Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Blue Himalayan Poppies??? A Guest Blog Post by Denise Ippolito

This image of a Himalayan Blue Poppy was created by Denise Ippolito with the hand held Canon 100mm macro lens (now replaced by the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Image courtesy of and copyright 2013: Denise Ippolito

Finding What Inspires Me

When I get to a location to photograph flowers it is important to focus on which flowers I will be photographing. After I scope out those that initially appeal to me I begin to carefully consider the lighting, color, texture and shape of my flower as well as the available backgrounds. I will then go in for a closer look. I am searching for an element that will catch my eye; a curled petal, an interesting texture, a water droplet, or even where the spot where the stem meets the blossom. Once I find my subject I try to capture it in a way that appeals to me. It is most important to me that I like the final image; I don’t try to conform to someone else’s idea of what a flower image should look like. I never worry about whether or not an image will sell. I concentrate on trying to make the one component that originally drew me in to stand out in a special way. Next, I decide on my perspective.

For the opening image here, I was not able to find a pleasing background so I filled the frame with the flower. This is something I do often when I am unable to use the available backgrounds to my benefit. Once I decide to fill the frame I concentrate on where to place my focal point; for this poppy image I chose the point where the stem met the flower as my main point of interest.

This image of a Himalayan Blue Poppy was created by Denise Ippolito with the hand held Canon 100mm macro lens (now replaced by the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Image courtesy of and copyright 2013: Denise Ippolito

Backgrounds for Flower Photography

I often like to use surrounding flowers as artistic backdrops. Sometimes adding a flower in juxtaposition can add to the overall image design. I may also think about simply using only the color of somewhat distant flowers as my background. I decide whether to completely blur the background or to create a more detailed textured look. For the above image I used a very shallow depth of field to create the soft painterly look. Hand holding my camera allows me the flexibility needed to create pleasing compositions. Even when I decide to use a tripod I will first hand hold my camera to find a pleasing design.

This image of a Himalayan Blue Poppy was created by Denise Ippolito with the hand held Canon 100mm macro lens (now replaced by the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Image courtesy of and copyright 2013: Denise Ippolito

Fractalius and Flowers

Here, with a more traditional view of the flower center, I went with some Fractalius to spice things up. Denise is co-author of Fractastic. Learn more here; order your copy here.

This image of a Himalayan Blue Poppy was created by Denise Ippolito with the hand held Canon 100mm macro lens (now replaced by the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Image courtesy of and copyright 2013: Denise Ippolito

Texture Overlays with Flowers

The background in the original image had numerous distracting elements. Rather than cleaning them up with traditional Photoshop techniques,I chose a somewhat more artistic route here and went with a texture overlay. Adding texture is just one of the dozens of topics covered in Denise’s great eGuide, “A Guide to Creative Filters and Effects.” You can learn more or order your copy here. There is additional info on texture overlays in her “Bloomin’ Ideas” here.

Summing Up

Often one small element will be enough to get my creative juices flowing. I need to be inspired by what I photograph. If I have no interest in what I see I can’t be creative. Find what inspires you and then create images that you like.

Your Favorite?

Please take a moment to let us know which of the four Blue Poppy images above is your favorite. Be sure to let us know why.

Blue Poppy

In late spring 1922, legendary mountaineer George Leigh Mallory led a British Himalayan expedition on a failed attempt to reach the summit of the then-unconquered Mount Everest. Blue Poppy was discovered on the trip. Learn more about Blue Poppy at Wikipedia here.

Flower Location Creative Photography Workshops & Seminars

All of these images were created at Longwood Gardens, near Kennett Square, PA on one of Denise’s Workshop/Seminar combos. Learn more about her workshops here.

Like Flower Photography?

If you like photographing flowers, be sure to see the “Creative Flower Photography” blog post here.

Denise Ippolito. Image courtesy of and copyright 2013: Tom Cucharo/BREA Photos

Denise Ippolito

The formerly camera shy Denise Ippolito came out of hiding recently to pose for head shots. They were skillfully executed by Tom Chucharo when Denise traveled to Hamden, CT for a program. As far as I am concerned, she has no reason to hide. Who knows what the future will bring?

On The Road Again

Please know that I will be traveling to and from the Africa for the Tanzania Photo Safari with Todd Gustafson leaving today, August 1 and back in the office on August 21. I will have extremely limited and very slow at best internet access so please do not e-mail me until I get back. Jim will be in the office every weekday to help you with your mail order purchases and Jen will be here handling IPT registrations. The blog will continue to be active as I have prepared a dozen interesting, brand new educational posts for you in advance for you to enjoy during my absence.

Please consider using our B&H, Amazon, and Borrow Lenses affiliate links for all of your major and minor purchases both photographic and household. If we carry something in the BAA Store that you need our very great preference would be that you purchase those items from us :).

If you have a gear, image processing, or other question please e-mail me after July 19th. You can reach Jim here via e-mail. You can reach Jennifer here via e-mail. Please type “JIM” or “JEN” respectively at the front of the Subject Line.

Nature Photographer Magazine

Denise’s guest blog post was adapted and expanded from the article that appears in the current issue of Nature Photographer Magazine. My article, “Flower Photography,” also appears in the Summer 2013 issue of Nature Photographer along with more than a dozen great articles including “Lessons from Home” by Joe McDonald, “Flash Strategies for Nature Photographers” by John and Barbara Gerlach, and “Wildlife Photography in our National Parks” by Weldon Lee. All issues include a fine selection of image’s by Nature Photographer Field Contributors.

Nature Photographer Magazine is available at selected bookstores and newsstands, by subscription, as a PDF, and in an expanded form as an iPad APP. Note: The Summer 2013 issue is not yet on the website.

Images copyright 2012: Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris. Card design by Denise Ippolito. Click on the image to enjoy a spectacular larger version.

Holland 2014 7 1/2-Day/8-Night: A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART/Tulips & A Touch of Holland IPT. April 17-April 24, 2014 :$4995 Limit: 12 photographers/Openings 9

This trip needs 8 registrants to run so please do not purchase your plane tickets until you hear from us; right now we need 5 more folks.

Join Denise Ippolito, Flower Queen and the author of “Bloomin’ Ideas,” and Arthur Morris, Canon Explorer of Light Emeritus and one of the planet’s premier photographic educators for a great trip to Holland in mid-April 2014. Day 1 of the IPT will be April 17, 2014. We will have a short afternoon get-together and then our first photographic session at the justly-famed Keukenhof. Most days we will return to the hotel for lunch, image sharing and a break. On Day 8, April 24, we will enjoy both morning and afternoon photography sessions.

The primary subjects will be tulips and orchids at Keukenhof and the spectacularly amazing tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulb fields around Lisse. In addition we will spend one full day in Amsterdam. There will be optional visits the Van Gogh Museum in the morning and the Anne Frank House in the afternoon; there will be plenty of time for street photography as well. And some great food. On another day we will have a wonderful early dinner at Kinderdijk and then head out with our gear to photograph the windmills and possibly some birds for those who bring their longs lenses. We will spend an afternoon in the lovely Dutch town of Edam where we will do some street photography and enjoy a superb dinner. All lodging, ground transportation, entry fees, and meals (from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 8) are included.

For those who will be bringing a big lens we will likely have an optional bird photography afternoon or two. If we get lucky, the big attraction should be gorgeous Purple Herons in flight at a breeding marsh. We would be photographing them from the roadside. And we might be able to find a few Great-crested Grebes at a location near Keukenhof.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

All images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Denise Ippolito. Click for a larger version.

A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Swan Island Dahlia Farm Instructional Photo-Tour, September 11-15, 2013: 5 FULL DAYS: $1649

Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris at the Swan Island Dahlia Farm in Canby, Oregon (just south of Portland) for a great learning and photography experience. Swan Island features more than 40 acres with over 350 varieties of dahlias in a plethora of colors, shapes and sizes, making it one of the largest growers in the United States.

