Returning to Homer for Bald Eagles -- very soon; with you I hope. The Nikon D850 e-Guide & Camera-handling Video. Not too smart ... And Insane Price-Drops!

Homer Bald Eagles …

I am returning to Homer for the Greatest-ever Bald Eagle Experience IPT at the end of February through the beginning of March 2020. My plan is to do a six-day (FEB 25 —26— 27 — 28 — 29 — MAR 1) trip followed by a day off and a five-day trip (MAR 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7). As in the past, folks may wish to do both trips back-to-back. I do expect both trips to fill very quickly. If you are seriously interested, please contact me via e-mail. Complete details soon. Flight photography until your arms drop, most with a 70-200mm. We photograph from a chartered boat and make some landings as well.

See the Bald Eagle gallery here; most of the images are from Homer.

What’s Up?

I forgot to mention in the last post that Saturday morning with the pelicans was fantastic. On Sunday, we went to my duck spot morning and afternoon and could barely find a Wood Duck. In the morning I shot lots of drake Northern Shovelers at 1200mm (they are not friendly) using the a7R IV, all at 500mm. Most were not sharp due to motion blur as there are just too many pixels … The static portraits with this combo, however, are breathtakingly sharp. In the afternoon, we had two tame drake Gadwall with their two tame hens. This species is usually quite shy. Monte Brown got some nice stuff of the handsomer of the two drakes preening. On Monday morning Bill Schneider and Monte and I had a ball with dozens of gorgeous pelicans. And a. great brunch as usual at Vahik Cafe.

Not-too Smart

I was so proud of myself for hand holding the 600 for flight. Never again. I did a number on my left shoulder, the one that I damaged badly when I fell in my home about 1. 1/2 years ago. I slipped on a puddle that I created after getting out of the pool …

IPT Updates

Coming soon: one or two Spoonbill Boat IPTs, a spring Fort DeSoto Sandbar Secrets IPT, and a Nickerson Beach IPT this summer.

Do check out the Galapgos Gallery here.

• The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Archipelago Photographic Experience. August 17-31, 2021 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,999.00.

You can see complete IPT info and details here.

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 EOS-1DX, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. Most recently the price of used Canon 600mm f/L IS II lenses have been dropping like a rock with the introduction of the 600 III. 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.

The Used Gear page has been very hot for the past month with the continuing price drops on both Canon and Nikon gear. And there have been some great buys on SONY stuff too. There are still lots of solid bargains right now on the Used Gear Page. In addition to the recent sales below, there are several pending sales.

Recent Sales

In addition to the recent sales noted below, there are many pending sales as well.

Joe Randle sold his Canon EF 24-70 f2.8L II USM lens in near-mint condition for the very low price of $899.00 in mid-January 2019.
Multiple IPT veteran Jim Miller sold his rarely used Canon EOS 5DS R in near-mint condition for the BAA record-low price of $1599.00 (was $1799.00) in. early January 2010.
Multiple IPT veteran Jim Miller sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM telephoto lens (the “old five”) in excellent condition for $2399.00, his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for a very low $5,699.00, his Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for a BIRDS AS ART record-low $1149.00, his Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for only $849.00, a Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (teleconverter) in very good condition for $199.00, his refurbished Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera body in excellent condition for a ridiculously low $699.00, a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 lens in excellent condition for $129.00, and a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV body in excellent condition for the BIRDS AS ART record-low-by-far price of $1549.00 all in December 2019.
Charlie Curry sold his lightly used Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 IS II USM lens in like-new condition for only $3299.00, a Canon Extender EF 1.4x III (teleconverter) in like-new condition for only $223.00, a. Canon Extender EF 2x III (teleconverter) in like-new condition for only $223.00, his Canon Speedlight 600EXII-RT in new condition with the soft case for $249.00, a Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM lens in like-new condition for only $749.00, and a WH-200 Wimberley Head (the current version) in excellent condition with the Wimberley CK-100 Side-mount conversion clamp and the F-1 Flash Bracket for only $399.00 in December 2019.
Multiple IPT veteran Larry Master sold his Sony a7r IV Mirrorless Digital camera body in absolutely like-new condition for only $2898.00 (was $3098.00) in early January 2020.
Top pro-Jim Zuckerman sold his Sony Alpha a7R Mirrorless Digital camera in excellent condition for $1399 in Late-December 2019.

