Every day I feel a bit better and Tuesday was no exception. And I got some substantive work done on the BAA Current Workflow Guide. t
I was pleased to learn that Fort DeSoto IPT veteran Ed Blanton will be joining the Palouse group. He makes six.
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 our 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.
Selling Your Used Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, 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. Even the prices on the new 600 II and the 200-400 with Internal Extender have been plummeting. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the right side of the yellow-orange menu bar above.
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.
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Sandra Calderbank
Hi Artie, I wanted to take a few minutes to thank you. I have sold two camera bodies on your BAA used gear site. Your friendly expertise and knowledgeable, trustworthy buyers have made this an extremely satisfying experience. Selling on BAA Used Gear page is the best transaction experience I have ever encountered. Thank you for all you do for our photography community. Sincerely, Sandra
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Tom Phillips
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 Successful Used Gear Sales
The Big Ticket Items Continue to Sell Like Hotcakes on the Used Gear Page in May!
David Ramirez sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III in near-mint condition for $1449 in late-May.
The sales of multiple IPT veteran Dr. Gil Moe’s Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, his 1.4X III TC, and his Xtrahand vest were all pending as of the first day of listing.
Hisham A. sold his Wimberley WH-200 Tripod Head in excellent condition for $449 in early May.
Larry Peavler sold a Canon Extender EF 2X III in like-new condition for $299 within days of posting it in mid-May.
Tom Phillips sold his Canon EOS-1DX Mark II (Premium Kit) in near-mint condition for $4499 and his Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II USM lens in like-new condition for $5,798 both within hours of listing them in mid-May.
Ron Paulk sold his Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II USM zoom lens in excellent condition for $1100 and the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT & Canon ST-E3-RT Transmitter/package for $425 on May 14, 2017, the day after it was listed.
Larry Peavler sold a Canon EF 100-400 zoom f/4.5 – 5.6 L IS Telephoto Zoom lens, the old 1-4, in excellent condition for $549 soon after it was listed.
Ron Paulk sold his Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens in excellent condition for $999and his Canon EF 100mm Macro f/2.8L IS USM lens in excellent condition for $549 the day they were listed.
Ron Paulk sold a Canon EOS-1D X Professional Digital Camera Body in excellent condition for $2699 and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens in mid-May before they were listed and is kindly sending me a check for the 2 1/2%.
New Listings
Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens
Another Real Gem
Philip Laing is offering a Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens in excellent plus condition for $7299. The sale includes the E-163B front lens cover, the rear lens cap, the lens strap, lens trunk 500B, both Canon tripod feet, the lens booklet, the original product box, a RRS LCF-53 replacement foot, and insured ground shipping via UPS to U.S. addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Phillip via e-mail or by phone at 208-983-2390 (Pacific time).
The 500 f/4s have long been the world’s most popular telephoto lenses for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. Canon’s Series II version is light, fast, super-sharp, and produces amazing images with both the 1.4X and 2X III TCs. The 500 II is relatively small, easily hand holdable, and is much easier travel with, focuses closer than, and costs a lot less than the 600 II. Lastly, and you might find this amazing, the magnification for the 500 II is the same as it is for the 600 II: .15X. How is that possible? Magnification is calculated at the minimum focusing distance of the lens, 12.14 feet (3.7 meters) for the 500 II, and 14.77 feet (4.5 meters) for the 600 II. Simply put, the 500 II focuses more than two feet closer than the 600 II. Dr. Gil Moe had five calls on his 500II on the first day it was listed. The first four folks quibbled on price. The fifth one jumped right on it. Please do not tarry if you are seriously interested in Phillip’s lens as it too should sell almost instantly. As the 500 II goes for $8999 new you will be getting a barely used lens while saving $1,700. artie
Xtrahand Vest, by Vested Interest: Size Medium
Kevin Hice is offering a green Xtrahand Vest, size Medium, for $250. The vest is in like-new condition with the thick shoulder pads, two large and two small front pockets, the large rear pocket, the rear tripod pocket, and insured ground shipping via UPS or FEDEX to U.S. addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Kevin via e-mail or by phone at 701- 460- 6112 (Central time).
As most of you know, I used and depend on my (Magnum) Xtrahand Vest extensively both in the field and for air travel. At spots in the Southern Ocean and in the Galapagos archipelago it is absolutely indispensable as it allows me to carry the extra lenses that I might need, along with water, food, and extra clothing. As I am pretty sure that Vested Interest has gone out of business, this represents a rare chance to get yourself an Xtrahand Vest. artie
Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens
Multiple IPT veteran Duncan Douglas is offering a lightly used Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM lens (the “old five”) in like-new condition (but for some small scratches on the bottom of the original lens foot) for $4199. The sale includes the original box, lens trunk, the lens strap, the front leather cover, the rear lens cap, a 4th Generation Designs CP-51b replacement foot with all the wrenches, the original Canon lens foot, 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. The lens is expected back today, Monday May 15, 2017 after being cleaned and checked by Canon.
The 500 f/4s have been the world’s most popular telephoto lenses for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. I owned and used and loved my “old five” for many years. We have sold more than a few recently for $3999 and even two for $3799. Bill’s lens is priced a bit higher as it is in pristine condition. If you don’t have the cash for the 500 II and can handle the additional 1 1/2 pounds (exactly) then this is your next best option if you want to get your hands on a 500 f/4. The 500 II goes for $8999 so you will be saving a cool $4,800 and getting a virtually brand new lens to boot. artie
Canon EOS 5D Mark III with a RRS L-bracket
Price typo correction
David Ramirez is offering a Canon EOS 5D Mark III (with extras) in near-mint condition (but for two small rub marks/nicks on the upper part of the body. Photos available upon request) for $1449. The camera had only 7963 shutter actuation’s on it. It has had Vello glass screen protectors on both LCDs from the beginning. Included are the original box, one battery, the charger,the discs, the strap,the manual, the front lens cap, a RRS L-bracket, 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 David via e-mail or by phone at 541-892-3726 (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. artie
Two rows up and one to the right of the center AF point AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment as is best when hand holding. Here is the location of the selected AF point for each image.
A-on the side of the bird’s breast just below the neck and on a line that is just forward of the eye.
B-on the front of the bird’s breast on a line down from the base of the bill.
C-on the side of the bird’s neck on a line down from the eye.
D-just behind and below the bird’s eye.
Dunlin in breeding plumage ruffling
Your Editing Help Needed
I cannot recall making four consecutive behavioral images of such high quality as those presented above. Each image is razor sharp on the eye and the exposure is perfect. Yet even when choosing your keepers from a series of static portraits, it is usually fairly easy to pick the single best image.
Though the four images are quite similar, each is distinctly different. Feel free to comment on the what you think are the positives of each image. And the negatives, if any. Please also leave a comment and let us know which of today’s four featured images is your absolute favorite. And do let us know why you like it. I have a clear single favorite and a second best and will share those with you in a blog post here in the not-too-distant-future. Please remember that the blog is designed to be interactive; the more folks who comment the more everyone learns.
Hand Holding the 500 II at 1000mm
Big time thanks to “Machine Gun” Mike Hankes who opted to gently work a group of shorebirds that I passed by opting instead to photograph a Reddish Egret on the spit. When “Big Red” flew off, I grabbed my 500 II with the 2X III in place off the tripod and approached Mike and the single remaining Dunlin low and slow. Once in position without scaring the bird, I placed my left forearm on the sandy beach. My left hand — well out on the lens barrel, cradled it from below while my right hand (of course) held and operated the 5D IV. I used my left hand and arm to control the elevation of the lens as there was a small hillock of sand between the subject and me. In fact, you can see a faint “bird in heaven” halo by the legs in each image.
AF Strategy
Take a close look at the AF point selection and placement for each of the four images and notice how I shifted the lens a bit with each frame in response to changes in the bird’s posture and position. My choice of a single AF point that was two rows up and one to the right of the center AF point turned out to have been a brilliant one as it enabled me to keep the subject well back in the frame while avoiding clipping its tail or wing feathers with the left frame-edge.
I am feeling a bit better each day. The nasty cough is gone. All that I am left with now is a bit of sticky nasal congestion. Yuck!
See the late registration discount info on the Palouse IPT below.
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 our 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.
Upper Large Zone/Shutter Button/AI Servo AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system selected two AF points that fell on the bend of the wing. Though this would seem to be just ahead of the plane of the bird’s eye the image was sharp enough.
Image Sandhill Crane colt on a foggy morning
My Honest Thoughts on the Foggy Crane Might Surprise You …
In the recent Exposure in the Fog/Please Rate This Image blog post here, I posted the image above and this as well:
Your Call
On a scale of zero to 10 with zero being an insta-delete and 10 being a BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition entrant, how would you rate this image? Why?
On a scale of zero to 10 with zero being very poor and 10 being excellent how would you rate this image on:
Composition:
Exposure:
Color:
Sharpness:
Impact:
I will share my ratings with you here soon.
My Responses
On a scale of zero to 10 with zero being an insta-delete and 10 being a BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition entrant, how would you rate this image? Why?
am: I’d give it a two. Aside from it’s value in this educational exercise and what I might have learned, it is simply not too exciting. When I started working on it I thought that I might have been able to make it look pretty good. I was wrong 🙂
On a scale of zero to 10 with zero being very poor and 10 being excellent how would you rate this image on:
Composition: Three. It is a bit too tight in the frame.
Exposure: Exposure with the RAW file was right on. The optimized image is a bit too dark for my taste. But lightening it did not help.
Color: I have big problems with the color; I’d give it a one. The image is overall muddy. The RGB values on the gray areas are perfectly neutral yet the colors are not at all pleasing. I’m left wondering if the problems with the muddy colors were a result of exposing
Sharpness: Though the eye is relatively sharp, the fine feather detail is pathetic. Overall I’d give it a two in this category. Why the problem? As I struggled awkwardly to frame the image with the lens on the BLUBB, the lens was moving a bit at the moment of exposure.
Impact: I’d give the optimized image a zero on its own and a one when compared to the RAW file.
Thanks to all who commented so honestly on the image when it was originally posted.
With the long days there will be tons of time for image review and Photoshop sessions on the Palouse IPT. You are of course invited to join us.
Palouse 2016 Horizontals Card
Why Different?
Announcing the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
In what ways will the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour be different from the most other Palouse workshops?
There are so many great locations that a seven-day IPT (as opposed to the typical three- or five-day workshops) will give the group time to visit (and revisit) many of the best spots while allowing you to maximize your air travel dollars. In addition, it will allow us to enjoy a slightly more relaxed pace.
You will be assured of being in the right location for the given weather and sky conditions.
You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills.
You will learn to design powerful, graphic images.
You will visit all of the iconic locations and a few spectacular ones that are much less frequently visited.
You will learn long lens landscape techniques.
You will learn to master any exposure situation in one minute or less.
You will learn the fine points of Canon in-camera (5D Mark III, 5DS R, and 7D II) HDR techniques.
You will learn to create this look in Photoshop from a single image while winding up with a higher quality image file.
You will learn to use your longest focal lengths to create rolling field and Urbex abstracts.
You will learn when and how to use a variety of neutral density filters to create pleasing blurs of the Palouse’s gorgeous rolling farmlands.
As always, you will learn to see like a pro. You will learn what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.
You will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images.
You will learn to use super-wide lenses both for big skies and building interiors.
You will learn when, why, and how to use infrared capture; if you do not own an infrared body, you will get to borrow mine.
You will learn to use both backlight and side-light to create powerful and dramatic landscape images.
You will learn to create the very popular detailed, slightly grungy, slightly over-saturated look in Photoshop.
Palouse 2016 Verticals Card
The 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour. June 8-14, 2017. Seven full days of photography. Meet and greet at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 7: $2,499. Limit 10/Openings: 5.
Call 863-692-0906 or e-mail for Late Registration Discount Info
Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will enjoy spectacular sunrises and at least one nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. I will bring you to more than a few really neat old abandoned barns and farmhouses in idyllic settings. There is no better way to improve your compositional and image design skills and to develop your creativity than to join me for this trip. Photoshop and image sharing sessions when we have the time and energy…. We get up early and stay out late and the days are long.
Over the past three years, with the help of my friend Denise Ippolito, we found all the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and vistas. What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, my extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions. As above, there will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before the workshop begins.
To Sign Up
Your non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your spot. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining this IPT. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours to arrange for the payment of your deposit; if by check, please make out to “BIRDS AS ART” and mail it to: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail: artie.
Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options. You can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check. Whenever purchasing travel insurance be sure to read the fine print carefully even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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 :).
I am feeling better still though I have a lingering, nagging, scratchy cough at times. I had a great time this weekend at DeSoto. Multiple IPT veteran Mike Hankes from Ormond Beach and newcomer Steve Olive from North Fort Myers joined me for the full program and Ray Jusseaume from Ellenton joined the three of us on Saturday morning. We had a load of fun. Much of it involved trying to do the impossible: make a killer image of one of the breeding plumage Sanderlings scurrying along the shore of the Gulf. Ray sat in one spot and waited for the birds to come to him with his tripod-mounted Nikon 600mm with the 1.4X TCE in place. Mike chased them down with his hand held 400 DO II with the 1.4X TC III and his 1D X II. I went with the 5D IV/1.4X III/5D IV combo on Saturday morning (after trying and failing with the 500 II/2X III/5D IV combo). I intended to work with the hand held 400 DO II/2X III TC/1DX II on Sunday morning but uncharacteristically left the DO in my motel room so I went with the 100-400 II/1.4X III/1DX II combo.
We had lots of chances with Reddish Egret and breeding plumage Dunlins as well. I had not seen a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in the park in about a year but we did well with a single bird on Saturday morning. After the nice sunrise on Sunday morning we were sucking dirty pond water for a while but I never give up. After trying and failing with several of my back-up locations we were facing strike three when we hit a home run with Sandwich Terns fishing in flight, tame Snowy and Great Egrets, and pelicans diving into huge schools of baitfish.
