Wholly Cows! With the Canon 200-400mm f/L IS lens with the internal extender « Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Wholly Cows! With the Canon 200-400mm f/L IS lens with the internal extender

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I am currently en route to Kodiak, AK. For mail order or other help please contact Jim by phone M-F at 863-692-0906 or via e-mail at the staffbaa address. To register for an IPT please contact Jennifer by phone during weekday banker’s hours at 863-692-0906 or via e-mail to our Verizon address with ATTN: JEN in the subject line. AS a side note, my right hand man Jim Litzenberg can help you with just about anything BIRDSASART.

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You can see all of the current listings here.


stter-ranch-ornament-_a1c6069-palouse-wa

This in-camera HDR Art Vivid image (dynamic range +/- 2 stops) was created on one of the 2015 Palouse IPTs with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 560mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop yielded a base exposure of 1/320 sec. at f/5.6 in Av mode. AWB.

Center AF point (Manual selection)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF on the bovine’s eye and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Image #1: Longhorn Steer

Tooling Around

On one of our day long scouting trips before the 2nd Palouse ITP–what a way to spend your day off, denise and I came across a neat set of ranch ornaments. They were cute as can be. The 200-400 with the TC engaged gave me just enough reach to photograph them pretty much at eye level from the paved road.


cow-ranch-ornament-_a1c6061-palouse-wa

This image was created on one of the 2015 Palouse IPTs with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 480mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/5.6 in Av mode. AWB.

Center AF point (Manual selection)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF on the bovine’s eye and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Image #2: Longhorn Cow

Cow Exposure Questions

All of the images here were taken on a cloudy day.
1-Why did I add only 1/3 stop for the steer image?
2-Why did I add 2/3 stop for the cow image?
3-Why did I add one whole stop for the mother and child reunion image?
4-How would your thinking on the correct exposure compensations have changed on a clear morning at 10:00am with your shadow pointed at the cows?


cow-and-calf-redone-_a1c6065-palouse-wa

This image was created on one of the 2015 Palouse IPTs with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 560mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6 in Av mode. AWB.

Center AF point (Manual selection)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF on the bovine’s eye and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Image #3: Longhorn Cow and Calf/Mother and Child Reunion

Your Favorite?

Which of the three images is your favorite? Be sure to let us know why?

One Last Question

Would you have liked to photograph this situation? Why or why not?


palouse-2016-card-layers

Subject and focal lengths from upper left to right and then around to center.

Palouse Falls: 11mm; homemade kiddie race car: 105mm; barn siding pan blur: 798mm; Rolling fields diorama: 110mm; Crayola drums: 343 mm; Hay barn interior: 19mm; vintage gas station: 40mm; Dilapidated farm building: 13mm; Denise’s tree Infrared: 20mm.

Images and card design by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART.

The Palouse ~ A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 3-7, 2016/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12

The Palouse ~ A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 10-14, 2016/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12

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Maximize both your travel dollars and your learning experience by signing up for both IPTs.


denisepalouse-card

Images and card design by Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure.

The Palouse IPTs

Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will likely enjoy spectacular sunrises and possibly a nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. We will take you to some really neat old abandoned barns and farmhouses in idyllic settings. There is no better way to improve your compositional and image design skills and to develop your creativity than to join us for this trip. Two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. Photoshop and image sharing sessions when we have the time and energy…. We get up early and stay out late and the days are long.

After 6 days of back-breaking scouting work in early June 2014 we found all of the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and views. On three additional scouting days in 2015 we discovered several more truly amazing locations. We will teach you what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.

What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, our newfound but very extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions when possible. There will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before each workshop begins.

You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills. You will learn to get the right exposure every time. You will learn to develop your creative eye. You will learn the basics of HDR (high dynamic range) photography. You will learn a variety of in-camera creative techniques. Most importantly you will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images. Do see both of our blogs for lots more on that in the coming weeks. You will learn how the quality and direction of light combine to determine the success of your images. And–please don’t gasp–we will be working quite a bit with sidelight when creating landscapes. Lastly, we will be doing some infrared photography.

To Sign Up

A non-refundable $699 deposit is due now. The balance will be due on February 15, 2016. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. Whether or not your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

With the spectacular success that we enjoyed in 2015 it seems quite likely that this one will fill up very quickly. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining us. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours or send us a check to leave a deposit; the latter is preferred. If by check, please make out to “Arthur Morris” and mail it to: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via e-mail: artie or denise.

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9 comments to Wholly Cows! With the Canon 200-400mm f/L IS lens with the internal extender

  • Can i just make a complement to the excellent comment made by David Peake. My thinking is that if having the 17% grey in mind (for the metered area) I would compensate with adding light when the average tone is lighter than my assumption of 17% greyfor the same area). This would give me the compensation for one of the motives. Then compensate for the further deviations from the cameras assumption of normal exposure (17%grey). Hope it make any sense.

  • Thanks Art for the informative blog post.

    Art on a bright sunny day with our shadows towards the cow would we have subtracted 1/3 exposure from metered reading ?

    David, By muted tones on the first do you mean darker than a grey tone ?

  • avatar Jim Amato

    Cloudy could mean various levels of light arriving through various densities of clouds.
    Sometimes brighter and sometimes dimmer. So the more stops of light would indicate more light in the overall scene and the camera meter would indicate a more closed down aperture and thus a darkened subject. Open the aperture and expose the subject with more light to present a better exposed image. The backgrounds are various lightness/darkness and since they are the backgrounds that is OK. The subjects are exposed “correctly”.

    • avatar Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

      Hi Jim,

      Yes the light can vary on cloudy days but see David’s correct answer below. artie

  • avatar David Peake

    Hi Artie,
    In today’s post you have arranged the images in a nice progression that clearly illustrates the point.
    The overall more muted tones of the first image mean that your camera meter set to evaluative will already have given you more exposure so you only need to add 1/3 to get the whites where you want them.
    The second image has more whites and so overall the meter is now going to give you a lesser exposure so you have added 2/3 .
    The final image has a large proportion of whites so the meter will take the exposure further down and you will have to bring it back up by adding 1 full stop.
    I would apply the same thinking to each situation given the different lighting scenario.
    I like image 2 the best. There’s no bull here.

    • avatar Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

      Well done sir. You understand my system of exposure based on the light, the subject size and tonality, and the tonality of the BKGR as detailed in both ABP and in ABP II. artie

      • avatar David Peake

        Thanks Artie.
        I know zip about Lightroom, color gamits 16 bit raw files color space, layer masks, Nik effects and all,that discussion the other day. So it was Nice to get one I could answer.
        And I have been paying attention to,the exposure stuff ! I try hard to get as much as possible right in camera. Please don’t shoot me for saying this but I mostly shoot JPEGs and post them right out of camera with little or no post processing.. Don’t own light room nor PS.
        Love my canon stuff but I’ve been sipping the Fuji juice and I must say it’s very good!
        D