What’s Up?

I put the finishing touches on my Tuesday evening slide program for the Camera Club of Brevard. And enjoyed a balmy swim with the pool at 76 degrees and the air temp in the mid-70s. I did my knee, shoulder, and core exercises, and enjoyed a relaxing but cold ice bath: the water had warmed up to 59 degrees when I got out.

Both Palouse IPTs have been filling up. Scroll down for the complete details.

This Just In!

Don Mullaney sold his Canon 600mm f/4L IS II lens in mint condition for $9499, the full asking price, on February 1, 2016.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 90 days in a row with a new educational blog post. Again, please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. 🙂

Thanks to Dan Neri, Len Musmeci, and the Canon Explorers of Light program for their support of the Camera Club of Brevard speaking gig.

Melbourne EoL Speaking Event

On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 I will be presenting “A Bird Photographer’s Story” for the Camera Club of Brevard. The meeting begins at 6:30pm and is free and open to the public. This program is sponsored by Canon USA/Explorers of Light. A small selection of books and CDs will be available for sale. You can find complete details including the location here.

B&H

B&H contributed generously as the primary SDNHM exhibition sponsor. Thank them (and me for the blog) by clicking on the logo link above to shop.

This image was created (hand held) on the January 2010 San Diego IPT with the old 100-400 (at 185mm) and the original 7D. As most of you know, the old 1-4 is now replaced by the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens and the old 7D by the amazing Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6. AWB. It looks as if a bit of fill flash was used. In soft light, I tried to limit my use of the old 7D to ISO 500 and below. As you can clearly see here, this camera is perfectly capable of making some nice images. The 7D II, however, is a huge improvement. Brown Pelican with bill pouch distended with the old 7D and the old 100-400.

If You Don’t Believe Me, Believe Denise Ippolito…

The question of the day, if owned a 7D and the old 100-400, and you could only upgrade one item, which should it be, and why?

As I mentioned yesterday, what seemed like a fairly difficult question was actually an easy one.

I advised Jim Hoover to purchase the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. He did.

Th early returns here on the blog were for him to upgrade to the new Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens. But by mid-morning, lots of folks began to chime in for keeping the old 1-4 and going for the 7D II. The question got lots of play on Facebook as well, with sort of the opposite situation; most early commenters were all in favor of the 7D II, and then there was a slew of folks proclaiming, “Always get the best lens.”

While I agree with that in principle as good advice, the 7D Mark II is so many light-years better than the old 7D that for me–and for many others who had previously upgraded from the 7D to the 7D II–the choice was an easy one. Why? Better image quality, that by a mile. Better control of high ISO noise. A much faster frame rate. And a vastly improved autofocus system. Interestingly enough, nearly every person on the blog and on Facebook who upgraded from the old 7D to the new 7D II thought that Jim should upgrade the camera and not the lens…

It comes as no surprise to regulars here that I love, cherish, and adore my 100-400II; it may just be my all-time favorite lens. But for Jim, it made no sense to stick with the 7D and upgrade to the 1-4 II. The much-maligned original 100-400 is a great lens. It is sharp throughout its focal length range and is very versatile. The advantages of the new lens are the improved 4-stop IS system and its amazing close focus of .98 meters (3.2fet). But the advantages of the 7D II over the original 7D far outweigh the advantages of the new 1-4 over the old 1-4.

So What Does Denise Ippolito Have to Do With This?

Denise Ippolito always loved her original 100-400. She sold it on the Used Gear Page about a year ago and has used the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II with the 2X III TC and usually the 7D II since then, with amazing results I might add. Though she has spoken often about getting the new 1-4, I am pretty sure that she has not done so yet. If you ask her about the original 7D and she will tell you that she did not like that camera one bit. Why? Poor quality image files, even at ISO 400. She could not stand the look of those tiny pixels. And she felt that anything above ISO 400 was horrible. She loves her 7D II for birds and most wildlife. So for her, and for me as well, it is an open and shut case for upgrading the camera body. Note: her go-to body for flowers and urbex is the 5D Mark III.

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. Even the prices on the new 600 II and the 200-400 with Internal Extender have been plummeting. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the right side of the yellow-orange menu bar above.

To say that sales during the last two weeks of January have been brisk, would be a big understatement:

• Gregg Hunt sold his 7D Mark II sold for $999, the full asking price, on January 31, 2016.
• Mark Hodgson sold his Canon 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens in mint condition $7499 within days of listing at the end of January, 2016.
• Mark Hodgson also sold his Canon 5D Mark III the Canon BG-E11 battery grip and two Canon batteries for $1899 in very January, 2016.
• And his mint Series III TC set to me for $558 before it was even listed.
• Sash Dias sold his Nikon D4 body in excellent condition for $2399 the day after it was listed in late January, 2016.
• Bill Fraser sold his 1D Mark IV body in excellent condition for $1299 at the end of January, 2016.
• Multiple IPT veteran Brent Bridges sold his used Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for $4599 in late January, 2016.
• Saul Pleeter sold his Sony Alpha a7R Mirrorless Digital Camera in near-new condition for $799 on the first day it was listed in late January 2016.
• Mark Hodgson sold his Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens in very good plus condition for $599 within a day of listing in late January 2016.
• Bill Condon sold his Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in near-mint condition for $4199 on the first day it was listed in late January 2016.
• Walt Thomas sold his used Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro lens in mint condition for $749 in late January.
• Roberta Olenick sold her Canon EOS-1D Mark IV camera body in excellent condition for $1279 USD in mid-January.

There are still lots of great items listed currently… Again, you can see all of these great buys by clicking here.

New Listings

Patrick Sparkman and wife Robin have traveled all over the world with us. Unlike me, Patrick is a photographer who takes really, really good care of his gear.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Multiple IPT veteran Patrick Sparkman is offering a used Canon EOS 5D Mark III DSLR Camera in excellent condition for $1799. The body is in excellent condition with just a few minor scuff marks on the top of the body and top lcd. The sale includes the body, two batteries, battery charger, Vello BG-C9 Battery Grip, box, front cover, and insured shipping via Fed Ex Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Patrick by e-mail.

I have used the 5D III for birds on occasion with excellent results, even with the 2X III TC and the 600 II. It has long been my go-to dSLR for flowers, landscapes, and Urbex photography. In my experience, the quality of the image files is second only to those from the 5DS R. artie

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Lens

Multiple IPT veteran Patrick Sparkman is offering a used Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Lens in excellent condition for $849. There there are only minor signs of wear on the lens hood; the glass is perfect. The sale includes the lens hood, box, soft case that came with the lens, the front cover, the rear lens cap and insured shipping via Fed Ex Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Patrick by e-mail.

I used this lightweight intermediate telephoto lens in Norway for birds and for B-roll stuff. It is superbly sharp and extremely versatile. It would be a great buy either for a travel photographer or a beginning to intermediate bird photographer (who cannot at present afford the 100-400 II). artie

Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM Lens

Multiple IPT veteran Patrick Sparkman is offering a used Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM Lens in excellent condition for $525. The lens is in excellent condition, but does have a couple of dust flakes inside the lens (that have zero effect on the images). The glass, however, is perfect. The sale includes the lens hood, box, soft case that came with the lens, the front cover, the rear lens cap and insured shipping via Fed Ex Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Patrick by e-mail.

The old 24-70 was long a favorite of serious landscape photographers until it was replaced by the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II; the price tag on that is $1799. artie

Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR

IPT veteran Patrick Sparkman is offering a used Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR Camera with the Canon BG-E16 Battery Grip in like new condition for $1149. The sale includes the body, two batteries, battery charger, box, front cover, and insured shipping via Fed Ex Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Patrick by e-mail.

Simply put, the 7D II with its fine image quality, fast frame rate, and superb AF system is the greatest value ever in a dSLR. artie

Subject and focal lengths clockwise from upper left around to center. Palouse Falls: 11mm; homemade kiddie race car: 105mm; barn siding pan blur: 798mm; Rolling fields diorama: 110mm; Crayola drums: 343 mm; Hay barn interior: 19mm; vintage gas station: 40mm; Dilapidated farm building: 13mm; Denise’s tree Infrared: 20mm. Images and card design by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART.

