What’s Up

Apologies. This blog post was published at 3:30am on the morning of Friday, May 13, 2016 with grievous errors in the image caption. As of 9:42am, those errors have been corrected. We have been enjoying consistently great afternoon sessions on the Fort Desoto IPT and finally had a great morning shoot today, Friday the 13th 🙂

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 189 days in a row with a new educational blog post, dozens of new topics to cover, and 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. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created on the Fort DeSoto IPT with the hand held Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with a 64GB Card and Reader ISO 1000. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6. 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). The system selected a single AF point the fell squarely on the bird, one row up and four to the left of the center AF point. Click on the image to see a larger version. Brown Pelican at sunrise

1DX II Automatic Selection AF at Sunrise…

Though it looked as if it were going to be a totally overcast morning, there was a small pink hole in the clouds in the predawn that got pretty red just after sunrise. And there were more than a few pelicans flying around in the eastern sky. I let the group know that the best images would contain the nice patch of colored sky and a pelican. And that the best way to come up with a pleasing composition would be to use the Automatic Selection AF mode on their Canon cameras or the Nikon equivalent. That would be 61- or 65-point on the newer Canon camera bodies. So I did as I said and it worked out quite nicely with the pelican positioned well off center and the color nicely framed.

Tripod Question

Can anyone figure out why I was hand holding the 600 II with the 1.4X III TC in relatively low light rather than working on my Induro tripod?

DPP 4 Screen Capture

DPP 4 Screen Capture

In the DPP 4 screen capture above, the illuminated red AF point shows that the system worked perfectly and in doing so, allowed me to put the pelican well to one side of the frame. As with the 5DS R, I have found that Automatic Selection AF performs superbly in all but very low contrast situations…

Neat Image Noise Reduction

Neat Image Noise Reduction

Because the RAW file was about a stop underexposed from ideal, the image showed a good deal of background noise. As noise on the jet-black subject was not a concern, I created a Neat Image noise profile for this specific image and was able to apply it to the entire photograph. The area inside the blue box above shows the noise completely eliminated. The area outside the blue box shows the original sky after conversion in DPP 4. As you can see, the improvement is huge.

The Professional Photographers’ Guide to Post-Processing by Arash Hazaghi with Arthur Morris You can order your copy here 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.

You can order your copy here.

The first guides should be sent out on Monday, April 11, 2016.

Important Note

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:

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. NeatImage does offer a demo version.

IPT Similarities

The Fort DeSoto and the Nickerson Beach IPTs have a lot in common. Lots of birds, lots of sand, and lots of learning. The big difference is that there are lots more flight opportunities at Nickerson: hovering terns, birds landing at the nest, and with luck and the right morning winds, skimmers skimming.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmer head portrait, American Oystercatcher dining on surf clam flesh, Common Tern at sunset, Common Tern adult swallowing flatfish, Black Skimmer in flight, newborn Common Tern chick, American Oystercatcher with chick, fresh juvenile Common Tern (with fill flash), and Common Terns copulating.

Nickerson Beach Terns/Skimmers/Oystercatchers Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT): July 18-22, 2016. 4 1/2 DAYS: $1899. Limit 10/Openings 8.

Meet and greet at 3pm on the afternoon of Monday, July 18. Limit 10.

The primary subject species of this IPT will be the nesting Common Terns. The trip is timed so that we will get to photograph tiny 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 is 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 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.

Nesting Piping Plover is also possibly. There will be lots of gulls to photograph; most years I am able to find a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls of varying ages in addition to the Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed Gulls. You will learn to identify and age the various gull species. There will likely be some Willets feeding along the surf and with luck we might get to photograph a handsome juvenile or two. In addition to the locally breeding shorebirds, we will likely get to see some southbound migrant arctic-and sub-arctic breeding shorebird species such as Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, and maybe even Red Knot.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmers with tiny chick, Common Tern landing with baitfish for young, fledged Common Tern chick in dunes, American Oystercatchers/display flight, adult Common Tern with pipefish for chick, Common Tern fledgling in soft light, American Oystercatcher on nest with eggs, American Oystercatcher 3-egg clutch, battling Black Skimmers.

The IPT Logistics

The tour will begin with a meet and greet on the afternoon of Monday, July 18, 2016. That will be followed by our first shooting session at the beach. From Tuesday through and including all of Friday we will have two photography sessions daily. Our morning sessions will start very early so that we are on the beach well before sunrise. We usually photograph for about four hours. Then we will enjoy a group brunch. We will always have a midday break that will include a nap for me. That followed by our daily afternoon classroom sessions that will include image review, workflow and Photoshop, and a review/critique of five of your trip images. Folks are always invited to bring their laptops to brunch for image sharing. I always have mine with me but heck, I am a big show-off. Afternoon in-the-field sessions generally run from 5pm through sunset.

Breakfasts are grab what you can. Four brunches are included. Dinners (if at all) will be on your own as we will often get back to the hotel at about 9pm. There is a fridge in every room and a supermarket within walking distance of the hotel so nobody should starve. You will learn a ton during the nine shooting sessions, the four in-classroom sessions, and even at lunch. Early morning and late afternoon parking is free. If we want to head back to the beach early we will need to arrange tight carpools and share the $30/vehicle parking fee. Non-photographer spouses, friends, or companions are welcome for $100/day, $450 for the whole IPT.

