Important Note

My sam and mayas att e-mail account was suspended on 18 DEC. Those who tried to reach me by e-mail between then and yesterday had their mails bounced back. If you tried to reach me during that period please re-send any important e-mails.

What’s Up?

I was feeling a bit worse last night and did not enjoy the greatest night of sleep but am feeling a lot better as this morning as this blog post is being published from home at about 7:55am. I still have many more exciting new images, tales, and lessons from my recently concluded Southern Oceans trip to share with you here over the course of the next few weeks and am looking forward to doing just that.

Huge Thanks!

Though page views dropped by about 35% during my absence y’all did a great job of remembering to use my B&H affiliate links while I was on my busman’s holiday. We sold about ten each of the new 100-400 II L IS lenses and 7D Mark IIs. I should be getting my 100-400 from B&H in a few days and plan on bringing it to San Diego where I will be using it the both my 7D II and a 1D X. IAC, thanks a stack to all those who use the BAA affiliate links for their December and early January purchases. Readership is now back to well above the normal 3,000 page views/day.

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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.

Canon Digital Learning Center “Bird Photography with Arthur Morris” Video #1

Location Scouting for the Perfect Shot/Understanding the Light and the Wind Direction

I was thrilled in late October when Elaine Vuong and Rudy Winston wrote asking me to do a 7-part bird photography video for the Canon Digital Learning Center (CDLC). It all came to fruition in mid-November at Bosque del Apache. The crew from C47 Productions included Producer/Director Jem Schofield, camera and sound men Daniel Phakos and James Kwan, and two locally hired grips. Rudy Winston was along as our Technical Advisor and he got me out of a few jams when my memory failed :). They were a fun bunch to work with; we all had a ball even though Jem was a stern taskmaster. He did get the best out of everyone.

The videos went live yesterday. You can access the whole series by clicking here.

Today I will be talking a bit about Video #1, “Location Scouting for the Perfect Shot/Understanding the Light and the Wind Direction.” You can view that one (4 minutes, 31 seconds) by clicking on the first of the seven images (the one of me against a light purple sky) and then hitting play.

You will learn about the qualities and the direction of light and how the wind affects bird photography. My comments on wind direction are quite clear and revealing (he said modestly). There are numerous still photos included in the video and the explanatory diagrams are cleverly conceived and executed. I will be glad to answer any questions on the topics covered in the first video here on the blog; please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question below. Enjoy the video.

Note: Video #4, “Getting the Right Exposure” is currently unavailable. I am of course hoping that that is temporary.

I Smiled the Whole Time

When I learned yesterday that the video series was online on the Canon Digital Learning Center I watched them over the course of the afternoon. I smiled the whole time. In the past, whenever I watched myself in a video or on a TV show (I did something like six or seven episodes of the old Canon Photo Safari programs), I always felt as if I look doofy and sounded even doofier. I am not sure how the folks at C47 did it but I thought that I looked pretty good (if a bit grizzled) and sounded even better (venerable???). Way to go guys.

Understanding the Wind and the Light

Over time you will come to understand that a wind with any western component on a clear morning will make flight photography difficult at best. A wind from the north/northeast as here is ideal as the birds will be angling slightly towards you. For landing birds, a wind from the east will have the birds landing right at you. Northeast, southeast, or south in the mornings can be pretty darned good as well.

First CLDC Video Comments

Kindly, via e-mail this morning from Collier Smyth:

Artie,

Collier.

The Bosque Site Guide

All BAA Site Guides are designed so that with a bit of study you can show up at a great place and know exactly where to be at what time on what wind and in what lighting conditions. With a Site Guide on your laptop you will feel like a 20-year veteran even on your first visit. Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT. If you plan on visiting the refuge it would be foolish to make the trip without having this guide in hand. Why spend money on gear and travel and then spend days stumbling around in the wrong spots? If you have visited previously, and are still unsure of where you should be at this time of day with that wind, this guide will prove invaluable to you as well.

You can order yours here or check out all of our site guides here.

Bosque del Apache 2015 BIRDS AS ART/A Creative Adventure Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). 3-FULL DAY IPT: NOV 22-24, 2015. $1149. Meet and greet and introductory slide program after dinner on your own at 7:00pm on SAT NOV 21.

Tens of thousands of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with two of the world’s premier photographic educators at one of their very favorite photography locations on the planet. Top-notch in-the-field and Photoshop instruction. This will make 21 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for artie. This will be denise’s 7th workshop at the refuge. Nobody knows the place better than artie does. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home being able to apply what you’ve learned on your home turf will prove to be invaluable.

This workshop includes 3 morning and 3 afternoon photography sessions, an inspirational introductory slide program after dinner on your own on Saturday, 11/21, all lunches, and after-lunch digital workflow, Photoshop, and image critiquing sessions.

There is never a strict itinerary on a Bosque IPT as each day is tailored to the local conditions at the time and to the weather. We are totally flexible in order to maximize both the photographic and learning opportunities. We are up early each day leaving the hotel by 5:30 am to be in position for sunrise. We usually photograph until about 10:30am. Then it is back to Socorro for lunch and then a classroom session with the group most days. We head back to the refuge at about 3:30pm each day and photograph until sunset. We will be photographing lots of Snow Geese and lots of Sandhill Cranes with the emphasis on expanding both your technical skills and your creativity.

A $449 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 7/25/2015. If you cancel and the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. 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 print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) You can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

Bosque del Apache 2015 BIRDS AS ART/A Creative Adventure Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). 4-DAY IPT: (three full and two 1/2 DAYS) NOV 28-DEC 2, 2015. $1499. Meet and greet at 3pm on SAT NOV 28 followed by an afternoon photo session at the crane pools and the introductory slide program after dinner on your own.

Tens of thousands of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with two of the world’s premier photographic educators at one of their very favorite photography locations on the planet. Top-notch in-the-field and Photoshop instruction. This will make 21 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for artie. This will be denise’s 7th workshop at the refuge. Nobody knows the place better than artie does. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home being able to apply what you’ve learned on your home turf will prove to be invaluable.

This workshop includes 4 afternoon (11/28through 12/1), 4 morning (11/29 to 12/2) photography sessions, an inspirational introductory slide program after dinner on your own on Saturday, 11/28, all lunches, and after-lunch digital workflow, Photoshop, and image critiquing sessions.