Daily Photo Schedule

We will enjoy four morning (7:00am till 10:30am) and five afternoon (3:30pm till 6pm) photography sessions. While we will do most of our photography at the Swan Island Dahlia Farm, we will also visit the Portland Rose Garden and/or the Portland Japanese Garden on this IPT. The in-the-field instruction will include seeing the situation, the use of selective focus, creative use of depth of field, histogram and exposure guidance, designing creative images, choosing your background, isolating your subject, lens options, and the use of reflectors and diffusers. Our field sessions will include challenging photography assignments geared to make you think creatively. Both personalized and small group instruction will be provided. All times are tentative and subject to change based on the weather and on local conditions.

Seminar Morning: Friday, September 13: 8:30am till 12:30pm

Denise will begin by presenting her “Bloomin’ Ideas” program, an overview of the in-the-field and post-processing techniques that she has used and developed over the past few years to create her signature look. Artie will follow with a Photoshop session that will be geared towards all levels. He’ll be sharing some of his favorite techniques and tips while working on images from the first two days of the IPT. Denise will conclude the seminar portion of the IPT with a Photoshop demo; she will share her creative workflow using a variety of Photoshop filters and effects. The entire morning is designed to give you a peek into the minds of two very skilled and creative folks.

The group will have lunch together daily. All are invited to bring their laptops for image sharing. We hope that you can join us for an intense five days of learning and some of the best flower photography to be had in North America.

Deposit Info and Cancellation Policies:

A $449 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance is due 4 months before the date of the IPT and is also non-refundable. 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. We will be short-handed in the office until January 21 so please leave a message and we will call you back. 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

Typos

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

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders :) And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

Galapagos/Day 4 Afternoon Panga Ride at Punta Vincente Roca, Isabela

This Brown Noddy image was created with the hand held Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 350mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 3200. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/500 sec. at f/4. Central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus AF on the side of the bird’s breast directly below the bill active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Common Compositional Misunderstandings

When viewing an image like the one above, many folks will say, “The bird is too centered.” They say this either because the bird’s head is centered or because they want to apply the Rule of Thirds to all images. With field guide portraits like this, it is usually best to leave 3-4 times as much room from the tip of the bird’s bill (or in this case from the front of the bird’s breast) to the frame edge than from the tip of the tail to the opposite frame edge. In this image there is actually 11 times as much room from the front of the bird’s breast to the frame edge than from the tip of the tail to the opposite frame edge. Ideally I should have moved the active sensor one or two sensors to the left of the central sensor but I was finding that in this low light/low contrast situation that the central sensor was having an easier time AF-ing than any of the outer sensors.

Here, a big crop from the front would have put the bird’s eyes near a Rule of Thirds spot but I liked all of the cliff face habitat so I pretty much left the image design as is.

This Galapagos Sea Lion pup was photographed with the hand held Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 316mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 3200. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/640 sec. at f/4. Central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus AF just caught the tip of the sea lion’s nose– active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Sea Lion Image Design

With the image above, central sensor Surround worked just fine whether the pup was looking to my left or to my right. If it was looking to my right and I kept the central sensor on the face, it would have yielded a nice field guide type portrait. When the animal looked to my left, as in this image, a pleasing composition resulted with the animal on the right side of the frame looking to my left. I did lots of color balance work to remove the blue cast that resulted from the animal being in the shade: first I ran a 75% Average Blur Color Balance adjustment and then de-saturated the BLUE channel. I executed a small crop for the right and below to tighten up the image design.

This 3-frame in-camera Art Vivid HDR image was created with the hand held Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens(at 47mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops yielded a base exposure of 1/200 sec. at f/5 in Av mode (+/-2 stops). Two sensors below the central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger version.

5D III Art Vivid HDRs

I love creating HDR images but I am a very lazy man when it comes to assembling them in Photomatix. With the 5D Mark III you can create HDR images in camera. The result is a 61-mb JPEG. Just be sure to open the JPEG and save it as a TIFF and you will not run into any image quality problems.

I love the look of the Art Vivid style as seen above here. At times I use Natural. For whatever reason, you need a lot more plus compensation when creating Art Vivid HDRs than when creating Natural HDRs. I usually de-saturate the Art Vivid images about 10 points. The one thing that I know for sure is that creating them is great fun.

Note that the auto-align feature on the 5D III does a great job of aligning the three images even when you are working from a gently rocking boat so long as you are not trying to use an excessively slow shutter speed. You can, therefore, get away with hand holding in a variety of situations.

This 3-frame in-camera Art Vivid HDR image was created with the hand held Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens(at 47mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops yielded a base exposure of 1/200 sec. at f/5 in Av mode (+/-2 stops). Two sensors below the central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger version.

The Samba

The motor sailing yacht Samba was our home for two great weeks. The crew is wonderful and helpful. And the chef, Angel, is, as I have mentioned here before, beyond superb. Just before I began working to finish this blog post we had the most amazing lunch: fresh tuna three ways: sashimi, tartare, and seared each with its own set of savory sauces and flavors. Everyone ate until sated. That Angel pulled himself out of poverty, became a seaman, and then discovered and refined his love of cooking with formal training makes his meals that much more memorable.

The Strongest Image?

Which of the four images above do you think is the strongest? Do let us know why you made your pick.

On The Road Again

Please know that I will be traveling to and from Africa for the Tanzania Photo Safari with Todd Gustafson leaving today, August 1 and back in the office on August 21. I will have extremely limited and very slow at best internet access so please do not e-mail me until I get back. Jim will be in the office every weekday to help you with your mail order purchases and Jen will be here handling IPT registrations. The blog will continue to be active as I have prepared a dozen interesting, brand new educational posts for you in advance for you to enjoy during my absence.

Please consider using our B&H, Amazon, and Borrow Lenses affiliate links for all of your major and minor purchases both photographic and household. If we carry something in the BAA Store that you need our very great preference would be that you purchase those items from us :).

If you have a gear, image processing, or other question please e-mail me after July 19th. You can reach Jim here via e-mail. You can reach Jennifer here via e-mail. Please type “JIM” or “JEN” respectively at the front of the Subject Line.

Images copyright 2012: Denise Ippoltio & Arthur Morris. Card design by Denise Ippolito. Click on the image to enjoy a spectacular larger version.

Holland 2014 7 1/2-Day/8-Night: A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART/Tulips & A Touch of Holland IPT. April 17-April 24, 2014 :$4995 Limit: 12 photographers/Openings 9

This trip needs 8 registrants to run so please do not purchase your plane tickets until you hear from us; right now we need 5 more folks.

Join Denise Ippolito, Flower Queen and the author of “Bloomin’ Ideas,” and Arthur Morris, Canon Explorer of Light Emeritus and one of the planet’s premier photographic educators for a great trip to Holland in mid-April 2014. Day 1 of the IPT will be April 17, 2014. We will have a short afternoon get-together and then our first photographic session at the justly-famed Keukenhof. Most days we will return to the hotel for lunch, image sharing and a break. On Day 8, April 24, we will enjoy both morning and afternoon photography sessions.

The primary subjects will be tulips and orchids at Keukenhof and the spectacularly amazing tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulb fields around Lisse. In addition we will spend one full day in Amsterdam. There will be optional visits the Van Gogh Museum in the morning and the Anne Frank House in the afternoon; there will be plenty of time for street photography as well. And some great food. On another day we will have a wonderful early dinner at Kinderdijk and then head out with our gear to photograph the windmills and possibly some birds for those who bring their longs lenses. We will spend an afternoon in the lovely Dutch town of Edam where we will do some street photography and enjoy a superb dinner. All lodging, ground transportation, entry fees, and meals (from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 8) are included.

For those who will be bringing a big lens we will likely have an optional bird photography afternoon or two. If we get lucky, the big attraction should be gorgeous Purple Herons in flight at a breeding marsh. We would be photographing them from the roadside. And we might be able to find a few Great-crested Grebes at a location near Keukenhof.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Bill Mueller. Card design by Denise Ippolito.

Old Car City Creative Photography In-the-Field HDR Workshop: Sunday, October 13, 2013/ 9am till 1pm.

White, Georgia: $250 plus a $15 entrance fee donation (cash only on the day of the event) that will go to charity. Limit: 16 photographers.

