Stuff
Here is a huge welcome to Amy Novotny. Amy joined the BIRDS AS ART family on Monday past as a full-time photography assistant. She will be making all trips with me for one year and assisting me both at home and in the field. If you’d like to learn more, you may wish to check out Amy’s blog, Amy’s Impressions, here. When Amy arrived in Florida it had been raining for two straight weeks. She brought the sun and blue skies with her from Arizona!
Please remember that you can help support my efforts here on the blog simply by clicking on the Amazon logo-link on the right for even the smallest purchases; make it a habit! And do understand that it works just fine with your Amazon Prime account.
These Just In: Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR Lens and Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR Lens Available!
Both the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR Lens an the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR are difficult items to find. Most folks have to wait months to purchase. If you would like to save a few bucks, please contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) immediately and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order.
BIRDS AS ART
BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.
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!
Booking.Com
Several folks on the DeSoto IPT used the Booking.Com link below, 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 photographers 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.
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This image was created on May 23, 2018 down by the lake near my home with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II, and the mega mega-pixel Nikon D850 DSLR.. ISO 400. Matrix metering +1/3 stop; 1/400 sec. at f/11 in Manual mode. AUTO1 WB at 8:26am on the first clear day in weeks. I chose a single AF point two up and three to the right of the center AF point//Shutter Button/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon) AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was squarely on the bird’s pupil. Phase detection AF Fine-tune value: +1. Image #1: Sandhill Crane on nest/tight head portrait |
Clean, Tight, and Graphic with the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II
I thought that there was a version III of the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E but when I was unable to find one on the B&H site that I use to create the links. After a while I went to the trunk of my SUV and was still a bit surprised to see the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II. That said, the 1.7X II is super-sharp and the Nikon AF performs very nicely. For me it opens up whole new world’s behind able to work at 1020mm with the 600 and then having lots of cropping freedom with the great D850 image files. At present, I plan to use it only with my only Nikon f/4 lens, the 600mm. I am so in love with the TC-E17 at this point that I am not even sure that I will be taking the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III on the big trip to Europe.
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This image was created on May 24, 2018 down by the lake near my home with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II, and the mega mega-pixel Nikon D850 DSLR.. ISO 400. Matrix metering at zero: 1/500 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. AUTO1 WB at 7:25am on the clear, still morning. One to the left of the center AF point/d-25/Shutter Button/Continuous (AI Servo in Canon) AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the bird’s cheek just above, to the right of, and on the same plane as the bird’s eye. Phase detection AF Fine-tune value: +1. Image #2: Sandhill Crane tending eggs |
Moving the AF Point
It has taken quite a while but I am finally getting adept at moving the AF point around on my D-850 bodies. I usually use the Sub-selector to move the AF point but sometimes I use the larger Multi-selector. At times when I press the side of the Sub-selector to move the AF point it does not move it. I have learned in those situations that I need to instantly half-press the shutter button to “re-set” the system so that I can move the the AF point as desired. Note: to return to the center AF point press the Multi-selector straight in.
You Favorite?
Which of today’s featured images is the stronger one? Please let us know why you made your choice.
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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.
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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 :).
Thank you all for the warm welcome! I’m very excited to be a part of BAA for the next year! I expect to learn a lot and help Artie in many ways. Hopefully, I’ll get to meet some of you on some trips or IPTs.
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. I like them both but like the color of the red cap better in Image #1.
with love, artie
Art versus nature. Unlike others, I struggled all day with this choice. As an artist clearly #1 because of the vibrant color of the head and eye. As one who studies bird behavior #2 because of the story it tells and movement. My heart says #1, and my mind says #2.
Congratulations to you and Amy. I prefer the second image for all the reasons others have given. I also like the way the bird’s head and leg seem to arrive from different directions from somewhere in space but obviously are connected.
#2 because there is something going on. #1 is super sharp, but just lacks the impact / interest of #2. If I had not seen #2 after the first image, #1 would have been really nice.
I’m glad you are having good luck with the 1.7x. It works well for me with prime lenses (200 F/2.0, 300 F/4.0 and 600 F/4.0). AF is bit slower than the naked lenses, but sharpness is pretty good for my needs. 2.0x (mine is a model II, as is my 1.4x) but my lenses are about a generation older, so they kind of match up.
Congratulations on having Amy join the BAA family. Sounds like a win-win to me. Be well.
I much prefer the second image.
You are correct. On the 1.7, version II is the latest while the 1.4 and 2.0 are both on version III. I have the latest version of the 1.7 and 2.0 but my 1.4 is one version back, the II. I’m glad you like the 1.7. I think the 1.7 is a major Dark Side advantage. No 1.7 from Canon! There is a lot of range between a 1.4 and a 2.0, especially on a 600mm! The 1.7 fills that gap nicely. Perhaps once you start talking about how much you like yours, Nikon will sell enough of them to develop a 1.7 III. 🙂
Artie, I love the second image without a doubt by leaps and bounds. I have seen many tight head portraits (and taken a few myself) but unless something interesting is going on, even a perfectly super-sharp image is just that – a technically great picture. The second image is so much more – there is motion (I can visualize the bird gathering up the twigs around the eggs), there is feeling (how protective birds are of their eggs, the sense of a caring mother), there is promise (like the eggs hatching into beautiful chicks), there is coziness (what could be more cozy than a bird’s nest). So, yes, second images is much stronger in many levels. If only the bird’s head was turned a little towards the camera to expose the eye more, it would’ve been a bit stronger but as such, the eye doesn’t really bother me. I can see the second image on a magazine cover but not the first.
I think image #1 is the stronger image because when I saw it my reaction was “Wow” but
I like image # 2 more because of the story it tells.
Good luck to both of you. Looks like a win-win.
Love the second one. The neck leading down to the eggs is spectacular. What a shot.
Looks like you hired a winner. Good luck to both of you!
Wow, really good news about Amy, I read her blog (and subscribed) and she really sounds like a formidable young lady ( I know she is since you picked her). God Bless.
A big welcome to Amy!