{"id":18432,"date":"2014-02-17T06:20:44","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T10:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=18432"},"modified":"2014-08-18T04:44:11","modified_gmt":"2014-08-18T08:44:11","slug":"surviving-the-cold-wet-blizzard-was-it-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2014\/02\/17\/surviving-the-cold-wet-blizzard-was-it-worth-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Surviving the Cold Wet Blizzard; Was it Worth It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

And The Streak Continues…<\/h3>\n

After a morning of tree and scenic photography with too much sun, we returned to Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary in hopes of clouds as the wind direction was perfect. We got off to another slow start but the action developed quickly and stayed hot for several hours. How good was it? Denise Ippolito created 2,345 images in five hours. <\/p>\n

This post marks 80 straight days with a new educational blog post, a record by far that should be extended for at least another day or so, or not. Or more…. It appears that our lodge has great internet. To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask that use our B&H and Amazon affiliate links for all of your B&H<\/a> and Amazon<\/a> purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the 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 e-mail<\/a><\/center>.<\/p>\n

You can find the following items in the store: Gitzo tripods<\/a>, Mongoose M3.6<\/a> and Wimberley<\/a> heads, plates, low feet, and accessories<\/a>, flash brackets<\/a>, <\/a>, Delkin e-film Pro Compact Flash Cards<\/a>, LensCoat<\/a> products, and our unique line-up of educational materials<\/a> including ABP I & II<\/a>, Digital Basics<\/a>, Site and Set-up e-Guides<\/a>, Canon and Nikon Camera Users and AF e-Guides<\/a>, and MP-4 Photoshop video tutorials<\/a> among others. <\/p>\n

We would of course appreciate you using our B&H and Amazon affiliate links for all of your B&H<\/a> and Amazon<\/a> major gear, video, electronic, household, and personal purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we 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 visiting the BAA Online<\/a> store as well. <\/p>\n

Today’s blog post took 2 1\/2 hours to prepare. Enjoy. With more snow tomorrow we are sleeping in with breakfast at 8am, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The group and the leaders in the early morning remnants of the blizzard. From back left to right clockwise: Lex Franks, Malcolm MacKenzie, Srdjan Mitrovic, Debbie Franks, Paul McKenzie, Pat & Alan Lillich, Zorica Kovacevic, Denise Ippolito, and yours truly. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

The Blizzard<\/h3>\n

Be careful what you wish for; you just may get it. We awoke on February 16 to ten inches of soft snow with a stiff northwest wind blowing the stuff sideways. We were all dressed and ready to leave when our guide announced that all roads were closed. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then got dressed again to leave at 8:30 only to learn that our guide had gone scouting and “would be back in a while.” In the meantime the snow continued to pile up. <\/p>\n

Finally at about 10:30am we got dressed for a third time and drove the 5 minutes to the Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary. There were three very distant cranes that were visible at times through the white out. The cameras could not focus. We hung around for several hours and the storm subsided just a bit. Red-crowned Cranes began to arrive in numbers. With the continued heavy snow getting autofocus to lock on was difficult. Properly exposed, the images on the rear LCDs looked just like the whiteout. But fun we had. <\/p>\n

For hours. By about 3:30 most of us quit soaking wet and shivering cold. Paul and Alan & Pat stayed on and enjoyed another great hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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This image was created on Day 4 of the Japan in Winter IPT with the Canon EF 24-70mm f\/2.8L II USM lens<\/a> (hand held at 45mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III<\/a>. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 1\/3 stops at 1:03pm: 1\/500 sec. at f\/8 in Manual mode. AWB. <\/p>\n

Central sensor\/AI Servo\/Surround Rear Focus AF on the nearest crane and re-compose. Click here<\/a> to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version.<\/p>\n