Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

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A Wonderful e-Mail

From Multiple IPT Participant Greg Ferguson of Atlanta

Artie, I’m writing to thank you for everything you did to make the Bosque IPT a photographic success. As Dizzy Dean said about his pitching performance “It’s not bragging if you can do it”, and you can say the same thing about your IPTs. On your recent IPT you certainly demonstrated that you can put your students in the right place at the right time for outstanding shooting opportunities. We were in perfect position to catch a snow geese blast-off silhouetted against the pre-dawn glow. After only about two minutes of continuous shooting you yelled “We have one minute before we leave for our next location.” Warren Hatch and I started laughing because we thought you were kidding. Why leave when we were getting good shots? Well, much to our surprise, we left and found out why. At the next location we were much closer to the geese and got them blasting off directly toward us right over our heads.

So you aren’t bragging about getting people in the right position at the right time because you can do it. Thanks for the wonderful shooting opportunities and the personal care and attention from both you and Denise. Greg

What’s Up?

On Thursday I spent most of the day working on the LensAlign/FocusTune Micro-adjusting e-Guide and getting some image files off my laptop.

I recently shared an early draft of the new guide with Bill Hill who wrote via e-mail:

Artie, Just a note as a progress report and thanks again. I got my 500 f4 back from Canon, a very good experience, and focus-tuned it with my 2x III converter. AWESOME. It came out to -3; I have never gotten such sharp images at 1000mm. Thanks to MT, AM and Canon! The info in your guide is essential to anyone who wants to use learn to use Focus Tune. Bill

The guide will likely be published no later than early September. Pricing will be as follows: for folks who purchases LensAlign/FocusTune through BIRDS AS ART and can provide proof of purchase in the form of a receipt from the BAA Online Store, the price will be $40. For those who purchased elsewhere, the price will be $50.00.

Booking.Com

I could not secure the lodging that I needed for the UK Puffins and Gannets IPT in Dunbar, Scotland, so I went from Hotels.Com to Booking.Com and was pleasantly surprised. I found the rooms that I needed with ease at a hotel that was not even on Hotels.Com, and it was a nice hotel that I had seen in person. And the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward.

The Streak

Today marks thirteen days in a row with a new educational blog post. This blog post took less than an hour to create.

Revamped

I finally updated the IPT page to properly reflect the recently completed trips. If you doubt that I am really slowing down do click here to see the meager IPT schedule. Right now there are only two US-based IPTs on the schedule. Best news is that I turned up the missing registrant for the Fort DeSoto IPT so that will run. Do consider joining us if you would like to learn from the best.

Photographers Wanted

If you would like to learn to be a better bird photographer, consider joining me on the Fort DeSoto IPT in late September. Scroll down for details. With just one person signed up, you will be enjoying practically private instruction. And you can tack on the In-the-Field/Meet-up Workshop Session on the morning of Tuesday September 26, 2017 for free.

Best Advice for Improving Your Bird Photography

1-Subscribe to the blog and read and study it here.

2-Purchase and study the information in the two-book bundle here; these two will become your bird photography bibles.

3-Sign up for an Instructional Photo Tour (IPT) by clicking here.

4- Join BirdPhotographers.Net and start posting your images either in the Avian Forum or the Eager to Learn Forum.

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.

Please Don’t Forget …

As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use the BAA B&H links for your major and minor gear purchases. For best results, use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.

This image was created on the 2017 Japan IPT with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 312m) and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops off the grey clouds: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: +1. Two rows down and one AF point to the right of the center AF Point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point fell on the tip of the bill of the bird on our right. The assist points surely helped in this low light/low contrast situation. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, more dramatic version. Red-crowned Cranes taking flight late in the day

When Everything Goes According to Plan …

It was late in the day and most of the photographers and most of the cranes had already left Tsurui Itoh Sanctuary. Heck, most of my group had given up and was already back at the lodge. I saw these two birds near the top of the ridge so I moved away from them by walking to my left to get a bit lower. With the wind from my left, I knew that the birds would be taking off toward me. I had already metered plus two stops off the sky and set that exposure manually. Unlike most folks I am fine with 1/500 second for flight. I saw the pink sky and I saw the trees. Heck, I saw the final image in my mind’s eye. Since I wanted the birds in the lower right part of the frame I selected an AF point two rows down and one to the right. This was an estimate. All of the decisions above were made and carried out in less than ten seconds. Then the birds leaned forward and took flight right at me. I acquired focus, and, as is my usual style, fired off only two frames. Today’s featured image was my favorite.

I love that in bird photography you often have to make several important decisions –focus, exposure, shutter speed, and framing for starters — in just a few seconds and do everything right to have any chance of success. What a challenge and what a thrill when everything goes according to plan. Learn to see and think like a pro by joining me on the Fall DeSoto IPT or on the January 2018 San Diego IPT.

Your Call

What are your thoughts on this image? What do you like about it? What don’t you like about it? Could I have done anything better in the field to make it better? Could I have done anything better during the image optimization to make it better? Your honest thoughts are appreciated.

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. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Obviously folks attending the IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. The good news is that the days are relatively short in October. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The Fort DeSoto 2017 Fall IPT/September 22 (afternoon session) through the full day on September 25, 2017. 3 1/2 FULL DAYs: $1649. Limit 8.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, and terns who winter on the T-shaped peninsula that serves as their wintering grounds. With luck, we may get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher almost guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. And Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork would not be unexpected.

Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join us on the ITF/MWS on the morning of Tuesday, September 26 as my guest. See below for details on that.

On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

There will be a Photoshop/image review session after lunch (included) each day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

This IPT will run with only a single registrant (though that is not likely to happen). The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Though I have not decided on a hotel yet — I will as soon as there is one sign-up — do know that it is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel (rather than at home or at a friend’s place).

A $500 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check after you register. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with ten folks so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, gear advice, and instructions for meeting on the afternoon of Friday, September 22.

Fort DeSoto in fall is rich with tame birds. All of the images in this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or early October. I hope that you can join me there this October. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field/Meet-up Workshop Session (ITF/MWS): $99.

Join me on the morning of Tuesday September 26, 2017 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.

You will learn the basics of digital exposure and image design, autofocus basics, and how to get close to free and wild birds. We should get to photograph a variety of wading birds, shorebirds, terns, and gulls. This inexpensive afternoon workshop is designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on a BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tour. I hope to meet you there.

To register please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to pay the nominal non-refundable registration fee. You will receive a short e-mail with instructions, gear advice, and meeting place at least two weeks before the event.

BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT.

Fort DeSoto Site Guide

Can’t make the IPT? Get yourself a copy of the Fort DeSoto Site Guide. Learn the best spots, where to be when in what season in what weather. Learn the best wind directions for the various locations. BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT. You can see all of them here.

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.

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.

Amazon Canada

Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.

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 :).

What’s Up?

On Tuesday I micro-adjusted my 500 II with my new 5D IV, alone, and with my 1.4X III i and 1.4X III ii TCs and with my 2X III i and 2X III ii TCs and did lots of work on the LensAlign/FocusTune Micro-adjusting Guide. I keep learning more with every session.

I shared an early draft with Bill Hill who wrote via e-mail:

Artie, Just a note as a progress report and thanks again. I got my 500 f4 back from Canon, a very good experience, and focus-tuned it with my 2x III converter. AWESOME. It came out to -3; I have never gotten such sharp images at 1000mm. Thanks to MT, AM and Canon! The info in your guide is essential to anyone who wants to use learn to use Focus Tune. Bill

I am not sure if the guide will be ready for publication before I leave for the Galapagos on Sunday but it will surely be published not later than early September.

New: Wanted to Buy Service

I am gonna give this a try. If you would like to post a wanted to buy item I will be glad to post it on the blog provided that you agree to pay me a 2 1/2 per cent finder’s fee if I am successful, 2 1/2% of the what you wind up paying for the item. To list an item, please click only here to shoot me an e-mail.

If you wish to sell a wanted to by item, please click here to shoot me an e-mail. Once I get your e-mail I will shoot you the Items for Sale Info e-mail. If you agree to all the usual terms we will work together to determine a fair price and then I will put you in touch with the prospective buyer. If a sale is not completed within two weeks, you agree that I will list the item for sale in a blog post and on the Used Gear page. In addition, you agree not to sell the item to the person who originally wanted to buy the item. As always, the seller will pay me 5% of the original asking price. Note: the cost of insured Ground Shipping via major courier is always paid by the seller.

The Streak

Today marks eleven days in a row with a new educational blog post. This blog post took more than four hours to create.

Revamped

I finally updated the IPT page to properly reflect the recently completed trips. If you doubt that I am really slowing down do click here to see the meager IPT schedule. Right now there are only two US-based IPTs on the schedule. Best news is that I turned up the missing registrant for the Fort DeSoto IPT so that will run. Do consider joining us if you would like to learn from the best.

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.

Please Don’t Forget …

As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use the BAA B&H links for your major and minor gear purchases. For best results, use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.