The Palouse ~ A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 3-7, 2016/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12/Openings: 6

The Palouse ~ A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT)/Eastern Washington State. June 10-14, 2016/5 Full Days: $1699/Limit 12/Openings: 2

Double Header!

Maximize both your travel dollars and your learning experience by signing up for both IPTs.

Images and card design by Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure.

The Palouse IPTs

Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will likely enjoy spectacular sunrises and possibly a nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. We will take you to some 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 us for this trip. Two great leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. 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.

After 6 days of back-breaking scouting work in early June 2014 we found all of the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and views. On three additional scouting days in 2015 we discovered several more truly amazing locations. We will teach you what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time.

What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, our newfound but very extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions when possible. There will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before each workshop begins.

You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills. You will learn to get the right exposure every time. You will learn to develop your creative eye. You will learn the basics of HDR (high dynamic range) photography. You will learn a variety of in-camera creative techniques. Most importantly you will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images. Do see both of our blogs for lots more on that in the coming weeks. You will learn how the quality and direction of light combine to determine the success of your images. And–please don’t gasp–we will be working quite a bit with sidelight when creating landscapes. Lastly, we will be doing some infrared photography.

To Sign Up

A non-refundable $699 deposit is due now. The balance will be due on February 15, 2016. 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. Whether or not your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

With the spectacular success that we enjoyed in 2015 it seems quite likely that this one will fill up very quickly. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining us. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours or send us a check to leave a deposit; the latter is preferred. If by check, please make out to “Arthur Morris” 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 us via e-mail: artie or denise.

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 our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

I finished the Southern Ocean Photography Guide but learned from an early reviewer that none of the links in the PDF work. 🙁 I finished an article for Helen Slaughter-Saccone for the spring issue of Nature Photography magazine. And a swim and an ice bath.

Sash Dias sold his used Nikon D4 body in excellent condition for $2399 the day after it was listed. You can see all of the great Used Photo Gear listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the right end of the orange menu bar at the top of each blog page.

This blog post took 2 1/2 hours to prepare.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 89 days in a row with a new educational blog post. Again, please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. 🙂

Thanks to Dan Neri, Len Musmeci, and the Canon Explorers of Light program for their support of the Camera Club of Brevard speaking gig.

Melbourne EoL Speaking Event

On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 I will be presenting “A Bird Photographer’s Story” for the Camera Club of Brevard. The meeting begins at 6:30pm and is free and open to the public. This program is sponsored by Canon USA/Explorers of Light. A small selection of books and CDs will be available for sale. You can find complete details including the location here.

B&H

B&H contributed generously as the primary SDNHM exhibition sponsor. Thank them (and me for the blog) by clicking on the logo link above to shop.

This image was created on July 15, 2014 at Nickerson Beach, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the rugged Canon EOS-1D. ISO 250. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6. AWB. A single AF point that was two to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. In 2014 I was still using Rear Button Focus all the time; today in this situation I would have been using Shutter Button AF. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1

Picking Your Keepers 101…

A few days ago I wrote; “In the follow-up to the hugely popular and somewhat controversial blog post here, Brendan left a comment that I have paraphrased here: One instructional thing I would love to see on this blog is a basic lesson on how to look critically look at one’s photos. About eight years ago I began saving series of similar images from which I planned to do an Evaluating Your Images guide. At some point, I lost that file. I started a new one and eventually lost that one too. 🙁 This morning I found a still newer file with only a few images in it including the five posted here today. More on those below. I will have Jim search a ton of external Hard Drives on Monday for the two files that are MIA (though I am 99% sure that he will not find the original one).

IAC, I asked that folks critique the full frame image of the Heermann’s Gull with the Red Tuna Crab in its bill. Many responded, but most folks struggled identifying what I thought were obvious problems… I shared my critique of that image here.

This image was created on July 15, 2014 at Nickerson Beach, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the rugged Canon EOS-1D. ISO 250. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6. AWB. A single AF point that was two to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. In 2014 I was still using Rear Button Focus all the time; today in this situation I would have been using Shutter Button AF. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2

Please trash this image

As an experiment, I posted the Heermann’s Gull with the Red Tuna Crab in its bill image on BPN. You can see that thread here. As I fully expected–the first to comment, Ross Taylor, nailed the critique matching what I had said about the image almost word for word:

Hi Artie. Trashing for fun? Ok, I’ll bite 😉

A higher POV would raise that horizon away from the head. A looser crop could give the tail a little more clearance to the edge of frame, without making the bird appear too central. The body and head seem turned away slightly. The scratches and crab guts in the foreground draw the eye, and perhaps could be considered to be cloned out. There is a specular highlight or dust spot above the tail.

…. and furthermore, lol, the tight crop portrait seems to emphasize the action much better than the OP. TFS-Ross

Many folks agreed and one or two went off on a tangent. If you read the thread, you will see that I stood up for my work when I disagree with folks. I always do. Even with an image that I consider sub-par.

All in all the folks on BPN did a much better job of critiquing the image than the folks here on the blog. The result? We will be doing lots of “Picking Your Keepers 101” blog posts. Today’s is the first of many to come.

This image was created on July 15, 2014 at Nickerson Beach, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the rugged Canon EOS-1D. ISO 250. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6. AWB. A single AF point that was two to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. In 2014 I was still using Rear Button Focus all the time; today in this situation I would have been using Shutter Button AF. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #3

Setting the Scene

The five images presented here today were purposefully selected from a 16-image sequence for inclusion in what I hope will be a very educational series of posts. All of the images have a yellow cast, and all need to be leveled. All are pretty sharp.

Question

How can you tell that each of the five images needs to be leveled?

Your Job

Your job here today is a simple one. Identify the worst of the five images and let us know why. Then identify the what you consider to be the very best image, and let us know why.

If you cannot identify the worst of the five images, the one that should be an insta-delete, you are advised to scroll down and join BPN immediately.

This image was created on July 15, 2014 at Nickerson Beach, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the rugged Canon EOS-1D. ISO 250. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6. AWB. A single AF point that was two to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. In 2014 I was still using Rear Button Focus all the time; today in this situation I would have been using Shutter Button AF. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #4

BirdPhotographer’s.Net (BPN)

The very best way to learn to evaluate your images is to plunk down your forty bucks and join BPN. You post your images and have them critiqued by many of our fine moderators and lots of skilled members, and in turn, you get to learn a ton by commenting on the images of others. And best of all, it ain’t just birds! There are image critique forums that cover other areas. These include Wildlife, Macro and Flora, Landscapes, Cityscapes and Travel, Out Of The Box, In Camera and Post Processing Techniques, Framing Your Images With Words, and Story Sequences. In addition, beginning nature photographers can receive extra help in the Eager to Learn Forum. You can click here to access any of the aforementioned forums in addition to the Photography Discussion (and other) forums. If you join and post an image please e-mail me the link and I will be glad to stop by and comment.

This image was created on July 15, 2014 at Nickerson Beach, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the rugged Canon EOS-1D. ISO 250. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6. AWB. A single AF point that was two to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. In 2014 I was still using Rear Button Focus all the time; today in this situation I would have been using Shutter Button AF. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #5

Stay Tuned!

Stay tuned for my thoughts on the five images, the answer to the leveling question (along with a great tip on how to do it), and more Picking Your Keepers 101 posts.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmer head portrait, American Oystercatcher dining on surf clam flesh, Common Tern at sunset, Common Tern adult swallowing flatfish, Black Skimmer in flight, newborn Common Tern chick, American Oystercatcher with chick, fresh juvenile Common Tern (with fill flash), and Common Terns copulating.

Nickerson Beach Terns/Skimmers/Oystercatchers Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT): July 18-22, 2016. 4 1/2 DAYS: $1899.