Save a space by calling Jim or Jen at the office at 863-692-0906 and arranging to leave your deposit of $599–credit cards are accepted for deposits only. Your balance will be due on April 18, 2016. I hope that you can join me for what will be an exciting and educational IPT.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up

I met the Desoto group at 3pm sharp. Right now it is looking like nine happy campers, and Mike Ross’s wife Joanne is the most serious birder in the group so she too is having a great time.

After the introductory program we spent several hours at a high tide puddle photographing a very cooperative White Ibis, a nice variety of shorebirds–many in breeding plumage, and a lovely young of the year Great Egret. Then we made a wiggle and found a tame American Oystercatcher and some nice Laughing Gulls.

With the image optimizations, this blog post took well more than 2 hours to prepare. I finished and published it at 4:13am this morning.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 187 days in a row with a new educational blog post, dozens of new topics to cover, and 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. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created on my scouting morning at Fort DeSoto with the hand held Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with Premium Kit with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 4000. Evaluative metering +3 stops off the gray sky: 1/1000 sec. at f/9. Shade WB. AF Micro-adjustment for the 400 DO II/2XIII TC/1DX: -5 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 was on the side of the breast right below the base of the bill. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Sanderling in breeding plumage/ISO 4000.

It’s a Whole New 1DX Mark II World: Hand Holding 800mm & ISO 4000…

Necessity is often the mother of invention. Folks have been asking about 1DX II noise. I wanted to see how the 1DX II did with the 2X III and the new camera. I wanted the freedom to hand hold. And I needed a fast enough shutter speed to have a chance at freezing a running shorebird like the turnstone in Image #2 below.

So what was the answer? ISO 4000. Most important was to expose far to the right to minimize the noise. This +3 off the gray sky…

100% crop of the ISO 4000 Sanderling image. Unsharpened.

ISO 4000 1DX II Noise

As the RAW file did not look noisy at all, I started off by using Arash’s Chrominance and Luminance Noise Reduction settings for the original 1DX at ISO 1600. Otherwise I applied no noise reduction in post. No Neat Image.

What do you think of the noise levels in the tight crop of the Sanderling’s head in the image immediately above?

This image was also created on my scouting morning at Fort DeSoto with the hand held Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with Premium Kit with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 4000. Evaluative metering +3 stops off the gray sky: 1/1000 sec. at f/9. Shade WB. 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). This was terrible technique as the active AF point was on the side of the bird, on the folded wing, well on this side of the plan of the bird’s eye. But I got lucky–in part because of the distance to the bird–as the eye and face are fairly sharp… Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. AF Micro-adjustment for the 400 DO II/2XIII TC/1DX: -5 Image #2: Ruddy Turnstone running in breeding plumage/ISO 4000.

1DX Mark II Autofocus With the 2X III TC

The speed of initial autofocus acquisition and AF tracking accuracy with the 1DX II and the 2X III teleconverter is unparalleled.

APTATS II to the Rescue

Here I did not pan fast enough to keep the subject back in the frame. So I used one of the many techniques detailed in APTATS II to move the bird back a bit in the frame.

APTATS I & II

Learn the details of advanced Quick Masking techniques in APTATS I. Learn Advanced Layer Masking Techniques in APTATS I. Mention this blog post and apply a $5 discount to either with phone orders only. Buy both APTATS I and APTATS II and we will be glad to apply at $15 discount with phone orders. Please call Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-221-2372 to take advantage of this special offer. You can find the same deal in the BAA Online Store here.

Your Favorite?

Which of today’s two featured images do you like best, Image #1 or Image #2? Be sure to let us know why.

100% crop of the ISO 4000 turnstone image. Unsharpened.

ISO 4000 1DX II Noise

Again, as the RAW file did not look noisy at all, I started off by using Arash’s Chrominance and Luminance Noise Reduction settings for the original 1DX at ISO 1600. Otherwise I applied no noise reduction in post. No Neat Image.

What do you think of the noise levels in the tight crop of the Ruddy Turnstone’s head in the image immediately above?

The 1D X Mark II

If what you read or today or what you read on the blog inspires you to purchase a Canon EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR Camera Premium Kit with 64GB Card and Reader please use the active link or click on the logo-link above. Doing so will be greatly appreciated. Many who used our link right off the bat already have their 1DX Mark IIs.

IPT Similarities

The Fort DeSoto and the Nickerson Beach IPTs have a lot in common. Lots of birds, lots of sand, and lots of learning. The big difference is that there are lots more flight opportunities at Nickerson: hovering terns, birds landing at the nest, and with luck and the right morning winds, skimmers skimming.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmer head portrait, American Oystercatcher dining on surf clam flesh, Common Tern at sunset, Common Tern adult swallowing flatfish, Black Skimmer in flight, newborn Common Tern chick, American Oystercatcher with chick, fresh juvenile Common Tern (with fill flash), and Common Terns copulating.

Nickerson Beach Terns/Skimmers/Oystercatchers Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT): July 18-22, 2016. 4 1/2 DAYS: $1899. Limit 10/Openings 8.

Meet and greet at 3pm on the afternoon of Monday, July 18. Limit 10.

The primary subject species of this IPT will be the nesting Common Terns. The trip is timed so that we will get to photograph tiny 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 is 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 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.

Nesting Piping Plover is also possibly. There will be lots of gulls to photograph; most years I am able to find a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls of varying ages in addition to the Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed Gulls. You will learn to identify and age the various gull species. There will likely be some Willets feeding along the surf and with luck we might get to photograph a handsome juvenile or two. In addition to the locally breeding shorebirds, we will likely get to see some southbound migrant arctic-and sub-arctic breeding shorebird species such as Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, and maybe even Red Knot.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmers with tiny chick, Common Tern landing with baitfish for young, fledged Common Tern chick in dunes, American Oystercatchers/display flight, adult Common Tern with pipefish for chick, Common Tern fledgling in soft light, American Oystercatcher on nest with eggs, American Oystercatcher 3-egg clutch, battling Black Skimmers.

