December 6th, 2010
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This image of a very worn first winter Western Gull was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 2X II teleconverter (hand held at 400mm) and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1 set manually and confirmed by histogram check. AI Servo central sensor rear focus AF and re-compose.
When I am creating portraits of static birds with my favorite new set up, I always support the lens in one way or another when hand holding. Here I sat on a rock and braced my left arm on my left knee. In addition to ensuring a sharp image I was able to create a more intimate photo with the pleasing background that I wanted (including the white strip of breaking surf at the top) by getting low.
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My Thoughts on the Western Gull “Which Do You Like Best?” Images
Though I like all three images (else I would not have posted them here :)), the first is my fave. I am a sucker for wing stretches and for distant blue ocean backgrounds. I was also down low when I created this image.
Note that that in the second image, the one of the bird landing, I was standing. As a result, the background, i.e., the Pacific Ocean, was actually much closer to the subject than in the wing stretch image where I was much lower. Thus the background in the first image was softer, sweeter, and more out of focus than the background in the second image.
I love the third image for its abstract look, but feel that I could have created a much more powerful photograph had I not been lazy about mounting my flash when I left the car in the pre-dawn light. The way to go with this image would have been to underexpose the ambient and light the bird with the flash. This would have yielded a much darker pink/blue background and brought the bird to life. Next time I will not be so lazy 🙂
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This is the original of the second image, the one of the landing gull. As you can see, I cropped it from our left, covered the remaining part of the closest bird with a Quick Mask of ocean background, added canvas to the top, and repaired the clipped wing tip.
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The techniques that I used to process the image are included in Ditigal Basics and Robert O’Toole’s APTATS I, both PDFs sent via e-mail.
Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the two images in this post.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon EF Teleconverter 2X II
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
December 6th, 2010
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This image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens and the 2X teleconverter (hand held at 400mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop to keep from burning the whites: 1/1600 sec. at f/7.1 set manually.
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Variety: The Spice of…. Wigeons?
We have a spot in Socorro where we feed the American Wigeons (and a ton of barnyard ducks). With a bit of effort we can–on some mornings–get them to fly where we want them to. Once I acquire focus I hold the shutter button down and see if I get lucky with a pose. Above, I did. I love the dorsal view of the near wing with its green speculum and the bird’s eye just peeking at us.
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This image was created with the same rig, the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens and the 2X teleconverter with the EOS-1D Mark IV. This time hand held at 320mm. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop to keep from burning the white belly and the underwing lining: 1/1600 sec. at f/7.1 set manually.
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With flapping birds, it is best to frame loosely so that you can get everything in the frame whether you catch the front flap or the back flap. With some extra space I cropped this one from the right and from the bottom for a more pleasing composition.
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This one was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/5.6 in Tv mode with ISO Safety Shift enabled. Fill flash at -2 stops.
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I just love finding new and different situations and sharing them with my IPT group. A few well placed kernels of whole corn got the birds up on the ice. This hen stopped for a sip of ice water.
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This image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens and the 1.4X II teleconverter (this time hand held at 230mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 320. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/300 sec. at f/4 in Tv mode. Fill flash at -1 stop with the flash mounted in the hot shoe.
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The image above was all about the blue and gold reflections in the water. The blue from the sky, and the gold from the cottonwoods surrounding the pond. Sometimes the background can be more important than the subject in bird and nature photography. But creating a variety of images of the same subject always adds spice to the mix.
Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the images above.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens
Canon EF Teleconverter 2X II
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
Canon 580 EX II Speedlite
And from the BAA On-line Store:
Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head
Mongoose Integrated Flash Arm
Promaster Flash Extension Cord
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
December 4th, 2010
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This Blue Goose was photographed with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/1250 sec. at f/9 set manually. I clipped two primary tips when this adult bird wheeled in flight to avoid a midair collision. I used the techniques detailed in Digital Basics to add canvas and those in Robert O’Toole’s APTATS I to repair the missing wingtips.
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This is a JPEG that represents the original RAW file. Note the nasty sensor dust…. I used my Lens Pen to clean the sensor quickly and easily and used the Patch Tool as described in Digital Basics to remove the spots from the images.
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Working in Manual Mode
What follows is a free excerpt from the Bosque Site Guide November 2010 Update that I have been working on for two straight days. It has been slightly modified for this blog post. It was in turn adapted from The Art of Bird Photography II (916 pages on CD only). It is important to know how to work in Manual mode at Bosque because the birds in flight often drop below the horizon where varying exposure compensations would be needed if you were working in Av (Aperture Priority) or any other automatic mode.
Many professional and serious amateur photographers work in Manual mode most or all of the time. (Doing the latter can be a big mistake at times…) I often stick with Av mode with exposure compensation when the background if of relatively constant tonality as doing so is easier and faster. Av (or Tv when creating pleasing blurs) is also best when the light levels might change ten stops in an instant….. When the background tonality is changing from moment to moment and the light is constant, it is best, however, to work in Manual mode. In either case, I rely on Evaluative Metering. Here are some examples of rapidly changing backgrounds: a shorebird on a rock along the edge of the ocean with waves breaking behind it. Birds flying against a blue sky with occasional white clouds. Cranes flying by in front of a variety of backgrounds that might include sky, mountains, yellowed grasses, or water.
As many folks are confused as to how to work in or set exposure compensation when working in Manual mode, I offer the following basic tutorial.
#1: When you work in Manual mode you select and set the shutter speed and you select and set the aperture. With my Canon cameras the default has you changing the shutter speed with your index finger dial and the aperture with the thumb wheel.
