July 18th, 2023 Your Call?
Which of today’s featured images do you like best? Don’t be so lazy — leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.
What’s Up?
Grimsey Island has continued to be fantastic. We have had rain, a bit of fog, cloudy bright, and sunny and cold with blue skies. Everyone has made a ton of great images. The sheer numbers of puffins is hard to believe. At times a whole cliff takes flight at once as several hundred puffins head out to sea at once. On Monday morning, before breakfast, we worked the harbor area for Black Guillemot, Purple Sandpiper, Common Eider, and Common Ringed-Plover.
On Monday evening Eugen was resting and Kevin asked to be dropped off at the lighthouse. So, in high winds and low light, I found a great situation by the first picnic table. Shooting our 600mm f/4 lenses on a tripod — both of us, BTW, using the amazing Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro, we had the puffins landing right at us. The leader suggested we move back and up the slope behind for a lovely, out-of-focus, yellow, Arctic poppy background. It is all about the wind, the light, and your chosen perspective. We each got some truly great ones. Images here soon.
The leader is caring and skilled and is a superb instructor. He was a student of mine 25 years ago and we are still great friends. If you would like info on his 2024 and/or the 2025 puffin trips, please shoot me an e-mail by clicking here.
Today is Tuesday 18 July 2023. Wherever you are and 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.
The Fact$ of Life
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, many 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 4052! Yes, 4052 educational blog posts. Please, therefore, remember to use either my B&H or Bedfords affiliate links for your major purposes. It will not cost you one cent to do either.
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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.
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This image was created on 14 July 2023 on the first afternoon of my Grimsey Island, Iceland visit. Seated on wet grass, 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 1600. 1/3200 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect (ho hum). AWB at 4:26:35pm on cloudy drizzly afternoon.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1: Atlantic Puffin with fish for young in burrow
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The Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM Lens
It is exceedingly difficult to photograph relatively small, fast, unpredictable birds like puffins in flight when working on a tripod. You will always do better with a lens that is easily handheld.
The super-fast Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM super telephoto lens is relatively easy to handhold for flight. For some folks. The wide f/2.8 aperture is great in dreary, low light situations as it allows for fast shutter speeds and reasonably low ISOs. The focal length is ideal for the flying puffins on Grimsey. And the accuracy of autofocus with the alpha 1 is superb. But for me, handholding it is a struggle. I used it fairly successfully for our first two sessions, but strained my right forearm. And finding and keeping the bird in the center of the frame was a big challenge. With slower flying birds and little action, I would have been fine. But with the puffins fast and erratic flight and the nonstop action, I needed to find a reasonable option. Enter the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II.
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This image was created on 16 July 2023 on the second morning of my Grimsey Island, Iceland visit. Again seated on wet grass, I used the handheldSony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 280mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras. ISO 1250: 1/4000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 10:49:16am 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 #2: Atlantic Puffin with fish for young in burrow
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The Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II
To ease the pain in my right arm, I turned to super-light Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II. The Sony version II of the popular 70-200m zoom was a huge improvement over the original, especially with regards to the AF system. At 2.3 pounds (30 % lighter than the previous version), the 70-200 II is a featherweight when compared to the behemoth 400mm f/2.8 GM lens that tips the scale at 6.4 pounds. As the lens alone is too short for the flying puffins, I added the 1.4X TC to get to 280mm at the long end. While this rig is much smaller and lighter than the 400 f/2.8, the puffins are so fast and so unpredictable that keeping them in the center of the frame when they swerve this way and that is still a huge challenge.
Remember also that the longer the focal length, the slower the bird’s speed is relative to your position. With a longer lens and thus, with the bird farther away, you have more time to frame and acquire focus. If I find a good situation, I just may try the 600 f/4 alone on the tripod.
As fate would have it, and as above, I found the perfect situation for shooting flight with the 600 on a tripod on Monday evening.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
July 16th, 2023 Screw-up
I was so happy to get the last blog post published once we got to Grimsey that I did not notice that I messed up the image code numbers. The real Image #2 was posted well after the fact. It is well worth going back to take a look. Here.
Your Call?
Which of today’s two featured images do you think is the strongest? Why?
What’s Up?
It has been dreary and usually drizzling or rainy since we got to Grimsey Island. There are a zillion puffins, lots of Razorbills, kittiwakes, murres, and guillemots. There are many species of breeding shorebirds including Red-necked Phalarope, Purple Sandpiper, and Eurasian Golden-Plover. And lots of Common Eider families. And I am sure that I am forgetting some good stuff. As there is tons of flight photography and the light as been low, I used the 400mm f/2.8 lens for the first two sessions, Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. While I am fine handholding that lens at Fort DeSoto for general bird photography with occasional flight (both of those often while seated), handholding it for extended flight photography with fast and erratic subjects like puffins is simply too much. The extensor tendon at the top of my right forearm was burning by midmorning on Saturday. That afternoon I concentrated on perched puffins and flying Northern Fulmars with the tripod-mounted 600mm f/4. For our next flight photography session, I will give the 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II lens (often with the 1.4X TC) a go as it is much lighter. Grimsey photos soon.