There is never a strict itinerary on a Bosque IPT as each day is tailored to the local conditions at the time and to the weather. We are totally flexible in order to maximize both the photographic and learning opportunities. We are up early each day leaving the hotel by 5:30 am to be in position for sunrise. We usually photograph until about 10:30am. Then it is back to Socorro for lunch and then a classroom session with the group most days. We head back to the refuge at about 3:30pm each day and photograph until sunset. We will be photographing lots of Snow Geese and lots of Sandhill Cranes with the emphasis on expanding both your technical skills and your creativity.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 7/25/2015. If you cancel and the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. 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 print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) You can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

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Support the BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!

We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!

Amazon.com

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Amazon Canada

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

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 :).

Very Important Note

My sam and mayas att e-mail account was suspended on 18 DEC. Those who tried to reach me by e-mail between then and yesterday had their mails bounced back. If you tried to reach me during that period please re-send any important e-mails.

What’s Up?

I spent pretty much all day yesterday catching up on the NFL playoffs via TIVO. As I was rooting for the Ravens to beat the hated Patriots, for the Panthers to upset the Seahawks, for Peyton Manning’s Broncos to beat the Colts, and for Tony Romo’s Cowboys to beat the also-hated Packers, it was a very long day…. The overturned call on Dez Bryant’s incredible 31-yard catch was the final insult. This blog post was eventually published at 5:55am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL.

I have many more exciting new images, tales, and lessons to share with you here over the course of the next few weeks and am looking forward to doing so.

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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.

Always Look Back

We landed early at the Steeple Jason Island in the Falklands. The incredible Black-browed Albatross colony there, with well more than 1/4 million pairs of this spectacular seabird, is the world’s largest breeding colony of black-broweds. We encountered cloudy dark, cloudy bright, light drizzle, partly sunny, mostly sunny, and sunny and clear. Did I mention wind?

The last zodiac back was supposed to be in the mid-afternoon and once everyone was back on the ship we were to head to another spectacular location, Sea Lion Island. I headed to the landing a bit early in part to get back on the Ortelius and dry out a bit. But as I began the trek the wind came up. Seemingly it increased in strength with each step. The good news was that it was at my back. When I reached our morning landing site a Force 9 gale had developed. I was told that the ship would be sailing around the island so that we could be picked up at the alternate landing site. I did not realize that that would take about two hours. I got my gear and my drybag together and made the short walk to the new landing site. Then I napped.

when I woke, I got out my 70-200 and both TCs and began photographing near the alternate landing site: Gentoo Penguins, Steamer Ducks, and Striated Caracaras and a single Austral Thrush kept me busy for a while. By now the wind was howling. Though the ship was in sight the sheets of spume and spray that covered the ocean made it clear that no matter how skilled, competent, and daring the Cheesemans’ staff that it would not be safe to lower any zodiacs until the wind dropped considerably. Folks began considering the possibility of our spending the night on Steeple Jason….

Micheal Viljeon and I decided to head back towards the original landing site to photograph the gentoos coming out of the water after a day of gathering krill. We climbed out as far as we dared on the huge boulders in an effort to get closer to the birds and to get closer to a good sun angle. After about an hour of pretty good action prestigious Cheesemans’ staff member Tim Carr came by to fetch us: “You need to head back. The wind is dropping and the ship is getting closer. They should be lowering the zodiacs soon.”

I removed my 2X TC and climbed carefully back towards safety. I am not sure why but I stopped every few steps to keep an eye on the penguins. Just once I saw a big group swimming towards their landing site, called to Michael, and paused to create a few frames. The image above, much wider than anything that I had done previously, was my favorite by a mile. I will share the image optimization for today’s image in tomorrow’s blog post.

Tim Carr, along with wife Pauline, has been on the Cheesemans’ Expedition Staff for each of my three Southern Ocean trips with CES. They spent fourteen years on South Georgia working for the South Georgia Museum, first as Custodians and then as Curators. Before they became the complete resident human population of South Georgia, they spent 25 years circumnavigating the globe aboard Curlew, a 28-foot, engineless wooden sailboat that was built in 1898. Arriving at South Georgia in 1992, the Carrs were inspired by this incredible island and , in 1998, wrote the book Antarctic Oasis: Under the Spell of South Georgia

In addition to their sailing exploits around the South Georgia, the Carrs explored inland extensively while camping in tents, bivouacs and snow holes. Tim and Pauline are delightful personalities, and as leaders and frequent presenters, they bring an unparalleled and intimate knowledge not only of South Georgia but of all the Southern Ocean sites and creatures along with a passion for the early history of South Georgia, a very special and remote island.

Palouse #1. The Palouse A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. May 29-June 2, 2015/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12 photographers/Sold Out with wait list.

The Palouse A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 5-9, 2015/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12 photographers/Openings 3.

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 or two. 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. 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 breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions when possible.

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; Canon 5D Mark III bodies are a plus. And 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 touching on infrared photography.

A non-refundable $699 deposit is due now. The balance will be due on January 29, 2015. If you cancel and the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. 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.

With the unpredictable nature of the photography business, I have not said this often lately, but it seems quite likely that this one will fill up very quickly. 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; the latter is preferred.

Please send your deposit check made out to “Arthur Morris” to us at Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

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We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use this link:

Amazon Canada

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

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?

My red eye flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Atlanta was pleasantly uneventful; I even managed to get a good 5+ hours of sleep. I began this blog post at breakfast in the E concourse at ATL. Just for the record books, it was 27 degrees when we landed at Hartsfield Jackson a bit after 5am this morning, several degrees colder than anything we experienced in Antarctica. Older daughter and BAA Executive Director Jennifer is picking me up at the Orlando Airport at about 9:45am.

Arrived a bit early into MCO. One of my two checked bags was first out. The other never showed up :). I re-checked it after customs in Atlanta but there is no record of it :). IAC, they are assuring me that it will be delivered to my home in Indian Lake Estates. Time will tell.

I have a ton of exciting new images and tales to share with you here over the course of the next few weeks. Online in Jen’s car on FL 528 via my Verizon Mobile hotspot this blog post was published at 10:19am.

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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.

Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II/2X III TC/EOS-7D Mark II: A More Than Viable Combination

On my last Cheesemans’ Southern Ocean expedition I relied on the 300II/2X III combo with one of two full frame bodies, either the 1D X or the 5D III. On my recently concluded trip I often went with the 7D Mark II body to enjoy and extra 60% reach. My full frame 600mm focal length became a 960mm f/5.6 lens. All in a relatively light package. And as you can see by taking a good look at today’s featured images, the results and the image sharpness were outstanding.

