Falkland Islands Land-based IPT Gear Bag. And my Cold Weather Footwear Solution-- Insanity for some, perfect for me!

Stuff

The pool was down to a chilly 73 degrees on Wednesday afternoon. I did take a swim in the morning on what is get-away day for Steve Rentmeesters and me. Steve arrived on Monday afternoon and we enjoyed some excellent close-up Sandhill crane photography on Tuesday and Wednesday morning and on Tuesday afternoon as well. I’ve been doing my usual 50 lengths every day — a bit more than half a mile. I am in car headed to Orlando Airport as I type. Amazingly, I am all packed. We fly from MCO to MIA this afternoon to catch a red-eye flight to Santiago, Chile this evening. On Saturday, weather permitting, are planning on making it to Stanley in the Falklands and then continue on the little yellow FIGAS (Falkland Islands Government Air Service) plane to The Neck on Saunders Island. Hello penguin and albatross heaven!

I was thrilled the other day to learn that first-timer Shonagh Adelman of Chattanooga, TN signed up for the 2019 Puffins and Gannets and Red Kites IPT. As he is the first registrant, we need three more for the trip to go. I am counting on it and hope for a sellout with ten plus the two leaders; there are lots of puffins and gannets. 🙂 . Scroll down for the details if you would like to join us.

I still need three or four folks for the Galapagos trip. If you would like to explore the possibilities, please get in touch via e-mail. No reasonable offer will be turned down.

BIRDS AS ART B&H Essential Gear Bags

BIRDS AS ART B&H Essential Gear Bags

Click here or on the logo-link above to check out some great B&H year-end deals in the category that best suits you and your photography.

The iPhone Photography e-Guide If you missed the long-awaited announcement yesterday, click here to learn about Cliff Oliver’s great new iPhone e-Guide. To order your copy of the The iPhone Photography e-Guide, please click here. The PDF is sent link by e-mail for downloading: the file is relatively huge at 216 MB.

Amazingly …

BPN Avian Moderator Isaac Grant after staunchly defending Canon AF for months finally saw the light and switched to Nikon His reason: the superior image quality of D850 images files. Wait till he tries the AF for flight photography.

BAA IPTs

• Falklands Land-based IPT DEC 22, 2018 thru JAN 5, 2019/Two Weeks: Sold out.
• 2019 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) SUN JAN 20, 2019 thru and including the morning session on THURS JAN 24: 4 1/2 days: $2099. (Limit: 10/Openings: 4) Introductory Meet and Greet at 7:00pm on the evening before the IPT begins: THURS, 6 DEC.
• The 2019 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT — FEB 16 thru 19, 2019: $2599.00. Limit: 5 photographers/Openings: 2.
• The New, Expanded 2019 UK Puffins, Gannets, & Red Kites IPT. Thursday June 27 (from EDI) through Tuesday, July 9, 2019 (on the ground; fly home on Wednesday July 10.): $9,999. Limit 10 photographers/Openings: 9. This trip needs four to run. Co-leader: Peter Kes.
• The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. July 23 to August 6, 2019 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,499. Limit: 12 photographers/Openings: 4.

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 here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens (the “old five”) with extras

Judy Helderman is offering a Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in very good condition for $2,799.00. The lens is in decent shape and in perfect operating condition and the glass is perfect. The lens mount shows no signs of wear. There are, however, some paint chips on the white finish. Photos are available upon request. An Arca-Swiss compatible low foot is installed. The sale includes the lens trunk, rear lens cap, the leather front cover, a Wimberley P-40 lens plate, 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 Judy via email e-mail or by phone at 1-623-322-9425 (Mountain Time).

The 500mm f/4 lenses have been the world’s most popular telephoto lenses for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. I owned and used and loved my “old five” for many years. If you don’t have the cash for a 500 II and can handle the additional 1 1/2 pounds, then this is your best super-telephoto option. Most everyone can produce sharp images with this lens and a 1.4X TC. Folks with good to excellent sharpness techniques can do the same with a 2X TC. With the new 500 II selling for $8,999 you can save an incredible $6200.00 by grabbing Judy’s lens at this great low price. artie

Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM lens (the original IS version)

Judy Helderman is also offering a Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM lens (the original IS version) lens in near-mint condition for the BAA record-low price of $799.00. The sale includes the tough fabric lens case (with strap), the tripod collar, a Wimberley P-20 lens plate, the product box, the rear cap, the hood, the 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 Judy via email e-mail or by phone at 1-623-322-9425 (Mountain Time).

