The Streak Continues: 147
I am not sure when this will be published but it will likely be online before 7:00am Florida time on Friday, April 25th. My flight departs AMS for DTW (Detroit) at 8:15am and daughter Jennifer is picking me up at about 3:30pm at MCO. It will be good to get home. We enjoyed yet another great day at Keukenhof. When you have visited a location for more than a week and everyone ends up wishing that there was more time to photograph, more time to create new and exciting images, more time to try the new techniques, the leaders feel pretty darned good. And that is exactly how Denise and I feel.
This post marks 147 straight days with a new educational blog post. With so many folks getting in the habit of using our B&H links and our Amazon logo-links why quit now? To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we do ask that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, and the like. We sell only what I used, tested, and can 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.
I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and visiting the BAA Online store as well.
This blog post took about 1 hour to create. Enjoy!
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This image was created just before 4pm on our last day at Keukenhof Gardens on the Holland Tulip IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS macro lens and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 50. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/6 sec. at f/32 in Av mode. |
Keukenhof Farewell Painting
4pm at the fish sign was our meeting place. Having arrived a few minutes early I was again inspired by friend and multiple IPT veteran Mike Gotthelf. He was doing in-camera Multiple Exposure zoom blurs. As I only had my 100mm macro with me I decided on a 7-frame in-camera Multiple Exposure. I wanted to get a blog post done before bed as I need to be up at 4:30am and on my way to Schipol Airport by 5:30. I was thrilled when I saw this image, the very last image that I created on what turned out to be a great trip with great folks and perfect weather.
I simply created 7 images with the tripod head locked up while barely moving the lens a fraction of an inch between each frame.
Which classical painter worked in this style?
Gotta pack and hit the sack.
Like it or hate it?
Let us know and be sure to let us know why.
5D Mark III User’s Guide
You can learn the fine points of in-camera Multiple Exposures and creating in-camera HDRs plus everything that I know about this great camera in my 5D Mark III User’s Guide here.
Get a Free Copy of Our 5D Mark III User’s Guide
Purchase a Canon EOS-5D Mark III using one of our product-specific B&H affiliate links above or by clicking on the logo link below and shoot me your B&H receipt via e-mail. Once and if the purchase appears in my account–it should unless you screwed up somehow and did not use the link :), I will be glad to have Jim send you a free copy of our 5D Mark III User’s Guide.
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Join me at Gatorland for a ton of learning. If you want to learn to use your flash, you will not want to miss this one. Click on the composite image to enjoy a larger version. Click on the composite to enjoy the larger size. |
The Gatorland Short Notice Saturday Full-Day In-the-Field Workshop
Saturday May 3, 2014. 7:15am till 10:15am & 4:00pm till dusk. Lunch, image review, and Photoshop session included. Limit 6. A very small group is again likely: $399.
The cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s Pass is not included.
Chicks in nests likely. Breeding plumage Cattle and Snowy Egrets. And tons more. You will learn to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. A big part of the above is that you will learn how and why you must work in Manual mode 90% of the time at Gatorland.
At lunch we will review my images, take a look at five of your best images from the morning session (for those who opt to bring their laptops), and process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.
Payment in full via credit card is due upon registering. Please call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 to register.
Another Used 400 DO For Sale
I will be offering a very well taken care of 400 DO lens for sale when I get back. If you are interested, please shoot me an e-mail. The lens is currently owned by Peter Kes.
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All of the images created at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and copyright Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART From top left clockwise to center: Snowy Egret pair in breeding plumage, breeding plumage Cattle Egret with fill flash, large Great Egret chicks in the nest, killer breeding plumage Snowy Egret displaying, flash-as-main light Great Egret chick happy to see mom, Little Blue Heron chicks, Cattle Egret breeding plumage head portrait, flash flight Wood Stork with nesting material, Great Egret landing at the nest, large Snowy Egret chicks. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. |
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Short-Notice IPT. 3-FULL DAYS. Early entry/Late stay. May 5-7, 2014. Meet and greet at 8pm on Sunday May 4: $1299. Two Great Leaders: Arthur Morris and Denise Ippolito
This trip needs four to run.
Breeding herons, egrets, and Wood Storks. Eggs and chicks in the nest. Some fledged young possible. Breeding behaviors including displaying and copulations. Flight and flash flight. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Tricolored Heron, Wood Stork. Early May rocks at the Farm as the weather is usually gorgeous and there should be lots of both small and large chicks in the nest. And you avoid the possibly oppressive heat of June and July.
Includes in-the-field instruction, early entry, late stay, $5/person late-stay gratuity, informal, small group Photoshop and image review sessions. Three lunches.
Not included: your lodging, your St. Augustine Alligator Farm photographer’s pass ($79.95 for the year); we will be more than glad to pre-order your pass for you. Please let us know when you register.
What you will learn:
How to see the good situations.