On October 13, 2013, Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART and Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure will be conducting an In-the-Field HDR Workshop at Old Car City in White, Georgia. Old Car City is about an hour north of Atlanta, GA and an hour south of Chattanooga, TN where they will, as noted above, be doing a full day seminar for the Photographic Society of Chattanooga on Saturday, October 12th. Click here for complete details.

Typos

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

Support the Blog

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by typing in the little white box below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

BIRDS AS ART BULLETIN #445

BIRDS AS ART BULLETIN #445 is online and can be accessed here. As usual it is jam-packed with tons of great images and lots of great info including a summary review of the new 200-400.

• Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender
• Galapagos Photo-Cruise Report
• Bucket List: the July 2015 Galapagos Photo-Cruise
• The BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Contest
• Fractastic
• Affiliate Links
• Used Camera Gear
• IPT Info

This image was created at Nickerson Beach, Long Island NY on the recently concluded Nickerson Beach Baby Beach Nesting Birds IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/500 sec. at f/9 in Manual Mode. Central sensor Expand (by necessity)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s eye and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. This is recently fledged juvenile Common Tern. With the super abundance of baitfish right off the beach this was a hugely productive breeding season for Nickerson’s Common Terns.

This Image

For me, this seemingly simple image epitomizes the BIRDS AS ART style. Handsome bird, lovely Atlantic Ocean on a cloudy day background, a nice image design with textbook placement: thee times as much room in front of the bird than behind the bird and twice as much room above the subject than below, and sharp with a perfect head angle.

Lots of time and effort went into creating this image. On the last morning of the IPT, a cold morning with blustery northeast winds, I counseled those in the group with long lenses to face away from the colony, get low, and be patient. Lots of young terns flew in and waited patiently for the adults to come in to feed them. Most begged incessantly at every bird that flew by. To create this image I lay flat behind my tripod with the legs splayed. Getting the subject on the edge of a sand ridge was key to the artistic success of the image as it provided the distant background and offered a decent look at the feet only slightly nestled down in the soft sand.

Denise Ippolito, working with her new favorite rig, the 300 f/2.8L IS, a 2X TC, and the EOS-1D Mark IV, created lots of great flight and feeding images with her wider view and more responsive AF. I went for the tight portraits. And Paul Pinto Jr, all of 13 years old, nailed the image of the trip when a Great Black-backed Gull swooped down and grabbed a young Common Tern right in front of the group that he was with about 60 feet to our right. I will be speaking more of this fine young photographer in a future blog post and sharing some of his images as well.

The Problem

Towards the end of the great Galapagos Photo-Cruise I began noticing AF problems with the 600 II/2X III combo with one of my 1D X bodies, especially in low light/low contrast situations. At first I passed these problems off as normal. When the problems continued and actually got worse over time on the recently concluded Nickerson Beach Baby Beach Nesting Birds IPT I remembered a thread that I had seen in the BPN Gear Forum thread here about a 1D X recall. When I was making the images featured in the “Oh Baby; Thanks Pat!” blog post of July 27th, the AF problems exacerbated; even when I placed the active sensor on a chick’s eye, AF simply would not lock on. For the third image in that post I was forced to go to Manual focus. Why? Even when I pre-focusd manually before attempting rear focus AF, the system would hunt and hunt and hunt some more without acquiring focus.

It was then that everything came into sharp focus (at least in my head). I had followed the link to the formal Canon announcement here, but though both of my 1D X bodies were in the affected group I chose to live by the old adage; if it ain’t broke; don’t fix it.

When I revisited the Canon site yesterday, here is what I found:

Product Advisory

This notice is to proactively inform our customers of the details of the phenomena described below along with Canon’s support actions. Because we value the trust our customers have placed in us, we are dedicated to continuously improving product quality and delivering industry-leading service and support. We offer our sincerest apologies to any customer who may be inconvenienced.

Affected Products

EOS-1D X Digital SLR Camera
EOS-1D C Cinema EOS Camera

Phenomena

In some units of the models listed below, there is a possibility that the following phenomena may occur due to wear caused by insufficient lubrication within the camera’s driving mechanism.

1. AF searches but does not lock in on the subject. (Caused by minute particles produced by wear mentioned above.)
2. The image shown in the viewfinder is “blurry” or “not steady”. (Occurs if wear progresses.)

Info on how to tell if your 1D X is in the affected group follows.

One of my cameras has apparently progressed to stage 1. And the 2nd one is also in the affected group but has not yet exhibited any symptoms. On Friday past when I finally figured things out, I was in a quandary: I did not have enough time to get the cameras to the Jamesburg Repair Facility to have the recall service performed and get them back before I left for my Africa trip this coming Thursday. So I did what most folks would do when facing such a dilemma. I ordered two brand new 1D X bodies for the trip. I will have my two original 1D X bodies serviced and sell them both when I get back from the Tanzania trip. If you are interested in purchasing one or both of my 1D X bodies for a fair price, please shoot me an e-mail.

On The Road Again

Please know that I will be traveling to and from the Africa for the Tanzania Photo Safari with Todd Gustafson leaving today, August 1 and back in the office on August 21. I will have extremely limited and very slow at best internet access so please do not e-mail me until I get back. Jim will be in the office every weekday to help you with your mail order purchases and Jen will be here handling IPT registrations. The blog will continue to be active as I have prepared a dozen interesting, brand new educational posts for you in advance for you to enjoy during my absence.

Please consider using our B&H, Amazon, and Borrow Lenses affiliate links for all of your major and minor purchases both photographic and household. If we carry something in the BAA Store that you need our very great preference would be that you purchase those items from us :).

If you have a gear, image processing, or other question please e-mail me after July 19th. You can reach Jim here via e-mail. You can reach Jennifer here via e-mail. Please type “JIM” or “JEN” respectively at the front of the Subject Line.

Typos

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

Support the Blog

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by typing in the little white box below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

This flight shot of a Bottle-nosed Dolphin was created with the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens (hand held at 120mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/4000 sec. at f/4.5 in Av mode. Two sensors below the central sensor/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the water at the horizon line active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.

In the “Flying Dolphin or Photoshop Creation?” blog post I wrote, referring to the image above, “Was the airborne dolphin cut and pasted from another image? If you have an opinion that you would like to share, please leave a comment and share your evidence either way.”

Several folks, most notably and recently Wayne Rundell, who gave a detailed analysis as to how he knew that the dolphin was indeed cut and pasted into the image, felt that the image was phony….

This is the BreezeBrowser Main View screen capture for the flying dolphin image above.

Tale Told by the BreezeBrowser Main View Screen Capture

Immediately above is the BreezeBrowser Main View screen capture for the image in question. If you have good eyes or if you click on the screen capture to view the larger version you will see, at the top of the frame, that the file name is “_Q8R9580 Marchena Island, Galapagos.CR2” The CR2 indicates that the image file is a RAW file. Thus, the image in question is actually genuine, a decent crop of the original file but otherwise pretty much straight out of camera.

The illuminated red square shows that the selected sensor was active at the moment of exposure. I give myself a quick pat on the back for figuring that focusing on the relatively distant horizon line would yield a sharp dolphin.

Note: in Breezebrowser you need to make sure to check Show Focus Points under View to activate this feature. To see the focus points in DPP check AF Point under View or hit Alt L. Regular readers know that I use and depend on BreezeBrowser every day of the year. It allows me to sort my keepers and deletes the rejects faster than any other 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 earn more or to purchase this great PC only program, click here. To find out about running BreezeBrowser on a Mac, click here.

The Funny Thing…

The funny thing is that when I began writing the Flying Dolphin blog post I had no intention of asking if it were real or phony. That was an afterthought. I have long believed several things about Photoshop:

1-If you tell folks what you did, everyone will spot the obvious flaws, the crude mistakes that you make.
2-If you do not say anything until after the fact nobody knows anything.
3-If you show a straight out of the camera image and ask if it is real or phony some folks will invent or image stuff to prove that it is phony. That is what happened here said the devious man. 🙂

And More…

In the “Oh Baby; Thanks Pat!”blog post here, the first two Common Tern chick images were my favorites by far? The first for its tiny size and the utter helplessness portrayed. The second for the obvious reason: the huge fish. The first image is one of my all time favorite family jewels. It will be one of 35 prints in an exhibit of my work that will be on display at Mass Audubon’s Museum of American Bird Art this fall. Learn more about Mass Audubon here.
Stay tuned for additional details and info on a series of events including a full day seminar on September 30, 2013.