The chicks in the image above are Adelie Penguin chicks. When we made our first continental landing, the light was harsh and the adult on this nest was facing 180 degrees away from the light. More than once I said out loud, “We need this bird to turn around and show us those chicks.” Several folks responded by saying, “Ain’t gonna happen; all the whitewash is behind the nest. She must always sit facing east.” I answered, “A guys gotta dream.” Within minutes the bird turned around and fed her two chicks. But the light was still too harsh. Skip ahead till 6:18pm and my prayers were answered again. The image here is my very favorite from a close to 100-image sequence.

Image Question

Why did I go to f/10 for the image above and risk bringing up unwanted background detail?

Seeing the Situation

I explained early on to the BIRDS AS ART group that it would be easy to fill a dozen 64gb cards on most of our landings if one was to photograph indiscriminately; after all, on some of our landings we would be seeing well more than 1/4 million potential subjects. “The trick,” I continued, “is to learn to spot the few good situations: nice subject, the right lighting, and most importantly, the background.”

AF Strategy Change

About halfway through the 25-day trip I began–when photography relatively static subjects, ie, not flying–manually selecting a single sensor in lieu of using my usual Surround. Why? For increased focusing accuracy.

Facebook

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

Support the BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!

We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use this link:

Amazon Canada

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

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?

This blog was adapted from one originally published here on September 8, 2013. As I did with many others, I finished this post in the lobby of the Albatross Hotel on Sunday, December 14, 2014.

Along with the rest of my shipmates I boarded the Ortelius on the afternoon of 15 DEC. We get back to dock on the the morning of 9 JAN. There is no wifi on the ship. That means that I will effectively and absolutely be without internet at least from 14 DEC through 9 JAN. At present I am further behind with answering e-mails than at any time since I have began answering folks’ photography-related questions about 25 years ago.

Please therefore refrain from e-mailing me at the usual samandmayasgrandpa e-mail address until I get back home on 13 JAN. You can reach my right-hand man Jim Litzenburg by e-mail here or reach Jennifer here as usual.

Important Blog Notice

I have been preparing a few new blog posts today to be published during my absence with the help of either Jim or the invaluable Peter Kes, the BAA webmaster. In addition, my plan is to resurrect a collection of older but important educational blog posts (like today’s) and have them re-published during my absence. Please enjoy. Please consider signing up for an IPT. And please continue to do a great job of using my B&H and other affiliate links while I am gone.

To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, 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.

Saw Whet Owl. Image copyright 2012: Dan Cadieux. This image was created with the following gear hand held:

Let’s not forget….

Let’s not forget that good photographers make good images with whatever gear they have in their hands. At a time when everyone is lusting for the latest greatest super-telephoto lens and the state of the art $8K camera body the body of work that Dan Cadieux, our top BirdPhotographer’s.Net Avian Moderator, put together while working “only” with the much-maligned EOS-7D Mark and the equally maligned Canon 100-400 IS L lens is beyond impressive. As we were saying, good photographers make good images, and great photographers make great images.

How Dan Cadieux Masters the Canon EOS-7D

Dan Cadieux, a Canadian federal government employee, lives with his wife Chantal in Ottawa Canada. He is the proud father of two boys and an avid bird/nature photographer in his free time. He is a skilled, hard-working moderator in the Avian Forum at Bird Photographers.Net. As of 8:02 am on September 18, 2012 he has started 1112 threads and posted 12,310 comments. Most of the threads include one of his great images posted for critiquing. In most of the comments he is critiquing the work of others telling what he likes, what he does not like, and offering suggestions for improvement. He is an invaluable member of the BPN staff. You can learn more about Dan here.

All of the images in yesterday’s blog post, Answers in 48 Hours…, and all of the images here were created by Daniel with the Canon EOS 7D SLR digital camera and the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM autofocus lens. As Dan does not own a tripod all of the images were created hand held.

Warbling Vireo singing. Image copyright 2012: Dan Cadieux. This image was created with the following gear hand held:

The Much-Maligned Duo

Both the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM autofocus lens (“not sharp at 400mm, slow-to focus, poorly constructed,”) and the EOS 7D (“sub-par quality sensor, too noisy at the higher ISOs”) have been much-maligned by the so-called internet experts and others. With the images here, Dan Cadieux puts those myths to rest once and for all.

Below, in a guest blog post written especially for you at my request, Dan lets you know exactly how he captures and processes the great images that he so kindly shares with you here. Be sure to visit Dan’s website here and his BPN gallery here. Like me I am positive that you will be impressed by the artistic beauty and the technical perfection of Dan’s images. Enjoy. I am pretty sure that Dan will be glad to answer any questions that you have. To do so, please leave a comment below.

Semipalmated Plover, juvenile plumage. Image copyright 2012: Dan Cadieux. This image was created with the following gear hand held:

Canon 7D processing 101

by Daniel Cadieux

Ever since Canon’s introduction of the EOS 7D in 2009 there has been quite the fuss over its image quality (IQ), or more precisely, noise level performance at the higher ISOs. We’ve all seen, heard, or read statements about how bad and unusable its files are with anything created at ISO 400 or higher. Is the 7D really that bad?

Many folks have contacted me about the “clean” results I’ve been able to achieve with this much-maligned camera. In this tutorial I will share my workflow and hopefully demonstrate that the answer to the above question is a resounding “No!” This tutorial is not meant to be scientific; it does not include tests, charts, graphs, comparisons, or pixel-peeping samples. There is a market and a demand for that type of information but providing it is not my intent here. It is not meant to compare the 7D to its much more expensive cousins such as the cameras in the 1D or the 5D series. It is simply a short tutorial written for hobbyists, especially those on a budget, or for those still on the fence about purchasing a 7D. It will show that the Canon EOS-7D is indeed worth a second look and that it is more than capable of creating terrific, high quality images in real-world situations.

Bohemian Waxwing on snow. Image copyright 2012: Dan Cadieux. This image was created with the following gear hand held:

I work at ISO 800 more than half the time. Many folks find that 7D image quality is unacceptable at ISO 800; here I share my workflow which shows how I create quality images with my 7D/100-400 set up.

The in-camera part of my workflow is short and sweet; it assumes that the user is proficient at exposing images properly. Here are two important points: The first is the importance of micro-adjusting each of your lenses. The 7D is capable of producing images with incredible detail, but it will not do that if your rig is front- or back-focusing with a given lens. (Note: the best way of micro-adjusting each of your lenses to your camera boy is with the Lens Align Mark II.) The second is that you must learn to “expose to the right”(ETTR); this means simply that you need to expose your images so that the histogram shows data well into the right-most box (the fifth box). If an image has bright whites in it it is fine to have a very few blinkies on the whites as blinkies are just over-exposure warnings. This will yield the best results after post-processing especially with images that have blacks or dark tones. At the very least do not underexpose your images. This is basically true for every DSLR anyhow, but the 7D can struggle a bit more with noise in deep shadows when you need to add back light in post processing. Other than those there is nothing out of the ordinary to do in-camera.

