What It Was #3/Perched Hummingbird Day Trip

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Fragile ice. Image created with the handheld 24-105mm IS L lens at 50mm. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/16 in Av Mode.

What It Was #3

To begin with, What is it #3 should have been What is it #2 but somebody got confused…. IAC, as several of you expertly surmised this was ice breaking up. It was actually amazing to witness over two days and we used every lens imaginable. The largest chunk here was about 4 feet long so everyone was pretty much off as to the scale.

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This Buff-tailed Coronet image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, a 25mm Extension Tube,and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. Fill flash with the Better Beamer at -2 stops.

Lens/TC/camera body Micro-adjustment: +2.

Perched Hummingbird Day Trip

Peter Kes from Switzerland, Alejandro Furman from Chile, Wayne Guerke from Chicago–I think, Jim Bickett from Arkansas, and my grandson Sam Egensteiner traveled with me by van to Tandayapa Bird Lodge for a day of photographing perched hummingbirds. And lunch. We did great on all counts. We saw and photographed about a dozen species of cloud forest hummers including Buff-tailed Coronet, Purple-throated Woodstar, Green Violet-ear, Brown Violet-ear, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Western Emerald, Andean Emerald, Booted Racket-tail, White-necked Jacobin and Fawn-breasted Brilliant. Lunch was great. We headed back to the hotel at 4:30, had dinner, and met the rest of the group at 8 for an orientation. We fly to Baltra in the Galapagos tomorrow morning to begin our two-week photo cruise and should be aboard the Beagle well before noon.

Though I will not have internet access until late on 19 July I have prepared more than a few blog posts to ensure that nobody has withdrawal symptoms while I am gone. Be safe, breathe deeply, and love what is. artie

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.
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.
Canon 580 EX II Flash. This is Canon’s top of the line professional flash.

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.
ProMaster Flash Cord. This flash cord is sturdy and reliable.
Mongoose Integrated Flash Arm. The Integrated Flash Arm allows the Mongoose user to instantly attach a flash 8 inches above the camera. This goes a long way to preventing red eye, flash eye, and steel eye in many situations.
Better Beamer. . The Better Beamer increases the power of your flash by a factor of three; this provides many benefits.

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.