Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Stuff

The unprecedented run of sunny days and blue skies in Europe continues. Despite that and a less than ideal northwest wind we did fairly well on Tuesday on our first visits to the island off Seahouses. It was supposed to be cloudy on Wednesday but alas, it was another sunny day. The wind however, swung to the southeast in the morning and to the south in the afternoon so conditions for flight photography and perched puffins were as good as they can be on a clear day. Everyone no matter what lens they used, folks got lots of images of puffins with their beaks full of sand eels. And everyone was thrilled, even Anita North and George Golumbeski who were back for their second UK Puffins and Gannets IPT.

If you are interested in joining the 2019 Bempton Cliffs/Seahouses UK Puffins and Gannets IPT please shoot me an e-mail.

I did manage 6.8 miles of walking on Wednesday. I am feeling great.

PHOTOEXPO 2018

If you missed the PHOTOEXPO 2018 announcement and live anywhere within driving or flying distance of Memphis, TN, click here for the info. I am still looking for a ride to Beale Street!

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 on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Recent Sales

Ray Maynard sold his Canon 1.4X III teleconverter in near-mint condition for the low price of $299.00 in late June, 2018.
Randall Ennis sold his Canon EOS-1D Mark IV in excellent condition for $849.00 in late June.
Joel Williams sold his Sony Vario-Tessar T FE 16-35 f/4 ZA OSS lens in like-new condition for $629 (was $749) in late June, 2018.
Joel Williams also sold his Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR lens in like-new condition for $749 (was $949) in April 2018.
Pierre Williot sold his Canon EOS 7D Mark II in like-new condition for a very fair $848.00 in late June, 2018.
Top BAA used gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price of $1349.00 the first day it was listed in late June.
Jim Keener sold a Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in excellent condition for the BAA record-low price of $999.00 (was $1149.00) in mid-June.
Jim Keener sold a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price of $1099.00 in Early June.
Steve Traudt sold an Xtrahand Vest, the Khumbu model, size XL, in very good condition for the BAA record-low price of $179.
Jim Brennan sold a used Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens in good condition for $249.00 in late May.
Larry Padgett sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in excellent condition for $1160 soon after it was listed in late May.
Charlie Curry sold his Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens in mint condition for a BAA record-low price of $750.00 on the first day of listing in late May, 2018

Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM Lens

Pierre Williot is offering a Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM lens (the original 600 IS) in very good to excellent condition in perfect working order with just a few blemishes for the BAA record-low-by-$800 price of $4199.00. The sale includes a LensCoat, the lens trunk, a low foot, the Canon 52mm Drop-In Circular Polarizer Filter (PL-C 52), the leather front lens cover, the rear cap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses.

Please get in touch with Pierre via e-mail.

The 600 f/4 lenses are ideal for those who do birds and wildlife. This lens is the original (heavier) version of the Canon 600 IS. The lighter 600mm f/4L IS sells new at B&H for $11,499.00. Pierre’s lens is a great buy for a young, eager, relatively strong nature photographer who would like to save $7,300.00. The original 600 IS served as my workhorse super-telephoto lens for more than a decade. artie

Six Nikon D850s and a Nikkor AF-S 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR Lens! Available Right Now!

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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

Booking.Com

Several folks on the UK IPT used the Booking.Com link below for there Edinburgh hotels, got great rates, and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

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 at Staple Island off of Seahouses, UK on the sunny morning of Tuesday, July 3, 2018. I used the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens (at 500mm) and the Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering at zero: 1/2000 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. Natural Auto WB at 10:26am. Two to the right of center d-9 AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was just to our right of the orange rosette. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +4. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #1: Atlantic Puffin with blue water background

Follow the Simple Directions …

Everyone was instructed to stay low and move slowly if there were puffins at the top of the landing site. On our first landing, There were, and everyone listened. As a result everyone got some very nice images of Atlantic Puffin with nice, blue water backgrounds.

This image was also created at Staple Island off of Seahouses, UK on the sunny morning of Tuesday, July 3, 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 Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering at zero: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Natural Auto WB at 11:15am. One up and two to the left of the center AF point/d-9/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon) AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the cetner of the neck just above the white of the upper breast. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: -6. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #2: Atlantic Puffin with green and mottled background

A New Loafing Location

We found a nice group of puffins perched on the rocks along a ravine in a location where I had never seen a puffin before. Most of the group partook. It was a great opportunity to practice working on sun angle while being aware of the background. My suggestion was to work within ten degrees of sun angle while being acutely aware of how the far wall of the ravine would affect the background. For Image #2, I was able to set the bird mostly against some green vegetation.

Your Favorite?

Which image do you prefer? Please state your reasons.

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

Despite the fact that the UK is in the midst of a virtually unprecedented period of clear blue skies day after day, things have been going great on the UK pre-trip. Summers in the UK are usually cloudy and misty, perfect for seabird photography … Each day we have figured out something new about Bempton Cliffs: where to be on what light on what wind. Thanks to BPN-friend Mike Poole — more on him in a blog post soon — for sharing the Red Kite spot at Harewood with the group on Thursday past; everyone had a blast.

PHOTOEXPO 2018

If you missed the PHOTOEXPO 2018 announcement and live anywhere within driving or flying distance of Memphis, TN, click here for the info. I am still looking for a ride to Beale Street!

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 on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Recent Sales

Randall Ennis sold his Canon EOS-1D Mark IV in excellent condition for $849.00 in late June.
Joel Williams sold his Sony Vario-Tessar T FE 16-35 f/4 ZA OSS lens in like-new condition for $629 (was $749) in late June, 2018.
Joel Williams also sold his Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR lens in like-new condition for $749 (was $949) in April 2018.
Pierre Williot sold his Canon EOS 7D Mark II in like-new condition for a very fair $848.00 in late June, 2018.
Top BAA used gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price of $1349.00 the first day it was listed in late June.
Jim Keener sold a Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in excellent condition for the BAA record-low price of $999.00 (was $1149.00) in mid-June.
Jim Keener sold a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price of $1099.00 in Early June.
Steve Traudt sold an Xtrahand Vest, the Khumbu model, size XL, in very good condition for the BAA record-low price of $179.
Jim Brennan sold a used Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens in good condition for $249.00 in late May.
Larry Padgett sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in excellent condition for $1160 soon after it was listed in late May.
Charlie Curry sold his Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens in mint condition for a BAA record-low price of $750.00 on the first day of listing in late May, 2018

Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens

Ray Maynard is offering a Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS lens (the original version) in near-mint condition for the BIRDS AS ART record-low price of $2349.00. The sale includes the lens trunk, the front leather cover, the rear lens cap, the lens strap, and insured shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your lens will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Ray via e-mail or by phone at 1-731-300-4141 (after noon/Central time).

The older version of the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS is a super-sharp lens that is great for hand held flight and action photography and great as well with both teleconverters for portraits and for flight. It has long been the favorite focal length of the world’s best hawk photographers. Ray’s near-mint package is priced to sell immediately. artie

Canon EF 2X III Teleconverter

Ray Maynard is also offering a Canon 2X III teleconverter in near-mint condition for $329.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the pouch, 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 Ray via e-mail or by phone at 1-731-300-4141 (after noon/Central time).

