July 21st, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| This immature Galapagos Hawk was photographed with the handheld 70-200mm f/4L IS lens (at 75mm) and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. Evaulative metering +2 stops: 1/640 sec. at f/7.1. |
After a successful but long and arudous walk on the 3 mile trail at Urbina Bay we planned to call the pangas once we got back to the beach.  We were, however, delayed when we were met there by about a dozen Galapagos Hawks. Our brilliant guide, Juan Salcedo, theorized that a turtle nest had hatched the day before and that the birds had returned in hopes of another feast. The birds were ridiculousy tame; at times, they landed on our lenses. With clear skies, bright sun, and the wind against the sun we worked hard to create some pleasing backlit images.Â
| [Not a valid template] |
| This image is copyright and courtesy of Keith Kennedy a participant on this year's Photo Cruise and a multiple IPT veteran. |
Thanks Keith! I believe that this image was created at virtually the same instant as the opening image above.  Do note my Sun Protection Hood. See the BAA store for more info on this great product.  And as always, you can click on each image to see a larger version.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This yawning backlit youngster was photographed with the Canon 800mm f.5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/9. |
See the informative BPN thread on this image here: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=41523Â
| [Not a valid template] |
| Image created with the handheld Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens at 127 mm with the EOS-1Dn MII. |
Careful readers might be asking why I was using the old 1Dn II.    Well, I was carrying Doug Holstein’s 500 rig over some big lava rocks and our guide Juan wound up far ahead carrying my 800 with the MIII on it.   Suddenly, one of the young hawks was hovering right above me so I grabbed Doug’s camera and the short zoom lens from my Xrtrahand vest and went to work.
All in all it was a truly amazing experience. I only wish that we had been there for a turtle hatching. Maybe next year….
More panga stuff coming soon.
July 20th, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| These braying, displaying Galapagos Penguins were photographed with the handheld Canon 400mm IS DO lens and the EOS-1D MIII body. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop off the water set manually: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3. |
On my Galapagos trips, we do lots of photography from the pangas (Zodiacs).  The 400 DO (diffractive optical elements) lens is great when working from the boat as it is relatively light in weight and has image stabilization. With 6-8 photographers in each panga lots of cooperation is needed to ensure that everyone gets some great images. Above I was lucky as the two birds popped up right down sun angle and not too far from the boat.Â
If there are any nice, sweet, easy to get along with folks out there who would like to join me on the July 2010 Instructional Photo Cruise of a lifetime to the Galapagos, please shoot me an e-mail to birdsasart@att.net with the words Galapagos 2010 Info in the Subject Line.  Or, see the same here: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=41606.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This begging baby penguin with Mom was photographed with the same gear as above. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/4. |
| [Not a valid template] |
| Baby alone posing. Same gear. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/4. |
As always, you can click on each image to see a larger version.  Note that in all three images above I chose my ISO so that I would have enough shutter speed to make a sharp image. And in the two images above note that I had to work at the wide open aperture to attain a fast enough shutter speed.
Coming soon: more images made fromt the Pangas.
July 19th, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| This Galapagos Tortoise was photographed with the 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/80 sec. at f/9. |
I am posting this (I hope) from the Panama City, Panama Airport on the way home from an amazing Galapagos trip.  I will be sharing lots of details on this killer journey with you via blog and Bulletin in the coming days.  Photographing more than two dozen tortoises on Thursday on Puerto Ayora was just one of the many trip highlights.
July 8th, 2009 Wow! I’ve been swamped.  Trying and failing to get my 2008 Income Taxes finished before I leave for the Galapagos this afternoon. Doing 50+ posts per day on my beloved BirdPhotographers.Net, packing, and taking care of business. I will be back in the office on July 20.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This pair of young dark phase Reddish Egrets was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 800. Evaluative Metering +1 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/5.6. |
To create this image I used One-Shot AF. When using One-Shot AF you press the shutter button to focus. As long as you keep the shutter button depressed half way, focus is locked. (In Nikon One-Shot is called “S” for Single Servo.) I focused on the eye of the bird on the left, held the shutter button down half way to lock focus, recomposed to create a pleasing juxtaposition, and created several images all while the bird held still. Learning to use One-Shot or “S” effectively is a great way for you to learn to create pleasing compostions.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This juvenile Little Blue Heron was photographed with the tripod-mounted 800mm f/5.6L lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3. |
When photographing birds in flight, in action, or in motion, it is almost always best to use AI Servo AF or “C, Continuous with Nikon. Both AI Servo and “C” track moving subjects and predict where they will be at the precise moment of exposure. I almost always use the central AF sensor when doing flight photography. Though not every image is sharply focused on the eye, both AI Servo AF and “C” often yield fantastic results.
