More R&R and more Chopped re-runs were on the menu on Monday.
Wind and weather are looking good for FRI and SAT mornings at Nickerson. If anyone is interested in cheap ($350) private or small group instruction (limit 3) please shoot me an e-mail. The session includes a working brunch and image review. More dates to follow. Inquiries welcome.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 258 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
This image was created on the first morning of the recently concluded Nickerson Beach IPT with the hand held Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens (at 257mm) with the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering as framed: 1/13 sec. at f/8 in Tv mode. Color temperature: 8000K.
65-point Automatic selection/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). Click on the image to see a larger version.
Image #1: Common Terns above the colony in pre-dawn color
Getting Up Early…
Except for our last morning–we had been at Tony Cuban enjoying some fine dining until after 11pm the night before–we had left the IPT hotel at 4:30am everyday and been in place for pre-dawn silhouettes and blurs with all our gear no later than 5:15am. In addition to the pre-dawn stuff, some clouds on the eastern horizon allowed us some extra times shooting back to the east before the skies cleared.
How Bad Was It?
The group was amazed many times as we encountered photographers arriving as we were packing up to head to brunch… I was not as I have seen it all too many times before. Arriving very early in the morning is always important but becomes even more important when the weather calls for clear skies and west/southwest winds.
Bad Wind/Good Wind…
Many folks do not realize that if the forecast calls for bad winds for clear sky flight photography, i.e., west winds in the morning or east winds in the afternoons, that those conditions are perfect for creating backlit images at dawn or dusk. With some color in the sky and things can be just ducky.
We were able to put this concept into practice on the morning that I made Image #1; with a SW wind the terns were all facing us.
Center Large Zone AF/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The AF system performed perfectly activating two AF points that fell on the bill and the head.
Image #2: Black Skimmer in flight with fish blur
Experimenting with the AF System
Experimenting with your camera’s AF system can pay big dividends. With today’s Image #1, I went with 65-point knowing that it would hold focus once I acquired it. When some skimmers started leaving the group to my leaf to fly to the northwest (into the wind of course) i.e., to my right, they were fairly large in the frame so I tried center Large Zone AF; it worked to perfection. I kept four interesting frames from the short-lived situation.
While AF Expand is my go-to AF Area Selection mode, I do not hesitate to try others that I think might be better in a given situation.
Your Favorite?
Please help to keep the blog interactive–it maximizes the learning opportunities–by leaving a comment and letting us know which of today’s featured images you like best. And please, of course, let us know why. If you hate all blurs as a matter of course, you can let us know why.
Learn the secrets of creating contest winning images in our “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs.”
A Guide to Pleasing Blurs
In A Guide to Pleasing Blurs the authors discuss just about every technique ever used by mankind to create pleasingly blurred images. Ninety-nine point nine percent of pleasing blurs are not happy accidents. You can learn pretty much everything that there is to know about creating them in this instructive, well written, easy to follow guide.
Consider joining me in Japan in February, 2017, for the world’s best Japan in Winter workshop. Click on the card to enjoy the spectacular larger version.
Japan In Winter IPT. February 9-24, 2017: $11,499 (was $13,999)/double occupancy. Limit 8/Openings: 3.
Price Reduced $2,500 on 3-8-16!
All lodging including the Tokyo hotel on 9 FEB, all breakfasts & dinners, ground transport and transfers including bus to the monkey park hotel, and all entrance fees and in-country flights are included. Not included: international flights, all lunches–most are on the run, and alcoholic beverages.
Please e-mail for couple and IPT repeat customer discount information.
This trip is one day longer than the great 2014 trip to allow for more flexibility, more time with the cranes, and most importantly, more time for landscape photography. Hokkaido is gorgeous. You will enjoy tons of pre-trip planning and gear advice, in-the-field instruction and guidance, at-the-lodge Photoshop and image review sessions in addition to short introductory slide programs for each of the amazing locations. Skilled photographer Paul McKenzie handles the logistics and we enjoy the services of Japan’s best wildlife photography guide whom I affectionately call “Hokkaido Bear.” His network of local contacts and his knowledge of the weather, the area, and the birds is unparalleled and enables him to have us in the best location every day.
Arrive Tokyo: 9 FEB 2017 the latest. 8 FEB is safer and gives you a day to get acclimated to the time change. Your hotel room for the night of the 9th is covered.
Bus Travel to Monkey Park Hotel: 10 FEB: A 1/2 DAY of monkey photography is likely depending on our travel time… This traditional hotel is first class all the way. Our stay includes three ten course Japanese dinners; these sumptuous meals will astound you and delight your taste buds. There are many traditional hot springs mineral baths (onsens) on site in this 150 year old hotel.
Full Day snow monkeys: FEB 11.
Full Day snow monkeys: FEB 12.
13 FEB: Full travel day to Hokkaido/arrive at our lodge in the late afternoon. The lodge is wonderful. All the rooms at the lodge have beds. Bring your warm pajamas. A local onsen (hot springs bath and tubs) is available for $5 each day before dinner–when you are cold, it is the best thing since sliced bread. The home-cooked Japanese styles meals at the lodge are to die for. What’s the best news? Only a small stand of woods separates us from the very best crane sanctuary. During one big snowstorm we were the only photo group to be able to get to Tsurui Ito; we had the whole place to ourselves in perfect conditions for crane photography!
FEB 14-23: Red-crowned Crane, raptors in flight, Whooper Swans, and scenic photography. Ural Owl possible. An overnight trip to Rausu for Steller’s Sea Eagle and White-tailed Eagle photography on the tourists boats is 100% dependent on the weather, road, and sea ice conditions. Only our trip offers complete flexibility in this area. It has saved us on more than once occasion. The cost of 2 eagle-boat trips is included. If the group would like to do more than two boat trips and we all agree, there will be an additional charge for the extra trip or trips. No matter the sea ice conditions, we will do two eagle boat trips (as long as we can make the drive to Rausu; it snows a lot up there). We have never been shut out.In 2016 there was no sea ice but our guide arranged for two amazingly productive boat trips.
Lodging notes: bring your long johns for sleeping in the lodge. At the Snow Monkey Park, and in Rausu, the hotel the rooms are Japanese-style. You sleep on comfortable mats on the floor. Wi-fi is available every day of the trip.
FEB 24. Fly back to Tokyo for transfer to your airport if you are flying home that night, or, to your hotel if you are overnighting. If you need to overnight, the cost of that room is on you.
Life is short. Hop on the merry-go-round.
To Sign Up
To save your spot, please send your $5,000 non-refundable deposit check made out to “Birds as Art” to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. I do hope that you can join me for this trip of a lifetime. Do e-mail with any questions or give me a buzz at 863-692-0906.
Purchasing travel insurance within 2 weeks of our cashing your deposit check is strongly recommended. On two fairly recent Galapagos cruises a total of 5 folks were forced to cancel less than one week prior to the trip. My family and I use Travel Insurance Services and strongly recommend that you do the same.
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 we are 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 we, 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 rested up a lot on Saturday and watched lots of back episodes of Chopped on my sister Arna’s TV.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 257 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
A single AF point that was two rows down and three AF points to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo/Spot AF (don’t ask me why…)/Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure; see the DPP 4 screen capture below. Click on the image to see a larger version.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: +5.
Common Tern adult scolding (?) chick
Tough Love?
As noted in the A Different Approach to Bird Photography blog post here, on wind against sun mornings you need to find a situation where the birds are not committed to facing into the wind and away from you and the light. I took the group to a spot that is somewhat protected from the west wind and usually has a few Common Tern nests. It was bingo again. We all spent two hours photographing a tern nest with two tiny chicks, two to three days old at most. For the most part the chicks stayed in the scrape where they were fed and tended by the adults.
Fairly late in the session, one of the adults flew in with a sand eel and landed a few feet to the left of the nest. The tiny chicks went running and one of them grabbed and swallowed brunch. The other adult did not like that the two chicks were now isolated and well away from the nest scrape. As seen in today’s featured image she let one wayward chick know that it needed to get back to the scrape. She actually struck it rather forcefully with her bill. We had a ton of fun trying to understand the various behaviors that we witnessed. And I think that we got this one right as within minutes both chicks were back in the scrape under the bird that we assigned the role of momma. That bird could of course very well have been the male.
Yup
Yup, it would have been nice if the tiny chick had been facing us…
DPP 4 Screen Capture
The DPP 4 Screen Capture
The RGB histogram here qualifies as a Lying Histogram. Why? It does not look as if there is very much data in the right-most box of the histogram. Note, however, that the RGB values for the brightest WHITEs come in a 234, 235, 227, just where I want them. Some folks advocate that perfect WHITEs are 254, 254, 254. For me, that is nuts as you will spend the rest of your life trying to get come detail in the highlights. I can live with those who suggest that you bring your WHITEs into Photoshop with the RGB values in the mid-240s. As stated here, my preference is to have them in the mid-240s.
Saved by f/10
With the active AF point on the tern’s wing behind the legs, it is a good thing that I was at f/10 as the extra depth-of-field–remember that wide open is f/5.6–was enough to cover the adult tern’s face and eye. At 25 feet, the depth of field for this combo in front of and behind the plane of focus is about 1 inch, just enough to cover the adult’s face and the eye. In a perfect world, I think that focusing somewhere between the plane of the eye and the plane of the bend of the wing would have been ideal.
Pano By Removal
To get to the desired pano look without losing the green along the upper frame edge I painted a large Quick Mask of the out-of-focus greenery with some sand below it. I place that on its own layer and then used the Move Tool (V) to drag the layer down. With the sand so out of focus there was no seam. I finished things off with the pano crop.
Death by Sandstorm
When we returned on Friday morning the group was eager to photograph the two small chicks again. On our walk in, I cautioned that there was a chance that the nest would be gone. Beach nesting birds face numerous threat with storms and flooding and ground predators like raccoons and feral cats leading the league. We met a photographer who had been with us the day before. “One chick is gone and the other is dead. The dead chick is being brooded by one of the adults…” Thursday evening had been super windy with the wind at a steady 20+ mph from the south and gusts of up to 30; death by sandstorm was the likely cause of the demise of the two small chicks.
APTATS I & II
Learn the details of advanced Quick Masking techniques in APTATS I. Learn Advanced Layer Masking Techniques in APTATS II. Save $15 by ordering both here.
San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects. With annual visits spanning more than three decades I have lot of experience there….
2017 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) JAN 11 thru and including the morning session on JAN 15: 4 1/2 days: $1999.
(Limit: 10/openings 8)
Meet and Greet at 7:00pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Tuesday 1/10/17.
Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lions; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the two IPT cards there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well.
With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication.
Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?
Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings.
The San Diego Details
This IPT will include five 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, four 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, four lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility.
A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 9/11//2016. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.
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 we are 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 we, 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 🙂
After a great Nickerson IPT I am back in Holbrook. It was very hot on Long Island on Saturday. On the IPT we were blessed not only with great birds and situations, but with lots of atypically cool July weather as well. I really enjoyed the small group size: 4 2/3 photographers. And so did the participants.
We had dinner on Friday night at the fantastic Tony Cuban in Freeport. The food was so good that we did not mind that it was the loudest restaurant that any of us had ever been in. I had the lobster/crab ravioli in seafood cream sauce topped with sautéed shrimp. It was so delicious that I was forced to use my left index finger to enjoy the left-over cream sauce.
As we did not get back from dinner until after 11pm I did not even think of going out on Saturday morning. And when I got to my Mom’s I took a 2 1/2 hour nap. I hurt my left shoulder on the IPT rolling around on the ground with the big lens. I see Dr. Dan Holland at True Sports Care in Nesconset for some active release therapy chiropractic on Tuesday. I am 100% sure that he will fix me right up.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 256 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would 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. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the yellow-orange tab on the right side of the menu bar above.
Used Gear Sales Testimonial
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener
The BAA Used Gear Page is the best place I’ve found for selling my used cameras and lenses.
I used eBay and Craigslist until I began checking in at BIRDS AS ART. I saw the gear listed for sale at BAA and it struck me that the people who visit the site are like me in some important ways. We own high quality, often expensive gear. It’s important to us, and we likely take care of it. In other words, a good market exists. And I noticed how Artie marketed each item. Informative, without too big a push. That’s why I decided to try BAA.
The process was easy. I clearly accepted the terms of sale, fully and fairly described what I was selling and the good and bad. I listed he stuff to be included with in the sale. Then Artie came back with what he thought was a fair price, leaving it to me to determine the balance between urgency of the sale and receiving a high price. I’ve followed his lead.
The responses I’ve received from potential buyers have been reassuring. Each has been well informed and courteous. They have not expected perfection, but have fully expected fairness and clarity. I’ve found that providing many photographs of what I’m selling is very helpful in the completing the various transactions.
I’m writing this because of how glad I am to find a place where there is a good market for what I want to sell and what I want to buy — I just tried to buy a 300mm f/2.8 II, but it has sold. The buyers and sellers are informed and fair-minded. And artie offers friendly and experienced advice. I’ve enjoyed the process. The BAA Used Gear page is the best experience I’ve had buying and selling gear.
Used Gear Sales Continue to be More Than Brisk
Tom Mast sold his Canon 300mm f/4L IS USM lens in excellent condition for $625 in late July.
Henry Raymundo sold his Gitzo 1325 tripod and a Wimberley V-2 head both in very good plus condition for the very low price of $699 and two used Canon 100-400mm IS L Zoom lenses, one in excellent condition for $599, the other in very good plus condition for $549–all in late July.
Jonathan Ward sold his Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for $2,000 CAD in early July.
Long ago multiple IPT veteran Charles McRae sold his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS lens in good to very good condition in early July for a record low $4,199.
Jeffrey Fredberg sold his EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM L series lens in like-new condition for the record-low BAA price of $749 in late June.
Jim Burns sold his Canon 200-400mm F/4L IS zoom lens with Internal 1.4X Extender in brand new condition for the insane BAA record-low price of $8499 in late June.
