Semipalmated Plover on mudflat with invertebrate burrows, extreme pano
This image was created on 11 May 2021 on the second day of my recent busman’s holiday at Fort DeSoto. Working one the Panning Ground Pod while seated, I used the Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body). ISO 500. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/800 sec. at f/9 (stopped don 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:09am when a light cloud obscured the sun for a bit.
Tracking: Expand Spot/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. It is not uncommon to see large areas of exposed mudflats at North Beach in Fort DeSoto dotted with small mounds and pyramidal & irregularly-shaped structures of wet sand. Such landscapes remind me of Mono Lake, but on a much tinier scale, of course. They can be strangely beautiful. With no birds in sight, I set up my gear abutting a small pool on a rising tide with the flat as described above. The little sand piles were so pretty that I made a few images of them without any birds. The habitat looked perfect for shorebirds and I was confident that I would get some birds. It was a case of if you sit, they will come. The SEPL featured in Image #1 was the first to venture into the shallow pool to feed. It was soon joined by a few more semi-plovers, about a dozen Dunlin, a Black-bellied Plover, and a Willet. Many of the shorebirds wound up coming quite close. Image #1, however, the one of those that showed the habitat quite well, was my favorite from the session by the pretty little mudflat.
As for the image, don't be shy; all comments are welcome and appreciated. To learn more about the creation of this image, to see the Eye AF performance at 1200mm, to learn about the Panning Ground Pod, or to learn about the Sony Alpha a1 Info and Updates Group, see the blog post here.
with love, artie
Last edited by Arthur Morris; 05-16-2021 at 09:27 AM.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
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Hi Artie ... a very cool " concept shot " .
Very nice overall color and tone , love the small in the frame idea . Comp works well !!!
Lovely " mushy " fore and background .
Sadly I cannot make " connection " to the bird ... as the bird is just looking downwards . Just my take .
Thanks, Andreas. Maybe you can connect to its beautiful soft reflection ... I have another frame with a traditional pose with the head up but lacking the reflection ...
with love, artie
Last edited by Arthur Morris; 05-16-2021 at 11:12 AM.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
Works for me. The pano crop is perfect for this scene, and the bird and its dreamy reflection are perfectly placed. The soft filtered light is beautiful. The feeding pose is fine, and I do not need the "connection" to love the image (although I appreciate Andreas' take on it). Argh...if our draconian restrictions can just be lifted by this tine next year I will be back at Desoto as it's long overdue!!
Artie, the soft and easy feeling and the unorthodox appeal of the burrows add nicely to the frame.
Love the panoramic crop here and really like the reflection. Added bonus would have been a lifted foot but the overall effect and appeal are sweet on this one!
AH, to be at Fort Desoto. Really dig this frame. Nice thinking on the pano crop. The reflection is great. I think small birds work great small in the frame. Gives a sense of their scale. Why is the text all white in your post?