My post-processing workflow is more detailed, but it is rather simple and easy to emulate. (Warning: I never use layers and rarely use masks thus they are not mentioned; you may of course use them if they are part of your normal workflow).

Cattle Egret in flight. Image copyright 2012: Dan Cadieux. This image was created with the following gear hand held:

I use Lightroom 3 (LR3) for processing my RAW files; ACR is basically the same and other RAW converters work similarly. I start off with all the LR3 settings intact and from the menu options at right in the “Develop Module” I start from the top and work my way down. The first two sliders, White Balance and Tint, are most often left untouched. I work almost exclusively in Auto White Balance.

The next group of sliders is the most important. First I “correct” the exposure, which, if I have used the ETTR method correctly, means that I need to lower the value here. It can be as small as 0.10 stop, or as much as a full stop or more. The Recovery and Fill Light sliders are great if there is still a bit of clipping at either end of the histogram. Recovery can be used fairly aggressively and still look natural. Not so with Fill-Light, but it can be combined with a reduction in the Blacks (which is defaulted at +5) to produce a less problematic result. I may boost Contrast from +25, the default, to as much as +50 or so for photos made with mostly midtones or those created in very flat light. The next two sliders, Clarity and Vibrance, are usually boosted anywhere from +8 to +12. Although noise reduction (NR) is good in LR3 I do not find localized adjustments as user-friendly as in Photoshop (PS) where I do my NR.

Limpkin just before sunset. Image copyright 2012: Dan Cadieux. This image was created with the following gear hand held:

That’s basically it for LR3. Next I convert the file to a 16 bit tiff and open it in Photoshop. Note: I am currently using CS2. Even though I do a good job in LR3 in prepping the files, I feel that PS can take things up another notch. The first thing that I do is double check the exposure in Levels. Sometimes a small tweak is needed, most times not. Next I make whatever localized adjustments are needed with the Dodge and Burn tool. I use the Dodge Tool to open up areas with harsh shadows especially under a bird’s belly, chin, or undertail coverts, or to lighten too dark areas in the background or the foreground. Conversely I use the Burn Tool to tame overly light areas in the frame. I touch up the eye on 90% of my bird images by lightening the iris and/or darkening the pupil. My default settings for both of these tools are a soft brush (0% hardness) with the range set to midtones and the exposure at 8%. The same goes for the Sponge Tool which is my favorite “color enhancer” or “reducer.” I use it to enhance the iris color which may have become a bit washed-out after I’ve lightened it. I may also use it to enhance colors such as the yellow lores of a Savannah Sparrow or the green sheen on the head of a drake Mallard. These are the tools that I use the most in PS; many of the compliments that I get about my post processing skills are a result of the use of these tools.

Grasshopper Sparrow singing. Image copyright 2012: Dan Cadieux. This image was created with the following gear hand held:

I do other types of touch-ups including cloning, patching, spot healing, and cropping to format needed, but nothing unusual or groundbreaking and all stuff that is covered in detail in Artie’s Digital Basics File. I save a final version of the file, a finished version without NR or sharpening applied. This is my “master file.” I go back to it in order to prep images for web or for print. Then I open the file and apply the finishing touches (NR and sharpening via Unsharp Mask–USM) but only after after the image is sized for use. This, in my opinion, is an area of high confusion as many folks over-complicate things. Here is the simple way that I do things. With most files I apply NR to the whole image using the Noise Ninja plug-in for PS; any such software will do a nice job. Then I use the History Brush at 100% opacity and “paint” away the NR on the subject, the perch, and any other areas of high detail that are in focus or are covered by the depth-of-field. I do not use NR on any image created at ISO 400 or below unless I messed up the exposure and need to recover (lighten) it aggressively in post

Osprey in flight. Image copyright 2012: Dan Cadieux. This image was created with the following gear hand held:

The last step is to apply USM. For images that have had NR applied, I sharpen the whole image. Yes, the whole image. With images that have had no NR applied, I only sharpen the subject, the perch, and whatever else is in focus.

For every image file I set the Radius to 1.3 and the Threshold to 0; the Amount varies between 120 and 170. That’s it! Really! Keep in mind that the results look bad if the image is viewed at anything larger than the intended size and they will look downright awful if viewed at 100% or more. This is normal. The results, however, are awesome when the images are viewed at the intended size for display or print.

I hope that after trying my recommendations you conclude that the 7D really is a great camera that offers amazing image quality with noise characteristics that are easily handled with one round of NR applied to the images created at the higher ISOs. It is no different than any of the other crop-factor cameras out there. Opinions will surely vary, but for me, this is the perfect camera for a hobbyist on a budget and even for the pro who needs a great crop-factor camera with lots of pixels. If you have been sitting on the fence about the purchase of a 7D I recommend that you go right ahead and try one, you might be quite surprised at the results. Ignore the mixed reviews as I did. And I haven’t looked back since!

Snow Bunting female on snow. Image copyright 2012: Dan Cadieux. This image was created with the following gear hand held:

Thanks Dan!

Thanks Dan for sharing your amazingly beautiful images and your 7D workflow with us here. Your love of birds and your high levels of skill as a bird photographer are quite evident in your images. This article and your work should serve as an inspiration for the legions of folks out there who cannot afford to purchase a Canon 1D X and a 600mm f/4L IS II lens. And as an inspiration to those who can!

Reflections, and An Invitation

Those of you who missed the celebration gallery from way back when might enjoy it by clicking here and then clicking on the gallery link to view it.

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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 wrote this blog post in the Albatross Hotel on Sunday, December 14, 2014.

Along with the rest of my shipmates I boarded the Ortelius on the afternoon of 15 DEC. We get back to dock on the the morning of 9 JAN. There is no wifi on the ship. That means that I will effectively and absolutely be without internet at least from 14 DEC through 9 JAN. At present I am further behind with answering e-mails than at any time since I have began answering folks’ photography-related questions about 25 years ago.

Please therefore refrain from e-mailing me at the usual samandmayasgrandpa e-mail address until I get back home on 13 JAN. You can reach my right-hand man Jim Litzenburg by e-mail here or reach Jennifer here as usual.