This just in: the rain quit on Sunday and our morning session lasted from 7:00am til 1:30 pm! We would have stayed out longer but the sun came out!
Wherever you are and 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.
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This image was created on 12 July 2023 near Reykjavik, Iceland. Standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/3200 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 5:37:00am on a sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version.
Image #1: Black-tailed Godwit landing on nesting grounds
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Most Wanted
I have many fine images of Marbled Godwit. I have lots of good stuff on Hudsonian Godwit. The best of those from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Unfortunately, they are all on film. I have one decent film image of a Bar-tailed Godwit from Nome, AK. I visited Iceland more than a decade ago and made a few distant, not very good images of Black-tailed Godwit, but none that I cared for. Until Wednesday morning.
When we exited the bus on sunny, crisp and cool Tuesday morning, a gorgeous male black-tailed was sitting atop a stone pillar. It took off long before I got set The leader explained that the best chances as we walked the marsh would be with godwits flying and calling above the marsh. The more I practice handholding the Sony 600mm f/4, the better I get at finding the bird in flight and keeping it in the middle of the frame. Arash Hazeghi and I write a lot about do just that just in the new flight guide, coming soon. Anyhoo, Image #1, with the marsh-green rather than the blue sky background, was the best of the lot.
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This image was also created on 12 July 2023 near Reykjavik, Iceland. Again, standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/3200 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 7:10:08am on a sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version.
Image #2: Black-tailed Godwit on stone lookout pillar
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Back on the Pillar
As we returned to the bus after our 45-minute walk, we were delighted to find the same godwit back on its lookout post. A local resident was walking his dog as we walked up a rise to get into position and he stopped briefly. We said “good morning” and he just stared at us as we photographed the bird. After I made a few images (including Image #2), I went to add the 1.4X TC. As I was doing that, he walked toward the bird which of course flew away. I figured that he was taking his dog down the hill for its daily walk around the marsh. But after a short descent, he turned right and returned to his home just a few yards away. As he could just as easily walked to our right without disturbing the bird, it seemed pretty obvious to the group that he flushed the bird intentionally to spoil our otherwise great morning.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
July 14th, 2023 What’s Up?
On our first afternoon in Iceland, we drove an hour to a local bird reserve and sat by the edge of a small pond and we worked the Red-throated Loons. Right place, right time. Everyone in the group did great, especially me. I share three of my favorites from that afternoon with you below. The next day was Wednesday, our first morning of photography. We visited some local hotspots around Reykjavik and found a marsh with lots of Black-tailed Godwits, my most wanted species on the trip. Mission accomplished! That afternoon, we returned to the loons. It was windier and there was not much action. I was not feeling such good, and wound up with my second ever (and fortunately second worst ever) bout of food poisoning. Dr. Anita North took me to the emergency room after midnight in hopes of getting some IV fluid in me. Two hours later I felt a bit better, got some color back, and my heart rate had decreased, so we decided to leave without having been seen by a doctor in the ER. The next day, Thursday, on our bus ride up north, she made sure that I drank as much water as possible so I began feeling a bit better.
The drive to Akureyri took about five hours. We stayed in a nice hotel, enjoyed a five-star fine-dining meal, and slept the night. Today is Friday 14 July. We take the ferry to Grimsey Island, right on the Arctic Circle. I am feeling close to perfect and looking forward to the puffins and more. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. If I can get online from Grimsey, I will try to post every few days. If not, much love and I will be in touch when I get back to civilization.
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.
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This image was created on 11 July 2023 near Reykjavik. Seated on the edge of a pond with my feet in the water, I used the handheld Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/4000 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 7:20:44pm on a sunny afternoon.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version.
Image #1: Red-throated Loon swimming
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On Getting a Bit Lower
I began working on the tripod, but when some loons began swimming closer in some calm water in the lee of the north shoreline, I moved left and held the lens down in front of me. Because I had to shoot over the marsh grasses, I could not get any lower. But one foot lower made a nice difference. I had my reading glasses on and activated the level. Tracking: Zone/AF-C is a godsend in such situations. I love the soft light, the shallow depth of field, the low perspective, and the wake.
Why Go to the Tripod?
Holding the lens down and in front of me about a foot above the water is a bit strenuous. So, unless the birds came close, I kept the lens on the tripod. I could have gone to a slightly lower ISO and a slower shutter speed, but as several pairs were engaging actively, I opted to keep the shutter speed on the high side.
As the bird in the rear was swimming slightly faster than the closer bird, I saw the juxtaposition coming. I fired off about 10 frames as it passed the front bird and chose what was to me the most pleasing juxtaposition.
Why Add the 1.4X TC?
With virtually all the action taking place in the center of the pond, I added the 1.4X TC for more reach. Not only does that give you more pixels on the birds, but it makes life easier for the AF system as there is less chance for Zone to grab the water and a much better chance of it grabbing the birds. With them being relatively distant, I did not attempt to acquire focus until the birds rose up. Obviously, that strategy worked well. I wound up with several family jewels. By a very small margin, this one was best.
Your Call?
Which of today’s three featured images is the strongest? Please leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
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