Five Very Good Reasons to Buy a Plane Ticket to Orlando. Unless you live in Florida ...

Stuff

The shoulder continues to feel just a bit better every day. 6pm yesterday (Saturday) afternoon was the two-week anniversary of the big crash and smash. I went down to the lake on Friday afternoon and found a large colt (Image #5) and then relocated the two small colts (seen in Images 1, 3, and 4). Best of all, I was watching a nest where one of the birds has a deformed bill; it has nested successfully in the marsh at the far end of the north field for many years. I thought that the eggs might be duds, but this morning I spotted two tiny chicks that must have hatched over night. Photos of those soon I hope.

The Streak

Today makes two hundred thirty-seven days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about three hours to prepare including the time spent on the image optimizations. With all of my upcoming free time (or not…), the plan right now is to try to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections and my continuing insanity willing.

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

The Used Gear Page

Action on the Used Gear Page recently has been fantastic. You can see all current listings here.

Recent Sales

Ron Thill sold his Tamron SP 150-600 f/5.6-6.5 Di VC USD G2 lens for Canon EF in like-new condition for $949 in mid-March.
Joel Williams sold his Fujifilm XF 16-55 f/2.8 R LM WR lens in like-new condition for only $549 near the end of March 2018.
Jim Brennan sold his Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent plus condition for only $1,219.00 on the first day of listing.
Jim Burns recently sold his EOS-1D Mark IV body in excellent plus condition for a BAA record low $998; not sure exactly when 🙂
David Solis sold a brand new Sanho HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA 3 1 TB wireless photo/video memory card backup for $399.00 after being contacted on the first day of listing.
David Solis sold his Canon EF 300 mm f/2.8L IS USM (the original version) lens in excellent plus condition for $2399.00 after being contacted on the first day of listing.
David Solis sold his Canon EF 500 mm f/4L IS USM (the “old five”) in excellent plus condition with perfect glass for the BAA record low price of $3399.00.
Les Greenberg sold his Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM zoom lens in mint condition to a local buyer and is sending me a check for 2 1/2% of the original asking price of $1599.
Joel Williams sold his Fujifilm XF 50 f/2 R WR lens in like-new condition for only $299 in early March.
Rajat Kapoor sold his Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens (the “old 1-4”) in near-mint condition the first day is was listed for $649.
Jim Brennan sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens (the “old five”) in near-mint condition and a Canon EF 1.4 III teleconverter in very good condition for $3,599.00 right after listing them in early March.
Gary Meyer sold his Canon EOS 7D Mark II in near-mint condition for $798 soon after it was listed in early March.

In addition, the sale of John Norris’s Canon 1DX Mark II — premium kit — (with less than 2,000 actuations!) in like-new condition but for a few small scuff marks for top left and bottom right for the BAA record-low price of $3,996.00 became pending on the first day it was listed.

New Listings

Fujifilm Two-lens Package!

Top BAA Used Gear page seller Jim Keener is offering a Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR (Black) lens in excellent condition ($449 new) and a Fujifilm XF 50mm f/2 R WR (Black) Lens (also $449 new) in excellent condition for the amazing low give it away price of $399.00. Or buy one for $279. The sale includes the front and rear lens covers and insured ground shipping via major courier to the 48 contiguous states only. Your stuff will not ship until your check clears. No PayPal.

Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 310-741-7435 (9am-9pm Mountain time).

Canon EOS 5D Mark III dSLR with tons of Extras!

Jim Brennan is offering a used Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera body in very good to excellent condition for $1,299.00. Included with the sale is a Canon 430EX II Speedlite also in excellent condition. The camera shows small scuff marks on bottom of body and a small, barely visible scratch on rear LCD screen. It was cleaned and checked by Canon Factory Service in August 2017. Also included are the front cap, the LC-E6 battery charger, one Canon LP-E6 battery, the strap, the original box and everything that came in it: manuals, cables, etc. With the flash comes the case, the bounce dome, the instructions, and original box. In addition the sale includes a ton of extras: two (2) extra batteries (one Canon, one Watson), a Better Beamer, the Really Right Stuff B5D3-LA L plate, a lightly used Canon RS-80N3 remote shutter release, a Vello RC-C211 ShutterBoss II Intervalometer Remote Switch, two (2) Lexar Professional 800x 16GB CF cards, one (1) Lexar Professional 64GB 1066 CF card, and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Signature required. Personal or certified checks only unless other arrangements are made. The items will not ship until the check clears the bank. Photos and additional information are available upon request.

