What’s Up?
With more snow in the Homer forecast, the entire group is mega-excited. IPT veteran Warren Hatch will be joining the group for today only, Saturday 29 FEB, 2020. We had planned to sail at 1:00pm but with the doom and gloom storm forecast for Sunday, we are headed out for an extended day of photography at 10:30am. We hope to make hay while the snow falls.
This Just In
We had another epic day at Homer. The snow arrived at the appointed hour and the eagles swarmed us. The forecast for tomorrow is borderline horrifc but we are hoping to get out for a few hours in the morning.
BIRDS AS ART
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The Greatest-ever Bald Eagle Experience IPTs
IPT #1: SAT 20 FEB 2021 through the full day on THURS 25 FEB MAR 1, 2021. Six full days: $5499.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 4.
IPT #2: SAT 27 FEB 2021 through the full day on WED 3 MAR 2021. Five full days: $4599.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 4
Please note the slightly revised dates for IPT #2 above.
From Homer, Alaska
We will do two 2-hour or one 4-hour photographic boat trips at Kachemak Bay each day (weather permitting). Our schedule will be flexible and driven by the wind and sky conditions. We will have numerous and varied mind-boggling opportunities to photograph Bald Eagle, a hugely popular species. We will be feeding the eagles to attract them into photographic range. The trip is costly because chartering the boat is expensive, the fish are very expensive at $1.25/pound (all on me), the costs of in-room breakfasts and one sit-down meal/day are included, hotel to dock transfers are included, as is lodging (double-occupancy). The cost of a single supplement is $90.00/night. I need to mention that two other Bald Eagle trips lead by North American photographers include only breakfast and do not include lodging; this makes my trips an even greater value.
We will do lots of flight photography from the boat and on land until you can no longer lift your lens. We will get off the boat on various islands to photograph the birds both perched and in flight. It would be entirely possible to do this entire trip with just a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and a 1.4X teleconverter. Bald Eagles take five years to reach maturity; we will get to photograph birds of all age-classes from juvenile plumage to full adults with their gleaming white heads (and everything in between). There will be numerous informal Image Editing, Photoshop, and Image Review sessions throughout each trip. As I am conversant in Canon, Nikon, and SONY I can help you better understand your gear no matter what you are shooting.
Going up earlier than all other tours this year proved to be fantastic with tons of snow on the ground to light up the eagle’s underwings. You will usually not enjoy those conditions on the March tours (unless you are very lucky). In addition, the eagles are more ravenous early in the season. In FEB 2020 we often had 30-40 or more eagles in the air around the boat with as many as 75 perched in trees or resting on the black sand beaches. Folks who want to do some photography locally during down-time may wish to rent a vehicle.
It is best to register right now to save your spot. Register for both trips and apply a $300 discount. If you have been on a previous IPT, a $100.00 discount will be applied to your balance.
A $2000 credit card deposit is required to hold your spot. Call Jim ASAP at the office weekdays at 863-221-2372 to leave your deposit. Your balance will be payable only by check no later than July 31, 2020. If you fail to pay your balance, your spot will be forfeited to someone on the waiting list and you will lose your deposit. If you plan on joining me, please e-mail immediately or try me on my cell at 863-221-2372 with any questions or to let me know of your plans. First come, first served.
Not included: your round-trip airfare from home to Homer, AK through Anchorage and back. Your second sit-down meal each day. Alcoholic beverages at our sit down meal.
On these IPTs you will learn:
- 1- The basics and fine points of digital exposure; how to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure (or before if you are using SONY gear).
- 2- How and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).
- 3- Lots about bird behavior and how to use that knowledge to help you create better images.
- 4- To spot good situations and to choose the best perspective.
- 5- To see, evaluate, and understand the light.
- 6- To design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system.
- 7- And perhaps most importantly, to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography.
- 8- More than you could ever imagine.
Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II Lens with tons of extras! Australian Sale Only
$500.00 AUD Price Drop on 4 MAR 2020
Barry Barfield is offering a Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II in near-mint condition for a very low $4999.00 AUD(was $5,499.00 AUD). The sale includes the 1.4X III and 2X III teleconverters, the rear lens cap, the lens trunk, the original tough front lens cover, the lens strap, a RRS Arca-Swiss foot, the Canon drop-in polarizer, a Realtree LensCoat, the original product box, and insured courier shipment to anywhere in Australia. In addition, the lens will be covered by the remainder of the Canon Australia Factory warranty until May 30, 2020. Barry is located in Brisbane. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Barry via e-mail or here: MOB: 0418780575.
