A Not-so-Secret and Very Effective Wide Angle Weapon for Telephoto Photographers... And coming soon, a new e-guide to cell phone photography.

Stuff

Walked eleven plus miles on Thursday, 8+ on Friday. And a bit of easy swimming. I have been getting some work done and continue playing a bit of golf and getting some work done.

PHOTOEXPO 2018

If you missed the PHOTOEXPO 2018 announcement and live anywhere within driving or flying distance of Memphis, TN, click here for the info. I have rides to Beale Street for both nights. If you are attending, please stop by the BAA table for a handshake and a hug.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can always see the current listings by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Recent Sales

Bill Ketterer sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in excellent condition for the lowest ever BAA price of $3399.00 in early June.
Jim Keener sold his Canon EOS-1DX Mark II in near-mint condition for $3,999.00 the first day it was listed.
Ray Maynard sold his Canon 1.4X III teleconverter in near-mint condition for the low price of $299.00 in late June, 2018.
Randall Ennis sold his Canon EOS-1D Mark IV in excellent condition for $849.00 in late June.
Joel Williams sold his Sony Vario-Tessar T FE 16-35 f/4 ZA OSS lens in like-new condition for $629 (was $749) in late June, 2018.
Joel Williams also sold his Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR lens in like-new condition for $749 (was $949) in April 2018.
Pierre Williot sold his Canon EOS 7D Mark II in like-new condition for a very fair $848.00 in late June, 2018.
Top BAA used gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price of $1349.00 the first day it was listed in late June.
Jim Keener sold a Canon EOS 5D Mark III body in excellent condition for the BAA record-low price of $999.00 (was $1149.00) in mid-June.
Jim Keener sold a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for the BAA record low price of $1099.00 in Early June.
Steve Traudt sold an Xtrahand Vest, the Khumbu model, size XL, in very good condition for the BAA record-low price of $179.

New Listing

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Lens + circular polarizer

NANPA President Don Carter is offering a Canon Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens in excellent condition for the BAA record-low-by-far price of $525. The sale includes the original box, the lens carrying case, the front lens cap, a B&W 67mm circular polarizer, and insured ground shipping to US addresses via major courier. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Don via e-mail or by phone at (630) 390-0909 (Mountain time).

I owned and used this lens hand held for birds in flight at close range and for Urbex photography. You do not need the f/2.8 version when you are on a tripod! (Note: the tripod collar for this lens requires a separate purchase.) I used mine on the last Palouse IPT with great success. And I loved it so much on the gannet boat (where everything else is too heavy because the action is non-stop!) that I purchased the Nikon version, the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR just for the UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. If you shoot Canon and are planning on signing up for the 2019 Puffins and Gannets and Red Kites IPT you will want to grab this lens right now. . artie

Re-run

Canon EF Canon 100-400 L IS II USM Lens

I am offering a used Canon 100-400 L IS II in very good plus (almost excellent) condition and in perfect working order — I had to send it to Canon twice to restore smooth zooming — for $1399.00. The sale includes the original product box, the front and rear lens caps, the carrying case and strap, the manual, and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses. Your new lens will not ship until your check clears.

Please get in touch with artie via e-mail or on his cell phone at 863-221-2372 (Eastern time). Please leave a message if no answer.

Y’all know how much I loved and now miss this amazingly versatile lens. I expect it to sell very quickly. artie

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!

Via e-mail from Gary Meyer

Thanks for posting instructions on where to get the Nikon D850 quickly. Bedford shipped mine the same day. Wow, you sure got good connections!

Booking.Com

Several folks on the UK IPT used the Booking.Com link below for there Edinburgh hotels, got great rates, and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers 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. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

Image #1: The Pinnacles, Staple Island, Northumberland, UK i-phone 8+ image

A Not-so-Secret and Very Effective Wide Angle Weapon for Telephoto Photographers…

While I loved my Canon 24-105mm short zoom lens (now replaced by the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II) and used it often, it was a pain having to carry it in my vest (or elsewhere) and then change lenses, mounting it on the body that had been on my big lens. When I switched to Nikon it was the same story with the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR. It too is a sharp versatile lens that needs to be carried into the field separately from your telephoto or super-telephoto rig. And thus, can be challenging to use.

I owned an Android phone for forever but inspired by my good friend, Dr. Cliff Oliver of La Jolla, CA, I purchased an i-phone 8+ two years ago. But I tarried in getting started using my i-phone for photography. When I was in San Diego last January Cliff taught me the basics of i-phone photography while we were having dinner at the sit-down Promiscuous Fork in La Jolla. But the lessons did not stick. On the Norway trip I was again cell phone photography inspired by Amy Novotny. Both Amy and Anita North helped me to actually begin making images. By the time we got to the UK, I had the basics down. Thanks to Amy and Anita. Amy uses tons of cell phone images on her blog, Amy’s Impressions.

When I made the image above, we were on Glad Tidings IV on the sight-seeing portion of the trip. As there was no way to make a decent image of the Pinnacles I simply reached into my pocket, grabbed my i-phone 8+, and made a few images. The one above is my favorite of the series. The clear blue skies and bright sun were great for the tourists but not what the serious photographers had been hoping for; we had too, too many sunny days and the unprecedented warm, sunny weather in eastern Europe continues. See Day One of the British Open for another example …

Image #2: The Nesting Ledge by the Shed, The Pinnacles, Staple Island, Northumberland, UK i-phone 8+ image

This is More Like It!

We had very few cloudy days on the 2018 UK Puffins and Gannets IPT. This was the best of them. I made Image #2 while actually on Staple Island, on the opposite side of the Pinnacles. The clouds of course make the image. With the wind from the west northwest we had great chances all morning long with landing Common Murres (Common Guillemots on that side of the pond) and with the puffins in flight. If the skies had been blue we would have been looking right into the sun … The big nesting ledge is topped by many hundreds of pairs of nesting murres while the cliff walls are home to hundreds of kittiwakes and dozens of Razorbill pairs.

The originals from my i-phone 8 are of a rather boxy format, as seen with Image #2. I often crop towards 3X2 as I did with Image #1. The i-phones do a remarkably good job with the exposures and the image quality is surprisingly good. And the ease of making images and the convenience are off the charts.

Coming Soon

Dr. Cliff Oliver owns the old Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens and was a more than respectable nature photographer with film. But a long time ago, he transitioned completely to cell phone photography. He attended a course in Hawaii (I think …) taught by Dewitt Jones. Over the past few years Cliff himself has taught i-phonography courses in a variety of prestigious settings. He is current finishing up work on an yet-to-be-titled e-Guide to cell phone photography that will be available only from BIRDS AS ART.

That brings up an interesting point: if you are a lousy photographer who is unable to design pleasing images getting and learning to use a cell phone for photography will not make you a better photographer. These is not magic. But if you have a good eye and are interested in learning then you just might find using your cell phone for photography to be both great fun and highly rewarding. My i-phone 8= serves me well as a wide angle scenic lens and creates images that are more than suitable for my two main purposes: sharing beauty and education. And I look forward to learning to be much more versatile with my i-phone once I get my hands on Cliff’s new guide.

Your Favorite?

Which of today’s featured images do you feel is the strongest? Why?

Help Support the Blog

Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

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.

Facebook

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 :).