#2: After selecting Manual mode, point your camera at a scene or stationary subject and lock your tripod head so the framing remains constant. Next select and set the desired aperture. Then adjust the shutter speed until the analog scale in the viewfinder nulls out to zero. With Canon pro bodies this scale is laid out vertically along the right side of the viewfinder display (when you are working in horizontal format). With many of the Canon pro-sumer bodies and with pretty much all Nikon bodies the analog scale is laid out horizontally at the bottom of the viewfinder display. The zero or null indicator is at the center of the analog scale. With Canon pro bodies the three full stops above the null symbol (marked in 1/3-stop increments) indicate overexposure. The three full stops below the null symbol (also marked in 1/3-stop increments) indicate underexposure. If you change the aperture and you do not see the small square moving, check either the top or the bottom of the analog scale. You will note a small triangle at the top if you are way overexposed or a small triangle at the bottom if you are way underexposed. If the former, rotate the dial and choose a faster shutter speed, if the latter, choose a slower shutter speed. In either case, you will soon see the small square moving up or down the analog scale. At first, you will simply want to practice nulling the meter, that is, getting the small square to rest on the null symbol. This indicates that you have now set the metered exposure (as determined by the camera’s Evaluative Metering system).
#3: When you work in Manual mode you do not actually set an exposure compensation value as you do when working in an automatic mode like Av or Tv. To come up with the exposure that you wish, simply change the aperture or shutter speed as above until the small square indicates the amount of over- or under-exposure that you desire. If you wish to work at +2 stops, you need pick either a slower shutter speed or a larger aperture until the small square rests on the symbol that is two full stops above the null symbol. If you wish to underexpose by 1/3 stop, you need pick a faster shutter speed or smaller aperture so that the small square rests on the symbol that lies just below the null symbol indicating -1/3 stop.
With a bit of practice you should quickly become comfortable whenever the need to work in Manual mode arises.
In case you missed the blog post entitled “Flight Photography Considerations: Wind and Sun Direction & Subject Tonality,” click here for a great tutorial on coming up with perfect exposures when photographing Bosque’s geese and cranes. In addition, you will find some great info there on the connection between light angle and wind direction and its importance.
Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the Blue Goose image above.
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
And from the BAA On-line Store:
Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head
Double Bubble Level
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
December 3rd, 2010
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Western Gull wing stretch, La Jolla, CA. With the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 2X II TC (hand held at 370mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6 set manually.
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Which Image Do You Like Best, and Why?
Three images of adult Western Gull, each completely different. Which one do you prefer? And why? Which is the best image?
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Western Gull landing, La Jolla, CA. With the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 2X II TC (hand held at 400mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3 set manually.
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Note that I used the same rig to create all three of these images. I will be ordering my very own 70-200 2.8 II from Canon on Monday 🙂
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Western Gull preening, La Jolla, CA. With the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 2X II TC (hand held at 400mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2 2/3 stops: 1/1250 sec. at f/5.6.
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In the image above, the high ISO performance of the MIV was excellent. If you are mystified by the varying exposure compensations for the birds in the sun versus the bird in the pre-dawn light you need to get yourself a copy of The Art of Bird Photography II (916 pages on CD only) and study the Exposure Simplified section….
Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the images above.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon EF Teleconverter 2X II
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
December 2nd, 2010
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“Sandhill Crane over the Chupaderas” was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops off the early morning sky: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6 set manually. When the winds are from the north/northwest in the early morning, a very common occurrence at the two Bosque crane pools, the birds take off into the wind veering slightly away from you and the light. The trick in those conditions is to walk 200-300 yards to the north. Once the birds are in the air for a bit they will begin to head to the northeast to the farm fields. You will be in perfect position to create images of the against and just above the mountains in the background. This is just one of the many tips that you will find in the Bosque Site Guide, the next best thing to being on an IPT. I share my 16 years of experience there with you so that you will know where to be when even on your very first visit. There is a free update coming very soon.
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Did You Ever?
Did you ever have a day when everything seemed to go right? The day began with about six hours of work on BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #349. (See below.) A satisfying job well done. Within an hour of sending the Bulletin a very lovely Ginger Creevy called and signed her and her husband up for the last two Galapagos spots. Whew! And yahoo! Next, someone called to register for the SW FLA IPT.
When I am in San Diego I always visit my health and spiritual advisor, Dr. Cliff Oliver. Most of you know that he saved my from killing myself with food. Before we met, I had eaten more than 2/3 of a million Oreo cookies. If you would like to hear the whole amazing story of my return from the abyss to the best health of my life, e-mail me and request the Health Basics File. IAC, Cliff had suggested that I set up an appointment with a young acupuncturist named Melvin Tann. So I did. It was a most revealing 90 minutes. Melvin mentioned that my kidney pulse (or chi or life force or energy) was low. At his suggestion I switched from my beloved pistachio nuts to walnuts. When I got home I remembered that I had purchased a set of musical qigong CDs from master Shen Wu after visiting him in Orlando. One of the five CDs had to do with restoring chi to the kidney. Yesterday I searched for the kidney CD on my nightstand to no avail.
Today I got the huge box of CDs from my closet. Most were in plastic clam shell holders. There must have been four hundred CDs in all in the carton. As I grabbed the first handful of CDs I thought, “I might search this whole box one CD at a time and the one that I am looking for might not even be in it.” Bingo! The very first CD in the pile that I picked up was “A Journey Into Harmony II.” The one that I had marked “kidneys” many years ago…. You gotta love it.
Next I got a call from the folks at the Lands End Motel in Homer, Alaska. It will serve as base of operations for the Bald Eagle IPTs that Robert O’Toole and I are conducting late this winter. At first they wanted $250 a day for 15 days for a conference room. I suggested $50 per day in lieu of the fact that we had accounted for more than 150 room nights. The very nice lady said that she would speak to her manager and see what they could do. (They are already comping us a suite….) She calls back in two minutes and tells me that they will be glad to comp us a second suite at no charge and set it up for our small group programs.