Welcome to Borrow Lenses.com/The Newest BIRDS AS ART Affiliate Sponsor

Renting a lens for a big trip or to learn if the lens if right for you has always been a great plan. On IPTs we have been renting big lenses for probably two decades. But our choices have been and are extremely limited and we never have any Nikon lenses to rent. Borrow Lenses, US-based in San Carlos, CA, is a first class outfit that carries a huge selection of the latest greatest camera, video, audio, lighting, computer, and photography gear. All can be rented for a reasonable fee and delivered to your location with or without insurance.

Please consider supporting our efforts here and with our free BAA Bulletins by renting from Borrow Lenses when the need arises. Click on the banner below to open a whole new world.

Bucket List?

If visiting the Galapagos is on your bucket list and you are a happy camper who is serious about joining us on our July 2015 trip, please shoot me an e-mail and ask to be placed on the interested list. There simply is no better Galapagos Photo Tour.

Typos

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

Support the Blog

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

This image was created at Nickerson Beach, Long Island NY on the recently concluded Nickerson Beach Baby Beach Nesting Birds IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/160 sec. at f/10 in Manual Mode. Central sensor Expand (by necessity)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF just in front of the chick’s eye active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. This is the tiny, younger of the two chicks, the one that had been attacked. Note the prominent egg tooth.

Thanks Pat!

Alan and Pat Lillich have been on about a zillion IPTs, most recently on both the Holland Tulip IPT and the Texel follow-up. When I first met Alan, on a San Diego IPT in 2011 (I just checked–I thought that it was a lot longer ago than that), I did not like him a whole lot. He used Nikon and seemed to know everything. Over the next few trips I learned that I was wrong. Simply put, Alan is a nice guy who consistently goes out of his way to to help others. He still knows a lot about the technical side of photography and computers–he is recently retired from Adobe, and is an excellent photographer as well. Just yesterday morning he stood in the parking lot of the Best Western Mill River Manor in Rockville Center for well more than an hour teaching co-leader Denise Ippolito to use her new Canon 24mm tilt shift lens; typical Alan Lillich.

As nice as Alan is, wife Patricia is definitely his better half. Pat is sweet as sugar, and is a skilled artist, sculptor, and photographer. Pat was standing at the colony ropes photographing some tern babies. I saw one mostly hidden behind a beach plant. Pat volunteered, “Artie, do you see the tiny chick laying on the sand right in front of you?” I had not until she pointed it out. “It was hiding in a small plant when an adult tern landed nearby, grabbed the tiny chick, and flung it to the ground.” Where it lay helplessly looking right at us. I was already set up with the 600 II and the 2X II TC so I quickly went to work.

I spend a good deal of time on IPTs pointing out situations to folks, birds in nice settings, action that might occur. But lots of eyes are always better than a single pair so I often am able to learn from others on the trip. In this case I was able to make a wonderful series of images thanks to Patricia Lillich.

Thanks a stack Pat!

This image was created at Nickerson Beach, Long Island NY on the recently concluded Nickerson Beach Baby Beach Nesting Birds IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/160 sec. at f/10 in Manual Mode. Central sensor Expand (by necessity)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF just in front of the bend of the chick’s wing stub active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. This is the older, more rambunctious chick.

Snapper Blue

While one of the adults began to brood the tiny helpless chick its mate landed nearby with a baby bluefish. When I was a kid living in Brooklyn we used to catch snapper blues not much bigger than the one in the image and fry them up crispy, bones and all, for lunch. By now a few folks had gathered around photographing; all were amazed when the helpless chick’s older sibling swallowed the whole thing after about 3 minutes of trying.

Thanks again Pat!

This image was created at Nickerson Beach, Long Island NY on the recently concluded Nickerson Beach Baby Beach Nesting Birds IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stop: 1/125 sec. at f/10 in Manual Mode (we lost a bit of light after the two frames above were created). Manual Focus on the chick’s eye. Click on the image to see a larger version. Here you can barely see the tiny chick’s foot as it is being brooded by one of the adults. The older chick is waiting momentarily to join its nest-mate. Note the far less prominent egg tooth of the older chick.

Why Manual Focus?

For the answer to this very important question for all 1D X owners, see the answer in a blog post coming soon. Anyone want to hazard a guess?

200-400 Note

Please understand that though I had the new 200-400 on the beach when I made these images and though I do love the lens, the 600 II with the 2X III was the right tool for the the job in these situations. That combo gave me a focal length of 1200mm. The 200-400 with the internal TC in place and an external TC added works out to only 784mm. With the size of the subject in the frame being a function of the square of the focal length the huge advantage of reach goes to the 600II/2X III combo hands down. As in a 144 to 61.5 advantage (the relative squares of the two focal lengths).

This image was created at Nickerson Beach, Long Island NY on the recently concluded Nickerson Beach Baby Beach Nesting Birds IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stop: 1/160 sec. at f/10 in Manual Mode (it brightened back up). Central sensor Expand (by necessity)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the chick’s eye and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Here the older chick has found a surely less comfortable place at the inn.

What a Privilege

What a privilege it to spend four days watching the life and death struggles of the Nickerson’s beach nesting birds. We saw copulating Black Skimmers. We got to photograph chicks that were only hours old. We saw fledged young take a fish from one of their parents only to be slammed by three others and lose its valuable meal. And we saw two Common Tern chicks taken by Great Black-backed Gulls and swallowed whole. Be sure to see BAA Bulletin #446 (coming soon) for the complete Nickerson Beach IPT Report.

White Balance

While I usually work in Auto White Balance all of the images here were created at K6000 for a warmer look. I started in the pre-dawn at K-1000 and worked my way down in 500-1000 unit increments to K6000 as the day brightened a bit.

Your Favorite?

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which of the four images here you like best. And be sure to let us know why.

Photographic Society of Chattanooga Seminar

Scroll down here for details on the Saturday seminar that Denise Ippolito and yours truly are doing in Chattanooga on October 12, 2013 and the follow-up Old Car City In-the-Field Workshop. Blog folks who sign up for both are invited to join us at a secret Urbex location in Atlanta on Friday morning October 11. Feel free to e-mail me for details after you are registered for both.

Snow Goose composite, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. Click on the image for a larger version.

Bosque del Apache 2013 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 26-DEC 2, 2013. 7-FULL DAYS: $3399. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory Slide program: 6:30 pm on 11/25. Limit: 12.

Tens of thousand of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks including point-blank American Wigeon and Wood Duck, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet. Top-notch Photoshop instruction. This will make 19 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for me. Nobody knows the place better than I do. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home applying what you learned will prove to be invaluable. Includes all lunches and the Thanksgiving Buffet at the Crowne Plaza in Albuquerque. I hope that you can join me for what will be an unparalleled learning experience.

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance is due 4 months before the date of the IPT and is also non-refundable. 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.

Images copyright 2012: Denise Ippoltio & Arthur Morris. Card design by Denise Ippolito. Click on the image to enjoy a spectacular larger version.

Holland 2014 7 1/2-Day/8-Night: A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART/Tulips & A Touch of Holland IPT. April 17-April 24, 2014 :$4995 Limit: 12 photographers/Openings 9

This trip needs 8 registrants to run so please do not purchase your plane tickets until you hear from us; right now we need 5 more folks.

Join Denise Ippolito, Flower Queen and the author of “Bloomin’ Ideas,” and Arthur Morris, Canon Explorer of Light Emeritus and one of the planet’s premier photographic educators for a great trip to Holland in mid-April 2014. Day 1 of the IPT will be April 17, 2014. We will have a short afternoon get-together and then our first photographic session at the justly-famed Keukenhof. Most days we will return to the hotel for lunch, image sharing and a break. On Day 8, April 24, we will enjoy both morning and afternoon photography sessions.