How to best avoid the clutter of a rookery by choosing the very best perspective.
How to properly evaluate the histogram and come up with the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure
How to see and understand the light.
How to to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system.
Why you must work in Manual mode 95% of the time when photographing at a rookery and how to do it.
How to evaluate and process your images.
Via intensive instruction how to use fill flash flash as main light, and Manual flash.
Flash flight techniques including the necessary use of high speed sync.
And tons more.
Please call Jim or Jen at 863-692-0906 to hold your spot with your non-refundable $299 credit card deposit and then put your check in the mail along with your signed registration form; you can find the form here.
Suitable airports: Jacksonville (JAX), Daytona Beach (DAB), Orlando MCO).
We look forward to seeing you in the nation’s oldest city for three days of fun and learning.
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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. đŸ™‚
Artie, I owe you an apology. My comments were unnecessarily harsh. You take such original photographs that this just threw me off. It’s not the blur or the subject matter or the composition or the clash of color. It’s just not what I expect from you when I (religiously) read your blog.
Thank you Jack. Apology accepted. I was wondering if the guy writing that stuff was a different Jack Goodman than the one I had met in Katmai :). Getting outside the box once in a while can be fun. Heck, I am working on my Nature’s Best contest entry and half of the images are not birds đŸ™‚ later and love, artie
Hello Artie,
I’m not a fan of blured imiages but I would certanily hang this one on a wall. I REALLY like this one.
Nicely done !!!
Artie I like this one much better, I am the first to admit I jumped to quick to my conclusion that I didn’t like the first one; be that as it may , the more exposure to this style, the more I appreciate the creativity , the moire pattern is like a painting from one of the masters. Great job !
As an ophthalmologist, I have some experience with eye strain and vision related headaches.
A number of people do have issues with fine,repeating patterns, esp. if they are blurred enough that the person has trouble fixating consistently. Many folks have phorias, which are a tendency for the eyes to become misaligned if fixation is broken for some reason. An irregular pattern that is hard to fixate on could cause the phoria to become manifest and cause some eye discomfort, and in extreme cases a headache. As we age, phorias often become more apparent, but most of the time can be controlled by careful focusing and fixation on a distinct target. Some phorias are more of a problem in downgaze positions, such as reading or looking at a computer monitor.
Unless a phoria becomes a frequent problem, they don’t need special treatment. If the person loses control of the phoria and it becomes constant, prisms or even surgery may be required to realign the eyes, but that is very much the exception.
Thanks a stack for chiming in Randy. later and love, artie
No Artie, again, I disagree. Feeling disrespected is not a choice. It is the result of being disrespected. You are always quick to jump on anyone who is, in your view, disrespectful online.. so perhaps you should be respectful of others’ views too.
The image you show has a confusing, moire-like pattern which many find disturbing rather than pleasing. That does not mean there is something wrong with their eyes. When somebody said they “got a headache” I am sure it was not meant literally but figuratively to make a point. The point being that they did not find this image pleasing. You should have the intelligence to understand that. And so, with respect, someone not liking a particular image of yours is not ridiculous, but is making an aesthetic judgement.
Dear Randolph, You are pushing your luck here. If someone tells me I am ugly or that I am a jerk, I simply ask “Is that true.” It never is. It is always more about the person saying the stuff than about me or you. You clearly imply that I am lacking intelligence. Do I choose to feel disrespected? No, not at all. I asked if what you said was true. Furthermore, how do you know how much intelligence I should have? Are you God?
I challenge you to send me a link to one instance where I have stated that someone disrespected me. As I write a lot that should be easy if what I say is true.
If you come back at me with more of your drivel you will be spammed :).
later and love, artie
I love it, Artie. I bet some people hated Picasso’s work too.
Well done, the image would look very nice printed on watercolor paper.
Artie, I love it! The bold colors and impressionistic look are nice. It does border on being too blurred-that may be why some are crying about a headache.
There are many blurs that I like. The blur you did of the dahlias is one of my favorite blurs. But this one – not so much.
Hi Arthur, now that’s a wicked multiple exposure!!! Love the colors and the image design.
Arthur Morris, generous, sharing person.
With all due respect to a great teacher and photgrapher, if I look at that image for any length of time, my eyes hurt.
One of these days, when you are between trips and other obligations, please give us a rationale as to why blurring is a tack one should take to become an accomplished photographer. Blurs were what I had in my first classes with you, which you referenced, in essence, demonstrated ineptness as a photographer. We have come full circle.
Hi Andy, As I have said here often, blurs, for some, are an acquired taste. Others will always hate them. One does not need to learn to create pleasing blurs to become an accomplished photographer, but many who have mastered the art of making sharp images (and a few who have not) enjoy learning to create pleasing blurs as a way to step out of the box and become a more creative photographer. Others choose to stay in the box.