As folks know, when I used Canon, I used the 2X teleconverter on about 40% of the images that I made with f/4 super-telephoto lenses. artie

Ten Nikon D850s and a Nikkor AF-S 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR Lens! Available Right Now!

Contact Steve below to get your D850 tomorrow. Or e-mail Steve about a special del on the big Nikon zoom lens that is especially great for a trip to Africa or the Galapagos.

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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

Booking.Com

Several folks on the DeSoto IPT used the Booking.Com link below for there Edinburgh hotels, got great rates, and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

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 at Harewood, UK with the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 195mm) and my main Nikon D850. ISO 1000. Matrix metering +1 stop as framed: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 was a bit hot. NATURAL AUTO WB at 4:52pm on a clear afternoon. Center Group (grp)/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon)/Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure; this is just a small crop from below and from the left. The bird’s face was centered between the upper and right-most points of the array. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: zero. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Red Kite in upside down dive

Red Kites in the UK

Red Kite was extirpated (extinct in a given area) in England by the 1870s, in Scotland in 1886, and in Ireland by the middle of the 19th century as well. The population in Wales was down to only two breeding pairs in the early 1930s. In the mid-15th century, King James II of Scotland decreed that they should be “killed wherever possible”, but they remained protected in England and Wales for the next 100 years as they kept the streets free of carrion and rotting food. But populations declined precipitously due to persecution, poisoning and de-forestation. Re-introduction programs have been very successful aided in part by various feeding programs, the most notable at Gingrin Farms, Wales. Learn more about Red Kite in the Wikipedia article here.

Upside-down Red Kite: My Finest Image in Quite Some Time?

When we arrived at the feeding site, the sky was filled with kites; a group of non-photographers had arrived an hour before to picnic and had brought some meat along for the kites. Bummer, as the birds were a bit sated. We put good sized pieces of chicken — 75 pound Sterling-worth, on the top of the garage next to the cafe. There were almost always kites circling above us so we started by concentrating on backlit images of the birds from below. Groups of five to eight birds would circle lower and lower. Then all hell would break loose. One bird — we never knew which one of course, would dive for a piece of chicken, and would be rapidly followed by four five, or six more. Exposure was a nearly impossible puzzle as we had wind against bright sun. But the biggest problem was trying to figure out which bird would dive. At this point, I figured that I would be lucky to make one decent frame with a sharp subject. As the hours wore on the light got nicer but we still struggled with exposure as the birds wheeled and twisted and dove for the chicken.

Multiple IPT veteran Anita North suggested that we cut the chicken into small pieces. See we did. Anita and Fern Chan, the wife of first-timer Bun Chan, volunteered to cut the chicken parts smaller and toss them onto the roof. The small pieces were a bit more difficult for the birds to pick up and when the missed, they would fly up, turn around, and dive toward us and toward the light. At that point we at least had a chance but it was still difficult photography. Multiple IPT veteran Paul Reinstein wound up with 40 great images by zooming out fairly wide and then cropping. I went for the gusto and was both shocked and thrilled when I saw today’s featured image on the back of my camera and then again on my laptop. I think that I will end up with about five keepers. Everyone got a least a few good ones in what was an incredibly difficult situation. And all were thrilled to see these raptors wheeling and dealing at 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

We flew from Helsinki to Edinburgh, Scotland on Sunday evening past for 2 more full days of R&R. Though I walked 6.2 miles on Monday and 7.4 miles on Tuesday, I did lots of resting up to be ready for the upcoming UK Puffins and Gannets IPT; the knee continues to feel better each day. I meet the complete group on the early morning of Wednesday, June 27 –some arrived early. I am quite looking forward to a great 12 days! (Galapagos IPT veteran Paul Reinstein arrived several days early to tour Scotland with his wife.)

In the recent blog post here, several folks surmised that I needed extra depth-of-field for the Bullfinch image because the bird was so large in the frame. Steve Wampler was the first to answer correctly. But nobody explained why the Bullfinch image was by far the more difficult to create …

PHOTOEXPO 2018

If you missed the PHOTOEXPO 2018 announcement and live anywhere within driving or flying distance of Memphis, TN, click here for the info. I am still looking for a ride to Beale Street!

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 on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Recent Sales

Pierre Williot sold his Canon EOS 7D Mark II in like-new condition for a very fair $848.00 in late June, 2018.
Top BAA used gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price of $1349.00 the first day it was listed in late June.
Jim Keener sold a Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in excellent condition for the BAA record-low price of $999.00 (was $1149.00) in mid-June.
Jim Keener sold a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price of $1099.00 in Early June.
Steve Traudt sold an Xtrahand Vest, the Khumbu model, size XL, in very good condition for the BAA record-low price of $179.
Jim Brennan sold a used Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens in good condition for $249.00 in late May.
Larry Padgett sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in excellent condition for $1160 soon after it was listed in late May.
Charlie Curry sold his Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens in mint condition for a BAA record-low price of $750.00 on the first day of listing in late May, 2018.

One Nikon D850 Available Right Now!

Contact Steve below to get yours tomorrow.

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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

Booking.Com

Several folks on the DeSoto IPT used the Booking.Com link below, got great rates, and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

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.

What to Learn Here

From where I sit, folks who study the exposure information and the AF point selection and placement will get the most from the blog. As far as AF point selection, do understand that with Nikon the location of the selected AF point is only approximate. Nikon View NX-i does not show the entire AF grid with the selected point illuminated (as Canon does). That means that two AF points up and four the right of the center AF point is either perfectly correct or an

This image was created on June 23 at the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden in Helsinki, Finland by Amy Novotny. Image #1: artie and Barnacle Geese at the botanic garden Image courtesy of and copyright 2018: Amy Novotny

Amy Runs

Amy discovered this location on her first long Helsinki run, about eight miles. Well done Amy!

This image was created on June 23 at the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden. I used the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 195mm) and my back-up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering +1/3 stop as framed: 1/1000 sec. at f/8. NATURAL AUTO WB at 5:20pm on a sunny afternoon. One up and four to the left of the center AF point/d-9/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon)/Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was placed on the base of the goose’s neck pretty much on the same plane as its visible eye. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #2: Barnacle Goose grazing

Full Body Portrait

Not so great …

Even though I got low and even though I was working right on sun angle I knew that full body portraits would not work too well even if they were technically perfect. I was right. The grass is somewhat over-powering and is too much in focus. Even if I had worked wider at f/5.6 or my standard f/6.3 the detail in the grass would have still been brought up too, too much.

This image was also created on June 23 at the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden. I used the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 400mm) and my back-up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/1000 sec. at f/8. NATURAL AUTO WB at 5:28pm on a sunny afternoon. Four up from the center AF point/d-25/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was placed on the goose’s chin just behind the base of the bill, again pretty much on the same plane as its visible eye. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #3: Barnacle Goose, front-end vertical portrait

Front-end Vertical Portrait

By inching forward on my butt I was able to get close enough to create a front-end vertical portrait. This softened the grass up a bit but I wanted more …

Lens Choice

This excursion was part photo walk and part health walk. It is much easier for me to walk with the lighter, smaller, 80-400 VR than it is to walk with the larger, heavier Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm. The Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III was in my pocket just in case. When it is likely that I will need to extra focal length at f/5.6, I will always bite the bullet and take the 2-5.

