Stuff
Four of us were having an excellent morning on the spoonbill boat when a new client, a very sweet man from DC, tripped on his tripod and wound up in two feet of saltwater with his D850 and a rented 200-500. He was a really good sport. After the camera dried out, it was working perfectly … The weather and wind were perfect, the spoonbill action was sporadic though we had some great chances with gorgeous birds. There was tons of great flight with nesting Brown Pelicans along with a few Great Blue Herons. With the 600 f/4/TC-14E III/D5 combo on the Mongoose M3.6 the sharpness of the images with the birds flying straight at me was astounding. Jaws dropped continuously while we were at lunch at Cherry’s Bar and Grill in Brandon.
The morning’s east wind prevailed on our afternoon outing. A single very large cloud allowed us some opportunities with both pelicans and spoonbills but all in all it was a tough afternoon. I practiced hand hold my 600 and got a very few stunning images. Next was dinner at Shells and good night.
The Streak
Today makes two hundred four days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about an hour to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections and my continuing insanity willing.
Booking.Com
Several folks on the Spoonbill IPTs used the Booking.Com link below and got great rates and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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 the morning of Monday, February 19, 2018 on the spoonbill boat with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and the Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering +2/3 stop off the blue sky: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3. AWB at 8:00am on a clear day. Center Group (grp) Shutter Button AF. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Roseate Spoonbill underway |
2018 Spoonbill Boat 2 1/2 DAY IPT: $1999.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings 2.
FEB 23 & 24: two full days with morning and afternoon photo sessions via customized pontoon boat. FEB 25, morning photo session.
Two Good Reasons That It Is Not Too Late to Sign Up for the Second Spoonbill IPT
I love February at Alafia Banks because you have the best chance for Roseate Spoonbills in mega-breeding plumage. As noted above, we had some good chances. For complete details, click here and then shoot me an e-mail.
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This image was also created on the morning of Monday, February 19, 2018 on the spoonbill boat with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and the Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering +1 1/3 stop off the blue sky: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3. AWB at 7:56am on a clear day. Center Group (grp) Shutter Button AF. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Brown Pelican vee flight |
Intimidating and Inspiring, But More of the Latter
It was both intimidating and inspiring standing next to the man who is as good as anyone on the planet has ever been at capturing flight and action with a 600mm tripod-mounted lens, Captain James (Froggie) Shadle. It was a bit ironic that for the first time ever we were both shooting Nikon 600s. Both of us use the Mongoose M3.6. I am proud to say that I introduced Froggie to the Mongoose almost a decade ago. Simply put, it is the best head for photographing birds in flight and in action. I’ve learned a lot watching James over the years and I kept my eyes on him very closely all day to try and pick up a few more tidbits. In addition, he taught me two really neat Nikon camera body tricks.
Mongoose Warning
Right now the BAA Online Store has several Mongoose M3.6.heads in stock. A price increase is coming. You can figure out the rest.
Help Support the Blog
Please help support my (stupendous) efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie
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 New 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 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.
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.
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
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 :).
