{"id":6967,"date":"2011-09-26T20:31:07","date_gmt":"2011-09-27T00:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=6967"},"modified":"2011-10-12T14:22:02","modified_gmt":"2011-10-12T18:22:02","slug":"watch-your-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2011\/09\/26\/watch-your-step\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch Your Step…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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Tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f\/5.6L IS lens<\/a>, a 25mm Extension tube<\/a>, the 1.4X III TC<\/a>, and the EOS-1D Mark IV<\/a>. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2\/3: 1\/60 sec. at f\/5.6 in Manual mode. I placed the tube on the lens and the TC on the camera for a bit of extra close focus but doing it that way you lose AF so I needed to focus manually. That is one of the zillions of lessons in The Art of Bird Photography II<\/a> (916 pages, 900+ images on CD only.)<\/p>\n

Lens\/TC\/Camera Body Micro-Adjustment:<\/a> 0. <\/p>\n

For a greater appreciation of the image, click on the photo. Then click on the enlarged version to close it.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Watch Your Step…<\/h3>\n

On Saturday past I headed down to the lake for a 40 minute walk. I started up and back on the long pier as I usually do listening to Abe Lincoln on my Bose head phones while counting birds. There were lots of species: 16 or 17 in ten minutes with no binoculars. Ornithologically speaking everything was clicking. Once I was off the pier I walked up a gentle hill that leads to a restroom so that I could check out a big oak dripping with Spanish moss. As I approached there were three mockingbirds flitting about rather excitedly but nothing registered. I walked closer and saw a warbler low down in the tree–looked like a palm, Palm Warbler that is. I took another step or two forward and a bit to my left hoping to confirm the ID. Something registered in my brain and said, Stop.” I looked down and two feet from my left leg was a large Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake that was so bright and clean that I know it had just shed its skin. It was about 5 1\/2 feet long, possibly 6. I made a u-turn and headed to my car for my gear. It was only a ten yard walk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f\/5.6L IS lens<\/a>, the 1.4X III TC<\/a>,a 25mm Extension tube<\/a>, and the EOS-1D Mark IV<\/a>. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2\/3: 1\/160 sec. at f\/11 in Av mode. Here I placed the TC on the lens with the tube behind it; this gave me AF. Central sensor (by necessity) AI Servo\/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Confused: see the rear focus tutorial here.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Lens\/TC\/Camera Body Micro-Adjustment:<\/a> 0. <\/p>\n

For a greater appreciation of the image, click on the photo. Then click on the enlarged version to close it.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Though I had the macro lens in the car I grabbed the 800 :). And the 1.4X TC and a 25mm extension tube to allow for closer focus. The snake was not in a nice setting so I knew that I would want to work tight. It was a cloudy afternoon and losing one stop of light to the TC and another fraction of a stop to the tube I set ISO 1600 as the snake was still under the big tree and light was at a premium. At times the snake was aware of me as I circled it slowly looking for the best angle but for the most part it did its own thing unconcerned by the presence of the curious human. After about ten minutes it slithered across the road (image last) and disappeared into a brush-filled lot. My walks almost always take me down some tight grassy paths. I will surely be lot more careful in the future than I have been in the past. A large, beautiful rattler on your home turf is not something that you forget quickly…. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f\/5.6L IS lens<\/a>, the 1.4X III TC<\/a>,a 25mm Extension tube<\/a>, and the EOS-1D Mark IV<\/a>. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1\/250 sec. at f\/11 in Av mode. Here again I placed the TC on the lens with the tube behind it; this gave me AF. Central sensor (by necessity) AI Servo\/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Confused: see the rear focus tutorial here.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Lens\/TC\/Camera Body Micro-Adjustment:<\/a> 0. <\/p>\n

For a greater appreciation of the image, click on the photo. Then click on the enlarged version to close it.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Which Do You Like Best?<\/h3>\n

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which of the three images you like best. And why. <\/p>\n

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

More and more folks are earning multiple contest entries with their B & H purchases. See here<\/a> for details on that. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools<\/a> valued in excess of $20,000. Click here<\/a> to visit the competition home page. <\/p>\n

Shopper’s Guide<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Below is a list of the gear used to create the image in today’s blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Canon 800mm f\/5.L IS lens.<\/a> Right now this is my all time favorite super-telephoto lens.
\nCanon 1.4X III Teleconverter<\/a>. Designed to work best with the new Series II super-telephoto lenses.
\nCanon EF 25mm Extension tube<\/a>. I am never out without one of these in my vest; it allows for closer focus in a variety of situations.
\nCanon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body.<\/a> My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies. <\/p>\n

And from the BAA On-line Store:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

LensCoats<\/a>. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
\nLegCoat Tripod Leg Covers.<\/a> I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders \ud83d\ude42
\nGitzo GT3530LS Tripod.<\/a> This one will last you a lifetime.
\nMongoose M3.6 Tripod Head.<\/a> Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head<\/a>.
\nCR-80 Replacement Foot for Canon 800<\/a>. When using the 800 on a Mongoose as I do, replacing the lens foot with this accessory lets the lens sit like a dog whether pointed up or down and prevents wind-blown spinning of your lens on breezy days by centering the lens directly over the tripod.
\n Double Bubble Level.<\/a> You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
\nBe sure to check out our camera body User’s Guides here<\/a>.
\nThe Lens Align Mark II.<\/a> I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.<\/a>
\nCanon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide<\/a>. Learn to use your Mark IV the way that I use mine. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f\/5.6L IS lens, a 25mm Extension tube, the 1.4X III TC, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2\/3: 1\/60 sec. at f\/5.6 in Manual mode. I placed the tube on the lens and the TC on the camera for a bit of extra close focus but doing […]<\/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":[90,28,24,12,14,97,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-90","category-800mm-f5-6","category-mkiv","category-photo-equipment","category-photography-tips","category-series-iii-tcs","category-tips","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6967","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=6967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6967\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}