Stuff
On Monday Amy and I flew to Toronto. We meet up with Anita North tomorrow for our red-eye flight to Helsinki, Finland with a brief stop at Reykjavik, Iceland, arriving around midday. Then we fly to Ivalo, Finland to pick up our rental SUV. We overnight at Ivalo, go food shopping, and then drive north to the Verlanger Peninsula in search of breeding plumage Ruffs. Again …
Things with the Name Server problems are very close to 100% perfect; almost everyone should should be able to access the blog at this point.
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 by Loren Waxman. He used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 400mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Image #1: Green Iguana, Iguana Park, Guayaquil, Ecuador
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The Success of the Student Often Puts a Proud and Envious Smile on the Face of the Teacher
Arthur Morris — May 29, 2018. Indian Lake Estates, FL
I first met Loren Waxman Portland architect/real estate developer on the 2017 San Diego IPT, the scene of the lost rental car keys fiasco. Though we had just met Loren stuck with me through that frantic episode. When the smoke cleared, Loren had one simple request: please help me become a better bird photographer. Over the past 18 months he has — as you can see by the splendid collection of his images here today — worked very hard to become just that. He subsequently joined me on the 2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT, the August 2017 Galapagos Photo-Cruise of a Lifetime, and the 2018 Fort DeSoto Spring IPT. He was a guest at my home for a few days this past April and will be joining us on the Falklands Land-based IPT at the end of this year.
All recent Galapagos IPTs have begun with an introductory practice session at the wonderful iguana park in Guayaquil. If you would like to join us in the Galapagos on my last IPT to this famed iconic location, please get in touch via e-mail.
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This image was created by Loren Waxman. He used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Image #2: Frigatebird feeding chick, North Seymour Island, Galapagos, Ecuador.
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Loving 840mm
A quick glance at Loren’s images here reveal that like me, he is in love with his 600mm/1.4XTC/high mega-pixel, full frame camera body. I am not sure if I ever took my 600 to the Galapagos … That tells you that Loren is young and strong and dedicated.
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This image was created by Loren Waxman. He used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens with the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 140mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Image #3: Galapagos Penguin swimming next to panga (zodiac), Punta Espinosa, Galapagos, Ecuador
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Quick Thinking and Quick Reflexes …
Photographing Galapagos Penguins in the water is a tricky proposition; they are fast swimmers and you never know where they will pop up. To create the very special image above Loren had his 1-4 pointed down at more than a 45 degree angle.
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This image was created by Loren Waxman. He used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Image #4: Sandhill Crane chick running excitedly, Indian Lake Estates, FL
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Canon Whips Nikon!
I was standing right to Loren’s left when he made this image with his Canon great. I was pretty sure that I had created a good image or two as the colt ran right at us. None of mine where sharp. My excuse? I had the TC-E14 on my 600. The true story: fast reflexes will triumph over operator error six ways to Sunday.
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This image was created by Loren Waxman. He used the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Image #5: Hooded Merganser, sleeping drake at Reed College Canyon, Portland, OR.
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Master the 2X TC
By practicing with a 2X TC on an f/4 super-telephoto lens, most folks can become more than competent and learn to create sharp images at relatively slow shutter speeds.
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This image was created by Loren Waxman. He used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Image #6: Acorn Woodpecker at granary tree
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Habitat Rocks
Here Loren stayed well back from these tame birds in order to create a killer image showing the granary tree. The woodpeckers drill a hole for each acorn that they wish to save.
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This image was created by Loren Waxman. This image was created by Loren Waxman. He used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Image #7: Clapper Rail bathing, Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, FL
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Understanding Bird Behavior
On the DeSoto IPT I had to leave early on Wednesday morning to meet Dr. Howard who would repair my inguinal hernia that Thursday. I gave Loren a tip on a Clapper Rail I had seen briefly on Tuesday morning. He followed through and absolutely killed it.
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This image was created by Loren Waxman. He used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Image #8: Anhinga, breeding plumage male, Circle Bar B Ranch, Lakeland, FL
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Circle Bar B Ranch
I have been to this location only once and did not do very well. Loren visited when he was in Florida this spring and did quite well.
Loren and Square Crops …
Not sure why, but Loren loves the square and near-square — I call them boxy — crops. It might be because he spends a lot of time on Instagram …
Thanks to Loren
Thanks to Loren for allowing me to share his images with you here today for his incredible always pleasant manner and smile, for always paying attention ,and for his friendship.
Your Favorite?
I know that it is a difficult request, but please do your best to pick as single favorite image and let us know why you made your choice.
Help Support the Blog
Please help support my 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
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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 :).
All are lovely images. Really appreciate you sharing them. The comments above have sent me scampering to a series of perfect reflections I have. Concerning ratios: I have a 27 inch iMac and also a UHD TV. Both are 16:9 ratio. When I compose in this ratio and “nail it” I almost need seat belts on my lounge chair when I view the images on the TV. It really does make a difference when you shoot in the ratio that allows you to see it full frame on large screen.
