Svalbard Day Two: Magic on Diabas!

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Yours truly in a survival suit…. Image courtesy of Jasper Doest.

Svalbard Day Two: Magic on Diabas!

Preparations for our day two trip to the bird cliffs at Diabas were extensive. Our guide arranged the trip via an open pontoon boat with a 200 hp outboard. Sven, our captain, liked to step on the gas. Patrick and I had each our Think Tank Airport SecurityTM V2.0 packed with pretty much everything that we had brought to Norway. We had several other bags of stuff that included our dinners. Everything was placed into large plastic garbage bags for the 35 minute trip to the bird cliffs. Then it took about a half hour to get everyone into their survival suits; the water temperature was bout 33 degrees. It was very cold on the way over. Once we landed at the base of a huge snow bank we had to lug all of our gear up a small hill to the porch of a cabin. Then we set up our gear and got out of the cumbersome suits. (Ever the ham, I posed for the image above.)

We left lots of our stuff on the porch and then headed up to the cliffs with most of our gear. The walk was not too bad. We had some good chances with Thick-billed Murres but did not find any of the Black Guillemots that had been reported. The stars of the show were the Barnacle Geese that nested on the spectacular cliffs.

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This Barnacle Goose image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens, the Canon EF 1.4X III TC (hand held at 280mm), and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Lens/TC/camera body Micro-adjustment: +1. (After I had this particular Mark IV repaired and adjusted the micro-adjustment dropped from +5 to +1 with the TC in place; it is important to micro-adjust once a month.)

The bird in the image above was totally at peace with our presence, as was her mate who stood nearby during our entire visit. I worked with this pair and with another pair nesting nearby. As you view the images here, note that I used several different lenses and lots of different focal lengths. Variety as they say, is the spice of life.

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This Barnacle Goose head portrait was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/160 sec. at f/11 in Manual mode. Lens/TC/Camera Body Micro-Adjustment: +10. After a month of banging around the micro-adjustment for this combo increased from +3 to +10.

The image above is of the mate of the bird on the nest. By moving slowly and keeping my tripod as low as possible, I was able to get close enough to create lots of head (seen here) and front-end vertical portraits.

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This image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Lens/TC/Camera Body Micro-Adjustment: +2. (Note that the micro-adjustments are different without and with the TC added.)

Above I removed the teleconverter so that I could include as much of the habitat as possible while still maintaining the telephoto look. The second out-of-focus bird in the image was a bonus for me; I love juxtaposition-type photographs.

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The image of a fly-by Barnacle Goose was made with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens, the 2X III teleconverter (hand held at 260 mm), and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 1/3 stops off the white sky: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6 set manually. Lens/TC/Camera Body Micro-Adjustment: -12. This was a big change from the -4 that I used before having the Mark IV repaired.

This was serendipity at its best: I was set up and waiting for the male from the second nest to return to the cliffs when this bird just happened to fly right by me at eye level with the distant mountains in the background. When the bird was in the zone, I held the button down and made four images asap; I was rewarded with a single perfect wing position.

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This is the wing panel of the bird on the nest. The image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, the 25mm Extension Tube, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/125 sec. at f/14 in Manual mode. Lens/TC/Camera Body Micro-Adjustment: +10. After a month of banging around the micro-adjustment for this combo increased from +3 to +10.

I added the extension tube to allow for closer focus. Experience has taught me that when creating feather pattern images the curvature of a bird’s body makes it necessary to use some extra depth of field to ensure that all of the feathers are sharp. Placing the TC on the lens and the tube behind it gives you autofocus. Learn more about using extension tubes with teleconverters in ABP II.

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This image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens, the Canon EF 1.4X III TC (hand held at 245mm), and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering 2 stops off the white sky: 1/1000 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Lens/TC/camera body Micro-adjustment: +1. (After I had this particular Mark IV repaired and adjusted the micro-adjustment dropped from +5 to +1 with the TC in place.)

Whenever I saw the male from the second nest fly off I would grab the 70-200 and wait for the bird to return. I wish that I could say that I planned to include the front-end vertical portrait of the bird’s mate in the image but this one was also quite serendipitious; it is the full frame original capture….

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/397662-USA/Canon_0344B002AA_24_105mm_f_4L_IS_USM.html/BI/6633/KBID/7226

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This image was created with the Canon 24-105mm IS L lens ( hand held at 24mm) and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/125 sec. at f/14 in Manual mode.

This was the last image that I made before we headed down the hill to rendezvous with Sven for the boat ride back to Longyearbyen. I went very wide to include the distant mountains and to establish a sense of place. (I darkened the sky with a 40% Linear Burn as described in Digital Basics.)

Most of you head out with more than one lens and a teleconverter or two. And those who head out with only a single lens are usually carrying a zoom lens. Remember to try and use every club in your bag in an effort to introduce some variety into your work.

Shopper’s Guide

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.

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens. Right now this is my all time favorite super-telephoto lens.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens. Man, I am loving this lens on my shoulder with the 2X III teleconverter. I also use it a lot–as above–with the 1.4X III TC.
Canon 1.4X III TC. This new Series III TC is designed to work best with the new Series II super-telephoto lenses.
25mm Extension Tube. This vaulable accessory allows for closer focusing.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

Gitzo GT3530LS Tripod. This one will last you a lifetime.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. 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.
CR-80 Replacement Foot for Canon 800. 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.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.

The Lens Align Mark II. 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.

Delkin 32gb e-Film Pro Compact Flash Card. These high capacity cards are fast and dependable. Clicking on the link below will bring you to the Delkin web site. There is lots of great stuff there. If you see a product that we do not carry let us know via e-mail; we will be glad to have it drop-shipped to you and save you a few bucks in the process.

I pack my 800 and tons of other gear in my ThinkTank Airport SecurityTM V2.0 rolling bag for all of my air travel and recommend the slightly smaller Airport InternationalTM V2.0 for most folks. These high capacity bags are well constructed and protect my gear when I have to gate check it on short-hops and puddle jumpers. Each will protect your gear just as well. By clicking on either link or the logo below, you will receive a free gift with each order over $50.