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

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 Guide will not guarantee that you will make images as good as the one above but you will learn how to get the most out of your gear for nature and action photography. (Sports photographers take note.) Or, purchase the guide and join us in Homer–see $1000 DISCOUNT OFFER below–for personal lessons from Robert!

Nikon DSLR User’s Guide for the D300s/D700/D3S/d3x

Well, it took long enough–at least two years from concept to the final PDF–but Robert O’Toole has out-done himself by creating a masterpiece user’s guide for using Nikon gear. I just had my first look at the finished document and all that I can say is “Wow! Many Nikon folks show up on IPTs knowing little about properly setting up their cameras. “How do you see the histogram?’ “Don’t know….” “Can you set your camera so that we see the RGB histogram and blinkies in the same frame? “I once saw it done but don’t know how….” For me, it has long seemed that operating a Nikon camera required degrees in Physics, Language, and Logic. With Robert’s new guide those days are over.

You will learn when, how, and why to work in Manual mode and when, why, and how to work in one of the auto-modes (by setting exposure compensation). You will learn the various camera control options and custom settings so that you can fine-tune your camera to suit your shooting style. You will learn how and why many top pros works at higher ISOs than the regular Joes. And you will learn how Robert uses both Auto-ISO Control and Exposure Compensation while working in Manual Mode to routinely create perfectly exposed action photographs. He explains exactly how he sets the important camera controls. And why. Those include Release Mode, Focus Mode, and Rear Button Focus. You will learn how to set your camera and your flash to create flash blurs. You will learn which AF Mode Robert uses 90% of the time and how he sets it up using Menu/Custom Settings Menu.

He will teach you how and why to set a variety of buttons and dials. How and why to use Live View. About the only metering mode he uses. How, why, and when to switch AF points with the Multi-Selector. How and why to use the often-overlooked Info Button and the often over-looked My Menu feature. Then he takes you through the Camera Menus while dealing with the hows and whys of how he sets up the important items.

If you use Nikon gear then you simply cannot live without Robert’s great new guide. You owe it to yourself to make your life easier, to learn to make better images, and to learn exactly how a top professional does things. The Nikon DSLR User’s Guide is a comprehensive 45-page PDF that is sent by e-mail. There are dozens and dozens of diagrams and screen captures and even a few photos to illustrate key points. Your best bet is to save $2 by ordering your Nikon dSLR User’s Guide through the BAA On-line Store here for only $30. Or you can purchase your copy for $32 by calling BIRDS AS ART at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand, by sending a PayPal for $32 to us at birdsasart@att.net, or by sending a check for $32 made out to “Arthur Morris” to us at Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL. If by check be sure to include your e-mail address. (Please remember: no sharing digital files please )

Bald Eagle at sunset, talons out, near Homer, AK. Image 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 640. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. In Robert O’Toole’s Nikon DSLR User’s Guide for the D300s/D700/D3S/d3x he shares with you the AF and metering settings that he uses to create sharp, perfectly exposed images. In addition he details his entire camera set-up from soup to nuts. Learn to use your Nikon camera like a top professional.

Bald Eagle stare-down approach, near Homer, AK. Image copyright 2010: Robert O’Toole Photography. Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens for Nikon handheld at 200mm with the Nikon D700. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode.

Bald Eagle against mountains, near Homer, AK. Image copyright 2010: Robert O’Toole Photography. Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens for Nikon handheld at 290mm with the Nikon D700. ISO 640. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/1600 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode.

Earn Free Contest Entries and Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

More and more folks are earning multiple contest entries with their B & H purchases. See here for details on that. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here to visit the competition home page.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear used to create the images in today’s blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens for Nikon. I’ve seen the great images that Robert has created with this lens on his laptop at full resolution…. This lens is also available in Canon mount. See item next.
Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens for Canon. This is the Canon version of one of Robert’s favorite Sigma lenses.
Nikon D700. This is Robert’s favorite camera body.

As I [...]]]>

For greater appreciation of the compostie image, click on the photo; then click on the larger version to close it.

Morro Bay, CA IPT. APR 2-4, 2012. 3-DAYS: $1499. Introductory Slide program: 7pm on 4/1–no fooling! Limit: 10. Shorebirds including Long-billed Curlew; gulls, sunrises and sunsets, California poppies, and more.

As I walked along the beach there were Long-billed Curlews to the left of me and Long-billed Curlews to the right of me. Some were feeding along the edge of the surf, some were sleeping peacefully higher up on the beach, and others were squabbling over the sand crabs they had just captured. As this is a difficult species to photograph over most of its range, it was like being in shorebird photographer’s heaven.

