January 27th, 2025 Homer IPT Openings
Due to a family illness, I have had a cancellation on both Homer IPTs. If you are interested in joining us for one or for both, please get in touch via cell phone or text to 863-221-2372 immediately.
My Call
The Brown Pelican flight image in the last blog post is my very favorite pelican image. Ever. In addition, it is easily one of my top ten all time best photos. Ever Several folks pretty much agreed. Elle summed up my feelings perfectly when she left this comment:
January 25, 2025 at 3:16pm
I am enamored of this one because it is unusual and artistic. I love the curve of the wing leading the viewer’s eye to the beak and the bird’s eye. I love all the orange details in the head against the complementary deep blue background. The texture of the feathers contrasts beautifully with the smoothness of the background.
Thanks, Elle!
What’s Up?
After a cloudy morning session on Sunday morning, Vasili Chernishoff headed back to LA a happy man. When we got back to the AirBnB, I finished cherry picking his best images from the more than 80,000 he created during a week of shooting. I had picked nearly 300 pretty good ones. We sat together at my laptop and got that file down to below 200 after a second edit.
On Saturday morning, Bob Eastman and Vasili headed down to the Brandt’s Cormorants while I hung out with the pelicans for a bit. I grabbed my 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II lens and headed down the hill. I did not make it far when I spotted a gorgeous male Allen’s Hummingbird. I quickly headed back to our SUV and grabbed the 600mm f/4 GM, both teleconverters, and my now beloved a-1 ii. The bird flew away but returned quickly. I called Bob to let him know. I kept shooting and the bird kept flying away and returning. I called Bob a second time and told him to come quickly and to bring Vasili. We all got in on the action. After less than 50 minutes, I created 6048 raw files. I kept 40 and processed four of those for today’s blog post.
I could not help but think of Jim Brandenburg’s amazing Zen/quasi-religious self assignment, Chased by the Light. Having “lost his passion for photography,” Jim gave himself a challenge: for ninety days between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, he would make only one photograph a day. The result? Immense personal growth, an exquisite book and a National Geographic article that featured all 90 images. I have a signed copy of the fancy version of that book that is inscribed, “To the master, in the name of shared passion.” It is beyond a prized possession.
Things are quite a bit different today with mirrorless cameras that capture at 30, 40, and even 120 frames per second, and can even save as many as 120 frames recorded before you even press the shutter button. I guess the question is, “In retrospect, do I feel at all guilty? The short answer is “No, not at all.” I love what I do and I love being alive to be able to enjoy today’s amazing mirrorless technology.
Learn more about Chased by the Light in the wonderful blog post by Jim Doty here.
Today’s post features six very special male Allen’s Hummingbird images, four by yours truly and one each by Bob and Vasili. Oh, and by the way, Go Chiefs! Go Patrick (Mahomes)! Condolences to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Again
Today is Monday 27 January 2025. Bob and I will be headed back to La Jolla for what promises to be another cloudy, drizzly morning. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
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This image was created on 25 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA on an In-the-Field session with good friend Vasili Chernishoff. Standing at full height, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 2500. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/500 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 9:09:48am on partly cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #1: Allen’s Hummingbird male — wing raised display
Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
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Getting the White Sky Exposure Right
With the relatively dark hummingbird set against a near white sky when the clouds covered the sun, I knew that I needed to add a ton of light to the exposure to avoid under-exposing the subject. I raised the ISO until the sky was completely Zebra-ed and then hit a convenient button to turn them off so that I could compose the image.
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This image was also created on 25 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA on an In-the-Field session with good friend Vasili Chernishoff. Again, standing at full height, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 2500. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/500 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 9:11:16am on partly cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #2: Allen’s Hummingbird perched male side view
Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
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Changing Perches
The bird switched perches often, fly off, and then return to one of about four favorite perches. Note that though the background for Image #2 was the distant cliff wall, the exposure remained exactly the same as it was in Image #1. Why? The amount of light falling on the subject had not changed.
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This image was also created on 25 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA on an In-the-Field session with good friend Vasili Chernishoff. Again, standing at full height, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 2500. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/500 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 9:15:57am on partly cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #3: Allen’s Hummingbird male scratching
Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
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Why 6048 Images?