Did you ever have a day when everything seemed to go right? All that’s left now is for the Texans to beat the Eagles on Thursday night football and help out my Giants….
Blake Shaw Photo Expo West Blog Post
Bulletin subscriber Blake Shaw sent me a link to his blog post detailing my recent appearance at Photo Expo West in Del Mar, California, my trip sponsored by Canon USA’s Explorers of Light Program and by Delkin Devices. It is full of very excellent photo tips. (He was quoting me :)) And the two images of me speaking are quite creative. You can check out the images and Blake’s Photo ABCs blog here.
BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #349 is On-line Now
BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #349 is On-line now and–thanks to Peter Kes–you can view it here.
Here are the features:
- CANON LIVE LEARNING/BIRDS OF THE EVERGLADES WORKSHOP with ARTHUR MORRIS:
FEB 4-6, 2011
- THE EARLY WORD ON BOSQUE
- GALAPAGOS 2011
- CANON GEAR FOR SALE
- GREECE/DALMATIAN PELICANS with ARTHUR MORRIS & ROBERT O’TOOLE
- A GUIDE TO PLEASING BLURS
- SHOPPER’S GUIDE
- IPT UPDATES
Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the Sandhill Crane image above.
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
And from the BAA On-line Store:
Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head
Double Bubble Level
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
December 1st, 2010
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“Snow Geese Heading Home” was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 50. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/13 sec. at f/14 in Tv Mode.
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Kruger-2-Kalahari Interview
Mario Fazekas of Kruger-2-Kalahari.com has kindly posted a fine 15-question interview of yours truly here. Be sure to surf around the site after you read the interview and check out some really fine African nature photography.
Here is a short excerpt from the interview:
7. Of your many IPT (Instructional Photo-Tour) workshops, which is your favorite and why?
Bosque del Apache NWR because of the birds, the spectacle, the light, and the connection to the memory of my beloved late wife, Elaine Belsky Morris. As I put the finishing touches on this interview my group is enjoying Bosque at its incredible best…
8. What makes a workshop successful from the student’s perspective?
Learning to think like a pro, learning to evaluate situations, getting some great images, and having an instructor who gives a damn.
Seeing me at work in the field, always moving, always switching gear and gears. And of course the killer classroom sessions where a good part of the learning occurs.
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Peter Kes, who designed and created both the new BIRDSASART.com and the Blog that you are now reading created this image of me on the recent Bosque IPT where he served as one of our great co-leaders. He posted this in the Friends and Family Forum at BPN here under the title, “Boss del Apache.” You gotta love it. This image is courtesy of and copyright 2010/Peter Kes. Check out Peter’s excellent, interesting and informative photo blog, Nature Notions, here or inquire about having him design your web site or blog.
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Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear used to create the Bosque image above.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
Delkin e-Film Pro UDMA 32gb Compact Flash Card
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 30th, 2010
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Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 1.4X II TC (hand held at 280mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200: 1/15 sec. at f/4 in Tv Mode.
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Flames and More…
On one of our many trips around the Farm Loop on the recently concluded Bosque IPT, the bright colors of a stand of vegetation caught my eye. When I exited my rental car everyone had a puzzled look on their faces as there were zero birds in sight. “We’re gonna do blurs” I explained. The colors had caught my eye. It was up to each of us to create attractive patterns by choosing a slow shutter speed and moving the camera during the exposure. Within minutes everyone was into it big time. To create the image above, I simply panned the camera vertically during the exposure. We did lots of image sharing right there in the field and there were lots of oohs and ahs. When I showed this one around everyone thought that the image looked like flames.
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Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 160. Evaluative metering +1/3 stops: 1/13 sec. at f/18. Image courtesy of and copyright 2010: James E. Heupel.
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Jim Heupel, who was my right-hand man on the Iceland trip a few years back, has been co-leading Bosque IPTs with me for several years. He was the Chief Judge for the United States Air Force for seven years before he retired a while back. He is a fine nature and landscape photographer, and also enjoys photographing World War II re-enactments. On the Bosque IPT Jim did a Lightroom Basics program for the group. As he was scrolling through his images the one above jumped out at me. As I did, most folks asked, “Where did you get that?” While we had enjoyed some nice sunrise color that morning, all agreed that Jim’s image was unique. When I asked him how he created it he said, “I moved the camera vertically while panning with the flock, just as Denise (Ippolito) suggested that we do in last night’s Blurry Day program.” Denise uses that technique often for a variety of natural history subjects but I had never thought of trying it with a flock of Snow Geese in flight in the pre-dawn as Jim did. Looks a lot like flames to me. Thanks to Jim for sharing this wonderful image with us here.
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Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 1.4X II TC (hand held at 215mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 50: 1/8 sec. at f/20 in Manual Mode. I screwed a 77mm stop neutral density filter onto the front of the new 70-200 which is fast becoming one of my very favorite ever lenses. The correct exposure was determined via a histogram check.
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If you look at the distant mountains, you can see the vertical pan-blurred background streaks. And if you look at the geese in the lower right corner of the image, you can see that that look like straight white lines. When the flock blasted off I followed their movement by raising the camera vertically thus creating the pan-blurred background and foreground streaks. As Denise and I point out repeatedly in “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs,” digital allows folks to play, experiment, and have lots of fun. And once you have $10,000 to $30,000 worth of cameras, lenses, accessories, computers, compact flash cards, and software, it’s all free!
Moving your camera vertically while creating pleasing blurs can be a great strategy.
Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear used to create the images above.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
And from the BAA On-line Store:
Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Wimberley VII Tripod Head
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 29th, 2010
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Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 set manually.