Please contact Jim e-mail or by cellphone: 1-(609) 432-9210 (Eastern time).

I owned and used this superb, full frame, 22mp digital body for several years. It was always my first choice for scenic, Urbex (urban exploration), and flower photography until I fell in love for a while with the 5DS R (for a lot more money!). Then I switched to the 5D IV body. In addition, I loved my 5D III body for birds with my big lenses and both TCs. I used mine to create many dozens of high quality images. Then I switched to Nikon. With the slew of valuable extras Jim’s lens is a sweet deal. artie

Canon EG 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens

Jim Brennan is offering a used Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens in good condition for $999.00. The front element was recently replaced by Canon. There is a small ding between 50 & 70mm marks on aperture ring. The aperture ring movement is smooth but a little tight. The sale includes the lens case (LP1219), the hood (EW-88C), the manual, the front & rear lens caps, the original box, and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Signature required. Personal or certified checks only unless other arrangements are made. The items will not ship until the check clears the bank. Photos and additional information available upon request.

Please contact Jim e-mail or by cellphone: 1-(609) 432-9210 (Eastern time).

With the lens now selling for $1749 new, Jim’s lens is an excellent buy for the landscape photographer who has been lusting this one for years. artie

Booking.Com

Several folks on the Gatorland IPT used the Booking.Com link below and got great rates and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. 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 questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on March 24, 2018 at ILE with the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 290mm) and the Nikon D5 (with Dual XQD Slots). ISO 400. Matrix metering at zero: 1/1000 sec at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AUTO2 WB at 8:17am on a clear morning. Group (grp)/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the base of the colt’s neck. Automatic AF Fine-tune: -6. Image #1: Sandhill Crane, small colt stretching

Five Very Good Reasons to Buy a Plane Ticket to Orlando Today. Unless you live in Florida …

When I planned the Master Classes — the first one was cancelled when I fell — I selected the dates by checking the dates on my crane chick and colt photos. As it turned out, the first dates would have been too early. But now I have two tame small colts, big chicks if you would, and one larger colt that I have now seen twice. But as above, two chicks hatched early on Saturday morning! So things are shaping up perfectly. Throw in Osprey, Limpkin, big flocks of Cattle Egrets, potential sunset silhouettes, and both vultures, there will be lots to photograph and even more to learn. Please shoot me an e-mail if you would like to learn of the late-registration discount. So far only multiple IPT/Galapagos Photo Cruise veteran and all-around super nice guy James White is signed up.

Tame baby cranes might be a good reason to join me.

This image was created from my SUV on March 22, 2018 at ILE with the BLUBB-supported Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR AF lens the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and the Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering at about -1/3 stop: 1/1250 sec at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AUTO2 WB at 8:18am on a clear morning. d-25/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on center of the bird’s neck. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +4. Image #2: Osprey, staring

Ospreys on the Ground

It is not unusual to see Osprey on the ground in the large grassy fields. Twice in the past week I have had chances with a pair on the ground. If we get some cloudy weather, there can be good opportunities for this species in flight.

This image was created on March 24, 2018 at ILE with the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 330mm) and the Nikon D5 (with Dual XQD Slots). ISO 400. Matrix metering at zero: 1/1000 sec at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AUTO2 WB at 8:17am on a clear morning. Upper d-25/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the base of the bird’s neck. Automatic AF Fine-tune: -6. Image #3: Sandhill Crane, small colt backlit

Backlit

With their fuzzy feathers, crane colts make ideal backlit subjects; the trick is to show a few blinkies on the rim lighting as I did with the RAW (NEF) file for Image #3.