Not really sure. I can only say that photographing a tiny, feisty bird at 1200mm is a difficult challenge. I stuck with 1/500 second at ISO 2500 rather than going to a faster shutter speed and a much higher ISO. At 1/500th, I knew that I would lose some images to motion blur. Even perched hummingbirds rarely sit still. They are constantly looking around. As the position of their head changes, the reflectance of the gorget, the richly colored feathers about the neck, changes almost constantly. So, to capture the brilliant iridescence of the gorget feathers, making lots of images never hurts. And when they display or scratch or spread their wings, the best policy is to keep the hammer down.
Iridescence is the optical phenomenon where a surface appears to change color depending on the angle of illumination or viewing. The word “iridescent” comes from the Greek word iris, which means “rainbow”. (Google AI Overview).
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This image was created on 25 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA during an In-the-Field session by my good friend Bob Eastman. Standing at full height, he used the hand held 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 6400. 1/2500 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 9:23:05am on a partly cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be within 1/6 stop of dead solid perfect.
Tracking: Spot (S) AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #4: Allen’s Hummingbird male — raised wings display
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Bob Eastman
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
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Bob’s Eastman’s Trusty Sony 200-600 G Lens
It became a standing joke. As Vasili and I were deciding on which lens to use for a session, Bob would opine, “I think I’ll take my two to six.” It is his only long telephoto lens and as you have seen here, he consistently created some fabulous images. As the hummers at this spot are ridiculously tame, Bob was able to get closer than Vasili and I as his Minimum Focusing Distance (MFD) is roughly half that of the 600mm f/4 primes, 7 feet as compared to about 13. None-the-less, Bob’s optimized image utilized slight more than 25% of the original pixels, a further testament as to the quality of sharp Sony a-1 raw files. Kudos to Bob for raising the ISO enough to create a perfect exposure in difficult conditions.
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Image #4A: The Photo Mechanic Screen Capture depicting the full frame original for Image #4, Allen’s Hummingbird male — raised wings display.
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Bob Eastman
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Large High ISO Sony a-1 Crops
As noted above, sharp a-1 files can stand up to relatively large crops. In this case, 75% of the original pixels were discarded. Note also the cleanup job that I did on the leaves.
Sony Alpha 1 (a-1) Mirrorless Camera Body (with Extras!)
Price reduced $200.00 on 27 January 2025
Used Gear Page regular, IPT Veteran, and BAA friend Dane Johnson is offering his rarely used backup Sony a-1 (ILCE-1) mirrorless camera body in like-new condition for a ridiculously low $3,598.00 (was $3,798.00). This body has been updated to Firmware 3.00 that reportedly improves Bird Face-Eye tracking to levels attained by the a1-ii. The sale includes a like-new Really Right Stuff Modular L-plate set (a $215.00 value), a Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card (a $268.00 value), the original product boxes, the owner’s manual, the USA warranty card, the body cap, the camera strap, one battery and the charger, the cords, 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 Dane via e-mail or by phone at 559-593-0989 (Pacific time zone).
I have used Sony a-1 bodies as my workhorse cameras for three years. They produce stunning 51MP files with vivid natural colors. The AF system is science-fiction-like. They are rugged and dependable and 30 frames per second is nothing to sneeze at. With a brand new A-1 ii going for $6498.00, you can save $3100.00 (plus the two great extras) by grabbing Dane’s pretty much as good as new copy ASAP Right now, B&H is offering a used a-1 in like-new condition for $4,397.00. That makes Dane’s body package an absolute steal. artie
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This image was created on 25 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA during an In-the-Field session by my good friend Vasili Chernishoff. Standing at full height, he used the Gitzo tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM lens with the Canon Extender RF 2x and the remarkable Canon EOS R1 Mirrorless Camera. ISO 8000. The exposure via the in-viewfinder histogram and JPEG review: 1/1000 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 9:29:44am on partly cloudy morning.
Bird-Eye/Face AF-C performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #5: Allen’s Hummingbird male — raised wings display
Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Vasili Chernishoff
Image Optimization by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
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Well Done Vasili!
