Your Call?
Which two of today’s four featured Galapagos Tortoise images do you like best? Please leave a comment and let us know why you made your choices.
The Carhartt Men’s Knit Cuffed Beanies that are the backbone of my traveling-by-air strategy, is currently on sale (in blue only) for a ridiculously low $9.99. Amazingly, you can still find them, on Amazon no less, for as much as $33.90. These beanies are far less costly than the LensCoat stuff, offer far more protection in terms of absorbing shock during travel by air or by car, and provide better protection against moisture as well. I use two of the hats for my camera bodies. You can buy thinner, cheaper watch caps, but they simply do not do the job.
Learn more about traveling by air with your gear here. And learn more about the two great Think Tank bags here. One or the other of these two rolling bags make my life easier whenever I get on a plane.
My Call
Below are my answers to the questions in the last blog post, Using Every Club in the Bag.
DeSoto Image #1 Multiple Choice/Fill-in: Shorebird flock blur
B- I love the intricate and delicate patterns and the degree of blurring — the effect is magical.
DeSoto Image #2 Multiple Choice/Fill-in: Reddish Egret high-key bird-scape
B- I find the high key look intriguing. And I like the clever, out of the box image design with the bird looking out of the frame the “wrong way.” Why? Because the subject in the lower right corner nicely balances the stand of skinny trees in the upper left. In addition, using the wide open f/2.8 aperture for a bird-scape gives the image somewhat of a surreal look.
DeSoto Image #3 Multiple Choice/Fill-in: American White Pelican swimming in late afternoon light
B- I love the warm light, the yellow beach grasses, the sweet blue water, the almost rule-of-thirds image design, and the splash of disturbed water at the front of the wake.
The blur was my favorite with the pelican a close second.
What’s Up?
I got a ton of work yesterday and ordered myself a present, an Apple 16″ MacBook Pro (M2 Max, Silver) from B&H. With three years of Apple Care added, the total came to $6,898.00. It will be here tomorrow.
I had been having serious Save As problems in Photoshop for four months and spent several hours on the phone yesterday troubleshooting. I got a really smart guy from Adobe and after more than an hour and many tests, he could not resolve the issue. He did figure out that the problem was not with Photoshop. I had updated the operating system on my 16″ M1 MacBook Pro and also updated Photoshop CC hoping that the problem would be solved. But neither helped. Before calling Apple Care, I called the help line at Camera Bits (Photo Mechanic) and was fortunate to get the brilliant Maury Neipris on the line. At first he was baffled. But he did not give up. Screen sharing, he worked at solving the problem as I prepared my dinner — seared tuna and guacamole. I checked up on Maury’s progress just before putting the tuna on the grill and was thrilled to learn that he had figured it out. I will share the complete details of the solution here soon.
This blog post took more than two hours to prepare (including the time spent on the three image optimizations). 4086 published posts are nothing to sneeze at.
Today is Wednesday 20 September 2023 and I still have lots of work to do. I did get a $213 refund from FedEx yesterday but still have lots of e-mails to deal with today. And, in addition, I have to deal with another greedy mail-order company. Wherever you are an whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.
Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!
You can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) 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 who, like me, 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.
If an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, 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 earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.
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This image was created on 5 September 2022 at the Highlands, Puerto Ayora, Santa Crus Island, Galapagos, Ecuador on a BIRDS AS ART Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime. Seated on damp dirt and grass behind my lowered tripod, I used the Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 500. 1/320 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect (ho hum). AWB at 8:42:59am on a heavily overcast morning. Tracking: Expand Spot S AF-C with Animal Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Galapagos Tortoise in mud puddle — two-frame stitched panorama |
The Highlands
The landing at Puerto Ayora with a bus trip up to the Highlands is always one of my favorite days on a Galapagos Photo-Cruise. We visit a private ranch sanctuary that is packed with tortoises. In addition, there are always lots of Darwin’s finches to photograph along with Yellow Warbler and Galapagos Flycatcher. After a long session and lunch at the ranch, we get to do some shopping in town.
Image #1, a two-frame stitched panorama, was assembled manually in Photoshop.
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This image was also created on 5 September 2022 at the Highlands, Puerto Ayora, Santa Crus Island, Galapagos, Ecuador on a BIRDS AS ART Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime. Seated on damp dirt and grass behind my lowered tripod, I used the Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter,and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600. 1/500 sec. at f/5.6 (stopped down one stop) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect (ho hum). AWB at 11:56:17am on a then-cloudy morning. Tracking: Expand Spot S AF-C with Animal Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Galapagos Tortoise on rise |
Tortoise-scapes — Going Wide
On previous visits to the Highlands, I spent most of my time moving slowly and getting close enough to the ancient reptiles to create tight head portraits. In 2023, I often opted for a wider approach, photographing the tortoises from a distance. The animal in Image #2 caught my eye as it foraged on a slight rise.
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This image was also created on 5 September 2022 at the Highlands, Puerto Ayora, Santa Crus Island, Galapagos, Ecuador on a BIRDS AS ART Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime. Again, seated on damp dirt and grass behind my lowered tripod, I used the Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter,and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1000. 1/500 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect (ho hum). AWB at 12:01:19pm on a then cloudy afternoon. Tracking: Expand Spot S AF-C with Animal Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Galapagos Tortoise munching on grass |
Moving at a Pretty Good Clip (for a tortoise)
Judging by the mud on the front of the carapace, the tortoise in Image #3 is the same animal as in Image #2. In the five or so minutes after I made Image #2, the foraging tortoise covered a fair amount of distance as it angled toward me. The cloudy or drizzly conditions that we usually encounter in the Highlands eliminates the harsh shadows that you need to deal with on the rare sunny morning there.
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This image was also created on 5 September 2022 at the Highlands, Puerto Ayora, Santa Crus Island, Galapagos, Ecuador on a BIRDS AS ART Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime. Again, seated on damp dirt and grass behind my lowered tripod, I used the Robus RC-5558-3 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter,and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1250. 1/2500 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect (ho hum). AWB at 2:24:55pm on a then cloudy-bright afternoon. Tracking: Expand Spot S AF-C with Human Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #4: Ed Dow photographing Galapagos Tortoise |
Seeing the Image
While photographing a tortoise at relatively close range, I glanced to my right and saw Ed down and dirty photographing a very large animal. An image of the photographer in deep concentration and the tortoise perfectly framed by the tree trunk to my right and the branches to my left, jumped out at me. I switched to Human Face/Eye detection and created a few pretty much identical frames.
The two best ways of developing the skill of seeing the images are:
1- Viewing and studying as many good images as possible.
2- Attending one or more IPTs.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Image #3 is my pick.
Images #1 and #2 and #3 of Galapagos Tortoise are interesting and cute! Image #4 of Ed Dow photographing one of them is also interesting!
david and i agree #3 wins our vote
glad your home safe
Of the images, #3 is probably the most esthetic, though #4 of Ed is kind of cool. It’s difficult to photograph these magnificent creatures and capture their scale.
Thanks, Adam. I agree that the one od Ed is very cool. Even though it was humid that afternoon.
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