These two images were created last June at Gatorland with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/60 sec. at f/11 in Manual mode. Daylight WB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -1. FourAF point up and one to the left of the Center AF Point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. Tricolored Heron fledgling

Too-big-in-the-Frame Lesson

At times, you have a nice situation or pose but with the focal length you’re working with, it is difficult to fit the bird in the frame with sufficient space around it. The best solution is to make the first image, lock focus — I have all of my bodies set up with the AF-On button set to Focus lock — and then re-compose.

I made the image on the left (_A0I1413) and knew that the bill tip was too close to the edge. I should have hit the AF-On button to lock focus and then re-composed to the right. But I did not think quite that fast enough. I simply shifted the lens a bit to the right and focused on the base of the bill rather than the bird’s eye to make the image on the right (_A0I1414). Though I had only a bit more room in front of the bird, it was just enough to give the bird a bit more room in the frame. Keep reading to learn how I optimized the image (and how I softened up the background).

Aperture Choice

I have no explanation as to why I was at f/11. Perhaps I was photographing to fledged tricolors perched next to each other … For the two image above, even f/8 would have been more than I needed. Notice how the background detail has been brought up by too small an aperture, f/11.

An Image Design Question

Why didn’t I simply optimize the image on the right, (_A0I1414)? Because I loved the tract of loose, gray feathers behind the bird’s head in the first image (_A0I1413) and wanted to include that tract in the final image.

Tricolored Heron fledgling/the optimized image

The RAW Conversions

After converting the first image in DPP 4, I copied the recipe, pasted it into the second image, and converted that one too. Then I brought both images into Photoshop. Working in the un-framed view, I expanded canvas right by pulling out the love handle on the right frame-edge and then double-clicking on the image to complete the now somewhat boxy crop. Next, I needed a section of the second image to fill in the added canvas.

The Rectangular Marquee Tool

I have been using the Rectangular Marquee Tool more and more recently when I need a selection, especially a selection with a straight edge. After expanding the canvas right on the first image, I selected a chunk of the edge of the frame on the right in the second image using the Rectangular Marquee Tool, making sure to include just a bit of he bill tip. Then I hit Control J to put the selection on its own layer and used the Move Tool (V) to drag it roughly in place in the 1st image. I reduced the opacity of that layer to 50% to make it easy to line up the bill tips in the two images. When I did that, I learned that the the bird had moved between the time I created the first image and the time I created the second image (only seconds later). Since I would not need the bill tip I simply lined up the background elements until they matched. After that, it was a simple matter of refining that layer after adding a Regular Layer mask. After doing that there were still a few small areas that needed to be filled in or cleaned up. I used the Clone Stamp Tool, the Patch Tool, and the Spot Healing Brush for those tasks.

Softening the Background

Here is a trick that I use often. Though the basics are contained in the Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), I did not include specific instructions there. So please consider this a free to all DB II Update. Thus, there is no need to e-mail Jim for the update; it is right here:

To soften the background, I used a relatively large brush to paint a Quick Mask of most of the background, making sure to stay clear of the subject. On my 15″ Macbook Pro with retina display, I painted the Quick Mask to within about 3/8 inch of the bird. Then I hit Q to get the marching ants and then hit Control J to put the selection on its own layer. Next I applied a 65 pixel Gaussian blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur) and then while keeping my eye on the background reduced the opacity just a bit to taste. Last, to make sure that the blur did not effect the bird, I added a regular layer mask and, working large, checked the edges of the bird, erasing (B, D, X) just a bit where needed.

The Rest of the Image Optimization

I color balanced the image using the RGB Curves method. The resulting colors were quite rich, vibrant, and lifelike but just a bit muddy so I reduced the opacity of that layer and then effectively reduced the Contrast by using another brand-new technique: I went to Selective Color and decreased the BLACKs in both the BLACK and the NEUTRALs about 5 points each. Voila. That was about it.

In the Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) I give you lots of great Tools to work with and lots of specific tutorials. Creative folks, however, can put those tools to new uses and adapt those tutorials in new and different ways and thus accomplish great things.

The basics of all of the tools and techniques mentioned above are detailed in Current Workflow e-Guide. I will continue to share new ways of using and applying them here with the occasional free “update.”

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) will teach you an efficient Mac/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.

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. 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.

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.

Amazon Canada

Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.

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 :).

What’s Up?

Sunday morning was business as usual: answering e-mails and working on images and blog posts. In the afternoon, I micro-adjusted my 400 DO III — I am taking it on the Galapagos trip — with both of my older 5D Mark IV bodies and with my backup set of Series III TCs — I call them 1.4X III ii and 2X III ii). I got lots more work done on the micro-adjusting guide. Then I had a nice swim in the drizzle. And I have been thinking a lot about what to pack for the Galapagos trip; I fly next Sunday, 6 AUG.

The Streak

Today marks nine days in a row with a new educational blog post. This blog post well more than three hours to create.

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.

Please Don’t Forget …

As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use the BAA B&H links for your major and minor gear purchases. For best results, use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.

Photoshop MP 4 Wingtip Repairs Video

Photoshop MP 4 Wingtip Repairs Video: $20.00

Folks learn in different ways. Everything in this great one hour video tutorial is detailed in the new BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), and in APTATS I & II. For many, being able to follow along in Photoshop, actually seeing what I am doing while listening to the explanations, seeing the cursor move, seeing the menus and the images and the before an after comparisons, is the way to go to maximize learning. To order, click here or call Jim or Jen in the office at 863-692-0906 Monday mornings through midday on Fridays.

What You Will Learn

In this hour-long video you will learn to do RAW conversions in both DPP 4 and in ACR, how to eliminate vignetting during an ACR RAW conversion, how, why, and when to use the Framed view and how, why, and when to use the Unframed view, how to use John Haedo Content Aware Fill, how to re-position a bird in the frame and clean up the extraneous wingtips (mostly with the Patch Tool), how to use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to create a straight-edged patch, how to create Quick Masks, how to refine them using a variety of commands, how to refine them with regular Layer Masks, how to repairs missing wingtips using Quick Masks, how to re-build missing wingtips with the Clone Stamp Too, why we sometimes have the align box checked and why we sometimes leave it unchecked when using the Clone Stamp Tool, some Digital Eye Doctor techniques, how to create my NIK Tonal Contrast/Detail Extractor recipes, how to make a variety of selections, how and why to use a Contrast Mask, how and why to make Curves and Hue Saturation adjustments on a layer (and how to refine them), all about my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts, how to use the Lasso Tool to quickly and easily refine selections, a fast and dirty method for applying NeatImage Noise reduction, how to save your optimized image files, and how to create killer sharp 1200 pixel wide JPEGs. And lots more.

This image was created at Gatorland this spring with the hand held Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II (surprise!) ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 1/3 stops off the white sky: 1/2000 sec. at f/4.5 in Manual mode. Daylight WB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -6. One AF point above the center AF Point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird’s bird’s feathered thigh just above the top of the left leg. Image #1: White Ibis in flight — original with clipped primaries

Universal Advice for Better Flight Photography

Pan faster … Attempt to keep the selected AF point on the bird’s face or at least on its neck or upper breast.

Image #2: White Ibis optimized with wing tips added

The Image Optimization

I converted this image in DPP 4. After bringing the image into Photoshop, I re-positioned the bird in the frame and cleaned up the extraneous ends of the wings (mostly with the Patch Tool).Then I came up with a brand new technique where I used the Rectangular Marquee Tool to create a straight-edged patch. It worked perfectly. Then the wingtips were replaced one at a time using a series of small Quick Masks that were refined with Regular Layer Masks and re-shaped with various Command Transform options including Warp. Then I used my NIK 25/25 recipe on the whole image! (In the MP 4 video I show you how to create the recipe and explain why I ran it on the whole image.) Along the way I used the Quick Selection Tool, a Contrast Mask to selectively sharpen the face, did some Curves and Hue Saturation on a layer, explained the use of many of my personal keyboard shortcuts, and went over the use of the Lasso Tool for refining selections. Then I saved my optimized file and created and sharpened my 1200 wide JPEG.

Note: I surely left out some of the stuff covered on the MP 4 video.

This image was created on the 2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT with the hand held Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens (at 160mm) and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 1/3 stops off the white sky: 1/3200 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Daylight WB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: +1. Center AF Point/AI Servo/Manual selection/Shutter button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The single selected AF point was just to our left of the open bill. Image #3: Northern Gannet ready to dive–horizontal with one clipped wingtip

Vertical Flight Shots …

Creating vertical original flight shots is a challenge. If you are working horizontally and keep clipping a wingtip or two you can try turning your camera body on end to fit the banking bird into the frame and enjoy lots more pixels. This will take lots of skill and lots of practice. Most “vertical” flight images that I see on BPN were created from horizontal images. That is what I did with the image immediately above. You can learn how in the new Photoshop MP 4 Wingtip Repairs Video.

