September 30th, 2023 Your Call?
Which of today’s featured flower images do you like best? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice.
Important Retraction
Thanks to Craig Elson (via e-mail) and to Lisa Cuchara (who left this comment at the last blog post):
Lisa Cuchara — September 29, 2023 at 6:51 pm
Be very careful with those Sandisk SSD drives. Learn more in the article here — The Newer SanDisk Portable SSDs Are Failing So Frequently We Can No Longer Recommend Them. This situation has been serious enough that other staff members at PetaPixel have stopped using SanDisk portable SSDs regardless of their age. I no longer use them.
A-1 Group Member Craig Elson via e-mail
Hope you’ve had a great summer in Iceland and the Galapagos! Saw today’s blog just now and thought I would write to you directly instead of posting on the blog so that you could decide how to handle. Given how busy you’ve been, I am guessing you’ve missed all the recent press about the problems with the Sandisk Extreme Pro SSDs, the 4TB ones in particular. In short, they cannot be trusted any longer. Well…maybe they can be, now, after the firmware updates, but the way the company has handled this mess, I personally just don’t think you can trust them any longer. In any event, just wanted to make you aware of it since so many people take your advice and counsel and I didn’t want you to be caught off guard on this.
Best, Craig
The Bottom Line
I have been using an older version of the Sandisk 4TB SSHDs without a problem for several years. I was totally unaware of the very serious problems with the newer versions. At present, I cannot recommend purchasing either of the newer versions. If you are currently using a reliable 4TB SSHD, please contact me via e-mail. When purchasing anything or renting an AirBnB, it is always wise to check out the reviews. See the reviews on the current Sandisk SSHDs here.
What’s Up?
I had a ball photographing flowers at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales on the morning of Thursday past. With mostly cloudy skies and barely a breeze, conditions were perfect. I will share of few of those new images with you here in the next blog post. Most importantly, I had a ton of fun enjoying the process, looking for the perfect subject, finding the best perspective, and framing the image.
Today is Saturday 30 September. When Jim went shopping on Friday, I had him pick up two pounds of fresh tuna from Junior’s Fish Market but forget to tell him to grab six avocados at Publix. So this morning, I will be heading out early in hopes of doing some wildflowers at the Ridge Audubon center in Babson Park. On the way home, I will be stop at the supermarket in Lake Wales to pick up the main ingredient for guacamole! Wherever you are an whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.
Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!
You can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks who, like me, spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.
If an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.
Ryan Sanderson — September 28, 2023 at 11:53pm
Artie, Have you considered what happens to your photos and the storage devices that hold them when you’re no longer here? It’s an inevitability we all face and as I think about it, do these images get saved or appreciated by anyone? Does someone go through the many photos that so many photographers have taken but have never even looked at once after they’ve been downloaded? Sorry if this sounds kind of dark, it’s just had me wondering.
My Reply
Thanks for the excellent question, Ryan. Yes, I have considered that. Upon my death, hopefully not this week, it is very likely that all the hard drives and images will wind up in the garbage can. Not the trash cans on our computers, but literally, the large, hard plastic receptacles that we wheel to the curb once a week. (Note — I am aiming at least to make 81 to equal or beat my Dad’s longevity, but who knows?)
For me, the key is accepting reality. What is the (potential) value of my images? Unless I succeed in placing images from the past few years with Getty, the answer is $0.00 or very close to it. It is now exceedingly rare that we sell the rights to an image or images. As noted here before, such sales are down more than 99% since 2001 when BAA sold such rights for more than $220,000.00. The market is so depressed that we barely make an effort anymore.
So, why do I keep photographing? Because I love the process and I love the challenge of photographing birds. And I love making (and looking at) good images. Both old and new images are used to generate ideas for the blog which in turn generates at least some income — affiliate sales, IPTs (also down precipitou$ly), and the sale of educational materials like books, CDs, and PDFs.
When it gets down to the nitty gritty, I simply love looking at and optimizing both new and old images. Doing so give me great pleasure. When I spent more than $4.5K a few years ago to recover three years plus of recent (but mostly worthless) images, that was done to preserve the memories — the locations, the experiences, the friends I was with, and of course, in many cases, memories of the birds depicted in the photos.
