Not your typical Bosque image... Think you know Bosque? Head Angle Lesson...

What’s Up

I worked hard on re-doing the 2014 tax return in the morning and then got lazy, i.e., I spent the rest of the day and night watching various NFL games (I have NFL package) and some UFC on Tivo. And ate too much. Ah, once in a great while is not too, too bad. The lunar eclipse here fizzled in the drizzle. I enjoyed a long early morning swim before vegging out. Good news? Denise safely made the long drive to Inlet, NY. And we did sign up two folks for the second Bosque IPT. And a third for that one on Monday morning. Best not to tarry if you wish to join us. 🙂

I think that this post marks 60 consecutive days with a new, educational blog post.

veg out (adapted from the Urban Dictionary):

Derived from “vegetative state” as often used in the medical field. A state of total physical apathy, usually on a couch or bed with music or in front of a TV.

The earliest media use of the term “veg out” originates from the 1990 film Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts says: “Let’s watch old movies all night… we’ll just veg out in front of the TV.”

This blog post took about an hour to prepare and was published at 6am on Monday, September 28, 2015.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. After a big rush things have slowed down a bit over the past few week. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the original 400mm IS DO lens have been dropping steadily.

You can see all of the current listings here.

Canon 100-400 L IS zoom lens (the old 1-4)

Susan Carnahan is offering a used Canon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L IS (the old 1-4) in excellent condition for $675. The sale includes insured shipping via either Fed Ex or UPS Ground or USPS to U.S. addresses. Included are original fabric case, the lens strap, the front and rear caps, the lens hood, and the tripod collar. The lens will be shipped after your check clears. Photos of the lens are available upon request.

Please Contact Susan via e-mail.

Both denise and I owned and used the original 1-4 for many, many years and made hundreds of high quality images with it with pretty much every Canon camera body in production. This one is priced to sell. My photo of flock of Snow Geese on a road at Bosque with a big sky full of clouds was created with my old 1-4. It was used as cover art on “Return to Wild America” by Scott Weidensaul. artie

This image was created on the 4-day Bosque IPT last year with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the amazing Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/4 in Tv mode. White Balance: 8,000K. Center AF point/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The active AF point was on the tree branches as this we originally framed; I added a bit of canvas left for the pano look. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Distant Red-tailed Hawk perched at sunrise

Not your typical Bosque image…

When photographers think of Bosque they envision skies full of geese, vivid red sunrises and sunsets, killer images of single geese and cranes in flight, and mind boggling blast-offs. But, there is lots more for those who have learned to see and to think creatively. Making small in the frame images of single birds is a challenge but when you pull it off the results can be quite rewarding.

If you like this one and would like to see another really strong one see this blog post: “One-Frame Wonder: Tiny-in-the Frame 7D Mark II Image.” Strange that both were made with the 7D Mark II….

Think You Know Bosque?

Do you think that you know Bosque? If yes, let us know exactly where on the refuge this image was made and what direction I was facing. It is one of my favorite spots and I know to look for images like this most every morning. It is just a matter of knowing where and exactly when to look….

Nobody knows the refuge as well as I do, at least for the purpose of bird and nature photography. And denise and I have nearly 30 years of combined experience at this great location. Consider learning from the best by joining us on one of this year’s two Bosque IPTs.

Head Angle Questions

How is the head angle in this image? How important is head angle when the bird is small in the frame?

In 2015, we are offering a 3-DAY IPT before Thanksgiving and a 4-DAY IPT after the holiday. You can attend either and spend Thanksgiving Day with your family. Sign up for both and we will be glad to apply a $100 discount to your balance. We know that there are lots of less costly workshops being offered these days. Many of them are downright cheap. Please remember that you get exactly what you pay for. With us you will have two full time pros there for you every minute we are in the field. Together they have more than 28 seasons of experience at the refuge. If you want the finest in photographic instruction and want to be assured of being in the right spot at exactly the right time every day, do join us.

