What’s Up?
Saturday was more of the same: answering e-mails, working on images and blog posts, and doing a bit of online shopping. And thinking of packing for the Galapagos trip; I fly next Sunday, 6 AUG. I did get in a nice, easy, half-mile swim in the early afternoon.
The Streak
Today marks eight days in a row with a new educational blog post. This blog post about an hour to create.
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.
Improving Your Bird Photography
I’ve been saying it for decades, “One of the very best ways to improve your bird (and nature) photography is to look at and study as many great images as possible. Ask yourself, “Do I like it? Why or why not?” Two of the best ways to do that are to join BirdPhotographer’s.Net and and participate or to purchase the Top 100 e-Book.
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birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100
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birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100
The Top 100, created on a wing and a prayer in less than two weeks–see Harebrained Scheme here–includes the 67 spectacular images that will hung in the Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum in a career-retrospective solo exhibition for three months beginning in January, 2016. In addition, there are an additional 33 images in this spectacular e-book that barely missed making the show.
This exhibition companion e-book makes it possible for everyone to “visit” TheNAT gallery and, in addition, to enjoy seeing my top one hundred bird photographs under one roof. Each image includes a title, the species name, the location, the relevant EXIF data, and an anecdotal caption.
birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100: $23 for the professionally produced CD (includes shipping to US addresses only)
Please click here to purchase the physical CD. As above, your purchase price includes shipping to all US addresses. If you would like your CD signed on the inside cover with a black Sharpie, you will need to place your order by phone and request a signed copy: 863-692-0906. For our Canadian friends we are offering the CD for $28 with shipping to Canada via phone orders only: 863-692-0906.
Those who purchase the CD are advised to copy the file to their computers and then archive the CD.
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The new e-book via is also available via convenient download for $20 by clicking here. |
birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100: $20 via convenient download.
Overseas folks, and anyone else as well, can purchase the e-book via convenient download for $20 by clicking here.
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.
Brand New Listing
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens
Gary Wade is offering a Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens in very near-mint condition for $7949. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the lens trunk, the lens hood, the wide strap, the front lens cover, a Lens Coat, a TravelCoat, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Gary via e-mail or by phone at 1-530-340-1428 (Pacific time).
This fast, super-sharp, relatively lightweight (8.49 pounds) super-telephoto lens (the Nikon version weighs 10.2 pounds) is a versatile lens for wildlife photographers, especially for those who live in the West and do large mammals in low light. And it is hugely popular with sports photographers. For bird photographers working at close range at feeder set-ups will really love the 3m (9.8 feet) close focus. And best of all, it creates super-sharp images with both the 1.4X III and the 2X III Extenders. It currently sells new at B&H for $9,999. You can save some significant bucks by grabbing Gary’s lens now. artie
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This image was created somewhere while seated with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 142mm) and my favorite bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop as framed: 1/400 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. Cloudy WB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -2. Center AF Point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. Who knows? |
What Is It?
What is it?
Do You Like It?
Do you like it? Be sure to let us know why or why not?
If In Doubt
If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.
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.
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 :).
A rough paint job that got rained on.
All the best.
Hello Artie,like the colors.Side of a boat, It is Ok for me.Top right seems to be the clasp where they tie down.
Getting closer but there is no cleat in the image.
with love, artie
Interesting subject. My guess would be some sort of fading graphic on a stucco wall or maybe a rusting car/truck/trailer side. It does look like printed trees or Aspens well faded. At the bottom where it is bubbled surface could be a wall surface mural or advertising surface like a bill board.
I like abstracts.
Tom
Close but not close 🙂 a
Concrete wall? Side of a boat?
One of those is correct. with love, artie
I think it’s the side of a boat.
Hope you are doing well Artie.
Aaron
Hi Aaron, Correct and am thanks. What caused the pattern???
with love, artie
ps: check out the Fall DeSoto IPT 🙂
Hi, Artie. I have no idea what it is; I can’t get a sense of the scale of what’s in the image. I do like it. I find it a pleasing abstract image.
Clue as to scale: I was sitting about 10 feet from the subject …
Artie I want to rent a 500mm II for my 7d mark ll. Who would you recommend. Thanks
Hi John, I have heard that these guys are excellent and everyone on the IPTs who has used them have been satisfied.
with love, artie
ps: right now they are offering a $10 discount to new customers.
Artie, you often use this quote “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…”. I am an amateur at this hobby but have been doing it going on six years now and have had several well known and respected instructors. Tripods obviously do improve your still shots etc…I hand hold most of my BIFs with a Canon 7D Mk II and EOS 400 f/4 DO II. I don’t air travel much at all and have a sturdy aluminum tripod that holds the weight of my gear well as well as a gimbal head mount that works for my equipment. I use a ground pod with a ball head for ground shots too. What exactly do you mean “using the wrong gear? IE just not the ones you use (which may seem pricey for some of us)?
Hi Harry and welcome.
The wrong gear is gear that is not as efficient at doing the job as the right gear. If something works it does not mean that there is not something out there that does the job better or does it just as well but weighs half of what you are using. And yes, the best gear is expensive. But when folks spend $6899 on their lens alone plus another $2K on a camera body their tripod and gimbal head choices are often poor ones. Why? To save a few hundred bucks at most.
So I ask, what tripod and what gimbal head are you using?
What do you like to photograph?
with love, artie
ps: the above not to mention that I have seen folks using various tripod heads that practically make it impossible for them to create a properly framed and/or sharp image.
pps: many respected instructors are more than reluctant to comment on the gear that their participants are using for fear that they might not take another course with them. Still others are simply ignorant of what is best. This comment also includes well known instructors.
HMMM, looks like the reflection of an aspen grove, off of something. Could be water with blown out snow in the background. But with the line running through the image, I’m not sure about that. With the line at an angle, I begin to to squash the water reflection idea so its something else, like the side of a rusting out car. I dunno. Like the abstract, but the line is baffling.
I like it very much….I guess it is something frozen…..