When I mentioned recently how much fun I had seeing the newly backed up images from the office computer, I was not kidding. And I cannot wait to share the family images with my two daughters and their families. And I can’t wait to go exploring the main Elements HD folders, and strangely — to deleting hundreds of inferior images. Every time that I come across a good image that I had totally forgotten bout, it’s like getting a happiness injection.
If anyone needs help with learning to accept reality, check out The Work of Byron Katie. You can surely find some peace but doing the Work.
Why Do You Photograph?
Please take a moment to leave a comment and let us know why like or love to photograph free a wild birds.
The Fact$ of Life
Right now, the market for editorial sales of natural history images has virtually disappeared. The incomes of the world’s top stock photographers are down by at least 90%. Like me, most depend on income from photo trips, the sale of educational materials, and income from this or that affiliate program.
In 2001, BAA sold the publication rights to images for nearly one-quarter million US dollars. That amount dropped to about $20,000 by 2011, and in 2017, to slightly more than $2,000.00. We’ve stopped counting. IPTs used to fill within days. Now I am happy to go with one or two folks, but I’d much rather have you along. And so it goes. In 2009, I turned to creating educational blog posts, now to the tune of 4001. Yes, 4001 educational blog posts. So, please remember to use either my B&H or Bedfords affiliate links for your major purposes. It does not cost you one cent to do either.
B&H Simplified
To ensure that I get credit for your B&H purchases, you can always click here. The tracking is invisible but greatly appreciated. And, you can use your PayBoo card. You must use the website to order. B&H will reopen on Fri April 14. Thanking me for the past 4000 educational blog posts could not be any easier and will not cost you one penny. Please shoot me your B&H receipt for major purchases.
Bedfords Simplified
Click here to start your search. Choose standard shipping, and when you get to the payment page, enter BIRDSASART in the discount code box and hit apply. You will be upgraded to free second day air Fed-Ex and receive 3% cash back on your credit card once your stuff ships. Either is greatly appreciated by yours truly.
B&H
Many folks have written recently stating that they purchased a Sony a1 from B&H and would like their free membership in the Sony 1 Info and Updates Group, a $150.00 value. When I check my affiliate account, their orders have not been there. When I let them know that they get credit for B&H purchases only if they use one of the many B&H affiliate links on the blog or begin their searches with this link, they are always disappointed. If in doubt, please contact me via e-mail and request a BH link. I am always glad to help and to guide you to the right gear.
Bedfords Amazing BAA Discount Policy
Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, prior purchases.
Visit the Bedfords website here, shoot Steve Elkins an e-mail, or text him on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592.
Money Saving Reminder
Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex 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 check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists 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 a 1, 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.
Important Note
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂
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. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often save you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.
Horizontal versus Vertical Compositions with Round Flowers
With most round flowers — there are many, I begin with a bullseye image design by working tight and placing the circular blossom dead center with just a small border around it. That is what I did with Image #1. Then, as I often do , I moved the tripod back a bit and went vertical. Moving it to my left changed the background and introduced several nice elements including a new bud that I was able to position right in front of a second, smaller flower. As always, perspective is very important when doing nature photography.
Breezy Day Flower Options
Even though there was not much wind on Thursday morning, I sometimes had to deal with a breeze when photographing in relatively open areas. Even a slight breeze requires intermediate shutter speeds of from 1/250 to maybe 1/1000 second (depending of course, on wind speed). Especially when working in low light conditions as I was early on at Bok, your options include the following:
1- Working wide open with a moderate shutter speed while sacrificing depth-of-field (as I did with Image #2)
2- Stopping down two or three stops while dropping the shutter speed and hoping that the breeze stops for a moment.
3- Raising the ISO dramatically and going with a small aperture and a relatively high shutter speed.
Note that with the 2nd and third options, bringing up unwanted background detail is often a concern. (And yes, I have heard of “focus stacking.”)
Another problem with a breeze is that accurate focus may be thrown off (as it was in Image #2). I had focused (manually) on the single tiny blossom just left of dead center, but the wind blew the flower head slightly toward me just as the shutter was released.
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Image #2A: Step 1 noise reduction screen captures milkweed blossoms
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New, 2-Step Noise Reduction Technique
I recently began experimenting with a new, 2-step noise reduction procedure. The results with step 1, as seen above, are quite excellent. With the addition of the second step, the results are spectacular. I will be sharing details on this new NR procedure and lots more in the upcoming Digital Basics III video series. Stay tuned.
