Bosque Is Rocking! « Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Bosque Is Rocking!

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This zoom blur was created with the tripod-mounted 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/3 sec. and f/18. (Zoomed from long to wide.) To learn to make images like this plus everything that you wanted to know about creating pleasing blurs but were afraid to ask, check out: “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs” by Denise Ippolito and yours truly.

Bosque Is Rocking!

When I spoke to Jim Neiger last week, he said, “It’s the worst year ever, worse than last year.” I have been hearing the dire predictions for more than a decade but in recent years they have proven to be true. But this year, I knew that there was corn. Today, the first day of the 2010 The Complete Bosque Experience IPT, was one of the best days I have had here in 16 years. We started with a spectacular sunrise, enjoyed great blackbird and geese blast-offs, had some great incoming flight photography with single geese, and finished with a spectacular sunset filled with birds. Whew.

Congrats to the Bosque management team for getting it right: this year is Bosque like it used to be! And for the third straight year Gary Roleuau and his team of volunteer Animals did a great job of opening many strategically placed viewing windows. Thanks a stack guys and gals!

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This blackbird motion blur was created with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens and the 1.4X II teleconverter (hand held at 280mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/8 sec. and f/22 set manually.

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This Snow Goose blast-off blur was created with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens hand held at 80mm with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/13 sec. at f/18 in Tv Mode.

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This banking Snow Goose image was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop off the sky: 1/2000 sec. and f/9 set manually.

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This landing Snow Goose image was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop off the sky: 1/2000 sec. and f/8 set manually.

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This sunset silhouette with killer cloud image was created with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens hand held at 88mm with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/500 sec. at f/3.2. This was created at one of my favorite sunset spots, a spot that few serious photographers ever visit. To make the most of your Bosque visit get your self a copy of the Bosque Site Guide–the next best thing to being on an IPT.

Shopper’s Guide

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

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens
Canon EF Teleconverter 1.4X II
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

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.

8 comments to Bosque Is Rocking!

  • Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

    Robert, Most of the 70-200 stuff is hand held except as noted. Everything with the 800 is on a tripod 🙂

  • I am so excited after seeing these images, that I want to head on down and create some myself.

    Stan

  • Nice snow goose photos. Were you using tripod or hand-held?

  • James Saxon

    Very nice set of images. I hope the birds stay as I will be in Bosque on Nov. 30. I have the Bosque site guide and it is very helpful to point out the best places for dramatic images. Thanks for everything.

  • Bill Clausen

    Beautiful!! The images of the birds in flight are great!

  • Andrew

    I am glad to know the Bosque is rocking. Here in MT. we now have 8.4 inches of snow & this AM the temp is
    -6ËšF. The snow & temp in the northern latitudes is probably why Bosque is rocking. Great images.

    • Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

      I forgot the best part: by mid-morning it was shirtsleeves weather yesterday. But, they are forecasting 12 degrees for Friday morning…

  • Very nice set of images, Art. Great sunset silhouette and I love the primary flight detail on the banking snow goose.