{"id":35681,"date":"2016-09-27T04:13:10","date_gmt":"2016-09-27T08:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=35681"},"modified":"2016-10-04T11:04:57","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T15:04:57","slug":"mystery-on-the-level-solved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2016\/09\/27\/mystery-on-the-level-solved\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery: On the Level? Solved&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>What&#8217;s Up?<\/h3>\n<p>On Monday I headed into town early to have some routine blood work done. In addition, I visited Dr. TJ McKeon for some Active Release Technique chiropractic work on my right shoulder, left knee, and right wrist. Pretty much the rest of today and most of the day tomorrow will be spent FocusTune\/LensAlign micro-adjusting my two new 5D Mark IV bodies with three different lenses and five different teleconverters&#8230; With Jim&#8217;s help I will be returning my loaner 5D IV\/24-70 kit to B&#038;H today. <\/p>\n<p>Condolences (along with a few shed tears) to the family and friends of golfing great Arnold Palmer, as nice a man who ever walked the earth. In growing darkness in the parking lot of the Westchester Country Club in Rye, NY, some time in the early 1970s, Arnie stood and chatted with my friend Barry Cohen and me for nearly an hour after putting his golf bag into the trunk of his Cadillac. Arnold Palmer died on Sunday, September 25, 2016 at the age of 87. <\/p>\n<p>It is almost too late to join me at DeSoto today for the Fall IPT but you can try me at home in the morning at 863-692-0906 or on my cell in the afternoon at 863-221-2372. It&#8217;s never too late! Scroll down for details on the late registration discount. Do consider joining us for part of the IPT or for the Sunday Morning (cheap) In-the-Field Workshop. Please call or <a href=\"mailto:samandmayasgrandpa@att.net\">e-mail<\/a> with any questions. <\/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>Gear Questions and Advice<\/h3>\n<p>Too many folks attending IPTs and dozens of the folks whom I see in the field, and on BPN, are&#8211;out of ignorance&#8211;using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads&#8230; Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via <a href=\"mailto:samandmayasgrandpa@att.net\">e-mail<\/a>. <\/p>\n<h3>The Streak: 319!<\/h3>\n<p>Today\u2019s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, illogical, preposterous, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what&#8217;s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 319 days in a row with a new educational blog post. There should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. Or not&#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. <strong><em>And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Selling Your Used Gear Through BIRDS AS ART<\/h3>\n<p>Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please <a href=\"mailto:samandmayasgrandpa@att.net\">e-mail<\/a><\/center> with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly&#8211;I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the original 400mm IS DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can see all current listings by clicking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/used-photography-gear-for-sale\/\">here<\/a> or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the yellow-orange tab on the right side of the menu bar above. <\/p>\n<h3>September Used Gear Sales Continue to be Flaming Hot!<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>In less than one day in late September Steve Zarate sold his Canon EOS 7D camera in very good condition for a BAA record low price of $279 and his Canon EOS 7D II in excellent condition for a BAA record low price of $799.<\/li>\n<li>Within two days of listing Joe Alexander sold his Canon EF 100-400mm L IS USM lens in excellent plus condition for $599in late September when he also sold one of each of these: Canon EF 1.4x III and Canon EF 2x III Extender in excellent plus condition for $249 each within an hour of listing them. When he first contacted me he had them priced, way, way, way too low&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Yours truly, Arthur Morris, sold one of his two Canon EOS 5DS R bodies in excellent condition but for a very small, very fine sort of x-shaped crack in the upper-right corner of the top LCD screen, for $2549 in late September. <\/li>\n<li>Doug Rogers sold his Vortex Razor 85mm Ultra High Definition Scope in like-new condition for $795.00 in mid-September.<\/li>\n<li>Ed Hutchinson sold his Canon EF 100-400mm L IS USM lens, the \u201cold 1-4,\u201d in like-new condition for $649 and his EOS 5D Mark III in like-new condition for $1499 within days of listing them in mid-September.<\/li>\n<li>Hisham Atallah sold his Canon 600mm f\/4L IS II lens in excellent condition for $9499 in mid-September within days of listing it.<\/li>\n<li>Good friend and BAA Japan IPT co-leader&#8211;the oft-honored BBC and Nature&#8217;s Best photographer Paul McKenzie&#8211;sold his Canon EOS 1DX in excellent condition with an extra Canon battery for $2299 in mid September two days after it was listed.<\/li>\n<li>Eric Karl sold his Canon EF 200-400mm f\/4L IS USM Lens with Internal Extender in excellent condition for the full asking price, a very low $8,099 in mid-September.<\/li>\n<li>Gary Meyer sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III in mint condition for $1599 with an off-brand battery grip in mid-September.<\/li>\n<li>IPT veteran Ken Siegel sold his Canon EOS-1DX in excellent condition with several extras for $2899 in early September.