Tern/Gull Pile Photography Tips/Part II: Tight and Static (and Fluffy). And the Most Amazing Ever Canon Used Gear Listings with shock-the-world record-low prices for a 1DX II a 600 II, an 11-24mm, a 24-105 II, and lots more!

Stuff

I’ve been having fun getting down to the lake in the morning for about an hour or so and then again just before sunset. Yesterday was the same. Just head portraits of Black Vultures in the am, and another smashing sunset in the evening, the fourth in a row. Unlike Saturday, I had some birds on the perches. I am hoping for a sunset silhouette Osprey on The Perch one of these days. With the warming trend continuing, the pool was up to 76 degrees; I am back to swimming my easy 3/4 mile (66 lengths) every day.

I am effectively finished with the 5D Mark IV Guide with just a bit of mopping up to do; I still need to finalize a very few the internal reference page numbers and add the gallery. On Sunday I started and finished the Cheat Sheet, a tight summary of all the important camera menu settings. See the info below the B&H 5D IV logo link to learn how to get a free copy.

I was glad to learn yesterday that the sale of Joel William’s Fujifilm XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens in like-new condition for $1199 in nearly finalized. His XT-2 is still available; see the Used Gear page here and scroll down for that and lots of great Fujifilm lenses.

Right now two folks are signed up for San Diego #2 with three more interested; San Diego #1 has been sold out for some time. IPT #2 represents an amazing opportunity to enjoy some great bird photography with the spectacular breeding plumage Pacific race of Brown Pelican and to learn from possibly the finest bird photography teacher to ever walk on the planet (he said with all modesty …) This IPT is the first to offer a free morning session the day before the IPT starts. I hope that you can join me.

Click on the logo-link above for great holiday savings!
$300 off on the Canon 100-400 II!

Facebook

If you have sent me a FB friends request that has gone unrequited, it is because I am up to the 5,000 limit on my personal FB page. You are invited to click here and then Like and Follow the identical content. 🙂

The Streak

Today makes one hundred forty-three days in a row with a new educational blog post! With Mike Rust’s extensive Used Canon gear listings, this one took about six hours to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections willing.

Click on the logo-link above
for Amazing 5D Mark IV Bundles and Deals

Here is the best news: those who have used a BAA B&H affiliate link to purchase a 5D Mark IV (or other items totaling $3200 or more) are invited to send us a copy of their B&H receipt via e-mail and received a free copy of the guide. If you would like to review the document before it is published, please send your receipt now. This offer is valid for future purchases.

Recent Used Gear Sales!

After a two month lull, the Used Photo Gear page has been on fire for the past two months.

• Joel Williams sold a Fujifilm XF 1.4x TC WR teleconverter in like-new condition for $299 in mid-December, 2017.
• Mike Newman sold a Canon EF 600 F4/L USM IS II USA lens in like-new condition for the record-low BAA price of 9,398.00 within two days of listing it in early December.
• Steve Cashell sold his Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM lens in near-mint condition for a very low $7898 in mid-November.
• In late November Mansoor Assadi sold his Canon EOS-1DX Mark II professional digital camera body in like-new condition for a BAA record-low $3998 and his Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body in excellent condition for a very low and fair $999.
• Mansoor Assadi sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III digital camera body in excellent condition for a very low $1299 in early November.
• Robert Blanke sold his Canon EOS-1DX Mark II professional digital camera body in like-new condition for the BAA record-low/shock the world price of $3999 an hour after it was listed.
• IPT veteran Duncan Douglas sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM Super Telephoto Lens (the “old five”) in early November for #3699.
• Chesley Swann sold a Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS Zoom Lens (the original 1-4) in excellent condition for the very low price of $529 in mid-November.
• Mike Lawie sold his Canon EOS 7D Mark II body in near-mint condition for the BAA record-low price of $923 and his Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens in excellent condition also for a BAA record-low price: $448. Both in mid-November.
• Gary Wade sold his Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens in near-mint condition for the record-low BAA price of $7449 in mid-November.
• Multiple IPT veteran Shelly Goldstein sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM Super Telephoto Lens (the “old five”) in excellent condition for the $3899 a week after it was listed.
• Peter Noyes sold his Nikon D-810 Digital SLR Camera Body in excellent condition for $1499 two hours after it was listed.
• Multiple IPT veteran Shelly Goldstein sold his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Super Telephoto lens in like-new condition for $9,399 in early November before it was even listed …

Canon EOS-1DX Mark II

BAA Record-Low, Shock-the-world priced
Sale possibly pending

Mike Rust is offering a Canon EOS-1DX Mark II professional digital camera body in like-new condition for a BAA record-low, shock-the-world price of $3997.00. The sale includes the front body cap, the strap, the manuals & CDs, a SanDisk Extreme Pro C-Fast 2.0 card 64 gb, a SanDisk Extreme ProCompactFlash 32gb card, the CFAST reader that came with the body, and insured ground shipping via major courier. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Mike via e-mail or by phone at 1-360-420-1274 (Pacific time).

