Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Stuff

It was cloudy all afternoon on Thursday. At 5:10pm I walked out on the pool deck, looked west, and saw a large bright opening below the clouds. “Hey Jim, I am gonna head down to the lake for a few; it looks as if something nice might develop. It did. Another dime-a-dozen evening was in store. Photos from that night will follow in this series.

Friday was a nice day and things are finally warming up. I had fun in the morning down by the lake mostly with foraging Cattle Egrets (after a slow start). I am about halfway through adding images to the 5D IV Guide so it should be ready for publication some time this coming week. I swam my slow 48 lengths, a bit more than a half mile, in the 73.7 degree water, up 3.2 degrees in one day. 🙂 There was another colorful sunset — with this one, I had fun with the Boat-tailed Grackles.

I was glad to learn on Thursday of the sale of Joel Williams’ Fujifilm XF 1.4x TC WR teleconverter in like-new condition for $299. The sale of several other of his items are pending.

Once again I ask that you use the BAA Amazon link below or to the right for all of your online shopping needs.

Right now two folks are signed up for San Diego #2 with two more interested; San Diego #1 has been sold out for some time. IPT #2 represents an amazing opportunity to enjoy some great bird photography with the spectacular breeding plumage Pacific race of Brown Pelican and to learn from possibly the finest bird photography teacher to ever walk on the planet (he said with all modesty …) This IPT is the first to offer a free morning session the day before the IPT starts. I hope that you can join me.

A Very Nice Facebook Message from Johnny Madrigal.a long-ago former student

Hi Mr. Morris, I don’t expect you to remember me but I can’t ever forget you. You were one of the most important teachers I ever had. I was a student of yours in P.S. 106; I had two consecutive years with you: 4th & 5th grade. At times when I look at a bird its you I think about. You definitely made a mark in my life. I learned a lot as kid with you as my teacher. I guess I’m just trying say thank you Mr. Morris for being a great teacher. I remember all the class the trips. An the lunch breaks when you selected a few of us to come up to the old gym room to play play floor hockey. Those were good times. Please feel free to contact me if you like.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Zoom Lens

Featured Item: Save $502!

Les Greenberg is offering a used Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM zoom lens in mint condition for the record low BAA price of $1397 (was $1599). The sale includes a Kirkphoto LP-2 lens plate, the tripod collar, the lens case, the rear lens cap, the hood, the front lens cap, the original product box, and insured ground shipping to US addresses only. The lens was purchased new in 2010 and used less than a dozen times. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Les via e-mail or by phone at 1-216-571-3636 or 1-216-292-7510 after 6:00 PM (Eastern time).

The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens is amazingly versatile. I still own one and have made zillions of great images with it. It works well with both the 1.4X III and the 2X III TCs, even with the 7D II! It is easily hand holdable. It is great for tame birds, landscapes, urbex, indoor stuff likes concerts and recitals, and just about anything you want to photograph. A new 70-200 II currently sells on sale for $1,899 so you can save a cool $502 by buying Les’s mint copy now. artie

Click on the logo-link above for great holiday savings!
$300 off on the Canon 100-400 II!

Facebook

If you have sent me a FB friends request that has gone unrequited, it is because I am up to the 5,000 limit on my personal FB page. You are invited to click here and then Like and Follow the identical content. 🙂

The Streak

Today makes one hundred forty-one days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about 90 minutes to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Click on the logo-link above
Amazing 5D Mark IV Bundles and Deals

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

This image was created late in the day on December 13, 2017 with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 420mm), and my favorite crane silhouette photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop as framed: 1/320 sec. at f/11 in Av mode. WB = K7500.. Minutes after sunset at 5:33pm. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: extrapolated to -1. Upper Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure and worked perfectly. The system selected a single AF point that was one to the right and five rows up from the center AF point. That point fell on the bill just forward of the nares (nostrils). Sandhill Crane at sunset, with midges

Dime a Dozen I: Attack Squadron …

If you head down to Lake Walk-in-Water, three minutes from my home at Indian Lake Estates, it is usually a piece of cake to find a few cranes and, on all but totally overcast days, have some good opportunities to create some very fine silhouetted images. Even on clear evenings you will have some color in the sky as the sun gets close to setting. On Wednesday, there were a few light clouds on the horizon that made conditions a bit better than average.

My very favorite rig for these dime-a-dozen sessions is the hand held 100-400mm IS/, 1.4X III/5D IV combo. It is lightweight and for most folks easily hand holdable. Working without a tripod allows me to get into position quickly. At times I need to change my perspective by mere inches to improve the image design and the 1-4 allows me to do that easily. It offers a versatile focal length range of from 140 to 560mm, short enough to step back and include the whole bird in the frame and long enough to create tight horizontal head portraits of the completely tame and willing subjects. And since I am pointing the lens in the direction of the sunset I can usually work at ISOs between 400 and 800. And if I need to get a bit wider to do a sky-scape at 100mm, I simply remove the TC and put it into my fanny pack.

Though the little flying bugs look like mosquitoes, I am pretty sure that they are midges. The little buggers definitely like hanging around the heads of the cranes and the cranes seemed to find them somewhat annoying based on some vigorous head shaking by the big birds.

Midges

From Wikipedia here.

Midges are a group of insects that include many kinds of small flies. They are found (seasonally or otherwise) on practically every land area outside permanently arid deserts and the frigid zones. The term “midge” does not define any particular taxonomic group, but includes species in several families of Nematoceran Diptera. Some midges, such as many Phlebotominae (sand fly) and Simuliidae (black fly), are vectors of various diseases. Many others play useful roles as prey items for insectivores, such as various frogs and swallows. Others are important as detritivores, participating in various nutrient cycles. The habits of midges vary greatly from species to species, though within any particular family, midges commonly have similar ecological roles.

Blephariceridae, net-winged midges
Cecidomyiidae, gall midges
Ceratopogonidae, biting midges (also known as no-see-ums or punkies in North America, and sandflies in Australia)
Chaoboridae, phantom midges
Chironomidae, non-biting midges (also known as muffleheads in the Great Lakes region of North America)
Deuterophlebiidae, mountain midges
Dixidae, meniscus midges
Scatopsidae, dung midges
Theumaleidae, solitary midges

Various types of ILE midges hatch practically year-round. At times, they can cover every plant and building in sight. And the same is true with the much larger mayflies that hatch more commonly in spring and summer. Both midges and mayflies here are non-biting. At times they can be so thick that you breathe them in. Both midges and mayflies provide fodder for many species of birds including the cranes, Cattle Egrets, and Boat-tailed Grackles.

Support the Blog

Please help support my (stupendous) efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. with love, artie

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You can do most of your photography with an 80- or 100-400 lens …

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include four 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, three 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, three lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. Dinners are on your own so that we can get some sleep.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance is payable only by check. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

There was some nice action down at the lake early on Wednesday despite the clear skies and brisk wind from the west/northwest. I photographed the two species of vultures, a female Anhinga on The Perch, and lots of forage Cattle Egrets; beats nothing all to pieces.

It is still cool in central Florida. Yesterday I put a pair of socks on and then pulled my neoprene ankle-high snorkeling socks over them and my feet stayed pretty warm. Today I tried the same thing up top: I put on an orange woolen watch cap and pulled my neoprene snorkeling hat over that. Despite the pool being just a bit over 70 degrees I was able to do my slow half mile — 44 lengths, in relative comfort.

