend in person or to view this new version of Lessons From the Field BIRDS AS ART-Style live online by clicking here. You can clearly hear the sound in several spots on the video, below,
There is lots of great stuff at Nickerson Beach in August
Click on the composite to see a larger version
Nickerson Beach In-the-Field Sessions
Prices reduced $100.00!
All are invited to join me for an In-the-Field photo session or two, or a full day, during the middle of August 2019, as below. We will get to photograph Black Skimmers in flight, dueling in mid-air, and on the beach. With luck, we might get some great stuff on chicks and fledged young as the timing is perfect. We have a good chance to photograph Common Tern and American Oystercatcher, both with fledged young. We should enjoy some good gull photography with herring, great black-backed, and even lesser black-backed. Gull predation of fledged young skimmers is likely. We may also have some good chances with several species of migrant shorebirds, especially Sanderling. It goes without saying that as always, you will learn a ton.
Please contact me via e-mail or leave a message on my cell phone at 863-221-2372 if you would like to join me.
Morning Sessions: pre-dawn (about 6am) till 9:30am: $300.00 (was 400.00)
Each session includes a working lunch/Photoshop/Workflow/Image review session. Limit 3.
Available: TUES 13 AUG, THURS 15 AUG.
Afternoon Sessions: 4:30pm until sunset (at about 8:10pm). Limit 3: $200.00 (was 300.00).
Available: TUES 13 AUG or THURS 15 AUG.
Full-Days: $500 (was 600.00). Limit 3.
Available: TUES 13 AUG and THURS 15 AUG.
FlexShooter Pro Update
We currently have FlexShooter Pro heads in stock here. We have all but one of the BigFeet in stock (phone orders only for now: 863-692-0906) but are sold out of the new FLN-60 BigFoot that was recently re-designed for the Nikon 600 VR. Click here to access the pretty much complete FlexShooter Pro story with videos.
BIRDS AS ART
BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. Most recently the price of used Canon 600mm f/L IS II lenses have been dropping like a rock with the introduction of the 600 III. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.
As used gear sales have slowed a bit in recent months — especially with dSLR bodies, there are lots of great buys right now on the Used Gear Page
Money Saving Reminder
If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs 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 August 1, 2019 at Hood Island on the Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime IPT. I used the handheld Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 479mm) and the mega mega-pixel Sony Alpha a7R III Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO:800. Multi-metering +1 1/3 stops was not nearly anough as the image was 2/3 stop inder at 1/800 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. Shade WB (in error) at 8:33am on a dreary morning.
Expand Flexible Spot (S) (Continuous) AF was active at the moment of exposure. As I remember, the selected AF point was placed on the bird’s face just below and in front of its eye. Unfortunately, there is no software that allows users to determine either the AF pattern or the selected AF point after the fact. This is quite unfortunate. If I am incorrect, please let me know by leaving a comment with a reference.
Waved Albatross clonk
Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
The Clonk
The clonk is one of the eight distinct steps in the complex Waved Albatross courtship dance — see the video below. Others include the strut that begins the dance, bill fencing, bill clatter, sky-pointing, and hiding the bill under the wing. I had long been striving to create an image of a single bird at the clonk stage of the dance. Having a chance to create with the white sky/high key look was one of the great thrills of the 2019 voyage.
Clonk is an onomatopoeia, a word that sounds like the sound it reproduces. The sound is made just after either the male or the female (or both) freezes for a moment with their bills wide open. It can be seen — and then heard — several times in the video below.
Waved Albatross Courtship Video
Re-run by popular demand
Click on the play button above to view the Waved Albatross courtship video that was a highly honored in the 2016 Nature’s Best Photography/Windland Smith Rice International Awards Competition. If you are interested in joining me in the Galapagos in October 2019, please get in touch via e-mail.
If In Doubt …
If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the BAA Online Store 🙂
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.
I would, of course, appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right.
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 :).
I enjoyed a good night’s sleep at younger daughter Alissa’s home in Ronkonkoma, NY. I had planned to head to Nickerson Beach but opted to sleep in with the forecast of clear skies and northwest winds …
I was glad to learn that Mansoor Assadi sold his used Canon 600mm f/4L IS II lens in late July. The will be another one for sale very soon.
A Heart-stopping Flight Adventure
I enjoyed a heart-stopping flight adventure on my Southwest flight to Islip on Friday afternoon. I paid the $40 to upgrade my boarding position. I was happy to get A2. I boarded, removed my laptop from the Think Tank Urban Disguise bag, placed my Think Tank roller and the laptop bag in the overhead, and placed the laptop on my chosen seat along with a copy of the Southwest Magazine. I love the first emergency row aisle seat on the right side of the plane; it has lots of legroom and being on the aisle makes it easier for me to type during the flight. And as I need to get up often to stretch and visit the restroom, being on the aisle lets me do so without disturbing other passengers. Most importantly, by boarding early I am assured that I will never be forced to gate check my rolling bag.