I’m with you on 16×9. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of the time that my images are viewed, it’s on a screen and not printed and framed. Filling up a 27″ iMac monitor with a well-composed image is tough to beat. Also, unfortunately, most people view my work on a phone and most phones are 16×9 so there is another point in favor of 16×9. Still, when I went to Washington to see the Natures Best Photography gallery the fact that virtually all of the winners were 3×2/2×3 motivated me to get better at composing in 3×2 and seeing Artie’s use of mostly that ratio is another motivator. Artie is teaching when he doesn’t even realize he is! 🙂 One day I might make an image that’s worth submitting. I’m my worst critic so maybe not. In the meantime, I’m having a great time trying.
Many tanks Phil 🙂
a
Thanks Artie for the GREAT feature on your blog!!! Much appreciated!!! I’m grateful for your friendship and thankful to you every time I take a good picture (still 1/1000). I curse you for the other 999. I didn’t anticipate that picking up a camera would lead me to meet SO many great people. Thanks Paul, Tony, Jim, Anita, Noel & Frank for all the kind words! My favorite crop is 2×3. I like the backgrounds as much as the subjects. I’m working hard to improve my backgrounds. Unfortunately, Instagram has led me to using boxy crops. While they expand to 2×3 and 4×5, square crops with the subject large in the frame tends to be the most effective in catching attention amongst the 100’s of images people are looking at daily. Thanks again, Arthur, for giving me a gift to last a lifetime!!! xoxoxoxo Loren.
The pleasure has been all mine Loren. See you in Santiago, Chile!
with much love, artie
Paul, you definitely have a different perspective on things! I didn’t look further to see any of those things as you did. Yep, they are all there!
Artie, you can declare success in fulfilling Loren’s San Diego request, he’s there. Kudos to Loren for giving himself the IPT exposure (pun intended) to learn and the work it takes to put it all into practice.
My favorite is the frigatebirds because of the composition and behavior captured.
Loren, you’re a freak of nature, and i love you for it. You get more fantastic shots in a day than i do in a year.
The above shots, i have to say the Anhinga is my favourite! Looks like he’s dancing. I have a preference for really interesting action/poses, or artistic shots, over otherwise perfect portraits. That said the merganser, frigatebirds, and crane are a very close second. If they were mine, i’d have the Anhinga and Merganser printed and on my wall already 🙂
Just awesome, Loren.
Cheers
Tony
Hi Artie, great pics all, Loren, as usual. I have to agree with Phil and Frank. The hooded merganser is amazing. you can hang that on the wall in any of three directions; one of course is as shot, a hooded merganser, but you can also hang it with the right side up and it looks like an owl, or the right side up and it looks like an alien. In fact, its a great shot to give to a teenager, because he can simply start with the left side up (alien) and as he matures, he can simply rotate it counterclockwise (to reality, and then to modern art). I love the background colors too (lots of color). second has to be the dancing colt. Ah, to be young again. it oozes that youthful energy and joie de vivre, a pleasant feeling to have hanging around. great job loren (who has secretly been shooting for decades but only admits to shooting for about 3 years), and to artie, for stepping up his game.
alien and owl … did not see that originally! 🙂
All are beautiful images. I like frigatebird feeding chicks.
Congratulations and thanks for sharing them with us.
Nice images from Loren. It’s very hard to choose a single favorite from a photography point of view but I love hooded Merganser so I guess I’ll choose that one.
I’m glad you brought up the point about square crops. I’ve been curious for a while about what aspect ratio is “correct”. Personally, I tend to choose the aspect ratio based on what works best for composition. I used to crop to a non-standard ratio that worked best. It’s difficult to get a frame in a non standard ratio so more recently I’ve been trying to use whatever standard ratio (2×3, 1×1, 4×5, 5×7 16×9) that comes closest to making the composition good. I’ve noticed that you nearly always use 2×3. While visiting the Smithsonian and the Nature’s Best Gallery, I noticed that most of the images there were also 2×3. Cropping to 1×1 for Instagram used to be required but these days you can use whatever ratio you like there. The thumbnail though will be cropped to 1×1. If you don’t mind, I’d love to hear your thoughts on aspect ratio.
Thank you, Artie!
Hi Phil, Thanks for your thoughtful comments and question. I have a liking for 3X2 and 2X3 — 100% personal preference of course — but I too will crop to any proportion that makes sense to my eye.
with love, artie
Hi Artie, Nice stuff Loren! Though to choose a favorite, however it would have the be Merganser for me. The light is amazing and I like the bird back in the frame showing off the surroundings. The soft foreground and background add a bunch. Compared to the others, this one creates a mood I like. “Tranquil” would be the word that describes it. Second best, the Colt. Thanks for sharing these!
Frank
Loren – You know I love that Clapper Rail shot. I was with him, and I can tell you we were both thrilled to see such an amazing bird! I have to say my favorite of the bunch is the Anhinga from Circle B. While it is easy to find subjects there, it is not easy to find subjects with perfect backgrounds. I love the neck and head position; the beautiful breeding plumage; and the perfect, clean green background.
The running, jumping excited chick is great, and I love the iguana shot. Sorry – tough to keep comments to just one shot. Loren you have done well my friend.
Loren: Clapper Rail bathing….stunningly real— right down to the drops of water….so, I guess it is time for a 600 for my 5d IV.
Thanks Jim. His rail stuff is amazing. More coming at some point … When you get your 600 II be sure to use this link:
-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens
with thanks and love, artie