Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the center of the bird’s breast active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
The Original Capture
On Saturday past, the many photographers who parked in the main lot at Nickerson Beach were asked to leave by two guys in a little cart as a crew was going to pave the lot. So we did. I could have re-parked by the administration building and walked back but instead, I decided to head back to my Mom’s via the Jones Beach Strip. En route I decided to visit West End and see what I could do from the car (without a BLUBB….)
The medians were full of tiny, gorgeous purple flowers; some sort of ground cover, I guess. On the way in there were Killdeer and robins in the colorful patches but my 600 II was in the trunk. Once I got set up of course the birds were few and far between and getting close was nearly impossible. For the American Robin image above I rested the lens on the window frame. I have no idea why the image was so over-exposed; perhaps I had pointed at something very dark and accidentally hit the AF-On button (that functions as my star button and locks the exposure). But I decided to see what I could do as there seemed to be some promise and I do not have much on robin.
The Image in DPP
The screen capture above shows how the image looked once I brought it into DPP, Canon Digital Photo Professional. I hit ALT M and saw that there were lots of red patches that serve as over-exposed highlight warnings. That you need to hit ALT M each and every time is somewhat of a challenge; it does not stick. I have let the folks at Canon know and they have promised to pass along my suggestion to have the Highlight (ALT M) and Shadow (ALT N) warning stick once you set them once.
Does the image look sharp enough at only 1/50 sec. without adequate support? Does it look as if the highlights can be recovered? How quickly would you delete this image? Or do you think that it is salvageable?
DPP RAW Conversion Guide
DPP is fast and produces high quality image files with accurate colors and low noise levels. To learn more about how and why I use DPP to convert all of my Canon images see our DPP RAW Conversion Guide here.
This 3-frame in-camera HDR Art Vivid image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III . ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop yielded a base exposure of 1/125 sec. at f/13 in Av mode. 2-second timer. Note: I should have used more + compensation for all but the first image here as the Art Vivid JPEGs are always on the dark side.
Central sensor/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF on the bottom of the flower part of the bud. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version.
Iris bud #5
My Favorite Iris Bud
In the “Tough Call on Hey Bud” blog post, I asked folks which of the five iris bud images was there favorite. Iris bud #1 was the overwhelming choice and #3 got a vote as well. I thought that #4 was clearly the weakest image but nobody voted for my favorite, #5 above, either.
What I loved most about #5 was the bright green background and the patterns and purple edging of the scale, the buds protective cover.
More Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, Small Group, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris. May 27 (am & pm), May 28 (am & pm) and May 29 (am only). All 2013 of course. Morning sessions: 5am sharp-9:30 am. Afternoon sessions: 4pm til whenever. These are priced so low that you need to e-mail for the rates. Limit 5/session.
If you e-mail, please include all phone numbers. Payment in full due immediately via credit card after calling the office on a weekday: 863-221-2372. If you would like to join me, please get in touch via e-mail. Breeding American Oystercatcher (chicks likely) and Piping Plover (chicks possible). Common Tern and Black Skimmer/courtship behaviors. Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. Breeding plumage Sanderling and other shorebird species. Lots of flight photography when the wind is right. Learn digital exposure and creative image design. Learn to create pleasing blurs at 5am.
Nickerson Baby Beach-nesting Birds IPT: July 23-25, 2013: $1099. Introductory slide program: Monday, July 22, 2013. Limit 12/Openings: Sold Out. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito.
IPT Info
For complete IPT info including schedule, cancellation policies, and the registration and release forms, click here.
It’s Not Too Late! New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
We are currently fleshing out the details. The dates will be about the same, in mid April. In addition to the Keukenhof and the flower fields we will do an afternoon of windmills at Kinderdijk, a day in Amsterdam including a morning at the Rijks Museum and an afternoon visit to the Ann Frank House plus some street photography. We will do some street photography and fine dining in the little town of Edam. There will be about 7-9 days of photography in all. Those will include an afternoon option for a day or two of Purple Herons for those with long lenses.
Note: not surprisingly, early interest has been huge with several folks who want to sign up right now. The formal announcement of the dates and price is imminent.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the point just forward of the folded wing active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Time 7:53:29.
Warning: Graphic Violence & Murder
After a wonderful afternoon of photographing oystercatchers and shorebirds at Nickerson Beach on the afternoon of Monday, May 21, I was on my way back to my vehicle when I noted an American Oystercatcher pair with a chick heading back to the protection of the roped off colony. As it was getting dark I continued on my way. In a few steps I noted a second chick that had become separated from its family. Without much concern I walked towards it herding it gently towards the colony and its parents that were not a long way off to my left. As the little guy made its way under the strings of the colony an adult oystercatcher flew in from my right, pounced on the chick, and began pummeling it with its stout bill. I followed my own advice by shooting first and asking shutter speed and exposure questions later. The image above was the 1st in the sequence.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the adult’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.
Time 7:53:46. 23 seconds after the opening image was made.
Setting a Faster Shutter Speed
I made three images of the initial assault before realizing that the images were too bright and that the shutter speed was much too slow. When I made this image I was sure that the chick was already dead. The attack was so unexpected and so violent that I was not thinking very clearly.
This image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering probably plus 2/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual Mode. BTW, I realized while preparing this blog post that I could have been working at f/4 but as I said, I was not thinking clearly at the time….
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the top of the base of the adult’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.
Time 7:54:01. 25 seconds after the preceding image was created.
Last Gasp…
Here the totally defenseless chick raised its head in feeble defense. What is not evident in these images is the fury of the pounding.
This image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering probably plus 2/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual Mode. BTW, I realized while preparing this blog post that I could have been working at f/4 but as I said, I was not thinking clearly at the time….
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the bottom of the center of the folded wing active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Time 7:54:37. 37 seconds more have elapsed….
The Only Possible Outcome
I’ve lowered my tripod now and at this point it is obvious that the chick is dead.
This image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering probably plus 2/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual Mode. BTW, I realized while preparing this blog post that I could have been working at f/4 but as I said, I was not thinking clearly at the time….
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the bottom of the center of the folded wing active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Time 7:54:41. This one was made only 4 seconds after the previous image.
The End
The adult is now satisfied that it has killed the chick and a moment later walks off to the east. I have seen many Black Skimmer chicks killed by Great Black-backed Gulls but none of those attacks got to me as much as this one did, not only because the chick was killed by one of its own species but because of the violence of the attack.
What’s the Biology?
It is all rather simple. Oystercatchers kill the chicks of other pairs to increases the odds that its chicks will survive as there will be less competition for food resources. A bird’s sole reason for existence it to increase the chances of passing its genes along to the next generation. Adult Black Skimmers routinely attack and often kill wandering chicks from other nests but before yesterday I had not seen this behavior with oystercatchers. I am unsure as the whether I have heard of it. If anyone has online access to BONA (Birds of North America) it is likely that they can learn more to share with us here. I have a hard copy at home.
More Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, Small Group, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris. May 27 (am & pm), May 28 (am & pm) and May 29 (am only). All 2013 of course. Morning sessions: 5am sharp-9:30 am. Afternoon sessions: 4pm til whenever. These are priced so low that you need to e-mail for the rates. Limit 5/session.
If you e-mail, please include all phone numbers. Payment in full due immediately via credit card after calling the office on a weekday: 863-221-2372. If you would like to join me, please get in touch via e-mail. Breeding American Oystercatcher (chicks likely) and Piping Plover (chicks possible). Common Tern and Black Skimmer/courtship behaviors. Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. Breeding plumage Sanderling and other shorebird species. Lots of flight photography when the wind is right. Learn digital exposure and creative image design. Learn to create pleasing blurs at 5am.
This IPT is now a go. Conditions at Nickerson are excellent. Join Denise and me on Long Island, NY this coming summer to photograph Common Tern chicks, baby American Oystercatchers, and just-hatched Black Skimmer chicks along with the adults. The opportunities will include chances to photograph a variety of breeding behaviors including courtship feeding, display flight and combat, and copulations. Car-pooling is recommended; if we opt to return to the beach before 5pm there is a $30/vehicle parking fee that is not included so it is best to share that expense. Parking in the morning is free.
Now that the trip is a go–we had been worried about the effects of Hurricane Sandy–I fully expect that this IPT will fill almost instantly. Payment in full is due by check upon registration.
IPT Info
For complete IPT info including schedule, cancellation policies, and the registration and release forms, click here.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
We are currently fleshing out the details. The dates will be about the same, in mid April. In addition to the Keukenhof and the flower fields we will do an afternoon of windmills at Kinderdijk, a day in Amsterdam including a morning at the Rijks Museum and an afternoon visit to the Ann Frank House plus some street photography. We will do some street photography and fine dining in the little town of Edam. There will be about 7-9 days of photography in all. Those will include an afternoon option for a day or two of Purple Herons for those with long lenses.
Note: not surprisingly, early interest has been huge with several folks who want to sign up right now. The formal announcement of the dates and price is imminent.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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.
