Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Stuff

I began working on this blog post early on Friday morning. I will be walking out the door in five minutes at 6:05am to begin the Early Winter Fort DeSOto IPT. Things are looking decent with the forecast for mostly clear skies and northeast winds. Those are a lot better than northwest winds in the morning. Time will tell.

Conditions at DeSoto were perfect on Friday morning with a stunner of a sunrise and east//northeast winds. There were very few birds. We did find a few pelicans that made perfect teaching subjects. Deidre’s son had messed with her 7D Mark II and it was driving me nuts. We’d set the ISO at 400 and the correct exposure at something like 1/2500 at f/5.6 but the photo would be eight stops over-exposed and the back of the camera was showing 1/125 sec. at f/5.6 at ISO 100. It was driving me nuts. It took me a half hour to lens that her son had set the start button — Deidre uses that for back button focus — to automatically switch to some saved settings.

We did better in the afternoon with a variety of shorebirds to start and then found the big White Pelican flock right where I had predicted that we would. We had some flying in and were hoping for a sunset blast-off. The pelicans failed us but a big flock of Laughing Gulls took off into the color as we were departing. That made for a great end to a so-so day that featured a ton of learned. And best of all, everyone had fun and is getting along great.

The iPhone Photography e-Guide Update

Thanks to the dozens of folks who order the i-Phone e-Guide yesterday. Please understand that those who purchased the new guide after lunch on Friday will receive their download links on Monday morning. For those who have already received their guides we would love to receive your feed back via e-mail. In addition, we would be glad to answer your iPhone questions, also via e-mail.

The iPhone Photography e-Guide If you missed the long-awaited announcement yesterday, click here to learn about Cliff Oliver’s great new iPhone e-Guide. To order your copy of the The iPhone Photography e-Guide, please click here. The PDF is sent link by e-mail for downloading: the file is relatively huge at 216 MB.

The 2018 B&H/BAA Bird Photography Holiday Contest!

Thanks to the generosity of the great folks at B&H, I am proud to announce the first-ever B&H/BAA Bird Photography Holiday Contest. The rules are simple:

1-Anyone can enter one or two of their favorite avian images that were created in 2018. As below, each image must be sent in a separate e-mail.
2-Image clean-up and repair is permitted.
3-Send you JPEGs in two separate e-mails only by clicking on this link: Contest Entry e-mail.
4-Please size your properly sharpened JPEGs as follows: 1200 high or wide less than 600 kb.
5-If you do not follow the instructions above to the letter your images will not be judged and you will not receive any notification.
6-There is one judge and you can guess who it is.
7-Here are the five prizes:

1st place: a $100 B&H gift certificate
2nd through 4th place: a $50 B&H gift certificate

All prizes will be awarded.

8- Entries my be submitted from now until January 16, 2019. Happy New Year! Please remember to do your holiday shopping at B&H using a BAA affiliate link or by clicking here or on the banner just below.

Good luck.

BAA IPTs

• The 2018 Fort DeSoto Early Winter IPT/Thursday December 7 through the morning session on Monday December 10, 2018: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 5.
• Falklands Land-based IPT DEC 22, 2018 thru JAN 5, 2019/Two Weeks: Sold out.
• 2019 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) SUN JAN 20, 2019 thru and including the morning session on THURS JAN 24: 4 1/2 days: $2099. (Limit: 10/Openings: 4) Introductory Meet and Greet at 7:00pm on the evening before the IPT begins: THURS, 6 DEC.
• The 2019 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT — FEB 16 thru 19, 2019: $2599.00. Limit: 5 photographers/Openings: 2.
• The New, Expanded 2019 UK Puffins, Gannets, & Red Kites IPT. Thursday June 27 (from EDI) through Tuesday, July 9, 2019 (on the ground; fly home on Wednesday July 10.): $9,999. Limit 10 photographers — needs four to run. Co-leader: Peter Kes.
• The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. July 23 to August 6, 2019 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,499. Limit: 12 photographers/Openings: 4.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens (the “old five”) with extras

John Wright is offering a Canon 500mm f/4 IS USM and a Canon EF Extender 1.4X II, both in very good plus condition for $3399.00. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the leather front lens cover, the lens strap, the lens trunk, the 1.4X II TC, a Really Right Stuff LCF-50 B (low) replacement foot, a LensCoat, and insured ground shipping to US addresses only. Note; the replacement foot is mounted on the lens and the original foot is not included in the sale.

Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact John via email e-mail or by phone at 1-406-640-1670 (Mountain time).

The 500mm f/4 lenses have been the world’s most popular telephoto lenses for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. I owned and used and loved my “old five” for many years. If you don’t have the cash for a 500 II and can handle the additional 1 1/2 pounds, then this is your best super-telephoto option. Most everyone can produce sharp images with this lens and a 1.4X TC. Folks with good to excellent sharpness techniques can do the same with a 2X TC. With the new 500 II selling for $8,999 you can save a neat $5,600.00 by grabbing John’s lens and TC now. Just so you know, the series II TCs work perfectly well and are just as sharp as the Series III TCS. The latter are designed to work better with the Series II and III super-telephotos. artie

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on Day 1 — October 24, 2018 — of the Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island expedition via icebreaker. I made this image while seated on the snow and ice hand holding Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 175mm) with my back-up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering plus about 2 stops off the snow: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Auto 1 WB at 10:11am on a cloudy/very bright morning. Four AF points up from the center AF point/D-25/Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the left side of the bottom of the penguin’s neck. I kept my 80-400 rig on my shoulder via an RS-7 Curve Breathe Strap so that it was instantly accessible when I was working with the tripod-mounted 500 PF. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Emperor Penguin/adult standing on snow

Simplicity

While we all strive to create fantastic flight and action shots there is a lot to be said for simplicity. For me, this image of a single adult Emperor Penguin standing on relatively clean snow is elegant and endearing, even powerful in its own way. There is something about the bird’s posture and the position of the wings — held slightly away from its body — that really grabs me.

The Eyes Have It!

Adult Emperor Penguins have dark brown irises. So when properly exposed for the WHITEs, the dark-toned irises are rendered 1 2/3rds to two stops darker than they should be. Do understand that WHITEs require two stops less light than BLACKs and one stop less light than MIDDLE TONEs to be properly exposed. (If you, like most photographers that I meet, are confused by the preceding statement, see and study the section on Exposure Theory in the original The Art of Bird Photography in soft cover.) The key to success for 99% of wildlife images is eye contact with the subject. So with Emperor (and King) Penguin images, you need to know how to lighten the too-dark irises so that the image looks natural. In almost every image of adult Emperor Penguin that I created, the eyes were either invisible or darned close to invisible, too-dark eyes hidden in a sea of black. That is why I used Tim Grey Dodge and Burn to properly adjust the tonality of the bird’s iris or irises with every image of adult Emperor Penguin that I processed. As you can see above, doing this brings the birds back to life. See the Eye Doctor section in The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) here for complete details.

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

2019 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) SUN JAN 20, 2019 thru and including the morning session on THURS JAN 24: 4 1/2 days: $2099.

(Limit: 10/Openings: 7)

Introductory Meet and Greet at 7:00pm on the evening before the IPT begins; SAT JAN 19, 2019.

Please see the Dancing Grebe Morning Add-On Info below

Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (nesting with eggs and possibly chicks) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heermann’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others are possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lions; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the IPT cards, there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Not to mention a ton of excellent flight photography opportunities and instruction.

Please note: where permitted and on occasion, ducks and gulls will be attracted (or re-located) with offerings of grains and healthy breads.

Learning Exposure, Whether You Like It Or Not

Whether you like it or not, we will be beating the subject of exposure like a dead horse. In every new situation you will hear my thoughts on the exposure situation along with my thoughts on both Nikon and Canon histograms and the subject of blinkies. Whether you like it or not, you will learn to work in manual mode and to get the right exposure every time as long as a bird gives you ten seconds with the light constant.And you will learn what to do when the light is changing constantly. What you learn about exposure will be one of the great take-aways on every IPT.

Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT, there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

It Ain’t Just Pelicans

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography as well. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You will be guided as to how to make the best of all of those opportunities. And depending on the weather and local conditions and tides, there are a variety of fabulous photo chances available in and around San Diego.

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include five 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, four 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, four lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. An so that we can get some sleep, dinners will be on your own.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 3385, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 10/11//2018. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

Getting Up Early and Staying Out Late

On all BIRDS AS ART IPTS including and especially the San Diego IPT, we get into the field early to take advantage of unique and often spectacular lighting conditions and we stay out late to maximize the chances of killer light and glorious sunset silhouette situations. We often arrive at the cliffs a full hour before anyone else shows up to check out the land/sea-scape opportunities.

The Dancing Grebes Add-On. FRI JAN 25, 2019: $399.