For the more advanced folks: when trying to photograph two birds interacting in a horizontal frame, you can either choose an off center AF sensor and try to lock focus on one of the birds, or you can first activate the entire grid of sensors. Then acquire focus by putting one bird in the center of the array and recompose with one bird on each side of the frame. And hope for the best. (Neither of these techniques is foolproof. )
June 27th, 2009 I have made almost 8,000 comments on BNP (www.BirdPhotographers.Net) over the past year and a half and I am amazed at how often folks with equipment costing more than $5-10,000 are unaware of many of the fundamentals. In an effort to rectify that situation, and to help everyone improve, I will be posting a series of “Back to the Basics and More” pieces here on the BAA-Blog.  The “and More” tips will be for the intermediate and advanced photographers.
We start today with a simple premise: tall skinny subject almost always belong in vertical frames while subjects that are longer than they are tall usually do better in a horizontally oriented frame.  When you are handholding your gear, it is a simple matter of turning the camera on one end, framing the image, and pressing the shutter button.  With telephoto lenses mounted on tripods the lens itself needs to be rotated in the tripod collar when you wish to work in vertical format. Loosen the knob, rotate the lens barrel as needed, and then tighten the knob.  I use a bubble level in my hot shoe mount to ensure that my images are square to the world. You can find info on the Kaiser Duplex Spirit Level here: https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=5.Â
no images were found |
| Tripod-mounted Canon 180mm macro lens with the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 320. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/9. |
Notice: I rotated the lens in the tripod collar so that the long, tall blossom would fit easily into a vertical frame.  And More: this image was created at 9:45am on a clear morning. To avoid the harsh light I shaded the blossom with a large reflector that I held above my head. As the background was still sunlit I should have added two stops of light to the suggested exposure rather than the one stop that I did add. I lightened the image during the ACR conversion. You can click on the pickerelweed blossom above to see a larger verion of the image.Â
| [Not a valid template] |
| Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/10. |
Sparrows have long, relatively low profiles so they often look best in a horizotal frame.  Working at f/10 I was able to place the central focusing sensor on the bird’s breast and create a sharp image. To see this Savannah Sparrow image larger, simply click on the image above.   And More: to tone down the highlights on the perch I used Select/Color Range/Sampled Colors and clicked on the brightest parts of the perch. Then I softened the selection using Refine Edge, created a layer mask (Control J), added 10 points of black to the whites in Selective Color, and ran a 15% Linear Burn on the layer.Â
You can find a great tutorial on using Refine Edge in the Educational Resources Forum at BPN here: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=37503. In addition, there is tons more of free,  on-target info in ER.  Think of it as emergency treatment for what ails your photography!
Please let me know what you think of this new feature and feel free to suggest additional topics.
June 21st, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| This sweet looking coastal Brown Bear was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/5.6. At times, we had bears–including this one–as close as 6 feet from us. She was hiding behind my group in an effort to avoid the amorous advances of an old boar. As always, you can click on each image to view a larger version. |
If you are interested in making some money from your photography, check out my Resolve/Live Books blog post here:Â Â http://blog.livebooks.com/2009/06/alternative-income-streams-always-a-safe-bet/Â Be sure to surf around as there is tons of great info on this blog; I need to spend a full day there!
In this post, I will share some more images from my recent trip to Alaska.
| [Not a valid template] |
| These tiny Bald Eagle chicks were photographed with the Canon 24-105mm IS L zoom lens (handheld at 55mm) with the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/100 sec. at f/7.1. |
The nest is the nest of a pair of free and wild eagles. In Katmai, many eagles nest atop rocky crags and most are inaccessible to humans without serious climbing gear. To reach this nest we really risked life and limb, having to make a short but treacherous climb over seaweed covered rocks. Then we had to scramble up a pretty much vertical grass covered knoll. We visited the nest just once for about 30 minutes near the start of our 6-day stay in the area. The adults were not on the nest as we approached in the large skiff and did not react to our presence. The big boat that we were living on was actually anchored near the tiny island for most of our stay at Kukak Bay and the baby eagles were doing fine when we left five days after we created this image. When one of the adults was on the nest they were almost constantly harassed by a pair of Black Oystercatchers nesting about 40 feet from the eagles in a rocky crevice.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This landing Mew Gull was photographed at Potter's Marsh just south of Anchorage with the Canon 800mmm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark III. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop set manually: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6. |
Potter’s Marsh can be great for Mew Gull chicks in June in most years. This year they were nesting late.
| [Not a valid template] |
| I photographed these Black-legged Kittiwakes at their nesting wall at Whale Pass near Kodiak, AK. I used the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII handheld. ISO 800. evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/4. |
I will be back soon. Thanks for visiting.  All comments welcome.