BAA Bulletin #440 is online and can be accessed here.
Here is a list of the features:
Improving Flock Flight Image Design
More Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris
The Blog is the Bomb!
Japan in Winter
Time is Running Out! New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris
Affiliate Links
Used Camera Gear
IPT Highlights
IPT Info
Be sure to check out the “Improving Flock Flight Image Design” feature.
More Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, Small Group, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris. May 27 (am & pm), May 28 (am & pm) and May 29 (am only). All 2013 of course. Morning sessions: 5am sharp-9:30 am. Afternoon sessions: 4pm til whenever. These are priced so low that you need to e-mail for the rates. Limit 5/session.
If you e-mail, please include all phone numbers. Payment in full due immediately via credit card after calling the office on a weekday: 863-221-2372. If you would like to join me, please get in touch via e-mail. Breeding American Oystercatcher (chicks likely) and Piping Plover (chicks possible). Common Tern and Black Skimmer/courtship behaviors. Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. Breeding plumage Sanderling and other shorebird species. Lots of flight photography when the wind is right. Learn digital exposure and creative image design. Learn to create pleasing blurs at 5am.
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the side of the bird’s breast just below the 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.
So What’ the Fatal Flaw?
In the May 17th blog post here, I posted the image above and asked:
Does this image have a fatal flaw? Is there something about it that spoils it for me? If you think that it’s perfect, leave a comment and let us know. If there is a fatal flaw, do the same and let us know.
The Fatal Flaw
For me the head angle of the adult is the fatal flaw. Kudos to Brooke; at 9:12 am on May 17, 2013, she was the first to answer correctly as follows, “It’s the angle of the head of the parent oystercatcher. To be ‘perfect’ the bird’s head needs to be at a slight angle (I forget this moment just what the angle is) towards us. With the adult bird’s body angled toward us, it would have been ideal for its head to have been parallel to its body. In such situation no additional turn towards us is needed as it is when a bird is perfectly parallel to us. I am always supremely aware of head angle when photographing. In those cases 2 or 3 degrees towards the viewer is ideal.
Several folks felt that the fact that the two birds were standing behind a ridge of sand was the fatal flaw. Though I would of course prefer that both birds were standing on top of the ridge rather than behind it, I am fine with that aspect of the image as is. In no way is that a fatal flaw for me. While others came up with the correct answer many folks were fishing without bait if you get my drift. 🙂
It is interesting that Bob Boner commented, “It may not be a fatal flaw, but I would like to see some interaction between the adult and baby. The baby has been fed, but the adult seems no longer interested.” Why might that be? Because the adult’s head is turned away from the chick….
On BPN I am known for good reason as the captain of the head angle police. If you really want to learn about head angle study this BPN thread carefully. Warning: it will take several days.
On Language
In the blog post referred to above, I wrote, “If worse comes to worse.” Jack Breakfast kindly pointed out that that was incorrect and that the proper phrasing should be “If worse comes to worst.” I love learning about language so just to make sure that Jack was correct I tracked down an On Language article in a New York Times Sunday Magazine section on the subject.
I learned that Jack was indeed correct, but the earliest form of the idiom was actually “if the worst come to the worst.” Ben Zimmer, the author–I used to read this feature regularly when I lived in NY and it was authored by the late William Safire–explained that the original idiom had a completely different meaning than the currently correct usage. He explained, that “if the worst come to the worst” describes “the worst thing in theory turning into the worst thing in actuality.” The modern form, “if worse comes to worst,” clearly indicates a situation where something already bad turns into something even more bad.
You can read the entire article here. Thanks again to Jack Breakfast for the correction and for stirring my curiosity.
I own a copy of “On Language,” the book by William Safire and plan on ordering a copy of his “How Not to Write: The Essential Misrules of Grammar” asap.
This IPT is now a go. Conditions at Nickerson are excellent. Join Denise and me on Long Island, NY this coming summer to photograph Common Tern chicks, baby American Oystercatchers, and just-hatched Black Skimmer chicks along with the adults. The opportunities will include chances to photograph a variety of breeding behaviors including courtship feeding, display flight and combat, and copulations. Car-pooling is recommended; if we opt to return to the beach before 5pm there is a $30/vehicle parking fee that is not included so it is best to share that expense. Parking in the morning is free.
Now that the trip is a go–we had been worried about the effects of Hurricane Sandy–I fully expect that this IPT will fill almost instantly. Payment in full is due by check upon registration.
IPT Info
For complete IPT info including schedule, cancellation policies, and the registration and release forms, click here.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Just two slots open.
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
We are currently fleshing out the details. The dates will be about the same, in mid April. In addition to the Keukenhof and the flower fields we will do an afternoon of windmills at Kinderdijk, a day in Amsterdam including a morning at the Rijks Museum and an afternoon visit to the Ann Frank House plus some street photography. We will do some street photography and fine dining in the little town of Edam. There will be about 7-9 days of photography in all. Those will include an afternoon option for a day or two of Purple Herons for those with long lenses.
Note: not surprisingly, early interest has been huge with several folks who want to sign up right now. The formal announcement of the dates and price is imminent.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
Support the Bulletins and the Blog via 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.
Central sensor/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF on the center of the bud. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version.
Iris bud #1
Hey Bud
I had a fun time co-leading Denise Ippolito’s Creative Photography Iris Workshop last Thursday. We were blessed with perfect flower photography weather: cloudy bright to cloudy with a few rain drops here and there and nearly dead calm conditions until the sun finally came out at 10:45am just before the end of the workshop. Everyone had fun and learned a ton. While the irises were beautiful (flower photos coming soon) I was really attracted to the buds. The 180 macro was just too wide so I grabbed the 300 II and went to work.
Central sensor/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF on the bottom of the flower part of the bud. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version.
Iris bud #2
Aperture/Depth-of-Field Choice
Choosing intermediate apertures in the range of from f/8 to f/13 for the bud shots worked well. Anything smaller brought up the background too much by revealing distracting detail.
Central sensor/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF on the bottom of the flower part of the bud. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version.
Iris bud #3
Choice of Perspective/Isolating the Subject
If you walked up to any old bud with your tripod and began making images all of your backgrounds would have included a plethora of distracting background elements, usually from the next row of flowers. To get the pure green backgrounds reminiscent of my BIRDS AS ART style I needed to lower the tripod and move from side to side so as to create a background of distant grass. Doing so was a bit easier said than done as there was all manner of trees and benches about. Denise’s group marveled at the images on the back of my 5D MIII. Several grabbed their longest lens and began flattering me…. Confused? What do they say about imitation?
Central sensor/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF on the bottom of the flower part of the bud. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version.
Iris bud #4
Making Sharp Images At Slower Shutter Speeds
Once my shutter speeds fall below 1/30 sec. I use Live View to give me Mirror Lock. That along with the use of the 2-second timer will yield sharp images as long as there is no breeze.
This 3-frame in-camera HDR Art Vivid image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III . ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop yielded a base exposure of 1/125 sec. at f/13 in Av mode. 2-second timer. Note: I should have used more + compensation for all but the first image here as the Art Vivid JPEGs are always on the dark side.
Central sensor/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF on the bottom of the flower part of the bud. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version.
Iris bud #5
Tough Call
Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which is your favorite bud image and be sure to let us know why you like the one that you chose. They are numbered 1-5.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III User’s Guide
Learn everything that I know about the EOS-5D Mark III including how I set up my camera for in-camera HDRs in the 5D Mark III User’s Guide. This guide also includes info on the following: 5D III exposure fine points, handling the WHITEs, the top LCD and all camera control buttons, all 5D Mark III drive modes, how to manually select an AF sensor, choosing an AF Area Selection Mode/how and why (includes extensive detail), and Menu Item Access. Coverage of almost all Menu Items and Custom Functions including the following: Image Quality, Auto Lighting Optimizer, Highlight Tone Priority, AF Configuration Tool (includes details on the custom setting that I use), Acceleration/deceleration tracking, Tracking sensitivity, Lens drive when AF impossible, Orientation linked AF point (I love this feature on the 5D III!), Highlight alert, Histogram display, Auto rotate, Custom Shooting Mode set-up, Safety shift, using the Q button, and setting up rear focus. The guide is–of course–written in my informal, easy-to-follow style.
More Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, Small Group, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris. May 27 (am & pm), May 28 (am & pm) and May 29 (am only). All 2013 of course. Morning sessions: 5am sharp-9:30 am. Afternoon sessions: 4pm til whenever. These are priced so low that you need to e-mail for the rates. Limit 5/session.
If you e-mail, please include all phone numbers. Payment in full due immediately via credit card after calling the office on a weekday: 863-221-2372. If you would like to join me, please get in touch via e-mail. Breeding American Oystercatcher (chicks likely) and Piping Plover (chicks possible). Common Tern and Black Skimmer/courtship behaviors. Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. Breeding plumage Sanderling and other shorebird species. Lots of flight photography when the wind is right. Learn digital exposure and creative image design. Learn to create pleasing blurs at 5am.