I owned and used this very lens, the original IS version of the incredibly versatile 70-200 f/2.8 for birds and wildlife and landscapes and Urbex for many years with both teleconverters. When I upgraded to version II, I did not notice any improvements … They were both great indoors for events like granddaughter Maya’s dance recitals. A new copy of the 70-200 II currently sells for $$2,099.00 so you can save a small fortune by grabbing Judy’s lens now. artie

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. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.

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.

The 2018 B&H/BAA Bird Photography Holiday Contest!

Thanks to the generosity of the great folks at B&H, I am proud to announce the first-ever B&H/BAA Bird Photography Holiday Contest. The rules are simple:

1-Anyone can enter one or two of their favorite avian images that were created in 2018. As below, each image must be sent in a separate e-mail.
2-Image clean-up and repair is permitted.
3-Send you JPEGs in two separate e-mails only by clicking on this link: Contest Entry e-mail.
4-Please size your properly sharpened JPEGs as follows: 1200 high or wide less than 600 kb.
5-If you do not follow the instructions above to the letter your images will not be judged and you will not receive any notification.
6-There is one judge and you can guess who it is.
7-Here are the five prizes:

1st place: a $100 B&H gift certificate
2nd through 4th place: a $50 B&H gift certificate

All prizes will be awarded.

8- Entries my be submitted from now until January 16, 2019. Happy New Year! Please remember to do your holiday shopping at B&H using a BAA affiliate link or by clicking here or on any of the B&H banners in this blog post; many offer great holiday savings.

Good luck.

I am headed for albatross and penguin heaven.

Falkland Islands Land-based IPT Gear Bag

I thought long and hard about leaving the 600 VR at home, but eventually decided to bring it. I am fairly sure that I will not be using it a lot. The advantages of traveling with the 500 PF VR and the 80-400 VR are many …

In any case …

I am pretty sure that I will use the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens more than any of the other lenses that I am taking, perhaps more than all the others combined. That despite the fact that it is one stop slower than the 600mm f/4 VR. As the 500 PF is smaller and lighter it is — as I have been mentioning here the last week or so — easier to hand hold and it is far more transportable and manageable in the field. It is a lot easier to get close to birds when hand holding as compared to being on a big tripod … This lens will kill for flight and I will not hesitate to add either the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III or the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II. Most work with the TC-Es will be off the tripod.

As I was considering whether or not to leave the big gun at home I thought of more than a few instances where the speed and reach of the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens would be a huge plus making it worth the hassle of dragging it around during our shooting sessions. For more reach I can add either the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III or the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II.

The Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens will be quite useful on this trip for scenics, bird-scapes, close work, and lots more. In the event of a 500 PF disaster, the 80-400 could serve as a decent back-up.

The Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens is the rough equivalent of the don’t-leave-home-without-it/B-roll do everything lens, the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens. Fact: the Nikon version is a lot sharper. I will use the 24-120 for bird- and photographer-scapes, scenics, and some close-ups.

I will be taking two Nikon D850s, one with the vertical battery grip, one without. I love my two D-850s as much as I loved my Canon 5D Mark IV bodies. My main D-850, the one with the grip, is AF Fine-tuned with both TCs with my #1 TC-E-14 and with the TC-E17 as well.

As careful readers have probably noticed, I began using my Nikon D5 DSLR a lot more on the recently concluded DeSoto IPT. And liking it and the images it produced. I am taking it for flight and as a back-up.

Why Three Camera Bodies?

Most of the time I will be running two camera bodies on our outings. Digital cameras do fail on rare occasion and accidents do happen. There are no camera stores on the Falklands …

I am taking two Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E IIIs. One is Fine-tuned for the 600 VR, the other for the 80-400 VR and the 500 PF VR. I will try not to drop either in the ocean (as I have done before …)

I am also taking the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II. I can use it either with the 600 VR or the 500 PF when I leave the 600 back at the ranch.