Depth of Field with Telephoto (and other) Macro Lenses
Whenever you are working with a telephoto lens anywhere near the minimum focusing distance, depth-of-field is minuscule, most often measured in mere fractions of an inch. A docent couple riding around on a four-wheeler kindly led me to the stand of Yellow Crane Orchids. Most of the blossoms were a bit past their prime. And photographing orchids is often difficult because they are oddly-shaped and anything but flat. I stood on the path a looked for a shot for more than a few minutes before spotting something that I liked, Image #3. I made a few images focusing on the near edge of the orange part of the flower, and then a few more focusing on the center of the flower. I converted two raw files, the sharpest one of each. In Photoshop, I selected the sharper flower center, put it on a layer, dragged it atop the images with the sharp near edge, and refined that layer using the Transform command followed by a Regular Layer Mask. Let’s call it a crude, manually assembled, two-frame focus stack.
Robus RC-5558 Versus Robus RC-5558-3
The Robus RC-5558 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod has four leg sections. The Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod has three leg sections. At the last minute, I decided to bring the RC-5558-3 to Bonaire. Both weigh almost exactly the same (5.2 and 5.1 lbs. respectively) and can support any lens that you own. The closed length of the 5558 is 22.5″ as compared to 26.9″ for the 3-leg section 5558-3. That makes the 5558 a bit easier to pack. At times, it may be easier to work with a 3-leg section tripod than it is to work with a 4-leg section tripod as there is one less twist lock to deal with. Whenever I need to get low, the Robus RC-5558 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber tripod with four leg sections is the clear favorite for me.
Topped by a Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro, either should be fine for folks up to about 6′ 1″ tall. Taller folks or those who need a tall tripod when working on a ladder, for example, are directed to the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod that comes in just about one foot taller and weighs only 5.6 lbs. If you are looking to save a bit of weight check out the Robus RCC-5560 Vantage Series C 4-Section Carbon Fiber Compact Tripod.
Do know that on average, RWS (Really Wrong Stuff) tripods cost more than twice as much as the comparable Robus models and do not perform as efficiently as my Robus 5558s do.
Strong Backlight with Flowers
The cloudy skies cleared and the sun came out at full strength. I stumbled upon Jim and we decided to head back to ILE. As we walked toward the visitor center and the parking lot, I noticed some nice patterns on the rear side of a strongly backlit, large, bright-yellow sunflower. I was ready to pass on the chance when I noted a shaded bush that I could use to create a black background to accentuate the backlight. After that it was just a matter of getting the lens in the exact right spot. Using several of my newly-learned Photoshop techniques made the image optimization a lot easier than creating the image! I will be sharing all of those techniques and lots more in the upcoming Digital Basics III video series.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
September 28th, 2023 This Just In: Important Retraction
I have been using an older version of the Sandisk 4TB SSHDs without a problem for several years. I was totally unaware of the very serious problems with the newer versions. At present, I cannot recommend purchasing either of the newer versions touted below. If you are currently using a reliable 4TB SSHD, please contact me via e-mail.
For more information, see the blog post here
DeSoto, the New Ding Darling
Fort DeSoto Park, south of St. Petersburg, FL, has clearly replaced Ding Darling as the premier bird photography hotspot on Florida’s west coast. Ding Darling was effectively ruined for bird photography around the turn of the last century as a result of the anti-photographer management policies of what had been one of the Crown Jewels of the NWR system. Bosque del Apache NWR soon followed suit for slightly different reasons: uncaring, incompetent management. As I say often, “You gotta love it.” (The Work of Byron Katie — www.The Work.com)
What’s Up?
I continue getting lots of work done after a two plus months of photographing in Iceland and the Galapagos. With my summer cold finally gone, I have gotten back to doing my bursts and spending lots of time in the pool swimming laps. I will begin heading down to the lake here at ILE very soon.
I was thrilled to learn that Ellen Mack sold her Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens in excellent-plus condition for $1099.00 within hours of it being listed on Tuesday past. The high ISO reveal will be featured in the next blog post coming this Saturday.