Meet and greet at 3pm on the afternoon of Monday, July 18. Limit 10.

The primary subject species of this IPT will be the nesting Common Terns. The trip is timed so that we will get to photograph tiny chicks as well as fledglings. There will be lots of flight photography including adults flying with baitfish. Creating great images of the chicks being fed is a huge challenge. In addition to the terns we will get to photograph lots of Black Skimmers courting, setting up their nesting territories, and in flight (both singles and large pre-dawn flocks blasting off). Midair battles are guaranteed on sunny afternoons. And with luck, we might even see a few tiny chicks toward the end of the trip. We will also get to photograph the life cycle of American Oystercatcher. This will likely include nests with eggs and tiny chicks, young being fed, and possibly a few fledglings.

Nesting Piping Plover is also possibly. There will be lots of gulls to photograph; most years I am able to find a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls of varying ages in addition to the Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed Gulls. You will learn to identify and age the various gull species. There will likely be some Willets feeding along the surf and with luck we might get to photograph a handsome juvenile or two. In addition to the locally breeding shorebirds, we will likely get to see some southbound migrant arctic-and sub-arctic breeding shorebird species such as Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, and maybe even Red Knot.

Click here and scroll down for complete details.

birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100 The companion e-book to the solo exhibit at TheNat, San Diego, California The new e-book on CD is available here. The new e-book via is also available via convenient download for $20 by clicking here.

From Rod Anton via e-mail

Dear Artie, Beyond the superlatives you have received for your beautiful presentation, all of which I agree with whole heartedly, I would like to add my thoughts about your exhibition. I see the the dedication, the determination, the passion and the tenacity that drives you, as well as your love of the birds and of your love of photography. Congratulations. The exhibit-companion CD deserves a shout out. Sincerely, Rod Anton

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

I slammed on adding photos to the Southern Ocean Photography Guide and am hoping to finish work on this new e-book today.

It poured here early yesterday morning and drizzled for most of the day, but it was a lot warmer than it had been. As a result, the pool was up to an almost balmy 75 degrees for my midday swim. I did my core, knee, and shoulder exercises and had a nice ice bath at 6:30pm.

In the good news department the Namibia IPT is just about sold out; I am waiting to hear for sure on the last sign up. And I learned of several addition Used Photo Gear Sales. That page is really hopping lately.

Today’s blog post took almost two hours to assemble.

B&H

B&H contributed generously as the primary SDNHM exhibition sponsor. Thank them (and me for the blog) by clicking on the logo link above to shop.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 87 days in a row with a new educational blog post. Again, please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. 🙂

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.

Douglas Bolt sold his Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD Zoom lens for Canon in like-new condition for $699, Diane Miller sold her 300mm f/2.8L IS lens, the old three, for $2899, and Roberta Olenick sold her Canon EOS-1D Mark IV camera body in excellent condition for $1279 USD, all within the last week. I learned last Wednesday that the sale of IPT veteran Brent Bridges’ 300mm f/2.8L IS lens for $4599 is pending. Mark Hodsgon’s 70-200mm f/4L IS lens sold and I purchased his brand new 1.4 and 2X III TCs for his full asking price on Monday. Walt Thomas sold his used Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro lens in mint condition for $749. On Tuesday Erik Hagstrom sold his Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens and Bill Condon sold his Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in like-new, near-mint condition for the full asking price, $4199, in one day after getting three offers.

When I sent a follow-up e-mail asking that Bill check the listing, he sent this lovely e-mail in reply:

Artie, the listing was more than perfect. I had three offers in the first 36 hours and my lens was sold for asking price on the second day! I am grateful for your help: your added words gave true legitimacy to the value of my lens. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Bill

And just yesterday, Saul Pleeter sold his Sony Alpha a7R Mirrorless Digital Camera in near-new condition for $799 on the first day it was listed.

After all the work that I have put into the Used Gear Sales Page, I know how to price the stuff fairly so that it will sell fairly quickly. And for items that I am not familiar with I have taught myself how to come up with solid prices…

New Listings

Canon 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens

Mark Hodgson is offering a lightly used Canon 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens in mint condition for the ridiculous BAA lowest-ever price of $7499. The sale includes everything that came with the lens originally including the 500B lens case, ET-138W II hood, E-163B lens cap, manual and all packaging materials. Also included are a Wimberley P-40 lens plate and LensCoat Realtree Max LensCoat that has been on the lens since day one. Insured shipping via major courier is included. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Mark by e-mail or by phone at 904-607-2827 (Eastern time).

I just bought another 500 II (after selling the first one that I owned a while back) as it is so much easier to travel with than the 600 II. After seeing that Mark’s TC was pretty much brand new I would have bought his 500 II had I known about it three weeks ago. Needless to say, the 500 f/4 lenses are the world’s most popular for birds, nature, and wildlife. artie

ps: you can learn a ton more about the 500 II here.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Mark Hodgson is also offering a used Canon 5D Mark III camera together with a Canon BG-E11 battery grip and two Canon batteries for $1899. Everything is in excellent plus condition. The sale includes all the original materials – boxes, packing materials, manuals, CD’s, battery charger, accessory cables, etc. The camera was cleaned by Canon Professional Services in November and they verified the shutter count at an extremely low 15,962. It has only been used a couple of times since then. Insured shipping via major courier is included. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Mark by e-mail or by phone at 904-607-2827 (Eastern time).

I have used the 5D III for birds on occasion with excellent results, even with the 2X III TC and the 600 II. It has long been my go-to dSLR for flowers, landscapes, and Urbex photography. artie

B&H

B&H was the primary sponsor of my solo, career retrospective, 67-image exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Thank them (and me, for the work I do on the blog) by clicking on the logo link above to shop for camera bodies and lenses.

This is the color corrected version of the tight crop of yesterday’s featured image; the BLUEs look so much more natural now. Heermann’s Gull with Red tuna crab (Pleuroncodes planipes)

The Color Correction

While responding the many comments on yesterday’s blog post I noticed that I had gone way too far with the Click White Balance in DPP 4. The image was way too CYAN (AQUA in Canon-speak). Rather than start over by re-converting the RAW file I simply brought the two images in Photoshop, added a Selective Color layer, selected the BLUE channel from the dropdown menu, and moved the CYAN slider all the way to the left to -100%. Ah, perfection; the BLUEs now look so much more natural.

You can learn a ton more on balancing the color in your images in my Digital Basics File. That in addition to dozens of great Photoshop tips.

Red tuna crab (Pleuroncodes planipes)

While several folks nailed the ID of yesterday’s mystery prey item, Warren Jacobi was the first to get in touch on that and his follow-up e-mails on the subject added additional insight. Here is his comment at yesterday’s blog post:

The bright red crustacean in the gull picture is a Red tuna crab (Pleuroncodes planipes – also known as tuna crab, pelagic red crab and langostilla in Spanish). While the name says “crab” they are actually a species of lobster. During El Nino years they sometimes show up in large numbers along the San Diego coastline – mostly from Ocean Beach to La Jolla – right where you were photographing. When an El Nino occurs, many food sources for gulls disappear and gulls being opportunists eat many of the little guys.

I was happy to learn that the little guy was actually a lobster as I had assumed from the get-go. I am always amazed by the fact that as a group, the folks who read the blog regularly can be depended on to know just about everything about everything! The collective base of knowledge here is indeed phenomenal. You can learn more about Red Tuna Crab here.

The Whole Regurgitant Story

I should have mentioned this yesterday: the gulls eat the little buggers and then regurgitate pellets that include some of the hard parts of the crabs. In gulls, this pellet is called a bolus. Thus the red stuff all over the rocks along with the whitewash includes bits of the Red Tuna Crabs…

And this is the color corrected version of the image that was made on the first morning of the 2015 San Diego IPT with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens and the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III with the rugged Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/160 sec. at f/18 in Manual mode was less than ideal. Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

My Critique of Yesterday’s Featured Image

The head angle of the bird is actually pretty good; the huge problem is that the bird was angled away from the plane of the imaging sensor, i.e., angled away from the plane of the back of the camera. The second big problem was that the horizon line nearly intersected with the top of the head. This is a very distracting and very common error. Yes I needed to be eight yards to my right to parallel the subject. And yes, I needed to be about five yards taller. I was, however, in a deep trench between the rocks and as a result was shooting up at the gull; the angle to the bird was too steep. This caused the gull’s feet to be partially hidden behind the sandstone.