June 16th, 2009 BIRDS AS ART On-Line Bulletin #291 is now online here: http://www.birdsasart.com/bn291.htm. As usual it is chock full of great images and tips, all from the recent bear boat trip. Enjoy, and see you here again soon.
June 14th, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| Blacklit Coastal Brown Bear, Katmai National Park, AK. See the image below for the techs. And do click on each image to view a larger version. I created the opening image from the image below. |
| [Not a valid template] |
| This image was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 640. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop (to preserve detail in the rim-lit fur): 1/200 sec. at f/9. |
The second image represents what I saw in the field, the first image is the one that I visualized.  It is much better to create an image with the histogram well to the right (as in the second image) than to try and create the opening image in camera.  Your files will contain much more info by following this approach.
Here is how I created the opening image.  First, I converted the RAW file in ACR. (When you do this, be sure that the rim-lit fur is not flashing.)  Next, I did a Levels adjustment by pulling the left-hand slider far to the right while holding down the Alt key (until the shape of the bear appeared almost solid black). Then I moved the middle-tone slider to the right to make the image even darker. I do these two things often to create blacker SILHs. Then I added Black to the Blacks and to the Neutrals in Selective Color as described in Digital Basics: https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=252.
This particular image was inspired directly by Miguel Lasa’s BBC honored blacklit Polar Bear image. (I thought that it deserved top honors….)  You can see Miguel’s winning image (in the Creative Visions of Nature category) here: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/photo.do?photo=2428&category=50&group=1 It would be interesting to see the RAW file.
I first came across the term “black light” in Andy Rouse’s latest and highly inspirational book, “Concepts of Nature.”  The opening image is a combination of Andy’s “Black Light” and his “Atmospheric Ring of Fire” concepts. You can learn more about this great book here: https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=53.  I have long pitched the idea that in order to improve folks need to look at as many great natural history images as possible, and in Concepts of Nature Andy has made that easy to do. I was so taken with the words and the pictures that we ordered fifty copies of Concepts of Nature so that the serious photographers on this side of the pond could take advantage of Andy’s brilliance.
| [Not a valid template] |
| Here is an abstract blacklit image of the backlit hump and back of a big bear. It was created with the same gear as the image above. ISO 500. Evaluative metering -2 1/3 stops, again to prevent flashing highlights in the rim-let fur: 1/800 sec. at f/11. |
I take pride in the fact that I have coined many terms commonly used by today’s nature photographers. Even though the opening image was jointly inspired by MIguel and Andy I will take credit for coming up with the term “blacklit.” I will be back soon to share more images from my Alaska trip.
June 11th, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| This coastal Brown Bear was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII (while I was lying flat on my belly in the mud). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/8. When working large subjects with large subject-to-camera distances the wide open aperture will offer sufficient depth-of-field; when working with small subjects close to minimum focusing distance you need to use smaller apertures in order to attempt to have enough depth-of-field to cover the entire subject. This grizzled old boar with a muddy forehead showed lots of character. As always you can click on each image to see a larger version. |
Well, the bear boat trip turned out to be quite a travel adventure. We awoke at 3:30am on June 4 to catch the 6:15 am flight to Kodiak where we would meet the boat. We took off on time. It was very foggy in Kodiak but as the plane descended we were thrilled to see the ground, but seconds later the pilot pulled up and began to circle; he had been unable to see the runway in front of him. We went round and round for about 25 minutes before heading back to Anchorage. We all got on the 3:00pm flight, but it was put on a weather hold. We finally departed at 4:15 pm, made it through an opening in the fog, and landed on Kodiak a bit after 5pm. By 6pm we had all of our bags and gear in an SUV and were headed for Anton Larson Bay to meet the boat.
After about 30 minutes of driving we were about 3 miles from the dock when the engine of the SUV simply quit. We spotted some folks down the road apiece and they agreed to ferry us and our gear for $100. It would have taken them about 3 or 4 trips as they had only a small vehicle, but just after they left for their first run our captain/guide Chuck and his girlfriend Olga drove up looking for us as we had been seriously delayed. We packed everything into the back of his pickup, climbed in, and headed for the boat.
