Blacklit Discovery & Strategy Map. And Used Canon Gear! « Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Blacklit Discovery & Strategy Map. And Used Canon Gear!

What’s Up?

With the unusually cool August weather here on Long Island I have been leading the league in relaxing, and sleeping nine to ten hours every night. I have been taking a nice walk and doing my bursts every day, and will be hitting the community pool at my sister Ilene’s home soon.

Today is Monday 2 August 2021. It has been clear and sunny every morning since I arrived on Long Island, with a northwest wind every morning as well. With yet another wind-against-sun morning forecast, I opted to stay in again today. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes 217 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Homer Bald Eagles Winter 2022

The photography on this trip of a lifetime is beyond amazing. You can do the whole trip with either the Canon 100-500 or the SONY 200-600 along with any 70-200mm lens. Flight photography until you cannot raise your arms, creative set-ups, lots of snow we hope (earlier in the season is best for that), and lots of opportunities for point-blank head portraits and talon shots. All in a variety of spectacular settings. This is an expensive (but competitively priced) trip. If you are seriously interested in joining me for the world’s best Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle trip(s) — mid-FEB thru early MARCH 2022, please contact me immediately via e-mail for dates and details. I am looking for a roommate who will be doing all eleven days.

The East Pond

The East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY was the place to observe and photograph North America’s southbound migrant shorebirds. It shined from 1975 through about 2010. Then, for reasons noted in the blog post here, the place pretty much went down the tubes due to high water levels. At present, it seems that the folks at Gateway have gotten their act together; conditions at the pond are reported to be excellent this season. I have a strong connection to the East Pond. I photographed my first shorebird — a Semipalmated Sandpiper, there in August of 1983. I’ve been visiting for 45 years and have spent thousands of hours on the pond.

If you would like to learn to identify more than a dozen species of shorebirds and photograph some of them on an In-the-Field Workshop in August, please shoot me an e-mail to learn the dates and details. The East Pond is best for photography for just three specific days in a calendar year … I will be there then. Here’s hoping that the East Pond will return to its former crown-jewel glory.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. Most recently the price of used Canon 600mm f/L IS II lenses have been dropping like a rock with the introduction of the 600 III. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

As used gear sales have slowed just a bit in recent months — especially with dSLR bodies, there are lots of great buys right now both below and on the Used Gear Page.

Canon EF 500m f/4L IS II USM Lens with lots of great extras!

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EF 500m f/4 L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for a very low $4999.00. The sale includes both of the original shipping box, both of the original lens feet, the lens strap, the rear lens cap, the lens hood, the lens trunk, a LensCoat, a LensCoat TravelCoat, a LensCoat Hoodie, a LensCoat RainCoat Pro w/pouch, 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 Asta via e-mail

With the success of the Canon EOS R5 and R6 mirrorless bodies, the series II super-teles are in high demand. The 500 f/4 super-telephotos have long been the world’s most popular lenses for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. Canon’s Series II version is light, fast, super-sharp, and produces amazing images with both the 1.4X and 2X III TCs. The 500 II is relatively small, easily hand-holdable for some folks, and is much easier to travel with, focuses closer than, and costs a lot less than the 600 II!. Lastly, and you might find this amazing, the magnification for the 500 II is the same as it is for the 600 II: .15X. How is that possible? Magnification is calculated at the minimum focusing distance of the lens — 12.14 feet (3.7 meters) for the 500 II and 14.77 feet (4.5 meters) for the 600 II. Simply put, the 500 II focuses more than two feet closer than the 600 II. This lens sells new right now for $8999.00; you can save $4000.00 by purchasing Asta’s lens (with lots of extras) now: if you are seriously interested, please do not tarry. artie

Canon EF 100-400m f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Zoom Lens

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EF 100-400m f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM zoom lens in excellent condition for $1399.00. The sale includes the original box, the carrying case, the front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, a LensCoat, a LensCoat TravelCoat, a LensCoat Hoodie, 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 Asta via e-mail

This incredibly versatile zoom lens — with its amazing .98 meter close focus — was my favorite Canon telephoto zoom lens ever. By far. It is easy to hand hold, great for tight portraits, birds in flight, quasi-macro stuff, and lots more. For flight, it is even better with an R5! The lens sells new for $2399.00 so you can save some hard cash by grabbing Asta’s zoom lens now. artie