I did follow my “shoot now and ask questions later” rule. But at the same time, I broke my “always go for the BBC-winning image at the expense of getting nothing” rule. Why? I knew that I did not have the time to climb out up and out of the trench while the gull held the prey item intact in its bill.

In addition, it would have been better to have had the subject well higher in the frame so as to include more of the sandstone and whitewash, if only to give me more cropping options. But my goal, a rather unusual one for me, was to acquire focus and create at least one sharp image of this neat behavior that I had never seen before.

Thanks to all who joined in the learning fun by leaving a comment at yesterday’s blog post.

And yes, a wider aperture would have softened up the background waves a bit.

The Shutter Speed Question

In yesterday’s blog post I asked, “Why were the exposure settings less than ideal?” Most folks fanned on that one until Brendan left this comment:

Thanks for this! I dunno – the picture looks lovely to me. I am not sure why such a narrow aperture was used with a relatively slow shutter speed. I would guess with a wider aperture the ocean/horizon would be more pleasantly blurred and the shutter speed could be much faster. Maybe with the faster shutter speed you would pull out more feather detail? Though I doubt there is much movement blur – looks sharp to me. I would like to see the birds feet, though that’s minor.

This is adapted from my response:

Hey Brendan, Finally someone is on the right track. There was no reason to be at 1/160 at f/18 in this situation, other than the fact that I was doing something else where I needed lots of d-o-f and followed my old rule: shoot first and ask questions later lest you miss everything. The image is sharp, very sharp. But the next frame in the sequence, one that featured a slight head turn towards me, suffered from motion blur. In general, you would want a shutter speed of at least 1/800 second for your general bird photography when the potential for action exists. 1/1250 or 1/1600 sec. would be even better.

As for the AF point, you need to go back and read the whole thing and the comments more carefully 🙂 artie

The AF Question

Why was I limited to only the center AF point? I hear this about six times a day on most IPTs: My camera is broken; I can’t move my AF point!”

When you are working with the 1.4X TC and an f/5.6 lens, or when you are working with the 2X III TC and an f/4 lens, you are at effective f/8. With all of the more recent Canon camera bodies, you will have autofocus at f/8 but it will be limited to the center AF point (plus the four assist points if you set AF Expand). So no, your camera ain’t broken.

BirdPhotographer’s.Net (BPN)

The very best way to learn to evaluate your images is to plunk down your forty bucks and join BPN. You post your images and have them critiqued by many of our fine moderators and lots of skilled members, and in turn, you get to learn a ton by commenting on the images of others. And best of all, it ain’t just birds! There are image critique forums that cover other areas. These include Wildlife, Macro and Flora, Landscapes, Cityscapes and Travel, Out Of The Box, In Camera and Post Processing Techniques, Framing Your Images With Words, and Story Sequences. In addition, beginning nature photographers can receive extra help in the Eager to Learn Forum. You can click here to access any of the aforementioned forums in addition to the Photography Discussion (and other) forums. If you join and post an image please e-mail me the link and I will be glad to stop by and comment.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

Most of Monday was spent putting photographs in the Southern Ocean Photography Guide. And answering a zillion e-mails as always.

Though the pool has been quite chilly, I have been swimming every day. It was in the mid-thirties on Sunday evening and the pool was down to 68 degrees when I checked early on Monday morning. By the time I got in the pool it was up to 70. I did some core exercises and enjoyed a nice ice bath; the water was 59 degrees when I got out.

I learned yesterday that Walt Thomas sold his Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS macro lens and that Erik Hagstrom sold his Canon 24-70 f/2.8L lens as well. Both had recently lowered their prices; it is all a matter of supply and demand. You can see all the current listings here; there are some truly amazing values…

birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100 The companion e-book to the solo exhibit at TheNat, San Diego, California The new e-book on CD is available here. The new e-book via is also available via convenient download for $20 by clicking here.

What They Are Saying

The new e-book has received only rave reviews. By phone, BAA-friend Bill Goodhew advised that I should raise the price to a more realistic $50. We have heard from a few folks as below and would love to hear from more of you.

Jim Amato via comment at yesterday’s blog post

Betidings birders, Arthur’s CD, The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris, arrived today. It is a magnificent album of beautiful birds captured in their wonderful habitats. You gotta have this compilation of astounding work. Arthur has presented many, maybe all, of these images on this blog and as striking as they are on the blog, they blast off the screen on my 27 inch iMac. They will create neighborhood hysteria if shown on the new OLED 70 inch televisions. Click on the link and order a copy now! I am not related to, do not work for or volunteer with Arthur or BAA. This is one excellent CD of our feathered friends.

From Multiple IPT Veteran Doug West

I just received The Top 100 CD! I felt like a kid checking the mailbox to see if it had come! Here’s my review:

The first thing I fell in love with was the packaging. At first I didn’t think that the CD was in there due to the photo on the CD blending in with the background photo; I think my heart stopped for a second. The images of course are gorgeous. Art could’ve picked his bottom 100 images and those would still be my top 100. How in the world this man picked 100 images from roughly 32 years of doing this is amazing.

If I had to pick my favorite image, it would be on the displaying frigatebird on Page 14 – Showing Off. This one really threw my head back. I think it was due to the fact it almost looks like three different birds: the bird displaying and the two different ways the layers of feathers are laid out. The background making it pop out is the kicker.

Reading the notes and details is always fun, but I also like to read between the lines. There might be a few people who will bring up that there isn’t a year listed for each image. An estimate can be figured out if you pay attention to the camera body that was used. I counted at ‘least’ 12 different bodies by the way.

This CD is a fantastic teaching tool for those who study the images. Remember to look carefully at the head angles and the composition, the behavior, or the action. Then try to apply it yourself the next time you go out. Doug

From Multiple IPT Veteran Stephen Leimberg

Art, this is the most beautiful book on bird photography I’ve ever seen! What an inspiration! A visual feast! Bravo! Warmest, Steve

From Mike Moore via e-mail

The top 100 collection is almost too overwhelming to absorb at once. I will be looking at it many, many times to be able to drink it all in. I will say I never really appreciated blurs, but Cottonwood Morning Wave is one of my favorite images. The colors and the composition are superb. There is a real feeling of being present at a live event that a sharp photo would not have conveyed, so maybe you won me over. You give a 100 great examples of something for us to strive for. I especially appreciated that you annotated every image to get a sense of what it took to capture it. Brilliant. Congratulations and thanks for sharing and making it so affordable to own this collection of some of the world’s greatest bird images.

From IPT Veteran Larry Master via e-mail

I just downloaded your new collection of 100 images! Wow! I’ve seen many before in your posts but to view as one collection it is amazing. Larry

Additional Feedback Requested

If you ordered via download or have already received your CD, I would love to hear what you think. Please do leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmer head portrait, American Oystercatcher dining on surf clam flesh, Common Tern at sunset, Common Tern adult swallowing flatfish, Black Skimmer in flight, newborn Common Tern chick, American Oystercatcher with chick, fresh juvenile Common Tern (with fill flash), and Common Terns copulating.

Nickerson Beach Terns/Skimmers/Oystercatchers Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT): July 18-22, 2016. 4 1/2 DAYS: $1899.

Meet and greet at 3pm on the afternoon of Monday, July 18. Limit 10.