The primary subjects will be tulips and orchids at Keukenhof and the spectacularly amazing tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulb fields around Lisse. In addition we will spend one full day in Amsterdam. There will be optional visits the Van Gogh Museum in the morning and the Anne Frank House in the afternoon; there will be plenty of time for street photography as well. And some great food. On another day we will have a wonderful early dinner at Kinderdijk and then head out with our gear to photograph the windmills and possibly some birds for those who bring their longs lenses. We will spend an afternoon in the lovely Dutch town of Edam where we will do some street photography and enjoy a superb dinner. All lodging, ground transportation, entry fees, and meals (from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 8) are included.

For those who will be bringing a big lens we will likely have an optional bird photography afternoon or two. If we get lucky, the big attraction should be gorgeous Purple Herons in flight at a breeding marsh. We would be photographing them from the roadside. And we might be able to find a few Great-crested Grebes at a location near Keukenhof.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Bill Mueller. Card design by Denise Ippolito.

Old Car City Creative Photography In-the-Field HDR Workshop: Sunday, October 13, 2013/ 9am till 1pm.

White, Georgia: $250 plus a $15 entrance fee donation (cash only on the day of the event) that will go to charity. Limit: 16 photographers.

On October 13, 2013, Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART and Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure will be conducting an In-the-Field HDR Workshop at Old Car City in White, Georgia. Old Car City is about an hour north of Atlanta, GA and an hour south of Chattanooga, TN where they will, as noted above, be doing a full day seminar for the Photographic Society of Chattanooga on Saturday, October 12th. Click here for complete details.

Typos

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

Support the Blog

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by typing in the little white box below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

Learning About the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender on Tower Island/Prince Philips Steps

This Great Frigatebird image was created on our afternoon landing at Prince Philips Steps, Tower Island with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 490mm with the internal TC in place) and the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1 2/3 stops as framed: 1/200 sec. at f/9. Two sensors above and three to the left of the central sensor/AI Servo-Surround on the bird’s forehead active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Trepidation

When I decided to bring the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender as my only big lens on our morning landing at Darwin Bay, it was with some trepidation; I had only used the lens very briefly at home in Florida before heading to the Galapagos. My two main concerns were lens handling and maximum reach. While I initially wished for a faster zoom ratio speed (more zoom with less twist of the zoom ring), I quickly learned to a: place my left hand on the zoom ring and b: anticipate and zoom to the approximate focal length that I wanted as I raised the lens.

This head portrait of an adult Swallow-tailed Gull was created at Darwin Bay, Tower Island on our morning landing with the tripod mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (with the internal TC in place), the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter) (at 784mm, the maximum), and the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 800. Evaluative metering -1 1/3 stops: 1/800 sec. at f/9). Central sensor/AI Servo-Expand/Rear Focus AF on the base of the bird’s bill active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Advantages of the Internal TC

I did a good deal of photography with the lens as is (200-400mm) and lots with the internal 1.4X in place (280-560mm). There are several advantages to the internal TC: at about 1 second, set up is nearly instantaneous. For really skilled folks who store their TCs in a pocket without the front and rear caps, adding or removing an external TC might take as little as 10 seconds. Otherwise 30 to 60 seconds or even well more would be the norm for most. You can add another 10 seconds or so for those who turn the camera off and on to prevent dust from entering the system. With the internal TC dust is of no concern at all. After working with the lens for an hour or two, sliding the lever down to engage the internal TC became second nature. Additionally, there is no need to re-balance the lens in the clamp with the internal TC as there is when mounting an external TC.

In short, I quickly became familiar with all aspects of handling my new zoom lens.

This image of a 2-week old Great Frigatebird chick was created on our afternoon landing at Prince Philips Steps, Tower Island with the tripod mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (with the internal TC in place), the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter) (at 784mm, the maximum), and the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/125 sec. at f/9. Central sensor/AI Servo-Expand/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s left eye and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Your Favorite?

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which of the three images you like best. And be sure to let us know why.

Photographic Society of Chattanooga Seminar

Scroll down here for details on the Saturday seminar that Denise Ippolito and yours truly are doing in Chattanooga on October 12, 2013 and the follow-up Old Car City In-the-Field Workshop. Blog folks who sign up for both are invited to join us at a secret Urbex location in Atlanta on Friday morning October 11. Feel free to e-mail me for details after you are registered for both.

Snow Goose composite, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. Click on the image for a larger version.

Bosque del Apache 2013 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 26-DEC 2, 2013. 7-FULL DAYS: $3399. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory Slide program: 6:30 pm on 11/25. Limit: 12.

Tens of thousand of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks including point-blank American Wigeon and Wood Duck, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet. Top-notch Photoshop instruction. This will make 19 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for me. Nobody knows the place better than I do. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home applying what you learned will prove to be invaluable. Includes all lunches and the Thanksgiving Buffet at the Crowne Plaza in Albuquerque. I hope that you can join me for what will be an unparalleled learning experience.

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance is due 4 months before the date of the IPT and is also non-refundable. 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.

Images copyright 2012: Denise Ippoltio & Arthur Morris. Card design by Denise Ippolito. Click on the image to enjoy a spectacular larger version.

Holland 2014 7 1/2-Day/8-Night: A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART/Tulips & A Touch of Holland IPT. April 17-April 24, 2014 :$4995 Limit: 12 photographers/Openings 9

This trip needs 8 registrants to run so please do not purchase your plane tickets until you hear from us; right now we need 5 more folks.

Join Denise Ippolito, Flower Queen and the author of “Bloomin’ Ideas,” BPN Photo Gear Moderator, former Nikon shooter, and technical expert Peter Kes, and Arthur Morris, Canon Explorer of Light and one of the planet’s premier photographic educators for a great trip to Holland in mid-April 2014. Day 1 of the IPT will be April 17, 2014. We will have a short afternoon get-together and then our first photographic session at the justly-famed Keukenhof. Peter who is originally from Holland, will be our local guide/interpreter/driver. Most days we will return to the hotel for lunch, image sharing and a break. On Day 8, April 24, we will enjoy both morning and afternoon photography sessions.

The primary subjects will be tulips and orchids at Keukenhof and the spectacularly amazing tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulb fields around Lisse. In addition we will spend one full day in Amsterdam. There will be optional visits the Van Gogh Museum in the morning and the Anne Frank House in the afternoon; there will be plenty of time for street photography as well. And some great food. On another day we will have a wonderful early dinner at Kinderdijk and then head out with our gear to photograph the windmills and possibly some birds for those who bring their longs lenses. We will spend an afternoon in the lovely Dutch town of Edam where we will do some street photography and enjoy a superb dinner. All lodging, ground transportation, entry fees, and meals (from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 8) are included.

For those who will be bringing a big lens we will likely have an optional bird photography afternoon or two or possibly three. The big attraction should be gorgeous Purple Herons in flight at a breeding marsh. We would be photographing them from the roadside. And we might be able to find a few Great-crested Grebes at a location near Keukenhof.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Bill Mueller. Card design by Denise Ippolito.

Old Car City Creative Photography In-the-Field HDR Workshop: Sunday, October 13, 2013/ 9am till 1pm.

White, Georgia: $250 plus a $15 entrance fee donation (cash only on the day of the event) that will go to charity. Limit: 16 photographers.

On October 13, 2013, Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART and Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure will be conducting an In-the-Field HDR Workshop at Old Car City in White, Georgia. Old Car City is about an hour north of Atlanta, GA and an hour south of Chattanooga, TN where they will, as noted above, be doing a full day seminar for the Photographic Society of Chattanooga on Saturday, October 12th. Click here for complete details.

Typos

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

Support the Blog

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by typing in the little white box below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

Can Less Be More?

On July 11, while I was in the Galapagos, “Can Less Be More?” was published. I asked, “Which image do you like best? I made the small-in-the-frame image before I approached more closely to create the image that opened that blog post. Please leave a comment and let us know which of the two images you like best. And why?

