Stuff
We canceled our after-lunch Photoshop sessionon Friday because sky conditions were perfect. We headed out at 2:30 and made hay with the clouds and the soft light with occasional sunshine. We visited several of the iconic locations and discovered some neat new vantage points and locations as well. After waking again at 2:00am and being on the road by three, sunrise from atop Steptoe Butte fizzled, but we still created some nice images. Then, while it was still cloudy we were off to the races. We found a killer new decrepit barn with a black cloud behind it. And then we worked one of my favorite old red barns up toward Rosalia. So far we have been blessed with skies full of clouds and with soft light. It looks, however, as if blue skies are coming 🙁
The Streak
Just in case you have not been counting, today makes 19 days in a row with a new educational blog post 🙂
2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. Monday July 3 through Wednesday July 12, 2017: $5999 + $1499: Limit 10 photographers — Openings: 5). The (really cheap) two-day Gannet/Bass Rock Add-on is now part of the trip.
Please call 863-692-0906 for info on the substantial Late Registration Discount.
Here is some great info on the July 2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT: I have finalized the cottage and vehicle rental arrangements. We have room for several additional folks, at least for a couple and single. And I am in position, as noted above, to offer a rather substantial late registration discount. Please call us at 863-692-0906 or get in touch via e-mail. Scroll down here for additional details and the travel plans.
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.
AF-S Nikon 80-400 1:4.5-5.6G ED Lens
Price Reduced $200! June 10, 2017.
Sue Jarrett is offering a AF-S Nikon 80-400 1:4.5-5.6G ED lens (the newer version) in excellent condition for the record-low BAA price of $1449.95 (was $1649.95.) The sale includes front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, a padded lens bag with strap, and insured ground shipping to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Sue via e-mail or by phone at 1-843-252-2082 (afternoons Eastern time).
This, the newer version of the very versatile Nikon 80-400mm VR lens is supposed to be a lot sharper than the original model. artie
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This in-camera Art Vivid JPEG image was created on the second morning of the 2017 Palouse IPT with the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 200m) with my favorite bird photography camera, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2 stops (Auto Dynamic Range) around a base exposure of 1/125 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. WB: 7500. Center flexi-zone rear focus AF as framed. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1: Eastern predawn sky with lenticular clouds at 4:50am, 5 minutes before the time of sunrise |
Happy White Balance Accident
When we got up to Steptoe Butte early on Friday morning, 4:05am was early enough for most, I was set up for in-camera HDRs. I assumed the K4500 White Balance was left over from the previous session so I just started photographing the distant clouds. The color looked stunning. When I checked the WB I was surprised to note that it was set at K7500. I let the group know and we all had a ball as the fog came and went and fortunately, had dissipated right before sunrise. Do understand two things:
- 1-the color with HDR Art Vivid will always be funked up even when you are working in good light even with the WB set cool in the vicinity of K4500.
- 2-the image quality with in-camera JPEGs will always be lower than with images created from converted RAW files that are then assembled as HDRs in Photomatix or NIK or Photoshop, or images created grunge-style from a single converted RAW file.
So why am I addicted to in-camera HDR Art Vivid JPEGs?
- 1-Because the convenience is unbeatable.
- 2-I do not make many large prints. And all of the in-camera HDR images that I have printed as large as 16X24 inches as gifts for the various property owners have looked superb. When considering what capture medium you are going to use and when considering the purchase of new gear, one should always ask themselves, “What will I be using these images for?” For me it comes down to using the images for the blog and possibly for submission to Getty. So in the long run, since I will rarely if ever be creating 40 X 60 inch or larger prints, the image quality with in-camera HDR JPEGS (be sure to save the process files as TIFFs) is plenty good enough.
- 3-The time spent optimizing the in-camera JPEGs is minimal as there is no need to convert a RAW image. A bit of color work is needed with some images along with NeatImage noise reduction, almost always on the entire image.
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This in-camera Art Vivid JPEG image was created on the first morning of the 2017 Palouse IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens and my favorite bird photography camera, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop (Auto Dynamic Range) around a base exposure of 1/250 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. WB: K4500. Flexi-zone rear focus AF on the letter “G.” Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #2: Eastern per-dawn sky at 4:51am, 4 minutes before the time of sunrise |
Your Choice?
Which of today’s two featured images is your favorite? Be sure to let us know why you liked the one you did. If you do not like either image, please let us know why not. As always, the more folks that chime in the more everyone learns, including me.
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Images and card design copyright: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Click on the card to enjoy a spectacular larger version. |
2017 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. Monday July 3 through Wednesday July 12, 2017: $5999 + $1499: Limit 10 photographers — Openings: 4).