The primary subject species of this IPT will be the nesting Common Terns. The trip is timed so that we will get to photograph tiny chicks as well as fledglings. There will be lots of flight photography including adults flying with baitfish. Creating great images of the chicks being fed is a huge challenge. In addition to the terns we will get to photograph lots of Black Skimmers courting, setting up their nesting territories, and in flight (both singles and large pre-dawn flocks blasting off). Midair battles are guaranteed on sunny afternoons. And with luck, we might even see a few tiny chicks toward the end of the trip. We will also get to photograph the life cycle of American Oystercatcher. This will likely include nests with eggs and tiny chicks, young being fed, and possibly a few fledglings.

Nesting Piping Plover is also possibly. There will be lots of gulls to photograph; most years I am able to find a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls of varying ages in addition to the Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed Gulls. You will learn to identify and age the various gull species. There will likely be some Willets feeding along the surf and with luck we might get to photograph a handsome juvenile or two. In addition to the locally breeding shorebirds, we will likely get to see some southbound migrant arctic-and sub-arctic breeding shorebird species such as Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, and maybe even Red Knot.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmers with tiny chick, Common Tern landing with baitfish for young, fledged Common Tern chick in dunes, American Oystercatchers/display flight, adult Common Tern with pipefish for chick, Common Tern fledgling in soft light, American Oystercatcher on nest with eggs, American Oystercatcher 3-egg clutch, battling Black Skimmers.

The IPT Logistics

The tour will begin with our meet and greet on the afternoon of Monday, July 18, 2016. That will be followed by our first shooting session at the beach. From Tuesday through and including all of Friday we will have two photography sessions daily. Our morning sessions will start very early so that we are on the beach well before sunrise. We usually photograph for about four hours. Then we will enjoy a group brunch. We will always have a midday break that will include a nap for me. That followed by our daily afternoon classroom sessions that will include image review, workflow and Photoshop, and a review/critique of five of your trip images. Folks are always invited to bring their laptops to brunch for image sharing. I always have mine with me but heck, I am a big show-off. Afternoon in-the-field sessions generally run from 5pm through sunset.

Breakfasts are grab what you can. Four brunches are included. Dinners (if at all) will be on your own as we will often get back to the hotel at about 9pm. There is a fridge in every room and a supermarket within walking distance of the hotel so nobody should starve. You will learn a ton during the nine shooting sessions, the four in-classroom sessions, and even at lunch. Early morning and late afternoon parking is free. If we want to head back to the beach early we will need to arrange tight carpools and share the $30/vehicle parking fee. Non-photographer spouses, friends, or companions are welcome for $100/day, $450 for the whole IPT.

Save a space by calling Jim or Jen at the office at 863-692-0906 and arranging to leave your deposit of $599–credit cards are accepted for deposits only. Your balance will be due on April 18, 2016. I hope that you can join me for what will be an exciting and educational IPT.

Card Image Question

Click on each IPT card to enlarge it. Then leave a comment letting us know which is your very favorite image. And do let us know why. While I love ’em all, I will share my three favorites with you here soon.

B&H

B&H contributed generously as the primary SDNHM exhibition sponsor. Thank them (and me for the blog) by clicking on the logo link above to shop.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

Scoff at Cold Thermogenesis and ice baths if you like, but the facts are that while I was in San Diego I was getting up every 45 minutes to an hour for a pit stop and sleeping–if you could even call it that–only five to six hours. Last night, after my fourth day in a cold pool–about 73 degrees, and after four 6pm ice baths, I slept eight full hours with just one pit stop.

I spent most of yesterday working on a South Georgia article for Nature Photographer magazine. After I finish that up this morning I will be doing some more work on my coming soon Southern Ocean Photography Guide and working a bit on the After-Conversion Photoshop Guide that I will be doing with Arash Hazeghi. (See more on that below.)

I am looking forward to the two NFL games today. I am hoping that Carolina wins but would be OK if the Cardinals beat them. I will be investing all of my rooting energy against the hated Patriots. Just why did Pretty Boy Tom Brady destroy his cell phone before being investigated by the league??? Go Peyton!

B&H

B&H was the primary exhibition sponsor of my solo, career retrospective, 67-image exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Thank them (and me, for the work I do on the blog) by clicking on the logo link above to shop for camera bodies and lenses.

This image was created at La Jolla, CA with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/8. AWB. Should have been +1 stop… Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Brown Pelican scapulars viewed from overhead with eye visible

ISO 1600 5DS R Noise

Before scrolling down to look at the three tight crops below, consider the noise levels that you see at ISO 1600 in the image as presented above–please click on the image to view it larger if you wish. The only obvious noise that I am seeing is in the rather “mushy” area in the lower left corner. That “mushy” look may not be noise at all as that area is somewhat shadowed and thus a bit underexposed… Please leave a comment and let us know what you are seeing as far as noise in the image as presented above.

Full Frame

The challenge for me here while shooting almost straight down from above the pelican was to completely fill the frame with feathers while totally eliminating any evidence of the reddish cliff background in the corners. This image is full frame: I was able to get what I wanted.

Thanks Carlotta for Teaching an Old Dog a New Trick

I first met Carlotta Grenier on one of the 2015 Bosque IPTs. She had so much fun that she signed up for the San Diego IPT that turned out to be a blast. During the image critiquing session she shared one image that captivated me. She had shot straight down at the head and back of a sleeping pelican. Over the years I had done some similar stuff in the same general area but had not shot straight down as she had. So thanks Carlotta for opening my eyes.

Rather than rear focusing on the bird’s eye, I went with the active AF point on the scapulars as I wanted those feathers absolutely sharp. I figured that t f/8 that I had a chance of getting the eye sharp. I succeeded half way but a Contrast Mask rendered the eye more than sharp enough for me. With the eye somewhat in a shaded area I did some Eye Doctor work by making the pupil blacker and making the iris whiter, all via small Quick Masks followed by Curves on a Layer (Control + M). The Eye Doctor work really brought the image to life.

You say Car-LOT-uh…

At the beginning of the IPT I kept mispronouncing Carlotta’s name by saying Car-LOW-tah. Once she corrected me a few times (in good fun I might add), I had it down pat, Car-LOT-uh. The problem was that others had become confused. Folks who had gotten her name right at first were now calling her Car-LOW-tah and even Car-LEE-tah. Everyone, including Carlotta, had a good laugh. And a great time on the IPT.

Tight crop #1: The unsharpened crop here approximates a 100% crop. It was downsized just a bit to 900 pixels tall. The 850kb file was optimized to < 395 kb and is presented here at 466 pixels wide.

Tight crop #2: The unsharpened crop here approximates a 100% crop. That was cropped to 1200 pixels wide. The approximately 600 kb file was optimized to < 395 kb. It is presented here at 800 pixels wide.

Tight crop #3: The unsharpened crop here also approximates a 100% crop. It was downsized just a bit to 1200 pixels wide. The 600kb file was optimized to < 395 kb and is presented here at 800 pixels wide.

First, My Comments on Noise

I must admit that since I began doing my conversions in DPP 4 and using the Chrominance and Luminance Noise Reduction Values developed by Arash Hazeghi as summarized on page 28 of the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide. Heck, I was never really concerned about noise even before I started using DPP. That may–in part–be due to the fact that I have long minimized noise by pushing my exposure far to the right in the field.

Right now I am editing Arash’s “After-Conversion Photoshop Guide” (my working title) and am learning a lot more about noise and about the Neat Image noise reduction plug-in. Arash recommends Neat Image Pro so that is what I installed on my MacBook Pro yesterday. I still have lots of work to do in that area so I will say succinctly that I am no expert in the noise department (even though I often peek at big enlargements of small areas of an image).

Fine Feather Detail, Image Quality, and Noise Questions

If and only if you are familiar with looking at 100% crops you are invited to comment on image quality, chrominance (color) noise, luminance noise, and on the fine feather detail that you are seeing in the three tight crops above.

2017 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) JAN 11 thru and including the morning session on JAN 15: 4 1/2 days: $1999.

(Limit: 10/openings 8)

Meet and Greet at 7:00pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Tuesday 1/10/17.

Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lions; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the two IPT cards there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well.

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication.

Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?

For complete 2017 San Diego ITP info please click here.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

B&H

B&H was the primary exhibition sponsor of my solo, career retrospective 67-image exhibit. Thank them (and me, for the work I do on the blog) by clicking on the logo link above to shop.

What’s Up with Used Gear Info Requests?

I spent a good part of this past week catching up on Used Gear-related e-mails. I think that I am pretty much caught up now. If I missed yours, please shoot me an e-mail reminding me of what I missed, and do include a copy of your original e-mail.

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. Even the prices on the new 600 II and the 200-400 with Internal Extender have been plummeting. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the right side of the yellow-orange menu bar above.

Douglas Bolt sold his Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD Zoom lens for Canon in like-new condition for $699, Diane Miller sold her 300mm f/2.8L IS lens, the old three, for $2899, and Roberta Olenick sold her Canon EOS-1D Mark IV camera body in excellent condition for $1279 USD, all within the last week. I learned on Wednesday that the sale of IPT veteran Brent Bridges’ 300mm f/2.8L IS lens for $4599 is pending. And I learned today that the sale of Mark Hodsgon’s 70-200mm f/4L IS lens became pending on the day that it was listed.

Crazy Multiple Price Reductions

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens

Another Lowest-ever-by-a-mile BAA Price!
Price Reduced another $150 on January 22, 2106.

Erik Hagstrom is offering a used Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens in excellent condition for a ridiculous $1275. The sale includes the lens hood (EW-88C), the front and rear Canon lens caps, the original lens case LP1219, the instruction manual, both US & Canada warranty cards, the original box (less the UPC code that was used for a rebate), and insured shipping via FED-EX Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Erik by e-mail or by phone at 206-999-1507 (Pacific time).

The new 24-70 II is a favorite of all serious landscape photographers. It is currently selling new for $1799. artie 

More New Listings!

Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens

Bill Condon is offering a Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in like-new, near-mint condition for $4199. There are no scratches, chips, or other signs of wear. The date code is UX1133 and the Serial Number is 37206. The sale includes the lens trunk with keys, the manual, the original lens cover and hood, an AquaTech ASHM Soft Hood, an AquaTech Lens Cover, a Wimberly P-40 Lens Plate, and insured shipping via UPS Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Bill by e-mail or call him at 401.524.2454 (Eastern time).

The 500 f/4s have been the world’s most popular telephoto lenses for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. I owned and used and loved my “old five” for many years. We have sold more than a few recently for $3999 and even two for $3799. Bill’s lens is priced a bit higher as it is in pristine condition. If you don’t have the cash for the 500 II and can handle the additional 1 1/2 pounds (exactly) then this is your next best option. The 500 II goes for $8999 so you will be saving a cool $4,800 and getting a virtually brand new lens to boot. artie

Canon EOS 7D Camera Body

Robert Doster is offering a used Canon EOS 7D body in excellent condition for $469. The camera shows little wear and both LCDs have been protected by screen protectors since purchase and are thus pristine. The camera has a shutter count of 13,902 actuations. The sale includes a Really Right Stuff B7D-L B L-plate, the original product box, manuals (English and Spanish), CDs, the wide neck strap, Eyecup Eg, body cap, LP-E6 battery, LC-E6 battery charger, AV and USB cables, and insured ground shipping via FedEx. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Robert by e-mail or by phone at 505-270-7361 (Pacific time).

Canon 7D Mark II Camera Body

Gregg J. Hunt is offering a used 7D Mark II camera body (< 5,100 shutter count) in near-mint condition (except for a few tiny subtle scuffs/abrasions on the body and not on the 2 LCD screens) for $999. The sale includes a LP-E6 rechargeable battery pack and cover, the LC-E6E battery charger, USB cable, audio/video cable (packaged and unused), the neck strap (packaged and unused), various documents/manuals/CD (packaged and unused), Michael Andrew's 4.5-hour-long Canon 7D II and Photography School Training Video, Bert Sirkin's 7D II Cheat Sheet, packing/retail box, and insured ground shipping to a U.S. address only via a major courier. Your item will not ship until check clears, unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Gregg by e-mail.

I loved my 7D II from the get-go when I used it in sunny conditions. I have been saying for a while that it is the best value ever in a digital camera. As it is currently selling new at B&H for $1499 Gregg’s camera is a great buy. artie

Nikon D600 DSLR Camera Body

Saul Pleeter is offering a used Nikon D600 DSLR camera body in near-new condition (but for a scratch on the rear protective LCD cover–otherwise perfect and unblemished) for $650. The sale includes the battery, the charger, the body cap, the camera strap, the original box, and insured ground shipping via UPS.

Please contact Saul via e-mail.

Sony Alpha a7R Mirrorless Digital Camera

Saul Pleeter is also offering a used Sony Alpha a7R Mirrorless Digital Camera in near-new condition (but for a tiny surface scratch on a bottom corner–otherwise perfect and unblemished) for an incredibly low $799. The sale includes the battery, the body cap, the camera strap, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via UPS. This body sells new at B&H for $1898…

Please contact Saul via e-mail.

Truly Great Stuff for Sale Cheap!

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS Lens with Internal 1.4 Extender

Friend and multiple-IPT veteran Phil Frigon is offering a used Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS lens with Internal Extender in excellent condition for the record-low BAA price of $8995. The sale includes the lens trunk, the original leather front lens cover, a RRS lens foot (installed), the original Canon foot with all the screws, and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Phil via e-mail.

This is the world’s best lens for a trip to Africa. It kills also in the Galapagos and in South Georgia, the Falklands, and Antarctica. And I use mine a lot at Bosque and other dusty places where the built-in TC helps to keep your sensor clean. The lens sells new at B&H right now for $10,999. You can save $2004 by grabbing Phil’s lens. artie

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens

Friend and multiple-IPT veteran Phil Frigon is also offering a used Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II lens in excellent condition for the record-low-by-far BAA price of $7800. The sale includes the lens trunk, the original leather front lens cover, a RRS lens foot (installed), the original Canon foot with all the screws, and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Phil via e-mail.

This lens sells new for $9,999 so Phil’s is priced to sell and save you $2,199. If you do sports or large mammals this is the lens for you. I do know of a few competent photographers who do great on birds with this lens; it kills with either the 1.4X or the 2X III TC. artie

Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II Lens

Donald Mullaney is offering his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II lens in mint condition for the record-low BAA price of $9499. The sale includes an AquaTech Soft Cap, a black LensCoat, a Kirk lens plate, the lens trunk and the original leather front lens cover, the lens strap, and insured ground shipping to US addresses only. This lens was purchased on Bought 2/24/14 and used less then a dozen times. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Don via e-mail.

The 600 II is the world’s premier super-telephoto lens. It is super-sharp and features Canon’s amazing four-stop Image Stabilization system. This, the current version, weighs more than 3 pounds less than the previous model. When I am not weight-restricted, the 600 II is my first choice in super-telephoto lenses. I use it at Bosque, at Nickerson Beach, and from my car on a BLUBB when working down by the lake near my house. When you need maximum reach, the 600 II is the only way to go. As the lens currently sells new at B&H for $11,499, you can save $2,000 by grabbing Don’s lens right now. artie

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Lens

Andres Leon is offering a used Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens in Very Good Plus condition for the very low price of $7899. The lens has clean glass and is in perfect working order but has a few scratches on the finish. Feel free to request photos of the lens. The sale includes the lens trunk and keys, a LensCoat, the front leather cover, the rear cap, a Wimberley P-40 lens plate, and insured ground shipping via FED-EX Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Please contact Andres via e-mail or by phone at 1-954-621-6678 (eastern time).