Moody McCall sold his Canon 300mm F/2.8L IS II in excellent condition for $4199 in mid-June.
Long-ago IPT veteran Charles Sleicher sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in very good plus condition for $3400 in mid-June.
Top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III in absolute mint condition for $1599 in mid-June.
KW McCulloch sold his Canon EOS-1D X in excellent condition for $2459 in mid-June.
Top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens (the old five) in very good plus condition for a BAA record low price of $3699 in mid-June.
New Listing
AF-S Nikon 80-400 1:4.5-5.6G ED Lens
Sue Jarrett is offering a AF-S Nikon 80-400 1:4.5-5.6G ED lens (the newer version) in excellent condition for the record-low BAA price of $1649.95. The sale includes front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, a padded lens bag with strap, and insured ground shipping to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Sue via e-mail or by phone at 1-843-252-2082 (afternoons Eastern time).
The newer version of the very versatile Nikon 80-400mm VR lens is supposed to be a lot sharper than the original model. artie
This image was created on DAY 5 of the 2016 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R.. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at about +1 stop: as originally framed: 1/400 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. AWB.
One AF point up and two rows to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo/Spot AF (don’t ask me why…)/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
In the original Same Subject/Different Backgrounds; It’s All a Matter of Changing Your Perspective. And an Exposure Multiple Choice Quiz–How Easy Can It Get? blog post here, we let you know that we instructed the group on how to choose a perspective that would yield a dark background.
This image–of the same bird–was also created on DAY 5 of the 2016 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R.. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at about -2/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. AWB.
One AF point to the right and two rows up from the center AF point/AI Servo/Spot AF (don’t ask me why…)/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
To achieve the water background I simply walked to my right about 10 meters and photographed the bird from a bit head on. As the subject was smaller in the frame, I placed the bird more in the lower left corner. The huge 5DS R image files permitted me to crop to taste without sacrificing image quality.
Next Came the Exposure Multiple Choice Quiz
The exposure for the two featured images was the same, 1/400 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Why?
A-the light was constant so the exposure on the bird was both correct and the same for each image.
B-when you are in Manual mode you do not have to worry about the effect of a light or dark background on the meter.
C-in heavy overcast conditions you do not have to worry about exposure changes due to working off angle to the light.
D-a, b, and c are all correct.
E-it was just a coincidence.
The Correct Answer
Only Warren and IPT veteran Wtlloyd (Bill Lloyd) came up with the right answer: D-a, b, and c are all correct.
Bill summed things up nicely when he commented, It was nothing less than an epiphany to me when I finally “got” cloudy-bright direction-less lighting.
More Important Learning…
Tony Zielinski left a comment that proved to be most valuable as many folks are as confused as he was.
Artie,
I’m a little confused about the exposure compensation here. If you’re shooting in manual mode and setting the ISO, F-stop and shutter speed manually (to 400, F/8, 1/400 sec.), then I don’t understand how adding an exposure compensation would affect the photo. I thought that the EC works when you are in Av or Tv mode but should not affect your exposure when you’re in full manual. In light of my lack of understanding, I’m not sure why you set EC differently for those two photos. I would assume that if your setting is correct for the bird in the first photo that you would leave the settings as-is when you reframed with a different background, since it’s correct for the bird in both photos.
Tony
I responded as follows:
Hi Tony,
You are missing a big point about working in Manual mode as I was in both situations. There is no EC that can be dialed in when working in Manual. But, and this is a huge but, you note the exposure that you have set relative to the exposure suggested by the camera by looking at the analog scale on the side or the bottom of the viewfinder of the camera body depending on which body you are using.
The camera does not record this info (though it could and should with a firmware update); that is why it says in each of the captions: “at about this or that EC.” 95% of the time I note and remember these values; the other 5% of the time I guess-timate them quite accurately.
As I recall, you asked about the Galapagos IPT; you should join me on that or another–you would be amazed by how much you could learn.
artie
Related Exposure Questions
1- Why did the first image need about +1 stop Exposure Compensation (EC)?
2-Why did the second image require about -2/3 stop of EC?
As for the related Exposure Questions, Bill Lloyd first noted that I had mixed up the two situations, and then nailed the answers when he wrote:
The 1st photo needs +1 because of the bright background that would influence the meter and leave the subject underexposed.
The 2nd photo needs -2/3 because the camera’s meter would want to compensate by opening up for the dark background thus blowing out the whites on the puffin.
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 Monday July 10, 2017: $5999: Limit 10 photographers — Openings: 6). Two great leaders: Arthur Morris and BPN co-owner, BPN Photography Gear Forum Moderator, and long-time BAA Webmaster Peter Kes.
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. (We may opt to stay in Edinburgh on the night of July 11.) Price and details should be finalized at least six months before the trip but you will need to be a bit patient. It would be ideal if I can get all the work done by the end of September so that folks can arrange their flights then.
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.
This trip has sold out far in advance every year so do not tarry. I hope that you can join me.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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 🙂
On Thursday afternoon Izzy Flamm–B&H Senior Marketing Campaign Manager, and his sidekick, Yosef Brown–Manager, Strategic Partnerships, Affiliate Partners, Content Partners, & Industry Influencers, drove from Manhattan to Nickerson Beach to cool off, enjoy the birds, and meet my IPT group. They generously offered to take everyone out for dinner. We drove about 25 minutes to Prime Bistro, a kosher French Steakhouse, Brasserie & Butchery in Lawrence, Long Island, NY. The food was amazing and we had a blast. Melody Goetz–the restaurant manager who took our orders, was so funny that within a minute of her stand-up routine, I asked her if she had here own TV show. Her humor was strong and in your face, a blend of Phyllis Diller and Joan Rivers with short dark hair. Best of all, the food was superb. Huge thanks to Izzy and Yosef and the rest of the gang at B&H.
From left to right: Will Schilling, Izzy Flamm, yours truly, Joef Brown, Michael DeRosa, Elizabeth MacSwan, and Kerry Morris. Photo by Melody Goetz with Josef Brown’s cell phone….
The IPT group and our hosts having huge fun at Prime Bistro
We did not get back to the IPT hotel until after 11pm so we moved back our start time an hour. With early morning clouds but no sunrise color we did just fine (as seen below by today’s featured image).
Getting Lazy
Please remember that the blog is a better place to be when it is interactive. Folks have gotten very lazy recently. Please consider going back to yesterday’s blog post and let us know which of the three chick images was your favorite. And why. I do honestly want to hear your opinions. The more folks participate the more learning takes place…
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 255 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Shutter Button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -5.
Common Tern with pipefish for young
A Different Approach to Bird Photography
My basic approach to bird photography has long been walk and stalk.
Dear friends (the late) Max and Nellie Larsen used to bird the East Pond at my beloved Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge by heading out with two small folding chairs, parking themselves in one spot, and never moving. They used to say, “Stay in one spot and all the birds will come to you.” Max, who has been gone for five years, made it to 93. Nellie will be 95 in November; she is living in the hills of Pennsylvania. The Larsens were very kind to me when I began birding in 1977 and I cherish the memories of the time I spent in the field with them.
On Friday morning we had wind against sun once again. Sun in the east, the wind at 15 from the southwest. Doomsday for bird photography with all the birds facing away from us. As there were no oystercatchers feeding in the surf, our best chance for success was to photograph the Common Tern chicks waiting to be fed. We had the sun behind us and the wind in our faces. The adults with fish would fly in over our heads facing away. But the eager chicks would be facing right at us as they awaited the incoming parents: the eager chicks wanted to be able to see to the west to check for momma or poppa and they would often wind up square to the light and square to the backs of our cameras.
So how did I pick the spot for us to sit and wait? There was a snow fence and several chicks from two nests were hanging out by it. The area to the right of the fence was a bit overgrown. To the left there was lots of clean sand with only a few small beach plants. Farther to the left the beach was littered with small bits of shell. So we sat about five yards south of the snow fencing and simply waited for the action to come to us. It was not non-stop but we had lots of great chances. Including the adult with a pipefish that is today’s featured image. IPT veteran Will (The Thrill) Schilling nailed a begging chick with his 600 II, his 2X III TC, and the 5DS R that he rented from me for the workshop. That image will be featured here soon.
Sometimes You Just Gotta Pull the Trigger…
While it is ideal to have the active sensor on the bird’s eye or face, or have enough time to rear focus and re-compose, there are times-especially when restricted to the center AF point–that you cannot afford such luxury. You often need to focus and fire. When the tern landed just behind the sand ridge I acquired focus near the rear of the bird and created a single image with the bird too far forward in the frame. I pointed the camera right with the sensor on the bird above the bend of the wing. But the tern’s headed was turned away from me a bit: poor head angle. Frame three, today’s featured image was bingo. In frame four the bird was centered and the position of the pipefish was less than ideal. With frame five, the bird’s head was turned too much toward me; with the sun from my right the right side of the bird’s face was in shadow and the shadow of the pipefish fell unpleasingly on the bird’s breast.
Sometimes you just gotta pull the trigger and hope for the best…
Critique
Critique today’s featured image if you like. Note: good critiques include positives, negatives, and suggestions.
Tame birds and wildlife. Incredible diversity. You only live once…
GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. August 8-22, 2017 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $12,499. Limit: 13 photographers plus the leader: yours truly. Openings: 4.
Same great trip; no price increase!
This trip needs nine to run; in the unlikely event that it does not, all payments to BAA will be refunded in full.
My two-week Galapagos Photo-Cruises are without equal. The world’s best guide, a killer itinerary, a great boat (the Samba), and two great leaders with ten Galapagos cruises under their belts. Pre-trip and pre-landing location-specific gear advice. In-the-field photo instruction and guidance. Jeez, I almost forgot: fine dining at sea!
The great spots that we will visit include Tower Island (including Prince Phillips Steps and Darwin Bay), Hood Island (including Punta Suarez, the world’s only nesting site of Waved Albatross, and Gardner Bay)—each of the preceding are world class wildlife photography designations that rank right up there with Antarctica, Africa, and Midway. We will also visit Fernandina, Puerto Ayora for the tortoises, Puerto Egas—James Bay, and North Seymour for nesting Blue-footed Boobies in most years, South Plaza for Land Iguanas, Floreana for Greater Flamingoes, and Urbina Bay, all spectacular in their own right. We visit every great spot on a single trip. Plus tons more. And there will be lots of opportunities to snorkel on sunny mid-days for those like me who wish to partake.
It is extremely likely that we will visit the incredible Darwin Bay and the equally incredible Hood Island, world home of Waved Albatross twice on our voyage. The National Park Service takes its sweet time in approving such schedule changes.
We will be the first boat on each island in the morning and the last boat to leave each island every afternoon. If we are blessed with overcast skies, we will often spend 5-6 hours at the best sites. And as noted above, mid-day snorkeling is an option on most sunny days depending on location and conditions. On the 2015 trip most snorkeled with a mega-pod of dolphins. I eased off the zodiac to find hundreds of dolphins swimming just below me. Note: some of the walks are a bit difficult but can be made by anyone if half way decent shape. Great images are possible on all landings with either a hand held 70-200mm lens and a 1.4X teleconverter or an 80- or 100-400. I sometimes bring a longer lens ashore depending on the landing. In 2017 I will be bring the Canon 400mm IS DO II lens. In the past I have brought either the 300mm f/2.8L IS II or the 200-400mm f/4 L IS with Internal Extender.
Do consider joining me for this once in a lifetime trip to the Galapagos archipelago. There simply is no finer Galapagos photography trip. Learn why above.
An Amazing Value…
Do know that there are one week Galapagos trips for $8500! Thus, our trip represents a tremendous value; why go all that way and miss half of the great photographic locations?
The Logistics
August 6, 2017: We arrive in Guayaquil, Ecuador a day early to ensure that we do not miss the boat in case of a travel delay.
August 7, 2017: There will be an introductory Galapagos Photography session and a hands on exposure session at our hotel.
August 8, 2017: We fly to the archipelago and board the Samba. Heck, on the 2015 trip some people made great images at the dock in Baltra while our luggage was being loaded!
August 22, 2017: We disembark late morning and fly back to Guayaquil midday; most will overnight there.
Most will fly home on the early morning of July 23 unless they are staying on or going elsewhere (or catching a red-eye flight on the evening of the 22nd).
$12,499 includes just about everything: all transfers, guide and park fees, all food on the boat, transfers and ground transportation, your flights to the archipelago, and three nights (double occupancy) in a top notch hotel in Guayaquil. If you are good to go, a non-refundable deposit of $5,000 per person is due immediately. The second payment of $4,000 is not due until 11/1/16. The final payment of $3449 per person will be due on 2/1/17. A $200 discount will be applied to each of the balances for couples or friends who register at the same time.
Purchasing travel insurance within 2 weeks of our cashing your deposit check is strongly recommended. On two fairly recent cruises a total of 5 folks were forced to cancel less than one week prior to the trip. My family and I use Travel Insurance Services and strongly recommend that you do the same.
Not included: your round trip airfare from your home to and from Guayaquil, beverages on the boat, phone calls, your meals in Guayaquil, personal items, and a $600/person cash tip for the crew and the guide—this works out to roughly $40/day to be shared by the 7 folks who will be waiting on us hand and foot every day for two weeks. The service is so wonderful that many folks choose to tip extra.
Please e-mail for the tentative itinerary or with questions. Please cut and paste “Galapagos 2017 Tentative Itinerary Please” into the Subject line.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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 🙂
We suffered from wind against sun conditions again on Thursday morning but yours truly found the only stellar situation for miles and put the whole group on a Common Tern nest with two tiny chicks. Boy, did we have fun. Images and the whole story coming soon.
I almost blew the streak as I thought that I had scheduled Thursday’s blog post in advance, but had not. I published it at about 10:30am to keep the streak alive.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 254 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
Photoshop World 2016 Conference Specials
Be sure to check out the B&H Photoshop World 2016 Conference specials here.
Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The active AF point fell on the center of the chick’s breast. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -5.
Image #1: Black Skimmer chick staring/6:21am
An Early Morning to Remember/17 Good Minutes
Southwest winds are common on the Long Island beaches in mid-summer. On clear mornings, they present a big problem for bird photographers: wind against sun conditions with the birds flying, landing, and facing into the wind and away from you and the light. On Wednesday morning, July 20, my wonderful IPT group and I were blessed with a gentle east wind and clear skies.
Week old Black Skimmer chicks will often run off if approached carelessly. I instructed the group to move slowly and get low and within minutes everyone was well within range. Folks with shorter focal lengths capture some wonderful images of the chicks interacting with one of the parent birds.
Why Hand Hold at 1200mm?
I quickly realized that I could get a lot closer to the chicks without having to lug around my cumbersome tripod. I knew that by getting flat on the ground I might have a chance to create a few sharp images that featured the gorgeous low perspective that always adds intimacy to your images. In addition, it would be easier to maneuver left or right as needed to stay on sun angle should a chick relocate or should I wish to photograph a different bird.
Dangerous Shutter Speed
In the low light of very early morning I did not get many sharp images when working at 1/200 second even though the lens hood was resting firmly on the ground. Why? Some were soft due to the fact that I was elevating the camera body a bit with my right hand; the rig was not as stable as it would have been on a tripod. And some were soft due to motion blur caused by the subject (rather than the lens) moving.
Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The active AF point fell just below and behind the base of the chick’s open bill. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -5.
Image #2: Black Skimmer chick begging/6:35am
Big Lens on the Ground Tips
To gain just a bit of elevation I built a small sand pile with my left hand. Then I rested the back of my left hand on the sand pile as it supported the lens. I had previously rotated the tripod collar so that the CR-X 5 Low Foot was on the bottom of the lens. This fave me an additional inch or so of elevation. As you can see by comparing Image #1 with Images #s 2 & 3 the 2 inches of extra height made a big difference in the look of the images. Why go for the extra height? To ensure getting over small mounds of sand that might be between you and the subject.
A Much Better Shutter Speed
As it got a bit brighter I dropped down from f/13 to f/11 and was able to get my shutter speed up to 1/500 sec. Even though I was still hand holding, my percentage of sharp images rose dramatically. Working at 1200mm while hand holding at 1/200 second is not an ideal situation.
Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The active AF point fell on the bend of the wing stub. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -5.
Image #3: Black Skimmer chick large in the frame/6:38am
Your Favorite?
Which of today’s three featured images is your favorite? Be sure to let us know why you made your choice. Do you like the lower perspective in Image #1 or the slightly higher perspective in Images #s 2 & 3? Do you think that Image #3 is too large in the frame?
Tame birds and wildlife. Incredible diversity. You only live once…
GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. August 8-22, 2017 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $12,499. Limit: 13 photographers plus the leader: yours truly. Openings: 4.
Same great trip; no price increase!
This trip needs nine to run; in the unlikely event that it does not, all payments to BAA will be refunded in full.
My two-week Galapagos Photo-Cruises are without equal. The world’s best guide, a killer itinerary, a great boat (the Samba), and two great leaders with ten Galapagos cruises under their belts. Pre-trip and pre-landing location-specific gear advice. In-the-field photo instruction and guidance. Jeez, I almost forgot: fine dining at sea!
The great spots that we will visit include Tower Island (including Prince Phillips Steps and Darwin Bay), Hood Island (including Punta Suarez, the world’s only nesting site of Waved Albatross, and Gardner Bay)—each of the preceding are world class wildlife photography designations that rank right up there with Antarctica, Africa, and Midway. We will also visit Fernandina, Puerto Ayora for the tortoises, Puerto Egas—James Bay, and North Seymour for nesting Blue-footed Boobies in most years, South Plaza for Land Iguanas, Floreana for Greater Flamingoes, and Urbina Bay, all spectacular in their own right. We visit every great spot on a single trip. Plus tons more. And there will be lots of opportunities to snorkel on sunny mid-days for those like me who wish to partake.
It is extremely likely that we will visit the incredible Darwin Bay and the equally incredible Hood Island, world home of Waved Albatross twice on our voyage. The National Park Service takes its sweet time in approving such schedule changes.
We will be the first boat on each island in the morning and the last boat to leave each island every afternoon. If we are blessed with overcast skies, we will often spend 5-6 hours at the best sites. And as noted above, mid-day snorkeling is an option on most sunny days depending on location and conditions. On the 2015 trip most snorkeled with a mega-pod of dolphins. I eased off the zodiac to find hundreds of dolphins swimming just below me. Note: some of the walks are a bit difficult but can be made by anyone if half way decent shape. Great images are possible on all landings with either a hand held 70-200mm lens and a 1.4X teleconverter or an 80- or 100-400. I sometimes bring a longer lens ashore depending on the landing. In 2017 I will be bring the Canon 400mm IS DO II lens. In the past I have brought either the 300mm f/2.8L IS II or the 200-400mm f/4 L IS with Internal Extender.
Do consider joining me for this once in a lifetime trip to the Galapagos archipelago. There simply is no finer Galapagos photography trip. Learn why above.
An Amazing Value…
Do know that there are one week Galapagos trips for $8500! Thus, our trip represents a tremendous value; why go all that way and miss half of the great photographic locations?
The Logistics
August 6, 2017: We arrive in Guayaquil, Ecuador a day early to ensure that we do not miss the boat in case of a travel delay.
August 7, 2017: There will be an introductory Galapagos Photography session and a hands on exposure session at our hotel.
August 8, 2017: We fly to the archipelago and board the Samba. Heck, on the 2015 trip some people made great images at the dock in Baltra while our luggage was being loaded!
August 22, 2017: We disembark late morning and fly back to Guayaquil midday; most will overnight there.
Most will fly home on the early morning of July 23 unless they are staying on or going elsewhere (or catching a red-eye flight on the evening of the 22nd).
$12,499 includes just about everything: all transfers, guide and park fees, all food on the boat, transfers and ground transportation, your flights to the archipelago, and three nights (double occupancy) in a top notch hotel in Guayaquil. If you are good to go, a non-refundable deposit of $5,000 per person is due immediately. The second payment of $4,000 is not due until 11/1/16. The final payment of $3449 per person will be due on 2/1/17. A $200 discount will be applied to each of the balances for couples or friends who register at the same time.
Purchasing travel insurance within 2 weeks of our cashing your deposit check is strongly recommended. On two fairly recent cruises a total of 5 folks were forced to cancel less than one week prior to the trip. My family and I use Travel Insurance Services and strongly recommend that you do the same.
Not included: your round trip airfare from your home to and from Guayaquil, beverages on the boat, phone calls, your meals in Guayaquil, personal items, and a $600/person cash tip for the crew and the guide—this works out to roughly $40/day to be shared by the 7 folks who will be waiting on us hand and foot every day for two weeks. The service is so wonderful that many folks choose to tip extra.
Please e-mail for the tentative itinerary or with questions. Please cut and paste “Galapagos 2017 Tentative Itinerary Please” into the Subject line.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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 🙂
Until Wednesday, we had been fighting west winds against sun every morning. But on July 20, we had the best of the best possible conditions–an east wind with clear skies. We did not get what I expected, but we enjoyed one of the best Nickerson mornings ever. Stay tuned for the whole story…
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 253 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
Photoshop World 2016 Conference Specials
Be sure to check out the B&H Photoshop World 2016 Conference specials here.
Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Shutter Button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding).
Black Skimmers/midair squabble (vertical crop from a horizontal original + tiny clipped feather repair)
400 DO II/1.4X III/1D X Mark II Hand Held Flight Photography–How Did the Old Man Do? Well, I’d Say…
Contrary to the popular opinion held by some, it is much easier to photograph most birds in flight, especially in erratic flight, with a hand held intermediate telephoto lens than it is with a tripod-mounted super-telephoto lens. It is easier to track the birds and easier to swing the lens, provided that you can comfortably hold the lens for extended periods without straining from the weight of the outfit. For me the 400 DO II/1.4X III/1D X Mark II is right on the borderline as far as weight is concerned. Using some of the tips that I learned from Jim Neiger’s Flight Plan: How to Photograph Birds in Flight have made the chore of hand holding borderline heavy rigs a bit easier.
Images and card copyright Arthur Morris/BEARS AS ART 🙂
2017 Bear Boat Coastal Brown Bear Cubs IPTs: July 18-24, 2017 from Kodiak, AK: 5 FULL & 2 Half DAYS: $6699. Happy campers only! Maximum 8/Openings 3.
Join us in spectacular Katmai National Park, AK for six days of photographing Coastal Brown Bears. Mid-July is prime time for making images of small, football-sized cubs. The cubs, and these dates, are so popular that we had to reserve them three years in advance to secure them. There are lots of bears each year in June, but the mothers only rarely risk bringing their tiny cubs out in the open for fear of predation by rival bears. In addition to making portraits of both adults and cubs, we hope to photograph frolicking and squabbling youngsters and tender nursing scenes. At this time of year the bears are either grazing in luxuriant grass or clamming. There will also be some two- and three-year old cubs to add to the fun. And we will get to photograph it all.
We live on our tour operator’s luxurious new boat. At 78 feet long its 24 foot beam makes it quite spacious as well. And the food is great. We will likely spend most of our time at famed Geographic Harbor as that is where the bears are generally concentrated in summer. On the odd chance that we do need to relocate to another location we can do so quickly and easily without having to venture into any potentially rough seas. We land via a 25 foot skiff that has lots of room for as much gear as you can carry.
Aside from the bears we should get to photograph Horned and Tufted Puffin and should get nice stuff on Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Harbor Seal, and Steller’s Sea Lion as well. A variety of tundra-nesting shorebirds including Western Sandpiper and both yellowlegs are also possible. Halibut fishing (license required/not included) is optional.
It is mandatory that you be in Kodiak no later than the late afternoon of July 17 to avoid missing the float planes to our boat on the morning of July 18. Again, with air travel in Alaska (or anywhere else for that matter) subject to possible delays, being on Kodiak on July 16 is a much better plan.
Barring any delays, we should get to photograph bears on our first afternoon and then again every day for the next five days after that, all weather permitting of course. On our last morning on the boat, July 24, those who would like to enjoy one last photo session will have the opportunity to do so. The group will return to Kodiak via float plane from late morning through midday. Most folks will then fly to Anchorage and to continue on red-eye flights to their home cities.
What’s included? 7 DAYS/6 NIGHTS on the boat as above. All meals on the boat. National Park and guide fees. In-the-field photo tips, instruction, and guidance. An insight into the mind of two top professionals; we will constantly let you know what we are thinking, what we are doing, and why we are doing it. Small group image review, image sharing, and informal Photoshop instruction on the boat.
What’s not included: Your round trip airfare to and from Kodiak, AK (almost surely through Anchorage). Your lodging and meals on Kodiak. The cost of the round-trip float plane to the boat and then back to Kodiak as above. The cost of a round trip last year was $550. The suggested crew tip of $200.
Have you ever walked with the bears?
Is this an expensive trip? Yes, of course. But with 5 full and two half days, a wealth of great subjects, and the fact that you will be walking with the bears just yards away (or less….), it will be one of the great natural history experiences of your life. Most folks who take part in a Bear Boat IPT wind up coming back for more.
A $2,000 per person non-refundable deposit by check only made out to “BIRDS AS ART” is required to hold your spot. Please click here to read our cancellation policies. Then please print, read, and sign the necessary paperwork here and send it to us by mail to PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855.
Your deposit is due when you sign up. That leaves a balance of $4699. The next payment of $2699 will be due on September 15, 2016. The final payment of $2000 is due on February 15, 2017. We hope that you can join us for what will be a wondrously exciting trip.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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’ve been blessed with a wonderful group of five easy-going photographers, all willing and eager and wanting to learn. As you will learn below, our first afternoon proved to be quite exciting. Tuesday morning was excellent as we worked on Black Skimmer chicks of various ages and fledged Common Tern chicks. We arrived at the beach very early, so early in fact that when we were done after 3 1/2 hours of pretty good photography, there were still photographers arriving… NG for them.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 252 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
Photoshop World 2016 Conference Specials
Be sure to check out the B&H Photoshop World 2016 Conference specials here.
This image was created on the first afternoon of the Nickerson Beach IPT by Elizabeth MacSwan (at risk of life and limb) with the hand held Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens (at 24mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/5.6. It was dark! AWB.
Fast moving thunderclouds
Image courtesy of and copyright 2016 Elizabeth MacSwan
If I’ve Said It Once, I’ve Said It a Thousand Times…
“If you opt to leave your 24-105mm lens in the car you will usually not get far before you are kicking yourself.”
The Nickerson Beach BAA IPT Gets Off With a Bang!
We had just gotten out to the beach when it became obvious that we were gonna get creamed by a big thunderstorm approaching rapidly from the west. Even though it had started to rain a bit, we tried to photograph some oystercatcher chicks. Within minutes however, we were rousted by one of the local beach police guys: “There is lightning in the area; everyone must get off the beach now!” As we headed north, I realized that we needed to get to shelter quickly so I led the group to the nearby beach club. Before we made it the wind was howling and it was pouring. We even enjoyed a bit of sleet. Everyone got soaked.
Once we got to safety, Bob DeCroce peeked around the end of the row of cabanas and noted that there was clearing to the west and that it was likely that the storm would pass us in short order. In the meantime, many in the group started to photograph this and that from under the sheltering roof of the row of cabanas. Elizabeth MacSwan, whose image is featured here, climbed up on a picnic table with her tripod-mounted 500 to photograph the gulls on the roof of the next row of little beach cabins. Will Shilling being quite a bit taller did the same simply by raising his tripod. Girl-Kerry Morris (no relation) photographed a neat looking wooden plaque that was painted like a US flag. And I photographed a tattered and wind-whipped stars and stripes at 1/30 second until it wrapped around the flagpole it hung from. Mike DeRosa, always thirsty for exposure lessons, did the same.