Image #4: Northern Gannet optimized to a vertical with wingtip repaired

The Image Optimization

I converted this image in Adobe Camera Raw. Aside from the usual stuff I needed to eliminate vignetting during the RAW conversion. (Note: this would have been done automatically had I converted the image in DPP 4.) In the video I run through all of my usual ACR slider adjustments. And once in Photoshop, I explain how, why, and when I use the Framed view and how, why, and when I use the Unframed view. Next I expanded canvas and cropped to a vertical. I used John Heado Content Aware Fill to fill in the new canvas. For the tiny missing wingtips I began by re-building one of them using the Clone Stamp Tool and then reverted to using some small Quick Masks. Along the way in the MP 4 video I explain why we sometimes have the align box checked and why we sometimes leave it unchecked when using the Clone Stamp Tool. I did some Digital Eye Doctor work on both eyes mostly with Tim Grey Dodge and Burn. I applied NeatImage Noise reduction again on the on the whole image! (Again, I explain why in the MP 4 video.) And I did lots more that is covered in the MP4 video.

To order the Photoshop MP 4 Wingtip Repairs Video ($20.00), click here or call Jim or Jen in the office at 863-692-0906 Monday mornings through midday on Fridays.

Your Favorite?

Which optimized image do you like best, the White Ibis (Image #2) or the Northern Gannet (Image #4)? Be sure to let us know why you made your choice.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) will teach you an efficient Mac/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.

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. 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.

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.

Amazon Canada

Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.

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 :).

What’s Up?

Lots more e-mails and a bit of online shopping yesterday. After sleeping 9 hours from 10:30pm until 7:30am with just two pit stops on Thursday evening, I thought that I was over my jet-lag. Not. I was asleep at 11:30pm on Friday evening, woke at 3:25am, and never got back to sleep 🙂 Me think that my afternoon naps have been too long.

I did get in a full swim on Friday and am planning on doing the same today.

The Streak

Today marks seven days in a row with a new educational blog post. This blog post took more than 3 hours to create.

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 my terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold just about everything in sight. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the original 400mm IS DO lens have been dropping steadily.

Used Gear Cautions

Though I am not in a position to post images of gear for sale here or elsewhere, prospective buyers are encouraged to request photos of the gear that they are interested in purchasing via e-mail. Doing so will help to avoid any misunderstandings as to the condition of the gear. Sellers are advised to photograph their used gear with care against clean backgrounds so that the stuff is represented accurately and in the best light; please pardon the pun :).

Important Note for Sellers on Cashier’s Checks

Do understand that getting a cashier’s check for your gear is no guarantee of anything. You need to get the check to the bank asap. Years ago I “sold” an EOS 1D Mark III for $3,000 to a guy in California. I tried Fed Ex collect. The driver handed the camera to the guy. The guy handed him what appeared to be a Bank of North America teller’s check. When we brought the check to BONA they said, sorry, it’s phony. I followed up with the Lake Wales police. They got in touch with the police in the guy’s home town. They did nothing.

I was out 3,000 bucks. Getting a cashier’s check for your gear is no guarantee of anything.

Used Gear Sales Testimonials

Unsolicited via e-mail from David Ramirez

Hi Artie, It’s been a few weeks but I just wanted to thank you for your Used Gear Sales service. I sold my 5DIII in no time at all for the excellent price you recommended. Thanks again, David

Handwritten note from Dr. Gil Moe

Dear Artie, Enclosed is a check for $401.40. You do such a great job with the used gear sales and pricing and make it so easy. Thank you, thank you! Regards, Gil

Unsolicited via e-mail from Tom Phillips

Artie, Well, that was awesome for us all. Roger received the 300mm today and is happy, and James bought the 1Dx Mk II and the 400mm within minutes of it being listed on the first Saturday! I know you have a lot of readers and followers but your advice on pricing was right on to sell and also allowed me to get a good price, make the buyers happy, and make you some money too. I want to thank you very much! Tom

Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Gerry Keshka

Hi Artie, I wanted to share how much I appreciate your Used Gear “service.” You have posted how you help sellers, but the other side of the equations is how much this service helps buyers. I have purchased three lenses (Canon 200-400, 500 f4 II, and 70-200 F2.8) all lovely experiences and I saved almost $5K over retail. Each of the sellers was delightful, willing to help me assess if the purchase was right for me by sharing their experience with the lens. Each lens was in the condition advertised (or better), and typically included several “add-ons” that would have cost several hundred dollars.

Thanks for all you do for the photographic community Artie. Gerry

Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Teresa Mabry Reed

Artie, Thanks for a positive experience in selling my used equipment. Best, Teresa

Unsolicited, via e-mail, from top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener

The BAA Used Gear Page is the best place I’ve found for selling my used cameras and lenses.

I used eBay and Craigslist until I began checking in at BIRDS AS ART. I saw the gear listed for sale at BAA and it struck me that the people who visit the site are like me in some important ways. We own high quality, often expensive gear. It’s important to us, and we likely take care of it. In other words, a good market exists. And I noticed how Artie marketed each item. Informative, without too big a push. That’s why I decided to try BAA.

The process was easy. I clearly accepted the terms of sale, fully and fairly described what I was selling and the good and bad. I listed the stuff to be included with in the sale. Then Artie came back with what he thought was a fair price, leaving it to me to determine the balance between urgency of the sale and receiving a high price. I’ve followed his lead.

The responses I’ve received from potential buyers have been reassuring. Each has been well informed and courteous. They have not expected perfection, but have fully expected fairness and clarity. I’ve found that providing many photographs of what I’m selling is very helpful in the completing the various transactions.

I’m writing this because of how glad I am to find a place where there is a good market for what I want to sell and what I want to buy — I just tried to buy a 300mm f/2.8 II, but it has sold. The buyers and sellers are informed and fair-minded. And artie offers friendly and experienced advice. I’ve enjoyed the process. The BAA Used Gear page is the best experience I’ve had buying and selling gear.

Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Owen Peller

I sold my 400 f/4 IS DO lens for the asking price. Thank you. Your service is truly better than any of the alternatives.

Artie, Thanks so much. I sent your check via my online banking. I never expected the 400 DO II and the 1DX II to sell within minutes of your posting the ad! I know that the 300 f/2.8 II is still up, but still, the results have been amazing. Another plus is that James McGrew is a professional artist and photographer and he was really looking and wanting that combo and is appreciative and excited to be able to find a great deal. Tom.

Recent Sales

• Dwaine Tollefsrud sold his Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II lens in excellent condition for the record-low BAA price of $3,799 in mid-July, 2017.
• IPT veteran Stuart Hahn sold his Canon EOS-1D Mark IV in very good plus condition for $1099 and his Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens $1549 in early July.
• Multiple IPT veteran Brent Bridges sold his Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports lens for Canon EF in near-mint condition for only $999, his Sigma Sigma TC-1401 1.4x teleconverter for Canon EF in near-mint condition for a ridiculously low $129, and his Induro CT 304 carbon fiber tripod in mint condition for only $199, all in early July.
• Brooke Miller sold her Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 APO DG OS (optical stabilizer) lens for Canon AF in like-new condition for the giving-it-away price of $749 in early July.
• Erik Hagstrom sold a Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemprary lens for Canon EF in excellent plus condition for $699 in early July.
• Multiple IPT veteran Dr. Gil Moe sold an Xtrahand Vest, size XL Plus for $249 in late June.
• Multiple IPT veteran Brent Bridges sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in near-mint condition and a Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens in excellent condition for the very low price of $1499. He also sold a Canon EOS 7D Mark II body in very good plus condition for the record-low BAA price of $839, a used Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens (the old 1-4) in excellent condition with extras for $599, and a Canon EF Extender 1.4X III in near-mint condition for $329. All on the first day the items were listed.
• Tom Phillips sold his Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for $4,199 the day it was listed in mid-June.

Brand New Listings

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender

IPT veteran Joe Messina is offering a Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender in excellent plus condition for the BAA record-low price of $7,999. The sale includes the E-145C lens cover, the rear lens cap, the wide lens strap, the lens trunk with keys, 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 Joe via e-mail or by phone at 1-415-238-7941 (Pacific time).

This is the world’s best lens for a trip to Africa. It kills also in the Galapagos and in South Georgia, the Falklands, and Antarctica. And I use mine a lot at Bosque and other dusty places where the built-in TC helps to keep your sensor clean. And I love it in the Palouse for its versatility. Most recently, I often found myself wishing that I had taken the 200-400 rather than my 500 II on the Bear Boat Cubs IPT. Many nature photographers use it as their workhorse telephoto lens as it offers 884mm at f/8 with an external 1.4X TC added. The lens sells new at B&H right now for $10,999. You can save a slew of dollars by grabbing Joe’s lens right now. artie

Tamron SP 150-600 f/5.6-6.5 Di VC USD G2

Ron Thill is offering a Tamron SP 150-600 f/5.6-6.5 Di VC USD G2 lens for Canon EF in like-new condition for $949. (Photos available upon request.) The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the original product box, the cloth storage bag, the owners manual, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only; please specify UPS or Fed-Ex. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Ron via e-mail or by phone at 936-615-6026 (Central time).

