Thinking of a 2024 Homer IPT?
If you have been dreaming of attending one or both of the 2024 Homer IPTs, please shoot me an e-mail; I will do my very best to get you there with a large discount.
Your Call?
Of the two standing deadfall images, which do you like better — the sharp version or the blurred version. Why? Of today’s three featured images, which is the strongest? Please be so kind as to leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.
My Thoughts
In the last blog post, many folks stated that they wished I had had time to sit down in the water to get low for the avocet wing stretch image. So did I. Most who commented did not like the inclusion of the o-o-f godwits at the top of the frame. I did. As the upper part of the frame was completely de-focused, removing them would have been easy (had I wanted to eliminate them).
While I was excited in the field when I got a nice series of photos of the Caspian Tern yawning, I realized after the fact that I preferred Image #4 to Image #3. Why? Mainly because the tern’s head was perfectly centered in the strip of distant marsh grasses. In addition, I did a much better job with the color of the bill in #4; in #3 it was too orange and not red enough for me. Getting the bill color on a Caspian Tern perfect is always a challenge.
What’s Up?
Yesterday, I prepared a submission of 23 images from my 2018 Emperor Penguin trip for Getty Images. The process is somewhat of a pain in the butt. After about three solid hours of work, I finally hit the Submit button. I should be getting some good or bad news in less than a week.
Today is Wednesday 11 October 2023. I will be presenting A Bird Photographer’s Story online for the Delaware Photographic Society on Monday 23 October and will begin creating an updated version of the program today. 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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B&H
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Bedfords Amazing BAA Discount Policy
Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, prior purchases.
Visit the Bedfords website here, shoot Steve Elkins an e-mail, or text him on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592.
Important Note
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Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are — out of ignorance — using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often save you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.
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This image was created on 22 February 2020 on a BAA Bald Eagles and more Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) at Kachemak Bay, Homer, AK. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 98mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras. ISO 800: 1/1000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 3:01:06pm on a cloudy afternoon. Tracking: Spot S AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, sharper high-res version. Image #1: Seven adult Bald Eagles atop snags |
Visually Pleasing Elements
As we entered Franklin Flats, I immediately fell in love with the patterns formed by the stand of dead trees and its reflection in the still, shallow water. The reflections worked only because the wind had fallen away to zero. Whenever the wind picked up, the reflections disappeared as they were replaced by choppy water. Having seven eagles atop the snags was surely a bit plus.
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This image was created on 22 February 2020 on a BAA Bald Eagles and more Instructional Photo-Tour at Kachemak Bay, Homer, AK. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (at 84mm) with The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras. ISO 50: 1/15 sec. at f/9 (stopped down 3 1/3-stops) in Manual mode. AWB at 3:03:12pm on a cloudy afternoon. Tracking: Spot S AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, sharper high-res version. Image #2: Vertical pan blur of Standing deadfall |
Vertical Pan Blur
When presented with a pattern featuring multiple, strong vertical lines, I find it hard to resist the urge to create a few vertical pan blurs. As I was having problems fitting all the trees in the first image into the frame, I removed the 1.4X TC and went back to work. I was happy with the degree of blurring at 1/15th second.
Eagles?
Had all the eagles in Image #1 flown away in the two minutes that had gone by since I created Image #2? How do you know?
High Level Aperture Question
Why was f/9 needed for Image #2. Note: the answer has nothing at all to do with depth-of-field.
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This image was created on 22 February 2020 on a BAA Bald Eagles and more Instructional Photo-Tour at Kachemak Bay, Homer, AK. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 223mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras. ISO 3200: 1/2000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 4:01:06pm on a then cloudy dark afternoon. Tracking: Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, sharper high-res version. Image #3: Juvenile Bald Eagle banking in flight (from a horizontal original) |
Sony 70-200mm GM II Lens Versatility
Like most of the 70-200mm f2.8 lenses, the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens is incredibly versatile both bare or with either TC. It is especially deadly in Homer for flight photography. The super-fast, efficient zooming mechanism renders the Sony 100-400 obsolete for bird photography, especially for flight. Autofocus accuracy with the Sony version II is a huge improvement over the AF with the first edition of this lens. Sony’s latest version is small, light, wonderfully versatile, and deadly on birds.
You could actually do quite well on a Homer IPT with just the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens and both TCs.
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2024 Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPTs
IPT #1: WED 21 FEB 2024 through the full day on SUN 25 FEB 2024. Five full days/20 hours on the boat: $5500.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 3.
IPT #2: MON 26 FEB 2024 through the full day on FRI 1 MAR 2024. Five full days/20 hours on the boat: $5500.00. Limit 5 photographers. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 3.
Register for both trips to maximize your travel dollars and enjoy a $1000 discount while you are at it.
This trip features non-stop flight photography as well as many opportunities to create both environmental and point-blank portraits of one of North America’s most sought-after avian subjects: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Other reliable subjects will include Sea Otter, Glaucous-winged and Short-billed (formerly Mew) Gulls.
In addition, we should see Common Murre, Black Guillemot, Pelagic Cormorant, two or three species of loons, and a smattering of ducks including two species of merganser, all three scoters, Common and Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Bufflehead, Harlequin, and Long-tailed Ducks. Close-range photographic chances for these species will require some good luck. Some of these species, especially when in flocks, can, however, often be used effectively when pleasing creating bird-scapes.
