Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

 Deciding to keep the image above was a no-brainer.  The bird was perfectly juxtaposed to the imaging sensor.  It  is diagonally oriented in the in the frame.  And the sand had acted as a huge reflector, lighting the undersides of this female frigatebird perfectly.  This is just another image that shows that you can make great images in bright sun on blue sky days even during the midday hours.  It was photographed at 1:33 pm.  (Click on each image to see a larger version.) 

The Basics

Having created almost a thousand images on each of several landings, and possibly as many as 10,000 images on the trip, editing my work (selecting the keepers) is an important task.  In fact, I never allow myself to fall behind more than a single day, and that only when I am too exhauasted to stay awake at the laptop.   Whether you are photographing in your backyard or on a great international trip, if you do not edit your work on a daily basis you will exacerbate your storage problems and face a huge task when you do get around to it. 

For years I have been known to be the fastest gun in the west when it comes to editing a day’s take.  On the Galapagos trip, I pared 987 images down to 87 in less than ten minutes.   How do I do it?  #1 of course is experience.  I have been picking and keeping my best images for almost 26 years now.  #2 is that I use Breezebrowser to do my editing.  Nothing is faster.  Breezebrowser is one of the few programs that lets you view the JPEGs that are created along with the RAW files at the instant of capture (even when you think that you are using RAW capture only).  While going through the images in slideshow mode, I can view each almost instantly when I press the right arrow key to advance (or the left arrow key to go back).  I press the up arrow key when I want to keep an image; this places a blue check mark next to the file name.  If I wish to remove the checkmark, I simply hit the down arrow key to deselect.  Breezebrowser allows me to view each image as sharpened; this gives me an accurate idea of how the image will look when it is eventually sharpened.  (This sharpening is only temporary and does not affect the RAW file at all, but is sure is convenient.)   If you would like to learn more about Breezebrowser the product (along with Downloader Pro), click here:  http://www.birdsasart.com/breezebrowser.htm.  Complete details on how I use Breezebrowser for editing are covered in our Digital Basics File here: https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=30.   Digital Basics also covers the complete BIRDS AS ART digital workflow and contains dozens of great Photoshop tips and techniques.

When doing my first edit and deciding whether or not to keep a given image, I simply ask, “Is this a good image?”  If the answer is yes, I keep it.  (See “And More” below for exceptions.)   At some point I do a second edit, choosing the best one or two images from several or many.  And before I transfer the folder to the home computer, I do a final ruthless edit keeping only the very best images.   My rule for doing the initial edit is “If in doubt, keep it.”  For the final edit the rule is, “If in doubt, delete it.”   For the entire Galapagos trip I kept only 454 images.  This represented a keeper rate of about 5%.  (My standards, however, are very high; many folks would dearly love to have a good percentage of my rejects in their files <smile>)

And More…

It has taken me more than five years to learn to think digitally while editing.  I now keep some terrible images.  Why?  So that I have them to serve as source material for similar images that need to be repaired.  You can scavenge wing-tips, tops of heads, lizard toes, areas of rock and sand and sections of all sorts of backgrounds  to be Quick Masked into images that have family jewel potential.  Two of my very favorite images from the trip needed to borrow parts of another image in the series in order to succeed.  Had I deleted the inferior images without realizing their value, I would have been plumb out of luck. 

This image (with the end of the adult's bill cut off by the frame edge) was created with the handheld Canon 400mmm f/4 IS DO lens and the EOS-50D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/800 sec. at f/6.3.

Above is the optimized image.  Below is the original catpure.  Had I not save another image in he series with a lot less merit than the one above, the image with the yawning chick would have wound up in the trash bin….

This is the original capture.

To complete this learning experience, click here to read the great BPN thread on this image: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=41869

And for a similar tale involving the toes of a Marine Iguana, click here:   http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=41993

This Blue-footed Booby image was created from a panga with the handheld Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3.

When working from any type of water craft, IS and VR lenses are extremely useful; they can help you produce sharp images even when the engine is running.   The same goes for fast shutter speeds.  Though I wound up with 3/4 frame vertical portraits of this bird, I prefer the wider view here with the booby background look.

American Oystercatcher; same gear as above. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/4 in Tv mode.

If your camera offers an auto ISO feature you can use it to get great results when working from a boat in low light.   Activate your camera’s ISO saftey shift or auto ISO feature and then set your camera to Tv (shutter priority) mode.   Next set the shutter speed to 1/500 sec.  This will usually yield sharp images with lenses of 400mm or less.  Dial in the correct exposure compensation; you may have to point the camera at the light sky and depress the shutter button to do this….   Now you are ready for action.  The camera  will automatically set the ISO high enough to yield the 1/500 sec. shutter speed.  This will allow you to work quickly while producing sharp images without having to think too much.  (When using this technique I usually set my ISO to 400.)

This Brown Noddy was photographed with the same gear as above. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/4.

