EOS-7D Mark II Thanks!
Thanks a stack to the 15 folks who pre-ordered their EOS 7D Mark II bodies (and lots of accessories) using a BAA affiliate link. If you missed all of yesterday’s excitement, click here. And best of luck to Geoffrey Cuff of the Cayman Islands with the Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM Lens that he ordered in similar fashion.
Convinced? Click on the logo-link immediately below to pre-order yours. This will be one hot-ticket item; the sooner you get your name on the pre-order list, the sooner you will have a 7D II in your hands.
The Streak Continues: 291
I spent a great deal of time on Tuesday doing additional research on the new EOS-7D Mark II. I will share what I have learned with you here soon. The rest of the day was made up of meditating, a nice easy swim, healthy eating, a short nap, a 44 minute ice bath, and answering about a zillion e-mails. All that followed by a rare-for-me 8 full hours of sleep. I will be hard working on editing the first draft of the DPP 4.0 RAW Conversion eGuide that I am doing with Arash Hazeghi. I am getting very close…. This blog post, the 291st in a row, was published at about 6:30am from my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL.
As always, I would appreciate your using the BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases, using our Amazon logo-link for all of your household purchases, and visiting the BAA Online Store for your tripod, tripod head, LensCoat, miscellaneous, accessories, and eGuide purchases as well. Please remember, web orders only. 🙂
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This image was created on the morning of September 16, 2012 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL, southwest of St. Petersburg, FL. I used the hand held Canon 500mm f/4L EF IS II lens, the Canon 1.4x EF tele-extender III, and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 2/3 stops off the light grey sky: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. Central Sensor Surround/AI Servo Rear Focus AF on the gowit’s face and recompose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image for a larger version. |
Difficult Questions
Though I did not process this image until just before my ice bath on Tuesday evening, I have always liked it. I especially like the soft light. I like how the brown tones of the godwit pick up the brown tones in the distant background. And y’all know that I love shorebirds, especially Marbled Godwits. When I saw one just after sunrise on the South Flats of the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY probably 36 years ago, I had no idea that that experience would change the remainder of my adult life. But it did just that.
I was lying flat down in wet sand when I created this image. A bit later the sun was coming in and out and I had a great time photographing the flying Sandwich, Royal, and Caspian Terns that were landing right in front of me. You gotta love winds with an easterly component in the morning.
#1: Should I have tried to get higher by sitting up? y standing up? Why or why not?
#2: What do you think of the placement of the three birds in the frame? Would you have done anything differently as far as the image design is concerned?
#3: Why is it OK to use rear focus and recompose (which is effectively one-shot AF) when you are lying down but not OK to use rear focus and recompose (effectively one-shot AF) when you are sitting or standing? (In those cases you are much better off using AI Servo AF and keeping it active at the moment of exposure.) Why? What difference does it make if you are lying down as opposed to sitting or standing?
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Fort DeSoto in fall is rich with tame birds. All of the images in this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or early October. I hope that you can join me there this October. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. |
First-ever BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field/Meetup Workshop Session (ITF/MWS): $50
Join me on the afternoon of October 10, 2014 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.
You will learn the basics of digital exposure and image design, autofocus basics, and how to get close to free and wild birds. We should get to photograph a variety of wading birds, shorebirds, terns, and gulls. This inexpensive afternoon workshop is designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
To register please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours with a credit card in hand to pay the nominal registration fee. Your registration fee is non-refundable. You will receive a short e-mail with instructions, gear advice, and meeting place at least two weeks before the event.
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Obviously folks attending the IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. The good news is that the days are relatively short in October. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. |
Fort DeSoto Fall IPT/October 11-13, 2014. 3 FULL DAYs: $1099. Limit 8.
Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, and terns who winter on the T-shaped peninsula that serves as their wintering grounds. With any luck, we should get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher likely. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. And Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork would not be unexpected.
Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join us on the ITF/MWS on Friday afternoon as my guest. See above for details on that.
On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, to, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).
At lunch (included) we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one. If you opt to bring your laptop, we will take a look at five of your best images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.
If you decide to register and are traveling to attend this IPT, please make your reservations at the Beachcomber Beach Resort, 6200 Gulf Blvd, St. Petersburg (St. Pete Beach), FL 33706 (727-367-1902) as soon as possible as rooms for the weekend days are scarce: ARR: 10 OCT/DEP 14 OCT. I stayed there on my last DeSoto visit and was quite happy with it. Lodging is tough in Florida at this season…. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). It is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel so if you are interested it would be a good idea to register now and make your hotel reservations as well. We can, however, coordinate easily with local folks who opt to stay at home either by cell phone or e-mail.
Because of the relatively late date, payment is full is due upon registration either by check or credit card. If the former, please e-mail us immediately so that we can save you a spot. If the latter, please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to register . Your registration fee is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight so please check your plans carefully before committing. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, gear advice, and first morning meeting place about one month before this IPT.
