{"id":17861,"date":"2014-01-14T09:30:04","date_gmt":"2014-01-14T13:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=17861"},"modified":"2014-08-18T04:07:46","modified_gmt":"2014-08-18T08:07:46","slug":"against-all-odds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2014\/01\/14\/against-all-odds\/","title":{"rendered":"Against All Odds&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>The Amazing Streak Continues; I Gotta be Nuts. \ud83d\ude42<\/h3>\n<p>Woke at 3:30am in a San Diego hotel, getting ready to head to LaJolla for some pelican photography in less than an hour.  <\/p>\n<p>Today&#8217;s blog post marks 49 days in a row with a new blog post, a record by far that should be extended for at least another week or two. Or not. \ud83d\ude42 To show your appreciation, we ask that use our B&#038;H and Amazon affiliate links for all of your <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/?BI=6633&amp;KBID=7226 \">B&#038;H<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/?_encoding=UTF8&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;linkCode=ur2&#038;tag=arthurmorrisb-20\">Amazon<\/a> purchases.  Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/default.aspx\">BIRDS AS ART Online Store<\/a>. We sell only what I use and depend on.  We will not sell you junk.  We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via <a href=\"mailto:samandmayasgrandpa@att.net\">e-mail<\/a><\/center>.<\/p>\n<p>You can find the following items in the store: <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=13\">Gitzo tripods<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=274\">Mongoose M3.6<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=35\">Wimberley<\/a> heads, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=7\">plates, low feet, and accessories<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=3\">flash brackets<\/a>, <\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=15\">Delkin e-film Pro Compact Flash Cards<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=17\">LensCoat<\/a> products, and our unique line-up of <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=10\">educational materials<\/a> including <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=84\">ABP I &#038; II<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=252\">Digital Basics<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=19\">Site and Set-up e-Guides<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=30\">Canon and Nikon Camera Users and AF e-Guides<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=36\">MP-4 Photoshop video tutorials<\/a> among others. <\/p>\n<p>We would of course appreciate you using our B&#038;H and Amazon affiliate links for all of your <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/?BI=6633&amp;KBID=7226 \">B&#038;H<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/?_encoding=UTF8&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;linkCode=ur2&#038;tag=arthurmorrisb-20\">Amazon<\/a> major gear, video, electronic, household, and personal purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned above we would of course great appreciate your business.  <\/p>\n<p>Thanks and enjoy today&#8217;s blog post!<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/new-york\/white-winged-scoter-flapping-after-bath-_y7o2307-westhampton-beach-long-island-ny.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/new-york\/white-winged-scoter-flapping-after-bath-_y7o2307-westhampton-beach-long-island-ny.jpg\" alt=\"white-winged-scoter-flapping-after-bath-_y7o2307-westhampton-beach-long-island-ny\" title=\"white-winged-scoter-flapping-after-bath-_y7o2307-westhampton-beach-long-island-ny\" width=800 \/><\/a>   <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>This image was created at the west jetty at Shinnecock Inlet, Hampton Bays, Long Island, NY with the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=20\">Gitzo 3532 LS carbon fiber tripod<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=274\">Mongoose M3.6 head<\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/754508-REG\/Canon_5125B002_EF_600mm_f_4L_IS.html\/BI\/6633\/KBID\/7226\/kw\/CA6004LIFEF2\/DFF\/d10-v2-t1-xCA6004LIFEF2\" target=\"_blank\">Canon EF 600mm f\/4L IS II USM lens<\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/732111-USA\/Canon_4410B002_2x_EF_Extender_III.html\/BI\/6633\/KBID\/7226\/kw\/CA2XEF3\/DFF\/d10-v2-t1-xCA2XEF3\" target=\"_blank\">Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter)<\/a>, and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/827036-REG\/Canon_5253B002_EOS_1D_X_Digital_SLR.html\/BI\/6633\/KBID\/7226\/kw\/CAE1DX\/DFF\/d10-v2-t1-xCAE1DX\" target=\"_blank\">Canon EOS-1D X<\/a>.  ISO 800.  Evaluative metering -1\/3 stop: 1\/1250 sec. at f\/9 in Manual mode.    <\/p>\n<p>Central sensor (by necessity) Expand\/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure as framed. Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2013\/10\/31\/if-this-doesnt-get-the-point-across-nothing-will\/\">here<\/a> if you missed the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial.  Click on the image to see a larger version.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"728\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"90\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/mer54715.datafeedfile.com\/widget\/aff_widget_prdt_generate-2.0.php?aff_num=7226&#038;aff_net=1&#038;size=728x90&#038;mode=m&#038;bucket_num=3433&#038;link_target=y&#038;sid=\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\"><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iFrame.<\/p>\n<p><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Against All Odds&#8230;<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<p><font color=white><\/p>\n<li>White-winged Scoter is an extremely difficult species to photograph.  My first chances in 30+ years were at Shinnecock last week.<\/li>\n<li>Though conditions seemed to be perfect, a big swell from the southeast had large waves crashes against the jetty.  This made it impossible to get low in the rocks.  This left me farther from the birds&#8230;. <\/li>\n<li>And several times when a big wave hit I needed to turn the lens away from the biggest splashes.  And to make matters worse, I was working without the lens hood so that it was easier to control the lens in the strong north\/northwest wind and to reduce vibrations. <\/li>\n<li>The forecast had been for southwest winds.  With the winds strong from the north\/northwest flight photography was very difficult. <\/li>\n<li>Worst of all, the sea ducks were bobbing up and down like corks in a hurricane.  It was difficult to find them in the frame and almost impossible to keep them properly framed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/font> <\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Best Strategy in Nearly Impossible Situations<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I find that for me, the very best strategy when things are difficult is to quit trying to make perfect images. If you wait until you have acquired AF and have the subject nicely framed when the birds are bobbing up and down constantly, you will likely never press the shutter button. Instead, simply fire at will.  Get the bird somewhere in the frame, acquire focus, and push the shutter button.  Do not worry about maintaining AF, and do not worry about the framing.  Let;s call this &#8220;focus and fire.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>That exactly what I did to create the amazing image above. When I saw the image on the laptop I was stunned.  I love the incredible sharpness of the eye and the face, the perfect exposure&#8211;see BAA Bulletin 454&#8211;coming soon, and the fact that you can see the white speculum that gives the bird its common name on the dorsal surface of the far wing.  Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the spectacular larger version. <\/p>\n<h3>Image Questions <\/h3>\n<p>Why ISO 800 in bright sun?<br \/>\nWhy -1\/3 stop? <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/antarctica\/cheesemans-dec-jan-card-layers.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/antarctica\/cheesemans-dec-jan-card-layers.jpg\" alt=\"cheesemans-dec-jan-card-layers\" title=\"cheesemans-dec-jan-card-layers\" width=800 \/><\/a>   <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Breathe deeply, bite the bullet, and live life to its fullest; we all get only one ride on the merry-go-round&#8230;  Join me on this great trip. <\/p>\n<p>Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3>The Southern Ocean&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p>There has already been a ton of interest including that from some long time wonderful Happy Camper BIRDS AS ART folks.  Mulitple-IPT veteran Michael Viljoen of South Afirca has already committed to making the trip with his son.  He and lovely, smiling wife Lyndsey were with me on the memorable and wonderful October 2012 Cheesemans&#8217; South Georgia Expedition.  Repeat-clients&#8211;I like to call them recidivists&#8211;are a good sign that you are doing something right. <\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2014\/01\/10\/the-pull-is-too-strong\/\">here<\/a> for complete details. If you are seriously interested please shoot me an <a href=\"mailto:samandmayasgrandpa@att.net\">e-mail<\/a> for the trip link.<br \/>\n<center><\/p>\n<h3>Last Year&#8217;s Grand Prize winning image by Lou Coetzer<\/h3>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.birdsasart.com\/baacom\/wp-content\/gallery\/bulletin-2012\/grand-prize-winner-1st-baa-final-w-text.jpg\" class='shutterset'><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"http:\/\/www.birdsasart.com\/baacom\/wp-content\/gallery\/bulletin-2012\/grand-prize-winner-1st-baa-final-w-text.jpg\" alt=\"grand-prize-winner-1st-baa-final-w-text\" title=\"grand-prize-winner-1st-baa-final-w-text\" width=600 \/><\/a>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<h3>Important Contest News<\/h3>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Contest Deadlines Extended!