The IPT Logistics

The tour will begin with a meet and greet on the afternoon of Monday, July 18, 2016. That will be followed by our first shooting session at the beach. From Tuesday through and including all of Friday we will have two photography sessions daily. Our morning sessions will start very early so that we are on the beach well before sunrise. We usually photograph for about four hours. Then we will enjoy a group brunch. We will always have a midday break that will include a nap for me. That followed by our daily afternoon classroom sessions that will include image review, workflow and Photoshop, and a review/critique of five of your trip images. Folks are always invited to bring their laptops to brunch for image sharing. I always have mine with me but heck, I am a big show-off. Afternoon in-the-field sessions generally run from 5pm through sunset.

Breakfasts are grab what you can. Four brunches are included. Dinners (if at all) will be on your own as we will often get back to the hotel at about 9pm. There is a fridge in every room and a supermarket within walking distance of the hotel so nobody should starve. You will learn a ton during the nine shooting sessions, the four in-classroom sessions, and even at lunch. Early morning and late afternoon parking is free. If we want to head back to the beach early we will need to arrange tight carpools and share the $30/vehicle parking fee. Non-photographer spouses, friends, or companions are welcome for $100/day, $450 for the whole IPT.

Save a space by calling Jim or Jen at the office at 863-692-0906 and arranging to leave your deposit of $599–credit cards are accepted for deposits only. Your balance will be due on April 18, 2016. I hope that you can join me for what will be an exciting and educational IPT.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

I had lots more energy on Sunday than I did on Saturday. I took care of some Nature’s Best Contest business and micro-adjusted several lenses with my new 1D X. I have never seen such tight AF clusters… Overall I had one of my best days in recent memory.

I am heading over to Fort DeSoto a day early so that I can do some scouting for the IPT on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 185 days in a row with a new educational blog post, dozens of new topics to cover, and 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. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created at Gatorland last Thursday with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 360mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3. Daylight WB. The selected AF point was two to the right and one row up from 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 point fell on the bottom part of the bird’s eye. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Great Egret large chick

Gatorland Report

As noted previously, I spent Thursday morning past at Gatorland with private clients Dixon and Carolyn Soracco. They were amazed by the birds and the nests and their proximity to the boardwalk. I did mention to them that as far as quality photographic opportunities for early May that the place was poor overall. We had a few very good opportunities, especially with the large chick shown in today’s featured image. Do note that for folks with long lenses afternoons may be better.

There were fewer than a dozen photographers present. In most years on this date there would be two or three dozen shooters. I took that to mean that the word is out: there are just not as many good situations as in a typical year. As is usual at Gatorland, most folks simply had no clue as to what a good situation is. Folks were working well off light angle and pointing their lenses at incredibly cluttered nests. All the while our single large chick posed for us for more than an hour with lovely distant backgrounds… The more things change, the more they stay the same.

100-400 II Versatility

To start the day I loaned my 100-400II to Carolyn. When our subject came into the sun I called her over and coached her to some great images. I was working with the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS and the 2X III TC but the 100-400 II was much better for the job because of its one-meter close focus. After Carolyn made lots of good ones I borrowed my lens to create the image above. The 1-4II is unbeatable when working in close quarters.

Depth-of-Field Question…

With the bird’s eye super-sharp and the tip of the beak not in sharp focus, would I have been better off going to a small aperture like f/13? Why or why not? I did have lots of shutter speed to work with…

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmer head portrait, American Oystercatcher dining on surf clam flesh, Common Tern at sunset, Common Tern adult swallowing flatfish, Black Skimmer in flight, newborn Common Tern chick, American Oystercatcher with chick, fresh juvenile Common Tern (with fill flash), and Common Terns copulating.

Nickerson Beach Terns/Skimmers/Oystercatchers Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT): July 18-22, 2016. 4 1/2 DAYS: $1899. Limit 10/Openings 8.

Meet and greet at 3pm on the afternoon of Monday, July 18. Limit 10.

The primary subject species of this IPT will be the nesting Common Terns. The trip is timed so that we will get to photograph tiny 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 is 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 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.

Nesting Piping Plover is also possibly. There will be lots of gulls to photograph; most years I am able to find a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls of varying ages in addition to the Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed Gulls. You will learn to identify and age the various gull species. There will likely be some Willets feeding along the surf and with luck we might get to photograph a handsome juvenile or two. In addition to the locally breeding shorebirds, we will likely get to see some southbound migrant arctic-and sub-arctic breeding shorebird species such as Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, and maybe even Red Knot.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmers with tiny chick, Common Tern landing with baitfish for young, fledged Common Tern chick in dunes, American Oystercatchers/display flight, adult Common Tern with pipefish for chick, Common Tern fledgling in soft light, American Oystercatcher on nest with eggs, American Oystercatcher 3-egg clutch, battling Black Skimmers.

The IPT Logistics

The tour will begin with a meet and greet on the afternoon of Monday, July 18, 2016. That will be followed by our first shooting session at the beach. From Tuesday through and including all of Friday we will have two photography sessions daily. Our morning sessions will start very early so that we are on the beach well before sunrise. We usually photograph for about four hours. Then we will enjoy a group brunch. We will always have a midday break that will include a nap for me. That followed by our daily afternoon classroom sessions that will include image review, workflow and Photoshop, and a review/critique of five of your trip images. Folks are always invited to bring their laptops to brunch for image sharing. I always have mine with me but heck, I am a big show-off. Afternoon in-the-field sessions generally run from 5pm through sunset.

