Canon 500mm f/4L IS II and 7D II Rocks Morro Bay

What’s Up?

It was a great first full day at Morro Bay with lots of Long-billed Curlews and Marbled Godwits in the morning, some nice California Poppies in the afternoon, and a pretty sweet sunset. I am tired.

This blog post took about 2 1/2 hours to prepare and was published from my hotel room in Morro Bay, CA at 9:44pm on Saturday, which is early Sunday morning on the east coast.

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This image was created at Morro Bay, CA with the the hand held Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2 1/3 stops: 1/500 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. AI Servo/Rear Focus/Zone AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The AF system activated three AF points that fell on the bird’s neck and the base of the bill and nailed a sharp eye. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Long-billed Curlew on wet sand

Canon 500mm f/4L IS II and 7D II Rocks Morro Bay

I headed out to the beach going light on Saturday morning with just the hand held 500 II and the 7D II with the 1.4X TC in my fanny pack. Conditions are currently ideal at Morro Bay. Do think seriously about joining me here next Friday. Scroll down for details.

This image was created at Morro Bay, CA with the the hand held Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/2500 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The centr AF point was on the top of the bird’s head. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Marbled Godwit foraging in surf

This image was created at Morro Bay, CA with the the hand held Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop as framed: 1/3200 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. AI Servo/Rear Focus/Zone AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The AF system activated three AF points that fell on the bird’s face and the left side of its neck and once again nailed a sharp eye. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #3: Western Gull landing with nesting material

This image was created at Morro Bay, CA with the the hand held Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/2000sec. at f/9 is the equivalent of my sunny bright white ISO 400 exposure in full sun: 1/2500 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. One point to the right and one row up from the center AF point/AI Servo Expand Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The selected AF point fell right on the bird’s eye. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #4: Western Gull head portrait of bird in breeding plumage

This image was created at Morro Bay, CA with the the hand held Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 400: 1/1000 at f/8 in Manual mode confirmed via histogram check. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand Rear Focus AF squarely on the bird’s eye as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #5: Free and wild Red-tailed Hawk

This image was created at Morro Bay, CA with the the hand held Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand Rear Focus AF squarely on the bird’s face as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #6: Pied-billed Grebe fluffing up

Your Fave?

Please take a moment to let us know which of today’s 6 images was your favorite and why you liked it.

Morro Bay offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects in a variety of attractive settings. Do consider joining me there on the March 20-22, 2015 Canon Destination Workshop. Complete info and register here

Morro Bay Pre-Canon Destination Workshop In-the-field Day

The Morro Bay Canon Destination Workshop March 20-22, 2015 now has only four slots open. To encourage folks to sign up I have planned the following:

Morro Bay Pre-Canon Destination Workshop In-the-field Day. Friday March 20: $399.

This in-the-field workshop includes a 4-hour morning photo-session that begins in the pre-dawn, a 2 hour afternoon photo session (3-5pm or so), and a working lunch with image review and some Photoshop. We will finish up in time to attend the Friday evening program that opens the Destination Workshop. At present only two folks are signed up for the day so you will surely receive all of the one on one guidance that you can handle.

Though you not need to be registered for the Canon event to join me on Friday, doing so would make a lot of sense to me. The Friday evening program is of course open only to those who are signed up for the Destination Workshop. See immediately below for details on that.

BIRDS AS ART Morro Bay, CA Canon Live Learning EOS Destination Workshop
March 20-22, 2015: $1050

Borrow great Canon gear. Head home with a print or two. Learn from the best.

Click here for complete info or to register.

Click here to see the course agenda.

Join me in one of the most beautiful and scenic places on the planet to photograph a large variety of birds of the sea and shore. The star of the show will be the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. There will be lots of Marbled Godwits and Willets as well as lots of the smaller shorebird species. Black Oystercatcher is likely and we should get to photograph large flocks of Western Sandpipers in flight over the bay; with any luck we should enjoy some great sunrise and sunset photography. There are lots of gulls including Western, California, and Mew. There is one good location where we should get to photograph Western, Clarke’s, Eared, and Pied-billed Grebe, Lesser Scaup, and Common Loon–you will be able to borrow a long lens from Canon along with various camera bodies. We may get to photograph some passerines including Anna’s Hummingbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, and White-crowned Sparrow. And we have a chance for several species of raptors. Yikes, I almost forgot California Poppy. And California Ground Squirrel. Sea Otters are also possible.

Folks who register after seeing this notice are asked to shoot me a copy of their BIRDS AS ART Morro Bay Registration Confirmation via e-mail.

See lots more Morro Bay images here.

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