Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Day 4/Morning, July 9: Punta Vincente Roca

The original image here was made with the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV handheld at 70mm. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/30 sec. at f/20. I added the bird with the very blue feet top/right/center from another frame to create this photo illustration. Photographing a Blue-footed Booby feeding spree is one of the most difficult situations in nature photography.

We woke late on the gray, foggy morning of July 9 and undertook a two hour navigation to Punta Vincente Roca, the location of our first panga (Zodiac) ride. Panga rides can be interesting and at times photographically rewarding, but nothing prepared us for the wonders that we were to experience that morning. As we boarded the pangas the skies were brightening. As we entered the cove, a Blue-footed Booby feeding spree was developing. About 400 birds would circle above the salemas (baitfish) and sardines and then dive in unison plunging into the water at speeds of up to 60 mph. While the number of birds was not relatively large, the feeding sprees continued for hours and when we had to go back to the boat, they continued. Between the sprees we photographed Brown Noddies both on their nesting walls and fishing. Though conditions were nearly perfect with relatively calm seas and the Image Stabilized and Vibration Reductionlenses allowed us to make sharp images, the two problems that you have on virtually all panga rides plagued us: maintaining focus and framing. Nonetheless, everyone made some great images. While we were photographing the noddies, Juan called out, “Flightless Cormorant mating dance” and on and off for the next two hours we had the privilege of photographing the rarely seen water courtship displays of this endangered species; there are only about 1900 individuals in the world, all concentrated in the western section of the Galapagos archipelago.

16 and 32gb flash cards filled at an implausible rate on that memorable morning but photographing the Blue-footed Booby feeding spree turned out to be beyond extremely difficult. I had had the chance to photograph a much larger spree (that lasted only ten minutes) on our last morning panga ride at Black Turtle Cove in 2009; my initial approach was to create pleasing blurs. I was happy but not thrilled with the results so for the first 1 1/2 hours I tried but mostly failed to create sharp images of the diving groups at shutter speeds of from 1/500 to 1/1000 sec. When I switched to slower shutter speeds I was able to create a few decent images. All in all it was a most memorable morning filled with natural history wonders.

Here I went for a sharp image by setting my shutter speed to 1/800 sec. at f/5 and allowing the camera to set the ISO as needed after I had put in my exposure compensation. Again I used the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV this time handheld at 93mm. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/5.

Photographing a Blue-footed Booby feeding spree is a difficult chore for a bird photographer. What lens? What framing? What shutter speed; sharp or blur? Will it continue? Will they dive in the same spot again or a half mile to either side? Yikes. In addition, with the other photographers trying their best to get images you never know when somebody’s hat or back will appear in your viewfinder at the wrong time… The action is frantic. For this one of a Blue-footed Booby turning to begin its dive I grabbed the Canon 400mm IS DO lens with an EOS-1D Mark IV on it because the birds were diving right in front of us. ISO 640. I metered the pretty much white sky and added two full stops: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6. The central sensor was right on the eye in the original. This is a small crop. The BKGR was smoothed out using a 60% Clone Stamp after I got rid of some whitewash on the cliffs.

Folks need to realize how difficult flight photography is. And from a rocking panga, you can double that. I created several dozen images of the fishing noddies at Punta Vincente Roca. Nearly all were our of focus. Most were mis-framed with one part or another of the bird cut off by the frame edge. And then–as is so often the case, Bingo! Sometimes I think that I do it out of sheer determination. This Brown Noddy image was also created with the handheld Canon 400mm IS DO lens and an EOS-1D Mark IV.Here is worked in TV mode at 1/1000 sec. and ?1/3 stop. The camera set the ISO to 500 with an aperture of f/4.5. Sometimes even an old dog can hunt.