Several folks on IPTs have used this lens and made lots of sharp images. The telling factor is that there are no used copies of this lens available on eBay or in the B&H Used Gear listings. artie

Canon EOS 5D Mark III with battery grip and extras

Eric Karl is offering a used Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in very good plus but for the very low price of $1,399. The sale includes a RRS B5D3-A plate ($55 value), the RRS BGE11-L Plate (approximately a $160 value), the warranty card, the strap, the battery charger, the manuals, the original product box, the CDs, one LP-E6 Battery,the BG-E11 Battery Grip (in excellent condition), and – No Original Box and insured ground shipping by major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Eric via e-mail or by phone at 1-503-272-1055 (Pacific time).

I owned and used this superb, full frame, 22mp digital body for several years. It was always my first choice for scenic, Urbex, and flower photography until I fell in love for a while with the 5DS R (for a lot more money!). In addition, I loved my 5D III body for birds with my big lenses and both TCs. I used mine to create many saleable images. artie

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.

Please Don’t Forget …

As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use the BAA B&H links for your major and minor gear purchases. For best results, use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.

This image was created in a drizzle on the first morning of the 2017 Bear Boat IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops as framed: 1/250 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. Daylight WB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -2. Center AF Point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. See the illuminated AF point in the DPP 4 screen capture below. Very wet Brown Bear yearling cubs

Singing (and Photographing) in the Rain

Well, we did not do much singing, but we photographed for several hours in the light rain on our first 2017 Bear Boat Cubs IPT morning. I used a very simple lens cover, basically a long, skinny, opaque plastic bag with elastic drawstrings at each end. Great to protect the gear but to photograph effectively the camera needs to be exposed when you are actively shooting. On rainy days, I head into the field with several extra wool hats and keep one of them atop the camera body when I am working. Though this works fairly well, the camera will always get a bit wet. As it did that day.

One of the two bears in today’s featured image is the same bear as the one holding the divining log in the blog post here.

The Magical Pillowcase/Hair Dryer Trick

By the next morning, one of the two 5D IV bodies that I had used in the rain had lost the rear LCD and, in addition, a few of the buttons and dials did not work. I removed the front body cap and the battery and placed the camera body in the far end of an empty pillow case. I turned a hair dryer to high –I probably should have tried low first — and put the hair dryer into the pillow case making sure to leave the vented end outside the pillowcase. I weighed down the sides of the pillow with two battery chargers. (If you place the hair dryer completely inside the pillow case you might start a fire.)

I ran it for 30 minutes. When I removed the camera it was too hot to touch. I put in a fresh battery and turned the camera body on. It did not light up. I waited another 30 minutes, turned the camera on, and it not only woke up but it worked perfectly for the rest of the trip. Yeah, I should have tried low first.

Please note that though I have used this trick successfully in the past that the best tack is to keep your camera body dry. I do not recommend that you try it and if you damage your camera, please do not come calling. On the bear boat, the Magical Pillowcase/Hair Dryer Trick did save the day. Your call. If you try this with your gear, do understand that you will assume any and all risks as far as damaging your camera. And do try the low setting first!

My Thoughts On Weather Sealing

An e-mail exchange with multiple IPT veteran Greg Ferguson

AM: Hi Greg, Good to hear from you.
re:

GF: I’ve been enjoying the BAA blog and am glad to see your health has improved recently.

AM: I have actually been doing pretty darned good for the last two decades 🙂

GF: I retired as of 5/31.

AM: Mazel tov.

GF: You may see me again next year as I now have more free time.

AM: Great.

GF: Is there any possibility of running your Bosque program after Thanksgiving?

AM: That is not likely as I the place has been seriously mis-managed for the past eight years at least. Each year has pretty much been worse than the one before. If I change my mind I will get in touch.

GF: I thought the information in your Four Camera Comparison blog post was great.

AM: Thank you.

GF: Here is my question about the relative merits of the 1DX Mark II versus the 5D Mark IV. I get your points about the advantages of the 5D Mark IV, but what about weather proofing? For example, when going to Alaska it may drizzle all day.

AM: We had several days of rain and my two 5D Mark IV’s did pretty well, at least one of them did 🙂 I did need to put one in a pillowcase with the hair dryer for 30 minutes (as noted above0 but it was fine after that.

GF: Would the 5D Mark IV withstand that?

AM: Pretty much yes. But you do need to take some precautions even with a pro body.

GF: If you remember back in 2007 when I was with you on the South Georgia-Antarctica trip, everyone who was using a 5D or a 5DII had their cameras fail. That didn’t happen to anyone using the 1D line and it was all because of the better weather sealing.

AM: That is likely but might not be totally accurate. On my next trip down there I trashed two 1D Mark IV bodies in the rain. (Note: it was pouring and I took no precautions at all; I thought that the pro bodies were invincible). And a few years ago I totaled a 1DX when I dunked the bottom of the camera (the battery and power winder) into salt water for less than one second … That did surprise me.

GF: Wouldn’t the 1DX Mark II be significantly less prone to water damage than the 5D Mark IV?

AM: It might be less prone but perhaps not significantly. And there are certainly no guarantees whenever any camera body gets wet.

GF: I know I can use a raincoat for the camera, but I find I still get the camera wet even when using a raincoat.

AM: I agree. I have tried some of the fancy rain covers but find them so cumbersome as to be impossible to use …

As far as IPTs, have you been to San Diego?

More importantly, I am trying to recruit a few folks in advance so that I can do the UK Puffins and Gannets trip again. It was fantastic again this year.Please let me know if you have any interest for this early July 2018 trip. It will need six to run.

with love, artie

Your Thoughts on Weather Sealing …

If you have ever gotten your camera wet, please do share the details. Please specify the brand and the model. How wet did it get? Did you have any problems? If yes, what were they? Did the camera wind up needing repair or replacement?

In the same vein, if you use some type of rain coat or rain cover and love it and find it functional, please post the name of the product and which lens or lenses you use it for.

The DPP 4 Screen Capture for today’s featured image Click on the image to view a larger version.

The DPP 4 Screen Capture

First note the position of the selected AF point. I was not very concerned that I did not have the selected AF point on the sitting bears face for the same reason that I was not very concerned with depth-of-field: I was a good distance from the bears. At 50 feet (approximately), the total d-o-f is about 6 inches, 3 inches in front of the point of focus and three inches behind the point of focus, more then enough to cover both bears (at that distance!)

Note that at 13 feet the total depth of field would be about 1/3 of one inch, 1/6 inch in front of the point of focus and 1/6 inch behind the point of focus. Hard to believe but true. The only time that stopping down is mandatory is when you are very close to the minimum focusing distance of your lens.

Note also that I increased the Contrast to +1, something that I usually do only in Photoshop.

The Image Optimization

After converting the image in DPP 4, I brought the image into Photoshop and cropped it only from the bottom to a pano. As I did with all of my bear images this year, I applied a layer of RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing (Concept by Denise Ippolito, expanded concept and text by Arthur Morris.) This technique worked magic on every single bear image that I processed. With this image and most others, I left the RGB Curves layer at 100% opacity. Next I selected the bears only with the Quick Selection Tool (W) and applied a layer of my NIK Color Efex Pro 30/30 recipe. Lastly I painted a Quick Mask of the faces of both young bears and selectively sharpened that layer with a Contrast Mask (15, 65, 0).

Everything above plus tons and tons more is detailed in the new 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. Just so you know, 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.

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.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) will teach you an efficient Mac/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.

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. 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.

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.

Amazon Canada

Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.

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 :).

What’s Up?

Though pretty well jet-lagged on Wednesday, I optimized a few images, worked on several blog posts, and answered a ton of e-mails. I had planned an early evening swim but for the second day in a row thunder and lightning intervened. It has been 97 degrees most days in Florida recently.

This blog post took about two hours to prepare.

Important Help Needed with the 2017 Fort Desoto Fall IPT

Right now we have nobody signed up for the 2017 Fort Desoto Fall IPT. Jim spoke to a lady who said that she had registered but had not heard from us. He checked the sheet with no luck and called her back also with no luck. If you registered for this IPT and have not heard back from us, please shoot me an e-mail at your earliest convenience. If you have not registered for this IPT, you should as it will be a very small group. Please remember that I will always go with only a single registrant (unless otherwise noted for overseas IPTs). Understand also that I am cutting way back on IPTs.

The Streak

Today marks five days in a row with a new educational blog post.

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.

Please Don’t Forget …

As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use the BAA B&H links for your major and minor gear purchases. For best results, use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.