Breakfasts are grab what you can. Four brunches are included. Dinners (if at all) will be on your own as we will often get back to the hotel at about 9pm. There is a fridge in every room and a supermarket within walking distance of the hotel so nobody should starve. You will learn a ton during the nine shooting sessions, the four in-classroom sessions, and even at lunch. Early morning and late afternoon parking is free. If we want to head back to the beach early we will need to arrange tight carpools and share the $30/vehicle parking fee. Non-photographer spouses, friends, or companions are welcome for $100/day, $450 for the whole IPT.

Save a space by calling Jim or Jen at the office at 863-692-0906 and arranging to leave your deposit of $599–credit cards are accepted for deposits only. Your balance will be due on April 18, 2016. I hope that you can join me for what will be an exciting and educational IPT.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

Friday was just another day at the office getting lots done. My 1D X Mark II comes today 🙂

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 183 days in a row with a new educational blog post, dozens of new topics to cover, and 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. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created at Dead Vlei, inside Namib Naukluft National Park, on the 2016 Namibia IPT. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/100 sec. at f/8. K8000. To ensure maximum sharpness I used my flower technique: Live View with 2-second timer. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF on the apex of the curve on the right hand dune and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Red Sossusvlei dunes at dawn

Namibia Scenic Dune Opportunities

What can I say? The dunes in Namibia are breathtakingly beautiful. And that goes for the red dunes at Sossusvlei (above) and the white/mocha-colored dunes (below) near the coast at Swakopmund. Each is beautiful in its own way.

Your Favorites?

Which color dunes would you like to photograph? Which of the two images do you like best. Be sure to let us know the reasons for your choices.

Namibia IPT Gear and Gear Bag Errors

On our first walk into Dead Vlei I opted to take the 70-200 II and TCs. Next year I will opt for the 100-400/; I did not need the speed of the 70-200 as I was always working on a tripod and I would have loved the extra reach of the 100-400 II plus the 2X III TC.

My biggest gear bag mistake by far was bringing the Singh-Ray 77mm 10-stop ND instead of the 5-Stop 77mm ND. Several times I wanted to create some pleasing blurs. Having had so much fun in San Diego with the 10-stop ND photographing the big waves at La Jolla, CA, I forgot that I was going to a desert! No waves there. The biggest problem with using the 10-stop ND with birds and wildlife is that you cannot see well enough through the viewfinder to either check AF or compose the image…

To make matters worse I borrowed a 5-stop ND from a friend and promptly lost it…

Lastly, leaving the 24-105mm at home was a mistake that I shall not repeat…

This image was created at Swakopmund on the 2016 Namibia IPT with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens at 110mm and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops as framed: 1/500 sec. at f11 in Manual mode. Daylight WB. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF 1/3 of the way into the frame and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Mocha dunes in midday sea fog

Our Desert Experience

We enjoyed an amazing outing at the coastal dunes around Swakopmund. We got to photograph a variety of small critters including Desert Chameleon, Palmato Gecko, some scorpions and snakes, and two neat species of birds. (Lots of new images coming soon.) The day began clear and sunny making it too bright to photograph the gorgeous dunes but by mid-morning the usual sea fog rolled in so we were able to enjoy almost endless dune-scape opportunities. What a day that turned out to be!

A Levels Adjustment Saves the Day

This properly exposed image looked like blah after the RAW conversion in DPP 4. A simple Levels adjustment really brought it to life by revealing the various shades of tan, brown, gray, and yes, mocha.

Digital Basics

You can learn how to make perfect Levels Adjustments as I did for the Mocha Dunes image along with everything else that I do on a daily basis when optimizing my images. It is all 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? 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, Gaussian Blurs, Dodge and Burn, a variety of ways to make selections, how to create time-saving actions, the Surface Blur settings that I use at times to smooth background noise, 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 eGuide (PDF)

The RAW file for today’s image was of course converted in DPP 4. 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.

The DPP 4 eGuide (PDF) Updated for 1D Mark IV and the original 7D

The DPP 4 eGuide was recently updated to include the luminance and chrominance noise reduction values for both the 1D Mark IV and the original 7D. If you purchased your copy from BAA please e-mail Jim and request the DPP 4 1d IV/7D update. Please be sure to cut and paste page 1 into your e-mail as proof of purchase.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

Jim and I drove up to Gatorland early on Thursday morning. I worked with private clients Dixon and Carolyn Soracco of Portland, OR. Working with truly happy campers always makes me smile; I headed home with a big grin on my face after our working lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. More on Gatorland soon.

Thursday was another good post-surgery day…

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 182 days in a row with a new educational blog post. 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. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

A Common Weakness in Perceptual Vision Skills and Understanding Perspective Choices as They Relate to Photography

Many beginning and intermediate (and more than a few “advanced”) nature photographers have serious shortcomings when it comes to understanding how a change in perspective will affect the juxtaposition of the elements in their compositions. I see it often on IPTs when I ask, “What happens to the bird and the rock in the background if I move 2 feet to my right?” And I have seen it here on the blog, especially in these two recent posts:

My Favorite Namibia Image: Does It Get Any Better Than This?

and

Amazing Luck + A Venerable Animal + Surreal Light = A Wonderful Photographic Opportunity…

In each of those posts I asked what I thought was an easy peasy perspective question and was pretty much amazed when folks went off on seemingly inexplicable tangents. With the Gemsbok image, it seemed obvious to me that if you got lower, the out-of-focus ridge of sand in the foreground would cut off the animal’s feet. To me, that would have been a very big no-no. You can check out the more detailed explanation here.