In the spring of 2008 I did a workshop for LIDI (formerly the Lepp Institute and now Light Photographic Workshops) in Los Osos, California. Just 15 minutes to the north via South Bay Blvd, State Park Road, and Main Street you will find spectacular Morro Bay, Morro Bay State Park, and the stately Morro Rock. If you love shorebirds as I do, you will want to visit in fall, winter, or spring. If you love flower photography visit in spring when fields of blooming California poppies await in most years.

Do consider joining me and Aidan Briggs for three days of great bird and nature photography on the Morro Bay IPT. In addition to getting to photograph a variety of shorebirds including Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Black Oystercatcher, Surfbird, and large flocks of peeps we will have good chances with a variety of gulls and enjoy some spectacular sunrise and sunset colors. California Poppy should be in bloom and we may even get our lenses on some landbird species including White-crowned Sparrow, Western Scrub Jay, and Anna’s Hummingbird. Also possible are Common Loon, a variety of ducks, Brandt’s Cormorant, and a heron rookery. A minimum focal length of 500mm is recommended for this trip (though Aidan has created 100s of great images there with “just” the Canon 100-400mm IS L zoom lens.

I do hope that you can join us for this great Instructional Photo-Tour which will take place immediately after the Morro Bay Photo Expo. Details on that will be announced at the end of the year. You can see lots more images from my first Morro Bay trip here.

For additional details or for more information, please e-mail. If you are good to go send your $500 non-refundable deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris”) along with the completed paperwork that you find here to us as follows: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call us at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. (Note: we prefer a check for deposits; IPT balances must be paid by check.)

Click here for BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) General Information.

Click here for BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) Deposit and Cancellation Policies.

Click here for BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) Registration and Release Forms.

Click here for the current BAA IPT Schedule.

For the past ten years or so I have hosted a Thanksgiving Day midday meal, in part to honor the memory of my late-wife, Elaine Belsky Morris, and [...]]]>

For a greater appreciation of the composite image, click on the photo. Click on the enlarged version to close it.

Bosque Thanksgiving Buffet Invite

For the past ten years or so I have hosted a Thanksgiving Day midday meal, in part to honor the memory of my late-wife, Elaine Belsky Morris, and in part because I love meeting others who love Bosque as I do. At first it was held at the wonderful and relatively elegant Val Verde Steak House in Socorro, now defunct. Then it was held at the lovely and historic Luna Mansion. Luna Mansion closed a few years ago and recently re-opened but will no longer serves Thanksgiving Day. In 2009 we had fun and a fine meal at the Stage Door Grill but that wonderful little joint recently bit the dust also. Socorro is a tough place for businesses to survive. In 2010 we went a bit upscale and dined in the New Mexico Ballroom at the Hilton Albuquerque hotel. There was tons of food and it was all delicious.

The Hilton is now a Crowne Plaza and the good news is that they are having the buffet again this year. I will be picking up the tab for the IPT group, but as always, all visiting birders and photographers are invited to join us. If you would like to take part in the fun and camaraderie this year please send a check for $40.00 per person made out to “”Arthur Morris”” to cover the cost of the buffet that will include all the traditional items plus lots more as well as tax and tip. Drinks are on you. Please mark ““Thanksgiving Buffet” on your check and mail it to; BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 4041, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. Be sure to include your e-mail address on your check and in a short note. Sorry, no PayPals or credit cards. I do hope that you can join us.

I have group reservations for Thanksgiving Day (of course). Those joining us will need to be at the hotel at 11:30 am sharp. It is located at 1901 University Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102, about an hour up I-25 from the Super 8 Motel in Socorro where I have stayed happily with my groups for well more than a decade. I do hope that you can join us.

For a greater appreciation of the composite image, click on the photo. Click on the enlarged version to close it.

Bosque IPT Late Registration Discount Offer

With two recent cancellations, there is now a single spot available on the 2011 Bosque IPT. If you would like to join us, a $300 discount will be applied to your balance. Here are the basics:

BOSQUE del APACHE 2011 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 19-25, 2011.

Slide program on the evening of Friday, NOV 18. 7-FULL DAYS: $3299. (Non-refundable deposit: $500; see details below.) Limit: 10/Openings: 1. Co-leaders: Robert O’Toole & Jim Heupel. Geese, cranes, ducks, sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet. Plus great co-leaders and top-notch Photoshop instruction. Please see terms and deposit info below.

This will make 17 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for me. Nobody knows the place better than I do. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the light and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home applying what you learned will prove to be invaluable.

