October 21st, 2023 My Calls
In Thursday’s blog post my favorite image was #3, the preening Sandwich Tern because of the low perspective, the sweet light, the beautiful bird, and the perfect preening pose. As for which image had the best low perspective/background combination, I’d go with #4, the young Royal Tern images that was made with the lens hood resting on the sand.
Your Call?
Which of today’s five flight images is the strongest. Please leave a comment letting us know any you made your choice. New folks are always welcome so don’t be shy.
|
|
|
San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
|
The 2023/2024 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and more!) IPTs
IPT #2: 3 1/2 DAYS: WED 31 JAN thru the morning session on SAT 3 FEB, 2024: $2149.00. Limit: 6 photographers
San Diego IPT: 4 1/2 DAYS: TUES 23 JAN thru the morning session on SAT 27 JAN 2024: $2699.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 4.
Please e-mail for information on personalized pre- and post-IPT sessions.
Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (nesting) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Ducks; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Northern Shoveler and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heermann’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others are possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions (both depending on the current regulations and restrictions). And as you can see by studying the IPT cards, there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Not to mention a ton of excellent flight photography opportunities and instruction.
I discovered some really neat new spots on my 2022/23 visit. As a result, the first and second IPTs may include an afternoon or two of landscape photography.
Please note: where permitted and on occasion, ducks and gulls may be attracted (or re-located) with offerings of grains or healthy bread.
|
|
|
San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
|
Learning Exposure, Whether You Like It Or Not
Whether you like it or not, we will be beating the subject of exposure like a dead horse. In every new situation, you will hear my thoughts on exposure along with my thoughts on both Nikon and Canon histograms and SONY Zebras. Whether you like it or not, you will learn to work in manual mode so that you can get the right exposure every time (as long as a bird gives you ten seconds with the light constant). Or two seconds with SONY zebras … And you will learn what to do when the light is changing constantly. What you learn about exposure will be one of the great takeaways on every IPT.
|
|
|
Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT, there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
|
It Ain’t Just Pelicans
With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning, there is usually some excellent flight photography, at times with 70-200mm lenses! And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You will be guided as to how to make the best of those opportunities. Depending on the weather, the local conditions, and the tides, there are a variety of other fabulous photo chances available in and around San Diego. Each IPT will include one or two duck sessions.
|
|
|
Did I mention that there are lots of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter? Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
|
The San Diego Details
These IPTs will include four or five 3-hour morning photo sessions, three or four 1 1/2-hour afternoon photo sessions, and three or four working brunches that will include image review and Photoshop sessions. On rare cloudy days, we may — at the leader’s discretion, stay out in the morning for a long session and skip that afternoon shoot. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. And so that we can get some sleep, dinners will be on your own as well. In the extremely unlikely event that Goldfish Point is closed due to local ordinance (or whimsy) — that has never happened in the past fifty years, I will of course do my very best to maximize our photographic opportunities.
Deposit Info
A $699 deposit is required to hold your slot for one of the 2024 San Diego IPT. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART”) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due three months before the trip.
|
|
|
Variety is surely the spice of life in San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
|
Getting Up Early and Staying Out Late
On all BIRDS AS ART IPTS including and especially the San Diego IPT, we get into the field early to take advantage of unique and often spectacular lighting conditions and we stay out late to maximize the chances of killer light and glorious sunset silhouette situations. We often arrive at the cliffs a full hour before anyone else shows up to check out the landscape and seascape opportunities.
What’s Up?
Wednesday afternoon at DeSoto was excellent if you knew where to be. I was in the right spot when the forecast strong northeast wind (bad) switched to a gentle and variable breeze from the northwest (perfect). Thursday morning was decent with the highlight for me being a very tame first winter Greater Yellowlegs before sunrise. My drive home in the afternoon was a piece of cake and I got in a late 30-length swim in the 74.3° pool. Chilly, for sure. I spent Friday catching up and headed over to Sebastian Inlet in the afternoon.
Today is Saturday 21 October 2023. 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.
|
|
|
This image was created on 25 December 2022 at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 347mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1250. 1/3200 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:48:15am on a sunny morning. RawDigger showed the raw file brightness 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 larger, sharper, high-res version.