Right now it looks as if only two folks are signed up for San Diego #2 with more interested; San Diego #1 has been sold out for some time. IPT #2 represents an amazing opportunity to enjoy some great bird photography with the spectacular breeding plumage Pacific race of Brown Pelican and to learn from possibly the finest bird photography teacher to ever walk on the planet (he said with all modesty …) This IPT is the first to offer a free morning session the day before the IPT starts. I hope that you can join me.

Click on the logo-link above for great holiday savings!
$300 off on the Canon 100-400 II!

Brand New Listing

Canon EF 100mm f2.8/L IS USM macro Lens

Mike Newman, fresh off the sale of his near-mint 600 II, is offering his Canon EF 100mm f2.8/L IS USM macro lens in like-new condition for only $599. The sale includes the lens hood, the front and rear lens caps, the warranty card, the original product box (with the bar code removed), and insured shipping via the US Postal Service to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Photos are available upon request.

Please contact Mike via e-mail or by phone at (706) 829-8060 (Eastern time).

Both Denise Ippolito and I love this lens for flowers and more. She uses it hand held almost all the time; I am on a tripod about 75% of the time. Different strokes. It is a lightweight super sharp lens. At the MFD of 12 inches it offers true macro at 1:1 magnification. Note: the tripod ring is not included with this lens even when you buy a new one; you can go with the Canon Tripod Mount Ring D for IS 100mm f/2.8L Macro lens or the far less expensive Vello Tripod Collar D (Black) for Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro lens. artie

Facebook

If you have sent me a FB friends request that has gone unrequited, it is because I am up to the 5,000 limit on my personal FB page. You are invited to click here and then Like and Follow the identical content. 🙂

The Streak

Today makes one hundred thirty-nine days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about an hour to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Click on the logo-link above
Amazing 5D Mark IV Bundles and Deals

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

This image was created at La Jolla, CA in 2017 with the hand held the Fujifilm XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens (at 119.5mm) and the Fujifilm X-T2 Mirrorless Digital Camera body) outfitted with the Fujifilm VPB-XT2 Vertical Power Booster Grip. ISO 800. Pattern metering +1/3 stop as framed: 1/320 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB. Shutter Button Continuous Autofocus. Additional AF information is unavailable. Brown Pelican, Pacific race head throw

The Elusive Head Throw

One of my first BBC honored images was a full bird vertical Brown Pelican head throw from La Jolla. About a zillion years ago, on Fuji Velvia 50 pushed one stop to ISO 100. I’ve been trying for nearly two decades to create one half as good with digital capture. I am still working on it. 🙂

A Good Critique

A good critique includes both positives and negatives, what you like and what you don’t like. And why. Comments on image quality, impact, the quality of the light, sharpness, image design, color and contrast, are all fair game. And the same goes for suggestions for improvement either in the field or at the computer. That said, if you can do your critiques honestly while being gentle, you will soon become a master at evaluating images.

Your Critique Needed

Please let me know what you think of today’s featured image, the good, the bad, and the ugly. You most honest response is appreciated.

Fujifilm X-T2 Mirrorless Digital Camera

Joel Williams is offering a Fujifilm X-T2 camera in near-mint condition for only $1099. Included in the sale are the Metal Hand Grip for the X-T2 (a $109 value), two extra Fujifilm batteries (both items also in near-mint condition), the original boxes and everything that came in them, and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. The items will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Joel via e-mail.

The XT-2 is currently Fuji’s flagship digital camera body. I had a chance to test this camera for about six weeks and enjoyed its small size and light weight a ton. I made more than a few excellent images with my Fujifilm gear. If you click on Postlist 2017 on the orange/yellow menu bar and do a page search for XT-2 you can find nearly a dozen blog posts featuring images from this great little camera body. In addition to being decent for birds, nature, and wildlife the Fuji gear (including many of the lenses listed below) will make a superb travel/landscape rig. artie

Fuji X-T2 VPB Vertical Power Booster Grip

Joel Williams is also offering a Fuji X-T2 VPB Vertical Power Booster Grip in near-mint condition for $189. Learn more here. This item sells new for $329. The price includes insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. The items will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Joel via e-mail.

This grip holds two batteries for a total of three at the same time. I used and enjoyed it with my XT-2. artie

Support the Blog

Please help support my (stupendous) efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. with love, artie

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You can do most of your photography with an 80- or 100-400 lens …

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include four 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, three 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, three lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. Dinners are on your own so that we can get some sleep.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance is payable only by check. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

It was a chilly 38 degrees at ILE yesterday morning and it never really warmed up a whole lot. I went down to the lake am and pm but there were no birds on The Perch and not much going on otherwise. ” I did a lot of work on the 5d Mark IV User’s Guide and should be finished with the text today or tomorrow. Then it will be time to add the illustrative images with the legendary BIRDS AS ART educational captions.

The pool was down to less than 73 degrees so I broke out my full body wet suit. Never again. It took me 15 minutes to get into it (with Jim’s help) and ten minutes to get out of it (again with Jim’s help). And the actual swimming was cumbersome. I did my 66 slow lengths. I will swim today without the wet suit and will try two sessions of 33 laps to minimize getting too, too cold. Unless the pool has dropped below 70. 🙁

Right now it looks as if only two folks are signed up for San Diego #2 with more interested; San Diego #1 has been sold out for some time. IPT #2 represents an amazing opportunity to enjoy some great bird photography with the spectacular breeding plumage Pacific race of Brown Pelican and to learn from possibly the finest bird photography teacher to ever walk on the planet (he said with all modesty …) This IPT is the first to offer a free morning session the day before the IPT starts. I hope that you can join me.

Yesterday’s Blog Post …

In yesterday’s Make the Best Image Challenge: cropping and clean-up (if needed) blog post here, very few folks responded. And those that tried failed to see the image within the image. If you would like to take a crack at it, do check it out and remember to first ask yourself, “What it the best part of this image?” And then look for a crop that emphasizes what you like best about the photograph. It would not hurt to read what I wrote below in the Kill Me Why Don’t You! item.

Facebook

If you have sent me a FB friends request that has gone unrequited, it is because I am up to the 5,000 limit on my personal FB page. You are invited to click here and then Like and Follow the identical content. 🙂

The Streak

Today makes one hundred thirty-seven days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about an hour to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

This image was created at Fort DeSoto on the morning of October 21, 2017 with the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and my favorite tern photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/200 sec. at f/6.3 in Av mode. AWB in predawn light. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -2. One row down and four AF points to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird’s cheek directly below its eye. My Optimized Version of B: Winter Plumage Common Tern on beach The head angle winner by far!

Common Tern on Beach

In the Can a 1 1/2 degree head angle difference be a big deal? blog post here, it was great to read the comments and see that it was pretty much unanimous that the head angle in B was vastly superior to the head angle in A (even though when measured in degrees the difference was minimal.

Johann Mey stated his case clearly when he wrote:

Image B is best – it contains character and interaction with the viewer. Also because I believe the focus is on the eye, the slightly rotated bill is still in the same focus plane as the eye and thus still sharp.

Why not lower?

Warren H wrote:

As for getting lower, you indicated there were several other terns on the beach. I assume you did not get lower in order to keep the other birds out of the frame.