All who register will be required to join the (really cheap) two-day Gannet/Bass Rock Add-on. See below for details.
Please call 863-692-0906 for info on the substantial Late Registration Discount.
Here are the plans: take a red eye from the east coast of the US on July 2 and arrive in Edinburgh, Scotland on the morning of Monday July 3 no later than 10am (or simply meet us then at the Edinburgh Airport–EDI, or later in the day at our cottages if you are driving your own vehicle either from the UK or from somewhere in Europe). Stay 7 nights in one of two gorgeous modern country cottages.
There are five days of planned puffin/seabird trips and one morning of gannet photography, all weather permitting of course. In three years we have yet to miss an entire day because of weather… In addition, we will enjoy several sessions of photographing nesting Black-legged Kittiwakes at eye level.
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Images and card design copyright: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Click on the card to enjoy a spectacular larger version. |
The Details
We will get to photograph Atlantic Puffin, Common Murre, Razorbill, Shag, and Northern Gannet; Arctic, Sandwich, and Common Terns, the former with chicks of all sizes; Black-headed, Lesser-Black-backed, and Herring Gulls, many chasing puffins with fish; Black-legged Kittiwake with chicks. We will be staying in upscale country-side lodging that are beyond lovely with large living areas and lots of open space for the informal image sharing and Photoshop sessions. The shared rooms are decent-sized, each with a private bathroom. See the limited single supplement info below.
All breakfasts, lunches and dinners are included. All 5 puffins boat lunches will need to be prepared by you in advance, taken with, and consumed at your leisure. I usually eat mine on the short boat trip from one island to the other. Also included is a restaurant lunch on the gannet boat day.
If you wish to fly home on the morning of Monday July 10 we will get you to the airport. Please, however, consider the following tentative plans: enjoy a second Gannet boat trip on the afternoon of Monday July 10 and book your hotel room in Dunbar. If all goes as planned, those who stay on for the two extra days will make a morning landing at Bass Rock, one of the world’s largest gannetries. We will get everyone to the airport on the morning of Wednesday July 12.
Great News on the UK Puffins and Gannets/Bass Rock Extension
On the morning of Jul 10, 2017, we will sleep late and head up to Dunbar Harbor for lunch and an afternoon Gannet boat chumming trip: flight photography until you cannot lift your camera. One gannet boat trip is included in the IPT but everyone always wants more.
Then, as a possible mega bonus — we are scheduled to make a Bass Rock landing on the morning of Tuesday July 12, 2017. I am hoping to go two for two! If not, we do another chumming trip for flying gannets.
Included will be two nights lodging at the wonderful Dunsmuir hotel, two fine dining meals there, any additional meals, all boat, guide, and landing fees, and all transportation including the early morning transfer to the Edinburg Airport on the morning of WED July 12.
So far all five sign-ups are maximizing their travel dollars by signing up for the extension in part because I priced it so cheaply at $1499 despite my greatly increased costs.
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Images and card design copyright: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Click on the card to enjoy a spectacular larger version. Scroll down to join us in the UK in 2016. |
Deposit Info
If you are good to go sharing a room–couples of course are more than welcome–please send your non-refundable $2,000/person deposit check now to save a spot. Please be sure to check your schedule carefully before committing to the trip and see the travel insurance info below. Your balance will be due on March 29, 2017. Please make your check out to “Arthur Morris” and send it to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. 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 shoot me an e-mail if you are good to go or if you have any questions.
Single Supplement Deposit Info
Single supplement rooms are available on a limited basis. To ensure yours, please register early. The single supplement fee is $1575. If you would like your own room, please request it when making your deposit and include payment in full for the single supplement; your single supplement deposit check should be for $3,575. As we will need to commit to renting the extra space, single supplement deposits are non-refundable so please be sure that check your schedule carefully before committing to the trip and see the travel insurance info below.
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 :).
Hi, like many of the posts, I also like the second image. It shows me more of the ground and the sky is very interesting and beautiful.
Greetings.
Both images are beautiful, but I prefer the second image. I don’t care for the almost pure white sky in at the top of the first image.
Image #2 has great “depth” in the mountains (I’m not talking about depth-of-field). I like that I can see right though to the other side.
Mike
Hey, Arthur
The 2nd image is my favorite of the two. The color in the sky has a nice orange glow to it and the top is not as bright as the other image.
I prefer the second image: The landscape is more interesting to me than unusual clouds in this particular case, and I prefer less bright sky at the top of the image and more of the pre-dawn golden sky in the middle. Both are wonderful images.