25 Second Fix

Black-eared Kite, Akan Crane Center, Hokkaido, Japan. This is the original capture made with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2 stops off the sky: 1/2500 sec. at f/5 in Manual mode.

Central Sensor/AI Servo [...]

For Your Critique: Image #11

Beach Grass in Blizzard, Jones Beach Sate Park, Long Island, NY. (Note: the correct title should have been Beach Grass after Blizzard. Please see my comment on image titles and critiquing below .) This image was created with the handheld Canon 15mm fish eye lens with the EOS-1D Mark III (replaced now by [...]

Nikon DSLR User's Guide

Bald Eagle Striking, near Homer, AK. Image courtesy of and copyright 2010: Robert O’Toole Photography. Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens for Nikon handheld at 350mm with the Nikon D700. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/1600 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode.

Purchasing Robert’s new Nikon DSLR User’s [...]

Beanbag Sharpness Issues

This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/8 set manually.

The 800 was supported by a BLUBB resting on the raised window [...]

Sensor Cleaning Update with a Surprise!

Sensor Cleaning Update with a Surprise!

On my recent trip to Midway I left my sensor cleaning kit at home to save a few ounces in my luggage; in retrospect, this was a bad move. And I had had some nasty sensor dust on my EOS-1D Mark [...]

Silhouette Flash Lessons

This Laysan Albatross image was created at Rusty Bucket on Sand Island, Midway with the Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/160 sec. at f/5.6 in Av Mode. Flash as main light in Manual mode at 1:1 with the Canon 580 EX [...]

Spectacular Midway Silhouette

This image was created at Rusty Bucket on Sand Island, Midway with the Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 in Av Mode.

Spectacular Midway Silhouette

On my two-week Midway visit in 2010 I visited Rusty Bucket many [...]

Midway Revelation and Laysan Albatross Images...

I created this tight head portrait of a Laysan Albatross on our second morning at 8:58 am with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 1.4X III TC (hand held at 280mm) and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/1000 sec. at f/9 set manually after histogram [...]

A Guide to Pleasing Blurs

We debated long and hard whether to use a single image on the cover or to create a montage. As the subject matter of the book is so, so diverse, we opted for a montage.

A Guide to Pleasing Blurs

BIRDS AS ART Books is proud to announce the release of “A [...]

Canon Digital Learning Center

A BIRDS AS ART image is currently being featured on the Canon Digital Learning. You can check it out here: http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=3446

When you visit, be sure to check out my Explorer of Light Gallery and to surf around on the site. There is lots of interesting stuff there: I just had 30 minutes of [...]