I owned and used and loved the 400 DO II when I shot with Canon and found a way to take it on most trips. I took it to Scotland and Nickerson Beach and San Diego. It served me well as my (lighter!) big gun several Galapagos and Southern Ocean (the Falklands and South Georgia) trips. It is a killer for flight photography with or without the 1.4X III TC. It is razor-sharp with the 2X on static subjects and skilled folks have had amazing success hand holding it with the 2X III TC for flight and for action. With all the great extras and the super low price of about $3753.00 US you might wish to contact Barry and explore the possibility of shipping the lens outside of Australia … artie
Price Drops!
Canon 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens
$500.00 Price Drop on 29 FEB 2020
Craig Elson is offering a Canon 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens in near-mint condition for $5496.00 (was $5,996.00). Other than a few very small paint blemishes, it is in perfect condition cosmetically. The optics are mint. The lens was recently cleaned and checked by CPS. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the lens trunk and keys, the original tough front lens cover, the lens hood, the lens strap, the original lens foot, a 4th Generation replacement lens foot, a RealTree Lenscoat, the original product box, the manual and warranty card, 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 Craig via e-mail or by phone at 1-704-904-7953 (Pacific time zone).
The 600 II has been the state of the art super-telephoto for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many years. When I was using Canon and could get it to my location, it was always my go-to weapon. It is fast and sharp and deadly alone or with either TC. With a new one going for $$9,499.00, you can save a cool $3503.00 by grabbing Steve’s Craig’s lens today. artie
Canon 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens
$500.00 Price Drop on 29 FEB 2020
Craig Elson is offering a Canon 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens in excellent plus condition for $4799.00 (was $5,299.00). There are a handful of paint blemishes, but the glass is in mint condition and the lens was recently cleaned and checked by CPS. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the lens trunk and keys, the original tough front lens cover, the lens hood, the lens strap, both original lens feet, a 4th Generation replacement lens foot, a Realtree LensCoat, the original product box, the manual and warranty card, 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 Craig via e-mail or by phone at 1-704-904-7953 (Pacific time zone).
The 500 f/4 super-telephoto lenses have long been the world’s most popular for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. Canon’s Series II version is light, fast, super-sharp, and produces amazing images with both the 1.4X and 2X III TCs. The 500 II is relatively small, easily hand-holdable for some folks, and is much easier to travel with, focuses closer than, and costs a lot less than the 600 II. Lastly, and you might find this amazing, the magnification for the 500 II is the same as it is for the 600 II: .15X. How is that possible? Magnification is calculated at the minimum focusing distance of the lens — 12.14 feet (3.7 meters) for the 500 II and 14.77 feet (4.5 meters) for the 600 II. Simply put, the 500 II focuses more than two feet closer than the 600 II. The seller for the last one that sold here had five calls the first day; the first four folks quibbled on price. The fifth one jumped right on it … Please do not tarry if you are seriously interested in Brian’s lens as it too should sell almost instantly. Or not 🙂 As the 500 II goes for $8999 new you will be getting a great lens while saving a very sweet $3700.00. I loved my 500 II 🙂 artie
Canon 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4X Extender
$500.00 Price Drop on 29 FEB 2020
Craig Elson is offering a Canon 200-400 f/4L IS USM lens in very good condition for a BAA record-low-by-far price of $5,199.00 (was $5,699.00). Other than some paint blemishes, the lens is in great condition. The glass is in mint condition and it has been cleaned and checked by CPS. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the lens trunk, the original tough front lens cover, the lens hood, the lens strap, the original lens foot, a 4th Generation replacement foot, RealTree Lenscoat covering, the original product box, manual and warranty card, 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 Craig via e-mail or by phone at 1-704-904-7953 (Pacific time zone).
This is the world’s best lens for a trip to Africa. It kills also in the Galapagos and in South Georgia, the Falklands, and Antarctica. And I used mine a lot at Bosque and other dusty places where the built-in TC helps to keep your sensor clean. And I love it in the Palouse for its versatility. At one point, I found myself wishing that I had taken the 200-400 rather than my 500 II on the Bear Boat Cubs IPT. Many nature photographers use this lens as their workhorse telephoto as it offers 784mm at f/8 with an external 1.4X TC added. The lens sells new at B&H right now for $10,999 so you save a substantial $5300.00 by grabbing Craig’s lens today. 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.