<\/li>\n<li>Roger Doughty sold his Canon EOS-1DX in &#8220;like-new&#8221; condition for $2,749 and his  Canon EOS 7D Mark II in like-new condition for $1,049 both within hours of listing them in early September.<\/li>\n<li>Multiple IPT veteran Phil Frigon sold his barely used Canon EOS 5DSR in like-new condition for $2799 within three hours of listing it on September 6.<\/li>\n<li>Joe Alexander sold his Gitzo GT3532LS carbon fiber tripod and a Wimberley V-2 WH-200 gimbal head both in like-new condition for $799 within an hour of listing it on September 6.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>New Listings<\/h3>\n<h2><strong>Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS II USM Lens<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><font color=red><strong>Sold in one day!<\/strong><\/font> <\/p>\n<p>Joseph Higbee is offering a Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for what I believe is a BAA record low price: $1449. The sale includes the lens in the original box with all in-box items including lens case and strap, front and rear caps, lens hood, tripod collar, and warranty card. Insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until check clears unless other arrangements are made.<\/p>\n<p>Please contact Joe via <a href=\"mailto:jvhigbee@hotmail.com\">e-mail<\/a><\/center> or by phone at 253 846-1254 (Pacific time).<\/p>\n<p>The 70-200mm f\/2.8L IS is an incredibly versatile, easily hand holdable intermediate telephoto lens. It does very well with both the 1.4X and 2X III TCs. When teamed with a 7D or a 7D II it can&#8211;for folks working with relatively tame birds&#8211;actually serve as your big lens. I use mine often in the Southern Ocean where its fast speed, f\/2.8, can often save the day (or at least save a stop or two of ISO). Visit the very recent blog post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2016\/09\/26\/the-oft-neglected-combo-70-200-f2-8l-is-ii2x-iii7d-ii\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a> for an example of what you can do with the 70-200II\/2XIII\/7D II combo. artie <\/p>\n<h2><strong>Canon EOS 6D<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Joseph Higbee is also offering a Canon EOS 6D in excellent condition for $949. The sale includes the camera in the original box with all in-box items including battery, charger, strap, cables, manual, CD and warranty card. Insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until check clears unless other arrangements are made.<\/p>\n<p>Please contact Joe via <a href=\"mailto:jvhigbee@hotmail.com\">e-mail<\/a><\/center> or by phone at 253 846-1254 (Pacific time).<\/p>\n<p><em>I own and use the the &#8220;full frame&#8221; 20.2 MP Canon 6D DSLR. I love the camera for its fine image quality and outstanding low-light performance, which make it terrific for landscapes and portraits. While it was not designed to be and isn&#8217;t my first choice as a wildlife camera, its good image quality makes it fine for bird and mammal portraits. And if you can be satisfied with using mainly the center AF point, the autofocus is decently fast and accurate, so especially for large birds like cranes, it is more than adequate for birds in flight.<\/em>  Multiple IPT veteran and blog regular, David Policansky<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Canon EOS 7D<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><font color=red><strong>Sold in one day<\/strong><\/font>  <\/p>\n<p>Joseph Higbee is also offering a Canon EOS 7D in excellent condition for $299. The sale includes the camera in the original box with all in-box items including battery, charger, strap, cables, manual, CD and warranty card. Insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until check clears unless other arrangements are made.<\/p>\n<p>Please contact Joe via <a href=\"mailto:jvhigbee@hotmail.com\">e-mail<\/a><\/center> or by phone at 253 846-1254 (Pacific time).<\/p>\n<p><em>This 7D would make a great starter camera body for any new digital photographer or a great gift for a young photographer.<\/em>. artie<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Canon EF 2X III Extender<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><font color=red><strong>Sold in one hour!<\/strong><\/font> <\/p>\n<p>Joseph Higbee is also offering a Canon EF 2X III Extender in excellent condition for $349. The sale includes the extender in the original box with in-box items including front and rear caps, the lens pouch, the lens case, and the warranty card. Insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until check clears unless other arrangements are made.<\/p>\n<p>Please contact Joe via <a href=\"mailto:jvhigbee@hotmail.com\">e-mail<\/a><\/center> or by phone at 253 846-1254 (Pacific time).<\/p>\n<p><em>As regular readers know, the 2X III TC is indispensable for my style of bird photography with all of my super-telephotos as well as with the 70-200 f\/2.8L IS lens&#8230;<\/em> artie<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Mongoose M3.6 Action Tripod Head<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><font color=red><strong>Sold in one day<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n<p>Joseph Higbee is offering a M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head in excellent condition for $450. The sale includes the head in the original box. Insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until check clears unless other arrangements are made.<\/p>\n<p>Please contact Joe via <a href=\"mailto:jvhigbee@hotmail.com\">e-mail<\/a><\/center> or by phone at 253 846-1254 (Pacific time).<\/p>\n<p><em>The Mongoose M-3.6 is so good that it is more than rare to see a used one for sale. I believe that this is the first one BAA has ever listed. I have been using the larger Mongoose (now the best-ever version, the M-3.6) for well more than a decade now. I use it to make sharp images with all of my intermediate telephoto zoom lenses and all of my super-telephoto lens including the 600 II and the 800mm f\/5.6L IS.