Image #1: Pacific-race Brown Pelican, juvenile braking to land
|
THE Best Lens for Pelican Flight Photography In La Jolla
If you own only a single lens, then it is obviously THE best lens for flight photography for you. If you own more than one super-telephoto, telephoto, or telephoto zoom lens, then THE best lens can be determined only after evaluating the situation, the sky conditions and the light, the wind speed and direction, and the flight patterns of the birds. Note that each of today’s five featured images was created with a different rig with focal lengths ranging from 180 to 840mm.
To learn to evaluate a variety of flight photography situations live and in person, consider joining me on one of the two San Diego IPTs listed above.
Depth of Field Question #1
Why is there more background detail in the ocean Image #1 than in Images #3 and 4?
The Sony 200-600
On sunny days, the 200-600, with its relatively light weight, incredible versatility, and its 600mm each (when needed), can be an ideal for flight at La Jolla. It is also quite useful for photographing perched birds and all sorts of pelican behaviors.
A Realization
After five decades of visiting La Jolla, I realized that one of my favorite mid-morning spots for gulls, terns, and shorebirds would be great for photographing the pelicans soaring over the tops of breaking waves. A super-telephoto lens with or without the 1.4X TC is perfect as the birds are not usually flying by at close range.
Aging Pelicans
Aging a bird refers to identifying the plumage. In this image, there are four young birds, two in breeding plumage, and one sub-adult. Can you locate each of those?
Depth of Field Question #2
Even though the subjects are not on the exact same plane, they are all relatively sharp on the face?
A New Spot
In 2022/23, I discovered a new spot that was great for flight photography, mostly for pelicans and Royal Terns with occasional fly-by Brandt’s Cormorants. A variety of focal lengths can be excellent at this location as the birds sometimes fly right by at close range and sometimes are rather distant.
|
|
|
This image was created on 4 January 2023 at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 400. 1/4000 sec. at f/3.5 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be dead-solid perfect (ho hum). AWB at 9:33:28am on clear sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger, sharper, high-res version.
Image #4: Pacific-race Brown Pelican breeding plumage adult — downstroke flight pose
|
The 400mm f/2.8
Despite the fact that the Sony 400 f/2.8 GM lens is only 4 ounces lighter than the 600mm f/4 GM, I will use the 600mm f/4 on a tripod 99% of the time while almost always handholding the 400mm f/2.8. Why? The super-fast 400mm is physically smaller (shorter) than the 600 and is far better balanced with the bulk of the weight towards the rear of the lens.
The 400mm f/2.8 was especially perfect for flight on my 20223/2023 San Diego visit as the usually perfect weather was on the iffy side with more cloudy, foggy, drizzly weather than I have ever experienced in usually sunny California. The super-wide aperture is a big plus in low light conditions. But is does well on sunny days too. And the focal length is often spot on for the pelicans flying in to land.
|
|
|
This image was created on 5 January 2023 at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, I used the handheld I used the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (at 180mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. ISO 1600: 1/2500 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:08:09 am in the shade on a cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #5: Brown Pelican, Pacific-race breeding plumage adult in flight in cove
|
The Right Lens for the Situation
The lens choice here best illustrates the horses for courses theme of today’s post. The birds were flying by at close range and it was dark so the 70-200mm GM II lens without a TC was the obvious best choice.
From UsingEnglish.com:
Horses for courses means that what is suitable for one situation might be unsuitable for another.
If you are blessed like me an own several big lenses, you need to learn to evaluate different flight photography situations so that you have the right lens in your hands at the right moment. With experience, you can learn to make the right choice before you leave your vehicle! The best way to learn this stuff is, of course, to join an IPT with San Diego or Homer leading the league in flight photography.
|
|
|
Click on the composite to view a larger version and be even more impressed.
|
by Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris
First of all, if you use Nikon or Canon (or Olympus or Fuji) gear, do not be put off by the title. While a portion of the guide deals with the Sony α-1, there is a ton of priceless information, tips, and techniques that can help you become a better flight photographer. No matter what system you are using. If you do not use an α-1, be sure to read down to the bottom to save a few bucks.
Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris have created the definitive and most comprehensive ever treatise on photographing birds in flight. With more than sixty years of experience photographing birds, they know what you need to know but have not figured out yet! You will be astounded by the depth of their knowledge and the tips they have to offer. More than six months in the making, the guide contains 229 pages, 24,321 words,97 exceptional and inspirational flight images — each with a legendary, enlightening BIRDS AS ART caption, and 22 screen captures. The guide contains a wealth of useful, practical, and for the most part — never-before-available information.
