Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

The Streak Continues: 305

With any luck I will shoot my 2013 tax return to the experts this afternoon for final review. This blog post, the 305th in a row, took me about 2 1/2 hours to prepare. It was published at about 7:30am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL.

To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we do ask that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. 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 used, 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

Scroll down in this blog post for Fort DeSoto IPT Late Registration discount information.

A Whole New World May Be Coming….

With the Canon EOS 7D Mark II on the not-too-distant horizon there will be–if the promised improved image quality pans out–lots of folks running around with hand holdable telephoto like the 400mm f/5.6L or the 400 DO lenses making great images with the new 1.6 crop factor camera. Either will give them an effective focal length of 640mm in a relatively light weight package. And both will AF with the 7D II yielding 896mm of reach….

With cameras like the older 40D and the 50D as well as the more recent EOS-7D many folks did not like either the look of the images or the noise that came with the tiny pixels. The best way to reduce the noise at higher ISOs has always been to expose to the right as we espouse here on an almost daily basis. But there is a little known trick–taught to me by Denise Ippolito–that can be used to deal with background noise: Filter > Blur > Surface Blur. Take a good close look at the animated GIF below to see the results…

What are the keys to entry into this new world?

7D II image quality in both sunny and dreary conditions. And its control of noise at all ISOs. See below for EOS-50D background noise on a sunny morning. Don’t ask me why I was at ISO 500; ISO 200 would have been a much better choice….

The EOS-7D Mark II

If you missed all of the excitement over the 7D II announcement, click here, or here, and and here, and here, and here.

To pre-order yours please use our B&H affiliate logo link immediately below.

Soft As a Baby’s Tush

The most important thing to note in the animated GIF above is the background noise. In the “before” image, you do not have to look too closely to see the luminance noise–the background looks to me like blue sandpaper. In the “after” image, the blue background looks as soft as the proverbial baby’s butt. See below to learn how I used Filter > Blur > Surface Blur to smooth away the noise (and learn about the other before and after changes).

The Image Optimization

After converting this 50D image in DPP 3.14.0.0 (see more on DPP below), I brought it into Photoshop CS-6. Then I selected the WHITEs with the Quick Selection Tool, saved the selection, applied a 10% opacity layer of Linear Burn, and followed that with a 15% layer of NIK Color Efex Pro Detail Extractor; the latter two to tone down the WHITEs while bringing up some detail. Next, working very large, I cleaned up the specular highlights on fish with a soft Clone Stamp Tool and a few tiny Quick Masks. Then I sharpened the face and bill with a Contrast Mask. Finally I selected the background with the Magic Wand Tool, placed the selection on a layer (as I always do), and then applied Surface Blur to the layer adjusting the settings as recommended in Digital Basics.

Then I created and sharpened the 1200 pixel wide JPEG that opens this blog post and created two 600 pixel square JPEGs that I used to make the before and after animated GIF. For your education/edification.

The DPP RAW Conversion Guide

To learn why I use Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP) to convert every image that I work on, click here. Coming very soon: The DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion Guide by Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris. The more that I use DPP 4.0 for my RAW conversions the more I learn about it and the more I learn about it the more I am impressed with it. Note: at present, DPP 4.0 will work only with 1D X, 5D III, and 6D images. Scroll down for the latest DPP/7D Mark II info.

Digital Basics

Everything that I did to optimize today’s image is covered in detail in my Digital Basics File–written in my easy-to-follow, easy-to-understand style. Are you tired of making your images look worse in Photoshop? Digital Basics File is an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips (including Surface Blur settings), 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, Digital Eye Doctor, Tim Grey Dodge and Burn, how to create time-saving actions, and tons more.

APTATS I & II

Learn the details of advanced Quick Masking techniques in APTATS I. Learn Advanced Layer Masking Techniques in APTATS II. 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 only. Please call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 weekdays to order.

Digital Photo Professional 3.14.41 Updater

The latest version of DPP is V3.14.41; it will support 7D Mark II files. It is currently available for download here. Click on Drivers and Software and then on Software. Then click directly on the Digital Photo Professional 3.14.41 Updater for Windows (or Mac), check the Disclaimer box, and then click on the Download arrow. When the file is downloaded double-click on it and follow the prompts. I just finished updating :).

Note: if you do not already have a previous version of DPP 3.whatever installed you will need to download the entire software suite to install DPP 3.14.41 from scratch.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20% plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. If you are in the market for used gear, click here to see the current listings.

Today’s Featured Lens

Used Canon EF 400mm f/4 IS DO UMS Lens

Multiple IPT veteran Shelly Goldstein is giving away a Canon EF 400mm f/4 IS DO UMS lens in very good + condition for $4100. The lens has been protected by a LensCoat since day one thus there are only a few small blemishes on the tripod collar. There are several extras. The sale includes a Really Right Stuff quick release lens plate (MAPR-1b), a LensCoat, the original lens trunk, the original leather front lens cover, the rear dust cap, and insured shipping via Fed Ex Ground to US addresses only. The lens was cleaned and checked by Canon in September 2014.

You can contact Shelly via e-mail or by phone at 646-423-0392 (EST). Your lens will be shipped only after your check clears.

I owned and used and loved my 400 DO for about five years. If you missed my comments on this lightweight–hand holdable for most–telephoto lens (and 14 great images) please see this blog post: The Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO Lens: Fourteen Images that Prove that the Internet Experts are (As Usual) Idiots.

First-ever BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field/Meetup Workshop Session (ITF/MWS): $50

Join me on the afternoon of October 10, 2014 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.

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

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

Fort DeSoto Fall IPT/October 11-13, 2014. 3 FULL DAYs: $1099. Limit 8/Openings: 5.

Call 863-692-0906 for DeSoto IPT Late Registration Discount Info

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

Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join us on the ITF/MWS on Friday afternoon as my guest. See above for details on that.

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

At lunch (included) we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one. If you opt to bring your laptop, we will take a look at five of your best images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.

If you decide to register and are traveling to attend this IPT, please make your reservations at the Beachcomber Beach Resort, 6200 Gulf Blvd, St. Petersburg (St. Pete Beach), FL 33706 (727-367-1902) as soon as possible as rooms for the weekend days are scarce: ARR: 10 OCT/DEP 14 OCT. I stayed there on my last DeSoto visit and was quite happy with it. Lodging is tough in Florida at this season…. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). It is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel so if you are interested it would be a good idea to register now and make your hotel reservations as well. We can, however, coordinate easily with local folks who opt to stay at home either by cell phone or e-mail.

Because of the relatively late date, payment is full is due upon registration either by check or credit card. If the former, please e-mail us immediately so that we can save you a spot. If the latter, please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to register . Your registration fee is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight so please check your plans carefully before committing. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, gear advice, and first morning meeting place about one month before this IPT.

Fort DeSoto Site Guide

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

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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, ay, 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, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

The Streak Continues: 303

Yesterday I made more progress on my 2013 tax return. Swim, nap, meditation, ice bath, and a another good night’s sleep. And lots of boring NFL games on the big screen. This blog post, the 303rd in a row, took me about three hours to prepare. It was published at about 7:15am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL.

The 3rd draft of the DPP 4.0 guide is now in the hands of our skilled, amazingly-qualified group of volunteer reviewers.

To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we do ask that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. 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 used, 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.

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: 5.

Though my two-week Galapagos Photo-Cruises are without equal there are too many openings on the 2015 cruise. If you are at all interested, please get in touch with me via e-mail and I will shoot you the current itinerary. I would be glad to design a personalized payment plan for you.

My trip has 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! See the blog post here for some great images. Scroll down here for complete details and to learn how to request the itinerary.

The Optimized Image Cropped to a Pano

For the reasons detailed below, I could not–though I loved the degree of blurring of the flock in flight–figure out what to do with this image. Until last night. Keep on reading.

Three Stop Neutral Density Filters

In bright sun, it is impossible to get down to the really slow shutter speeds that I love to use to create pleasing blurs, even at ISO 50. To make that possible, I often employ a 3-stop (I am not sure why they call them 0.9…) Neutral Density (ND) filter. This allows me to get to a shutter speed that is three stops slower than if I were not using the ND filter. In low light conditions using the 3-stop ND allows me to work at wider apertures; that saves me lots of time when dust-spotting.