Flightless Cormorant courtship dance: from the panga with the handheld Canon 400mm IS DO lens and an EOS-1D Mark IV ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop; 1/800 sec. at f/5.6 in Tv mode. When working from a panga in low light where shutter speed rules as far as sharpness is concerned, I recommend that folks work in Tv mode, select a shutter speed that will yield sharp images with the lens that they are using, dial in the correct compensation, and let the camera set the necessary ISO either via the Auto ISO setting or via ISO Safety Shift (depending the camera body they are using).

After seeing an Andy Rouse image of a Sally Lightfoot crab on black lava rock surrounded by a blurred wave (in his book, Concepts of Nature), I was determined to try something similar on my next Galapagos visit. This image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 50. Evaluative metering -2 stops off the crab on the black rock alone: 1/30 sec. at f/9. (I knew that I would need to underexpose quite a bit to avoid losing detail in the white water of the breaking waves; I needed to check the histogram a few times to get it right.)

Puerto Egas

After a wet landing on a black volcanic sand beach at James Bay, Peurto Egas, Santiago, we enjoyed a coast walk in cloudy bright conditions. The best photography was afforded by the numerous Sally Lightfoot crabs and the plentiful marine iguanas. In addition we got to photograph Small Ground Finches, Galapagos Flycatcher, Galapagos Mockingbird, and lots of Striated Heron (this species and Lava Heron have recently been lumped even though the two forms are somewhat distinct). At the underwater grotto at the end of the walk we encountered more than half a dozen Galapagos Fur Seal Lions. Though they were cooperative subjects they were quite difficult to photograph even in the ideal light.

This image was originally a two-frame stitched pano but I was not happy with is so I cropped tighter on the face of the Marine Iguana that was resting its head on the back of the other one. Much better. The image was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/60 sec. at f/10.

I was intrigued by the dessicated carcass of a Marine Iguana so I grabbed the 70-200f/4L IS lens (handheld at 200mm) with the Mark IV attached and added a 25mm Extension tube for close focus. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/100 sec. at f/6.3. Better technique would have found the lens on a tripod so that I could gone to a smaller aperture for more depth-of-field.

Setting the White Balance to shade rendered the color of this Galapagos Fur Sea Lion’s thick coat accurately. This tropical species is the world’s third most heavily insulated mammal. It is easily separated from Galapagos Sea Lion by its shorter snout. The photograph was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering + 1/3 stop: 1/80 sec. at f/5.6.

This Small Ground Finch was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, a 25mm Extension tube, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering + 2/3 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/6.3. With its 19 foot plus minimum focusing distance I keep a 25 tube on the lens whenever small landbirds are the expected subjects; this allows me to focus down to approximately 16 feet. The combination of having the birds on a rocky shelf at eye level and a distant background yielded a pleasing image in the BAA style.

That afternoon we sailed around the northern tip of Isabella and stopped for our first snorkeling session at Cape Marshall, Isabella. Though the water was on the cold side–heck, it was way cold even with a wet suit–we enjoyed our swim with the sea lions, sea turtles, and a huge school of colorful Yellow-tailed Surgeon. With the Beagle peacefully anchored that night, we all slept long and well.