Over the weekend, Dr. Gil Moe sold his 500 II, a 2X III TC, and his X-trahand Vest the first day it was listed. You can see all the current Used Gear listings by clicking on the Used Gear Page tab on the orange/yellow Tool Bar at the top of each blog post page.
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 our 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.
One AF point below and four to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo AF/Expand/Shutter Button AF was not active at the moment of exposure. See below for the AF details …
Image #1: Reddish Egret at Sunrise
Advanced AF Technique
With the strong backlight the system would not hold focus when I put the AF point on the bird. In situations like this I advise acquiring focus by putting the AF point on the bird’s legs as they offer more contrast. As I wanted to tuck the bird into the lower right corner I pressed and held the AF-On button and then re-composed. It is sort of like rear button in reverse. My standard set-up has assigned AF lock to the AF-On button. When hand holding, the trick is to stay as still as possible once you have locked focus. This is never easy for me as I move a lot when I am standing still. To add to the difficulty, I was standing in mid-thigh deep water on a soft, muddy bottom. (Two of us had waded more than 150 yards to get into position …) I created about 40 very similar images. Only two were tack sharp due to the my inability to stay completely still. Folks will not encounter similar problems with static subjects when they are on a tripod.
When the bird finally flew we waded back to the spit with as much care as we had on the way out 🙂
Center Large Zone/Shutter Button/AI Servo AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system selected two AF points that fell on the bend of the wing. Though this would seem to be just ahead of the plane of the bird’s eye the image was sharp enough.
Image #2: Reddish Egret — crest raised head portrait
Point Your Shadow at the Subject …
This handsome breeding plumage bird landed right in front of us on Saturday morning. It danced, it posed, and then, as Reddish Egrets often do, it flew. We made our way around the marsh about 200 yards with all our gear. There were several photographers photographing the bird about 110 degrees off sun angle. We waded across a knee deep creek and looked for an opening. When we found one, the bird was right there, right on sun angle. We got as close as 10 feet without disturbing it in the least. It raised its crest when it spotted a baitfish. Then, as Reddish Egrets often do, it flew. High fives all around.
Strangely, even though Center Large Zone AF/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure, no AF points were illuminated when viewing the RAW file with AF points (Command J) checked under Preview … Strange indeed. Has anyone else run into this?
Image #3: Reddish Egret, soft light flight
What Happened to the 1.4X III TC?
Why, in this situation, do you think that I remove the 1.4X III teleconverter?
100-400 II Versatility …
Here again, with today’s three images, we see the incredible versatility of the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens. I often find myself using it for entire photo sessions even when I have the 500mm II or the 600mm II n the field with me. That happened often on the DeSoto In-the-Field Meet-up Weekend.
Your Favorite?
Which of today’s three featured images do you like best? Be sure to let us know why you made your choice. Remember, the more folks who participate the more everyone learns, including me.
Palouse 2016 Horizontals Card
Why Different?
Announcing the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
In what ways will the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour be different from the most other Palouse workshops?
There are so many great locations that a seven-day IPT (as opposed to the typical three- or five-day workshops) will give the group time to visit (and revisit) many of the best spots while allowing you to maximize your air travel dollars. In addition, it will allow us to enjoy a slightly more relaxed pace.
You will be assured of being in the right location for the given weather and sky conditions.
You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills.
You will learn to design powerful, graphic images.
You will visit all of the iconic locations and a few spectacular ones that are much less frequently visited.
You will learn long lens landscape techniques.
You will learn to master any exposure situation in one minute or less.
You will learn the fine points of Canon in-camera (5D Mark III, 5DS R, and 7D II) HDR techniques.
You will learn to create this look in Photoshop from a single image while winding up with a higher quality image file.
You will learn to use your longest focal lengths to create rolling field and Urbex abstracts.
You will learn when and how to use a variety of neutral density filters to create pleasing blurs of the Palouse’s gorgeous rolling farmlands.
As always, you will learn to see like a pro. You will learn what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.
You will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images.
You will learn to use super-wide lenses both for big skies and building interiors.
You will learn when, why, and how to use infrared capture; if you do not own an infrared body, you will get to borrow mine.
You will learn to use both backlight and side-light to create powerful and dramatic landscape images.
You will learn to create the very popular detailed, slightly grungy, slightly over-saturated look in Photoshop.
Palouse 2016 Verticals Card
The 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
June 8-14, 2017. Seven full days of photography. Meet and greet at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 7: $2,499. Limit 10/Openings: 5.
Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will enjoy spectacular sunrises and at least one nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. I will bring you to more than a few really neat old abandoned barns and farmhouses in idyllic settings. There is no better way to improve your compositional and image design skills and to develop your creativity than to join me for this trip. Photoshop and image sharing sessions when we have the time and energy…. We get up early and stay out late and the days are long.
Over the past three years, with the help of my friend Denise Ippolito, we found all the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and vistas. What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, my extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions. As above, there will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before the workshop begins.
To Sign Up
Your non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your spot. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining this IPT. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours to arrange for the payment of your deposit; if by check, please make out to “BIRDS AS ART” and mail it to: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail: artie.
Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options. You can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check. Whenever purchasing travel insurance be sure to read the fine print carefully even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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 :).
By Friday dinner I was feeling much better. I met up with Michael Hankes and we headed for DeSoto. While exploring on Tierra Verde we spotted a great blue with a big black snake, probably a racer. He did not like us and walked down to the shore of a nearby lake. As we followed he went over the bank. When we got it back in sight, it had already swallowed the snake. Zero pix. We did get some decent stuff on a few spoonbills.
The weather got worse as we checked out a few spots in the park. At one point, as we were getting our gear ready, I asked Mike, “Do you think it’s safe?” He said, “What are the chances of getting hit by lighting?” Five seconds later we had our answer: BHAM and FLASH. And I mean big BHAM and huge bright FLASH! We got back in the car and decided to head for dinner.
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 our 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.
Upper Large Zone/Shutter Button/AI Servo AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system selected two AF points that fell on the bend of the wing. Though this would seem to be just ahead of the plane of the bird’s eye the image was sharp enough.
Image Sandhill Crane colt on a foggy morning
The Foggy Morning Original
The JPEG above represents the converted TIFF file. I actually added one full stop of light via the brightness slider during the RAW conversion. It was tough to get the lens on the bird as the colt was walking away from my vehicle that was not squared up with the bird. When the bird turned toward me I figured, it does not cost me anything to push the button so what the heck. I created two frames. This one was sharp, the other was not.
Would you keep this image and attempt to optimize it?
Upper Large Zone/Shutter Button/AI Servo AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system selected two AF points that fell on the bend of the wing. Though this would seem to be just ahead of the plane of the bird’s eye the image was sharp enough.
Image Sandhill Crane colt on a foggy morning
The Optimized Image
I thought that ACR’s DeHaze would have worked magically with this image but it did not so I want back to basics: a Levels Adjustment, a Curves Color Balance adjustment, my NIK 30-30 recipe on the bird only, and the full treatment NeatImage noise reduction.
Your Call
On a scale of zero to 10 with zero being an insta-delete and 10 being a BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition entrant, how would you rate this image? Why?
On a scale of zero to 10 with zero being very poor and 10 being excellent how would you rate this image on:
Composition:
Exposure:
Color:
Sharpness:
Impact:
I will share my ratings with you here soon.
Palouse 2016 Horizontals Card
Why Different?
Announcing the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
In what ways will the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour be different from the most other Palouse workshops?
There are so many great locations that a seven-day IPT (as opposed to the typical three- or five-day workshops) will give the group time to visit (and revisit) many of the best spots while allowing you to maximize your air travel dollars. In addition, it will allow us to enjoy a slightly more relaxed pace.
You will be assured of being in the right location for the given weather and sky conditions.
You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills.
You will learn to design powerful, graphic images.
You will visit all of the iconic locations and a few spectacular ones that are much less frequently visited.
You will learn long lens landscape techniques.
You will learn to master any exposure situation in one minute or less.
You will learn the fine points of Canon in-camera (5D Mark III, 5DS R, and 7D II) HDR techniques.
You will learn to create this look in Photoshop from a single image while winding up with a higher quality image file.
You will learn to use your longest focal lengths to create rolling field and Urbex abstracts.
You will learn when and how to use a variety of neutral density filters to create pleasing blurs of the Palouse’s gorgeous rolling farmlands.
As always, you will learn to see like a pro. You will learn what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.
You will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images.
You will learn to use super-wide lenses both for big skies and building interiors.
You will learn when, why, and how to use infrared capture; if you do not own an infrared body, you will get to borrow mine.
You will learn to use both backlight and side-light to create powerful and dramatic landscape images.
You will learn to create the very popular detailed, slightly grungy, slightly over-saturated look in Photoshop.
Palouse 2016 Verticals Card
The 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
June 8-14, 2017. Seven full days of photography. Meet and greet at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 7: $2,499. Limit 10/Openings: 7.
Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will enjoy spectacular sunrises and at least one nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. I will bring you to more than a few really neat old abandoned barns and farmhouses in idyllic settings. There is no better way to improve your compositional and image design skills and to develop your creativity than to join me for this trip. Photoshop and image sharing sessions when we have the time and energy…. We get up early and stay out late and the days are long.
Over the past three years, with the help of my friend Denise Ippolito, we found all the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and vistas. What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, my extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions. As above, there will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before the workshop begins.
To Sign Up
Your non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your spot. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining this IPT. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours to arrange for the payment of your deposit; if by check, please make out to “BIRDS AS ART” and mail it to: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail: artie.
Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options. You can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check. Whenever purchasing travel insurance be sure to read the fine print carefully even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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 :).
I went down to the lake for an hour on Wednesday morning. I had about a dozen thisclose-to-being great chances that all fizzled out. I did have a few good chances and made a few decent images. I went down to the lake on Thursday morning but it was not too good.
My sore throat has graduated to a head cold with the expected runny nose and congestion. I’d rather have the cold than the sore throat. I actually feel pretty good right now (Thursday at 8:30am) despite the fact that my nose is running like a sieve. I am hoping that whatever I have is running its course and that I will be back in the pool soon.
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 our 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.
Selling Your Used Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, 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. Even the prices on the new 600 II and the 200-400 with Internal Extender have been plummeting. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the right side of the yellow-orange menu bar above.
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.
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Sandra Calderbank
Hi Artie, I wanted to take a few minutes to thank you. I have sold two camera bodies on your BAA used gear site. Your friendly expertise and knowledgeable, trustworthy buyers have made this an extremely satisfying experience. Selling on BAA Used Gear page is the best transaction experience I have ever encountered. Thank you for all you do for our photography community. Sincerely, Sandra
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Tom Phillips
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 Successful Used Gear Sales
Big Ticket Items Continue to Sell Like Hotcakes on the Used Gear Page in April and May!
Larry Peavler sold a Canon Extender EF 2X III in like-new condition for $299 within days of posting it in mid-May.
Tom Phillips sold his Canon EOS-1DX Mark II (Premium Kit) in near-mint condition for $4499 and his Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II USM lens in like-new condition for $5,798 both within hours of listing them in mid-May.
Ron Paulk sold his Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II USM zoom lens in excellent condition for $1100 and the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT & Canon ST-E3-RT Transmitter/package for $425 on May 14, 2017, the day after it was listed.
Larry Peavler sold a Canon EF 100-400 zoom f/4.5 – 5.6 L IS Telephoto Zoom lens, the old 1-4, in excellent condition for $549 soon after it was listed.
Ron Paulk sold his Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens in excellent condition for $999and his Canon EF 100mm Macro f/2.8L IS USM lens in excellent condition for $549 the day they were listed.
Ron Paulk sold a Canon EOS-1D X Professional Digital Camera Body in excellent condition for $2699 and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens in mid-May before they were listed and is kindly sending me a check for the 2 1/2%.
Hisham A. sold a Canon EOS 7D Mark II in excellent plus condition for the BAA record low price of $847 in early May.
John Stuhlmuller sold his Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS Lens with Internal 1.4 Extender in mint condition with lots of extras for a very low $8149 in early May.
John Stuhlmuller also sold his Canon EOS 5DS R digital camera body in like-new condition with lots of extras for an amazingly low $2799, also in early May.
Multiple IPT veteran and good friend Doug Holstein sold his Canon 500mm f4/L IS USM Super Telephoto lens and a 1.4X II teleconverter, both in in excellent condition, for the great low price of $3699 in early May, 2017.
New Listings
Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens
A Real Gem of a Deal with Great Extras
Sale pending on DAY 1
Multiple IPT veteran Dr. Gil Moe is offering a Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens in like-new condition with lots of extras for only $7699. The sale includes the E-163 B front Lens Cover, the rear lens cap, the lens strap, and the lens trunk. Also included are a 3x Expandable Long Lens Bag (a $279.99 value; I use mine most every day), the LensCoat that has protected the finish since day one (an $89.99 value), a LensCoat RainCoat Pro cover (a $124.99 value), a Canon PL-C 52WII 52mm Drop-In Circular Polarizing Filter ($229 new from B&H), and insured ground shipping via UPS or FEDEX to U.S. Addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Gil via e-mail or by phone at 909-732-1456 (Pacific time).