Within 15 minutes we were headed back to the beach where we had a good afternoon with skimmers in flight, some young Great Black-backed Gulls, and baby oystercatchers. We topped off our adventurous afternoon with a glorious sunset that was well photographed by the group with a variety of intermediate telephoto lenses with TCs.
It goes without saying, BTW, that my 24-105 was in the trunk of my car 🙁 Sometimes a guy never learns…
Images and card copyright Arthur Morris/BEARS AS ART 🙂
2017 Bear Boat Coastal Brown Bear Cubs IPTs: July 18-24, 2017 from Kodiak, AK: 5 FULL & 2 Half DAYS: $6699. Happy campers only! Maximum 8/Openings 3.
Join us in spectacular Katmai National Park, AK for six days of photographing Coastal Brown Bears. Mid-July is prime time for making images of small, football-sized cubs. The cubs, and these dates, are so popular that we had to reserve them three years in advance to secure them. There are lots of bears each year in June, but the mothers only rarely risk bringing their tiny cubs out in the open for fear of predation by rival bears. In addition to making portraits of both adults and cubs, we hope to photograph frolicking and squabbling youngsters and tender nursing scenes. At this time of year the bears are either grazing in luxuriant grass or clamming. There will also be some two- and three-year old cubs to add to the fun. And we will get to photograph it all.
We live on our tour operator’s luxurious new boat. At 78 feet long its 24 foot beam makes it quite spacious as well. And the food is great. We will likely spend most of our time at famed Geographic Harbor as that is where the bears are generally concentrated in summer. On the odd chance that we do need to relocate to another location we can do so quickly and easily without having to venture into any potentially rough seas. We land via a 25 foot skiff that has lots of room for as much gear as you can carry.
Aside from the bears we should get to photograph Horned and Tufted Puffin and should get nice stuff on Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Harbor Seal, and Steller’s Sea Lion as well. A variety of tundra-nesting shorebirds including Western Sandpiper and both yellowlegs are also possible. Halibut fishing (license required/not included) is optional.
It is mandatory that you be in Kodiak no later than the late afternoon of July 17 to avoid missing the float planes to our boat on the morning of July 18. Again, with air travel in Alaska (or anywhere else for that matter) subject to possible delays, being on Kodiak on July 16 is a much better plan.
Barring any delays, we should get to photograph bears on our first afternoon and then again every day for the next five days after that, all weather permitting of course. On our last morning on the boat, July 24, those who would like to enjoy one last photo session will have the opportunity to do so. The group will return to Kodiak via float plane from late morning through midday. Most folks will then fly to Anchorage and to continue on red-eye flights to their home cities.
What’s included? 7 DAYS/6 NIGHTS on the boat as above. All meals on the boat. National Park and guide fees. In-the-field photo tips, instruction, and guidance. An insight into the mind of two top professionals; we will constantly let you know what we are thinking, what we are doing, and why we are doing it. Small group image review, image sharing, and informal Photoshop instruction on the boat.
What’s not included: Your round trip airfare to and from Kodiak, AK (almost surely through Anchorage). Your lodging and meals on Kodiak. The cost of the round-trip float plane to the boat and then back to Kodiak as above. The cost of a round trip last year was $550. The suggested crew tip of $200.
Have you ever walked with the bears?
Is this an expensive trip? Yes, of course. But with 5 full and two half days, a wealth of great subjects, and the fact that you will be walking with the bears just yards away (or less….), it will be one of the great natural history experiences of your life. Most folks who take part in a Bear Boat IPT wind up coming back for more.
A $2,000 per person non-refundable deposit by check only made out to “BIRDS AS ART” is required to hold your spot. Please click here to read our cancellation policies. Then please print, read, and sign the necessary paperwork here and send it to us by mail to PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855.
Your deposit is due when you sign up. That leaves a balance of $4699. The next payment of $2699 will be due on September 15, 2016. The final payment of $2000 is due on February 15, 2017. We hope that you can join us for what will be a wondrously exciting trip.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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 🙂
On Monday morning I was joined by private clients Andrea Kipin Acera and her friend Kathy Sheeter, an incredibly talented scratchboard fine artist Cathy Sheeter (wwww.cathysheeter.com). We had some nice early color followed by a few clouds on the eastern horizon that soon gave way to wind against sun conditions. Bummer. So we went down to the surf and got lucky with some oystercatchers…
I met the IPT group at 3pm on Monday afternoon. Amazingly–on Sunday afternoon–Bob DeCroce of Cedar Knolls, NJ joined the IPT for three days. Turns out that he is a super nice guy.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 251 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
AI Servo Expand/Shutter button AF as described below.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: +5.
American Oystercatcher fledgling in surf in early morning light
I Guessed Wrong
I knew that with the baby oystercatcher relatively small in the frame that I had to guess which way it would look. I thought that it would look to my left so I picked a sensor on the right side of the frame. Wrong guess! He looked to my right–his left, so I was left short-sided with the bird on the wrong side of the frame looking out… The solution was a crop to a vertical from the horizontal original. With a nice sharp RAW file I was left with a high quality optimized TIFF that checked in as a high quality 50+ MB 8-bit flattened file. You gotta love the crop-ability of 5DS R files.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 251 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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 🙂
Sunday was another day of rest for me, getting ready for two private clients early on Monday morning. I meet the small Nickerson IPT group (only four) at 3pm that afternoon. Right now I am rooting for Phil Mickelson to win his second British Open gold tournament.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 250 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would 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. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the yellow-orange tab on the right side of the menu bar above.
Used Gear Sales Continue to be More Than Brisk!
Jonathan Ward sold his Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for $2,000 CAD in early July.
Long ago multiple IPT veteran Charles McRae sold his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS lens in good to very good condition in early July for a record low $4,199.
Walt Novinger sold his Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in very good plus condition for $3,899 in early June.
Jeffrey Fredberg sold his EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM L series lens in like-new condition for the record-low BAA price of $749 in late June.
Jim Burns sold his Canon 200-400mm F/4L IS zoom lens with Internal 1.4X Extender in brand new condition for the insane BAA record-low price of $8499 in late June.
Many multiple IPT veteran Monte Brown sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III (with the BG-E11 vertical battery grip) both in excellent condition for $1599 in early June.
Moody McCall sold his Canon 300mm F/2.8L IS II in excellent condition for $4199 in mid-June.
Long-ago IPT veteran Charles Sleicher sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in very good plus condition for $3400 in mid-June.
Top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III in absolute mint condition for $1599 in mid-June.
KW McCulloch sold his Canon EOS-1D X in excellent condition for $2459 in mid-June.
Many multiple IPT veteran Monte Brown sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III (with the BG-E11 vertical battery grip) both in excellent condition for $1599 in early June.
Les Greenberg sold his Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II lens in mint condition for $4499 in early June.
Top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens (the old five) in very good plus condition for a BAA record low price of $3699 in mid-June.
National Geographic shooter Tim Laman sold his Canon EOS-1D C in good condition for $2100 in early June. The 1D C is a 1D X with 4K video.
Andres Leon sold his Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens in very good plus condition for the full asking price of $7899 in early June.
IPT veteran Billy Wingfield sold his Canon EOS-1DX in excellent plus condition for $2400 in early June.
Multiple IPT veteran Larry Master sold his near-mint Canon EOS-1DX for $2800 in early June.
Moody McCall sold his Canon 100-400L IS USA lens in excellent condition for $599 in early June.
Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II USM Lens
Multiple IPT veteran Bill Lloyd is offering a used Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II USM lens in mint condition for $5,999. The sale includes the LensCoat that has been on it from day one, the front lens covers, the rear lens cap, the lens trunk, the lens strap, and insured ground shipping by major courier to US addresses only is also included. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangement are made.
I own the 400 DO II and find a way to take it on most trips. I brought it to Scotland. I have it at Nickerson Beach. And it serves as my big gun in the Galapagos and the Southern Ocean (the Falklands and South Georgia are both coming up). It is a killer for flight especially with a 1.4X III TC. And really skilled folks have had amazing success hand holding it with the 2X III TC for flight and for action. This lens is in high demand; it is the first of its kind that I have had the pleasure to list. artie
This image was created on the first morning of the 2016 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 286mm) and the a mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3.
Center AF point (Manual selection)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The selected and active AF point fell on the center and side of the bird’s upper breast below the neck and the base of the bill. Right on the same plane as the bird’s eye and face.. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Eurasian Starling fledgling on seawall
They’re Just Starlings–But Not on a BIRDS AS ART IPT…
When we got to the harbor I noticed a bunch of young starlings on the seawall behind the ticket booths. And I noticed right off the bat that the wind–soft from the south–would be perfect for creating portraits. After we paid for our full day boat trips our National Trust Membership stickers I grabbed a few slices of bread from the back of our van and invited everyone in the group to join me. Only a few did. I guess that they were thinking, “They’re just starlings; we came for puffins.”
Eager to photograph and eager to learn was participant Carlotta Grenier. She was equipped just as I was with the new 100-400 II and a 1DX Mark II. First we talked about working within 10-15 degrees of sun angle. Then we discussed exposure: “You want to be plus one or two thirds (while working in Manual mode) because the bird is a bit darker then the background. Don’t forget that when the sun it out the meter is pretty smart.”
Next we talked about perspective: “If you stand at full height you will likely have a somewhat boring blue water background. If you get down a bit, you can create a nice triangle background made up of the ocean and the distant shoreline–at this point I showed her today’s featured image on my rear LCD–If you get really low, you get a really blurred BKGR and you minimize the detail on the seawall.”
I checked out of few of her images on the back of the camera and noticed that her subjects were too centered. So I taught her how and why to select an off-centered AF point.
Finally I realized that Carlotta had been standing well back and asked her why. “I cannot focus any closer.” I knew immediately that she had the limit range switch set to 3 meters to infinity (correct for flight photography) rather than to Full. Once we set the switch correctly for close focusing work she stepped up and began to knock a few out of the park.
The Lessons
1-All birds are beautiful, even juvenile starlings.
2-Even the most common birds are great for practicing bird photography and for improving your skills.
3-Take advantage of every moment. Good advice for all bird photographers and a good guideline to follow when you are not photographing birds…
4-Being with an enthusiastic leader who truly loves birds can be a good advantage.
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 Monday July 10, 2017: $5999: Limit 10 photographers — Openings: 6). Two great leaders: Arthur Morris and BPN co-owner, BPN Photography Gear Forum Moderator, and long-time BAA Webmaster Peter Kes.
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. (We may opt to stay in Edinburgh on the night of July 11.) Price and details should be finalized at least six months before the trip but you will need to be a bit patient. It would be ideal if I can get all the work done by the end of September so that folks can arrange their flights then.
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.
This trip has sold out far in advance every year so do not tarry. I hope that you can join me.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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 93 year old Mom looks pretty darned good and is doing as well as can be expected. There is nothing wrong with her except that she is old. It takes a heroic effort for her to get from her chair to the bathroom or the kitchen or her bed. But she remains in good spirits.
I slept as well as I have in a while on Friday night at younger daughter Alissa’s home in Holbrook. On Saturday I watched lots of the British Open Golf, did some shopping at Whole Foods (aka “whole paycheck), got my Mom a dozen and a half Little-neck Clams on the half shell, and worked on this blog post. And enjoyed a nice swim in the community pool that was mercifully devoid of folks. Tomorrow the plan is to do a mile.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 249 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
This image was created on DAY 5 of the 2016 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT with the a Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R.. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at about +1 stop: as originally framed: 1/400 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. AWB.
One AF point up and two rows to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo/Spot AF (don’t ask me why…)/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
We landed on the back side of the morning island because of the height of the tide. Right off the bat we were presented with several close puffins, several of them with fish. It was easy to line them up with dark rock backgrounds. I have lots of pure black backgrounds but I liked this pose best. The whole group was lined up in shooting gallery fashion. After I while, I decided that I would like to photograph the same bird with a gray water background. What to do.
This image–of the same bird–was also created on DAY 5 of the 2016 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R.. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at about -2/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. AWB.
One AF point to the right and two rows up from the center AF point/AI Servo/Spot AF (don’t ask me why…)/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
To achieve the water background I simply walked to our right about 10 meters and photographed the bird from a bit head on. As the subject was a bit smaller in the frame I placed the bird more in the lower left corner. The huge 5DS R image files permitted me to crop to taste without sacrificing image quality.
Your Favorite?
Which of today’s featured image do you like best? Why?
Exposure Multiple Choice Quiz
The exposure for the two featured images was the same, 1/400 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Why?
a-the light was constant so the exposure on the bird was both correct and the same for each image.
b-when you are in Manual mode you do not have to worry about the effect of a light or dark background on the meter.
c-in heavy overcast conditions you do not have to worry about exposure changes due to working off angle to the light.
d-a, b, and c are all correct.
e-it was just a coincidence.
Related Exposure Questions
1- Why did the first image need about +1 stop Exposure Compensation (EC)?
2-Why did the second image require about -2/3 stop of EC?
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 Monday July 10, 2017: $5999: Limit 10 photographers — Openings: 6). Two great leaders: Arthur Morris and BPN co-owner, BPN Photography Gear Forum Moderator, and long-time BAA Webmaster Peter Kes.
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. (We may opt to stay in Edinburgh on the night of July 11.) Price and details should be finalized at least six months before the trip but you will need to be a bit patient. It would be ideal if I can get all the work done by the end of September so that folks can arrange their flights then.
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.
This trip has sold out far in advance every year so do not tarry. I hope that you can join me.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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 started this blog post on the way to Orlando Airport and finished it up on the flight to Islip. Best news: I got TSA-Pre!
Friday morning was one of those rare super-great ones. All the rest are usually just plain great. I felt very good and was sending out love to the universe and everyone in it. And everyone smiled back.