In my checked bag I have the Induro GIT 204 and my Mongoose M3.6. I went with the lighter tripod primarily to lessen the load down to the beach at the Neck. As noted here previously, I have made sharp images off the GIT 204 with the 600 VR and the TC-E14. It is the perfect tripod for folks with intermediate telephotos and those using big glass who have excellent sharpness techniques.

I have been using the Mongoose for all of my super- and intermediate telephoto lens photography for forever, for everything from 70-200mm to 100-400 II to 500 to 600 to 800mm. It is simply the best. I did not bring a ballhead on this trip; everything done with the 24-105 will be hand held.

On my right foot, a nice, thick hiking sock showing the MEC bootie. My feet get warm just thinking about them. On my left foot is a Neos Navigator in XL. You can unfold the stuff at the top to get knee-highs. The Navigators are guaranteed 100% waterproof and are wonderfully insulated.

Cold Weather Footwear — Insanity for some, perfect for me.

As promised. For about six months I had had some pain on the outside edge of my right foot at the fifth metatarsal head. The pain got worse when I wore sneakers or boots. It was really bad right before the Emperor Penguin expedition. Once I got on the ship, I wore only the MEC Get Down Booties (unisex) that I wear around the house whenever my feet are cold (as they often are …) My foot got better quickly. As I had a pair of NEOS Navigators on the trip, I put them on over the booties when I headed out on deck to try some flight photography from the ship. As I normally wear them over hiking boots, they were a bit too large. But my feet were warm and the pain continued to abate. I was not at all looking forward to wearing the very warm NEC boots that I thought would be my mainstay for the nearly four miles of walking on snow and ice that we would be doing every day to get to the emperors; they simply were not wide enough.

My solution? I wore the Navigators over the MEC booties. I was comfortable and pain free and my feet were warm. Over the years I had tried just about every supposedly warm boot known to mankind. Without success, some rated down to -140 degrees F!. But on the cold mornings at Bosque, my feet always felt like blocks of ice. They had never been warm in a cold place before. For the Falklands trip I grabbed a pair of XL Neos Navigators as the XXLs that I wore were a too-large and sloppy fit over the booties.

You can order the MEC booties only from here and the Neos Navigators from the BAA Online Store here.

Think Tank Stuff

I left the house with the larger of my two Think Tank Rolling Bags, the AIRPORT SECURITY™ V3.0. With the 80-400 and one of my two D850s packed in my checked bags, the roller tipped the scales at 36 1/2 pounds — yes, wish me luck on no theft …. Also in one of my checked bags is the Think Tank GLASS LIMO™. It will let me carry the 600 VR and a camera body (un-mounted) comfortably on my back on the longer walks.

To receive a free gift when ordering Think Tank products, be sure to click here or on the logo link on the right side of each blog post page. Much appreciated. The rollers can be found under the Rolling Cases/Airport Series Rollers tab; when I am traveling light I go with the slightly smaller AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL™ V3.0. The GLASS LIMO™ is located under the Backpacks/Long Glass Backpacks tabs.

Any and all gear questions are welcome.

Images and card design copyright: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. All of the images on this card were created on the 2018 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT

The New, Expanded 2019 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. Thursday June 27 (from EDI) through Tuesday, July 9, 2019 (on the ground; fly home on Wednesday July 10.): $9,999. Limit 10 photographers. Co-leader: Peter Kes.

Join me in the UK in late June and early July 2019 to photograph Atlantic Puffin, Common Murre, Razorbill, Shag, and Northern Gannet, Red Kite, and more both in flight and at close range. We will also have great chances with Arctic and Sandwich Terns, both with chicks of all sizes; Black-headed, Lesser-Black-backed, and Herring Gulls, many of those chasing puffins with fish; Black-legged Kittiwake with chicks; plus Grey Seal. There will be tons of great flight photography. As on all IPTs, if you pay attention, you will learn a ton, especially about sky conditions and the relationship between light angle and wind direction and their effects on flight photography.

Why go all the way to Machias Seal Island off the coast of Maine, endure a two-hour boat ride, and have to photograph Atlantic Puffins from a cramped blind usually in bright sun (and well off sun angle) when you can hop a red-eye flight from Newark, NJ and be in Edinburgh, Scotland early the next morning. First we drive down to Bridlington for easy access to Bempton Cliffs where our primary targets will be Northern Gannet in flight. We will also get to photograph Razorbill, Northern Fulmar, Herring Gull, and Black-legged Kittiwake. While in Bridlington we will spend one afternoon visiting a Red Kite feeding station that should provide lots of flight photography action.

