Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

And the Winners in the Small in the Frame Category Are!

Congrats to Arnfinn Johansen, Lillehammer, Norway (www.arnfinnjohansen.com). His image, Wagtail and Brown Bear, Kuhmo, Finland, was awarded first place in the Small-in-the-Frame category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition. Nikkor 600/4 VR lens with the Nikon D3s. ISO 3200: 1/640 sec at f/5.6. Wimberley WH-200 II gimbal head.

Wagtail and Brown Bear, Arnfinn Johansen

From Arnfinn:

During the past few years I have spent more than 600 hours in hides in the wilderness on the Finish-Russian border photographing Brown Bears and wolves. In September 2010 I was there for one week and there were a lot of Wagtails around. The Brown Bear was eating a carcass and the Wagtails were flying around trying to get some scraps of meat. The bear seemed to be irritated by the birds but they were too fast for it. I made many photos of the Wagtails but the birds were hard for me to catch as well. Finally I got this image showing the small Wagtail on his tiny wings just in front of the Brown Bear’s big head. The huge difference in size and power combined with the Brown Bear’s irritating glance is fascinating. And for the Wagtail this is what I would call a tough match…

There is a lot that makes this image very special. First and most importantly, you could not have placed the bird in a better spot, right in front of the huge, hulking bear’s face with a lovely background of yellow grasses. Though only small details, the bird’s raised wings and hanging feet and the bear’s open jaw and his seemingly evil glare all add immensely to the image. The soft light allowed for a perfect exposure that reveals all the detail in the bear’s coat. The out-of-focus tree trunks in the upper right balance nicely with the delicate bush in the lower left. Add the perfect framing and you surely have a winner.

Congrats to Jeroen Stel, The Netherlands. His image, Bearded Tit on Reed, was awarded second prize in the Small-in-the-Frame category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition. Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and the old (non-IS ) 600mm f/4L lens on a Gitzo tripod with a Wimberley head.

Bearded Tit on Reed, Jeroen Stel

From Jeroen:

Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus), sometimes called Bearded Tit, is quite rare in Holland. This species can sometimes be photographed in winter when they switch from eating their summer time diet of insects to eating seeds. Last winter was very mild and warm so it was hard to find or photograph them. Then all of a sudden in February we it got really cold with frost and temperatures as low as minus 16 degrees Celsius (3 degrees Fahrenheit). It was time to head out to photograph the Bearded Reedling.

I had seen them over the past few years at the at “De Rietputten” nature reserve in Vlaardingen, The Netherlands, a reserve that is slated to be destroyed as a new highway and tunnel will be built in the area. When I arrived I waited in the cold for about an hour before they appeared. The bird in my image was feeding on the edge of a reed bed. When the bird landed on this particular reed it bent over from the weight of the bird and I had a quick chance to make this image.

The curved reed, the sweet out-of-focus background, the bird’s perfect pose (especially the down-cocked tail), just the right head angle, the bit of snow on the bill tip, and the stunning image design combined to make this a small-in-the-frame jewel.

Congrats to Isak Pretorius of Johannesburg, South Africa. His Yellow-billed Oxpecker on Cape Buffalo image was awarded third place in the Small-in-the-Frame category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition. Canon 600mmf/4L IS USM + 1.4 X teleconverter with the EOS-1D Mark II N from the car window with the rig resting the lens on a beanbag. ISO 800: 1/2000 sec. at f/5 in Manual mode.

Yellow-billed Oxpecker on Cape Buffalo, Isak Pretorius

From Isak:

Yellow-billed Oxpecker is one of my favourite photography subjects because of the striking colour of the bill. I had found a flock of them with a herd of buffalo close to Mopani Camp in Kruger National Park on a misty morning. The buffalo were all lying down next to the road. I positioned my vehicle close to them, sat quietly, and captured a series of portraits of these beautiful birds before the buffalo stirred and disappeared into the Mopani thicket. In this photo, a second buffalo was lying down right behind the oxpecker that I was photographing; it provided the perfect background.

The perfect subject-to-imaging-sensor orientation (square in this case), the bright colors of the oxpecker’s bill and eye, the pleasing image design with the bird well back in the frame, the lovely two-toned background, the soft early morning light, and the dozens of tiny flies all added to the success of this image.

Congrats!

Congrats to the three winning photographers and to those who created the 15 other spectacular images that made it to the final round of judging. Getting a single image to the final round is a great accomplishment. With 422 images, this was a popular category. From the rules: Small in the Frame/Environmental category: images of a bird or flocks of birds in their natural habitat.

The prizes (see below) will be shipped once all the winners are announced as several folks had more than one top three image. Be sure to patronize our sponsors; without them, this contest would not exist. There will be more educational stuff from this category coming soon.

Small in the Frame Prize Pool

First Prize	Runner Up	Highly Commended	Sponsor
$100 Gift Certificate	$50 Gift Certificate	$25 Gift Certificate	B&H PHOTO VIDEO
choice of lens plate	P-5 camera body plate	Plamp	Wimberley
16 GB 450 X UDMA Compact Flash Card	Sensor Scope	Universal Memory Card Reader	Delkin Devices
Level 3 Gift Subscription	Level 2 Gift Subscription	Level 1 Gift Subscription	Nature Photographer Magazine
$30 Discount Certificate	$25 Discount Certificate	$20 Discount Certificate	Canvas On Demand
Laptop Bag or Pixel Sunscreen	Pixel Pocket Rocket	AA Battery Holder	Think Tank
$50 Gift Certificate	$25 Gift Certificate	$10 Gift Certificate	Lens Coat
Canon/Nikon Lens Plate	Canon/Nikon Camera Body Plate	.	4th Generation Design
.	Better Beamer	Better Beamer Replacement Fresnel	Visual Echoes
TriKlear Kit	TriKlear Kit	TriKlear Kit	Lens Pen
Lens Align Mark II	.	.	RAW Workflow
ABP II	.	.	BIRDS AS ART
.	Double Bubble	.	HP Marketing
BreezeBrowser Pro/Downloader Pro Combo	BreezeBrowser Pro	Downloader Pro	Breeze Systems
Sito HD Version Gold Web Site			Sito HD

You Be the Judge: Small in the Frame

Voting in the Small in the Frame category is still open. It is looking like a closely contested category. Voting will end at about 5qm eastern time tomorrow, July 10, 2012. If you would like to chime in and vote click here.

New York City Weekend Nature Photography Seminar December 8-9, 2012

Details for this great weekend seminar are available here. Do consider joining Denise Ippolito and me for a great learning experience. Do click on the link to see many of Denise’s incredible tree and flower images. Camera club discounts available; see the details at the link.

5D Mark III Guide Pre-publication Version Still Discounted

Click here for details. When the guide is complete it will sell for $50. Folks who purchase now will receive the final version and any updates for no additional charge so ordering now is a win-win proposition. If you click on the link above you will see that the list of items not yet covered is continues to shrink….

I spent the better part of Tuesday and today working on the 5D III UG; when I am done, the price goes to $50. Buy now to save! The more I study this camera the more I learn how complex it is. Rudy Winston at Canon has been a huge help and so as Denise who helped me with the section on Multiple Exposures today. I still have some work to do.

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012: Only 1 slot left!

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012: $999. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory slide program: Tuesday August 14 at 7pm. Limit 8/Openings:1.