Like you, one of my very best students did not see the point of creating pleasingly blurred images, at least when he first started traveling with us. He began having fun at Bosque by learning to create blurred images of salt cedar foliage. More recently, his “Great Blue Heron Leg/Moving Water Blur” image has been honored in several major photographic competitions….
99% of successful blurs need to be in sharp focus. 99.99% of pleasing blurs are planned and skillfully executed. That leaves the .01% that are successful accidents. Lastly, as noted above in part, creative, well done pleasing blurs have been earning high honors in all major international photographic competitions for several decades.
I should have mentioned in the Keukenhof Farewell Painting blog post that those with an open mind who would like to learn to create pleasing blurs should get themselves a copy of A Guide to Pleasing Blurs by Denise Ippolito and yours truly.
ps: folks whose “eyes hurt” or “get a headache” when viewing pleasingly blurred images like the one we are talking about here might wish to have their eyes checked. Denise Ippolito noted that many folks with poor vision, especially the elderly, have vision-related problems when viewing multiple exposures or other types of pleasing blurs. artie
Artie, as on previous occasions you are labelling those who dislike a particular image as “blur haters” as though these people had an unreasoning and unfounded ‘hatred’ of all blurred images. With respect, that simply is not the case and to label these people in this way is disrespectful and unkind.
I love making pleasing (to me at least!) blurs but, as you know, not all turn out well. The image you show is one such – in my view. The colours are undoubtedly vibrant but it has an unnerving quality like the aura before the onset of a migraine – which is why it has been described as giving one a headache.
So, although you may love this image, many clearly do not. That does not make them universal “blur haters” – they may just dislike this particular image.
Hi Randolph, Thanks for leaving a comment and sharing your thoughts. As to the “Blur Haters” label, I do not agree with you as to its being “disrespectful and unkind.” When folks say simply “I hate it” I have no problem referring to them as a Blur Hater. In addition, the use of such a term compels many folks to visit the blog :). And more than a few folks admit that they dislike all blurs on principle.
Though you do not like the image in question I would not include you in the Blur Haters group. As noted by several other folks who get a headache when viewing images like this may very well have vision problems. I will try to remember to ask an ophthalmologist about that. respectfully, artie
ps: the more folks that visit the blog the more folks I get to educate about a variety of topics including developing an appreciation of pleasingly blurred images.
PS: Suggesting that anyone, especially the elderly, whose ”eyes hurt” or “gets a headache” when viewing “pleasingly blurred images” might wish to have their eyes checked is pretty disrespectful. To suggest that just because someone does not like what you like means they have something wrong with them, is not very nice.
Maybe their eyes are just fine but their aesthetic judgement is different to yours.
Randolph, First off, feeling disrespected is a choice. Second, over the years I have viewed 1,000s of images that I have not liked; never once have I gotten a headache from that. That leaves your comment about folks who have an a aesthetic judgement that is different from mine getting headaches as being ridiculous. artie
ps: see Randy’s comments on elderly folks getting headaches. Then you can send me an apology via e-mail. Note to all: Randolph has been spammed :).
Artie, I hate it. It is an attempt to turn a photograph into a painting. A gimmick. Jack
Jack, thanks for sharing your thoughts so honestly. But with all due respect, I must ask, what is wrong with creating a photograph with a painterly look? What you see as a gimmick, I see as being creative.
While many others profess to “hate it,” others see the image as a Renoir or a Monet….I love it as well.
artie
From an art history vantage point, this is not impressionism. Monet, Manet, Seurat and others would not see this as their revolutionary new painting style. Because it is intententionally imatative, I find it unsatisfying.
I never said that it was either impressionism or a revolutionary painting style. All that I was doing was having fun. I was not trying to imitate anything. I simply asked a question that you have not bothered to answer. I am somewhat confused by tone of your comments here…. artie
Like or hate? For me hate is far too strong but these bold colorful blurs have not been pleasing. I enjoy impressionist art but the blurs don’t give me that critical glimpse of color and shape that would attract me to a scene. Perhaps scale is an issue. Today’s blur displays about nine by six inches. If it were nine by six feet the effect might be totally different.
Hi George,
Funny that you mention “bold and colorful” as many in the group visited the Van Gogh museum on Thursday past and those words were used often in combination. artie
ps: I agree, some of the haters might like this if it were a lot bigger.
I like it,very painterly
gives me a headache
Your image reminds me a little of the pointillist painters, such as Georges Seurat and Camille Pisarro. Did you have time for any of the great art museums while you were in Holland (e.g., Mauritshuis, Rijksmuseum)? I find your image disconcerting because I can’t focus.
Totsiens.
Sorry Artie, I get dizzy looking at this one.
Monet???
Looks like a Renoir
Demand a refund from your optician
Sorry Artie not for me I can’t look at it for long I have problems with my eyes and this one hurts.