Flight was a breeze. Was met by my younger daughter Alissa who drove me to my Mom’s. It is just after 5pm and I am gonna hit the pool soon. No rest for the weary.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 248 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
I selected the AF point that was two up and one to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as originally framed. It fell on the edge of the left side of the upper breast of the front bird, just below the neck and right on the same plane as the eye of the rear bird–just as I planned it. AF was of course active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when the subject is moving). Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: +5.
Common Murres courting
Image Design Question
What would you say to someone who said, “I don’t like the image because you cut the wings of the rear bird”? In the same vein, what do you think of my crop? Be sure to compare the final crop above with full frame original image below as seen in either the DPP 4 screen capture and in the animated GIF.
DPP 4 Screen Capture
DPP 4 Screen Capture
Note here that I have moved the Shadow slider to +5 to open up the chocolate colored heads that looked black in the RAW file even though I had pushed the exposure far to the right. Heck, the first time I converted the image I did not notice that some of the WHITEs on the upper breast of the front bird were at 255, 255, 255. So I went back and reconverted after moving the Brightness slider to -.17 and moving the Highlight slider to -1. Be sure to check out the animated GIF below.
If you are converting in ACR and you open up the shadows as I did here, you will be introducing a ton of noise. Aside from more accurate color the ability to open up the shadows with high settings is one of the great advantages of converting in DPP 4. I did apply NeatImage as detailed in the The Professional Photographers’ Guide to Post Processing using Arash’s new numbers for luminance and chrominance noise reduction in the updated guide.
Again, be sure to check out the before and after animated GIF below to see the striking difference in the dark tones.
DPP 4 Shadow Slider Rocks!
See how beautifully +5 on the DPP 4 Shadow slider revealed the chocolate tones of the murre’s heads without introducing a ton of the noise that you would get with an ACR conversion.
Question for Eagled-eyed Readers
Aside from the crop and the opening up of the dark tones, can you spot the single structural change that I made to the image in Photoshop? It is a small one so you will need to carefully compare the original or the converted TIFF with the optimized version that opens this blog post…
You can order your copy of “The Photographers’ Guide to Canon Digital Photo Professional 4.0” (aka the DPP 4 Raw Conversion eGuide) by Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris by clicking here.
The DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide Updated
Thanks to lots of hard work by Arash Hazeghi, the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide has been updated. There were quite a few changes in the basic set-up and in the preferences in the latest version, 4.4.30.2 and Arash covered those in fine fashion. Most importantly, the Chrominance and Luminance NR value tables have been updated to include the 5DS (R) and the 1D X Mark II.
If you already own the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide, please click here to send Jim an email and be sure to cut and paste page 1 of the current guide or your receipt into the body of the e-mail to serve as proof of purchase. Your update will be sent from Hightail, so please watch for that.
Learn how and why I and many other discerning photographers choose and use only DPP 4 to convert their Canon RAW files in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly. The latest version supports all of the newer Canon camera bodies including the 5DS R and the 1DX Mark II as well as several older models including the EOS-7D and the EOS-1D Mark IV. The DPP IV Guide is the ideal companion to the 7D Mark II User’s Guide, a runaway best seller.
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 we are 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 we, 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 🙂
Thursday was clean-up and packing day. I fly to Long Island’s Islip airport on Friday afternoon for five weeks for the Nickerson IPT and to visit my Mom, my younger sister Arna, and my younger daughter Alissa and her family. A Mets game and Jersey Boys are on the schedule along with the two B&H Event Space programs.
This Just In
It is 9:38am on the way to the airport. It seems that lots of folks are loving this post. Be sure to read all the comments below along with my responses as I have already added lots of additional detail and explanations.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 247 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
Mr. Blue Eyes. Photo courtesy of and copyright 2015 Anita Sue South
Getting to Know Me…
I received the e-mail below on Wednesday
Dear BIRDS AS ART,
I am currently doing a school project on the life and works of Arthur Morris. I have found it very difficult to find out information about his early life including his childhood, his date of birth of and his education. I have tried really hard to locate this information without success. Could you please help me with my research so that I can complete project?
Your sincerely,
Georgia Lesurf, aged 13
London, England
My reply
Hi Georgia,
I was born in Brooklyn, NY on June 14, 1946. My Mom was and is Hazel Morris. She is still alive at age 93 and will soon be 94. I am going to visit her this coming Friday. My Dad, Private First Class Robert E. Morris, was a 100% disabled WWII veteran. After being hit repeatedly by machine gun fire (17 rounds!) from a plane, he lost his right arm on Okinawa and his left arm was hanging on by a thread. He recovered after 19 months in the hospital and many surgeries. He was a tough man and a tough father, rarely saying anything nice about or to me. But I eventually figured out that he did love me. He used to make me soft (not burned like my Mom did) French toast on the weekends and–in my early teens–took me to the luggage store where he worked for three decades on Saturdays around holiday time to help out. I loved that. By withholding praise he drove me to be a success at whatever I attempted be it bowling or golf or fishing or teaching elementary school in New York City or studying and photographing birds…
I had a happy childhood. When I was really little I loved playing in the dirt and rocks in front of my house with the painted lead soldiers that my Dad bought for me on occasion, usually when I was sick. I loved sports: stickball, basketball, softball, and a street game called slapball. In my early teens I became interested in bugs and butterflies and snakes and insects. But I never looked twice at a bird until I was 30 years old. I thought that bird watching was only for sissies. I had to give up basketball because of my bad left knee which is still hurting me a bit everyday and that is when I began watching birds.
I did well in elementary school until 6th grade when I had Mrs. McMenamin as a teacher. She was an anti-Semite; she did not like Jews. She was very tough on me calling my parents up to school most very week even though I was the same well-behaved child I had been for the first five years. I did well in Junior High School and had two great teachers, Harry Leinwand for Social Studies–he called himself “The King,” and Mel Agotta for Math. I went to a specialized High School, Brooklyn Technical High School which at that time was for boys only. My parents and grandparents wanted me to be an engineer. I was accepted to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), the two best engineering schools in the US. But I chose to attend Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute—the third best engineering school in the country–on a full scholarship so that I could still enjoy my Mom’s home cooking. The only problem was that I soon realized that I did not want to be a metallurgical or any other type of engineer. I sort of flunked out of Brooklyn Poly a result of joining a fraternity, learning to play poker and bridge, and cutting classes to play basketball. I transferred to Brooklyn College and became a Physical Education major.
In 1970 I got my first job in the NYC school system and taught gym in an elementary school in the ghetto for three years. Bored, I asked to be put into a regular classroom. I struggled mightily for seven years but eventually became a better sixth grade teacher then than I am a bird photographer today. Honest. After 23 years as a school teacher I retired young at age 46 to pursue my dream of becoming a full time nature photographer specializing in birds. Most everyone told me that there was no way that I could succeed. I thanked them for inspiring me and went on to prove them wrong in short order…
Good luck with your project. Let me know if you have any additional questions or if you need a few images. I would love to see the final result.
later and love, artie
Questions and Comments
Questions and comments on my early years are of course welcome.
The best way to get to know me is to join me on an IPT. See the complete schedule 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 🙂
Right now all things post-op are on hold. As I have shown some real improvement in the past two-three weeks we are gonna give it another six weeks or so. My next visit with Dr. Thill in Orlando will be on August 25, right after I get back from Long Island.
I prepared this post in about an hour on Tuesday.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 246 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Shutter Button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding).As I did not pan fast enough the selected sensor was on the center of the bird’s back. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Snowy Egret in flight in bright sun
How Difficult an Exposure is This?
Simple question. Answer soon. Is this a difficult exposure or an easy exposure? Either way, let us know why.
Note: my brightest WHITEs pre-conversion were right where I like them, in the 236-237 range. Bright white with detail.
The Image Optimization
After converting the image in DPP 4, I brought it into Photoshop. First I moved the pupil back in the iris using a small Quick Mask (gasp!) Next I selected the face and applied a Contrast Mask. Then I selected the whole bird and applied a layer of my NIK Color EFEX Pro 25/25 Detail Extractor/Tonal Contrast recipe. Even though I reduced the opacity to 50% I still had to paint the effect away on the darker white feathers to keep them from greying out. Then I moved the bird back in the frame and added canvas to the right as it had been too centered. I filled in the canvas with a stretch; the huge file size of 5DS R images makes that much more palatable than in the past.
Digital Basics
Everything detailed above is covered in detail in my Digital Basics File–written in my easy-to-follow, easy-to-understand style. Are you tired of making your images look worse in Photoshop? The Digital Basics File is an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, details on using all of my image clean-up tools, the use of Contrast Masks, several different ways of expanding and filling in canvas, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, Quick Masking, Layer Masking, and NIK Color EFEX Pro basics, the use of Contrast Masks, Digital Eye Doctor techniques, using Gaussian Blurs, Tim Grey Dodge and Burn technique, a variety of ways to make selections and expand canvas, how to create time-saving actions, and tons more.
You can order your copy of “The Photographers’ Guide to Canon Digital Photo Professional 4.0” (aka the DPP 4 Raw Conversion eGuide) by Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris by clicking here.
The DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide Updated
Thanks to lots of hard work by Arash Hazeghi, the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide has been updated. There were quite a few changes in the basic set-up and in the preferences in the latest version, 4.4.30.2 and Arash covered those in fine fashion. Most importantly, the Chrominance and Luminance NR value tables have been updated to include the 5DS (R) and the 1D X Mark II.
If you already own the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide, please click here to send Jim an email and be sure to cut and paste page 1 of the current guide or your receipt into the body of the e-mail to serve as proof of purchase. Your update will be sent from Hightail, so please watch for that.
Learn how and why I and many other discerning photographers choose and use only DPP 4 to convert their Canon RAW files in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly. The latest version supports all of the newer Canon camera bodies including the 5DS R and the 1DX Mark II as well as several older models including the EOS-7D and the EOS-1D Mark IV. The DPP IV Guide is the ideal companion to the 7D Mark II User’s Guide, a runaway best seller.
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 we are 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 we, 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 got lots done on Monday and enjoyed a 3/4-mile swim and an ice bath. It is Tuesday morning and heading up to my appointment with a top-notch Orlando urologist for a post-surgery follow-up–with the San Diego surgeon’s blessings.
I prepared this post in about one and one half hours over a two day period on Sunday and Monday.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, makes-no-sense, 246 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would 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. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the yellow-orange tab on the right side of the menu bar above.
Used Gear Sales Testimonial
Unsolicited, via e-mail, from top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener
The BAA Used Gear Page is the best place I’ve found for selling my used cameras and lenses.
I used eBay and Craigslist until I began checking in at BIRDS AS ART. I saw the gear listed for sale at BAA and it struck me that the people who visit the site are like me in some important ways. We own high quality, often expensive gear. It’s important to us, and we likely take care of it. In other words, a good market exists. And I noticed how Artie marketed each item. Informative, without too big a push. That’s why I decided to try BAA.
The process was easy. I clearly accepted the terms of sale, fully and fairly described what I was selling and the good and bad. I listed he stuff to be included with in the sale. Then Artie came back with what he thought was a fair price, leaving it to me to determine the balance between urgency of the sale and receiving a high price. I’ve followed his lead.
The responses I’ve received from potential buyers have been reassuring. Each has been well informed and courteous. They have not expected perfection, but have fully expected fairness and clarity. I’ve found that providing many photographs of what I’m selling is very helpful in the completing the various transactions.
I’m writing this because of how glad I am to find a place where there is a good market for what I want to sell and what I want to buy — I just tried to buy a 300mm f/2.8 II, but it has sold. The buyers and sellers are informed and fair-minded. And artie offers friendly and experienced advice. I’ve enjoyed the process. The BAA Used Gear page is the best experience I’ve had buying and selling gear.
Used Gear Sales Continue to be More Than Brisk!
Long ago multiple IPT veteran Charles McRae sold his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS lens in good to very good condition in early July for a record low $4,199.
Walt Novinger sold his Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in very good plus condition for $3,899 in early June.
Jeffrey Fredberg sold his EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM L series lens in like-new condition for the record-low BAA price of $749 in late June.
Jim Burns sold his Canon 200-400mm F/4L IS zoom lens with Internal 1.4X Extender in brand new condition for the insane BAA record-low price of $8499 in late June.
Many multiple IPT veteran Monte Brown sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III (with the BG-E11 vertical battery grip) both in excellent condition for $1599 in early June.
Moody McCall sold his Canon 300mm F/2.8L IS II in excellent condition for $4199 in mid-June.
Long-ago IPT veteran Charles Sleicher sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in very good plus condition for $3400 in mid-June.
Top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III in absolute mint condition for $1599 in mid-June.
KW McCulloch sold his Canon EOS-1D X in excellent condition for $2459 in mid-June.
Many multiple IPT veteran Monte Brown sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III (with the BG-E11 vertical battery grip) both in excellent condition for $1599 in early June.
Les Greenberg sold his Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II lens in mint condition for $4499 in early June.
Top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens (the old five) in very good plus condition for a BAA record low price of $3699 in mid-June.
National Geographic shooter Tim Laman sold his Canon EOS-1D C in good condition for $2100 in early June. The 1D C is a 1D X with 4K video.
Andres Leon sold his Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens in very good plus condition for the full asking price of $7899 in early June.
IPT veteran Billy Wingfield sold his Canon EOS-1DX in excellent plus condition for $2400 in early June.
Multiple IPT veteran Larry Master sold his near-mint Canon EOS-1DX for $2800 in early June.
Moody McCall sold his Canon 100-400L IS USA lens in excellent condition for $599 in early June.
Canon 300mm f/4L IS USM Lens
Tom Mast is offering a used Canon 300mm f/4L IS USM lens in excellent condition for $625. The sale includes the the front and rear lens caps, the tough fabric lens case, and the original equipment tripod collar, all packaged in the original box. Insured ground shipping by major courier to US addresses only is also included. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangement are made.