Important Blog Notice

I have been preparing a few new blog posts today to be published during my absence with the help of either Jim or the invaluable Peter Kes, the BAA webmaster. In addition, my plan is to resurrect a collection of older but important educational blog posts (like today’s) and have them re-published during my absence. Please enjoy. Please consider signing up for an IPT. And please continue to do a great job of using my B&H and other affiliate links while I am gone.

To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, 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.

Best Restaurant in the City at the End of the World

On my last trip down here in 2012, I stumbled upon a great home cooking restaurant on the main drag and while searching for a vegetable that would not raise my blood sugar much, I came across mashed pumpkin. Wow. I have tried to cook my own mashed pumpkin without much success at all. Yes, I know that you need to use eating pumpkins not Halloween pumpkins but even so, there is no comparison. I set off to find the restaurant on Saturday evening with my roommate for the trip, the affable John McGarvey. Nice as he is his best trait is that he sleeps like a log. Unlike me. That qualifies him as Most Valuable Roommate.

In any case, they were out of pork so I went with the lamb. And the next day I went with the cod. Always with the spring onions and leek sauce, and the mashed pumpkin of course. Inspired by my memories of the pumpkin after my last trip butternut squash quickly became a low-glycemic index staple of this diabetic’s diet. Two four ounces slab baked at 410 degrees on coconut oil lathered foil topped with lots of butter and a dusting of the natural sweetener Stevia afterwards. Not quite as good as the mashed pumpkin but quite yummy.

The Ushuaia restaurant is Bodegón Fueguino, located at San Martin 859, just a few short blocks from the Albatross Hotel. John enjoyed a glass of the local red ale with each of our meals there. After the first one we did not dare eat anywhere else. If you get there, be sure to ask for the loverly Rocio as your waitress.

If you doubt me check out the reviews here; you will be most impressed.

Palouse #1. The Palouse A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. May 29-June 2, 2015/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12 photographers/Openings: 2.

Due to a cancellation, we now have a single opening on this long sold out trip. See item next for additional details.

The Palouse A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 5-9, 2015/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12 photographers/Openings 2.

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 or two. 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. 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 breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions when possible.

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; Canon 5D Mark III bodies are a plus. And 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 touching on infrared photography.

A non-refundable $699 deposit is due now. The balance will be due on January 29, 2015. If you cancel and the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. 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.

With the unpredictable nature of the photography business, I have not said this often lately, but it seems quite likely that this one will fill up very quickly. 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; the latter is preferred.

Please send your deposit check made out to “Arthur Morris” to us at Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. You can also contact denise via e-mail here

Facebook

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Support the BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!

We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use this link:

Amazon Canada

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

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?

If things go right this blog post should be published by Peter Kes in Switzerland or Jim Litzenberg from ILE at some point before I get home :). I will be on the Ortelius from 15 DEC and through the morning of 9 JAN. There is no wifi on the ship. That means that I will effectively and absolutely be without internet at least from 14 DEC through 9 JAN.

When I left I was further behind with answering e-mails than at any time since I have began answering everyone’s photography-related questions about 25 years ago. Please therefore refrain from e-mailing me at the samandmayasgrandpa e-mail address until I get back home on 12 JAN. You can reach my right-hand man Jim Litzenburg by e-mail here or reach Jennifer here as usual.

Important Blog Notice

I hope to have some time before getting on the ship to prepare a few new blog posts and to have them published during my absence with the help of either Jim or the invaluable Peter Kes, the BAA webmaster. This post was prepared in the Atlanta Airport. In addition, my plan is to resurrect a collection of older but very important educational blog posts and have them re-published during my absence. Please enjoy. Please consider signing up for an IPT. And please continue to do a great job of using my B&H and other affiliate links while I am gone.

All of the plans above are dependent on my being able to get online with a decent connection at the hotel in Ushuaia…. If not, happy new year!

It Is Our Responsibility…

Just beyond the Flight Deck the refuge staff opened a nice clear area with a pretty good line of sight to both the birds and the horizon. Unfortunately, the tourists could not resist going past the plainly visible and easily readable sign. In this case, notice the complete absence of tripods and long lenses. Thus, I identified the offenders here as tourists rather than as photographers. Each morning during the Festival that I witnessed this scene, I parked the car briefly, walked a bit out past the sign, and in my most offical-sounding voice shouted “Get out. This is a closed area. If you do not leave immediately I will call Enforcement Officer Ben on his cell phone.” Each day the rats scurried out of the area. On the first morning I tried it, one guy with some serious video gear told me to be quiet: “Shhhh. I am making a video.” I said, “Get out now or I will stay and video you out here and then getting into your car and turn the tape over to the authorities.” He left immediately.

Wherever we are, it is our duty to act in some manner when we see folks doing something that will give all photographers a black eye. Now I am not suggesting that you always or ever act as brusquely as I did on those three mornings, especially if you are alone and there is a single offender who is bigger than you. In that case, you can either ask the person politely to leave or stay back, photograph them, photograph their license plate, and e-mail it to the authorities. Of course during regular business hours a call to HQ will usually result in an enforcement officer arriving on the scene quickly.

We all need to act in these situations. Just be sure not to put yourself at risk.

To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, 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.

Bosque del Apache 2015 BIRDS AS ART/A Creative Adventure Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). 3-FULL DAY IPT: NOV 22-24, 2015. $1149. Meet and greet and introductory slide program after dinner on your own at 7:00pm on SAT NOV 21.

Tens of thousands of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with two of the world’s premier photographic educators at one of their very favorite photography locations on the planet. Top-notch in-the-field and Photoshop instruction. This will make 21 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for artie. This will be denise’s 7th workshop at the refuge. Nobody knows the place better than artie does. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home being able to apply what you’ve learned on your home turf will prove to be invaluable.

This workshop includes 3 morning and 3 afternoon photography sessions, an inspirational introductory slide program after dinner on your own on Saturday, 11/21, all lunches, and after-lunch digital workflow, Photoshop, and image critiquing sessions.

There is never a strict itinerary on a Bosque IPT as each day is tailored to the local conditions at the time and to the weather. We are totally flexible in order to maximize both the photographic and learning opportunities. We are up early each day leaving the hotel by 5:30 am to be in position for sunrise. We usually photograph until about 10:30am. Then it is back to Socorro for lunch and then a classroom session with the group most days. We head back to the refuge at about 3:30pm each day and photograph until sunset. We will be photographing lots of Snow Geese and lots of Sandhill Cranes with the emphasis on expanding both your technical skills and your creativity.