Those registering for the 2019 San Diego IPT might wish to join me for the Dancing Grebe Add-On Morning as above. Please read the details carefully. You will need to wade at least mid-thigh deep with your tripod over an uneven bottom. Lightweight chest waders are advised. Long lenses are needed; a 100-400 will not cut it at this spot, even with a TC. Chances at this location (easily accessible from the IPT hotel), vary from day to day so there will be no guarantees. But when those grebes dance, it can be an amazing rush. We may also enjoy chances to photograph both species, Western and Clarke’s Grebes, at fairly close range.

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

After being down to as low as 70 degrees about a week ago, the pool was up to a balmy 85 degrees today. I did my usual slow half mile in the afternoon. When I got out of the pool I noticed a foraging flock of small songbirds high in the trees that border the next lot to the east. I got my Leica 8x32s and was able to make out Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Pine Warbler, several other warblers that I could not see well enough to identify, and an ILE first for me, a Downy Woodpecker.

Tomorrow is packing day for the DeSoto Fall IPT; I head to the west coast on Thursday.

The 2018 B&H/BAA Bird Photography Holiday Contest!

Thanks to the generosity of the great folks at B&H, I am proud to announce the first-ever B&H/BAA Bird Photography Holiday Contest. The rules are simple:

1-Anyone can enter one or two of their favorite avian images that were created in 2018. As below, each image must be sent in a separate e-mail.
2-Image clean-up and repair is permitted.
3-Send you JPEGs in two separate e-mails only by clicking on this link: Contest Entry e-mail.
4-Please size your properly sharpened JPEGs as follows: 1200 high or wide less than 600 kb.
5-If you do not follow the instructions above to the letter your images will not be judged and you will not receive any notification.
6-There is one judge and you can guess who it is.
7-Here are the five prizes:

1st place: a $100 B&H gift certificate
2nd through 4th place: a $50 B&H gift certificate

All prizes will be awarded.

8- Entries my be submitted from now until January 16, 2019. Happy New Year! Please remember to do your holiday shopping at B&H using a BAA affiliate link or by clicking here or on the banner just below.

Good luck.

BAA IPTs

• The 2018 Fort DeSoto Early Winter IPT/Thursday December 7 through the morning session on Monday December 10, 2018: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 5.
• Falklands Land-based IPT DEC 22, 2018 thru JAN 5, 2019/Two Weeks: Sold out.
• 2019 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) SUN JAN 20, 2019 thru and including the morning session on THURS JAN 24: 4 1/2 days: $2099. (Limit: 10/Openings: 4) Introductory Meet and Greet at 7:00pm on the evening before the IPT begins: THURS, 6 DEC.
• The 2019 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT — FEB 16 thru 19, 2019: $2599.00. Limit: 5 photographers/Openings: 2.
• The New, Expanded 2019 UK Puffins, Gannets, & Red Kites IPT. Thursday June 27 (from EDI) through Tuesday, July 9, 2019 (on the ground; fly home on Wednesday July 10.): $9,999. Limit 10 photographers — needs four to run. Co-leader: Peter Kes.
• The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. July 23 to August 6, 2019 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,499. Limit: 12 photographers/Openings: 4.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

2018 BAA Top Twenty Images: Part I of IV

Below are five of my twenty favorite images created in calendar year 2018; I am not quite done yet 🙂 All in all it was a wonderful year, a year filled with blessings and great opportunities. The remaining 15 images will be shared with you here in three future blog posts.

Please leave a comment and let us know which of the five images below is your very favorite. And do let us know why.

This image was created on January 21, 2018. I used the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III (at 700mm), and the blazingly fast professional digital camera body, the Nikon D5 DSLR camera body with dual XQD slots). ISO 800. Matrix metering probably -2/3 stop:: 1/1600 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:10am on a clear day. Five AF point up and one to the left of the center AF Point/d-25/Shutter Button/Continuous (AI Servo with Canon) AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was just behind (but pretty much on the same plane as) the bird’s eye. Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune: +7. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1: Brown Pelican vertical head portrait, black background

Image #1: Brown Pelican vertical head portrait, black background

I love the Pacific race of Brown Pelican with their fire-engine red bill pouches.

Recipe for Success:

Subject in sun, background cliffs in total shade.

This image has not yet been featured on he BAA Blog.

This image was created on morning of Thursday, January 11 at the Gilbert Water Ranch in Phoenix, AZ. I used the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the blazingly fast Canon EOS-1D X Mark II. ISO 320. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/6400 sec. at f/10. K 6000 at 8:03am shooting into backlit ground fog, aka, fire in the mist. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -3. Center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/rear button AF on the avocet and release. Click here to see the last version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see the spectacular larger version. Image #2: American Coot taking off with avocet and assorted waterfowl

Image #2: American Coot taking off with avocet and assorted waterfowl

Ugly as a coot. Not …

Recipe for Success:

Recognize the potential for fire in the mist conditions and get up really early.

Learn more about the creation of this image in the blog post here.

This image was created on the 2018 Fort DeSoto IPT on April 16, 2018. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens and the Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering-1/3 stop: 1/2500 sec at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AUTO1 WB at 9:28am in cloudy conditions. Center Group (grp)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered toward the rear of the bird’s rear chin, right on the same plane as the its eye. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +6. Image #3: Heron/egret hybrid/head portrait

Image #3: Heron/egret hybrid/head portrait

Is this just a Reddish Egret? I think not …

Recipe for Success:

See something different and follow up on it.

Learn more about the creation of this image in the blog post here.

This image is a composite of the two images above that were created on July 8, 2018 on the 2018 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT with the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens and the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III (at 550mm) with the Nikon D5 DSLR Camera (w/Dual XQD Slots). ISO 800. Matrix metering +2/3 stop: 1/1000 sec at f/9 in S (Tv in Canon — shutter priority in both systems) mode. AUTO1 WB at 11:01am on a nicely cloudy morning. Just above center D-72/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point in the first image was on the fish. In the second image, it was too our left of the bird’s head. As with Canon’s Expand and Surround, it is not possible to ascertain which AF point was active at the moment of exposure. This is a weakness in both systems that could easily be fixed with a software update. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +3. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #4: Atlantic Puffin with sandeels/the optimized version

Image #4: Atlantic Puffin with sandeels/the optimized version

Incredibly, nobody has signed up yet for the 2019 UK Puffins, Gannets, and Red Kites IPT …

Recipe for Success:

Follow your own advice; I had told the group to head back to the top of the steps at the morning landing site every once in a while to check for puffins with fish in their bills. 🙂 So I did.

Learn more about the creation of this image in the blog post here.

This image was created on Day 2 — October 25, 2018 — of the recently concluded Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island expedition via icebreaker. While lying flat on the snow and ice, I used the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 175mm) with my back-up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering plus about 2 stops off the snow: 1/1000 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. Auto 1 WB at 10:13am on a cloudy-bright morning. One AF point down and three to the right of the center AF point/Single/Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was just above and to the left of the penguin’s eye. I kept my 80-400 rig on my shoulder via an RS-7 Curve Breathe Strap so that it was instantly accessible when I was working with the tripod-mounted 500 PF. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #5: Emperor Penguin/adult stretching

Image #5: Emperor Penguin/adult stretching

This is my very favorite adult Emperor Penguin image.

Recipe for Success:

Pursue the items on your bucket list no matter the cost, and then lie down in the snow.

Learn more about the creation of this image in the blog post here.

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

I woke early on Saturday to spend the morning with BPN-friend Joe Przybyla who kindly shared his favorite spots in Lakeland with me. It was my first time out with my new, very own Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens. As I already knew after borrowing IPT veteran Michael Goodman’s 500 PF and taking (and using) it on the Emperor Penguin trip, the lens is amazing. It is tiny for a 500mm and pretty much anyone can hand hold it for hours. And the lens is beyond sharp … It is no wonder that this lens is pre-order only and is virtually impossible to get right now. And with only a trickle of these lenses becoming available that situation may persist for quite some time. Though we did not have a great day bird photography-wise we both had a great time and we both made some great images. You gotta love tame Florida birds.

I was glad to learn that IPT veteran Morris Herstein signed up for the Hooptie Deux Spoonbill IPT. That makes four; I believe that there is just one slot left.

DeSoto Early Winter IPT Late Registration Discount!

Please e-mail me directly if you are interested in learning about the substantial late registration discount for this IPT. Because both folks who have signed up have expressed an interest in learning to micro-adjust their gear, I will be bringing my LensAlign unit and the complete lighting set-up. Do consider joining us if you would like to do the same. See below for details. From Ed Dow via blog comment: For anyone contemplating the Fort Desoto trip, jump on it. I don’t think anybody knows that area like Artie. I was pretty much new to bird photography and he got me into position to create many shots that I treasure.