Purchase
Click here to purchase your copy in the BAA Online Store.
What Everyone Will Learn
We will teach you the basic concepts that you need to master to become a great flight photographer along with the techniques used by the world’s best flight photographers.
You will learn that most any telephoto lens can be perfect for flight photography in a given situation; focal lengths for the images in the book range from 200mm to 1200mm and everywhere in between.
We discuss the merits of various lenses in depth, including and especially comparing the 400mm f/2.8 lenses with the 600mm f/4s.
We guide you in getting your hands on the flight photography lens that will best meet your needs. We offer a variety of handholding and rest position tips and include tips on working with a big lens on a tripod when working with a flight lens that is otherwise too heavy for you.
Both authors offer their thoughts on getting the right exposure when photographing birds in flight. You will learn to get the right exposure on foggy days and even when photographing black birds in white sky conditions.
You will learn the tremendous importance of pre-focusing, of finding the bird in the viewfinder quickly, acquiring focus almost instantly (with tips on doing all three).
You will learn the role of image stabilization in flight photography and the best settings.
Both authors share their thoughts on using the focus range limiter switch. In the same vein, you will learn to use Direct Manual Focus to make your flight photography life easier.
All will learn about the best wing positions and the importance of the background with images of birds in flight. With lots of examples.
You will learn about the best shutter speeds (and the best aperture) to use when photographing flying birds.
You will learn to photograph flight while seated and the many advantages of doing so.
You will learn the best methods of controlling high ISO noise.
All will learn to format their flash cards properly and safely.
You will learn what to do when your AF system is temporarily blinded.
All will learn the huge effect that wind strength and direction has on flight photography and to evaluate the quality and direction of the light on both sunny and cloudy days.
You will learn why it is vitally important to shoot aggressively when photographing birds in flight.
You will learn to carefully observe and evaluate a variety of bird behaviors that may shine light on some excellent opportunities for photographing birds in flight. And about getting into the best position from which to photograph.
You will learn to be a much better flight photographer.
What Sony Folks Will Learn
Exactly how Artie uses Zebras to come up with perfect exposure after perfect exposure.
The fine points and recommended settings for Optical Steady Shot (OSS).
The concept of Auto-Focus (AF) tracking in the α-1.
Everything there is to know about the complex Sony autofocus system.
About all the AF patterns, how to quickly switch them, and about those favored by each author. And why.
The Tracking and Non-tracking AF patterns. When and why Arash uses Non-Tracking Zone. And why Artie uses only two AF patterns.
How to set and use Bird Face-Eye detection for flight photography.
How and why to assign various custom functions to the various programmable buttons on the α-1 body.
The perfect settings for the many, many Menu items that are vitally related to flight photography.
How and why the Sony α-1 uses both contrast and phase detection AF to determine focus (and the benefits thereof).
Which are the best memory cards for the Sony α-1.
To quickly access frequently used menu items.
Non-Sony α-1 Discount
Using the honor system, folks who do not use a Sony α-1 body are invited to click here to save $25.00 on the purchase price of the guide.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
October 19th, 2023 Your Call
Which of today’s five featured images do you like best? Why?
Which of image has the best low perspective/background combination?
My Call and the Depth of Field Explanation
In the last blog post, I could not pick a favorite caracara image; I loved the adult for its striking plumage and I loved the juvie head portrait as it exemplifies the BIRDS AS ART style — clean, tight, and graphic.
The background with the head portrait of the young bird was completely smooth and creamy in part because I was very close to the bird and in part because the background was relatively far from the subject. And yes, the depth of field increases dramatically as the distance to the subject increases.
Wanted to Buy
If you have a Canon 400mm f/5.6 L Lens sitting on a shelf unused for years and would like to sell it, please shoot me an e-mail.
What’s Up?
Tuesday and Wednesday mornings were fair at best. Both afternoons were a lot better with Wednesday afternoon being superb. If you knew where to be.
Today is Thursday 19 October and I will be heading to DeSoto for one last morning session before heading back to ILE. I head to Sebastian Inlet on Friday afternoon.
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.