<br \/>\nBIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition<br \/>\nNew Entry Deadline: January 31, 2014; see additional details below<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p> <\/center><\/p>\n<p>With so many folks signing up at the last minute and with so many folks having trouble uploading their images due to server overload the deadline for entering the contest (registering and paying) has been extended until January 31, 2014 and the deadline for uploading images has been extended until midnight Eastern time on February 10, 2014. Take advantage of this extension to have a crack at the great prizes. <\/p>\n<p>Learn more and enter the BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition <a href=\"http:\/\/www.birdsasart.com\/competition\/\">here<\/a>.  Twenty-five great prizes including the $1000 Grand Prize and intense competition.  Bring your best. <\/p>\n<h3>Register and Pay<\/h3>\n<p>To register click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.birdsasart.com\/c2014\/index.php?action=register\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To learn of payment options, click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.birdsasart.com\/competition\/how-to-pay\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Support the BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&#038;H here!<br \/>\nThis Bulletin took about 12 hours to prepare<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&#038;H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post.  Remember, B&#038;H ain&#8217;t just photography!<\/p>\n<p><center><A href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/browse\/Canon\/ci\/4759\/N\/4232860731?BI=6633&#038;KW=&#038;KBID=7226&#038;img=12231-CanonEOSLS-728x90.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/images\/affiliateimages\/12231-CanonEOSLS-728x90.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/affiliates.bhphotovideo.com\/showban.asp?id=7226&#038;img=12231-CanonEOSLS-728x90.jpg\" border=0><\/p>\n<p><A href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com?BI=6633&#038;KW=&#038;KBID=7226&#038;img=14751-728x90.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/images\/affiliateimages\/14751-728x90.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/affiliates.bhphotovideo.com\/showban.asp?id=7226&#038;img=14751-728x90.jpg\" border=0><\/center><\/p>\n<h3>Amazon<\/h3>\n<p>Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant.  Support the blog by starting your search by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below.  No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up.  Why make it a habit?   Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis. <\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/cm?t=arthurmorrisb-20&#038;o=1&#038;p=48&#038;l=ur1&#038;category=amazonhomepage&#038;f=ifr\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" scrolling=\"no\" border=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" style=\"border:none;\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<h3>Typos<\/h3>\n<p>In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to <a href=\"mailto:samandmayasgrandpa@att.net\">e-mail<\/a><\/center> or to leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors.  Just be right. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<h3>IPT Info<\/h3>\n<p>Many of our great trips are filling up.  See especially info on the South Florida, Holland, and Nickerson Beach IPTs.  Two great leaders on most trips ensure that you will receive individual attention, have all of your questions answered, and learn a ton including how to think like a pro, see the situation, and get the right exposure every time.  In addition you will have fun, and make lots of great images. Click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.birdsasart.com\/include-pages\/ipt-updates\/\">here<\/a> for IPT details and general information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Amazing Streak Continues; I Gotta be Nuts. \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n<p>Woke at 3:30am in a San Diego hotel, getting ready to head to LaJolla for some pelican photography in less than an hour. <\/p>\n<p>Today&#8217;s blog post marks 49 days in a row with a new blog post, a record by far that should be extended [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[586],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-586","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17861\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}