By 8pm, after a great dinner, we were in the skiff photographing otters. All was well with the world. We photographed the otters again the next morning and then crossed the Shelikof Strait. It was quite windy and several of us wound up feeling a bit queasy. Multiple IPT veteran and dear friend Jim Heupel did get seasick, that after surviving a Drake Passage crossing with 40 foot waves this past winter. Go figure! Once we got into the bay at Katmai things calmed down and we wound up photographing two four or five five year old bears playing.
Skip ahead a few days. Our group of five and Chuck were surrounded by several coastal Brown Bears when we noticed that the wind had picked up considerably. Chuck had anchored both of his 65 foot boats—his next group was nine and he would need both boats—on a single anchor. He mentioned that he was a bit concerned that the boats might drag the anchor in the high winds but that he knew that his mate would have alerted him had there been a problem. (His radio, however, had been turned off….) A while back, I had noticed the mate and our cook in the skiff nearby and thought nothing of it, but when Chuck mentioned his concern I told him that his crew was in the skiff right offshore of where we were. He walked very quickly to the skiff, climbed aboard, and headed for the two boats.
We were able to see the two vessels through our long lenses and it looked as if they were in great danger. Had they come hard aground after smashing into each other? As it turned out, the anchor had dragged but the boats were both in navigable waters without any damage to either one. Whew!
On our next to last morning I realized, as I stepped off the skiff at high tide, that I had forgotten to put my NEOS overshoes on. As Chuck pulled away in the skiff I noted that I would be pretty much stuck in one spot as I would be unable to cross any of several fairly deep streams. I raised Chuck on the radio and asked him to bring me a pair of hip waders and he said that he would. Within 20 minutes he was back with the waders. He left the skiff, ran to shore to hand me the hip boots, and made his way back to the skiff. The only problem was that the tide had been dropping so fast the skiff was now barely afloat as the tide steamed out. I quickly put on my boots and joined Chuck in attempting to push the huge (about 25 feet) skiff into deeper water. It was rough going for several minutes as we strained with all of our might, Chuck having a lot more might than I. The boat was actually on the bottom several times and we had to push from the rear while lifting the skiff; finally the boat was floating with Chuck at the helm. (I knew that Chuck had a ton of work to do that day;Â if the skiff had been grounded we would all have been stuck there for about ten hours until the tide came back in.)
On 10 June, as we started our long journeys home, our bags—as a result of float plane delays—did not get to the Kodiak airport in time for our 4:45pm Alaska Airlines flight. All five of us were switched to the 7:45 ERA flight and will make our red-eye connections later tonight. Our plans to grab a day room at the Dimond Center Hotel for a quick shower and a nap did not materialize. All of us (but for George Brunt, who is laying over in Anchorage) are looking forward to getting home safely on the eleventh.
It is now the morning of 11 June and I am sitting bleary-eyed in the lounge at the Minneapolis airport after the red-eye flight from Anchorage. I will be back soon with tales of bears and eagles and of course, with more new images.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This adult Bald Eagle was photographed with the Canon 800mmm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. I metered the blue sky just above the horizon and added 2/3rds of a stop of light: 1/2000 of a second at f/7.1 set manually. A quick check of the histogram showed a perfect exposure. We had many great opportunites to photograph eagles on this trip. |
June 4th, 2009
no images were found |
| This young Osprey was photographed with the Canon 800mmm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-50D from my Toyota Sequoia. Then lens was supported by the BLUBB, the BAA Big Lens Ultimate Beanbag. ISO 400. Evaluative Metering +2/3 stop: 1/1250 sec. at f/8. |
I was home for a week and enjoyed some great Osprey photography down by Lake Walk-in-Water five minutes from my home. I am in the Anchorage airport with my group of 5 headed for Kodiak and then Katmai National Park for a week of bear photography. If I am not eaten by a bear I will be back in the office home on June 11. See you then!