About 15 folks responded. Six liked the large in the frame image. Two liked the small in the frame image. The rest liked them both. Here is my take:

While the larger in the frame image would be best for a field guide, there is no doubt in my mind that the small in the frame image is much more pleasing to the eye, and thus, a much more successful photograph. And besides, I like it best by far.

Jack Breakfast summed it up quite well when he wrote, “To me, the second image is vastly superior, at least from an artistic standpoint. The second image elicits, is evocative, and has some spark to it. The first image is a well-executed picture of a bird. I’ll go with door #2 any day of the week. Well done, Commander Morris.”

Brooke was also in my camp on this one when she wrote: “I definitely like the second photo (small in-the-frame) best. The bird’s head is at a good angle, and the two epiphytes really add to the scene without distracting from the bird. My personal preference is to have a part of the bird’s environment in the photo without it being distracting.”

When I first began photographing birds my great desire was to create “full frame” images. I quickly learned that stuffing the bird in the frame with the bill tip against one frame edge and the tail tip against the other frame edge is not the way to go. Birds need room in the frame. They need to be able to see into their worlds, to have a place to go. That is why we place the birds back in the frame when working in horizontal format. In The Art of Bird Photography II I suggest that the longest dimension of the bird should never take up more than 3/4 of the frame.

This white morph Red-footed Booby image was created with the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (hand held at 381mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/160 sec. at f/4. Two sensors above and one to the right of the central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s neck active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. This was one of the very first images that I made on what turned out to be a magical morning. White morph red-footeds make up less than 5% of the population.

Love the White Morph Images

In the July 19th blog post, “Beginning of a Love Affair with the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS lens: Day 2 Darwin Bay, Tower Island am-Part I,” I asked folks to let us know their favorite images. I believe that all of the images garnered at least a single vote. My two favorites were the two white-morph Red-footed Booby images, the one with the cactus background (above) because of the beautiful image design and excellent post processing (he said modestly). I ran Detail Extractor on the cactus and punched up the YELLOWs and GREENs to highlight the cactus. On the flight image (below) I love the sharpness, the wing position, the splayed tail, and those piercing eyes.

This white morph Red-footed Booby image was created with the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (hand held at 325mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops off the grey sky: 1/1000 sec. at f/4. Central sensor/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s face active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Nickerson Beach IPT

Denise Ippolito and I are heading out to dinner in Rockville Centre in a few. We meet the group for the sold-out Nickerson Beach Baby Beach-nesting Birds IPT at 7pm sharp. We are looking forward to putting on a great workshop.

Photographic Society of Chattanooga Seminar

Scroll down here for details on the Saturday seminar that Denise Ippolito and yours truly are doing in Chattanooga on October 12, 2013 and the follow-up Old Car City In-the-Field Workshop. Blog folks who sign up for both are invited to join us at a secret Urbex location in Atlanta on Friday morning October 11. Feel free to e-mail me for details after you are registered for both.

Snow Goose composite, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. Click on the image for a larger version.

Bosque del Apache 2013 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 26-DEC 2, 2013. 7-FULL DAYS: $3399. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory Slide program: 6:30 pm on 11/25. Limit: 12.

Tens of thousand of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks including point-blank American Wigeon and Wood Duck, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet. Top-notch Photoshop instruction. This will make 19 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for me. Nobody knows the place better than I do. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home applying what you learned will prove to be invaluable. Includes all lunches and the Thanksgiving Buffet at the Crowne Plaza in Albuquerque. I hope that you can join me for what will be an unparalleled learning experience.

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance is due 4 months before the date of the IPT and is also non-refundable. 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.

Images copyright 2012: Denise Ippoltio & Arthur Morris. Card design by Denise Ippolito. Click on the image to enjoy a spectacular larger version.

Holland 2014 7 1/2-Day/8-Night: A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART/Tulips & A Touch of Holland IPT. April 17-April 24, 2014 :$4995 Limit: 12 photographers/Openings 9

This trip needs 8 registrants to run so please do not purchase your plane tickets until you hear from us; right now we need 5 more folks.

Join Denise Ippolito, Flower Queen and the author of “Bloomin’ Ideas,” BPN Photo Gear Moderator, former Nikon shooter, and technical expert Peter Kes, and Arthur Morris, Canon Explorer of Light and one of the planet’s premier photographic educators for a great trip to Holland in mid-April 2014. Day 1 of the IPT will be April 17, 2014. We will have a short afternoon get-together and then our first photographic session at the justly-famed Keukenhof. Peter who is originally from Holland, will be our local guide/interpreter/driver. Most days we will return to the hotel for lunch, image sharing and a break. On Day 8, April 24, we will enjoy both morning and afternoon photography sessions.

The primary subjects will be tulips and orchids at Keukenhof and the spectacularly amazing tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulb fields around Lisse. In addition we will spend one full day in Amsterdam. There will be optional visits the Van Gogh Museum in the morning and the Anne Frank House in the afternoon; there will be plenty of time for street photography as well. And some great food. On another day we will have a wonderful early dinner at Kinderdijk and then head out with our gear to photograph the windmills and possibly some birds for those who bring their longs lenses. We will spend an afternoon in the lovely Dutch town of Edam where we will do some street photography and enjoy a superb dinner. All lodging, ground transportation, entry fees, and meals (from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 8) are included.

For those who will be bringing a big lens we will likely have an optional bird photography afternoon or two or possibly three. The big attraction should be gorgeous Purple Herons in flight at a breeding marsh. We would be photographing them from the roadside. And we might be able to find a few Great-crested Grebes at a location near Keukenhof.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Bill Mueller. Card design by Denise Ippolito.

Old Car City Creative Photography In-the-Field HDR Workshop: Sunday, October 13, 2013/ 9am till 1pm.

White, Georgia: $250 plus a $15 entrance fee donation (cash only on the day of the event) that will go to charity. Limit: 16 photographers.

On October 13, 2013, Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART and Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure will be conducting an In-the-Field HDR Workshop at Old Car City in White, Georgia. Old Car City is about an hour north of Atlanta, GA and an hour south of Chattanooga, TN where they will, as noted above, be doing a full day seminar for the Photographic Society of Chattanooga on Saturday, October 12th. Click here for complete details.

Typos

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

Support the Blog

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by typing in the little white box below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

Canon 200-400 & 70-200 Low Foot and Lens Plate Tips

On Friday past, Mark Williams wrote asking how the various lens plates mount on the Mongoose M3.6 that I use and depend on every day. I brought some gear out to the pool deck and created the five images here at ISO 1600. The explanations are below each image.

Mounting the Wimberley P-20 Plate on an Intermediate Telephoto Lens

The image above shows how I mount the Wimberley P-20 Plate onto the tripod collar of the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom lens when I will be using either the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter) or the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter). Note that I have mounted the P-20 plate backwards with the anti-rotation flange butted up against the front of the lens foot. If I am using the lens alone for scenics I need to reverse the plate else it is not possible to mount the camera on the lens.

Why mount the plate backwards? With the plate mounted backwards as seen above the lens will balance just fine with either teleconverter in place.

Important note: I have run across many folks either in the field or on IPTs who have their P-20 plates mounted improperly as they do not realize that the anti-rotation flange needs to be butted up against either the front of the back of the lens foot before tightening the single mounting screw.

Learn about all of the Wimberley Arca-Swiss Style Lens Plates that we carry here.

Mounting the 70-200 II onto the Mongoose M3.6

To mount the 70-200 II onto the Mongoose M3.6 follow these steps:

1-tighten the vertical panning knob (or use the locking feature)
2-raise the lever to loosen the jaws of the clamp
3-while holding the lens in your right hand slide the lens plate into the jaws of the clamp
4-pull the lever down with your left hand to lock the plate safely in place
5-check the front to back balance and adjust the position of the plate in the clamp as needed; while supporting the lens in your right hand raise the lever with your left hand to loosen the clamp, move the lens plate fore or aft as needed, and re-lock the clamp. I do that dozens of times each day. Working on any tripod head without having your lens balanced fore and aft leads to problems with image sharpness.

Note: some folks like to work the clamp lever by having it point towards the front of the lens rather than towards the back of the lens as above. I do it both ways for no reason at all.