The 500 f/4s have been the world’s most popular telephoto lenses for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. Canon’s Series II version is light, fast, super-sharp, and produces amazing images with both the 1.4X and 2X III TCs. The 500 II is relatively small, is easily hand holdable, and is much easier travel with, focuses closer than, and costs a lot less than the 600 II. Lastly, and you might find this amazing, the magnification for the 500 II is the same as it is for the 600 II: .15X. How is that possible? Magnification is calculated at the minimum focusing distance of the lens, 12.14 feet (3.7 meters) for the 500 II, and 14.77 feet (4.5 meters) for the 600 II. Simply put, the 500 II focuses more than two feet closer than the 600 II. With all the amazing extras, Gil’s lens should sell almost instantly. As the 500 II goes for $8999 new you will be getting a like-new, barely used lens, enjoying more than $700 in relevant extras, and saving more than $1,300. Please do not tarry. artie
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Zoom Lens (the old 24-105)
Multiple IPT veteran Dr. Gil Moe is also offering a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens in excellent plus condition for $549. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, the soft lens pouch, and insured ground shipping via UPS or FEDEX to U.S. Addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Dr. Gil Moe via e-mail or by phone at 909-732-1456 (Pacific time).
I rarely make a trip or head out to the beach without my 24-105 in my Xtra-hand vest. Whenever I leave this versatile B-roll lens behind, I wind up regretting it. I use it for bird-scapes, photographer-scapes, landscapes, mini macro scenes like bird feathers, dead birds, and nests with eggs (the latter only when and if the nest can be photographed without jeopardizing it) and just about anything else that catches my eye. While I am nowhere near as good as Denise Ippolito with this lens, I have made lots of good and saleable images with mine, the old version. artie
Canon Extender EF 2X III
Sale pending on DAY 1
Multiple IPT veteran Dr. Gil Moe is also offering a Canon Extender EF 2X III in like-new condition for $329. The sale includes the original box, the front and rear lens caps, the pouch, and insured ground shipping via UPS or FEDEX to U.S. Addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Gil via e-mail or by phone at 1-909-732-1456 (Pacific time).
My belief (and experience) is that while few folks use the 2X TCs as much or as effectively as I do, most folks with good sharpness techniques are able to make consistently sharp images with the 2X III teleconverter and an f/4 super-telephoto lens at shutter speeds at least down to 1/125 sec. It usually take a bit of practice to master the needed techniques. artie
Xtrahand Vest, by Vested Interest: Size XL Plus
Sale pending on DAY 1
Multiple IPT veteran Dr. Gil Moe is also offering an Xtrahand Vest, size XL Plus for $249. The vest is in like-new condition. It has shoulder pads for carrying your heavy gear, all of the large pockets in front, and a zip on and off large rear pocket for carrying gear or lunch. It also has a tie-on, roll-up pad for sitting on the wet grass. The sale includes insured ground shipping via UPS or FEDEX to U.S. Addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Gil via e-mail or by phone at 1-909-732-1456 (Pacific time).
As most of you know, I used and depend on my (Magnum) Xtrahand Vest extensively both in the field and for air travel. At spots in the Southern Ocean and in the Galapagos archipelago it is absolutely indispensable as it allows me to carry the extra lenses that I might need, along with water, food, and extra clothing. As I am pretty sure that Vested Interest has gone out of business, this represents a rare chance to get yourself an Xtrahand Vest. artie
AquaTech Canon 1Dx/1DxMKII Sport Water Housing with pistol grip and flash housing
Ron Paulk is offering an AquaTech Canon 1Dx/1DxMKII Sport Water Housing with pistol grip and flash housing in new condition for $1899. The total value of the package new is $3719. The sale includes the AquaTech Canon 1Dx Water Housing with Pistol Grip & Cover, the AquaTech Flash Housing for the Canon 600 EXII RT, the AquaTech soft case for the housing, and insured ground shipping to US addresses via FED-EX Ground. Your items will ship after your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
If you need additional info, please contact Ron by e-mail or by phone at 360-391-2090 PDT.
Yours truly traversing a wet, muddy downhill stretch on his butt somewhere on South Georgia
Image courtesy of and copyright 2016: Clemens van der Werf
Going Downhill …
I have taken my share of downhill falls. The very worst was in Homer, where I cautioned the group as we headed down over some icy rocks to the beach. Everyone made it safely. Everyone but me. I somehow fell over backwards with the top of my left foot trapped against the ground, hyper-flexing my recently surgically repaired left knee. As everything unfolded in slow motion I pictured myself being airlifted to Anchorage for emergency knee reconstruction surgery …
How’d that work out? I limped around for two weeks, but when push came to shove my knee was much better than it was before the fall. Dr. Cliff Oliver suggested that the improvement was the result of my having torn loose adhesions from the surgery. Still, falling while carrying photography gear (downhill or otherwise) is a must to avoid.
Let’s Be Careful Out There
As I’ve aged, I came to realize that discretion is by far the better part of valor. Whenever I encounter a downhill stretch I will simply go down on my butt as you see me doing above. It is hard to fall far when you are sitting on the ground … At times, viable options might include using your tripod as a walking stick or simply asking for help. And here is a final word of caution; when you have the thought, “I’ve made it. I am safe,” be especially on guard. You relax a bit and then fall on your head. I did just that this year in South Georgia. I made the big climb up and down the hill at Salisbury Plain (with lots of help from friends). When I got to the flats just this side of the beach I thought “I’ve made it. I am safe.” In the next instant I slipped on the wet mud on flat ground, fell to my right, cracked my head against the ground with a thud, and strained my left hip badly. Please be careful out there.
This image was created on the 2017 Finland IPT with Canon gear.
Mike Gotthelf after his fall
Image courtesy of and copyright 2017: Olli Lamminsalo
Almost Survived Unscathed …
I had wanted to photograph the old mill from the first moment I saw it as we drove to our lodge in Kuusamo, Finland. On our last morning there, multiple IPT veteran Mike Gotthelf and I got dropped off at the mill. After a bit, wanting to get to a lower vantage point, I climbed down about 18 inches to the shallow river bed. Following my own advice I did that with great care. I placed my tripod below me and then steadied my self by holding onto it as I stepped down. No problema. I turned my head to the left to see Mike climbing down holding two cameras and his tripod … In an instant he tumbled backwards, falling onto the river bank. It looked as if he would be OK. But his 70-200 2.8 with a 5D IV attached struck his right thigh and bounced back at him forcefully. The camera struck his face with a crack, hitting the orbital ridge above his right eye. As I ran over to him I saw that he was bleeding profusely from a gash just above the eye.
Our Kuusamo leader Olli Lamminsalo helped me with the first aid. IPT participant Dr. Anita North provided round the clock care for Mike for about 36 hours, cleaning, dressing, and icing the wound site in an effort to minimize the swelling, and then changing the dressing as needed. Within a few hours, Mike’s eye was swollen shut. By the next morning he was wearing a big, black and purple and green shiner. Mike was a good sport throughout; he did not complain one bit and kept on photographing. By day two he was in pretty good shape but for the black eye.
Whenever I perceive a situation as being potentially dangerous, I try to take every step as if it might be my last before a big fall. Boys and girls, please remember: “Let’s be careful out there.” (Sergeant Phil Esterhaus, ‘Hill Street Blues,’ played by veteran actor Michael Conrad).
How About You?
If you have ever been injured while photographing nature, please leave a comment and share you story with the group. The more serious the better … Or not.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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 :).
I spent a good part of Tuesday fighting a quick-developing but nasty sore throat using a mega-gargling protocol from Dr. Oliver. Right now, Tuesday evening at 6:36 as I type, I seem to at least be holding me own. Time will tell.
Free Friday Afternoon Desoto In-the-Field Session
Sign up (details below) for the four DeSoto sessions and join Machine-gun Mike Hankes and me for a free Friday instructional outing from 4pm till sunset.
Black Grouse Hen Mystery Answers
From the Black Grouse Hen Mysteries blog post here:
I created Image #1. Multiple IPT participant Anita North created Image #2.
The focal length for Image #1 was 1200mm.
The shutter speed for Image #1 was 1/250 sec. (ISO 800 at f/9).
The focal length for Image #2 was 600mm.
The shutter speed for Image #2 was a surprising 1/500 sec. (ISO 800 at f/4).
The shutter speed for Image #2 was quite surprising. Most folks thought that it would have been a lot slower. The high shutter speed gives you an idea that that lady was really moving when the bird decided to split.
Though the seemingly simple Image #1 was one of my very favorites of the trip, I loved Anita’s blur, mostly for the fact that she pushed the shutter button when most folks would not have thought to try. Hers is one accidental pleasing blur that turned out superbly. Thanks Anita for allowing me to share your image with the group here.
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 our 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.
Image #1: Great Egret and marsh grasses.
Image courtesy of and copyright 2016: Ed Blanton
Somebody Listened …
After each IPT, the group is invited to submit five of their favorite images for an online critique. All of the image critiques are shared with the group. I was pleased to see that Ed Blanton opted to follow my advice and photograph the fine looking Great Egret foraging along the edge of the marsh. I like Ed’s image design with the marsh grasses playing a big role in the success of the image. The bird is sharp and well back in the frame and the final tonality of the optimized photo was right on. Thanks Ed for joining us on the IPT and for allowing me to share your image here on the blog.
Notice …
Notice that there are grasses both in front of and behind the bird … That of course varied a bit as the bird foraged.
Center Large Zone AF/AI Servo/shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system activated a cluster of three AF points that caufht the bottom of the base of the bird’s bill, right on the same plane as the bird’s eye. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image #2: Great Egret and marsh grasses
The Big Misconception
In the original Ignored … Tripod Basics and An Advanced Tripod Tip, Large Zone AF Info, and Image Questions blog post here, I posed two questions:
#1: Why did I want to get 9 inches lower (quickly)?
#2: Why, once I acquired and held focus, did I opt to create long series of images. In other words, why did I opt to make a lot of images in this specific situation?
Pretty much everyone who commented nailed #2; I created several long series of images in hopes of getting one where the arrangement of grasses around the bird’s head and neck were pleasingly perfect. With Image #2, immediately above, I believe that I did just that. No grasses intersect with the bird’s head or upper neck and the bird is framed just right (for me).
The answers to #2 revealed the big misconception: most folks thought that my wanting to get low had to do with the grasses around the bird’s head. By taking a look at the situation revealed in Image #1 you can see or imagine that my being 9 inches higher or low would have little effect on the image as far as the juxtaposition of the bird’s head and the marsh grasses. Why? Both were pretty much on the same plane with some grasses just in front of the bird and some just behind.
Elinor Osborn left this comment for #1: To get the grass up closer to the bird’s head? To get the strip of green at the top? To get level with the bird’s eye and bill? Her #1 did not make much sense to me. Her #2 was bingo. Her #3 was true but, due to the extremely long focal length (1200mm), it was true only to a very small degree.
Elinor added: The green oof background at the top matches the green on the bird so well. The grass and the OOF green make this a gorgeous composition.
So yes, the reason that I wanted to get lower was to include the strip of color at the top. The color came from the distant marsh grasses on the other side of the lagoon, perhaps 200 yards away.
Below, verbatim, is an excerpt from the Chapter II, Advanced Composition and Image Design, in The Art of Bird Photography II. It is quite on point. (ABP II: 900+ images, 918 pages, on CD only.)
Creative Vision
Are some folks born with an artistic eye? Can the skills needed to design photographs that are compositionally pleasing and those needed to create dynamic and powerful images be taught? If a group of photographers looks out on a grand scene and only one or two see the most powerful composition instantly, is there hope for the others? Is it possible for one person to teach another to see and think creatively? For the past two decades I have struggled with the answers to these questions. I believe that the answer to each of them is “Yes.” Some folks are—for sure—born with an artistic eye while others are not, but the folks in the latter group can learn to design images that are both pleasing and powerful; they can learn to develop and improve their creative vision.
Folks with creative vision venture afield with eyes wide open, looking about in all directions. As they observe the natural world, much of it looks ordinary, but there is often something that catches their eye. Why? There are countless factors that come into play. Color (either bright hues or the more subtle earth tones) may provide the initial spark. Shapes, lines (especially diagonal and curved lines), textures, reflections, silhouettes, and movement often play a role, as can the quality and direction of the light. For bird photographers it can be a new species or a plumage they have not seen before, interesting behavior, or even a common bird in a wonderful setting that catches their eye. When you see something that sparks your interest, ask yourself, “Is what I see interesting enough or beautiful enough to photograph?” (When a situation is really good you will scarcely be able to contain your excitement…) Now visualize the image that you would like to create and decide which lens would best be used to capture it. In bird photography, the choice is often—but not always—your longest lens.
Do you need to change your position to make the image that you want? Do you need to get closer or move farther away? How would moving left or right or up or down affect the angle of the subject relative to the imaging sensor or the film plane, the arrangement of compositional elements within the frame, or the play of light upon the subject? Some may need to physically change their position in order to see how a change in perspective would affect the image. Others are able to imagine how the image would look if they were, for example, to move ten feet left and kneel (rather than stand) behind their (lowered) tripod. If you fit into the former category, the best advice that I can give is to begin by physically changing your position and noting how each new perspective affects the image. Do this often enough and one component of your creative vision will improve: you will find that in more and more situations you will be able to “see” from other vantage points without having to physically change your position. This is one big key to developing your creative vision.
In situations where there seems to be nothing exciting to photograph, or when low light levels are a problem, creative photographers may think about slow shutter speeds and the possibility of creating some intentional (or necessary) blurs. And in addition, they will sometimes think this way even when there is lots of light. In these cases, choosing and using a low ISO or a slow film can help you get a shutter speed that is slow enough to yield the blurred results that you want. For single birds flying close to the camera, a shutter speed in the range of 1/30 to 1/125 second will yield pleasing blurs, while shutter speeds as slow as 1/6 second (or even slower) will create pleasingly blurred images of distant flocks. An option for creating blurred bird-scapes is to move or shake the camera during relatively long exposures while hand-holding or by shaking the lens or panning with it when working on a tripod.