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV w/BG-E20 Battery Grip

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the BG-E20 Battery Grip, both in like-new condition, for just $1749.00. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it, the battery grip (a $299.95 value), one extra battery, 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 Asta via e-mail

What can I say? The 5D IV was my favorite ever Canon digital dSLR. I owned and used three of them while my 1DX II sat on the shelf in my garage for the most part. A new 5D Mark IV, with its 30.4MP full-frame CMOS sensor, sell new for $2499.00. If you have been dreaming of a 5D IV (with the grip), grab Asta’s body right now with the grip and save just about $1,000.00! artie

Canon EOS 7D Mark II w/BG-E16 Battery Grip & L-Plate

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EOS 7D Mark II in Very Good to Excellent condition with a like-new BG-E16 Battery Grip for $599.00. The sale includes the original box, the front cap, the strap, a RRS L-Plate, one extra battery, the charger, the BG-16 battery grip, 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 Asta via e-mail

Years ago, both Patrick Sparkman and I used and loved the 7D Mark II until we both committed to using full-frame Canon bodies. And we both made some truly great images with it. Two of my three 2016 Nature’s Best honored entries were created with the 7D II, one still, and one video. One thing is for sure: the 7D Mark II is the greatest value ever dSLR. artie

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens with the Canon Tripod Mount Ring B with extras

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens with the Canon Tripod Mount Ring B (a $149.95 value) in near-mint condition for the very low price of $299.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, the Canon Tripod Mount Ring B, a B+W circular polarizer, a B+W UV haze filter, 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 Asta via e-mail

This, the original non-IS version of this hugely popular, very sharp macro lens, was Denise Ippolito’s favorite for many years. It is great for flowers and bugs large and small. The tripod collar for this lens normally requires a separate purchase, but is included with this sale. Still in production, this lens sells new at B&H for $599.00 (though it is currently back-ordered). The IS L version II sells for $1299.00. artie

Canon EF 1.4X II Teleconverter

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EF 1.4X II teleconverter for a very low $129.00. The sale includes the front and rear caps, the pouch, 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 Asta via e-mail

As regular readers know, I depended so much on TCs when I shot Canon that I always traveled with two spare 1.4X-s and one spare 2X TC. The Series II TCs perform perfectly with Series II or earlier lenses. he Series III TCs are better for series III lenses like the 600mm f4L IS III lens. artie

Canon EF 2X III Teleconverter

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EF 2X III teleconverter for a very low $429.00. The sale includes the front and rear caps, the pouch, 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 Asta via e-mail

As regular readers know, I depended so much on TCs when I shot Canon that I always traveled with two spare 1.4X-s and one spare 2X TC. The Series III TCs perform well with all Canon EF lenses. This item sells new for $429.99. artie

This image was created on 16 July on the 2nd JAX IPT. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 452mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 500. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/4000 sec. at f/7.1 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that this was a perfect exposure. AWB at 6:12pm on a sunny afternoon

Wide/AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and performed well enough in a difficult situation by creating a sharp-on-the-eye image.

Image #1: Royal Tern blacklit against the shadowed face of the tall dune

Discovering New Situations

One of the constant themes here on the blog is that when the wind is blowing hard right at the sun on clear days, bird photography will be very challenging at best. Unless you like butt shots. Decades ago Max and Nellie Larsen taught me that when you are birding, you should always look behind you. Not to see what’s gaining on you, just to see what is there. So I have long made it a habit of glancing behind me, especially when things are tough. With the sun at our backs, the wind direction was not quite right for banking flight shots. When I took a quick glance behind me, looking to the west, I saw a Royal Tern fly in to join a scattered group of adults on the beach. When it landed, it was in the sun, but as it approached and flared to land, it was briefly in the shadow of the tall dune; its white feathers were lit strikingly from behind. So, I walked up next to the colony rope, and photographed the bird flaring to land in Image #1. I call this a “blacklit situation; a brilliant bird set against a shadowed background. Birds with white feathers generally work quite well. See the Blacklit Map below.