The 1DX Mark II is Canon’s rugged, blazingly fast professional digital camera body. It features an amazing AF system and high quality image files with great dynamic range. It is the choice of Arash Hazeghi, one of the world’s premier birds in flight photographers. artie

Canon 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens

BAA Record-Low, Shock-the-world priced

Mike Rust is also offering a Canon 600mm f/4L IS II ISM lens in near-mint condition with two tiny nicks on the lens hood for a BAA record-low, shock-the-world price of $9396.00 The sale includes the the lens trunk, the lens strap, the padded fabric front lens cover, the rear lens cap, a Camo Lens Coat (an $89.99 value), a Wimberley P-50 plate (a $55 value), 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 Mike via e-mail or by phone at 1-360-420-1274 (Pacific time).

Sale pending

The 600 II is the state of the art super-telephoto for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports. If I can get it to a location, it is my go-to weapon. It is fast and sharp and deadly alone or with either TC. With a new one going for $11,499, you can save a cool $xxxx by grabbing Mike’s lens right now. artie

Canon 400mm f/4 IS II DO USM Lens

Sale possibly pending

Mike Rust is also offering a Canon 400mm f/4 IS II DO USM lens in like-new condition for the amazing low price of $5999.00. The sale includes the the lens trunk, the lens strap, the padded fabric front lens cover, the rear lens cap, 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 Mike via e-mail or by phone at 1-360-420-1274 (Pacific time).

I own the 400 DO II and find a way to take it on most trips. I take it to Scotland and Nickerson Beach and San Diego. It has served as my big gun in the Galapagos and on Southern Ocean (the Falklands and South Georgia) trips. It is a killer for flight with or without the 1.4X III TC. And really skilled folks have had amazing success hand holding it with the 2X III TC for flight and for action. With this lens in high demand and new ones selling for $6899, MIke’s lens is a great buy that will save you a smooth 900 bucks!. artie artie

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM Lens

First-ever BAA listing for this item!
Sale pending

Mike Rust is also offering a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for the very fair, very low price of $699.00. The sale includes the lens hood, the suede lens pouch, the front and rear lens caps, the original box, 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 Mike via e-mail or by phone at 1-360-420-1274 (Pacific time).

I rarely make a trip or head out to the beach without my 24-105 in my Xtra-hand vest. Whenever I leave this versatile B-roll lens behind, I wind up regretting it. I use it for bird-scapes, photographer-scapes, landscapes, mini macro scenes like bird feathers, dead birds, and nests with eggs — the latter only when and if the nest can be photographed without jeopardizing it, and just about anything else that catches my eye. While I am nowhere near as good as Denise Ippolito with this lens, I have made lots of good and saleable images with mine, the older version. Mike’s lens, the newer version, sells new for $1,099.00 artie

Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM Lens

Sale pending

Mike Rust is also offering a Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens in like-new condition for $1799.00. The sale includes the lens hood, the suede lens pouch, the front and rear lens caps, the original box, 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 Mike via e-mail or by phone at 1-360-420-1274 (Pacific time).

I own and use this truly versatile, astoundingly sharp super wide angle zoom; it is perfect for scenic, landscape, and architectural photography. The 11-24 currently sells new for $2,699.00; save a cool $900.00 by grabbing Mike’s copy. artie

Canon Series III Teleconverters

1.4X sold

Mike Rust is also offering two Canon Extender EF 2X III (teleconverters) and one Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (teleconverter) for $349.00 each. Each TC is in like-new condition. Each sale includes the front and rear caps, the suede pouches 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 Mike via e-mail or by phone at 1-360-420-1274 (Pacific time).

As regular readers know I use my teleconverters more than any other photographer. They are so important to what I do that I on big trips I travel with two 2X TCs and three 1.4s. artie

Wimberley V2 Tripod Head with extras

Sale pending

Mike Rust is also offering a Wimberley V2 Tripod Head in excellent condition with extras for $399. The sale includes a LensCoat Camo Head Cover, a neoprene LensCoat Gimbal Pouch (a $25 value), 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 Mike via e-mail or by phone at 1-360-420-1274 (Pacific time).