BAA IPTs

• The 2018 Fort DeSoto Early Winter IPT/Thursday December 7 through the morning session on Monday December 10, 2018: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 5.
• Falklands Land-based IPT DEC 22, 2018 thru JAN 5, 2019/Two Weeks: Sold out.
• 2019 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) SUN JAN 20, 2019 thru and including the morning session on THURS JAN 24: 4 1/2 days: $2099. (Limit: 8/Openings: 1) Introductory Meet and Greet at 7:00pm on the evening before the IPT begins: THURS, 6 DEC.
• The 2019 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT — FEB 16 thru 19, 2019: $2599.00. Limit: 5 photographers/Openings: 1.
• The New, Expanded 2019 UK Puffins, Gannets, & Red Kites IPT. Thursday June 27 (from EDI) through Tuesday, July 9, 2019 (on the ground; fly home on Wednesday July 10.): $9,999. Limit 10 photographers — needs four to run. Co-leader: Peter Kes.
• The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. July 23 to August 6, 2019 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,499. Limit: 12 photographers/Openings: 4.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on the morning of September 27, 2018 on the last day of the Fort DeSoto Fall IPT. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR AF lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and my souped up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering at about zero: 1/2500 sec. at f/8 in Manual Mode. NATURAL AUTO WB at 8:41am on a dead-clear morning. Center/Group (grp)/Shutter Button/Continuous (AI Servo with Canon) AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bird’s neck just behind and below its face. Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune was a significant +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Roseate Spoonbill foraging/tight head, while seated

What to Do When the Spoonbills Get Too, Too Close? Go for Head Shots!

In the What to Do When the Spoonbills Get Too, Too Close blog post here, I wrote: What is your favorite part of this image. I’d bet that nobody picks my favorite part … My answer in two or three days.

My favorite part of Roseate Spoonbill foraging/tight head, while seated

My Favorite Part of the Image

The full frame image proved to be very popular. Different folks liked different parts of the image. Lots of folks go close to my favorite parts but no cigars were lit; thanks to all who commented. As above, my part part of the image was and is the three bits of pink reflections in the blue water. I am intrigued as to just where the pink reflections came from; are they from an unseen bird in the background or a reflection of some part of the subject? Feel free to share your thoughts.

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

The pool was up to a still very chilly 76 degrees when I did my 1/2 mile swim on Wednesday afternoon. I had on my neoprene vest, my neoprene booties, and two neoprene caps. I was only cold when I got out!

DeSoto Early Winter IPT Late Registration Discount!

Please e-mail me directly if you are interested in learning about the substantial late registration discount for this IPT. Because both folks who have signed up have expressed an interest in learning to micro-adjust their gear, I will be bringing my LensAlign unit and the complete lighting set-up. Do consider joining us if you would like to do the same. See below for details. From Ed Dow via blog comment: For anyone contemplating the Fort Desoto trip, jump on it. I don’t think anybody knows that area like Artie. I was pretty much new to bird photography and he got me into position to create many shots that I treasure.

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF Lens AF Fine-Tune Values

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF Lens AF Fine-Tuning

I spent 90 minutes on Wednesday morning AF Fine-tuning my new 500 PF indoors with my three Nikon bodies. I used the lights with my LensAlign device and FocusTune on my laptop. Late in the afternoon I moved the lighting set-up outdoors to the driveway to fine tune at 700mm and than at 840mm. With Jim’s help I set up a bridge table with all the bodies, the two TCs, and my laptop on it. The afternoon session took only about an hour. I was too nit-picky in the morning.

Note that Fine-tune values in the +/- one or two range are pretty much insignificant. Plus or minus three or four is right on the edge. Fine-tune values of five or more are significant. I used my #2 TC-E14 as my 600 is fine-tuned with my #1 TC-E14.I fine-tuned the TC-E17 only with my main, souped up D850 as I would only be using that combination only when my 600 was in the car, the hotel room, or the garage …

Do understand the lower micro-adjustment values do not indicate that a given camera body/TC/lens combination is “better” than a similar combination with higher micro-adjustment values. All that you are doing is optimizing AF performance. All things being equal, sharp images made at +17 or -9 will be just as sharp as images made at +2 or -1.

For me, fine-tuning my gear not only results in sharper images but in peace of mind as well. That is why I put in the time and effort.

BAA IPTs

• The 2018 Fort DeSoto Early Winter IPT/Thursday December 7 through the morning session on Monday December 10, 2018: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 5.
• Falklands Land-based IPT DEC 22, 2018 thru JAN 5, 2019/Two Weeks: Sold out.
• 2019 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) SUN JAN 20, 2019 thru and including the morning session on THURS JAN 24: 4 1/2 days: $2099. (Limit: 8/Openings: 1) Introductory Meet and Greet at 7:00pm on the evening before the IPT begins: THURS, 6 DEC.
• The 2019 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT — FEB 16 thru 19, 2019: $2599.00. Limit: 5 photographers/Openings: 2.
• The New, Expanded 2019 UK Puffins, Gannets, & Red Kites IPT. Thursday June 27 (from EDI) through Tuesday, July 9, 2019 (on the ground; fly home on Wednesday July 10.): $9,999. Limit 10 photographers — needs four to run. Co-leader: Peter Kes.
• The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. July 23 to August 6, 2019 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,499. Limit: 12 photographers/Openings: 4.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on the morning of September 27, 2018 on the last day of the Fort DeSoto Fall IPT. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR AF lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and my souped up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering at about zero: 1/2500 sec. at f/8 in Manual Mode. NATURAL AUTO WB at 8:41am on a dead-clear morning. Center/Group (grp)/Shutter Button/Continuous (AI Servo with Canon) AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bird’s neck just behind and below its face. Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune was a significant +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Roseate Spoonbill foraging/tight head, while seated

What to Do When the Spoonbills Get Too, Too Close

The image above was made at the very end of the sitting-in-the-water-with-spoonbills session at Desoto in September. As it was hard for me to move, As the birds kept getting closer and closer I decided to add the TC-E14 and go for tight head shots. (The TC had been in a fanny pack that I had draped around my neck for safe-keeping.) With the birds so close and me worried about light angle, I decided to go with Center Group AF rather than trying to move the AF point around as I have been doing for the whole bird portraits when the spoonies were farther away. With the image above I wish that I had a bit more room at the bottom of the frame for the virtual bill tip. But the incredible detail and sharpness of this one made it a solid keeper even with my minor compositional misgivings.

Favorite Part of this Image?

What is your favorite part of this image. I’d bet that nobody picks my favorite part … My answer in two or three days.

Unsharpened 100% crop of Roseate Spoonbill foraging/tight head, while seated

AF Fine-tune: plus five

I would not have wanted to have the AF Fine-tune value at zero for this one … AFA Fine-tuning is a pain in the a _ _ even with Nikon. With Canon you can wind up pulling your hair out. Getting good at micro-adjusting and fine-tuning takes hours and hours of study and practice. But the results are well worth it. Both of my guides (see immediately below) flatten the learning curve by miles …

Reikan FoCal does not have True Parallel Alignment; that is why I use and promote only LensAlign/FocusTune. The techniques in LensAlign/FocusTune Micro-Adjusting Tutorial e-Guide work for all SLRs that feature AF adjustments. My Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide makes things a lot easier for D850 and D5 folks.

Photoshop screen capture: moving the Hue slider on the HSL tab!

More on Fine-tuning the BLUEs

During the RAW conversion I tried something new when working on the BLUE water. Previously I had played with the BLUE channel on the HSL (Hue/Saturation/Luminance) tab. In an effort to match the BLUEs in the RAW file perfectly, I first reduced the BLUE luminance 12 points by moving the slider to the left. Then I made adjustments on the Hue sliders to the various channels as seen above. I rarely if ever touch the Hue sliders. But this time I was able to match the BLUEs in the RAW (NEF) file exactly simply by eye-balling things as I moved the Hue slider.

You can see the BKGR clean-up as you are looking at the original in the Photoshop screen capture immediately above.

Spoonbills and DeSoto IPTs

Over the years, virtually every DeSoto IPT group has had a least one good chance on Roseate Spoonbill. Is a close encountered guaranteed? Not by any means. But oftentimes we are so, so lucky that I think my late-wife Elaine is calling the shots from above …

The 2018 Fort DeSoto Early Winter IPT/Thursday December 7 through the morning session on Monday December 10, 2018: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 6.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in early winter. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, and gulls that winter on the T-shaped peninsula. With luck, we may get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher almost guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We may very well get to see and photograph the amazing heron/egret hybrid that has been present for three year. And we should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two.

On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

There will be a Photoshop/image review session after lunch (included) each day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with the hotel information. Do know that it is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel (rather than at home or at a friend’s place).

A $500 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check after you register. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight folks so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please remember that the meet and greet will take place at 7:30 on THURS, 6 DEC. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.