I tend to view the world “tele-photographically,” that is, as if looking through a telephoto or super-telephoto lens. I see the world in small rectangular frames (either horizontal or vertical ones) at various focal lengths. Four of my favorites are 700, 840, 1000, and 1200mm. Walking down Broadway, most folks would be taken in by the grandeur, by the kaleidoscope of color and the tumult, and by the sheer height of the buildings. My eye would more likely be drawn to the reflections in a skyscraper’s mirrored windows or the craggy features of a sleeping wino, this the result of years of looking through long lenses at a variety of natural history subjects. It is, for the most part, how I see the world.
The next section in ABP II’s Chapter II is Guidelines for Advanced Composition and Image Design. It has been some time since I revisited ABP II but I must say with complete modesty that the writing is simple and straightforward (and brilliant) and the concepts covered and detailed are exactly what folks need to improve their nature photography. It is surely the most under-appreciated work in existence on how to become a better bird photographer.
As with many of the chapters in ABP II, the chapter on Advanced Composition and Image Design is followed by a gallery. The Composition and Image Design gallery features 81 images each with its own BAA legendary educational caption.
On a related topic, as far back as the original The Art of Bird Photography, I wrote something to this effect, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could simply walk up to our subjects and physically move the other elements in our images around in the frame. As that of course would be impossible the only way for us to do that is to change our perspective, to move left or right or up or down.” That is as true today as it was two decades ago.
You can save $10 by ordering the two-book bundle here. Do just that and get to work.
BIRDS AS ART May 20-21 Fort DeSoto In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Sign up for the the four sessions below and Friday afternoon is free!
Join me in Tierra Verde, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 20-21, 2017. 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. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
May 20-21, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 20 Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon: 4pm till sunset: $99.
Sunday May 21 Meet-up Morning, Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your park entry fee. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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 :).
I photographed down by the lake for a bit on Monday morning and learned some neat stuff that I will be sharing with y’all here soon. Got a lot done (though I am not sure what) and enjoyed my late afternoon swim — I go so slowly that it is actually more mediation than exercise …
The Used Gear Page (see more below) continues to perform amazingly well especially with high ticket stuff. From yesterday only:
Tom Phillips sold his Canon EOS-1DX Mark II (Premium Kit) in near-mint condition for $4499 and his Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II USM lens in like-new condition for $5,798 both within two days of listing them in mid-May.
Ron Paulk sold his Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II USM zoom lens in excellent condition for $1100 and the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT & Canon ST-E3-RT Transmitter/package for $425 on May 14, 2017, the day after it was listed.
Larry Peavler sold a Canon EF 100-400 zoom f/4.5 – 5.6 L IS Telephoto Zoom lens, the old 1-4, in excellent condition for $549 soon after it was listed.
And, I learned that the sale of Larry Peavler’s Canon Extender EF 2X III is pending.
More Opinions Needed
Only two folks commented on yesterday’s Black Grouse Hen Mysteries … blog post here. If you have a moment, your thoughts on the two images would be appreciated. With love. 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 (such as nearly all of the ballheads featured in the B&H banner above …) 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.
ps: I love my Induro Ballheads; click on the Induro link to the right to see which ones are in stock.
Please Don’t Forget …
As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use our 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.
AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus Zone AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. It activated two AF points above the center AF point. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Breeding plumage Double-crested Cormorant with crest erected
All BIRDS AS ART Images …
All BIRDS AS ART images are available as signed photographic prints. If you see an image that you love and would like to hang in your home or office, please shoot me an e-mail with a link to the photo and the size that you would like and I would be glad to send you a no-obligation quote.
Thanks to Marj Kao (see more below) who ordered a 16 X 16 inch print of the cormorant image above.
You Could Be Saying These Things …
Unsolicited, via e-mail from Char Hulse, a beginning bird photographer who attended her first BAA In-the-Field Meet-up session on Sunday at Gatorland:
Artie, thank you for the great time. It was worth every cent. You are a great teacher. Thanks again, Char
Unsolicited,, via e-mail from Marj Kao, who attended two Gatorland and one Fort DeSoto BAA In-the-Field Meet-up sessions this spring:
Hi Artie and Jim!
I received the PDFs for the two site guides (Central Florida and Merritt Island/Brevard County) and was able to view both of them with no problem. They seem to be well worth the money.
Please let me know when you ship the cormorant print so that I can be on the lookout for the package. We occasionally have a problem with package theft in my neighborhood. A tracking number would be very useful.
On a side note, I compared the pictures that I took at Gatorland in early February with the images from yesterday’s outing. After participating in my third meet-up sessions, I saw that the vast amount of improvement is astounding! The “before” files were in focus with some interesting poses, but the “after” files have far better lighting and cleaner backgrounds. Basically, the old pics were “meh” while the new ones are much more impressive looking with a lot of “pop”.
Thanks, and I’m looking forward to seeing the Cormorant print. Marj
It’s Not Too Late
It is not too late to join us at DeSoto this coming weekend (as below). I have one client for the full program and one for Saturday morning only so there is lots of room for you. I hope that you can join us. Heck, I almost forgot, the dates match up almost perfectly with last year’s amazing Laughing Gull on Brown Pelican heads action.
DeSoto in spring is rife with tame and attractive birds. From upper left clockwise to center: breeding plumage Dunlin, dark morph breeding plumage Reddish Egret displaying, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/front end vertical portrait, breeding plumage Laughing Gull with prey item, Laughing Gull on head of Brown Pelican, screaming Royal Tern in breeding plumage, Royal Terns/pre-copulatory stand, Laughing Gulls copulating, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/tight horizontal portrait, Sandwich Tern with fish, and a really rare one, White-rumped Sandpiper in breeding plumage, photographed at DeSoto in early May.
BIRDS AS ART May 20-21 Fort DeSoto In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Tierra Verde, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 20-21, 2017. 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. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
May 20-21, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 20 Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon: 4pm till sunset: $99.
Sunday May 21 Meet-up Morning, Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your park entry fee. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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 :).
Gatorland was great on Sunday morning especially with the small Snowy Egret chicks in the nest. The two clients, Marj Kao and Char Hulse (who was in Orlando for the weekend) had a great time and learned a ton. It was Marj’s third BAA meet-up. Char had only rarely pointed her lens at a bird before and was amazed by both Gatorland and by how much she learned in such a short time. It took us a while to figure out the blinkies on her Nikon D-500.
I was glad to learn yesterday that multiple IPT veteran and all around nice guy, Dwayne Marrott is also joining us in the Palouse. That makes five. There is still room for you.
The Used Gear Page (see more below) continues to perform amazingly well especially with high ticket stuff. The above-mentioned Dwayne Marrott purchased Ron Paulk’s Canon 16-35 and his 100 Macro. In addition, Ron sold his ST-E3-RT Transmitter. And the sale of the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT and the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II USM Zoom lens is pending. The sale of Tom Phillips’ 1DX II and 400 DO II is also pending. As I said, amazing.
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 our 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.
Selling Your Used Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, 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. Even the prices on the new 600 II and the 200-400 with Internal Extender have been plummeting. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the right side of the yellow-orange menu bar above.
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.
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Sandra Calderbank
Hi Artie, I wanted to take a few minutes to thank you. I have sold two camera bodies on your BAA used gear site. Your friendly expertise and knowledgeable, trustworthy buyers have made this an extremely satisfying experience. Selling on BAA Used Gear page is the best transaction experience I have ever encountered. Thank you for all you do for our photography community. Sincerely, Sandra
Recent Successful Used Gear Sales
Big Ticket Items Continue to Sell Like Hotcakes on the Used Gear Page in April and May!
Larry Peavler sold a Canon EF 100-400 zoom f/4.5 – 5.6 L IS Telephoto Zoom lens, the old 1-4, in excellent condition for $549 soon after it was listed.
Ron Paulk sold his Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens in excellent condition for $999and his Canon EF 100mm Macro f/2.8L IS USM lens in excellent condition for $549 the day they were listed.
Ron Paulk sold a Canon EOS-1D X Professional Digital Camera Body in excellent condition for $2699 and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens in mid-May before they were listed and is kindly sending me a check for the 2 1/2%.
Hisham A. sold a Canon EOS 7D Mark II in excellent plus condition for the BAA record low price of $847 in early May.
John Stuhlmuller sold his Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS Lens with Internal 1.4 Extender in mint condition with lots of extras for a very low $8149 in early May.
John Stuhlmuller also sold his Canon EOS 5DS R digital camera body in like-new condition with lots of extras for an amazingly low $2799, also in early May.
Multiple IPT veteran and good friend Doug Holstein sold his Canon 500mm f4/L IS USM Super Telephoto lens and a 1.4X II teleconverter, both in in excellent condition, for the great low price of $3699 in early May, 2017.
Larry Peavler sold his Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in near-mint condition for the amazingly low price of $4199 soon after it was listed in late April.
KW McCulloch sold his Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS lens with Internal 1.4X Extender in excellent plus condition for $8294 in mid-April.
Stan Hoyt sold his Canon 500mm f4L IS USM Super Telephoto lens in like-new condition (with extras) for the great low price of $3899 soon after it was listed in mid-April.
Leonard Malkin sold his Canon EF 70-200mm f2/.8 L IS lens excellent condition for $899 in mid-April, 2017.
Paul Abravaya sold his Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II lens in excellent condition for $5,799 soon after it was re-listed in mid-April.
New Listings
Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens
Multiple IPT veteran Duncan Douglas is offering a lightly used Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM lens (the “old five”) in like-new condition (but for some small scratches on the bottom of the original lens foot) for $4199. The sale includes the original box, lens trunk, the lens strap, the front leather cover, the rear lens cap, a 4th Generation Designs CP-51b replacement foot with all the wrenches, the original Canon lens foot, 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. The lens is expected back today, Monday May 15, 2017 after being cleaned and checked by Canon.
The 500 f/4s have been the world’s most popular telephoto lenses for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. I owned and used and loved my “old five” for many years. We have sold more than a few recently for $3999 and even two for $3799. Bill’s lens is priced a bit higher as it is in pristine condition. If you don’t have the cash for the 500 II and can handle the additional 1 1/2 pounds (exactly) then this is your next best option. The 500 II goes for $8999 so you will be saving a cool $4,800 and getting a virtually brand new lens to boot. artie
Canon EOS 5D Mark III with a RRS L-bracket
David Ramirez is offering a Canon EOS 5D Mark III (with extras) in near-mint condition (but for two small rub marks/nicks on the upper part of the body. Photos available upon request) for $1449. The camera had only 7963 shutter actuation’s on it. It has had Vello glass screen protectors on both LCDs from the beginning. Included are the original box, one battery, the charger,the discs, the strap,the manual, the front lens cap, a RRS L-bracket, 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 David via e-mail or by phone at 541-892-3726 (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. artie
Canon Extender EF 2X III
Price reduced $70 on May 15, 2017.
Larry Peavler is also offering a Canon Extender EF 2X III in like-new condition for $299 (was $369). The sale includes the TC pouch, the front and rear caps, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Larry via e-mail by phone at 1-317-908-0729 (Eastern time.)
The 2X III TC is a valuable accessory for folks who can use it to make sharp images with f/2.8 or f/4 telephoto lenses. artie
Image #1: Black Grouse hen on lekking ground
Image copyright 2017: ???
Black Grouse Hen Mysteries …
One of today’s images was created by yours truly, Mr. Famous Bird Photographer. The other was created by one of the IPT participants. Please leave a comment and let us know which one I made and which one was created by the for now un-named participant.
Then try your hand at these:
Image #1 focal length? (Note: a TC might or might not have been used to create each image …)
Image #1 shutter speed?
Image #2 focal length? (Note: a TC might or might not have been used to create each image …)
Image #2 shutter speed?
Your Favorite?
Please also let us know which of the two images you feel is the stronger of the two. And let us know why you made your choice.
Image #2: Black Grouse hen leaving lekking ground
Image copyright 2017: ???
Black Grouse Hens …
Black Grouse hens rarely visit the lekking grounds. Our guide noted that the females visit most often on windless mornings. On the very calm morning of May 4, 2017, our second morning in the Black Grouse hides, his prediction came true. We were all thrilled.
Palouse 2016 Horizontals Card
Why Different?
Announcing the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
In what ways will the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour be different from the most other Palouse workshops?
There are so many great locations that a seven-day IPT (as opposed to the typical three- or five-day workshops) will give the group time to visit (and revisit) many of the best spots while allowing you to maximize your air travel dollars. In addition, it will allow us to enjoy a slightly more relaxed pace.
You will be assured of being in the right location for the given weather and sky conditions.
You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills.
You will learn to design powerful, graphic images.
You will visit all of the iconic locations and a few spectacular ones that are much less frequently visited.
You will learn long lens landscape techniques.
You will learn to master any exposure situation in one minute or less.
You will learn the fine points of Canon in-camera (5D Mark III, 5DS R, and 7D II) HDR techniques.
You will learn to create this look in Photoshop from a single image while winding up with a higher quality image file.
You will learn to use your longest focal lengths to create rolling field and Urbex abstracts.
You will learn when and how to use a variety of neutral density filters to create pleasing blurs of the Palouse’s gorgeous rolling farmlands.
As always, you will learn to see like a pro. You will learn what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.
You will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images.
You will learn to use super-wide lenses both for big skies and building interiors.
You will learn when, why, and how to use infrared capture; if you do not own an infrared body, you will get to borrow mine.
You will learn to use both backlight and side-light to create powerful and dramatic landscape images.
You will learn to create the very popular detailed, slightly grungy, slightly over-saturated look in Photoshop.
Palouse 2016 Verticals Card
The 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
June 8-14, 2017. Seven full days of photography. Meet and greet at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 7: $2,499. Limit 10/Openings: 7.
Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will enjoy spectacular sunrises and at least one nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. I will bring you to more than a few really neat old abandoned barns and farmhouses in idyllic settings. There is no better way to improve your compositional and image design skills and to develop your creativity than to join me for this trip. Photoshop and image sharing sessions when we have the time and energy…. We get up early and stay out late and the days are long.
Over the past three years, with the help of my friend Denise Ippolito, we found all the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and vistas. What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, my extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions. As above, there will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before the workshop begins.
To Sign Up
Your non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your spot. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining this IPT. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours to arrange for the payment of your deposit; if by check, please make out to “BIRDS AS ART” and mail it to: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail: artie.
Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options. You can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check. Whenever purchasing travel insurance be sure to read the fine print carefully even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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 :).
I finally made it up to Gatorland on a cloudy, drizzly Saturday afternoon. I brought along my Wimberley head and my Umbrella Rig hoping for a downpour or two but all I got were a few sprinkles … In any case, it was much better than I expected with some wet Great Egret chicks, three workable Tricolored Heron nests — one with three small chicks and two with gorgeous large chicks, and several fledged Snowy Egrets.
I was glad to learn yesterday that Angela Houghton of League City, TX is joining us in the Palouse. That makes four.
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 our 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.
Center Large Zone AF/AI Servo/shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system activated a cluster of three AF points that caufht the bottom of the base of the bird’s bill, right on the same plane as the bird’s eye. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Great Egret and marsh grasses
Ignored 🙂
None of the eight folks in the 2017 Spring DeSoto IPT group opted to photograph this bird as it paraded along the edge of the marsh when I recommended that they do so. To further entice them I added, “It still has nice green lores.” Still no takers. I think that they were all lamenting the spoonbill that had just left the scene. As the bird was quite near the edge of the marsh I liked that I would be able to include some strands of the marsh grasses along the bottom of the frame.
Tripod Basics and An Advanced Tripod Tip
Tripod Basics
It often goes unsaid that you should usually have one leg of your tripod pointing in the general direction of the subject. This leaves you standing between the two rear legs. That is true with one main exception: when you want to get as close as possible but are restricted by a fence, such as when working on the boardwalk at Gatorland, then you should have two legs against the fence, in front of you, with the third leg pointing away from the subject and somewhere between your legs. This approach will always get you about 6-12 inches closer to your subject.
An Advanced Tip
For today’s image I had my tripod at the normal height with each of the two lower leg sections fully extended and each of the three upper leg sections extended about ten inches. To get lower quickly I simply pulled out the leg tab of the forward-facing leg and pulled the leg forward about 18 inches. That got me about 9 inches lower in 3 seconds, a lot faster than if I taken the time to shorten that same front leg …
Large Zone AF Info
As most regular reader know, I have become enamored with Large Zone AF both for horizontal and vertical orientations. With today’s featured image it performed superbly. Do understand that while you gain a ton of compositional freedom with Large Zone AF, that AF accuracy suffers at time. AF Expand will almost always produce consistently sharp images but you have much more work to do in terms of moving the selected sensor around quickly as the bird moves. Trying to get and hold AF Expand on the bird’s bill as it foraged would have been a huge challenge …
Image Questions
#1: Why did I want to get 9 inches lower (quickly)?
#2: Why, once I acquired and held focus, did I opt to create long series of images. In other words, why did I opt to make a lot of images in this specific situation?
DeSoto in spring is rife with tame and attractive birds. From upper left clockwise to center: breeding plumage Dunlin, dark morph breeding plumage Reddish Egret displaying, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/front end vertical portrait, breeding plumage Laughing Gull with prey item, Laughing Gull on head of Brown Pelican, screaming Royal Tern in breeding plumage, Royal Terns/pre-copulatory stand, Laughing Gulls copulating, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/tight horizontal portrait, Sandwich Tern with fish, and a really rare one, White-rumped Sandpiper in breeding plumage, photographed at DeSoto in early May.
BIRDS AS ART May 20-21 Fort DeSoto In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Tierra Verde, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 20-21, 2017. 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. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
May 20-21, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 20 Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon: 4pm till sunset: $99.
Sunday May 21 Meet-up Morning, Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your park entry fee. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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 :).
On the flight from Helsinki to JFK I watched three movies. The first was “Patriots Day.” It dealt with the Boston Marathon bombing, the capture of the perpetrators, and Boston Strong. It was good and moving if a bit contrived. I cried a lot especially at the end. The second was “Live By Night” starring Ben Affleck as a tommy-gun-toting, rum-running gangster during prohibition. It held my interest and I cried at the very end. The third, “Hidden Figures” was the best by far. It documented the lives of three Black women who did much of the math for the US space program (while gaining little appreciation at the time). As it was very moving I cried a lot. It is definitely worth a watch. I searched on line to check on the veracity and as it turns out, pretty much everything having to do with the three amazing ladies was spot on accurate. The film took some big hits with the bits of theatric license taken with some of the composite characters. I had not problem with those embellishments.
I will be finalizing the cottage rentals for the UK Puffins and Gannets trip on Monday. After that folks may or may not be able to join us so best to let me know via e-mail asap if you would like to attend.
Selling Your Used Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, 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. Even the prices on the new 600 II and the 200-400 with Internal Extender have been plummeting. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the right side of the yellow-orange menu bar above.
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.
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from Sandra Calderbank
Hi Artie, I wanted to take a few minutes to thank you. I have sold two camera bodies on your BAA used gear site. Your friendly expertise and knowledgeable, trustworthy buyers have made this an extremely satisfying experience. Selling on BAA Used Gear page is the best transaction experience I have ever encountered. Thank you for all you do for our photography community. Sincerely, Sandra
Recent Successful Used Gear Sales
Big Ticket Items Continue to Sell Like Hotcakes on the Used Gear Page in April and May!
Ron Paulk sold a Canon EOS-1D X Professional Digital Camera Body in excellent condition for $2699 and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens in mid-May before they were listed and is kindly sending me a check for the 2 1/2%.
Hisham A. sold a Canon EOS 7D Mark II in excellent plus condition for the BAA record low price of $847 in early May.
John Stuhlmuller sold his Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS Lens with Internal 1.4 Extender in mint condition with lots of extras for a very low $8149 in early May.
John Stuhlmuller also sold his Canon EOS 5DS R digital camera body in like-new condition with lots of extras for an amazingly low $2799, also in early May.
Multiple IPT veteran and good friend Doug Holstein sold his Canon 500mm f4/L IS USM Super Telephoto lens and a 1.4X II teleconverter, both in in excellent condition, for the great low price of $3699 in early May, 2017.
Larry Peavler sold his Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in near-mint condition for the amazingly low price of $4199 soon after it was listed in late April.
KW McCulloch sold his Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS lens with Internal 1.4X Extender in excellent plus condition for $8294 in mid-April.
Stan Hoyt sold his Canon 500mm f4L IS USM Super Telephoto lens in like-new condition (with extras) for the great low price of $3899 soon after it was listed in mid-April.
Leonard Malkin sold his Canon EF 70-200mm f2/.8 L IS lens excellent condition for $899 in mid-April, 2017.
Paul Abravaya sold his Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II lens in excellent condition for $5,799 soon after it was re-listed in mid-April.
New Listings
Canon EOS-1DX Mark II Digital Camera Body
Tom Phillips is offering a lightly used Canon EOS-1DX Mark II (Premium Kit) with extras in near-mint condition (with about 3,000 shutter actuations) for the BAA record-low price of $4499. The sale includes the original box, the strap, all manuals, DVDs, the battery w/end cap, the Canon LC-E19 battery charger, a Sandisk USB 3.0 CFast card reader, a Sandisk 64GB CFast card, in short, everything that came in the box plus two extra Canon LP-E19 batteries (a $338 value), a large eyecup, a RRS L-Bracket, a Lexar 64GB Compact Flash card, 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 Tom via e-mail or by phone at 1-214-668-0162 (Central Time Zone).
The 1DX II is currently Canon’s rugged, blazingly fast, flagship professional digital camera body. I own and use mine for birds in flight and action. artie
Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II USM Lens
Tom Phillips is also offering a Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II USM lens in like-new condition for the BAA record-low price of $5,798. The sale includes the original box, the front leather hood, the rear cap, the lens strap, the lens trunk, the Canon shipping box, a Don Zeck lens cap, a RRS LC-52 low foot (attached), the original Canon lens foot, 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 Tom via e-mail or by phone at 1-214-668-0162 (Central Time Zone).
I own and use my 400 DO II with and without both teleconverters for a variety of bird photography situations. It makes a great walk-around hand holdable lens with a one full stop advantage over the 100-400 II. It is imminently hand holdable for most folks. It is super-sharp at 400, 560, and 800mm. Tom’s like new-lens will save you exactly $1,101! artie
Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens
Tom Phillips is also offering a Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for a very attractive $4,199. The sale includes the original box, the front leather hood, the rear cap, the lens strap, the lens trunk, the Canon shipping box, 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 Tom via e-mail or by phone at 1-214-668-0162 (Central Time Zone).
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. With both TCs it makes a great hand holdable walk-around lens. Tom’s like new-lens will save you an incredible $1,999! I owned and used several versions of the 300 f/2.8 lens for many years until finally replacing the 300 f/2.8 II with the 400 DO II about a year ago. artie
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Ron Paulk is offering a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens in excellent condition for $999. The sale includes the lens pouch, the front and rear lens caps, and insured shipping to US addresses via FED-EX Ground. Your lens will ship after your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Ron by e-mail or by phone at 360-391-2090 PDT.
The 16-35 II is a superb landscape lens that can be used on occasion to create some stunning bird-scapes as well. Purchase Ron’s lens and save an even $500 on the cost of a new Series II model. artie
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II USM Zoom Lens
Ron Paulk is also offering a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II USM zoom lens, also in excellent condition, for $1199. The sale includes the original product box, the lens pouch, the front and rear lens caps, and insured shipping to US addresses via FED-EX Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Ron by e-mail or by phone at 360-391-2090 PDT.
The 24-70 II is an another superb landscape lens, faster and sharper than the both the 16-35 and the 24-105 (where their focal length ranges overlap). Purchase Ron’s lens and save an even $500 on the cost of a new one. artie
Canon EF 100mm Macro f/2.8L IS USM Lens
Ron Paulk is also offering a Canon EF 100mm Macro f/2.8L IS USM lens in excellent condition for $549. The sale includes the lens pouch, the front and rear lens caps, and insured shipping to US addresses via FED-EX Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Ron by e-mail or by phone at 360-391-2090 PDT.
I own, use, and love the 100 IS macro lens both hand held and on a tripod for much of my flower photography. (The lens mount requires a separate purchase.) One the tripod, I use it often with the 1.4X III TC. It is super sharp and at f/2.8, superbly fast. Purchase Ron’s lens and save an even $200 on the cost of a new one. artie
Ron Paulk is also offering a Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT & ST-E3-RT Transmitter, both in excellent condition for $425. The sale includes the original box for flash, the leather case for the flash, and insured shipping to US addresses via FED-EX Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Ron by e-mail or by phone at 360-391-2090 PDT.
I own and use the Speedlite 600EX-RT whenever I use flash. artie
Wimberley V-2 Tripod Head
$260 in extras added!
Hisham A. is offering a Wimberley WH-200 Tripod Head in excellent condition for $449. The sale includes insured ground shipping to US addresses via major courier. On May 13 he added the following to sweeten the deal: the Wimberley F-9 flash bracket and the Canon off-camera shoe cord (OC-E3).
Please contact Hisham via e-mail or by phone at 720 771 2693 (Eastern time).
Gitzo GT 4542LS
Price reduced $100 on May 13, 2017.
Hisham A. is also offering a Gitzo Series 4 Systematic 4 Section Long Tripod GT4542LS in excellent condition for $649 (was $749). The sale includes insured ground shipping to US addresses via major courier.
Please contact Hisham via e-mail or by phone at 720 771 2693 (Eastern time).
Images and card design copyright: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Click on the card to enjoy a spectacular larger version.
2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. Monday July 3 through Wednesday July 12, 2017: $5999 + $1499: Limit 10 photographers — Openings: 5).
All who register will be required to join the (really cheap) two-day Gannet/Bass Rock Add-on. See below for details.
Here are the plans: take a red eye from the east coast of the US on July 2 and arrive in Edinburgh, Scotland on the morning of Monday July 3 no later than 10am (or simply meet us then at the Edinburgh Airport–EDI, or later in the day at our cottages if you are driving your own vehicle either from the UK or from somewhere in Europe). Stay 7 nights in one of three gorgeous modern country cottages.
There are five days of planned puffin/seabird trips and one morning of gannet photography, all weather permitting of course. In three years we have yet to miss an entire day because of weather… In addition, we will enjoy several sessions of photographing nesting Black-legged Kittiwakes at eye level.
Images and card design copyright: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Click on the card to enjoy a spectacular larger version.
The Details
We will get to photograph Atlantic Puffin, Common Murre, Razorbill, Shag, and Northern Gannet; Arctic, Sandwich, and Common Terns, the former with chicks of all sizes; Black-headed, Lesser-Black-backed, and Herring Gulls, many chasing puffins with fish; Black-legged Kittiwake with chicks. We will be staying in upscale country-side lodging that are beyond lovely with large living areas and lots of open space for the informal image sharing and Photoshop sessions. The shared rooms are decent-sized, each with a private bathroom. See the limited single supplement info below.
All breakfasts, lunches and dinners are included. All 5 puffins boat lunches will need to be prepared by you in advance, taken with, and consumed at your leisure. I usually eat mine on the short boat trip from one island to the other. Also included is a restaurant lunch on the gannet boat day.
If you wish to fly home on the morning of Monday July 10 we will get you to the airport. Please, however, consider the following tentative plans: enjoy a second Gannet boat trip on the afternoon of Monday July 10 and book your hotel room in Dunbar. If all goes as planned, those who stay on for the two extra days will make a morning landing at Bass Rock, one of the world’s largest gannetries. We will get everyone to the airport on the morning of Wednesday July 12.
