What’s Up?
My red eye flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Atlanta was pleasantly uneventful; I even managed to get a good 5+ hours of sleep. I began this blog post at breakfast in the E concourse at ATL. Just for the record books, it was 27 degrees when we landed at Hartsfield Jackson a bit after 5am this morning, several degrees colder than anything we experienced in Antarctica. Older daughter and BAA Executive Director Jennifer is picking me up at the Orlando Airport at about 9:45am.
Arrived a bit early into MCO. One of my two checked bags was first out. The other never showed up :). I re-checked it after customs in Atlanta but there is no record of it :). IAC, they are assuring me that it will be delivered to my home in Indian Lake Estates. Time will tell.
I have a ton of exciting new images and tales to share with you here over the course of the next few weeks. Online in Jen’s car on FL 528 via my Verizon Mobile hotspot this blog post was published at 10:19am.
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This image was created on December 31, 2014 at Brown Bluff, Antarctica with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the amazing Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop in late afternoon light: 1/1600 sec. at f/10. One sensor to the right of the central sensor/AI Servo Surround Rear Focus AF on tip of the left hand chick’s bill 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. |
Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II/2X III TC/EOS-7D Mark II: A More Than Viable Combination
On my last Cheesemans’ Southern Ocean expedition I relied on the 300II/2X III combo with one of two full frame bodies, either the 1D X or the 5D III. On my recently concluded trip I often went with the 7D Mark II body to enjoy and extra 60% reach. My full frame 600mm focal length became a 960mm f/5.6 lens. All in a relatively light package. And as you can see by taking a good look at today’s featured images, the results and the image sharpness were outstanding.
The chicks in the image above are Adelie Penguin chicks. When we made our first continental landing, the light was harsh and the adult on this nest was facing 180 degrees away from the light. More than once I said out loud, “We need this bird to turn around and show us those chicks.” Several folks responded by saying, “Ain’t gonna happen; all the whitewash is behind the nest. She must always sit facing east.” I answered, “A guys gotta dream.” Within minutes the bird turned around and fed her two chicks. But the light was still too harsh. Skip ahead till 6:18pm and my prayers were answered again. The image here is my very favorite from a close to 100-image sequence.
Image Question
Why did I go to f/10 for the image above and risk bringing up unwanted background detail?
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This begging Gentoo Penguin chick image was created on January 4, 2015 at Jougla Point, Antarctica also with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the amazing Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops in cloudy conditions: 1/400 sec. at f/11. Central sensor/AI Servo (Single Point-Manually Selected) Rear Focus AF on back of the chick’s 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. |
Seeing the Situation
I explained early on to the BIRDS AS ART group that it would be easy to fill a dozen 64gb cards on most of our landings if one was to photograph indiscriminately; after all, on some of our landings we would be seeing well more than 1/4 million potential subjects. “The trick,” I continued, “is to learn to spot the few good situations: nice subject, the right lighting, and most importantly, the background.”
AF Strategy Change
About halfway through the 25-day trip I began–when photography relatively static subjects, ie, not flying–manually selecting a single sensor in lieu of using my usual Surround. Why? For increased focusing accuracy.
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Typos
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What tripod/head did you bring on your trip for the 300mm 2x combo?
Mongoose M3.6 and a new Induro that I love. More on the latter soon. artie
Nice to have you back and blogging.
Thank you kind sir. artie
Great to have you back in communication. I really like the Begging Chick shot.
Many tanks! a
Welcome home. You should have been in atlanta earlier this week when it was 8°F (-2°F with wind chill)!
Did you go to f/10 just for the second chick or to also get the parent’s feathers sharp on the left side?
Great pics!
Thanks and that is the sole reason that I went to f/10. You only gain a bit and I followed that up with a pretty hefty Contrast Mask of 20/80/0 as detailed in Digital Basics.
a
Glad you are back safe and sound! I was having extreme withdrawal symptoms from the daily blog even though you did send some posts. Love the penguins! I agree with Alan that you needed the depth to get all in focus. Can’t wait to see more!
best
Sarah
Artie,
Welcome home! I suspect you used f/10 in the first image to get both chicks in focus, one is a bit behind the other. We were in the Falklands with no internet when you left so maybe you already explained, but I’m surprised you took the 300 2.8 instead of the 200-400. See you soon for the Spoonbills.
Alan
Thanks Alan and Sarah. I actually brought two 300 f/2.8L IS II lenses in case of a disaster. I left the 2-4 at home because of weight considerations. I did make a few good images with a borrowed 2-4 :).
later and love to you both, artie
ps: yes, f/10 to sharpen up the 2nd chick.