Bosque del Apache 2015 BIRDS AS ART/A Creative Adventure Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). 3-FULL DAY IPT: NOV 22-24, 2015. $1149. Two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. Meet and greet and introductory slide program after dinner on your own at 7:00pm on SAT NOV 21.

Just 2 spots left.

Tens of thousands of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with two of the world’s premier photographic educators at one of their very favorite photography locations on the planet. Top-notch in-the-field and Photoshop instruction. This will make 21 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for artie. This will be denise’s 7th workshop at the refuge. Nobody knows the place better than artie does. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home being able to apply what you’ve learned on your home turf will prove to be invaluable.

This workshop includes 3 morning and 3 afternoon photography sessions, an inspirational introductory slide program after dinner on your own on Saturday, 11/21, all lunches, and after-lunch digital workflow, Photoshop, and image critiquing sessions.

There is never a strict itinerary on a Bosque IPT as each day is tailored to the local conditions at the time and to the weather. We are totally flexible in order to maximize both the photographic and learning opportunities. We are up early each day leaving the hotel by 5:30 am to be in position for sunrise. We usually photograph until about 10:30am. Then it is back to Socorro for lunch and then a classroom session with the group most days. We head back to the refuge at about 3:30pm each day and photograph until sunset. We will be photographing lots of Snow Geese and lots of Sandhill Cranes with the emphasis on expanding both your technical skills and your creativity.

A $449 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 7/25/2015. If you cancel and 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. Whether or not 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. 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.

In 2015, we are offering a 3-DAY IPT before Thanksgiving and a 4-DAY IPT after the holiday. You can attend either and spend Thanksgiving Day with your family. Sign up for both and we will be glad to apply a $100 discount to your balance. We know that there are lots of less costly workshops being offered these days. Please remember that you get exactly what you pay for. If you want the finest in photographic instruction and want to be assured of being in the right spot at exactly the right time, do join us.

Bosque del Apache 2015 BIRDS AS ART/A Creative Adventure Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). 4-DAY IPT: (three full and two 1/2 DAYS) NOV 28-DEC 2, 2015. $1499. Two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. Meet and greet at 3pm on SAT NOV 28 followed by an afternoon photo session at the crane pools and the introductory slide program after dinner on your own.

Tens of thousands of Snow Geese, 10,000 Sandhill Cranes, ducks, amazing sunrises, sunsets, and blast-offs. Live, eat, and breathe photography with two of the world’s premier photographic educators at one of their very favorite photography locations on the planet. Top-notch in-the-field and Photoshop instruction. This will make 21 consecutive Novembers at Bosque for artie. This will be denise’s 7th workshop at the refuge. Nobody knows the place better than artie does. Join us to learn to think like a pro, to recognize situations and to anticipate them based on the weather, especially the sky conditions, the light, and the wind direction. Every time we make a move we will let you know why. When you head home being able to apply what you’ve learned on your home turf will prove to be invaluable.

This workshop includes 4 afternoon (11/28through 12/1), 4 morning (11/29 to 12/2) photography sessions, an inspirational introductory slide program after dinner on your own on Saturday, 11/28, all lunches, and after-lunch digital workflow, Photoshop, and image critiquing sessions.

There is never a strict itinerary on a Bosque IPT as each day is tailored to the local conditions at the time and to the weather. We are totally flexible in order to maximize both the photographic and learning opportunities. We are up early each day leaving the hotel by 5:30 am to be in position for sunrise. We usually photograph until about 10:30am. Then it is back to Socorro for lunch and then a classroom session with the group most days. We head back to the refuge at about 3:30pm each day and photograph until sunset. We will be photographing lots of Snow Geese and lots of Sandhill Cranes with the emphasis on expanding both your technical skills and your creativity.

A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance, payable only by check, will be due on 7/25/2015. If you cancel and 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. Whether or not 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. 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 after July 29.

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