A Lens First?

This tulip image was created at the Willem-Alexander Pavilion at Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens,a Canon Extension Tube EF 25 II, the Canon 1.4x EF tele-extender III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/125 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Manual focus on the distal end of the pistil. The image above was created in the usual BIRDS AS ART style: clean background with shallow depth-of-field. Click on the image to enjoy a larger size. Image #1: pink tulip

A Lens First?

After spending one full day at Keukenhof using primarily the Canon Telephoto EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro lens I decided to bring the 600 II into the conservatory (in this case, a very large greenhouse) to change things up.

It is likely that my 600 was the first ever in the Willem-Alexander Pavilion.

This tulip image was created at the Willem-Alexander Pavilion at Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens,a Canon Extension Tube EF 25 II, the Canon 1.4x EF tele-extender III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/5 sec. at f/16 in Manual mode. Again, manual focus on the distal end of the pistil. Click on the image to enjoy a larger size. Image #2: tulip flower center: “Beauty of Spryng”

TC/Extension Tube Order

When using an extension tube and a teleconverter, when photographing birds–for instance, it is customary to mount the TC on the lens with the extension tube behind it. With this set-up, you usually will have active AF. The extension tube allows you to focus inside of the lens’s minimum focusing distance. To get even closer, swap the TC and the tube, i.e., mount the tube on the lens with the TC behind it. This will gain you another foot or two of close focus. To create the image above I needed just that.

This tulip image was created at the Willem-Alexander Pavilion at Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens,a Canon Extension Tube EF 25 II, the Canon 1.4x EF tele-extender III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 50. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop 1/4 sec. at f/8 in Tv Mode. Manual focus on the closest tulip. Click on the image to enjoy a larger size. Image #3: purple and yellow tulip vertical pan blur

Vertical Pan Blurs

When I saw the combination of purples and yellows I moved back, set the lowest ISO, went to TV mode, took a test frame and corrected the exposure, and created about a dozen images while panning the lens down vertically. The image above was my favorite. To learn more check out A Guide to Pleasing Blurs by Denise Ippolito and yours truly.

This tulip image was created at the Willem-Alexander Pavilion at Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/5 sec. at f/16 in Manual mode. Again, manual focus on the distal end of the pistil. Click on the image to enjoy a larger size. Image #4: Tulip Multiple Exposure: “Beauty of Spryng”

Multiple Exposures with the EOS-5D Mark III

One of my two favorite 5D III features is the ability to create in-camera Multiple Exposures. This is a simple two-frame ME. Learn more in the EOS-5D Mark III User’s Guide and in Denise Ippolito’s great MP4 video tutorial, Creative Multiple Exposures. See all of our MP4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos here.

Vertical Pan Blurs

When I saw the combination of purples and yellows I moved back, set the lowest ISO, went to TV mode, took a test frame and corrected the exposure, and created about a dozen images while panning the lens down vertically. The image above was my favorite. To learn more check out A Guide to Pleasing Blurs by Denise Ippolito and yours truly.

This daffodil image was created at the Willem-Alexander Pavilion at Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/80 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Again, manual focus on the distal end of the pistil. Click on the image to enjoy a larger size. Image #5: Yellow Daffodil

Self Timer & Live View

For all of the images above but for the vertical pan blur I used Live View and the 2-second timer. Live View gives me mirror lock and a live histogram and the former in conjunction with the use of the 2-second timer assured razor sharp images unless someone opened the greenhouse door and created a breeze.

Your Favorite?

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which of the five images above is your favorite. And why.

Like Flower Photography?

If you like photographing flowers, be sure to see the “Creative Flower Photography: blog post here.

All images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Denise Ippolito. Click for a larger version.

A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Swan Island Dahlia Farm Instructional Photo-Tour, September 11-15, 2013: 5 FULL DAYS: $1649

Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris at the Swan Island Dahlia Farm in Canby, Oregon (just south of Portland) for a great learning and photography experience. Swan Island features more than 40 acres with over 350 varieties of dahlias in a plethora of colors, shapes and sizes, making it one of the largest growers in the United States.

Daily Photo Schedule

We will enjoy four morning (7:00am till 10:30am) and five afternoon (3:30pm till 6pm) photography sessions. While we will do most of our photography at the Swan Island Dahlia Farm, we will also visit the Portland Rose Garden and/or the Portland Japanese Garden on this IPT. The in-the-field instruction will include seeing the situation, the use of selective focus, creative use of depth of field, histogram and exposure guidance, designing creative images, choosing your background, isolating your subject, lens options, and the use of reflectors and diffusers. Our field sessions will include challenging photography assignments geared to make you think creatively. Both personalized and small group instruction will be provided. All times are tentative and subject to change based on the weather and on local conditions.

Seminar Morning: Friday, September 13: 8:30am till 12:30pm

Denise will begin by presenting her “Bloomin’ Ideas” program, an overview of the in-the-field and post-processing techniques that she has used and developed over the past few years to create her signature look. Artie will follow with a Photoshop session that will be geared towards all levels. He’ll be sharing some of his favorite techniques and tips while working on images from the first two days of the IPT. Denise will conclude the seminar portion of the IPT with a Photoshop demo; she will share her creative workflow using a variety of Photoshop filters and effects. The entire morning is designed to give you a peek into the minds of two very skilled and creative folks.

The group will have lunch together daily. All are invited to bring their laptops for image sharing. We hope that you can join us for an intense five days of learning and some of the best flower photography to be had in North America.

Deposit Info and Cancellation Policies:

A $449 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance is due 4 months before the date of the IPT and is also non-refundable. If the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. If your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) You can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. We will be short-handed in the office until January 21 so please leave a message and we will call you back. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail

Images courtesy of and copyright 2012: Bill Mueller. Card design by Denise Ippolito.

Old Car City Creative Photography In-the-Field HDR Workshop: Sunday, October 13, 2013/ 9am till 1pm.

White, Georgia: $250 plus a $15 entrance fee donation (cash only on the day of the event) that will go to charity. Limit: 16 photographers.

On October 13, 2013, Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART and Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure will be conducting an In-the-Field HDR Workshop at Old Car City in White, Georgia. Old Car City is about an hour north of Atlanta, GA and an hour south of Chattanooga, TN where they will, as noted above, be doing a full day seminar for the Photographic Society of Chattanooga on Saturday, October 12th. Click here for complete details.

Typos

On all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

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And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gitzo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.