Early and Late

Getting up early and staying out late is pretty much a staple on all BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours; on this particular trip we will get lots of sleep as the days are short. Being in the field well before the sun comes up and staying out until sunset will often present unique photographic opportunities, opportunities that will be missed by those who need their beauty rest. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers arrive.

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

I am just about finished editing Dr. Cliff Oliver’s iPhone e-guide. And I just began editing Andrew McLachlan’s amazing frog and toad photography e-Guide. And on the distant horizon, I am planning to write a Nikon D850/D5 Camera Body e-Guide.

I will post the original Royal Tern starting dive image tomorrow.

I received my very own Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens from Steve Elkins at Bedford Camera as I was walking out the door to head for Thanksgiving on Long Island. If it turns out to be cloudy this afternoon I will do my focus fine-tuning outdoors with the lighting set-up. I will need to do six micro-adjustments: the 500 with my two D850 bodies and my D5, and then again all three bodies with my back-up TC-E14. I will share the results with you here soon. Followed I hope with lots of great images.

DeSoto Early Winter IPT News

Because both folks who have signed up for this IPT have expressed an interest in learning to micro-adjust their gear, I will be bringing my LensAlign unit and all of the lighting gear. Do consider joining us if you would like to do the same. Scroll down here for details.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on the morning of September 27, 2018 on the Fort DeSoto Fall IPT. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR AF lens and my souped up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering at about +1/3 stop: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual Mode. NATURAL AUTO WB at 8:08am on a dead-clear morning. Center Group AF. The array barely caught a bit of the bird’s back. Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune was a significant +6. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. One to the right of center/Group (grp)/Shutter Button/Continuous (AI Servo with Canon) AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bottom of the base of the bird’s neck. Image #1: Roseate Spoonbill foraging — standing at full height behind my tripod

The Situation

Just after sunrise on the last morning of the Fort DeSoto Fall IPT we were blessed when a flock of six spoonbills flew in and landed right in front of us. To get on sun angle required that we wade across some mucky bottom while circling well around the birds. As always, I used my tripod as a walking stick placing it well ahead of me while advancing slowly and taking small steps. I make sure with each step that the tripod is firmly placed on the soft bottom with the legs fully spread. That way, if I lose my balance I can almost always regain it by grabbing the tripod just below the Mongoose. Though I have never fallen using this technique, If I did, I would let go of the tripod so that I was the only thing to get wet. Once in position – it took a few minutes for Ed Dow to catch up with me — I began photographing from a standing position, knowing all the while that getting lower was the right move. But as kneeling is not something that I can do without aggravating my left knee, and though sitting get you lower than kneeling anyway, I resisted the urge. For a while.

This image was created on the morning of September 27, 2018 on the Fort DeSoto Fall IPT. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR AF lens and my souped up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering at about +1/3 stop: 1/2500 sec. at f/8 in Manual Mode. NATURAL AUTO WB at 8:19am on a dead-clear morning. One down and one to the right of center/Group (grp)/Shutter Button/Continuous (AI Servo with Canon) AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bottom of the base of the bird’s neck. Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune was a significant +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #2: Roseate Spoonbill foraging — seated behind my lowered tripod

To Sit or Not to Sit?

When standing you obviously stay a lot drier than when sitting down in the water. There is far less danger of dunking your gear. It is easier to follow the birds as they are foraging and if more birds fly in you at least have a chance at photographing the incoming birds. (I am not too good with seated flight photography off the tripod …) Lastly, if the birds move well off sun angle it is easy to move along with the flock.

The huge advantage of sitting (and of getting lower in general) is that your images will have a far more intimate look and 99 times out of 100 — all things being equal — your backgrounds will be a lot sweeter and well out of focus. When you get low you are effectively moving the background farther from the subject. Getting to the seated position is, however, somewhat of a hassle. First you need to shorten all three tripod legs. Then you need to choose your spot carefully. Though the tide was coming in, some areas of water were cluttered with floating debris (see Image #1), while other areas were pretty much clean (see Image #2). I lined the sun angle up with an area of clean water, sat down as gracefully as possible while holding onto the firmly seated tripod for support, wriggled my butt into position behind my rig, and waited for the foraging birds to move into the cleanest water right down sun angle. (Moving in any direction while seated and keeping your hands dry is pretty much impossible.) Once I got settled, I did not have to wait long. My biggest problem was that some of the birds were coming much too close.

It was a total thrill to be seated in the warm saltwater with half a dozen gorgeous spoonbills foraging peacefully right in front of me; pink birds and blue water!. Near the end of the session I added the 1.4X TC-E to the mix and tried to create some tight head portraits; that was difficult at best. (The TC had been in the fanny pack that I had draped around my neck for safe-keeping.) As the tide continued to rise the birds, sensing that the water was getting a bit too deep, all took flight and headed southeast for regions unknown. All in all I created about 400 images. Most of the ones that I kept were made while I was seated.

Keeping Your Hands Dry

Keeping your hands dry is a big challenge when getting down and then up. I once trashed a 5D IV by carelessly touching the camera right after I had had my hands in the salt water … Use your tripod for support but be sure not to put your full weight on the center of a single leg section as carbon fiber is strong but brittle. Instead, grab the tripod near the tripod platform.

Be Careful Getting Up!

As above, the trick to getting up is to resist the urge to put all of your weight the center of a single tripod leg for support. Can you say “snap”? If you are sure that a session has come to an end, you can get place one hand on the bottom to help you get up. Just be sure to dry that hand thoroughly before touching the camera.

Spoonbills and DeSoto IPTs

Over the years, virtually every DeSoto IPT group has had a least one good chance on Roseate Spoonbill. Is a close encountered guaranteed? Not by any means. But oftentimes we are so, so lucky that I think my late-wife Elaine is calling the shots from above …

The 2018 Fort DeSoto Early Winter IPT/Thursday December 7 through the morning session on Monday December 10, 2018: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 6.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in early winter. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, and gulls that winter on the T-shaped peninsula. With luck, we may get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher almost guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We may very well get to see and photograph the amazing heron/egret hybrid that has been present for three year. And we should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two.

On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

There will be a Photoshop/image review session after lunch (included) each day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

As with the fall IPT, this one will run with only a single registrant. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with the hotel information. Do know that it is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel (rather than at home or at a friend’s place).

A $500 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check after you register. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight folks so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please remember that the meet and greet will take place at 7:30 on the evening of Sunday, September 23. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.

Early and Late

Getting up early and staying out late is pretty much a staple on all BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours; on this particular trip we will get lots of sleep as the days are short. Being in the field well before the sun comes up and staying out until sunset will often present unique photographic opportunities, opportunities that will be missed by those who need their beauty rest. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers arrive.

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff (and Stuffing)

Thursday was a great day all in all. It was nice seeing former wife Dana and husband Kenny, Dana’s sister Rachel and her husband Bob, and son-in-law Erik’s sister Eva and her two boys, along with my two daughters and their families. My late-Mom and my late-sister Arna were missed.

I did pretty good at the big meal limiting myself to one large plate of turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and cranberries (but for picking lots of dark meat off the turkey carcass after the fact). The family tradition (started by my late-Mom Hazel) is to baste the turkey in apple juice. The gravy is made from the drippings and both the turkey and the gravy turn out wonderfully sweet.

After being relatively in control at the dinner table I fell off the dessert wagon two hours later with way, way too much Bryers Chocolate Truffle and Bryers Salty Caramel ice cream along with a few small chunks of a wonderful maple cake baked by granddaughter Maya. I managed to stay away from the very nice selection of pies. Just before publishing today’s blog I realized that the turkey wasn’t the only thing that was stuffed yesterday …

And all three of my NFL teams won. I will be back to eating healthy again today. I hope that you all had a wonderful day too.

I was glad to learn that the sale of all three of multiple IPT veteran, multiple BBC and Nature’s Best honored photographer, and good friend Paul Mckenzie’s lenses were either pending or complete. His goal was to sell the stuff quickly and he did just that (in three days).

DeSoto Early Winter IPT News

Because both folks who have signed up for this IPT have expressed an interest in learning to micro-adjust their gear, I will be bringing my LensAlign unit and all of the lighting gear. Do consider joining us if you would like to do the same. Scroll down here for details.

Note: gorgeous Snowy Egrets like the one in today’s featured image are both silly tame and plentiful at DeSoto in December.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Lens

Multiple IPT veteran John Johnson is offering a Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Lens in Excellent Plus to Near-mint condition for the BAA record low price of $7499.00. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the lens trunk, the original tough front lens cover, a LensCoat and LensCoat Hoodie, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact John via e-mail or by phone at 1-216-533-6148 (Eastern time).