no images were found |
| I got very close to this young bird and created this head portrait with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS 1-D MIII. ISO 320. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/11. |
May 27th, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| Canon 800mm f/5.6L lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. Flash at zero with the Better Beamer. (As a result of mis-setting the flash (I forgot to reduce the flash after changing the flash head batteries) this image was very light out of the box but Levels and Selecitve Color adjustments worked wonders as the image was not over-exposed.) |
I drove from Long Island, New York to Monterey, VA on Tuesday May 19 and met Dean Newman in hopes of photographing Golden-winged and Mourning Warblers.  On the clear, still morning of May 20 we photographed what I thought was a singing male Golden-winged but when I viewed the images on my laptop I realized that it was instead a 2nd generation back-cross Brewster’s Warbler, the result of hybirdization between Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers. Dean was disappointed that we had missed golden-winged and reminded me that blue-winged is out-competing golden-winged for breeding habitat and that golden-winged populations are declining precipitously as a result.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This male Chestnut-sided Warbler was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L lens, a 25mm Extension tube, and the EOS-1D MIII. This bird surprised me by landing on a small portion of sunlit perch. In retrospect I wish that I had had my 1.4X teleconverter on…. |
The next morning we tried for the elusive Mourning Warbler only to find that they had not yet arrived on territory.  We did well with a male Chestnut-sided Warbler. We lured him into range by judiciously playing its song on an i-pod speaker combination.  Dean and I decided to head for his home in Maryland in hopes of photographing Ovenbird, Wood Thrush, and Hooded and Kentucky Warbler.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This Ovenbird was photographed with the 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. I was attempting to use flash as main light (1/30 sec. at f/5.6) but the flash failed to fire. The resulting image was terribly underexposed but salvageable. |
The woods there turned out to be deep and dark.  I managed only one keeper photograph the first morning so I changed my Auto Train reservation from Monday to Saturday and headed to Lorton, VA after our Saturday morning session in a park near Prince Frederick, MD. The trip home was restful and uneventful and I arrived in Indian Lake Estates two days earlier than planned at about noon on Sunday, May 24.
| [Not a valid template] |
| To learn how I created this image, check out the BPN thread "Desperate Times…." by clicking on the active link below. |
http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=37180
My next post will be a trip summary.
May 21st, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| This Brant was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/320 sec. at f/6.7. Fill flash at -2 stops with the Better Beamer. Brant feed almost exclusively on sea lettuce and eel grass. |
I had a wonderful visit with my Mom, Hazel Morris who is 86.  She lives with my younger sister in Holbrook, NY. I made it to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on a foggy Saturday morning and was surprised to find lots of Brant by the North Channel Bridge. On my visit to the refuge proper only a single Tree Swallow was a cooperative subject. After lunch, I drove to the Marine Park Golf Course and walked the course. I had first set foot on the course probably 50 years ago before it was even opened officially.  It was built on top of a garbage dump and was not much of a course back then, long and pretty much wide open.  I was surprised to see that the course had matured beautifully and that the greens were superb.  I was even more amazed to see many large flocks of Brant on the golf course. In all they surely numbered more than 5,000.  While the bays of Brooklyn, Queens and Western Long Island are the epicenter of the wintering population of this species, I had never seen so many Brant in a single day in all the years that I lived and birded in New York; the species is doing quite weill.
On Monday May 18, I drove my Mom to downtown Brooklyn to see the hospital where she was born, the first house she lived in, and other spots in the old neighorhood. She was amazed to see how much had changed.  After lunch at Juniors Restaurant on Dekalb and Flatbush, we headed to the Marine Park section of Brooklyn, visited my elementary school (PS 207), Grandma Selma’s house, and the house where I had lived as a child. All in all it was a great day filled with many fond memories for both my Mom and I.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This Brant was threatening another. It was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 640. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/200 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. Fill flash at -2 stops with the Better Beamer. |
Â
| [Not a valid template] |
| This Tree Swallow was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/80 sec. at f/11. Fill flash at -2 stops with the Better Beamer. |
Though the end of the branch was broken and a thinner perch would have been ideal, I could not resist this cute and cooperative subject. He sat for more than 10 minutes for a portrait session.
May 19th, 2009 The feeders at Rondeau Provincial Park near the Vistor Centre at the head of the Tulip Trail are rife with birds, but photography there is difficult at best on sunny days. On my last day of photography in Ontario, with Graham Smith and Angie, it began to drizzle at about 3:30 and was raining pretty good by 4pm. Agie found an adult Cooper’s Hawk perched for us on the Tuip Trail and after photographing it, we headed for the feeders in the low light and began photographing from under the overhang at the back of the feeder area to stay out of the rain. There are few clean perches in the trees and bushes there but with patience and high ISO settings, we were able to get some good stuff.Â
| [Not a valid template] |
| This male American Godlfinch was photogrpahed with the Canon 800mmm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evalutive metering +2/3 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/5.6. Fill flash with Better Beamer at -3 stops. |
| [Not a valid template] |
| This Rose-breasted Grosbeak male was photographed exactly as above except that the ISO was raised to 1000 as it had gotten even darker. |
| [Not a valid template] |
| Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Same gear and settings as above with an ISO of 1250. |
| [Not a valid template] |
| Same as above, rain-bathing. |
I am leaving my Mom’s in Holbrook, Long Island, NY headed for the mountains of central western Virginia in hopes of finding some warblers at 4:15 am today.  More on the visit with my Mom and some Jamaica Bay images next time.