Please contact Tom via e-mail or by phone at 1-813-920-4592 (8am to 8pm Eastern time).
I owned and used this great lens for several years. It is a great flight lens and I always loved its close focusing abilities that made it great for flowers, frogs, and dragonflies. I firmly believe that it is a far better bird photography starter lens than my beloved old “toy lens,” the 400mm f/5.6L lens. Why? It is image stabilized and it does great with all AF points with a 1.4X TC. Grab this one while you can as the price is right. artie
Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens; With Extras!
Henry Raymundo is offering a used Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in excellent condition for $3999 with lots of extras: a Lens Coat, a Wimberley P-40 plate, and a 1.4X II teleconverter (the Extender EF 1.4X II in Canon parlance). The series II 1.4X is as sharp as the series III version and works perfectly with the older super-telephoto lenses. The version III TCs do communicate better AF-wise but only with the Series II super-telephotos… This sale also includes the lens trunk, the manual, the lens strap, the leather front cover, the rear lens cap, and insured ground shipping via major courier. See also item next for a complete kit. Your items will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangement are made.
Please contact Henry via e-mail or by phone at 1-(303) 880-0424 (Mountain time).
The 500 f/4 lenses have long offered the world’s most popular focal length for bird, wildlife, and nature photography. I have owned various iterations of this lens for more than 15 years. I loved my old five. With all the great extras, this is an astounding value. Grab it now or it will be gone. artie
Gitzo 1325 Tripod and Wimberley V-2 Head: super low price for the pair
Henry Raymundo is offering also offering a used Gitzo 1325 tripod and a Wimberley V-2 head both in very good to excellent condition for the silly low price of $699. The sale includes insured ground shipping via major courier. Your items will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangement are made.
Please contact Henry via e-mail or by phone at 1-(303) 880-0424 (Mountain time).
Canon 100-400mm IS L Zoom Lenses
Henry Raymundo is also offering two used Canon 100-400mm IS L Zoom lenses, one in excellent condition for $599, the other in very good plus condition for $549. Each sale includes the rear cap, the lens hood, the tough fabric carrying case, and insured ground shipping via major courier. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangement are made.
Please contact Henry via e-mail or by phone at 1-(303) 880-0424 (Mountain time).
I owned and used several 100-400 IS L lenses over the years and produced many hundreds of sale-able images along with a fw contest winners and book covers. The old 1-4 makes for a great and inexpensive starter lens for the fledgling bird photographer. artie
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens
Henry Raymundo is also offering a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM lens (not the white L version) for the ridiculous low price of $499. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps and insured ground shipping via major courier. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangement are made.
Please contact Henry via e-mail or by phone at 1-(303) 880-0424 (Mountain time).
Though I have never used this lens I do know that it would make and extremely versatile, lightweight, compact travel or B-roll lens for just about anyone. In a pinch it could serve as a starter bird photography lens for those who live near tame birds, in other words, for those who live in Florida. I know also that this is a great value as it is currently in production and sells new at B&H for $1,399. artie
Canon EOS 7D Camera Body
Henry Raymundo is also offering a Canon EOS 7D camera body in excellent condition for $399 with an extra battery. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the original CDs and cables, the battery charger, an extra battery (as noted above) and insured ground shipping via major courier. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangement are made.
Please contact Henry via e-mail or by phone at 1-(303) 880-0424 (Mountain time).
The original 7D digital camera body makes an ideal starter camera for someone just getting started with digital. Be sure to learn to expose to the right with this body (especially) to keep the small pixel noise to a minimum. artie
B&H August 11, 2016 Event Space Programs
On Thursday, August 11, 2016, I will be presenting two free programs at the B&H Event Space as below. If you would like to attend, it would be best to register asap as both programs have begun filling nicely.
Using Teleconverters with Intermediate and Super Telephotos Lenses: 1:00 to 2:30pm
The word on the street is that you simply cannot make sharp images with teleconverters (TCs) especially with the doublers. Nothing could be further from the truth. With some practice and good sharpness techniques you can learn to use TCs effectively to photograph small, distant, or shy subjects.
Teleconverters or multipliers come in a variety of strengths, most usually 1.4X and 2X. Nikon also offers a 1.7X TCE. Each will multiply your effective focal length by the factor in its name. A 1.4X TC will make your 400mm lens into a 640mm lens. A doubler, aka a 2X TC, will enable your 600mm lens to give you 1200mm of reach.
In this program, Arthur Morris, internationally noted bird photographer and educator, will share the tips, techniques, and secrets that he has developed and used for more than three decades so that you too can use teleconverters to improve your photography. This program will be illustrated with Artie’s spectacular images of birds, wildlife, flowers, and even a few unexpected subjects.
Putting Art into Your Nature Photography: 3:00 to 4:30pm
With today’s amazing photographic gear that includes camera bodies with surreal autofocus that can routinely produce superb image files in the right hands and fast, sharp lenses (including and especially the amazing super-telephotos) creating images of various birds, animals, flowers, and landscapes, is pretty much child’s play. Anyone can do it. In this program, Arthur Morris, internationally noted bird photographer and educator, will teach you to take your images to the next level. You will learn to identify good situations, to create pleasing backgrounds, to photograph action and behavior, to choose the best perspective, to read and use the light, when and how to create pleasing blurs, and how to consistently create dramatic, evocative images with contest-winning potential.
This program will be illustrated with several hundred of Artie’s spectacular images, many published around the world above his most fitting credit line: BIRDS AS ART.
This in-camera Art Vivid image was created on the last afternoon of the second Palouse IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Induro ballhead-mounted Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens (at 8mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R . ISO 400. Evaluative metering +/-3 stops around a base exposure of -1 stop with a base exposure of 1/250 sec. at f/5.6 in Av mode. WB = 5500K. Live View with 2-second timer.
Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Old, small garage in the Palouse
28 Inches Would Have Been a Lot Better…
In the How Boredom Led me to Photograph a Small Garage from 26 inches away and include the whole building… blog post here, I asked:
How would moving the tripod back 2 inches have helped me to create a better image?
Most folks were 100% grasping at straws. Only multiple IPT veteran Bill Lloyd (WTlloyd) came close when he left the following comment:
Stepping back would have allowed you to crop away the lens vignette, particularly noticeable in the sky.
Actually, I am pretty sure that the problem along the edge of the sky is the chromatic aberration (CA) that is part of the package that you often get when using the circle lens. And yes, moving back two inches would have allowed me to crop out the CA while winding up with the same framing.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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 🙂
On Sunday I did lots of work getting ready for my Falklands South Georgia pre-trip and continued enjoying my personal Chopped Marathon via TIVO… I swam a slow mile–88 lengths of my Digital Basics lap pool.
I was glad to learn on Sunday that Chas Mc Rae’s old Canon 600mm (finally) sold. I suggested last week that Chas lower his price a bit. He did, and it worked to perfection.
I prepared this post in about two hours on Monday morning.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, makes-no-sense, 245 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
This in-camera HDR Art Vivid image was created on the Palouse IPT at an old round barn that held innumerable treasures. I used the Induro GIT 304L/ Induro BHM-2 ballhead mounted Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens (at 73mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. I used the Wimberley P-5 camera body plate to mount the camera on the BHM-2 ballhead. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +/-2 stops around a base exposure of +1/3 stop: 1/160 sec. at f/10 in Av mode. WB = 5000K. Live View with 2-second timer as usual.
Flexi-Zone single/Rear Focus AF was used.The big square was on the emblem. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Image #1: Door of old truck
Similar Color Tones and Strikingly Different Images
I noticed well after the fact that today’s featured images feature quite similar color tones but that the subject matter of the two photographs could not have been more different. The strange thing is that both the seemingly natural rolling fields in Image #2 and the truck door in Image #1 are actually both manmade…
Your Favorite?
Which of today’s two images do you like best? Either way, be sure to let us know why you made your choice.
Image #2: Rolling hills with the sun just on the horizon…
Center AF Point (Manual selection)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF and re-compose. I focused on one of the ridgelines just this side of halfway into the frame. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Messing Around in Photoshop Pays Off!
The colors in the RAW file for Image #2 were quite flat and uniform, basically a red-orange. I am not sure how I wound up in Flash WB but the color in the RAW file was exactly as I remembered it. I did, however, want to boost the contrast and find out if the color tones were not quite as uniform as they seemed. After the RAW conversion in DPP 4 I brought the image into Photoshop and opened a Curves Adjustment layer.
There, I decided to try the various items in the drop-down Preset menu. The first, Color Negative (RGB) was interesting; it turned the image various shades of a lovely blue. I clicked on the second item, Cross Process (RGB) and as soon as the image rendered, I said, “Bingo!” It had increased the contrast and introduced a beautiful color gradient from the dark red-orange foreground to the yellowish/orange almost golden tones at the top of the frame. Before I clicked on Cross Process (RGB) I had never even heard of it. But I will not soon forget it.
I learned 99.9% of what I know about Photoshop from various friends, professional colleagues, and students over the past 15 years so it feels great when I come up with something new on my own…
Pronunciation Question Answered
Q: Is it turbines with the second syllable sounding like “bins or with the second syllable rhyming with “signs?”
A: Though the long I version (turbines–second syllable rhymes with signs) is preferred in the UK, either pronunciation is acceptable in the US (according to several online dictionaries…)
Palouse 2016 Horizontals Card
Why Different?
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 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.
This trip will run with one participant.
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 12/Openings: 11.
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 a friend, 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 our 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 we are 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 we, 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 got some BAA work done and spent a lot of time on BPN on Saturday as my jet-lag continued to improve. On the recently concluded 2016 Puffins and Gannets IPT long-time friend and client Mike (Mikeegee) Goldhamer was back for a second go-round. And yesterday, I learned that George Golumbeski who was also on the first puffin IPT, will be joining me in 2017 for a second shot at the puffins and gannets.
I prepared this blog post in about 90 minutes on Sunday morning.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, unbelievable, incomprehensible, makes-no-sense, 244 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
This image was created on the puffin boat as we headed back to the harbor at Seahouses on July 2, Day 5 of the 2016 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. I used the hand held Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens (at 105mm) and the fast, rugged, professional Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB c-Fast Card and Reader. ISO 800. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop in Av mode: 1/2000 sec. at f/7.1. AWB.
Center AF point/AI Servo Spot AF/Rear Focus AF on the horizon and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Herring Gull flying under rainbow
Serendipitous Gull-bow and the Singh-Ray 77mm Warming Polarizer…
“Rainbow” was the call, off of the port side of the boat that had carried us to the puffins, Arctic Terns, murres, Razorbills, and Black-headed Gulls. I grabbed my most accessible camera body, the 1DX II, got my 24-105 and the Singh-Ray 77mm Warming Circular Polarizer from my Xtrahand Vest, and spun the polarizer to dark. Then I went to work. I started wide at about 28mm and was surprised that I was able to get the whole rainbow into the frame. As the central part of the rainbow began to fade, it became evident that the section of the rainbow on our right was the brighter side so I zoomed in to 105mm. In both cases I rear focused on the horizon and re-composed upwards. As the boat was moving parallel to the rainbow and the distance was great, I was not worried about any focusing accuracy problems; I had a ton of depth-of-field. When I saw the gull flying towards the boat in the perfect position under the rainbow I held the shutter button down for about ten frames. The best wing position was the one in today’s featured image.
Singh-Ray Filters
Singh-Ray filters have been used by the world’s top photographers for many decades. I always have my 77mm Singh-Ray Warming Polarizer in the upper left pocket of my Xrtrahand vest where I can grab it quickly in case of a rainbow; they are few and far between… I also used my 5-stop 77mm ND to do some diving gannet videos; it enabled me to work with wide apertures to minimize dust spotting.
No other filter manufacturer comes close to matching the quality of Singh-Ray’s optical glass that is comparable to that used by NASA. And they continue to pioneer the most innovative products on the market like their ColorCombo polarizer, Vari-ND variable and Mor-Slo 15-stop neutral density filters. When you use their filters, you’ll create better, more dramatic images and, unlike other filters, with absolutely no sacrifice in image quality. All Singh-Ray filters are handcrafted in the USA.
Best News: 10% Discount/Code at checkout: artie10
To shop for a Singh-Ray 5-Stop Mor-Slo Filter (for example), click on the logo link above, click on “Neutral and color
Solid Neutral Density Filters (glass), then click on “Mor-Slo™ 5, 10, 15 and 20-Stop Solid Neutral Density Filters (glass),” choose the size and model, add to cart, and then checkout. At checkout, type artie10 into the “Have a coupon? Click here to enter your code” box, and a healthy 10% discount will be applied to your total. In addition to enjoying the world’s best filter at 10% off you will be supporting my efforts here on the blog.
Xtrahand Vest
On the 2016 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT, my Xtrahand Vest proved to be incredibly valuable on the two island landings each day. It enabled me to bring a ton of extra gear every day along with extra clothing, my lunch, lots of water, and my insulin and needles. I use a custom-designed Magnum Vest that John Storrie knows as the BIRDS AS ART Big Lens Vest. It is based on their Magnum vest. 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 info. See especially the blog posts here and here.
Once you call John you can discuss customizing your vest. Be sure to have a tape measure in hand. Please let him know that BAA sent you.
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 Monday July 10, 2017: $5999: Limit 10 photographers — Openings: 6). Two great leaders: Arthur Morris and BPN co-owner, BPN Photography Gear Forum Moderator, and long-time BAA Webmaster Peter Kes.
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. (We may opt to stay in Edinburgh on the night of July 11.) Price and details should be finalized at least six months before the trip but you will need to be a bit patient. It would be ideal if I can get all the work done by the end of September so that folks can arrange their flights then.
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.
This trip has sold out far in advance every year so do not tarry. I hope that you can join me.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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 did a bit better with the jet lag on Friday but still crashed on the couch at 7:30pm after a day that included two one hour naps and a great swim. I was up and working at 3:30am on Saturday. This blog post was prepared early that morning in about 2 1/2 hours.