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BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT. |
Fort DeSoto Site Guide
Can’t make the IPT? Get yourself a copy of the Fort DeSoto Site Guide. Learn the best spots, where to be when in what season in what weather. Learn the best wind directions for the various locations. BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT. You can see all of them here.
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Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂
Hi, Artie. I won’t read the other resonses. 1. If you had been higher, the horizon would have moved higher and the whole background would have been the white sand. But you’d have lost the nice reflections, so on balance, I’d say no, you shouldn’t have got higher. 2. I’m not big on moving things around, so I’m happy with the placement of the three nbirds as they are. 3. This one is NOT difficult because you’ve explained it so often. When you’re lying down you’re steady so one-shot AF is fine. Sitting or standing, you’re more likely to move a bit back and forth and so you want Ai Servo to make sure the subject stays in focus.
I’ll take a crack at #3–when you’re lying down and the subject is on the same horizontal plane as you are (on the ground), focusing on the eye of the bird then re-composing keeps the whole bird in focus, near the vertical plane of the bird’s eye. If you’re sitting or standing, where you have to point down to shoot the bird on the ground, if you focus on the eye then re-compose, other parts of the bird are now either further or closer than your focusing distance which means those parts could well be out of focus. This type of focus ‘error’ is less prevalent the further away from the subject you are, not only because DOF increases as you get further away, but because the angle formed by the ground and your camera’s line of view gets smaller as you get further away.
I just knew this shot was Ft D before reading the caption. 🙂
1. If you raised the camera position the shoreline edge would intersect the neck or head in a less than pleasing manner IMO. I like it as is at the base of the neck.
2. I like the positioning. Had the godwit been centered between the willets it’d be a bit too symmetrical.
3. Less fore/aft swaying when prone.
1. No, because the relative heights of the chicks and the centre bird would change
and affect the nice triangular composition. Also the nice placement of the beak would
be spoiled.
2 No, I like it as it is.
3. You are much steadier lying down, with both elbows firmly supported. Any marksman
would agree, I’m sure. You could risk losing focus kneeling or standing.
No chicks; those are Willets. You gotta read the fine print. Otherwise good stuff. artie
Both comments above indicate that by sitting up (higher), the background would drop browns would drop down and interfere more with the birds. However, since the browns in the background are in the distance, as you sit higher (or stand), shouldn’t the background elements would move “higher” in the frame? Therefore, not being behind the birds at all. Probably not being in the image at all.
I like the background colors, so I would agree with lying down and not sitting up.
Hey Warren, I agree that some folks are confused as to what happens to a distant background as you get higher…. I will follow up on this one. artie
Aha, I am one of the confused ones, thinking just the opposite of what really happens. I just checked on this after seeing Warren’s comment.
Artie: Thank you for all of information that you pass on daily through your blog. I’ve placed an order for the new 7D Mark II through your BAA site. I hope that you get the credit.
Dave Drake
Many thanks David. Please shoot me your B&H receipt via e-mail so that I can follow up. Good luck with your new body.artie
Beautiful colors!
#1: Should I have tried to get higher by sitting up? y standing up? Why or why not? Lying down seems the best to me. I like images taken on the same level as the birds. Sitting probably would have put the godwits head in the white sky with the brown/green behind its neck–not as good. Standing would do the same and would give an angled down look on the long bill–bill, which is the real subject to me, has more impact seen straight on. Being higher would place the green/brown background lower causing a centered horizon–not good
#2: What do you think of the placement of the three birds in the frame? Would you have done anything differently as far as the image design is concerned? I like the godwit just left of center as it is, rather than centered. The larger spaces on both sides of the peep on the right balance the godwit and small peep on the left who are close together
#3: Why is it OK to use rear focus and recompose (which is effectively one-shot AF) when you are lying down but not OK to use rear focus and recompose (effectively one-shot AF) when you are sitting or standing? (In those cases you are much better off using AI Servo AF and keeping it active at the moment of exposure.) Why? What difference does it make if you are lying down as opposed to sitting or standing?
Lying down, your elbows and body would be firmly planted in the sand so you could hold the camera steady and use Al Servo/recompose. If you use Al Servo/recompose standing or sitting, your elbows will not be as firmly secured and the body will wave around causing the camera to move a bit and lose focus on the spot that you want in focus. So you need to use Al Servo w/o recompose to keep Al Servo holding focus on the spot you want even as you move slightly.
#1: Should I have tried to get higher by sitting up? Why or why not?
I would say no to sitting up. You probably would’ve lost the blue near
the top, plus its possible the browns from the distant background would’ve
intersected the two birds on the end too much.
#2: What do you think of the placement of the three birds in the frame? Would you have done anything differently as far as the image design is concerned?
The only thing I can think of was to maybe move to your left a little bit so there would’ve been a more even space between the bird on the left and the bird on the right.