Repair bill

For Want of a Towel …

I remember the morning that I created this image quite well. I rarely kneel as I often get cramps in my hamstrings, but kneel I did on that morning. It is easier to change your position when kneeling than it is when you are sitting in eight inches of water. I remember moving often to stay on sun angle and I remember getting back on my feet by putting both hands in the saltwater and pushing myself up. And then hurrying to get my hands back on the camera to make a few images. I did try to dry my hands off a bit on my sun shirt but …

Months after, while micro-adjusting one of my 5D IV bodies well before leaving for the UK Puffins and Gannets IPT, that camera body failed. I could not see the rear LCD and several of the buttons and controls quit working. My bad. I sent the body in to Canon Repairs at Jamesburg, NJ and they fixed it right up. The charges were $567.35 but with my 30% Platinum CPS discount the total dropped to $407.72.

In the future, my plan is to keep a dry towel around my neck in situations when I am needing to get low when working in shallow water.

This image was created on the Spring 2017 Fort DeSoto IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/1000 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AWB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: 5. Center Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system selected a T-shaped array of 4 AF points that painted the spot where the bird’s head entered the water. Perfection! Image #1: Marbled Godwit probing for invertebrates

5D Mark IV Frame Rate

The 7fps frame rate of the 5D Mark IV enabled me to create many excellent sequences of the Marbled Godwits as they fed. I created many images like #1 above with the bird’s head below the surface, images of the bird lifting its head out of the water, and images like #2 below that show the bird holding its invertebrate prey. Image #1 and #2 were created less than 2 seconds apart.

This image was created on the Spring 2017 Fort DeSoto IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/1000 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AWB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: 5. Center Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system selected a single AF point that fell on the spot where the side of the bird’s neck meets the side of the upper breast. Near-perfection! Image #2: Marbled Godwit probing for invertebrates

Large Zone AF

As regular readers know, I have been becoming more and more enamored with Large Zone AF over the past year. With today’s two featured images, Center Large Zone AF performed pretty much flawlessly. By studying the position of the AF points selected by the system (in the two images captions) we can begin to understand one of Large Zone’s great advantages. Had I been using Expand I would have need to change the position of the selected AF point when the bird went from head in the water (Image #1) to lifting the bill out of the water to posing with its prey item (Image #2). That would have been 100% impossible as it all happens much too fast. But — as it did in today’s situation — Large Zone AF will move the AF point or points as needed quickly and automatically, thus giving you much greater compositional freedom than if you were using a single AF point or using AF Expand (or AF Surround).

Notice that with a fairly large-in-the-frame subject, Large Zone AF yielded a perfect basic image design with the bird well back in the frame. To learn more about Composition and Image Design check out the following resources:

• Learn the basics in the original The Art of Bird Photography (soft cover).
• The section on Advanced Composition and Image Design in The Art of Bird Photography II (ABP II: 916 pages, 900+ images on CD or via download.)
• Check out Denise Ippolito’s great new e-book, Bird Photography — The Art of the Composition.

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. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Obviously folks attending the IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. The good news is that the days are relatively short in October. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The Fort DeSoto 2017 Fall IPT/September 22 (afternoon session) through the full day on September 25, 2017. 3 1/2 FULL DAYs: $1649. Limit 8.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, and terns who winter on the T-shaped peninsula that serves as their wintering grounds. With luck, we may get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher almost guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. And Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork would not be unexpected.

Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join us on the ITF/MWS on the morning of Tuesday, September 26 as my guest. See below for details on that.

On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

There will be a Photoshop/image review session after lunch (included) each day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

This IPT will run with only a single registrant (though that is not likely to happen). The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Though I have not decided on a hotel yet — I will as soon as there is one sign-up — do know that it is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel (rather than at home or at a friend’s place).

A $500 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check after you register. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with ten folks so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, gear advice, and instructions for meeting on the afternoon of Friday, September 22.

Fort DeSoto in fall is rich with tame birds. All of the images in this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or early October. I hope that you can join me there this October. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field/Meet-up Workshop Session (ITF/MWS): $99.

Join me on the morning of Tuesday September 26, 2017 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.

You will learn the basics of digital exposure and image design, autofocus basics, and how to get close to free and wild birds. We should get to photograph a variety of wading birds, shorebirds, terns, and gulls. This inexpensive afternoon workshop is designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on a BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tour. I hope to meet you there.

To register please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to pay the nominal non-refundable registration fee. You will receive a short e-mail with instructions, gear advice, and meeting place at least two weeks before the event.

BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT.

Fort DeSoto Site Guide

Can’t make the IPT? Get yourself a copy of the Fort DeSoto Site Guide. Learn the best spots, where to be when in what season in what weather. Learn the best wind directions for the various locations. BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT. You can see all of them here.

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.

Amazon.com

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Amazon Canada

Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.

Facebook

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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, and the 2017 Bear Boat (Bear Cubs) IPT Report

I had not realized that my ORD > MCO flight had been moved back an hour so I got into Orlando at about 3:30pm (instead of at 2:30pm) on Tuesday afternoon. Jim picked me up right on the money. After a stop at Publix for restocking the cupboard, we got home to ILE just before 6pm.

The 2017 Bear Boat (Bear Cubs) IPT was a strange one in several ways, mainly involving the weather. As regular readers know it was looking as if we might not make it to Katmai on schedule but the weather cleared much earlier than expected. It was cloudy bright that afternoon Tuesday, July 18) and with less than ideal bear viewing tides we took a photographic ride in the spacious steel skiff. We got to photograph Harbor Seal, Red Fox (with only one x …), and a single bear, our first. The big surprise was that we got to photograph Orca (Killer Whale) at fairly close range. That was a first for me on my eight bear boat trips.

On Wednesday, July 19 we headed up to Hallo Bay fairly early and did well during the midday hours with a very cooperative mamma bear with two yearling cubs, again in ideal cloudy bright conditions. That is when I created today’s featured image. With a big storm that was supposed to last for several days headed our way we returned to the protected bay at Kukak to spend the night and ride things out. On Thursday morning, July 19, we woke to cloudy dark skies and high winds but no rain so we all got in the skiff and landed at the far end of Kukak Bay. As we came around a corner we spotted a blonde wolf. Those carrying their big lenses on their shoulders got off a few frames with IPT veteran Dave Romea getting the only decent image. Those like me and several other participants who favored long term shoulder health over preparedness came up empty-handed as the wolf disappeared into the hillside brush.

We photographed some nice wolf tracks in the mud and then I started poking around looking for some still wildflowers in the lee to photograph with my 100-400 II (without much luck). But I stumbled upon an apparently abandoned Black Oystercatcher nest with two eggs on the gravel. I photographed it for about and hour with a great variety of lenses and from a wide assortment of perspectives. The group spotted a bear but it went the way of the wolf … I shared some of my nest images with the group but only a few came back to the nest with me and those that did created only a very few snaps. My feeling is that if you have a nice subject that you should consider working it seriously. I will share my nest-with-egg efforts here with you soon.

It poured and blew hard all afternoon so I present a canned program on Composition and Image Design. That went well. The captain’s wife and our cook took great interest in the program and the group enjoyed it as well. The weather forecast was for two more full days of rain and northeast winds. The former is no fun to work in and the latter would have kept us pinned in Kukak as Hallo is wide open to the northeast winds with no place to hide for the night.

Several of us were up early on Friday July 21. With two more days of very harsh weather in the forecast, the leader — that’s me — was placed on suicide watch. Only kidding. But things were looking grim at that point. Our overnight anchorage in Kukak was so well protected that we did not realize that the storm had past. By 7am the good news was spreading; we were heading back to Hallo even though the forecast was not promising. Well, that turned out to be a miraculous turn of events as we got in a long session mostly in perfect cloudy bright conditions. Right off the bat we found the yearling cubs that we had worked with on Wednesday and again they were quite cooperative. Next was a big gold colored female bear with two spring cubs. She was so comfortable with us the I cannot quote any distances here in fear of starting a major ethical brouhaha (as I have done before). Suffice to say, we followed the rules; the bears approached us and we stayed tight as a group and still.

As conditions brightened a bit, all of us were thinking the same thing: “We have now been with this family for four hours. It is about time that the cubs nursed.” And then it happened, within yards of us. Momma laid down on her back and the two eager cubs began suckling and slurping. We were both amazed and in nature photography heaven.

That afternoon skies cleared and we enjoyed a skiff ride for Horned and Tufted Puffins. After dinner, Chuck took two of us out to try for some halibut. I had landed the only keeper of the season, a small chicken halibut, while fishing in the rain as we were anchored up. He took us in the skiff to a few spots that had been productive in the past. I was fishing an eight-ounce diamond jig with two strips of white fish skin as a teaser. I was concentrating really hard almost willing a fish to hit. One did, and it was a substantial halibut. Line peeled off the screaming reel as the fish made first one long run and then another. Twice it nearly jerked me off my feet as it pulled me from the back of the skiff to the front of the skiff.