Insane Price Drops!

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens

BAA record-low Price!
Insane Price Drop!

Multiple IPT veteran Jim Miller is offering a rarely used Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens in near-mint condition for the new BAA record-low price of $399.00 (was $499.00). The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the lens pouch, the lens hood ET-73, the warranty card, the CD, the Lens Guide, all original packaging including the product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 1-850-445-5042 (Eastern time zone).

Denise Ippolito absolutely loves her Canon 100mm macro lens. And I did also. She used it handheld for the most part while I most-often used it on the tripod. (Note: the tripod collar requires a separate purchase.) artie

Canon 580 EX II Speedlite

Insane Price Drop!

Multiple IPT veteran Jim Miller is offering a Canon 580 EX II Speedlite in excellent condition for only $99.00 (was $199.00). The sale includes the manual, the warranty card, the case, the stand, the original packaging including product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 1-850-445-5042 (Eastern time zone).

This is Canon’s second most powerful flash; I owned several of them and used them often when I was using Canon. artie

Canon 430 EX II Speedlite

Beyond-Insane Price Drop!

Multiple IPT veteran Jim Miller is offering a rarely-used, refurbished Canon Speedlite 430EX II (flash) in near-mint condition for $49.00 (was $99.00). The sale includes the case, the stand, the manual, the original packaging including the generic Canon refurbished product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 1-850-445-5042 (Eastern time zone).

A basic Canon flash at a giving-it-away price. artie

Canon Extender EF 1.4X II (teleconverter)

Insane Price Drop!

Multiple IPT veteran Jim Miller is offering a Canon Extender EF 1.4X II (teleconverter) in very good condition for $99.00 (was $169.00). The sale includes the front lens cap, the rear lens cap, the warranty card, the guide, the LP811 case, the original packing including the product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 1-850-445-5042 (Eastern time zone).

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM L Zoom Lens

BAA record-low Price!
Insane Price Drop!

Multiple IPT veteran Jim Miller is offering a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM L zoom lens in excellent condition for a BAA record-low $349.00 (was $449.00). The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the EW-83H lens hood, the lens pouch, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 1-850-445-5042 (Eastern time zone).

The 24-105mm focal length is my all-time favorite for B-roll stuff: bird-scapes, quasi-macros, photographers and people, scenics, and just about everything else on the planet. Whenever I would decide to leave it in the car I would not get far before I was wishing that I had taken it along for the ride. 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 over $1000.00, 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 has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H. Those include the SONY a7r IV, the SONY 200-600, the SONY 600mm f/4 GM, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is eager to please.

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.

Nikon D850 Users e-Guide & Video< Purchase here.

Nikon D850 Users e-Guide & Video

$50 via download

This great new guide includes 15 pages of text, a 46-image gallery, and a comprehensive camera handling video.

The text covers all of the menu item settings that I used on my two D850 bodies and each gallery image has a legendary BIRDS AS ART educational caption. The emphasis is two-fold:

1- getting your camera set-up so that it is optimized for bird photography.

2- sharing everything that I know about the Nikon AF system so that you can create consistently sharp images of static subjects, and most especially, of birds in flight and in action.

Though this guide is designed for the D850 nearly all of it applies to the D5 and to the D500 as well.

You can purchase your copy in the BAA On-line Store here. Both files are large so you will need a good internet connection to download them.

If In Doubt …

If you are 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 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 or Bedfords, 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 or Bedfords 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 :).