Fast Thinking Rescues Triplets!

Stuff

More work on the audit. A swim and an ice bath. This week’s ritual. With Jennifer’s help I am making some good progress on the audit. There have been lots of sales on the Used Gear page over the last few days. Most recently Joseph Higbee sold his Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS ll USM lens for $4650, a great price for Joe and a great deal for the buyer. Doubt me? Fill out an online form for your used gear on the website of one of the big camera stores and see how much they will offer you…. Not much! Note: there is another 300 f/2.8L IS II, this one in mint condition, being offered for sale by IPT veteran Larry Master. See same on the used gear page here.

This blog post took about an hour to prepare. It should be published automatically at 6:00am on Friday, September 18, 2015.

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. 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 always see what is for sale and what has sold along with the prices on the Used Gear Page by clicking here.

Used Gear Cautions

Though I am not in a position to post images of gear for sale here or elsewhere, prospective buyers are encouraged to request for photos of the gear that they are interested in purchasing via e-mail. Doing so will help to avoid any misunderstandings as to the condition of the gear. Sellers are advised to take care to photograph their used gear with care against clean backgrounds so that the stuff is represented accurately and in the best light; please pardon the pun :).

Brand New Listing

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens/with Circular Polarizer

Dane Johnson is offering a used Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens, the “old five,” in near-mint condition, used less than a dozen times, for only $4,274. The sale includes the original shipping box and packing that came with the original purchase, the lens trunk (carrying case), the front lens cover, the rear lens cap, a Really Right Stuff replacement lens foot (LC-50), the original Canon lens foot, the lens strap, a Realtree LensCoat that was installed before the lens was used, the instruction manual a Canon PL-C 52 drop-in circular polarizer (a $240 value), and insured shipping via UPS Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Dane by e-mail at e-mail or by phone at 775-622-9220 or 559-593-0989 (Pacific time zone, Reno, NV).

As regular readers know the “old five” was the world’s most popular super telephoto lens for many years. I owned and used one for more than a decade. Dane’s lens is priced to sell. artie

This image was created on DAY 4 of the 2015 Bear Boat IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/125 sec. at f/13. Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected sensor was just to our left of the middle bear’s snout, right on the same plane as the eye. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Brown Bear triplets

Fast Thinking Rescues Triplets!

A Depth of Field Lesson

I had been working at f/9 when the three young bears, each two or three years old from the same brood, lined up almost perfectly. I made a few images and then got to thinking out loud. I remember that Donna Bourdon was right next to me. The bear on our left was a close to two feet behind the the bear in the middle…. Three clicks slower on the shutter speed, three clicks to the next smaller aperture. It was possible that changing the aperture from f/9 to f/13 might just give me enough d-o-f to cover the bear on our left. When I saw the images on my laptop, I was thrilled to see that that is exactly what had happened; in the first few images, the bear in the back was displeasingly just a bit out of focus. In the f/13 images, it was more than sharp enough.

A visit to DOF Master.Com showed that my instincts were right on. The total d-o-f at 1000mm with a full frame camera at 120 feet is about 2.3 feet (1.14 feet in front of the subject and 1.16 feet behind the subject). Going to a one stop smaller aperture gave me a total d-o-f of 3.25 feet (1.6 feet in front of the subject and 1.65 feet behind the subject). The increase in depth of field was just enough to render face and eyes of the bear in the back sharp.

Theoretically, it would have been “better” to focus about half way between the plane of the closest bear’s eyes and the plane of the farthest bear’s eyes, perhaps on the eyes of the bear on our right. But I never have the confidence to do that; I always strive to attain accurate focus on the eyes of the main subject, in this case, the bear in the middle.

One final note: the above does not hold water when you are working anywhere near the lens’s minimum focus distance where d-o-f is measured in small fractions of a single inch. The lesson is that d-o-f increases dramatically as the distance to the subject increases.