Many folks choose and use the Wimberley V2 Tripod Head for their super-telephoto lenses. I use mine for ultimate stability when micro-adjusting. artie

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

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. Those might include system, camera body, accessory, and lens choices and decisions.

This image was created at Fort DeSoto on December 4, 2017 with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 560mm), and my favorite tern photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 1/3 stops off the gray sky worked out to about +1 2/3 stops as framed: 1/1000 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. AWB. 11:20am on a cloudy bright day. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -2. Upper Large Zone/AI Servo/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system selected two AF points that fell on the very back of the tern’s neck. Royal Tern, winter plumage — front end vertical portrait

Tern/Gull Pile Photography Tips/Part II: Tight and Static (and Fluffy)

About the Tern/Gull Pile Photography Tips/Part I: Flight blog post here, several folks said that it might have been the most educational BAA blog post ever. That is saying a lot. But I am not sure that I agree. 🙂 Today, I offer a bit more on photographing gulls and terns at the beach, especially at beaches in Florida where the birds are often silly-tame, and especially at Fort DeSoto (where I hope to be doing two IPTs this spring). The basic strategy for getting close to the tern/gull flock to create tight portraits is the same as for getting close for the purpose of flight photography so a good deal of advice from the first Tern/Gull pile blog post is adapted below for today’s blog post.

Tern/Gull Pile Photography Tips: Part II

1-Understand what a good situation is. On a sunny day that means that both the wind and the sun should be at your back. On a cloudy day the wind needs to be at your back, and if the light shows any direction at all, it should also be at your back (or close to it). Do understand that when conditions are bad that making a single good image will be much more difficult.

2-Hand holding when you wish to create clean, tight, and graphic portraits of gulls and terns at the beach with an intermediate telephoto lens allows more freedom of movement and choice of perspective as you look for the good slots, opening between the birds where you can enjoy a clean line-of-sight to your chosen subject. Learning to do that is half the battle; it usually means moving slowly from side to side while on your butt.

3-Approach the birds low and slow. At popular beaches like DeSoto the terns and gulls are often quite tame and thus quite approachable. Remember to keep the wind behind you to some degree so that the birds are facing you or square to your position (as in today’s featured image) or somewhat angled towards you.

4-When striving to create clean, tight, and graphic portraits of gulls and terns at the beach with an intermediate telephoto lens your 1.4X teleconverter belongs on your lens. More reach gives you more isolating power.

5-Get as close as you can without causing any of the birds to move away from you.

6-Understand that the folks walking on the beach and disturbing your flock of birds are the #1 reason that the birds are so tame. And if folks walk right along the shoreline and flush the whole flock that can actually be a huge plus if you are hoping to do flight photography. Why? Nine times out of ten the birds will return to the very spot that they just left giving you multiple chances to photograph the incoming birds. And the same is true if you are trying to create tight head portraits. One thing that I forgot to mention in the initial blog post on this subject is that if the flock re-lands elsewhere on the same beach you should do the same!

7-If you are trying to create images of birds at rest and you see an oblivious person or an oblivious couple walking right at your flock and you would like to try to deflect them, here is the best strategy: wave gently at them and call out, “Good morning.” If they slow down or stop and are looking at you, motion them around your position by pointing and asking, “Can you please walk around us?” This is a far better strategy than screaming “Stop you a-holes! You are gonna scare our birds.” Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. If it does not work and they scare the whole flock, practice loving what is and just say “Good morning.” And then get ready for some good flight photography.

8-For the loveliest backgrounds, get flat down on the beach with your lens. Support the lens barrel with your left hand and do your best to keep it out of the sand. As almost always, getting low moves the effective background farther from the subject and as with today’s featured image, your backgrounds will be very pleasingly out of focus. In addition the usually distracting effects of shells and pebbles on the beach are reduced.

Summing Up

Get low. Move slowly. Add your 1.4X TC. Find a clear slot to your subject. And then get down flat on the ground. That is exactly what I did to create today’s featured image.

Support the Blog

Please help support my (stupendous) efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. with love, artie

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects. With annual visits spanning more than three decades I have lot of experience there….

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You can do most of your photography with an 80- or 100-400 lens …

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings.

The San Diego Details

This IPT will include four 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, three 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, three lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. Dinners are on your own so that we can get some sleep.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance is payable only by check. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. 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.

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. Web orders only. 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.

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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 :).