Shopper’s Guide

1. I have been doing telephoto photography for almost three decades now. My knowledge in the area of equipment for long lens nature photography is quite specialized and I am opinionated. But I know what works and what does not and for more than 20 years I have been willing and eager to share. And have done just that.
2. If you are looking to spend some money on photography gear and have checked the BAA Store, the Bulletin Archives and the Blog, chatted with friends, posted questions on line and are still confused, feel free to e-mail me at birdsasart@att.net for advice. I have helped thousands of folks over the past two plus decades and would be glad to help you. I will always—depending on my travel schedule—strive to get back to you in a timely fashion. And my first concern will always be to help you get the right gear in your hands. In my absence my right-hand man, Jim Litzenberg, will likely be able help.
3. BIRDS AS ART has recently added B&H Photo as a sponsor joining Hunt’s whose Gary Farber has been a big supporter for years not only of BAA but of NANPA, the NANPA scholarship students, and many other worthy photographic causes. Eagle-eyed visitors will have noted that recent Bulletins and Blog posts have included active links to the B&H web site for most mentioned equipment. I have always urged folks ready to spend many thousands of dollars on a new lens or the latest camera body to comparison shop, to price an item at Hunt’s and to price it at B&H and to be sure to get a complete quote that includes the shipping charges and any tax. I urge you to do the same today.
4. BIRDS AS ART does not sell cameras or lenses, but we do carry a wide range of photographic accessories and educational materials. We offer only the very best tripods and tripod heads. We will not sell you junk as pretty much every other specialized mail order operation will. We sell what I use every day and what I believe in. Everything that we sell is competitively priced; we try to sell all of our tripods and heads for “one cent less than B & H or Hunts. As a thank you for the information that we provide via e-mail, Bulletins, and the Blog, was do ask for your business. Know that it is greatly appreciated.
5. Hunt’s does not offer a click-through program similar to that offered by B&H but you can always check their prices at on the website. Gary will continue running his great BAA Specials in selected Bulletins. In a recent Hunt’s Special he was selling Canon EOS-1D Mark IV bodies at a lower price than B&H. It always pays to compare. And best of all, you can contact Gary personally to ensure that you will be getting Hunt’s very best price: by calling his direct line at 1-617-462-2332 or by e-mail to digitalguygary@wbhunt.com. He will do his best to get you a low price and great customer service.
6. We ask the following. Once you have comparison shopped:
   • If you decide to order through Hunt’s, please let them know that you were referred by BIRDS AS ART.
   • If you decide to purchase from B&H, please either click on a direct product link in a Bulletin, a Blog post, or in Gear Bag or on the general B&H shopping link immediately below. If you opt for B&H, do know that a small percentage of your purchase price helps to fund production of both the BAA Bulletins and blog posts and is a great way to thank us for 15 years of equipment advice. Your purchase price will be unchanged.
7. Please don’t forget to e-mail me with your equipment questions. Spending a lot of money on the wrong gear gets old fast. I see it every day…. We are in a better position to answer your equipment questions than the folks at any camera store. As above, we do appreciate your continued patronage of the BAA On-Line Store for your tripod, tripod head, photographic accessory, and educational material needs.

As often happens in the Galapagos in June and July, we walked past a nest with two eggs only to find out five minutes later that there was just one egg in the nest along with a chick. This newly-hatched Nazca Booby chick was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/80 sec. at f/5.6. The improved image stabilization on the 800 allows folks with poor sharpness techniques to produce images at relatively slow shutter speeds. Happily, that group of folks does not include me!

July 7. Afternoon at Prince Phillip’s Steps

The dry landing–you step onto a wet rocky shelf rather than into the water–at Prince Phillip Steps on Tower Island entails a somewhat steep and precarious walk up approximately 45 steps roughly hewn out of the cliff side. The wooden handrails are a most welcome addition. At the top you are usually greeted by dozens of Nazca Boobies either setting up territories, on eggs, or with chicks. This year it was pretty much A & B. A walk across the island to the rocky shelf along the south coast brings you past some interesting geology in the form or a large volcanic fissure, several pairs of nesting Red-footed Boobies, more Nazca Boobies, and several species of Darwin’s Finches and Galapagos Doves. When you reach the rocky coast you are greeted by more nesting Nazca Boobies, a good helping of Galapagos (Wedge-rumped) Storm Petrels–about 200,000 pairs call the island home–and usually a Short-eared Owl or two; the storm petrels are manna from heaven for the owls. Juan found us a pair of owls but for the most part they were content to sleep the afternoon away. As it clouded up at about five pm we were back on the boat a bit on the early side.

In some years, there are dozens of Nazca Booby nests near the paths at Prince Phillip’s Steps. This was one of those years. This bird was displaying to its mate. The image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS L lens (handheld at 176mm) with the and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/7.1. Here I had a choice of kneeling or making the image while standing…. It was a hard one: if I had gotten lower the background would have been a mess of bare bushes so I opted to stand.