<\/em> artie <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/marbled-godwit-preening-w-sleeping-willets-_q8r4800-fort-desoto-park-st-petersburg-fl.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/marbled-godwit-preening-w-sleeping-willets-_q8r4800-fort-desoto-park-st-petersburg-fl.jpg\" alt=\"marbled-godwit-preening-w-sleeping-willets-_q8r4800-fort-desoto-park-st-petersburg-fl\" title=\"marbled-godwit-preening-w-sleeping-willets-_q8r4800-fort-desoto-park-st-petersburg-fl\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>This image was created at Fort DeSoto with the hand held <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/754507-USA\/Canon_5124B002_500mm_f_4L_EF_IS.html\/BI\/6633\/KBID\/7226\/kw\/CA5004LISEF2\/DFF\/d10-v2-t1-xCA5004LISEF2\" target=\"_blank\">Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM lens<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/732113-USA\/Canon_4409B002_Extender_EF_1_4X_III.html\/BI\/6633\/KBID\/7226\/kw\/CA14XEF3\/DFF\/d10-v2-t1-xCA14XEF3\" target=\"_blank\">Canon Extender EF 1.4X III<\/a>, and the EOS-1 DX (now replaced by the rugged, blazingly fast <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1221604-REG\/canon_0931c016_eos_1d_x_mark_ii.html\/BI\/6633\/KBID\/7226\/kw\/CAE1DX2K\/DFF\/d10-v2-t1-xCAE1DX2K\" target=\"_blank\">Canon EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR with 64GB Card and Reader<\/a>). ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1\/1600 sec. at f\/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB.   <\/p>\n<p>Center AF point\/AI Servo Expand\/Rear Focus AF on the godwit&#8217;s bill and re-compose. 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>Image #1: Marbled Godwit preening in the company of two sleeping Willets<\/strong><\/h2>\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=2669&#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>On the Level?<\/h3>\n<p>I was flat on the ground hand holding the 500 II when I made today&#8217;s featured image. I have no idea why I did not have AF active at the moment of exposure&#8230; I must have had the bottom of the camera right in the wet sand with my left arm flat on the ground supporting the lens. Or else I would not have created a sharp image.  It&#8217;s much better to keep AF active in similar situations to prevent accurate focus from being thrown off by your own movements or your breathing&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>I had a devil of a time leveling this image using the Ruler Tool and Image > Rotate > Arbitrary basing the rotation on the godwit&#8230; Why? In the RAW file the godwit seemed to be leaning well to our left while the sleeping Willet on our right seemed to be leaning to our right&#8230; And the horizon, a curved bit of shoreline, makes it look as if it still needs lots of clockwise rotation. <\/p>\n<h3>Mystery Solved, I Think&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p>This one was really bugging me so I kept staring at the image. And I think that I figured it out. Take a close look at the godwit&#8217;s ankles&#8211;don&#8217;t worry, they <strong><em>are<\/em><\/strong> visible but you think that they are the bird&#8217;s knees. But the two visible joints mid-legs actually correspond to our ankle bones. Trust me on that. If the bird were normal, the two ankles should be on the same level. But the ankle on our right, the one on the bird&#8217;s left leg, is already lower than the ankle on the bird&#8217;s right leg. So if we rotate the image to put the two ankles on the same horizontal plane the image would need a good deal more counter-clockwise rotation. Which would obviously be wrong.<\/p>\n<p>There can be only one possible explanation. The godwit has a very bad left leg, so bad that its left leg is well shorter than it&#8217;s right leg&#8230;<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/marbled-godwit-l-preening-w-sleeping-willets-_q8r4800-fort-desoto-park-st-petersburg-fl.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/marbled-godwit-l-preening-w-sleeping-willets-_q8r4800-fort-desoto-park-st-petersburg-fl.jpg\" alt=\"marbled-godwit-l-preening-w-sleeping-willets-_q8r4800-fort-desoto-park-st-petersburg-fl\" title=\"marbled-godwit-l-preening-w-sleeping-willets-_q8r4800-fort-desoto-park-st-petersburg-fl\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h2><strong>Image #2: I believe that this image is now correctly square to the world, i.e., level<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3>The Correctly Leveled Image<\/h3>\n<p>On my second attempt to get this one right, I leveled the image based on the sleeping Willet on our right. The godwit now looks as if it is leaning a bit to our right, but I believe that that is a result of its left leg being shorter than its right leg. <\/p>\n<p>Whaddya you think?<\/p>\n<h3>The Image Design<\/h3>\n<p>With three birds and the tallest one near the center, this was a tough image design. By placing the godwit just a bit to our left of center I feel that the elements of the composition are nicely balanced. I do not think that I could have done any better. <\/p>\n<p>Whaddya you think?<\/p>\n<p>I am expecting that we should have some good opportunities with this species on the Fort DeSoto IPT. See the details below. <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/desoto-fall-card-b.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/desoto-fall-card-b.jpg\" alt=\"desoto-fall-card-b\" title=\"desoto-fall-card-b\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Fort DeSoto in fall is rife with tame birds. All of the images in this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or early October.  