The Streak Goes On…
I am working on this blog post again at 5:05am on Saturday February 22 here in Japan. It is 3:05pm in Florida on February 21.
This post marks 85 straight days with a new educational blog post, a record by far that should be extended for at least another day or so, or not. Or more…. It appears that our lodge has great internet. To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask that use our B&H and Amazon affiliate links for all of your B&H and Amazon purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store. We sell only what I use and depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.
You can find the following items in the store: Gitzo tripods, Mongoose M3.6 and Wimberley heads, plates, low feet, and accessories, flash brackets, , Delkin e-film Pro Compact Flash Cards, LensCoat products, and our unique line-up of educational materials including ABP I & II, Digital Basics, Site and Set-up e-Guides, Canon and Nikon Camera Users and AF e-Guides, and MP-4 Photoshop video tutorials among others.
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I am finishing up this blog post at 4:22pm Japan time on Saturday February 22–2:22am on the same day in Florida. We enjoyed a 3rd great eagle boat trip this morning and then drove back to our lodge. Tomorrow we fly back to Tokyo for the Snow Monkey segment of this great trip. Today’s blog post took more than 3 hours to prepare.
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This image of a landing Steller’s Sea Eagle was created on the morning of February 21, 2014 at 6:35am on the Japan in Winter IPT with the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (hand held with the internal extender in place at 325mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2 stops off the ice: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB. Central Sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s breast right below the head was active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
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Malcolm Mackenzie Can Die a Happy Man
Things were not looking good for our Rausu sea eagle trips…. First, there was no sea ice. No ice equals no eagles. Next, we were delayed for 1 1/2 days due to a huge snow storm up north with 15 foot drifts; all roads to Rausu were closed. Finally we made it to Rausu on the late afternoon of February 20, but the sea ice reports were sketchy at best.
Malcolm Mackenzie was worried. His main reason for making the Japan trip was to see and photograph the Steller’s Sea Eagles. I was anything but confident but had a sneaking suspicion that we might luck out. The group was on the boat and we were underway at 6am on the 21st. By 6:30am the mate was feeding the birds and the skies were filled with Steller’s and White-tailed Sea Eagles, Slaty-backed, Glaucous-winged, and Glaucous Gulls of all ages, and Large-billed Crows. The light was gorgeous and the wind was perfect.
My 11th sea eagle trip turned out to be the best ever. Everyone was thrilled and Malcolm–who filled a 128gb card–was ecstatic.
Image Question
Considering that the image above was created at 325mm why did I have the internal 1.4X TC in place?
The Astounding Versatility of the Canon EF 200-400 with Internal 1.4X Extender on the Sea Eagle Boat
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This wide image of two Steller’s Sea Eagles on the pack ice was also created on the morning of February 21, 2014 at 7:27am on the Japan in Winter IPT with the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (hand held at 239mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops as framed: 1/2000 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode was a bit dark. AWB. Central Sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus AF on the right hand bird and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
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The Astounding Versatility of the Canon EF 200-400 with Internal 1.4X Extender on the Sea Eagle Boat
It is hard to believe that the three images here were created with the same lens. As noted here previously the versatility of the Canon 200-400 is both incredible and–if image quality is considered, unmatched. And with the addition of an external 1.4X III TC–s the image immediately below–the focal length range can be extended to 784mm with both TCs in place.
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This vertical front-end portrait of a Steller’s Sea Eagle was created on the morning of February 21, 2014 at 7:22am on the Japan in Winter IPT with the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender, an external Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (hand held at the maximum 784mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop as framed: 1/800 sec. at f/8 in Manual. AWB. Central Sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s neck was active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.
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Your Favorite?
Please take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which of the 3 images above is your favorite, and do let us know why.
Age?
Can anyone age the bird in the image above based on plumage?
Advanced Composition and Image Design
Learn to create more pleasing images by studying the section on Advanced Composition and Image Design in The Art of Bird Photography II (ABP II: 916 pages/900+ images on CD only.)
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Images copyright 2012: Denise Ippolito & 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/Openings: 5
We still have room for 5 more flower photographers on this great trip.
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 7) are included. For those who will be bringing a big lens we will likely have an optional bird photography afternoon or two.
Click here for additional info or to register.
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Join me for the 2014 Tanzania Summer Safari! |
2014 Tanzania Summer Safari, 14-day African Adventure/leave the US on August 9. Fly home on August 24: $12,999.
Co-leaders Todd Gustafson & Arthur Morris. The limit is 12. Three photographers/van; you get your own row of seats. Our trip is a bit more expensive than the average safari for good reason. It is the best. We have the best driver guides with a total of decades of experience. They have been trained over the years by Todd and by me to drive with photography in mind. We have the best and most knowledgeable leaders. We stay in the best lodges and camps. We hope that you will join us for what will be Todd’s 35th African safari, and my 8th.