I used this lens, often with a 1.4X TC, as my main super-telephoto lens for close to five years. It is a superb lens that offers lots of reach for those working with birds that are skittish. It is great from the car. I was astounded that about 15 of the 67 images in the exhibit were created with my 800. I often miss it terribly. As the lens sell new at B&H for $12,999 Andres’s lens is a superb buy; grab it now and save more than $5K! artie

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

Yesterday I answered more than 140 e-mails, many dealing with Used Photo Gear stuff; the Used Gear page here has really been hopping. I did, however, have time for a chilly swim–the pool was down to 71 degrees yesterday, some core exercises, and an ice bath.

If…

If what you read below inspires you to purchase a Canon EOS 5DS R I would of course greatly appreciate your using my B&H affiliate link for your purchase; it won’t cost you a penny more and is the best way to thank me for the work that I put into the blog every day. This blog post took well more than four hours to assemble.

The Streak

In spite of having been buried by travel, teaching, the exhibit, and several major writing projects for the last two months, today’s blog post marks 79 days in a row with a new educational blog post. Again, please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. 🙂

Canon 7D Mark II sharpness test image courtesy of and copyright Patrick Sparkman

Bill Lloyd Was Right: Canon EOS 5DS R versus EOS 7D Mark II

With regard to the side by side comparison image in yesterday morning’s blog post here, the left hand image–see the JPEG above–was made under stringent testing condition by good friend Patrick Sparkman with the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. The right hand image–see the JPEG below–was of course also made under stringent testing condition by good friend Patrick Sparkman with the Canon EOS 5DS R.

Here is Bill Lloyd’s comment on the original post: 5DS R on the right, 7DII on the left, betcha.

Kudos to Bill. 🙂

Canon EOS 5DS R sharpness test image courtesy of and copyright Patrick Sparkman

The Results

Nearly all who commented felt that the right hand image was dramatically better on all counts.

These two comments summed up the consensus:

Lance Krueger: In answer to your five questions, the image on the right is dramatically better.

Jim Amato: Right photograph: Sharper, cleaner, higher degree of pleasing contrast, best image quality. Dramatic difference: Much sharper, tonal differences, more contrast with all tones. Letter E shadow and “lace” work more defined and pronounced. That is my 100 cents worth.

Patrick and I agree, but only 100%.

Patrick’s Testing Protocol

The camera body test was set up as follows: Tripod-mounted Canon 600 f/4L IS II, Mongoose Head locked down.

I clamped the dollar bill target to the Michael Tapes Lens Align calibration set-up mounted on a sturdy on a tripod to ensure True Parallel alignment.
The target was illuminated by ambient indoor light and was approximately 30 feet from the lens.

The lens had Image Stabilization and autofocus turned off. WB was set to 4200K. The lens was focused manually using Live View at the highest magnification, and was refocused for each camera body but was not moved otherwise. The images were created using manual exposure. Large RAW, 10-second with mirror lockup.

The images were processed in DPP 4, and all the of the settings were left at zero except for setting Sharpness at 3, and checking the boxes for Peripheral Illumination and Chromatic Aberration correction.

Each image was then similarly cropped to a 1200 pixel square; this approximated a 100% crop that was easily duplicated for each image. After the identical RAW conversions in DDP 4 the TIFFs were imported into Lightroom where I used the export utility to create a JPEG. No sharpening was applied; file sizes were limited to < 300kb.

Patrick’s Initial Reaction

After completing the test Patrick called my cell and said, “The results are amazing. The 7D II images look as if they were photographed through a fog filter when compared to the 5DS R images. The big thing is the improved contrast but the sharpness differences are astounding as well.

Simplifying Things

Let’s say that I am standing right next to you with the same lens photographing the same bird at the same distance and that our sharpness techniques are equal. I am using a 5DS R and you are using a 7D II. Your bird will of course be larger in the frame. But when I crop my image so that the bird is the same size in the frame as your bird, my image will be sharper with more pleasing contrast and be of overall higher quality. And those differences will be just as dramatic as they were in Patrick’s tests.

I am pretty sure that this statement is correct: the two images–your original and my cropped to the same subject size–will have virtually the same pixel dimensions. Please feel free to correct me if my understanding here is not correct.

Patrick pointed out the following: in the situation above if the bird flaps the guy (or gal) with the 7D II will clip the wings while the person with the 5DS R will get the shot.

More Thoughts From Patrick via e-mail

In my opinion, while the image quality of the 5DS R is certainly a bonus over the 7DII, the great advantage for my photography comes from the ability to have the equivalent of a 1.6 ratio zoom on the l600 II (or any lens) as compared to the 7DII. When I use the 600 with a 1.4 teleconverter, I will have an 840-1344 zoom versus the 7DII where I have only 1344. This will in fact greatly aid flight shooting; I can work with the 600 alone, be able to acquire AF on the subject easier due to the full frame view at 600mm, and then crop down to the equivalent 960mm of the 7DII (or to any effective focal length in between 960 and 600. All that while getting better image quality than we have ever had before. And when I can get closer to the birds image quality will be off the charts.

Thanks for loaning me the camera for the test.

My Original Gut Feelings

Right from the get-go I was floored by the quality of the 5DS R images. I have long claimed not to have a great eye for fine detail and that remains the case. But when I looked at the 5DS R images I knew that they were sharper, that they offered far more fine detail, and that the image quality was far superior to anything I had ever seen before. I did not, however, realize that the increase in pleasing contrast was a huge contributing factor (even though in retrospect that seems to be obvious).

In short, I was extremely gratified that the results of Patrick’s test confirmed my gut feelings.

The Big Question is Why?

So why are the 5DS R images so much better than the 7D II images? As far as I can figure, there several possibilities:

1-the softness and low contrast look of the 7D II images might be due to the low pass anti-aliasing filter that is immediately in front of the sensor. The converse with the 5DS R might be that the cancellation of the low-pass filter effect allows for sharper, higher quality image files with greater fine detail.

2-it is possible that the sensor (and thus the quality of the pixels) on the 5DS and the 5DS R cameras is much better than on the 7D II.

3-some combination of 1 and 2.

The bummer is that a friend in San Diego had a 5DS that could have been loaned to Patrick for the tests…

From Rudy Winston

I asked Rudy Winston, one of Canon USA’s most knowledgeable technical folks, why the 5DS R images were so superior to the 7D II images. He had lots of interest to say:

Assuming when you say “images were cropped to the same size on the dollar bill,” you mean that the same (or virtually the same) number of actual pixels were used to record both files, I’m not stunned by what you see here.

The absence of a low-pass filter will indeed give a somewhat sharper initial result, out of the camera. There are other things I don’t know about these files (in-camera JPEGs? If RAW files, how processed? etc.), but again, assuming equivalent handling, right off the bat, that’ll give a 5DS R file an edge in terms of how crisply it renders fine detail.

To some degree, that difference can be minimized for an EOS 5DS, EOS 7D Mark II, or other camera body shooters by using sharpening like Unsharp Mask to counter the impact of the softening from the low-pass filter immediately in front of the sensor on those cameras (and nearly all others in our line).

Here is another equalizer that–to some degree–many folks by-pass: the Digital Lens Optimizer feature that can be accessed when RAW images from a recent EOS camera and a compatible (i.e., recently-introduced) lens are processed in Canon’s DPP software. Digital Lens Optimizer is an optional form of “smart sharpening” (my choice of words, not Canon’s), that applies specific sharpening based on lens parameters for each individual image. When truly minute detail is needed/desired, it’s an interesting tool to try on a Canon RAW file.

Finally, in at least some situations, the mechanics of the 5DS series are designed to minimize the impact of mirror shock, and so on — which can contribute to slight changes in image quality when viewed extremely critically. I know you said that these were shot with mirrors locked-up and so on, which probably neutralized most if not all differences between the architecture of these two cameras, but it’s something to keep in the back of one’s mind when making other real-world comparative evaluations.

To your question about the sensors of 7D Mark II vs. the 5DS series: they’re definitely not the same, in terms of being identical, although the pixel size on each is VERY similar. Canon hasn’t revealed precisely what differences may exist at the sensor level between the 5DS and 7D II sensors, but it’s clear that they’re not exact twins at the pixel level. Any differences that might be contained within the full-frame 5DS-series sensor would, of course, be on top of the impact of no low-pass filter which we get on files from the 5DS R. But we’re not claiming any specific, quality-based differences at this granular level.

