Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

What’s Up?

The weatherman should get some sort of award for the two worst consecutive forecasts in history. He said, “90% chance of heavy rain for Lido Beach beginning just after 11:00pm on Tuesday evening and continuing through late in the day on Thursday. It finally began to drizzle on Friday at about 11:00am. Thank the lord I never listen to the weather predictions as both Wednesday and Thursday were fantastic — cloudy bright with a strong east wind. Friday morning was just very good as the tern chicks — there were lots of just hatched babies — were not as cooperative as they had been the previous two mornings.

Today is Saturday 24 June and again, the forecast morning rain never materialized. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too enjoy every day no matter the weather.

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, 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 4039. Yes, 4039 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

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.

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. 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.

Nickerson Beach June 2023 Common Tern/American Oystercatcher/Black Skimmer In-the-Field Sessions

I am offering both morning and afternoon sessions from now through the end of this month. If you would like to become a better bird photographer, shoot me an e-mail to learn the details. Scheduling for these sessions can be arranged on short notice by checking the weather. A better option is to join me on the IPT. As I have nobody signed up, I can tailor the dates for the first one who does.

IPT veterans and couples or friends signing up together are invited to e-mail for discount information.

NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR Lens

The NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR Lens!

Noting the excellence of the sharp, hand-holdable, and amazingly versatile Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens Nikon recently announced the NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens. This new lens is 4 ounces lighter than the Sony 2-6, is 20mm wider at the short end, and the internal zooming is fast and efficient. Internal focusing means that the length of the lens does not change when you zoom in or out. It seems like a great addition to the Nikon lens lineup.

You can pre-order yours here from B&H and have them pay the tax by using your Payboo card, or get on a much shorter wait list by pre-ordering from Bedford’s here, using the BIRDSASART discount code at check-out, getting 3% back on your credit card when the lens ships, and enjoying free second day Fed-Ex.

From the Manufacturer

Ease of use: At its widest setting, the NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR is great for locating your subject. With a mere 70 degree turn of the zoom ring, you can reach all the way to 600mm for tight framing with beautiful background compression.

Balanced and built-tough: Internal zooming maintains size and center of gravity, as well as minimizes dust intrusion.

I take issue only with the second item because image stabilization never stops motion blur caused by the subject movement. No matter as this will surely be a great lens for Nikon folks who photograph birds.

Chick Challenges!

Thanks to all of those who commented on the Remove the Adult Tern or Not? Your Call blog post here.

Please consider the following:

1- As the chicks hang out on soft sand, it is very rare to get a clean look at both feet. A good look at a raised foot is sometimes possible.

2- The chicks will beg at any tern that flies over with a fish. Thus, while I did alter the natural history of the moment by removing the adult, having an adult in the frame is not necessary to tell the story. As some pointed out, because it is my image, I am free to do what I want with it. Unlike many, I let folks know what I have done with most images.

3- Photographing tern chicks interacting with each other and with one or two of the parent birds is beyond extremely difficult. You need a fast shutter speed to freeze the action. You want some additional d-o-f for both chicks at close range and for the interactions, the latter especially because the two birds are rarely on the same plane. So on cloudy days, you will be working with relatively flat light and high ISOs, depending on how much you value the fast shutter speeds and small apertures. It has become apparent to me that the actual d-o-f with super-telephoto lenses is actually far less than what is shown by the various d-o-f calculators.

4- When an adult lands with a fish, making a great image is a huge challenge because of the problems mentioned above and the fact that the scene is always pure mayhem. Sorting out your AF options is a bear. Even if you get on an adult tern flying in with a baitfish and track it down to the beach, creating an image with some sense of order from the chaos is extremely difficult.

5- Seventy-five percent of the time food transfer takes from one to two seconds. Or less!

6- The chicks spend 99% of their time hiding in low growing beach vegetation.

I use Tracking: Zone almost exclusively for flight and switch to Tracking: Expand Spot almost instantly with the push of a single button when the adult lands, so that I have a much better chance of focusing exactly where I need to. None-the-less, focusing accurately as the adult hands the fish or mole crab to a chick, is close to impossible. Not to mention that there are often as many as three chicks scrambling to get fed. Lastly, subject (or subjects) orientation and the near-impossibility of getting the individual head angles right, add to the difficultly.

This image was created on 23 June 2023 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Seated on dry sand and working off the rear monitor using the foot-pod technique, I used the otherwise handheld Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1250. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1250 sec. at f/8. (stopped down one stop!) AWB at 10:34:21am on a cloudy then-drizzly morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed amazingly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger, sharper, high-res version. Image #1: Common Tern adult taking flight from clean sand beach

High Level Question

I was lucky to have made a sharp image at the relatively slow shutter speed of 1/1250 second. In the new flight guide, Arash and I recommend at least 1/2500 as a minimum for birds in flight with 1/3200 and 1/4000 second being better choices.