Important note: we should have three Mongoose M3.6 heads in stock by Tuesday or Wednesday; as we are only getting a limited number it would be best to place your order with Jim on Monday as we will not be getting any more until at least the end of the month due to a manufacturing backlog.

The Forth Generation Design CRX-5 Low Foot on the new Canon 200-400mm

Above you see the Forth Generation Design CRX-5 Low Foot mounted in the farthest back position. This position makes it easy to balance the lens when working on a tripod and i best for hand holding.

The CRX-5 Low Foot can be mounted in one of the five positions to optimize performance with the following new Canon super-telephoto lenses:

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Super-telephoto lens.

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Super-telephoto lens.

Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Super-telephoto lens

The CRX 3.5 is best for the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Super-telephoto lens

Learn about all of the 4th Generation Design plates and low feet that we carry here.

Mounting the new Canon 200-400 onto the Mongoose M3.6

To mount the new Canon 200-400 onto the Mongoose M3.6 simply follow the directions above for mounting the 70-200 II onto the Mongoose M3.6.

This image gives a tighter, slightly better view of the clamp. Out-of-focus in the lower right corner you can see the lever for the internal 1.4X TC in the in place position.

Questions?

If you have any questions on plates or tripod heads please send them to me via e-mail.

Photographic Society of Chattanooga Seminar

Scroll down here for details on the Saturday seminar that Denise Ippolito and yours truly are doing in Chattanooga on October 12, 2013 and the follow-up Old Car City In-the-Field Workshop. Blog folks who sign up for both are invited to join us at a secret Urbex location in Atlanta on Friday morning October 11. Feel free to e-mail me for details after you are registered for both.

From Greg Clarkson via e-mail

Thanks so much for the awesome and inspiring weekend seminar that you and Denise put on in Brandon! It was greatly appreciated. Greg

Snow Goose composite, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. Click on the image for a larger version.

Bosque del Apache 2013 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 26-DEC 2, 2013. 7-FULL DAYS: $3399. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory Slide program: 6:30 pm on 11/25. Limit: 12.

Tens of thousand of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks including point-blank American Wigeon and Wood Duck, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet. Top-notch Photoshop instruction. This will make 19 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for me. Nobody knows the place better than I do. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home applying what you learned will prove to be invaluable. Includes all lunches and the Thanksgiving Buffet at the Crowne Plaza in Albuquerque. I hope that you can join me for what will be an unparalleled learning experience.

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance is due 4 months before the date of the IPT and is also non-refundable. 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.

Images copyright 2012: Denise Ippoltio & Arthur Morris. Card design by Denise Ippolito. Click on the image to enjoy a spectacular larger version.

Holland 2014 7 1/2-Day/8-Night: A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART/Tulips & A Touch of Holland IPT. April 17-April 24, 2014 :$4995 Limit: 12 photographers/Openings 9

This trip needs 8 registrants to run so please do not purchase your plane tickets until you hear from us; right now we need 5 more folks.

Join Denise Ippolito, Flower Queen and the author of “Bloomin’ Ideas,” BPN Photo Gear Moderator, former Nikon shooter, and technical expert Peter Kes, and Arthur Morris, Canon Explorer of Light and one of the planet’s premier photographic educators for a great trip to Holland in mid-April 2014. Day 1 of the IPT will be April 17, 2014. We will have a short afternoon get-together and then our first photographic session at the justly-famed Keukenhof. Peter who is originally from Holland, will be our local guide/interpreter/driver. Most days we will return to the hotel for lunch, image sharing and a break. On Day 8, April 24, we will enjoy both morning and afternoon photography sessions.

The primary subjects will be tulips and orchids at Keukenhof and the spectacularly amazing tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulb fields around Lisse. In addition we will spend one full day in Amsterdam. There will be optional visits the Van Gogh Museum in the morning and the Anne Frank House in the afternoon; there will be plenty of time for street photography as well. And some great food. On another day we will have a wonderful early dinner at Kinderdijk and then head out with our gear to photograph the windmills and possibly some birds for those who bring their longs lenses. We will spend an afternoon in the lovely Dutch town of Edam where we will do some street photography and enjoy a superb dinner. All lodging, ground transportation, entry fees, and meals (from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 8) are included.

For those who will be bringing a big lens we will likely have an optional bird photography afternoon or two or possibly three. The big attraction should be gorgeous Purple Herons in flight at a breeding marsh. We would be photographing them from the roadside. And we might be able to find a few Great-crested Grebes at a location near Keukenhof.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Bill Mueller. Card design by Denise Ippolito.

Old Car City Creative Photography In-the-Field HDR Workshop: Sunday, October 13, 2013/ 9am till 1pm.

White, Georgia: $250 plus a $15 entrance fee donation (cash only on the day of the event) that will go to charity. Limit: 16 photographers.

On October 13, 2013, Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART and Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure will be conducting an In-the-Field HDR Workshop at Old Car City in White, Georgia. Old Car City is about an hour north of Atlanta, GA and an hour south of Chattanooga, TN where they will, as noted above, be doing a full day seminar for the Photographic Society of Chattanooga on Saturday, October 12th. Click here for complete details.

Typos

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

Support the Blog

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by typing in the little white box below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

Almost Home

I am working on this post while online in my Sequoia that is headed up the Florida Turnpike towards Indian Lake Estates. Captain Marian Schneider of Grande Tours in Boca Grnade, FL is at the wheel, her friend Marilyn is in the rear passenger seat. Marian and Marilyn were on the recently concluded Galapagos Photo-Cruise that turned out to be the best-ever photographically. My co-leader Denise Ippolito flies to Newark this afternoon. We all awoke at 2am this morning in Quito, Ecuador to catch the 6:25am AA flight to Miami. I should be home by about 5pm. I fly to Long Island for the sold out Nikcerson Beach IPT on Sunday.

This Greater Flamingo was photographed at Dragon Hill with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual Mode. Central sensor Surround AI Servo/Rear Focus on the bird’s eye and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. With the sun out, the eyes and faces of this species, as they are with scaup, almost always appear unsharp. I will share the image processing with you in the next blog post.

The Food

From the moment that I met the group, the questions were: “How’s the food on the boat? What are we gonna eat?” We were met by our naturalist guide Juan at the Baltra airport after our flight from Quito. An hour later we boarded the Samba after all of our luggage and photography gear had been transported to the boat by the crew. The 73 foot motor sailing yacht Samba would be our home for the next 15 days.

And then, lunch!

Simply put, everyone was amazed by the amount, quality, and taste of the food: pan fried and baked snapper, broiled wahoo, scrumptious Ecuadorian menestra–South American dry red beans in thick, amazing sauce, unexpectedly savory white rice, fresh steamed broccoli and cauliflower, a great salad, and a vanilla cake with raspberry drizzle for dessert.

There were no more food questions.

This Greater Flamingo was also photographed at Dragon Hill with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/400 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual Mode. Two active sensors to the right and above the Central sensor 61-point AI Servo/Rear Focus on the bird’s neck active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. We all found that the eyes and faces of the flamingos photographed when it clouded over briefly were much sharper then with images created when the sun was out. That said, with sharpest focus on the bird’s neck the face of this bird was a bit forward of the plane of sharpest focus and thus needed a bit of special attention during the image optimization process: Eye Doctor work, and NIK 50-50 and a contrast mask on the bird’s face and bill.

The First Landing

After a briefing by Juan, we all headed to our cabins to unpack and organize. As the skies were clear and blue, I moved the landing back to 4pm so that we could hopefully enjoy the sweet late afternoon light e readied our photo gear, loaded the pangas (zodiacs), and made our first landing—a dry one onto lava rock—at Dragon Hill on the island of Santa Cruz, also known as Indefatigable. Still unsure or my decision to purchase and bring the new Canon 200-400 with the built-in TC, I went with the 600 II, the 70-200II, and two sets of TCs. Everything worked out well.

The target species for our first landing was Greater Flamingo; we lucked out in spades. As we arrived there were two flamingos in a small brackish lagoon. As the light got sweeter they were joined by a third. We photographed them sleeping, striding, and feeding–their odd-shaped bills swishing rapidly back and forth through shallow waters of the muddy lagoon.