With my ever-shrinking teaching schedule and all the specialty trips sold out, this trip may well represent a rare opportunity to learn from the best so do not wait too long before sending your deposit. Clemens van der Werf who was on last year’s Bosque trip is already registered for this year’s. If you missed the Photographer Experience Quiz and the Mystery Photographer & Experience Level Revealed! posts on the blog, you will surely want to check them out to see what Clemens accomplished in less than a single year of bird photography. And how!

The Bosque Site Guide

If you cannot make the IPT for whatever reason but are heading to Bosque this year it would be foolish to make the trip without our Bosque Site Guide whether this will be your first trip or your tenth. Everything that I’ve learn over the past sixteen years is revealed in detail: where to be on what wing and what weather and when to be there. Exactly what to do each morning depending on the wind direction and cloud cover (if any). I’ve seen leaders keep their groups on the Flight Deck for two to three hours wasting their time while we have moved six times during the same time span with fabulous results. In the Site Guide we teach you where to be when. And why.

Learn more and order your copy by scrolling down here.

Shopper’s Guide

Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

Remember: you can earn free contest entries with your B & H purchases! Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here for details.

Mario Fazekas of Kruger-2-Kalahari.com has kindly posted a fine 15-question interview of yours truly here. Be sure to [...]]]>

“Snow Geese Heading Home” was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 50. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/13 sec. at f/14 in Tv Mode.

Kruger-2-Kalahari Interview

Mario Fazekas of Kruger-2-Kalahari.com has kindly posted a fine 15-question interview of yours truly here. Be sure to surf around the site after you read the interview and check out some really fine African nature photography.

Here is a short excerpt from the interview:

7. Of your many IPT (Instructional Photo-Tour) workshops, which is your favorite and why?

Bosque del Apache NWR because of the birds, the spectacle, the light, and the connection to the memory of my beloved late wife, Elaine Belsky Morris. As I put the finishing touches on this interview my group is enjoying Bosque at its incredible best…

8. What makes a workshop successful from the student’s perspective?

Learning to think like a pro, learning to evaluate situations, getting some great images, and having an instructor who gives a damn.

Seeing me at work in the field, always moving, always switching gear and gears. And of course the killer classroom sessions where a good part of the learning occurs.

Peter Kes, who designed and created both the new BIRDSASART.com and the Blog that you are now reading created this image of me on the recent Bosque IPT where he served as one of our great co-leaders. He posted this in the Friends and Family Forum at BPN here under the title, “Boss del Apache.” You gotta love it. This image is courtesy of and copyright 2010/Peter Kes. Check out Peter’s excellent, interesting and informative photo blog, Nature Notions, here or inquire about having him design your web site or blog.

Shopper’s Guide

Here is a list of the gear used to create the Bosque image above.

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
Delkin e-Film Pro UDMA 32gb Compact Flash Card

If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide. ]]> http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2010/12/01/kruger-2-kalahari-interview/feed/ 3 http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2010/11/30/flames-and-more/ http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2010/11/30/flames-and-more/#comments Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:47:44 +0000 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/?p=3239 Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 1.4X II TC (hand held at 280mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200: 1/15 sec. at f/4 in Tv Mode.

Flames and More…

On one of our many trips around the Farm Loop on the recently concluded Bosque IPT, the bright colors of [...]]]>

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 1.4X II TC (hand held at 280mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200: 1/15 sec. at f/4 in Tv Mode.

Flames and More…

On one of our many trips around the Farm Loop on the recently concluded Bosque IPT, the bright colors of a stand of vegetation caught my eye. When I exited my rental car everyone had a puzzled look on their faces as there were zero birds in sight. “We’re gonna do blurs” I explained. The colors had caught my eye. It was up to each of us to create attractive patterns by choosing a slow shutter speed and moving the camera during the exposure. Within minutes everyone was into it big time. To create the image above, I simply panned the camera vertically during the exposure. We did lots of image sharing right there in the field and there were lots of oohs and ahs. When I showed this one around everyone thought that the image looked like flames.

Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 160. Evaluative metering +1/3 stops: 1/13 sec. at f/18. Image courtesy of and copyright 2010: James E. Heupel.

