Can Having a Free and Open Mind Help You Become a Better Photographer?

Day 7 Morning Dry Landing at Peurto Velasco Ebarra, Floreana Part II

This image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 400mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera (Body Only). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/80 sec. at f/4. Two sensors left of the central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus AF on Dennis’s right eye active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

It’s Not Just Galapagos Tortoises

Dennis A. Holt

Dennis Holt has been on perhaps a half dozen IPTs. He is generally a very nice man and a happy camper with a good sense of humor—always liked by everyone in the group. He has been working hard to improve his photography over the years. With us both having very strong personalities, he does not often take my advice or suggestions well. Most times he opts to argue with me rather than to listen. I asked him about that towards the end of the trip and he said, “My mother taught me not to listen to anyone.”

As we saw in the previous blog post the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender is a wonderfully versatile wildlife lens. As you will see by studying the three images in this blog post, its versatility is not limited to birds and to wildlife.

This in-camera +/- 2 stop Art Vivid HDR image was also created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (this one with the internal TC in place at 420mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera (Body Only). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop yielded a base exposure of 6/10 sec. at f/16. Two sensors down and two to the right of the central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus as framed active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Don’t Waste Time: Be Creative

When another group entered the large enclosure, Juan, our naturalist guide asked everyone in our group to assemble into a tight group so that we would not disturb them. So we did. Most folks sat on a rock wall. Others photographed a nearby tortoise or two in less than optimal settings. I looked around to see what interested me. The first thing that caught my eye was Dennis Holt’s smiling face. I figured the exposure with a test image and then made about 6 images. When I caught him smiling I was done there.

The next thing that caught my eye was the bark of a nearby tree. I decided to go back to HDR Art Vivids to accentuate the colors. I went to my tulip sharpness techniques to deal with the extremely slow shutter speed: 2-second time to eliminate camera shake from depressing the shutter button and Live View for mirror lock. The resulting image was sharp.

This 5-frame in-camera Multiple Exposure was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (with the internal TC in place at 366mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera (Body Only). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/50 sec. at f/5.6. Central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus on the darkest clump of leaves and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Multiple Exposure

I started creating some high key images of the spray of green leaves against the white sky. This is a technique that Denise Ippolito uses frequently. Next I decided to try some in-camera multiple exposures. Denise inspired me in that area too. I created about five different ones until I saw one on the back of the camera. You see my favorite just above.

To learn the techniques that I use to set up my 5D Mark III for Multiple Exposures see our 5D Mark III User’s Guide.

This image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (with the internal TC in place at 560mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital Camera (Body Only). ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6. Central sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus on the darkest clump of leaves and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

An Unexpected Bird

As Juan was finishing a tortoise lecture and the other group was leaving I noticed an immature male Small Ground Finch feeding in the same spot for several minutes. I lowered the tripod legs, raised the ISO, set the exposure compensation and made about a half dozen images. The one above, about a 60% crop, was my favorite.

Unmatched

In my experience, the versatility of the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with Internal 1.4x Extender is unmatched. The lens offers you 200-400mm at f/4, 280-560mm at f/5.6, and 392-784mm at f/8. Throw in the incredibly sharp optics, an impressive minimum focusing distance of 2 meters, and the amazing 4-stop IS system and you have quite a package.

Your Favorite?

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which of the four images here you like best. And be sure to let us know why.

On The Road Again

Please know that I will be traveling to and from the Africa for the Tanzania Photo Safari with Todd Gustafson leaving today, August 1 and back in the office on August 21. I will have extremely limited and very slow at best internet access so please do not e-mail me until I get back. Jim will be in the office every weekday to help you with your mail order purchases and Jen will be here handling IPT registrations. The blog will continue to be active as I have prepared a dozen interesting, brand new educational posts for you in advance for you to enjoy during my absence.

Please consider using our B&H, Amazon, and Borrow Lenses affiliate links for all of your major and minor purchases both photographic and household. If we carry something in the BAA Store that you need our very great preference would be that you purchase those items from us :).

If you have a gear, image processing, or other question please e-mail me after July 19th. You can reach Jim here via e-mail. You can reach Jennifer here via e-mail. Please type “JIM” or “JEN” respectively at the front of the Subject Line.

Snow Goose composite, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM. Click on the image for a larger version.

Bosque del Apache 2013 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 26-DEC 2, 2013. 7-FULL DAYS: $3399. Co-leader: Denise Ippolito. Introductory Slide program: 6:30 pm on 11/25. Limit: 12.

Tens of thousand of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks including point-blank American Wigeon and Wood Duck, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet. Top-notch Photoshop instruction. This will make 19 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for me. Nobody knows the place better than I do. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home applying what you learned will prove to be invaluable. Includes all lunches and the Thanksgiving Buffet at the Crowne Plaza in Albuquerque. I hope that you can join me for what will be an unparalleled learning experience.

A $500 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. 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.

Images copyright 2012: Denise Ippoltio & Arthur Morris. Card design by Denise Ippolito. Click on the image to enjoy a spectacular larger version.

Holland 2014 7 1/2-Day/8-Night: A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART/Tulips & A Touch of Holland IPT. April 17-April 24, 2014 :$4995 Limit: 12 photographers/Openings 9

This trip needs 8 registrants to run so please do not purchase your plane tickets until you hear from us; right now we need 5 more folks.

Join Denise Ippolito, Flower Queen and the author of “Bloomin’ Ideas,” and Arthur Morris, Canon Explorer of Light Emeritus and one of the planet’s premier photographic educators for a great trip to Holland in mid-April 2014. Day 1 of the IPT will be April 17, 2014. We will have a short afternoon get-together and then our first photographic session at the justly-famed Keukenhof. Most days we will return to the hotel for lunch, image sharing and a break. On Day 8, April 24, we will enjoy both morning and afternoon photography sessions.

The primary subjects will be tulips and orchids at Keukenhof and the spectacularly amazing tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulb fields around Lisse. In addition we will spend one full day in Amsterdam. There will be optional visits the Van Gogh Museum in the morning and the Anne Frank House in the afternoon; there will be plenty of time for street photography as well. And some great food. On another day we will have a wonderful early dinner at Kinderdijk and then head out with our gear to photograph the windmills and possibly some birds for those who bring their longs lenses. We will spend an afternoon in the lovely Dutch town of Edam where we will do some street photography and enjoy a superb dinner. All lodging, ground transportation, entry fees, and meals (from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 8) are included.

For those who will be bringing a big lens we will likely have an optional bird photography afternoon or two. If we get lucky, the big attraction should be gorgeous Purple Herons in flight at a breeding marsh. We would be photographing them from the roadside. And we might be able to find a few Great-crested Grebes at a location near Keukenhof.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Click here for complete details and some previously unpublished images. And/or click here and see item one for lots more tulip photos and complete trip details.

Photographic Society of Chattanooga Seminar

Scroll down here for details on the Saturday seminar that Denise Ippolito and yours truly are doing in Chattanooga on October 12, 2013 and the follow-up Old Car City In-the-Field Workshop. Blog folks who sign up for both are invited to join us at a secret Urbex location in Atlanta on Friday morning October 11. Feel free to e-mail me for details after you are registered for both.

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.

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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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.
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