This IPT is now a go. Conditions at Nickerson are excellent. Join Denise and me on Long Island, NY this coming summer to photograph Common Tern chicks, baby American Oystercatchers, and just-hatched Black Skimmer chicks along with the adults. The opportunities will include chances to photograph a variety of breeding behaviors including courtship feeding, display flight and combat, and copulations. Car-pooling is recommended; if we opt to return to the beach before 5pm there is a $30/vehicle parking fee that is not included so it is best to share that expense. Parking in the morning is free.
Now that the trip is a go–we had been worried about the effects of Hurricane Sandy–I fully expect that this IPT will fill almost instantly. Payment in full is due by check upon registration.
IPT Info
For complete IPT info including schedule, cancellation policies, and the registration and release forms, click here.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Just two slots open.
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
We are currently fleshing out the details. The dates will be about the same, in mid April. In addition to the Keukenhof and the flower fields we will do an afternoon of windmills at Kinderdijk, a day in Amsterdam including a morning at the Rijks Museum and an afternoon visit to the Ann Frank House plus some street photography. We will do some street photography and fine dining in the little town of Edam. There will be about 7-9 days of photography in all. Those will include an afternoon option for a day or two of Purple Herons for those with long lenses.
Note: not surprisingly, early interest has been huge with several folks who want to sign up right now. The formal announcement of the dates and price is imminent.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
Support the Bulletins and the Blog via 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.
More Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, Small Group, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris. May 27 (am & pm), May 28 (am & pm) and May 29 (am only). All 2013 of course. Morning sessions: 5am sharp-9:30 am. Afternoon sessions: 4pm til whenever. These are priced so low that you need to e-mail for the rates. Limit 5/session.
If you e-mail, please include all phone numbers. Payment in full due immediately via credit card after calling the office on a weekday: 863-221-2372. If you would like to join me, please get in touch via e-mail. Breeding American Oystercatcher (chicks likely) and Piping Plover (chicks possible). Common Tern and Black Skimmer/courtship behaviors. Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. Breeding plumage Sanderling and other shorebird species. Lots of flight photography when the wind is right. Learn digital exposure and creative image design. Learn to create pleasing blurs at 5am.
This Just In
Received via e-mail from Dirt Cheap 3 session participant Dennis Miller:
Thanks for a great time and excellent instruction. That, and the herring in cream sauce were the highlights of the trip! ;-)) Best, D
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the lower rear part of the bird’s black hood active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
The Big Attractions Right Now
Right now, there are so many oystercatchers on eggs that they are hard to count. This nest hatched within the last day or two as I saw the pair with three tiny young this morning. More Common Terns are arriving every day and settling in to nest. Courtship feeding, pre-copulatory stands, and copulations are becoming more common every day. And there are large flocks of Sanderling about, many molting into their bright orange breeding plumage; they should be around until near the end of the month.
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the bird’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.
Afternoon Dirt Cheap Dennis Miller was just to my right. We had set up for Sanderlings when a group of terns landed nearby to our left. We stayed seated while moving to our left and were well rewarded. Dennis was most kind as he treated denise and me to dinner at one of our favorite Rockville Center eateries: Prime Catch. Thanks again Dennis! Amazingly very little beach clean-up was needed for this one.
Loving What Is Including a Big Screw-Up
I woke this morning just before 3am with no alarm clock set. The beach was calling me…. I had planned to leave my Mom’s at 4:15am and be at Nickerson at 5am but I futzed around on the laptop after seeing the dark clouds above Holbrook. I finally left at 4:30 and realized that I needed to stop for gas. The credit card network was down but fortunately I was able to awaken the attendant and pay cash. But that episode cost me an extra ten minutes. As I crossed the last bridge on the Loop Parkway into Lido Beach I looked back over my left shoulder and was dismayed to see a spectacular sunrise very reminiscent of the best of Bosque…. By the time I got all of my gear together the color had faded almost completely and the sun was coming up. The moral: bend over and kick self in butt. To make matters worse large flocks of birds were blasting off almost continuously as I walked from the parking lot to the colony. You gotta love it.
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/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.
Dirt Cheap Dennis Miller enjoyed a private afternoon with me on Wednesday, April 15; just me and him. Denise Ippolito had friend/private client Jon Saperia for the day. John really opened my eyes to Michael Tapes Focus Tune software. I will be sharing what I learned when I get back to Florida. Old friend Ivan Rothman and newcomer Insu Nuzzi from San Diego were with us that morning. A good time was had by all.
The Coming Attractions
On the morning of May 15, I spotted the first two Black Skimmers of the season. This morning, there were several large flocks of skimmers at Nickerson. They will be setting in to begin nesting over the next week or two.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus on closest skimmer (lower right) and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Imagine arriving well before sunrise only to find out that you were way too late. Image Optimization for this image was a bear.
Stuff
I was excited to see the large groups of skimmers as they are the early indicators of a great season at Nickerson. The funny thing is that few folks know how to shoot Nickerson…. There were two folks ahead of me this morning and all evidence showed that they were there well before I was. Yet they were totally in the wrong spot. They were joined by about a dozen folks most with big lenses. Pretty much not one of them had a clue as to how to approach the birds. They all stayed well back and made poor photographs.
Do consider joining me to learn the best morning and afternoon strategies at this treasure of a location.
Your Fave?
Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which of the four images above is your favorite. And why.
This IPT is now a go. Conditions at Nickerson are excellent. Join Denise and me on Long Island, NY this coming summer to photograph Common Tern chicks, baby American Oystercatchers, and just-hatched Black Skimmer chicks along with the adults. The opportunities will include chances to photograph a variety of breeding behaviors including courtship feeding, display flight and combat, and copulations. Car-pooling is recommended; if we opt to return to the beach before 5pm there is a $30/vehicle parking fee that is not included so it is best to share that expense. Parking in the morning is free.
Now that the trip is a go–we had been worried about the effects of Hurricane Sandy–I fully expect that this IPT will fill almost instantly. Payment in full is due by check upon registration.
IPT Info
For complete IPT info including schedule, cancellation policies, and the registration and release forms, click here.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
We are currently fleshing out the details. The dates will be about the same, in mid April. In addition to the Keukenhof and the flower fields we will do an afternoon of windmills at Kinderdijk, a day in Amsterdam including a morning at the Rijks Museum and an afternoon visit to the Ann Frank House plus some street photography. We will do some street photography and fine dining in the little town of Edam. There will be about 7-9 days of photography in all. Those will include an afternoon option for a day or two of Purple Herons for those with long lenses.
Note: not surprisingly, early interest has been huge with several folks who want to sign up right now. The formal announcement of the dates and price is imminent.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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.
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the side of the bird’s breast just below the 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.
So What’ the Fatal Flaw?
Does this image have a fatal flaw? Is there something about it that spoils it for me? If you think that it’s perfect, leave a comment and let us know. If there is a fatal flaw, do the same and let us know.
See below for info on the image optimization process.
Image Optimization
After converting in DPP I did the background clean-up with the Clone Stamp Tool on a Layer (as taught to me by Denise Ippolito). You can clone with impunity, add a Regular Layer Mask, and then fine-tune the spots where you cloned onto the bird. Bill clean-up was done with the Patch Tool and the Clone Stamp Tool while working large. Note the Eye Doctor improvements in the animated GIF above. I ran a 20% layer of my 50/50 NIK Color Efex Pro Tonal Contrast/Detail Extractor Custom Filter on the bird’s black hood and the orange bill, selected with the Quick Selection Tool. Then I did the same to the chick at about 50%. Then a 40% layer of Linear Contrast with my f/4 action.
All of the steps in the image optimization process mentioned above (and tons more) are described in detail in our in Digital Basics File, an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips including Digital Eye Doctor techniques, several different ways to expand canvas, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, and Quick Masking, Layer Masking, and NIK Color Efex Pro basics.
This IPT is now a go. Conditions at Nickerson are excellent. Join Denise and me on Long Island, NY this coming summer to photograph Common Tern chicks, baby American Oystercatchers, and just-hatched Black Skimmer chicks along with the adults. The opportunities will include chances to photograph a variety of breeding behaviors including courtship feeding, display flight and combat, and copulations. Car-pooling is recommended; if we opt to return to the beach before 5pm there is a $30/vehicle parking fee that is not included so it is best to share that expense. Parking in the morning is free.
Now that the trip is a go–we had been worried about the effects of Hurricane Sandy–I fully expect that this IPT will fill almost instantly. Payment in full is due by check upon registration.
IPT Info
For complete IPT info including schedule, cancellation policies, and the registration and release forms, click here.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
We are currently fleshing out the details. The dates will be about the same, in mid April. In addition to the Keukenhof and the flower fields we will do an afternoon of windmills at Kinderdijk, a day in Amsterdam including a morning at the Rijks Museum and an afternoon visit to the Ann Frank House plus some street photography. We will do some street photography and fine dining in the little town of Edam. There will be about 7-9 days of photography in all. Those will include an afternoon option for a day or two of Purple Herons for those with long lenses.
