Absolute Proof That the Universe is Friendly

What’s Up?

It was clear in La Jolla on Tuesday morning for the first time since I got to San Diego. That meant no hummingbird photography in the morning as the sun would have been right in my face so I finished early at the low cliffs after getting some good stuff on adult Spotted Sandpiper and Whimbrel. Then I decided to take a nice long meditation walk. That’s when things got really exciting. Continue reading below for the whole story.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks whom I see in the field, and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

The Streak: 6!

Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, illogical, preposterous, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 6 days in a row with a new educational blog post. As always–and folks have been doing a really great for a long time now–please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.

Gatorland In-the Field Instructional Meet-Up

Join me in Kissimmee, FL as below, to photograph Great (with chicks in the nest) and Snowy Egrets in breeding plumage, Wood Stork, American Alligator (captive), and more. Tricolored Heron likely. We should get to make lots of head portraits of all the bird species and to photograph them building nests, displaying, copulating, and flying. Learn to see, find, and make the shot in cluttered settings. Learn exposure and how to handle WHITEs. Learn fill flash and flash as main light. All of the birds are free and wild.

This Weekend’s Schedule

Friday afternoon, 4pm till closing: $75
Saturday morning (early entry): 7:30 till 10am: $100. Lunch and Image Review: $75 additional.
Saturday afternoon till closing (late stay): $100.
Sunday morning (early entry): 7:30 till 10am: $100.

To pay for one or more sessions in full via credit card, call Jim or Jen in the office weekdays at 863-692-0906. You will be responsible for the cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s pass or passes. Please shoot me an e-mail if you have any questions.

This image was created at La Jolla, CA with the I-Phone 6+ Image #1: My New Friends … Image copyright Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Absolute Proof That the Universe is Friendly

Just after I turned around on my meditation walk on Tuesday morning, I encountered a sweet couple on the curved seawall/breakwater at Children’s Pool. The husband was photographing the wife with his cell phone. As I walked by, I said. “Howdy” with a big smile. (More on that in a future blog post.) I asked them if they would like me to make a photograph of the two of them. When they said “yes,” I said, “Even though I make a living as a photographer, you need to show me how to photograph with a cell phone.” They did. After I created the image above, I suggested that I move in to make a tighter head and shoulders portrait. The wife had a lovely purple and pink patterned handbag so I suggested that she hold it up above her waist so I could include the whole thing in the photo. I was not making myself clear so I took the bag from her to demonstrate. As I did, I dropped the cell phone. It bounced once on the concrete path, hopped over the edge, and fell down onto the rocks below. The rock right near the wall was covered with Harbor Seals. The phone bounced its way down a series of steps and wound up in an inch of salt water. The casualties also included the man’s driver’s license and a folded $100 bill that had — unbeknownst to me — been with the cell phone.

“Here’s my business card,” I said, almost before the phone stopped tumbling, “I will pay for your new phone.”

The man said that that would not be necessary as I had been kind to offer to photograph them. His wife agreed and thanked me for being “so nice.” As the beach below is off limits to all but the seals, we managed to roust a very nice young lifeguard who hopped the fence in short order, climbed down, picked up the license, the $100 bill, and the cell phone, and climbed back up. Everyone was amazed when the man turned the phone back on and it worked just fine.

We chatted for a while and I learned that his name was Abdul, his wife, Yasmin, that they were originally from Fiji, and that they now lived near San Francisco. When I offered again to pay for a new phone he said that his contract was running out soon and that he needed a new one anyway. Then lots of hugs and we said our goodbyes with smiles and hugs all around.

Go figure.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

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 New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, 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 please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

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Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

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 :).