Why was I at 1/1250 sec. at f/5.6 when I could have been at 1/2500 sec. at f/4 with the same ISO?

Tracking: Zone/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed amazingly well. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger, sharper, high-res version. Image #1A: A7INFO screen capture for the Common Tern adult taking flight from clean sand beach image

As Good As AF Gets?

The bird in Image #1 was the mate of a bird on a nest with one tiny chick and two eggs. I went for the ultra low perspective to take advantage of the gorgeous patch of beach that had been scoured clean by the strong winds from the east and a bit of rain. I had just finished a nice sequence of a wing stretch when the bird suddenly jumped up into the air and turned south. Shooting take-offs and flight off the toe-pod is silly difficult, but I followed my own advice and pushed the shutter button when the unexpected action occurred. I did my best to jerk the camera to my left in an attempt to keep the bird in the frame. Somewhat miraculously, the bird was perfectly framed in the first image. In the next few frames in the series, parts of the bird were badly cut off.

For the AF technology to track the eye as shown in the screen capture above is truly astonishing to me.

Note that I needed to rotate this image to level it to square. In addition, you can see that I did a bit of beach clean-up and re-positioned one small bit of beach vegetation.

Click on the image to better see the green eye-AF boxes in action. Sony Alpha 1 Flight Photography AF Points!

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group: $150.00 (or Free)

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. By June 1, 2022, the group was up to an astounding 124 lucky and blessed folks. (More than a few folks own two or more a1 bodies! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. The best news is that everyone in the group receives an e-mail that includes a .DAT file with my a1 settings on it, and explicit directions on how to load my settings onto your a1; talk about convenience! I am now offering a .DAT file compatible with firmware update 1.20. Your entry into the group includes a consolidated Sony a1 CAMSETA2 INFO & GUIDE. New a1 folks will now receive six e-mails instead of the previous 28! You will receive new e-mails as they are published. Simply put, this e-mail guide is an incredible resource for anyone with an a1.

All who purchased their Alpha 1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link — B&H or Bedfords — will receive a free Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up Guide and free entry into the Info Updates group after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.). Others can purchase their guide here in the BAA Online Store.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

My Calls

Below are my answers to the Common Tern Would You? Questions in the blog post here.

1- I would remove the small green smudge below the primaries of the terns near wing because it merges with the feather and is distracting to me.

2- I would not have tried to remove the o-o-f tern in the upper left corner of the image because it is so o-o-f as not to be distracting. In addition, it lets folks know that tern colonies are crowded places.

3- I am up in the air about removing the thin blade of grass to our right of the tern chick. On one hand, the shape is very cool. On the other hand, being so close to the subject is is somewhat distracting. It would not be too difficult to move it halfway into the open space on the right side of the frame, our right.

What’s Up?

I told you in the last blog post that the weather forecast for Monday morning was perfect. It turned out to be a great outing with some exciting and unexpected stuff going on. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too are gonna have a great day.

And yes, please use the affiliate links especially for your major purchases and please consider joining me on an IPT. Please scroll down to note the new dates for the 3 1/2 DAY Summer 2023 Nickerson Beach Terns (with chicks!), Skimmers, & Oystercatchers Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)

Nickerson Beach June 2023 Common Tern/American Oystercatcher/Black Skimmer In-the-Field Sessions

I am offering both morning and afternoon sessions from now through the end of this month. If you would like to become a better bird photographer, shoot me an e-mail to learn the details. Scheduling for these sessions can be arranged on short notice by checking the weather. A better option is to join me on the IPT. As I have nobody signed up, I can tailor the dates for the first one who does.

IPT veterans and couples or friends signing up together are invited to e-mail for discount information.

The Robus RC-5558 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripods

For reasons that I do not understand, the prices of both the 3-leg section Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber tripod and the 4-leg section Robus RC-5558 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber tripod have been drastically reduced. They are available only from B&H and are currently priced at a ridiculously low $399.95, about 1/3 the price of a comparable Really Wrong Stuff (RWS) tripod. Right now, the 3-leg section version is my go-to tripod.

This image was created on 19 June 2023 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Seated on damp sand, working behind the lowered Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod topped by the Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro, I used the Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. Exposure was determined using Zebra technology: ISO 1600: 1/2500 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be perfect. AWB at 6:21:18am a clear sunny morning. Tracking: Zone with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger, sharper, high-res version. Image #1: Piping Plover chick about ten days old

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad. So Far.