A $449 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 7/25/2014. If you cancel and the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. 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 print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) You can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

Bosque del Apache 2015 BIRDS AS ART/A Creative Adventure Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). 4-DAY IPT: (three full and two 1/2 DAYS) NOV 28-DEC 2, 2015. $1499. Meet and greet at 3pm on SAT NOV 28 followed by an afternoon photo session at the crane pools and the introductory slide program after dinner on your own.

Tens of thousands of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with two of the world’s premier photographic educators at one of their very favorite photography locations on the planet. Top-notch in-the-field and Photoshop instruction. This will make 21 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for artie. This will be denise’s 7th workshop at the refuge. Nobody knows the place better than artie does. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home being able to apply what you’ve learned on your home turf will prove to be invaluable.

This workshop includes 4 afternoon (11/28through 12/1), 4 morning (11/29 to 12/2) photography sessions, an inspirational introductory slide program after dinner on your own on Saturday, 11/28, all lunches, and after-lunch digital workflow, Photoshop, and image critiquing sessions.

There is never a strict itinerary on a Bosque IPT as each day is tailored to the local conditions at the time and to the weather. We are totally flexible in order to maximize both the photographic and learning opportunities. We are up early each day leaving the hotel by 5:30 am to be in position for sunrise. We usually photograph until about 10:30am. Then it is back to Socorro for lunch and then a classroom session with the group most days. We head back to the refuge at about 3:30pm each day and photograph until sunset. We will be photographing lots of Snow Geese and lots of Sandhill Cranes with the emphasis on expanding both your technical skills and your creativity.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 7/25/2014. If you cancel and the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. 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 print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) You can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo Tours (IPTs)

For a listing of all currently offered IPTs, click here.

Click here for BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) General Information.

Click here for BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) Deposit and Cancellation Policies.

Click here for BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) Registration and Release Forms.

DPP 4 eGuide 7D II Update

If you have purchased the DPP 4 eGuide and have purchased a 7D II, please request the free update by shooting Jim an e-mail with the words DPP 4 7D II Update cut and pasted into the Subject Line. You must include some sort of proof of purchase; a cut and paste of page 2 of the current guide will suffice. If you send your request without including proof of purchase your updated eGuide will not be sent 🙂

Facebook

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

Support the BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!

We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use this link:

Amazon Canada

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

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?

This blog was adapted from one originally published here on August 8, 2012. As I did with many others, I finished this post in the lobby of the Albatross Hotel on Sunday, December 14, 2014.

We boarded the Ortelius on the afternoon of 15 DEC. We get back to dock on the the morning of 9 JAN. There is no wifi on the ship. That means that I will effectively and absolutely be without internet at least from 14 DEC through 9 JAN. At present I am further behind with answering e-mails than at any time since I have began answering folks’ photography-related questions about 25 years ago.

Please therefore refrain from e-mailing me at the usual samandmayasgrandpa e-mail address until I get back home on 13 JAN. You can reach my right-hand man Jim Litzenburg by e-mail here or reach Jennifer here as usual.

Important Blog Notice

I have been preparing a few new blog posts today to be published during my absence with the help of either Jim or the invaluable Peter Kes, the BAA webmaster. In addition, my plan is to resurrect a collection of older but important educational blog posts (like today’s) and have them re-published during my absence. Please enjoy. Please consider signing up for an IPT. And please continue to do a great job of using my B&H and other affiliate links while I am gone.

To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, 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.

Coastal Brown Bear Photo Tips

You have traveled to Katmai National Park in hopes of photographing tiny Coastal Brown Bear cubs playing and nursing. But it was a very harsh winter that followed the poor salmon runs of the previous fall and there are no baby bears. And there are very few squabbling bears. And the salmon have not begun running in earnest yet. All that the bears are doing is eating grass. What to do?

What to Do?

You can find a large, beautiful bear in soft light, take about a dozen frames when the subject to imaging sensor is ideal, and then keep the best one or two images.

What to Do?

Have the group sit low and tight as two bears graze closer and closer. Then catch one in the act of chewing.

What to Do?

Stand at full height behind your tripod to avoid getting the dark stuff at the top in the frame. Put the central sensor on the bear’s neck as it angled toward you. When you like what you see, create about a dozen images. Unbeknownst to me my rapid-fire-when-it’s-good approach paid dividends by catching the big bear with a mouthful of grass.

What to Do?

Go small in the frame, put the bear down in the corner of the frame, and take advantage of the soft light and the glorious meadow.

What to Do?

Find a bear eating grass among the wildflowers, take off the teleconverter to go wide, get down in the river to get close to the bear’s level and to bring the distant conifer-covered hillside into the frame, and quickly choose the AF sensor that will create the composition that you want. The open mouth and the tiny bits of grass are both pluses.

What to Do?

It was dark. We were in the skiff. I was not too thrilled. When things look bleak learn to think pleasing blurs. As I saw the bear approach the big fire-blackened blog I went to my 5D Mark III’s C2 Custom Shooting Mode blur pre-set. Just a twist of the dial and I am ready for blurs. To learn to create and set your Custom Shooting Modes and save $10 for just a bit longer get yourself a copy of our 5D Mark II User’s Guide by clicking here.

Learn all there is to know about creating pleasing blurs with a copy of A Guide to Pleasing Blurs by Denise Ippolito and yours truly.

Bear Boat/Bears Catching Salmon IPT: September 1-8, 2015 from Kodiak, AK/6 FULL & 2 1/2 DAYS: $6699. Happy campers only! Maximum 8/Openings: 5. Plus the leader: Arthur Morris.

If I do not have four deposit checks in hand by 1/31/2015 I reserve the right to scrap this trip so please do not purchase your plane tickets until you hear from me. 🙂 Only one to go.

Join me in Katmai National Park, AK for seven days of photographing Coastal Brown Bears (grizzlies) catching salmon, fattening up for the long winter. Other subjects will include Mew and Glaucous-winged Gulls in flight and dip-feeding on salmon roe. Did I mention that we live on a boat and that the food is great? Most of our photography will be done in a variety of famed locations: Geographic Harbor, Kinak Bay, and Kukak Bay. We once had 39 bears fishing the creek at Kukak….

It is mandatory that you be in Kodiak no later than the late afternoon of August 31, 2015 September to avoid missing the float planes to the boat on the morning of September 1. With air travel in AK being what it is, with the chance of fog or other bad weather–being on Kodiak on August 30 is an even better plan). I be on Kodiak on August 30 to avoid any potential disaster. That said in my nearly a dozen bear boat trips I was delayed only once but since I was day early as noted above there was no harm, no foul.

