Tips « Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Image Optimization Magic Part II

This image of an adult Bald Eagle beginning a dive was created on the recently concluded Homer, Alaska Instructional Photo-Tour with the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM zoom lens (hand held at 207mm) and the Canon EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop off the blue sky 30 degrees up from the horizon: […]

Ugly Lessons II

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Black Vulture head portrait; immature. Indian Lake Estates, FL. This image was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop (as framed): 1/400 sec. at f/9 set manually. The lens was supported by the BAA-designed […]

Nikon DSLR User's Guide

Bald Eagle Striking, near Homer, AK. Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO Autofocus Lens for Nikon handheld at 350mm with the Nikon D700. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/1600 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode.

Purchasing this Nikon DSLR User’s Guide will not guarantee that you will make images as good […]

IPT Student Getting Too Good? Part II with Image Critiques

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Coastal Brown Bear Cub with salmon sliver, Geographic Harbor, Katmai National Park, AK. Image courtesy of and copyright 2011: Clemens van der Werf. This image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 1000. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6 […]

Beanbag Sharpness Issues

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This image was created down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/8 set manually.

The 800 was supported by a BLUBB resting on […]

Capture and Beyond Workflow Lessons That You Cannot Afford to Miss

Capture and Beyond Workflow Lessons That You Cannot Afford to Miss

There are no images to accompany this post. Why? When I first started digital photography in September, 2002 (not 2001 as I have written before…), I did not realize that it was important to save each RAW file. Each RAW file is the digital […]

For Your Critique: Image #9

This panorama was created from seven vertical frames stitched together in Photoshop (File/Automate/Photomerge). The individual images were made with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark III (replaced now by the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/800 sec. at 8.

As is my habit, […]

Sweet Situation

Western Gull, adult head portrait. Image created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-50D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/250 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Fill flash at -2 stops with the Canon 580 EX flash on the 4th Generation Design Integrated Flash Arm with the Better […]

Rattler Options!

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Here I started with Fractalius’s Rounded pre-set on its own layer and did lots of fine-tuning to get the look that I wanted. The image was then tweaked in Photoshop. The snake’s original eyes were revealed by painting away the Layer mask that I created (on the Fract layer). With […]

Watch Your Step...

Tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, a 25mm Extension tube, the 1.4X III TC, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/60 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. I placed the tube on the lens and the TC on the camera for a bit of extra close focus but doing it […]

I Finally Got in the Water...

This image was created this morning at Indian Lake Estates, FL with the tripod-mounted Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens with the 1.4X III TC and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV ISO 200. This is a 7-frame AEB HDR: +/- one stop around Evaluative metering at zero: 1/800 sec. at f/8. Central sensor/rear-focus AI […]

Something From Nothing Sillhouette Lesson

Tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/500 sec. at f/25 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/Rear Focus AI Servo AF and re-compose. Read on to learn about rear focus.

Lens/TC/Camera Body Micro-Adjustment: 0.

For a greater appreciation of […]

Something From Nothing?

The images in the animated GIF above were created at Nickerson Beach, Long Island, NY with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/500 sec. at f/25 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/Rear Focus AI Servo AF and re-compose. […]

Traveling With Your Photo Gear On Puddle Jumpers and Small Regional Jets

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This Bald Eagle was photographed at Lower Klamath NWR, CA when I traveled to the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath, OR. As often happens, I flew the last leg on a very small jet (into the Klamath Falls airport–LMT for those of you who are into three letter airport codes.) […]

Need A Haircut? & Canon 300 f/2.8L IS II Alert

This image was created on Denise Ippolito’s Creative Photography workshop at the now derelict Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA with the Canon 24-105mm L IS lens at 24mm and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200. Evaluative metering: 7-frame AEB +/- 1 stop around -1 stop: 1.6 seconds at f/16. 2 sec. self timer. […]

Mark IV Alert

This image was created at Nickerson Beach, Long Island, NY with the tripod-mounted (I was kneeling) Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, a 25mm Extension tube, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/13.

Lens micro-adjustment: -4. Central sensor/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF and re-compose.

The extension […]

Preparing JPEGs for the Web & More Photoshop Tips

This image was created at Nickerson Beach, Long Island, NY with the tripod-mounted (I was kneeling) Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, a 25mm Extension tube, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6

Lens micro-adjustment: -4. Central sensor/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF (with AF active at the moment […]

The Trap: Lousy Light, Boring Birds

This image was created at Nickerson Beach, NY with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops was a big underexposure but I knew that I need some shutter speed: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6

Lens micro-adjustment: -4. Two sensors below the center AI […]

Bosque Thanksgiving Buffet Invite & More

For a greater appreciation of the composite image, click on the photo. Click on the enlarged version to close it.

Bosque Thanksgiving Buffet Invite

For the past ten years or so I have hosted a Thanksgiving Day midday meal, in part to honor the memory of my late-wife, Elaine Belsky Morris, and in […]

Juvie Sanderling: Capture, Clean-up and Cropping Lessons

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I created this image while seated behind my tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4X III TC and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/10 in Manual mode.

Lens/TC/camera body Micro-adjustment: 0.

Juvie Sanderling Capture Lessons

As regular readers […]