I played the fish on light tackle for about 20 minutes. As I got it near the surface Chuck grabbed his harpoon. I had the spent fish lying perfectly flat on the surface next to the boat. Chuck fired and thought that he had missed. At that moment, the line broke and I pictured the huge, exhausted fish turning tail and heading back to the bottom of the bay. But the harpoon had struck home. With a bit of a struggle Chuck got a hand gaff into the fish and lifted my 55-pound halibut into the skiff where it protested for a while. We tried again the next day in the morning but my fish was it. We did enjoy several wonderful meals and I still wound up with about 15 pounds of halibut filets to bring home.

On Saturday, July 22, those of us who were up very early enjoyed a nice puffins on the water red silhouette situation while those who got up a bit later enjoy some nice pre-sunrise scenic photography; my best there were created with the the 11-24mm, my big sky lens. We were ashore by 8:30 and had an eagle and some bears on the extensive low tide mudflats. I did some sidelit pattern shots of the mud ridges and made a few blasting highlights scenics with the mud and a distant island. Once we started hiking and found the bears the light was very bright. I created many hundreds of image and kept only a handful. By the time we headed back to the boat we had been hiking for more than seven not very productive hours and had hiked more than 3.7 miles. In and out at Hallo on the lower tidal stages will do that to you. A great late lunch halibut meal was enjoyed by all. We tried for puffins again but with wind against sun that we a bust.

Sunday the 23rd dawned clear and bright so I went out on a limb. “We will head to shore at 4pm on the high tide, get dropped off up the river, and then work our way back to the boat as the light gets nicer and nicer.” We had lots of close encounters with several bear families for many hours and then found the three cub family trying to stay out of the way of several big boars. The female charged one of them and sent it off with its tail between its legs. When a larger male approached I made my best image of the trip and maybe my best bear image ever as (finally) seen in the Last Minute Magic/Bear Boat Single Favorite Image. By far … blog post here. After that we trudged back over the berm to find several bears doing some early season fishing. Those — including and especially me — who waded the channels had a chance to photograph several bears in really sweet light. All in all we saw well more than 20 bears that afternoon. Having been dropped off far up the river on high tide we walked only about two miles with our gear on Sunday. We did not make it back to the boat until after 10:30pm which was just after the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Then it was back to our protected anchorage at Kukak to spend the night. Most folks slept in. I am not capable of doing that …

On Monday morning some folks opted to head out for a two-hour skiff ride. I stayed aboard to pack. They had lots of eagles and a few bears on the skiff ride but apparently we had used up all of our skiff photography magic on that first afternoon. Two float planes got us back safely to Kodiak late on Monday afternoon where everyone began their long journeys home.

All in all the weather was varied and strange with lots of highs and lows. The odd thing about the group was that most of the boys and girls rarely asked any questions in the field. I felt pretty lonely out there. Apologies again for the half-day of technical problems on Monday evening and Tuesday morning. Thanks again to Peter Kes for getting things up and running. Sometimes, there is a price to pay for progress. 🙂

I finished work on this blog post just now at about 7:30pm on Tuesday evening. That took two hours and I am very tired, hoping to be able to stay up until about 10:00pm and possibly avoid severe jet lag.

The Streak

Today marks three days in a row with a new educational blog post.

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.

Please Don’t Forget …

As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use the BAA B&H links for your major and minor gear purchases. For best results, use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.

As above, this image was created on the first morning of the 2017 Bear Boat IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops as originally framed: 1/320 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. Daylight WB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -2. Upper Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The AF system selected two points in the array, one fell on the bear’s right wrist, the other just caught the tip of its mouth or possibly the edge of the stick on the same level as the mouth. Both were pretty much on the same plane as the bear’s face. The featured image is a decent crop from all four sides. Brown Bear yearling playing with log

Brown Bear yearling playing with divining log

This was one of two yearling cubs that were very accommodating; having been born the previous spring they they were about 16 months old. The young bear in this image was actually quite curious at times and needed to be shooed away several times over the next few days. On morning one both of them began playing with thus fairly large log and there were a few magical moments. And they often play-fought with each other as well. As this was our first pleasing bear encounter we got to talk lots about getting the right exposure on a relatively dark day. The young bears both looked dark that day as a result of their wet fur. Several folks made some really nice images of the wet bears that featured very special poses with the log.

Image Title?

If you can come up with a funny or interesting title for this image, please do share by leaving a comment. With love, artie

The Image Optimization

After converting the image in DPP 4, I brought the image into Photoshop and cropped it. I realized right from the get-go with this first shared image processing session that applying a layer of RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing was the way to go with bear images created in low light. This technique worked magic on every single bear image that I processed. With this image and most others I left the RGB Curves layer at 100% opacity. Next I selected the bears only with the Quick Selection Tool (W) and applied a layer of my NIK Color Efex Pro 30/30 recipe. Lastly I painted a Quick Mask of the face of all the bear and selectively sharpened it with a Contrast Mask (15, 65, 0) on its own layer.

Everything above plus tons and tons more is detailed in the new 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. Just so you know, 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.

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. 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.

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.

Amazon Canada

Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.

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 wrote and published this blog post in the bar next to the Kodiak Airport, the Navigator Lounge — free wi-fi and free plugs 🙂 I did not imbibe. I am on the Ravn Air 7:15 flight to Anchorage. After a four-hour layover my flight to Chicago departs just after midnight; Jim is scheduled to pick me up in Orlando at about 2:30pm on Tuesday afternoon. Then Publix. Then home sweet home. More on the Bear Boat IPT in tomorrow’s blog post.

Do know that you have been missed 🙂

The Streak

Today marks two days in a row with a new educational blog post.

FYI on the Canon 7D Mark II Invisible Analogue Exposure Scale

Via e-mail from Larry Brown

Dear Art, When I first got my 7D Mark II, I did have difficulty seeing the scale. After installing the latest firmware, the situation is much improved. Larry

The latest firmware for any Canon camera can be downloaded from the camera-specific page for each body — including the 7D Mark II — on the Canon website. Find your camera here.

Professional Post Processing Guide NeatImage v8.2 Update

Thanks to the hard work of co-author Arash Hazehgi, the first and last update of the Professional Post Processing Guide is now available for folks who have previously purchased the guide and in addition, have purchased NeatImage v8.2. Those who own and use NeatImage v7.6 are fine with the original version of the guide. Folks who are using or attempting to use v8.0 are advised to update to v8.2.

Those who have previously purchased the Professional Post Processing Guide are urged to follow these simple directions to receive their free update.

1: Click here to send Jim an e-mail.

2: Please cut and paste page 2 of your current copy of the guide or include your original purchase receipt for the guide into the body of your e-mail.

Additional Info

Folks who wish to learn more about or purchase the guide should click here.

Important note: the original Professional Photographers’ Guide to Post Processing was based on NeatImage v7.6. Late in 2016, NeatImage released a new version, v8.2, that is a bit more complicated than v7.6. artie continues to use v7.6 which is simpler and easier to use. As far as the quality of the results, v7.6 and v8.2 are indistinguishable.

New purchasers need to decide if they want to purchase the Pro Version of NeatImage v7.6 or the Pro Version of NeatImage v8.2. Once you have decided, click here to purchase the The Professional Post Processing Guide Based on NeatImage v7.6. Or click here to purchase the The Professional Post Processing Guide Based on NeatImage v8.2

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.

Please Don’t Forget …

As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use the BAA B&H links for your major and minor gear purchases. For best results, use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.

This image was created on the 2017 Bear Boat IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/800 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. Daylight WB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -2. Two AF points to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. As originally framed, the selected AF point on momma bear’s shoulder, just this side of the plane of the bear’s face. Brown Bear mom with three cubs

Last Minute Magic/Bear Boat Single Favorite Image. By far …

We had lots of bears and lots of momma bears with multiple cubs. Either 2 cubs or three cubs. The problem was getting the stars — and the bears, lined up properly. At 8:57pm on our last night, the Universe was very friendly. I was in just the right spot when this mom and here three cubs spotted a big boar (male bear) coming towards them. My perfect situation last exactly a fraction of one second. I made only two frames before the danger party was over. In the next frame, the bear right in front of momma bear moved its head back just and inch so that it merged with the fur on the adult’s leg. I did not realize that I succeeded until I reviewed my images the morning after as we did not get back to the boat until 10:30pm, thirty minutes after sunset.

While I have some pretty good fishing bear images I believe that this is my very best-ever Coastal Brown Bear image.

The Image Optimization

After converting the image in DPP 4, I brought the image into Photoshop and leveled it. Next I applied a layer of RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing. This technique worked magic on every single bear image that I processed. With this image, however, I reduced the opacity to 50%. All of the others were perfect at 100% opacity. Next I selected the bears only with the Quick Selection Tool (W) and applied a layer of my NIK Color Efex Pro 30/30 recipe. Lastly I painted a Quick Mask of the faces of all three cubs and selectively sharpened them with a Contrast Mask (15, 65, 0) on its own layer.

Everything above plus tons and tons more is detailed in the new 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. Just so you know, 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.