This preening adult Nazca Booby was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/1250 sec. at f/8. 7.1 set manually after checking the histogram. When photographing preening birds strive to make the image when the bird’s head is parallel to the back of the camera. The head angle here is pretty much perfect.

Here, to increase my magnification while staying low, I added a 1.4X II TC with a 25mm Extension tube behind it to the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS L lens and the EOS-1D MIV. The rig was handheld at 261mm. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/13. When working at very close range it pays to stop down so that you have enough depth-of-field to cover the subject. Knowing how and when to use various accessories as above allows you to increase the versatility of your telephoto and telephoto zoom lenses.

The image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS L lens (handheld at 89mm) with the and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/4. This nest was only yards from the nest of the bird immediately above. But with the loverly stand of flowers right behind the nest as my inspiration, I opted to work wide (with the same lens) rather than tight. Note both the careful framing and the careful choice of perspective. (I tried a few from a lower perspective but they were not nearly as pleasing.) Note the relative rule-of-thirds placement of the subject.

This totally tame Short-eared Owl was was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/80 sec. at f/8. We found one owl and were photographing it for about 15 minutes when Christine Doyle noticed a second bird standing right out in the open just a few feet from us. Because the birds were both in unattractive settings I opted to add the 1.4 teleconverter and work very tight.

That is Juan on the lower step grabbing some equipment from the captain who helped with all of the landings. Getting up to the top was not as difficult as it looks in this photos as their are handrails all the way to the top. Prince Phillip actually visited this site in the 60s.

After another great dinner, the overnight navigation to James Bay on Santiago was much smoother than Juan had expected and everyone slept well.

This Swallow-tailed Gull chick being fed regurgitated squid was photographed with the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS Canon lens (handheld at 200mm) and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/5.6 set manually. The lightweight 70-200 f/4L IS is one of my very favorite lenses for the Galapagos.

Darwin Bay, on Tower Island (Genovesa) is one of the world’s great wildlife photography locations ranking right up there with most Antarctica landings sites and East Africa. After our second wet landing the group was overwhelmed by the huge variety of photographic opportunities; what to photograph first?

Several pairs of Swallow-tailed Gulls puked up squid caught the previous night to feed to their small chicks. Large fluffy white Red-footed Booby chicks sat in their nests with a single adult. Tower hosts the world’s largest breeding population of this species with the dark morphs outnumbering the gorgeous white morphs by about 10 to 1. Frigatebird nests with white chicks and a single adult were seemingly everywhere at knee level. Both species nest in the low bushes with the Magniificents outnumbering the Greats again by about 10-1. Handsome Nazca Boobies were setting up territories.

A few Lava Gulls, the world’s rarest gull species–only 400 pairs at present–foraged in tidal pools along with adult and young Yellow-crowned Night Herons. The latter species is much darker than the birds that breed in North America. Thousands of seabirds in flight above the sandy beach added to the mix. In addition to the water birds there are five species of Darwin’s Finches on Tower: Small Ground, Large Ground, Large Cactus, Warbler, and Sharp-beaked.

This Red-footed Booby chick was in the process of being fed in its waist level nest by a dark morph parent. The image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS Canon lens (handheld at 200mm) and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6 set manually. The tameness of most Galapagos birds needs to be experienced to be believed.

This foraging Lava Gull image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS Canon lens (handheld at 200mm) and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/1000 sec. at f/8. When working with tame birds and short lenses it is most important to get low; this image was created while kneeling.

This yawning Great Frigatebird chick image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens (handheld at 121 mm) and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/13. Here with the large dark adult in the background added only 1/3 stop of light to the suggested exposure to avoid burning the white feathers.

Many of the birds on Tower are so tame that I found myself needing to add either a 12 mm or a 25mm Extension tube to both the 70-200 and the 800 lenses to allow for closer focusing when creating tight images of a bird’s head or close-up pattern-type images of its plumage.

