Stuff
Still working hard on my upcoming audit. Enjoyed a swim and an ice bath. This blog post took about 1 1/2 hours to prepare. It is scheduled to be published automatically at 6am on Wednesday, September 16, 2015.
Remembering to use our B&H affiliate links for your major gear purchases is greatly appreciated and will not cost you a penny. Same great prices, same great service. Online orders only please. Two folks signed up today for the super-cheap Old Car City Workshop that I am doing with Denise Ippolito. Speaking of Lady D, check out her amazing Rain Rose image on my Facebook page. For the skinny on the workshop click here. There is not much room left 🙂
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 weeks we have sold nearly everything in sight. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the original 400mm IS DO lens have been dropping steadily.
You can see all of the current listings here.
Brand New Listing
Used Canon EF 400mm f/4 IS DO Lens
IPT veteran Tom Blackman offering a used Used Canon EF 400mm f/4 IS DO lens in excellent condition for $3075. There is some paint wear near the lens hood. The sale includes the lens trunk, the front cover, the rear lens cap, a worn LensCoat, and insured shipping via Fed ex Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. This lens was just cleaned and checked by Canon’s Irvine, CA Repair Center; documentation can be provided upon request.
Please contact Tom by e-mail or by phone at 619.807.5615 (Pacific time).
I used this lens for several years with great success, especially for birds in flight and while working from various type of water craft. In addition, it would make a great prime super-telephoto lens for folks with a 7D II. Gannets in Love was created with the 400 DO. You can see that one and 13 other killer images that I made with my old 400 DO here. The title of that blog post is “The Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO Lens: Fourteen Images that Prove that the Internet Experts are Idiots.” Tom’s lens is priced to sell. artie
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This image was created on our Inside Passage cruise at Anan Creek with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 124mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 50. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/6 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. Cloudy WB. Singh-Ray Mor-Slo 3-Stop ND filter. Live Mode AF/Rear Focus with the box placed near the end of the log. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1:Cloudy WB, log more vertical |
Anan Creek
Anan Creek is famed as being a consistent location where Black Bears can easily be photographed at close range. The onset of our cruise was marked by heavy winds and rain. The last few days were marked by monsoon rains. Denise was so sick that she did not even consider making the fairly short trek through the most gorgeous temperate rain forest that I have ever visited. Black Bears are virtually guaranteed at Anan Creek. Sorry, not today.
With the heavy rains the creek was raging and the water was much too high for any bear to even think of a salmon. What to do?
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This image was created on our Inside Passage cruise at Anan Creek with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 50. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/6 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Cloudy WB. Singh-Ray Mor-Slo 3-Stop ND filter. Live Mode AF/Rear Focus with the box placed near the end of the log. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2:Cloudy WB, log more angled |
Make Soup From a Log
When I saw the beautiful moss-coverd log hanging over the turbulent, tea-colored waters I visualized a variety of pleasing blurs. As there is a nice shelter above the falls, I did not need to worry about keeping my gear dry. I screwed the Singh-Ray Mor-Slo 3-Stop Neutral Density filter onto the front of the 100-400 II and went to work. I set the exposure to yield just a few blinkies in the brightest whitewater.
Mode Question
Why was it necessary to work in Manual mode (rather than Tv mode) in this situation?
Using the Rear LCD to Determine the Best Shutter Speed
When I began working, I checked the degree of blurring on the rear LCD of the 1D X. I was amazed that 1/6 second always looked most pleasing, much nicer than 1/8 second and much nicer than 1/4 second. It pays to experiment….
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This image was created on our Inside Passage cruise at Anan Creek with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 135mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 100. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/6 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode. Auto WB. Singh-Ray Mor-Slo 3-Stop ND filter. Live Mode AF/Rear Focus with the box placed near the end of the log. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. he Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #3: Auto WB, log angled as in #2 |
Contest Image or Trash?
Please feel free to share your thoughts on the three images presented today. Each was prepared quickly from the JPEG that I extracted in Photo Mechanic.
Which image do you like best? If you do not like any of them, say so politely and let us know why.
Which image design do you prefer, the ones with the angled log (#s 2 & 3), or the one with the more vertically positioned, (#1)?
Do you like the cooler Auto WB image (#3) or the warmer Cloudy WB images (#s 2 & 3)?
Do you like the inclusion of the small green triangle in Image #1?
Would you consider any from this series as potential major contest entry material?
For all of the above, please let us know why.
Singh-Ray Filters
Singh-Ray filters have been used by the world’s top photographers for many decades. As always, I will have my 77mm Singh-Ray Warming Polarizer in my vest in case of rainbows. And I now travel (as above) with various Singh-Ray ND filters so that I can create pleasing blurs even with clear skies and bright sun. See here for a great example.