This image was also created on June 23 at the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden. I used the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 400mm) and my back-up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering +1 stop as framed: 1/640 sec. at f/8. NATURAL AUTO WB at 5:29pm on a sunny afternoon. Three to the right and two up from the center AF point/d-9/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was placed squarely on the bird’s eye. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #4: Barnacle Goose, head portrait, grass background

Getting Closer

As I continued to inch closer the backgrounds became cleaner and cleaner even at f/8. There were a few passing clouds so I lowered my shutter speeds at times. The sun peeked out at full force as I pressed the shutter button to create this image so the WHITEs were very bright but easily tame-able during the RAW conversion and then with some NIK Detail Extractor as I worked on the image in Photoshop.

This image was also created on June 23 at the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden. I used the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 400mm) and my back-up Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering +1 stop as framed: 1/1000 sec. at f/8. NATURAL AUTO WB at 5:49pm on a sunny afternoon. Two up and three to the left of the center AF point/d-9/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was placed on the lower front corner of the bird’s eye. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #5: Barnacle Goose, head portrait, gravel and grass background

A Different Take

I decided to work a different goose so that I could get a pinkish gravel background. That involved more scuttling around on my butt. While I did not quite achieve that with Image #5, the gravel background and the green strip worked out nicely.

Your Favorite?

Which of today’s featured images is your favorite? My personal choice is clear.

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

When I dropped Anita off at the loon nest by Gednje, we noted that their was no loon on the nest and no loons on the small lake. The pair had lost its egg. She opted to stay and see what she could find. I drove a short distance and found the dirt road depicted on the map below. Read on to see how I fared in my search for a Dotterel.

As I type on Friday, June 22, we are well into Finland, about an hour from the Ivalo Airport. We fly to Helsinki tonight for 2 days of R&R.

My rehab is going well and Amy has me walking a lot. From Tuesday through Thursday I walked 12.9 miles, a good deal of that over rough terrain and/or uphill. The best news? My knee is feeling pretty darned good.

To see some of the spectacular scenery on the way to Batsfjord and Berlevag (in northern Norway), check out Amy’s blog here.

PHOTOEXPO 2018

If you missed yesterday’s announcement and live anywhere within driving or flying distance of Memphis, TN, click 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 on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

New Listing

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens

Top BAA used gear seller Jim Keener is offering a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price of $1349.00. The sale includes the soft lens case, the front and rear lens caps, the hood, the original box, and insured ground shipping via to continental US addresses only. The package will not ship until your check clears.

Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 310-741-7435 (9am-9pm Mountain time).

Characterized by a revamped optical design, the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM from Canon is a workhorse wide-angle zoom and member of the well-regarded L-series of lenses. Featuring a series of specialized elements, this lens utilizes a trio of aspherical elements and two ultra-low dispersion glass elements to control a variety of aberrations for high sharpness and clarity. Both SWC and ASC coatings have also been applied to the elements in order to reduce lens flare and ghosting for increased contrast and color accuracy.

Complementing its optical prowess, a ring-type Ultrasonic Motor offers fast, smooth, and near-silent autofocus performance, which is further benefitted by full-time manual focus operation and an internal focusing design. The lens is both water and dust-resistant, and fluorine coatings have also been applied to the front and rear elements to protect against fingerprints and smudges from affecting image quality.

This wide-angle 16-35mm zoom lens is compatible with full-frame Canon EF-mount DSLRs, as well as APS-C-sized models where it will provide a 25.6-56mm equivalent focal length range. The constant f/2.8 maximum aperture offers consistent performance and excellent light transmission throughout the zoom range. Two large-diameter glass-molded dual-surface aspherical elements and one ground aspherical element help to minimize distortions and spherical aberrations throughout the zoom range in order to maintain edge-to-edge sharpness and illumination. Two ultra-low dispersion elements are used to minimize chromatic aberrations as well as eliminate color blurring around the edges of subjects. Both a Subwavelength Coating (SWC) and an Air Sphere Coating (ASC) have been applied to lens elements to reduce backlit flaring and ghosting for maintained light transmission and high contrast in strong lighting conditions. A ring-type Ultrasonic Motor (USM), along with an internal focusing system, high-speed CPU, and optimized AF algorithms, are employed to deliver fast, precise, and near-silent autofocus performance as well as full-time manual focus override.

As a member of the esteemed L-series, this lens is sealed against dust and moisture for working in inclement environmental conditions. Protective fluorine coating has been applied to the front bulbous element to resist fingerprints and smudges and to make cleaning significantly easier. Rounded nine-blade diaphragm contributes to a pleasing out of focus quality that benefits the use of shallow depth of field and selective focus techniques. B&H

In short, the 16-35 III is Canon’s premier wide angle landscape zoom lens. artie

One Nikon D850 Available Right Now!

Contact Steve below to get yours tomorrow.

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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

Booking.Com

Several folks on the DeSoto IPT used the Booking.Com link below, got great rates, and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

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.

Rich Steel map

Thanks to Rich Steel!

Thanks to blog regular and UK friend Rich Steel who provided us with a ton of information that served as the basis for our Veranger/Ruff adventure. I very much wanted to see Dotterel, a plover that nests in rocky areas on the high tundra. When I mentioned that Dotterel was still on my most wanted list — a potential life bird for me — he kindly sent me the well-marked map of the Gednje junction that you see above.

Image #1: Rock pile and rocky and landscape Hand held i-Phone 8+ image.

Arriving

When I found the dirt road, I noted that there was a steep downhill portion of loose dirt and rocks before it headed uphill. As it turned out, if I had taken the vehicle, there was plenty of room to turn around. But as we rented a very large VW van, I opted to park along the side of the main road and hike up giving myself more chances of seeing a Dotterel. Heck, other birders had mentioned that they had seen nesting pairs on the exact same hill along the exact same dirt road. I was hopeful. I thought that if I took the van down the slope that I could probably get back up to the road, but in such a wilderness without cell phone coverage “probably” just does not cut it.

I set out on foot traveling light with the hand held 200-500 and the D850 and the 1.4X TC-E in my pocket. Once I crossed the stream it was almost all uphill. As seen in the image above, the terrain was very rocky.

Image #2: Rocks and landscape with pretty lichen rock in the corner Hand held i-Phone 8+ image.

Landscape Tip

Though I am not much of a landscape photographer, I do know that placing something nifty in a foreground corner of the image can often be a nice plus. So that is what I did with the distinctive salmon-colored rock in Image #2. As I made my way up the hill through the rock habitat I took lots of detours by meandering through the rock-studded landscape, searching all the while for a nesting pair of Dotterel.

Image #3: Tundra landscape Hand held i-Phone 8+ image.

One-half Mile From the Road

Once I made it about 1/2 mile up the hill, the landscape became much more gentle with fewer rocks. I continued to walk the habitat in search of the distinctive little plovers …

Green and black lichens Image #4: Green and black lichens Hand held i-Phone 8+ image.