My Optimized Version of B

For my optimized version of B I got rid of the CYAN/BLUE cast (with a Hue/Saturation adjustment) and executed a bit of a pano crop as there was a lot of empty sand above …

This image was created down by the lake by my home at ILE on the morning of November 25, 2017 with the BLUBB-supported Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and my favorite grackle photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering + 2/3 stop as framed: 1/400 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB in sunny conditions at 7:32am. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -1. One AF point to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the side of the bird’s upper breast below and slightly behind the bird’s eye. Boat-tailed Grackle calling Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.

So What Did I Do in Photoshop This Time?

In the So What Did I Do in Photoshop This Time? here, the tightly cropped image of the original provides the answer: I borrowed the grackle’s open eye from the previous frame and replaced the eye in the original that was covered by the nictitating membrane with a Quick Mask that was refined with the addition of a Regular Layer Mask.

Surprisingly, Kiwi-friend David Peake nailed it when he posted, If the upper body has not been transplanted from an adjacent image, maybe the eye was covered by the membrane on this image so you replaced it with the open eye from another image. Its a guess. Nothing in evidence that I can see to suggest this.

This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL on the evening of Tuesday, November 28, 2017. I used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 278mm) and my favorite dancing crane photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB. 7:15am on a clear morning. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: extrapolated to -3. Image #1: Sandhill Crane grass-throwing display/square crop

Kill Me Why Don’t You

In the Kill Me Why Don’t You blog post here, I wrote, “When I saw this image on the back of the camera moments after I made it, I said, “Kill me why don’t you! I felt that I should have zoomed out. But after a few minutes of studying the image on my Macbook Pro, I realized that there might be a pretty good image there.

Seeing the picture within the picture is a skill that needs to be worked on and developed. While I am not a big fan of huge crops, sharp 5D Mark IV images stand up well even to those … In retrospect, I am pretty sure that Image #1 (immediately above) is much stronger than the image that would have resulted had I zoomed out much wider to include the whole bird with a border below its feet. Why? We get a close-up view of the action. We see more detail; more detail on the bird’s face and feathers, and with this image, a much better look at the flying bits of grasses.

I liked Image #1 better from the start but could not really verbalize why. When it came to Image #1 (cropped below the crane’s ankles) versus Image #2 (cropped above the crane’s ankles), the comments left by Warren H, “I like the Image 1 crop. I think the strip of grass “lands” the image. (pun intended.) You instantly know the crane is dancing and can imagine the whole story. I do not think the image needs the feet with the grass shown on the bottom. The second crop leaves you wondering if the bird is on the ground or in the air” and by Anthony Ardito, Image #1. Because the viewer can see where the grass came from along with more debris floating in the air helped me to understand my thinking. Thank you both.

2017 in San Diego was a very good year ….

2018 San Diego 3 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART IPT #2: Sunday, JAN 28 thru and including the morning session on Wednesday, JAN 31, 2018 and a free morning session the day before the IPT starts: 3 1/2 days (+1/2!): $1699. Limit: 8: Openings: 7.

Meet and Greet at 6:30pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Saturday, Jan 27, 2018.

San Diego IPT #2: Shorter and Less Expensive!

Please remember: I go with one.

Join me in San Diego near the end of January to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (usually nesting and displaying) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Wood Duck and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seal (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lion; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the two IPT cards there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Please note: formerly dependable, both Wood Duck and Marbled Godwit have been declining at their usual locations for the past two years …

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You can do most of your photography with an 80- or 100-400 lens …

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include four 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, three 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, three lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. Dinners are on your own so that we can get some sleep.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance is payable only by check. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

On Saturday it was rainy and chilly. I worked on several images and blog posts, drove around ILE looking for perches — I found one nice one, and, late in the day, swam 3/4 easy miles. The pool was 81 degrees, the air temperature was an even 50 degrees.

Right now it looks as if only two folks are signed up for San Diego #2; San Diego #1 has been sold out for some time. IPT #2 represents an amazing opportunity to enjoy some great bird photography with the spectacular breeding plumage Pacific race of Brown Pelican and to learn from possibly the finest bird photography teacher to ever walk on the planet (he said with all modesty …) This IPT is the first to offer a free morning session the day before the IPT starts. I hope that you can join me.

Facebook

If you have sent me a FB friends request that has gone unrequited, it is because I am up to the 5,000 limit on my personal FB page. You are invited to click here and then Like and Follow the identical content. 🙂

The Streak

Today makes one hundred thirty-five days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about an hour to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

New Used Gear Listing

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM Super Telephoto Lens (the “old five”) with extras

Rowland Jackson is offering a Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM super telephoto Lens (the “old five”) in near-mint condition for a fabulously low $3799. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the leather front lens cover, the lens trunk, the lens strap, a Canon drop-in polarizer (a $179 value), a Wimberley P-50 lens plate (a $55 value) and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. The lens will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Rowland via e-mail or by phone at 1-254-709-1770 (Central time).

The 500mm f/4 lenses have been the world’s most popular telephoto lenses for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. I owned and used and loved my “old five” for many years. If you don’t have the cash for the 500 II and can handle the additional 1 1/2 pounds, then this is your best super-telephoto option. Most everyone can produce sharp images with this lens and the 1.4X III TC. Folks with good to excellent sharpness techniques can do the same with the 2X III TC. With the new 500 II selling for $8,999 you can save a neat $5200 by grabbing Rowland’s lens in truly superb condition (plus the extras!) … artie

The Gear I Used to Create Today’s Featured Image

Add the Fujifilm XF 2x TC WR teleconverter to the stuff below and with the 1.5X crop factor of the XT-2 you will be the owner of a fairly light, definitely hand holdable rig with effective focal lengths of from 150 to 1200mm. A new world is coming.

Fujifilm X-T2 Mirrorless Digital Camera

Joel Williams is offering a Fujifilm X-T2 camera in near-mint condition for only $1099. Included in the sale are the Metal Hand Grip for the X-T2 (a $109 value), two extra Fujifilm batteries (both items also in near-mint condition), the original boxes and everything that came in them, and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. The items will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Joel via e-mail.

The XT-2 is currently Fuji’s flagship digital camera body. I had a chance to test this camera for about six weeks and enjoyed its small size and light weight a ton. I made more than a few excellent images with my Fujifilm gear. If you click on Postlist 2017 on the orange/yellow menu bar and do a page search for XT-2 you can find nearly a dozen blog posts featuring images from this great little camera body. In addition to being decent for birds, nature, and wildlife the Fuji gear (including many of the lenses listed below) will make a superb travel/landscape rig. artie

Fuji X-T2 VPB Vertical Power Booster Grip

Joel Williams is also offering a Fuji X-T2 VPB Vertical Power Booster Grip in near-mint condition for $189. Learn more here. This item sells new for $329. The price includes insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. The items will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Joel via e-mail.

This grip holds two batteries for a total of three at the same time. I used and enjoyed it with my XT-2. artie

Fujifilm XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR Lens

Joel Williams is also offering a Fujifilm XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens in like-new condition for $1199. The sale includes the original box and everything that in it along with and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. The lens will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Fujifilm XF 1.4x TC WR Teleconverter

Joel Williams is also offering a Fujifilm XF 1.4x TC WR teleconverter in like-new condition for only $299. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. The lens will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Joel via e-mail.