Jim Heupel, who was my right-hand man on the Iceland trip a few years back, has been co-leading Bosque IPTs with me for several years. He was the Chief Judge for the United States Air Force for seven years before he retired a while back. He is a fine nature and landscape photographer, and also enjoys photographing World War II re-enactments. On the Bosque IPT Jim did a Lightroom Basics program for the group. As he was scrolling through his images the one above jumped out at me. As I did, most folks asked, “Where did you get that?” While we had enjoyed some nice sunrise color that morning, all agreed that Jim’s image was unique. When I asked him how he created it he said, “I moved the camera vertically while panning with the flock, just as Denise (Ippolito) suggested that we do in last night’s Blurry Day program.” Denise uses that technique often for a variety of natural history subjects but I had never thought of trying it with a flock of Snow Geese in flight in the pre-dawn as Jim did. Looks a lot like flames to me. Thanks to Jim for sharing this wonderful image with us here.

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 1.4X II TC (hand held at 215mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 50: 1/8 sec. at f/20 in Manual Mode. I screwed a 77mm stop neutral density filter onto the front of the new 70-200 which is fast becoming one of my very favorite ever lenses. The correct exposure was determined via a histogram check.

If you look at the distant mountains, you can see the vertical pan-blurred background streaks. And if you look at the geese in the lower right corner of the image, you can see that that look like straight white lines. When the flock blasted off I followed their movement by raising the camera vertically thus creating the pan-blurred background and foreground streaks. As Denise and I point out repeatedly in “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs,” digital allows folks to play, experiment, and have lots of fun. And once you have $10,000 to $30,000 worth of cameras, lenses, accessories, computers, compact flash cards, and software, it’s all free!

Moving your camera vertically while creating pleasing blurs can be a great strategy.

Shopper’s Guide

Here is a list of the gear used to create the images above.

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body

And from the BAA On-line Store:

Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Wimberley VII Tripod Head

If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide. ]]> http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2010/11/30/flames-and-more/feed/ 2 http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2010/11/29/flight-photography-considerations-wind-and-sun-direction-subject-tonality/ http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2010/11/29/flight-photography-considerations-wind-and-sun-direction-subject-tonality/#comments Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:34:19 +0000 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/?p=3218 Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 set manually.

Flight Photography Considerations: Wind and Sun Direction & Subject Tonality

On my busman’s holiday morning yesterday we had perfect flight photography conditions for about 30 minutes: when the wind shifted from the north/northwest (the [...]]]>

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 set manually.

Flight Photography Considerations: Wind and Sun Direction & Subject Tonality

On my busman’s holiday morning yesterday we had perfect flight photography conditions for about 30 minutes: when the wind shifted from the north/northwest (the worst!) to the south/southeast at about 8:30 we had the geese landing right at us with the sun at our backs. Birds will always land and takeoff into the wind. The adult blue morph Snow Goose in the image above came in just a shade to my left of right down sun angle.

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/2000 sec. at f/9 set manually. Fine point: note that for the white morph adult Snow Goose image I used 1/3 stop less light than for the blue morph image above.

The adult white morph Snow Goose in the image above came in just a very few degrees off the perfect light angle.

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/1250 sec. at f/8 set manually. Fine point: note that for this immature dark morph Snow Goose image I used one full stop more light than for adult white morph image above.

The young blue morph Snow Goose in the image above came in slightly to my right of perfect sun angle. With the top of the cottonwood tree in the lower left corner of the frame I like the high-in-the-frame upper-right placement of the subject here as it yielded perfect compositional balance.

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/1650 sec. at f/8 set manually. Fine point: note that for this immature white morph Snow Goose I used 1/3 stop more light than for the adult white morph image above.

Here the wind has shifted to the southwest; this is an ideal condition for creating images of birds landing parallel to the imaging sensor. At this point we have seen images of both young and adult light and dark morph Snow Geese.

If my comments on exposure (which are based on the varying tonalities of the geese) confuse you, you need to get a hold of the ABP/ABP II combo (and save $10 in the process). Then you need to study the section on exposure theory in the original “The Art of Bird Photography” (soft cover) and follow that up with work on the Exposure Simplified section in “The Art of Bird Photography II” (916 pages on CD only). If you already own the books and are still confused than you need to either hit the books or join an IPT.

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6 set manually. In a given lighting situation I use the same exposure for both Sandhill Cranes and the young white morph Snow Geese as both are gray birds with small patches of white. This image was made as the birds flew into a south/southwest wind in early morning. The soft early morning light required a slow shutter speed and a wider aperture than I used for the young white morph Snow Goose image above. The crane flying with its feet tucked in indicates that it was a very cold morning with the temps in the teens.

I will be photographing at Bosque in about forty minutes and fly home this afternoon. Be sure to see the complete Bosque IPT report in the next Bulletin.

Shopper’s Guide

Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the images above.

Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body

And from the BAA On-line Store:

Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head
Double Bubble Level

If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.