Your Call
Which of today’s five featured Emperor Penguin images do you like best. Why? I have a clear favorite.
BIRDS AS ART Office Phone Out!
A tree fell on our phone lines while I was in Deland. 863-692-0906 is currently down. If you need to get in touch with Jim or with me, please try my cell at 863-221-2372. If I do not pick up, please shoot us a text.
What’s Up?
I head for the Auto Train this coming Sunday and Long Island on Monday. My photo gear is all packed.
With nine deposit checks in hand, and with good friend Ed Dow grabbing a single cabin, there are only three openings left on the 2023 Galapagos Photo-cruise of a Lifetime. The trip is now a go. If you have any interest in joining us, it would be best to get in touch via e-mail ASAP. I am offering a $1000 discount to couples.
For the second day in a row, it did not rain here yesterday. Today is Friday 29 July 2022 and I still have lots to do. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took nearly three hours to prepare and makes one hundred twenty-seven days in a row with a new one.
Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!
The First DeSoto IPT
If you are interested in the first DeSoto IPT, 3 1/2 Days, Tuesday 27 September through the morning session on Friday 30 September 2022, know that I just reserved a three-bedroom AirBnB in Gulfport. Share it for four nights with many multiple IPT veteran Monte Brown and me and save a ton on lodging: $83.69/night/person for a whole home. AirBnB photos available upon request. If interested, shoot me an e-mail.
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BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)
Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.
Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission on items priced at $1,000 or more. With items less than $1000, there is a $50 flat-fee. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. If you are interested, please click here, read everything carefully, and do what it says. To avoid any misunderstandings, please read the whole thing very carefully. If you agree to the terms, please state so clearly via e-mail and include the template or templates, one for each item you wish to sell. Then we can work together to get your stuff priced and listed.
Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice only to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past years, we have sold many hundreds of items. Do know that prices for used gear only go in one direction. Down. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.
New Used Photo Gear
Nikon D850 dSLR with lots of Extras
John Armitage is offering a Nikon D850 body in excellent condition with extras for a fabulously low $1996.95. The shutter count is a low 25,842.The sale includes the front body cap, the Wasabi Power Grip (a $69.99 value) that gets the body to 9fps. The grip has three small scrapes in the lower back part of the unit. (Photo available on request). Also included are an off-brand BL-5 Battery Chamber Cover, one DSTE 3200 mAh battery (a $37.99 value), the LCH-DC-ENEL18 dual charger (a $59.99 value), the never-used Nikon EL 15a battery that came with the body, the never used MH25a charger, two Sony XQD 64 GB SD cards (an $85.41 value each), a Sony XQD SD XC ii card reader *a $98.00 value), the Nikon MC-30A remote shutter release (a $64.95 value), the User’s Guide booklets, the cable supports, the wide D850 strap, a USB 3.0 cable (all in the original boxes), and insured ground shipping via UPS to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact John via e-mail
When I shot Nikon, I used and loved my two D850 bodies while my D5 sat on a shelf in the garage, unused. I used the MB-D-18 Battery Pack that served as a vertical grip and increased the frame rate. As the D850 sells new for $$2,796.95 you can save a very sweet $800.00 (not to mention $501.74 worth of great extras!) by grabbing John’s D850 bundle. artie
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Lens (with an extra)
BAA Record-low Price!
John Armitage is offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens in excellent condition for a for a BAA Record Low $2496.95. The sale includes the original lens foot, a RRS stuff foot, the front and rear caps, the lens strap, the soft case, the original box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact John via e-mail.
Yes, I loved this even now hard-to-get lens a ton when I used Nikon gear. The Nikon PF series telephoto lenses are tremendously popular as they are relatively small and light and offer great reach. Both do well with the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III. On my bucket list trip for the Emperor Penguins I brought two D850 bodies, the 500 PF, and the Nikon 80-400 VR lenses! The 500 PF is still hard to come by and sells new for $$3,296.95. At $2496.95, John’s lens is a steal as you save an even $800.00. artie
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Lens with extra
BAA Record-low Price!
John Armitage is offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens in excellent condition for a BAA record low $1,395.95. The sale includes the original tripod mount, a Lens Collar Support Tripod Mount Ring RT-1 for Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens (a $29.99 value), the soft case, the front and rear caps, the original box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact John via e-mail
The skilled and venerable Anita Gail Erica North owned and used this lens a lot on her international travels when she shot Nikon. It is light in weight and focuses quickly and accurately. artie
Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III
BAA Record-low Price!
John Armitage is offering a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III in excellent condition for a BAA record low $224.95. The sale includes the front and rear caps, the lens pouch, the original box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact John via e-mail.
As regular readers know, I always travel with 1.4X three teleconverters no matter which system I’m using. This TC sells new for $496.95 so you can save a very nice $272.00 by grabbing this one today. artie
Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM Lens
John Armitage is offering a Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM lens in excellent condition for a very low a BAA record-low $499.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the tripod mount ring, and and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact John via e-mail.
When I shot Canon, I loved my 300 f/4L IS lens. With its 4.92′ (1.5 meter) minimum focusing distance and impressive 0.24X magnification, it was great for large flowers, dragonflies, butterflies, and frogs. With or without the 1.4X TC it makes a great auxiliary/flight, or starter lens for any bird photographer. It does very well on birds in flight and in action. I preferred it to my old toy lens, the 400mm f/5.6L lens as it offered Image Stabilization and greater reach at f/5.6 with the 1.4X TC. This great lens is no longer in production. artie
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This image was also created on 24 October 26 2018 on the bucket list Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island expedition via icebreaker. I used the handheld One AF point up and to the right of the center AF point/Single/Shutter-button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird’s eye. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +7. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #1: Emperor Penguin eating snow |
Why Eat Snow?