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. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Obviously folks attending the IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. The good news is that the days are relatively short in October. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The Fort DeSoto 2017 Fall IPT/September 22 (afternoon session) through the full day on September 25, 2017. 3 1/2 FULL DAYs: $1649. Limit 8.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, and terns who winter on the T-shaped peninsula that serves as their wintering grounds. With luck, we may get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher almost guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. And Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork would not be unexpected.

Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join us on the ITF/MWS on the morning of Tuesday, September 26 as my guest. See below for details on that.

On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

There will be a Photoshop/image review session after lunch (included) each day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

This IPT will run with only a single registrant (though that is not likely to happen). The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Though I have not decided on a hotel yet — I will as soon as there is one sign-up — do know that it is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel (rather than at home or at a friend’s place).

A $500 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check after you register. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with ten folks so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, gear advice, and instructions for meeting on the afternoon of Friday, September 22.

Fort DeSoto in fall is rich with tame birds. All of the images in this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or early October. I hope that you can join me there this October. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field/Meet-up Workshop Session (ITF/MWS): $99.

Join me on the morning of Tuesday September 26, 2017 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.

You will learn the basics of digital exposure and image design, autofocus basics, and how to get close to free and wild birds. We should get to photograph a variety of wading birds, shorebirds, terns, and gulls. This inexpensive afternoon workshop is designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on a BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tour. I hope to meet you there.

To register please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to pay the nominal non-refundable registration fee. You will receive a short e-mail with instructions, gear advice, and meeting place at least two weeks before the event.

BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT.

Fort DeSoto Site Guide

Can’t make the IPT? Get yourself a copy of the Fort DeSoto Site Guide. Learn the best spots, where to be when in what season in what weather. Learn the best wind directions for the various locations. BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT. You can see all of them here.

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.

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.

Amazon Canada

Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.

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 is nasty and windy and raining here on Kodiak on the morning of Tuesday, July 18. I am not sure if the float planes will be flying today. If they are, and I hope that they will be, I will be offline until sometime on Monday, July 24. If you have any questions on the BAA Online Store or on an IPT or on anything BIRDS AS ART-related, you can call Jim or Jen weekdays at 863-692-0906 or shoot them an e-mail.

In the meantime feel free to surf old posts by clicking on the drop-down menu for Postlists on the orange-yellow tool bar above. Or, you can find several blog posts on the topic of your choice by entering it in the small, rectangular search box at the top right of each blog post and hitting Search.

With love till then, and best and great picture-making, artie

11:30am Update

The weather improved. Half of the group is en route to Katmai via float plane and the last three — including me — will be on the way in about two hours.

Travel Miracles

For starters, for the first time in decades on a photo trip, I got down to only a single checked bag: 49.75 pounds. Why? There is a weight limit on the float plane from Kodiak to Katmai and I finally decided to comply. It was difficult, but I wound up not having to leave anything important behind. I make most trips with two 50 pound bags …

Second, I switched from my larger Think Tank Roll-aboard (the AIRPORT SECURITY™ V3.0) to the smaller one (the AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL™ V3.0). This on its own saved 1 1/2 pounds. Photographically I cut way down as well. I am taking the following: the 500 II, the 100-400 II, two sets of TCs, my 24-105, the 8-15 fisheye, and two 5D Mark IV bodies. Stuffed in between the gear were two extra sets of front and rear caps, four extra batteries, and my Delkin flash card tote with a single spare 128gb card. Total weight: 34 1/4 pounds, about ten pounds lighter than average. Note that the lens hoods for the 500 II and the 1-4II go in the checked bag along with the Induro GIT 304L and the Mongoose M3.6. That 1D X II is one heavy body …

To order a Think Tank bag, receive a free gift, and support the work that I do here on the blog, please click here.

I got lots of work done on the LensAlign/FocusTune Micro-adjusting Tutorial e-Guide on my flight from Orlando to Seattle and then again on my flight to Anchorage.

More Exposure and Manual Mode Learning …

If you wish to continue your education with regards to these two topics be sure to re-visit yesterday’s blog post here and read and study my replies to the many comments. Seriously.

Canon EOS 5Ds Digital Camera Body

Price Reduced $300 on July 16, 2017.

Robert Blanke is also offering a Canon EOS 5Ds body in like-new condition for $2249.00 (was $2549.00). The sale includes the original packaging, manuals, software, and cables, the SLR body, the body cap, the charger, and the LP-E6N battery that came in the box. Also included is insured ground shipping via UPS. Your items will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Robert via e-mail or by phone at (813) 417-8967 (Eastern time).

The huge, amazingly detailed image files from the 5Ds are ideal for serious portrait, corporate, landscape, and Urbex photographers; it does its best work in a studio environment. artie

The Streak

Just in case you have not been counting, today makes 29 days in a row with a new educational blog post 🙂 There may be few or no new blog posts for a week while I am in Alaska as we move the BAA Blog to a new server.

Booking.Com

I could not secure the lodging that I needed for the UK Puffins and Gannets IPT in Dunbar, Scotland, so I went from Hotels.Com to Booking.Com and was pleasantly surprised. I found the rooms that I needed with ease at a hotel that was not even on Hotels.Com, and it was a nice hotel that I had seen in person. And the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward.

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.

Please Don’t Forget …

As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use the BAA B&H links for your major and minor gear purchases. For best results, use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.

This image was created on the 2016 San Diego IPT with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 340mm) with the EOS-1D X now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -2. 65-point Automatic Selection/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The system selected an array of five AF points a bit less than half-way down the bird’s bill, on pretty much on the same plane as the bird’s eye. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Today I would have used Upper Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter button AF to ensure that the selected AF points were somewhere on the bird’s face. In fact, I do not keep 65-point AF active on any of my camera bodies because Large Zone AF is far superior. And with moving subjects, I now use shutter button AF 100% of the time. Pacific race Brown Pelican scissors preening

Pelican Scissors Preening Perfection

The single most important factor having to do with the success of pelican scissors preening images is the orientation of the plane of the bird’s bill to the back of the camera. In today’s featured image that orientation is perfect with the plane of the bird’s bill 100% parallel to the imaging sensor. The second thing you are looking for is for the bill to be fully open. That’s another bingo for today’s featured image.

Carpet-Necked Pelicans

From gulls to shorebirds to pelicans and with many other bird families I have always enjoyed studying the various plumages. I find the color and patterns fascinating, and most of the time, these colors and patterns help you to age the bird and to better understand the plumage sequences. I created the phrase carpet necks several years ago as it perfectly describes the look of the back of the head and neck of adult pelicans that are molting from winter plumage (white hind neck) to breeding plumage (dark chocolate brown hind neck). The back of the heads and necks of these birds alway looked to me like a good piece of tightly woven slightly shaggy carpet.

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. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

2017 in San Diego was a very good year ….

2018 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART IPT: Monday, JAN 15 thru and including the morning session on Friday, JAN 19, 2018: 4 1/2 days: $2099.

Limit: 10: Openings: 4

Meet and Greet at 6:30pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Sunday, Jan 14, 2018.

Join me in San Diego 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 …

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects. With annual visits spanning more than three decades I have lot of experience there….

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?

Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings.

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include five 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, four 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, four 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 9/11//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.

The San Diego Site Guide

If you cannot make or afford the IPT the San Diego Site Guide truly is the next best thing to being there with me. It is all very simple, you will learn where to be when depending on the wind and sky conditions.

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.

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.

Amazon Canada

Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.

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

My jet-lag was much abated on Friday. I micro-adjusted a few wide angle lenses for my upcoming Bear Boat IPT trip, did some more work on the LensAlign/FocusTune Micro-adjustment e-Guide, and began packing as well. I head up to an airport hotel this afternoon, and fly all the way to Kodiak, AK on Sunday.

Just so you know, this seemingly simple blog post took more than three hours to create, most of that early on Saturday morning. Now that I have finished it I need to get packing 🙂

The Streak

Just in case you have not been counting, today makes 27 days in a row with a new educational blog post 🙂 There may be few or no new blog posts for a week while I am in Alaska as we move the BAA Blog to a new server.

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 my terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold just about everything in sight. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the original 400mm IS DO lens have been dropping steadily.

Used Gear Cautions

Though I am not in a position to post images of gear for sale here or elsewhere, prospective buyers are encouraged to request photos of the gear that they are interested in purchasing via e-mail. Doing so will help to avoid any misunderstandings as to the condition of the gear. Sellers are advised to photograph their used gear with care against clean backgrounds so that the stuff is represented accurately and in the best light; please pardon the pun :).

Important Note for Sellers on Cashier’s Checks

Do understand that getting a cashier’s check for your gear is no guarantee of anything. You need to get the check to the bank asap. Years ago I “sold” an EOS 1D Mark III for $3,000 to a guy in California. I tried Fed Ex collect. The driver handed the camera to the guy. The guy handed him what appeared to be a Bank of North America teller’s check. When we brought the check to BONA they said, sorry, it’s phony. I followed up with the Lake Wales police. They got in touch with the police in the guy’s home town. They did nothing.

