I miss DeSoto already 🙂 If you are interested in an early winter DeSoto IPT sometime between mid-November and mid-December, shoot me an e-mail with your date preferences. I will check the tide tables and do my best to accomomdate folks’ preferences.
I fly to Long Island tomorrow to visit younger daughter Alissa and her family and to see my two sisters. And Billy Joel at the Garden on Saturday evening 🙂
Great IPT News
An amazing nine or ten folks — I need to check carefully — have already committed to the new, expanded UK Puffins and Gannets 2018 IPT with the Bempton Cliffs pre-trip. And all have signed up for the pre-trip. There is just one slot left so if you are interested in joining us, please do not tarry. You can learn more about this great trip here.
The Streak
Today marks sixty-four days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about 45 minutes to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of (I think) four hundred eighty something … Good health and good internet connections willing.
Booking.Com
Booking.Com came through for me once again with both my DeSoto IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. 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.
Upper Large Zone/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The AF system activated a cluster of three AF points on the bird’s chin right on the same plane as the bird’s eye.
Image #1: Mystery egret …
Mystery Egret …
When I first saw this bird it struck me as an unusually light or bleached young (hatch-year) Reddish Egret. But the yellow lores threw me for a loop. It was well smaller than a Great Egret, pretty much right for Reddish Egret. After some pondering I started thinking that it might be a Reddish Egret X Great Egret hybrid; that would explain the yellow lores. The bird had mostly all black legs; the legs of young Reddish Egrets are gray. A leucistic (partial albino) dark morph Reddish Egret might make sense, again but for the yellow lores.
I sent the images to Julian Hough who knows a thing or two about birds –heck, it’s genetic — he’s a Brit, and he reminded me that white morph Reddish Egret might be in the mix somewhere. I had totally forgotten about the white morphs …
Upper Large Zone/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The AF system activated a cluster of three AF points on the bird’s chin right on the same plane as the bird’s eye.
Image #2: Mystery egret/head and neck
More on the mystery bird …
We did see the mystery bird in the shallow surf. At no time did it exhibit the the drunken sailor fishing dance behavior that is characteristic of Reddish Egret. There is no sign of any of the neck plumes seen on all adult Reddish Egrets but that would make sense for young birds. A genetically screwed up Great Egret makes sense but for the small size. If you have any ideas, or know someone who might, please leave a comment.
This Just In …
I just got an e-mail from Rosemary Harris who said that photos of this same bird were sent to the e Cornell Lab of Ornithology last year and that they called it a Great Blue Heron X Great Egret hybrid. They even gave it a Latin name: Ardea herodias x alba. The patterning on the neck does suggest that there is some GBH in the mix but I am curious as to why the bird was well smaller than a Great Egret that is in turn, well smaller than a great blue … That said, I do not know much about hybridism in birds, especially in the heron family. I have written the folks at the Lab.
Upper Large Zone/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The AF system activated four AF points that painted the bird’s eye and lores to perfection!
Image #3: Mystery egret/head portrait …
Large Zone AF
I continue to preach the benefits of Large Zone AF for tight horizontal head portraits (like Image #3) and for vertical head and neck portraits of long-necked birds (as in Image #2). If you are currently using any other AF Area selection mode you will find it much easier to create perfect image designs in these situations simply by choosing Large Zone … In Image #2 note that I was able to place the bird’s neck well back in the frame while maintaining sharp focus on the eye. With image #3 note that I was able to place the bird’s head well back in the frame while keeping the eye well above the horizontal centerline.
Your Favorite?
Which of today’s featured images is your favorite? Why?
DPP 4 Screen Capture
DPP 4 Screen Capture
Note the activated cluster of AF points illuminated in red. Could you ask for anything better?
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 🙂
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.
Amazon.com
Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.
Amazon Canada
Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.
Facebook
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 :).
There were five of us altogether at the Tuesday morning In-the-Field Instructional Meet-up Session: local meet-up repeater Ray Jusseaume, long time friends an many multiple IPT veterans, the fancy free Stokes and Pat Fishburne, and IPT left-over and great new friend Lee Sommie. After lots of sunrise fun and lessons my main goal was to re-find the strange heron that we had been seeing for the four newcomers. Mission accomplished. I will share images of that bird with you here tomorrow.
All but Ray joined for yet another great lunch at the Neptune Grill. During the IPT I had the jambalaya, an amazing spinach salad, and a great burger with absolutely the best sweet potato fires on the planet. Many in the group consistently went for the fish tacos and raved about them. Jim Miller had “the second best Cuban sandwich of my life.” Last year Carlotta Grenier had the pastichio off the Greek menu every day! And Jake Levin from Montreal who has been on several DeSoto IPTs, felt that his day was not complete without the Gyro sandwich, also off the Greek menu. Yesterday I had only a cheeseburger on a plate (no bun) so that I could have room for my first dessert; if you have a sweet tooth and are within an hour’s drive of Gulfport you would be considered legally insane if you did not drop by for a piece of their peanut butter pie … It is not always on the menu but is well worth trying for. And there were some pretty good looking alternatives in the dessert case!