Note: not surprisingly, early interest has been huge with several folks who want to sign up right now. The formal announcement of the dates and price is imminent.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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.
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the nearest egg and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Eggs-ZACT-ly!
Had a great client named George Brunt from somewhere in southwestern Canada. When I’d say pretty much anything, he’d say, “Eggs-ZACT-ly!” He always put a big smile on my face. but I have not seen him in years.
The clutch of eggs above was the cleanest, nicest I have ever come across. Note how shallow the depth-of-field is at f/16 when you are close to minimum focusing distance. See the original below.
This is the original for the image that opens today’s blog post.
The Image Optimization
I optimized this one for the small Nickerson Beach Dirt Cheap group this morning at Bagel Plaza in Merrick. Yummy. Converted in DPP, processed in CS-5 as usual. Clean-up was with the Patch Tool, the Spot Healing Brush, and the Clone Stamp Tool. When the clean-up was completed I ran a 60 pixel layer of Gaussian Blur and painted in the upper background after applying a Hide-All Mask. Then I selected the eggs only with the Quick Selection Tool and applied a 20% layer of 50/50 NIK Color Efex Pro Tonal Contrast/Detail Extractor. Then a layer of Linear Contrast with my f/4 action.
All of the steps in the image optimization process mentioned above (and tons more) are described in detail in our in Digital Basics File, an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, several different ways to expand canvas, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, and Quick Masking, Layer Masking, and NIK Color Efex Pro basics.
I will be joining Denise Ippolito as a previously unannounced co-leader on her Iris Garden Flower Photography Workshop this coming Thursday, May 16, at the spectacular Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in Upper Montclair, NJ. I will be bringing my 600 II along so if you’d like to learn long lens flower photography techniques this one is perfect for you. I will also have my 180mm macro along. Rain date: May 17. Learn more and register here.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
We are currently fleshing out the details. The dates will be about the same, in mid April. In addition to the Keukenhof and the flower fields we will do an afternoon of windmills at Kinderdijk, a day in Amsterdam including a morning at the Rijks Museum and an afternoon visit to the Ann Frank House plus some street photography. We will do some street photography and fine dining in the little town of Edam. There will be about 7-9 days of photography in all. Those will include an afternoon option for a day or two of Purple Herons for those with long lenses.
Note: not surprisingly, early interest has been huge with several folks who want to sign up right now.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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.
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus 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.
Nickerson Not Too Late
Even with the dreaded northwest wind Nickerson was fantastic this morning. If you are seriously interested in joining us tomorrow, morning and/or afternoon, e-mail me immediately for the rates and be sure to include your phone number. I will check my e-mail after dinner tonight and call you.
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the first row of birds and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Sanderlings, Sanderlings, and More Sanderlings
We enjoyed the fruits of a flock of about 2,000 Sanderlings being chased by a Peregrine Falcon. See the pleasing blur above and the sharp image below.
Central sensor/AI Servo/Surround/Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Your Favorite?
Which of the three images above is your favorite? Of the two Sanderling flock images, do you prefer the sharp image or the blur? In all cases do let us know why.
Click on the image for easier reading. Click here for more info from Canon. Feel free to leave a comment with a question about the new Canon 2-4 below.
Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender Announcement
At midnight last night Canon at long last announced the coming availability of the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender. This versatile lens was announced several years ago and some folks were doubting its very existence. It promises to be a great lens for wildlife and for trips to places like Africa, the Southern Ocean, and the Galapagos. As you will see by clicking on the link it is quite pricey. I will surely try to borrow one before I buy one.
Click here to see more. If you pre-order with B&H, our affiliate code will follow so thanks! If you get your name put on the list to be notified, please e-mail for our affiliate link when you are informed.
Iris Garden Workshop This Week!
I will be joining Denise Ippolito as a previously unannounced co-leader on her Iris Garden Flower Photography Workshop this coming Thursday, May 16, at the spectacular Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in Upper Montclair, NJ. I will be bringing my 600 II along so if you’d like to learn long lens flower photography techniques this one is perfect for you. I will also have my 180mm macro along. Rain date: May 17. Learn more and register here.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
We are currently fleshing out the details. The dates will be about the same, in mid April. In addition to the Keukenhof and the flower fields we will do an afternoon of windmills at Kinderdijk, a day in Amsterdam including a morning at the Rijks Museum and an afternoon visit to the Ann Frank House plus some street photography. We will do some street photography and fine dining in the little town of Edam. There will be about 7-9 days of photography in all. Those will include an afternoon option for a day or two of Purple Herons for those with long lenses.
Note: not surprisingly, early interest has been huge with several folks who want to sign up right now.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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.
I received the e-mail below in reference to the features listed at the top of BAA Bulletin #439, which you can access here, from Tim Kaufman, who kindly and ably assisted me on the 2012 Southwest Florida Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT).
Artie, What is it that drives you so much right now? Look at this list you sent! Is it being in the field doing photography? Is it the teaching? Is it the extra money you earn by working hard and doing more and more? Time with the one you love? What would you say is your biggest motivator? You should figure it out and bottle it. Tim
The Short Answer
The short answer is “All of the above.”
The Long Answer
I love being in the field photographing birds. And flowers. And bears. And wildlife in Africa and in the Galapagos–I will be in both locations this summer. And in Holland, or as John Dupps accurately pointed out, in The Netherlands, I enjoyed trying some street photography. What’s up with that? The principles are the same whatever the subject. And that applies to both the artistic and to a large part, to the technical aspects.
I take great joy and pride in creating images that make me happy and put smiles on other folk’s faces. When you consider that in bird photography you must get the right exposure, you must attain accurate focus, and you must design a pleasing image. And all of that often needs to be accomplished in less than 2 seconds…. And in addition, I enjoy optimizing my favorite images and sharing my techniques with others.
And I love to travel. Folks often ask, “Don’t you hate waking up in a hotel 180 days each year?” My reply is a simple one, “If I hated it I would stay home.”
I love teaching. I especially love teaching those who are truly interested in improving their skills. Every once in a while–it actually seems to be happening less and less recently, I run into someone, usually a guy, who is simply not gonna have another guy tell him what to do. “Move one big step to your left and you will make a better image.” They stand in the same spot as if they were made of cement. Having taught elementary school (for 23 years in NYC) I remember those ah ha moments, those times when the student’s jaw would drop, their eyes would open wide, and a smile appeared on their face where only moments before confusion had reigned. They understood. And those moments occur and are appreciated to this day when I am teaching photography be it in the field or during a seminar. Heck, sometimes I can even sense them online here on the blog or when doing critiques on BPN.
As far as the money goes, we continue to do well despite the recession. Do understand that if I closed up shop tomorrow at BAA, quit doing the blog, quit teaching, and went for a swim in my pool 365 that I would do very, very well on my NYC teacher’s pension and my Social Security check. I do, however, take pride in helping to support the families of two folks very near and dear to me, my right-hand Jim Litzenburg, and my older daughter, Jennifer Morris.
One question that Tim did not ask is “Why put so much work into the blog?” Adding together the funds that we receive from all the appreciative folks who remember to use our B&H and Amazon affiliate links would come to maybe a buck an hour for my efforts so it is surely not the money that drives me here. What gives? I like being the center of attention. I like sharing. And I like folks having folks say nice things to me. Even a simple “Thank you” juices me up. As I have shared here before, my striving to do well and to gain recognition for my efforts stems from my relationship with WWII veteran Dad, Robert E. Morris, who died in 2001. I only somewhat jokingly say, “The nicest thing he ever said to me was ‘take out the damned garbage.'” It has been several decades of doing my best in an effort to have folks say the nice things about me that my Dad never did. Don’t get me wrong; I realized later in life, after reading a truly great book, Seeing Your Life Through New Eyes: InSights to Freedom from Your Past , by Paul Brenner, that my Dad did love me. He just had difficulty letting me know that as I got older.
And yes, denise is a great friend. I enjoy traveling with her, marveling at her creativity, and being inspired by her artistry.
All in all I have a blessed life and I plan on continuing living it to the hilt for as long as possible. Thanks for asking Tim.
Iris Garden Workshop This Week!
I will be joining Denise Ippolito as a previously unannounced co-leader on her Iris Garden Flower Photography Workshop this coming Thursday, May 16, at the spectacular Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in Upper Montclair, NJ. I will be bringing my 600 II along so if you’d like to learn long lens flower photography techniques this one is perfect for you. I will also have my 180mm macro along. Rain date: May 17. Learn more and register here.
Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris. May 15 (am & pm), 2013. (Yes, that is soon.) 6-9:30 am/4-7:30pm. This one is priced so low that you need to e-mail for the rates. Limit 4/session. Only a few openings left.
If you e-mail, please include all phone numbers. Payment in full due immediately. If you would like to join me please get in touch via e-mail. Breeding American Oystercatcher and Piping Plover (small chicks possible). Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, Sanderling, and other shorebird species. Early-arriving Least and Common Terns, and breeding plumage Lesser Black-backed Gull likely. Courtship and mating behaviors; flight. Learn digital exposure and creative image design.