Great News on the UK Puffins and Gannets/Bass Rock Extension
On the morning of Jul 10, 2017, we will sleep late and head up to Dunbar Harbor for lunch and an afternoon Gannet boat chumming trip: flight photography until you cannot lift your camera. One gannet boat trip is included in the IPT but everyone always wants more.
Then, as a possible mega bonus — we are scheduled to make a Bass Rock landing on the morning of Tuesday July 12, 2017. I am hoping to go two for two! If not, we do another chumming trip for flying gannets.
Included will be two nights lodging at the wonderful Dunsmuir hotel, two fine dining meals there, any additional meals, all boat, guide, and landing fees, and all transportation including the early morning transfer to the Edinburg Airport on the morning of WED July 12.
So far all five sign-ups are maximizing their travel dollars by signing up for the extension in part because I priced it so cheaply at $1499 despite my greatly increased costs.
Images and card design copyright: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Click on the card to enjoy a spectacular larger version. Scroll down to join us in the UK in 2016.
Deposit Info
If you are good to go sharing a room–couples of course are more than welcome–please send your non-refundable $2,000/person deposit check now to save a spot. Please be sure to check your schedule carefully before committing to the trip and see the travel insurance info below. Your balance will be due on March 29, 2017. Please make your check out to “Arthur Morris” and send it to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. 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. If your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.
Please shoot me an e-mail if you are good to go or if you have any questions.
Single Supplement Deposit Info
Single supplement rooms are available on a limited basis. To ensure yours, please register early. The single supplement fee is $1575. If you would like your own room, please request it when making your deposit and include payment in full for the single supplement; your single supplement deposit check should be for $3,575. As we will need to commit to renting the extra space, single supplement deposits are non-refundable so please be sure that check your schedule carefully before committing to the trip and see the travel insurance info below.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance for big international trips is highly recommended as we never know what life has in store for us. I strongly recommend that you purchase quality insurance. Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options you can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. My family and I use and depend on the great policies offered by TIS whenever we travel. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check of running your credit card. Whenever purchasing travel insurance be sure to read the fine print careful even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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 :).
I have two clients for Sunday morning at Gatorland. I will be there on Saturday afternoon. Call me on SAT morning at 863-692-0906 or show up with cash at 4pm on the rookery boardwalk at Gatorland. If the latter, please e-mail me first.
BIRDS AS ART May 13-14 Gatorland In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Kissimmee, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 13-14, 2017. We should get to photograph several species of nesting herons and egrets as well as Wood Stork, American Alligator (captive), and more. We should get to make lots of head portraits of all the bird species and to photograph chicks and fledged young. Learn to see, find, and make the shot in cluttered settings. Learn exposure and how to handle WHITEs. Learn fill flash and flash as main light. All of the birds are free and wild. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to see you there.
May 13-14, 2017 Schedule
Saturday afternoon: 4pm till closing (late stay): $99.
Sunday May 14 Meet-up Morning, (early entry): 7:30 till 10am: $80.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
After my 23-hour door to door trip home from Oulu, Finland on Wednesday, I was home just after midnight. I endured two four-hour layovers. I did not sleep a wink on the 8-hour flight from Helsinki to JFK but slept like a rock for two hours on the flight to Orlando. I managed to get some sleep and was in bed till almost 7am. I enjoyed a nice swim on Thursday afternoon.
Folks who wish to support my efforts here on the blog may once again do so by utilizing the Amazon or the Amazon Canada links near the bottom of each blog post page.
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 our 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.
Center Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The AF system activated three AF points in the left center of the frame (see the DDP 4 screen capture below). None of the AF points were anywhere near the bird.
Black Skimmer skimming at dawn.
Pre-dawn Tip …
When walking along the beach in the pre-dawn with a 100-400 II on your shoulder you can try this technique if you like blurs:
1-Set your camera to Tv mode.
2-If you have ISO safety shift set, set your ISO to 400. If not, set Auto ISO.
3-Choose a shutter speed in the range of from 1/8 to 1/60 sec. In general, the slower your shutter speed ,the lower your chances of success, but the higher your chances of creating something memorable. 1/15 sec. is a great place to start and often produces pleasing results.
4-Start with lots of plus exposure compensation; +3 works well for flight.
5-Adjust your exposure compensation for darker backgrounds. For today’s featured image I dropped down to + 1 2/3 stops as the Gulf water was darker than the sky. +2 or +2 1/3 would have been better …
6-when something flies or runs by pan with the subject, acquire focus, and hold the shutter button down while trying to match the speed of the subject with your panning rate.
Like It or Hate It?
Let us know if you like this image. Be sure to let us know why. Blur-haters are welcome as long as they give a reason or two.
This is the DPP 4 screen capture for today’s featured image.
The DPP 4 Screen Capture
Notice that the active AF points (illuminated in red) were on the background and not on the subject (due to operator error). It is likely that the AF system was tracking properly and when the AF points dropped off the subject the system did not try to acquire the background for two reasons:
1-there was no contrast at all on the background.
2-my custom case 3 settings tell the system to stay with the subject for as long as possible before beginning to search. Recent but informal field tests show that the system will continue tracking the subject for close to two full seconds even when there is detail and contrast in the background.
Notice that I was not able to completely remove the BLUE/CYAN cast during the RAW conversion. That was done later in Photoshop.
Notice that even with the addition of nearly a stop of light during the RAW conversion that I needed to further brighten the image during the optimization.
Notice that I moved the color Fine-tune dot away from BLUE/CYAN.
The Image Optimization
The image optimization was fairly straightforward. I did some color correction work to reduce the BLUE/CYAN cast. Most notable was that I ran my NIK Color Efex Pro 50-50 Recipe on a layer planning to add an Inverse (Hide-all or Black) Layer Mask and paint the effect in on the bird. But I loved the way it brought up some background detail. I simply reduced the opacity of that layer to 80% and went with that. While it is rare to use so much 50-50 on the background when it works, it works.
A Guide to Pleasing Blurs
Pleasing blurs, as some folks believe, are not out of focus mistakes. If you would like to learn how to create these increasingly popular images, get yourself a copy of A Guide to Pleasing Blurs by clicking here.”
“A Guide to Pleasing Blurs” by Arthur Morris and Denise Ippolito is a 20,585 word, 271 page PDF illustrated with 144 different, exciting, and artistic images. The guide covers the basics of creating pleasingly blurred images, the factors that influence the degree of blurring, the use of filters in creating pleasing blurs, and a great variety of both in-the-field and Photoshop techniques that can be used to create pleasingly blurred images.
Artie and Denise teach you many different ways to move your lens during the exposure to create a variety of pleasingly blurred images of flowers and trees and water and landscapes. They will teach you to recognize situations where subject movement can be used to your advantage to create pan blurs, wind blurs, and moving water blurs. They will teach you to create zoom-blurs both in the field and during post-processing. Artie shares the techniques that he has used and developed for making blurred images of flocks of geese in flight at his beloved Bosque del Apache and Denise shares her flower blur magic as well as a variety of creative Photoshop techniques that she has developed.
With the advent of digital capture, creating blurred images has become a great and inexpensive way to go out with your camera and have fun. And while many folks think that making successful blurred images is the result of being a sloppy photographer nothing could be further from the truth. In “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs” Artie and Denise will help you to unleash your creative self.
The book is laid out in landscape format to make for easy viewing and easy reading on any decent computer monitor.
DeSoto in spring is rife with tame and attractive birds. From upper left clockwise to center: breeding plumage Dunlin, dark morph breeding plumage Reddish Egret displaying, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/front end vertical portrait, breeding plumage Laughing Gull with prey item, Laughing Gull on head of Brown Pelican, screaming Royal Tern in breeding plumage, Royal Terns/pre-copulatory stand, Laughing Gulls copulating, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/tight horizontal portrait, Sandwich Tern with fish, and a really rare one, White-rumped Sandpiper in breeding plumage, photographed at DeSoto in early May.
BIRDS AS ART May 20-21 Fort DeSoto In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Tierra Verde, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 20-21, 2017. 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. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
May 20-21, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 20 Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon: 4pm till sunset: $99.
Sunday May 21 Meet-up Morning, Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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 :).
Yes, nothing is guaranteed in nature photography. Rating the quality of our photography in Kuusamo on a scale of 1-10, I’d give it an 8.75. Doing the same with our 3 1/2 day visit to Oulu, I’d give it a 0.75. As noted yesterday, the incredibly late spring combined with cold temperatures and northerly winds left the areas in front of both the morning lekking blinds and the afternoon shore blinds encased in ice. We did find (but not photograph well) a pair of nesting Black-tailed Godwits and some Lapwings. Ruff in breeding plumage was the bird that inspired my trip to Finland; we never saw a single one 🙂
I fly home on Wednesday getting into Orlando at about 10:30pm (after enjoying two four-hour layovers, one in Helsinki and the other at JFK …)
David Hollander’s Fort DeSoto IPT Gallery
Be sure to check out David Hollander’s Fort DeSoto IPT gallery here. All were made with “only” his 100-400 II!
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 our 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.
Right Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The AF system activated two AF points that caught the bird’s back leg just above the spot where it entered the water. Perfection!
Reddish Egret hunting at dawn.
Silhouette AF Tip
AF often has big problems with bright backlight. My best advice is to focus on the bird’s legs rather than the bird’s body. The legs offer more contrast, a place for AF to grab. Place a sensor on the black blob of a bird’s body and their is often not enough contrast for AF to lock onto anything. Point the lens down and go for the legs.
Large Zone AF Rocks
With today’s featured image, Large Zone AF worked perfectly. It even followed my advice, “In bright backlit situations, go for the bird’s legs.” The more that I use Large Zone AF the more I see the major advantages (along with the sometime disadvantages).
Silhouette Tip
Once you lock focus on a moving subject in strong backlit situation, press and hold the shutter button. Small differences in the background in the series will often make a big difference in the success of this or that image. With today’s featured image the light area behind the bird’s head contributes greatly to the success of the image. Had there been dark or black water behind the bird’s head, the image would have been an instant-delete.
DeSoto in spring is rife with tame and attractive birds. From upper left clockwise to center: breeding plumage Dunlin, dark morph breeding plumage Reddish Egret displaying, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/front end vertical portrait, breeding plumage Laughing Gull with prey item, Laughing Gull on head of Brown Pelican, screaming Royal Tern in breeding plumage, Royal Terns/pre-copulatory stand, Laughing Gulls copulating, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/tight horizontal portrait, Sandwich Tern with fish, and a really rare one, White-rumped Sandpiper in breeding plumage, photographed at DeSoto in early May.
BIRDS AS ART May 20-21 Fort DeSoto In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Tierra Verde, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 20-21, 2017. 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. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
May 20-21, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 20 Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon: 4pm till sunset: $99.
Sunday May 21 Meet-up Morning, Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.
I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).
Well, we made it to Oulu and learned quickly that with the late spring, everything frozen, north winds, and even colder weather predicted that there are very few Ruffs in town and that the chances of photographing them on the lek before we leave are somewhere between slim and none.
NATURE Photography
N A T U R E: not always the ultimate recreational experience … Sometimes we make long term plans based on decades of predictable migratory patterns and breeding bird behavior only to be thwarted when Mother Nature throw a big monkey wrench into the mix.
I finally made it to Cordova, Alaska in May, 2005. I was told that the peak of Western Sandpiper migration averaged from April 30 through May 8 so I arrived on April 28th. My friend/host/guide Milo Burcham promptly informed me that 350,000 birds had departed the mud flats on the evening of April 27. The best laid plans …
The result? A BBC-honored image created when Milo led me to a packed group of sandpipers on a small mud flat behind a local supermarket.
Will we get to photograph Ruff in Oulu? Who knows.
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 our 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.
Four AF points up and one from the left of the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand rear focus AF on the bird’s head and release. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial.
Backlit Anhinga preening
Not Your Everyday Gatorland Image …
There were some light clouds in front of the rising sun so the images with rich, golden, early morning rich light on the nesting Great Egrets were not there for the taking so I looked for something to photograph using the yellow backlight. I spotted this preening Anhinga in a tree with several Double-crested Cormorant nests across the gator moat. I created about 200 images and kept two. Today’s featured image was my favorite.
The lesson as always to look around, see what grabs you — in the this case, the yellow backlight, find a potential subject, and then choose your perspective carefully so that you might achieve the desired result, the vision that you have seen in your mind’s eye. Join me at Gatorland on the weekend of May 13-14, 2017 to learn to see and think like a pro and to fine tune the basics.
BIRDS AS ART May 13-14 Gatorland In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Kissimmee, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 13-14, 2017. We should get to photograph several species of nesting herons and egrets as well as Wood Stork, American Alligator (captive), and more. We should get to make lots of head portraits of all the bird species and to photograph chicks and fledged young. Learn to see, find, and make the shot in cluttered settings. Learn exposure and how to handle WHITEs. Learn fill flash and flash as main light. All of the birds are free and wild. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to see you there.
May 13-14, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 13 Meet-up Morning (early entry): 7:30 till 10:30am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon till closing (late stay): $99.
Sunday May 14 Meet-up Morning, (early entry): 7:30 till 10am: $80.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.
I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).
Finland has continued to amaze. On Thursday we enjoyed photographing battling Black Grouse on their lekking grounds for the second straight morning. On pure snow. That afternoon was diving Ospreys and an hour with a crazy Capercaillie … We had a killer morning with a pair of White-throated Dippers on Friday and a great feeder set-up session on Friday afternoon: Bullfinch, Greenfinch, both Great and Blue Tits, and Great Spotted Woodpecker! We head up to Oulu on Saturday to try for Ruff …
Be Sure!