The B+W 77mm 0.9 ND MRC filters are solid neutral density filters that block three stops of light. The 0.9 density creates a darkening of the entire image, allowing you to photograph with a wider aperture or slower shutter speed than normal. By slowing your exposure time or increasing your aperture, you are able to control depth of field and convey movement more easily. Neutral density filters do not affect the overall coloration of the image and if you properly expose to the right they do not effect the brightness of the image either.

Last year I used a B+W 77mm 0.9 ND 103 filter screwed onto the 77mm front of my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens. This year I plan to upgrade to the MRC version: B+W 77mm 0.9 ND MRC 103M filter.

Why the upgrade to the MRC version? The Multi-Resistant Coating (MRC) is an anti-reflection coating and, in addition, offers a more protective surface. It helps to increase light transmission by reducing reflections, scattered light, and ghosting should you point your lens back towards the sun. Additionally, it offers greater protection to the filter substrate and stays cleaner for longer than uncoated filters.

Getting the Exposure Right for Today’s Image

While the original image looks well under-exposed, do take a close look at the histogram. The blue arrow shows that the bulk of the WHITE tones are in the fourth box of the histogram. The red arrow shows that the brightest WHITEs are well into the fifth histogram box. As they should be. As I wrote in the image caption above, “Evaluative metering at about -2/3 stop to eliminate blinkies on the geese on the ground.” The exposure for the complete image is, therefore, perfect.

The Exposure Mystery

It was a clear sunny morning. The light falling on the Snow Geese on the ground was the same as the light falling on the blurred flock in flight.

Why were the birds in flight rendered so much darker than the birds on the ground??? Hint: the slower the shutter speed in a situation like this, the darker the birds in motion will be. Can you figure out why the difference? If yes, please leave a comment and please be specific.

The Breezebrowser Main View Screen Capture

Above is the BreezeBrowser Main View screen capture that for today’s image. Note that the illuminated red AF square that shows the sensor that was of active at the moment of exposure. In BreezeBrowser you need to check “Show Focus Points” under View to activate this feature. To see the focus points in DPP V.3-point whatever check “AF Point” under View or hit Alt L. To learn how and why I use DPP (Canon Digital Photo Professional) to convert my RAW files, see the info on our DPP RAW Conversion Guide here. The DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion Guide that I am working on with Arash Hazeghi is nearing completion.

Regular readers know that I use and depend on BreezeBrowser every day of the year. It allows me to sort my keepers and delete the rejects faster than any other Windows browsing program. We use it on the main computer in the home office to catalog our images file-drawer style. And the companion program, Downloader Pro allows me to download my images quickly and conveniently. It automatically adds my IPTC data and the shooting location. I have it set up to create a folder named by the Month/date/year. The Breezebrowser/Downloader Pro combo saves me many hours each week. To learn more or to purchase this great PC only program, click here. As far as the BreezeBrowser/Downloader Pro Combo goes, if you are using a Windows platform and are not using these two great programs you are at best, wasting your valuable time. Jennifer is loading Parallels onto my new Mac laptop today, that followed by a licensed copy of Windows 7 and then BreezeBrowser Pro and Downloader Pro. See BreezeBrowswer on a Mac for additional details.

There will be lots more coming soon on my switch to the top-of-the-line, super fast, Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Notebook Computer with Retina Display.

The RAW Conversion…

I had long realized that creating a pleasing full frame image from the original RAW capture would be nearly impossible. You would need to maintain the detail in the WHITEs of the birds on the ground while lightening the birds in the sky a ton. That could be done rather easily; the problem however would be handling the transition area….

Last night I realized that the answer was to process the RAW file for the upper two-thirds of the image only while ignoring the over-exposed birds on the ground and then cropping to a pano at the bottom of the distant low mountains. I began by moving the Brightness slider to +1.50 stops. (You can see that if you click on the screen capture to view the larger size.) With the exposure for the flock in flight now correct, note that the red highlight warning shows the birds on the ground to be well over-exposed.

The DPP RAW Conversion Guide

To learn why I use Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP) to convert every image that I work on, click here. Coming very soon: The DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion Guide by Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris. The more that I use DPP 4.0 for my RAW conversions the more I learn about it and the more I learn about it the more I am impressed with it. Note: at present, DPP 4.0 will work only with 1D X, 5D III, and 6D images. And the early word is that it will not support the EOS-7D Mark II.

A Guide to Pleasing Blurs

Pleasing Blurs are not accidents. Learn pretty much everything that there is about creating them in our A Guide to Pleasing Blurs by Denise Ippolito and yours truly.

Affordable Bosque Educational Opportunities

I will be at Bosque this year for nearly three full weeks. There are a host of affordable educational opportunities on the slate in conjunction with the Festival of the Cranes. There are four early morning in-the-field photography workshops, Thursday through Sunday, NOV 20-23, 2014. Thursday is sold out, there is some room on the Friday and Sunday sessions, and, at last count, lots of room on the Saturday workshop. Denise and I are co-leading.

We are offering a two part afternoon seminar on Thursday afternoon, NOV 20 from 2-4:30pm as follows:

Part I: Bosque del Apache Photography Basics

Artie and Denise will cover the basics of lens selection, tripod and head selection, image design, getting the right exposure, autofocus options, and the relationship between light direction and wind direction, and will give an overview of the best photographic opportunities at the refuge.

Part II: Creative Photography at Bosque del Apache

Artie and Denise will teach you to think outside the box when photographing at Bosque del Apache. You will learn to create a variety of pleasingly blurred images by using slow shutter speeds, by photographing moving subjects, by zooming during the exposure, and by panning with the lens during the exposure. They will teach you to take advantage of spectacular lighting and weather conditions. They will also cover post processing creative techniques. Limit 50.

On Friday afternoon from 1:00 to 3:00pm I will, as below, be presenting a free slide program entitled “A 20-Year Love Affair With Bosque.”

Click here to register for any of the open events above.

“Love Affair with Bosque.” Sponsored by Canon. Friday, NOV 21, 2014; 1:00 to 2:40pm. Free, at the Bodega Restaurant, Socorro.

A slide program by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Limit 200. Please see the important registration information below.

Arthur Morris first visited Bosque del Apache Refuge in December, 1992 while on sabbatical with his late-wife Elaine While leading his first Bosque del Apache photographic workshop in December, 1994, quite soon after Elaine’s death, he created two iconic Bosque images. His “Blizzard in Blue” was honored in the prestigious 1998 BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. “Fire in the Mist” was similarly honored in the 2001 BBC competition and soon thereafter was featured as wrap-around cover art on the coffee table book, Life on the Earth, a celebration of 30 years of the best images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competitions. Those two images laid the foundation for his more than two decade love affair with the refuge. He has returned every year since then at the Thanksgiving season while leading BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours. In addition, he has two February visits along with two September visits, the latter visits in conjunction with the Bosque del Apache Open Windows Volunteer Program that he founded. Join us for Artie’s photographic celebration of his “Love Affair with Bosque.”

Even though this is free event, you need to click here to register.

Bosque del Apache 2014 A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART “Creative Photography Instructional Photo-Tour.” (IPT). NOV 24-25, 2014. 2-FULL DAYS: $729. Leaders: Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris. Introductory Slide program: 7:00pm on Sunday 11/23.

Important Note

While the 4-DAY Bosque IPT has been sold out for some time, there is still room on the 2-DAY Bosque Creative IPT as detailed here.

Do understand that though we will cover a variety of creative techniques and photograph a variety of subjects, when conditions are perfect for traditional bird photography that is exactly what we will be doing.

Get Out of Your Box!

The Creative Bosque IPT is perfect for folks who want to learn to think outside the box, to create new and different images. This workshop is the perfect add-on for folks who are planning on attending the Festival of the Cranes. Learn to unleash your creative juices at the wondrous Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, New Mexico with two great leaders including the amazingly talented and creative Denise Ippolito. In-the-field instruction will include tips on gear set-up, on creating a variety of pleasing blurs, on getting the right exposure, and on designing pleasing images. And lots more. From vertical pan blurs to subject motion blurs to zoom blurs to multiple exposures we will cover it all. If conditions are perfect, we will not hesitate to take advantage of them to do some traditional bird photography. This workshop will include an inspirational introductory slide program on Sunday evening, 11/23, after dinner on your own, two morning and two afternoon photography sessions, all lunches, a digital workflow and Photoshop session after lunch on Monday, and an image critiquing session after lunch on Tuesday.

A $329 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 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. If 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.