Extend the reach of your XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR and XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lenses with the XF 1.4x TC WR Teleconverter from Fujifilm. The X mount converter magnifies the image by 1.4x and retains full communication between the lens and body, enabling metering, autofocus, and image stabilization as well as the transmission of EXIF data. Additionally, the teleconverter is designed to maintain the weather resistance of the entire Fujifilm system with a sealed construction that reduces the chances of dust, water, or even the cold from affecting performance. This item sells new for $449. B&H

ACR Screen Capture

The ACR Conversion

I used ACR to convert my Fujifilm RAF files. Click on the screen capture above to see a larger version. Check out the perfect histogram and the various sliders. Do note that ACR conversions (along with hundreds of other important post processing topics) are covered in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II).

This image was created at La Jolla, CA with the hand held the Fujifilm XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens, the Fujifilm XF 1.4x TC WR teleconverter (at 560mm), and the Fujifilm X-T2 Mirrorless Digital Camera equipped with the Fujifilm VPB-XT2 Vertical Power Booster Grip. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/10.1 in Manual mode. AWB. Shutter Button Continuous Autofocus. Additional AF information is unavailable. Black-bellied Plover posing

Black-bellied Plover posing

There are several locations in La Jolla where you can find and photograph a variety of shorebirds. Black-bellied Plovers is relatively common and easy. The same can be said of Willet, Black and Ruddy Turnstones, Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpipers, and Sanderling. Less common though often photographed include Black Oystercatcher, Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Surfbird, and Wandering Tattler. The how-lucky-can-you-get? category includes American Oystercatcher and Long-billed Curlew.

In the same habitats you will find a variety of gulls and terns including Western, Heerman’s California, and Ring-billed Gulls, and Royal, Forster’s and rarely, Elegant Terns. Join me in San Diego and learn how to get close to and make great images of shorebirds and gulls. We usually enjoy lots of flight photography with the gulls. And I forgot to mention that Mew Gull is possible.

What I Was Thinking …

Note that I waited for the perfect head angle to coincide with a very good breaking wave position and you will understand what I was thinking. Though I could have gotten lower that would have introduced more white from the breaking waves so I opted to stand in The Crevice at nearly full height when creating today’s featured image.

Lens Note

If I could be in San Diego with only one super telephoto lens I would pick either the old or the new 500 over the old or the new 600 as the pelicans are too close for the 600s and getting into position on the cliffs is much easier with the smaller, lighter 500s than with the huge, heavy 600s.

The San Diego Site Guide (in PDF format delivered via e-mail)

The Site Guides are the closest thing to joining an IPT that you can experience without actually joining me. And they cost only fifty bucks, a lot less than an IPT! I share everything that I know about the five killer photography spots within 20 minutes of downtown San Diego. Learn where and how and when to photograph the amazing California race of Brown Pelican; Marbled Godwits against bright buff backgrounds; Wood Ducks, Lesser Scaup, and Ring-necked Duck at point blank range; and a variety of stunning gulls (including Heerman’s, Western, and California) both perched and in flight. You will learn where to go on what wind and what tides are best for each coastal location. As usual, I have held nothing back. Both the Fort DeSoto and Bosque Site Guides have received nothing but praise from the more than 500 photographers who were able to visit these sites for the first time as if they had been photographing them for a decade.

The San Diego Site Guide (8936 words, 38 color photographs) will prove most useful to folks visiting in the colder months, but many of the locations are productive in other seasons as well, especially spring. Note: The Brown Pelicans, which are the big attraction in San Diego, have their bright red bill pouches only in winter, so this guide–though useful at other times of year–is most valuable to those visiting at that season.

Amazing 5D Mark IV Sale!

5D Mark IV Still on Sale!

Right now you can purchase a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the BG-E20 Battery Grip for the crazy low price of $3199. I am not sure how long this Black Friday sale will last …

Blog regular Bill Hill was so excited when he read of this sale that he forgot to use my affiliate link. 🙂 He wrote, “I still think the 5D Mark IV sale is is too good to be true. I will believe it when it arrives. Thanks for the heads up.

Note: Bill went for the one with the free battery grip and the free Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Wireless Professional Inkjet Photo Printer.

2017 in San Diego was a very good year ….

2018 San Diego 3 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART IPT #2: Sunday, JAN 28 thru and including the morning session on Wednesday, JAN 31, 2018 and a free morning session the day before the IPT starts: 3 1/2 days (+1/2!): $1699. Limit: 8: Openings: 7.

Meet and Greet at 6:30pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Saturday, Jan 27, 2018.

San Diego IPT #2: Shorter and Less Expensive!

Please remember: I go with one.

Join me in San Diego near the end of January to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (usually nesting and displaying) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Wood Duck and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seal (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lion; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the two IPT cards there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Please note: formerly dependable, both Wood Duck and Marbled Godwit have been declining at their usual locations for the past two years …

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You can do most of your photography with an 80- or 100-400 lens …

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include four 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, three 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, three lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. Dinners are on your own so that we can get some sleep.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance is payable only by check. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

On Thursday morning it was foggy-dark so Anita and I searched for new perches. We wound up finding and setting up three, but so far none can compare to The Perch. I worked on photos and blog posts, visited Publix and ART chiropractor TJ McKeon in town, swam my slow 1/2 mile plus, visited a dying neighbor and his wife, and then relaxed for the rest of the day. Anita flies back to Toronto today.

Amazing 5D Mark IV Sale!

5D Mark IV Still on Sale!

Right now you can purchase a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the BG-E20 Battery Grip for the crazy low price of $3199. I am not sure how long this Black Friday sale will last …

Blog regular Bill Hill was so excited when he read of this sale that he forgot to use my affiliate link. 🙂 He wrote, “I still think the 5D Mark IV sale is is too good to be true. I will believe it when it arrives. Thanks for the heads up.

Note: Bill went for the one with the free battery grip and the free Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Wireless Professional Inkjet Photo Printer.

The Streak

Today makes one hundred thirty-three days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about 90 minutes to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can see the complete listings here.

After a two month lull, sales have picked up over the past six weeks, especially the sale of big glass. I should be listing another Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS Lens soon; if you would like advance notice, please shoot me an e-mail

Recent Sales

Mike Newman sold a Canon EF 600 F4/L USM IS II USA lens in like-new condition for the record-low BAA price of 9,398.00 within two days of listing it in early December.
Steve Cashell sold his Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM lens in near-mint condition for a very low $7898 in mid-November.
In late November Mansoor Assadi sold his Canon EOS-1DX Mark II professional digital camera body in like-new condition for a BAA record-low $3998 and his Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body in excellent condition for a very low and fair $999.
Mansoor Assadi sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III digital camera body in excellent condition for a very low $1299 in early November.
Robert Blanke sold his Canon EOS-1DX Mark II professional digital camera body in like-new condition for the BAA record low/shock the world price of $3999 an hour after it was listed.
IPT veteran Duncan Douglas sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM Super Telephoto Lens (the “old five”) in early November for #3699.
Chesley Swann sold a Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS Zoom Lens (the original 1-4) in excellent condition for the very low price of $529 in mid-November.
Mike Lawie sold his Canon EOS 7D Mark II body in near-mint condition for the BAA record-low price of $923 and his Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens in excellent condition also for a BAA record low price: $448. Both in mid-November.
Gary Wade sold his Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens in near-mint condition for the record-low BAA price of $7449 in mid-November.
Multiple IPT veteran Shelly Goldstein sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM Super Telephoto Lens (the “old five”) in excellent condition for the $3899 a week after it was listed.
Peter Noyes sold his Nikon D-810 Digital SLR Camera Body in excellent condition for $1499 two hours after it was listed.
Multiple IPT veteran Shelly Goldstein sold his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Super Telephoto lens in like-new condition for $9,399 in early November before it was even listed …
Multiple IPT veteran Dr. Gil Moe sold his Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens in excellent plus condition for $449 in mid-October.
Francois Botha sold his Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS (the old 400 DO) for the BAA record low price of $2098 within days of listing.
Stephen November sold his Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender in near-mint condition for $8399 just two days after it was listed in early October.