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Flight Photography Considerations: Wind and Sun Direction & Subject Tonality
On my busman’s holiday morning yesterday we had perfect flight photography conditions for about 30 minutes: when the wind shifted from the north/northwest (the worst!) to the south/southeast at about 8:30 we had the geese landing right at us with the sun at our backs. Birds will always land and takeoff into the wind. The adult blue morph Snow Goose in the image above came in just a shade to my left of right down sun angle.
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Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/2000 sec. at f/9 set manually. Fine point: note that for the white morph adult Snow Goose image I used 1/3 stop less light than for the blue morph image above.
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The adult white morph Snow Goose in the image above came in just a very few degrees off the perfect light angle.
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Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/1250 sec. at f/8 set manually. Fine point: note that for this immature dark morph Snow Goose image I used one full stop more light than for adult white morph image above.
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The young blue morph Snow Goose in the image above came in slightly to my right of perfect sun angle. With the top of the cottonwood tree in the lower left corner of the frame I like the high-in-the-frame upper-right placement of the subject here as it yielded perfect compositional balance.
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Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/1650 sec. at f/8 set manually. Fine point: note that for this immature white morph Snow Goose I used 1/3 stop more light than for the adult white morph image above.
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Here the wind has shifted to the southwest; this is an ideal condition for creating images of birds landing parallel to the imaging sensor. At this point we have seen images of both young and adult light and dark morph Snow Geese.
If my comments on exposure (which are based on the varying tonalities of the geese) confuse you, you need to get a hold of the ABP/ABP II combo (and save $10 in the process). Then you need to study the section on exposure theory in the original “The Art of Bird Photography” (soft cover) and follow that up with work on the Exposure Simplified section in “The Art of Bird Photography II” (916 pages on CD only). If you already own the books and are still confused than you need to either hit the books or join an IPT.
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Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6 set manually. In a given lighting situation I use the same exposure for both Sandhill Cranes and the young white morph Snow Geese as both are gray birds with small patches of white. This image was made as the birds flew into a south/southwest wind in early morning. The soft early morning light required a slow shutter speed and a wider aperture than I used for the young white morph Snow Goose image above. The crane flying with its feet tucked in indicates that it was a very cold morning with the temps in the teens.
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I will be photographing at Bosque in about forty minutes and fly home this afternoon. Be sure to see the complete Bosque IPT report in the next Bulletin.
Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the images above.
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
And from the BAA On-line Store:
Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head
Double Bubble Level
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 27th, 2010
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This image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8IS L II (hand held at 145mm) and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/13 sec. at f/13 in Tv Mode. Even dead clear mornings can provide nice color at Bosque. You do not need to add as much light as you might think at sunrise lest you risk blowing the RED channel. And Tv mode with either ISO Safety Shift of Auto ISO (as described in detail in both the 7D and the Mark IV User’s Guide) is the best way to go despite the protestations of the “real photographers work only in Manual mode” folks….
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My Thoughts on Sharp vs Intentionally Blurred
Several folks who commented hit the nail on the head as far as I see it. Both are fine images. I like them both. But my very great preference is for the intentionally blurred image of the four cranes. What can I say? I have always liked blurs. And for me, this one is very special as the impressionistic blur of the wings of the four birds seem almost like the wings of a single creature. And I too love the light and the Southwestern colors.
This is not to say that one image is better than the other as that of course is strictly personal choice. I could however guarantee that the wigeon image would have zero chance of doing anything in a BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition while the crane image might do well in the right year….
Bosque Wrap-up
The 2010 “The Complete Bosque Experience IPT” concluded on Saturday afternoon with a visit to the Albuquerque Zoo. We had a great group, more than our fair share of clouds, some spectacular sunrise and sunset colors, and lots of south winds. And as I have stated already, conditions at the refuge were better than they have been in years. We had a great crew of co-leaders: Peter Kes from Switzerland provided lots of technical experitise in several areas, Denise Ippolito shared her creative genius, Jim Heupel was his all-around helpful self, and Robert O’Toole, though suffering through a very nasty cold, was there to assist all, to provide expert guidance to the Nikon folks, and to help me decide where to be and when. Thanks to all of the co-leaders and to all of those who filled yet another IPT. Be sure to see the next Bulletin for the complete trip report.
Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the image above.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
And from the BAA On-line Store:
7D & Mark IV User’s Guides
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 24th, 2010
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This image was created in Tanzania in January 2001 as I shared a safari van with Wes and Patti Ardoin. I used the Canon 28-135mm IS zoom lens (hand held at 135mm) with the EOS-10D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/100 sec. at f/14 in Av Mode. The zebra stallion was mourning the death of his mare. We learned later on that morning that she had died during the birthing process. All of the other vans opted to leave the scene to have breakfast in the field. Wes and Patti agreed to stay with me and photograph until the drama played out. At the time, I was still mourning the death of my wife Elaine Belsky Morris so it was a moving experience for me seeing the stallion so obviously in love and so obviously sad.
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In Memoriam: Wes Ardoin
I first met Patti Ardoin at a seminar that I conducted in Baton Rouge, LA probably some time in the mid-1990s. I returned a few years later to Baton Rouge and this time Patti dragged Wes with her to the full day program. Wes stated plainly that he had no interest in wildlife photography. Patti on the other hand was addicted. Well, Wes must have enjoyed the seminar because in short order he had his own 500 IS lens. Over the next few years Wes and Patti traveled with me on many IPTs including the Photo-Safari mentioned above and a great Katmai Bear Boat IPT among others.
The rookery at Lake Martin, LA near the Ardoin’s home in Lafayette used to be a great place to photograph nesting Great Egret, nesting Roseate Spoonbill, Barred Owl, and lots more. After photographing there once on my own I decided to schedule a Lake Martin Spoonbill IPT. I believe that we did two of them. Well, Wes and Patti hosted each event at their home. On the night of the introductory slide program Patti would prepare a huge crawfish etouffee dinner for the group. And that was followed by the slide program. In their living room.
