{"id":23019,"date":"2014-09-30T07:06:07","date_gmt":"2014-09-30T11:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=23019"},"modified":"2014-10-05T06:50:35","modified_gmt":"2014-10-05T10:50:35","slug":"hard-to-understand-image-design-principlesshorebird-idtime-is-running-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2014\/09\/30\/hard-to-understand-image-design-principlesshorebird-idtime-is-running-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Hard to Understand….\/Image Design Principles\/Shorebird ID\/Time is Running Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Streak Continues: 304<\/h3>\n

I have just about finished with my 2013 tax return; today I need to add the car stuff and go over all of the credit card statements with a fine-toothed comb. It was sunny for the first time in what seemed like a month for yesterday’s 2\/3 mile swim. Morning meditation, a late afternoon nap, and an evening ice bath rounded out the day. I was glad to see the Kansas City Chiefs kick the New England Patriots butts on Monday Night Football. I will never understand why so many experts want to award the Super Bowl trophy to Pretty Boy Tom Brady and the Patriots every year before the season starts!<\/em><\/strong> This blog post, the 304rd in a row, took me about three hours to prepare. It was published at about 7:00am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL. <\/p>\n

One of our four perfectly-qualified volunteer reviewers returned his edit of the DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion Guide to me via e-mail yesterday afternoon. I will not get to look at it for a few days…. <\/p>\n

To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we do ask that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store<\/a>, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, and the like. We sell only what I used, 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 we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail<\/a><\/center>.<\/p>\n

Hard to Understand<\/h3>\n

When I planned the first-ever BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field\/Meetup Workshop Session (ITF\/MWS) at Fort DeSoto and priced the afternoon of instruction at only $50, I was positive that it would sell out instantly. Wow, was I wrong. This session is free for folks attending the complete IPT and all three registrants will be attending the ITF\/MWS. Only two other photographers, however, have signed up. Here is what baffles me: whenever I am afield, be it at Fort DeSoto, Nickerson Beach, Bosque del Apache, or the cliffs at La Jolla, I see folks with many thousands of dollars worth of photo gear. And the great percentage of those folks are doing lots of things wrong, things that make it impossible to create even a few good images. Heck, many of these folks easily have more than $20,000 worth of gear. The fact is that when I see someone doing everything right they stick out like the proverbial sore thumb….<\/p>\n

I planned the first BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field\/Meetup Workshop Session so that I could introduce folks to what goes on at an IPT on a nearly-free basis. There is so, so much to learn when you are in the field with a skilled, experienced instructor. As I have said here before and often, many folks think that buying a big lens and a professional digital camera body will make the a good photographer. Many of them simply do not understand the value of hard work, study, practice, and good instruction. <\/p>\n

Why my plan failed is hard to understand….<\/p>\n

Scroll down in this blog post for complete details on both the ITF\/MWS and the complete IPT. <\/p>\n

GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT\/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. July 14-28, 2015 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $12,499. Limit 14 including the leader:\/Openings: 5.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Though my two-week Galapagos Photo-Cruises are without equal there are too many openings on the 2015 cruise. If you are at all interested, please get in touch with me via e-mail<\/a><\/center> and I will shoot you the current itinerary. I would be glad to design a personalized payment plan for you. <\/p>\n

Right now we have three couples and a single female seriously interested; I am hoping to fill this trip soon.<\/strong><\/font> <\/p>\n

My trip has world\u2019s best guide, a killer itinerary, a great boat (the Samba), and the best leader with eight Galapagos cruises under his belt. Pre-trip and pre-landing location-specific gear advice. In-the-field photo instruction and guidance. Jeez, I almost forgot: fine dining at sea! See the blog post here<\/a> for some great images. Scroll down here for complete details and to learn how to request the itinerary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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This image was created on October 29 with the Gitzo 3532 LS carbon fiber tripod<\/a>, the Mongoose M3.6 head<\/a>, the old Canon 500mm f\/4L IS lens now replaced by the Canon 500mm f\/4L EF IS II lens<\/a>, the Canon 1.4x EF tele-extender III<\/a>, and the e Canon EOS-1D Mark III now replaced by thCanon EOS-1D X<\/a>. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1\/1000 sec. at f\/9 in Av mode. <\/p>\n

Central Sensor Expand\/AI Servo Rear Focus AF as framed on the spot where the neck meets the upper breast was active at the moment of exposure. Though I was focused just a bit on this side of the plane of the eye, f\/9, stopped down 1 1\/3 stops from wide open, gave me enough depth-of-field to render the eye sharp. Click here<\/a> if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version. <\/p>\n