I hope that you can join me there this fall one way or another. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3>BIRDS AS ART Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Meet-up Workshop (ITFW): $99<\/h3>\n<p>Join me on the morning of October 2, 2016 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.<\/p>\n<p>You will learn the basics of digital exposure and image design, autofocus basics, and how to get close to free and wild birds. We should get to photograph a variety of wading birds, shorebirds, terns, and gulls.  This inexpensive morning workshop is designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there. <\/p>\n<p>To register please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours with a credit card in hand to pay the nominal registration fee. Your registration fee is  non-refundable. You will receive a short e-mail with instructions, gear advice, and meeting place one week before the event.  <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/desoto-fall-card-a-layers.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/desoto-fall-card-a-layers.jpg\" alt=\"desoto-fall-card-a-layers\" title=\"desoto-fall-card-a-layers\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Folks attending the IPT will be in the field early and stay out late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Fort DeSoto Short Notice Fall IPT\/September 28 (meet &#038; greet at 2pm followed by our afternoon session) through the full day on October 1, 2016. 3 1\/2 DAYs: $1549. Limit 10\/Openings: 6. Sunday morning ITFW free to IPT registrants.<\/h3>\n<p>Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds in fall. There they join dozens of egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, and terns who winter on the T-shaped peninsula that serves as their wintering grounds. With any luck, we should get to photograph two of Florida&#8217;s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher likely. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. And Royal, Sandwich, Forster&#8217;s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork would not be unexpected.  <\/p>\n<p>Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join me as my guest on the ITFW on the Sunday morning following the workshop. See above for details on that. <\/p>\n<p>On this and all other IPTs you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify and age many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, to, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera&#8217;s AF system. And you will learn learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you&#8217;re scared of it).  <\/p>\n<p>At brunch (included) we will review my images&#8211;folks learn a ton watching me edit&#8211;why keep this one and delete that one?  If you opt to bring your laptop, we can take a look at a few of your images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time. <\/p>\n<p>As I already have one signed up for this workshop, it is a go. Hotel info will be e-mailed when you register. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). It is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel so if you are interested it would be a good idea to register now and make your hotel reservations as soon as you hear from us. We can, however, coordinate with local folks who opt to stay at home. <\/p>\n<p>Because of the relatively late date, payment is full is due upon registration either by check or credit card.  If the former, please <a href=\"mailto:samandmayasgrandpa@att.net\">e-mail<\/a><\/center> us immediately so that we can save you a spot. If the latter, please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to register. Your registration fee is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight so please check your plans carefully before committing. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions and gear &#038; clothing advice a fairly soon. <\/p>\n<h3>Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store \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=\"http:\/\/birdsasart-shop.com\/\">New BIRDS AS ART Online Store<\/a>, especially the <a href=\"http:\/\/birdsasart-shop.com\/mongoose-action-head\/\">Mongoose M3.6 tripod head<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/birdsasart-shop.com\/plates-and-replacement-feet\/wimberley-arca-swiss-style-lens-plates\/\">Wimberley lens plates<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/birdsasart-shop.com\/digital-media\/\">Delkin flash cards and accessories<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/birdsasart-shop.com\/lenscoat-covers\/\">LensCoat stuff<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>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 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, and for everything else in the new store, 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 those who will be visiting the <a href=\"http:\/\/birdsasart-shop.com\/\">New BIRDS AS ART Online Store<\/a> 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>On Monday I headed into town early to have some routine blood work done. In addition, I visited Dr. TJ McKeon for some Active Release Technique chiropractic work on my right shoulder, left knee, and right wrist. Pretty much the rest of today and most of the day tomorrow will be spent FocusTune\/LensAlign [&#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-35681","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\/35681","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=35681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35681\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}