I learned with great sadness today that Wesley H. Ardoin died at home on Monday, November 22, 2010 at age 68. I just got off the phone with Patti. When I said to her, “When I think of Wes I think of the fact that he always had a smile on his face and was quick with a funny story or a joke” she said, “You’re right,” and then started laughing out loud.
Wes and Patti were married for 49 years. They began dating when they were 14 after meeting at the home of Patti’s cousin. They have 5 children, 4 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild on the way. Wes was an orthodontist. I attended several staff parties and can honestly say that the man was loved by each and every one of his employees.
I relish the time that I spent with Wes and Patti. They were as happy a couple as I have ever encountered, always happy, always smiling, always loving what is. And always laughing. Wes and I loved to swap fishing stories. Though I never made it to his fishing camp, I felt as if I knew the place well.
I had such a wonderful relationship with Wes that many years ago I began calling him “Pops.” He will be sorely missed and remembered with love by all who knew him. I love you Pops.
November 23rd, 2010
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This image, “Sandhill Crane, Family of Four” was created this morning with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 50. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/8 sec. at f/10 in Tv Mode.
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Which Do You Prefer: Soft or Sharp?
Let me know with a short comment which image you like best, the crane blur or the sharp wigeon. And do let us know why. As always, if you’d like to learn to create pleasing blurs, check out: “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs” by Denise Ippolito and yours truly.
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This image, “American Wigeon Landing” was also created this morning. I used the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens with the 2X II TC (hand held at 400mm) and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1600 sec. at f/8.
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Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the images above.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens
Canon EF Teleconverter 2X II
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
And from the BAA On-line Store:
Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 21st, 2010
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This zoom blur was created with the tripod-mounted 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/3 sec. and f/18. (Zoomed from long to wide.) To learn to make images like this plus everything that you wanted to know about creating pleasing blurs but were afraid to ask, check out: “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs” by Denise Ippolito and yours truly.
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Bosque Is Rocking!
When I spoke to Jim Neiger last week, he said, “It’s the worst year ever, worse than last year.” I have been hearing the dire predictions for more than a decade but in recent years they have proven to be true. But this year, I knew that there was corn. Today, the first day of the 2010 The Complete Bosque Experience IPT, was one of the best days I have had here in 16 years. We started with a spectacular sunrise, enjoyed great blackbird and geese blast-offs, had some great incoming flight photography with single geese, and finished with a spectacular sunset filled with birds. Whew.
Congrats to the Bosque management team for getting it right: this year is Bosque like it used to be! And for the third straight year Gary Roleuau and his team of volunteer Animals did a great job of opening many strategically placed viewing windows. Thanks a stack guys and gals!
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This blackbird motion blur was created with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens and the 1.4X II teleconverter (hand held at 280mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/8 sec. and f/22 set manually.
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This Snow Goose blast-off blur was created with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens hand held at 80mm with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/13 sec. at f/18 in Tv Mode.
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This banking Snow Goose image was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop off the sky: 1/2000 sec. and f/9 set manually.
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This landing Snow Goose image was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop off the sky: 1/2000 sec. and f/8 set manually.
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This sunset silhouette with killer cloud image was created with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens hand held at 88mm with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/500 sec. at f/3.2. This was created at one of my favorite sunset spots, a spot that few serious photographers ever visit. To make the most of your Bosque visit get your self a copy of the Bosque Site Guide–the next best thing to being on an IPT.
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Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the images above.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens
Canon EF Teleconverter 1.4X II
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
And from the BAA On-line Store:
Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 18th, 2010
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This California Brown Pelican was photographed on Wednesday morning past in La Jolla, CA with the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens, the 2X II TC, and the EOS-7D hand held at 342mm. (You gotta love the versatility of zoom lenses.) ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. Bright sun fill flash at 0.
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Canon 70-200 with the 2X II TC and the EOS-7D
With all the success that I have had with the new 70-200, the 2X, and the Mark IV, folks have been clamoring for info on how the new lens and the 2X II TC would do with the 7D. I used the 7D on Wednesday morning after the sun broke through with the 70-200 f/2.8 IS L II and the 2X. For images of static subjects the combo performed superbly. I had only a few chances with birds in flight, too few to offer any substantive opinion….
Folks need to realize that with the 1.6X multiplier effect of the 7D that it will be more difficult to hold the rig steady than with the Mark IV with its 1.3X multiplier effect: 640 compared to 520. And errors of equipment shake are multiplied by the square of the focal length, not by the focal length alone. This of course goes quadruple for folks who are hand holding. Do not think that you can go out with the new 70-200, the 2X TC, and your 7D and make sharp images in any light without using a tripod. You need to have superb sharpness techniques when hand holding this combo. And lots of shutter speed. And you need to understand how your choice of AF mode (One-Shot or AI Servo) will influence focusing accuracy and therefore image sharpness….
The image above, however, shows that the combo can produce superbly sharp images in the right conditions when used by folks who know what they are doing.
One note about flight photography: in most flight situations, there would be little need to use the 2X II TC with the 70-200 and the 7D. With the 1.6 multiplier effect of the camera all that you will need most of the time for hand held flight photography is the 1.4X teleconverter. And I have no doubt that that combination will acquire focus quickly, track accurately, and produce a high percentage of razor sharp on the eye images….
You can learn how to better use your 7D by purchasing a copy of our 7D User’s Guide. For this image I had set a different focusing sensor for vertical camera orientation. Learn how in the 7D UG. The update will be sent very soon.