Amazingly, five folks have signed up for various sessions or combinations of sessions. But this still gives you a chance to take advantage of some practically private instruction with me at give-away prices.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
We are currently fleshing out the details. The dates will be about the same, in mid April. In addition to the Keukenhof and the flower fields we will do an afternoon of windmills at Kinderdijk, a day in Amsterdam including a morning at the Rijks Museum and an afternoon visit to the Ann Frank House plus some street photography. We will do some street photography and fine dining in the little town of Edam. There will be about 7-9 days of photography in all. Those will include an afternoon option for a day or two of Purple Herons for those with long lenses.
Note: not surprisingly, early interest has been huge with several folks who want to sign up right now.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
Support the Blog
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.
I will be joining Denise Ippolito as a previously unannounced co-leader on her Iris Garden Flower Photography Workshop this coming Thursday, May 16, at the spectacular Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in Upper Montclair, NJ. I will be bringing my 600 II along so if you’d like to learn long lens flower photography techniques this one is perfect for you. I will also have my 180mm macro along. Rain date: May 17. Learn more and register here.
The MiniMag
Denise Ippolito and her skilled team of contributors put in an inordinate amount of work each month to bring you the MiniMag. This month’s edition is online and can be accessed here. Do not click on the preceding link unless you have at least an hour to be enthralled. This month’s articles include “Dramatic Flower Photos With Focus Stacking” by Steve Ellis, “Where the Buffalo Roam” by Nancy Bell, “Texas Hill Country” by Paul Lagasi, “Dare to Do Something Different” by Cheryl Slechta, “Shoot with a Purpose and Tell a Story” by Gaurav Mital, “When Mother Nature Goes OOTB” by Andrew McLachlan, “The Sponge Tool” by Anita Bower, “A Peek at Amsterdam” by Denise Ippolito, “Long Lens Flower Photography” by yours truly, “Creating Bubbles in Your Images” by David Woeller, “Recorded Bird Calls” by BPN Avian Moderator Daniel Cadieux, “Gear Up for Wildflowers” by Steve Adkins,”Start with the Light” by Mary Stamper, and “People Can Make a Difference” by Dennis Bishop. Best news? It’s free.
Central sensor Surround AI Servo/Rear Focus 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.
Here, I converted the image to Black and White using NiK SIlver Efex Pro’s High Structure pre-set. In addition, I eliminated some nasty dust spots that I missed the first time around and ran a heavy layer (6/10) of Filter/Blur/Surface Blur and erased the effect on the bird using a Regular Layer Mask.
Catching Up
In the “Not Just for Potato Chips” blog post here, most folks liked the second image a bit better than the first. I like them both but prefer the first image (above, in Black and White as suggested by Bill Griswold). The right hand bird is pretty much on the lower right rule of thirds point and the left hand bird is nicely placed on the lower left rule of thirds point. I remember moving to my left to open up space between the two birds and create what to my mind is a pleasing juxtaposition.
In his comment on the 2nd image David Pugsley wished for a bit more space between the foreground bird’s left leg and the nesting bird’s head. I would not disagree. I responded to each comment that was left.
Variety…
In the “Variety… blog post here, I must confess that when I posted the three images I thought that the last one was by far the strongest. But after reading all the comments and reconsidering the 3 images–make sure that you look at the large versions–I like all three almost equally well with just a small edge to the last one.
My Thoughts on the Creative Cloud
Wow, the “Photoshop Creative Cloud…. Confusion for Sure. But is it a Ripoff or a Boon?” here garnered lots of comments and even got a few folks pissed off. Interested folks might wish to see more on the topic here.
Here is my take on the whole thing:
1-As much as I have read on the subject, I am still quite confused.
2-I have long loved CS-5.
3-I have a copy of CS-6 installed on my main machine. I rarely use it. Why? Every time that I open it and start working I am beset by one glitch or another. Nothing major, just things that have been changed from CS-5. And these changes wreck my workflow and slow me down to a crawl at best. But that only happens 100% of the time…. Lots of folks on BPN have been helping me but the moment that I get over one hurdle another pops right up and grabs me by the neck….
4-For now I will continue using CS-5 but will make more of an effort to learn to co-exist peacefully with CS-6.
5-What no cloud? As for now, I have no interest in giving Adobe $20 a month for life for who-knows-what? after having paid several thousand dollars for various versions of Photoshop. Might I change my mind in the future? Of course.
6-As for Lightroom, my position remains the same: I have no clue as to why so many folks own and use Lightroom. Yes, it offers great cataloging and key-wording features but in today’s world where selling even a single image is cause for a bit party who needs a great catalog? The simple file drawer system that we have set up in BreezeBrowser has served us well for more than a decade. Not to mention the constant complaints that I hear: “I lost my library.” “I cannot find my images.” And the like. It is possible that my comments are in part made in ignorance as I have never used LR….
Short-Notice Dirt Cheap Nickerson
This sub-adult Lesser Black-back Gull was photographed at Nickerson Beach in June, 1012 with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Autofocus Lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV (now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/9 in Manual Mode. Central sensor (by neccesity)/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the bird’s eye and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
When I first began birding nearly 40 years ago this species was a mega-rarity. Today they are not at all uncommon all along the east coast of North America and even on the west coast of Florida.
Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris. May 14 (am/pm) & 15 (am), 2013. (Yes, that is soon.) 6-9:30 am/4-7:30pm. This one is priced so low that you need to e-mail for the rates. Limit 4/session. Only a few openings left.
Payment in full due immediately. If you would like to join me please get in touch via e-mail. Breeding American Oystercatcher and Piping Plover (small chicks possible). Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, Sanderling, and other shorebird species. Early-arriving Least and Common Terns, and breeding plumage Lesser Black-backed Gull likely. Courtship and mating behaviors; flight. Learn digital exposure and creative image design.
Amazingly, five folks have signed up for various sessions or combinations of sessions. But this still gives you a chance to take advantage of some practically private instruction with me at give-away prices.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
We are currently fleshing out the details. The dates will be about the same, in mid April. In addition to the Keukenhof and the flower fields we will do an afternoon of windmills at Kinderdijk, a day in Amsterdam including a morning at the Rijks Museum and an afternoon visit to the Ann Frank House plus some street photography. We will do some street photography and fine dining in the little town of Edam. There will be about 7-9 days of photography in all. Those will include an afternoon option for a day or two of Purple Herons for those with long lenses.
Note: not surprisingly, early interest has been huge with several folks who want to sign up right now.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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 #439 is online now. It can be accessed here. Seven never published images, each with our legendary BAA educational captions and lots of great features:
Texel Holland IPT Report
Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris
Dynamic Nature Photography Teaching Team
Japan in Winter
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris
Bosque del Apache 2013 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience
Next Year In Holland
Affiliate Links
Canon EOS-5D Mark III User’s Guide
Used Camera Gear
IPT Highlights
IPT Info
Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris
This American Oystercatcher chick was photographed on May 30, 2010 with the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Autofocus Lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV (now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/1250 sec. at f/8 in Manual Mode. Central sensor/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the bird’s eye and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
There will be a good chance to find and photography tiny American Oystercatcher chicks on the Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction trips. See immediately below for details.
Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris. May 14 (am/pm) & 15 (am), 2013. (Yes, that is soon.) 6-9:30 am/4-7:30pm. This one is priced so low that you need to e-mail for the rates. Limit 4/session. 3 1/2 openings left.
Payment in full due immediately. If you would like to join me please get in touch via e-mail or call me at 863-692-0906. Breeding American Oystercatcher and Piping Plover (small chicks possible). Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, Sanderling, and other shorebird species. Early-arriving Least and Common Terns, and breeding plumage Lesser Black-backed Gull likely. Courtship and mating behaviors; flight. Learn digital exposure and creative image design.
With only one photographer signed up for Tuesday morning, and another for Tuesday afternoon, you have a great chance to take advantage of some private or practically private instruction with me this week at give-away prices.
Photoshop Creative Cloud…. Confusion for Sure. But is it a Ripoff or a Boon?
In a Photoshop.com blog post here, Maria Yap, Senior Director of Product Management, recently announced that–well, I am not sure exactly what they said. Something to the effect that soon you will not be able to purchase a Photoshop boxed set for a given price as we have been doing for quite some time. Folks are now invited to pay $19.99/month for Photoshop Creative Cloud ($9.99 for the first year for current CS-6 owners). Those payments need to be made forever.
Everyone is confused and there has been a firestorm of negative reaction on the web.
One question that I have not been able to find an answer for is “If I pay my $20 and get a copy of whatever Photoshop onto my computer, what stops me from stopping paying and continuing to use the program? I do understand from reading their frequently asked questions here, that you do not need to be online to use Photoshop Creative Cloud.
Questions are welcome but I am not sure that I will have any answers. And I am not totally sure that Creative Cloud is either a bad thing or a ripoff. But I am not sure that it is a good thing either. As always, time will tell.