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, ay, 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, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

The Streak Continues: 301

Yesterday I made more progress on my 2013 tax return. Swim, nap, meditation, ice bath, and a another good night’s sleep. This blog post, the 301st in a row, took me about three hours to prepare. It was published at about 7:00am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL.

The 3rd draft of the DPP 4.0 guide is now in the hands of our skilled, amazingly-qualified group of volunteer reviewers.

To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we do ask that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. 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 used, 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.

You can find the following items in the store: Gitzo tripods, Mongoose M3.6 and Wimberley heads, plates, low feet, and accessories, flash brackets, , Delkin e-film Pro Compact Flash Cards, LensCoat products, and our unique line-up of educational materials including ABP I & II, Digital Basics, Site and Set-up e-Guides, Canon and Nikon Camera Users and AF e-Guides, and MP-4 Photoshop video tutorials among others.

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.

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: 5.

Though my two-week Galapagos Photo-Cruises are without equal there are too many openings on the 2015 cruise. If you are at all interested, please get in touch with me via e-mail and I will shoot you the current itinerary. I would be glad to design a personalized payment plan for you.

My trip has 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! See yesterday’s blog post here and scroll down for some great images and complete details.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20% plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. You can see all of the current listing here. Next is a new item, today’s featured listing:

Used Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM Lens

Dan Womack is offering a used Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS (Image Stabilizer) USM lens in excellent condition with clean glass with a few small nicks on the lens hood for $5150. B&H is offering a virtually identical used “old 500” for $6,299.95; you can save more than $1000 by grabbing Dan’s lens asap. The sale includes the front leather hood, the rear dust cap, the original case with keys, and insured shipping to US addresses only. Your lens will be shipped only after your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Dan via e-mail or by phone at 337 412 1898.

The First Keeper

The image above is the first keeper from an 8-frame series created over the course of about 2 seconds. I love the head angle of the bird on the puffin on the right, the one holding all the sand eels.

The Second Keeper

The image above is the second keeper from an 8-frame series created over the course of about 2 seconds. In this one I love the head up pose of the out-of-focus puffin on our left, but the head angle of the bird with the fish is less than ideal with the puffin’s head turned away from us perhaps one-half of one degree. Compare the head angle of the bird on the right here with the head angle of the bird on the right in the opening image….

My choice was to create a composite featuring the bird with the fish from frame _Y7O6528 and the out-of-focus bird from frame _Y7O6531. See image next for the optimized composite image.

The Optimized Composite Image

For those comfortable with working with Regular Layer Masks creating a composite like this is child’s play. I put the whole of image _Y7O6531 on its own layer (CTRL A/CTRL J), used the Move Tool to drag it on top of image _Y7O6528, added a Regular Layer Mask, and painted away the bird on the right (B/D/X).

Then I eliminated the scar on the right hand bird’s face, did some background softening with a large, soft, 30% opacity Clone Stamp Tool while employing Denise Ippolito’s Protective Cloning on a Layer technique, reduced the YELLOW saturation, and applied my NIK Color EFEX Pro 50/50 recipe to the face of the bird with the fish only (after selecting the face with the Quick Selection Tool). I lightened that layer only. As the NIK layer had brightened the face of the right hand bird a tad too much I applied a 30% layer of reduced contrast.

You can learn more about hand holding the 300 2.8/2X III TC combo here.

Why the Crop?

Why did I crop the optimized composite image from the left and from above?

The Breezebrowser Main View Screen Capture

Above is the BreezeBrowser Main View screen capture that actually represents both of today’s images. Note that the illuminated red square on the cheek of the right hand bird that shows the active sensor that I had selected manually. That sensor was of course active at the moment of exposure. In BreezeBrowser you need to check “Show Focus Points” under View to activate this feature. To see the focus points in DPP V.3-point whatever check “AF Point” under View or hit Alt L. To learn how and why I use DPP (Canon Digital Photo Professional) to convert my RAW files, see the info on our DPP RAW Conversion Guide here. The DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion Guide that I am working on with Arash Hazeghi is nearing completion.

Note the perfect histogram with the small amount of WHITEs well into the rightmost histogram box and only a smattering of the dark tones clipped. Regular readers know that I use and depend on BreezeBrowser every day of the year. It allows me to sort my keepers and delete the rejects faster than any other Windows browsing program. We use it on the main computer in the home office to catalog our images file-drawer style. And the companion program, Downloader Pro allows me to download my images quickly and conveniently. It automatically adds my IPTC data and the shooting location. I have it set up to create a folder named by the Month/date/year. The Breezebrowser/Downloader Pro combo saves me many hours each week. To learn more or to purchase this great PC only program, click here. As far as the BreezeBrowser/Downloader Pro Combo goes, if you are using a Windows platform and are not using these two great programs you are at best, wasting your valuable time. Jennifer is loading Parallels onto my new Mac laptop today, that followed by a licensed copy of Windows 7 and then BreezeBrowser Pro and Downloader Pro. See BreezeBrowswer on a Mac for additional details.

There will be lots more coming soon on my switch to the top-of-the-line, super fast, Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Notebook Computer with Retina Display.

The 2015 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT

June 29 through July 5, 2015: $5499: Limit 10 photographers/Openings 3. Two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris.

Here are the plans for next year: take a red eye from the east coast of the US on 28 June arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland on the morning of Monday 29 June (or simply meet us then either at the Edinburgh Airport (EDI) or later in the day at our cottages if you are driving your own vehicle either from the UK or from somewhere in Europe. Stay 7 nights in two gorgeous modern country cottages.

There are 5 days of planned puffin/seabird trips—weather permitting, and 1 full day of gannet photography with 2 sessions on the boat.

The Details

All breakfasts, lunches and dinners are included. All 5 puffins boat lunches will need to be prepared in advance, taken with, and consumed at your leisure. I usually eat mine on the short boat trip from one island to the other. Also included is a restaurant lunch on the gannet boat day and a farewell fine dining thank you dinner. The cost of your National Heritage Trust is also included; that covers the twice a day landing fees.

Plan to fly home on the early morning of Monday 6 July or to continue your stay or travels.

We are planning this as double-occupancy only but we should be able to arrange for singles by renting a 3rd cottage. We would need to know well in advance, i.e., soon, and it would be pricey and would need to be paid with your non-refundable deposit of $2,000. The shared rooms are decent-sized, each with two roomy single beds and a private bathroom. There are two king rooms available for couples. The upscale country-side cottages are beyond lovely with large living areas and lots of open space for image sharing and Photoshop lessons.

Single Supplement Info

The single supplement is $1475. As we will be renting a third cottage the $1475 is due with your deposit and is also non-refundable.

If you are good to go please send your $2,000 deposit check now to save a spot. We do expect this workshop to sell out very quickly as we have already sold 2 slots even though the trip has not yet been formally announced till right now. Not to mention that everyone loves puffins. Please make your check out to “Arthur Morris” and send it to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855.

We do hope that you can join us.

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, ay, 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, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

The Streak Continues: 299

Yesterday I made some more progress on my 2013 tax return. Swim, nap, meditation, ice bath, and a another good night’s sleep. This blog post, the 299th in a row, took me more than 4 hours to prepare. It was published at about 8:45am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL.

The 3rd draft of the DPP 4.0 guide goes out to our skilled amazingly qualified volunteer reviewers this morning via e-mail.

As always, I would appreciate your using the BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases, using our Amazon logo-link for all of your household purchases, and visiting the BAA Online Store for your tripod, tripod head, LensCoat, miscellaneous, accessories, and eGuide purchases as well. Please remember, web orders only. 🙂 Please remember also that all are invited to e-mail for gear advice.

Bosque del Apache 2014/15 Intermittent Tour Loop Road Schedule

I donated a Ross’s Goose image to the good folks at Bosque del Apache NWR for the poster that announces this season’s Intermittent Tour Loop Road schedule. If you are lucky enough to visit when it is open, be sure to obey all signs and regulations. Learn more about the re-processing of this image here.

BAA Bulletin #466

BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #466 is online and can be accessed here.

• Bosque del Apache 2014/15 Intermittent Tour Loop Road Schedule
• The Ross’s Goose in Flight Image
• A Tale of Two RAW Conversions
• Affordable Bosque Festival of the Cranes Educational Opportunities
• Happy New Year
• Important BAA 2nd International Bird Photography Competition Prize Information
• Fort DeSoto October Events
• The Art of Flower Photography
• IPT Updates
• Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

The Image Capture, the Original, and the Cropping Strategy

This flock of blackbirds (mostly Brewer’s) was photographed on one of last year’s Bosque IPTs on the Intermittent Tour Loop Road on a cloudy morning looking south. That would be NG on a clear morning…. Working with the 200-400 is great for photographing flocks of birds in flight as you can vary your framing and hand holding allows you to follow and frame a bit easier than you can when working on a tripod. That said the 200-400 gets heavy quickly for many folks including me.