I fly to Albuquerque, NM to pick up Denise Ippolito and Peter Kes. The Bosque IPT begins tomorrow night. If you are in the neighborhood and would like to attend the introductory slide program as my guest, be at K-Bobs at about 6:45 pm.
Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the image above:
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon EF Teleconverter 2X II
Canon EOS 7D
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 16th, 2010
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Brown Pelican in Peach Heaven, La Jolla, CA. I created this image on Monday morning past with my favorite new combo, the hand held 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens, the 2X II TC, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. Flash at zero. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +2 1/3 stops: 1/60 sec. at f/6.3 in Tv Mode (to control a minimum shutter speed). See more on this image here.
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The Three Big Canon Gear Questions
#1: How much will the new Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II weigh?
#2: How much will the new Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II weigh?
I saw and lifted the new Canon 400mm f/2.8L IS II (never a choice of mine for bird photography but great in some situations and for photographing big mammals in low light) and was blown away by its small size and light weight. The brand new EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM weighs just 8.5 lbs., a whopping 28% lighter than the current EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. Amazing. Though I am positive the that weight reduction in the new 500 and the new 600 will not be as great percentage-wise as it is with the 400 2.8, I am eagerly awaiting the official weigh in 🙂
#3: What’s the real story with the two new Series III teleconverters?
Though nobody knows anything for sure as the neither the 1.4X TC III or the 2X TC III have been available for testing, here is the official wording.
“Extenders EF 1.4X III and EF 2X III have been newly developed in conjunction with the new Series II Image Stabilizer EF super-telephoto lenses. They can also be used with all previously announced extender-compatible EF lenses, but maximum performance is achieved when they are used with the new 300mm, 400mm, 500mm and 600mm lenses. The following sections provide more detailed information.”
The above from the info packed article by Chuck Westfall here.
I have learned that the two new TCs each have a micro-computer that will be able to communicate only with the four new super-telephoto lenses and that the vastly improved speed of initial focusing acquisition and more accurate focus tracking will only be there with the four new lenses. There will be improvement in image quality with all of the older compatible lenses (again, see Chuck’s article here), but they will be marginal.
Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used to create the image above:
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon EF Teleconverter 2X II
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 13th, 2010
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Brown Pelican in flight; early morning light. Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II with the 2X II teleconverter and the EOS-1D Mark IV handheld at 365mm. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops off the sky: 1/16000 sec. at f/5.6 set manually. Central sensor AI Servo AF with expansion to include surrounding points. Rear button focus.
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Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II & 2X II Teleconverter Report
I arrived in San Diego on Thursday afternoon and got out to La Jolla for a few hours on Friday morning. I speak on Saturday and Sunday at Photo Expo West in Delmar, CA. Admission if free so come on out and say “Hi.” For more info and the speaking schedule click here.
My main photographic mission while here in San Diego is to test the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L II (the latest version) with the EF teleconverter 2X II and the EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. After just two hours on the cliffs of La Jolla this morning I can tell you that the combination is both versatile and insanely sharp. If anyone has shown me the optimized TIFFs and told me that they were created with the 2X teleconverter I simply would not have believed them. Thanks to Patrick Sparkman for the heads up on this great combo; he used it extensively in the Galapagos. I did not have many chances for flight photography but the image above tells me all that I need to know 🙂 I will however keep testing.
Enjoy the rest of the images. Note: the new Series III teleconverters will be available soon. Mark IV owners who are confused by any of the AF or other settings mentioned here should get themselves a copy of the recently updated Mark IV User’s Guide. The updated 7D User’s Guide will not be sent until at least next Wednesday as the additions are more extensive than I had envisioned.
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First winter Western Gull sleeping. Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II with the 2X II teleconverter and the EOS-1D Mark IV handheld at 400mm. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1 set manually. Central sensor AI Servo AF with expansion to include surrounding points. Rear button focus and recompose.
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Brown Pelicans on the rocks; early morning light with the distant Pacific Ocean as background. Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II with the 2X II teleconverter and the EOS-1D Mark IV handheld at 335mm. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops off the sky: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6. set manually. Central sensor AI Servo AF with expansion to include surrounding points. Rear button focus and recompose.
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Whimbrel calling. Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II with the 2X II teleconverter and the EOS-1D Mark IV handheld at 300mm. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops off the sky: 1/1250 sec. at f/6.3 set manually. Central sensor AI Servo AF with expansion to include surrounding points. Rear button focus and recompose. Only one thing bugs me about this image. If you think you know what it is, please do post a comment.
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Surfer. Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II with the 2X II teleconverter and the EOS-1D Mark IV handheld at 400mm. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops off the sky: 1/1600 sec. at f/7.1 set manually. I manually selected the third sensor to the left of the central sensor/AI Servo AF with expansion to include surrounding points. Rear button focus. As I have been saying: astoundingly sharp. On the TIFF, I can see the guys whiskers.
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Shopper’s Guide
Here is a list of the gear that I used on the cliffs on Friday morning:
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
Canon EF Teleconverter 2X II
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 10th, 2010
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As you might guess, the E stands for eagle, but the E looks a lot bigger than the eagle did as it sat atop the telephone pole….
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Bald Eagle Gear (and a Whole New World) Revealed
Right after I got my 800, I tried to make a few images with the 2X teleconverter. Even with the Mark IV I had to focus manually as the pro bodies focus down to f/8 but not to f/11. I made quite a few images and the results were horrific; not a single image was anywhere near sharp. I did not realize at the time that the problem was a result of inaccurate (manual) focusing by yours truly. Recently I have been getting out each morning to photograph near my home for an hour or so. On Monday morning past, things were a bit slow so I decided to try something new, something based on a tip from early 7D User’s Guide purchaser Dave Hardcastle.