Though Vasili needs to continue to work on being more selective, he created some outstanding images. As I cherry picked his 80,000 photos (sorry, Jim Brandenburg), I was incredibly impressed by the Bird Face-Eye tracking accuracy and the high ISO performance with regards to the noise levels. I loved Vasili’s choice of perspective and the angled line of the perch. You will be seeing more of Vasili’s excellent images here soon.
Huge Thanks to Anita North!
Huge thanks to Anita North who helped me with the optimization of Vasili’s fine image. The sky to the left of the subject was bright. Anita explained to me by phone how to apply a Linear Gradient in Camera Raw while subtract the subject. This is a technique that I have been trying — without success, to learn for about 20 years. I think that I’ve got it now!
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This image was also created on 25 January 2025 at La Jolla, CA on an In-the-Field session with good friend Vasili Chernishoff. Again, standing at full height, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 2500. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/500 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 9:36:02am on partly cloudy morning.
Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version.
Image #6: Allen’s Hummingbird male — raised wings display
Image copyright 2025: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
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A Tiny Bit of Sun
As the sun peeked out just a bit, I was able to eke out a bit of blue in the sky.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
January 25th, 2025 What’s Up?
Multiple IPT veteran Vasili Chernishof is learning a ton. And he is also shooting a ton. Yesterday I cherry picked 211 of his very best images from three flash cards (two 1TB and one 2TB) that held more than 40,000 images. Yes, 40 thousand. He surely needs to learn to be more selective. Right now — “I’m learning my new camera” — he shoots long sequences of anything that moves regardless of the often mega-distracting backgrounds. And he needs to learn to make consistently good exposures. I continue to be impressed by the AF system of his Canon EOS R1 Mirrorless Camera. With “only” 24MP he is shooting at 40 fps with 0.5 second pre-capture. Except for the rare instance where he completely misses focus, probably more than 99% of his images are sharp on the bird’s eye. Most impressive is the AF performance with birds in flight at 1200mm with the RF 600m f/4 and the RF 2X teleconverter. My gut feeling that AF accuracy is better at 1200mm than the Sony a-1 ii with the 600mm f/4 GM and the 2X TC. And that, my friends, is saying a lot. The difference however might be operator error (on my part), but I do not think so.
Every session has been wonderful and productive. We’ve been doing great at Santee with Wood Ducks and ducks in flight in general. There is a gorgeous leucistic Wood Duck hen that has been very productive. Pelican flight was fabulous on Friday morning. On Friday night we left Santee early after a great session and headed to La Jolla for sunset. The sunset was spectacular but zero birds flew in the color.
Today is 25 January 2025. With some cloudy weather and a bit of drizzle in the forecast, we are headed out early to La Jolla. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I ordered my second a-1 ii five days ago. Every day that I use it, the more I am amazed by speed and accuracy of the Bird Face-Eye tracking in AF-C.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention at Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared to both the a-1 and the a9 iii and that the 51MP files are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
How Good is This One?
Your honest opinion is valued. Be sure to click on the image and then let us know your overall impression. What do you like? What don’t you like? I will share my thoughts on this image in the next blog post.
You’ve Heard it Here Before
Autofocus with the top-of-the-line mirrorless bodies is so good that when you can no longer fit the whole bird in the frame, the best course of action is to keep firing. Why? Bird photography is like the proverbial box of chocolates.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
January 23rd, 2025 What’s Up?
On Tuesday past, our first morning with multiple IPT veteran Vasili Chrnishoff, there were few pelicans on the main cliff but we did well with them in flight near the bridge club. With the tripod-mounted 600mm f/4 GM lens/1.4X TC/a-i ii combination, I made my favorite/best-ever flight image of a stunning breeding plumage Pacific race Brown Pelican. I will share that one with you here at some point. It was slow afternoon at Santee but for a lovely leucistic hen Wood Duck that made our afternoon. On a partly to most cloudy Wednesday morning, we did well with the pelicans and some spiffy Double-crested Cormorants . Again I went forth with the hand held 400mm f/2.8 and both TCs. Later in the morning I switched to the tripod-mounted 600mm f/4, again with both TCs. Vasili showed up with the Canon 100-300mm f/2.8 lens and his brand new Canon EOS R1 mirrorless body along with a Canon 600mm f/4 and nothing TCs. The 100-300 is an intriguing rig; with the 2X TC in place, he has a very sharp, very versatile 200-600mm f5.6 lens that is hand holdable for him. At the long end, it is a third stop faster than the Sony 200-600, but is larger and bulkier And with the 2X TC in place, it weighs 1 1/2 pounds more. It is a great rig for La Jolla.
