Eagle City Referendum...
The Streak Continues: 263
This blog was published at about 5:30am from my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. It took me about 2 hours to assemble; this one makes 263 consecutive days with a brand new blog post. I fly from Orlando to Islip for a week of visiting my elderly (gonna be 92 soon) Mom, my younger sister Arna, and doing some late summer bird photography.
As always, I would appreciate your using the BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases, using our Amazon logo-link for all of your household purchases, and visiting the BAA Online Store for your tripod, tripod head, LensCoat, miscellaneous, accessories, and eGuide purchases as well.
The 2015 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT
There are now just 2 slots left on the 2015 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT; if you are seriously interested in joining us on this truly wonderful trip it would be best not to tarry…. Scroll down here for complete details. artie and denise
Nickerson Beach Update
From Greg Gulbransen: Lots of skimmers feeding chicks out front in the open at Nickerson. Lots of photo ops. Next week will be perfect. For info on my 2-DAY trip click here and scroll down to near the bottom. artie Ask Jim about the very late registration discount.
2015 Palouse IPT #2
The first 2015 Palouse IPT is sold out with a long waiting list. There are now just 4 slots left on the Palouse IPT #2. Scroll down in this blog post for complete details.
Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20% plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. You can see the additional listings here. Immediately below is today’s featured item, a new listing.
Used Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Walt Anderson is offering a used Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body in near-mint condition for $2899.00. The sale includes an extra battery the original box, and all cables and manuals. The seller will pay insured shipping via UPS Ground to US addresses only. Your new gear will be shipped after your check clears. Payment may also be made via credit card plus a 2% fee.
Please contact Walt via e-mail or by phone at 847-438-3587 (office) or 847-721-8319 (cell) (Central Daylight Time). Walt, a long time friend, is the inventor of the Better Beamer Flash Extender, the very first BAA mail order item. When it comes to taking care of his gear, Walt is fastidious.
The 1D IV is a 1.3 crop factor camera body that was my workhorse camera body for about 4 years not so long ago. I owned four of them in total. It is Denise Ippolito’s camera body of choice for birds and wildlife. They were selling used just a few months ago for more than $4,000 so Walt’s 1D IV is priced to sell quickly.
Your Help Is Needed
Sales for the first half of August, 2014 via our BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate links have been microscopically abysmal at best. If you need to purchase some new camera gear, please remember to use either our B&H logo link below or one of the product-specific links in the blog or the Bulletins. All should feel free to write me via e-mail
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Incoming Bald Eagle/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography
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Eagle City Referendum
Today I present ten spectacular Bald Eagle images created by Jim Neiger, BAA Posse member. All were created at Haines, AK. I ask each of you to list your three favorites and rate them in order with 3 being the strongest image, 2 your second favorite, and 1 the next strongest. Feel free to let us know why you made your choices. Place the strongest image at the top of your list, and so on down the line. Tips: click on each image to see a larger version; cut and paste the titles of your three favorites.
Like this:
3: Bald Eagle top shot
2: Bald Eagle mountain background
1: Bald Eagle top shot
Remember, the strongest images gets the 3 points and should be placed at the top of the list. Please do not let the list above influence your choices as they were selected arbitrarily.
At some point I will share the results of the referendum :), rank all ten images, and share my thoughts with you here.
Again, all of these images were created by Jim Neiger. Comments praising me for my great eagle photographs will be deleted. 🙂 Yeah, you gotta actually read what I write….
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Bald Eagle top shot/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography
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Jim Neiger Flight School Photography/2014 Alaska Bald Eagle Workshop, Haines, Alaska
Flight School Photography introduces a newly developed workshop to take place at the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska. Each fall, hundreds of Bald Eagles gather along the Chilkat river to feed on spawned out salmon that are accessible due to the open running water. A natural phenomenon in the area warms the water in the river and prevents it from freezing. More than three thousand Bald Eagles congregate here each fall to feed on the Salmon in the shallow open water streams flowing thru the river valley. Towering snow covered mountains surround the river valley providing magnificent backgrounds for our Bald Eagle images. The Eagles soar over the valley and swoop down to attack each other as they battle for their share of the Salmon from the river. We will have front row seats for this spectacular show. If you like Bald Eagles in action and gorgeous scenery, this is a workshop that should not be missed. While our focus will be on photographing the Bald Eagles, we will also have opportunities to photograph the magnificent scenery and other wildlife. Possibilities include bear, moose, and other species of birds.
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Bald Eagle talons out/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography
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Learn Hand Held/Long Lens Flight Photography
The workshop, conducted by expert bird photographer, Jim Neiger, will take place in early November of 2014. Jim has perfected unique techniques for photographing birds in flight using large telephoto lenses, hand held. The focus of the workshops will be to learn Jim’s hand held, long lens techniques for photographing birds in flight and in action. Jim is known for his consistent production of amazing flight images and images of the most desirable subjects. His Flight School Photography Workshops are a must for any serious nature photographer. The workshop will last 6-days and include a four hour classroom session and 5 days of photography in the field. The workshops will be limited to six participants so that everyone may receive personalized instruction in the field.
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Bald Eagle vertical banking top shot/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography
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Workshop Dates
Workshop AK-2: November 2nd – November 7th, 2014
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Bald Eagle mountain background/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography
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Workshop Itinerary
Day 1 (afternoon/evening ): Arrive in Juneau, Alaska which is the base location for the classroom portion of the workshop. There will be a four hour classroom session from 2:00pm to 6:00pm in the hotel meeting room. The classroom instruction will focus on using hand held techniques for photographing birds in flight to prepare participants for the subsequent photography sessions.
Days 2: Morning ferry ride to Haines, Alaska where we will check in to our hotel and spend the afternoon exploring the small town and getting ready for the in the field portion of the workshop.