A pair of Bald Eagles sat on top of the telephone pole that you see in the image above. I set up the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with stacked teleconverters; the 2X goes on the lens and the nose of the 1.4X fits into the back of the 2X. I mounted one of my EOS-1D Mark VI bodies to the 1.4X. Next came David’s killer tip: while working in Live View I set the AF Mode to Live mode. The system focused very slowly but very accurately. When I saw how sharp the images were I was amazed. You can learn more about this technique and about using Live View for nature photography in both the MIV User’s Guide and the 7D User’s Guide. The MIV User’s Guide was just updated and the 7D User’s Guide update should be finished by the time I get to San Diego at about noon tomorrow; I will be speaking at Photo Expo West in Del Mar this coming weekend. Click here and scroll down for more info.
Using this technique will indeed open up a whole new world of long distance photography of static birds and animals. That reminds me, 800 X 2 X 1.4 X 1.3 = 2912mm effective (or equivalent) focal length, a tidy 58.24 magnification. While this was a one-time success I am optimistic that the results can be duplicated on a consistent basis. I’d estimate that I was about 70 yards from the bird….
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Gear as noted above. ISO 800: Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/11.
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November 9th, 2010
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My right-hand man Jim Litzenberg and I traveled down to Naples, FL on Friday afternoon so that I could help out my friend James S. White on Saturday morning. Jim was leading a photo group at the Naples Botanical Gardens. This beautiful place exists only because of the vision and hard work of Jim’s wife Linda. Though I brought my macro lens on the walk, I never used it, turning instead to my trusty super telephoto lens. This water lily image was created in the pre-dawn light with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/30 sec. at f/8. Rear button focus with the star and AF-On buttons switched as detailed in the recently updated Mark IV User’s Guide.
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Is it Photography or ….
I presented four programs on Sunday morning at the FCCC statewide convention teaching pretty much non-stop to a standing room only crowd for 4 1/2 hours but for a 3-minute pit stop. My spiel was very well received. Jim Litzenberg manned the BIRDS AS ART table and did a land-office business with the books and educational CDs. After lunch I helped judge a print contest. And after the keynote presentation I was asked to join a panel discussion. I am not positive of the topic but I think that it went something like this: Is it photography or is it graphic art?
The other three panelists were Photoshop expert Jane Zizer, veteran Sarasota photographer Carmen Schettino, and renowned black and white fine art photographer Clyde Butcher. Though Clyde’s work is breathtakingly spectacular, the term “fine art photographer” always sticks in my craw. What are the rest of us doing; not-so-fine art photography? I met Clyde a good five years ago at a similar conference in Florida. He attended my program and I attended his. Afterwards I went up to him, shook his hand, and told him how much I had enjoyed his program. To the very best of my memory, his response was, “Bird photography is easy.” Then he turned and walked away….
As I walked up to my seat on the panel, I was mentally pulling on the gloves, getting ready for battle as the moderator mentioned something about digital manipulation. Is what folks are doing today photography? Within minutes I was amazed. First Clyde Butcher stated that if he noted a cigarette butt in one of his masterpieces that he would remove it. I almost fell off of my chair. Then Carmen said that when he was judging–something that he does quite often, that he was fine with whatever you did in Photoshop as long as he could not tell that you did anything. I commented, “So it’s not digital manipulation that you are against, it’s bad digital manipulation.” That got a big laugh. Someone asked me what a photograph was. I answered, it’s what you get when you push the shutter button, whether a piece of film or a digital file.
I explained that 99% of my images were true to the natural history of the moment. That I often used present day technology to remove distracting elements from my images and to add canvas and occasionally a wing tip. That I labeled my images honestly and always let folks know what we did to create an image. And that whenever I entered a contest I followed the rules to the letter.
The moderator asked whether I was a graphic artist or a photographer. I said, “Both. Just like all the other photographers gathered here.” That brought a big cheer. Good questions from the audience brought the four of us closer and closer to total agreement. And that is just what the four of us did. We agreed that it was only the end result, the final photograph, that mattered. Did your creation move folks? Did it have impact? Was it beautiful? Did it make people smile, or make them think?
What you choose to call the final product did not matter to any of us. A photograph? A photo illustration? A manipulated image? A digital creation? Who cares? Is it beautiful, dramatic, interesting, thought-provoking? If yes, then it’s art (whether or not anyone ever buys the print!)
Feel free to share your thoughts below with a comment.
Bald Eagle Sharpness Comments
The wide variety of opinions as to whether or not the Bald Eagle image in yesterday’s post was sharp or not was amazing by not surprising. To me, the JPEG looks plenty sharp. The eye of the eagle is razor sharp. The black feathers are sharp. The head feathers in the presented JPEG might not look very sharp, but in the optimized TIFF, they are. Creating a JPEG always increases the contrast in an image; that might account for some folks stating that white head feathers are not sharp.
I will be back with the answers to questions 2 and 3 asap. If anyone wants to go to Greece in late February with Robert O’Toole and me to photograph the spectacular Dalmatian Pelicans, please e-mail me tonight for advance notice of the details at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
Shopper’s Guide
Here is the gear that I used to create the water lily image:
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
And from the BAA On-line Store:
Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head
Double Bubble Spirit Level
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 8th, 2010
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Sorry 🙂 I will be sharing the tech specs for this image after I hear from y’all.
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Bald Eagle Image Questions
I created this image this morning. Here is a list of the gear that I had in my car:
Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens
Canon 400mm IS DO lens
Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Canon EOS-7D
Canon 1.4X II TC
Canon 2X II TC
Ok, here are the questions:
1-Does the image look sharp to you?
2-What gear did I use to create the image?
3-What was the effective focal length of the gear that I used? Lens length X teleconverter (or teleconverterss) X multiplier effect (1.3) of the camera.