Feel free to chime in with your opinion, or better yet, with facts.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
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.
Click here for registration info and the complete IPT schedule. Scroll down for complete Bosque IPT info.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
Central sensor Surround AI Servo/Rear Focus 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.
Ridges: Not Just For Potato Chips
Many folks like their potato chips with ridges. Can you say Ruffles? I’ll take Wise please.
Every morning that we photographed at the Pied Avocet colony island on Texel, I’d remind folks, “Look for the birds standing on ridges.” Doing so moves the background farther from the subject than if the subject were on level ground. And by getting low, either by lying down flat or by sitting behind your lowered tripod, that effect is heightened.
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the front 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.
Ridge to the Rescue Again
With the subject’s mate nesting behind the ridge the only chance of creating something pleasing was to make an image with the subject up on the ridge in front of the nest. I simply acquired focus, tracked the walking subject, and made an image or two when the juxtaposition looked relatively pleasing.
Your Thoughts on the Juxtapositions
Take a moment to let us know what you think of the out-of-focus bird in the background in the opening image and how you like the arrangement of the two birds in the second image.
And Of Course…
Take a moment to let us know which of the two images above you like best, and why.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris. May 14 (am/pm) & 15 (am), 2013. (Yes, that is soon.) 6-9:30 am/4-7:30pm. This one is priced so low that you need to e-mail for the rates. Limit 4/session.
Payment in full due immediately. If you would like to join me please get in touch via e-mail or call me at 863-692-0906. Breeding American Oystercatcher and Piping Plover (small chicks possible). Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, Sanderling, and other shorebird species. Early-arriving Least and Common Terns, and breeding plumage Lesser Black-backed Gull likely. Courtship and mating behaviors; flight. Learn digital exposure and creative image design.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
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.
Click here for registration info and the complete IPT schedule. Scroll down for complete Bosque IPT info.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF on the gentleman in the tan vest and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
This Could Be You!
Why is everyone above smiling? They just completed a great 3-DAY BIRDS AS ART/A Creative Adventure Instructional Photo-Tour at Nickerson Beach.
The artie and denise show
Below are several opportunities to learn from two great photographic instructors. Arthur Morris, the grizzled veteran with a demanding teaching style. Denise Ippolito, with a kinder, gentler teaching style. Yet neither will rest until you fully understand the concept at hand. Both are blessed with an amazing ability to see the image in the field and to teach you to do the same. Both lead by example. Both can teach you how to design a pleasing image. Both are highly skilled Photoshop instructors. Artie’s image optimization skills are driven by a desire for speed and quality, Denise’s by creativity and innovation. Each is driven by an inner desire to share everything they know about nature photography. And be it birds or flowers they will always put you on some great subjects.
This Snow Monkey image, Three of a Kind, was one of the most popular ever published on the blog so I am republishing it here for all to enjoy. It was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV (now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X . ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode.
Click here to learn what others thought of this image. Click on the image above to enlarge it.
Japan in Winter FEB 12-26/27, 2014. Snow Monkey, Red-crowned Crane, Stellers and White-tailed Sea Eagles, and Whooper Swan: $12,999. Limit: 7/Openings: 1
This previously unannounced trip is a nearly sold out from the BAA Friends List. We have assembled a great group of 6 very happy campers and have room for one more. Three great leaders: Arthur Morris, Denise Ippolito, and multiple BBC and Nature’s Best honoree Paul Mckenzie,
Included: all lodging including Tokyo hotel, all breakfasts and dinners, ground transport and transfers, four eagle boat trips (ice conditions permitting), all entrance fees, and in-country flights. Not included: international flights, alcoholic beverages, lunches, bottled water, and snacks.
Seriously interested Happy Campers are invited to e-mail for the complete itinerary.
This image of an adult American Oystercatcher dining on a surf clam was created at Nickerson Beach, Long Island, NY with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV (now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X ). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode.
Central sensor (by necessity) on the bird’s neck/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version.
With the long effective focal length being seated behind my lowered tripod made it seem as if I were right on the ground. Click here to learn about the optimization and image clean-up for the photo above.
Short Notice, Dirt Cheap, In-the-Field Nickerson Beach Photographic Instruction with Arthur Morris. May 14 (am/pm) & 15 (am), 2013. (Yes, that is soon.) 6-9:30 am/4-7:30pm. This one is priced so low that you need to e-mail for the rates. Limit 4/session.
Payment in full due immediately. If you would like to join me please get in touch via e-mail or call me at 863-692-0906. Breeding American Oystercatcher and Piping Plover (small chicks possible). Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, Sanderling, and other shorebird species. Early-arriving Least and Common Terns, and breeding plumage Lesser Black-backed Gull likely. Courtship and mating behaviors; flight. Learn digital exposure and creative image design.
Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF on street photographer and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Both denise and artie are skilled street photographers. The principles in street photography and in nature and wildlife photography are pretty much the same. The street photographer in the photo above is Steve Leimberg who along with wife Jo-Ann joined denise and me for both legs of the Holland trip. We had lots of fun in the streets of Edam. Next year’s Holland trip will include two street photography sessions in addition to the tulips. Details will be announced soon.
New York City–On Location with Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris May 25 – 26, 2013, 2-day Workshop-$495
Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for a two-day creative workshop in the Big Apple. This exciting adventure through the streets of NYC will begin with an informal get-together at our hotel on the evening of May 24th. This will give us all a chance to get to know each other before we hit the streets in the morning for our first exciting photo shoot. We will explore China Town, Little Italy, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station (tripod permit included) and much more during our two days together. The emphasis will be on street photography, seeing and capturing dynamic images, and expanding your creativity using a variety of in-camera techniques including HDR and Multiple Exposure.
Please contact me via e-mail for complete details and the itinerary.
Sandhill Crane 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.
Click here for registration info and the complete IPT schedule. Scroll down for complete Bosque IPT info.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining Denise and me next spring, please shoot me an e-mail. Details will be announced soon.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
This 3-frame in-camera Art Vivid HDR image was created at Lisse, Holland on the recently concluded Tulip IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens(at 24mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop yielded a base exposure of: 1/250 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode.
Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF on the foreground flowers and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image A
When even the remotest possibility of doing some serious land-scape or bird-scape work with a short lens exists, I make sure to have a Wimberley P-5 plate and my Giottos MH 1302-655 Ballhead in my vest. It takes less than two minutes to mount the plate on the camera body, spin off the Mongoose M3.6, and replace it with the tiny ballhead.
Variety…
The Spice of Life
When I saw the beautiful storm clouds I immediately thought, “wide angle in-camera Art Vivid HDR.” It took me only a minute of so to spin off the Mongoose M3.6, mount the Giottos MH 1302-655 Ballhead on the tripod, attach the P-5 plate to the 5D III, and mount the rig. For the image above I went as wide as possible to maximize the clouds.
This 3-frame in-camera ArtVivid HDR image was created at Lisse, Holland on the recently concluded Tulip IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens(at 24mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body ISO 100. Evaluative metering +1 stop yielded a base exposure of: 1/30 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode.
Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF 1/2 way into the foreground flowers and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Here I simply pointed the camera down a bit to place more emphasis on the flowers. Don’t ask me why I was at ISO 50….
This 3-frame in-camera ArtVivid HDR image was created at Lisse, Holland on the recently concluded Tulip IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens(at 24mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body ISO 100. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop yielded a base exposure of: 1/60 sec. at f/10 in Manual mode.
Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF 1/2 way into the foreground flowers and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
For the final image in the series I pointed the camera way down to make the rows of flowers the stars of the show. No matter which of these images you like best, the lesson is obvious: variety is the spice of life so be sure to vary your framing and compositions no matter your subject.
The Best Image?
I firmly believe that one of the three images above is clearly stronger than the other two. Which do you think is strongest? Be sure to let us know why.
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining us, please shoot me an e-mail.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus 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.
Shy Wader
Redshank is a rather stocky member of the genus Tringa, a cousin of our yellowlegs. Many of the species in the Tringa tribe are known as tattlers for their habit of being the first shorebirds in a flock to be flushed. And when they take flight, they scream their telltale alarm calls taking the rest of the flock with them as they depart. As you might guess, Redshanks are not a favorite of bird photographers as they are not easily approached and when they leave the scene, they take the rest of the shorebirds with them.
Redhank is a regular migrant in Holland; many remain to breed in wet meadows. We saw many on Texel; most were impossible to approach.
This is the original from which the image that opens this blog post was created. The bird is uncomfortably large in the frame, much too large for my taste.
The Photo Story
When I first saw this bird it was feeding in a near-shore channel. Though it was unusually tame the mud bank in the immediate background was less then ideal. In fact, it was downright ugly. I made lots of horizontals and lots of verticals but was not excited by any of them on the back of the camera. Sensing that this was the tamest-ever Redshank I stood and walked towards the bird. I was right. It sensed me but instead of flying away in a panic is jumped up on the bank and posed. You can deduce by looking at the original image immediately above that–in my excitement–I simply got too close.