We will take one or more float planes to the boat mid-morning on September 1. We will photograph bears fishing that afternoon and every day for the next six days (weather permitting of course). We should have bears catching salmon every day. In addition, we will get some nice stuff on Mew Gull and Glaucous-winged Gulls dining on roe and the remains of predated salmon. We may–depending on where the concentrations of bears are–get to photograph Harbor seals and some hauled out Steller’s Sea Lions (an endangered species). Halibut fishing (license required) is optional. On September 8, our last morning on the boat, those who would like to enjoy one last photo session will do so. The group returns to Kodiak via float plane midday. Most folks will fly to Anchorage and then continue on red-eye flights to their home cities.

The eight days will consist of six full days (Sept 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7) of photography featuring lots of Coastal Brown Bears catching salmon as above plus a variety of other natural history subjects plus some nice scenic photography that I forgot to mention above. Plus the first afternoon and the last morning.

What’s included? 8 DAYS/7 NIGHTS on the boat as above. All meals on the boat. (The food is quite excellent.) National Park fees. One night’s double occupancy lodging on Kodiak; arrive: Sept 1/depart: Sept 2. The thank-you-in-advance dinner on Sept 1. In-the-field photo tips, instruction, and guidance. An insight into the mind of a top professional; I will constantly let you know what I am thinking, what I am doing, and why I am doing it. Small group image review, image sharing, and Photoshop instruction on the boat.

What’s not included: Your round trip airfare to and from Kodiak, AK (almost surely through Anchorage). All necessary lodging other than the cost of your double occupancy room on the night of August 31 should you opt to arrive early–we can arrange that in advance for you. We will let you know the cost of a single supplement for the one night if so desired. The cost of the round-trip float plane to the boat on September 2 and back to Kodiak on September 9. The cost of a round trip this year was $500. The suggested crew tip of $210.

Is this an expensive trip? Yes, of course. But with 6 full and two half days, a wealth of great subjects, and the fact that you will be walking with the bears just yards away (or less….) it will be one of the great natural history experiences of your life. Most folks who take part in a Bear Boat IPT wind up coming back for more.

A $2,000 per person non-refundable deposit by check only made out to “Arthur Morris” is required to hold your spot. Please click here to read our cancellation policy. Then please print, read, and sign the necessary paperwork here and send it to us.

Your deposit is due immediately. That will leave a balance of $4699. The next payment of $2699 will be due on February 15, 2015. The final payment of $2000 is due on May 1, 2015.

I hope that you can join us for this wondrously exciting trip.

By e-mail from Bill Keown, veteran of three bear boat trips!

Hi Artie, What a great trip! With the exception of the one bright sunny day it was just great. Very different from my first trip in June where we only had the bears clamming; the fishing bears were amazing! As always I learned a lot and enjoyed the group immensely. All the Best, Bill

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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 wrote this blog post in the Albatross Hotel on Sunday, December 14, 2014.

Along with the rest of my shipmates I boarded the Ortelius on the afternoon of 15 DEC. We get back to dock on the the morning of 9 JAN. There is no wifi on the ship. That means that I will effectively and absolutely be without internet at least from 14 DEC through 9 JAN. At present I am further behind with answering e-mails than at any time since I have began answering folks’ photography-related questions about 25 years ago.

Please therefore refrain from e-mailing me at the usual samandmayasgrandpa e-mail address until I get back home on 13 JAN. You can reach my right-hand man Jim Litzenburg by e-mail here or reach Jennifer here as usual.

Important Blog Notice

I have been preparing a few new blog posts today to be published during my absence with the help of either Jim or the invaluable Peter Kes, the BAA webmaster. In addition, my plan is to resurrect a collection of older but important educational blog posts (like today’s) and have them re-published during my absence. Please enjoy. Please consider signing up for an IPT. And please continue to do a great job of using my B&H and other affiliate links while I am gone.

To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, 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.

Shadowed Symbolism: Street Photography in Ushuaia

On the way to lunch, I brought along my favorite street photography lens, the very versatile 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. The diagonal black line is actually a shadow, one that adds a bit of mystery and power to the image which likely already carried with it some sort of political message. I went to black and white by setting the Picture Style to Monochrome and then increasing the contrast, all that in DPP 4.0. Sometimes in life and photography timing is everything.

Please leave a comment and share your thoughts with us.

GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. July 14-28, 2015 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $12,499. Limit 14 including the leader:/Openings: 4.

My two-week Galapagos Photo-Cruises are without equal. The world’s best guide, a killer itinerary, a great boat (the Samba), and the best leader with eight Galapagos cruises under his belt. Pre-trip and pre-landing location-specific gear advice. In-the-field photo instruction and guidance. Jeez, I almost forgot: fine dining at sea!

The great spots that we will visit include Tower Island (including Prince Phillips Steps and Darwin Bay), Hood Island (including Punta Suarez, the world’s only nesting site of Waved Albatross, and Gardner Bay)—each of the preceding are world class wildlife photography designations that rank right up there with Antarctica, Africa, and Midway. We will also visit Fernandina, Puerto Ayora for the tortoises, Puerto Egas—James Bay, North Seymour and Isla Lobos for nesting Blue-footed Booby (most years), South Plaza, Floreana, and Urbina Bay, all spectacular in their own right. We visit every great spot on a single trip. Plus tons more. And there will he lots of opportunities to snorkel on sunny mid-days for those like me who wish to partake.

We will be the first boat on each island in the morning and the last boat to leave each island every afternoon. If we are blessed with overcast weather, we will often spend 5-6 hours at the best sites. And as noted above, mid-day snorkeling is an option on most sunny days depending on location. Note: some of the walks are a bit strenuous. Great images are possible on all landings with a hand held 70-200mm lens and a 1.4X teleconverter. I bring a longer lens ashore on most landings as that fits my style. I generally work with either the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS or the Canon 200-400mm f/4 L IS with Internal Extender.

Do know that there is a NatureScapes Galapagos trip: one week for $8495. Thus, my trip represents a tremendous value; why go all that way and miss half of the great photographic locations?

The Logistics

Fly to Guayacil, Ecuador on July 12, 2015. Travel insurance/rest day: July 13 (We may or may not offer a photo outing on the 13th). Fly to the archipelago on July 14 and board the Samba. Get off the boat on July 28. Fly to Guayacil that afternoon. Fly home on the early morning of July 29 unless you are staying on or going elsewhere (or catching a red-eye flight on the evening of the 28th).

