{"id":32923,"date":"2016-05-01T05:22:01","date_gmt":"2016-05-01T09:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=32923"},"modified":"2016-05-01T05:22:01","modified_gmt":"2016-05-01T09:22:01","slug":"my-favorite-namibia-image-does-it-get-any-better-than-this-only-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2016\/05\/01\/my-favorite-namibia-image-does-it-get-any-better-than-this-only-two\/","title":{"rendered":"My Favorite Namibia Image: Does It Get Any Better Than This?  Only Two&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>What&#8217;s Up?<\/h3>\n<p>I thought that I was well on my way to being back in the eastern time zone but after hitting the sack at about 9pm I awoke for good at 2:30am, which is 7:30am Namibia time. I answered lots of e-mails. I headed into town to do some food shopping and to order three new pairs of reading glasses. I went to Namibia with four pairs and destroyed three of them while I was there. The new frames are supposed to be a bit more rugged.<\/p>\n<p>I took my first swim in weeks, worked on this blog post at about 6:30pm after a short nap, and took my first ice bath since before the surgery. <\/p>\n<p><center><noscript><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/servedby.flashtalking.com\/click\/8\/55973;1705289;0;209;0\/?ft_width=728&#038;ft_height=90&#038;url=9277912\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/servedby.flashtalking.com\/imp\/8\/55973;1705289;205;gif;BirdsAsArt;728x90\/?\"><\/a><br \/>\n<\/noscript><br \/>\n<script language=\"Javascript1.1\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\nvar ftClick = \"\";\nvar ftExpTrack_1705289 = \"\";\nvar ftX = \"\";\nvar ftY = \"\";\nvar ftZ = \"\";\nvar ftOBA = 1;\nvar ftContent = \"\";\nvar ftCustom = \"\";\nvar ft728x90_OOBclickTrack = \"\";\nvar ftRandom = Math.random()*1000000;\nvar ftBuildTag1 = \"<scr\";\nvar ftBuildTag2 = \"<\/\";\nvar ftClick_1705289 = ftClick;\nif(typeof(ft_referrer)==\"undefined\"){var ft_referrer=(function(){var r=\"\";if(window==top){r=window.location.href;}else{try{r=window.parent.location.href;}catch(e){}r=(r)?r:document.referrer;}while(encodeURIComponent(r).length>1000){r=r.substring(0,r.length-1);}return r;}());}\nvar ftDomain = (window==top)?\"\":(function(){var d=document.referrer,h=(d)?d.match(\"(?::q\/q\/)+([qw-]+(q.[qw-]+)+)(q\/)?\".replace(\/q\/g,decodeURIComponent(\"%\"+\"5C\")))[1]:\"\";return (h&&h!=location.host)?\"&ft_ifb=1&ft_domain=\"+encodeURIComponent(h):\"\";}());\nvar ftTag = ftBuildTag1 + 'ipt language=\"javascript1.1\" type=\"text\/javascript\" ';\nftTag += 'src=\"http:\/\/servedby.flashtalking.com\/imp\/8\/55973;1705289;201;js;BirdsAsArt;728x90\/?ftx='+ftX+'&fty='+ftY+'&ftadz='+ftZ+'&ftscw='+ftContent+'&ft_custom='+ftCustom+'&ftOBA='+ftOBA+ftDomain+'&ft_referrer='+encodeURIComponent(ft_referrer)+'&cachebuster='+ftRandom+'\" id=\"ftscript_728x90\" name=\"ftscript_728x90\"';\nftTag += '>' + ftBuildTag2 + 'script>';\ndocument.write(ftTag);\n<\/script><\/center><\/p>\n<h3>The Streak<\/h3>\n<p>Today\u2019s blog post marks 177 days in a row with a new educational blog post&#8230; As always-\u2013and folks have been doing a really great job recently\u2013-please remember to use our B&#038;H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/oryx-and-red-suand-dune-_t0a1986-namib-naukluft-national-park-namibia.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/oryx-and-red-suand-dune-_t0a1986-namib-naukluft-national-park-namibia.jpg\" alt=\"oryx-and-red-suand-dune-_t0a1986-namib-naukluft-national-park-namibia\" title=\"oryx-and-red-suand-dune-_t0a1986-namib-naukluft-national-park-namibia\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>This image was created at Sossusvlei inside Namib Naukluft National Park, Namibia. I used the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.outdoorphotogear.com\/search.php?search_query=indurogrand&#038;rfsn=132487.5cf37.9906\">Induro<\/a> GIT 304L\/<a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=274\">Mongoose M3.6<\/a>-mounted<br \/>\n<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> and the mega mega-pixel <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1119027-REG\/canon_0582c002_eos_5ds_r_dslr.html\/BI\/6633\/KBID\/7226\/kw\/CAE5DSR\/DFF\/d10-v2-t1-xCAE5DSR\" target=\"_blank\">Canon EOS 5DS R.<\/a> ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2\/3 stop: 1\/800 sec. at f\/4. Color temperature: Daylight.  <\/p>\n<p>Center AF point (Manual selection)\/AI Servo\/Rear Focus AF as framed and release. Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2013\/10\/31\/if-this-doesnt-get-the-point-across-nothing-will\/\">here<\/a> to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial.  Click on the image to see a larger version.  <\/p>\n<h2><strong>Gemsbok and red dunes <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"468\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"60\" 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=468x60&#038;mode=m&#038;bucket_num=7633&#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>Does It Get Any Better Than This?<\/h3>\n<p>Not for me. This is my very favorite image from the Namibia trip. Does it have a chance in a major contest? Not really. Maybe 20 years ago but not today. I love the magnificent animal, the red dune background, the sharpness, and the stunning early morning light. <\/p>\n<h3>Gemsbok<\/h3>\n<p>Gemsbok are the largest species in the Oryx genus. They are widely hunted for their spectacular horns that average 33 inches in length. The only difference between males and females is that the horns of the males tend to be thicker with larger bases; the females have slightly longer, thinner horns. In life, they are spectacular. <\/p>\n<h3>Image Design Question?<\/h3>\n<p>All things being equal, should I have splayed the legs of my tripod and gotten flat on the ground? <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/nickersoncardajuly2016layers.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/nickersoncardajuly2016layers.jpg\" alt=\"nickersoncardajuly2016layers\" title=\"nickersoncardajuly2016layers\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmer head portrait, American Oystercatcher dining on surf clam flesh, Common Tern at sunset, Common Tern adult swallowing flatfish, Black Skimmer in flight, newborn Common Tern chick, American Oystercatcher with chick, fresh juvenile Common Tern (with fill flash), and Common Terns copulating. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Only Two&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p>Right now there are only two folks registered for the Nickerson IPT. You can call the office on Monday to sign up and enjoy practically private instruction at a great location with tons of birds and tons of flight photography. <\/p>\n<h2><strong>Nickerson Beach Terns\/Skimmers\/Oystercatchers Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT): July 18-22, 2016. 4 1\/2 DAYS: $1899. Limit 10\/Openings 8.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2><strong>Meet and greet at 3pm on the afternoon of Monday, July 18. Limit 10.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The primary subject species of this IPT will be the nesting Common Terns. The trip is timed so that we will get to photograph tiny chicks as well as fledglings. There will be lots of flight photography including adults flying with baitfish. Creating great images of the chicks being fed is a huge challenge. In addition to the terns we will get to photograph lots of Black Skimmers courting, setting up their nesting territories, and in flight (both singles and large pre-dawn flocks blasting off). Midair battles are guaranteed on sunny afternoons. And with luck, we might even see a few tiny chicks toward the end of the trip. We will also get to photograph the life cycle of American Oystercatcher. This will likely include nests with eggs and tiny chicks, young being fed, and possibly a few fledglings. <\/p>\n<p>Nesting Piping Plover is also possibly. There will be lots of gulls to photograph; most years I am able to find a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls of varying ages in addition to the Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed Gulls. You will learn to identify and age the various gull species. There will likely be some Willets feeding along the surf and with luck we might get to photograph a handsome juvenile or two. In addition to the locally breeding shorebirds, we will likely get to see some southbound migrant arctic-and sub-arctic breeding shorebird species such as Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, and maybe even Red Knot. <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/nicerksoncardjuly2016blayers-1.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/nicerksoncardjuly2016blayers-1.jpg\" alt=\"nicerksoncardjuly2016blayers-1\" title=\"nicerksoncardjuly2016blayers-1\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmers with tiny chick, Common Tern landing with baitfish for young, fledged Common Tern chick in dunes, American Oystercatchers\/display flight, adult Common Tern with pipefish for chick, Common Tern fledgling in soft light, American Oystercatcher on nest with eggs, American Oystercatcher 3-egg clutch, battling Black Skimmers. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3>The IPT Logistics<\/h3>\n<p>The tour will begin with a meet and greet on the afternoon of Monday, July 18, 2016. That will be followed by our first shooting session at the beach. From Tuesday through and including all of Friday we will have two photography sessions daily. Our morning sessions will start very early so that we are on the beach well before sunrise. We usually photograph for about four hours. Then we will enjoy a group brunch. We will always have a midday break that will include a nap for me. That followed by our daily afternoon classroom sessions that will include image review, workflow and Photoshop, and a review\/critique of five of your trip images. Folks are always invited to bring their laptops to brunch for image sharing. I always have mine with me but heck, I am a big show-off. Afternoon in-the-field sessions generally run from 5pm through sunset. <\/p>\n<p>Breakfasts are grab what you can. Four brunches are included. Dinners (if at all) will be on your own as we will often get back to the hotel at about 9pm. There is a fridge in every room and a supermarket within walking distance of the hotel so nobody should starve. You will learn a ton during the nine shooting sessions, the four in-classroom sessions, and even at lunch. Early morning and late afternoon parking is free. If we want to head back to the beach early we will need to arrange tight carpools and share the $30\/vehicle parking fee. Non-photographer spouses, friends, or companions are welcome for $100\/day, $450 for the whole IPT.   <\/p>\n<p>Save a space by calling Jim or Jen at the office at 863-692-0906 and arranging to leave your deposit of $599&#8211;credit cards are accepted for deposits only. Your balance will be due on April 18, 2016. I hope that you can join me for what will be an exciting and educational IPT. <\/p>\n<h3>Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links \ud83d\ude42<\/h3>\n<p>To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&#038;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 <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/default.aspx\">BIRDS AS ART Online Store<\/a>, especially the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=274\">Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads<\/a>, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=35\">heads<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=8\">plates<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=17\">LensCoats and accessories<\/a>, and the like. 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 we are always glad to answer your gear questions via <a href=\"mailto:samandmayasgrandpa@att.net\">e-mail<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>I would of course appreciate your using our B&#038;H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. <font color=red><strong>For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. <\/strong><\/font> Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and visiting the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/default.aspx\">BAA Online<\/a> store as well.   <\/p>\n<p>I would of course appreciate your using our B&#038;H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. <font color=red><strong>For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. <\/strong><\/font> Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and visiting the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/default.aspx\">BAA Online<\/a> store as well. <\/p>\n<h3>Facebook<\/h3>\n<p>Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!<\/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 or errors. Just be right \ud83d\ude42   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What&#8217;s Up? <\/p>\n<p>I thought that I was well on my way to being back in the eastern time zone but after hitting the sack at about 9pm I awoke for good at 2:30am, which is 7:30am Namibia time. I answered lots of e-mails. I headed into town to do some food shopping and to order [&#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":[599],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-599","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32923","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=32923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32923\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}