Two Great New eGuides and Important Digital Basics Info

Only after I re-converted the RAW file in DPP and used Arash’s workflow did the 100% crop look so good with superb image quality and tons of fine detail. For more on the creation of this image and to see the full frame photograph click here.

The Digital Photo Professional RAW Conversion Guide

The Digital Photo Professional RAW Conversion Guide by Arthur Morris with Arash Hazeghi is complete and available.

I have long resisted doing conversions in Digital Photo Professional (DPP), the software that comes on a CD in the box with your new Canon camera. I tried it a few times, found that the interface was not as user-friendly as with Adobe Camera RAW (ACR), and did not see any great advantages to using it. ACR was fast and the results were excellent.

When I began working with images from my new EOS-1D X, I noticed right off the bat that the colors were off and that the image quality was poor at best. Skilled photographer Arash Hazeghi had been using DPP for quite some time, often touting its benefits in the Avian Forum at Bird Photographer’s.Net. With phone help from Arash, I began converting my 1D X images in DPP explicitly following his instructions. The images looked so good and so clean with accurate color that before long I was converting all my 5D Mark III, 1D Mark IV, and 1D X images in DPP and loving the results.

In this new eGuide (sent via e-mail as a 19-page PDF) I share everything that Arash taught me. I encourage you to give DPP a shot even if like me you tried it before and did not like it…. There is a good reason that Arash has a PhD!

The simplest and fastest way to order your copy of “The Digital Photo Professional RAW Conversion Guide” (DPP RCG) is through the BAA On-line Store by clicking here. Or, you can order your copy by sending a check for $15 made out to “Arthur Morris” to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. Be sure to include your e-mail address (written legibly). If you prefer PayPal you can send $15 to us via e-mail; be sure to include the title of the eGuide.

In addition to being far superior to ACR conversions of 5D III and 1D X files, DPP conversions are also superb with RAW files from older cameras such as the 1D Mark IV. To see the original capture and to learn how Ajit helped me out, see the “You Do Everything Right, But… blog post here.

The DPP RCG and Digital Basics

As promised, the Digital Photo Professional RAW Conversion Guide will be sent at no charge to all who have purchased Digital Basics on or before the close of business on Tuesday, 10/16/2012. If you do not receive your copy by Friday, 10/19/2012, please send an e-mail to Jim with proof of purchase and let him know how you purchased DB; remember, if you have a new e-mail address you will need to let him know but please do wait until Friday. This will be a one-time gift and will not include any updates. Please see the important details in the e-mail that comes with the DPP RCG eGuide PDF attached.

Note: the next update of Digital Basics will not include the DPP RCG. After this Tuesday it will be available only as a stand-alone purchase.

This image of an adult White-tailed Kite was created by Arash Hazeghi with the hand held Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Telephoto lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the unfortunately discontinued EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 640: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6. This image was of course converted in DPP and processed further using the techniques detailed in Arash’s new eGuide, “The Professional Photographer’s Guide to Noise Reduction for EOS Cameras.” Note the superb detail and the beautiful smooth virtually noise-less background. If you want to have your socks knocked off, check out the bird’s talons in the HD sized version here. Image courtesy of and copyright 2012: Arash Hazeghi.

Announcing “The Professional Photographer’s Guide to Noise Reduction for EOS Cameras” by Arash Hazeghi

The Professional Photographer’s Guide to Noise Reduction for EOS Cameras: $35

This 50-page eGuide includes many high-resolution examples, figures, and screen captures.

After learning to do RAW conversions in DPP with the The Digital Photo Professional RAW Conversion Guide, those who wish proceed to the next level, who wish to consistently obtain professional quality images that look impressive in both large prints and digital presentation, are directed to Arash’s advanced eBook, “The Professional Photographer’s Guide to Noise Reduction for EOS Cameras.”

This eGuide, which covers post-conversion noise reduction for EOS cameras, will help you improve the quality of your digital photographs over a wide ISO range. The techniques detailed in this guide approach both luminance noise reduction and sharpening in a scientific manner and are designed to help you produce the highest quality image files, files with maximum fine detail.

These techniques have been developed and refined after many years of dedicated work by Arash. The various steps in processing high-ISO images are explained clearly and in detail with many examples. You will learn to produce clean, noise free images with most modern EOS camera models at ISO 1600 and even at ISO 3200 and beyond with selected models. The 50-page eGuide is available in digital (PDF) format; it is sent via e-mail. It includes many high-resolution examples and figures. To order your copy, click here, send a check for $35 to BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855, or send a PayPal for $35 to us at birdsasart@verizon.net. After purchase, you will receive e-mail instructions for downloading it via YouSendIt.

NYC Seminar Door Prizes!

NYC Seminar Door Prizes!

Wow! We have put together a killer collection of door prizes for the NYC Seminar. If you live in the northeast and are not yet registered click here to join us and have a chance at winning some of the great and valuable loot below.

From ThinkTank: an Airport AirStream™ Rolling Camera Bag; meets all International carry- on regulations. A $324.75 value.
From LensCoat: a Standard LensCoat® RainCoat. A $79.99 value.
Manfrotto/Gitzo will be contributing one or more items.
From Delkin: a 32 gb 700X Compact Flash Card plus give-aways. The card is a $134.99 value.
NIK has sent a gift certificate for one copy of NIK Color Efex Pro, the Photoshop filter plug-in that has changed my digital workflow. Enter the code BAA at checkout to save 15%.
Topaz is sending a gift certificate for their black and white effects filter program.
Micheal Tapes at RAW Workflow has chipped in with a Lens Align Mark II. A $79.95 value.
You might also win a copy of The Art of Bird Photography II by Arthur Morris or a copy of A Guide to Pleasing Blurs by Arthur Morris and Denise Ipplito.

Thanks a stack to all of our generous sponsors.

Shopper’s Guide

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