The Image Optimization
The conversion and initial processing of this image was done by Denise Ippolito who added a bit of canvas below. After I received the TIFF file from her I added more canvas below, right, and above. Thanks denise.
Denise expanded canvas using the Crop and the Clone Stamp Tools. As denise did, I used the love handles on the Crop Tool to expand the canvas and the Rectangular Marquee Tool to create selections that were then stretched with the Transform Tool. Then I used the Patch Tool to clean things up and added Layer Masks to fine-tune my work.
Digital Basics
All of the steps in the image optimization process mentioned above (and tons more) are described in detail in our in Digital Basics File, an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, several different ways to expand canvas, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, and Quick Masking, Layer Masking, and NIK Color Efex Pro basics.
Shorebirds vs. Waders
In the US we refer to the sandpipers and there allies as shorebirds and to herons and egrets as wading birds. In the UK and in Europe our shorebirds are referred to as waders. Learn about ageing and identifying all of the regularly occurring North American shorebird species in my “Shorebirds; Beautiful Beachcombers.”
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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 three-frame in-camera Art Vivid HDR of the flower district along a canal in Amsterdam, Holland was created with the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens hand held at 70mm and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop yielded a base exposure of 1/250 sec. at f/5 in Av mode.
Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF on the building with the orange tile roof and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
I loved my 5D III for scenic, street, and flower photography ever since I first got my hands on it. The release of the new firmware brings the 5D III into serious consideration as an everyday bird and wildlife body. See below for details. We did a good deal of street photography on the Holland Tulip IPT.
The main reason that I love the 5D III’s in-camera HDR feature so much is that I am lazy. I have a zillion HDR series that I will never have time to process. I absolutely love the immediacy of the process and the rich colors that I get from Art Vivid thrill me. I have even inspired Denise Ippolito to try and to like Art Vivid on occasion. To learn how I set up my 5D Mark III for in-camera HDR check out the 5D Mark III User’s Guide.
Finally: Canon EOS-5D Mark III Firmware Update 1.2.1
Finally, Canon USA has released the long-awaited firmware update for the EOS-5D Mark III, 1.2.1. The new firmware will enable this already great camera to autofocus down to f/8.
Downloading the 5D Mark III Firmware 1.2.1 Update
You can download the new firmware by clicking here, clicking on Drivers and Software, selecting your Operating System and Operating System Version from the dropdown menus, clicking on Firmware, clicking on EOS 5D Mark III Firmware Version 1.2.1 [Windows], and finally by clicking on I Agree-Begin Download.
Once the file (5D300121.FIR) is saved to your computer–I put it on my desktop–copy it to a compact flash card, put the card in your 5D III, go to the 4th Yellow (Wrench symbol) menu, click on Firmware Ver. at the bottom of the menu, and follow the prompts.
Ramifications for Still Photographers
Folks who use a variety of telephoto lenses will be able to use a cross-type AF sensor at f/8. Obvious off-the-top-of-my head combinations would include the 500 and 600mm f/4 lenses with any of the 2X TCs and the 800mm f/5.6L IS and my old “toy lens”, the 400mm f/5.6L, both with any 1.4X TC. Click here for a complete list, actually a table, that includes all of the lens that “Support Cross-Type Autofocus with Firmware Update for EOS 5D Mark III.” Note: some of the listings do not make a lot of sense to me.
Here’s what the Canon Press Release had to say: “If AF point expansion is selected with an f/8 maximum aperture lens/extender combination, the four AF points surrounding the center point will act as AF Assist points. This option effectively expands the size of the AF detection area to enhance autofocus performance with subjects that appear small in the viewfinder and difficult to track, such as small animals and birds in flight. AF points above and below the center will be sensitive to vertical contrast, while points to the left and right will be sensitive to horizontal contrast.”
Ramifications for Videographers
Again, from the Canon Press Release here, “To benefit DSLR cinematographers, the EOS 5D Mark III will now be able to record clean, uncompressed digital video with embedded time code over HDMI output while simultaneously displaying the video on the rear LCD display and recording to internal CF or SD cards. Combined with an improved color sampling of YCbCr 4:2:2 8-bit video, this firmware update adds efficiency to video editing, improves color grading options, and enhances on-set monitoring.”
My Thoughts
As much as I love my 5D Mark III, it’s great AF system, the large, high quality files, the great in-camera HDR feature, and, to a lesser degree, the in-camera Multiple Exposure feature, the new firmware update makes it a much more formidable weapon for bird photography. While I will always use one of my two EOS-1D X bodies in flight photography situations, I will be going to my 5D III much more with both my 500II and my 600II super-telephoto lenses far more often than I used to. I will begin using it often as my primary digital camera body. Why? The larger files (21.1-megapixels) and the lighter weight of the 5D III (3 pounds, 2 ounces with the highely recommended Canon BG-E11 Battery Grip both as compared to the 1D X (18.1 megapixels, 3.65 pounds).
Images Soon
If the sun ever comes out here in the morning–it has been cloudy dark at 8am every morning since I got home from Holland, I will head down to the lake and try to create some images with the 600II, the 2X III TC, and my EOS-5D Mark III to share with you here.
Questions
I will do my very best to answer any questions that you have. Please leave a comment below. Please check the press release before you start typing. 🙂
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining us, please shoot me an e-mail.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
Manual focus on the distal end of the pistil (which I just learned is actually called the stigma, the part of the pistil that receives the pollen during fertilization). Click on the image to enjoy a larger size.
Who’d a Thunk It?
I was captivated by the blue at the base of the stamens on this Tulip “Tropical Lady.” First I created a series of images at various apertures as described in Tulip/Flower Lesson II in BAA Bulletin #438 here. Note: Tulip/Flower Lesson II is reprinted below for your convenience; you will need to click on the Bulletin link and scroll down to read Tulip/Flower Lesson I.
Next, for reasons unknown to me, I decided to create some Art Vivid in-camera HDRs of the same motif. The late/great German nature photographer Fritz Pölking used the word motif as a synonym for photograph or image. When I saw the 61mb 5D Mark III JPEGs on my laptop I was totally amazed at how much better they looked than the straight images I have made. The out of camera JPEG appears immediately below.
This is the original Art Vivid HDR JPEG as it came out of the camera.
What a Mess!
As you can see the image that came out of the camera needed lots of work. As is typical of Art Vivid HDRs, this one was definitely under-exposed. In retrospect a base exposure at +2 1/3 stops or even more would have yielded a better exposed JPEG. In addition, the flower itself was a mess with many specks of dirt and many fine hairs of unknown origin; the latter did not come from the flower. And at f/45, sensor dust ruled the roost. The extensive clean-up took about 15 minutes. I used the Spot Healing Brush (my Keyboard shortcut J), the Patch Tool (my Keyboard shortcut M), and Content Aware Fill (Shift f/5) after making my selection with the Patch Tool. Two Curves Adjustment Layers were used to lighten the image and a 15% layer of NIK Color Efex Pro’s Tonal Contrast completed the image optimization (but for the work on the lower left corner of the image).
This is a straight image of the same flower center that I created at f/5.
Improving the Lower Left Corner
When I shared the original HDR (created at f/45) with Denise Ippolito she was impressed with the richness of the colors but suggested that the small aperture had darkened and brought up the detail in the lower left corner of the image too much, so much so that the lower left corner became a distraction. At her suggestion I grabbed the lower left corner from the f/5 image, brought it onto the HDR image, transformed it so that it matched perfectly, and that added a layer mask so that I could fine-tune the selection. Last was a small crop from the left and the bottom to tighten things up. Voila!
Digital Basics
All of the steps in the image optimization process mentioned above (and tons more) are described in detail in our in Digital Basics File, an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, and Quick Masking, Layer Masking, and NIK Color Efex Pro basics.
Once I see an image, choose my perspective, carefully frame the image, fine-tune the exposure, and focus, I begin making images. For my style of flower photography I use the 2-second timer and Live View (for mirror lock and the live histogram) and work in Av mode. Once everything is perfect I make 2 images wide open, 2 at f/8, and 2 at f/13. If I am photographing flower centers I will usually start at f/13, and then make 2 at f/22 and 2 at f/32. It is amazing that when you have a choice of apertures (and thereby depth of field of course), how a given depth of field clearly stands out as best. See the images above and below for examples.
BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #438
BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #438 is online now and can be viewed here. Four more really good tulip images are featured in this Bulletin along with a killer Least Tern chick image.
Holland Tulip IPT Report
Tulip/Flower Lesson I
Tulip/Flower Lesson II
Affiliate Links
Canon EOS-5D Mark III User’s Guide
Your Favorite
Used Camera Gear
IPT Highlights
IPT Info
Next Year In Holland
Despite a 100-year record cold spring with very few tulip fields in bloom this trip has been a spectacular success. The colors and variety of tulips at Keukenhof simply stun the mind and the senses. Denise and I are planning our Holland trip for next year: the Keukenhof Creative Tulip Photography IPT with a Touch of Holland. If you are a Happy Camper who is interested in joining us, please shoot me an 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. 🙂
Support the BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the bird’s neck/upper breast active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Cheapest Bird Photography Trip Ever!