I owned and used the super-sharp 800mm f/5.6, often with a 1.4X TC, as my go-to super-telephoto lens for almost five years. If you work with birds that are tough to approach and have trouble making sharp images with the 2X III TC, this lens should have your name on it. The 800/5.6 is great from the car or from a blind. I was astounded when I counted to learn that 15 of the 67 images in my San Diego exhibit were created with my 800. Note that the 800 and a 7D Mark II get you out to 1280mm. Add the 1.4X III TC and you wind up at 1792mm, almost 36X! They 800s — still in production — sell new right now for $12,999 from B&H. They have used ones in similar but not quite as good condition in the insanely high price range of from $9,499.95 to $9,999.95. Several of them have been for sale at those prices for more than two years. Thus, John’s lens is an amazing buy. artie

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on the morning of September 24, 2018 at my new favorite spot (thanks to Noel Heustis) at Fort DeSoto Park. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II, and the fast, rugged professional body, the Nikon w/Dual XQD slots). ISO 400. Matrix metering at about +-1/3 stop as originally framed: 1/1000 sec. at f/11 in Manual Mode. AUTO1 WB at 8:47am on a dead-clear morning. Center Group (grp) AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array — as seen above — barely caught the bird’s back. Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune was a significant +6. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Photo Mechanic Screen Capture for Snowy Egret ready to take flight

Group AF Magic

As you might imagine, the moment before I pushed the shutter button the Snowy Egret had been standing up straight and tall and the center Group AF array was right on the subject’s neck (and thus on the same plane as its eye). I was, however, able to follow my own advice: “When something unexpected happens, push the shutter button. If you try to adjust anything, you will miss the action, but only 100% of the time.” So when the bird leaned forward I pushed the shutter button even though the AF array was nowhere near the bird’s head, face, or neck.

Now, I have absolutely no idea how or why Group AF works so well for flight and action, but in this case it performed magically; the eye of the subject is razor sharp at 100% in the cropped (unsharpened) master file. Though I have been using Nikon for a relatively short time, I have seen numerous instances of this type of magical AF performance: the Group array is not anywhere near the bird’s head, face, or eye et the image is dead-on sharp.

This image was created on the morning of September 24, 2018 at my new favorite spot (thanks to Noel Heustis) at Fort DeSoto Park. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II, and the fast, rugged professional body, the Nikon w/Dual XQD slots). ISO 400. Matrix metering at about +-1/3 stop as originally framed: 1/1000 sec. at f/11 in Manual Mode. AUTO1 WB at 8:47am on a dead-clear morning. Center Group AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array barely caught a bit of the bird’s back. Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune was a significant +6. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Center Group (grp) Shutter Button AF as originally framed. Snowy Egret ready to take flight

Square and Boxy Crops

I am often asked if I always stick to the 3X2 of 2X3 proportions of our horizontal and vertical images as they come out of camera. The answer is that I love 3X2 and 2X3 and if they work for a given image, I will go with those. If I need to go to a horizontal pano or a somewhat skinny vertical pano look I will not hesitate to go with those. But at times, as with today’s featured image, a given photograph screams out for a square of otherwise boxy crop. Note in the original in the Photo Mechanic Screen Capture that opened this blog post that there is a large strip of light sky at the top of the frame along with much too much blue water above the bird. So I picked 1:1 (square) from the Crop dropdown menu and took a bit off the bottom and a bit off the left. For this image, a perfect square was clearly the perfect crop.

D5 Image Quality

Notice that despite the relatively large crop that the D5 image quality stood up very nicely.

The Lesson

Decide on your crop only after carefully considering the compositional elements in the image. Don’t be limited by believing that there is a single best proportion; crop to suit the image.

The 2018 Fort DeSoto Early Winter IPT/Thursday December 7 through the morning session on Monday December 10, 2018: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 6.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in early winter. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, and gulls that winter on the T-shaped peninsula. With luck, we may get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher almost guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We may very well get to see and photograph the amazing heron/egret hybrid that has been present for three year. And we should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two.

On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

There will be a Photoshop/image review session after lunch (included) each day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

As with the fall IPT, this one will run with only a single registrant. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with the hotel information. Do know that it is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel (rather than at home or at a friend’s place).

A $500 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check after you register. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight folks so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please remember that the meet and greet will take place at 7:30 on the evening of Sunday, September 23. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.

Early and Late

Getting up early and staying out late is pretty much a staple on all BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours; on this particular trip we will get lots of sleep as the days are short. Being in the field well before the sun comes up and staying out until sunset will often present unique photographic opportunities, opportunities that will be missed by those who need their beauty rest. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers arrive.

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

I started working on (and finished) this blog post very early on the way to Orlando Airport on Wednesday morning, 21 NOV. My son-in-law Erik Egensteiner is driving. Jen is up front and I am in the back seat with grand-daughter Maya. We are flying to Islip this morning to spend Thursday and Friday with my daughter Alissa’s family and to see my sister Ilene and her family. I did not bring a camera and am flying with only one checked bag. Amazing!

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Mini Canon Fire Sale

Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens

Price Reduced $300 on November 20, 2018.

Multiple IPT veteran, multiple BBC and Nature’s Best honored photographer, and good friend Paul Mckenzie is offering a Canon 600mm F4 IS II lens (purchased in 2012) in very good to excellent condition for the silly low price of $6,199.00 (was $6499.00). There are a few superficial scratches on the paint. The sale includes the lens trunk with all the accessories, caps, straps, etc., and insured shipping via Fed Ex. As Paul lives in Hong Kong, he requires payment via a bank TT (electronic transfer). Contact Paul on the electronic transfer (and shipping) details. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Paul via e-mail.

The 600 II has been the state of the art super-telephoto for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many years. When I was using Canon and could get it to my location, it was always my go-to weapon. It is fast and sharp and deadly alone or with either TC. Paul’s copy has created many internationally honored images. He is upgrading his Canon stuff and is not switching to Nikon. You can save a bundle by grabbing Paul’s lens now. artie

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS Lens with Internal 1.4X Extender (& LensCoat)

Price Reduced $600 on November 20, 2018.

Multiple IPT veteran, multiple BBC and Nature’s Best honored photographer, and good friend Paul Mckenzie is also offering a Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS Lens with Internal 1.4X Extender in near-mint condition for the amazing low price of $5599.00 (was $6199.00). The sale includes the lens trunk, the front lens cover, the rear lens cap, all the original accessories, a LensCoat, and insured shipping via Fed Ex. As Paul lives in Hong Kong, he requires payment via a bank TT (electronic transfer). Contact Paul on the electronic transfer (and shipping) details. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Paul via e-mail.

This is the world’s best lens for a trip to Africa. It kills also in the Galapagos and in South Georgia, the Falklands, and Antarctica. And I used mine a lot at Bosque and other dusty places where the built-in TC helps to keep your sensor clean. And I loved it in the Palouse for its versatility. Last summer, I often found myself wishing that I had taken the 200-400 rather than my 500 II on the Bear Boat Cubs IPT as the bears were often too close! Many nature photographers use it as their workhorse telephoto lens as it offers 784mm at f/8 with an external 1.4X TC added. The lens sells new at B&H for $10,999.00. You can save an amazing $4,800.00 by grabbing Paul’s pretty much like-new lens right now. artie

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on October 25, 2018 at Snow Hill Island on the Emperor Penguin expedition with the Induro GIT 204/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and my souped up Nikon D850. ISO 500. Matrix metering at about +1 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/9. NATURAL AUTO WB at 8:02am on a then cloudy morning. Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune value: -2. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. One AF point below the center AF point Single AF Area Mode as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point very slightly below and to the left of the bird’s left eye. Image #1: Emperor Penguin chick cooling down

Cooling Down

By luck of the draw I was on the first helicopter to the Snow Hill Island Base Camp on Day 2. After the one-mile walk over the snow-covered sea ice I was both surprised and delighted to see that they had set up ropes between two colonies that left us only about ten meters from the nearest chicks. Hooray! With the crazy warm weather and no wind at all many of the chicks were lying on the snow with their wings spread to cool down. To completely isolate this chick I added the TC-E14 (1.4X teleconverter) to the tripod-mounted 500 PF (that was kindly loaned to me by multiple IPT participant Michael Goodman).

Your Favorite?

Which of today’s two featured images do you like best? Please let us know why you made your choice.

This image (of the same chick) was created on October 25, 2018 at Snow Hill Island on the Emperor Penguin expedition with the Induro GIT 204/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens and my souped up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering at about +1 stop: 1/1600 sec. at f/7.1. NATURAL AUTO WB at 8:16am on in almost sunny conditions. Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune value: +2. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Two AF points below and one to the right of the center AF point Single AF Area Mode as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point very on our right of the base of the bird’s open bill. Image #2: Emperor Penguin chick stretching wings

Teleconverter Strategies

While adding the TC gave me enough focal length (700mm) to completely isolate the single chick in Image #1, I clipped a wingtip or two each time that the chick flapped its wings. The next move was obvious: remove the TC and go wider. This is often the best plan when trying to capture behavior or action. In addition, removing the TC allowed for a faster shutter speed as I dropped from f/9 to f/7.1. Note also that it had gotten a lot brighter in only fifteen minutes. Good photographers have a sort of internal light meter on the back of their heads that detect changes in light levels and are thus, they are conscious of the need to constantly be checking their histograms and adjusting their exposures …

Image Colors …

To my eye on my Macbook Pro with Retina Display Image #1 looks quite neutral with perhaps a bit of a YELLOW cast to the snow. In Image #2, the snow looks BLUER and there might be a touch of a MAGENTA cast on the bird.