On Saturday there were three chicks. On Monday it seemed that one had expired. That any survive on a busy beach is remarkable. They are so small and fast that photographing them is extremely difficult. Once you get to know their habits the best strategy is to simply pick a spot, sit down and get low, say a prayer, and hope that the bird approaches toward you. On Sunday morning, my prayer was answered, at least for a few seconds. Image #1 was cropped from a horizontal original.

This image was also created on 19 June 2023 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Seated on dry sand, working behind the lowered Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 500. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/5000 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 7:23:29am on a clear 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, sharper, high-res version. Image #2: Common Tern adult killing tiny chick

Murder on the Beach

First the attacker dropped out of the sky and whacked the small chick, no more than several days old. A parent bird intervened and drove off the attacker. The chick however, continued wandering away from the nest and its two siblings. In short order, the attack resumed. The adult tern stabbed it in the head with its bill, and picked up the struggling chick and repeatedly slammed it into the ground. It survived for a while, but finally succumbed.

Killing chicks from neighboring nests makes evolutionary sense — the few chicks around, the more food there will be for my offspring.

You Call?

Which is the stronger image? Please let us know why you made your choice.

Common Terns are among the stars of the Nickerson show in June

The Summer 2023 Nickerson Beach Terns, Skimmers, & Oystercatchers IPT

I am offering two options for this IPT. Locals might prefer the 3 1/2 day IPT. Folks traveling from out of town will almost surely want to maximize their travel dollars by staying the extra day. The stars of the show will likely be the nesting Common Terns. As many have been on eggs for a week or more, we should get to photograph some small chicks and lots of birds in flight with fish. We should have lots of American Oystercatcher families with chicks of varying sizes. Photographing them at dawn along as they forage along the edge of the surf is an exciting experience. We will get to photograph early morning skimmer flock blast offs, lots of afternoon midair battles, and will likely have some skimmers on eggs. Flight photography for all three species will abound.

Many folks head home feeling that while our time in the field was fabulous and productive, that the working brunch sessions were even more valuable. During image review you will learn to select the best images from several thousand made with your 20- and 30 fps camera bodies. And we will process a few images and distribute the screen capture videos for you to learn from after the trip. And all IPTs offer follow-up image critiques.

Change your life: sign up for this IPT today. Please shoot me an e-mail if you would like to explore the possibility of renting some Sony gear (including an a1) from me.

Some of What You Will Learn on a Nickerson Beach IPT

• 1- The basics and fine points of digital exposure; how to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure (or before if you are using SONY gear).
• 2- How and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).
• 3- How to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them.
• 4- Lots about bird behavior and how to use that knowledge to help you create better images.
• 6- To spot the good and great situations and to choose the best perspective.
• 7- To see, evaluate, and understand the light.
• 8- To design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system.
• 9- And perhaps most importantly, to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. You will learn where and when to be (and why).
• 10- More than you could ever imagine.

The Details

We will be on the beach very early to enjoy sunrise. The morning sessions will run at least 3 1/2 hours. Afternoon sessions will begin at 5:30pm and run till sunset. There is never a set schedule on an IPT — we adapt to the conditions. On cloudy mornings with the right wind, we may opt to photograph till 11:30am or so and skip the afternoon session. That especially when the afternoon weather is looking iffy or lousy.

There will be a Photoshop/Image Review session before and after brunch (included) each full day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time. Each of these IPTs will run with only a single registrant as I do not like disappointing anyone. The best airports are JFK or Islip (if you have lots of Southwest points). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with lodging information. Do know that it is always best if IPT folks stay in the same general area (rather than at home or at a friend’s place a good distance away).

Folks attending this IPT will be out in the field ridiculously early and stay out late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors; this is pretty much a staple on almost all BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours. Doing so will often present unique photographic opportunities, opportunities that will be missed by those who need their beauty rest and those who need to get home for a proper dinner. I really love it when I am leaving the beach at 9:00am on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers are arriving … We may be getting our feet wet on occasion, especially in the mornings, but those who wish to keep their feet 100% dry can do so.

Your $599 deposit is due now. Credit cards are OK for that. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand. Once you leave a deposit, you will receive an e-mail with your balance statement and instructions for sending your balance check ASAP for this short-notice IPT. Those who wish to pay for the trip in one fell swoop via check may do so by making the check out to BIRDS AS ART and then mailing it to BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, and clothing and gear advice right after you register. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.

IPT veterans and couples or friends signing up together may e-mail for discount information.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.