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This Osprey was photographed down by the lake near my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops off the sky: 1/2000 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/AF Areas Expand/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click here to learn to set up Rear Focus on your 5D Mark II. Click on the image for a larger version. |
Doomsday???/Important Contest News
Well, as you might have figured out by now it is not doomsday, but it is the very last day to enter the BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition. You have till 11:59 pm tonight–Monday April 23, 2012–to register for the contest. Over the weekend 27 more folks decided to see how their images stacked up against some of the best in the world and take a stab at some of the great prizes in the $22,000+ prize pool. If you registered and paid over the weekend please be patient. You will receive your instructions via e-mail no later than this evening; Jim and Peter have been swamped. If you have trouble uploading your images because of high traffic on the server uploading one at a time will likely alleviate the problem. Good luck to all!
No More Days Left to Enter the Competition!
Qualifying B&H Purchases Made Today Still Get You In!
Only Seven Days Left to Upload Your Photos!
Although you may upload your images until 11:59pm eastern time on April 30, 2012, the very last day for registering for the contest and for making eligible B&H purchases will be today, Monday, April 23, 2012. This gives us time to process your registrations and verify your B&H purchases and gives you time to upload your images successfully. Good luck to all.
The BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition has been going great guns. Additional folks are getting in on the fun each day. And many folks who had previously finished their entries have been taking advantage of the extension by uploading even stronger images. Thanks to those who responded to my Hand of Man pleas; it is now one of our strongest categories. While each of the following categories has some very strong images there is still room for improvement: Small in the Frame/Environmental, Pleasing Blurs, Youth, and especially Captive (photographs of captive, zoo, pet, or rehab birds).
Those of you who have been in the dark can learn more about the BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition here or by visiting the main contest page here.
Save Your B&H Receipts
Do save your e-mail receipts for eligible B&H purchases made after Monday, April 23 as you will be able to use them for entry into the BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition; details will be announced in several months. Please remember, only B&H purchases made using the product-specific BAA B&H affiliate links in the Bulletins or on the blog or the more general link here qualify. See additional details by scrolling down to item 2 here. If in doubt, simply start your B&H searches by clicking here:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/?BI=6633&KBID=7226
More Canon EOS-5D Mark III Flight Images
I photographed at a central Florida rookery on Sunday morning with friend Clemens van der Werf. Once I got home I took a nap and worked on BPN for a while. In late afternoon I noticed that it had gotten quite windy with the passing of the storm. I grabbed the 300 f/2.8 LI S II, added the 1.4X III TC, mounted the 5D III and headed down to the lake to see what was flying. Though I stuck out on Black Vultures I go to work with my fast becoming beloved Canon EOS-5D Mark III on both Osprey and Turkey Vulture.
Be sure to click on each image to see the larger version so that you can get a better appreciation of the beautiful 5D III image files. And click here for my in-depth review of the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS lens.
It funny, the more I photograph birds the more I realize how much I love bird photography….
I continue to be impressed with the 5D III’s deadly accurate AF system. I will be sharing everything that I learn about the 5D III in the upcoming User’s Guide. I hope to actually start writing this afternoon.
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This Turkey Vulture was also photographed down by the lake near my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop off the sky: 1/3200 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/AF Areas Expand/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click here to learn to set up Rear Focus on your 5D Mark II. Click on the image for a larger version. |
NIK Color Efex Pro
Both of the flight images here had the underwing detail revealed with a 50% opacity NIK Color Efex Pro he Detail Extractor layer that was modified with a Layer Mask. Learn the basics of Layer Masking in APTATS II. Click here and here for some great Color Efex Pro tutorials.
NIK 15% Discount
You can save 15% on all NIK products by clicking here 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.
BIRDS AS ART BULLETIN #407
BIRDS AS ART BULLETIN #407 is now online and can be accessed in beautiful white on black format here.
- CONTEST UPDATE
- MORRO BAY IPT REPORT
- Tualatin River Bird Festival, Sherweood, Oregon
- Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris International Trips
- POSSE NEWS/DENISE IPPOLITO
- MIDWAY 2013: JUST TWO SLOTS OPEN!
- IPT UPDATES
Shopper’s Guide
Below is a list of the gear used to create the image above. 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.
Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens. The 300 f/2.8 L IS II with the 1.4X III TC is a killer flight combination.
1.4X III TC. The new Series III 1.4X was designed to work best with the new Series II super-telephoto lenses.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III. Man, I am in love with this camera body. Both the files and the AF system are superb.
And from the BAA On-line Store:
LensCoats. 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.
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.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Nice to see that you like the 5DIII so much, espcially it does very well capturing birds in flight. Your flight photos above are the best proof. Is its focusing system better than the 1DIV’s in your opinion?
Hi Nick, You must be new to the blog so welcome. I have been saying all along that for me, the AF system of the 5D III is the best ever in any Canon body. Including the 1D IV.
Art, have you used the HDR feature of the 5D III? If so would you post results.
Thanks
I have not Al, but Denise Ippolito has. Scroll down on her blog here.
So here’s the question: As Subhrashis says, your headlines say 5D2. Do you think you could have got such nice images with that camera instead of the 5D3?
I used the 5D II extensively on the Cheesemans’ Southern Oceans trip and made dozens of great images, including some nice flight stuff. That said, in my hands at least, the 5D III is a more powerful tool; better AF and faster frame-rate. I cannot wait for the 1DX….
You probably have a typo in the title and the body… you have written mark ii in places.
Thanks. My typos have been corrected.
It’s nice to hear you are having fun with the new camera and that the files and AF are both excellent. Great flight images, I just love the detail on the under wings of the Osprey. Keep up the good work!!
Thank you kind sir.