This photo-tour is almost sold out. But with two great leaders each tons of experience at this site and the promise to learn a ton of great Photoshop stuff it does make a lot of sense.

For more info and a collection of images click here.

For info on Denise Ippolito’s July 14-15 Nickerson Beach trip–featuring lots of Common Tern chicks and fledglings, click here.

Pleasing Blur Category Voting Analysis and Related Comments

Totals of the Judges’ Votes (each of 5 judges awarded each image 1-5 points):

1-Great Blue Heron leg, Clemens van der Werf: 20
2-Little Egret in the rapids, Andre Nel: 18
3-Red-crowned Crane flight blur, Paul Mckenzie: 17
T4-Skimmer skimming blur, Tim Timmis: 16
T4-Sub-adult Bald Eagle pan blur, Clemens van der Werf: 16
T4-Black-headed Gull blur, David Pattyn: 16
7-Bald Eagle striking blur, Indranil Sircar: 15
8-Woodpecker vertical wing blur, Cynthia Crawford: 14
9-Shorebird flock blur, James Fuller: 13
10-Snow Geese blast-off blur, Douglas Ridgway: 12
11-Snow Geese leaving the field blur, Clemens van der Werf: 11
12-Surreal flock in marsh, Isak Pretorius: 9

Public Voting Totals (each of you was asked to vote your five favorite images 1-5 points with 5 being your favorite):

1-Woodpecker vertical wing blur, Cynthia Crawford: 129
2-Skimmer skimming blur, Tim Timmis: 125
3-Little Egret in the rapids, Andre Nel: 77
4-Great Blue Heron leg, Clemens van der Werf: 69
5-Sub-adult Bald Eagle pan blur, Clemens van der Werf: 60
6-Black-headed Gull blur, David Pattyn: 52
7-Red-crowned Crane flight blur, Paul Mckenzie: 50
8-Surreal flock in marsh, Isak Pretorius: 41
9-Snow Geese blast-off blur, Douglas Ridgway: 35
10-Bald Eagle striking blur, Indranil Sircar: 31
11-Snow Geese leaving the field blur, Clemens van der Werf: 24
12-Shorebird flock blur, James Fuller: 12

Analysis of the Voting

When this category was posted for the public vote I was fairly certain that the Great Blue Heron leg with blurred water background would carry the day. Not. It was an very strong group of images. Kudos to all who had one or more images sent to the judges. I remember that it was not long ago when Clemens van der Werf did not like blurs. We were at Bosque and it was a slow day. I stopped my can and the group did the same. Everyone got out looking mystified. What’s to photograph? There were big stands of reddish colored bushes. “We’re gonna do blurs,” I said. There were a few groans with surely the loudest from Clemens. Denise was along and soon we were all having too much fun and creating a wide variety of pleasing blurs using our intermediate telephoto lenses: zoom blurs, vertical pan blurs, and jiggle blurs to name a few. Skip ahead two years and here’s Clemens with three images honored in the Pleasing Blurs category including the first place photo.

Little Egret in the rapids and Great Blue Heron leg shared the best combined showing followed closely by Skimmer skimming. Kudos to Cynthia Crawford for topping the public vote with her creation. Read on for lots of suggestions for improvement. The images are presented in the order that they finished in the judge’s vote.

Great Blue Heron leg, Clemens van der Werf

All of the judges loved the creative use of a slow shutter speed, the implied motion of the water, the clean look, the diagonal lines, the pattern of the scutes—the external scales on the leg, the black and white presentation, and the beautiful image design.

Little Egret in the rapids, Andre Nel

The soft light, the movement of the rushing water, the sharpness of the subject, the bird’s breeding plume, and the lovely rule-of-thirds image design combined to make this a powerful image.

Red-crowned Crane flight blur, Paul Mckenzie

The perfect exposure, the sharp face, and the pleasingly blurred white wings set against the dark cranberry-colored background helped to create this delight to the eye.

Skimmer skimming blur,Tim Timmis

Skimmer skimming is a dynamic blur that shows lots of action with that beautiful spray. With much more room below the bird than above I felt that it was compositionally unbalanced. If there was more room above the bird in the original capture it might have been wise to include it.

Sub-adult Bald Eagle pan blur, Clemens van der Werf

Again we see the power of diagonal lines. The relatively sharp eye and talons combined with the snow storm and the pan-blurred background to create this powerful image.

Black-headed Gull blur, David Pattyn

A sharp face and eye, the blurred wingtips, dramatic side-light, and a dreamy blue sea are the strengths of this image

Bald Eagle striking blur, Indranil Sircar

Here I liked the degree of blurring–the result of just the right shutter speed and a nice job of panning, the green water, and the image design with the bird well back in the frame.

Woodpecker vertical wing blur, Cynthia Crawford

Nicely framed with a relatively sharp eye and face. The patterns formed by the blurring on both the near and far upper wings are quite interesting. Some might find it a bit tight in the frame and possibly a bit too contrast.

Shorebird flock blur, James Fuller

Beautiful colors and tones. The blue water at the bottom draws the eye. A bit wider with perhaps a bit slower shutter speed might have been better.

Snow Geese blast-off blur, Douglas Ridgway

This was one of my favorites. Love the gray strip at the bottom to give the image a clean lower edge. Degree of blurring is perfect. A wall-hanger for many. The only that thing that bugs me at all is the single goose that is closer to the camera than the rest–lower left center…..

Snow Geese leaving the field blur, Clemens van der Werf

Beautiful colors and a lovely degree of blurring. Wider or a lot wider might have been better or a lot better. A lot wider might have resulted in a clean upper edge….

Surreal flock in marsh, Isak Pretorius

I love the colors and tones here. Seeing the photographer’s name I would guess that the birds are flamingos. A bit less blur might have appealed to at least a few. The big problem for me is that the flock is too centered. As presented a crop from the bottom from the corner of the dark green on the left frame edge would have resulted in a far stronger image.

Congrats!

Congrats again to the three winning photographers and to those who created the 9 other wonderful images that made it to the final round of judging. Getting a single image to the final round is a momentous accomplishment. This was not a hugely popular category with only 146 images submitted. 12 images were sent to the five judges. The Pleasing Blurs category was defined as follows: for pleasingly blurred images of a bird or a flock of birds; images in this category must be created in-camera.

You Be the Judge: Small in the Frame

Voting in the Small in the Frame category is still open. It is looking like a closely contested category. If you would like to chime in click here.

New York City Weekend Nature Photography Seminar December 8-9, 2012

Details for this great weekend seminar are available here. Do consider joining Denise Ippolito and me for a great learning experience. Do click on the link to see many of Denise’s incredible tree and flower images. Camera club discounts available; see the details at the link.

5D Mark III Guide Pre-publication Version Still Discounted

Click here for details. When the guide is complete it will sell for $50. Folks who purchase now will receive the final version and any updates for no additional charge so ordering now is a win-win proposition. If you click on the link above you will see that the list of items not yet covered is continues to shrink….

I spent the better part of Tuesday and today working on the 5D III UG; when I am done, the price goes to $50. Buy now to save! The more I study this camera the more I learn how complex it is. Rudy Winston at Canon has been a huge help and so as Denise who helped me with the section on Multiple Exposures today. I still have some work to do.

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012: Only 1 slot left!

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012: $999. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory slide program: Tuesday August 14 at 7pm. Limit 8/Openings:1.