Lichen City

Once I started heading back downhill I continued criss-crossing the likely rocky habitat. Without success. And as I did, I began taking more and more notice of the really cool patterns formed by lichens of various colors. So I got out my cell phone and went to work. There is something very freeing about working with such a small, light rig that is quite capable of creating some very nice images. The green and black motif as seen in Image #5 was both very common and — with its infinitely differing patterns, very striking.

Image #5: Large yellow lichen Hand held i-Phone 8+ image.

i-Phone for Macro

Even without and additional apps, the i-Phones have pretty decent macro capabilities; the are able to focus within inches of the subject. And going from 1X to 2X gives you even more magnification.

The Face?

Do you see one face in the image above? Which way is it facing? What or who does it remind you of?

Image #6: Lichen watercolor Hand held i-Phone 8+ image.

Lichen Watercolor

Image #6, the lichen watercolor, turned out to be my favorite lichen image by far. Do you agree or disagree? Either way, please let us know why.

By the Way

By the way, I never did turn up a Dotterel. But the lichens were beautiful, I enjoyed a great two mile walk, and had a ton of fun with my i-phone.

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

On Tuesday we drove three hours west and north to explore the arctic tundra around Gednje, Kongsfjord, and Berlevåg. On Wednesday morning Anita was anxious to get in a throw-over blind at the lake by the Gednje intersection to photograph the Red-throated Loon nest that we had seen both the week before and the day before. And I had excellent directions to find Dotterel on its nesting grounds. Results soon.

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 on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

New Listing

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV dSLR Professional Camera Body

Randall Ennis is offering a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Camera in excellent condition for $849.00. The sale includes the front cap, the original and one extra LP-E4 battery, a Really Right Stuff B1DMKIII camera body plate, the LC-E4 battery charger, the manual, and insured ground shipping via major courier in the continental US.

Contact Randall via e-mail

Four 1D Mark IV bodies served as my workhorse dSLRs for about four years. I loved two of them to death; literally. The 1D IV is fast and rugged with an excellent AF system. artie

One Nikon D850 Available Right Now!

Contact Steve below to get yours tomorrow.

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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

Booking.Com

Several folks on the DeSoto IPT used the Booking.Com link below, got great rates, and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

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 at Vadso, Norway on June 19, 2018 with 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 the Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering +2/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/6.3. AUTO1 WB at 6:51am on a mostly cloudy morning. One AF point down and two to the left of the center AF point/d-9/Shutter button/Continuous AF (AI Servo in Canon) was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the side of the bird’s neck right on the same plane as its eye. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. Image #1: Redshank on path, calling.

Inspired by Amy

On the morning that Anita and I tried the Ruff lek again Amy went for a walk on the tundra behind the hotel and came up with some decent Redshank images. Duly inspired I set out the next morning with the big rig (not Johnny Hendrix, the Big Rig …) and did fairly well. The hotel manager told me that Redshank — in the Tringa family, and thus relatives of our yellowlegs — had never bred on Vadsoya Island, there was a pair that was acting very nesty. They circled us whenever we neared a certain stand of bushes and when I stood still in that spot, one of the birds of the pair would land fairly close to me. We wound up getting some take-off shots of Whooper Swan as well so all in all the morning was a nice success.

This image was created at Vadso, Norway on June 19, 2018 with 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 the Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering +1/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/6.3. AUTO1 WB at 7:49am on a brightening cloudy morning. One AF point down and three to the right of the center AF point/d-9/Shutter button/Continuous AF (AI Servo in Canon) was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the side of the bird’s neck right on the same plane as its eye. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. Image #2: Redshank on tundra, calling.

Your Preference?

Which of today’s two featured images is your favorite, the Redshank on the path or the Redshank on the tundra. Please let us know why you made your choice.

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

On Friday we made our third trip in four days to the seabird colony at Hornoya. We had the east wind that we had hoped for and this time we had the clouds that we needed. Photography was great; images and the full story to follow.

The UK Puffins and Gannets IPT is slowly coming more clearly into focus …

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 on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Canon 24-105mm L IS Lens

Price Reduced

Charlie Curry is offering a Canon 24-105mm L IS lens in near-mint condition for the BAA record-low price of $399.00 (was $424.00). The sale includes the front and rear caps, the lens hood, and insured ground shipping via major courier to continental US addresses only. Your lens will not ship until your check clears.

Please contact Charlie via e-mail or by phone at 1-407-448-7797 (Eastern time).

When I shot Canon, I rarely made a trip or headed out to the beach without my 24-105 in my Xtra-hand vest. Whenever I’d leave this amazingly versatile B-roll lens behind, I’d wind up regretting it. I use it for bird-scapes, photographer-scapes, landscapes, mini-macro scenes that included bird feathers, dead birds, and nests with eggs (the latter only when and if the nest can be photographed without jeopardizing it), and just about anything else that catches my eye. While I am nowhere near as good as Denise Ippolito is with this lens, I have made lots of good and saleable images with mine, the old version. artie

Three Nikon D850s Available Right Now!

Contact Steve below to get yours tomorrow.

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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

Booking.Com

Several folks on the DeSoto IPT used the Booking.Com link below, got great rates, and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

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 with the hand held i-Phone 8+ (at 2X). Image #1: the kittiwake nesting wall at Ekkeroy, Norway

The Situation

We passed this set of nests on the way to photograph at the spot where Anita and Amy had done well with some chicks in the nest on their previous visit. But for me, there were simply way too many nests way too close together. After we gave up and headed back to the van, I considered the scene above and noted that the bird at the nest marked by the white downward-pointing arrow had a small chick. And it looked as if I would be able to isolate it at 600mm. I wanted to get as high as possible while not putting myself in any danger. I chose to set up my tripod at the spot marked with the white X. Why did I climb the dirt mound to get as high as was safely possible?

This stitched pano was created on June 13, 2018 at Ekkeroy, Norway. 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 800. Matrix metering +2/3 stop as originally framed: 1/400 sec. at f/7.1. (Should have been +1.) NATURAL AUTO WB at 6:02pm on a cloudy afternoon. Two down and two to the left Single Point/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was just below and just forward of but right on the same plane as the chick’s eye. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #2: Black-legged Kittiwake at nest with chick, stitched pano Click on the image to enlarge and enjoy a larger version.

The Editing/Picking my Keepers

I kept 9 images from the sequence of about 30. That included a few frames of the chick getting fed. But I liked the more intimate mood of Images #1 and #2.

This stitched pano was also created on June 13, 2018 at Ekkeroy, Norway. 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 800. Matrix metering +2/3 stop as originally framed: 1/400 sec. at f/7.1. (Should have been +1.) NATURAL AUTO WB at 6:02pm on a cloudy afternoon. Two down and two to the left Single Point/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was just below and just forward of but right on the same plane as the chick’s eye. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #3: Black-legged Kittiwake at nest with chick, stitched pano Click on the image to enlarge and enjoy a larger version.

Your Preference?

Which of the two images above do you feel is the stronger one? Please — as always — let us know why you made your choice. And please remember that the more folks who comment the more everyone learns including me.

the original image capture for Image #2…

Why a Pano?

