{"id":9726,"date":"2012-05-14T09:47:30","date_gmt":"2012-05-14T13:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=9726"},"modified":"2012-05-14T09:47:30","modified_gmt":"2012-05-14T13:47:30","slug":"purple-martin-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2012\/05\/14\/purple-martin-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Purple Martin Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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This adult male Purple Martin was photographed at Bay City, Oregon with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f\/5.L IS lens<\/a>, the 1.4X III TC<\/a>, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV<\/a>. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at +2 1\/3 stops as framed: 1\/320 sec. at f\/11 in Manual mode in early morning light on a clear day at 8:05am. <\/p>\n

I pushed the exposure as far to the right as possible without getting any blinkies in the sky or on the post to ensure maximum detail in the dark glossy feathers. <\/p>\n

Central sensor (by necessity) AI Servo\/Rear Focus AF and re-compose. Click here<\/a> if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger, sharper version. (Some of the images posted here suffer from Word Press compression when viewed at the smaller size.) <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Tualatin River Bird Festival<\/h3>\n

Thanks to the generosity of Canon USA\/Explorers of Light who sponsored my visit I enjoyed a wonderful long weekend in Tigard, Oregon. BAA fan and new friend Doug Schurman picked me up at the Portland Airport early on Thursday evening. He drove us to Tillamook, OR so that we could scout for the Sunday morning in-the-field workshop. Morro Bay IPT veteran Don Nelson our guide and my host for the weekend met us at 6:30 am on Thursday. Our first and best stop was at a unique Purple Martin colony on the bay at Bay City, OR just north of Tillamook. We returned on Sunday morning by bus to the delight of the 15 participants. <\/p>\n

All three of my programs were well-received and the audiences were large, warm, and attentive. Thanks to Norman Penner for inviting me and to Canon EoL’s Steve Inglima for approving the trip. Both Doug and Don treated me like royalty and their kindnesses were greatly appreciated. It is nice to feel like King for a Weekend every now and then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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This adult male Purple Martin on the same piling was photographed at Bay City, Oregon with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f\/5.L IS lens<\/a>, the 1.4X III TC<\/a>, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV<\/a>. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at +3 stops off the sky: 1\/320 sec. at f\/9 in Manual mode. <\/p>\n

This image was created on Thursday at 7:54 am when a cloud briefly covered the sun. <\/p>\n

Central sensor (by necessity) AI Servo\/Rear Focus AF and re-compose. Click here<\/a> if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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

Which of the two images above do you prefer, the first image made in early morning light or the second made in white sky conditions. Please let us know why. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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This image of the colony was created with the Canon 24-105mm L IS lens<\/a> hand held at 24mm and the EOS-1D Mark IV<\/a>. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +1 2\/3 stops: 1\/250 sec. at f\/11. <\/p>\n

Central sensor (by necessity) AI Servo\/Rear Focus AF and re-compose. Click here<\/a> if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger, sharper version. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Purple Martin Magic<\/h3>\n

The rather dilapidated colony at Bay City, OR was perfect for early morning photography as the pilings were right on sun angle and there were several fairly decent thin perches provided by the rotting pilings. In 28 years of bird photography I had never previously enjoyed photographing this species on halfway decent perches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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This yawning adult female Purple Martin was photographed at Bay City, Oregon with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f\/5.L IS lens<\/a>, the 1.4X III TC<\/a>, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV<\/a>. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at +2 stops as framed: 1\/320 sec. at f\/14 in Manual mode in early morning light on a clear day at 7:40am. <\/p>\n

Central sensor (by necessity) AI Servo\/Rear Focus AF and re-compose. Click here<\/a> if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger, sharper version. (Some of the images posted here suffer from Word Press compression when viewed at the smaller size.) <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

I loved the yawn and the erect posture of this female. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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This pair of Purple Martins was photographed sitting atop there decrepit nest box with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f\/5.L IS lens<\/a>, the 1.4X III TC<\/a>, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV<\/a>. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at +1 1\/3 stops as framed: 1\/1000 sec. at f\/8 in Manual mode in morning light on a clear day at 8:19am. <\/p>\n

Central sensor (by necessity) AI Servo\/Rear Focus AF and re-compose. Click here<\/a> if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger, sharper version. (Some of the images posted here suffer from Word Press compression when viewed at the smaller size.) <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

It can never hurt to make images of interesting situations rather than creating only images that feature single birds set against clean backgrounds. Though the nest boxes were in need of repair the birds loved them and Don told me that the colony produces lots of young each year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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B&H Double Rebates Include the 5D Mark III<\/h3>\n

Click here<\/a>. Select one of four current Canon camera bodies–both the EOS-5D Mark III and the EOS-7D are in the group. Add a lens–there are 30 in the group, a Series III teleconverter, or a Speedlite, and enjoy large double rebates. The lenses include lots of my favorites: the 70-200mm f\/4 L IS, the 70-200mm f\/2.8L IS II, the circle lens, the 180 macro, and the 300mm f\/4L IS. You can check the specs on all Canon telephoto lenses here<\/a>. This double rebate offer expires on April 2, 2012. <\/p>\n

Nikon Dslr + Lens Bundle Rebates<\/h3>\n

Click here<\/a> for details. Offer includes the brand new D3200 and the D7000. <\/p>\n

Shopper’s Guide.<\/h3>\n

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here<\/a>.<\/h2>\n

Below is a list of the gear talked about in this 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

Shopper’s Guide<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Below is a list of the gear used to create the images in today’s 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\/5.6L IS lens.<\/a> Right now this is my all time favorite super-telephoto lens.
\nCanon 24-105mm L IS lens<\/a>. I never head into the field without this versatile B-roll lens in my X-trahand vest.
\nCanon EF 1.4X III TC<\/a>. This new TC is designed to work best with the new Series II super-telephoto lenses.
\nCanon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body.<\/a> The very best professional digital camera body that I have ever used.<\/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 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
\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.
\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>
\nBreezeBrowser<\/a>. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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This adult male Purple Martin was photographed at Bay City, Oregon with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f\/5.L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at +2 1\/3 stops as framed: 1\/320 sec. at f\/11 in Manual mode in early morning light on a clear […]<\/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":[147],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-147","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9726","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=9726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9726\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}