This photo-tour is almost sold out. But with two great leaders each tons of experience at this site and the promise to learn a ton of great Photoshop stuff it does make a lot of sense.

For more info and a collection of images click here.

For info on Denise Ippolito’s July 14-15 Nickerson Beach trip–featuring lots of Common Tern chicks and fledglings, click here.

This image of Cattle Egret chicks in the nest was created this morning at Gatorland in Kissimmee, FL with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens, the 2X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/16 in Manual mode. Live View/Live Mode AF Rear Focus AF as described in the Mark IV User’s Guide. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version.

Gatorland Hot Times Two

Denise Ippolito and I traveled to Gatorland this morning. Many folks believe that it is too hot in Florida in July and that there is no good bird photography to be had. Well, it was hot–we left at 10am, but there was lots of good bird photography including lots of good flight photography. We will be back there this afternoon and then again Sunday morning. We are meeting BPN Out-of-the-ox moderator Cheryl Slechta and BPN member Maureen Allen today, Saturday, at 4pm. Right now I gotta nap but wanted to get this invite out.

I love working tight so the Live View/Live Mode AF trick is one that I use often as I cannot see well enough to focus perfectly all the time.

Like the Foot?

Do you think that the foot in the backgrounds adds to or detracts in this image?

Shopper’s Guide.

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

Below is a list of the gear talked about in this blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens. Right now this is my all time favorite super-telephoto lens.
Canon 2X III TC Sharper than the last version designed to work best with the new Series II Super-telephoto lenses.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. The very best professional digital camera body that I have ever used.

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….
GT3532 LS. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. I’ll be commenting on this new model soon. In short, I like it.
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.
CR-80 Replacement Foot for Canon 800. When using the 800 on a Mongoose as I do, replacing the lens foot with this accessory lets the lens sit like a dog whether pointed up or down and prevents wind-blown spinning of your lens on breezy days by centering the lens directly over the tripod.
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.

And the Winners in the Blur Category Are!

Congratulations to Clemens van der Werf, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA (website), His image, Great Blue Heron leg, Blind Pass, Captiva Island, Florida, was awarded first place in the Blur category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Click on the image to see a larger, even more spectacular version. Tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1DMIV on a Gitzo 3541XLS tripod and Mongoose M3.6 action head. ISO 50. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/15 sec. at f/22 set manually.

Great Blue Heron leg, Clemens van der Werf

From Clemens:

This image was created just before 10am on a partly cloudy morning. The Great Blue Heron was standing near the shore line waiting patiently for one of the local fishermen to toss something its way. I noticed the water flowing past the bird’s leg on its way back to the Gulf as each wave receded. I envisioned an image that revealed the texture of the bird’s leg in sharp contrast with the blurred water. I chose a shutter speed slow enough to blur the water but fast enough to yield a sharp image of the leg. The image was converted to black and white using Nik SilverEfex Pro.

All of the judges loved the creative use of a slow shutter speed, the implied motion of the water, the clean look, the diagonal lines, the pattern of the scutes—the external scales on the leg, the black and white presentation, and the beautiful image design.

Congratulations to Andre Nel of South Africa. His image, Little Egret blur, was awarded second place in the Blur category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Click on the image to see a larger, even more spectacular version. Canon 100-400mm lens with the Canon EOS-1D Mk IV on a bean-bag. ISO 200: 1/10 sec. at f/40.

Little Egret in the rapids, Andre Nel

From Andre

Although the small game reserve of Borakalalo is close to Johanneburg (South Africa) it is not a popular destination because it does not host the “big five” African mammals. I love it because it is quiet. Late one afternoon, I saw this Little Egret fishing in the rapids downstream from a small weir. I was struck by the bird’s statue-stillness especially as compared to the rushing water. To capture this contrast I put the lens on a bean bag on my car window. As the bird was very much aware of my presence I stayed in my vehicle. While the bird entertained me for a full ten minutes before flying off I tried a variety of shutter speed settings. The 1/10 sec. gave me just the effect I was looking for.

The soft light, the movement of the rushing water, the sharpness of the subject, the bird’s breeding plume, and the lovely rule-of-thirds image design combined to make this a powerful image.

Congratulations to Paul Mckenzie of Hong Kong. His image, Red-crowned Crane flight blur, was third place in the Blur category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Click on the image to see a larger, even more spectacular version. Canon EF600mm f4 IS USM lens with the EOS-1D MIV on a Gitzo GT3530LS tripod with a Wimberley gimbal head: 1/30 sec.

Red-crowned Crane flight blur, Paul Mckenzie

From Paul:

Blurs are very much a personal preference and my own preference is for the head and eyes of the subject to be reasonably sharp but for the wings (in the case of birds) to show motion. I have taken thousands of standard flight shots of Red-Crowned Cranes entering and leaving this wood-surrounded, snow-covered field over the last three years but much prefer my blurred images. I was attracted to a dark patch of woods with brown leaves and knew that this would make a nice background for the white-winged bird. I waited for a crane to fly by and panned relatively smoothly with the flying birds. I had three chances over a 30 minute period. This was the best effort.

The perfect exposure, the sharp face, and the pleasingly blurred white wings set against the dark cranberry-colored background helped to create this delight to the eye.

Congrats!

Congrats to the three winning photographers and to those who created the 9 other spectacular images that made it to the final round of judging. Getting a single image to the final round is a momentous accomplishment.

This was not a hugely popular category with only 146 images submitted. 12 images were sent to the five judges. Here is another big time thank you to Darrell, Chris, Julie, and Tim. And a big time thanks also to Peter Kes and Denise Ippolito for pitching in during the first rounds of image selection. We worked very hard for nearly three full days to get from more than 5500 images down to the final 163.

The Pleasing Blurs category was defined as follows: for pleasingly blurred images of a bird or a flock of birds; images in this category must be created in-camera.

The prizes (see at the end of this post) will be shipped once all the winners are announced as several folks had more than one top three image. Be sure to patronize our sponsors; without them, this contest would not exist. There will be more educational stuff from this category coming soon.

A Guide to Pleasing Blurs

Contrary to popular belief, pleasing blurs are not unfocused accidents. Nearly all are the result of careful planning, a great deal of knowledge, and impeccable techniques. More and more recently pleasing blurs are seen walking away with top prizes in a variety of high prestige contests and competitions. And they are my favorite type of image. I love the freedom that digital gives us to play and experiment. You can learn a ton about creating pleasing blurs in “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs” by Denise Ippolito and yours truly. Learn more or purchase here.

Prizes: Pleasing Blurs

First Prize	Runner Up	Highly Commended	Sponsor
$100 Gift Certificate	$50 Gift Certificate	$25 Gift Certificate	B&H PHOTO VIDEO
choice of lens plate	P-5 camera body plate	Plamp	Wimberley
16 GB 450 X UDMA Compact Flash Card	Sensor Scope	Universal Memory Card Reader	Delkin Devices
Level 3 Gift Subscription	Level 2 Gift Subscription	Level 1 Gift Subscription	Nature Photographer Magazine
$30 Discount Certificate	$25 Discount Certificate	$20 Discount Certificate	Canvas On Demand
Laptop Bag or Pixel Sunscreen	Pixel Pocket Rocket	AA Battery Holder	Think Tank
$250 Gift Certificate	$25 Gift Certificate	$10 Gift Certificate	Lens Coat
Canon/Nikon Lens Plate	Canon/Nikon Camera Body Plate	.	4th Generation Design
.	Better Beamer	Better Beamer Replacement Fresnel	Visual Echoes
TriKlear Kit	TriKlear Kit	TriKlear Kit	Lens Pen
ABP II	.	.	BIRDS AS ART
.	Double Bubble	.	HP Marketing
BreezeBrowser Pro/Downloader Pro Combo	BreezeBrowser Pro	Downloader Pro	Breeze Systems
Sito HD Version Gold Web Site			Sito HD

You Be The Judge: Blur/Voting Still Open

If you have not yet voted on the images in the Blur category you can do so here.