This image was created on March 24, 2018 at ILE with the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens (at 360mm) and the Nikon D5 (with Dual XQD Slots). ISO 400. Matrix metering at zero: 1/1000 sec at f/8 in Manual mode was an accidental underexposure; I turn the Index finger dial two clicks without know it. AUTO2 WB at 8:07am on a clear morning. Upper d-25/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the upper third of the bird’s neck. Automatic AF Fine-tune: -6. Image #4: Sandhill Crane, small colt walking

Getting Even …

I have a spot where I can pretty much get as low as I want by moving down the bank of a canal. I plan to experiment by getting lower than I did for this image …

This image was created from my SUV on March 23, 2018 at ILE with the BLUBB-supported Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR AF lens the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and the Nikon D850. ISO 400. Matrix metering at zero: 1/1600 sec at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AUTO2 WB at 6:30pm on a clear late afternoon. d-25/Shutter button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the base of the colt’s neck. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +4. Image #5: Sandhill Crane, large colt

Your Calls?

Please leave a comment and let us know which of today’s five images you like best and which one you like least. And why for each.

I did see the large colt in Image #5 again on Saturday afternoon. It looked as if it had taken a nice bath as it was pretty grungy looking on Friday …

Early Spring Photo Opportunities at ILE

BIRDS AS ART First-ever Master Class

Master Class. Two Full and two Half Days/Friday afternoon, March 30 through lunch on Monday, April 2, 2018: $1999.00. Limit: 4/Openings 3.

The Master Classe will be a small group — strictly limited to four photographers — with the first folks who register having the option of staying at my home ($50/night) or at a chain motel in nearby Lake Wales. Live, think, and breathe photography from Friday afternoon through lunch on Monday (late-morning); all meals included. There will be three afternoon photo sessions (FRI – SUN) hopefully with glorious sunsets like the ones you saw one the blog in December we should have good opportunities with the cranes even in the afternoon. We will enjoy three morning photography sessions (SAT – MON) with the main subjects being tame Sandhill Cranes almost surely with chicks or colts. Also vultures and Cattle Egrets and more. Limpkins are possible. Intermediate telephoto lenses are fine for the cranes, even the chicks at times. A 500 or 600mm lens would be best for many of the situations that we will encounter.

During the day we will sit together around my dining room table and pick everyone’s keepers and enjoy guided Photoshop sessions. On Monday before lunch, folks can make a single large print of their favorite image from the weekend. If you so choose, I will micro-adjust one of your lenses (at one focal length with your #1 camera body–Canon or Nikon) during a group instructional session. All will be welcome to practice what they have learned during the breaks using my set-up and my lighting gear.

To register, please first shoot me an e-mail to check on availability. Then you will be instructed to call Jim or Jen at 863-692-0906 during weekday business hours (except for Friday afternoons) to leave you non-refundable (unless the session sells out) $500 deposit. Only the deposit may be left on credit card. Balances must be paid by check immediately after you register (unless you wish to pay by credit card plus 4% to cover our fees).

I hope that you can join me on this new adventure.

with love, artie

ps: bring your bathing suit if you would like to try my pool.

Tame birds in breeding plumage and chicks are great fun.

Gatorland IPT #2. Sunrise: 6:48am. Sunset: 7:58pm.

3 1/2 DAYs: THURS 26 APR through and including the morning of SUN 29 APR. $1599. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 3.

Must purchase Gatorland Photographers Pass. Click here for details. All early entry. Late stays Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Gatorland IPT #2 should have lots of chicks, and lots of birds in breeding plumage. We will get to photograph Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, and Wood Stork. The Cattle Egrets in full breeding plumage will be present in good numbers. Learn my Gatorland strategy, to get the right exposure, flight photography techniques, my secret Gatorland spots, how to see the best situations (nobody is better at that than me), and how to make great images in extremely cluttered situations.

Help 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. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

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 :).