The same thing happened in the surreal elephant post when I asked why getting lower and photographing from the window would not work. See below for the explanation…

This image was also created at on the same afternoon of the 2016 Namibia IPT with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 160mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/1600 sec. at f/8. Daylight WB. Center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Rear Focus AF was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding).The selected AF point was on the elephant’s throat. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Royalty on a pedestal…

Is a Lower Perspective Always Better?

With regards to the image above, I wrote, “Once this pachyderm approached the vehicles and posed for us, I went from the top of the van to the open window below and made a very few frames. Why did I go back to standing and photographing from below the raised roof? In this and many other cases, lower was not better.”

I thought that the question was pretty straightforward (and still do) but several folks were confused so I followed up with this: “Why was it better to photograph from on high at from the roof than to go lower and photograph from the window?”

The image below, made from a lower perspective, the open window in my row, answers the question very clearly.

Mud elephant from the window, i.e, from a lower perspective…

It Seems So Simple To Me…

When looking at the “Royalty on a pedestal…” image that opens today’s blog post, it seems completely obvious that if you get a few feet lower that the horizon would intersect the elephant’s head… As shown in the image above, made from the open safari vehicle window….

But time after time, here and elsewhere, we see evidence that many folks have difficulty picturing how a change in their perspective will affect the image. Considering that the #1 factor to the success of any image is choosing exactly where to stand, where to put your lens, this is a serious problem for those who wish to improve their photography, birds, wildlife, flowers, nature, scenic, or otherwise.

While reviewing images at lunch on an IPT I can remember dozens of times where I arranged a salt shaker and a ketchup bottle on the table and asked, what happens to the juxtaposition if you move to right? Or left? Sometimes that helps, sometimes not so much 🙂

Suggestions On How to Improve

Whether hand holding or on a tripod, the next time that you peer through your camera’s viewfinder at two objects in the frame, ask yourself, what happens to the juxtaposition of these objects if I move left or right, or up or down. If hand holding, actually move left of right or up or down and see how the relationship of the two objects in the frame changes. If your lens is on a tripod, remove it and move left or right or up or down, and note the changes as above. If you make it a habit of doing this exercise, you will soon be able to visualize the results without having to move physically. Acquiring this skill over time will make you a much better photographer.

The next step in the process is to learn to consider the quality and direction of the light in the equation… By doing that, you will learn to know how moving left or right or up or down will affect not only the spatial arrangements of the various elements of composition but the all important effect of light on the image. This a much higher level of skill than simply learned to visualize spatial changes. But you first need to practice the basic skill before attempting the more advanced exercise of being able to see how the light will affect the image without actually having to move…

birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100 The companion e-book to the solo exhibit at TheNat, San Diego, California The new e-book on CD is available here.

birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100

My latest e-book, created on a wing and a prayer in less than two weeks–see Harebrained Scheme here–includes the 67 spectacular images that will hang in the Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum in a career-retrospective solo exhibition. In addition, there are an additional 33 images in the spectacular e-book that barely missed making the show.

This exhibition companion e-book makes it possible for everyone to “visit” TheNAT gallery and, in addition, to enjoy seeing my top one hundred bird photographs under one roof. Each image includes a title, the species name, the location, relevant EXIF data, and an anecdotal caption.

birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100: $23 for the professionally produced CD (includes shipping to US addresses only)

Please click here to purchase the physical CD. As above, your purchase price includes shipping to all US addresses. If you would like your CD signed on the inside cover with a black Sharpie, you will need to place your order by phone and request a signed copy: 863-692-0906. For our Canadian friends we are offering the CD for $28 with shipping to Canada via phone orders only: 863-692-0906.

Those who purchase the CD are advised to copy the file to their computers and then archive the CD.

The new e-book via is also available via convenient download for $20 by clicking here.

birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100: $20 via convenient download.

Overseas folks, and anyone else as well, can purchase the e-book via convenient download for $20 by clicking here.

Notate Bene

Please share this e-book only with your spouse or significant other. If a friend asks you to share a copy with them, please direct them either to this blog post or to the appropriate link in the BAA Online Store as above. All of the images and text are protected by international copyright law and may not be copied or printed without written permission from the photographer/author. Many thanks for honoring these requests.

You will–of course–need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDF.

Sample page from birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100.

Adobe Acrobat Reader Tip

To maximize your viewing pleasure, click Command + L on a Mac, or Control + L on a PC to view the e-book full screen. And then press Esc to exit full screen.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

I am working on this blog post on Tuesday afternoon. Jim and I are headed to Sarasota for the opening of Lou Newman’s photographic exhibit. Lou is a record-holding 26 time IPT veteran. No kidding: twenty six!