Action Category Voting Analysis and Related Comments

Totals of the Judges’ Votes (each of 5 judges awarded each image 1-5 points):

1-Siskins Fighting, David Pattyn: 21
2-Common Tern feeding chick, Vladimir Kogan: 20
3-Galahs battling, Jan Wegener: 19
T4-Snowy Egrets midair combat, Cheryl Molennor: 18
T4-Great-Crested Grebe displaying, David Pattyn: 18
T6-Roseate Spoonbills squabbling, Richard Bohnet-: 17
T6-Bald Eagle face off, Clemens van der Werf: 17
T6-Upside down Bald Eagle fight, Clemens van der Werf: 17
9-American Oystercather chicks chasing, Marina Scarr: 16
10-Bald Eagle ground warfare, Clemens van der Werf: 14
11-Dalmatian Pelican fish grab, David Pattyn: 13
12-Long Billed Curlew flapping after bath, Gaurav Mittal: 12

Public Voting Totals (each of you was asked to vote your five favorite images 1-5 points with 5 being your favorite):

1-Roseate Spoonbills squabbling: Richard Bohnet: 143
2-Siskins Fighting, David Pattyn 140
3-Common Tern feeding chick, Vladimir Kogan: 137
4-Great-Crested Grebe displaying, David Pattyn: 98
5-American Oystercather chicks chasing, Marina Scarr: 75
6-Bald Eagle face off, Clemens van der Werf: 64
7-Upside down Bald Eagle fight, Clemens van der Werf: 56
8-Snowy Egrets midair combat, Cheryl Molennor: 45
T9-Galahs battling, Jan Wegener: 39
T9-Dalmatian Pelican fish grab, David Pattyn: 39
T9-Bald Eagle ground warfare, Clemens van der Werf: 39
12-Long Billed Curlew flapping after bath, Gaurav Mittal: 10

Analysis of the Voting

Action was another popular category with 445 images submitted. 15 images were sent to the five judges. Three images were disqualified after we received the RAW files, 2 of those for cropping more than 75%, that is, more than 50% of the length and the width.

Thanks as always to Darrell, Chris, Julie, and Tim. And a big time thanks also to Peter Kes and Denise Ippolito for pitching in during the first rounds of image selection. We worked very hard for nearly three full days to get from more than 5500 images down to the final 163.

Correlation between the judges panel and the public vote was relatively high with Siskins Fighting coming in 1/2 and Common Tern feeding chick finishing up 2/3. Probably the biggest mismatches were the Galahs battling at 3/9 and the Roseate Spoonbills squabbling at 6/1. Kudos to David Pattyn who placed 3 images in the top 11 and to Clemens van der Werf who had three eagle images in the top 10.

Congratulations David Pattyn of The Netherlands. His image, Siskins Fighting” was awarded first prize in the Action category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Click on the image to see a larger, even more spectacular version. Tripod-mounted Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 1600: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode.

Siskins Fighting, David Pattyn

Photographing songbirds in flight or in action is a huge, huge challenge. Here, the fabulous interaction between the two birds, the spectacular pose of the lower bird, the feet and claws of the upper bird, and the remarkable sharpness made this image a winner. Amazingly, it is only a small crop from the RAW file. Spectacular as this one is, had the bird on the left raised its wings fully this image would have been ever stronger.

Congratulations Vladimir Kogan of Israel. His image, Common Tern feeding chick, was awarded second place in the Action category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Click on the image to see a larger, even more spectacular version. Nikon D3, AF Nikkor 200-400 mm f4 G VR (at 400mm) + AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II, 1/320; f7.1; ISO 500, GT5541LS Systematic 6X Carbon Fiber Tripod Legs; Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1 dp.

Common Tern feeding chick, Vladimir Kogan

What’s to like? Soft yellow light, a beautiful arrangement of the three birds, the chick and the guarding parent razor sharp, a perfect exposure, killer reflections, still, still water, and the shutter button pushed at the exact right instant. In other words, a lot! Note, however, that with the incomplete reflection a nice crop from the bottom might have moved this fine image up one spot.

Congratulations to Jan Wegener of Melbourne, Australia. His image, Galahs battling, was awarded third place in the Action category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Click on the image to see a larger, even more spectacular version. Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 600 f/4L IS, ISO 800. 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1

Galahs battling, Jan Wegener

Start with a nice low angle, add in two attractive red birds with raised pink crests, and throw in two perfect head angles and a killer face to face fighting pose. Have one birds talons grabbing he breast of the other as the victim screams in protest. What to you wind up with? One very fine action image.

Snowy Egrets midair combat, Cheryl Molennor

A strong image with a good exposure and two sharp birds battling it out. The wing position and the hanging feet of the bird on our left are quite appealing.

Great-Crested Grebe displaying, David Pattyn.

The sharpness, the raised crest, the open bill, and the flying spray all contribute to the success of this very strong image.

Bald Eagle face off, Clemens van der Werf

Part of the problem for Clemens here was that he had three excellent images competing against each other. During the initial rounds of judging there were many,many excellent eagle images. We picked the three strongest. I for one never imagined that they were all made by the same photographer. With two good head angles and both birds with their wings swept back this was an obvious selection for the final round.

Upside down Bald Eagle fight, Clemens van der Werf

With one bird on its back and the upper bird reaching down with out-stretched talons this one was the strongest of the three eagle images for me.

Roseate Spoonbills squabbling, Richard Bohnet

Excellent exposure control in a difficult situation, excellent sharpness, a killer interaction with the rear bird on the attack with its wings raised, and a great splash make this one special. Had the bird on our right had it’s wings raised fully this one would surely have placed higher. The bill of the bird on our left is slightly lost in the black background.

American Oystercather chicks chasing, Marina Scarr

Cuter than cute with great action. And everybody loves chicks. The two poses and the interaction are superb. Problems here include the head of the front chick turned away, a bit of motion blur, and the rear foot of the lead bird being hidden behind a small pebble. Kudos to marina for achieving sharp focus and firing the shutter at just the right moment.

Bald Eagle ground warfare, Clemens van der Werf

A spectacular image in its own right with one wing buried in the snow, the right hand bird screaming with the underwing detail in the near wing revealed beautifully, and the left hand bird on the attack with talons at the ready.

Dalmatian Pelican fish grab, David Pattyn

Dramatic action and skies and some nice reflections make this one special. The clipped tail of the left-most bird and the two birds in the background on the right are both problematic. Eliminating those two birds would have been both relatively easy and permitted under the rules.

Long Billed Curlew flapping after bath, Gaurav Mittal

Despite the gentleman who commented that this image was not sharp, its extreme sharpness is quite remarkable. The raised wings, the one raised foot, the lovely framing, and the complementary background colors make this a very strong last place/last place image.