Thinking of a 2024 Homer IPT?
If you have been dreaming of attending one or both of the 2024 Homer IPTs, please shoot me an e-mail; I will do my very best to get you there with a large discount.
|
|
|
Clockwise from the upper left back around to center: Osprey gaining altitude after missed strike; school of mullet under attack from below; Wood Stork with Southern Whiting; Osprey with Menhaden; Wood Stork with small lobster; Royal Tern with large baitfish; Osprey with Menhaden; juvenile Osprey directly overhead “t-shot”; Osprey taking flight with freshly caught Mullet.
|
Sebastian Inlet In-the-Field Sessions
Join me for 3 hours of morning or afternoon In-the-Field Instruction at Sebastian Inlet for only $300.00/session (or $500 for a full day with two sessions). The main target will be fishing Ospreys hunting for a variety of migrating saltwater fish that visit the inlet each fall. Back-up subjects include fishing gulls, terns, and Brown Pelicans, Wood Stork, a variety of herons and egrets, shorebirds in the afternoon, sunrise cloud-scapes, and the occasional sea turtle or manatee.
October Dates: 21, 22, 24-29, 2023.
November Dates: 6-10, 2023.
Please get in touch via e-mail to book one or more sessions.
No Chance?
When I saw the gull dipping its breast in the water, my first thought was “It’s too close — there’s no way to avoid clipping the wings.” But I followed my own oft-given advice and tried anyway. I did chop off the wingtips in all but one of the ten frames. I was glad that I tried.
Zebras Rule!
Check out the capture times with the first two images. At 9:09:38am it was cloudy. I cheated a bit on the shutter speed at 1/1600 second and dialed the ISO up to 1600 when I saw a few zebras on the breast of the gull. When the sun broke through less than 4 minutes later, I raised the shutter speed and cut way back on the ISO. At 640, I saw a few faint Zebras on the tern’s very white breast and knew that I had another perfect exposure.
When I am working in changing light, I often feel sorry for folks not using Zebras or those using Sony who are not on the wagon.
Common Tern Non-breeding Plumage
Note the black carpal bar, the half rear cap that extends just to the eye, the red legs, and a hint of red in the bill. I believe that both the legs and the bills tend to become black on many or most birds.
Old News
“When photographing preening birds, press the shutter button when the bird’s face and bill are square to the imaging sensor and when you have a clear view of the eye.”
Works every time!
Sandwich Tern Non-breeding Plumage
Note the rear cap that makes its way down the nape and the relatively long and slim black bill with the yellow tip.
|
|
|
This image was created on 18 October 2023. Seated on damp sand with the lens hood on the ground, I used the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. ISO 500: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 8:41:32am in Manual mode.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger, sharper, high-res version.
Image #4: Royal Tern worn juvenile
|
Lowest of the Low Perspectives!
Unless you dig a hole to put your lens in, you cannot get any lower than you can by placing the lens hood right on the ground. Hold the camera from below with your left hand while your right index finger is on the shutter button. Be sure to wear your reading glasses if you need them whenever you are working off the tilted rear monitor. With the level activated, you rotate the rig to square with your right hand.
Then you trust the AF system.
Royal Tern Worn Juvenal
Juveniles of this species always have an orange bill. The leg color is variable orange to blackish. Adults in breeding plumage usually have bills that range from orange to orange-red. One in a hundred birds has a red bill that approaches the intensity of the bills of breeding plumage Caspian Terns.
|
|
|
This image was created 5 October 2023 ankle-pod technique with 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 800. 1/4000 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 6:21:39pm on a sunny, 2500-flight image 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 larger, sharper, high-res version.
Image #5: Forster’s Tern, non-breeding adult fishing
|
Forster’s Tern, Non-breeding Adult
Both non-breeding adult and young Forster’s Terns feature black eye patches; note that the eye patch does not get anywhere near the crown or the rear of the head.
This bird was photographed on an early October visit.
|
|
|
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.
|
The Fall 2023 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tours
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
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.
October 17th, 2023 My Call
My very favorite David Pugsley image was the American Avocet for its graceful elegance, the soft light, and the low-perspective intimacy.
Your Call?
Which of today’s two featured caracara image do you like best? Be so kind as to leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.
What’s Up?