How are you seeing the colors in Images #1 and #2?

Coming Soon

As I have been completely dedicated to critiquing images in the Avian Forum on BPN — I have not missed commenting on a single image since August 8, 2018 — I have become acutely aware that differences in monitors affect both the color and the brightness of a given image. I have calibrated my laptop monitor several times but the huge problem for me is that even when my laptop brightness is maxed out it is not bright enough so that I can differentiate the three or hour darkest boxes on the calibration strip at the bottom of each BPN page. In other words, at its brightest my monitor is a bit dark.

To rectify that situation I will soon be purchasing a stand-alone monitor that will connect to my laptop with a cable. When I am traveling I and posting I will still be processing images on the laptop. It will be both interesting and educational to note the differences when I get home … Details on which monitor I will be purchasing will follow?

Images and card design copyright: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. All of the images on this card were created on the 2018 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT

The New, Expanded 2019 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. Thursday June 27 (from EDI) through Tuesday, July 9, 2019 (on the ground; fly home on Wednesday July 10.): $9,999. Limit 10 photographers. Co-leader: Peter Kes.

Join me in the UK in late June and early July 2019 to photograph Atlantic Puffin, Common Murre, Razorbill, Shag, and Northern Gannet, Red Kite, and more both in flight and at close range. We will also have great chances with Arctic and Sandwich Terns, both with chicks of all sizes; Black-headed, Lesser-Black-backed, and Herring Gulls, many of those chasing puffins with fish; Black-legged Kittiwake with chicks; plus Grey Seal. There will be tons of great flight photography. As on all IPTs, if you pay attention, you will learn a ton, especially about sky conditions and the relationship between light angle and wind direction and their effects on flight photography.

Why go all the way to Machias Seal Island off the coast of Maine, endure a two-hour boat ride, and have to photograph Atlantic Puffins from a cramped blind usually in bright sun (and well off sun angle) when you can hop a red-eye flight from Newark, NJ and be in Edinburgh, Scotland early the next morning. First we drive down to Bridlington for easy access to Bempton Cliffs where our primary targets will be Northern Gannet in flight. We will also get to photograph Razorbill, Northern Fulmar, Herring Gull, and Black-legged Kittiwake. While in Bridlington we will spend one afternoon visiting a Red Kite feeding station that should provide lots of flight photography action.

While in Bridlington we will staying at the Lobster Pot by Marston’s Inn, just fifteen minutes from Bempton Cliffs. After 3 1/2 days of photography at there, we drive down to Seahouses in Northumberland to the two lodges that will be our home base for a week. After a short boat ride each day we will have hundreds of puffins posing at close range all day, every day — usually in ideal cloudy-bright conditions. While we are in Seahouses we will do six puffin/seabird trips, all weather permitting of course; last year we did not miss a single landing. In five years we have averaged losing less than one half day per year to bad weather. We land at Staple Island in the mornings and then sail over to Inner Farnes for our afternoon sessions. In addition, we may enjoy a session or two photographing nesting Black-legged Kittiwakes at eye level from a rocky beach in Seahouses.

In Seahouses, we stay 7 nights in gorgeous, modern, upscale lodges with Wi-fi. They are beyond lovely with large living areas and lots of open space for the informal image sharing and Photoshop sessions. The bedrooms are decent-sized. Each lodge has one double bedroom and two twin bedrooms. (See the single supplement info below.) At the lodges we cook our own breakfasts each morning and prepare our own lunches to be brought on the six puffin boat trips. For dinners we will alternate cooking in the lodges with fine dining at several excellent local restaurants. We stay two nights at the Marston’s Inn in Dunbar. We will enjoy a fine-dining Thank You dinner at the Dunbar Hotel on the Tuesday evening before we fly home.

On the morning of Monday, July 8, 2019, the plan is to sleep late, pack, and head up to Dunbar Harbor, Scotland for lunch and an afternoon gannet boat chumming trip: flight photography until you cannot lift your camera. The next morning, Tuesday July 9, we will enjoy our second gannet boat chumming trip (both weather permitting). On both trips we will enjoy great views of the huge gannetry at Bass Rock. Included will be two nights lodging at the Pine Martin by Marston’s Inn in Dunbar. Very early on the morning of Wednesday, July 10, we will drive up to Edinburgh Airport so that everyone can make their flights home. No moaning please. You will need a flight that leaves at 8:30am or later. Not too much later is generally best. Note: this trip needs a minimum of four photographers to run.

Images and card design copyright: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. All images were created on the 2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT

The Details

This IPT is all-inclusive except for your airfare and alcoholic beverages. All ground transportation, lodging costs, meals, your National Trust membership, and all boat, entry, and landing fees are included. Weather permitting, we will enjoy three and one-half days (at least six sessions in all) at Bempton Cliffs, an afternoon with the Red Kites, six full days on the puffin boats, one amazing afternoon gannet chumming trip, and one spectacular morning gannet chumming trip. The trip cannot be finalized until I have at least six deposits as we will be renting a lovely 15-passenger bus with our private professional driver who happens to be my web-master, Peter Kes, who is also a skilled photographer and my co-leader 🙂

IPT Details

If you are good to go sharing a room–couples of course are more than welcome, heck, we actually need two couples — please send your non-refundable $2,000/person deposit check now to save a spot. Please be sure to check your schedule carefully before committing to the trip and see the travel insurance info below. Your balance will be due on February 28, 2019. Please make your check out to “Arthur Morris” and send it to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855.

Please shoot me an e-mail if you are good to go or if you have any questions.

Single Supplement Info

Single supplement rooms in Bridlington and Dunbar are available for those who register early. The cost of the single supplement for those six nights is $600.00. Single supplement rooms at the lodge may be available on a limited basis but only if the trip does not fill with ten photographers. The single supplement fee for those seven nights is $700. If you would like your own room in Bridlington and Dunbar, please request it when making your deposit and include payment in full for the single supplement with your deposit: $2,600.00. The single supplement deposits are non-refundable as I will need to make the reservations well in advance.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance for big international trips is highly recommended as we never know what life has in store for us. I strongly recommend that you purchase quality insurance. Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options you can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. My family and I use and depend on the great policies offered by TIS whenever we travel. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check or running your credit card. Whenever purchasing travel insurance, be sure to read the fine print carefully even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.

I truly hope that you can join me on this exciting venture.

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

Numbers have been down on my last two birding walk/drive-arounds but I’ve seen some great birds. On Thursday I had a fly-by drake Bufflehead, an ILE first for me and a rare bird away from the coasts. And last night driving back from my sunset walk there was a Great Horned Owl sitting on a neighbor’s antenna!

With seven folks now committed to San Diego, there is just one slot open. Only two folks are signed up for the Early Winter DeSoto IPT; there is cheap shared Airbnb lodging for a female or two available. Do consider joining us on that one or on another IPT — especially the Spoonbill Boat IPT — only two slots open — see below. You can see all the current offerings by clicking here. It was great to see that at least three folks have joined BPN recently after reading the blog post here.

Richard Crossley

On Thursday evening I was surprised and delighted by a call from old friend Richard Crossley; we go back at least 32 years. He and some other then-young Brits flew over each summer after their university years to wait tables in various Cape May, NJ restaurants. They — who included Richard and Julian Hough — would stay over for a night or two in the small apartment where Elaine and I lived in Howard Beach, Queens, NY (near Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge) before getting on a big jet and heading back to the UK. They would visit the East Pond at JBWR often and were glad to save some bucks by sleeping on our floor; but they always enjoyed my cooking!

Richard and wife Deb moved to Cape May at some point and Richard returned the favor often; Elaine and I spent many nights in our small motor home in the Crossley’s driveway in Cape May plugged in with a long extension cord that was placed through a slightly open window and ran into Richard’s living room! Richard was always a crack birder, able to identify flying specks from miles away.