Be sure to check out David Hollander’s Fort DeSoto IPT gallery here. All were made with “only” his 100-400 II!
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 our 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.
One AF point below the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird’s head when the shutter was released.
Image #1: Laughing Gull flapping after bath
Bathing Bird Tips
When you see a bird dipping its breast in the water, nine times out of ten it will flap in place after its bath. Sometimes they will jump up and flap. Note that in Image #1 I moved the AF point down one row to allow for the raised wings. Once you are sure you have a bathing bird you have a very important choice to make. Do you move (or zoom) in for a tight shot splashing shot or move back or zoom out for the flap? Both can be spectacular but I will admit that more times than not I will try to get to a focal length that will allow me to get the flap without clipping the wings.
The greatest challenge is keeping the AF point on the bird’s head or upper breast when it jumps up after or while flapping after the bath …
Note: you should always be working in Manual mode when photographing bathing birds as the often-white underwings will influence the meter toward underexposure when the flap comes …
100-400II/1.4XIII TC/5D IV Versatility
When working with relatively tame subjects the 100-400II/1.4XIII TC combo is the ultimate bathing bird set-up. (Note: with a 7D II, you usually will not need the TC.) In any case, you will clip far fewer wingtips by zooming out well in advance and the 100-400 II allows you to do just that with ease. It is always better to lean toward a more conservative zoom out than to risk clipping those wings … Not to mention that when hand holding it is much easier to get into position than it is when working off the tripod.
Dull Day Image Optimization Tip
When photographing on dull days in flat light, try adding a layer of Auto Contrast and then reducing the opacity of the layer to somewhere between 50 and 20%. Doing so will give your images much more pop.
One AF point below the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird’s head when the shutter was released.
Image #2: Laughing Gull flying off after bath
Ineptitude Pays Off!
Ideally, I would have tracked the gull as it lifted off and flew to my left and kept the selected AF point somewhere on the bird’s head or neck. Had I done that and “properly” framed the image, I would have cut the two lovely circular splashes in half. Though the selected AF point was positioned to the left of the bird’s right foot the system did not search for an focus on the water. It stayed fairly accurately with the bird. Why? My custom case 3 settings tell the AF system not to react quickly when the active AF point falls off the subject. My custom case III settings are detailed in all of the BAA Camera User’s Guides here. Note: I just began work on a 5D Mark IV User’s Guide.
DeSoto in spring is rife with tame and attractive birds. From upper left clockwise to center: breeding plumage Dunlin, dark morph breeding plumage Reddish Egret displaying, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/front end vertical portrait, breeding plumage Laughing Gull with prey item, Laughing Gull on head of Brown Pelican, screaming Royal Tern in breeding plumage, Royal Terns/pre-copulatory stand, Laughing Gulls copulating, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/tight horizontal portrait, Sandwich Tern with fish, and a really rare one, White-rumped Sandpiper in breeding plumage, photographed at DeSoto in early May.
BIRDS AS ART May 20-21 Fort DeSoto In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Tierra Verde, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 20-21, 2017. 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. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
May 20-21, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 20 Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon: 4pm till sunset: $99.
Sunday May 21 Meet-up Morning, Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.
I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).
So, we get to the gate for the short flight to Kuusamo on a pretty good-sized Embrear jet. Anita North, who was at the gate early, gives us the bad news: we will need to gate check our Think Tank bags, not because they were too large for the overhead, but because they were all far too heavy. Mine was 44 1/2 pounds. The limit is 8kg, 17.6 pounds … Mike Gotthelf asked if he could board early with his camera gear and the gate agent said “Yes.” I asked Mike if he mentioned the weight of his rolling bag and somewhat sheepishly he answered, “No.”
So, following my own advice in the Air Travel With Big Lenses: Dealing With Puddle Jumpers blog post here, I approached the gate agent. “Good morning. We need your help. There are four of us traveling on holiday with lots of expensive camera gear. Our carry-ons are way above the legal weight limit. If we gate check the bags there is a chance that some or all of our gear might be badly damaged and if that happened our trip would be ruined. Some of the gear is quite expensive; the stuff in my bag alone costs close to $40,000 US.
He said, “I will take you for early boarding. I have spoken to the folks on board and they will see if they can get your photo gear in the closet (crew locker). “Wow, I said, that would be wonderful. Kiitos.”
Big smiles all around. He did what he said he would do and the flight crew was beyond helpful. More proof that the Universe is kind.
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 our 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.
Amazing Item #1
While working on the LensAlign Mark II/FocusTune Micro-adjusting tutorial before I left, I was having trouble producing really tight clusters working on the Mongoose with the Induro GIT 304L so I went to the Wimberley V2 head on the heavier duty Induro GIT 404L. I was able to lock down the Wimberley head much more securely than the Mongoose; play was greatly reduced so that it was much easier to keep the AF point right on the line on the skinny, vertical rectangular black and white target. I was able to produce much tighter clusters with the Wimberley than with my beloved Mongoose.
As we will be in blinds throughout the trip I brought both the Mongoose and the Wimberley head to Finland. As I do 98% of my photography in the field without locking down the tripod head, I will continue to use the Mongoose M3.6 as my main tripod head to enjoy its lighter weight. The Wimberley weighs in at 3 lbs. 3.5 ounces, the Mongoose M3.6 is 1 lb 9.2 ounces. That makes the Wimberley 1 lb 10.3 ounces heavier, just a bit more than twice as heavy as a Mongoose …
Amazing Item #2
I packed the following in my Airport Security™ V 2.0 Rolling Camera Bag:
600 II, 200-400 with internal 1.4X TC, 70-200mm f/4L IS, two 5D Mark IV bodies, one 1DX Mark II body, three 1.4X TCs, two 2X III TCs, three spare 5D IV batteries, and my Delkin flash card tote.
As I said, amazing. And only 44.5 pounds. I finished this blog post up in the Helsinki Airport where I am about to be forced to gate check my rolling bag for the flight to Kuusamo.
My Finland Lekking IPT Gear Bag: With One Surprising Omission …
What’s in the bag?
Two Canon 5D Mark IV Bodies
One of my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR bodies has a battery grip, the other does not. The one with the grip will serve as my primary body, the other as a back up. The 5D Mark IV offers large, high quality image files with mind-boggling dynamic range and its full frame sensor offers complete wide and super wide angle coverage.
One Canon EOS-1DX Mark II Body
I decided at the last moment to take the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II in case we get lucky with dancing and fighting Ruffs when its faster frame rate will likely pay big dividends.
Weapon of Mass Destruction: Canon 600m f/4L IS II Lens
Mr. Versatile: Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender
Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender. I am bringing the 2-4 as my understanding is that in some of the blinds the grouse will be very close. Why not the amazing Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens that I love and use most every day? On this trip we will spend four nights sleeping in the blinds for at least part of the night. That means that we will be doing lots of low light photography in the early mornings. So the 1-stop faster 200-400 with Internal Extender was the obvious choice though it will — along with the 600 II — present some air travel challenges.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Lens
I am taking the lightweight Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens and leaving the faster, heavier Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens at home. I have the tripod ring (extra purchase required) with me in case I need the lens for some scenics. The Wimberley P-20 plate is perfect for most intermediate telephoto lenses and works perfectly with all Arca-Swiss compatible tripod heads (and clamps).
I have three Canon Extenders EF 1.4X III and two Canon Extender EF 2X III in my Think Tank rolling bag. Teleconverters are an integral part of my approach to photography and I cannot afford to be without the ones I need due to accident or malfunction. All are micro-adjusted with each camera body/lens combo. That makes for a lot of work.
1-it is image stabilized.
2-the 77mm filter size is much more convenient for me.
3-it is a perfect fit with the 11-24 and a pretty good fit with the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens. Note how perfectly the 70-200 meshes with the 200-400.
I have my beloved Mongoose M3.6 tripod head along for use with the 600 II, the 200-400, and the 70-200 f/4. Both big lenses are equipped with the CRX-5 Low Foot mounted so that the lens is centered right over the tripod. This prevents the lens torquing in the wind or when the tripod is set up slightly off kilter.
My Induro GIT 304L tripod is packed in one of my two checked bags. Those who are finally realizing that the Induro tripods are far superior to the more expensive Gitzo tripods are invited to contact me via e-mail; let me know how tall you are and I will let you know the perfect Induro tripod for you.
The Surprise Omission
My much loved Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens is completely counterfeited by the 200-400 with the internal TC. The latter gives me a stop more light and 784mm of full frame reach with an external TC added. That as compared to 560mm with the 1-4II and the 1.4X III TC.
Think Tank Rolling Bags
I will be using the larger of my two Think Tank rolling bags, the Airport Security™ V 2.0 Rolling Camera Bag. Everything above fit easily into my Airport Security™ V 2.0 Rolling Camera Bag on Saturday afternoon. It tipped the scales at 45 1/2 pounds for this trip; the legal limit for US flights is 40 pounds. Nearly all countries in the world give you slack as far as the 40 pounds goes on the way back to the US. As far as the extra 5 1/2 pounds, I have only been hassled for weight once in more than three decades of flying around the world. And never in Japan. I hope that I do not give myself a kine-ahora.
Please click on my Think Tank affiliate link here or on the Think Tank logo-link in the right column of each blog post page to earn a free gift when you purchase any Think Tank product.
Think Tank Urban Disguise Laptop Shoulder Bag
I love this amazing bag as it has tons of room and enables me to bring tons of extra stuff. If you are forced to gate check your roller you can get more than a few items in this bag, especially if you are not a diabetic.
Please click on my Think Tank affiliate link here or on the Think Tank logo-link in the right column of each blog post page to earn a free gift when you purchase any Think Tank product.
Delkin Flash Cards
As always, I will have a 128gb Delkin e-Film Pro Flash Card in each camera body so that I never have to change cards in the field thus reducing the risk of losing a card…. Please note the new lower prices here. I do have a few extra 32 and 64gb cards in a Delkin CF Memory Card Tote, mostly to protect against operator error.
Vested Interest Xtrahand Vest
Mu understanding is that John Storrie closed up shop … I have e-mailed him and report back on what I learn …
I use a custom-designed Vested Interest Xtrahand Magnum vest that John Storrie (of Vested Interest) knows as the BIRDS AS ART Big Lens Vest. It is based on their Magnum vest and then customized to fit my needs. In addition to carrying a ton of stuff comfortably in the field, it gives you a measure of protection should your roll aboard be gate-checked on a puddle jumper or on other flights.
If you do a search for “vest’ or “vested interest” on the blog it will take you to many mentions in both the blog and the Bulletins with lots of additional information. See especially here and here.
BIRDS AS ART May 13-14 Gatorland In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Kissimmee, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 13-14, 2017. We should get to photograph several species of nesting herons and egrets as well as Wood Stork, American Alligator (captive), and more. We should get to make lots of head portraits of all the bird species and to photograph chicks and fledged young. Learn to see, find, and make the shot in cluttered settings. Learn exposure and how to handle WHITEs. Learn fill flash and flash as main light. All of the birds are free and wild. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to see you there.
May 13-14, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 13 Meet-up Morning (early entry): 7:30 till 10:30am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon till closing (late stay): $99.
Sunday May 14 Meet-up Morning, (early entry): 7:30 till 10am: $80.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
DeSoto in spring is rife with tame and attractive birds. From upper left clockwise to center: breeding plumage Dunlin, dark morph breeding plumage Reddish Egret displaying, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/front end vertical portrait, breeding plumage Laughing Gull with prey item, Laughing Gull on head of Brown Pelican, screaming Royal Tern in breeding plumage, Royal Terns/pre-copulatory stand, Laughing Gulls copulating, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/tight horizontal portrait, Sandwich Tern with fish, and a really rare one, White-rumped Sandpiper in breeding plumage, photographed at DeSoto in early May.
BIRDS AS ART May 20-21 Fort DeSoto In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Tierra Verde, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 20-21, 2017. 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. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
May 20-21, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 20 Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon: 4pm till sunset: $99.
Sunday May 21 Meet-up Morning, Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.
I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).
I made my flight to Helsinki despite the delay on the way from Orlando to JFK and the flight to Kuusamo was easy. It was a miracle that the four of us got our carry-ons onto the plane, but we did. Story at some point.
Finland has been beyond amazing so far. And we practically just got here. We got to our amazing beautiful (brand new) lodge on Tuesday afternoon at about 3pm, had lunch/dinner at about 3:30 pm, and got into the blinds at about 5:30. They are relatively small so we could not all photograph together. There were lots of Whooper Swans but I have photographed them extensively and well in Japan many times so I was not too interested in them. I had never seen or photographed Common Crane so I had high hopes for that new species. At first they were way, way too far away. They came closer. We took some OK images and then two of them landed just to our left and the sun came out. Woohoo! 🙂 Photographing the cranes in flight from the blinds was difficult but I managed a few decent ones. Though Common Crane is on the plain side compared even to the Sandhill Cranes by my home and though it pales in comparison to the Red-crowned Cranes in Japan, the thrill for me is in seeing a new species and photographing it well.
We got back to the lodge after photographing at about 9:30pm and had a small snack —dinner I guess? Then I set the alarm for 2:30am. Yes, 2:30am, so not much sleep. Then we drove to the Black Grouse blinds leaving the lodge at 3am. We were all set up by 3:45 am or so. No birds came for one hour. And we were thinking that they might never come. And then we took a magic carpet ride and enjoyed a surreal morning photographing the birds displaying and fighting. It was one of those wondrous experiences that I will never forget. We leave for Black Grouse session #2 in less than one hour as I am working on this extra post at 2:12am. Images to come.
With love from Finland, 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 our 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.
Upper Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The AF system activated three AF points that fell on bird’s upper back, right on the same plane as its eye.