Confident as always that my seat was saved. — I have used this same strategy on the many Southwest flights that I make — I headed to the rear lavs to stand until they shut the door. I had done enough sitting on Wednesday on the way back from Guayaquil and would be sitting for another 150 minutes. When I got back to my seat I was in for a surprise: there was a guy sitting in my seat. I called over a flight attendant and asked what had happened to my laptop. She said that she had brought the laptop to the gate agent. I gently expressed my displeasure and told her that I needed my laptop back, along with my seat. She said that she would deplane and get the laptop from the gate agent.
A few minutes later, she returned and said that the gate agent had sent the laptop to the lost and found. I stated that I was not going anywhere without my laptop so she deplaned again while I stood standing in the front of the plane that was ready to roll. The pilot understood my plight and had given her permission to try to retrieve the laptop. I spoke with another flight attendant and let hew know that if the laptop was not recovered that I would need to get off the plane and get it and catch the next flight. And take my bags off of SW 1570.
She understood. After ten minutes the first flight attendant — looking quite disheveled — rushed back on board with my laptop. I was relieved. “What about my seat?” I asked. I paid $40 for that seat.” “You’ll have to take any seat now so that we can depart. We can talk about your seat once we are airborne.” She lied. I. was stuck in 2B with a nice man to my right and an armrest-hog woman on my left.
When I got off the plane I spoke to the gate agent in Islip. He gave me a number to call to get my $40 refunded and a $100.00 voucher for my troubles. Alls well that ends well. It goes without saying that the next time I save myself a seat I will alert all the flight attendants.
I have an extra center orchestra ticket for Jersey Boys — it will be my fourth time seeing it — for the Sunday matinee off-Broadway performance at New World Stages/Stage 1, 340 West 50th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. I am looking for anyone who would like to see it, no charge, as my guest. My preference would be for a halfway decent-looking, personable, single female aged 50-73 but anyone who subscribes to the blog is welcome to get in touch. If you would like to join me — no strings attached — please get in touch asap via e-mail or leave a message on my cell phone at 863-221-2372. I rarely hear it ring.
There is lots of great stuff at Nickerson Beach in August
Click on the composite to see a larger version
Nickerson Beach In-the-Field Session
Prices reduced $100.00!
All are invited to join me for an In-the-Field photo session or two, or a full day, during the middle of August 2019, as below. We will get to photograph Black Skimmers in flight, dueling in mid-air, and on the beach. With luck, we might get some great stuff on chicks and fledged young as the timing is perfect. We have a good chance to photograph Common Tern and American Oystercatcher, both with fledged young. We should enjoy some good gull photography with herring, great black-backed, and even lesser black-backed. Gull predation of fledged young skimmers is likely. We may also have some good chances with several species of migrant shorebirds, especially Sanderling. It goes without saying that as always, you will learn a ton.
Please contact me via e-mail or by cell phone as above if you would like to join me.
Morning Sessions: pre-dawn (about 6am) till 9:30am: $300.00 (was 400.00)
Each session includes a working lunch/Photoshop/Workflow/Image review session. Limit 3.
Available: TUES 13 AUG, THURS 15 AUG.
Afternoon Sessions: 4:30pm until sunset (at about 8:10pm). Limit 3: $200.00 (was 300.00).
Available: TUES 13 AUG or THURS 15 AUG.
Full-Days: $500 (was 600.00). Limit 3.
Available: TUES 13 AUG and THURS 15 AUG.
B&H Event Space Program
I will be doing a B&H Event Space Program — Lessons From the Field BIRDS AS ART-Style — on Monday, August 12, 2019, 1:00 to 3:00 PM eastern time. You can register to attend in person or to view the event live online by clicking here. Here is the location: the second floor of B&H NYC SuperStore at 420 9th Avenue, New York NY 10001. Those planning on attending should register asap as spaces are limited.
FlexShooter Pro Update
We currently have FlexShooter Pro heads in stock here. We have all but one of the BigFeet in stock (phone orders only for now: 863-692-0906) but are sold out of the new FLN-60 BigFoot that was recently re-designed for the Nikon 600 VR. Click here to access the pretty much complete FlexShooter Pro story with videos.
BIRDS AS ART
BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. Most recently the price of used Canon 600mm f/L IS II lenses have been dropping like a rock with the introduction of the 600 III. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.
As used gear sales have slowed a bit in recent months — especially with dSLR bodies, there are lots of great buys right now on the Used Gear Page
Money Saving Reminder
If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs 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 the morning of August 6, 2019, on the Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime IPT. I used the handheld Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens and my souped-up Nikon D850 ISO: 500. Matrix metering at about +2/3 stop as framed: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode was a slight underexposure. AUTO1 WB at 7:50am on a solidly overcast morning.
Three above center Single Point Continous AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was placed on the bird’s neck, right on the same plane as its eye.
Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune value: +4. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here.
Blue-footed Booby raised foot dance display
What a Way to Finish!