Above is the original image capture for Image #2. Image #3 was similarly framed. So why did I decide to create a stitched pano for each? The adult bird was a bit too centered with a bit too much room in the frame behind the bird. Worst of all, I saw in several other images in the sequence that I should have included more of the gnarly red rock that is just peeking into the frame on the upper left. Using one of those other images as my source material, I knew that creating a stitched pano would be a breeze.

the source material from a previous frame in the series: _MAI5176.

The Source Material

The source material for both images came from a third image. Image _MAI5176 had been framed with a lot less room behind the end of the tail and a lot more room in front of the bird. And best of all, it included a lot more of the gnarly red rock. Note that rather than stitching both of the full frame originals that I cropped the source material so as to include only what I needed to add plus a bit of extra so that Photoshop could execute a prefect match. In cases like this, if you try to merge the two full frame images Photoshop might become confused and try to do the stitch using one part of the bird from one frame and the other end of the bird from the second frame. This is not at all what you want. Once the TIFFs were place in a separate folder, I hit File > Automate > Photomerge…, browsed to the pano folder I had created, chose Auto, and hit OK.

It’s that simple. Note that on occasion I <em>intentionally create source material in the field being sure to be in Manual mode and being sure to lock focus before creating my source material.

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

On Tuesday we took the boat from Vardo to Hornoya Island to photograph some of the 100,000+ seabirds. The cliffs are dominated by Common Guillemot (our Common Murre), Black-legged Kittiwakes, Atlantic Puffins, and Razorbills. A good percentage of the Common Guillemots are of the bridled form. There are also about 500 pairs of Brünnich’s Guillemot (our Thick-billed Murre if I am understanding correctly), but I did not know what to look for before doing the research for this Stuff 🙂 If we return, I will be on the lookout for Brünnich’s Guillemot.

In spite of the fact that the photography was exceedingly difficult, and that we were all under-dressed and nearly froze to death, we had a great time. Photos and the complete story soon 🙂

This Just In!

After editing my images from Hornoya — you will not believe my keeper rate for the day — I realized that my best murre flight image was a Brünnich’s Guillemot.

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 on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Price Reduced!

Jim Keener is offering a Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in excellent condition for the BAA record-low price of $999.00 (was $1149.00). The sale includes the front body cap, the charger, the original battery, and insured ground shipping via to continental US addresses only. The package will not ship until your check clears.

Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 310-741-7435 (9am-9pm Mountain time).Carl via e-mail.

I owned and used this superb, full frame, 22mp digital body for several years. It was always my first choice for scenic, Urbex (urban exploration), and flower photography until I fell in love for a while with the 5DS R (for a lot more money!). Then I switched to the 5D IV body. In addition, I loved my 5D III body for birds with my big lenses and both TCs. I used mine to create many dozens of high quality images. Then I switched to Nikon. Jim’s body can be yours for a bargain price. artie

Five D850s Available Right Now!

Contact Steve below to get yours.

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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

Booking.Com

Several folks on the DeSoto IPT used the Booking.Com link below, got great rates, and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

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 with the hand held i-Phone 8+ (at 1X). Image #1: The Pool on the Delta

The Situation

We were headed north to Gedjne (say GED-nuh, rhymes with Edna) when Anita North suggested we take the dirt road to the left; so we did. Hoyholem Road led down to the Tana River. On our right were extensive mud and sand flats, on our left, a large expanse of short-grass habitat. The only birds that we saw for the first kilometer or so were a few distant Common Gulls. When we passed the pool seen in the photo above, I said, “Jeez, there should be some shorebirds in that perfect little puddle. We pulled ahead about 100 meters to an even smaller pool and got out to take a look. When I glanced back to my right I saw two small sandpipers land in the pool.

We set up and walked back towards the birds stopping along the way to identify them: they were breeding plumage Little Stints; I was excited!

This image was created on June 10, 2018 at the Tana River Delta. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens with the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and the Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering + 1 2/3 stops as originally framed: 1/640 sec. at f/6.3. NATURAL AUTO WB at 10:33am on a cloudy day. Center d-9/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird on our right. The image above is a substantial crop from the original. Click on the image to see a larger version and you will see that the D850 image quality held up nicely. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #2: Little Stint, two feeding in shallow pool

Little Stint

Little Stint is a small calidrid sandpiper. Before last Sunday, I had seen only one in my life, that at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, NY in 1983. It was New York State’s first. Little Stint is an extreme rarity in North America with occurrences on both coasts. At the time, there was not a lot of good ID information on separating Little Stint from Red-necked (Rufous-necked at the time, I believe) Stint. I think that the late Thomas H. Davis Jr., all 6′ 9″ and 145 pounds of him, found the bird and initially thought that it was a Rufous-necked Stint.

It was, however, expert birder and noted avian artist John Yrizarry who first identified that bird correctly after studying specimen skins at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. I was there when he met Tom and said in his Irish/Basque/Brooklyn accent, “Its a shtint alright, but it’s a Little Shtint!” John along with wife Mary led field trips mainly to Prospect Park in Brooklyn for several decades and inspired hundreds of folks to take up birding. They now live in Tuxedo Park, a village in Orange County, New York where they do lots of volunteer conservation work.

When Lars Jonsson’s article on stint identification was published in American Birds right around that time, the confusion on separating the two species in breeding plumage pretty much ended. Lars Jonsson is a skilled and gifted Swedish natural history artist and painter. You can learn more about Lars and see some of his beautiful work on his website here. On a personal note, Tom Davis had written Lars about stint IDs in the earlty 1980s. Lars kindly sent Tom some pencil sketches that illustrated the differences between the two species. After Tom’s premature death, probably in 1986 or 87, his parents contacted me and bequeathed Lar’s letter to me. (They knew of me because I had taken over the shorebird survey for then Manomet Bird Observatory when Tom was stricken by a cerebral aneuyism in the early 1980s; he became hemiplegic from that day on, completely paralyzed on his left side as I remember it. Tom, who was my shorebird mentor, had done the survey for several years in the late 1970s.)

In Image #2 you can see the creamy white v-shape on the bird on our right that is lacking in Red-necked Stint. More on the ID below.

This image was also created on June 10, 2018 at This image was created on June 10, 2018 at the Tana River Delta. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens with the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and the Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering + 1 2/3 stops as originally framed: 1/800 sec. at f/6.3. NATURAL AUTO WB at 10:36am on a cloudy day. Center d-9/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird on our right. The image above is a crop from the original. Click on the image to see a larger version and you will see that the D850 image quality held up nicely. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #2: Little Stint, breeding plumage

More on the ID

Little Stint in breeding plumage has whitish chin and upper neck with a prominent whitish line over the eye. Red-necked Stint in breeding plumage has completely un-streaked orange chin and neck and only a very faint eyeline. In 1985, two years after the Little Stint, I found and identified New York State’s first Rufous-necked Stint in early July of 1985. Picking that bird out from 1500 much duller, molting adult Semipalmated Sandpipers was a huge thrill for me. Tom Davis was taken to the East Pond by stretcher to see the bird but had no luck on his first attempt. On his second attempt, he was successful. It was his last life bird.

In North America Little Stint might be confused with the very common Least Sandpiper (in some plumages). But Least Sandpiper has yellowish legs and a fine-tipped slightly decurved bill. Little Stint has black legs and when the bill is seen from above, the bill tip is slightly bulbous (as seen in Image #3).