New Listings

Nikkor 28-300mm 3.5-5.6 G ED VR Lens

Steve Ellis is offering a used Nikkor 28-300mm 3.5-5.6 G ED VR lens in excellent condition for $599. The lens has some very minor wear on the finish. The sale includes the original box, soft case, manual, lens hood, front and rear lens caps, and insured shipping via UPS Ground to US addresses only. Personal checks only; the lens will be shipped only after your check clears.

Contact Steve via e-mail or call him at 1-203-247-4912 (Eastern time zone).

The 28-300 focal length range makes this lens very versatile. It is a great travel and B roll lens and a great lens to have at Bosque. It sells new at B&H for $964.95. artie

AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR Lens

Steve Ellis is also offering a used AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR lens in near-mint condition for $1499. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it including the front and rear lens caps and insured shipping via UPS Ground to US addresses only. Personal checks only; the lens will be shipped only after your check clears.

Contact Steve via e-mail or call him at 1-203-247-4912 (Eastern time zone).

This is an incredibly versatile lens. It is great for general natures and travel and B roll stuff. It sells new at B&H for $2,296.95 artie

Nikon-compatible PocketWizard Stuff

Steve Ellis is also offering the following PocketWizard Stuff for $249: Two PocketWizard FlexTT5 with ControlTL Transceivers and one PocketWizard MiniTT1 with ControlTL Transmitter. Both are like-new having been used only once. The sale includes the original boxes and everything that came in them along with insured shipping via UPS Ground to US addresses only. Personal checks only; the PocketWizards will ship only after your check clears.

Contact Steve via e-mail or call him at 1-203-247-4912 (Eastern time zone).

The ACR Screen Capture for Image #1 Image courtesy of and copyright 2017: Anita North

You Snooze You Lose …

Last Saturday afternoon I was feeling a bit lazy and opted to stay in and get some work done while Anita went down to the lake for sunset and had a really neat Anhinga on The Perch with a colorful sunset sky. My bad …

A Massive Underexposure

As you can see by glancing at the RGB histogram (with no data to the right of center), Anita’s image above was a big under-exposure. Anita likes to keep her shutter speeds up when photographing with long effective focal lengths and at times loses sight of the correct exposure. I optimized Image #1 below. After watching me do that, Anita optimized her Image #2 also below. I actually did my RAW conversion in DPP 4 (as did Anita). I chose to show the original in ACR as once an image is converted in DPP 4 the RAW files show the adjustments. I could have gotten quite similar results had I opted to convert the image in ACR. Do note that ACR conversions are covered in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II).

Summing Up the Lesson

Do not forget that digital images that look like absolute garbage on the back of the camera or on your monitor can often be turned into excellent photographs with a bit of knowledgeable tender loving care.

This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL on the evening of Saturday, December 2, 2017 by Anita North. She used the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Wimberley-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering -1 1/3 stops: stops: 1/1600 sec. at f/8 was a big under-exposure. 5:27pm on a clear evening. Five AF points up and one to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo/Surround/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected Af point was on the center of the Anhinga’s tail of the departing bird. Image #1: Anhinga taking flight Image courtesy of and copyright 2017: Anita North Image optimization by your truly

Anhinga X Greater Roadrunner Hybrid!

I could not stop smiling when I first saw Anita’s image of an Anhinga leaving the perch running. Yes, running like a roadrunner! I knew that this under-exposed image needed saving.

My Image Optimization

With Anita watching carefully over my shoulder, I converted the image in DPP 4. Because of the excessive noise resulting from the under-exposure I used my 5D IV recipe for ISO 1600 rather than the one for ISO 800. Then I moved the Brightness slider to +1.33, pulled the Color fine-tune dot below the line and well to the right, increased the Contrast to +1, and increased the Color saturation to +2. I only very rarely touch either the Contrast or the Color saturation sliders. I find using the Color Fine-tune dot to be tremendously helpful and efficient when it comes to managing color balance.

Once I had the image into Photoshop I added Canvas right using techniques from APTATS II. Then I ran two Neat Image reductions that worked great on most of the background. But the dark strips at the background needed more help. As I did not realize that a simple solution to the excessive noise was at hand until after I had done most of the work on this blog post. I will share the improved version of this image with you in a future blog post.

This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL on the morning of Saturday, December 2, 2017 by Anita North. She used the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Wimberley-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/1600 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. AWB. 5:25pm on a clear evening. Five AF points up and one to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo/Surround/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected Af point was on the Anhinga’s body. Image #2: Anhinga crazy stretch Image courtesy of and copyright 2017: Anita North

Anita’s Image Optimization

Anita did a fine job optimizing the crazy stretch. Behavior-wise, understand that when an Anhinga had been sitting on a given perch for a while and then stretches it usually indicates that it will be taking flight momentarily.

Image Questions

A- Which of Anita’s two images is the strongest, Image #1 or Image #2. Be sure to let us know why you made your choice.
B- Do you prefer the darker sky tones in Image #1 or the lighter sky tones in Image #2?

Thanks!

Many thanks to Anita North for allowing me to share her two images with y’all here in today’s blog post.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) will teach you an efficient Mac or PC/Photo Mechanic/Photoshop workflow that will make it easy for you to make your images better in Photoshop (rather than worse). That true whether you convert your images in DPP 4 or ACR. See the blog post here to learn lots more and to read a free excerpt. You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a Paypal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

The few things mentioned above (and tons more) are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. The new e-Guide reflects my Macbook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow. Do note that you will find the RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing tutorial only in the new e-guide. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

The two most recent and many of the older MP4 Photoshop Tutorial videos releases go hand and hand with the information in DB II):

• The Wingtip Repairs MP4 Video here.
• The MP4 Crow Cleanup Video here.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here.

You can learn how and why I and other discerning Canon shooters convert nearly all of their Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 using Canon Digital Photo Professional in the DPP 4 RAW conversion Guide here. And you can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in the The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

Tuesday morning at DeSoto was much better than it was on Monday morning. We started off with a young and an adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in a beautiful setting in sweet early morning light. Then we made a wiggle. I concentrated on fishing and posing Snow Egrets and some foraging Ruddy Turnstones. An unexpected bonus was an approachable first-winter plumage Red Knot.

Lunch at the Seaporch Cafe was great again. And again I had the Artisan Salad with rare skirt steak added. Yummy and easy on my blood sugar.

Back at ILE the sunset was nice but there were no birds anywhere near the new perch.

Amazing 5D Mark IV Sale!

5D Mark IV Still on Sale!

Right now you can purchase a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the BG-E20 Battery Grip for the crazy low price of $3199. I am not sure how long this Black Friday sale will last …

Blog regular Bill Hill was so excited when he read of this sale that he forgot to use my affiliate link. 🙂 He wrote, “I still think the 5D Mark IV sale is is too good to be true. I will believe it when it arrives. Thanks for the heads up.

Note: Bill went for the one with the free battery grip and the free Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Wireless Professional Inkjet Photo Printer.