Days 3-5: In the field photography sessions in the Bald Eagle Preserve.
Day 6: We will spend the day photographing in the preserve followed by an evening ferry ride back to Juneau.
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Bald Eagle carrying natural salmon carcass/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography
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More Info
For more info or questions on this workshop please contact Jim Neiger of Flight School Photography by phone at 407-247-5200 or by e-mail. Jim will be happy to provide you with any additional information.
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Bald Eagle saying “uncle!”/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography
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Learn More Here
Learn more here.
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Bald Eagle top shot/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography
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Flight School Photography Website
Be sure to visit the Flight School Photography website. Jim offers both scheduled and personalized pontoon boat trips and land-based instruction at various locations around central Florida.
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Bald Eagle vertical bank shot/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography
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Jim Neiger’s Haines, AK Photo Gallery
You can enjoy a gallery of Jim’s spectacular Haine’s Bald Eagle images here.
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Bald Eagles squabbling/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography
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Be Sure to Vote
Join the fun by voting and see how your choices stack up against the rest of the boys and girls including me :).
Flight Plan
I can say without a doubt that after spending more than two months (part time) a while back editing Jim Neiger’s great e-Guide, Flight Plan, that my flight photography improved by leaps and bounds whether I am working off a tripod or hand holding. His explanation of the bumping the focus technique finally sunk in. Learning to use this technique regularly is a huge help for any all types of flight photography. In addition, I recently implemented two of Jim’s AF recommendations; again, the quality of my flight images increased as did my percentage of keepers. You gotta love that.
You can learn more about Flight Plan here or order a copy by clicking 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. 🙂
3. Bald Eagles Squabbling – Not only is this a great action shot, but the composition is perfect. I don’t think it gets any better than this one.
2. Incoming Bald Eagle – Intense expression and a great display of those magnificent wings.
1. Mountain background – I like “in you face”.
3: Bald Eagle top shot
2: Bald Eagle vertical banking top shot
1: Incoming Bald Eagle
It was hard to choose which out of the top two was my favourite. I normally like action in shots, but these flight shots convey a sense of serenity and controlled power that drew me to them more than the others. The diagonal lines in the shot helped too, and these had the most pleasing head angles and backgrounds. The incoming Bald Eagle shot made me smile, its legs look like its wearing trackie dacks with the widest crotch! The squabbling eagles was amazing though I found the vertical formed by the right-most eagle’s lower wing stopped my eye and I wished the birds were more on an angle so it formed more of a diagonal.
Thanks Jim for letting us see your wonderful images, and for sharing your favourites too. I hope one day to be able to shoot these beautiful birds and discover their personalities.
I took a Haines workshop with none other than Artie himself as a part of the Eagle Festival in 2007. Since then I have been back independently. Haines is certainly worth the trip. Haines is where interior Alaskans go to get on the ferry, and I have flown my own plane in several times. When up in the air you can see how the green valley of the Chilkat River is surrounded by enormous glaciers.
Marvin
Spectacular, indeed!
3 – Bald Eagle saying uncle – never saw a shot like this one before
2 – Bald Eagles squabbling – have taken many similar captures but none as good as this one
1 – Bald Eagle top shot – iconic look, exquisite detail
#3 Bald Eagle vertical bank shot
#2 Incoming Bald Eagle
#1 Bald Eagle talons out
3. Bald Eagles Squabbling – I like the Eagle screaming in the other eagle’s face, the piece of Salmon in their talons, the spray from the fish and the mountain bg.
2. Incoming Bald Eagle – I like the head on view with both eyes, the dangling legs, the falling snow, and the oof mountain bg.
1. Mountain background – I like the head on look and the bg, but the blood on the bill is what makes the image for me.
My actual second favorite isn’t among the ten selected by Artie. It’s an image of an adult fighting with a juvenile over a Salmon carcass in the foreground. This image and others may be seen in the Bald Eagle image gallery on my website.
Thanks, Artie! This is fun.
YAW Jim. But sometimes you gotta ask yourself, “What the heck does he know???”
🙂
3: Bald Eagle vertical bank shot
2: Bald Eagle vertical banking top shot
1: Bald Eagle Top Shot (2nd image presented with this title)
Choices were made on the basis of what I would want hanging on my wall to look at every day. All of the images are outstanding, but I don’t want to look at blood and fighting every day. The images chosen show the beautiful feather patterns on the eagle and its grace in flight. The “Bald Eagles squabbling” image should be noted for its great composition and capturing a moment in time.
Bald Eagle, Vertical Bank Shot 3
Bald Eagle, Talons Out 2
Bald Eagle, Vertical Banking Top Shot 1
3: Bald Eagle vertical banking top shot
2: Bald Eagle vertical bank shot
1: Incoming Bald Eagle
Honourable mention: Bald Eagle top shot (I struggled for 3rd place)
3: Incoming Bald Eagle. I like the diagonal line of the wings with the legs making two diagonal lines perpendicular. The head and tail are perfectly centered on the wing and leg lines. The composition with those hanging legs and big talons just grabs my attention.
2: Bald Eagle vertical bank shot. I like the diagonal line of the wings and the red OOF background. Plus the eagle is calling.
1: Bald Eagles squabbling. I like the semicircle curve of wings and the heads and tails making two equal lines across that curve. Plus it’s a very hard to get image. I started with this one at #3 but changed because I couldn’t tell what was in the claws
All wonderful images !
3: Bald Eagle vertical banking top shot
2: Bald Eagle mountain background
1: Bald Eagle vertical bank shot
The first two, I just love the blue sky and the clouds.
The third one because its a little different than the
typical eagle shot (sky shots, water shots). The different
background intrigues me.
Doug