In today’s post, learn how and why the knee pod technique — taught here for at least a decade, can save the day when photographing bird behavior. In more than three decades of photographing Brown Pelicans on both coasts, I have never before seen the attacking behavior depicted in today’s featured image. And then it happened (albeit with a twist), twice in a three day period. You gotta love bird photography.
Today is Thursday 23 January 2025. The tres amigos will be headed out early to Coronado in search of Marbled Godwits and Heermann’s Gulls. Whatever you opt to do, we hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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.
Supporting My Efforts Here
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.
If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.
In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.
Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?
I ordered my second a-1 ii four days ago. Every day that I use it, the more I am more amazed by speed and accuracy of the Bird Face-Eye tracking in AF-C.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention at Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared to both the a-1 and the a9 iii and that the 51MP files are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.
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This image was created on 17 January 2025 by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART on the last morning of the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the knee pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 559mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/4000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:59:03 am on a mostly sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #1: Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage attacking a honeybee
Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
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A Knee Pod Technique Advantage
One of the great advantages of sitting and resting your left forearm on the top of your left knee is that you do not have to hold the lens up while waiting for action. I made a few static images of this bird when that very thought entered my mind; if this bird does something neat all I need to do is push and hold the shutter button. Not three seconds after that thought passed my mind, the bird violently swung its bill at a tiny bug.
Sony a-1 ii AF tracked the bird’s eye without missing a beat despite the frantic movement. When I magnified the image, it was clear that the offending insect was a honeybee. Check out the two tighter crop of this image below.
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This image was created on 17 January 2025 by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART on the last morning of the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the knee pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 559mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/4000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead solid perfect: AWB at 9:59:03 am on a mostly sunny morning.
Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #2: A tight crop of the fifth frame in the sequence. Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage attacking a honeybee image
Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
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The Bee
In this frame, it seems fairly obvious that the honeybee was fighting back and was in no way happy with the pelican’s actions. Perhaps it was trying to sting the bird’s eye …
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Image 2AB: This is an even tighter crop of the fifth frame in the sequence. Brown Pelican Pacific race breeding plumage attacking a honeybee image
Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
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The Sharpness and Detail
In short, Sony a-1 ii autofocus is indeed beyond belief. Yes, the bee in this photo was pretty much right on the same plane as the pelican’s eye. And in addition, the shutter speed, 1/4000 second, was fast enough to freeze the bee in flight. Anyhoo, the sharpness and detail in all of these images is remarkable.
Note that with the huge crop here, the details are beginning to get a bit crunch.
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This image was created on the magical nearly 9,000 images for me morning of 19 January at La Jolla. CA. Sitting in the red dirt on a sandstone cliff getting my pants filthy, I used the hand held Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 1000: 1/2500 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:39:26am on a blessedly cloudy to cloudy-bright morning.
Tracking Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed with science-fiction-like accuracy.
Image #2: Brown Pelican Pacific race juvenile attacking a just preened feather
Image copyright 2025 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
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More Unexpected Action
This young pelican was preening its belly when a preened feather took to the air, caught by a gust of wind. The pelican was pissed and reacted in the same manner as the bird in Image #1 when it was bugged by the honeybee, swinging its bill about violently in an effort to swat it away. Again, a-1 ii autofocus was Johnny on the eye. Both of the action sequences were over in a fraction of a second resulting in about six images. Had I been standing for either of these moments, I would never have been able to hold the lens in place long enough to have the action develop. And if I had to lift the lens from the rest position and frame the image, I would have come up with nothing. Best of all is that it is a lot easier to move around the cliffs with a hand holdable lens and your knee pod that it is to maneuver around with your rig on a tripod.
I’ve never seen a bird attack one of its own feathers before.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
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