{"id":50922,"date":"2017-10-17T04:15:50","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T08:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=50922"},"modified":"2017-10-21T12:53:07","modified_gmt":"2017-10-21T16:53:07","slug":"black-skimmer-editing-practice-really-important-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2017\/10\/17\/black-skimmer-editing-practice-really-important-stuff\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Skimmer Editing Practice. And Really Important Stuff."},"content":{"rendered":"

Really Important Stuff, All Unsolicited<\/h3>\n

Via e-mail from Jim Miller<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I can’t stop thinking about how much fun the DeSoto Fall IPT was, and how much I learned. There were so many things that suddenly made perfect sense after I had been confused for so long. Thank you very much for the wonderful trip, and for being a great teacher. As I worked through the raw files last week, I realized what a fantastic lens the 600 IS is. Thanks for the rental! Maybe some day I will be able to afford one. Some images for critique are attached.<\/p>\n

By the way, the plant we were looking at along the sidewalk in Gulfport is Blue Porterweed. It is worth a few minutes on the internet to read about it: native of Florida and the Caribbean, used for medicine in The Bahamas, etc. We have it in a large pot in the front yard and it takes a lot of water, but it blooms Spring through Fall. Thank you again, Artie. It was really wonderful to be with you and learn from you.<\/p>\n

Via e-mail from Lee Sommie<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I want to thank you for making the Fall 2017 Ft. DeSoto IPT such a fun and educational experience for me. I truly did not want the adventure to end. I now look through the viewfinder with an artist’s mindset. And the real bonus was making new friends with fellow students. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm for wildlife photography. I had a great time with you and look forward to more adventures on future IPTs.<\/p>\n

Followed by this one<\/strong><\/h2>\n

BTW. I downloaded Photo Mechanic<\/a> and started using it in my workflow. Since I like using Lightroom for my adjustments, I found a way to incorporate Photo Mechanic and Lightroom together. Lightroom was driving me crazy with how slow it is to import and preview photos. I was impressed with how fast you could preview photos and start editing your photos on the DeSoto Fall IPT. Life is too short to wait for applications to import and preview photos and Photo Mechanic<\/a> solves that problem.<\/p>\n

Thanks again for everything Artie. Your knowledge keeps on giving well after the IPT!<\/p>\n

Via e-mail from Muhammad Arif<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I had a great time at Fort De Soto. Thank you for all the instruction, for your help and pointers; my photography has already improved tremendously and I\u2019ve never made such good bird photos before. I wish I could\u2019ve joined you on Monday and Tuesday morning as well but work got in the way. It was also nice to meet everyone on the IPT; sorry that I missed you Ray. Thanks again for everything and I hope to join you at a future IPT sometime again.<\/p>\n

Stuff<\/h3>\n

I visited the Social Security office in Winter Haven to start collecting on my money. I had been drawing my SS on my late-wife Elaine’s money. Next was a visit with my chiropractor friend Dr. Scott Pancake for an Atlas Orthogonal treatment. Too soon to tell but you will hear from me soon. Scott advised two days of rest, i.e., no swimming, no exercises. <\/p>\n

I am still looking for a few more folks for San Diego #2. If you are considering this trip and might be interested in adding on a free day of instruction before the IPT begins please shoot me an e-mail<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Great Response<\/h3>\n

After downloading the RAW file, lots of folks have been sending me JPEgs of their version of yesterday’s featured image. If you would like to take a crack at it, see yesterday’s blog post here<\/a>. I will publish my version on Friday. <\/p>\n

The Streak<\/h3>\n

Today makes eighty-two days in a row with a new educational blog post! This blog post took less than an hour to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of (I think) four hundred eighty something … Good health and good internet connections willing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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2017 in San Diego was a very good year ….<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

2018 San Diego 3 1\/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART IPT #2: Sunday, JAN 28 thru and including a morning session on Wednesday, JAN 31, 2018: 3 1\/2 days: $1699. Limit: 8: Openings: 7<\/h3>\n

Meet and Greet at 6:30pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Saturday, Jan 27, 2018.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

San Diego IPT #2: Shorter and Less Expensive!<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

Please remember: I go with one.<\/strong><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for details. <\/p>\n

Booking.Com<\/h3>\n

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here<\/a> and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service. <\/p>\n


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Gear Questions and Advice<\/h3>\n

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks whom I see in the field, and on BPN<\/a>, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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All four of these images were created on the early morning of Sunday, October 15 well before the sun came onto the birds. I used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens<\/a> (at 400mm) and my favorite skimmer photography camera, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.<\/a> The ISOs ranged from 800 to 1250. All at Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1\/320 sec. at f\/6.3 (except for the last image at f\/7.1) in Tv mode. AWB. <\/p>\n

One AF point to the right of the center AF point\/AI Servo\/Expand\/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point fell somewhere on the bird face below the eye in each image. Please click on the image to enlarge it. <\/p>\n

FocusTune\/LensAlign Micro Adjustment: -5. <\/p>\n

Black Skimmer at water’s edge (four ways)<\/strong><\/h2>\n