When you are working in Av mode, setting the widest aperture will always yield the fastest possible shutter speed for a given ISO.   At times, the panga drivers get us so close to the birds that we cannot focus….

As always, you can click on each image to see the larger version.   See y’all again very soon.

This immature Galapagos Hawk was photographed with the handheld 70-200mm f/4L IS lens (at 75mm) and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. Evaulative metering +2 stops: 1/640 sec. at f/7.1.

After a successful but long and arudous walk on the 3 mile trail at Urbina Bay we planned to call the pangas once we got back to the beach.   We were, however, delayed when we were met there by about a dozen Galapagos Hawks.  Our brilliant guide, Juan Salcedo, theorized that a turtle nest had hatched the day before and that the birds had returned in hopes of another feast.  The birds were ridiculousy tame; at times, they landed on our lenses.  With clear skies, bright sun, and the wind against the sun we worked hard to create some pleasing backlit images. 

This image is copyright and courtesy of Keith Kennedy a participant on this year's Photo Cruise and a multiple IPT veteran.

Thanks Keith!  I believe that this image was created at virtually the same instant as the opening image above.   Do note my Sun Protection Hood.  See the BAA store for more info on this great product.   And as always, you can click on each image to see a larger version.

This yawning backlit youngster was photographed with the Canon 800mm f.5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/9.

See the informative BPN thread on this image here:  http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=41523 

Image created with the handheld Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens at 127 mm with the EOS-1Dn MII.

Careful readers might be asking why I was using the old 1Dn II.     Well, I was carrying Doug Holstein’s 500 rig over some big lava rocks and our guide Juan wound up far ahead carrying my 800 with the MIII on it.    Suddenly, one of the young hawks was hovering right above me so I grabbed Doug’s camera and the short zoom lens from my Xrtrahand vest and went to work.

All in all it was a truly amazing experience.  I only wish that we had been there for a turtle hatching.  Maybe next year….

More panga stuff coming soon.

These braying, displaying Galapagos Penguins were photographed with the handheld Canon 400mm IS DO lens and the EOS-1D MIII body. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop off the water set manually: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3.

On my Galapagos trips, we do lots of photography from the pangas (Zodiacs).   The 400 DOE (diffractive optical elements) lens is great when working from the boat as it is relatively light in weight and has image stabilization.  With 6-8 photographers in each panga lots of cooperation is needed to ensure that everyone gets some great images.   Above I was lucky as the two birds popped up right down sun angle and not too far from the boat. 

If there are any nice,  sweet, easy to get along with folks out there who would like to join me on the July 2010 Instructional Photo Cruise of a lifetime to the Galapagos, please shoot me an e-mail to birdsasart@att.net with the words Galapagos 2010 Info in the Subject Line.   Or, see the same here: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=41606

This begging baby penguin with Mom was photographed with the same gear as above. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/4.

Baby alone posing. Same gear. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/4.

As always, you can click on each image to see a larger version.   Note that in all three images above I chose my ISO so that I would have enough shutter speed to make a sharp image.  And in the two images above note that I had to work at the wide open aperture to attain a fast enough shutter speed.

Coming soon: more images made fromt the Pangas.

This Galapagos Tortoise was photographed with the 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/80 sec. at f/9.

I am posting this (I hope) from the Panama City, Panama Airport on the way home from an amazing Galapagos trip.   I will be sharing lots of details on this killer journey with you via blog and Bulletin in the coming days.   Photographing more than two dozen tortoises on Thursday on Peurto Ayora was just one of the many trip highlights.

This pair of young dark phase Reddish Egrets was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 800. Evaluative Metering +1 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/5,6.

To create this image I used One-Shot AF.  When using One-Shot AF you press the shutter button to focus.  As long as you keep the shutter button depressed half way, focus is locked.  (In Nikon One-Shot is called “S” for Single Servo.)  I focused on the eye of the bird on the left, held the shutter button down half way to lock focus, recomposed to create a pleasing juxtaposition, and created several images all while the bird held still.  Learning to use One-Shot or “S” effectively is a great way for you to learn to create pleasing compostions.

This juvenile Little Blue Heron was photographed with the tripod-mounted 800mm f/5.6L lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3.

When photographing birds in flight, in action, or in motion, it is almost always best to use AI Servo AF or “C, Continuous with Nikon.  Both AI Servo and “C” track moving subjects and predict where they will be at the precise moment of exposure.  I almost always use the central AF sensor when doing flight photography.  Though not every image is sharply focused on the eye, both AI Servo AF and ”C” often yield fantastic results.

For the more advanced folks: when trying to photograph two birds interacting in a horizontal frame, you can either choose an off center AF sensor and try to lock focus on one of the birds, or you can first activate the entire grid of sensors.  Then acquire focus by putting one bird in the center of the array and recompose with one bird on each side of the frame.  And hope for the best.  (Neither of these techniques is foolproof. )