Richard was a co-author of The Shorebird Guide (2006) along with Michael O’Brien and another old, good friend, Kevin T. Karlson — Kevin and I go back more than 34 years. Then Richard came up with a new concept for bird identification guides, the Crossley ID Guide series. The first, The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds (2011), was hugely successful. You can check it out by clicking on the logo link above. Several others followed. Richard and I talked about old times for well more than an hour.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on September 10, 2018 with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 400mm) with my back-up Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering plus about one stop: 1/40 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode (was still underexposed). Auto1 WB at 5:20pm on a sunny afternoon in shade provided by my house. Live View with Manual focus with d-o-f confirmed by Focus Peaking (with 2-second timer) AF fine tune is not in play when using Live View even if you are using AF as focusing is done by contrast off the sensor. Walkingsticks — pair mating

The Situation

I noticed this pair of copulating Walkingsticks on the pool enclosure when I went for a swim. When I got out of the pool they were still in the same spot. I found a nice stick to be used as a perch, set up my 80-400 on a tripod, and mounted a Wimberley Plamp onto an old tripod in a spot in the shade that would yield a pleasing green background. Then I coaxed the copulating insects onto my perch stick, stuck that into the Plamp, and went to work. After 30 minutes the Walking Sticks were released unharmed into the woods next to my pool.

The Lesson: Focusing for Macro

After several unsuccessful (i.e., unsharp) attempts, I tried focusing in Live View with the image magnified; looking at the eye focusing was a snap. Enabling Focus Peaking allowed me to actually see the depth of field as I tried various apertures. Wanting to stay at ISO 800 I successfully went to some very slow shutter speeds by using the 2-second timer (along with Live View which raised the mirror).

Nikon 80-400 VR Versatility

So far you have seen lots of super-sharp images created on the Emperor Penguin expedition with the 80-400. I will be sharing some 500 PF images with you here soon; some included the use of the TC-E14 III and the TC-E 17. But like the Canon 100-400 II, the 80-400 is amazingly versatile: birds, bird-scapes, people portraits, scenics, and as here, as a quasi-macro lens. Note: with its far superior minimum focusing distance the Canon 1-4 is the clear winner in the last category.

Not unexpectedly, the Nikon 80-400 VR is routinely trashed online by the internet experts. I am pretty sure that the 80-400 VR that I am using is actually a newer version, an 80-400 VR II, but I am not positive of that. If you know for sure if that lens was or was not ever updated, please leave a comment. In any case, the images that I created with the hand held 80-400 at Snow Hill were as sharp as any images I have ever made with a telephoto lens. Note that the AFA Fine-Tune value for my 80-400 with my back-up D850 is a substantial +5. Those considering switching systems can learn a lot in the BPN Photography Gear Forum post, Upgrade or Jump Ship here. This comment made by the original poster shows what I am talking about above, The 80-400 also looks like is a no-go in terms of Image Quality. Nothing could be further from the truth; you gotta love the internet experts …

If you own an 80-400 VR please leave a comment and let us know how you like yours.

From left to to right clockwise back to the center: Brown Pelican, Roseate Spoonbill downstroke, Brown Pelican sunrise silhouette, Double-crested Cormorant pre-dawn blur, Roeseate Spoonbill flapping after bath, Brown Pelican taking flight, Roseate Spoonbill taking flight, Reddish Egret white morph breeding plumage in flight, and Reddish Egret dark morph breeding plumage in flight. All images on this card were created by me on the Hooptie Deux at Alafia Banks on the February 2018 trip. You can click on each card to enjoy a larger version.

We will be leaving the dock very early for the morning sessions (weather permitting) in hopes of photographing the pre-dawn American Crow and White Ibis blast-offs. All sessions are planned for the Alafia Banks Roseate Spoonbill Rookery. We might consider other options in the unlikely event of horrific weather. There will be lots of opportunities for flight photography of several species including and especially Roseate Spoonbill. Also likely for flight photography are nesting Brown Pelican, both morphs of Reddish Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, White and Glossy Ibises, and Double Crested Cormorant. We should have some good chances with birds carrying nesting material. This IPT includes all boat and guide fees, in the field instruction, chest waders (feel free to bring your own of course to assure a perfect fit), and three working lunches on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. For the most part we will be standing in mid-calf to knee high water behind our tripods. We help you get in and out of the boat with your gear. This is likely not the best trip for folks with mobility or balance problems. Note however that some folks opt to stay on the boat to photograph. They usually have lots of chances for flight photography of spoonbills and other species but are almost always pretty far away from the spoonbills that land.

All images on this card were created by me on the Hooptie Deux at Alafia Banks

The Timing and Tides are Perfect!

I recently saw a similar trip advertised two months too late for breeding plumage spoonbills … The 2019 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT represents an incredible opportunity to photograph Florida’s most wanted species. I do hope that you can join us. There will be a meet and greet at 7:00pm sharp on the evening of Friday February 15, 2019. All of the images on the card were made on the Hooptie Duex during the last two weeks of February, prime time for the spoonies in mega-breeding plumage. Many folks have written expressing interest so please do not tarry.

Please e-mail to hold your spot. Then you may either secure your spot by calling Jim or Jennifer at the office at 863-692-0906 and leaving the $500 deposit on credit card or sending your check for payment in full to us as follows with the check made out to:

BIRDS AS ART and sent here via US mail:

BIRDS AS ART
PO BOX 7245
Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855

If you call to leave your deposit you will be asked to mail your check for the balance no later than December 15, 2018.

Everybody Loves Spoonbills!

Roseate Spoonbill is one of if not the most sought after avian photographic subjects in Florida. They are generally hard to find and somewhat difficult to approach. They are relatively easy to find at Alafia Banks—heck, you can’t miss seeing them, but even there they can on some days be somewhat difficult to approach. On some days we may be able to get ridiculously close to them. The huge incentive to get out to Alafia Banks in mid-February is the chance to photograph this species at the height of its spectacular breeding plumage…. with long telephoto lenses. A 500 or 600 with a 1.4X TC is perfect for this trip.

Mornings to Alafia Banks for spoonbills and Brown Pelicans (with lots of flight photography often with the birds likely carrying nesting material), Double-crested Cormorants, ibises (both Glossy and White) in breeding plumage. Some of the White Ibises may be sporting their spectacular, distended, red, naked (un-feathered) throat pouches—typically larger in the females. In addition we may get to photograph egrets including Great and Reddish, both in full breeding plumage, shorebirds, and more. There will be lots of flight photography opportunities. Afternoon trips will most likely be back to Alafia Banks for the spoonbills with an option to visit a more sheltered inland rookery location for a variety of nesting birds. In the event of horrific weather artie will either take the group to Fort DeSoto or will conduct an extensive image review/Photoshop session. This IPT includes lunches on the full days with small group image sharing and review and some over-the-shoulder Photoshop instruction.

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

I had 32 species on my bird walk/drive-around on Monday morning. I checked for the Purple Gallinule in the same spot as yesterday. It responded to audio; the Least Bittern did not.

Be sure to click on the Emperor Penguin wingstretch image below to enjoy the spectacular larger version.

Six folks are committed to San Diego so there are just two openings left. Only two folks are signed up for the Early Winter DeSoto IPT; there is cheap shared Airbnb lodging for one or two folks (male or female) available. Do consider joining us on that one or on another IPT — especially the Spoonbill Boat IPT. You can see all the current offerings by clicking here. It was great to see that at least three folks joined BPN yesterday after reading the blog post here.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens/with Extras!

Brooke Miller is offering a Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM in excellent plus condition for $7398.00. The sale includes: the rear lens cap, the original tough front lens cover, the original lens feet (both tripod and monopod feet), the lens strap, the lens trunk, the owner’s manual, the original product box, a Canon 52mm Drop-in Circular Polarizing Filter PL-C 52WII like-new condition, a LensCoat Raincoat Pro in Realtree AP Snow, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your funds clear unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Brooke via e-mail.

The 500 f/4 super telephoto lenses have long been the world’s most popular for birds,nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. Canon’s Series II version is light, fast, super-sharp, and produces amazing images with both the 1.4X and 2X III TCs. The 500 II is relatively small, easily hand holdable for some folks, and is much easier travel with, focuses closer than, and costs a lot less than the 600 II. Lastly, and you might find this amazing, the magnification for the 500 II is the same as it is for the 600 II: .15X. How is that possible? Magnification is calculated at the minimum focusing distance of the lens — 12.14 feet (3.7 meters) for the 500 II and 14.77 feet (4.5 meters) for the 600 II. Simply put, the 500 II focuses more than two feet closer than the 600 II. The seller for the last one that sold here had five calls the first day; the first four folks quibbled on price. The fifth one jumped right on it … Please do not tarry if you are seriously interested in Brooke’s lens as it should sell almost instantly. Or not 🙂 As the 500 II goes for $8999 new you will be getting an excellent plus lens while saving $1701.00. I loved my 500 II 🙂 artie

Canon EF 100-400mm L IS II Lens

Brooke Miller is offering a Canon EF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II USM in excellent condition for $1,449.00. The sale includes: the rear lens cap, the front lens cap, the lens hood, the lens strap, the lens case, the owner’s manual, the original product box, a LensCoat Lens Cover in digital camo, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Brooke via e-mail.

Y’all know how much I loved and now miss this amazingly sharp and versatile lens. artie

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L L IS Lens (with tripod ring!)