This close-up of the head and bill of an adult female Great Frigatebird sitting on its nest was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens (handheld at 121 mm) and the EOS-1D MIV. A 25mm Extension tube was mounted between the lens and the camera body to allow for close focusing. (Extension tubes make it easy to photography bugs and flowers with intermeditate telephoto lenses. ISO 800. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/200 sec. at f/9. It was cloudy dark when we landed. Then it brightened. Then the sun was out for a while. Then it was cloudy bright one second and cloudy dark the next. Only those with a good understanding of digital exposure and histograms were able to create consistently good exposures. You can learn about both of these vital topics in ABP II ((16 pages on CD only).

This close-up of the mantle feathers of a male Great Frigatebird sitting on its nest was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens (handheld at 155 mm) and the EOS-1D MIV. A 25mm Extension tube was mounted between the lens and the camera body to allow for close focusing. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/100 sec. at f/4. Working at the wide open aperture due to the low light it was important to parallel the subject as closely as possible.

The images above represent only a small fraction of the wonderful photographs that I created during our memorable morning landing at Darwin Bay. Though our overnight navigation to Tower Island in the far northwestern corner of the archipelago had been quite a rough one with the boat rolling pretty severely for more than seven hours, all agreed that our great morning at Darwin Bay had made the sleepless night well worth it. And amazingly, nobody had gotten seasick.

Great News: Over the next few weeks I will be publishing my Galapagos journal here on the BAA Blog one day at a time

This image of a male Galapagos Yellow Warbler was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, a 25mm Extension tube, and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 1000. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6 in Tv Mode. In the low light conditions on the Galapagos in June I often found myself working in Tv mode with ISO Saftey Shift enabled to ensure a minimum shutter speed. If using the 7D and some of the other pro-sumer bodies, you can do the same thing by setting Auto ISO. Learn about our Mark IV and 7D User’s Guides.

The Galapagos Photo-Cruise of Lifetime actually began a bit early when Juan Salcedo, the world’s very best and most knowledgeable Galapagos tour guide, met us at the Quito airport and was flooded with questions from the eager participants. We had a great flight to Baltra and all were excited to board the beautiful Beagle, a motor sailing yacht. The boat was lovely and the crew pleasant and more than eager to help with our luggage and our gear and to ensure our safety.

Our first landing was a wet landing; you step off the panga into a foot or so of water. We were at Bachas on Santa Cruz Island. It was a great way for the group to get their feet wet if you will, an easy landing and a short beach walk. After getting my 800 and the 70-200 f/4 from the crew, I sat on rock, carefully Johnson baby-powdered my feet, and put on my socks and sneakers. Just then, Juan called out, “Striated Heron fishing on the lava rock”. A beautiful young heron, similar to our Green Heron, was stalking what we thought were small baitfish in a tidal pool. To ensure a proper sun angle I had no choice but to walk into the Pacific Ocean with my powdered feet and dry sneakers. Such is the life of a bird photographer. The bird was actually catching polychetes, small invertebrates known locally as fireworms. All of the group got some images of both the handsome immature heron and the Sally Lightfoot crabs that adorned the black rocks.

The rest of the walk went well. We photographed first summer Semipalmated Plovers and a colorful Greater Flamingo filter feeding in a pond set back just a bit from the ocean. We ended our walk photographing a male Yellow Warbler of the Galapagos race as is fed on the white sand beach posing only for an instant every now and then; my one keeper graces the opening of this series.

This image of a young Striated Heron with a polychete was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/7.1.

Juxtaposition images feature one subject in sharp focus and a second, usually softly focused subject pleasingly offset from the main subject. This image of juxtaposed Sally Lightfoot Crabs was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/6.3. Processing this image was somewhat problematic as I simply added too much light with the full sun, the dark background, and subjects with bright highlights..

This filter-feeding Greater Flamingo was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II teleconverter, and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/11. Limited to only the central sensor with an f/5.6 lens and the 1.4X I focused on the spot where the bird’s front leg entered the water and then leveled the image and cropped a bit from behind the bird..