One of the things that most folks probably would not realize is that this image was created just as two flocks–one flying west, the other flying east, converged. Thus the different look of the birds on the left side of the frame as compared to the look of the birds on the right side of the frame. These different looks add tension to the image.

I converted the RAW file in DPP 4.0 and opened it in Photoshop CS-6. I liked the open space on the right below the flock but there was too much of it so I cropped from the bottom creating a quasi-pano. This resulted in am image that was no longer top heavy. (See image next.)

The First Optimized Version

For this version I decided to clean up only the lower frame edge (but for eliminating a sliver of one bird on the lower right frame edge). All clean-up was done with the Clone Stamp Tool. Why clean-up only the lower edge when there were birds cut off along the left, top, and right frame edges? With a flock this large getting a clean lower edge might be believable but getting four clean edges with the flock perfectly framed would not at all be believable. In other words, try to avoid the too perfect look….

One thing about this version bugged me. Before reading on, see if anything in the image above bothers you. o maximize learning as you read this blog post, do not scroll down to the animated GIF at the bottom before comparing the two versions below; it would spoil the challenge.

The Second Optimized Version

Though the differences are small, some might say tiny, I liked the the second optimized version a thousand times more than the first optimized version. Scroll up to see the first version and then back down to see the second version. Do you see the difference? Again, do not scroll down to the animated GIF below before comparing the two versions. It would spoil your fun.

Just Right of Center…

There was a fairly large area of empty space just right of center that bugged me from the get-go. I created the first version last night. When I woke this morning I took a closer look at the optimized image and–as you can see by looking at the animated GIF above, came up with a solution.

Working large, I used the Clone Stamp Tool to get rid of the two birds that merged with my hero bird. Then I used a series of about ten tiny warped and/or transformed Quick Masks to repair the upper wing and the tail of the hero bird. Lastly, I painted a larger Quick Mask of the hero bird. I needed to duplicate that layer about 6 times while moving each layer up and right. Voila. Seemingly tiny changes can make huge differences.

The DPP RAW Conversion Guide

To learn why I use Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP) to convert every image that I work on, click here. Coming very soon: The DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion Guide by Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris. I finished my first edit of Arash’s manuscript On Sunday and got Arash’s feedback late last night. I will be working on the 4th draft today. The more that I use DPP 4.0 for my RAW conversions the more I learn about it and the more I learn about it the more I am impressed with it. Note: at present, DPP 4.0 will work only with 1D X, 5D III, and 6D images.

Digital Basics

Everything that I did to optimize today’s image is covered in detail in my Digital Basics File–written in my easy-to-follow, easy-to-understand style. Are you tired of making your images look worse in Photoshop? 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 killer 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, Digital Eye Doctor, Tim Grey Dodge and Burn, how to create time-saving actions, and tons more.

APTATS I & II

Learn the details of advanced Quick Masking techniques in APTATS I. Learn Advanced Layer Masking Techniques in APTATS II. 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 only. Please call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 weekdays to order.

Affordable Bosque Educational Opportunities

I will be at Bosque this year for nearly three full weeks. There are a host of affordable educational opportunities on the slate in conjunction with the Festival of the Cranes. There are four early morning in-the-field photography workshops, Thursday through Sunday, NOV 20-23, 2014. Thursday is sold out, there is some room on the Friday and Sunday sessions, and, at last count, lots of room on the Saturday workshop. Denise and I are co-leading.

We are offering a two part afternoon seminar on Thursday afternoon, NOV 20 from 2-4:30pm as follows:

Part I: Bosque del Apache Photography Basics

Artie and Denise will cover the basics of lens selection, tripod and head selection, image design, getting the right exposure, autofocus options, and the relationship between light direction and wind direction, and will give an overview of the best photographic opportunities at the refuge.

Part II: Creative Photography at Bosque del Apache

Artie and Denise will teach you to think outside the box when photographing at Bosque del Apache. You will learn to create a variety of pleasingly blurred images by using slow shutter speeds, by photographing moving subjects, by zooming during the exposure, and by panning with the lens during the exposure. They will teach you to take advantage of spectacular lighting and weather conditions. They will also cover post processing creative techniques. Limit 50.

On Friday afternoon from 1:00 to 3:00pm I will, as below, be presenting a free slide program entitled “A 20-Year Love Affair With Bosque.”

Click here to register for any of the open events above.

“Love Affair with Bosque.” Sponsored by Canon. Friday, NOV 21, 2014; 1:00 to 2:40pm. Free, at the Bodega Restaurant, Socorro.

A slide program by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Limit 200. Please see the important registration information below.

Arthur Morris first visited Bosque del Apache Refuge in December, 1992 while on sabbatical with his late-wife Elaine While leading his first Bosque del Apache photographic workshop in December, 1994, quite soon after Elaine’s death, he created two iconic Bosque images. His “Blizzard in Blue” was honored in the prestigious 1998 BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. “Fire in the Mist” was similarly honored in the 2001 BBC competition and soon thereafter was featured as wrap-around cover art on the coffee table book, Life on the Earth, a celebration of 30 years of the best images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competitions. Those two images laid the foundation for his more than two decade love affair with the refuge. He has returned every year since then at the Thanksgiving season while leading BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours. In addition, he has two February visits along with two September visits, the latter visits in conjunction with the Bosque del Apache Open Windows Volunteer Program that he founded. Join us for Artie’s photographic celebration of his “Love Affair with Bosque.”

Even though this is free event, you need to click here to register.

Bosque del Apache 2014 A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART “Creative Photography Instructional Photo-Tour.” (IPT). NOV 24-25, 2014. 2-FULL DAYS: $729. Leaders: Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris. Introductory Slide program: 7:00pm on Sunday 11/23.

Important Note

While the 4-DAY Bosque IPT has been sold out for some time, there is still room on the 2-DAY Bosque Creative IPT as detailed here. Do understand that though we will cover a variety of creative techniques and photograph a variety of subjects, when conditions are perfect for traditional bird photography that is exactly what we will be doing.

Get Out of Your Box!

The Creative Bosque IPT is perfect for folks who want to learn to think outside the box, to create new and different images. This workshop is the perfect add-on for folks who are planning on attending the Festival of the Cranes. Learn to unleash your creative juices at the wondrous Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, New Mexico with two great leaders including the amazingly talented and creative Denise Ippolito. In-the-field instruction will include tips on gear set-up, on creating a variety of pleasing blurs, on getting the right exposure, and on designing pleasing images. And lots more. From vertical pan blurs to subject motion blurs to zoom blurs to multiple exposures we will cover it all. If conditions are perfect, we will not hesitate to take advantage of them to do some traditional bird photography. This workshop will include an inspirational introductory slide program on Sunday evening, 11/23, after dinner on your own, two morning and two afternoon photography sessions, all lunches, a digital workflow and Photoshop session after lunch on Monday, and an image critiquing session after lunch on Tuesday.

A $329 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 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. If 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.

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, ay, 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, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

The Streak Continues: 297

Well, I finally started my 2013 taxes yesterday. After about a gradual but steady five-year decline, BAA gross income rose quite significantly in 2013. So here is a big-time thank you to everyone who patronized BIRDS AS ART that year (and since!). I am never, however, sure how total receipts affect the bottom line until I finish my taxes. Why? High end international trips raise the gross income but usually require large payouts on our end for a variety of expenses that we incur but are included in the IPT registration fees. Examples would be the cost of hotels and meals, the cost of hiring guides, charter fees (for the Galapagos, Bear Boat, and other trips), and the cost of boat trips as on the UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. That said up is always better than down so thanks again to all of you who have partaken.

This blog post, the 297th in a row, took me close to 4 hours to prepare. It was published just after 8:30am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL.

As always, I would appreciate your using the BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases, using our Amazon logo-link for all of your household purchases, and visiting the BAA Online Store for your tripod, tripod head, LensCoat, miscellaneous, accessories, and eGuide purchases as well. Please remember, web orders only. 🙂 Please remember also that all are invited to e-mail for gear advice.