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This image was created near Homer, AK on 21 FEB 2020. I used the hand held Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens (now replaced by the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens with the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II dSLR. ISO 800. Exposure determined by histogram check. Evaluative metering at about +2 stops: 1/2000 sec. at f/3.2. AWB at 11:38 on a cloudy and windy day. Center Expand Continuous AI Servo AF was active at the moment of exposure. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Four year-old Bald Eagle balancing in the wind after landing |
Keep Firing!
When you are following a bird in flight and it hits the perch the natural tendency is to relax and lower your rig. With digital, it pays to be much more aggressive and keep firing, or least keep paying attention. The same is true when photographing turning and banking birds; when you think that you’ve gotten something great, keep tracing the bird and be ready to keep firing. The benefits can be huge.
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This image was created at Kachemak Bay, AK on 25 FEB 2020. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter (at 127mm) with the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body) that features incredibly accurate AF. ISO 1600. Exposure determined via Zebras on the rear wheel: 1/2000 sec. at f/4.5. AWB at 3:54pm on a snowy afternoon. Upper Zone AF-C AF performed beautifully. Image #2: Bald Eagle on perchrame> |
Think Bird-Scapes
With eagle after eagle kiting above this beautiful perch and braking for their landings in the strong wind, it was difficult to think wide. But I turned the camera on end and created an effective wide shot. It would seem a no-brainer to have removed the TC and gone to a somewhat slower shutter speed and a correspondingly lower ISO, but removing and then re-mounting the TC was not a great plan with all the blowing snow. And changing the settings with heavy gloves on did not seem like the thing to do as I knew that I would be back to shooting flight again quite soon.
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This image was also created at Kachemak Bay, AK on 25 FEB 2020. Again I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter (at 230mm) with the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body) that features incredibly accurate AF. ISO 1600. Exposure determined via Zebras on the rear wheel: 1/1600 sec. at f/4.5. AWB at 2:54pm on a snowy afternoon. Wide AF-C performed beautifully before the snow got even heavier. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #3: Bald Eagle starting dive |
Your Favorite?
Please take a moment to let us know which is your favorite of today’s three featured images. And of course, why you made your choice.
If In Doubt …
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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.
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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 :).
Dear Arthur
Can you explain me, what kind of AF-Area Mode i have to use, when i fotograph a group of birds?
I use the 7D Mark II and the Tamron 150-600 G2. To get images from one Bird, i use normaly 9 AF-Points in the middle of the center. But i don´t know if i can use large Zone AF for a group of birds. So can you help me? I hope you understand what i mean.
Hi Christof,
If you are asking about a group of birds on the ground or in the water, you must focus on the closest bird. Do that by choosing a single AF point near the bottom of the frame.
If you are asking about a flock of birds in flight it is best to use all the points or large zone and hope that it focuses on the nearest bird or birds.
with love, artie
Number 1 is my favorite although Number 3 is very close. I like the position of the wings and symmetry in the image. When I look at the wing position and how tight the talons appear to be holding on to the perch I feel that there was a lot of wind. Great balance in the image.
They’re all face melting good. (School of Rock) #3 is my favorite for reasons mentioned above. Thanks for sharing. Look forward everyday for the email and blog link to your latest and most recent adventures. Thanks again.
Hi Artie,
Each of the images is beautiful.
in Image 2 I really like the framing and agree with Margaret’s comments.
Image 3 is also beautifully framed and conveys a sense of power and determination – love the slight view of the tail feathers.
Image #1 is my favorite. It’s nearly too good to be true: perfectly framed, gorgeous view with a perfectly sharp eye, sharp primaries, sharp detail in feathers overall and good view of those powerful talons.
Without a doubt image #3. Makes me feel like I am participating in an aerodynamic landing.
Thanks Margaret and Anthony. I love that one too 🙂
with love, a
The last one is my favorite. Eagle banking. I like for the action, incredible detail, snow, and composition. But mostly for the action and detail.
Image number 2, perched eagle, dead tree, snow, it’s great!
For the eagle in flight shot, was tracking turned on, or was it just set to wide zone?
Thanks, David. Just plain Wide. You will learn what we think about Tracking Wide in the Guide. Whenever I use Tracking I will preface the AF Area with the word “Tracking.”
with love, artsie
All beautiful, but number 2 is definitely my favourite. The dead tree, the soft background, the snow, the grasses in the foreground and the eagle’s stance combine to make a gorgeous image.