BPN Members Rocking It in Avian!

Stuff

I will be away for almost a month while leading the 2018/2019 Falklands land-based IPT. I should be back in the office (and back in the pool) on the afternoon of Monday, January 14, 2019. Happy new year! I should have good internet access until Friday December 21 and then again on the weekend of January 12/13. I will surely not be online from December 23-27 and then again from January 4-7. I may or may not have limited internet access at other times.

Jim and Jen will be in the office weekdays to help you with your online orders and with IPT registrations.

I was thrilled recently 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. 🙂

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.

• 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.

The iPhone Photography e-Guide If you missed the long-awaited announcement recently, 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.

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.

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.

This image was created by BPN member Alex Becker with the tripod-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens and the Nikon D500. ISO 800: 1/2000 second at f/7.1. Image #1: Chickadee species Image courtesy of and copyright 2018: Alex Becker

Alex Becker/Small in the frame chickadee

Alex is a relatively new BPN member who is very active in the Avian Forum. His small-in–the-frame chickadee image is beautifully done. Alex does a lot of his photography at feeder set-ups. BPN members are asked to let folks know when they are working around feeders, otherwise baiting their subjects, or attracting them with water or audio. I have long believed in truth in posting lest begging photographers think “How does this guy get so lucky so often?” You can see all the comments on this image here.

This image was created by BPN member Dorian Anderson with the hand held Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800: 1/3200 second at f/5.6. Image #2: Tricolored Heron sunset silhouette Image courtesy of and copyright 2018: Dorian Anderson

Dorian Anderson/Tricolored Heron silhouette

Dorian is another relatively new member who is mega-skilled at both birding and bird photography. To create his tricolored silhouette he was lying down in the water while handholding his 400 DO II. That’s committed. You can see what others thought of this image in the BPN thread here.

This image was created by BPN member Gail Bisson with the hand held Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and Canon EOS-1D X (now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II.) ISO 640: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1. Image #3: Piping Plover fledgling: double overhead wing stretch Image courtesy of and copyright 2018: Gail Bisson

Gail Bisson/Piping Plover fledgling wingstretch

Gail is a long-time member who is very active in the Avian Forum. She is both an excellent photographer and is skilled at critiquing the images of others. She is pretty much addicted to Piping Plovers and works very hard every year to feed here addition. You can see the complete thread here.

This image was created by BPN member Ann Pacheco with the hand held Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and Canon EOS-1D X (now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II.) ISO 640: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1. Image #4: Sandhill Crane in flight Image courtesy of and copyright 2018: Ann M. Pacheco

Ann Pacheco/Sandhill Crane in flight

During the time that Ann has been a member she has continued to improve her skills both in the field and at the computer. She learns by posting a lot and by asking lots of questions. You can see all the comments on her fine Bosque image here. She is great friends with Gail Bisson and they often travel together and do some quality bird photography.

This image was created by BPN member Ivan Sjogren, a 22-year old nature photographer from Sweden. He used the Canon 400mm f/5.6 L lens and the EOS 70D. ISO 640: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1. Image #5: Grey Heron in snowstorm Image courtesy of and copyright 2018: Ivan Sjogren

Ivan Sjogren/Grey Heron in snowstorm

You can see the comments and two reposts on Ivan’s image here on BPN. BPN members can post various versions of their originally posted image based on suggestions from other members and Mods. And other members and Mods often offer reposts as well. This is just another way that learning is accelerated on BPN.

This image was created by my friend, BPN member Joe Joe Przybyla. He used the monopod-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens and the Nikon D500. Image #6: Anhinga yawning (?) Image courtesy of and copyright 2018: Joe Pryzbyla

Anhinga yawning/Joe Pryzbyla

For the past few years Joe has worked very hard to improve his field and photographic skills and his post-processing skills as well. He spends lots of time at the Circle Bar B Ranch in Lakeland, FL See what the rest of the boys and girls had to say about this one in Joe’s BPN post here.

This image was created by BPN member John Mack. He used the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens for Canon EF and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Image #7: Pine Siskin in snow Image courtesy of and copyright 2018: John Mack

Pine Siskin/John Mack

Joe has been a prolific poster in Avian for the past year or two. Like Joe above, his skills all-around have improved. You can see his Pine Siskin post here.

You Be the Contest Judge

Which of today’s featured images would you put in first place?

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.

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 :).