$12,499 includes just about everything: all transfers, guide and park fees, all food on the boat, transfers and ground transportation, your flights to the archipelago, and three nights (double occupancy) in a top notch hotel in Guayacil. If you are good to go, a non-refundable deposit of $5,000 per person is due immediately. The second payment of $4,000 is not due until 11/1/14. The final payment of $3449 per person will be due on 2/1/15. A $200 discount will be applied to each of the balances for couples or friends who register at the same time.

Purchasing travel insurance within 2 weeks of our cashing your deposit check is strongly recommended. On my past two cruises a total of 5 folks were forced to cancel less than one week prior to the trip. My family and I use Travel Insurance Services and strongly recommend that you do the same.

Not included: your round trip airfare from your home to and from Guayacil, beverages on the boat, phone calls, your meals in Guayacil, personal items, and a $600/person cash tip for the crew and the guide—this works out to roughly $40/day to be shared by the 7 folks who will be waiting on us hand and foot every day for two weeks. The service is so wonderful that many folks choose to tip extra.

Please e-mail for the complete itinerary and for additional info and images. Please cut and paste “Galapagos 2015 Info Please) into the Subject line.

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We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!

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Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use this link:

Amazon Canada

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

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?

This blog was adapted from one originally published here on July 3, 2013. I finished this post in the lobby of the Albatross Hotel on Sunday, December 14, 2014.

Along with the rest of my shipmates I boarded the Ortelius on the afternoon of 15 DEC. We get back to dock on the the morning of 9 JAN. There is no wifi on the ship. That means that I will effectively and absolutely be without internet at least from 14 DEC through 9 JAN. At present I am further behind with answering e-mails than at any time since I have began answering folks’ photography-related questions about 25 years ago.

Please therefore refrain from e-mailing me at the usual samandmayasgrandpa e-mail address until I get back home on 13 JAN. You can reach my right-hand man Jim Litzenburg by e-mail here or reach Jennifer here as usual.

Important Blog Notice

I have been preparing a few new blog posts today to be published during my absence with the help of either Jim or the invaluable Peter Kes, the BAA webmaster. In addition, my plan is to resurrect a collection of older but important educational blog posts (like today’s) and have them re-published during my absence. Please enjoy. Please consider signing up for an IPT. And please continue to do a great job of using my B&H and other affiliate links while I am gone.

Working in Manual Mode Re-visited

It has been more than two years since I first ran Working in Manual Mode on the blog. You can see the original post here. That one has an interesting link that is not included in this blog post. Right now I probably work in Manual Mode about 75% of the time. I use Av mode about 15% of the time and Tv mode about 10% of the time (the latter when creating pleasing blurs or when I need a minimum shutter speed). I use Program mode only on rare occasion, such as when photographing folks at a party with flash or when using fill flash for songbirds.

If you are not working in Manual mode most of the time you need to study the info below and learn to become competent in it.

Here is an excerpt adapted from The Art of Bird Photography II (ABP II: 916 pages on CD only) for those who need help with working in Manual mode.

Working in Manual Mode

Many professional and serious amateur photographers work in Manual mode most of the time. I do not because working in Av mode and entering exposure compensation is faster whenever the background is of a relatively constant tonality. When the background tonality might be changing from moment to moment but the light is constant, it is pretty much mandatory that you learn to work in Manual mode. In either case, At all times, I rely on Evaluative Metering. Here are some examples of rapidly changing backgrounds: a shorebird on a rock along the edge of the ocean with waves breaking behind it. Birds flying against a blue sky with occasional white clouds. Cranes flying by in front of a variety of backgrounds that might include sky, mountains, yellowed grasses, or water. As many folks are confused as to how to work in Manual mode, I offer the following basic tutorial.

#1: When you work in Manual mode you select and set the shutter speed and you select and set the aperture. With my Canon cameras the default has you changing the shutter speed with your index finger dial and the aperture with the thumb wheel.

#2: After selecting Manual mode, point your camera at a scene or stationary subject and lock your tripod head so the framing remains constant. Next select and set the desired aperture. Then adjust the shutter speed until the analog scale in the viewfinder nulls out to zero. With Canon pro bodies this scale is laid out vertically along the right side of the viewfinder display (when you are working in horizontal format). With many of the pro-sumer bodies the analog scale is laid out horizontally at the bottom of the viewfinder display. The zero or null indicator is at the center of the analog scale. The three full stops above the null symbol (marked in 1/3-stop increments) indicate overexposure. The three full stops below the null symbol (also marked in 1/3-stop increments) indicate underexposure. If you change the aperture and you do not see the small square moving, check either the top or the bottom of the analog scale. You will note a small triangle at the top if you are way overexposed or a small triangle at the bottom if you are way underexposed. If the former, rotate the dial and choose faster shutter speeds, if the latter, choose slower shutter speeds. In either case, you will soon see the small square moving up or down the analog scale. At first, you will simply want to practice nulling the meter, that is, getting the small square to rest on the null symbol. This indicates that you have now set the metered exposure (as determined by the camera’s Evaluative Metering system.

#3: When you work in Manual mode it is not possible to set exposure compensation. To come up with the exposure that you wish, simply change the aperture or shutter speed as above until the small square indicates the amount of over- or under-exposure that you desire. If you wish to work at +2 stops, you need adjust either the shutter speed or the aperture until the small square rests on the symbol that is two full stops above the null symbol. If you wish to underexpose by 1/3 stop, you need adjust either the shutter speed or the aperture until the small square rests on the symbol that lies just below the null symbol.

With a bit of practice you should quickly become comfortable whenever the need to work in Manual mode arises.

Palouse #1. The Palouse A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. May 29-June 2, 2015/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12 photographers/Openings: 2.

Due to a cancellation, we now have a single opening on this long sold out trip. See item next for additional details.

The Palouse A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 5-9, 2015/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12 photographers/Openings 2.

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 or two. 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. 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 breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions when possible.

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; Canon 5D Mark III bodies are a plus. And 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 touching on infrared photography.

A non-refundable $699 deposit is due now. The balance will be due on January 29, 2015. If you cancel and the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. 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.

With the unpredictable nature of the photography business, I have not said this often lately, but it seems quite likely that this one will fill up very quickly. 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; the latter is preferred.

Please send your deposit check made out to “Arthur Morris” to us at Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. You can also contact denise via e-mail here

IPT Updates

Would you like to visit some of the great bird photography locations on the planet? Would you like to learn from the best? Click here and join us.

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We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use this link:

Amazon Canada

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

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 :).