B&H Holiday Info

Join me in saying Happy New Year/L’Shana Tova to all of our good friends at B&H Photo Video, including and especially the folks who take care of my affiliate account needs, Yechiel Orgel, Izzy Flamm, and Jeosef Brown. Above, for your convenience, please find the 2014 B&H holiday closing schedule and info.

Health Basics Follow-Up

I am thrilled that I continue to be inundated with requests for and comments on my Health Basics File. If you missed the original notice on that please see Saturday’s blog post here and the important follow-up yesterday’s blog post here. If you would like a copy of my Health Basics File, please shoot me an e-mail with the words “Health Basics File” cut and pasted into the Subject line.

Feel Good Sports Story

Huge congrats to Guilder Rodriguez now of the Texas Rangers. After 13 minor league seasons and 4000+ minor league at bats he got his first major league hit last night. He followed that with his second major league hit, a game-winning rbi single. His Dad and his wife were in the stands. Read the whole story and see the video here.

What Are The Problems?

If you enlarge the image you better be able to see two of the three major problems:

#1: The image is sharp, but not tack sharp. As I recall focus was not quite locked…. In addition, I believe that there is a bit of motion blur. As detailed in the fairly recent “Head Throw Photography” blog post here, photographing head throws is quite challenging with acquiring and maintaining focus at the top of the difficulty list. When I return to San Diego in late January I will likely go with Central Sensor Surround for the head throws.

#2: As luck would have it, the bird’s nictitating membrane was in place at the moment of exposure. See the animated GIF below for the before and after close-ups.

#3: There image was not framed perfectly. (See #2 on the head throw photography difficulty list.) There is a bit too much room on the right and a bit too little room on the left.

The Breezebrowser Main View Screen Capture

Above is the BreezeBrowser Main View screen capture for today’s image. Note that the illuminated red squares show the sensors that were active at the moment of exposure and that only one of the active AF points caught any part of the bird. (That due to operator error.) In BreezeBrowser you need to check “Show Focus Points” under View to activate this feature. To see the focus points in DPP V 3-point whatever check “AF Point” under View or hit Alt L. To learn how and why I use DPP (Canon Digital Photo Professional) to convert my RAW files, see the info on our DPP RAW Conversion Guide here. The DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion Guide that I am working on with Arash Hazeghi is nearing completion.

Note the perfect histogram with the small amount of WHITEs well into the rightmost histogram box and none of the dark tones clipped. Regular readers know that I use and depend on BreezeBrowser every day of the year. It allows me to sort my keepers and delete the rejects faster than any other Windows browsing program. We use it on the main computer in the home office to catalog our images file-drawer style. And the companion program, Downloader Pro allows me to download my images quickly and conveniently. It automatically adds my IPTC data and the shooting location. I have it set up to create a folder named by the Month/date/year. The Breezebrowser/Downloader Pro combo saves me many hours each week. To learn more or to purchase this great PC only program, click here. As far as the BreezeBrowser/Downloader Pro Combo goes, if you are using a Windows platform and are not using these two great programs you are at best, wasting your valuable time. Jennifer is loading Parallels onto my new Mac laptop today, that followed by a licensed copy of Windows 7 and then BreezeBrowser Pro and Downloader Pro. See BreezeBrowswer on a Mac for additional details.

There will be lots more coming soon on my switch to the top-of-the-line, super fast, Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Notebook Computer with Retina Display.

The Image Optimization

First the image was converted in DPP 4.0 and then brought into Photoshop CS-6. I reconstructed and sharpened the eye using a variety of Digital Eye Doctor techniques, the Clone Stamp Tool, and several tiny Quick Masks (the latter refined via a Regular Layer Mask. I ran my NIK Color Efex Pro recipe on the bird only (selected with the Quick Selection Tool) and then sharpened that layer with a Contrast Mask. Then I quickly and easily moved the bird to our right using techniques from APTATS II.

Total time: 8 minutes.

The DPP RAW Conversion Guide

To learn why I use Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP) to convert every image that I work on, click here. Coming very soon: The DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion Guide by Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris. I finished my first edit of Arash’s manuscript On Sunday and got Arash’s feedback late last night. I will be working on the 4th draft today. The more that I use DPP 4.0 for my RAW conversions the more I learn about it and the more I learn about it the more I am impressed with it. Note: at present, DPP 4.0 will work only with 1D X, 5D III, and 6D images.

Digital Basics

Everything that I did to optimize today’s image is covered in detail in my Digital Basics File–written in my easy-to-follow, easy-to-understand style. Are you tired of making your images look worse in Photoshop? 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 killer 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, Digital Eye Doctor, Tim Grey Dodge and Burn, how to create time-saving actions, and tons more.

APTATS I & II

Learn the details of advanced Quick Masking techniques in APTATS I. Learn Advanced Layer Masking Techniques in APTATS II. 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 only. Please call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 weekdays to order.

The Before and After Animated GIF

The before and after animated GIF above gives you a close-up look at the changes made in the eye and the face.

2015 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT): FEB 1 thru the morning of FEB 5, 2015: $1799 (Limit: 8/Openings: 4)

Meet and Greet after dinner on your own at 7:00pm on JAN 31

Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red bill pouches; Brandt’s and Double-crested Cormorants in breeding plumage with their amazing crests; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Duck; other species possible inluding Lesser Scaup, Redhead, and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semiplamated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lions likely; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the two IPT cards there are some nice landscape opportunities as well.

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

This IPT will include five 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, four 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, five lunches, after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions, and two fine dinners. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility.

A $499 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to use at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 12/1//2014. If 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. If 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. 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.

San Diego Natural History Museum Program & The Birds of the World Exhibit

On Saturday morning, February 7, 2015 I will be presenting “A Bird Photographer’s Story” at the San Diego Natural History Museum to kick off the Birds of the World photographic exhibit that will feature the images of about a dozen of the world’s top avian photographers. This program,which is being generously sponsored by the Canon Explorers of Light program, will be free and open to the public. I am proud to say that both Denise Ippolito and I will have images hanging in the show. The exhibit opening is scheduled for later that same day, February 7, 2015. (Times TBA).

Folks on the IPT who wish to stay over and attend the program and the exhibit opening on Saturday are invited to join me for a photo session on Friday morning as follows:

Friday Morning Add-on Photo Session: February 6, 2015: $299.

This workshop includes 3 hours of in-the-field pelican photography instruction and brunch with image review and Photoshop instruction. For now, this session is open only to folks attending the IPT.

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, ay, 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, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

The Streak Continues: 295

After our one hour phone conference with Arash Hazeghi yesterday, I cleaned up a bunch of stuff that I had not quite understood; the way it works is that I ask the questions and Arash “‘splains” things. This morning I will spend another hour or two on stylistic issues and consistency and then send the MS Word file to Arash via Hightail. Otherwise most of yesterday was spent relaxing. And I enjoyed another nice 8 hours of sleep. This blog post, the 295th in a row, took me about 3 1/2 hours to prepare. It was published just before 7:45am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL.

As always, I would appreciate your using the BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases, using our Amazon logo-link for all of your household purchases, and visiting the BAA Online Store for your tripod, tripod head, LensCoat, miscellaneous, accessories, and eGuide purchases as well. Please remember, web orders only. 🙂 Please remember also that all are invited to e-mail for gear advice.

Important Bosque Festival of the Cranes Event Registration Notice

Registration for all Festival of the Cranes workshops, seminars and programs is open. Please click here and read carefully to avoid missing out on several wonderful and inexpensive educational opportunities. Please do not tarry as we expect all of the BAA/A Creative Adventure sessions to sell out quickly, especially the early morning In-the-Field Workshops. You can click here to register.

There is still lots of room in the seminar and the free program. The Thursday In-the-Field Workshop (ITF-W) is sold out. Friday and Sunday are filling nicely. For some strange reason Saturday has only 4 folks signed up…. Both the seminar (below) and the ITF-Workshops represent a chance to learn a ton cheap.

Bosque del Apache Photography Two-Part Seminar

Bosque del Apache Photography Two-Part Seminar. Thursday, NOV 20, 2014. 2:00-4:30 pm at the refuge visitor center with Arthur Morris and Denise Ippolito: $50.00. Click here to register.

Part I: Bosque del Apache Photography Basics

Artie and Denise will cover the basics of lens selection, tripod and head selection, image design, getting the right exposure, autofocus options, and the relationship between light direction and wind direction, and will give an overview of the best photographic opportunities at the refuge. Artie and Denise have more than 26 years of experience photographing Bosque and count it high on their list of soul places.