I fly to Long Island on Thursday to visit younger daughter Alissa and her family and to see my two sisters.
Great IPT News
An amazing nine or ten folks — I need to check carefully — have already committed to the new, expanded UK Puffins and Gannets 2018 IPT with the Bempton Cliffs pre-trip. And all have signed up for the pre-trip. There is just one slot left so if you are interested in joining us, please do not tarry. You can learn more about this great trip here.
The Streak
Today marks sixty-three days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about 45 minutes to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of (I think) four hundred eighty something … Good health and good internet connections willing.
Booking.Com
Booking.Com came through for me once again with both my DeSoto IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. 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.
This image was created on the Tuesday morning In-the-Field Meet-Up session with the the hand held Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 200. Evaluative metering -3 2/3 stop (not a typo): 1/8000 sec. at f/11. WB= K7500.
Manual focus.
Great Egret looking down at sunrise
Blasting Sunrise Highlights
It looked as if we might enjoy some relatively soft sunrise colors but once the sun peeked over a large cloud that was the end of those thoughts … Photographing directly into blasting highlights is always a big challenge. If you are not right on your game, you are doomed to failure. You can learn the basics of shooting into blasting hight=lights (including how to get the right exposure in these difficult situations) in the Art of Bird Photography II (ABP II: 916 pages, 900+ images on CD only or via download.) Only the very well prepared should attempt to answer the two questions below …
Why focus manually at 1000mm?
In a blasting highlights situation, why is it usually necessary to focus manually?
Why hand hold at 1000mm?
In a blasting highlights situation, why is it often a good plan to hand hold even when working at an extremely long focal length?
Group Blasting Highlight Photography
When photographing blasting highlights with two others why is it best to have one person sitting, one kneeling, and one standing?
Your Critique …
Do you like this image? If yes, what do you like about it? If not, what don’t you like? Could I have improved it in the field? How? Could I have improved it during post processing? How?
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 🙂
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.
Amazon.com
Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.
Amazon Canada
Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.
Facebook
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 :).
We had another great morning at DeSoto on Monday. We enjoyed making lots of tight head portraits of various herons and egrets and enjoyed some great flight photography as well. I am looking forward to finishing up teaching and getting back home on Tuesday afternoon. I fly to Long Island on Thursday to visit younger daughter Alissa and her family and to see my two sisters.
Great IPT News
An amazing nine folks have already committed to the new, expanded UK Puffins and Gannets 2018 IPT with the Bempton Cliffs pre-trip. And all have signed up for the pre-trip. There is just one slot left so if you are interested in joining us, please do not tarry. You can learn more about this great trip here.
The Streak
Today marks sixty-two days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about 45 minutes to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of (I think) four hundred eighty something … Good health and good internet connections willing.
Booking.Com
I could not secure the lodging that I needed for last year’s UK Puffins and Gannets IPT in Dunbar, Scotland, so I went from Hotels.Com to Booking.Com and was pleasantly surprised. I found the rooms that I needed with ease at a hotel that was not even on Hotels.Com, and it was a nice hotel that I had seen in person. And the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward.
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.
Upper Large Zone/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The AF system activated four AF points in the vicinity of bird’s right eye and the base of the bill.
Great Blue Heron, from below.
Here’s Looking Down at You!
If you find yourself looking up at a heron or an egret from below, you can make some dramatic images by stopping down, focusing as near to the eyes as possible, and doing your best to design a pleasing image. You need to be patient and wait until the bird is looking right down the lens barrel with both eyes visible. I first came up with this idea about 20 years ago while lying down on the Sanibel Fishing pier and looking up at a Great Egret that was on the railing.
If you were a baitfish and looked up to see the view above, your time might be short …
Depth of Field Note
Note: even at f/16 the distal 1/2 inch of the bill is not even close to being in sharp focus. When do you need to stop down? When you are relatively close to the subject and working near the minimum focusing distance of the lens. Depth of field decreases as the camera to subject distance decreases. And it increases as the camera to subject distance increases. Working at 560mm at about 10 feet with a full frame body the total depth of field is less than 7/8 inch …
Upper Large Zone/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The AF system activated three AF points that grabbed the back of the bird’s lower neck.
Great Blue Heron, 100% crop of eyes.
Sharpness Question
How does the sharpness of this unsharpened 100% crop look to you?
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 🙂
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.
Amazon.com
Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.
Amazon Canada
Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.
Facebook
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 :).