If you are seriously interested please e-mail me; I will be glad to send you the illustrated PDF with the complete itinerary and deposit info.
What else makes this expedition unique?
•Pre-trip consultation and camera equipment advice
•Award-winning photographers as your guides
•A seamless itinerary visiting the right locations at the best time of year
•Hands-on photography instruction in the field
•Specially designed three roof-hatch photo safari vehicles
•Proprietary materials for preparation, including free copy of “A Photographer’s Guide to Photographing in East Africa.”
•Post-safari image critiques
All-inclusive (double-occupancy) except for your flights to and from Kilamajaro Airport, bar drinks, soda & water (except at the Intimate Tented Camp where everything is free for our entire stay), tips for drivers and camp staff, personal items, and trip insurance.
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Breathe deeply, bite the bullet, and live life to its fullest; we all get only one ride on the merry-go-round… Join me on this great trip. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. |
The Southern Ocean…
If you would like to explore the possibility of joining me on the Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris Antarctica/The Extended Expedition Voyage< trip: Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia and Falkland Islands: December 13, 2014 to January 10, 2015, click here for additional information and then shoot me an e-mail.
The DPP RAW Conversion Guide
To learn why I use Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP) to convert every image that I work on, click here.
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Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂
IPT Info
Many of our great trips are filling up. See especially info on the South Florida, Holland, and Nickerson Beach IPTs. Two great leaders on most trips ensure that you will receive individual attention, have all of your questions answered, and learn a ton including how to think like a pro, see the situation, and get the right exposure every time. In addition you will have fun, and make lots of great images. Click here for IPT details and general information.
The sea eagle portrait is FANTASTIC! Nice work.
Thanks Tony, Jack, and VIckie. artie
All three are terrific but the portrait is special! I’m glad Malcolm got his wish-we were all very blessed with a wonderful day!
Thanks Lady D. We have been blessed over and over again on this triip 🙂 a
What wonderful images, all. I think the internal TC was in place because as Jim says, you wanted the 280-560 mm range. Portrait is my favorite. I spent today at Assateague photographing snowy owls. If I can’t photograph Steller’s sea eagles, snowies are a nice consolation prize. I love the snow pile in your first image, by the way.
The portrait is my favorite and ALL are wonderful. Congratulations on such a wonderful shooting day and YAY for Malcolm Mackenzie.
I own and am very happy w/ my Canon 100-400mm which has been the subject of other blog posts. How would you compare it to the versatility and image quality of the 200-400mm? Thx.
All look great to me Artie, but I’d have to go with the portrait
As my fav.. Love the drop of water on its beak.
The portrait is my favorite, although if the snow peak wasn’t in the lower part of #1, it would be a tough choice. #2 is a close second. Love everything about the portrait, the light, pose, sharpness that you feel you could touch, feeling, etc.
Thank you for posting every day from Japan artie, we really appreciate it!!
Three very different images, flight, landscape and portrait, which do I like best? I guess I would have to go with the flight,[ Image #1 Landing Stellar’s Sea Eagle ] I like the wing and tail spread as he is breaking for the landing.
Thanks Ted! artie
The zoom question is already answered, so I tried to find the bird’s age. I think it is 3 or 4 years, seeing the brown spots on its tail.
Our guide told us that the grayish/whitish feathers on the front of the head indicate a really old bird, I’d guess in its teens at least as these birds likely live well into their twenties if not longer. artie
I’d guess you were zoomed out to 400mm, started servo focus on the bird and tracked him coming in as you backed off the zoom.
Hey David, Your thinking is somewhat convoluted :). See Jim’s comment below. Eleanor too 🙂 artie
You had the 1.4 in place when the bird was farther away. Now it’s coming toward you FAST. Better to press the shutter than flip the 1.4 off then press shutter. With just that bit of added time, the wings may have gotten clipped. ???
The portrait #3 is my favorite—- Sharp. Beautiful color. Perfect head angle. Drop of water on bill. Majestic bird
More thinking– you probably had to rezoom as well and again no time to add the flip off the 1.4 ?
And my wing clipped comment is wrong.
Unbelievable how sharp the new Canon lenses/teleconverters are! Just when Nikon seemed to be sweeping past Canon, Canon gives us the new stuff that blows Nikon away. Ain’t we lucky?!?!
Agree but in the right hands all of the new gear makes great images. artie
Why 325mm with the 1.4x in place? Because the 280-560mm range was more useful than the 200-400mm range most of the time. If the birds were getting really close you could have taken the moment to flip the 1.4x out of use.
Age of the bird? No idea other than it is a LOT YOUNGER than me. 🙂
Bingo on the 280-560. My latest trick is to–if I anticipate that I will need the 200-400 range–is to dis-engage the TC with my right hand…. artie