Great Egret in late afternoon light …
Keep Your Eyes Open All the Time …
Whenever and wherever you are photographing you need to have your gear accessible and ready and you need to keep your eyes and mind open to new and unique situations. I noticed the amazing light on this bird as we exited Gatorland. You would not think that you could find a good photo in a manmade enclosure-pen filled with alligators. But this bird was standing between sort of wooden docks that with a partial roof overhead that caused the deep black shadows. And the sun was at just the right angle so that it reflected off the dark water onto the bird in pretty interesting ways that changed each moment. I needed all the reach of the 100-400 II/1.4X III combo to eliminate the surrounding wooden docks and platforms. Join me at Gatorland on the weekend of May 13/14 to learn to see and think like a pro. Sign up for the whole weekend and enjoy a free hour of instruction on Friday afternoon.
Image Question
If you take a close look, you will be able to answer this question: What is the bird standing on?
BIRDS AS ART May 13-14 Gatorland In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Kissimmee, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 13-14, 2017. We should get to photograph several species of nesting herons and egrets as well as Wood Stork, American Alligator (captive), and more. We should get to make lots of head portraits of all the bird species and to photograph chicks and fledged young. Learn to see, find, and make the shot in cluttered settings. Learn exposure and how to handle WHITEs. Learn fill flash and flash as main light. All of the birds are free and wild. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to see you there.
May 13-14, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 13 Meet-up Morning (early entry): 7:30 till 10:30am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon till closing (late stay): $99.
Sunday May 14 Meet-up Morning, (early entry): 7:30 till 10am: $80.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.
I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).
My flight from Orlando to JFK is delayed 2 1/2 hours. If that is the end of it, I should still make the flight to Helsinki. Time will tell. With love to all and at peace, 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 our 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.
Left Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. In image 6579 (on the left) the AF system activated a point on the bird’s neck, in 6580 (on the right) the AF system activated two AF points near the back of the bird’s head. For a better comparison of the two images, click on the composite to view a larger version.
Sandhill Crane colt at sunset: two-frame sequence.
Your Call
Would you keep one, both, or neither? Image #6579 is the one on the left, #6580 is on the right. Be sure to click on the image to enlarge the two photos and be sure to state your reasons clearly. Do you see one or the other as sharper? Which image design is stronger?
100-400II, 1.4X III TC, 5D IV Combo …
I continue to be amazed by the versatility and usefulness of this combo for bird photography. On my Gatorland afternoon visits and during several Fort DeSoto IPT sessions, I left the big glass in the car and enjoyed a very relaxing and strain-free hand holding session. And that with a full frame camera body … I enjoy the freedom that hand holding brings, the great 280 to 560mm zoom range, the amazing 4-stop Image Stabilizer system, the incredible sharpness (even with the TC), and the fabulous close focus of less than one meter (about 39 inches).
Hey Arthur,
I had a great time at the DeSoto meet-up. Even though there was not as many birds as there were on most mornings, I still got some good images of the Great Blue Heron and the Laughing Gulls mating. I believe I learned more in those three hours than I have in a year. Thanks again for everything.
Sincerely, John
This flash as main light image was created a few years back with the old 400 DO, the 2X III TC, and the 1D Mark IV. We should have some good chances with chicks getting fed on the Gatorland weekend. The details follow immediately.
BIRDS AS ART May 13-14 Gatorland In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Kissimmee, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 13-14, 2017. We should get to photograph several species of nesting herons and egrets as well as Wood Stork, American Alligator (captive), and more. We should get to make lots of head portraits of all the bird species and to photograph chicks and fledged young. Learn to see, find, and make the shot in cluttered settings. Learn exposure and how to handle WHITEs. Learn fill flash and flash as main light. All of the birds are free and wild. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to see you there.
May 13-14, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 13 Meet-up Morning (early entry): 7:30 till 10:30am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon till closing (late stay): $99.
Sunday May 14 Meet-up Morning, (early entry): 7:30 till 10am: $80.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
DeSoto in spring is rife with tame and attractive birds. From upper left clockwise to center: breeding plumage Dunlin, dark morph breeding plumage Reddish Egret displaying, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/front end vertical portrait, breeding plumage Laughing Gull with prey item, Laughing Gull on head of Brown Pelican, screaming Royal Tern in breeding plumage, Royal Terns/pre-copulatory stand, Laughing Gulls copulating, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/tight horizontal portrait, Sandwich Tern with fish, and a really rare one, White-rumped Sandpiper in breeding plumage, photographed at DeSoto in early May.
BIRDS AS ART May 20-21 Fort DeSoto In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Tierra Verde, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 20-21, 2017. 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. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
May 20-21, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 20 Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon: 4pm till sunset: $99.
Sunday May 21 Meet-up Morning, Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.
I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).
I love being in the field and I love teaching so much that I decided to put together two In-the-Field Meet-up Weekends in May. I wrote this up on the way to the airport for my flight to JFK followed by my red-eye flight to Helsinki, Finland and then the puddle-jumper flight to Kuusamo. If the weather improves, I hope to be photographing Capercaillie with my small group on Wednesday morning.
Want pain? Get a past. Want fear? Get a future. Byron Kate, The Work.Com
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 our 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.
Unsolicited, via e-mail from John Mack
Hey Arthur,
I had a great time at the DeSoto meet-up. Even though there was not as many birds as there were on most mornings, I still got some good images of the Great Blue Heron and the Laughing Gulls mating. I believe I learned more in those three hours than I have in a year. Thanks again for everything.
Sincerely, John
This flash as main light image was created a few years back with the old 400 DO, the 2X III TC, and the 1D Mark IV. We should have some good chances with chicks getting fed on the Gatorland weekend. The details follow immediately.
BIRDS AS ART May 13-14 Gatorland In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Kissimmee, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 13-14, 2017. We should get to photograph several species of nesting herons and egrets as well as Wood Stork, American Alligator (captive), and more. We should get to make lots of head portraits of all the bird species and to photograph chicks and fledged young. Learn to see, find, and make the shot in cluttered settings. Learn exposure and how to handle WHITEs. Learn fill flash and flash as main light. All of the birds are free and wild. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to see you there.
May 13-14, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 13 Meet-up Morning (early entry): 7:30 till 10:30am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon till closing (late stay): $99.
Sunday May 14 Meet-up Morning, (early entry): 7:30 till 10am: $80.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
DeSoto in spring is rife with tame and attractive birds. From upper left clockwise to center: breeding plumage Dunlin, dark morph breeding plumage Reddish Egret displaying, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/front end vertical portrait, breeding plumage Laughing Gull with prey item, Laughing Gull on head of Brown Pelican, screaming Royal Tern in breeding plumage, Royal Terns/pre-copulatory stand, Laughing Gulls copulating, breeding plumage Laughing Gull/tight horizontal portrait, Sandwich Tern with fish, and a really rare one, White-rumped Sandpiper in breeding plumage, photographed at DeSoto in early May.
BIRDS AS ART May 20-21 Fort DeSoto In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up Sessions
Join me in Tierra Verde, FL for all or part of the weekend of May 20-21, 2017. 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. These inexpensive sessions are designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
May 20-21, 2017 Schedule
Saturday May 20 Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Lunch and Image Review: $99.
Saturday afternoon: 4pm till sunset: $99.
Sunday May 21 Meet-up Morning, Meet-up Morning: 6:30 till 10:00am: $99.
Cheap Canon lens rentals available: 600 II, 500 II, 400 DO II, or 200-400.
To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your park entry fee. Please shoot me an e-mail with questions.
Palouse 2016 Horizontals Card
Why Different?
Announcing the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
In what ways will the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour be different from the most other Palouse workshops?
There are so many great locations that a seven-day IPT (as opposed to the typical three- or five-day workshops) will give the group time to visit (and revisit) many of the best spots while allowing you to maximize your air travel dollars. In addition, it will allow us to enjoy a slightly more relaxed pace.
You will be assured of being in the right location for the given weather and sky conditions.
You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills.
You will learn to design powerful, graphic images.
You will visit all of the iconic locations and a few spectacular ones that are much less frequently visited.
You will learn long lens landscape techniques.
You will learn to master any exposure situation in one minute or less.
You will learn the fine points of Canon in-camera (5D Mark III, 5DS R, and 7D II) HDR techniques.
You will learn to create this look in Photoshop from a single image while winding up with a higher quality image file.
You will learn to use your longest focal lengths to create rolling field and Urbex abstracts.
You will learn when and how to use a variety of neutral density filters to create pleasing blurs of the Palouse’s gorgeous rolling farmlands.
As always, you will learn to see like a pro. You will learn what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.
You will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images.
You will learn to use super-wide lenses both for big skies and building interiors.
You will learn when, why, and how to use infrared capture; if you do not own an infrared body, you will get to borrow mine.
You will learn to use both backlight and side-light to create powerful and dramatic landscape images.
You will learn to create the very popular detailed, slightly grungy, slightly over-saturated look in Photoshop.
Palouse 2016 Verticals Card
The 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
June 8-14, 2017. Seven full days of photography. Meet and greet at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 7: $2,499. Limit 10/Openings: 7.
Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will enjoy spectacular sunrises and at least one nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. I will bring you to more than a few really neat old abandoned barns and farmhouses in idyllic settings. There is no better way to improve your compositional and image design skills and to develop your creativity than to join me for this trip. Photoshop and image sharing sessions when we have the time and energy…. We get up early and stay out late and the days are long.
Over the past three years, with the help of my friend Denise Ippolito, we found all the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and vistas. What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, my extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions. As above, there will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before the workshop begins.
To Sign Up
Your non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your spot. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining this IPT. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours to arrange for the payment of your deposit; if by check, please make out to “BIRDS AS ART” and mail it to: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail: artie.
Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options. You can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check. Whenever purchasing travel insurance be sure to read the fine print carefully even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.
I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).
A visit to chiropractor TJ McKeon in town on Thursday afternoon had my shoulder feeling well enough for a swim on FRI. I’ve been getting down to the lake most mornings and will spend SAT and SUN packing for Finland. I did finish my micro-adjust session on Friday, learned a ton, worked on the tutorial, and made one very interesting discovery. I fly JFK > Helsinki mid-morning on Monday.
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 our 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.
Center AF point/AI Servo/Spot/Rear Button AF on the stand of trees on the left; release and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial.
Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Image #1: Pine trees at dawn on foggy morning
The Advantages of an Early Morning Blood Test Draw …
There are some really neat farm fields (aka cow pastures) on the way from my home in Indian Lake Estates to town, Lake Wales, FL (and back). And many of the fields are studded with attractive stands of pine trees. Oftentimes, there is some really neat ground fog but until ten days ago, these elements had never come together perfectly. I had blood drawn at 6:30am at the Quest Lab in town and headed home looking for a good spot. I found the location above just as the sun was peeking through the fog. I went to work at first with the tripod-mounted 100-400 II/1.4X III?5D IV combo. I like this one, the widest that I made, because the small tree on the right was just clear of the bushes …
Center AF point/AI Servo/Surround/Rear Button AF on the trunk of the tree: release and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial.
Image #2: Pine tree at dawn on foggy morning
To The Big Lens …
As the sun got higher it got clear of the smaller tree on the right but I did not have enough focal length with the 1-4II so I crossed back over Highway 60 and grabbed the big gun with the TC still on the 5D IV. It was perfect once I move well to the west.
Your favorite? Which of today’s featured images is your favorite? Please let us know why?
Palouse 2016 Horizontals Card
Why Different?
Announcing the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
In what ways will the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour be different from the most other Palouse workshops?
There are so many great locations that a seven-day IPT (as opposed to the typical three- or five-day workshops) will give the group time to visit (and revisit) many of the best spots while allowing you to maximize your air travel dollars. In addition, it will allow us to enjoy a slightly more relaxed pace.
You will be assured of being in the right location for the given weather and sky conditions.
You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills.
You will learn to design powerful, graphic images.
You will visit all of the iconic locations and a few spectacular ones that are much less frequently visited.
You will learn long lens landscape techniques.
You will learn to master any exposure situation in one minute or less.
You will learn the fine points of Canon in-camera (5D Mark III, 5DS R, and 7D II) HDR techniques.
You will learn to create this look in Photoshop from a single image while winding up with a higher quality image file.
You will learn to use your longest focal lengths to create rolling field and Urbex abstracts.
You will learn when and how to use a variety of neutral density filters to create pleasing blurs of the Palouse’s gorgeous rolling farmlands.
As always, you will learn to see like a pro. You will learn what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.
You will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images.
You will learn to use super-wide lenses both for big skies and building interiors.
You will learn when, why, and how to use infrared capture; if you do not own an infrared body, you will get to borrow mine.
You will learn to use both backlight and side-light to create powerful and dramatic landscape images.
You will learn to create the very popular detailed, slightly grungy, slightly over-saturated look in Photoshop.
Palouse 2016 Verticals Card
The 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
June 8-14, 2017. Seven full days of photography. Meet and greet at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 7: $2,499. Limit 10/Openings: 7.
Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will enjoy spectacular sunrises and at least one nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. I will bring you to more than a few really neat old abandoned barns and farmhouses in idyllic settings. There is no better way to improve your compositional and image design skills and to develop your creativity than to join me for this trip. Photoshop and image sharing sessions when we have the time and energy…. We get up early and stay out late and the days are long.
Over the past three years, with the help of my friend Denise Ippolito, we found all the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and vistas. What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, my extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions. As above, there will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before the workshop begins.
To Sign Up
Your non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your spot. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining this IPT. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours to arrange for the payment of your deposit; if by check, please make out to “BIRDS AS ART” and mail it to: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail: artie.
Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options. You can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check. Whenever purchasing travel insurance be sure to read the fine print carefully even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.
Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂
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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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 :).