Life Birds

A life bird is a bird that you see and identify for the first time ever. Thus, Little Stint was not a life bird for me. More on that topic soon 🙂

Shorebirds; Beautiful Beachcombers

To learn more about shorebirds pick up a copy of my Shorebirds; Beautiful Beachcombers. Written for naturalists and birders, the text tells you everything you’ve always wanted to know about North America’s sandpipers, godwits, yellowlegs, phalaropes, plovers, avocets, stilts, and oystercatchers. Topics covered include identification and aging, shorebird behavior, their incredible migrations, feeding and diet, mating and breeding strategies, eggs, nests, and young, conservation efforts, and shorebirding tips. Also included are approximately 50 species accounts covering all of the regularly occurring North American shorebird species. With 70 of Arthur’s images and 26 more by some of the world’s best nature photographers, this book contains the finest collection of shorebird photographs ever published in a single volume.

This image was also created on June 10, 2018 at the Tana River Delta. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens with the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and the Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering + 1 1/3 stops as originally framed: 1/800 sec. at f/6.3. NATURAL AUTO WB at 10:38am on a cloudy day. Center d-9/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird on our right. The image above is a crop from the original. Click on the image to see a larger version and you will see that the D850 image quality held up nicely. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #3: Little Stint, breeding plumage

The Photographic Strategy

Note that Image #1 was taken as a record shot to confirm the ID. With both birds on the same plane it was a surprise that it turned out to be a useable image. Over the course of the next five or six minutes the three of us approached slowly and carefully getting a bit closer each time. Note that the three images presented here today will not win any prizes. In fact, there are surely hundreds of better images of more brightly colored breeding plumage Little Stint. But seeing an old friend for the first time in 35 years and creating a few decent images was a big thrill for me.

Your Favorite?

Which of today’s featured images is your favorite? Be sure to let us know why you made your choice.

Little Stint?

If you have seen a Little Stint anywhere in the world, please let us know where, when, and in what plumage.

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 a great Thursday, Friday was a bust until late in the day. We went out behind the hotel at about 7pm. Amy and Anita found the black Ruff that has been regular at the pond along with the Red-necked Phalaropes and a few pairs of Tufted Ducks. I walked to the eastern end of the island and concentrated on Common Gulls n flight with the 600 alone and one of my two D850s. I got a few killers …

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 on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Seven D850s Available Right Now!

Contact Steve below to get yours.

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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

Booking.Com

Several folks on the DeSoto IPT used the Booking.Com link below, got great rates, and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

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 also created on June 7 at Vardo, Norway. I rested my rig on the lowered window of the van: the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and the Nikon D850. ISO 1000. Matrix metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/250 sec. at f/6.3. CLOUDY WB at 5:36PM on a cloudy afternoon. One below the center, Group (grp)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the right flank of the Ruff in the middle. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. Image #1: Six Ruffs: The Ruffians

Amy Runs to the Ruffs!

Amy Novotny runs pretty much every day. I do not know her complete running history but I do know that she has run in and completed four Boston Marathons. So she is not just running around the block. She set out on a run from our hotel in Vadso on Thursday and returned with news: she had found lots of Ruffs.

An Exception to the Rule …

When photographing groups of birds, I have long advised that folks focus on the closest bird. Here, I chose to focus on the second closest bird and it worked out perfectly. I thought of switching to a lower left AF point, but when the arrangement presented itself momentarily, I had no choice but to push the shutter button. I guess that all rules are made to be broken when the opportunity presents itself.

This image was created on June 7 at Vardo, Norway. I rested my rig on the lowered window of the van: the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and the Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering plus 1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/6.3. CLOUDY WB at 4:06pam on a cloudy afternoon. Center Group (grp) AF point/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bird’s front end. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. Image #2: Victorian Royalty Ruff

Brushane

Brushane is the Norwegian name for Ruff. The correct pronunciation is quite baffling to Americans: say “bruce-HON-uh.

This image also was created on June 7 at Vardo, Norway. I rested my rig on the lowered window of the van: the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II, and the Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering minus about 1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/7.1. CLOUDY WB at 5:00PM on a cloudy afternoon. One to the right of the center Group (grp)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bird’s face. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +1. Image #3: Rusty-headed, black-chested Ruff feeding

When to Be Wary of Group AF …

While Group (grp) AF is superb for flight photography, it can hurt you when using it for photographing single birds. If the bird is large in the frame as with Image #3, you are OK if you can place the array on the bird’s face. But with subject that are not so large in the frame, the array is often confused (for lack of a better term), and may focus on the bird’s breast (or somewhere else) that is in front of the plane of the face and the eye. It is much, much better to go with single point or d-9 (at most) with birds that are filling about half the frame. For me, lesson learned.

I made many unsharp images on Thursday, in part due to using Group AF when I shouldn’t have, in part because long effective focal lengths and relatively slow shutter speeds are not a good mix, and in part because I do not have a BLUBB with me. Resting the 600 on the lowered van window is a problematic strategy at best. And using pillow or a rolled up sweatshirt simply does not offer the stability of a BLUBB with its concave top that allows the bag to solidly cradle your long lens.

This image was also created on June 7 at Vardo, Norway. I rested my rig on the lowered window of the van: the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and the Nikon D850. ISO 1000. Matrix metering plus about 2/3 stop: as framed: 1/500 sec. at f/6.3. CLOUDY WB at 5:20pm on a cloudy afternoon. Center Group (grp) AF point/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bird’s ruff; this image is cropped from the horizontal original. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. Image #4: Queen Victoria Ruff

Ruffs and Reeves

The male of the species bears the English name, Ruff. The females are called reeves. In breeding plumage, the males feature spectacular ear tufts and ruffs or boas of shaggy, colorful feathers. Color-wise there is so much variation — as you can see with today’s images — that it is difficult to find two that are even pretty much the same. The females are quite plain and resemble a stock Pectoral Sandpiper. I have yet to make a good image of a reeve. Thanks to Amy, we had a banner days with Ruffs (and also with Eurasian Golden Plover).

This image was also created on June 7 at Vardo, Norway. I rested my rig on the lowered window of the van: the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and the Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering +1 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/6.3. CLOUDY WB at 5:20Pm on a cloudy afternoon. Center Group (grp) AF point/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bird’s chest. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +4. Image #5: Rough and Ready Ruff

The Image Optimizations

Because I was fighting to keep a relatively low ISO while maintaining a halfway decent shutter speed, most of Thursday’s images were about one-third stop underexposed. I began each conversion in ACR by increasing moving the Exposure slider to the right. Once I finished working all the sliders and got the TIFF into Photoshop a healthy dose of one of my NIK Color Efex Pro Detail Extractor/Tonal Contrast recipes was applied. Having use CLOUDY WB I moved the color temperature slider to the left a few hundred degrees with each RAW conversion. But the GREENs of the grass were still too intense so I put the whole thing on a layer, hit Command + U (Hue/Saturation), picked the YELLOW channel from the dropdown menu, and reduced the Saturation about 15-20 points to tone down the color of the grass. Then I applied a Regular Layer Mask, hit B, D, X, and erased the effect from the bird.