With five folks signed up for the 2017 Japan in Winter IPT spots are fast becoming scarce, especially for a couple; scroll down for info on this amazing trip.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, makes-no-sense, 243 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
This image was created on the 2016 Japan in Winter IPT with the hand held Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops off the grey sky: 1/800 sec. at f/4. Shade WB.
Center AF point (manual selection)/AI Servo Expand/Shutter Button AF as framed was originally framed was of course active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The active AF point was on the bird’s neck. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Whooper Swam: incoming flight. Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan
The 400 DO II/5DS R Combo
The 400 DO II/5DS R combo was the perfect hand holdable flight lens for the Japan in Winter IPT for the Whooper Swans, for the raptors at the Akan Crane Center, and for the Steller’s Sea-eagles in Rausu. And there were times when it sufficed for the Red-crowned Cranes as well. The 5DS R offers superb AI Servo AF with fast initial focusing acquisition and accurate tracking. And the huge, high quality image files allow for significant cropping.
The Image Optimization
After converting this image in DPP 4 I brought it into Photoshop and cropped from all four sides for composition. The optimized TIFF represented 64% of the original pixels and yielded an impressive high quality 92mb 8-bit file. The wing of an extraneous swan in the upper right corner was covered with a series of Quick Masks that were refined by Layer Masks and eliminated with the Clone Stamp Tool. To smooth things out I applied a 70 pixel Gaussian Blur to a duplicate layer of the whole image and then used a Hide-all (or Inverse) Layer Mask so that I was able to paint the effect in as needed. On the sky I used a white brush at 100% and on the lower background at about 50%.
I applied my 25/25 NIK Color EFEX Pro Detail Extractor/Tonal Contrast recipe to the bird only after it was selected with the Quick Selection Tool and placed on its own layer. I saved the feathered selection so that I was able to apply NeatImage noise reduction separately to the Background and the subject as detailed in the The Professional Photographers’ Guide to Post-Processing by Arash Hazaghi with Arthur Morris.
Critique This Image
What do you like? What don’t you like? How might it have been improved?
Digital Basics
Everything detailed above is covered in detail in my Digital Basics File–written in my easy-to-follow, easy-to-understand style. Are you tired of making your images look worse in Photoshop? The Digital Basics File is an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, details on using all of my image clean-up tools, the use of Contrast Masks, several different ways of expanding and filling in canvas, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, Quick Masking, Layer Masking, and NIK Color Efex Pro basics, the use of Contrast Masks, Digital Eye Doctor techniques, using Gaussian Blurs, Tim Grey Dodge and Burn technique, a variety of ways to make selections and expand canvas, how to create time-saving actions, and tons more.
You can order your copy of “The Photographers’ Guide to Canon Digital Photo Professional 4.0” (aka the DPP 4 Raw Conversion eGuide) by Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris by clicking here.
The DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide Updated
Thanks to lots of hard work by Arash Hazeghi, the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide has been updated. There were quite a few changes in the basic set-up and in the preferences in the latest version, 4.4.30.2 and Arash covered those in fine fashion. Most importantly, the Chrominance and Luminance NR value tables have been updated to include the 5DS (R) and the 1D X Mark II.
If you already own the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide, please click here to send Jim an email and be sure to cut and paste page 1 of the current guide or your receipt into the body of the e-mail to serve as proof of purchase. Your update will be sent from Hightail, so please watch for that.
Learn how and why I and many other discerning photographers choose and use only DPP 4 to convert their Canon RAW files in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly. The latest version supports all of the newer Canon camera bodies and several older models including the EOS-7D and the EOS-1D Mark IV. The DPP IV Guide is the ideal companion to the 7D Mark II User’s Guide, a runaway best seller.
If you are ever at all concerned with noise in your optimized images this new e-guide will astound you.
The Professional Photographers’ Guide to Post-Processing: $48.
Your e-book (11mb) will be delivered either by e-mail or by Hightail (for download).
Arash’s Take on the guide…
In recent years, advances in CMOS image sensor technology have enabled DSLR cameras to capture detailed, high-quality images at very high ISO settings; this has taken low-light and action photography to a whole new level. To make the most out of your camera’s high ISO performance, proper post-processing, including advanced noise reduction and efficient sharpening, is essential. The first step in effective post-processing is executing an optimal RAW conversion that produces a TIFF file that is clean, free of artifacts, and detailed, without too much sharpening or strong noise reduction. For Canon users, we recommend converting your RAW images in Canon Digital Photo Professional 4 (DPP 4). We cover exactly how to do that in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide. This new supplemental guide deals with the post-RAW conversion processing of your TIFF files for final presentation.
In order to use this guide, you need Adobe Photoshop (CS4 or later) as well as the Neat Image noise reduction plugin for Photoshop. This plugin can be downloaded here. We recommend the pro version. You will need an up-to-date PC or Mac computer to process your files. A modern quad-core processor (Intel i7 or Xeon) with at least 16GB of RAM and a fast SSD drive for running Photoshop is recommended. It is best to do your image processing on a high quality IPS LCD panel capable of displaying Adobe RGB color gamut. We recommend calibrating your screen using a hardware color calibration solution such as Spyder or Xrite. The consumer LCD screens used in many laptops and low-end desktops suffer from poor contrast ratios and a limited color gamut. Images processed on inferior screens may appear noisy, too dark, too bright, or unsharp. And they will often show a color cast when viewed on a high quality monitor that has been properly calibrated.
Artie’s Take on the guide…
This guide is for serious photographers who wish to maximize the quality of their optimized, noise reduced files and who want to learn to sharpen their images after they are sized for a final usage. The emphasis is on sharpening for electronic presentation. The guide includes the brilliant techniques that Arash developed for applying just the right amount of NR to the subject (while retaining all the fine detail) and then applying a lot more NR to the background where it is almost always needed. His efforts were refined by Arthur Morris to ensure that the guide is clear, concise, easy-to-read, and easy to-easy-to-follow; artie’s great strength is his how-to writing. He has used Arash’s brilliant NR and sharpening techniques on his 15 inch Macbook Pro with Retina Display with great success.
The entire guide is based on the remarkable Pro Version of NeatImage. Only the Pro Version supports 16-bit files. This Photoshop Plug-in requires a separate $79.95 purchase. Why NeatImage when there are so many other Noise Reduction programs available?
When someone asked about Topaz Denoise on the blog I got in touch with Arash. here was his response:
I asked Arash about Topaz Denoise. Here is his response:
It cannot calibrate the noise levels. I tried it. It was garbage.
Best
Arash Hazeghi Ph.D.
To which I added:
In the guide, we teach folks to calibrate noise levels for an image or series of images. As an option, also covered in the guide, we teach you to create a Noise Profile for each ISO with a given camera by photographing a NeatImage calibration target.
Arash continued the next day; this published here for the first time:
Here is a more elaborate answer. A preset is a “one size fit all” solution; it is not the same as a calibration. If you look carefully through your images you will find that the ISO value used and the amount of visible noise in the image aren’t always correlated. An image at ISO 400 can look noisier than an image taken at ISO 3200. Many factors other than the ISO determine the amount of visible noise in an image. Two images taken at the same ISO may require significantly different amounts of NR. Furthermore, different areas of the same image often require different amounts of noise reduction.
The presets are made by looking at the noise characteristics of a flat neutral or 18% grey target with no detail. They don’t include shadows, highlights, grain size, or the possibility of the effects of post-capture exposure boosts. (In other words, images made at a given ISO that are lightened during or after conversion will always exhibit more noise than properly exposed images.) The presets are often made using in-camera JPEGs that have been already noise-reduced, sharpened, and compressed thus smearing (destroying) the fine feather detail. Sometimes they are made from ACR RAW conversions that are vastly inferior as compared to properly executed DPP 4 RAW conversions.
A calibrated noise profile is created for each image in its present form independent of the ISO value, the exposure levels, or the RAW convertor. It makes no assumptions. NeatImage NR calibrations can be compared to purchasing a hand-crafted, custom-tailored suit versus buying a suit off the rack at WalMart. In engineering terms, NeatImage calculates the noise spectrum for each image and then with proper adjustment attenuates only the frequencies that don’t overlap with the detail. Other NR tools like Topaz, Nik etc. apply constant attenuation regardless of what the spectrum looks like. Try the guide and see for yourself.
You can learn more about NeatImage or purchase a copy here.
Consider joining me in Japan in February, 2017, for the world’s best Japan in Winter workshop. Click on the card to enjoy the spectacular larger version.
Japan In Winter IPT. February 9-24, 2017: $11,499 (was $13,999)/double occupancy. Limit 8/Openings: 3.
Price Reduced $2,500 on 3-8-16!
All lodging including the Tokyo hotel on 9 FEB, all breakfasts & dinners, ground transport and transfers including bus to the monkey park hotel, and all entrance fees and in-country flights are included. Not included: international flights, all lunches–most are on the run, and alcoholic beverages.
Please e-mail for couple and IPT repeat customer discount information.
This trip is one day longer than the great 2014 trip to allow for more flexibility, more time with the cranes, and most importantly, more time for landscape photography. Hokkaido is gorgeous. You will enjoy tons of pre-trip planning and gear advice, in-the-field instruction and guidance, at-the-lodge Photoshop and image review sessions in addition to short introductory slide programs for each of the amazing locations. Skilled photographer Paul McKenzie handles the logistics and we enjoy the services of Japan’s best wildlife photography guide whom I affectionately call “Hokkaido Bear.” His network of local contacts and his knowledge of the weather, the area, and the birds is unparalleled and enables him to have us in the best location every day.
Arrive Tokyo: 9 FEB 2017 the latest. 8 FEB is safer and gives you a day to get acclimated to the time change. Your hotel room for the night of the 9th is covered.
Bus Travel to Monkey Park Hotel: 10 FEB: A 1/2 DAY of monkey photography is likely depending on our travel time… This traditional hotel is first class all the way. Our stay includes three ten course Japanese dinners; these sumptuous meals will astound you and delight your taste buds. There are many traditional hot springs mineral baths (onsens) on site in this 150 year old hotel.
Full Day snow monkeys: FEB 11.
Full Day snow monkeys: FEB 12.
13 FEB: Full travel day to Hokkaido/arrive at our lodge in the late afternoon. The lodge is wonderful. All the rooms at the lodge have beds. Bring your warm pajamas. A local onsen (hot springs bath and tubs) is available for $5 each day before dinner–when you are cold, it is the best thing since sliced bread. The home-cooked Japanese styles meals at the lodge are to die for. What’s the best news? Only a small stand of woods separates us from the very best crane sanctuary. During one big snowstorm we were the only photo group to be able to get to Tsurui Ito; we had the whole place to ourselves in perfect conditions for crane photography!
FEB 14-23: Red-crowned Crane, raptors in flight, Whooper Swans, and scenic photography. Ural Owl possible. An overnight trip to Rausu for Steller’s Sea Eagle and White-tailed Eagle photography on the tourists boats is 100% dependent on the weather, road, and sea ice conditions. Only our trip offers complete flexibility in this area. It has saved us on more than once occasion. The cost of 2 eagle-boat trips is included. If the group would like to do more than two boat trips and we all agree, there will be an additional charge for the extra trip or trips. No matter the sea ice conditions, we will do two eagle boat trips (as long as we can make the drive to Rausu; it snows a lot up there). We have never been shut out.In 2016 there was no sea ice but our guide arranged for two amazingly productive boat trips.
Lodging notes: bring your long johns for sleeping in the lodge. At the Snow Monkey Park, and in Rausu, the hotel the rooms are Japanese-style. You sleep on comfortable mats on the floor. Wi-fi is available every day of the trip.
FEB 24. Fly back to Tokyo for transfer to your airport if you are flying home that night, or, to your hotel if you are overnighting. If you need to overnight, the cost of that room is on you.
Life is short. Hop on the merry-go-round.
To Sign Up
To save your spot, please send your $5,000 non-refundable deposit check made out to “Birds as Art” to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. I do hope that you can join me for this trip of a lifetime. Do e-mail with any questions or give me a buzz at 863-692-0906.
Purchasing travel insurance within 2 weeks of our cashing your deposit check is strongly recommended. On two fairly recent Galapagos cruises a total of 5 folks were forced to cancel less than one week prior to the trip. My family and I use Travel Insurance Services and strongly recommend that you do the same.
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 🙂
Welcome to jet-lag city/IPT/travel exhaustion; on Thursday I took nice swim along with two 2 1/2 hour naps–one in the morning and another in the late afternoon. For the rest of the day I pretty much sat on the couch like a zombie watching OJ in America and UFC stuff on TIVO. I was in bed by 10:30pm and up and at ’em at 2:30am (7:30am in the UK).
This blog post took nearly 3 hours to prepare.
So you wanna be a professional photographer/educational blogger/tour leader? Heck, it is still a great life and I would not change it for anything.
BAA Bulletin #481
Three great new gannet flight images including a killer 5DS R Vertical
BAA Bulletin #481 is online and can be accessed here.
Don’t Faint!
Your Very Last Chance to join the Nickerson Beach IPT
The Gannet Boat Slaughter
The 5DS R versus the 1DX Mark II for hand held flight photography…
A Big 5DS R Advantage
Sitting Down on the Job
The 2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT
Used Photo Gear Sales Hot!
The Blog is the Bomb!
My latest e-book birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100
Your Help Needed and Appreciated/Affiliate Stuff
DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide Kudos
Vie e-mail from Steven Swart
I live in sunny South Africa where the crime rate is high and the value of our currency is low. I normally take my pictures around the Cape Town wetlands and in our national parks. I use the Canon EOS 7D Mark II and the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. Last night, after I downloaded DPP 4 and followed the instructions in your and Arash’s e-book, I was astounded by the differences. When I used Camera Raw my captures were not sharp and the colors were very bland. After I did my first conversion I was totally stunned! The detail and quality were superb, and the colors accurate! I really did not expect this at all. This guide is worth every penny. It’s as if I made a massive upgrade by buying a new lens or a new camera. Best of all, I am sure that I will get better with practice.