The Streak

Today makes one hundred thirty-one days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about an hour to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL on the morning of Sunday, December 3, 2017, just about 24 hours after Anita North and I had erected the perch. I used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 214mm) and my favorite predawn photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops as framed: 1/60 sec. at f/5.0 in Tv mode. AWB. 7:15am on a clear morning. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: extrapolated to -3. Right Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF performed to perfection. The Perch!

Erecting the Perfect Perch

I have been meaning to get down to the lake and set up some dead tree perches ever since I moved to Indian Lake Estates about two decades ago. Just before Anita arrived I did plant one nice perch about six feet high. I’ve been hoping for a red-shouldered. So far as I know nothing has landed on it. When Anita got here we used a post-hole digger to erect a second one about 8 feet tall: still too short. As I mentioned in blog post recently, we went out with my hand-saw looking for a tall skinny dead tree perch maybe 15 feet or so tall We saw two candidates in a burned wood lot; as I was exploring I saw the perfect perch, lying on the ground. No sawing needed. We opened the rear hatch and the passenger-side-window of my Sequoia and stuffed the perch in the car.

We each had on a pair of waders. I knew just where I wanted to put the tall perch. I had seen an Osprey land on the top of the cluster of bushes several days in a row. We made our way out carefully to the cluster with a pair of loppers, some heavy cord, and a box cutter. Ans the perch of course. I clipped away lots of dead branches at the bottom of the bushes for better access. Our plan was to plant the tall new perch between the two main stalks of the bush complex and tie it off with the cord. And that is just what we did.

We were very proud of ourselves as we drove away to check out the vultures. When we returned 20 minutes later an Osprey was sitting on the beautiful parch. Photos soon!

2017 in San Diego was a very good year ….

2018 San Diego 3 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART IPT #2: Sunday, JAN 28 thru and including the morning session on Wednesday, JAN 31, 2018 and a free morning session the day before the IPT starts: 3 1/2 days (+1/2!): $1699. Limit: 8: Openings: 7.

Meet and Greet at 6:30pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Saturday, Jan 27, 2018.

San Diego IPT #2: Shorter and Less Expensive!

Please remember: I go with one.

Join me in San Diego near the end of January to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (usually nesting and displaying) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Wood Duck and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seal (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lion; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the two IPT cards there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Please note: formerly dependable, both Wood Duck and Marbled Godwit have been declining at their usual locations for the past two years …

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You can do most of your photography with an 80- or 100-400 lens …

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include four 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, three 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, three lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. Dinners are on your own so that we can get some sleep.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance is payable only by check. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

On Sunday morning I had two alarms set for 3:15am. The both went off right on time. I finished packing for my DeSoto busman’s holiday and planned to leave at 4:15am. I woke Anita North and we were both coffied up and just about finished packing at 4:10am when I happened to look down and noted that my left rear tire was flat, but only 100% flat 🙂

I called the AAA at 4:15 and after a few fits and starts we were good to go just after 6am. Not wanting to miss the first 90 minutes of great light at DeSoto, we headed down to the lake to photograph the setting full moon and the usual suspects once the sun came up. We met friends Noel Heustis and Lee Sommie for lunch at the Neptune Grill in Gulfport before heading out to North Beach.

North Beach was dead. My afternoon back-up spot was not bad, and we enjoyed a killer sunset at my secret sunset spot but alas, there were no birds.

Featured Item

Canon EF 400mm f/4 IS DO Lens

The Lowest-ever BAA Price!

Pradip Thachile is offering a Used Canon EF 400mm f/4 IS DO lens in excellent condition for the BAA record low price of $2097.00. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the lens trunk, the original tough front lens cover, the lens strap, an Arca-Swiss compatible lens plate, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Please contact Pradip via e-mail

I used this lens for several years with great success, especially for birds in flight and while working from various type of water craft. In addition, it would make a great prime super-telephoto lens for folks with a 7D II. The multiple-honored Gannets in Love was created with the old 400 DO. You can see that one and 13 other killer images that I made with my old 400 DO here. The title of that blog post is “The Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO Lens: Fourteen Images that Prove that the Internet Experts are Idiots.” Pradip’s lens is priced to sell. artie

Amazing 5D Mark IV Sale!

5D Mark IV Still on Sale!

Right now you can purchase a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the BG-E20 Battery Grip for the crazy low price of $3199. I am not sure how long this Black Friday sale will last …

Blog regular Bill Hill was so excited when he read of this sale that he forgot to use my affiliate link. 🙂 He wrote, “I still think the 5D Mark IV sale is is too good to be true. I will believe it when it arrives. Thanks for the heads up.

Note: Bill went for the one with the free battery grip and the free Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Wireless Professional Inkjet Photo Printer.

The Streak

Today makes one hundred twenty-nine days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about an hour to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL on the evening of Tuesday, November 28, 2017. I used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 278mm) and my favorite dancing crane photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB. 7:15am on a clear morning. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: extrapolated to -3. As you can see in the DPP 4 screen capture above, Center Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF performed to perfection. Image DPP 4 Screen Capture

Kill Me Why Don’t You!

When I saw this image on the back of the camera moments after I made it, I said, “Kill me why don’t you! I felt that I should have zoomed out. But after a few minutes of studying the image on my Macbook Pro I realized that there might be a pretty good image there. See below.

Image #1: Sandhill Crane grass-throwing display/square crop

My First Square Crop

Above is my first square crop. I included the bird’s ankles. Yes, what you think are the bird’s knees are actually the ankles. The bones below the ankle correspond to the bones in our feet.

Image #2: Sandhill Crane grass-throwing display/tighter square crop

My Second Square Crop

Above here is my second square crop. With this one I cropped above the ankles and cropped more tightly from the left.

Multiple Choice Image Question

A- The original image as seen in the screen capture that opens this blog post is unsalvageable; you should have deleted it and then put a bullet in your head!

B- Image #1, the slightly wider image, is by far the stronger image.

C- Image #2, the slightly tighter image, is by far the stronger image.

D- There is a better crop available.

Whichever you choose, please give your reasons.

2017 in San Diego was a very good year ….

2018 San Diego 3 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART IPT #2: Sunday, JAN 28 thru and including the morning session on Wednesday, JAN 31, 2018 and a free morning session the day before the IPT starts: 3 1/2 days (+1/2!): $1699. Limit: 8: Openings: 7.

Meet and Greet at 6:30pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Saturday, Jan 27, 2018.

San Diego IPT #2: Shorter and Less Expensive!

Please remember: I go with one.

Join me in San Diego near the end of January to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (usually nesting and displaying) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Wood Duck and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seal (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lion; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the two IPT cards there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Please note: formerly dependable, both Wood Duck and Marbled Godwit have been declining at their usual locations for the past two years …

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You can do most of your photography with an 80- or 100-400 lens …

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include four 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, three 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, three lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. Dinners are on your own so that we can get some sleep.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 11/1/2016. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

On Friday I made some really nice tight head, and head and neck portraits of Sandhill Cranes down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. With gorgeous blue water backgrounds. Surely my best ever. In the afternoon I took a ride to River Ranch to look for some birds, most particularly, nesting Burrowing Owls. But River Ranch is a big place. I found nothing except for a slew of wading birds in a retention pond behind a tall chain link fence …

If you know the location of the alleged Burrowing Owls at River Ranch please shoot me an e-mail.

On Friday I took a day off from the pool but continued with my cobra pushups every two hours.

Amazing 5D Mark IV Sale!

5D Mark IV Still on Sale!