May 18th, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| This immature male Baltimore Oriole was photographed with the Canon 500mmm f/4L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/6.3. Fill flash with Better Beamer at -1 stop. |
This image was created at a feeder set-up (see below). An orange half (on which the bird was feeding) and the small bit of branch upon which it was impaled, were removed from the image with a series of Quick Masks and some Clone Stamp and Patch Tool work. You can learn to do all of this and more in Digital Basics: https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=252
.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This female Rose-breasted Grosbeak image was created with the same rig as above. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/6.3. Fill flash at -2 1/3 stops with Better Beamer. |
I like a log on the back of the feeder table to prevent the birds from landing there consistently without presenting any photo opps.Â
| [Not a valid template] |
| White-breasted Nuthatch. Same gear as above. ISO 640. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/200 sec. at f/8. Fill flash at -2 1/3 stops with Better Beamer. |
When working at a feeder set-up on cloudy days you are free (as I did here) to photograph birds on natural perches on the periphery of the set-up.  On sunny days this is much more difficult to do as you would have to move your tripod a good distance in order to attain the proper sun angle (with your shadow pointed right at the bird).
| [Not a valid template] |
| This is the campground feeder set-up from my last day at Rondeau. Graham Smith of Toronto whom I met on BPN hired me for a private day. Along with his girlfriend Angie, we had a wonderful day that lasted about 13 hours! This image was created with the Canon 24-105mm IS L zoom lens at 24mm. |
Note the Blue Jay landing on the spike perch and the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak atop the small log on the left side of the large log. You can learn a ton about feeder set-ups by studying this image closely. (As always, click on the images to enlarge them.)  And you can learn a lot more on creating feeder set-ups in the Practicalities chaper in my e-book, “The Art of Bird Photography II” (ABP II, 916 pages on CD only): https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=19.
Quiz:Â
- What are the plastic bags for?
- Why the logs on the ground?
- What is the vertical perch on the left for?
(Post your answers in comments please).
Today, I am taking my 86 year old Mom back to the neighborhood where she was born in downtown Brooklynnear DeKalb Avenue and Ashland Place.  Then we will take a drive down memory lane (in this case Flatbush Avenue) and visit the old neighborhood and the house where I was raised: 2046 East 38th St in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn. Our phone number was NI(ghtingale) 5-7760.   No area code. Amazing.
May 15th, 2009 Well, my poor warbler luck continued at Pelee this year. While there were a very few warblers most were up high. The beach on the west side of the tip that used to be great on some afternoons is totally gone, eroded away by storms.  When there was a bird down low there were often 10-30 birders in close proximity.  The woodlands along many of the trails that used to be somewhat open are now overgrown with very few clean perches and lots more clutter than I remember.  The one bit of positive news is that the beach on the east side of the Tip has been somewhat restored, nourished probably by the same storms that took away West Beach.  It would not shock me to learn that there was a wave day within a day or two of my leaving.
With Pelee pretty much dead I spent three full days photographing at a feeder set-up in Rondeau Provicial Park about 50 miles west of Leamington. Though there were no Red-headed Woodpeckers coming to our set-up we had lots of action and lots of good opportunities.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This American Robin was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/7.1. |
It was rare to get a robin up on a perch so having one on the bark facing that I placed atop our log perch in early morning light was a big thrill.Â
| [Not a valid template] |
| This male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 320. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/10. |
We had several males of this species on the set at the same time. One of them, and one of the two females, were amazingly cooperative subjects.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This White-crowned Sparrow was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 320. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/8. |
Creating images of the birds just as they are about to jump off the perch is a challenge. If they are facing you, you are pretty much dead as far as focusing accurately and having enough depth-of-field.  I was lucky here with this bird almost parallel to my position.
I drove for fourteen hours (702 two miles) yesterday and got to my Mom’s house in Holbrook, NY at 8:05 pm. Yikes! As always, you can click on each image to see a larger version. I will post a few more images in a day or two.  Thanks for all the good kidney stone wishes.
ps:Â The final Galapagos spot was filled.