It was so warm when I visited Snow Hill Island in that the penguins were lying flat down on the ice and eating the snow in an effort to keep cool. By the third day, there were dozens of dead small chicks.
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This image was also created on 24 October 26 2018 on the bucket list Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island expedition via icebreaker. I used the I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Mongoose-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens with the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II and the Nikon D850. ISO 500. Matrix metering plus about 1 1/3 stops: 1/640 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode. AWB at 3:10:36pm on a cloudy, very-bright afternoon One AF point up and to the right of the center AF point/Single/Shutter-button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird’s left eye (the one on our right). Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +7. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #2: Emperor Penguin chick tight head portrait |
Too Cute
Photographers pay huge amounts of money to visit an Emperor Penguin colony, the main reason being the cuteness of the chicks. Going by Russian icebreaker and helicopter is the least expensive option. I got to make three visits. Each visit included a five-mile round-trip walk. I used the tripod only when I used the 500 PF with the 1.7X TC. I also had the Nikon 80-400 along and used that a lot as well, always handheld.
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This image was created on 25 October 26 2018 on the bucket list Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island expedition via icebreaker. I used the handheld One AF point below the center AF point/Single/Shutter-button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird’s left eye, the one on our right. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: -2. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #3: Emperor Penguin chick stretching while cooling |
Color Balance
I worked hard on getting the color balance right as out of camera, the images of the chicks had a sought of reddish/mahogany color cast. As I saw them in life, the seemed charcoal grey and white so that is what I aimed for.
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This image was also created on 25 October 26 2018 on the bucket list Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island expedition via icebreaker. I used the handheld Two AFs point up and three to our left of the center AF point/Single/Shutter-button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the adult’s face. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +3. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #4: Emperor Penguin adult with creche |
Creche
Creche is from the French for “nursery.” One or two adults may tend large groups of young Emperors that may number 50 or more. I had the privilege of photographing two different creches on my three visits.
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This image was created on 26 October 26 2018 on the bucket list Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island expedition via icebreaker. I used the handheld Two AF points up and one to the right of the center AF point/Single/Shutter-button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the adult’s face. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +3. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here. Image #5: Emperor Penguin adult preening chick |
Sun and Snow Blindness in Antarctica
For the first two days at Snow Hill, I was blessed by cloudy-bright skies. On the third morning, however, the sun came out. When I peered through the viewfinder, I realized that I was suffering from snow blindness. It was painful to look at the ice no matter how hard I squinted. Thank the lord that new friend Sue Flood insisted that I take an extra pair of her sun-goggles and put them in my vest! I was able to photograph for several hours while wearing the goggles! Thank God for autofocus. Sue has made many trips to the Emperors and has done a beautiful book on the world’s largest penguin species.
I was so sated by the third morning that I headed back to the ship just after noon. I am often asked, Was it worth it? I do not hesitate to answer, Yes. I got to do something wonderful for three days. I got to check an item off my bucket list. Remember, the other guy cannot tell if something would be worth if for you 🙂
More on Emperor Penguins
You can find more on my Emperor Penguin trip in these blog posts:
Two Too-Cute … And Image Storage on Big Trips Advice
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
I would agree with most of the commenters above that I find the creche photo the most interesting. Initially it is interesting as the majority of the subjects have at least one eye visible, but importantly, I was not aware of this nursery penguin behavior. I really need to get out more.
#4 Having so many chicks all bunched up and including the one adult, puts it over the top for me.
Wow, talk about a difficult choice. I’ll have to go with #4 as it’s just special. Love the adult that seems to be checking on the little bugger up front who looks to be ready to sneak away. That may or may not be the reality, but it’s my impression.
I think they are all amazing u are so gifted with all your amazing pictures
have a safe trip keep in touch
love your sister
Art, you outdid yourself! #4 is my absolute favorite — I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture with that many chicks so artfully displayed. But, I love #5 too.
Thanks, Pat. #5 is my least favorite and everybody loves it!
with love, a
#5 is great and I go back and forth between it and the creche (#4). I think the later wins out because I find myself spending more time with the image and appreciating all of the expressions and chaos.
#5. Love Background and story/action of grooming. Overall, the image is pleasing, especially if you step back a little to get a sense or feeling of the overall image.
It would probably also be a great shot for sale/use in magazine or advertising with room for text, etc. (I know no one thinks about that today, but…)
#5 for me. I like the behavior, the soft blue background, the defined snow mound and most of all the shadows making it look more real. Second is the creche which “puts a smile to my face” too.
Difficult choices. My two favorites are the adult grooming pic, and the creche pic, in that order. The grooming pic is a nice behavioral shot, and the background is very pleasing. Also like the clearly defined mound they are standing on. The creche shot just puts a smile to my face.
It’s difficult to rank the next two shots, but I’d probably go with the snow on bill, followed by the chick stretching. It’s a nice portrait that shows off the bird’s colors, along with the individual snowflakes. The bird in the background makes the head stand out nicely. The stretching shot is another nice behavioral pic.
I’m not as enamored to the portrait of the chick. I think this is due to the head angle. Anthropomorphizing the chick, the head angle makes him look angry or annoyed that you’re intruding on his space.
Thanks. The chicks were actually walking up to us, curious.
with love, artie
That story makes the picture even better.