In 2015, we are offering a 3-DAY IPT before Thanksgiving and a 4-DAY IPT after the holiday. You can attend either and spend Thanksgiving Day with your family. Sign up for both and we will be glad to apply a $100 discount to your balance. We know that there are lots of less costly workshops being offered these days. Many of them are downright cheap. Please remember that you get exactly what you pay for. With us you will have two full time pros there for you every minute we are in the field. Together they have more than 28 seasons of experience at the refuge. If you want the finest in photographic instruction and want to be assured of being in the right spot at exactly the right time every day, do join us.

Bosque del Apache 2015 BIRDS AS ART/A Creative Adventure Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). 3-FULL DAY IPT: NOV 22-24, 2015. $1149. Two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. Meet and greet and introductory slide program after dinner on your own at 7:00pm on SAT NOV 21.

Just 3 spots left.

Tens of thousands of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with two of the world’s premier photographic educators at one of their very favorite photography locations on the planet. Top-notch in-the-field and Photoshop instruction. This will make 21 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for artie. This will be denise’s 7th workshop at the refuge. Nobody knows the place better than artie does. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home being able to apply what you’ve learned on your home turf will prove to be invaluable.

This workshop includes 3 morning and 3 afternoon photography sessions, an inspirational introductory slide program after dinner on your own on Saturday, 11/21, all lunches, and after-lunch digital workflow, Photoshop, and image critiquing sessions.

There is never a strict itinerary on a Bosque IPT as each day is tailored to the local conditions at the time and to the weather. We are totally flexible in order to maximize both the photographic and learning opportunities. We are up early each day leaving the hotel by 5:30 am to be in position for sunrise. We usually photograph until about 10:30am. Then it is back to Socorro for lunch and then a classroom session with the group most days. We head back to the refuge at about 3:30pm each day and photograph until sunset. We will be photographing lots of Snow Geese and lots of Sandhill Cranes with the emphasis on expanding both your technical skills and your creativity.

A $449 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 7/25/2015. If you cancel and the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. Whether or not your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) You can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

In 2015, we are offering a 3-DAY IPT before Thanksgiving and a 4-DAY IPT after the holiday. You can attend either and spend Thanksgiving Day with your family. Sign up for both and we will be glad to apply a $100 discount to your balance. We know that there are lots of less costly workshops being offered these days. Please remember that you get exactly what you pay for. If you want the finest in photographic instruction and want to be assured of being in the right spot at exactly the right time, do join us.

Bosque del Apache 2015 BIRDS AS ART/A Creative Adventure Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). 4-DAY IPT: (three full and two 1/2 DAYS) NOV 28-DEC 2, 2015. $1499. Two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. Meet and greet at 3pm on SAT NOV 28 followed by an afternoon photo session at the crane pools and the introductory slide program after dinner on your own.

Tens of thousands of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with two of the world’s premier photographic educators at one of their very favorite photography locations on the planet. Top-notch in-the-field and Photoshop instruction. This will make 21 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for artie. This will be denise’s 7th workshop at the refuge. Nobody knows the place better than artie does. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home being able to apply what you’ve learned on your home turf will prove to be invaluable.

This workshop includes 4 afternoon (11/28through 12/1), 4 morning (11/29 to 12/2) photography sessions, an inspirational introductory slide program after dinner on your own on Saturday, 11/28, all lunches, and after-lunch digital workflow, Photoshop, and image critiquing sessions.

There is never a strict itinerary on a Bosque IPT as each day is tailored to the local conditions at the time and to the weather. We are totally flexible in order to maximize both the photographic and learning opportunities. We are up early each day leaving the hotel by 5:30 am to be in position for sunrise. We usually photograph until about 10:30am. Then it is back to Socorro for lunch and then a classroom session with the group most days. We head back to the refuge at about 3:30pm each day and photograph until sunset. We will be photographing lots of Snow Geese and lots of Sandhill Cranes with the emphasis on expanding both your technical skills and your creativity.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 7/25/2015. If you cancel and the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. Whether or not your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) You can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail after July 29.

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