Right now you can purchase a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the BG-E20 Battery Grip for the crazy low price of $3199. I am not sure how long this Black Friday sale will last …

Blog regular Bill Hill was so excited when he read of this sale that he forgot to use my affiliate link. 🙂 He wrote, “I still think the 5D Mark IV sale is is too good to be true. I will believe it when it arrives. Thanks for the heads up.

Note: Bill went for the one with the free battery grip and the free Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Wireless Professional Inkjet Photo Printer.

The Streak

Today makes one hundred twenty-seven days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about 90 minutes to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL on the evening of Tuesday, November 28, 2017. I used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 234mm) and my favorite silhouette photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop as framed: 1/800 sec. at f/6.3 in Av mode. WB: K7500. Right at sunset. . LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: extrapolated to -3. Center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Rear Button AF on the heron and re-compose. When you use Rear Button and re-compose, no AF point is illuminated in red in DPP 4. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Great Blue Heron at sunset, horizontal

The Timeline …

5:28pm: “Hey Jim, Though the sunset looks like a fizzle right now, I am gonna drive down to the lake and see if anything develops.”
5:29pm: As I am driving down Park Boulevard the sun peeks out from under a cloud on the western horizon and the sky brightens.
5:31pm: As I get out of the car I see a Great Blue Heron perfectly positioned along the shore of the lake to the left of the pier.
5:32pm: I grab my 100-400 II and set ISO 800 with +1 stop EC at f/6.3 in Av mode.
5:33pm: I create a few horizontals and note that despite the fact that the sun is well-muted it is flashing as over-exposed.
5:33:30pm. I change the EC to +1/3 stop and create a few more horizontals.
5:34pm: I change my position slightly to create a few verticals.
5:34:15pm: The bird flew away.
5:34:30: I add my 1.4X III ii TC and create two sky scenics. In all I created only 18 images. I kept three of them.
5:35pm: As I get back in my Sequoia, I blow on the end of my lens as a gunfighter would have done way back when.
5:38pm: Ten minutes after I left, I get back to my house and say to Jim, “I was pretty lucky.”

This image was also and obviously created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL on the evening of Tuesday, November 28, 2017. I used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 300mm) and my favorite silhouette photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop as framed: 1/800 sec. at f/6.3 in Av mode. WB: K7500. Right at sunset. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: extrapolated to -4. Center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Rear Button AF on the heron and re-compose. When you use Rear Button and re-compose, no AF point is illuminated in red in DPP 4. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Great Blue Heron at sunset, vertical

Image Perspective Question

For both the horizontal and the vertical images I got as high as possible. For the horizontal I got up on the pier. For the vertical where I moved to my left and climbed atop a foot high platform/cover of some sort. Why was it necessary to get just a bit higher for each of the images?

Your Favorite?

Please take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which image you think is the stronger of the two, Image #1, the horizontal, or Image #2, the vertical. Be sure to let us know why you made your choice. Unlike many of the recent comparisons, I think that there is a clear winner here. I will share my thoughts with you in a day or four.

2017 in San Diego was a very good year ….

2018 San Diego 3 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART IPT #2: Sunday, JAN 28 thru and including the morning session on Wednesday, JAN 31, 2018 and a free morning session the day before the IPT starts: 3 1/2 days (+1/2!): $1699. Limit: 8: Openings: 7.

Meet and Greet at 6:30pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Saturday, Jan 27, 2018.

San Diego IPT #2: Shorter and Less Expensive!

Please remember: I go with one.

Join me in San Diego near the end of January to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (usually nesting and displaying) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Wood Duck and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seal (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lion; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the two IPT cards there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Please note: formerly dependable, both Wood Duck and Marbled Godwit have been declining at their usual locations for the past two years …

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You can do most of your photography with an 80- or 100-400 lens …

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include four 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, three 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, three lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. Dinners are on your own so that we can get some sleep.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 11/1/2016. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

I spent a good hour on the phone with Apple Care as my Macbook Pro was acting strangely; the screen was blacking out periodically and I was having some password issues 🙂 Apple’s Jennifer was great and everything is running perfectly right now. Knock on wood.

I did have time for a half mile swim on Wednesday.

1DX Mark II Oil Spatter

I took 2023 images of the sky with my 1DX II yesterday afternoon and am still firmly convinced that the only thing that could possibly cause what I am seeing is oil spatter on the sensor. You can learn more here. More than a few folks around the world are having the exact same problem yet all that Canon does is deny and stall. And repeatedly offer to clean the sensor yet again … Stay tuned for lots more on this topic soon.

Brand New Listing

Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II Lens

BAA record low price!

Mike Newman is offering a Canon EF 600 F4/L USM IS II USA lens in like-new condition for the record-low BAA price of 9,398.00. The sale includes the the lens trunk with key, the trunk strap, the lens strap, the front lens cover, the rear lens cap, the original warranty card, a three year New Leaf Service Contracts protection plan (transferrable for a $25 fee), and insured ground shipping via Fedex to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Photos are available upon request.

Please contact Mike via e-mail or by phone at (706) 829-8060 (Eastern time).

Weapon of Mass Destruction

The 600 II is the state of the art super-telephoto for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports. If I can get it to a location, it is my go-to weapon. It is fast and sharp and deadly alone or with either TC. I’ve seen photos of this lens; it is absolutely pristine. With a new one going for $11,499, you can save a cool $2101 by grabbing Mike’s lens right now. artie

Amazing 5D Mark IV Sale!

5D Mark IV Still on Sale!

Right now you can purchase a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the BG-E20 Battery Grip for the crazy low price of $3199. I am not sure how long this Black Friday sale will last …

Blog regular Bill Hill was so excited when he read of this sale that he forgot to use my affiliate link. 🙂 He wrote, “I still think the 5D Mark IV sale is is too good to be true. I will believe it when it arrives. Thanks for the heads up.

Note: Bill went for the one with the free battery grip and the free Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Wireless Professional Inkjet Photo Printer.

The Streak

Today makes one hundred twenty-five days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took almost two hours to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL on the morning of Tuesday, November 28, 2017. I used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 400mm) and my favorite vulture photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2 stops off the sky: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB. Clear skies at 8:15am. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -5. Center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the base of the vulture’s left wing just left of where the head would have been if it were visible. The DPP 4 screen capture for the straight-out-of-camera RAW file for Black Vulture banking left

The DPP 4 Screen Capture

Though the data on the histogram does not appear to go well into the fifth (highlight) box, note that with the cursor on the brightest WHITEs in the far wing the RGB values were R=253, G=245, B=226. In fact, I was exposing far to the right in an effort to reveal maximum detail in the BLACKs.

Note that the image is nowhere near level and that I would need to deal with the white buildings on the far shoreline. I moved the Color fine-tune dot a bit towards BLUE and away from RED, moved the Highlight slider to -1, and the Shadow slider to +2.

This is the optimized version of Black Vulture banking left Be sure to enjoy an enlarged version by clicking on the image.

The Image Optimization

After converting the image in DPP 4 I brought the image into Photoshop and leveled it using the Ruler Tool (my personalized keyboard shortcut R) to draw a line parallel to the far shoreline and then Image > Rotate > Arbitrary (my personalized keyboard shortcut Command + /). I hit OK to rotate the image 3.03 degrees clockwise. Then I executed a fairly substantial crop and used John Haedo Content Aware Fill to fill in the single skinny triangle on the left frame edge.

