Whose Woods These Are I Think I Know...

What’s Up?

I got home to Indian Lake Estates at 7:45am on Thursday, just 36 hours after leaving the lodge in Hokkaido, Japan. Co-leader Denise Ippolito had it worse: she was weather-stranded in Toronto, Canada when her flight to Newark was canceled. It took her 48 hours to get home. We both, however, feel that with the Snow Monkeys, Whooper Swans, Steller’s Sea Eagles, and Red-crowned Cranes, the long travel sessions were well worth it.

Toward the end of my 4-hour layover at LAX late on Wednesday I fell off the wagon to the tune of 4 large chocolate chip cookies, two mocha latttes–my first ever, and eight one-inch brownies. After vowing not to eat a thing on my non-stop red-eye flight I accepted and ate a bag of chocolate chip brownie brittle. Twice. The scale was kind to me on Friday morning: 185 1/4 showed only a four-pound weight gain on the trip. I got back on the healthy eating wagon yesterday and will be in the pool today.

I took my first jet-lag “nap” yesterday: 3 1/2 hours from 10:15am till 1:45pm. Then I surprised myself by sleeping from 9pm till 6:15am.

I learned yesterday that the sale of Steve Maxson’s old five and his 70-300 are pending. There are still many great buys on the board; you can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the right side of the yellow-orange menu bar above.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 116 days in a row with a new educational blog post. This post took me about 90 minutes to assemble including the time spent on the image optimization. As always–and folks have been doing a great job recently–please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated.

Like yesterday’s featured image, this one was also created right near our lodge on the last afternoon of the 2016 Japan in Winter IPT with the with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 176mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 1/3 stops off the snow: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB. See below for AF info. Click on the image to see a larger version. Red-crowned Crane adult and young

Whose woods these are I think I know…

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

High Level AF Question

For today’s image I used the center AF point while set up with AI Servo/Shutter Button AF. How was I able to get sharp focus on the cranes that were well outside of the AF array? Hint: the answer is in most of our Camera User’s Guides.

Bird-Scapes

At times my work is criticized by various internet experts as too clean, too tight and too graphic. 🙂 But since my style is being emulated by thousands I do not lose much sleep over such comments. My rationale has always been as follows: if the background is butt-ugly I will do my best to eliminate it by getting close and using long fast lenses with teleconverters. If, however, the background is lovely or dramtaic or interesting, I will go wide and include it. Thus I coined the compound word “bird-scapes” well more than a decade ago.

This image was created at Lake Kussharo on the Japan in Winter IPT with the hand held Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM lens at 16mm and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1400 sec. at f/11. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF on the swan on our right, re-compose, check the in-the-viewfinder, rotate as needed, and push the button. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. With the Singh-Ray 77mm warming circular polarizer set to dark. Image #3: Whooper Swans on frozen lake with big clouds

Speaking of Bird-scapes…

In the 16-1200: It’s All in the Eye of the Beholder & The Big Question. Plus More Amazing 5DS R Fine Detail… blog post here, I asked, “Which is the strongest image, Image # 1, the tight head portrait, or Image #2, the wide angle bird-scape?”

Though–as several who commented did–I loved the tight, clean Whooper Swan head portrait, but I felt that the wide image with the black water and the puffy white clouds was the stronger image by far. Why? Because the placement of the two swans, the black water, and the puffy white clouds made the image a unique bird-scape.

The Singh-Ray 77mm Warming Circular Polarizer

I used my Singh-Ray 77mm Warming Circular Polarizer and my Singh-Ray 5-stop glass ND more than a few times on the trip, the former with both the 16-35 f/4 and with the 100-400 II, the latter always with the 100-400 II via the Xume system (see same below). Do not use the Xume system with your wide angle lenses as it will cause serious vignetting at the wide settings. In a blog post soon I will be explaining why it is mandatory to use the Xume system when working with the Sing-Ray Ten-stop ND for 30-second exposures on bright sunny days…

Learn how co-leader Paul Mckenzie taught me to set a circular polarizer to dark on a cloudy day in the original blog post here. And learn to set your polarizer to dark on a bright sunny day by clicking here.

Singh-Ray Filters

Singh-Ray filters have been used by the world’s top photographers for many decades. Singh-Ray is and has been the name in quality filters. I often use the 77mm warming polarizer set to dark at Bosque to get to a slower shutter speed in too-bright conditions. No other filter manufacturer comes close to matching the quality of Singh-Ray’s optical glass that is 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 warming polarizer (for example), click on the logo link above, click on Polarizers/color enhancing on the menu bar, choose LB Warming Polarizer, choose the size and model, add to cart, and then checkout. At checkout, type artie10 into the “Have a coupon? Click the “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.

Xume Stuff!

Here is how I use the Xume system with your intermediate telephoto lenses:

First I screw one XUME 77mm Lens Adapter onto the front of my 100-400 II and another onto the front of my 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II.

Next I screw my Singh-Ray 77mm 3-Stop Resin Mor-Slo Neutral Density Filter, my Singh-Ray 77mm 5-Stop Glass Mor-Slo Neutral Density Filter, and my Singh-Ray 77mm LB Warming Circular Polarizer into their own individual XUME 77mm Filter Holders.

The lens adapters stay on the lenses. The ND filters and the polarizer stay screwed into their own filter holder. The filter/filter holder combos are stored in the lovely labeled leather pouches that come with each Singh-Ray filter purchase. The three of them fit perfectly into the small upper left zippered pocket of my Xtrahand vest. When I wish to mount a filter onto the front of one of my intermediate telephoto lenses I simply remove the lens hood, grab the filter that I need, and pop it securely into place in less than an instant. Ah, it’s the magnetic thing!

Be sure to replace the lens hood so that you do not accidentally dislodge the filter by whacking it against some shrubbery. To remove the filter simply remove the lens hood, pop the filter off instantly, place it back in its leather case, and stow it. With the Xume system there are no more tears. You do not have to screw and unscrew the filters onto the front of the lens. There are no more jammed threads. The Xume lens adapters and the filter holders are precision-machined to guarantee fast and secure filter attachment every time.

It is an elegant system but I can recommend it only for intermediate telephoto lenses: when used with short lenses and short zoom lenses some serious vignetting will occur at the wide(r) focal lengths.

If you own only one lens and two filters I would recommend the XUME 77mm Lens Adapter and Filter Holder Starter Kit. It contains one lens adapter and two filter holders.

The next step up is the XUME 77mm Lens Adapter and Filter Holder Pro Kit. It offers two lens adapters and four filter holders. That one was perfect for me.

If you need Xume stuff for front element sizes other than 77mm please use this link; you will find two pages of good stuff!

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, 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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Typos

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