$1000 IPT Discount. Go Ultra-Long When Working Through Narrow Slots. And High Level DPP 4 RAW Conversion Color Fine-Tune Tip.

Stuff

My flights from LAX to MCO (via ATL) were both delayed. Jim and I were not home until just after midnight. I slept well and am finishing this blog post on Tuesday morning. After breakfast. I got lots of work done on the Current Workflow e-guide. I hope to have both that and the LensAlign/FocusTune e-Guide/Tutorial finished before I head to the UK for the Puffins and Gannets IPT on Sunday, July 2. I hope. If you are seriously interested in a four-figure late registration discount on the puffin IPT please shoot me an e-mail.

Mongoose M3.6 Heads in Stock

For the first time in months, we have Mongoose M3.6 heads in stock. We got our hands on six the other day; three were already accounted for. Best advice: call Jim at 863-692-0906 to order.

My Bad

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

Should have been “price reduced $201”

IPT veteran Stuart Hahn is offering a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV in very good plus condition: was $1300, now, $1099, the latter by far a record-low BAA price. The body is in perfect mechanical condition but does show signs of use with some scratches on the finish. The LCD screens have been covered with protectors since day one so they are without scratches. Photos are available upon request. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it and insured ground shipping via UPS to U.S. addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Stuart via e-mail or by phone at 916-485-1630 (Pacific time).

Two dependable, rugged 1D Mark IVs served as my workhorse professional bodies for several years; I really enjoyed their 1.3X crop factors, the fast frame rate, and the excellent image quality. artie

The Streak

Just in case you have not been counting, today makes 7 days in a row with a new educational blog post 🙂

2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. Monday July 3 through Wednesday July 12, 2017: $5999 + $1499: Limit 10 photographers — Openings: 5). The (really cheap) two-day Gannet/Bass Rock Add-on is now part of the trip.

$1000 Late Registration Discount!

Here is some great info on the July 2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT: I have finalized the cottage and vehicle rental arrangements. We have room for several additional folks, at least for a couple and single. And I am in position, as noted above, to offer a rather substantial late registration discount. Please call us at 863-692-0906 or get in touch via e-mail. Click here and scroll down for additional details and the travel plans.

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.

Please Don’t Forget …

As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use the BAA B&H links for your major and minor 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.

This image was created at Gatorland on the morning of June 4 on an In-the-Field Meet-up session with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. Cloudy WB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -5. Upper Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter button AF was active at the moment and worked perfectly. See the DPP 4 screen capture below for the location of the AF points that were activated. Cattle Egret in fine fettle

Go Ultra-Long When Working Through Narrow Slots

I was walking around with 100-400II/1.4X III TC/5D IV combo when this gorgeous bird appeared in the narrowest of slots. I knew in an instant that I needed the narrow angle of view at 1000mm to make a decent image so I ran for my tripod-mounted 500 II and put the 2X on. With tall vertical birds, I almost always go with Upper Large Zone AF –heck, it is my vertical orientation default AF Area Selection mode. I was thrilled when I got back to the spot that the bird was right where I left it. I fired off five quick frames before the bird flew. Today’s featured image was of course my favorite.

DPP 4 Screen Capture

High Level DPP 4 RAW Conversion Color Fine-Tune Tip

Using Cloudy White Balance for this image resulted in the WHITEs being just a bit warm. Instead of dragging the Color Fine Tune dot somewhere to the upper or lower left, I worked with the BUE/AQUA slider. I moved it 1 unit to the left toward BLUE. Note that the R, G, and B histograms all end at pretty much the same spot; this is reflected by the RGB values: 235, 235, 237 that indicate near-perfect WHITEs. Note also: even though I had added 2/3 stop to the metered exposure that I needed to add another 1/3 stop (+.33 on the Brightness slider) to get my WHITEs into the mid-230s, right where I like them.

Lastly, check out the three AF points (illuminated above in red in the DPP 4 screen capture above) that were activated by the AF system (via Upper Large Zone AF). These points were on the bird’s chin right on the same plane as the bird’s eye. You can learn how and why I (and many other discerning Canon shooters) convert nearly all Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 using Canon Digital Photo Professional in the DPP 4 RAW conversion Guide here.

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.

Amazon.com

Those who prefer to support BAA by shopping with Amazon may use the logo link above.

Amazon Canada

Many kind folks from north of the border, eh, have e-mailed stating that they would love to help us out by using one of our affiliate links but that living in Canada and doing so presents numerous problems. Now, they can help us out by using our Amazon Canada affiliate link by starting their searches by clicking here.

Facebook

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 :).