If anything above does not make sense to you, consider getting a copy of my BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Click on the link to learn more about this comprehensive e-Guide.

Your Favorite Ruff?

Which Ruff do you like best? Do let us know why.

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 :).

Oops!

While preparing the blog post with the Ruff image (the converted TIFF and the optimized version that you see below), I accidentally replaced the kittiwake blog post with the Ruff text and photos. First time ever. If anyone has a browser window open with the kittiwake blog post (do not refresh the page!), please copy and paste the whole thing and send it to me via e-mail. Please do not send a screen capture … With a cut and paste, I can pretty easily restore the kittiwake post … If not, it will have fallen by the wayside never to be seen again. Your help would be appreciated.

To avoid duplication, the only thing that I could do was delete the old kittiwake post with the ruff images and text … I did publish the ruff blog post (the one you are looking at if you are reading this), a half day early on the evening of Tuesday June 5, 2018. It should not have been published until the early morning of Wednesday, June 6.

Stuff

Monday was pretty much of a disaster with a stormy, rainy morning (that sent me back to bed at 2:15am) followed by a Ruff-less session in the throw-over blinds on the lek south of Komagvaer. On Tuesday we decided to head up north in search of Temminck’s Stint. We left at 5:30am for the two-hour drive to Sandefjord. We were less than 10 kilometers away when we realized that we were almost out of gas … We found a place to turn around and headed to the nearest gas station in Vardo. I got out of the car to help with our u-turn and was greeted by icy blasts of wind. We gassed up in Vardo and found a museum right outside of the undersea tunnel with some Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting on the window frames. It was a great situation for practicing exposure and fine-tuning your image design skills.

When we were finished, we headed to the local market for a great brunch and coffee for Anita. With the cloudy conditions and the wind from the northwest we headed to the west side of the harbor to look for gulls. I short order we found some large flocks of Herring Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes feeding at various fish processing outflows. The flight action was fabulous but we froze as the winds increased. Then it rained and the wind increased some more. Then it snowed and the wind increased even more — to gale force! We kept the van running and took turns resting and getting warm. When we could not take it any longer we headed back to our hotel in Vadso. Amy and I headed to dinner, Anita went out in the freezing cold to try for Ruffs and Red-necked Phalaropes in the big pond. The woman is either committed or needs to be committed 🙂 But give her credit for trying and for here amazing endurance and determination.

For me, the jet lag continues 🙂

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 on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Canon EOS 5DS R mega mega-pixel dSLR

Pierre Williot is offering a Canon EOS 5DS R in like-new condition for a very fair $2399.00. A screen protector was applied to the rear LCD as it came out of the box. The sale includes the front cap, the camera strap, a Vello Battery Grip, the battery charger, USB cable,the Instruction Manual, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only is included. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Pierre via e-mail or by text message to 1-716-481-7158 (Eastern Time Zone).

Without an anti-aliasing filter, the 5DS R will–for those with good sharpness techniques–produce large high-quality image files that feature hard to believe detail. You have seen the amazing 100% crops showing fine-feather detail in many older blog posts. And it is not bad for flight photography either! artie

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Pierre Williot is also offering a Canon EOS 7D Mark II in like-new condition for a very fair $848.00. A screen protector was applied to the rear LCD when the camera came out of the box. The sale includes the front cap, the camera strap, the battery charger, USB cable,the Instruction Manual, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only is included. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Pierre via e-mail or by text message to 1-716-481-7158 (Eastern Time Zone).

Both Patrick Sparkman and I used and loved the 7D Mark II until about two years ago when we both committed to using full frame Canon bodies. We both made some truly great images with it. Two of my three 2016 Nature’s Best honored entries were created with the 7D II, one still, and one video. One thing is for sure: the 7D Mark II is the greatest value ever in a digital camera body. With a new one going for $1499 you can save a cool $651 by grabbing Pierre’s camera body now.. artie

This image was created at Komagvaer, Norway on June 3, 2018. 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 the Nikon D850. ISO 1600. Matrix metering plus about 2/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/6.3. CLOUDY WB at 7:10pm on a very cloudy afternoon. Center Group (grp) AF/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bird’s secondaries as originally framed. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here.

Ruff

Ruffs are medium-sized shorebirds that nest in northern Europe. They have been on my photo bucket list since I first saw them in early spring at Pedricktown Marsh near Philadelphia where 4-6 males stopped by regularly in the late 1970s and the early 1980s headed for who-knows-where? In spring, the males grow in incredible boas of colorful feathers about their heads, necks, and breasts. No two are identical. They gather in small groups on relatively tiny patches of tundra to display for the females (reeves). When a reeve lands on the lek lots of fighting ensues. The bird in the image above raised its wings to threaten a white Ruff that landed nearby. Photographing the ruffs (or better yet trying to photograph the ruffs) while covered up by a heavy throw-over blind is a huge challenge as the birds are beyond extremely skittish. We had out best luck (and lots of action) on the day that today’s featured image was created.

Learn lots more about Ruffs and the regularly occurring shorebirds of North American in Shorebirds; Beautiful Beachcombers here (by yours truly).

This image was created at Komagvaer, Norway on June 3, 2018. 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 the Nikon D850. ISO 1600. Matrix metering plus about 2/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/6.3. CLOUDY WB at 7:10pm on a very cloudy afternoon. Center Group (grp) AF/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bird’s secondaries as originally framed. Click on the image to see a larger version. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. Ruff, with wings raised; this is the optimized image

Tundra Clean-up

Though I liked the original version above, there was some distracting background stuff that bugged me. I used the Patch Tool, the Spot Healing Brush (for the very small distracting elements), and a series of small Quick Masks (refined with a Regular Layer Mask) to eliminate most of those. For others I went with Content Aware Fill. The latter often leaves somewhat ugly and somewhat noticeable irregularities and blotches. To eliminate those in areas with otherwise even-toned backgrounds, I apply a 65-pixel Gaussian Blur, add a Hide-all (Black or Inverse) Layer Mask, and paint in the effect incrementally where needed while making sure to stay well away from the bird. I usually start with a 50% Opacity brush and drop down to 33% opacity brush where additional softening and smoothing is needed.

For this ISO 1600 image I made a careful selection of the bird, feathered it 0.7 pixels, and saved the selection. First I ran my NIK Color EFEX Pro 30-30 recipe on the bird only. Then I re-loaded the selection and used the high level Neat Image techniques detailed in the The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly. That involves applying less noise reduction to the bird only and more noise reduction to the background after using Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection to protect the bird. In addition, I moved the bird down in the frame just a bit using one of the APTATS tutorials.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II). You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a Paypal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

Your guessed it, everything mentioned above and tons more is covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my Macbook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Do note that you will find the RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing tutorial only in the new e-guide. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

The two most recent and many of the older MP4 Photoshop Tutorial videos releases go hand and hand with the information in DB II):

• The Wingtip Repairs MP4 Video here.
• The MP4 Crow Cleanup Video here.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here.

You can learn how and why I converted nearly all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 using Canon Digital Photo Professional in the DPP 4 RAW conversion Guide here. And, yes, I still have many Canon images to work on. 🙂 You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in the The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly.

Your Favorite?

Do you like Image #1 with all it flaws or the clean-ed up version, Image #2? Do let us know why.