I was out 3,000 bucks. Getting a cashier’s check for your gear is no guarantee of anything.

Used Gear Sales Testimonials

Unsolicited via e-mail from David Ramirez

Hi Artie, It’s been a few weeks but I just wanted to thank you for your Used Gear Sales service. I sold my 5DIII in no time at all for the excellent price you recommended. Thanks again, David

Handwritten note from Dr. Gil Moe

Dear Artie, Enclosed is a check for $401.40. You do such a great job with the used gear sales and pricing and make it so easy. Thank you, thank you! Regards, Gil

Unsolicited via e-mail from Tom Phillips

Artie, Well, that was awesome for us all. Roger received the 300mm today and is happy, and James bought the 1Dx Mk II and the 400mm within minutes of it being listed on the first Saturday! I know you have a lot of readers and followers but your advice on pricing was right on to sell and also allowed me to get a good price, make the buyers happy, and make you some money too. I want to thank you very much! Tom

Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Gerry Keshka

Hi Artie, I wanted to share how much I appreciate your Used Gear “service.” You have posted how you help sellers, but the other side of the equations is how much this service helps buyers. I have purchased three lenses (Canon 200-400, 500 f4 II, and 70-200 F2.8) all lovely experiences and I saved almost $5K over retail. Each of the sellers was delightful, willing to help me assess if the purchase was right for me by sharing their experience with the lens. Each lens was in the condition advertised (or better), and typically included several “add-ons” that would have cost several hundred dollars.

Thanks for all you do for the photographic community Artie. Gerry

Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Teresa Mabry Reed

Artie, Thanks for a positive experience in selling my used equipment. Best, Teresa

Unsolicited, via e-mail, from top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener

The BAA Used Gear Page is the best place I’ve found for selling my used cameras and lenses.

I used eBay and Craigslist until I began checking in at BIRDS AS ART. I saw the gear listed for sale at BAA and it struck me that the people who visit the site are like me in some important ways. We own high quality, often expensive gear. It’s important to us, and we likely take care of it. In other words, a good market exists. And I noticed how Artie marketed each item. Informative, without too big a push. That’s why I decided to try BAA.

The process was easy. I clearly accepted the terms of sale, fully and fairly described what I was selling and the good and bad. I listed the stuff to be included with in the sale. Then Artie came back with what he thought was a fair price, leaving it to me to determine the balance between urgency of the sale and receiving a high price. I’ve followed his lead.

The responses I’ve received from potential buyers have been reassuring. Each has been well informed and courteous. They have not expected perfection, but have fully expected fairness and clarity. I’ve found that providing many photographs of what I’m selling is very helpful in the completing the various transactions.

I’m writing this because of how glad I am to find a place where there is a good market for what I want to sell and what I want to buy — I just tried to buy a 300mm f/2.8 II, but it has sold. The buyers and sellers are informed and fair-minded. And artie offers friendly and experienced advice. I’ve enjoyed the process. The BAA Used Gear page is the best experience I’ve had buying and selling gear.

Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Owen Peller

I sold my 400 f/4 IS DO lens for the asking price. Thank you. Your service is truly better than any of the alternatives.

Artie, Thanks so much. I sent your check via my online banking. I never expected the 400 DO II and the 1DX II to sell within minutes of your posting the ad! I know that the 300 f/2.8 II is still up, but still, the results have been amazing. Another plus is that James McGrew is a professional artist and photographer and he was really looking and wanting that combo and is appreciative and excited to be able to find a great deal. Tom.

Recent Sales

• Multiple IPT veteran Brent Bridges sold his Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports lens for Canon EF in near-mint condition for only $999, his Sigma Sigma TC-1401 1.4x teleconverter for Canon EF in near-mint condition for a ridiculously low $129, and his Induro CT 304 carbon fiber tripod in mint condition for only $199, all in early July.
• Brooke Miller sold her Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 APO DG OS (optical stabilizer) lens for Canon AF in like-new condition for the giving-it-away price of $749 in early July.
• Erik Hagstrom sold a Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemprary lens for Canon EF in excellent plus condition for $699 in early July.
• Multiple IPT veteran Dr. Gil Moe sold an Xtrahand Vest, size XL Plus for $249 in late June.
• Multiple IPT veteran Brent Bridges sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in near-mint condition and a Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens in excellent condition for the very low price of $1499. He also sold a Canon EOS 7D Mark II body in very good plus condition for the record-low BAA price of $839, a used Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens (the old 1-4) in excellent condition with extras for $599, and a Canon EF Extender 1.4X III in near-mint condition for $329. All on the first day the items were listed.
• Tom Phillips sold his Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for $4,199 the day it was listed in mid-June.

Newest Listings

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens

Priced to Sell!

Dwaine Tollefsrud is offering a Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II lens in excellent condition for the record-low BAA price of $3999. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the lens trunk, the leather front lens cover, the lens strap, the original product box, a LensCoat, 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 Dwaine via e-mail or by phone at 1-605-716-0847 (Mountain time).

The 300 f/2.8 autofocus lenses have long been the first choice for the world’s best hawks in flight photographers with and without a 1.4X TC. When teamed up with either the 1.4X or 2X TC it makes a great hand holdable walk-around lens. Dwaine’s lens will save you an incredible $2,199! I owned and used several versions of the 300 f/2.8 lens for many years until finally replacing my 300 f/2.8 II with the 400 DO II about a year ago. artie

Booking.Com

I could not secure the lodging that I needed for the UK Puffins and Gannets IPT in Dunbar, Scotland, so I went from Hotels.Com to Booking.Com and was pleasantly surprised. I found the rooms that I needed with ease at a hotel that was not even on Hotels.Com, and it was a nice hotel that I had seen in person. And the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward.

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.

Please Don’t Forget …

As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use the BAA B&H links for your major and minor gear purchases. For best results, use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.

100% crop of the original eye and face

The Big Problem

When creating today’s featured image (below), I remember waiting for the bird in the background to turn its head toward me so that I could fit it into the frame. When it did, I fired off two frames. The big problem, as you can see in the 100% crop of the original image (above), was that the nictitating membrane was just starting to close. That ruined the frame. In the next frame, the main subject — the puffin on our right — had turned its head a bit away from me. But, the visible eye was fully open. It was a simple matter of converting both images in DPP 4, painting a Quick Mask of the good eye, placing that on its own layer, and moving it roughly into position with the Move Tool (V). Then I reduced the opacity of the new eye to 50% and carefully positioned it with the Move Tool using the left, right, up and down arrow keys. I used the Transform command to rotate it as needed and the Warp command to shape it. Next I raised the opacity to 100%, added a Regular Layer Mask, painted away the whole layer, hit X, and, working large, painted back in exactly what I needed to complete the repair. Easy peasy.

This puffin head juxtaposition image was created on the recently concluded UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. Once again I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/9. Daylight WB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -7. One row up 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 fell on the bird’s cheek just behind and right on the same plane as the bird’s eye. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version. Atlantic Puffin, juxtaposed heads

Tips on Creating Pleasing Juxtapositional Images

There are so many puffins on the rocks at both Staple and Inner Farnes that isolating a single puffin can be a challenge. Long focal lengths can often help in such situations. But not always. At times, your eye can spot a potentially pleasing juxtaposition where the puffins (or puffins) in the background become a plus rather than a distracting element. The trick is to act quickly to choose the ideal perspective; in many cases the pleasing juxtaposition might last just a few seconds at most before one of the birds (or one of the animals) relocates. Once I noted the potentially decent situation seen here, I moved my tripod a mere 4 inches to my right, waited a bit, and then created today’s featured image.

Easy Image Design Question

To improve this image a bit should I have pointed the lens a bit to my right or a bit to my left? Why? (Hint: there are two good reasons why for the correct answer …)

The Additional Image Optimization Stuff

After replacing the bad eye, I did a bit of bill and cheek clean-up as the bird on the right was something of a mess. In addition, I did some Eye Doctor work on the new eye that included lightening and using Blur > Surface Blur on the iris. I added a bit of BLACK to the BLACKs and the NEUTRALs in Selective Color, and finished the image off with an unusually high (+75) increase in the Vibrance.

Everything above plus tons and tons more is detailed in the new 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. Just so you know, the new e-Guide reflects my Macbook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow.

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.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) will teach you an efficient Mac/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.

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. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

2017 in San Diego was a very good year ….

2018 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART IPT: Monday, JAN 15 thru and including the morning session on Friday, JAN 19, 2018: 4 1/2 days: $2099.

Limit: 10: Openings: 4

Meet and Greet at 6:30pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Sunday, Jan 14, 2018.

Join me in San Diego 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 …

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects. With annual visits spanning more than three decades I have lot of experience there….

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?

Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings.

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include five 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, four 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, four 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 9/11//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.

The San Diego Site Guide

If you cannot make or afford the IPT the San Diego Site Guide truly is the next best thing to being there with me. It is all very simple, you will learn where to be when depending on the wind and sky conditions.

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.

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Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.

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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 :).