I was doing much better on Tuesday after my reassuring talk with Dr. Parsons yesterday. And I slept till 5:40 am this morning. Still no jet lag and still getting lots of work done.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 180 days in a row with a new educational blog post. 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. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created at our favorite afternoon Etosha waterhole on the 2016 Namibia IPT with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 400mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/3200 sec. at f/7.1. Daylight WB. A single AF point two rows up from the center AF point/Manual selection/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the elephant’s closed eye 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. Image #1: Royalty on a muddy throne…

Wow! What Luck

Everyone in all three vehicles was stunned at our great luck when we pulled up to our favorite Etosha afternoon waterhole, Nebrowni, at 3:45pm and found this venerable animal taking a mud bath. The light, soft sun, and the light gray mud made the whole scene seem surreal. This African Elephant put on quite a show mud bathing, sitting up (as above), and then walking around the waterhole and winding up very close to the parking lot before heading overland for dust bath. What a treat and what a privilege.

This bull (male) elephant is about 40-50 years old. The females also have tusks but they are often smaller.

This image was also created at on the same afternoon of the 2016 Namibia IPT with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 160mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/1600 sec. at f/8. Daylight WB. Center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Rear Focus AF was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding).The selected AF point was on the elephant’s throat. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Royalty on a pedestal…

Image Question #1

Once this pachyderm approached the vehicles and posed for us, I went from the top of the van to the open window below and made a very few frames. Why did I go back to standing and photographing from below the raised roof? In this and many other cases, lower was not better.

This image too was created at our favorite afternoon Etosha waterhole on the 2016 Namibia IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/11. Daylight WB. Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo/Expand/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. Working from the open roof of our bus the tripod was splayed flat and carefully placed on the cab-over. Image #3: Royalty close up…

Image Question #2

Why did I stop down to f/11 here? Why would f/16 have been better?

Your Favorite?

Promote learning by keeping the blog interactive. Please leave a comment and let us know which of today’s three images you like best and be sure to let us know why you made your choice.

Subject and focal lengths clockwise from upper left around to center. Palouse Falls: 11mm; homemade kiddie race car: 105mm; barn siding pan blur: 798mm; Rolling fields diorama: 110mm; Crayola drums: 343 mm; Hay barn interior: 19mm; vintage gas station: 40mm; Dilapidated farm building: 13mm; Denise’s tree Infrared: 20mm. Images and card design by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART.

The Palouse ~ A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 3-7, 2016/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12/Openings: 5

The Palouse ~ A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 10-14, 2016/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12/Openings: 1

Double Header!

Maximize both your travel dollars and your learning experience by signing up for both IPTs.

Images and card design by Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure.

The Palouse IPTs

Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will likely enjoy spectacular sunrises and possibly a nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. We will take you to some 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 us for this trip. Two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. 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.

After 6 days of back-breaking scouting work in early June 2014 we found all of the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and views. On three additional scouting days in 2015 we discovered several more truly amazing locations. We will teach you what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.

What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, our newfound but very extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions when possible. There will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before each workshop begins.

You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills. You will learn to get the right exposure every time. You will learn to develop your creative eye. You will learn the basics of HDR (high dynamic range) photography. You will learn a variety of in-camera creative techniques. Most importantly you will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images. Do see both of our blogs for lots more on that in the coming weeks. You will learn how the quality and direction of light combine to determine the success of your images. And–please don’t gasp–we will be working quite a bit with sidelight when creating landscapes. Lastly, we will be doing some infrared photography.

To Sign Up

A non-refundable $699 deposit is due now. The balance will be due on February 15, 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. Whether or not your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining us. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours or send us a check to leave a deposit; the latter is preferred. If by check, please make out to “Arthur Morris” 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 us via e-mail: artie or denise.

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 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

I have had a bit of post-op distress that fits nicely into the TMI category. I just got off the phone with the surgeon, Dr. Parsons–the guys\ surely leads the league in bedside manner–and together we seem to have figured out a few things. I am looking forward to getting better slowly.

Still no jet lag and still getting lots done. Today, I had a fifth photographer sign up for the Japan IPT.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 179 days in a row with a new educational blog post. 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. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

The Educational Gemsbok

The Gemsbok Why Not Get Lower Answer

In Saturday’s “My Favorite Namibia Image: Does It Get Any Better Than This?” blog post here, I wrote, All things being equal, should I have splayed the legs of my tripod and gotten flat on the ground?

The answer to that question was “No.” The question generated huge amounts of interest; with 62 comments as I prepare Tuesday’s blog post it was one of the most interactive blog posts ever. In today’s blog not only will you learn why I should not have gotten flat down on the ground but you will learn a ton more as well. All from a single image of a very large antelope.

The first to nail the correct answer was my very good and dear friend from Long Island, Tom Pfeifer. He invited me to his house for dinner probably close to 20 years ago when I spoke at his local Audubon Society meeting (with two trays of slides!) Tom is a skilled photographer. He wrote, quite succinctly, “Beautiful light and color on this scene Artie! Getting any lower would have likely obscured our view of the Gemsbok’s feet.”

In the image above, note the well out-of-focus ridge, or berm, below the grey line at the bottom of the image. Nothing would have made me happier that to have gotten flat on the ground thus eliminating the faint road and setting the animal completely against the spectacular red dune. But I quickly realized that getting lower would have hidden the Gemsbok’s feet and possibly its lower legs as well behind the out-of-focus berm.

With birds, we call this the bird in heaven look; it can be quite effective. But I am pretty sure that it would not have worked well in this situation.

Kudos to the others who came up with the right answer (or very close to it): Ron Gates (in part), Nigel Boon, David Peake, Elinor Osborn, and Ted Thelin (again, in part).

Bad Truck Luck and More Lessons

The faint road in the background was blurred enough so that it was not a problem. Not so the safari vehicle; talk about bad luck! I used two Quick Masks, one from the right of the truck and one from the left of the truck to cover the offending vehicle. Learn the basics of Quick Masking in Digital Basics (plus tons more). Learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking in APTATS I and II.