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

By the time this is published on Thursday, May 31, we should be on our way to the Verlanger Peninsula. My understanding is that even though we will be in the wilderness of arctic Norway with 24 hour daylight that we will have internet. If not, I will see you when I see you 🙂

Check Out the Travel Insanity!

Check out the travel insanity here.

These Just In: Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR Lens and Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR Lens Available!

Both the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR Lens an the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR are difficult items to find. Most folks have to wait months to purchase. If you would like to save a few bucks, please contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) immediately and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order.

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 on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Corrected Listing

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens

Jim Keener is also offering a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price of $1099.00. The sale includes a RRS Arca-Swiss plate, the soft lens case, the front and rear lens caps, the tripod collar, the hood, the original box, and insured ground shipping via to continental US addresses only. The package will not ship until your check clears.

Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 310-741-7435 (9am-9pm Mountain time).Carl via e-mail.

The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II is an amazingly versatile lens; I made a zillion great images with it when I was using Canon. It works well with both the 1.4X III and the 2X III TCs, even with the 7D II! It is easily hand holdable. It is great for tame birds, landscapes, urbex, indoor stuff likes concerts and recitals, and just about anything you want to photograph. A new 70-200 II currently sells for $1,949 so you can save a cool $850 by buying Jim’s lens at a great low price. artie

Price Reduction

Canon 24-105mm L IS Lens

Charlie Curry is offering a Canon 24-105mm L IS lens in near-mint condition for the great low price of $399.00 (was $424.00). The sale includes the front and rear caps, the lens hood, and insured ground shipping via major courier to continental US addresses only. Your lens will not ship until your check clears.

Please contact Charlie via e-mail or by phone at 1-407-448-7797 (Eastern time).

When I shot Canon, I rarely made a trip or headed out to the beach without my 24-105 in my Xtra-hand vest. Whenever I’d leave this amazingly versatile B-roll lens behind, I’d wind up regretting it. I use it for bird-scapes, photographer-scapes, landscapes, mini-macro scenes that included bird feathers, dead birds, and nests with eggs (the latter only when and if the nest can be photographed without jeopardizing it), and just about anything else that catches my eye. While I am nowhere near as good as Denise Ippolito is with this lens, I have made lots of good and saleable images with mine, the old version. artie

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens

Sale pending

Jim Brennan is offering a used Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens in good condition for $249.00; there is a small dent on the aperture ring, there are some nicks on the lens barrel, and the aperture ring is a bit tight but it does not effect sharpness or operation. Thus the ridiculous low price. The sale includes the lens Case (LP1219), the lens hood (EW-83E), the manual, the front & rear lens caps, the original box, and insured ground shipping to US addresses only. Signature required upon delivery. Personal or certified checks only unless other arrangements are made. The gear will not ship until the check clears the bank. Photos and additional information available upon request.

Please contact jim via e-mail or by cellphone 1-(609) 432-9210 (Eastern time).

This fine landscape lens goes for $749. Though Jim’s lens is on the well used side it function just fine and thus represents an excellent value. 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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

Booking.Com

Several folks on the DeSoto IPT used the Booking.Com link below, got great rates, and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

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.

ACR Screen Capture for Brown Pelican, immature cleaning bill pouch

What’s Your Plan?

Before you scroll down, make a plan in your head for optimizing today’s featured image. What sort of crop would you execute? How would you deal with the high contrast? How wold you deal with the need for more room above the bird? Which slider setting does not make any sense at all?

You can learn about the bird’s behavior and how I optimized this image by scrolling down. But be sure to make your plan first.

ACR Stuff

You can always learn a lot by studying the RGB values (R=240, G=239, B=245) and the adjustments made to the various sliders. What made it necessary here to move the Shadow Slider to +100?

The San Diego Site Guide

Whether you are visiting San Diego for photography for the first time or live in the area and have done the pelicans many dozens of times, you will learn a ton by studying the San Diego Site Guide. Why spend days stumbling around when you can know exactly where and when to be depending on the wind direction and sky conditions? In addition to the pelican primer, there is great info on the best beaches for the gorgeous gulls and Marbled Godwits, on the lower cliffs and the Green Patch, Lesser Scaup, and Wood and Ring-necked Ducks as well.

Learn more or purchase your copy here.

This image was created on January 27, 2018 on the second San Diego IPT with the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens (at 500mm) with the Nikon D5 with Dual XQD Slots. ISO 400. Matrix metering -2/3 stop: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AUTO0 WB at 4:38pm on a clear afternoon. (Note: afternoon pelicans on sun angle are hard to find in La Jolla … Group (grp)/Shutter Button/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon) AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the pelican’s breast. Phase detection AF Fine-tune value: +2. Brown Pelican, immature cleaning bill pouch

The Behavior: Bill Pouch Cleaning

When a pelican opens its bill and pulls its lower mandible down over its distended neck, it is cleaning its bill pouch (even though that does not make much sense to us humans). It is often a clue that the bird will be doing a head throw. One of the problems is that most bill pouch cleaning images are best in horizontal format while most head throw images work best as vertical captures. You need to be really quick …

The Image Optimization

After converting the RAW file in Adobe Camera Raw I brought the image into Photoshop and expanded canvas top and left using the Crop Tool love handles with the proportions set to 3:3. (Note: you need to be in the unframed view to do this.) Then I filled in the added canvas with the always dependable John Haedo Content Aware Fill. Next was a 65 pixel Gaussian Blur applied to the whole image. I added a Hide-all (Inverse or Black) Layer Mask and painted the effect in (B, D) on the background with brushes of varying opacities (50% near the top of the frame and 33% below that). I carefully selected the bird and the rock using the Quick Selection Tool (W) along with the plus and minus Lasso Tools for fine-tuning the selection. Then I applied my NIK 40/40 recipe; it did wonders to the image by opening up the dark tones and toning down the bright white rock.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II). You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a Paypal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

Your guessed it, everything mentioned above and tons and tons more is covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my Macbook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Do note that you will find the RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing tutorial only in the new e-guide. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

The two most recent and many of the older MP4 Photoshop Tutorial videos releases go hand and hand with the information in DB II):

• The Wingtip Repairs MP4 Video here.
• The MP4 Crow Cleanup Video here.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here.

Though I have become more proficient converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw, I continue to optimize my Canon image in DPP 4. You can learn how and why I converted (and still convert) nearly all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. And, yes, I still have many Canon images to work on. 🙂 The RAW conversions for all three of today’s featured images was straightforward once I entered my camera/ISO specific recipes (as detailed in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide). You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in the The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly.

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: 9.)

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.

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter? Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

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.

Variety is surely the spice of life in San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

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.

This image was created in San Diego, CA with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the simply amazing, astounding, mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 500. Evaluative metering -2/3 stop: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 in Av mode. AWB. 61-Point (Automatic selection)/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when photographing moving subjects). Though the optimized image above was a healthy crop from the original the result was a high quality 148+ MB 16-bit file. Click on the image to see a larger version. The AF system selected two AF points, one above the other, between the two birds;the eye of the bird on our right is razor sharp. Clarke’s X Western Grebe courtship rush

The Dancing Grebe 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 :).