While in Bridlington we will staying at the Lobster Pot by Marston’s Inn, just fifteen minutes from Bempton Cliffs. After 3 1/2 days of photography at there, we drive down to Seahouses in Northumberland to the two lodges that will be our home base for a week. After a short boat ride each day we will have hundreds of puffins posing at close range all day, every day — usually in ideal cloudy-bright conditions. While we are in Seahouses we will do six puffin/seabird trips, all weather permitting of course; last year we did not miss a single landing. In five years we have averaged losing less than one half day per year to bad weather. We land at Staple Island in the mornings and then sail over to Inner Farnes for our afternoon sessions. In addition, we may enjoy a session or two photographing nesting Black-legged Kittiwakes at eye level from a rocky beach in Seahouses.

In Seahouses, we stay 7 nights in gorgeous, modern, upscale lodges with Wi-fi. They are beyond lovely with large living areas and lots of open space for the informal image sharing and Photoshop sessions. The bedrooms are decent-sized. Each lodge has one double bedroom and two twin bedrooms. (See the single supplement info below.) At the lodges we cook our own breakfasts each morning and prepare our own lunches to be brought on the six puffin boat trips. For dinners we will alternate cooking in the lodges with fine dining at several excellent local restaurants. We stay two nights at the Marston’s Inn in Dunbar. We will enjoy a fine-dining Thank You dinner at the Dunbar Hotel on the Tuesday evening before we fly home.

On the morning of Monday, July 8, 2019, the plan is to sleep late, pack, and head up to Dunbar Harbor, Scotland for lunch and an afternoon gannet boat chumming trip: flight photography until you cannot lift your camera. The next morning, Tuesday July 9, we will enjoy our second gannet boat chumming trip (both weather permitting). On both trips we will enjoy great views of the huge gannetry at Bass Rock. Included will be two nights lodging at the Pine Martin by Marston’s Inn in Dunbar. Very early on the morning of Wednesday, July 10, we will drive up to Edinburgh Airport so that everyone can make their flights home. No moaning please. You will need a flight that leaves at 8:30am or later. Not too much later is generally best. Note: this trip needs a minimum of four photographers to run.

Images and card design copyright: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. All images were created on the 2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT

The Details

This IPT is all-inclusive except for your airfare and alcoholic beverages. All ground transportation, lodging costs, meals, your National Trust membership, and all boat, entry, and landing fees are included. Weather permitting, we will enjoy three and one-half days (at least six sessions in all) at Bempton Cliffs, an afternoon with the Red Kites, six full days on the puffin boats, one amazing afternoon gannet chumming trip, and one spectacular morning gannet chumming trip. The trip cannot be finalized until I have at least six deposits as we will be renting a lovely 15-passenger bus with our private professional driver who happens to be my web-master, Peter Kes, who is also a skilled photographer and my co-leader 🙂

IPT Details

If you are good to go sharing a room–couples of course are more than welcome, heck, we actually need two couples — please send your non-refundable $2,000/person deposit check now to save a spot. Please be sure to check your schedule carefully before committing to the trip and see the travel insurance info below. Your balance will be due on February 28, 2019. Please make your check out to “Arthur Morris” and send it to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855.

Please shoot me an e-mail if you are good to go or if you have any questions.

Single Supplement Info

Single supplement rooms in Bridlington and Dunbar are available for those who register early. The cost of the single supplement for those six nights is $600.00. Single supplement rooms at the lodge may be available on a limited basis but only if the trip does not fill with ten photographers. The single supplement fee for those seven nights is $700. If you would like your own room in Bridlington and Dunbar, please request it when making your deposit and include payment in full for the single supplement with your deposit: $2,600.00. The single supplement deposits are non-refundable as I will need to make the reservations well in advance.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance for big international trips is highly recommended as we never know what life has in store for us. I strongly recommend that you purchase quality insurance. Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options you can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. My family and I use and depend on the great policies offered by TIS whenever we travel. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check or running your credit card. Whenever purchasing travel insurance, be sure to read the fine print carefully even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.

I truly hope that you can join me on this exciting venture.

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

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.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.

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 :).