Part II: Creative Photography at Bosque del Apache

Artie and Denise will teach you to think outside the box when photographing at the refuge (and elsewhere!). You will learn to create a variety of pleasingly blurred images by using slow shutter speeds, by photographing moving subjects, and by zooming or by panning with the lens during the exposure. They will teach you to take advantage of spectacular lighting and weather conditions. They will also cover post processing creative techniques.

Difficult Questions Answered

In the “Difficult Questions” blog post of September 17, 2014 (you can see it here), I did ask some difficult questions as below. My answers with comments follow each question.

#1: Should I have tried to get higher by sitting up? By standing up? Why or why not?

Most folks who left comments liked the image and the background as presented. I did too. But I clearly remember trying to get up just high enough on my elbows to move the distant background to just above the top of the bird’s head with a nice border. Those efforts were not very successful. I did sit up but then I lost the background altogether while retaining some of the intimacy. Standing would totally eliminate all intimacy.

Many of the boys and girls were totally confused as to how getting higher would influence the placement of the background. See item next below, “The Effect of Getting Higher…”

#2: What do you think of the placement of the three birds in the frame? Would you have done anything differently as far as the image design is concerned?

Most folks like the image design and the placement of the birds in the frame and I agree 100%. With two birds on the left side of the frame and the godwit looking to our right the image is perfectly balanced with the gowdit placed just left of center. If you connect the the heads of the three birds there is a nice triangle going on. David Pugsley added: 2. I like the positioning of the birds. Had the godwit been centered between the two Willets the image would have bit’d been a bit too symmetrical.

#3: Why is it OK to use rear focus and recompose (which is effectively one-shot AF) when you are lying down but not OK to use rear focus and recompose (effectively one-shot AF) when you are sitting or standing? (In those cases you are much better off using AI Servo AF and keeping it active at the moment of exposure.) Why? What difference does it make if you are lying down as opposed to sitting or standing?

I have reviewed this principle so often that many folks nailed the answer. Richard Lethbridge wrote: You are much steadier lying down with both elbows firmly supported. Thus, there is no risk of throwing off the focus. David Policansky finished off the perfect answer when he wrote, Sitting or standing, you’re more likely to move a bit back and forth and so you want AI Servo AF to make sure the subject stays in focus.

The Effect of Getting Higher…

This image was created 12 minutes before the opening image, “on the way in,” that is, as I approached the birds. I had the lens on the tripod but standing at full height I had only a water background. To bring the vegetation on the shoreline into the frame I needed to get lower. So that is what I did; in effect I brought the birds and the shoreline closer to the same plane.

Note with the opening image that getting higher would effectively move the shoreline above the birds. For experienced photographers this concept is a no-brainer but many beginners have a problem understanding how the relationship of the subject with various other elements in an image will change as they get higher or lower or move left or right (or any combination of the two). The very best way to learn these concepts is to actually move yourself up or down or left or right. You do not even need a lens in your hand to see how the juxtapositions change as you shift your position.

If you are struggling in any way with designing pleasing images you are directed to the “Designing the Image” chapter (pages 103-113) in the original The Art of Bird Photography (now available in soft cover). The sections on Backgrounds (pages 108-9) and Perspective (110-110) will be especially helpful. In addition, the chapter on Advanced Image Design in The Art of Bird Photography II, the follow-up to the classic original, would also be most helpful–APB II: 916 pages, 900+ images on CD only.

What Bugged Me?

What bugged me about this image? The merge of the godwit on our right with the Willet next to it….

The Perspective Diagram

This is a schematic diagram of the situation that I encountered that morning. It is a common situation. If you study it carefully it will help you to better understand the perspective and juxtaposition issues that nature photographers must consider each and every time that they look through the viewfinder.

Consider the orange perspective line. When you are lying down, the birds and the relatively distant background will be on relatively the same plane. Imagine that if you got just a few inches higher, the background would move up just a bit relative to the birds….

Now consider the lime perspective line. You are kneeling. If you imagine extending this line it is easy to see that if you place the birds in the bottom of the frame the background will be well above the birds somewhere in the top of the frame.

Now consider the blue perspective line. When you are standing, you will be looking down on the birds; you will have only water in your background.

The Image Optimization

First the image was converted in DPP 4.0 and then brought into Photoshop CS-6. Aside from the usual, I used two fairly large Quick Masks, one to move the godwit to our right and then a second one of water only to cover the original godwit. I made the second QM first, labeled that layer, moved it out of the way, went back to the Background copy, created the QM of the bird, moved that to the right, went back to the first Quick Mask, moved it into position, and then refined it as noted next. Both of the QMs were refined via the addition of a Regular Layer Mask. The QM that covered the original godwit needed to be warped. Next I needed to rebuild the missing edge of the Willet, the edge that had originally been hidden behind the godwit. For that I used several small QMs, some from the bird itself, one or two from the bird to its right.

Other Changes?

Please leave a comment and let us know what other changes you see when comparing the optimized image to the original.

Advanced Image Design Question

With the Marbled Godwit on our left looking to our left why didn’t I point the camera more to the left to move the whole group of birds back (to our right) in the frame?

The DPP RAW Conversion Guide

To learn why I use Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP) to convert every image that I work on, click here. Coming very soon: The DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion Guide by Arash Hazeghi and Arthur Morris. I finished my first edit of Arash’s manuscript yesterday. The more that I use DPP 4.0 for my RAW conversions the more I learn about it and the more I learn about it the more I am impressed with it. Note: at present, DPP 4.0 will work only with 1D X and 5D III images.

Digital Basics

Everything that I did to optimize today’s image is covered in detail in my Digital Basics File–written in my easy-to-follow, easy-to-understand style. Are you tired of making your images look worse in Photoshop? 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 killer 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, Digital Eye Doctor, Tim Grey Dodge and Burn, how to create time-saving actions, and tons more.

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 only. Please call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 weekdays to order.

First-ever BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field/Meetup Workshop Session (ITF/MWS): $50

Join me on the afternoon of October 10, 2014 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.

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

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

Fort DeSoto Fall IPT/October 11-13, 2014. 3 FULL DAYs: $1099. Limit 8/Openings 5.

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

Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join us on the ITF/MWS on Friday afternoon as my guest. See above for details on that.

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

At lunch (included) we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one. If you opt to bring your laptop, we will take a look at five of your best images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.

If you decide to register and are traveling to attend this IPT, please make your reservations at the Beachcomber Beach Resort, 6200 Gulf Blvd, St. Petersburg (St. Pete Beach), FL 33706 (727-367-1902) as soon as possible as rooms for the weekend days are scarce: ARR: 10 OCT/DEP 14 OCT. I stayed there on my last DeSoto visit and was quite happy with it. Lodging is tough in Florida at this season…. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). It is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel so if you are interested it would be a good idea to register now and make your hotel reservations as well. We can, however, coordinate easily with local folks who opt to stay at home either by cell phone or e-mail.

Because of the relatively late date, payment is full is due upon registration either by check or credit card. If the former, please e-mail us immediately so that we can save you a spot. If the latter, please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to register . Your registration fee is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight so please check your plans carefully before committing. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, gear advice, and first morning meeting place about one month before this IPT.

Fort DeSoto Site Guide

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

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Typos

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

The Streak Continues: 293

I am having a great time being at home and taking good care of myself. Eating just two meals a day, breakfast and lunches of protein and vegetables only, I have lost more than five pounds slowly. My left knee and my right shoulder are both improving a lot. I spent yesterday meditating and doing breathing exercises and taking a nice easy 2/3 mile swim. I enjoyed a short nap, a 44 minute ice bath, and answered another zillion e-mails. All that followed by another good night’s sleep. This blog post, the 293rd in a row, was published just after 7:30am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL.

As always, I would appreciate your using the BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases, using our Amazon logo-link for all of your household purchases, and visiting the BAA Online Store for your tripod, tripod head, LensCoat, miscellaneous, accessories, and eGuide purchases as well. Please remember, web orders only. 🙂

EOS-7D Mark II Thanks!

Thanks a stack to the 20 folks who pre-ordered their EOS 7D Mark II bodies (and lots of accessories) using a BAA affiliate link. If you missed all of yesterday’s excitement, click here. And best of luck to Geoffrey Cuff of the Cayman Islands with the Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM Lens that he ordered in similar fashion.