Today is Tuesday 17 October 2023. DeSoto is so good that I will be leaving at 4:30am this morning for another busman’s holiday, driving back on Thursday afternoon. If you would like to join me on Tuesday afternoon — the weather looks perfect, or for Wednesday morning or afternoon for an In-the-Field session, shoot me an e-mail or call or text me on my cell at at 863-221-2372. First-timer David Hawkins is joining me on Thursday morning.
A pair of Crested Caracaras raised two handsome young in an. un-photographable nest in a tall cabbage palm in the North Field at Indian Lake Estates last spring. The four of them, all relatively tame, can be seen most mornings foraging in that same field. When I have a free morning with soft light and a wind with an easterly component, I will put out some road kill and try for some incoming flight.
Fort DeSoto #3 Late Registration Discount Info
Shoot me an e-mail if you would like late registration discount information for the third DeSoto Fall IPT.
|
|
|
Clockwise from the upper left back around to center: Osprey gaining altitude after missed strike; school of mullet under attack from below; Wood Stork with Southern Whiting; Osprey with Menhaden; Wood Stork with small lobster; Royal Tern with large baitfish; Osprey with Menhaden; juvenile Osprey directly overhead “t-shot”; Osprey taking flight with freshly caught Mullet.
|
Sebastian Inlet In-the-Field Sessions
Join me for 3 hours of morning or afternoon In-the-Field Instruction at Sebastian Inlet for only $300.00/session (or $550 for a full day with two sessions). The main target will be fishing Ospreys hunting for a variety of migrating saltwater fish that visit the inlet each fall. Back-up subjects include fishing gulls, terns, and Brown Pelicans, Wood Stork, a variety of herons and egrets, shorebirds in the afternoon, sunrise cloud-scapes, and the occasional sea turtle or manatee.
October Dates: 21, 22, 24-29, 2023.
November Dates: 6-10, 2023.
Please get in touch via e-mail or call or text me on my cell at at 863-221-2372 to book one or more sessions. Get-well-soon to Jim Miller who had to cancel this weekend at Sebastian.
|
|
|
This image was created on 15 October 2023 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working from the driver’s seat of my X5, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 2500. 1/1000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 7:39:32am as the sun was breaking through the clouds.
Tracking: Expand Spot/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, sharper, high-res version.
Image #1: Crested Caracara adult pausing while foraging for bugs
|
Long Lens Perspective and the Angle of Declination
There are times when adding a 2X teleconverter (TC) to a long lens is the best move even if you could easily have gotten a lot closer physically. One such example is when you are using your car as a blind and thus, cannot get any lower. I had actually moved my vehicle farther from the bird twice when creating Image #1.
Imagine if I had gotten out of the car with a 400mm lens and was able to walk right up to the bird until it filled about 1/2 the frame (as in Image #1). I would be so close that I would need to have pointed the lens down about 45°. Working from the lowered, driver’s-side window at 1200mm, the lens would have been pointed down only about 10° from the horizontal. When working birds that are lower than you are, the smaller angle of declination, the more intimate your images will be. That is why it looks as if I were close to the ground when photographing the caracara in the first image.
The converse is equally true. When photographing birds above you, the lower the angle of inclination — the number of degrees you need to point your lens up at the subject, the more intimate your images will look.
|
|
|
This image was created on 15 October 2023 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working from the driver’s seat of my X5, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 1250. 1/800 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 7:44:34am on partly sunny morning. .
Tracking: Expand Spot/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, sharper, high-res version.
Image #2: Crested Caracara — young bird posing
|
BLUBB Tip!
This is surely a very fine point, but if you want to make sharp images with your long lens when working on a beanbag, it would be best to pay attention. If your big lens offers Direct Manual Focus (DMF) (most do), and you are working on the world’s best beanbag, the BLUBB (or another inferior bean bag), be sure to move the DMF switch to OFF. If you leave it ON, you can throw off the focus whenever you level the lens or when you recompose. For most shooting, you will want to set the DMF switch to ON so that you can manually prefocus should your AF system become temporarily blind.
Depth of Field Question
Both images were made at the same aperture, f/8, wide open. How do you explain the fact that the background in Image #2 is completely smooth and creamy while much of the background in the first image is relatively sharp and detailed?
|
|
|
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.
|
The Fall 2023 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tours
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
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.
|
|
