What’s Up?
The unsettled weather continues. Last night Jim found a tiny pink wildflower blooming low-to-the-ground right next to my driveway. Of course, I headed right out in the drizzle with the Sigma 150/Vello Adapter/a7r iv rig on a tripod and shocked myself by creating a single nice image. This morning was more of the same. I did find and photograph a tiny white wildflower with a yellow center in a big puddle along with hundreds of blooming tickseeds. I will now be leaving my macro gear on the sheltered table in the pool cage because it was all fogged up this morning. And yes, my garage which doubles as the BIRDS AS ART warehouse, is air-conditioned …
Aside from the challenges of photographing wildflowers discussed below, I am finding that identifying the subjects in my images is just as big a challenge as creating pleasing, sharp, perfectly exposed images. I have always learned by seeking help from folks who know a lot more than I do and am in the progress of doing just that now.
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SONY e-Guide Discount Program
Purchase a (new) qualifying SONY camera body (a7r iii, a7r iv, a9, a9 ii) from Bedfords or using a BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate link, and you will receive a $40 discount on the SONY e-guide. Purchase a (new) SONY 200-600mm G lens from Bedfords or using a BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate link, and you will receive a $25 discount on the SONY e-guide. Purchase a (new) SONY 600mm f/4 GM lens from Bedfords or using a BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate link, and you will receive a free SONY e-guide with one or two videos.
Please send your Bedford’s or B&H receipts to me via e-mail to receive your discount and your ordering instructions. Folks purchasing from Bedfords and using the BIRDSASART code will save $50. Folks sending their B&H receipts may need to wait a few days to have their purchases confirmed. Folks using Bedfords will have their purchases confirmed immediately.
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84 sold to rave reviews. The SONY e-Guide by Patrick Sparkman and Arthur Morris |
The Sony Camera User’s e-Guide (and Videos)
Click here to purchase the guide with one Camera Set-up Video. Be sure to e-mail us by clicking here to specify your camera body so that we can send you a link for the correct video.
Click here to purchase the guide with two Camera Set-up Videos. Be sure to e-mail us by clicking here to specify your two camera bodies so that we can send you links for the correct videos.
Click here to learn more about the SONY e-Guide.
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%. Please understand that e-Bay prices are bogus. And the same is true of the prices of used gear including my dear friends at B&H and the other mega-outfits. They offer you pennies and then try to sell the stuff to ignorant folks for ridiculously high prices. With their huge international exposure, they occasionally find someone …
The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please 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. With the pandemic and the down economy, the market is somewhat depressed. That said, the prices of used photo gear only go one way: down. The longer you wait, the less you will get for your gar. Period. Over the past year, we have sold many many hundreds of items. Do know that prices the used prices of many items have been dropping steadily. The prices garnered for used Canon gear has tanked completely as demand has dropped tremendously. It is ironic that for decades Canon gear had very strong resale value … That said, the prices on used Nikon gear are dropping as well. You can see all thee great bargains here on the Used Gear Page.
Note: all BAA Used Gear sales include insured ground shipping via UPS to lower 48 US addresses only. Others who live elsewhere are invited to e-mail the seller for shipping surcharge info. Sellers should charge you only the difference between shipping to the farthest US location from their home and the charge to a non-lower-48 address.
Used Gear Page News
All eight of Fred Innamorato’s Canon offerings sold on the first day of listing as did two of the four Carol Anderson’s listings. In addition, the sale of Anita North’s 200-500 was recently finalized. When folks are willing to pay 4% extra to cover our Paypal fees for the gear that I am handling, we can ship the stuff the same day; several folks have done that in the past week.
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR Lens
BAA Record-low Price!
Price reduced $50.00 on 5-28-20
Arthur Morris is offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR lens in like-new condition for a BAA record-low $746.95 (was $796.95). The sale includes the front and rear caps, the original box and lens bag, 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 artie via e-mail or on his cell at 863-221-2372 before 4pm Eastern time. Please leave a message or text if no answer.