B&H Rebates

Click here to enjoy double rebates of up to $550 by selecting one of four Canon dSLR camera bodies (including the killer EOS-5D Mark III) and then adding a lens from a large selection. The lenses included many of the intermediate telephoto lenses that I use and recommend. This offer has been extended until July 28, 2012.

Or click here for some great deals on 7D/60D starter kits.

And the Winners in the Action Category Are!

Congratulations David Pattyn of The Netherlands. His image, Siskins Fighting” was awarded first prize in the Action category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Click on the image to see a larger, even more spectacular version. Tripod-mounted Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 1600: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode.

Siskins Fighting, David Pattyn

From David:

Near winter’s end, when food becomes more difficult to find, more and more birds visit our garden feeders. In some years—for no obvious reasons—we have lots of Siskins; in others we have none. In March 2011 there were lots of Siskins around and thus they were very aggressive toward each other in competition for food. I placed seed in a crack in the log and focused manually on the spot where I hoped the action would occur. Autofocus simply does not work in situations like this; the action is over before you have a chance to frame the image and acquire focus. While working from inside my home office I would look directly at the log rather than through the viewfinder. Whenever there was any action I would release the shutter with the remote cord in my hand. It took lots of trial and error and many hundreds of images to get everything just right but getting one superb image made it all worthwhile.

Photographing songbirds in flight or in action is a huge, huge challenge. Here, the fabulous interaction between the two birds, the spectacular pose of the lower bird, the feet and claws of the upper bird, and the remarkable sharpness made this image a winner. Amazingly, it is only a small crop from the RAW file.

Congratulations Vladimir Kogan of Israel. His image, Common Tern feeding chick, was awarded second place in the Action category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Click on the image to see a larger, even more spectacular version. Nikon D3, AF Nikkor 200-400 mm f4 G VR (at 400mm) + AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II, 1/320; f7.1; ISO 500, GT5541LS Systematic 6X Carbon Fiber Tripod Legs; Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1 dp.

Common Tern feeding chick, Vladimir Kogan

From Vladimir:

Every spring the Common Terns arrive from Africa. When they do, I start photographing them and continue to do so throughout the breeding season. I observed the terns their feeding chicks for long periods. But to create an artistic frame with a sharp reflection you need the following conditions: very early morning, the first rays of the sun on a clear day, soft lighting, and a complete lack of a wind. From many early morning photo sessions I had this combination of the required parameters only on rare occasion.

What’s to like? Soft yellow light, a beautiful arrangement of the three birds, the chick and the guarding parent razor sharp, a perfect exposure, killer reflections, still, still water, and the shutter button pushed at the exact right instant. In other words, a lot!

Congratulations to Jan Wegener of Melbourne, Australia. His image, Galahs battling, was awarded third place in the Action category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Click on the image to see a larger, even more spectacular version. Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 600 f/4L IS, ISO 800. 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1

Galahs battling, Jan Wegener

From Jan:

Galahs are often found in big groups. They are very playful birds. I spotted this group on a soccer field in Melbourne, Australia and was amused by their humorous displays and fights. These squabbles are of a playful nature; the birds do not cause any serious harm to each other. This behavior usually takes place before the breeding season and the fights only last a couple of seconds. Galahs in the cities are usually not overly skittish and when you approach them carefully they allow you to get quite close. Watching a flock of these colorful avian clowns never gets boring and always offers some unique photo opportunities.

Start with a nice low angle, add in two attractive red birds with raised pink crests, and throw in two perfect head angles and a killer face to face fighting pose. Have one birds talons grabbing he breast of the other as the victim screams in protest. What to you wind up with? One very fine action image.

Congrats!

Congrats to the three winning photographers and to those who created the other 9 spectacular images that made it to the final round of judging. Getting a single image to the final round is a momentous accomplishment.

This was a popular category with 445 images submitted. 15 images were sent to the five judges. Three images were disqualified after we received the RAW files, 2 of those for cropping more than 75%, more than 50% of the length and width. Here is another big time thank you to Darrell, Chris, Julie, and Tim. And a big time thanks also to Peter Kes and Denise Ippolito for pitching in during the first rounds of image selection. We worked very hard for nearly three full days to get from more than 5500 images down to the final 163.

The Action category was designed for images that feature a bird or birds in action. Pretty straightforward. But spectacular.

The prizes (see below) will be shipped once all the winners are announced as several folks had more than one top three image. Be sure to patronize our sponsors; without them, this contest would not exist. There will be more educational stuff from this category coming soon.

Action

First Prize	Runner Up	Highly Commended	Sponsor
$100 Gift Certificate	$50 Gift Certificate	$25 Gift Certificate	B&H PHOTO VIDEO
Wimberley V2 Head	P-5 camera body plate	Plamp	Wimberley
16 GB 450 X UDMA Compact Flash Card	Sensor Scope	Universal Memory Card Reader	Delkin Devices
Level 3 Gift Subscription	Level 2 Gift Subscription	Level 1 Gift Subscription	Nature Photographer Magazine
$30 Discount Certificate	$25 Discount Certificate	$20 Discount Certificate	Canvas On Demand
Laptop Bag or Pixel Sunscreen	Pixel Pocket Rocket	AA Battery Holder	Think Tank
$50 Gift Certificate	$25 Gift Certificate	$10 Gift Certificate	Lens Coat
Canon/Nikon Lens Plate	Canon/Nikon Camera Body Plate	.	4th Generation Design
.	Better Beamer	Better Beamer Replacement Fresnel	Visual Echoes
TriKlear Kit	TriKlear Kit	TriKlear Kit	Lens Pen
ABP II	.	.	BIRDS AS ART
.	Double Bubble	.	HP Marketing
BreezeBrowser Pro/Downloader Pro Combo	BreezeBrowser Pro	Downloader Pro	Breeze Systems
Sito HD Version Gold Web Site			Sito HD

You Be the Judge: Action

It’s not too late to vote on the great images in the Action category of the BAA 1ST International Bird Photography Competition. Click here to take part in the fun and learning.

New York City Weekend Nature Photography Seminar December 8-9, 2012

Details for this great weekend seminar are available here. Do consider joining Denise Ippolito and me for a great learning experience. Do click on the link to see many of Denise’s incredible tree and flower images. Camera club discounts available; see the details at the link.

5D Mark III Guide Pre-publication Version Still Discounted

Click here for details. When the guide is complete it will sell for $50. Folks who purchase now will receive the final version and any updates for no additional charge so ordering now is a win-win proposition. If you click on the link above you will see that the list of items not yet covered continues to shrink….

I spent the better part of Tuesday and today working on the 5D III UG; when I am done, the price goes to $50. Buy now to save! The more I study this camera the more I learn how complex it is. Rudy Winston at Canon has been a huge help as has Denise Ippolito who helped me with the section on Multiple Exposures. I still have some work to do.

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012: Only 1 slot left!

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012: $999. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory slide program: Tuesday August 14 at 7pm. Limit 8/Openings:1.

This photo-tour is almost sold out. But with two great leaders each with tons of experience at this site and the promise to learn a ton of great Photoshop stuff it does make a lot of sense.

For more info and a collection of images click here.

This image of an adult American Oystercatcher cutting one of the surf clam’s two adductor muscles 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. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/1000 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. This image was created precisely at 7:14:04pm. Let’s call this one “Opening the Clam.”

