What’s Up?
I went back down to the lake on Friday morning on a gorgeous day. Armed only with the Nikon 500 PF, the back-up TC-E14, and my back-up D850 I did quite well. There was a 250 bird-feeding spree consisting of about 200+ breeding plumage Great Egrets and an assortment of other herons and egrets and White Ibises. There were lots of birds flying around within range but with the wind from the northwest I pretty much tried and failed. My best images — including today’s featured image — were of the two small chicks that are becoming less shy each day.
I was glad to learn on Thursday that Ron Owen of Orlando will be joining me at Gatorland on Saturday morning. We may be having fun while you are reading this.
IPT Updates
I was glad to learn recently that Dan Tishman will be joining six others on the DeSoto IPT — that leaves one slot open. And #3 just signed up for the UK trip; that leaves only two openings on what will be an amazing trip, and will likely be my last trip and likely the last Dunbar gannet boats trips — Gordon is getting old. 🙂
Despite lots of recent interest I still need three folks for the Galapagos trip. Please shoot me an e-mail to learn about the huge late registration discount on the Galapagos trip.
- The 2019 Fort DeSoto Spring IPT/THURS 18 APRIL through the morning session on SUNDAY APRIL 21, 2019: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 1. Meet and greet at 7PM on the evening of WED 17 APRIL. Free morning session on WED 17 APRIL.
- 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 5 photographers/Openings: 2. This trip is a definite go.
- 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: 13 photographers/Openings: 3. Please e-mail to learn about the huge late registration discount for this trip.
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. 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.
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This image was created at Indian Lake Estates on March 18, 2019. I used the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and my back-up Nikon D850.. ISO: 500. Matrix metering at zero: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. Auto1 WB at 5:4y pm. One up and to the right of center Group AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was on the very top of the bird’s neck just below and behind the bird’s cheek. Sandhill Crane, small chick: head and shoulders portrait |
I Am Not Kidding About ILE!
Right now, crane photography at ILE is absolutely fantastic. Both the two colts and the two small chicks are totally accepting. I have been having too much fun. I can’t wait to get back to them on Sunday morning. I have been checking the third nest for several weeks now and I am beginning to think that the eggs might be sterile. Note: this pair has produced young for many, many years so I am hoping that I am wrong.
I am still free on SUN 24 MAR so get in touch if you would like to experience some marvelous photography and learn a ton while you are at it.
Super-Cheap Indian Lake Estate Sandhill Crane Chicks and Colts Sessions
Join me at ILE any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (or possibly Friday) or this Sunday morning for the next few weeks to photograph silly tame Sandhill Crane chicks and colts. Best news: there is a third pair on eggs that might be hatching very soon.
Morning Session — 7:30-9:30am: $100.00
Add an hour of image review and Photoshop and brunch: $100.00
If you are interested, please get in touch via e-mail or call my cell at 863-221-2372. Limit three.
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This is the type of eye skin and feather detail that has been absent from images made with the Nikon 600 VR for the past two weeks. I sent it to Nikon Repair on Thursday afternoon after trying just about everything … Unsharpened 100% Photoshop screen capture of Sandhill Crane, small chick: head and shoulders portrait |
The Unsharpened 100% Photoshop Screen Capture
Working with master file (the converted TIFF) I hit the Zoom Tool several times to reach 100%, did a Mac screen capture (Shift + Control + Option + 3), created a new file (Command +N), and cropped that to 1200 pixels wide.
Note the tiny feather on the bill and the dirt/crud on the feathers of the face that were eliminated during image clean-up; see above and below for comparison. And no, I would not enter the finished product here in a major contest.
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Unsharpened 100% Photo Mechanic screen capture of Sandhill Crane, small chick: head and shoulders portrait |
The Unsharpened 100% Photo Mechanic Screen Capture
Working here with the my master file in Photo Mechanic, I placed the cursor on the chick’s eye, hit “Z” to zoom to 100%, and executed another screen capture as above. Note that you can choose the Xoom level. I’d say that 50% of the folks who watch me do my editing in Photo Mechanic at lightning fast speed wind up purchasing by calling Jim at the office (863-692-0906) weekdays. Bill and face clean-up was done with the Patch Tool, the Spot Healing Brush, and Content Aware Fill. Background smoothing was done with the Patch Tool and Content Aware Fill and then smoothed further by adding a layer of Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur at 60 pixels. That of course blurred the subject as well so I added an Inverse (Black or Hide-all) Layer Mask and painted in the softness with a large brush being sure not to paint over any part of the bird.
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The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II).You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a Paypal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. |
The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)
Your guessed it, everything mentioned above and tons more — including all of my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — is covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my Macbook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Do note that you will find the RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing tutorial only in the new e-guide. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.
This just in: recently, I have begun converting my SONY and Nikon RAW files in Capture One. Lots more on that soon.
The two most recent and many of the older MP4 Photoshop Tutorial videos releases go hand and hand with the information in DB II): Note: all of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.
Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here.
Though I have become more proficient converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw, I continue to optimize my old Canon images in DPP 4. You can learn how and why I converted (and still convert) nearly all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. And, yes, I still have many Canon images to work on. 🙂 The RAW conversions for all three of today’s featured images was straightforward once I entered my camera/ISO specific recipes (as detailed in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide). You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in the The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly.
Cheap Gatorland Sessions
Join me at Gatorland in March or early April as below — it was great both days last weekend. You will learn a ton. Including the simple trick that enabled me to create today’s featured image while nobody else could … Really.
If you are interested, please get in touch via e-mail or call my cell at 863-221-2372. Limit three.
Friday or Saturday Morning Session — 7-10am: $200.00
Saturday Morning Session with a working lunch including image review and Photoshop: $300.00
Saturday Afternoon session — 4pm til closing: $150.
Full day with the working lunch: $450.00.
Sunday morning session 7-10am: $200.00.
Sunday morning session with a working lunch including image review and Photoshop: $300.00
Save $100 by creating your own mini-IPT by combining a Full day Saturday session including a working lunch with a Sunday morning session with a working lunch. Limit: three photographers: only $650 for a ton of learning over two days. As I said, cheap!
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.
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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 :).
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right.
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 :).
Nice looking shots!
Love the image of Sandhill Crane chick.
Like the background and head angle, nice and sharp.
A much nicer/brighter, sludge green background!! Super image….