If we need to be out early, we will be the first boat out. If the conditions are great, we will stay out. And when there is a chance for sunset silhouettes, we will be in the right spot.
We will be traveling through gorgeous wilderness country; landscape and scenic opportunities abound.
Also featured is a professional leader, often referred to as the world’s most knowledgeable bird photography trip leader and instructor. He is conversant in Canon, Nikon, and Sony. You will learn practical and creative solutions to everyday photographic problems. You will learn to see the shot, to create dynamic images by fine-tuning your compositions, to best utilize your camera’s AF system, and how to analyze the wind, the sky conditions, and the direction and quality of the light. This is one of the very few trips Homer trips available where you will not be simply put on the birds and told to have fun. You will learn to be a better photographer. But only if that is what you want.
Homer 2022 Bald Eagle Highlights and Handholding Compositional Tips by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Enjoy and be inspired by just a few Homer Bald Eagle highlight images. Hand holding intermediate telephoto lens will always yield slightly different compositions. Learn more about that topic in this short (3:14) video.
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All images from Kachemak Bay in 2022! |
What You Will Learn
You will learn practical and creative solutions to everyday photographic problems. You will learn to see the shot, to create dynamic images by fine-tuning your compositions, to best utilize your camera’s AF system, and how to analyze the wind, the sky conditions, and the direction and quality of the light. This is one of the very few trips Homer trips available where you will not be simply put on the birds and told to have fun. You will learn to be a better photographer. But only if that is what you want.
You will learn to get the right exposure when it is sunny, when it cloudy-bright, when it is cloudy, when it is cloudy-dark, or when it is foggy. Not to mention getting the right exposure when creating silhouettes.
You will learn to make pleasing blurs working in manual mode and to create silhouettes working in Shutter Priority mode.
Most importantly you will learn to pick your best flight images from tens of thousands of images.
You will enjoy working with the two best and most creative boat captains on their sturdy, photography-spacious, seaworthy, open-deck crafts.
The second and third IPTs are the only Bald Eagle workshops that feature an incredibly helpful first mate.
Only five photographers (not the usual six), plus the leader.
Small group Photoshop, Image Review, and Image Critiquing sessions.
Only five photographers (not the usual six), plus the leader.
Small group Photoshop, Image Review, and Image Critiquing sessions.
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All images from Homer or Kachemak Bay, AK |
What’s Included
One four hour or two two-hour boat trips every day (weather permitting), all boat fees and boat-related expenses (excluding tips), ground transportation to and from the dock and back to the hotel each day, in-the-field instruction and guidance, pre-trip gear advice, small group post-processing and image review sessions, and a thank you dinner for all well-behaved participants.
What’s Not Included
Your airfare to and from Homer, AK (via Anchorage), the cost of your room at Land’s End Resort, all personal items, all meals and beverages, and tips for the boat captain and/or the first mate.
Please Note
On great days, the group may wish to photograph for more than four hours. If the total time on the boat exceeds 20 hours for the five-day trips the group will share the additional expense at a rate of $225/hour. The leader will pay for the bait.
Some folks may wish to rent their own vehicle to take advantage of local photographic opportunities around Homer. In 2023 those included Moose, Great Grey, and Short-eared Owls.
Deposit Information
A $3000 non-refundable deposit/trip is required. You may pay your deposit with credit card or by personal check (the latter made out to BIRDS AS ART) and sent via US mail only to Arthur Morris. PO Box 7245. Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. Your balance, due 90 days before the date of departure, is payable only by check (as above).
In Closing
I have been going to Homer off and on for close to two decades. Every trip has been nothing short of fantastic. Many folks go in mid-March. The earlier you go, the better the chances for snow. The only way to assure that you are on the best of these two trips is to sign up for all of them. Can you keep up with me? If you have any questions, or are good to go for one, or two of these great trips, please let me know via e-mail or give me a call on my cell phone at 863-221-2372.
The Eagles are still there in the vertical blur, I can see their bodies faintly, except the one on the far right. Your second question, f/9 was needed to get a proper exposure at 1/15 sec because you were already at the lowest iso setting available.
Excellent explanation on the f/9. There must be some learning going on here as the last time I asked this same question nobody had a clue.
It is always best to reduce the ISO rather than increase the aperture as the latter causes problems with dust spots. Best is to use an ND filter.
with love, artie
Totally in agreement with David Policansky. No real point to image 2, other than a blurred shot of some snags. No one just seeing this image would have any idea about the presence of the eagles.
I agree with David on the sharp image, and I agree also that you used f9 to reduce the light to get the exposure you wanted.
Image #1 Seven adult Bald Eagles atop snags is not easy to see them. Image #2 Vertical pan blur of Standing deadfall is not real sharp. Image #3 Juvenile Bald Eagle banking in flight is closer and is a big bird to see.
I much prefer the sharp image. Some situations call for blues but I don’t think this is one. Most of the eagles were still present in image 2, but at least one, toward the right of the image, had flown away. I can see the blurred images of most of them but the bird on the tallest snag near the right side is missing in image 2. You stopped down to f/9 to reduce the light so you could shoot at 1/15 second without overexposing.