Convinced? Click on the logo-link immediately below to pre-order yours. This will be one hot-ticket item; the sooner you get your name on the pre-order list, the sooner you will have a 7D II in your hands.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20% plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. Click here to see all the current listings.

Used Gear Cautions

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

New Listing: Canon 400mm EF f/5.6 L IS UMS Lens

Bob Bass is offering a used Canon 400mm EF f/5.6 L IS UMS in excellent condition for $999. The sale includes the original box, the tough fabric case, the front and rear lens caps, the instruction CD, and insured shipping via UPS Ground to US addresses only. Your new gear will be shipped only after your check clears unless other arrangements are made. You can contact Bob via e-mail or by phone at 781-275-5230 EST.

Original owner. The lens was purchased in 2012 and used infrequently. It was recently returned from Canon Professional Services where it received a clean and checked. Images of the lens are available upon request as are images made with the lens.

The 400 f/5.6, my old “toy lens” is an ideal flight or starter lens for younger folks with a steady hand. It will AF with a 1.4X TC with the new 7D II….

The Canon EOS-7D Mark II: Wading Through the Morass

If you type the words “Canon EOS-7D Mark II” into a Google search box it finds about 4,130,000 results in 1/3 of once second. And I have a very slow internet connection. I have spent the last three days reading each and every one of the more than four million articles and watching hundreds of 7D II videos. Actually not. But I have been doing lots of surfing, lots of reading, and watched more than a few videos from either trusted or interesting sources.

Below, each under a separate heading, I share just a fraction of what I have learned about this new camera.

Rudy Winston on the 7D II

Rudy Winston been with Canon USA’s Pro Products team for more than 17 years. He has been responsible for training Canon’s staff on new products, creating presentations for customers and dealers, numerous writing projects, and providing technical assistance to professional and amateur photographers including yours truly. Often. Currently, he’s a key figure in Canon’s Education department and contributes many on-line articles to Canon USA’s Digital Learning Center. Best of all he is a hell of a nice guy.

The 7D Mark II’s Intelligent Viewfinder

Rudy’s latest article is entitled “New Intelligent Viewfinder feature on EOS-7D Mark II.” You can read the whole thing here. I did, and here are my highlights.

Canon has packed a ton of potential info into the viewfinder via a clear, transmissive LCD overlay above the focusing screen. You can customize your 7D II so that it shows every feature–warning, it will be crowded in there. Or, you can customize it to show nothing. You choice. I was most excited to learn that you can turn on the new Viewfinder Electronic Level so that it is displayed in the camera’s viewfinder. It is in addition to and completely independent of the level display that can be programmed to appear on the large, rear LCD monitor. The one in the viewfinder is a dual-axis Electronic Level that shows any tilt (in 1-degree increments) from side-to-side, as well as up-and-down. It will be a dream feature for those like me who do lots of hand held scenic photography with wide angle or fish eye lenses.

You can opt to see a ton of shooting information across the bottom of the viewfinder if you choose. These are included, each with independent on/off control: Exposure Mode, White Balance, Drive, AF setting (One-Shot AF/AI Focus AF/AI Servo AF), Metering mode, Image quality (RAW or JPEG), and the Flicker! icon. And there are about a zillion options for displaying a great variety of AF info.

The Flicker icon? This is an amazing feature for those who photograph indoors or in other locations where unseen to the human eye, the lighting flicker or pulses thus causing mega-exposure problems for those who work in Manual exposure mode. Rudy explains the new Anti-Flicker technology in quite succinctly in a different article here.

Rudy sums up the 7D viewfinder article in part as follows:

There’s more extensive information in the EOS 7D Mark II viewfinder than any previous Canon EOS digital SLR but, again, the cool thing is you can display as much or as little as you like. With as sophisticated an AF system as this camera has, it understandably gives numerous options for how AF points (and even AF Operation Settings, One-Shot AF, AI Focus AF, and AI Servo AF) are displayed in the viewfinder. The viewfinder is the nerve center of any SLR camera and the EOS 7D Mark II provides options that make it almost like a heads-up display in a plane or automobile, figuratively speaking.

Tidbits and Gems from the Manufacturer’s Hype

In-camera lens aberration corrections

To help photographers with achieving high quality images, the EOS 7D Mark II corrects image distortions like peripheral illumination, chromatic aberration and distortion, in-camera, as the image is recorded. When shooting in Live View mode, the results of distortion can even be monitored in real time through the EOS 7D Mark II’s Image Simulation Function.

As far as I can figure, this feature will simplify the RAW conversions by eliminating a somewhat time-consuming step.

Speed and Accuracy with Intelligent Subject Recognition and Analysis.

The EOS-7D Mark II has an amazing iSA Intelligent Subject Analysis system that employs an independent RGB light sensor with approximately 150,000-pixel resolution. This sensor enables Canon’s intelligent Tracking and Recognition system (iTR AF) that detects and tracks subjects, automatically switching the AF point to optimize tracking. With new tracking algorithms tailored to recognize faces and colors, this system serves as a brilliant foundation to the EOS 7D Mark II’s AF system.

This sounds as if it might be great for photographing birds in flight or in action. The big questions are, truth or fiction? Fact or hype? The proof will eventually be in the pudding.

Specialty Controls, Built Right In

An EOS first, the EOS 7D Mark II offers time-lapse fixed-point shooting and long exposures without the need for a remote control. The EOS 7D Mark II’s interval timer takes from 1 to 99 shots at preselected intervals, ideal for shooting flowers as they bloom or clouds drifting through the sky. Its built-in bulb timer keeps the shutter open for a designated amount of time, perfect for night photography.

These two will be perfect for lazy folks like me….When the massive clouds are rolling by, it will be time lapse time. And there will be no more excuses for when it comes to trying my hand at night sky photography.

Full HD recording at 60p in MOV and MP4 Formats

Stunning full HD video with custom Movie Servo AF and multiple frame rates. While offering performance improvements across the board for still photography, the EOS 7D Mark II is also an incredibly capable HD movie camera. Taking advantage of its Dual Pixel CMOS AF capabilities, the EOS 7D Mark II has customizable Movie Servo AF options: not only can AF location be defined, AF speed and tracking intervals can be specified too, for fluid, smooth focus transitions. The EOS 7D Mark II delivers refined and detailed image quality with Full HD 60p recording at ISO values up to 16000, has an HDMI output and records to both SD and CF cards for versatility and security during important shoots.

Yours truly know zip about video so I will leave reviews of the 7D II’s video capabilities to others. You can see a 3 minute, 50 second sample video here. “Cello”is the second of the five videos. It was created at ISO 3200 in a great variety of lighting conditions using a great variety of Canon EF lenses.

Achieve Impressive AF During Video Capture

The EOS 7D Mark II features Canon’s revolutionary Dual Pixel CMOS AF, a milestone in AF speed and accuracy that unlocks the potential of Live View shooting. This advanced technology has truly changed what is possible with a DSLR camera. Dual Pixel CMOS AF involves a sophisticated rethinking of the CMOS sensor. Traditionally, image sensors have one photodiode per pixel for recording, but the CMOS sensor on the EOS 7D Mark II has two photodiodes per pixel, 40 million in total, enabling each pixel on the sensor to both perform phase-difference detection autofocus and capture light. With phase-difference detection AF, autofocus is achieved quickly and easily on the camera. This unique AF system enables autofocus on approximately 80% of the image plane, vertically and horizontally, and helps ensure virtually no loss in image quality.

The benefits of Dual Pixel CMOS AF are clearly evident in Live View and video shooting, where the EOS 7D Mark II achieves natural, precise focus very quickly, even when switching between subjects. And, combined with the predictive power of Movie Servo AF, subjects in motion are smoothly and consistently tracked – once focus is locked, the EOS 7D Mark II holds on! Plus, with the shallow depth-of-field afforded by EOS optics, video gains a brilliant, cinematic ambience lacking when shooting video with many other Digital SLRs.

Though I do not understand everything above, it seems pretty clear that the 7D II will offer AI servo AF with video…. That will surely tempt me. And it seems pretty clear as well that the new technology promises great improvement in the autofocus system when shooting stills of birds in flight or birds or animals in action. Again, we need to see how promised theoretical improvements pan out against reality.

More Great Stuff or Hollow Promises?

You can learn more about the features of the 7D IIby clicking here. In addition to those above these include the new 20.2 Megapixel CMOS (APS-C) sensor that promise gorgeous images, ten frames per second, a new mirror vibration control system, and brilliant, speedy AF tracking.