When we crossed to Texel with our two vehicles by ferry from Den Helder on April 24th, we had fun photographing the gulls with a variety of hand held lenses. More than a few kids and parents were tossing bread to the army of gulls that followed the boat. Three species predominated: Lesser Black-backed Gull–mostly adults in breeding plumage, Black-headed Gull–both adults and one-year-olds, and Herring Gull–mixed ages.
With the cold weather delaying the breeding season we were hard-pressed to find subjects on Texel. We learned that one could walk onto the Den Helder-Texel ferry on the Texel side and ride back and forth for free as long as you got off the ferry where you got on, on the Texel side. So on two subsequent afternoons we grabbed a flight lens or two and did just that.
Each day the sky conditions and wind direction determined our strategy. Each day was vastly different. The image above was made on our last free round trip as many gulls flew well below us very close to the ship. As top shots can be dramatic we all pointed our lenses straight down and went to work. Many of the clients were fooled by the histograms into thinking that they needed to add lots more light as the data was piled on the left side. All were working with only the RGB histogram. When I brought up the luminosity histogram it was easier to see the sliver of data the made its way well into the right-most histogram box. This data represented the bird’s head and the part of the breast that was visible.
I was the only one without a camera strap of some sort; my Black Rapid RS-7 strap was in my Think Tank bag back in the van. Not wanting to drop $7,000+ worth of gear into the sea far below, I held on dearly to my rig as I leaned over the rail.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the bird’s back active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Different Can Be Great
With the windy conditions and the birds jockeying for position around the ferry it was relatively easy to create images featuring a variety of neat poses and wing positions. I love the wings fully forward pose in the image above. My best advice for creating something different? Once you frame and acquire focus keep your finger fully down on the shutter button until the bird is out of the frame.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/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.
Variety: The Spice of Life
One each ferry photography session I’d grab a single 1D X, the 300mm f/2.8 L IS II, the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, and both Series III teleconverters. Thus, I had focal lengths from 70-600mm available and within reach depending on the situation.
Central sensor Surround/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.
I Love Shade
On our boat ride to Texel on the 24th we were blessed with cloudy conditions. But on the trips that followed–heck, one day we had so much fun that we made two rounds trips, sky conditions were clear and sunny. On these days even with wind and the wind and sun together conditions, usually ideal for flight photography, my very great preference was to find situations where the birds could be photographed in the shade of the ferry. Why? No matter how good your exposure, most images of birds in flight lit by a relatively strong sun will feature dark shadows and high contrast. With even light it is easier to get a perfect exposure and shadows are never a problem.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s tail active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Even More Scared!
As nervous as I was leaning over the rail and pointing the 70-200 straight down I was really concerned about not having some sort of camera strap on my rig when doing the same with the 300 II when trying to get these zig-zagging speedsters in the frame. Moral: always use a camera strap or better yet, a Black Rapid RS-7 strap when working on any type of watercraft be it a big ship or a small zodiac.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus 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.
Best Advice for Sunny Days
On sunny days try to avoid the harsh light of midday (or, of course, to find birds in the shade!). For best results if there is no shade, arrange to have the wind and the sun coming right over the top of your head as wind and sun together situations can often yield images like the one above that show no problematic shadows.
Bird Photography IPT Opps
There is only a single slot left on the Nickerson Baby Beach Nesting Birds IPT. We should know any day now if the birds will be nesting this year. Click here for more info and more IPTs.
Note: if you are flying, please do not purchase your plane tickets until you hear from us in April as the area suffered damage from Hurricane Sandy and we need to check things out in the spring. In the unlikely event that the trip does not run your deposit will of course be refunded in full.
Non-refundable deposit: $500
Join Denise and me on Long Island, NY next summer to photograph Common Tern chicks, baby American Oystercatchers, and just-hatched Black Skimmer chicks along with the adults. The opportunities will include chances to photograph a variety of breeding behaviors including courtship feeding, display flight and combat, and copulations. Car-pooling is recommended; if we opt to return to the beach before 5pm there is a $30/vehicle parking fee that is not included so it is best to share that expense. Parking in the morning is free.
The Bosque IPT is wide open. Click here for more info and more IPTs.
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.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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 copulating pair of Black-headed Gulls was photographed at Texel, Holland 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 +2/3 stop as framed: 1/500 sec. at f/10 in Manual mode. I should have been at zero as I needed to do some fancy stepping during image optimization to save the WHITEs. Learn how in Digital Basics, an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, and Quick Masking and Layer Masking basics as well as detailed info on recovering and restoring detail to bright WHITEs.
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus on male’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.
Elegant, Sexy Cousin
Europe and Asia’s Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) is an elegant, slimmer, sexier version of one of my very favorite North American gull species, Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla). While doing research for this blog post, I learned that the new Latin name for Black-headed Gull translates to “laughing gull” and that Black-headed Gull had formerly been in the same genus as Laughing Gull: Larus. A close look at the bill of the two species is a good clue that the two species are not that closely related as the bill of Laughing Gull is much stouter with a much steeper gonydeal angle. There are several colonies of Black-head Gull here on Texel and it has been great to have a chance to photograph this beautiful species. Note that I do consider our Laughing Gull to be a vastly under-appreciated species; I am unsure as to which species would place ahead of the other in a gull beauty contest.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus on bird’s chin active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Interestingly Enough
I created this image on Saturday afternoon with the hand held 300/2.8L IS II and the 2X III TC. I tried again on Sunday in the same situation with the 600 f/4L IS II and the 2X III TC but did not do as well as I did on Saturday despite the much greater effective focal length available on Sunday. Leave a comment and let me know why.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Watch for the Blue Sky!
After reviewing the ISO and exposure settings I remember telling the group, “Try to press the shutter button with some blue sky in the background. For the image above I was able to follow my own advice.
Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus on 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.
Color Temperature 10,000!
The RAW image for the file above had such as huge BLUE/CYAN cast that I set the Color Temperature to 10,000 Kelvin while converting the image in DPP. Doing so pretty much yielded neutral WHITEs and GREYs on the bird. To learn more about how and why I use DPP to convert all of my images see our DPP RAW Conversion Guide here.
This is the original for the opening image in this blog post. Note also the extensive shoreline clean-up. As detailed of course in Digital Basics.
Why RAW Capture?
In my excitement I simply screwed up the exposure. The sun had just come out and I had adjusted my exposure for a white subject in sun just a minute before. What I did not realize that the light cloud that had been covering the sun was completely gone when I created the image above. It was well over-exposed but the WHITEs were not toasted. I saved the WHITEs during the DPP conversion and then restored additional detail via a Linear Burn.
To learn more about how and why I use DPP to convert all of my images see our DPP RAW Conversion Guide here. Learn how I restored detail to the WHITEs in Digital Basics, an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, and Quick Masking and Layer Masking basics.
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 BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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.
A 54 year old impregnating a 12 year old would ordinarily by grounds for a long prison term. But that is not always the case. Click here and scroll down to “Successful Old Bird” for the rather amazing details. Thanks to Ted Cheeseman of Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris for forwarding the link.
This adult Lesser Black-backed Gull flight image was created on the way to Texel, Holland with the hand held Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops as framed: 1/3200 sec. at f/4 in Manual Mode.
Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Texel
Things here at Texel, Holland, have been tough at best on the bird photography. Cold northwest winds and a month-late breeding season have left the group shivering with lots of space on their flash cards…. Pre-arranged visits to can’t miss/guaranteed rookeries and breeding colonies have had to be cancelled due to lack of birds.
The image above was created on the Den Helder/Texel Ferry. Most of us will be taking a few ferry rides back and forth this afternoon….
At the risk of sounding too, too negative, we have had some very good chances and if we ever get a still, clear morning with a breeze with an easterly component things will get spectacularly good very quickly.
BreezeBrowser Screen Capture
Above is the BreezeBrowser Main View screen capture for the Lesser Black-backed Gull flight image. The illuminated red square on the shows the selected AF sensor. As I was in Surround one or two of the AF points to the left and/or below the central sensor was surely active. In BreezeBrowser 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.
Image Optimization
Image optimization began by moving the bird back in the frame using techniques from APTATS II and Digital Basics and ended with some NIK Color Efex Pro work on the bird alone. Digital Basics is a PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, and Quick Masking and Layer Masking basics.
Like Flower Photography?
If you like photographing flowers, be sure to see the “Creative Flower Photography: blog post here.
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. 🙂
Support the BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!
We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
If you are considering an item for purchase or comparison shopping be sure to place an item in your cart to see the too-low-to show the actual price. In many cases the prices are so low that B&H is forbidden from publicizing them!
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.
, by Paul Brenner, that my Dad did love me. He just had difficulty letting me know that as I got older. 