Amazingly, I have not made a single photograph in Florida since 12 May 2023 at Fort DeSoto. Jim got some free tickets to Bok Tower Gardens here in Lake Wales and we are headed there early this morning, Thursday 28 September 2023. I will have my Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM lens with the Metabones Canon EF/EF-S Lens to Sony E Mount T Smart Adapter (Fifth Generation) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera rig along on a tripod via a Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro. I am, of course, hoping for a still, cloudy morning.
Wherever you are an whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.
Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!
You can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks who, like me, spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.
If an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.
Via e-mail from Steve Schiff
In today’s blog post you wrote:
“I spent much of the last four days copying older image files from the office computer to three new 8GB back-up external drives. Is that correct? 8GB seems awfully small.”
Ooops. That should have been 8TB. None-the-less, Steve’s e-mail got me thinking about a topic that few photographers want to think about, backing up their images. Do understand that if you are not backing up your images regularly and efficiently, it is only a matter of time until you suffer some sort of catastrophe.
As regular readers know, it cost me $4500 about two years ago to recover 3-5 years of images that had been on one of my MacBook Pros. I had a perfect backup that was programmed to update once it was plugged in. Frantic to find the missing images, I found them on the back drive, but once I attached it, the system over-wrote the saved data with the corrupted data on the laptop.
For that reason, I advise that you never use a backup system that runs automatically when it is plugged in. Doing so invites disaster. In addition, you should be creating three back-ups after every photo session. And when you travel, you want your backup drives to be in different bags with none in your laptop bag.
Anyhooo, Anita North taught me to use Time Machine to backup my MacBook Pro. My last two MacBooks featured 8TB solid state HDs. 4TB SSD HDs cost but a fraction of the hard-to-find 8TB solid state external hard drives. I have been using three SanDisk 4TB Extreme PRO Portable SSD V2 drives for my Time Machine backups.
So, you might ask, “How do I backup an 8TB internal HD to a 4TB external SSHD?” I have been doing just that for two years now. It works perfectly as long as I do not get anywhere near 4TB on my 8TB internal drive. The 5.61TB available on my new Apple 16″ MacBook Pro (M2 Max, Silver) means that I have only 2.39TB of data (including 3+ years of digital images). Knowing that I need to stay well below 4TBs keeps me hard at work doing second, third, and fourth edits of various files and ensures that I will continue to edit stringently. In Iceland this past summer we enjoyed great photography most every day for about 18 straight days. A conservative estimate would be that I created well more than 50,000 images (at 30fps). Right now I am down to only 851 raw files. That works out to a keeper rate of less than 2%.
If I were to start from scratch, I would go with the faster SanDisk Professional 4TB PRO-G40 SSD Thunderbolt 3 Portable SSDs. Note that the 4TB SS drives are relatively tiny and do not require a power cord that needs to be plugged in. Such drives are bus-powered, they get their power from the data connection. That make them ideal for travel.
What About The Older Image Files?
Digital images created from 2001 to about 2018 or 2019 have been stored on a Drobo system attached to the main computer in the office for as long as I can remember. The Drobo system cost many thousands of dollars when we purchased it in about 2010. When a disc would fail, we would replace it. The next thing that you know, they go out of business. I have been remiss for about two years about backing up those images. About six months ago I purchased three WD 8TB Elements Desktop USB 3.0 External Hard Drives. They need to be plugged into an outlet to work and are fairly large (as compared to the SSHDs). But they are quite inexpensive.
After formatting all of the 8TB drives to ExFat so that I could access both Windows and Mac systems, it took almost four full days running day and night to copy 4.18 TB of images from the office computer to the main Elements drive. Next, utilizing my M1 MacBook Pro, I backed up all of the images to the second and third 8TB drives. Now I am able to access all of the old image files on my new M2 MacBook Pro. See “Oh, What Fun!” below.
Note: In the early days of digital, I did not edit as ruthlessly as I do now. Therefore, probably 80% or more of the 4.18 TBs of photos would wind up in the trash if I live long enough. Remember, however, that image size increased slowly during those first 20+ years.
Very soon, I will begin the process of backing up all the images to the cloud and will share what I learn with you here.
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This image was created on 2 January 2011 at Shinnecock Inlet, Long Island, NY. Seated on a rock jetty behind my lowered tripod, I used the Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 800mm f/5.6 lens with the 1.4X teleconverter and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800: 1/200 sec. at f/8 (wide open). AWB at 6:33:02am on a partly cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 2 1/3 stops too dark.
Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger, sharper, high-resolution version.
Common Eider female Atlantic female swimming
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Oh, What Fun!
I have not had much time to visit the old image folders, but I did look at several with family photos and did lots of reminiscing. And I looked at some folders from shoots that I had totally forgotten about. One of the first folders that I looked is entitled _ _ _ A A A NY-NJ DEC 2010 Trip. It contained 301 raw files and 35 optimized TIF files. That despite the fact that there were many other fine photos of American Bittern, Brant, Dunlin, Harlequin Duck, Herring Gull, and Common Eider. If I ever do a follow-up edit, it is likely that no more than 80 or so photos would survive. In any case, I felt like a kid in a candy store. Best of all, I have barely scratched the surface.
As the older images were created a decade or two before I began using and learning from RawDigger, nearly all were at least one or even two stops too dark.
While optimizing today’s sole featured image, I did notice differences in image quality as compared to the amazing quality of today’s 40, 50, and 60MB files. That said, the lady eider image looks pretty sweet to me. I am eagerly looking forward to discovering more ancient treasures.
You can see my travel backup plan in action by joining a DeSoto FALL IPT. Enjoy a $200 late registration discount and be virtually assured of a private IPT by signing up for either #2 or #3.
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All images from SEPT/OCT/NOV at Fort DeSoto.
Click on the image to enjoy a larger, sharper high-resolution version.
Clockwise from upper left to center: Piping Plover flapping after bath, juvenile Laughing Gull with feather, American Oystercatcher with sea urchins, Willet foraging in surf, American White Pelican juvenile swimming, skimmer/tern/shorebird blast-off blur, American White Pelican in flight, Black-bellied Plover stealing lugworm from Marbled Godwit, Roseate Spoonbill staring.
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Fall 2023 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #2
3 1/2 Days: Tuesday 17 October through the morning session on Friday 20 October 2023. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers.
Fall 2023 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #3
3 1/2 Days: Tuesday 31 October through the morning session on Friday 3 November 2023. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers.
Fall 2023 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #4
3 1/2 Days: Tuesday 14 November through the morning session on Friday 17 November 2023. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers/Openings: three.
Fall Bird Photography at Fort DeSoto
Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds, terns, and gulls in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, and night-herons that winter on the T-shaped peninsula. With any luck at all, we should get to photograph one of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher is pretty much guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. And there should be some quality Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two.
On this IPT, all will learn the basics and fine points of digital exposure. Nikon and Canon folks will learn to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, and SONY folks will learn to use Zebras so that they can be sure of making excellent exposures before pressing the shutter button. Everyone will learn how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly, you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it). The best news is that you will be able to take everything you learn home with you so that you will be a better photographer wherever and whenever you photograph.
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Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, juvenile Tricolored Heron, Marbled Godwits, Great Blue Heron, juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, Wood Stork, smiling Sea Scallop, Ruddy Turnstone scavenging needlefish, Great Blue Heron sunset silhouette at my secret spot, and southbound migrant tern flock blur.
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The Details
There will be a Photoshop/image review session during or after lunch (included) each full day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.
These IPTs will run with only a single registrant (though that is not guaranteed). The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with Gulfport AirBnB/VRBO information. If you register soon and would like to share an AirBnB with me, shoot me an e-mail. Other possibilities including taking a cab to and from the airport to our AirBnB and riding with me for $50/day. This saves you both gas and the cost of a rental car.
A $600 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check one month before the trip. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with six folks, so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand, or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions on lodging.
Up Early, Stay Out Late!
Obviously, folks attending an IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of the sweetest light and sunrise and sunset colors (when possible). The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers are arriving. On cloudy days, we may — at the leader’s discretion, stay out in the morning for a long session and skip the afternoon session. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. And so that we can get some sleep, dinners will sometimes be on your own as well.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
September 26th, 2023 What’s Up?
As several disks in my Drobo back-up system have failed and the company has gone out of business, I spent much of the last four days copying older image files from the office computer to three new 8TB back-up external drives. One disk of the five discs took nearly two days to copy! (Can you say “slow”?)