May 12th, 2009 It is a little known fact that many international BIRDS AS ART IPTs, Photo-Cruises, and Photo-Safaris fill without ever being announced to the public. They are sold out by advance word of mouth and from our BAA Friends List.Â
The Galapagos 2009 Photo-Cruise had been sold out for more than a year and in fact, I already have many spots sold for the 2010m trip.  I received an e-mail today from a registrant will be unable to attend. I am therefore, urgently looking for one male photographer to fill the last spot on this July’s trip. I do expect this spot to sell almost instantly once it is announced via BAA Notes tomorrow. Here are the basics: July 11-18 on the boat. Fly to Quito and July 9th, spend a day in Quito on the 10th (a travel delay insurance day), fly to the archipelago on the 11th, fly back to Quito on the 18th, and fly back to the US on July 19th.  We have the very best guide on the planet, a wonderful ship, and a killer itinerary that visits all four of the great photography islands. We are almost always the first group on each island in the morning and the last group off each island in the evening. The cost of the trip is $6999 and includes everything but soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, the crew and guide tips, and your flights to and from Quito. The flights to and from the Galapagos are included.  Linda Robbins (the Hummingbird Queen) will be co-leading this trip.Â
The 13 folks who are signed up are among the nicest, sweetest folks you could ever hope to meet. If you are not a happy person and a comfortable international traveler, please do not apply :). As there is only one slot, first come will be first served.  If you would like to join us we will need a n immediate $1,000 deposit via credit card with a phone call to 863-692-0906 followed the next day with a check for payment in full.  (If Jim does not pick up the phone tonight, please leave a message so that you will not lose the spot.) We will keep a waiting list in case the first to respond does not come through.Â
If you would like additional details you can e-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net but it will likely be too late…. If you have dreamed of getting to this fabled photographic location, please do not hesitate; call Jim the moment that you read this and leave your deposit.
May 10th, 2009 Late on Friday afternoon I got on the ground to photograph some Canada Goose goslings asleep on a dock.  As I raised up I felt a sharp spasm in my lower back on the left side. This has happened before so I did not think much of it.  It did not hurt me at all when I got up or any more that evening. Â
At 2:30 am on Saturday I awoke with a somewhat vicious pain in my lower back, left side. I assumed that it was a muscle spasm, similar to those that I used to have nearly two decades ago. My back has been great ever since I had major spinal surgery in 1991; thank you Dr. Francis Gamache Jr. I tried some moist heat and stretching but it did not help at all. I could not get comfortable in any position. Within an hour I began to experience a bloating pain in my lower left abdomen.  I tried calling my health advisor in San Diego at 2:30am his time but his cell was off. I called my chiropractor in Lake Wales, waking him at 5am. He explained that a bad muscle spasm could affect surrounding organs and that made sense to me, but within the hour, I knew that something was not right with my body so I drove myself to the emergency room at the local hospital and forked over $500 Canadian for my visit.Â
Twelve hours and five minutes later I was released after finally learning that my pain had been caused by a kidney stone travelling from my kidney to my bladder.   I passed the stone without any pain last night without even knowing it.  I am pretty much of a pain wuss but I will admit that this episode was quite painful. From speaking to other folks it seems that my pain, however, was on the mild side. My medical care was good but very slow.  I sat in pain for five hours before I saw a doctor despite complaining of increasing pain, and it was another hour until they got the IV going. The non-narcotic pain meds hit the spot.  An X-ray that showed nothing and a CAT scan that showed the small stone in the bladder took hours and hours and hours.Â
During my stay I did get to speak extensively with Dr. Cliff Oliver in San Diego and he instantly diagnosed my problem as a kidney stone and provided comfort and advice throughout the episode. I took today (Sunday) off resting and doing more than 100 posts on BirdPhotographers.Net.  I am feeling great and ready to get back in action at Pelee tomorrow. I hope that there are some birds….
May 8th, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| This male Yellow Warbler was photographed this afternoon at Pt. Pelee National Park, in Leamington, Ontario, Canada. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops set manually: 1/320 sec. at f/9. Fill flash with Better Beamer at -3 stops. |
After three straight 8 hour driving days, I arrived in Leamington on Thursday afternoon. Today I walked about 5 miles with 20+ pounds of gear; made only the one good image above. Several times my heart raced as I had a gorgeous male warbler, once a Cape May, and several times a Black-throated Green, right in my wheelhouse: on a clear perch at close range in nice light only to have the bird refuse to turn its head and then fly to a totally obstucted perch nearby. Welcome to warbler photography! You can of course click on the image above to see a larger version. I did lots of work with this image to remove a foreground branch that intersected the bird’s body.
BIRDS AS ART is proud (at long last) to announce the opening of our new On-Line Store. To learn more about the store and about the 10% off sale, check out BAA Bulletin #289 that is now on-line here: www.birdsasart.com/bn289.htm
Right now I gotta get to sleep as we are gonna try to make the first tram to The Tip again and hope for a fallout of migrant songbirds.