Then I used the Patch Tool (my personalized keyboard shortcut P), the Spot Healing Brush (J), Content Aware Fill (Shift + Delete), and a series of Quick Masks refined by Regular Layer Masks to eliminate the houses on the far shoreline. Last I used the Patch Tool to remove some floating vegetation from the blue water (in two spots). Then I saved my master file, cropped it to 1200 pixels wide, sharpened it with Unsharp Mask at 110/.3/0, and saved it as a JPG optimized to less than 395kb.

Be sure to click on the image to view the larger version and check out the amazing 5D IV image quality after the crop.

Your Call

Do you like the optimized version of today’s featured image? Be sure to let us know why either way. On a related note, would you have deleted this image? If yes, be sure to let us know why.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) will teach you an efficient Mac or PC/Photo Mechanic/Photoshop workflow that will make it easy for you to make your images better in Photoshop (rather than worse). That true whether you convert your images in DPP 4 or ACR. See the blog post here to learn lots more and to read a free excerpt. You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a Paypal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

The few things mentioned above (and tons more) are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. The new e-Guide reflects my Macbook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow. Do note that you will find the RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing tutorial only in the new e-guide. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

The two most recent and many of the older MP4 Photoshop Tutorial videos releases go hand and hand with the information in DB II):

• The Wingtip Repairs MP4 Video here.
• The MP4 Crow Cleanup Video here.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here.

You can learn how and why I and other discerning Canon shooters convert nearly all of their Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 using Canon Digital Photo Professional in the DPP 4 RAW conversion Guide here. And you can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in the The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly.

2017 in San Diego was a very good year ….

2018 San Diego 3 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART IPT #2: Sunday, JAN 28 thru and including the morning session on Wednesday, JAN 31, 2018 and a free morning session the day before the IPT starts: 3 1/2 days (+1/2!): $1699. Limit: 8: Openings: 7.

Meet and Greet at 6:30pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Saturday, Jan 27, 2018.

San Diego IPT #2: Shorter and Less Expensive!

Please remember: I go with one.

Join me in San Diego near the end of January to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (usually nesting and displaying) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Wood Duck and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seal (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lion; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the two IPT cards there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Please note: formerly dependable, both Wood Duck and Marbled Godwit have been declining at their usual locations for the past two years …

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You can do most of your photography with an 80- or 100-400 lens …

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include four 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, three 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, three lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. Dinners are on your own so that we can get some sleep.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 11/1/2016. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

I spent most of Monday dealing with low back/hip pain issues. 🙂 And I cut down one more skinny dead tree as a potential perch. And I swam my 3/4 mile and exercised.

If you need a hotel reservation be sure to give Booking.com a try; at worst, you will save $25 off your first reservation. See below for details.

Everyone did a good job of leaving comments on yesterday’s Can a 1 1/2 degree head angle difference be a big deal? blog post here.

I was glad to learn that Mansoor Assadi sold both his 1DX Mark II and his 1D Mark IV after the recent price drops.

The Streak

Today makes one hundred twenty-three days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took almost two hours to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

These image was created on the morning of Sunday, November 27, 2017 from my Toyota Sequoia (engine turned off) with the BLUBB-supported Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and my favorite tern photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering minus about 1/3 stop (should have been +2/3 stop): 1/640 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB in early morning light. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -1. One AF point up from the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. As originally framed, the selected AF point was on the bird’s cheek directly below the bird’s eye. Mottled Duck

The Under-exposed RAW File as Viewed in Photo Mechanic

Above you see what I see when I am editing my images (so swiftly) in Photo Mechanic. You do not need to look at the histogram to tell that this image was a gross underexposure. Notice though that the histogram is pretty much centered with little or no data on the right side of the histogram. Note the tiny check-mark in the small white box bottom left of the histogram. I hit “t” (for tagged) on the keyboard to denote my keepers. The rejects are left blank.

So how did I wind up one full stop under? I was photographing a Boat-tailed Grackle when three Mottled Ducks flew in and landed quite close by just to the left of sun angle. These ducks are usually quite skittish. I thought that the ducks would need less exposure than the grackle so I spun the shutter speed dial two clicks to get from 1/400 to 1/640 sec. In addition, with the ducks somewhat left of sun angle you lose about 1/2 stop of light. As the grackle turned out to be underexposed I wound up much too dark for the duck. If I had been in Av mode at +2/3 stop I would have been a lot closer to the correct exposure for the duck. That said, I continue to use Manual mode for about 90% of my photography. And I recommend that you learn to do the same. 🙂 Note also that the red channel is the farthest to the right …

This is the DPP 4 Screen Capture after I had made adjustments to the RAW file

The DPP 4 Screen Capture After I Had Made Adjustments to the RAW File

First note the placement of the active AF point, the illuminated red square. You are much better off going for the cheek than for the eye as it provides a broader, more stable target. Note also that I needed to move the Brightness slider one full stop to the right to +1.00. That represents a rare mistake for me. You cannot see that with the one stop under-exposure I opted to use my 5DIV ISO 800 recipe rather than my 5D IV ISO 400 recipe; it is always a good plan to go to the recipe for the next higher ISO when you have a gross underexposure error. Notice that the RGB values for the brightest area of the duck’s cheek show RED predominating even though I moved the Color fine-tune dot toward BLUE and away from RED.

You can use this same strategy if you are converting in ACR: increase the exposure and use your RAW noise reduction noise settings for the next higher ISO.

This is the optimized version of today’s featured image Be sure to click on the image to view the larger size and see the superb image quality and the lack of noise.

The Image Optimization

First off notice that despite the gross underexposure I was able to create a virtually noise-free, high quality TIF file without much effort. After converting the RAW in DPP 4, the first thing that I did once the image was brought into Photoshop was to level it. I used the Ruler Tool (my keyboard shortcut R) by drawing a line along the bottom of the aquatic plants in the upper right part of the frame. The I hit Command + / ((my keyboard shortcut for Image > Rotate > Arbitrary). Then I hit C for the Crop Tool and then Clear. I cropped from all sides but the bottom. That left me to fill in the three skinny triangles with John Heado Content Aware Fill. When you do that be sure to enlarge the edges to check for any problems. With this image, the water was perfect but the spots with the vegetation were not. When I tried to use the Spot Healing Brush (my keyboard shortcut J) to smooth things out, I made more of a mess so I simply redid the obvious creases with the Patch Tool (my Keyboard shortcut P).

Then it was just a matter of naming and saving my master file and creating and sharpening the 1200 pixel wide JPEG that you see immediately above.

Image Design Question

Do you like the inclusion of the aquatic vegetation in the upper right or would you have preferred an all-water background? Either way, let us know why?

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) will teach you an efficient Mac or PC/Photo Mechanic/Photoshop workflow that will make it easy for you to make your images better in Photoshop (rather than worse). That true whether you convert your images in DPP 4 or ACR. See the blog post here to learn lots more and to read a free excerpt. You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a Paypal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

The few things mentioned above (and tons more) are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. The new e-Guide reflects my Macbook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow. Do note that you will find the RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing tutorial only in the new e-guide. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

The two most recent and many of the older MP4 Photoshop Tutorial videos releases go hand and hand with the information in DB II):

• The Wingtip Repairs MP4 Video here.
• The MP4 Crow Cleanup Video here.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here.

You can learn how and why I and other discerning Canon shooters convert nearly all of their Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 using Canon Digital Photo Professional in the DPP 4 RAW conversion Guide here. And you can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in the The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).