Would You Keep or Delete This Gross Underexposure? Or is Digital Totally Amazing?

Stuff

Shoulder is the same. I did get in to pool to do some stretching while blowing balloons. I got a ton of work done on the Nikon AF Fine-Tune e-Guide and did Focus Peaking AF Fine-tuning with my 80-400 VR and my new (second) D850 with and without the TC-E14. The lens alone at 400mm worked out to a significant +10, with the TC at 560 to a not-so-significant +5. I photographed the rear LCD in Live View to illustrate Focus peaking for the guide. I will probably use about half a dozen images. Fine-tuning the D850 with the TC-E14 took about 2 minutes!

The Streak

Today makes two hundred forty-three days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took less than an hour to prepare including the time spent on the image optimization. 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.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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. March 2018 was surely a record-breaking month:

Jim Brennan sold his Canon 5D Mark III camera body in very good to excellent condition for $1,299.00 and his Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens in good condition for $999.00, both within hours of listing in late March, 2018.
Top BAA Used Gear page seller Jim Keener sold a Fujifilm X-Pro2 Mirrorless Digital Camera in like-new condition for $1299.
Katherine Tryon sold her Canon EOS-1D X in excellent condition (with less than 16,000 shutter actuations) for $2324.00 in late March, 2018.
Kevin Hice sold a lightly used Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in near-mint condition for $3099.00 soon after it was listed in late March, 2018.
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 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.

The sale of John Norris’s Canon 1DX Mark II in like-new condition for $3,996.00 is pending.

This image was created at Gatorland on March 25, 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 the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -2/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode was more than a stop under-exposed. AWB at 5:19pm — gently backlit but mostly shaded. One to the left and two rows up from the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Shutter button AF as framed. The selected AF point was on the base of the lower mandible as seen in the DPP 4 screen capture above. LensAlign/FocusTune AF micro-adjustment: +7. DPP 4 screen capture for Great Egret chicks in nest

Keep or Delete?

When I walked up on these two I did not have time to make a test exposure. Then I simply misjudged the exposure. I was thinking that I had to guard against over-exposing the WHITEs and did not realize that with so much WHITE in the frame in the shade that I needed to over- (rather than under-) exposure. But the deal was done. Before you scroll down, answer this question: would you make an effort to rescue this image or would you delete it?

If the former, what would your post-processing plan be? Scroll down to see my results.

Another Question

What is the black stick-like thing near the left frame edge.

Don’t Forget to Scroll Down to Learn if I Kept or Deleted Today’s Featured Image …

And do consider joining me on the Gatorland IPT #2 to learn to see the image and then optimize it in Photoshop. Scroll down for details.

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.

IPT Stuff

All IPTs include an introductory briefing before the IPT begins so you know what to expect, frequent in-the-field instruction and guidance (priceless), image editing and small group Photoshop instruction during and after lunch. Breakfasts are on your own so that we can get in the field early. Lunches are on me. Dinners are on your own as well so that we can get to bed as the days in spring will be long.

Rides with the leader are available on a limited basis for $50/day.

Registering for an IPT

To register for an IPT call Jim or Jen in the office at 863-692-0906 from Monday morning through Friday lunch with your credit card in hand to leave your $500 non-refundable deposit. Balances may not be paid by credit card so you will be asked to send a check for your balance along with the signed paperwork that you will find here.

Spring at DeSoto is often magical

DeSoto IPT #1 Sunrise: 7:07 am. Sunset: 6:22pm.

3 1/2 DAYS: SUN 15 APR thru the morning session on WED 18 APR: $1599. Limit 5 photographers.

You must purchase a season Parking Pass in advance for early entry. Click here and scroll down for info. If you are not a local, the six month pass if fine. Best to order by mail. Join me to photograph a wide variety of birds of the shore including pelicans, gulls, terns, sandpipers, oystercatchers, heron, egrets, and night-herons. Many in full breeding plumage. Most are ridiculously tame. Osprey likely. Learn to get the right exposure, flight photography techniques, my secret DeSoto locations, how to see the best situations (nobody is better at that than me), and how to make great images in extremely cluttered situations. Enjoy some great sunrises and sunsets.

Which will offer better opportunities, Desoto #1 or DeSoto #2? I have no idea. Both have the potential to be great.

Tame birds in breeding plumage and heron and egret 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.

(2 1/2 DAY option) FRI 27 APR through and including the morning of SUN 29 APR. $1199.

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.

This image was created at Gatorland on March 25, 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 the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -2/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode was more than a stop under-exposed. AWB at 5:19pm — gently backlit but mostly shaded. One to the left and two rows up from the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Shutter button AF as framed. The selected AF point was on the base of the lower mandible as seen in the DPP 4 screen capture above. LensAlign/FocusTune AF micro-adjustment: +7. The optimized version: Great Egret chicks in nest

Digital Really is Amazing

Not only was I easily able to create a high quality TIFF file from an underexposed mess, the optimized image did not even need any noise reduction. I learned this lesson in Tanzania well more than a decade ago when I underexposed a hippo family image by about five stops. You can find both the nearly all black original and the optimized version in the Art of Bird Photography II (ABP II: 916 pages, 900+ image).

My Post-processing Plan

My post-processing plan was to open the image up during the RAW conversion, execute a crop from the left and from below, eliminate the two out-of-focus sticks in front of the out-of-focus bird, run my NIK 25/25 recipe on the subject, pull the curve up on that a bit, and apply a Contrast Mask to the bird on our left. How did I do?

Learn to do all of that and tons more here.

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 …

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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 :).