What’s Up
By Friday dinner I was feeling much better. I met up with Michael Hankes and we headed for DeSoto. While exploring on Tierra Verde we spotted a great blue with a big black snake, probably a racer. He did not like us and walked down to the shore of a nearby lake. As we followed he went over the bank. When we got it back in sight, it had already swallowed the snake. Zero pix. We did get some decent stuff on a few spoonbills.
The weather got worse as we checked out a few spots in the park. At one point, as we were getting our gear ready, I asked Mike, “Do you think it’s safe?” He said, “What are the chances of getting hit by lighting?” Five seconds later we had our answer: BHAM and FLASH. And I mean big BHAM and huge bright FLASH! We got back in the car and decided to head for dinner.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of 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.
Please Don’t Forget …
As always–and folks have been doing a really great job for a long time now–please remember to use our B&H links for your major and minor 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 BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would of course appreciate your business.
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This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL with the BLUBB-supported Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III and the blazing fast, rugged Canon EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR Camera Premium Kit with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/400 sec. at f/6.3 (was somewhat of a too light estimate). AWB. Upper Large Zone/Shutter Button/AI Servo AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system selected two AF points that fell on the bend of the wing. Though this would seem to be just ahead of the plane of the bird’s eye the image was sharp enough. Image Sandhill Crane colt on a foggy morning |
The Foggy Morning Original
The JPEG above represents the converted TIFF file. I actually added one full stop of light via the brightness slider during the RAW conversion. It was tough to get the lens on the bird as the colt was walking away from my vehicle that was not squared up with the bird. When the bird turned toward me I figured, it does not cost me anything to push the button so what the heck. I created two frames. This one was sharp, the other was not.
Would you keep this image and attempt to optimize it?
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This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL with the BLUBB-supported Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III and the blazing fast, rugged Canon EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR Camera Premium Kit with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/400 sec. at f/6.3 (was somewhat of a too light estimate). AWB. Upper Large Zone/Shutter Button/AI Servo AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system selected two AF points that fell on the bend of the wing. Though this would seem to be just ahead of the plane of the bird’s eye the image was sharp enough. Image Sandhill Crane colt on a foggy morning |
The Optimized Image
I thought that ACR’s DeHaze would have worked magically with this image but it did not so I want back to basics: a Levels Adjustment, a Curves Color Balance adjustment, my NIK 30-30 recipe on the bird only, and the full treatment NeatImage noise reduction.
Your Call
On a scale of zero to 10 with zero being an insta-delete and 10 being a BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition entrant, how would you rate this image? Why?
On a scale of zero to 10 with zero being very poor and 10 being excellent how would you rate this image on:
Composition:
Exposure:
Color:
Sharpness:
Impact:
I will share my ratings with you here soon.
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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 learn to create this look in Photoshop from a single image while winding up with a higher quality image file.
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.
You will learn to create the very popular detailed, slightly grungy, slightly over-saturated look in Photoshop.
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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: 7.
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 my friend Denise Ippolito, 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 please remember that I am 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, 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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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 :).
10,9,9,7,0. It’s a good picture for identification of the species, but it offers no excitement.
With what today’s cameras are capable of, if I like the composition in an image I’ll see if there’s any way to save it in post in situations like this one.
Hi Artie – nice photoshop job to save this image! I would rate it as follows: Composition: 5 – suggest moving left in the frame to give it room to fly. Also suggest making the bird smaller in the frame to indicate that it is a colt.
Exposure, Color, Sharpness: 8 for good photoshop work.
Impact: 6 an average portrait of a bird not doing anything.
Very Best, Bill Fraser
Hi, Artie. Glad you’re feeling better. Interesting images and questions. In some ways I like the original (non-optimized) better for its ethereal quality, but obviously in other ways I prefer the optimized image (stands out more, color).
Composition: 6. The bird doesn’t have enough space, especially over its head and in front of it (to our right). Nice background though and foreground.
Exposure: 10. I can’t see anything wrong with the exposure.
Color: 8. It’s a bit too HDR-like for my taste but maybe that’s just because I compared it with the original. But 8/10 is pretty good.
Sharpness: 8. It’s certainly sharp enough at this magnification. As your caption says.
Impact: 6. It’s a nice image of a young bird but it doesn’t jump out at me. Now you’ll tell us it was honored by the BBC….congratulations. 🙂
Hi Artie,
3,4,3,4,1
The neck and eye are not sharp. The bird is just standing there – not interesting.
There is too much green in the shot – needs another color for balance.
Nothing in this shot says “Arthur Morris”.
Nothing interesting going on and no intimacy drawing us in, pulling on our heart strings, etc. Most often my reaction is WOW. (the recent Double-Crested Cormorant shot for example).
This shot is way too pedestrian for you!
10 I like it. If it had been possible I would like to have seen a horizontal with bird on left side too, but wasn’t possible.
7 can’t see much detail in white on top of head.
3 seems to have a red cast especially down in the grasses? But maybe they really are that color?
5 neck isn’t that sharp but it could be my eyes which are changing after cataract surgery
0 needs to be more unusual to be a grabber
To me the OOF back & foregrounds are lovely, perfect head angle.
Bet you have many images more deserving of your time.
It’s a solid 7.
Composition: 7 I think it needs more land to the right of bird Exposure: 8 It appears to be backlit a bit so it should appear a tad dark in front Color: 9 Sharpness: 6 Seems fuzzy, but I have never seen a colt before, perhaps they are fuzzy and this score should be higher Impact: 3 bird seems a bit boxed in Thanks for letting me participate.
Hi Artie, I really like this image, I think the success of the optimization is amazing. The composition is very pleasing to my eye with the end of the ridge of grass just below the knee joint. The dark pastel green of the background contrasts and draws my attention to the orange bill. The exposure seems fine to me and it seems sharp. Technically this image is great but I am not sure what impact it has on the viewer. In the way that an action shot might have or an image that evokes feelings of anthropomorphism and emotions.
Glad to hear you are feeling better after your bout of flu.
Jake
10, 5, 5, 8, 0
Nice enough image Artie, but for me & certainly the BBC, it just does not have that ‘WOW’ factor….. Sorry.