On a related note, I am really loving my new Apple 16″ MacBook Pro (M2 Max, Silver). Its blazingly fast processing speed is most appreciated while optimizing images in Photoshop.
Take a gander and see if you can figure out the ISOs that were used to created today’s four featured images. Feel free to leave a comment on the image quality and let us know which of these high ISO images is your favorite. Do understand that I am using a completely new approach to noise reduction. Details here soon.
Today is Tuesday 26 September 2023. Wherever you are an whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.
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Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens
Ellen Mack is offering a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens in excellent-plus condition for $1099.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, the original lens foot and a RRS Arca Swiss foot, the carrying case with strap, the original product box and instruction manual, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Ellen via e-mail or by phone at 707-292-0393 (Pacific time zone).
This incredibly versatile zoom lens — with its amazing .98-meter close focus — was my favorite Canon telephoto zoom lens ever. By far. It is easy to hand hold, great for tight portraits, for birds in flight, for bird-scapes, for quasi-macro stuff, and lots more. For flight, it is deadly (with an EOS-RF adapter) with an EOS R, R5, R6, or R7! This lens sells new for $2399.00 so you can save a handsome $1,300.00 by grabbing Ellen’s lens right now. artie
Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro Heads Back in Stock
Since the introduction of this great head in the US four years ago, it has — for good reason, become the most popular tripod head on this side of the pond. Learn more or purchase yours here in the BAA Online Store.
‘Damn the Torpedoes – Full Speed Ahead’: Navy’s First Admiral Was Hispanic Hero. 15 September 2020. From Lt. Cmdr. Rolando Machado, Task Force One Navy, via Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs.
David Glasgow Farragut was the U.S. Navy’s first full admiral. At the time of his death in 1870, Farragut had served a total of 59 years in uniform. Two separate classes of destroyers and five total U.S. Navy ships have been named in his honor. The current USS Farragut (DDG 99), is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer based in Mayport, Fla. (Coincidence note: Mayport, FL is just across the St. John’s River from Huguenot Memorial Park where Image # was created.)
Farragut’s father, Jordi Farragut Mesquida, was a merchant mariner born in Minorca, Spain. Emigrating to the United States in 1766, he commanded a small merchant ship trading goods across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Responding to a sense of service, he declared his allegiance to the fledgling United States in 1776, anglicized his name to George Farragut, and accepted a commission as a lieutenant in the South Carolina Navy during the American Revolution.
After the war, George and his wife, Elizabeth Shine, of Scots-Irish descent from North Carolina, moved west to Tennessee where he became a ferry captain on the Holston River and served as a cavalry officer in the state militia. In 1801, their son, David Glasgow Farragut was born. At the age of eight, his mother died of yellow fever. A year later he followed his father’s example of service and the sea and took an appointment as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy and commenced his life at sea.
Farragut served during the War of 1812 and commanded ships during counter-piracy operations throughout the Caribbean and during the Mexican American War. When the Civil War broke out, despite his career of service and his vocal criticism that secession was treason, superiors in the Union Navy questioned his loyalty.
With much to prove, Farragut executed an exceptional naval campaign taking New Orleans and in follow-on battles for Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Best known for the battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864, he was in command of a squadron of ships when one of them was struck by a mine (then referred to as “torpedoes”). Recognizing hesitation from his subordinate commanders, he took the bold and decisive action of placing his flagship Hartford in the lead and giving the order, “Damn the torpedoes, Full speed ahead!” His actions in the face of danger led the flotilla to victory.
Farragut’s career as a naval officer is not simply an example for sound naval tactics and determination. Choosing not to discipline with the lash despite its popularity among other captains, he also proved that tolerance, kindness and moral courage are not disadvantages, but rather strengths to naval leadership.
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This image was created on 19 June 2021 at Huguenot Memorial Park near Jacksonville, FL. Seated on damp sand using the knee-pod technique, 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. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO ???. 1/400 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 6:33:02am on a partly cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1: Laughing Gull — large chick standing on beach
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Full Speed Ahead and Damn the ISO!
