{"id":7759,"date":"2011-12-08T16:02:55","date_gmt":"2011-12-08T20:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=7759"},"modified":"2011-12-08T16:02:55","modified_gmt":"2011-12-08T20:02:55","slug":"sun-or-no-sun-which-red-tail-image-do-you-prefer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2011\/12\/08\/sun-or-no-sun-which-red-tail-image-do-you-prefer\/","title":{"rendered":"Sun or No Sun: Which Red-tail Image Do You Prefer?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Red-tailed Hawk, immature perched in cottonwood tree, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. From the recently concluded Bosque IPT.<\/p>\n

The in the sun image was created with the Canon 800mm f\/5.6L IS lens<\/a>, the 1.4X III TC<\/a>, and the EOS-1D Mark IV<\/a> with the lens resting on the car window. (I did not have a BLUBB<\/a> on the trip. :() ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2\/3 stop: 1\/400 sec. at f\/8 in Tv mode (to guarantee a minimum shutter speed of 1\/400 sec. with the lens balanced somewhat precariously on the car window.) <\/p>\n

The overcast image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f\/5.6L IS lens<\/a>, the 1.4X III TC<\/a>, and the EOS-1D Mark IV<\/a>. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2\/3 stops: 1\/125 sec. at f\/9 in Av Mode. <\/p>\n

For each: Central Sensor (by necessity) Rear Focus\/AI Servo AF and recompose. Click here<\/a> if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Lens\/TC\/camera body Micro-adjustment<\/a>: +4. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Sun or No Sun: Which Red-tail Image Do You Prefer?<\/h3>\n

I can thank an upset stomach for this image. Heck, you gotta learn to love what is. (Byron Katie: TheWork.com<\/a>–who would you be without your story?) I needed a porta-potti so I left Robert with the group and made my way around the Farm Loop Road. Several porta-potties were removed from their traditional locations at the Chupadera and Farm Decks this year…. In any case, as I headed back to the north end of the refuge I noticed some crows hassling a raptor, the young red-tail in the images above. I carefully positioned the car, raised the window a bit, positioned the lens, and made a few images. The bird seemed relaxed in spite of the crows so I got out of the vehicle and set the lens up on the 3530 LS tripod with the Mongoose M3.6 on it to reduce the angle of inclination just a bit. The bird sat for a while and then flew off for to look for an early lunch. <\/p>\n

Do note the difference in exposure compensation settings in the two images. If you do not understand them, see the Exposure Simplified section in ABP II; remember, your meter is smarter when the sun is out than when the sun is in. Note also that I felt more comfortable stopping down a bit with the lens on the tripod then I did with the lens resting on the raised window. If the lens had been on the much more stable BLUBB<\/a> I would have confidently stopped down for the sunny image. <\/p>\n

Which Do You Prefer?<\/h3>\n

Which light do you prefer, the sun peeking through or the complete overcast? Please indicate “sunny” or “overcast.” And be sure to let us know what you like abou the light. Please remember that the JPEGs in the GIF represent the unprocessed<\/em><\/strong> images and that I am not asking which image you prefer, but which light you prefer<\/em><\/strong>. In the follow-up blog post I will share the optimized version of my favorite. Sorry, no clues. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

BAA On-Line Store Issues Continue<\/h3>\n

The problems with the new server and the BAA On-Line Store continue today, 12\/8\/11. You can learn more here<\/a>. (BTW, I arrived safely on Long Island just after noon thanks to the great folks at Southwest Airlines.) The store was up for a while this morning and then crashed again. Jim was able to get into the back end but was unable to process the orders. We are working hard to rectify the problem and apologize for any inconvenience. Obviously we too wish that we were not having these unavoidable problems. \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n

Earn Free Contest Entries and Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h2>\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

If you have problems when you try to place an order you have the option of calling Jim at 863-692-0906 or trying again in a few hours. Thanks all for your patience. <\/p>\n

Shopper’s Guide<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Below is a list of the gear used to create the images 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 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>.
\nBLUBB<\/a>. I personally designed the Big Lens Ultimate BeanBag and have it made in the good old US of A. This large beanbag is ideal when working with super-telephoto lenses from your vehicle. Beware of cheaper and much inferior copycat rip-offs; you get what you pay for just like your Daddy said.
\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. Also available for the 7D and the Mark III here<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Red-tailed Hawk, immature perched in cottonwood tree, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. From the recently concluded Bosque IPT.<\/p>\n

The in the sun image was created with the Canon 800mm f\/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the EOS-1D Mark IV with the lens resting on the car window. (I did […]<\/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],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-90","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7759","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=7759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}