No other filter manufacturer comes close to matching the quality of Singh-Ray’s optical glass, comparable to that used by NASA. And they continue to pioneer the most innovative products on the market like their ColorCombo polarizer, Vari-ND variable and Mor-Slo 15-stop neutral density filters. When you use their filters, you’ll create better, more dramatic images and, unlike other filters, with absolutely no sacrifice in image quality. All Singh-Ray filters are handcrafted in the USA.
Best News: 10% Discount/Code at checkout: artie10
To shop for a Singh-Ray 77mm LB (Lighter, Brighter) Warming Circular Polarizer (for example), click on the logo link above, click on “Polarizers/Color Enhancing,” then click LB Warming Polarizer, choose the size and model, add to cart, and then checkout. At checkout, type artie10 into the “Have a coupon? Click here to enter your code” box, and a healthy 10% discount will be applied to your total. In addition to enjoying the world’s best filter at 10% off you will be supporting my efforts here on the blog. Aside from seeing underwater, this filter is great for enhancing rainbows.
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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 :).
Hi, Artie. Interesting questions. When I first looked at the images on my phone I thought they were of long blonde or gray hair. Of course on the computer they look like a log in front of a raging torrent. I just love the little fern growing out of the log, and the more-angled composition is better for the fern. I’d love to see a tighter crop on the fern. I prefer the warmer color but I think I would have backed off on the color temperature just a bit to get warmer than AWB but not quite as warm as cloudy bright. I have no idea whether these images would do well in a major photo competition. I look forward to your thoughts (and Denise’s).
Hi Artie,
After some thought I am wondering why did you choose this composition?
I like image one the best over all but still felt that the log angle is a bit arkward. The green triangle gives a tiny bit more perspective which I like.I really wanted to see more context. My mind is willing you to ‘zoom out’ a bit so we can see more of the beautiful scene. Either that or zoom tighter on the log.
It almost seems like two images. The log in all its mossy glory with a tiny bit of blurry water background to set it off,or just a fine art blurry water with no log.
The water blur is really nice in image two.
I preferred the wb in image three for the water but like the log warmer as in one and two.
The images are beautiful and expertly made and prepared and presented but would a judge go for it in a competition? Maybe, if you struck the right judge.
My thoughts are still forming on this but to my eye the log and the water compete with each other. The water is too good to ignore and the log is not quite strong enough in the composition to hold me.
This really is MTCW.
kind regards
David Peake.
I like the first one best, triangle too, but I would keep them all. You know better than most that you have to get the right image in front of the right judges. If you can find a contest featuring blurs and the judges like all things tree you’re a lock.;)
Thanks Glen and welcome to the Blog. You can never tell what the judge’s will like. Most of the major contests have been liking blurs for well more than two decades…. best, artie
Hi Art,
I liked image 1 since the triangle of the bank gave it perspective and I liked the angle of the log in relationship to the water and the combination to me seemed more dynamic. Any would be a relaxing “stopper” to wonder over.
Thanks Chas. Love to you and to Joyce.
a
Artie,I do like the WB of image 3 as the log stands out more than the “uniformly warm” cloudy WB in image 2.
Should the image be entered in a contest? I think you’d need to find the right contest.
I love the fact that it looks like a juxtaposition of two images, but it is just one of those nice occurrences in nature where you can find it all in one place. If the judges appreciate that fact, it may be a lock. If they tend to favor the stereotypical time-lapse landscape photo with well-defined foreground, leading lines, and a large landscape in the frame, they may pass on this gem.
Entering a contest is the only way to validate your feelings and theories. I’m interested to hear you expand on your thoughts.
Thanks Scott. I will let folks know how I feel on the various questions in a few days. And will also let y’all know what denise thought of the series. a
I really like the background and colour, especially the second one but the log seems almost out of place like it was photographed in the studio. Did you take any wider images with more habitat?
Hi Gary, Good question. The rain forest was so beautiful that I was kicking myself for bringing the 500 II and leaving the 24-105 on the boat!!!!
a
Sorry Artie, but this moss on this log does nothing for me. I like the background, without the log, though, as a fine art photo.
As to manual mode, the amount of brown in the water keeps changing, therefore the exposure keeps changing.
Mike
Thanks for your comments Mike. a
Image 1– The log and torrent are roughly parallel and while not exactly symetrical it is balanced.
The dark triangle in the upper right could be argued to be a stopper but I think you lose nothing by cropping it out of the image.
Image 2– The colors work well and the log on the angle introduces a much more dynamic element and creates some ‘visual tension’. As they stand, this is the image that appeals to me.
Image 3– Like Image 2, it has the same design elements and dynamisim. If it was my image to play with, I think I would select the log and bring it into Nik ViVeza and ‘warm’ it up and see if the contrast in WB adds to the image. Warm log/cool water.
As to being a contest entry, I can see it doing well.
my opinion–Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV– LOL)
Hi Bill, Well done. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I will share mine here soon, for what they’re worth. artie