This Marine Iguana image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/125 sec. at f/4 .5 in Manual mode. Central sensor (Surround)/AI Servo Rear Focus on the iguana’s eye and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Back-up Subjects

In addition to the flamingos we photographed Marine Iguana, Black-necked Stilt, and White-cheeked Pintail. There are lots of beautiful Land Iguanas at Dragon Hill but photography at the lagoon was so good that we opted to forego the hike and enjoy the opportunities at hand. We will have good chances with the beautiful yellow reptiles at Urbina Bay and on South Plaza Island later on in the trip.

I first photographed the Marine Iguana above sitting on wet, red mud and then in the still waters of the lagoon. Both made for somewhat unusual settings as they generally prefer rocky coasts. They do lay their eggs in coarse sand. We will be seeing and photographing lots of Marine Iguanas of varying sizes and colorations on our photo-cruise.

This image was created with the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens (hand held at 85mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/4 in Av mode. One below the central sensor/AI Servo/Surround/Rear Focus on a cloud active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.

The End

We were blessed with a lovely sunset. I made this image from the panga on the way back to the Samba. And oh, yes, dinner was great too.

Photographic Society of Chattanooga Seminar

Scroll down here for details on the Saturday seminar that Denise Ippolito and yours truly are doing in Chattanooga on October 12, 2013 and the follow-up Old Car City In-the-Field Workshop. Blog folks who sign up for both are invited to join us at a secret Urbex location in Atlanta on Friday morning October 11. Feel free to e-mail me for details after you are registered for both.

From Greg Clarkson via e-mail

Thanks so much for the awesome and inspiring weekend seminar that you and Denise put on in Brandon! It was greatly appreciated. Greg

Snow Goose composite, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. Click on the image for a larger version.

Bosque del Apache 2013 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 26-DEC 2, 2013. 7-FULL DAYS: $3399. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory Slide program: 6:30 pm on 11/25. Limit: 12.

Tens of thousand of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks including point-blank American Wigeon and Wood Duck, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet. Top-notch Photoshop instruction. This will make 19 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for me. Nobody knows the place better than I do. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home applying what you learned will prove to be invaluable. Includes all lunches and the Thanksgiving Buffet at the Crowne Plaza in Albuquerque. I hope that you can join me for what will be an unparalleled learning experience.

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance is due 4 months before the date of the IPT and is also non-refundable. 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.

Images copyright 2012: Denise Ippoltio & Arthur Morris. Card design by Denise Ippolito. Click on the image to enjoy a spectacular larger version.

Holland 2014 7 1/2-Day/8-Night: A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART/Tulips & A Touch of Holland IPT. April 17-April 24, 2014 :$4995 Limit: 12 photographers/Openings 9

This trip needs 8 registrants to run so please do not purchase your plane tickets until you hear from us; right now we need 5 more folks.

Join Denise Ippolito, Flower Queen and the author of “Bloomin’ Ideas,” BPN Photo Gear Moderator, former Nikon shooter, and technical expert Peter Kes, and Arthur Morris, Canon Explorer of Light and one of the planet’s premier photographic educators for a great trip to Holland in mid-April 2014. Day 1 of the IPT will be April 17, 2014. We will have a short afternoon get-together and then our first photographic session at the justly-famed Keukenhof. Peter who is originally from Holland, will be our local guide/interpreter/driver. Most days we will return to the hotel for lunch, image sharing and a break. On Day 8, April 24, we will enjoy both morning and afternoon photography sessions.

The primary subjects will be tulips and orchids at Keukenhof and the spectacularly amazing tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulb fields around Lisse. In addition we will spend one full day in Amsterdam. There will be optional visits the Van Gogh Museum in the morning and the Anne Frank House in the afternoon; there will be plenty of time for street photography as well. And some great food. On another day we will have a wonderful early dinner at Kinderdijk and then head out with our gear to photograph the windmills and possibly some birds for those who bring their longs lenses. We will spend an afternoon in the lovely Dutch town of Edam where we will do some street photography and enjoy a superb dinner. All lodging, ground transportation, entry fees, and meals (from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 8) are included.

For those who will be bringing a big lens we will likely have an optional bird photography afternoon or two or possibly three. The big attraction should be gorgeous Purple Herons in flight at a breeding marsh. We would be photographing them from the roadside. And we might be able to find a few Great-crested Grebes at a location near Keukenhof.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Bill Mueller. Card design by Denise Ippolito.

Old Car City Creative Photography In-the-Field HDR Workshop: Sunday, October 13, 2013/ 9am till 1pm.

White, Georgia: $250 plus a $15 entrance fee donation (cash only on the day of the event) that will go to charity. Limit: 16 photographers.

On October 13, 2013, Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART and Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure will be conducting an In-the-Field HDR Workshop at Old Car City in White, Georgia. Old Car City is about an hour north of Atlanta, GA and an hour south of Chattanooga, TN where they will, as noted above, be doing a full day seminar for the Photographic Society of Chattanooga on Saturday, October 12th. Click here for complete details.

Typos

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

Support the Blog

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by typing in the little white box below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

This image of my grandson Sam was created with the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (hand held at 300mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera (Body Only). ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/400sec. at f/5.6. The exposure compensation of +2/3 was a bit much; it required some fancy dancing during the DPP conversion to save the WHITEs of the funny glasses frame. To learn how and why I convert all of my Canon images in Digital Photo Professional see the DPP RAW Conversion Guide. Two rows above and two sensors to the right of the central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus on Sam’s left eye active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Couldn’t Be Prouder

Missing Young Man Found!

Sam, daughter Jennifer’s first child, was of course my first grandchild. Having never had a brother or a son, his birth was quite special for me. In the image above, Sam was volunteering at the refreshments table at Maya’s dance recital as he has been doing for each year as long as I can remember. The funds raised help to keep the wonderful dance school in business.

This image of Sam at the torah on the day of his bar mitzvah, May 19, 2012, (with Dad Erik in the background) was created with the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II (hand held at 200mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera (Body Only). ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/125 sec. at f/4 in Program mode. Fill flash at -1 1/3 stops with the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT with the Canon CP-E4 Compact Battery Pack attached to allow for faster re-charging times and a faster frame rate. Two sensors down and one row to the left of the central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus right between Maya’s eyes active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Family Events Gear

For years I have always brought a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens to various family and friends events such as weddings and parties. Even with the 1.4X TC added I often wished for more reach. Now I have the option of toting along the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender. Life is tough.

This image of a spiffed-up Sam on his bar mitzvah day was created with the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II (hand held at 200mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera (Body Only). ISO 1600. Evaluative metering -1 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/6.3 in Program mode. Fill flash at -1 1/3 stops with the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT with the Canon CP-E4 Compact Battery Pack attached to allow for faster re-charging times and a faster frame rate. Three rows up from the central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus right between Maya’s eyes active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

From Sam’s Mom, My Daughter, Jennifer

Sam recently turned 14 and graduated from Bok Academy middle school with a cumulative 4.0 GPA. In the fall he’ll be entering the International Baccalaureate program at Lake Wales High School. Sam’s a renaissance boy, with skills and interest in drawing, photography, literature, and math. His photographic memory means he always has something to chat with folks about, and he gets along with adults as well as he does with his peers.

(I clicked on the IB link above and I gotta tell you, I was impressed. And proud. Heck, I couldn’t be prouder of this fine young man. Way to go Sam! Grandpa.)

Traveling

Please know that artie will be traveling to and from the Galapagos until July 19th. He will not have any internet access while aboard the Samba from July 3-16th. He will be home briefly July 19-20 before flying to Long Island for the sold out Nickerson Beach Baby Birds IPT. Jim will be in the office every weekday to help you with your mail order purchases and Jen will be here handling IPT registrations. The blog will continue to be active as he has prepared more than a few posts for you in advance for you to enjoy during his absence.

If you have a gear or an image processing question please e-mail me after July 19th.

Typos

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

Support the Blog

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by typing in the little white box below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.