North Seymour is one of the three great sites that we visited twice on this IPT. On our too-sunny first-day afternoon visit we walked the trail along the coast and then doubled back, thus missing any chances to photograph the frigatebirds with inflated pouches. We did quite well on those on our last (blessedly cloudy morning) landing. We were headed back to the jetty to return to the Samba for the last time when we came across two Blue-footed Boobies standing on a nice rock. The pinpoint pupils indicated that the bird on our left was the male; the females of this species have distended (for lack of a better term) pupils. The male was doing a slow version of the raised foot dance showing off for his mate. Without a zoom lens, I stayed well back so that I could fit the displaying bird into a vertical frame.
With the soft light, everyone got to photograph this excellent situation to their heart’s content, or at least until the male stepped off the rock and wandered away. I cautioned everyone in front of my about getting low as that would have introduced distracting rocks and bushes into the background. Getting low is not always the best strategy. And with the birds on a fairly decent-sized boulder, the background was effectively placed well behind the subject even though I was standing at full height. I created at least 88 images of this single bird and kept 18. This one was my favorite by a small margin.
All in all, it was a great finish to a great trip. If you are interested in joining me in the Galapagos in October 2020, please let me know via e-mail
If In Doubt …
If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the BAA Online Store 🙂
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.
I would, of course, appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right.
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 :).
It is Friday, August 9, 2019, and I am freshly showered and shaved and on the way back to Orlando Airport for my 1:55pm flight to Islip (ISP). It seems as if I just left there. I tried to get a swim in on Thursday afternoon but the thunder never stopped booming so I swam a half mile this morning.
Extra Ticket for NYC Jersey Boys Sunday Matinee
I have an extra center orchestra ticket for Jersey Boys — it will be my fourth time seeing it — for the Sunday matinee off-Broadway performance at New World Stages/Stage 1, 340 West 50th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. I am looking for anyone who would like to see it, no charge, as my guest. My preference would be for a halfway decent-looking, personable, single female aged 50-73 but anyone who subscribes to the blog is welcome to get in touch. If you would like to join me — no strings attached — please get in touch asap via e-mail or leave a message on my cell phone at 863-221-2372. I rarely hear it ring.
There is lots of great stuff at Nickerson Beach in August
Click on the composite to see a larger version
Nickerson Beach In-the-Field Session
Prices reduced $100.00 on 7-19-2019
All are invited to join me for an In-the-Field photo session or two, or a full day, during the middle of August 2019, as below. We will get to photograph Black Skimmers in flight, dueling in mid-air, and on the beach. With luck, we might get some great stuff on chicks and fledged young as the timing is perfect. We have a good chance to photograph Common Tern and American Oystercatcher, both with fledged young. We should enjoy some good gull photography with herring, great black-backed, and even lesser black-backed. Gull predation of fledged young skimmers is likely. We may also have some good chances with several species of migrant shorebirds, especially Sanderling. It goes without saying that as always, you will learn a ton.
Please contact me via e-mail or by cell phone as above if you would like to join me.
Morning Sessions: pre-dawn (about 6am) till 9:30am: $300.00 (was 400.00)
Each session includes a working lunch/Photoshop/Workflow/Image review session. Limit 3.
Available: SAT 10 AUG, TUES 13 AUG, THURS 15 AUG.
Afternoon Sessions: 4:30pm until sunset (at about 8:10pm). Limit 3: $200.00 (was 300.00).
Available: TUES 13 AUG or THURS 15 AUG.
Full-Days: $500 (was 600.00). Limit 3.
Available: TUES 13 AUG or THURS 15 AUG.
B&H Event Space Program
I will be doing a B&H Event Space Program — Lessons From the Field BIRDS AS ART-Style — on Monday, August 12, 2019, 1:00 to 3:00 PM eastern time. You can register to attend in person or to view the event live online by clicking here. Here is the location: the second floor of B&H NYC SuperStore at 420 9th Avenue, New York NY 10001. Those planning on attending should register asap as spaces are limited.
SONY 100-400 Wrecked
On low-light landings, I had been in the habit of boarding the zodiac with the SONY 100-400 GM/a7R iii rig on my shoulder via a Black Rapid Curve Breathe Strap and then removing the strap and placing the lens on the tripod. Early on our morning landing at Puerto Egas I was working some tame Marine Iguanas with the lens on the Flexshooter Pro head but had neglected to remove the strap. When I got up, the strap, which had been entangled with my left foot, yanked the tripod to the ground. As the rig fell only about 18 inches — I had been working low — I thought that everything would be A-OK. But when I zoomed in and out the lens would stick badly between 250 and 300mm. I will send the lens in for repair when I get back from Long Island. I am guessing that it will cost me about $700.00. You gotta love it.
Waved Albatross Courtship Video
Re-run by popular demand
Click on the play button above to view the Waved Albatross courtship video that was a highly honored in the 2016 Nature’s Best Photography/Windland Smith Rice International Awards Competition. If you are interested in joining me in the Galapagos in October 2019, please get in touch via e-mail.
If In Doubt …
If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the BAA Online Store 🙂
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.
I would, of course, appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right.
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 :).