As I mentioned in a response to a comment in the original post, because of several angled lines in this image, it was a very difficult one to level; it fools our eyes big time. First I used the Ruler Tool to draw a line from hoof to hoof and then hit one of my personalized keyboard shortcuts, Command + / (to get to Image > Rotate > Arbitrary). Once it rendered, it seemed to be overdone so I went back the other way .5 degrees. I am still not sure if the final image in the original post, seen below for your convenience, is perfectly level.

This image was created at Sossusvlei inside Namib Naukluft National Park, Namibia. I used 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 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/4. Color temperature: Daylight. Center AF point (Manual selection)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF as framed and release. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Gemsbok and red dunes

A Compositional Note

Lastly, note the crop from below and behind to improve the composition; the animal in the original frame that opened today’s blog post is too centered.

Subject and focal lengths clockwise from upper left around to center. Palouse Falls: 11mm; homemade kiddie race car: 105mm; barn siding pan blur: 798mm; Rolling fields diorama: 110mm; Crayola drums: 343 mm; Hay barn interior: 19mm; vintage gas station: 40mm; Dilapidated farm building: 13mm; Denise’s tree Infrared: 20mm. Images and card design by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART.

The Palouse ~ A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 3-7, 2016/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12/Openings: 5

The Palouse ~ A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 10-14, 2016/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12/Openings: 1

Double Header!

Maximize both your travel dollars and your learning experience by signing up for both IPTs.

Images and card design by Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure.

The Palouse IPTs

Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will likely enjoy spectacular sunrises and possibly a nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. We will take you to some 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 us for this trip. Two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. 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.

After 6 days of back-breaking scouting work in early June 2014 we found all of the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and views. On three additional scouting days in 2015 we discovered several more truly amazing locations. We will teach you what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.

What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, our newfound but very extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions when possible. There will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before each workshop begins.

You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills. You will learn to get the right exposure every time. You will learn to develop your creative eye. You will learn the basics of HDR (high dynamic range) photography. You will learn a variety of in-camera creative techniques. Most importantly you will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images. Do see both of our blogs for lots more on that in the coming weeks. You will learn how the quality and direction of light combine to determine the success of your images. And–please don’t gasp–we will be working quite a bit with sidelight when creating landscapes. Lastly, we will be doing some infrared photography.

To Sign Up

A non-refundable $699 deposit is due now. The balance will be due on February 15, 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. Whether or not your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining us. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours or send us a check to leave a deposit; the latter is preferred. If by check, please make out to “Arthur Morris” 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 us via e-mail: artie or denise.

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 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

Facebook

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Typos

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

What’s Up?

I thought that I was well on my way to being back in the eastern time zone but after hitting the sack at about 9pm I awoke for good at 2:30am, which is 7:30am Namibia time. I answered lots of e-mails. I headed into town to do some food shopping and to order three new pairs of reading glasses. I went to Namibia with four pairs and destroyed three of them while I was there. The new frames are supposed to be a bit more rugged.

I took my first swim in weeks, worked on this blog post at about 6:30pm after a short nap, and took my first ice bath since before the surgery.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 177 days in a row with a new educational blog post… 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. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created at Sossusvlei inside Namib Naukluft National Park, Namibia. I used 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 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/4. Color temperature: Daylight. Center AF point (Manual selection)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF as framed and release. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Gemsbok and red dunes

Does It Get Any Better Than This?

Not for me. This is my very favorite image from the Namibia trip. Does it have a chance in a major contest? Not really. Maybe 20 years ago but not today. I love the magnificent animal, the red dune background, the sharpness, and the stunning early morning light.

Gemsbok

Gemsbok are the largest species in the Oryx genus. They are widely hunted for their spectacular horns that average 33 inches in length. The only difference between males and females is that the horns of the males tend to be thicker with larger bases; the females have slightly longer, thinner horns. In life, they are spectacular.

Image Design Question?

All things being equal, should I have splayed the legs of my tripod and gotten flat on the ground?

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmer head portrait, American Oystercatcher dining on surf clam flesh, Common Tern at sunset, Common Tern adult swallowing flatfish, Black Skimmer in flight, newborn Common Tern chick, American Oystercatcher with chick, fresh juvenile Common Tern (with fill flash), and Common Terns copulating.

Only Two…

Right now there are only two folks registered for the Nickerson IPT. You can call the office on Monday to sign up and enjoy practically private instruction at a great location with tons of birds and tons of flight photography.

Nickerson Beach Terns/Skimmers/Oystercatchers Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT): July 18-22, 2016. 4 1/2 DAYS: $1899. Limit 10/Openings 8.

Meet and greet at 3pm on the afternoon of Monday, July 18. Limit 10.

The primary subject species of this IPT will be the nesting Common Terns. The trip is timed so that we will get to photograph tiny 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 is 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 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.

Nesting Piping Plover is also possibly. There will be lots of gulls to photograph; most years I am able to find a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls of varying ages in addition to the Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed Gulls. You will learn to identify and age the various gull species. There will likely be some Willets feeding along the surf and with luck we might get to photograph a handsome juvenile or two. In addition to the locally breeding shorebirds, we will likely get to see some southbound migrant arctic-and sub-arctic breeding shorebird species such as Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, and maybe even Red Knot.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmers with tiny chick, Common Tern landing with baitfish for young, fledged Common Tern chick in dunes, American Oystercatchers/display flight, adult Common Tern with pipefish for chick, Common Tern fledgling in soft light, American Oystercatcher on nest with eggs, American Oystercatcher 3-egg clutch, battling Black Skimmers.