When the Stars Line Up; What You Can Do in 22 Seconds

When I posted the last image that appears below in a recent blog post here, I promised to post the other three keepers from that series. Regular readers have heard me say often, “I don’t–as a general rule–make a lot of images, but when everything lines up just right I will hold the shutter button down or at least take a lengthy sequence of images. The four images here were selected as keepers in BreezeBrowswer from a 16 frame sequence that was created in twenty-two seconds. Note that at some point in the sequence I had time to change the shutter speed from 1/1000 sec. to 1/800 sec.

This image of an adult American Oystercatcher 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. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/1000 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. This image was created precisely at 7:14:08pm, just four one hundredths of a second after the preceding image. Let’s call this one “Wave Washes Over the Clam.”

Note that in the 22 seconds that it took to create the 4 images presented here that the subject-to-imaging-sensor orientation changed quite a bit from frame to frame.

This image of an adult American Oystercatcher 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. 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. This image was created precisely at 7:14:18pm. Let’s refer to this one as “Proud of My Accomplishment.”

Note in the image immediately above that the breaking wave has covered the narrow wedge of sand that we see in images 2 and 4.

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. 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. This image was created precisely at 7:14:26pm. Let’s go with “Just Dessert” for this image.

Note that the patterns and colors in the background are different in each image, a function of the relatively distant breaking waves.

Which Do You Like Best?

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which of the four images you like best and why. Or, let us know if you prefer the whole sequence to any one image. And why for that too.

Math Question

From the information presented here can anyone know for sure if I was holding the shutter button down or if I was being selective?

Shopper’s Guide.

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

Below is a list of the gear talked about in this blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens. Right now this is my all time favorite super-telephoto lens.
Canon EF 1.4X III TC. This new TC is designed to work best with the new Series II super-telephoto lenses.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. The very best professional digital camera body that I have ever used.

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….
GT3532 LS. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. I’ll be commenting on this new model soon. In short, I like it.
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.
CR-80 Replacement Foot for Canon 800. When using the 800 on a Mongoose as I do, replacing the lens foot with this accessory lets the lens sit like a dog whether pointed up or down and prevents wind-blown spinning of your lens on breezy days by centering the lens directly over the tripod.
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.

Behavior Category Voting Analysis and Related Comments

Totals of the Judges’ Votes (each of 5 judges awarded each image 1-5 points):

1-Grey Heron with fish, Vladimir Kogan: 20
2-African Fish-Eagle capture, Isak Pretorius: 19
3-Marbled Godwit with sand crab, Gaurav Mittal: 18
T4-Spectacled Spider-hunter displaying, Bjorn Olesen: 17
T4-Red-crowned Cranes calling in snow, Paul Mckenzie: 17
T4-African Jacana on the run with chicks, Lou Coetzer: 17
T4-Gymnogene (African Harrier-Hawk), Tommy Savage: 17
T4-Black-necked (Eared) Grebes mating, David Pattyn: 17
T9-Prairie Chicken displaying, David R. Neilson: 16
T9-Laysan Albatross feeding chick, Paul Mckenzie: 16
T9-Long-eared Owl threat display, Paul Bannick: 16
T9-Gull with stolen chick, Richard Pittam: 16
T9-Common Kingfisher with fish, Kevin Elsby: 16
T14-Scissor-tailed Flycatcher with beetle, Rolf Nussbaumer: 15
T14-Emperor Penguin Family, Marcello Libra: 15
T16-Thrush with caterpillar, Morteza Nemati
T16-Great-crested Grebes mating, David Pattyn
T16-Great Egret chicks, Cheryl Molennor

Public Voting Totals (each of you was asked to vote your five favorite images 1-5 points with 5 being your favorite):

1-Spectacled Spider-hunter displaying, Bjorn Olesen: 155
2-Grey Heron with fish, Vladimir Kogan: 117
3-African Jacana on the run with chicks, Lou Coetzer: 60
4-Red-crowned Cranes calling in snow, Paul Mckenzie: 59
5-Common Kingfisher with fish, Kevin Elsby: 55
T6-Gymnogene (African Harrier-Hawk), Tommy Savage: 48
T6-Laysan Albatross feeding chick, Paul Mckenzie: 48
8-Long-eared Owl threat display, Paul Bannick: 44
9-African Fish-Eagle capture, Isak Pretorius: 42
10-Emperor Penguin Family, Marcello Libra: 41
11-Black-necked (Eared) Grebes mating, David Pattyn: 34
12-Scissor-tailed Flycatcher with beetle, Rolf Nussbaumer: 30
13-Prairie Chicken displaying, David R. Neilson: 24
14-Great Egret chicks, Cheryl Molennor: 23
15-Great-crested Grebes mating, David Pattyn: 15
16-Gull with stolen chick, Richard Pittam: 14
17-Thrush with caterpillar, Morteza Nemati; 11
18-Marbled Godwit with sand crab, Gaurav Mittal: 5

Analysis of the Voting

First off, even though this is the strongest category so far by a wide margin, fewed folks voted. By a large margin. Having to click on each image to enlarge it and then carefully considering your favorites take time. Perhaps some folks may begin to understand the amount of work that it took to get from more than 5,500 images down to 163. Judging is work. Hard work. Thanks to all who continue to put in the time to join us here.

When I posted the 18 images for the public voting in the Behavior Category here I suggested that the results of the judges votes as compared to the public vote might be quite different due to the large number of very strong images here. To some degree that was the case though Grey Heron with fish did very well with both groups. The biggest mystery to me was the Marbled Godwit with sand crab image which finished 3rd with the judges and last in the public vote. Why? I have no clue.

It would seem the individual geographical bias might have played a role in the judge’s voting. Peter Kes who helped with the initial culling has spent a ton of time in Africa; he was quite keen on the upside down African Harrier-Hawk. Mr. Morris, shorebird lover that he is, felt strongly about the Marbled Godwit. On a personal note, every time that I looked at the Spectacled Spider-hunter image I liked it a bit more than the previous time. I felt that David Pattyn’s Great-crested Grebes mating was the stronger of his two finals images, yet it wound up tied for last in the public vote. I wonder which of the two David fancies. Paul Mckenzie placed two images in the top 9 in the judges vote, and was even stronger in the public vote with 2 of the top 5 images.

I will sum up by saying that the judge’s panel seemed to favor images with the sweetest golden light.

Kudos to all whose images appear below and thanks to all who entered photographs in this hotly contested category. The images below are presented in the order of the judges’ placement along with my comments. I am sure that many of you will find my comments both interesting and educational.

Grey Heron with fish, Vladimir Kogan.

The judges were thrilled by the sweet early evening light, the superb sharpness, the heron’s raised foot, the perfect view of the fish with its dorsal fin raised and open mouth, the absolutely perfect head angle, and by the pleasing image design with the bird framed nicely by the gold reflections at the top of the photograph.

African Fish-Eagle capture, Isak Pretorius

This image features beautiful control of a difficult exposure with detail in both the dark tones and the whites, nice detail in the far underwing, the perfect wing position–the full downstroke, a perfect head angle, a de-focused background, a killer splash with the complete hole in the water included, a suitable pano crop, and very sweet light.

