Palouse Bird Photography... And An Exposure Lesson

What’s Up?

Monday was another day of working on blog posts to be published during my more than nine-week trip to South America and more work on a new version of “A Bird Photographer’s Story that I will be presenting next Saturday morning in Naples, FL. I enjoyed my usual easy 3/4 miles swim. That plus some core exercises and stretching. Right now there is a ton of room on the Palouse IPT. Check it out below.

Please remember that the blog is intended to be interactive; the higher the number of folks who participate, the more everyone learns, including you. And me.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending IPTs and dozens of the folks 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.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, illogical, preposterous, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 299 days in a row with a new educational blog post. There should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. Or not… As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

Selling Your Used 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. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. 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 current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the yellow-orange tab on the right side of the menu bar above.

Used Gear Sales Rocking!

• After getting a firm offer for $5,799 on his Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II lens in excellent condition, Paul Abravaya felt as if he were losing a close friend and could not do it. He kindly offered to send me a check for the 2 1/2%, but I felt bad for him so I settled for half. He was quite appreciative.
• IPT veteran Larry Master sold his Canon EOS 5DSR in like-new condition for $2799 in early September.
• Top pro Jim Zuckerman sold his Canon 7D Mark II in excellent condition for $899, his 5D Mark II in excellent condition for $799, and his Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM lens in very good condition for the amazingly low price of $1049 in early September, all within a week of listing.
• Yours truly sold his Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II lens in near-mint condition for $4783 in early September.
• Multiple IPT-veteran Sheldon Goldstein decided to keep his Canon EOS-5D Mark III and have it converted to Infrared by Kolari Vision using the link on the right side of each blog page. Folks who use that link will receive a free copy of my IR White Balance Guide.
• David Snyder sold his Nikon MF 500mm f/4P lens in good condition for $1199 in late August, 2016.
• Michael Hansen sold a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens in excellent plus condition for $1599 in late August.
• Peter Noyes sold an Apple MacBook Pro with 15.4 inch Retina Display, 16 GB memory, a 1 TB Flash Drive, 2.8 GHZ Intel Core I7 processor, and Force-Touch keypad in excellent condition for $1,199 in late August.
• Multiple IPT-veteran Mike Goldhamer sold his Canon EOS-5D Mark III (with the battery grip) in excellent plus condition for $1550 in late August.

New Listings

Canon EOS 5DSR DSLR

Sale Pending in two hours!

Multiple IPT veteran Phil Frigon is offering a barely used Canon EOS 5DSR in like-new condition for $2799. The sale includes the front body cap, the battery charger, the original product box, the original cables, manuals, and CDs, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Phil via e-mail or by phone at 1-785 632 4949.

(Note: this camera is for sale though I am awaiting confirmation of all the details above. artie)

Without an anti-aliasing filter, the 5DS R will–for those with good sharpness techniques–produce large high-quality image files that feature hard to believe detail. You have seen the amazing 100% crops showing fine-feather detail in many blog posts including (but not limited to) this one. And as you can see here, it is not bad for flight photography either. artie

Gitzo GT3532LS Carbon Fiber Tripod & a Wimberley V2 Tripod Head

Sold in one hour!

Joe Alexander is offering a Gitzo GT3532LS carbon fiber tripod and a Wimberley V-2 WH-200 gimbal head both in like-new condition for $799. The sale includes the original product boxes: all parts, washers, shims, lubricant, and two different sets of alternate tripod feet that came with the tripod; and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Paypal preferred and seller will pay Paypal fee. If paying by check, your item will not ship until your check clears.

Please contact Joe via e-mail or by phone at 301-639-0783 or 301-371-9607 (eastern time).

I used Gitzo tripods and a Wimberley head for about a decade before switching first to the Mongoose M3.6 Action Head and more recently to the Induro GIT 304L tripod. That said, Joe’s setup represents a huge savings for someone can deal with the weight of the Wimberley head. Grab Joe’s stuff and save $724.88 off the price of new… artie

This in-camera HDR Art Vivid image was created on an off-day between the two 2016 Palouse IPTs with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 200mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero (automatic dynamic range) around a base exposure of 1/320 sec. at f/11 in Av mode. WB = 5600K. Live View with 2-second timer. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF on a center window frame and recompose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Barn with Rock Pigeon

Palouse Bird Photography…

Hey, Vinnie, what’s a matter with you? Can’t find the bird? Check out the Rock Pigeon in the upper right corner of the frame. Speaking of frame, framing this image was difficult as I did not want to include anything extra on either side. After doing the best that I could in the field, I got the job finished to my satisfaction with the Crop Tool.

An Exposure Question

Most times, when creating an Art Vivid HDR on cloudy days, I recommend that folks add one full stop of extra light to come up with a good exposure for the in-camera created JPEG. Why then, for this image, did I use an EC of zero?

Palouse 2016 Horizontals Card

Why Different?

Announcing the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour

In what ways will the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour be different from the most other Palouse workshops?

There are so many great locations that a seven-day IPT (as opposed to the typical three- or five-day workshops) will give the group time to visit (and revisit) many of the best spots while allowing you to maximize your air travel dollars. In addition, it will allow us to enjoy a slightly more relaxed pace.

You will be assured of being in the right location for the given weather and sky conditions.

You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills.

You will learn to design powerful, graphic images.

You will visit all of the iconic locations and a few spectacular ones that are much less frequently visited.

You will learn long lens landscape techniques.

You will learn to master any exposure situation in one minute or less.

You will learn the fine points of Canon in-camera (5D Mark III, 5DS R, and 7D II) HDR techniques.

You will be able to share a variety of my exotic Canon lenses including the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens and the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens, aka the “circle lens.”

You will learn to use your longest focal lengths to create rolling field and Urbex abstracts.

You will learn when and how to use a variety of neutral density filters to create pleasing blurs of the Palouse’s gorgeous rolling farmlands.

As always, you will learn to see like a pro. You will learn what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time. You will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images.

You will learn to use super-wide lenses both for big skies and building interiors.

You will learn when, why, and how to use infrared capture; if you do not own an infrared body, you will get to borrow mine.

You will learn to use both backlight and side-light to create powerful and dramatic landscape images.

This trip will run with one participant.

Palouse 2016 Verticals Card

The 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
June 8-14, 2017. Seven full days of photography. Meet and greet at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 7: $2,499. Limit 10/Openings: 9.

Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will enjoy spectacular sunrises and at least one nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. I will bring you to more than a few really neat old abandoned barns and farmhouses in idyllic settings. There is no better way to improve your compositional and image design skills and to develop your creativity than to join me for this trip. Photoshop and image sharing sessions when we have the time and energy…. We get up early and stay out late and the days are long.

Over the past three years, with the help of a friend, we found all the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and vistas. What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, my extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions. As above, there will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before the workshop begins.

To Sign Up

Your non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your spot. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining this IPT. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours to arrange for the payment of your deposit; if by check, please make out to “BIRDS AS ART” and mail it to: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail: artie.

Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options. You can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check. Whenever purchasing travel insurance be sure to read the fine print carefully even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New 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 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 we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

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Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!

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 🙂