Pretty easy, no?
The answers will be coming soon.
Shopper’s Guide
Here is the gear that I had in the car with me this morning:
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens
Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens
Canon 70-200mm f/4 l IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
Canon EOS 7D
Canon EF Teleconverter 1.4X II
Canon 2X II teleconverter
And from the BAA On-line Store:
Gitzo 3530 LS Tripod
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head
Double Bubble Spirit Level
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.
November 4th, 2010 Photoshop Lesson Continued: A Jim Howell Question
After yesterday’s post Jim Howell asked the following question in the Comments section:
“Arthur, this is a great composite and thanks for this tutorial, APBII, Digital Basics and thank you Robert for APTATS. I’ve looked and looked at the photos – where was the blur necessary?”
Good question Jim. And thanks for your kind words. I love this one too, especially as it looks as if the stretching bird is staring at the other two. I will answer your question in this post with my comments on two close-up images.
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This image is a tight crop of the branch after I lined up the two images. As you can see, everything to the right of the red line is sharp, everything to the left is blurred. That is especially noticeable in the rotted section.
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Everything to the left of the red line is the introduced layer. First I wanted to restore the sharpness in the wood above the rotted part so I created a layer mask on the introduced layer and erased the soft stuff that covered the sharper clean wood below. The problem was that there was still an obvious sharp soft demarcation in the rotted wood….
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Next I flattened the two layers and then painted a Quick Mask of the sharper rotted wood on the right. Then I applied about a 1 pixel Gaussian blur until the texture of the rotted portion matched fairly well.
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Though my repair might stand up to pixel by pixel scrutiny it looked a whole lot better than it did before the additional work 🙂
Thanks again Jim for the great question.
November 3rd, 2010
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This image is a stitched, offset composite. The two originals were created within moments of each other with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops off the sky set manually: 1/160 sec. at f/16. .
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Photoshop Lesson, For Randy
I was photographing all three vultures (at f/16 for lots of depth-of-field) when the Black Vulture on our right hopped out on the branch to stretch one wing. Thinking digitally and thinking fast I created two images of the stretching bird and then pointed the camera left and down, re-focused on the eye of the Black Vulture on the left, and created an image of the two birds on the left (with a bit of overlap). I had a plan! I was in my Toyota Sequoia working on the BLUBB with a Double Bubble Level in the hot shoe.
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When I saw the vulture do an elegant wing stretch, I focused on the eye using rear focus AF, recomposed, and made two images. This was the best.
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My first thought was that I could crop out most of the intruding Turkey Vulture from the left side of the frame and cover the rest of it with a Quick Mask. But then the idea of creating a composite came into my mind.
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So I re-framed down and left, focused on the eye of the Black Vulture on the left, and created three more images.
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The image above had the best head angles.
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First I used a series of Quick Masks to cover the back of the Black Vulture on the right of the frame.
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Then I expanded canvas above.
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Now it was time to work on the original wing stretch image.
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First I used a series of Quick Masks to cover the portion of the intruding bird on the left. Then I expanded canvas below. And then I added a ton of canvas on the right so that I could bring in the other two birds on a layer.
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Next I went back to the image with the two birds, put them on their own layer (Control J), and moved them into position with the Move Tool (V).
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Notice that part of that layer covered the stretching bird. Not to worry. The main problem was to match the branch. By reducing the opacity of the introduced layer to 70% that was a snap. I noticed however that there were depth-of-field issues with the branch even though I was able to match the two sections perfectly by moving the layer up or down, right or left one pixel at a time with the arrow keys. The solution is below.
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Next I created a Layer Mask and erased the portion of the layer that covered the stretching bird.
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To deal with the depth of field differences I painted a Quick Mask of the too-sharp portion of the broken branch and applied a .7 pixel Gaussian Blur to it. Even blown up it looked much more natural.
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After that, I added the needed sky with another series of Quick Masks. (Thanks Robert; I couldn’t live without them!) Then it was some of the usual clean-up, some Tim Grey Dodge and Burn, some Eye Doctor work, and a few contrast masks to sharpen the heads of the three birds non-destructively. And voila. Vision accomplished.
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Most of what I did above is detailed in our Digital Basics File, which includes the basics of Quick Masking. Advanced Quick Masking Techniques are taught in Robert O’Toole’s APTATS I. Everything that I learned about Layer Masks I learned from Robert’s APTATS II.
Tim Grey Dodge and Burn will be covered in the next update to Digital Basics; I hope to finish that before the end of the year 🙂
BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #345
BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #345 is on-line now and can be viewed here thanks to the hard work of Peter Kes.
The Bulletin includes a slew of great vulture images and lots of great info on the Canon EOS-7D and our EOS-7D User’s Guide.
Here is a list of the features:
- FCCC APPEARANCE/NAPLES FLORIDA: NOVEMBER 7
- CANON EOS-7D USERS GUIDE UPDATE
- CANON EOS-7D USERS GUIDE KUDOS
- CANON USERS GUIDE COMPLAIN E-MAILS
- MARK IV USERS GUIDE UPDATE SENT
- BOSQUE IPT AND BLURRY DAY LATE REGISTRATION DISCOUNTS
- THANKSGIVING AT BOSQUE
- CANON USED 70-200M F/2.8 L IS FOR SALE/PRICE REDUCED
- A GUIDE TO PLEASING BLURS
- POSSE NEWS/ROBERT AMORUSO
- SHOPPERS GUIDE
- IPT UPDATES
SHOPPERS GUIDE
Here is the gear that I used to create the two vulture images:
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body
And from the BAA On-line Store:
Double Bubble Level
BLUBB: the Big Lens Ultimate Beanbag
If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shoppers Guide.
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