Marbled Godwit with sand crab, Gaurav Mittal

I love shorebirds. I love this one for the golden early morning light and the raised wings with killer underwing detail. For its sharpness. The combination of blues and golds is too sweet, as is the white foam from a breaking wave. The sand crab in the bird’s beak is the icing on this third place cake. I felt that this one would have been even better with the placed a bit more to our right in the frame.

Spectacled Spider-hunter displaying, Bjorn Olesen

This obviously spectacular image features an incredibly sharp face, beautiful soft light coming through the raised wing feathers, and some lovely foliage especially the sharp stuff in the upper right. Had the bird not been well above the photographer this surely would have placed higher with the judges.

Red-crowned Cranes calling in snow, Paul Mckenzie

Mood, mood, mood. Falling snow, beautiful birds, mystical trees in the background and a lovely image design came together pretty much in perfection.

African Jacana on the run with chicks, Lou Coetzer

Spectacularly sharp with a perfect exposure. If only the feet of the chicks had not merged with the adult’s body and been more visible….

Gymnogene (African Harrier-Hawk), Tommy Savage

The somewhat mixed lighting was handled beautifully in post-processing. Getting a good look at the face when these birds are foraging upside down along a large branch is near-impossible. Only a view of the talons could have made this stronger.

Black-necked (Eared) Grebes mating, David Pattyn

Intimate behavior, soft light, razor sharpness, and a water level perspective are the strengths of this image. Under contest rules, cleaning up the vegetation in the water was allowed. For me doing so would have improved the artistic merits of an already very strong image.

Prairie Chicken displaying, David Neilson

David submitted several very strong images across several categories; it was difficult to choose the best one to move along. This one is pretty close to perfect: soft light, bowing pose, inflated purple sac, killer low angle, soft light, drooped wings, puffy white undertail coverts, raised tail and eyebrows, and a simply gorgeous bird displaying.

Laysan Albatross feeding chick, Paul Mckenzie

This outstanding image features soft light, interesting behavior, a clean background, and two perfect head angles.

Long-eared Owl threat display, Paul Bannick

A spectacular young bird in exhibiting a spectacular threat posture in a lovely setting make for a very strong image. Not clipping the feet in situations like this is to be commended.

Gull with stolen chick, Richard Pittam

Spectacular action and timing. Two perfect head angles with the hapless chick’s wings hanging down. Sharp as could be. Had the gull’s wings been raised this would have placed very high.

Common Kingfisher with fish, Kevin Elsby

This image features spectacular action and timing, flying water droplets, the nicely raised foot, and a beautiful bird and perch. A slight head turn towards us and a better look at the fish would have put this one over the top.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher with beetle, Rolf Nussbaumer

Strong points here include the soft light, the perfect head angle, the raised wings revealing beautiful underwing details, the namesake long tail, and what looks like a milkweed beetle snack.

Emperor Penguin Family, Marcello Libra

Getting to Snow Hill: about $15,000. Making a beautiful and intimate image: priceless. A bit more space all around and a better look at the chick’s face would have improved this one.

Thrush with caterpillar, Morteza Nemati

Sharp as a razor. Perfect subject to sensor juxtaposition. And a fuzzy caterpillar are all pluses here. The out-of-focus foreground rocks are a distraction. Ideally the bird would have been standing on the highest point of the rock its on giving us a better view of the feet.

Great-crested Grebes mating, David Pattyn

There are lots of positives with this image: the male’s raised crest and open bill, the position of the female’s head, the soft light, and the low perspective. The stringy vegetation above and to the left of the female’s head are distracting (and could have been removed). As could the dark spots on the male’s breast. Lastly, a bit more light on the male’s head would have been ideal.

Great Egret chicks, Cheryl Molennor

This is superbly done. The huge challenge with this type of image is getting two perfect head angles with a nice juxtaposition. Check. Check. Two sharp eyes and sufficient depth-of-field add. The slightly uneven light/dark portions of the background above the chicks is mildly distracting.

Congrats

Congratulations to all above for sharing their excellent images with us.

5D Mark III Guide Pre-publication Version Still Discounted

Click here for details. When the guide is complete it will sell for $50. Folks who purchase now will receive the final version and any updates for no additional charge so ordering now is a win-win proposition.

I spent the better part of today working on the 5D III UG; when I am done, the price goes to $50. Buy now to save! The more I study this camera the more I learn how complex it is.

New York City Weekend Nature Photography Seminar December 8-9, 2012

Detail for this great weekend seminar are available here. Do consider joining Denise Ippolito and me for a great learning experience. Do click on the link to see many of Denise’s incredible tree and flower images. Camera club discounts available; see the details at the link.

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012: Only 2 slots left!

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012: $999. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory slide program: Tuesday August 14 at 7pm. Limit 8/Openings:2.

This photo-tour is filling faster than anticipated. But with two great leaders with tons of experience at this site and the promise to learn a ton of great Photoshop stuff it does make a lot of sense.

For more info and a collection of images click here.

5D Mark III Guide Pre-publication Version Still Discounted

Click here for details. When the guide is complete it will sell for $50. Folks who purchase now will receive the final version and any updates for no additional charge so ordering now is a win-win proposition.

New York City Weekend Nature Photography Seminar December 8-9, 2012

Detail for this great weekend seminar are available here. Do consider joining Denise Ippolito and me for a great learning experience. Do click on the link to see many of Denise’s incredible tree and flower images. Camera club discounts available; see the details at the link.

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012: Only 2 slots left!

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012: $999. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory slide program: Tuesday August 14 at 7pm. Limit 8/Openings:2.

For more info and a collection of images click here.

And the Winners in the Behavior Category Are!

Congratulations Vladimir Kogan of Israel. His image, Grey Heron with fish, was awarded first prize in the Behavior category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Click on the image to see a larger, even more spectacular version. AF Nikkor 200-400 mm f4 G VR lens, the AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II, and the Nikon D3. ISO 400: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1. Skimmer Ground Pod II with the Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1.

Grey Heron with fish, Vladimir Kogan.

From Vladimir:

Grey Heron is a very cautious bird; as a rule it will not approach closer than 80-100 meters to even a well-disguised blind. Once this heron caught a large Tilapia it began moving slowly but steadily in my direction without the slightest sign of fear, eventually approaching within 20 meters of my hiding place. This was the rare moment in my 3 years of photographing this species. The fish was very large for the bird; after many attempts to swallow it the bird threw it on the shore of the lake where it became prey to a mongoose.

The judges were thrilled by the sweet early evening light, the superb sharpness, the heron’s raised foot, the perfect view of the fish with its dorsal fin raised and open mouth, the absolutely perfect head angle, and by the pleasing image design with the bird framed nicely by the gold reflections at the top of the photograph.

Congratulations to Isak Pretorius of Johannesburg, South Africa. His image, African Fish-Eagle capture, was awarded second prize in the Behavior category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Chobe river, Botswana. Canon 600mmf/4L IS USM with the EOS-1D Mark III (handheld!). ISO 800: 1/2000 sec. at f/5 in Manual mode. Click on the image to see a larger, even more powerful version.

African Fish-Eagle capture, Isak Pretorius

From Isak:

This photo was created on the Chobe river during a photographic boat safari. Fish-eagles catching fish is the order of the day. I’ve photographed fish eagles before, but what made this place stunning was the quality of light. During the late-winter months the morning sun is diffused by the smoke and dust in the sky over Botswana. With the still waters of the Chobe river reflecting this soft light, the lighting conditions are almost studio-like. The wide river also makes for soft subtle backgrounds that accentuate the bird. I was fortunate in this photo that all the variables outside of my control came together perfectly.