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, makes-no-sense, 242 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
Center AF point(manual selection)/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The selected AF point was on the edge of the wing between the open bill of the primary subject. Click on the image to see a larger version.
As noted previously the action on the gannet boat was non-stop and the weather was superb: rain on the way out, then cloudy, then heavy rain on the way back. What the image in the Gannet Fireworks: One afternoon, five photographers, more than 12,000 images in just two hours…here did not show, was that isolating a single bird was a problem. There were literally hundreds of gannets circling the boat diving for the fish tossed by the mate. Four boxes worth.
Scroll down to the see the original image capture and learn about the image optimization.
Image #2: the original via a DPP 4 screen capture
The DPP 4 Screen Capture
In the DPP 4 screen capture above you can see the active focusing point as described in the caption for Image #1. You can see what a proper histogram looks like on a cloudy day. And you can see that I pulled the dot in the Fine Tune box to the right (toward the warmer colors) to eliminate some of the BLUE tones that are always present on cloudy days. I used the noise reduction values for the 1D XII from the most recent update of the RAW Conversion Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly. Now that Arash has updated the Luminance and Chrominance noise reduction tables to include both the 5DS R and the 1DX II I have been creating and saving the recipes for each of these cameras at the various ISOs. By creating a recipe for each camera at each ISO I cut my time in DPP 4 by at least 50%. I have been promising a tutorial on how to create and save these recipes for some time now and promise to get it done when I am on Long Island after the Nickerson Beach IPT. With all the WHITEs and so little BLACK in this image, NeatImage NR was not needed.
The Image Optimization
A close look at the original image will reveal that I eliminated at least 11 birds or parts of birds–one gull and the rest gannets–to bring some order to the chaos. I do realize that some folks would consider this criminal and that others might feel that the more cluttered original would have been a better choice to make my point. Some might even prefer an optimized version of the original capture. But I am the artist here and the original was far to cluttered and chaotic for my tastes.
Since this is a photo illustration I toyed with the idea of moving the main gannet up a bit… But after doing just that, I went back in the History palette and left it where it started.
After the RAW conversion in DPP 4 I brought the image into Photoshop and used lots of Quick Masks refined by Regular Layer Masks to cover many of the birds. I also employed the Clone Stamp Tool as well as Divide and Conquer and protective cloning on a layer techniques for the clean-up. I selected, feathered and saved the head of the main subject and ran my 25/25 NIK CEP Detail Extractor/Tonal Contrast recipe on that layer. Then I merged that layer, duplicated a new layer (Cntrl + J), loaded the selection of the head, and applied a Contrast Mask. Then, on the same layer, I made a Curves adjustment (Cntrl + M) by pinning the whites and pulling up the darker tones of the fill and open mouth).
Would You Move the Main Subject Up a Bit?
Do you think that I should have moved the main subject gannet up in the frame a bit? Why or why not? If yes, how?
Digital Basics
Everything detailed above is covered in detail in my Digital Basics File–written in my easy-to-follow, easy-to-understand style. Are you tired of making your images look worse in Photoshop? The Digital Basics File is an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, details on using all of my image clean-up tools, the use of Contrast Masks, several different ways of expanding and filling in canvas, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, Quick Masking, Layer Masking, and NIK Color Efex Pro basics, the use of Contrast Masks, Digital Eye Doctor techniques, using Gaussian Blurs, Tim Grey Dodge and Burn technique, a variety of ways to make selections and expand canvas, how to create time-saving actions, and tons more.
You can order your copy of “The Photographers’ Guide to Canon Digital Photo Professional 4.0” (aka the DPP 4 Raw Conversion eGuide) by Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris by clicking here.
The DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide Updated
Thanks to lots of hard work by Arash Hazeghi, the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide has been updated. There were quite a few changes in the basic set-up and in the preferences in the latest version, 4.4.30.2 and Arash covered those in fine fashion. Most importantly, the Chrominance and Luminance NR value tables have been updated to include the 5DS (R) and the 1D X Mark II.
If you already own the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide, please click here to send Jim an email and be sure to cut and paste page 1 of the current guide or your receipt into the body of the e-mail to serve as proof of purchase. Your update will be sent from Hightail, so please watch for that.
Learn how and why I and many other discerning photographers choose and use only DPP 4 to convert their Canon RAW files in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly. The latest version supports all of the newer Canon camera bodies and several older models including the EOS-7D and the EOS-1D Mark IV. The DPP IV Guide is the ideal companion to the 7D Mark II User’s Guide, a runaway best seller.
If you are ever at all concerned with noise in your optimized images this new e-guide will astound you.
The Professional Photographers’ Guide to Post-Processing: $48.
Your e-book (11mb) will be delivered either by e-mail or by Hightail (for download).
Arash’s Take on the guide…
In recent years, advances in CMOS image sensor technology have enabled DSLR cameras to capture detailed, high-quality images at very high ISO settings; this has taken low-light and action photography to a whole new level. To make the most out of your camera’s high ISO performance, proper post-processing, including advanced noise reduction and efficient sharpening, is essential. The first step in effective post-processing is executing an optimal RAW conversion that produces a TIFF file that is clean, free of artifacts, and detailed, without too much sharpening or strong noise reduction. For Canon users, we recommend converting your RAW images in Canon Digital Photo Professional 4 (DPP 4). We cover exactly how to do that in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide. This new supplemental guide deals with the post-RAW conversion processing of your TIFF files for final presentation.
In order to use this guide, you need Adobe Photoshop (CS4 or later) as well as the Neat Image noise reduction plugin for Photoshop. This plugin can be downloaded here. We recommend the pro version. You will need an up-to-date PC or Mac computer to process your files. A modern quad-core processor (Intel i7 or Xeon) with at least 16GB of RAM and a fast SSD drive for running Photoshop is recommended. It is best to do your image processing on a high quality IPS LCD panel capable of displaying Adobe RGB color gamut. We recommend calibrating your screen using a hardware color calibration solution such as Spyder or Xrite. The consumer LCD screens used in many laptops and low-end desktops suffer from poor contrast ratios and a limited color gamut. Images processed on inferior screens may appear noisy, too dark, too bright, or unsharp. And they will often show a color cast when viewed on a high quality monitor that has been properly calibrated.
Artie’s Take on the guide…
This guide is for serious photographers who wish to maximize the quality of their optimized, noise reduced files and who want to learn to sharpen their images after they are sized for a final usage. The emphasis is on sharpening for electronic presentation. The guide includes the brilliant techniques that Arash developed for applying just the right amount of NR to the subject (while retaining all the fine detail) and then applying a lot more NR to the background where it is almost always needed. His efforts were refined by Arthur Morris to ensure that the guide is clear, concise, easy-to-read, and easy to-easy-to-follow; artie’s great strength is his how-to writing. He has used Arash’s brilliant NR and sharpening techniques on his 15 inch Macbook Pro with Retina Display with great success.
The entire guide is based on the remarkable Pro Version of NeatImage. Only the Pro Version supports 16-bit files. This Photoshop Plug-in requires a separate $79.95 purchase. Why NeatImage when there are so many other Noise Reduction programs available?
When someone asked about Topaz Denoise on the blog I got in touch with Arash. here was his response:
I asked Arash about Topaz Denoise. Here is his response:
It cannot calibrate the noise levels. I tried it. It was garbage.
Best
Arash Hazeghi Ph.D.
To which I added:
In the guide, we teach folks to calibrate noise levels for an image or series of images. As an option, also covered in the guide, we teach you to create a Noise Profile for each ISO with a given camera by photographing a NeatImage calibration target.
Arash continued the next day; this published here for the first time:
Here is a more elaborate answer. A preset is a “one size fit all” solution; it is not the same as a calibration. If you look carefully through your images you will find that the ISO value used and the amount of visible noise in the image aren’t always correlated. An image at ISO 400 can look noisier than an image taken at ISO 3200. Many factors other than the ISO determine the amount of visible noise in an image. Two images taken at the same ISO may require significantly different amounts of NR. Furthermore, different areas of the same image often require different amounts of noise reduction.
The presets are made by looking at the noise characteristics of a flat neutral or 18% grey target with no detail. They don’t include shadows, highlights, grain size, or the possibility of the effects of post-capture exposure boosts. (In other words, images made at a given ISO that are lightened during or after conversion will always exhibit more noise than properly exposed images.) The presets are often made using in-camera JPEGs that have been already noise-reduced, sharpened, and compressed thus smearing (destroying) the fine feather detail. Sometimes they are made from ACR RAW conversions that are vastly inferior as compared to properly executed DPP 4 RAW conversions.
A calibrated noise profile is created for each image in its present form independent of the ISO value, the exposure levels, or the RAW convertor. It makes no assumptions. NeatImage NR calibrations can be compared to purchasing a hand-crafted, custom-tailored suit versus buying a suit off the rack at WalMart. In engineering terms, NeatImage calculates the noise spectrum for each image and then with proper adjustment attenuates only the frequencies that don’t overlap with the detail. Other NR tools like Topaz, Nik etc. apply constant attenuation regardless of what the spectrum looks like. Try the guide and see for yourself.
You can learn more about NeatImage or purchase a copy 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 🙂
Jim and I got home from the airport at about 7pm. After a small, quick dinner I hit the sack and slept till 5am. Not bad. I fly up to Long Island next Friday for the Nickerson IPT and to visit my Mom who will be 94 in September. Cutdown date for the IPT hotel is tomorrow so if you are thinking of taking advantage of the Nickerson IPT late registration discount today is the day to act. See yesterday’s blog post or the IPT page for details.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, makes-no-sense, 241 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
This in-camera HDR Art Vivid image was created on Day 4 of the second 2016 Palouse IPT with the with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 200mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +/-2 stops around a base exposure of +2/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/4 in Av mode. WB = 6000K. Live View with 2-second timer.
Wind turbine farm and rolling farm fields
200-400 with Internal Extender Versatility
The Canon 200-400mm f/4L IS lens with Internal Extender was easily my most valuable lens on the Palouse IPTs. It allowed me–with and without the internal TC engaged, to zoom in for the tight detail and abstract images that I love while enabling to go as wide as 200mm when creating rolling field scenics like the one above.
Image Design Questions
Would you have pointed the lens up or down or left or right? If yes, how much and why? Same question in a different form: all things being equal, would you have changed the image design or the focal length at all? If yes, how so and why?
Depth of Field Question
Why is this image pretty much sharp at the wide open aperture of f/4? One a related note, why do you think that I went with 1/500 second?
Pronunciation Question
Is it turbines with the second syllable sounding like “bins or with the second syllable rhyming with “signs?”
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 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.
This trip will run with one participant.
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
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 a friend, 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 our 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 we are 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 we, 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 started and finished this blog post at 35,000 feet en route from EDI to MCO. I am still tired. I can’t wait to get back in the pool. And I need to get back to doing my core exercises…
Call 863-692-0906 or e-mail for late-registration discount info!
Meet and greet at 3pm on the afternoon of Monday, July 18.
Please e-mail for repeat customer or couples discount info, or for info on a 3-day option.
With only four folks signed up, learning situations will abound. The primary subject species on this IPT will be the nesting Common Terns and Black Skimmers. The trip is timed so that we will get to photograph tiny tern chicks as well as fledglings. There will be lots of flight photography including adults flying with baitfish. Creating great images of the chicks being fed will be a huge challenge. In addition to the terns we will get to photograph lots of Black Skimmers courting, setting up their nesting territories, and in flight (both singles and large pre-dawn flocks blasting off). Midair battles are guaranteed on sunny afternoons. And with luck, we might even see a few tiny skimmer chicks toward the end of the trip. We will also get to photograph the life cycle of American Oystercatcher. This will likely include nests with eggs and tiny chicks, young being fed, and possibly a few fledglings.
The Streak
Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, makes-no-sense, 240 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major 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 new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.
AF Micro-adjustment for the 400 DO II/2XIII TC/1DX II: -5
I selected the AF point two to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The selected AF point fell just below the chick’s eye. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Herring Gull chick
Heresy on Bass Rock?
Be one of the lucky few to make a Bass Rock landing and spend a good deal of your time photographing Herring Gull chicks; what’s wrong with you?
Nothing. I love gulls and their chicks are so, so cute. This was the smallest one on the Rock; most were large or huge. Several were already fledged. I photographed them too… but I did make some very nice gannet photos as well. Coming soon.
Image Design Question
Would you eliminate the dark tones in the upper right corner of this image? If no, why not? If yes, why? And how would you attempt to do it?
The Image Optimization
Converted in DPP 4. Dust spotted. A bit of feather and bill clean-up. NeatImage noise reduction. That’s it.
EOS-1D X Mark II Sensor Dust
I have spoken to at least one other photographer who agrees with me that the 1D X Mark II sensor is far more prone to collecting sensor dust than the last few generations of Canon camera bodies… After using my new camera only a few times the sensor was such a mess that I sent it back to Canon to have the sensor cleaned. I did not check the sensor when I got it back and used it only for six days in the UK. By the middle of the trip I was seeing more than a dozen serious dust spots at only f/8.
I would love to hear from other 1D X Mark II owners as to their opinion of sensor dust on the new flagship professional camera body…
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 Monday July 10, 2017: $5999: Limit 10 photographers — Openings: 6). Two great leaders: Arthur Morris and BPN co-owner, BPN Photography Gear Forum Moderator, and long-time BAA Webmaster Peter Kes.
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. (We may opt to stay in Edinburgh on the night of July 11.) Price and details should be finalized at least six months before the trip but you will need to be a bit patient. It would be ideal if I can get all the work done by the end of September so that folks can arrange their flights then.
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.
This trip has sold out far in advance every year so do not tarry. I hope that you can join me.
Please Remember to use our 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 we are 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 we, 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 🙂
