Incredible Sharpness & Fine Feather Detail and Lovely Bokeh

This Great Blue Heron was photographed at Anhinga Trail with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR Camera (Body Only). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop off the blue sky 35 degrees up from the horizon: 1/5000 sec. at f/5.6 Three down, two from the right sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper version.

Bokeh

Bokeh can be defined as the aesthetic quality of out-of-focus backgrounds in images created with telephoto lenses. Bokeh can be described as either pleasing or harsh. For me, lenses with poor Bokeh produce images with jangly looking backgrounds. Most on-line searches for the term Bokeh will turn up images with specular highlights in the backgrounds but images without specular highlights can also exhibit either good or bad Bokeh. I find the quality of the background in the image above to be quite pleasing.

BTW, the image above is right out of camera. I converted the image in DPP, saved the TIFF, and created the sharpened JPEG (unsharp mask at 125/.3/0 for 1024 wide or 800 tall) that you see above . No NIK Color Efex Pro. No nothing.

This is an unsharpened 100% crop of the image above. Click on it to see a larger version.

Incredible Sharpness & Fine Feather Detail

The unsharpened JPEG above is a 100% crop of opening image here. It shows the fabulous image quality of 1D X/1.4X III/600 II image files. Not to mention the incredible sharpness off this combination and the superb fine feather detail. While Patrick Sparkman’s dollar bill tests (see here), convinced me to add the 600 II to my arsenal, the proof for me will always be in the pudding, in the actual images created in the field.

Canon Digital Learning Center Everglades Workshop Kudos

I received this e-mail from participant Norris Siert this morning:

Hi, Art…

Norris

Norris was not at all in anyone’s way. He is a very sweet man, a very happy camper, and, at 6’6″, very tall. 🙂

Note: receiving unsolicited notes like the one above keep denise and me stoked, eager to provide the best possible experience for those who join us at our workshops and seminars.

Weekend Creative Nature Photography Seminar, Tampa, FL: February 23 & 24, 2013: $149

You are invited to join Denise Ippolito and me on the weekend of February 23-24 on the outskirts of Tampa, FL for a great weekend of fun and learning. Learn to improve your photography skills, your skill at designing images in the field, your creative vision, and your image optimization skills. Sunday critiquing session. Click here for additional details and the complete schedule.

Pines West Camera Club EOL Program

I will be presenting “A Bird Photographer’s Story” for the Pines West Camera Club in Pembroke Pines, FL at 7pm on February 12, 2013. The program, sponsored by Canon Explorers of Light, is free and open to the public. Click here for additional details and scroll down for directions.

Typos

On all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

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.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gizo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
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.
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.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.