This lens is smaller and lighter and costs a lot less than the f/2.8 version. It is relatively fast, very sharp, and extremely versatile. It pairs well with the TC-14E. It sells new right now for $1,396.95. Grab it now to save $650.00 artie
Nikon D850 DSLR Camera (Body Only)
BAA Record-low Price!
Price reduced on 100.00 5-28-20
Arthur Morris is also offering a Nikon D850 DSLR Camera (Body Only)in excellent plus to like-new condition for a BAA record-low $1,895.95 (was $1995.95). The sale includes the front body caps, the original box, the strap, the charger, 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 artie via e-mail or on his cell at 863-221-2372 before 4pm Eastern time. Please leave a message or text if no answer.
The D850 was my very favorite Nikon body. I sold my D5 and bought a 2nd D850. It produces superb image files. The AF system kills on birds in flight — be sure to use Group (grp) AF. It sells new for $2,996.95 so you can save a very lovely $101.00 by grabbing my D850. artie
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4 VR Lens
BAA Record-low Price!
Price reduced $50.00 on 5-28-20
Arthur Morris is also offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4 VR lens in like-new condition for a BAA record-low $496.95 (was $546.95). The sale includes the front and rear caps, the original box and 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 artie via e-mail or on his cell at 863-221-2372 before 4pm Eastern time. Please leave a message or text if no answer.
I have always loved the lenses in this class. The Nikon version was a lot sharper than the Canon 24-105. It is a versatile multi-purpose lens with a thousand uses. I keep my SONY 24-105 on the front seat of my SUV every day and use it often. The 24-120 sells new right now for $1,096.95. Grab Artie’s pretty much new lens to save a cool $600.00! artie
Nikon D500 DSLR
BAA Record-low Price!
Anita North is offering a Nikon D500 DSLR in excellent plus to near-mint condition for a BAA record-low price of $895.95. The sale includes the original box, the front body, cap, the battery charger, the strap, both caps for the lens, 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 artie via e-mail or on his cell at 863-221-2372 before 4pm Eastern time. Please leave a message or text if no answer.
The D500 is Nikon’s top-of-the-line crop factor body. It multiplies your focal length by 1.5X. Joe Przybyla and Dan Kearl, both excellent photographers on Bird Photographer’s.Net, use the D500 as their workhorse camera bodies. Joe, the co-author of The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide, was after this old dog for a long time to try a D500. The D500 sells new right now for $1,496.95; save a cool $601 by grabbing Anita’s lens. artie
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR Lens
BAA Record-low Price!
Price reduced $200.00 on 5-28-20
Anita North is offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens in excellent condition for a BAA record-low $9065.95 (was $9265.95). The front element is immaculate, the finish on the hood is dinged up pretty good but is functionally perfect, and the body of the lens is excellent plus. The sale includes the lens trunk, the strap, the front cover, the rear lens cap, 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 artie via e-mail or on his cell at 863-221-2372 before 4pm Eastern time. Please leave a message or text if no answer.
In all systems, the 600 f/4 lenses are the weapons of mass destruction when it comes to birds and wildlife. I loved my Nikon 600 both alone and with the 1.4X teleconverter. If you use Nikon gear and have been dreaming of moving up to the big leagues, do get in touch with me ASAP to save $3,231.00. This lens sells new for $12,296.95. artie
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Lens
Sale Pending 5-31-20
Anita North is also offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens in excellent plus condition for a BAA record-low $3045.95 (was $3095.95). The sale includes the original box, the front and rear lens caps, thee lens bag, 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 artie via e-mail or on his cell at 863-221-2372 before 4pm Eastern time. Please leave a message or text if no answer.
The 500 PF was my favorite Nikon lens; I hated giving it up. It is easily handheld by most folks; It kills for flight and does well with the 1.4X teleconverter. It is still hard to find a new one. Save $551.00 and get yours soon. artie
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4 VR Lens
Price dropped $71.95 on 7 JUNE 2020!