The IPT Logistics

The tour will begin with a meet and greet on the afternoon of Monday, July 18, 2016. That will be followed by our first shooting session at the beach. From Tuesday through and including all of Friday we will have two photography sessions daily. Our morning sessions will start very early so that we are on the beach well before sunrise. We usually photograph for about four hours. Then we will enjoy a group brunch. We will always have a midday break that will include a nap for me. That followed by our daily afternoon classroom sessions that will include image review, workflow and Photoshop, and a review/critique of five of your trip images. Folks are always invited to bring their laptops to brunch for image sharing. I always have mine with me but heck, I am a big show-off. Afternoon in-the-field sessions generally run from 5pm through sunset.

Breakfasts are grab what you can. Four brunches are included. Dinners (if at all) will be on your own as we will often get back to the hotel at about 9pm. There is a fridge in every room and a supermarket within walking distance of the hotel so nobody should starve. You will learn a ton during the nine shooting sessions, the four in-classroom sessions, and even at lunch. Early morning and late afternoon parking is free. If we want to head back to the beach early we will need to arrange tight carpools and share the $30/vehicle parking fee. Non-photographer spouses, friends, or companions are welcome for $100/day, $450 for the whole IPT.

Save a space by calling Jim or Jen at the office at 863-692-0906 and arranging to leave your deposit of $599–credit cards are accepted for deposits only. Your balance will be due on April 18, 2016. I hope that you can join me for what will be an exciting and educational IPT.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

I should be almost home if everything has gone according to plan. I hope to be visiting with y’all on a regular, more personal basis again here soon. I should be back in the office late on the afternoon of Friday, April 29.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 175 days in a row with a new educational blog post… 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. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created on the 2016 Namibia IPT at the Quiver Tree Forest, Keetmanshoop, Namibia with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 185mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/11 Av Mode. Color temperature: 8,400K. Center AF point (Manual selection) /AI Servo Rear button AF on the upper part of the trunk and re-compose slightly. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Quiver tree with passerine

The Quiver Tree Forest

After the ghost town holiday, Denise Ippolito and I met the group at a farm outside of Keetmanshoop with lovely guest lodgings. We were greeted by the hosts pet Warthog. After unpacking, we enjoyed a superb early dinner of Oryx stew in burgundy wine sauce. Then Wim gave a lesson on light painting Milky Way photography. We learned to frame the image, to focus using Live View, to set the correct exposure, and how to set up our Pocket Wizards and cable. We headed out, most with intermediate telephoto lenses, into the golden light of a clear African afternoon. We made some nice images of Quiver Trees right from the parking lot. Most of the group followed Wim and sidekick Ben Crane into the protected forest area. Seeing the potential for some sunset silhouettes of tress on the ridge to the west that was actually outside of the formal Quiver Tree forest. I invited several clients to follow me but all chose to head into the preserve with Denise, Ben, and Wim. I spent about 40 minutes galavanting across the hillside in search of a great tree to silhouette. At first, there was enough light to hand hold but after a while I put my 70-200 onto the tripod. After I found it in near total darkness.

Then I caught up with the group and enjoyed a challenging five hour light painting/Milky Way photo session. I will share my best image from that session with you here soon. We did not get back to our rooms until almost 2am. After a very few hours of sleep we woke early and hit the road, headed to the the luxurious Sossusvlei Dune Lodge inside Namib Naukluft National Park.

This image was also created on the 2016 Namibia IPT at the Quiver Tree Forest, Keetmanshoop, with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 210mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/11 Av Mode. Color temperature: 8,400K.. Center AF point (Manual selection) /AI Servo Rear button AF on the upper right part of the tree’s crown 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. Image #2: Crown of young Quiver tree

The Youngster

I found the crown of this young Quiver Tree to be quite graphic. It was a challenge getting into position on the rock hillside. I sure was glad that I did not wear my sandals…

This image too was created on the 2016 Namibia IPT at the Quiver Tree Forest, Keetmanshoop, with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at155mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/8 sec. at f/16 in Av Mode. Color temperature: 10,000 K. One-Shot Flexi-Zone Single AF in Live View with 2-second timer. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #3: Quiver tree sunset well after sundown

Late Color

Once it got too dark to hand hold, I went to my flower technique: Live View (effectively for Mirror Lock-up) and the 2-second timer. This was the last image I made before making my way into the protected area to hook up with the group.

Your Favorite?

Please leave a comment and let us know which of the three images is your favorite. And be sure to let us know why you made your choice.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

We are staying in a lovely hotel in Swakopmund, Namibia. On Wednesday, April 20 we enjoyed one of our best days of the trip. We photographed Great White Pelicans in the morning and both Lesser and Greater Flamingoes in the afternoon. Then another great dinner, this one at Swakopmund Brauhaus. Wim has me drinking a glass of red wine for my health each evening at dinner. Tonight I had two with the expected happy results. Twenty-six days post surgery I am feeling strong and doing great with a bit of lingering discomfort.

I will be on line until about April 22 or 23; after that, nothing till I get back at the end of the month. Please remember that folks sending new inquiries about selling used gear are best advised to get in touch with me at the end of April.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 173 days in a row with a new educational blog post… 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. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

What is it?

What Is It?

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think this image depicts. Do you like it? Hate it? Why?

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