Dire Tulip Forecast Update Plus Super Bonus Bird

This tulip image was created at Lisse, Holland with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/32 in Manual mode. Central sensor AI Servo/Rear Focus on the tulips 1/3 of the way up in the frame and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Dire Tulip Forecast Update

“The coldest spring in 75 years.” “Nothing in bloom in the fields.” Those were among the early reports that we had been hearing. Peter Kes and wife Leslie along with co-leader Denise Ippolito and I headed out to look for some tulips. It was not long before we spotted some distant bright red fields; by taking the back roads Peter had us right in position just as the light was getting gorgeous.

The image above was a two-frame/in-camera/Multiple Exposure that combined one soft and one very de-focused image, a sort of in-camera Orton effect. Learn how and tons more in Denise’s Creative Multiple Exposures MP4 video. Only $4! Heck, Denise taught me, she can teach you.

What’s?

Leave a comment and let us know what is your very favorite part of the image above.

This Great-crested Grebe was photographed in a roadside while I was seated behind my lowered tripod with the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 1.4x EF tele-extender III, and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 800: 1/500 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. The exposure was confirmed previously while the bird was swimming in light-toned water. Thus the huge advantage of working in Manual mode. One sensor below the central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus AF on bird’s neck active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Super Bonus Bird

Before we found the tulips we found and photographed a pair of beautiful Great-crested Grebes included the displaying male above.

Jam Session I: Photoshop Video Tutorial: $9

On the first Fort Desoto/Hooptie Deux Short Notice IPT we drove from St. Pete to my home in Indian Lake Estates for a chance to photograph Sandhill Crane chicks of various sizes. We succeeded admirably. See “What No Itinerary” here for the whole story.

After our morning photo session the group gathered in my office for a Photoshop session. I worked on one image from the previous morning and on one from that morning, the latter the image above. The session was recorded with Camtasia. We are offering you a chance to join the group and look right over my shoulder as I processed the images above and below. Techniques covered include the following: the RAW conversions in DPP, using Detail Extractor from NIK’s Color Efex Pro to bring up the detail in the ibis’s white feathers, creating and using Layer masks, and using the Quick Selection Tool, the Spot Healing Brush, the Patch Tool, and Content Aware Fill for image clean-up. Selective sharpening with a Contrast Mask, Background clean-up with a soft Clone Stamp Tool, cloning on a Layer, using Quick Masks, using Select/Color Range to make selections (including the little used Range slider), and lots more.

To order yours through the BAA store, click here. Or call Jim or Jen weekdays between 9am and 5pm (3pm on Fridays) at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. Please leave a message in the rare event that we miss your call and we will get back to you. Easiest is to send us a Paypal for $9.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words “Jam Session I” cut and pasted into the subject line. Sorry, no checks are accepted for the MP4 videos.

Learn more about our MP4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos here. See the whole collection here.

All images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Denise Ippolito. Click for a larger version.

A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Swan Island Dahlia Farm Instructional Photo-Tour, September 11-15, 2013: 5 FULL DAYS: $1649

Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris at the Swan Island Dahlia Farm in Canby, Oregon (just south of Portland) for a great learning and photography experience. Swan Island features more than 40 acres with over 350 varieties of dahlias in a plethora of colors, shapes and sizes, making it one of the largest growers in the United States.

Daily Photo Schedule

We will enjoy four morning (7:00am till 10:30am) and five afternoon (3:30pm till 6pm) photography sessions. While we will do most of our photography at the Swan Island Dahlia Farm, we will also visit the Portland Rose Garden and/or the Portland Japanese Garden on this IPT. The in-the-field instruction will include seeing the situation, the use of selective focus, creative use of depth of field, histogram and exposure guidance, designing creative images, choosing your background, isolating your subject, lens options, and the use of reflectors and diffusers. Our field sessions will include challenging photography assignments geared to make you think creatively. Both personalized and small group instruction will be provided. All times are tentative and subject to change based on the weather and on local conditions.

Seminar Morning: Friday, September 13: 8:30am till 12:30pm

Denise will begin by presenting her “Bloomin’ Ideas” program, an overview of the in-the-field and post-processing techniques that she has used and developed over the past few years to create her signature look. Artie will follow with a Photoshop session that will be geared towards all levels. He’ll be sharing some of his favorite techniques and tips while working on images from the first two days of the IPT. Denise will conclude the seminar portion of the IPT with a Photoshop demo; she will share her creative workflow using a variety of Photoshop filters and effects. The entire morning is designed to give you a peek into the minds of two very skilled and creative folks.

The group will have lunch together daily. All are invited to bring their laptops for image sharing. We hope that you can join us for an intense five days of learning and some of the best flower photography to be had in North America.

Deposit Info and Cancellation Policies:

A $449 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance is due 4 months before the date of the IPT and is also non-refundable. If the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. If your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) You can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. We will be short-handed in the office until January 21 so please leave a message and we will call you back. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail

Like Flower Photography?

If you like photographing flowers, be sure to see the “Creative Flower Photography: blog post here.

Images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Bill Mueller. Card design by Denise Ippolito.

Old Car City Creative Photography In-the-Field HDR Workshop: Sunday, October 13, 2013/ 9am till 1pm.

White, Georgia: $250 plus a $15 entrance fee donation (cash only on the day of the event) that will go to charity. Limit: 16 photographers.

On October 13, 2013, Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART and Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure will be conducting an In-the-Field HDR Workshop at Old Car City in White, Georgia. Old Car City is about an hour north of Atlanta, GA and an hour south of Chattanooga, TN where they will, as noted above, be doing a full day seminar for the Photographic Society of Chattanooga on Saturday, October 12th. Click here for complete details.

Tigers

Good luck to Todd Gustafson who is leading a tiger photo trek in India right now. And good luck to Tiger Woods in the Masters.

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. 🙂

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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....
Gitzo 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.