Anyhoo, I checked the very few frames that I had made, including Image #1, and knew that I had struck gold. I called the rest of the group over to join me, explained what we were looking for, and talked about the difficult exposure. In fact, however, SONY’s Zebra technology made getting these perfect child’s play. The end result: everyone got some very nice images.

Learning to discover and see new and different situations is one of the huge advantages of joining an IPT or an In-the-Field Workshop. I take great satisfaction from discovering the best situations and sharing them with others.

This image was created on 16 July on the 2nd JAX IPT by Clemens Van der Werf. He used the hand held Canon 600mm f/4L IS II lens (that he has since replaced by the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM lens) and the highly vaunted Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 500: 1/4000 sec. at f/7.1 (stopped down 1 2/3-stops) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:26pm on a sunny afternoon..

Face Detection + Tracking/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Image #2: Royal Tern blacklit against the shadowed face of the tall dune
Image Courtesy of and copyright 2021: Clemens Van der Werf

Listen to the Leader!

I am often amazed that at times, when I call out a fabulous, newly-discovered situation, some folks hesitate to join me. Here two members of the group came over, listened carefully as I explained what we were looking to do, went to work, and made some great images. As Clemens had not yet received his 600 III or an RF 100-500 (both are still hard to come by), he went with the hand held 600 II. As you can see above, he did quite well. I love the light coming through the tern’s orange bill in his image.

Image #3: Blacklit Situation Map

Blacklit Situation Map

The red ball is the sun in the western sky. We stood as close as possible to the colony rope to have the birds coming at us as much as possible. As dark backgrounds are a necessity when attempting blacklit shots, we ignored the birds that flew in too high with sky backgrounds. The trick was to anticipate which birds would fly against the shadowed dune while still backlit by the sun. Birds that flew in while completely in the shadow of the dune were not dramatically lit, and thus, were miles under-exposed.

Both Clemens and I used Viveza as the final step in our post-processing. It is superb at darkening the dark tones and brightening the WHITEs to taste. Thanks to Clemens both for letting me share his image with you here today and for his continued Viveza tutoring. I am just about ready to do a Viveza video.

Cover Image courtesy of and Copyright 2021 Brian Sump (Sump scores!)

The BIRDS AS ART Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide

The BIRDS AS ART Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide: $75.00

The guide is 82 pages long: 21,458 words. More than 50 DPP 4 Autofocus-depicting screen captures. And a 31 minute 44 second educational video. This guide took three and a half months of hard work and a ton of help from at least seventeen very helpful and generous folks.

The guide covers — in great detail — all Menu Items that are relevant to bird, nature, and wildlife photography. It does not cover video. The section on AF methods and the AF Gallery has been expanded from the R5/R6 AF e-guide. It remains the one of the great strengths of this guide. I share my thoughts on what I am sure is the single best AF Method for photographing birds in flight. As most of you know, the guide includes a simple and easy way to change AF Methods that was introduced to me by Geoff Newhouse. In the AF Gallery you will see exactly how Face Detection plus Tracking AF works. In the Educational R5 Gallery video, I share my favorite R5 images along with dozens of bird photography tips and techniques.

In addition, I teach you how to get the best exposures with your R5. Detailed instructions on using the great In-camera HDR and Multiple Exposure features will be appreciated by creative folks who like to have fun. The three shutter modes are explained in detail as well. Bruce Dudek solved the can’t-get-to-Auto ISO problem that had stumped everyone at Canon. This information is of course shared in the guide. You will learn how to set up your EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) and Screen toggle options. Not to mention that the mysterious performance of the Q Button is revealed and simplified. Brian Sump’s images reveal how well you can do when using the R5 with EF lenses using one of the three Canon EF-EOS R Mount Adapters (as Donna did with Image #1 below). You will learn how I use Customize Dials to put either ISO or EC on the Thumb Dial and how to set up and save Custom Shooting Modes (C1-C3) that can remember both your Customize Dial and Customize Button settings! That is something that none of the SONY bodies do. 🙁 Near the end of the guide I share my all-important MY MENU items with you.

Like all BAA educational materials, the R5 guide is written in my informal, easy-to-follow style. I am quite proud of this guide and look forward to hearing your thoughts on our hard work.

You can purchase your copy of the BIRDS AS ART Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide for $75.00 here in the BAA Online Store or by calling Jim in the office weekday afternoons at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

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