Canon EOS-7D Mark II Back in Stock at B&H and Shipping Today!
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The Streak Continues: 360
Denise and I began our Bosque Creative IPT with a huge Snow Goose flyout and a perched Bald Eagle with a pink backdrop. The geese came to us and packed into a flooded field. A huge blastoff seemed imminent. We gave up after three hours and headed back to K-Bobs for lunch and a bit of Photoshop work.
We did some tree blurs and a river scene in the afternoon and followed that up with a burning volcanic red sunset. Coming soon: a free Bosque Site Guide update for all: The State of the Bosque…. Today’s blog post, the 360th in a row, took 2 1/2 hours to assemble and was published from my hotel room in Socorro, NM at 3:58am. Tonight, we rest.
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Thanks a Stack! The last six weeks have been great!
The last six weeks have been quite rewarding with more and more folks making it a habit to use my B&H links especially for their major gear purchases. It is great to feel appreciated. Thanks a stack to all who used our links for purchases large and small.
To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. 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 have used, have 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.
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This in-camera Art Vivid HDR image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM lens (at 35mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III DSLR Camera (Body Only). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +/- 2 stops around a base exposure of 1/30 sec. at f/7.1. I used the Wimberley P-5 plate on the bottom of my 5D and my Giottos MH 1302-655 Ballhead in my vest. It takes less than two minutes to mount the plate on the camera body, spin off the Mongoose M3.6, and replace it with the tiny ballhead. |
Canon EOS-5D III & 7D Mark II In-camera HDR and APS-C Sensor Body Wide Options
Both the 5D III and the 7D II offer in-camera HDR. My favorite HDR setting is Art Vivid which produces a very large JPEG with somewhat juiced up colors. I often reduce the saturation 10 to 20 points and get very useable results.
Most of my HDR work is done using wide angle lenses. When you are working with 1.6X crop factor camera body like the 7D Mark II you need to purchase a special wide angle lens designed for cameras with APS-C sized sensors in order to get the full wide angle effect. The best of the lot is the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens. From where I sit, it is penny wise and pound foolish to skimp when it comes to a quality wide angle lens or to be limited when the need for a really wide focal length comes along.
You can find a great variety of APS-C wide angle options here. The choices here include many less expensive yet quality wide angles. Each would serve you well. Remember that most lenses are sharper than most photographers. As with all other photo gear, buy the best that you can afford and learn to use it to the best of your abilities.
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This image was created with the hand held Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM lens (at 20mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. Central sensor AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus as framed 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. |
The Wind
I created this image during Sunday’s wind storm; after big blastoffs large groups of geese often fly directly overhead right above the tour loop road. It is best to have a wide angle lens mounted, ready to go, and within easy reach. I learned the other day that when working with a big lens on a tripod and two additional rigs that having both rigs on a Black Rapid RS-7 strap is a lot better option than having one on a Black Rapid RS-7 strap and one on a camera body strap.
Image Question
Was 1/200 sec. at f/10 an error? Why? Hint: the widest aperture on the 16-35 IS is f/4.
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Fort DeSoto in spring can be bird photographer’s heaven. And most of the birds are stupid tame. |
Fort DeSoto in Spring/Breeding Plumage IPT: April 24-26, 2015. 3 FULL DAYs: $1099. Limit 8/Openings: 7.
Meet and Greet at 8pm on Thursday, April 23.
Join me at Fort DeSoto at the height of the breeding season for many of our target species: Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, dark and light morph Reddish Egret, Great Egret, Tricolored Heron, and Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. In addition, we will have a good shot at photographing a variety of arctic-bound shorebird species in breeding plumage. We should have good chances with a variety of courtship behaviors including courtship feeding, courtship displays, pre-copulatory stands, and copulation.
On this IPT you will the learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and how to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).
At lunch (included) we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one. If you opt to bring your laptop, we will take a look at five of your best images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.
A $499 non-refundable deposit is required to hold you spot. The balance, $600 will be due on February 7, 2015. Please click here to read our cancellation policy. Then please print, read, and sign the necessary paperwork here and send it to us.
See more on Fort DeSoto in spring here.
Fort DeSoto Site Guide
Can’t make the IPT? Get yourself a copy of the Fort DeSoto Site Guide. Learn the best spots, where to be when in what season in what weather. Learn the best wind directions for the various locations. BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT. You can see all of them here.
IPT Updates
Would you like to visit some of the great bird photography locations on the planet? Would you like to learn from the best? Click here and join us.
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Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).
Super-duper and thanks for using the BAA affiliate link. Best of luck with the new body. artie
Artie
My 7D Mark II that I ordered on Sunday using your B&H link, arrived this morning!
Thanks
Ed