Brooke Miller is also offering a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro lens in near-mint condition for $599.00. The sale includes the Canon tripod mount ring D(B) (a $172.00 value), the rear lens cap, the front lens cap, the lens hood, the lens case, the owner’s manual, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact via e-mail.

I loved this lens for flowers both on a tripod and hand held. I used it often on a tripod with a 12mm tube in front of the 1.4X III TC; manual focusing is mandatory and easy with combination. artie

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Brooke Miller is also offering a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Body in excellent condition for $2,249.00. The sale includes the body cap, one original battery, the LC-E6 battery charger, the eyecup Eg, the wide strap, the cable protector, the interface cable IFC-150U II, the owner’s manual, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only.

Please contact Brooke via e-mail.

Two 5D IV bodies served as my workhorse dSLRs right up until I switched to Nikon. I used them almost to the exclusion of my 1DX II, often on f/4 super-telephotos with either the 1.4X or the 2X III TCs (see those below). artie

Canon Series III EF Extenders (Teleconverters)

Brooke Miller is also offering a Canon Extender EF 1.4X III and a Canon Extender EF 2X III, both in near-mint condition for $299.00 each. Buy one or both. Each sale includes the rear lens cap, the front lens cap, the lens pouch, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only.
Your item will not ship until your funds clear unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Brooke via e-mail.

Regular readers know that I used and depended on both my three 1.4X III TCs and my two 2X III TC pretty much every day that I was out photographing; traveling with back-up was mandatory. artie

Money Saving Reminder

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on Day 2 — October 25, 2018 — of the recently concluded Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island expedition via icebreaker. While lying flat on the snow and ice, I used the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 175mm) with my back-up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering plus about 2 stops off the snow: 1/1000 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. Auto 1 WB at 10:13am on a cloudy-bright morning. One AF point down and three to the right of the center AF point/Single/Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was just above and to the left of the penguin’s eye. I kept my 80-400 rig on my shoulder via an RS-7 Curve Breathe Strap so that it was instantly accessible when I was working with the tripod-mounted 500 PF. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Emperor Penguin/adult stretching

Background Strategies

When I am at the beach or working a pond and there are birds feeding along the shoreline, I will most always look for the cleanest section of beach, sit down behind my tripod right on sun angle, and wait for the birds to come to the cleanest background. On the first morning of the Emperor Penguin expedition, the ropes were set 30 meters from the various colonies. While there were lots of birds in each colony with lots of young, my style of photography was difficult to impossible for several reasons:

1- The birds were close together with several adults and chicks often occupying the same square meter. Isolating a single bird or even an adult with its own chick was extremely difficult.

2- Colonies are inherently messy places with bird poop, regurgitant, and avian footprints everywhere.

3- The warm temperatures that we encountered turned the snow at the colonies into very unattractive slush.

Photographers and adult Emperor Penguin on clean snow Image courtesy of and copyright 2018: Werner Mayer

Being Away From the Colony Paid Dividends

For me, the solution to the problems listed above was to work well past the edges of the colonies and look for or wait for single birds on the relatively pristine snow and ice. As you can see in the image above — that’s me in the front — that is exactly what I and several others did in the situation that resulted in today’s featured image.

I am pretty sure that the bird in Werner’s image is the bird in today’s featured image. Note that everyone but me had their parkas unzipped to avoid overheating. Mine was lying on my gear bag a few hundred meters away. At one point I got flat on the ground but most of the time I sat and took advantage of the pure white frozen snow. Thanks to shipmate Werner for sharing the image.

The Lesson

If you have a choice between clean backgrounds and dirty, ugly, cluttered backgrounds always opt for the former. 🙂 That said, many folks could not withstand the allure of all the birds in the colony. But their images suffered to some degree.

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

Stuff

I was glad to learn that multiple IPT veteran Mike Gotthelf sold his Canon EOS 1DX in near-mint condition for $2299.00 this week just days are selling his Canon EOS 7D Mark II in near-mint condition for $799.00.

There are now five folks signed up for San Diego. The limit is eight. Only two folks are signed up for the Early Winter DeSoto IPT; there is cheap shared Airbnb lodging for one or two folks (male or female) available. Do consider joining us on that one or on another IPT. Scroll down for the DeSoto details or see all the current offerings here.

If you missed the comments and replies on the last blog post here, you might wish to revisit and check them out as there were several revealing exchanges and insightful questions and answers. All civil 🙂

Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime/Limit 13/Openings: 4

Right now I have nine folks committed to the 2019 Galapagos Photo Cruise. A friend who had committed to the trip learned that he and his wife might not be able to attend. Thus, I have room for one or two couples, one couple and two singles, or four singles. If the archipelago is on your bucket list, please get in touch via e-mail asap with questions. If you might be registering with a friend or a spouse, do ask about the two at a time discount. See the complete details here.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Insane Low Prices on Nikon Lenses

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR Lens

John Svendsen is offering a used Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price by miles of $4199.00. The sale includes the original product box and everything that came in it: the front and rear lens caps, the lens trunk, the front lens cover, the lens strap,a LensCoat, a Wimberley low foot, and insured ground shipping via major courier. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact John by e-mail or by phone at 1-503-881-1172 (Pacific time).

The 600 f/4 lenses are ideal for those who do birds and wildlife. This current (lighter) version of the Nikon 600, the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens sells new right now for $12,296.95. John’s lens is an amazing buy for someone young and relatively strong who would like to save an astounding $8,097.95. artie

Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF ED Lens

John Svendsen is also offering a used Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF ED lens (the original version) in near-mint condition for the BAA record low price by miles of $1499.00. The sale includes the original product box and everything that came in it: the front and rear lens caps, the lens trunk, the front lens cover, the lens strap, a Really Right Stuff LCF-14 C low foot, and insured ground shipping via major courier. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact John by e-mail or by phone at 1-503-881-1172 (Pacific time).

This, the older version of the very versatile Nikon 200-400, is priced to sell. artie

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on September 25, 2018 on the DeSoto Fall IPT. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and my souped up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering at about zero: 1/4000 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. Auto 1 WB at 9:12am on a clear, sunny morning. On to the right Group (grp)/Shutter button/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon) AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the ibis’s neck. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. White Ibis bathing in parking lot puddle

Parking Lots Can Be Great for Bird Photography …

We did well at my #1 early morning DeSoto spot and decided to check out my #2 location. But we never made it. There were several large rain pools on the grass on either side of one of the bathrooms adjacent to the parking lot. With birds. We stayed with them for a bit and were rewarded when the White Ibises began bathing, one at a time, in the exact same spot. Apparently the exact depth of the water is super-important to bathing birds; when one bird is finished bathing and repositions to preen, another bird grabs the same spot and begins frolicking in the water. I see this most often with sandpipers and plovers. Though the ibises and a few Snow Egrets were very tame, I opted to go with the TC-e14 to reduce my angle of declination. I just missed on a few incoming ibises but did get some nice stuff on Mottled Duck. It always pays to keep your eyes and your mind open when looking for good places to photograph birds. We should see lots of White Ibises on the DeSoto Winter IPT (details below).

More on fine-tuning your BLUEs

I have been noticing more and more recently that when I set the WHITE and BLACK points during the RAW conversion that the BLUEs lose their punch, often being rendered a bit too light and a bit too YELLOW. Try refining your BLUEs by opening a Hue Saturation layer and selecting the BLUE channel. Then experiment by moving the Hue slider a bit to the right a very few points and moving the Lightness slider to the left to -10 or so. In addition, you can open a Selective Color and again selecting the BLUE channel. You can try moving the YELLOW slider to the left — try -10 or so, and adding a very few points of BLACK to the BLUEs.

Then, if you liked the look of the BLUEs in the RAW file do a comparison of the BLUEs in the RAW file with the BLUEs in your master TIFF file. By keeping your layers intact you can go back and further fine-tune the BLUEs until you are happy.

The 2018 Fort DeSoto Early Winter IPT/Thursday December 7 through the morning session on Monday December 10, 2018: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 6.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in early winter. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, and gulls that winter on the T-shaped peninsula. With luck, we may get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher almost guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We may very well get to see and photograph the amazing heron/egret hybrid that has been present for three year. And we should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two.

On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

There will be a Photoshop/image review session after lunch (included) each day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

As with the fall IPT, this one will run with only a single registrant. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with the hotel information. Do know that it is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel (rather than at home or at a friend’s place).

A $500 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check after you register. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight folks so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please remember that the meet and greet will take place at 7:30 on the evening of Sunday, September 23. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.

Early and Late

Getting up early and staying out late is pretty much a staple on all BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours; on this particular trip we will get lots of sleep as the days are short. Being in the field well before the sun comes up and staying out until sunset will often present unique photographic opportunities, opportunities that will be missed by those who need their beauty rest. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers arrive.

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).