Gary Meyer is also offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4 VR lens in like-new condition for a BAA record-low $525.00 (was $596.95). The sale includes the front and rear caps, 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 Gary via e-mail or by phone at 1-612-221-0150 (Central time zone).
I have always loved the lenses in this class. The Nikon version was a lot sharper than the Canon 24-105. It is a versatile multi-purpose lens with a thousand uses. I keep my SONY 24-105 on the front seat ever day. The 24-120 sells new right now for $1,096.95. Grab Gary’s pretty much new lens to save another $571.95! artie
Canon 200-400 f/4L IS USM lens with internal 1.4X Extender
Sale Pending
Carol Anderson, wife of the late Walt Anderson — inventor of the Better Beamer, is offering a Canon 200-400 f/4L IS USM lens with internal 1.4X Extender in excellent plus condition for $4998.00. The sale includes the original box, the rear lens cap, the front lens cover, the lens trunk, a LensCoat, a Kirk low foot, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower 48 US addresses only. Photos are available upon request. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact family-friend Don Carter via e-mail.
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; can save an incredible $6001.00 by grabbing this excellent lens along with all the extras right now. artie
Canon EOS-1DX Mark II Camera Body
Sale Pending
Carol Anderson, wife of the late Walt Anderson — inventor of the Better Beamer, is offering a Canon EOS-1DX Mark II camera body in like-new condition for $2798.00. The sale includes the original product box, the strap, the front body cap, one Canon battery, the charger, 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 family-friend Don Carter via e-mail.
The EOS-1DX Mark II is a Canon flagship professional camera body. I made many fine images with mine. It is rugged and fast and featured Canon’s best AF system (before the release of thee 1dX III). The 1DX II sells new for $4,999.00 so you can save a very cool $2301.00 on this great deal. artie
Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head with Screw-Knob Panning Clamp Plus Accessories!
BPN friend Ravi Hirekatur is offering a BH-55 Ball Head Kit for a very low $499.00. The sale includes the Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head with Screw-Knob Panning Clamp (in very good condition; sells new for $615.00), a Really Right Stuff B2-Pro-II 60mm Screw-Knob Pro Clamp (in very good condition; sells new for $86.00), a Really Right Stuff MPR-192 — Macro Slider — & Mini-Clamps Package with Allen wrenches (in excellent condition; sells new for $180.00), and insured ground shipping via UPS to lower-48 US addresses only.
Please contact Ravi via e-mail e-mail or by phone at 1-608-217-9593 central time.
This ballhead kit is perfect for super-serious landscape and macro photographers. 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 on a side-street several blocks from my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. I used the Induro GIT 404L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sigma APO Macro 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens for Nikon F with the Vello Select Nikon F Lens to Sony E-Mount Camera Auto Lens Adapter (Firmware Ver. 6) and the 61-MP Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 400. Exposure determined by experimentation with the best exposure determined by RawDigger: 1/30 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AWB at 7:31am on a cloudy morning. Manual Focus using techniques from the SONY e-Guide. Click on the image to see a larger version. Nuttall’s Thistle |
Mastering In-the-field Techniques For My New Passion …
Photographing wildflowers is a lot different than photographing dahlias and tulips. And it is a lot more challenging. Perhaps the greatest challenge is keeping the blossoms completely still. In The Art of Flower Photography Denise and I wrote about many different techniques that can be used to keep the flowers completely still. I used one of those here: After finding the ready-to-pop bud, I set up a tripod very close to it, clamped a Wimberley Plamp II to an upper leg, and gently placed the stem into the smaller, gentler clamp jaws of the Plamp. The Plamp is twisty so that — again — working very carefully, you can change the position of the blossom slightly without damaging the stem or the blossom.