In the The Art & Science of Photographing Birds in Flight With (or without) the Sony α-1, my co-author Arash Hazeghi writes:
Many photographers are hesitant to use fast shutter speeds because they are worried about high-ISO noise. While high-ISO noise can be an issue, a photograph that was rendered soft or blurry is much worse than a sharp image with slightly visible noise. No amount of post-processing or sharpening can save a raw file that is soft or blurry at the pixel level10. Sharpening a very soft or out-of-focus (o-o-f) photo, regardless of the sharpening method, will aggravate the noise and create artifacts and will yield coarse or
“crunchy” looking details. This is because the fine details were never captured in the raw file to begin with.
On the other hand, with optimal processing, it is easy to clean up the photos that are tack sharp but a little noisy. With proper exposure and optimal post-processing, the α-1 can easily handle ISOs as high as ISO 6400. Arash prefers Capture One ProTM (C1P) software for raw conversion and the Topaz DeNoiseTM or NeatImageTM plugins in Adobe Photoshop CCTM for advanced noise reduction. (At the time of publication, Artie was going with Adobe Photoshop CC for his raw conversions and Topaz DeNoise AI for noise reduction.
And all of the above is every bit as true when photographing static subjects (like the young gull above) rather than birds in flight. I was fairly confident that I could create a sharp image at 600mm with a shutter speed of 1/400 second. From there, it was just a matter of raising the ISO enough to ensure exposing to the right.
After enlarging the image and checking out the noise levels, take a guess at the ISO that was used to create Image #1.
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This image was created on 5 April 2022 at Harris Neck NWR, GA on a Georgia Nature Photographers Association field trip. Standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 463mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO ???. 1/1000 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 8:54:54am on a cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead solid perfect.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #2: Great Blue Heron fishing
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Getting Lucky …
Thanks again to GNPA friend Eric Bowles for taking me to so many great places on my April 2022 visit to Jekyll Island, GA. We had a ton of fun. I had been photographing the great blue perched on a log in a field of duckweed when it suddenly took flight. I fired off about 30 frames as it skittered above the surface of the water. Most were sharp on the eye at the relatively slow shutter speed of 1/1000 sec.
Yes, you have heard it here before: When unexpected action happens, press the shutter button first and ask questions later.
To ensure exposing well to the right, I had raised the ISO until I saw some Zebras on the heron’s white chin.
After enlarging the image and checking out the noise levels, take a guess at the ISO that was used to create Image #2.
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This image was created on 11 May 2023 at the Hidden Lagoon on a Fort DeSoto Spring IPT. Standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 518m) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO ???. 1/2000 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:39:43pm on a cloudy afternoon. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #3: Reddish Egret — white morph fishing
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Laziness and High ISOs
When I am feeling a bit lazy, I often choose the Sony 200-600mm G lens over the 400mm f/2.8 GM. The 400 f.2.8 is 2 1/3 stops faster than the 200-600 so it saves me seven clicks of ISO. I will be the first to admit that the f/6.3 maximum aperture of the 2-6 (at 600mm) is on the slow side.
Even in low light conditions, the much slower 2-6 is more versatile than any super-telephoto lens. And its small size and relatively light weight makes it easier to get where you need to be (almost always without a tripod). And best of all, the latest noise reduction options allow us to use very high ISOs without sacrificing much in the way of image quality.
After enlarging the image and checking out the noise levels, make an educated guess as to the ISO that was used to create Image #3 (virtually in the dark).
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This image was created on 6 September on a panga ride at Champion Islet, Galapagos, Ecuador. Sitting in a zodiac 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. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO ???. 1/2000 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 4:50:55pm in the deep shade on a sunny afternoon. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 1/3 stop short of perfect.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #4: Short-eared Owl on lava rock
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It Was Sunny …
It was sunny when we left the ship and set out for a panga ride so I did not hesitate to bring only the 200-600 and leave the 400mm f/2.8. With wind-against-bright-sun conditions, it was a very tough afternoon. We persisted without much success. Things were so difficult that the other zodiac headed back early.
We were exploring a deep, dark, high-walled cove, when Arnie, the panga driver, called out, “owl!” He navigated slowly around a point and there was a Short-eared Owl hassling a Galapagos Sealion. We stayed with the owl more than an hour.
And yes, I was wishing that I had toted the 400mm f/2.8 along in my very old lens bag. I coached those in the small boat with me on using high ISOs to expose to the right while maintaining fast-enough shutter speeds.
After enlarging the image and checking out the noise levels, make an educated guess as to the ISO that was used to create Image #4.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
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