Breakfast with the Hand Held Canon 200-400 f/4L IS with Internal TC

BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #453

BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #453 is online and can be accessed here.

• Season’s Greetings
• Important Contest News
• An Amazing Streak
• The Blog is the Bomb!
• Jim Neiger’s Osprey Heaven Workshops
• Flight Plan
• Snow Goose Image Optimization
• The Animated GIF MP-4 Photoshop Video Tutorial
• Affiliate Links
• IPT INFO

Be sure to scroll down and take a look at the Snow Goose Image Optimization animated GIF. Amazing stuff.

This Long-tailed (or Glossy) Starling image was created on the Tanzania Summer Safari last August with the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (hand held with the internal TC in place at 526mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/640 sec. at f/5.6 in Av mode. Color temperature AWB. One sensor to the left and one row above the Central sensor/AI Servo/Surround–Rear Focus AF as framed active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Breakfast with the Hand Held Canon 200-400 f/4L IS with Internal TC

On safari I made special arrangements for a breakfast of protein and low glycemic index vegetables. At some lodges or camps my early morning fare it was prepared early for me, at others I would scavenge left-overs from lunch or dinner. Why? The box breakfasts did not work for me. In any case, on the mornings when we loaded the safari vans way early, the drivers would pick up and pack the box breakfasts for the whole group. I enjoyed sharing the food that I was not going to eat.

We’d find a legal picnic area and if there were no benches and tables, the drivers would set up portable tables and chairs and serve breakfast. That included hot tea and coffee in ceramic mugs. But yours truly had already eaten a few hours ago. As our breakfast spots were in regular use the resident songbirds, creatures of habit as they are, would flock to us even before the first crumb hit the ground. Not one to waste time I would quickly grab my 200-400, engage the TC, sit on the ground near the picnic tables, and get to work. Rather than a tripod, I used my knee-pod technique; heck, I still need to get a good image of me illustrating that method to share with you here. I’ll try to remember to do that in San Diego.

Sometimes I would clear small bits of debris from a small, relatively attractive patch of grass and toss a few small bits of bread or muffin to get the birds right where I wanted them. Simple but effective. On most mornings the serious photographers would cut their breakfasts short and join me. All is all it was great fun and a great way to create images of some species that you would rarely get to photograph from the safari vans.

This Rufous-tailed Weaver image was also created on the Tanzania Summer Safari last August with the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (hand held with the internal TC in place at 560mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/1000 sec. at f/7.1 in Av mode. Color temperature AWB. One sensor to the left and one row above the Central sensor/AI Servo/Surround–Rear Focus AF as framed active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Water Feature

One morning at my favorite breakfast photography spot in Seronera (aka Leopard City), I noticed some songbirds drinking rainwater from small depressions in the rocks. I grabbed a bottle of water, freshened up the tiny pool, and sat back with my 200-400. In short order I had some excellent chances with Rufous-tailed Weaver and the beautiful but hard-to-photograph-well Superb Starling. Again, I soon had company.

During the image optimization I seamlessly eliminated a large white triangular shape–not sure what it was–from the upper left corner in about 30 seconds using techniques from APTATS II. Order APTATS II by phone and mention this blog post and Jim or Jennifer will be glad to apply a $10 discount.

The Lesson

Keep your eyes open to what’s going on, keep your mind open as to unexpected opportunities, and think creatively. Remember: good photos are where you find them.

Your Favorite?

Take a break from watching college football and leave a comment letting us know which of the two images above you like best. And why.

2014 Tanzania Summer Safari

If you are interested in joining us in Tanzania next summer please shoot me an e-mail and I will be glad to forward you the PDF with dates, itinerary, and price.

An Amazing Streak

Today’s blog post marks 37 days in a row with a new post, a new record by far that should continue for at least another week or two. To show your appreciation, we ask that use our B&H and Amazon affiliate links for all of your B&H and Amazon purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store. We sell only what I use and depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

You can find the following items in the store: Gitzo tripods, Mongoose M3.6 and Wimberley heads, plates, low feet, and accessories, flash brackets, , Delkin e-film Pro Compact Flash Cards, LensCoat products, and our unique line-up of educational materials including ABP I & II, Digital Basics, Site and Set-up e-Guides, Canon and Nikon Camera Users and AF e-Guides, and MP-4 Photoshop video tutorials among others.

We would of course appreciate you using our B&H and Amazon affiliate links for all of your B&H and Amazon major gear, video, electronic, household, and personal purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned above we would of course great appreciate your business.

Thanks and enjoy!

Last Year’s Grand Prize winning image by Lou Coetzer

Important Contest News

Contest Deadlines Extended!
BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition
New Entry Deadline: January 31, 2014; see additional details below

With so many folks signing up at the last minute and with so many folks having trouble uploading their images due to server overload the deadline for entering the contest (registering and paying) has been extended until January 31, 2014 and the deadline for uploading images has been extended until midnight Eastern time on February 10, 2014. Take advantage of this extension to have a crack at the great prizes.

Learn more and enter the BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition here. Twenty-five great prizes including the $1000 Grand Prize and intense competition. Bring your best.

Register and Pay

To register click here.

To learn of payment options, click here.

Important Contest Note

Jim Litzenberg will be on vacation until tomorrow, January 2, 2014; those who paid for the for the contest very recently should receive their payment confirmation e-mail from Jim some time on Thursday.

Support the BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
This Bulletin took about 12 hours to prepare

We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

Typos

In all Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

IPT Info

Many of our great trips are filling up. See especially info on the South Florida, Holland, and Nickerson Beach IPTs. Two great leaders ensure that you will receive individual attention, have all of your questions answered, and learn a ton including how to think like a pro, see the situation, and get the right exposure every time. In addition you will have fun, and make lots of great images. Click here for IPT details and general information.