My Conclusions

I will sum things up here with two of my responses to questions left as comments on the blog.

The first was asked by Sandra Corless who wrote:

It would be very helpful Artie to know if the new features offered in the way of auto-focus require the use of the newer Canon telephoto lenses or if it will work just as well on some of the older lenses and converters.

Here is my response:

I am sure that the 7D II will focus better than the 7D on any lens. I am sure that the 7D II will AF just fine with the older EF lenses. And I am sure that it will AF faster and more accurately with the Series II super-telephotos than with the older lenses. Not because of anything to do with the camera, simply because the Series II lenses feature better AF than the older lenses.

To be sure that I was not stepping out of bounds with the statement above, I ran it by Chuck Westfall. He responded by e-mail: “Looks good to me.”

Next was a question asked by David Policansky who was kind enough to pre-order his 7D II and accessories using a BAA B&H affiliate link:

Do you plan to get a 7DII?

I answered:

Since I can say for sure that I am getting older every day I can say for sure that I would welcome a light weight 1.6X crop factor camera with very good to excellent image quality and very good high ISO performance. The crop factor would allow me to work with shorter, lighter lenses….

As I have been saying all along, the proof will be in the pudding. artie

Right now there are two chances that I might get my hands on a 7D II some time in mid- to late October or early November. If I do, and if I am permitted to share the images before the camera begins shipping, I will do so.

The two biggest promised and potential 7D II improvements for bird, wildlife, and nature photographers have to do with the all new AF system and with image quality. To get a handle on those, we need to have a 7D II in our hands in the field….

DPP 4.0 Camera Compatibility Issues and Info

Thanks to Jim Simon who asked in a blog comment:

I have the Canon 1D Mk IV and the updater on the Canon site only shows the latest update as DPP 3.14.15. There is no explanation about why I should not update to DPP 4. Does anyone know whether the camera is just an orphan now or if there is a reason that DDP 4 should not be used for files from the Mk IV?

I wrote in response:

DPP 4.0 currently supports images from the following camera bodies: 1D X, 5D III, and 6D. Images from all other Canon digital cameras bodies including the EOS-1D Mark IV need to rely on DPP V 3 point whatever is the latest version.

It is not that DPP 4 shouldn’t be used for 1D IV images. It cannot be used to convert them. You need a serial # for a 1D X, 5D III, or a 6D to download DPP 4.0, but even if a friend gives you a valid serial number a 1D IV image will show in DPP 4.0 with a symbol that leaves no doubt that the image is incompatible: a pencil (indicating “edit”) and a circle with a diagonal line through it (indicating “sorry, Jack.”) I will try to remember to include a screen capture in tomorrow’s blog post. In addition I have the current news on DPP 4.0 and the 7D II.

Well, obviously I did remember :). In the screen capture above you can see the symbol that indicates that DPP 4.0 is not compatible with a given camera.

Here is some disappointing news: right now indications from Japan are that DPP 4.0 will not support 7D Mark II images…. I for one am hoping that this will change at some point, the sooner the better.

EOS-7D Mark II Thanks!

Thanks a stack to the 15 folks who pre-ordered their EOS 7D Mark II bodies (and lots of accessories) using a BAA affiliate link. If you missed all of yesterday’s excitement, click here. And best of luck to Geoffrey Cuff of the Cayman Islands with the Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM Lens that he ordered in similar fashion.

Convinced? Click on the logo-link immediately below to pre-order yours. This will be one hot-ticket item; the sooner you get your name on the pre-order list, the sooner you will have a 7D II in your hands.

The Streak Continues: 291

I spent a great deal of time on Tuesday doing additional research on the new EOS-7D Mark II. I will share what I have learned with you here soon. The rest of the day was made up of meditating, a nice easy swim, healthy eating, a short nap, a 44 minute ice bath, and answering about a zillion e-mails. All that followed by a rare-for-me 8 full hours of sleep. I will be hard working on editing the first draft of the DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion eGuide that I am doing with Arash Hazeghi. I am getting very close…. This blog post, the 291st in a row, was published at about 6:30am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL.

As always, I would appreciate your using the BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases, using our Amazon logo-link for all of your household purchases, and visiting the BAA Online Store for your tripod, tripod head, LensCoat, miscellaneous, accessories, and eGuide purchases as well. Please remember, web orders only. 🙂

Difficult Questions

Though I did not process this image until just before my ice bath on Tuesday evening, I have always liked it. I especially like the soft light. I like how the brown tones of the godwit pick up the brown tones in the distant background. And y’all know that I love shorebirds, especially Marbled Godwits. When I saw one just after sunrise on the South Flats of the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY probably 36 years ago, I had no idea that that experience would change the remainder of my adult life. But it did just that.

I was lying flat down in wet sand when I created this image. A bit later the sun was coming in and out and I had a great time photographing the flying Sandwich, Royal, and Caspian Terns that were landing right in front of me. You gotta love winds with an easterly component in the morning.

#1: Should I have tried to get higher by sitting up? y standing up? Why or why not?

#2: What do you think of the placement of the three birds in the frame? Would you have done anything differently as far as the image design is concerned?

#3: Why is it OK to use rear focus and recompose (which is effectively one-shot AF) when you are lying down but not OK to use rear focus and recompose (effectively one-shot AF) when you are sitting or standing? (In those cases you are much better off using AI Servo AF and keeping it active at the moment of exposure.) Why? What difference does it make if you are lying down as opposed to sitting or standing?

First-ever BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field/Meetup Workshop Session (ITF/MWS): $50

Join me on the afternoon of October 10, 2014 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.

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

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

Fort DeSoto Fall IPT/October 11-13, 2014. 3 FULL DAYs: $1099. Limit 8.

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

Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join us on the ITF/MWS on Friday afternoon as my guest. See above for details on that.

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

At lunch (included) we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one. If you opt to bring your laptop, we will take a look at five of your best images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.

If you decide to register and are traveling to attend this IPT, please make your reservations at the Beachcomber Beach Resort, 6200 Gulf Blvd, St. Petersburg (St. Pete Beach), FL 33706 (727-367-1902) as soon as possible as rooms for the weekend days are scarce: ARR: 10 OCT/DEP 14 OCT. I stayed there on my last DeSoto visit and was quite happy with it. Lodging is tough in Florida at this season…. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). It is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel so if you are interested it would be a good idea to register now and make your hotel reservations as well. We can, however, coordinate easily with local folks who opt to stay at home either by cell phone or e-mail.

Because of the relatively late date, payment is full is due upon registration either by check or credit card. If the former, please e-mail us immediately so that we can save you a spot. If the latter, please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to register . Your registration fee is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight so please check your plans carefully before committing. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, gear advice, and first morning meeting place about one month before this IPT.

Fort DeSoto Site Guide

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

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Typos

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

The Canon EOS-7D Mark II

I know that many of you who use a Canon 1.6 crop factor camera have been waiting too long for the rumored replacement for the EOS-7D. The Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR camera (body only) is now available for pre-order. If you are good to go, please use our B&H affiliate logo-link above to place your order. The sooner you order the sooner you will have your new camera in your hands. Right now I believe that they are looking at some time in November 2014. When this body hits the stores it is likely that it will be one of the hottest tickets ever; remember that some folks waited as long as six months to get their hands on a Series II super-telephoto lens or a 1D X…. If you order now and shoot me your B&H receipt via e-mail I will do my very best to have your order expedited.

There will be lots more on the new 7D Mark II and on the new Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM Lens as well on the blog in the very near future.

Most will surely want to add the new Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR Camera (Body Only). To order yours simply continue shopping after ordering your 7D Mark II and do a search for “Canon BG-E16 Battery Grip for the EOS 7D Mark II.” It will pop right up.

7D Mark II Video

You can see an exclusive 7D Mark II B&H video by clicking here.

Big Time Thanks/Only Two?

Big time thanks to Doug Schurman and Scott Mobley who each ordered two Canon EOS 7D Mark II bodies within minutes of seeing this blog notice. Each sent me their B&H receipts via e-mail; I will do my best to have their orders expedited when the shipments start arriving but as they will be on the top of the list they will likely now need my help. Scott also ordered two of the new battery grips and four of the new batteries, the Canon LP-E6N Lithium-Ion Battery Packs for EOS 7D Mark II.

Much appreciated guys!

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, ay, 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, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