{"id":9581,"date":"2012-04-29T21:32:54","date_gmt":"2012-04-30T01:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=9581"},"modified":"2012-05-02T07:05:19","modified_gmt":"2012-05-02T11:05:19","slug":"why-stop-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2012\/04\/29\/why-stop-there\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Stop There?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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This head portrait of a Snowy Egret chick was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 300mm f\/2.8 L IS II lens<\/a>, the 2X III teleconverter<\/a>, and the Canon EOS-5D Mark III<\/a>. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1\/3 stop: 1\/80 sec. at f\/8 in Av mode. <\/p>\n

Fill flash at -1 stop with my brand new Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT<\/a> and a Better Beamer<\/a>. Good news there: the FX-3 fits the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT<\/a> perfectly. <\/p>\n

For a greater appreciation of this image, click on the photo. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Beginning Bird Photography Lessons <\/h3>\n

I created this image this morning while working with a private client. Ann is a beginning bird photographer. But very smart and a quick study. She arrived knowing when and why to use AI Servo AF and when and why to use One-Shot. She knew how add or subtract light while working in Av mode and knew how to view the histogram. She did not know how to evaluate a histogram or the importance of having at least some data in the fifth (highlight) box. And she had blinkies turned off. We educated her in short order. To start I let her work with the 300mm f\/2.8 L IS II lens<\/a> and the 2X III teleconverter<\/a> with her Canon EOS-7D<\/a>, all on a Mongoose M3.6<\/a> and a Gitxo 3530 LS tripod. (Note: the 3530 LS has been replaced by the GT3532 LS<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Within a few minutes she had learned to produce good if not perfect histograms. Once I showed her how, she was a natural at holding the big lens to ensure sharp images and she had a good eye for composition. After an hour I set her up with a 70-200mm f.4 L IS<\/a> and a 1.4X III TC<\/a>. She took to hand holding it correctly immediately by bracing her elbows on the boardwalk railings. <\/p>\n

She went off by herself making images and honing her newly learn skills. I photographed for a while on my own and then went off the see if she needed any additional help. She had found a wide open Snowy Egret nest with two medium sized chicks! I taught her how to use the pop-up flash in a rather dark situation. Then it was my turn. After hand holding my 70-200mm f\/2.8L IS II for a while I went to the 300 with the 2X on a tripod so that I could create some head portraits. As there was a branch blocking the flash as it sat on the 4th Generation Design Integrated Flash Arm<\/a>. Ann kindly agreed to hold the flash and point it at the bird. <\/p>\n

Voila!<\/p>\n\n\n
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Why Stop There? <\/h3>\n

As you can see by viewing the animated GIF above, I did considerable bill clean-up but opted to leave the single sliver of feather. Why? Clean-up as usual was with the Patch Tool, the Spot Healing Brush, and a series of small Quick Masks. All are described in detail in Digital Basics<\/a>. <\/p>\n

NIK 15% Discount<\/h3>\n

As regular readers here know, NIK Color Efex Pro has drastically changed my digital workflow. Remember that you can save 15% on all NIK products by clicking here<\/a> and entering BAA in the Promo Code box at check-out. Then hit Apply to see your savings. You can download a trial copy that will work for 15 days and allow you to create full sized images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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This Adobe Camera RAW screen capture shows my default values. Note the pretty darned good histogram right out of the box…. Click on the image to enlarge it–it’s a lot easier to read then. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT<\/h3>\n

Today was the first chance that I had to use my new flash, the Speedlite 600EX-RT<\/a>, Canon’s most powerful-ever flash. The controls are a bit different from the last several Speedlites so I actually had to read the flash manual. But just enough to get started….<\/p>\n

Here are the listed features:<\/p>\n