This image features Beautiful control of a difficult exposure with detail in both the dark tones and the whites, nice detail in the far underwing, the perfect wing position–the full downstroke, a perfect head angle, a de-focused background, a killer splash with the complete hole in the water included, a suitable pano crop, and very sweet light.

Congratulations to Gaurav Mittal of India. His image, Marbled Godwit with sand crab, was awarded third prize in the Behavior category of the BIRDS AS ART 1st Annual Bird Photography Competition. Morro Bay, CA. Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with the 1.4X TC and the EOS-1 Mark IV (hand held!). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6. Click on the image to see a larger, even more beautiful version.

Marbled Godwit with sand crab, Gaurav Mittal

From Gaurav:

Photographing birds makes me feel closer to life, I feel as if I am one with the birds. At every opportunity I dance when I see them. Morro Bay was an amazing experience: People made me feel welcome: The sunlight was golden; It was windy but beautiful; The Marbled Godwits were simply gorgeous. I was awe as I made an effort to photograph its behavior. I was nervous as I pressed the shutter and captured this beautiful moment. The godwit splashed its feet in the water and grabbed the soft-shelled crab. After this entire event I felt in the presence of God. Having witnessed an amazing moment through my camera, priceless. I lowered my camera closed my eyes and took in the moment, my imagination at work.

I love shorebirds. I love this one for the golden early morning light and the raised wings with killer underwing detail. For its sharpness. The combination of blues and golds is too sweet, as is the white foam from a breaking wave. The sand crab in the bird’s beak is the icing on this third place cake.

Congrats!

Congrats to the three winning photographers and to those who created the 15 other spectacular images that made it to the final round of judging. Getting a single image to the final round is a momentous accomplishment. Pretty much every image would have made a suitable first place winner. As you will see when the voting results and analysis are published things were very tight in Behavior.

It was a hugely popular category. We began with 754 images. Getting down to the 18 images that were sent to the five judges was a difficult and excruciating task that took many hours. Here is another big time thank you to Darrell, Chris, Julie, and Tim. And a big time thanks also to Peter Kes and Denise Ippolito for pitching in during the first rounds of image selection. We worked very hard for nearly three full days to get from more than 5500 images down to the final 163. The Behavior category was designed for images that exhibited interesting avian behavior. The entrants outdid themselves by a wide margin.

Prizes (see below) will be shipped once all the winners are announced as several folks had more than one top three image. Be sure to patronize our sponsors; without them, this contest would not exist. There will be more educational stuff from this category coming soon.

Behavior

First Prize	Runner Up	Highly Commended	Sponsor
$100 Gift Certificate	$50 Gift Certificate	$25 Gift Certificate	B&H PHOTO VIDEO
choice of lens plate	P-5 camera body plate	Plamp	Wimberley
16 GB 450 X UDMA Compact Flash Card	Sensor Scope	Universal Memory Card Reader	Delkin Devices
Level 3 Gift Subscription	Level 2 Gift Subscription	Level 1 Gift Subscription	Nature Photographer Magazine
$30 Discount Certificate	$25 Discount Certificate	$20 Discount Certificate	Canvas On Demand
Laptop Bag or Pixel Sunscreen	Pixel Pocket Rocket	AA Battery Holder	Think Tank
$50 Gift Certificate	$25 Gift Certificate	$10 Gift Certificate	Lens Coat
Canon/Nikon Lens Plate	Canon/Nikon Camera Body Plate	.	4th Generation Design
.	Better Beamer	Better Beamer Replacement Fresnel	Visual Echoes
TriKlear Kit	TriKlear Kit	TriKlear Kit	Lens Pen
Kwik Camo Blind-Regular	.	.	Essential Photo Gear
ABP II	.	.	BIRDS AS ART
.	Double Bubble	.	HP Marketing
BreezeBrowser Pro/Downloader Pro Combo	BreezeBrowser Pro	Downloader Pro	Breeze Systems
Sito HD Version Gold Web Site			Sito HD

B&H Rebates

Click here to enjoy double rebates of up to $550 by selecting one of four Canon dSLR camera bodies (including the killer EOS-5D Mark III) and then adding a lens from a large selection. The lenses included many of the intermediate telephoto lenses that I use and recommend. This offer expires in less than ten days on June 30, 2012.

You Be the Judge: Behavior

The judging for the BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition has been complete for some time. All of the judges including me were stunned by the quality of the images. We have been and will continue to be posting all of the images that were sent to the judges category by category. Each of you will have a chance to judge each category. Please read the directions below carefully. Your votes will not determine the winning images but it has been and will continue to be fun to see how everyone’s votes compare to the votes of the judges. So far the top pick of the public vote has matched the top pick of the judge’s panel in three of four categories. The images in the Behavior category are so incredibly strong overall that I suspect that that will not be the case here…. In retrospect there are a dozen or more images here that would have been worthy first place choices.

This was a hugely popular category. We began with 754 images. Getting down to the 18 images that were sent to the five judges was a difficult and excruciating task that took many hours. Here is another big time thank you to Darrell, Chris, Julie, and Tim. And a big time thanks also to Peter Kes and Denise Ippolito for pitching in during the first rounds of image selection. We worked very hard for nearly three full days to get from more than 5500 images down to the final 163.

The Behavior category was designed for images that exhibited interesting avian behavior. The entrants outdid themselves by a wide margin.

Before you vote, please sure to click on each image so that you can view it at full size. Then pick your five favorites and vote them 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 with 5 being your very favorite. Like this:

Red-crowned Cranes calling in snow: 5
Prairie Chicken displaying: 4
Black-necked (Eared) Grebes mating: 3
Great-crested Grebes mating: 2
Grey Heron with fish: 1

The “Sample Vote” above is for illustrative purposes only. Please do not let the sample vote, the votes of others, or the names assigned to the images influence your vote. Please put each of your five favorites on its own line by hitting “enter” after each one. No ties; please assign a single digit, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 to each of your five favorites. As you will see there are a great many beautiful, interesting, and even thought-provoking images here.

If you wish to comment on any or all of the images, please do so below your five voting lines; this will make tallying the votes easier. Votes cast by those who fail to follow the formatting directions will be relegated to the Trash Bin.

The voting will be closed at 8am eastern time on Monday, June The actual winning images for this category will be posted on Monday, June 25. A tally of the public vote along with my analysis and comments will follow soon thereafter.

Thanks for voting and please remember to breathe deeply and have fun.

Thrush with caterpillar

African Jacana on the run with chicks

Emperor Penguin Familiy

Laysan Albatross feeding chick

Red-crowned Cranes calling in snow

Prairie Chicken displaying

Black-necked (Eared) Grebes mating

Great-crested Grebes mating

Grey Heron with fish

Gymnogene (African Harrier-Hawk)

Common Kingfisher with fish

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher with beetle

Gull with stolen chick

Great White Egret chicks

Long Eared Owl threat display

Spectacled Spider-hunter displaying

Marbled Godwit with sand crab

African Fish-Eagle capture

Nickerson Beach/JBWR Photo-Tour August 15-17, 2012

If you missed the announcement for this exciting trip click here for details (along with 25 pretty nice images). And click here to see a great collection of co-leader Denise Ippolito’s “Blasts from the Past” Nickerson Beach images.