The second huge challenge of doing wildflowers is choosing the best aperture. With small flowers at close at point-blank range, depth-of-field is extremely narrow. To stop down, you need a slower shutter speed and/or a higher ISO. And unless the background is quite distant from the subject (as it was in today’s featured image), you run the risk of bringing up many distracting background elements … As it is when pricing used camera gear, the line is a fine one. I am working on many new techniques and will be sharing some of them here with you soon.
You can learn more about how I am using the Sigma 150 with the Vello Adapter on my a7r iv in the Beach False Foxglove (wildflower) Set-up. And My Macro Plan: a work in progress blog post here. This solution is cumbersome at best but I am getting close to mastering it.
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The Art of Flower Photography, a 203 page eBook/a link to the PDF will be sent via e-mail: $29.00. |
The Art of Flower Photography by Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris
You can learn everything e about this e-book here, or order your copy here.
Video: The Art of Flower Photography
In this B&H Event Space video, two of the world’s premier photographers of flora and fauna — Arthur Morris and Denise Ippolito — share the techniques they use to create dramatic, sharp, well-composed, properly exposed images of flowers and flower fields. Denise does great things with the Canon 100mm f/2.8 L IS lens, while artie often goes to longer focal lengths—he has been seen photographing tulips at Keukenhoff Gardens, Holland, with a 600mm lens and a teleconverter. In addition to standard techniques, the video ends with Ippolito and Morris showing a wide range of abstract floral images and describing a variety of creative artistic effects such as multiple exposures, sharp/soft blending, texture overlays, warping a flower, creating zoom/twirls, in-camera blurs, and many others.
Click here to see the video.
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 :).
Try the iNaturalist app on your iPhone. I took a picture of your Nuttall’s Thistle image with my phone and the first suggestion listed was Nuttall’s Thistle. I have used it a number of times in the past and it usually gets it right or at least gets you in the right family. It also works for insects, etc.
Artie, try dragging and dropping your flower image file onto your browser search bar to identify. Works most of the time.
Hi Artie,
I have a similar problem trying to ID wildflowers. My Android phone comes with the Google Lens app: “You point and shot,” and out pops a name and several other possibilities. Even if it doesn’t nail it, you get a clue as to what family it belongs to. When I tried it on the featured image on this post, I got thistle. There are also state apps. I have one for PA. You select the color and the number of petals, and you get a set of images. But you have to scroll through many to find yours. I have also used the app on bird images on my camera screen with pretty good results. It helps if the image is large.
Best regards,
Mike De Rosa
I am not a Sony user but think the Sony cameras have focus stacking, in the menus, to get more of the flower in focus when you want to create a larger depth of field.
Artie,
Glad to see your renewed interest in wildflower photography! There may be just as much to learn with wildflowers (especially native ones) as there is with avian photography. I don’t doubt that you already poses all the camera related skills necessary to create far better images than many of us who have been at it for a while now. Finding ways to steady your subject or even experimenting with exposures and f stops for clean images can be relatively easy compared to finding interesting subjects while their in bloom. Many of them bloom for only a short period of time, which may vary year to year. Some of our rarer native orchids (Florida has some gorgeous ones by the way) may not even bloom every year.
If you have an interest, you can have a look at some of my wildflower images and if you have any questions, drop my a email at cypimages@yahoo.com (sorry I’m not into garden flowers that much). In the meantime, I look forward to learning better techniques in wildflower photography along with you. Here is a link to a wildflower album I have on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/63678308@N05/albums/72157649351394895
Thanks, Artie. What a lovely image; well done. I too am spending lots more time on wildflowers and have exactly the problem you mention. At a wide aperture I get a nice smooth background but may of the flower’s details are out of focus. At a narrow aperture the flower’s details get in better focus but so does the background. I’ve also learned to do a little gardening, i.e., removing adjacent vegetation that is affecting the background (or even sometimes the foreground). At first I wasn’t even noticing it. But it’s fun and challenging, isn’t it?