May 5th, 2009
| [Not a valid template] |
| Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/640 sec. at f/8. Fill flash at -2 stops with the Better Beamer. |
My last morning at the Cozad Ranch was fantastic. I was joined by my good friend Rex Hewitt of San Benitos, TX. Above is my very favorite Painted Bunting image from the trip. (You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.) It was created as the as the bird got ready to take a bath. To see the original image and to see how it evolved, click here: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=35582.
The next week or two should be spectacular for photographing Painted Buntings (and other species like Green Jay, Audubon’s Oriole, and Black-throated Sparrow among others) at the Cozad Ranch; we had as many as four male painteds and several females on the set at once. To arrange a visit, click here: http://www.cozadranch.com/. And be sure to tell Johnny that I sent you.
| [Not a valid template] |
| Same gear as previous image. ISO 400 in bright sun. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/1000 sec. at f/10. |
| [Not a valid template] |
| Same gear as previous images. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/100 sec. at f/11. Fill flash at -2 1/3 stops with Better Beamer. |
I photographed this Green Jay as it explored for bits of a peanut butter/suet/corn meal mix that I had rubbed into tiny crevices on the tree. (The recipe is Roel Ramirez’s.) I was lucky to make a sharp image at 1/100 sec. I would have been much better off at 1/200 sec. at f/8 as depth-of-field would not be an issue with a large bird far away.
| [Not a valid template] |
| I photographed my last morning's feeder set-up with the 28-105mm IS L lens handheld at 40mm. |
There are two male Painted Buntings, one Green Jay, and five cardinals on the set at once. Again, you can learn a ton about feeder set-ups by studying this image carefully.  Thanks to Phil Echo for the meal worms (in the tiny white paper cup). The Green Jay above was photographed on the distant taller tree in the center and the male Painted Bunting on the left edge of the bird bath.  We found that by placing a few mesquite branches on the feeding table that the birds were more likely to land on the perches before coming down to the table for the seed.
Thanks again to Johnny and Jane Cozad for their hospitality and to ranch-hand Jesus for all of his help.
May 1st, 2009 I first visited Johnny Cozad’s ranch in Linn, TX about four years ago and enjoyed some fine raptor photography: Harris’s Hawk and Crested Caracara. Not sure of the month but it was more winter than summer. Johhny and Jane Cozad are out of town so I stayed in a Super 8 in Edingburg, TX and drove the 25 mintues up to Linn each day. Jesus, their ranchhand, was a huge help as always.  And the Cozad’s recently put in an amazing swimmming pool and a jacuzzi. Each day after lunch I took a three mile walk in the searing heat with the two dogs, Lorna and Bull.  Everytime that they saw a cattle trough, they bolted to it and jumped in. I was not so luck but as soon as we got back to the house I jumped right into the pool. Â
Chris Dodds and I worked hard on our feeder set-ups and they got better each day. I dropped Chris off at the McAllen, TX airport at 4:02 am this morning. I am planning on photographing at the ranch one last morning and then starting the long trip to the north and east. Here I come Ontario! I hope to visit Warbler Woods just north and east of San Antonio tomorrow afternoon.
Below are some of my favorite images from the Cozad ranch. If you would like to arange a visit, click here: http://www.cozadranch.com/. As always, you can click on an image to see a larger version.
| [Not a valid template] |
| This male Painted Bunting was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 500. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/400 sec. at f/13. Fill flash at -3 stops with the Better Beamer. |
I am usually not a huge fan of over-the-shoulder poses but could not pass this one up as these birds have such beautiful colors when you get the dorsal view. The very best head angle for these poses is perfectly square to the camera. Note that I used lots of extra depth of field to ensure covering the whole bird.
| [Not a valid template] |
| Same gear as above. ISO 500. Evauative metering +2/3 stop: 1/80 sec. at f/13. Fill flash at -3 stops with the Better Beamer. |
This bird sat still long enough for me to be able to lock down the Mongoose Head. That allowed me to make a sharp image at 1/80 sec. This bird was resting in the shade in a mesquite tree just to the left of our set-up. It pays to keep your eyes moving whenever you are photographing birds or nature….
| [Not a valid template] |
| Same rig again. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/9. Fill flash with the Better Beamer at -2 2/3 stops. |
At times, we had more than a dozen beautiful male Northern Cardinals in view at one time.  Well, I have got to do some packing now so it will be good night for now. More images from the Cozad ranch as soon as possible.
|
|