And, just to reiterate something I’m sure you have already been made aware of: the CMOS image sensor on the EOS 5DS and 5DS R *are* identical. The only difference is the cancellation of the low-pass filter effect, immediately in front of the sensor itself on the 5DS R.

Hope this is helpful to you! — Rudy Winston

What About Frame Rate (and other 5DS R negatives)?

Yes, the 5DS R is much slower than the 1D X and the 7D II. At times I will miss those higher frame rates but not nearly as much as you might think. Why? regular readers know that I have never been a hold-the-hammer-down type of shooter. For flight photography I rarely take more than two or rarely three at most images when the bird passes through the ideal zone. I will most miss the high frame rates of the 1D X and the 7D II during intense high interactions such as bird altercations or copulations. But for me the trade-off in image quality is well worth it. Remember also that my great skill is in designing gorgeous images of static subjects. With birds in flight and in action ? Not so good.

The only other 5DS R negative is the fact that if you are doing any video or Live View work you need to have an extra battery or two in your pocket or vest. Heck, that is recommended even if you are just having a great morning. In an effort to save weight, I have stayed away from the vertical battery grip with the 5DS R.

And yes, the 5DS R is a bit on the pricey side for hobbyists.

Am I Serious?

Very. Yesterday I ordered a second 5DS R. When I head to Japan it will be with two 5DS R bodies and a single 1D X as a back-up.

What about the cameras that I already own?

Please remember that images from all previous Canon cameras are fully capable of producing outstanding, high quality images that have been honored many hundreds of times in prestigious international photography contests. Many of my images have done so over the past 13 years. But the fact is that images from the 5DS R are simply better.

That said, please understand that your skills, your vision, your heart and determination, are of far greater importance to the quality of your images than either your lens or camera body choices. I have long railed against the fact that many folks believe that if they go out and buy a $12,000 lens and a $6000 camera body that they will instantly become a better photographer. Nothing could be further from the truth. To become a better shooter you need to study, practice, look at as many great images as possible every week (can you say BPN?) and subscribe to the BAA Blog :).

birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100 The companion e-book to the solo exhibit at TheNat, San Diego, California The new e-book on CD is available for $23 here. And it is also available via convenient download for $20 by clicking here.

birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris/The Top 100

If you missed the announcement of the new e-book click here for complete info that includes details on getting a signed copy.

Feedback Requested

If you ordered via download or have already received your CD, I would love to hear what you think. Please do leave a comment.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

On Monday I started doing my core exercises and took my first ice bath in nearly three months. On Tuesday I did the same and got back in the pool for the first time since mid-October. I did an easy 1/4 mile as opposed to my usual easy 1/2 mile. Though the water was a chilly 72 degrees it felt great. Without the ice baths I rarely slept more than an hour without having to get up for a pit stop. I am seriously considering green light laser prostate surgery. Those who have done that procedure are invited to shoot me an e-maildetailing their experience.

E-book sales were brisk with many opting for the download rather than the CD itself.

A Big Decision

Yesterday I opted not to make the trip to Greece. I sent this e-mail to the four IPT participants.

Dear Sheila, Adit, Mike, and Anita,

After much soul-searching I am writing—with apologies–to let you know that I will not be making the Greece IPT out of concerns for my long term health. As most of you know, I recently had a run of upper respiratory infections that persisted for more than eleven weeks and am finally feeling pretty good. Having just returned from San Diego and with a scheduled trip to Japan leaving on February 7, it does not make sense for me as I approach age 70 to travel 7 time zones to the east and then travel 10 time zones in the opposite direction a week after my return. A relapse at this point might prove to be most problematic.

I apologize for not having thought this through more clearly in advance and having painted myself into this corner. I have of course let Denise Ippolito know of my decision. I can assure you that she will provide you with beyond top-notch instruction both in the field and during your informal image review and Photoshop sessions.

Later and love, artie

In a follow-up e-mail to good friend Mike Gotthelf I wrote:

I wanted you to know that I am truly sorry that I had to cancel but as a doctor, you know that making both trips would have been totally stupid, not to mention potentially suicidal: death by travel and time zone stress.

artie

B&H

B&H contributed generously as the primary SDNHM exhibition sponsor. Thank them (and me for the blog) by clicking on the logo link above to shop.

Used Gear Apologies

Apologies to those who have written recently asking about selling their used gear through BAA. I did a lot of catching up last night and will finish this morning–Wednesday, January 20. I have been swamped with the travel, the San Diego IPT, the exhibit, last Saturday’s morning program, and several writing projects.:)

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.

Douglas Bolt sold his Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD Zoom lens for Canon in like-new condition for $699, Diane Miller sold her 300mm f/2.8L IS lens, the old three, for $2899, and Roberta Olenick sold her Canon EOS-1D Mark IV camera body in excellent condition for $1279 USD, all within the last week.

New Listing

Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II Lens

Donald Mullaney is offering his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II lens in mint condition for the record-low BAA price of $9499. The sale includes an AquaTech Soft Cap, a black LensCoat, a Kirk lens plate, the lens trunk and the original leather front lens cover, the lens strap, and insured ground shipping to US addresses only. This lens was purchased on Bought 2/24/14 and used less then a dozen times. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Don via e-mail.

The 600 II is the world’s premier super-telephoto lens. It is super-sharp and features Canon’s amazing four-stop Image Stabilization system. This, the current version, weighs more than 3 pounds less than the previous model. When I am not weight-restricted, the 600 II is my first choice in super-telephoto lenses. I use it at Bosque, at Nickerson Beach, and from my car on a BLUBB when working down by the lake near my house. When you need maximum reach, the 600 II is the only way to go. As the lens currently sells new at B&H for $11,499, you can save $2,000 by grabbing Don’s lens right now. artie

Side by side image comparison Images courtesy of and copyright 2016: Patrick Sparkman

Four Simple Questions

Which image is sharper?

Which image appears cleaner to you?

Which image offers a higher degree of pleasing contrast?

Which shows the best image quality?

Would you say that the differences are dramatic, subtle, or non-existent?

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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, 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

I woke very early and well before the alarm to pack for my nonstop flight from San Diego to Orlando. I am at the gate as I begin this blog post. If all goes well, right-hand man Jim Litzenberg should be picking me up at MCO at about 6:30pm Sunday evening.

Thanks for all of the congratulatory comments on the San Diego exhibit both here on the blog and on Facebook; they made my special day even more special. a

The Streak

In spite of having been buried by travel, teaching, the exhibit, and several major writing projects for the last two months, today’s blog post marks 75 days in a row with a new educational blog post. Please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases.

This image was created at Salisbury Plain on South Georgia on our last day of landings on the memorable 2015 Cheesemans’ South Georgia Expedition with the Induro GIT 304L tripod/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 560mm), and the rugged Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/16. AWB. Center AF point (Manual selection)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. King Penguin neck abstract

Image Design Answer

In the blog post here, I asked if folks liked the photo-bombing penguin in the lower left corner. Most did not. I must admit that I did not like it much at first but over time it grew on me.

The 100-400 II

Most of you know how much I love this great lens. See lots more on that below. Many folks have been asking “Which super-tele best fits with the new 1-4? Read on to learn my thoughts.

Which Super-telephoto Lens Best Fits With the Canon EF 100-400mmL IS II lens?

I have received more than a few e-mails recently from folks who already own the 100-400II and wish to enter the world of super-telephoto photography. One such e-mail from retired Tennessee State Senator Doug along with my reply should help most folks in the same boat make this difficult decision.

AM: Hi Doug, It is good to hear from you. Love your closing, “Reformed Senator and struggling photographer.”

re:

DJ: I recently found your blog and videos. Great resource. I really appreciate your willingness to share knowledge.

AM: Thanks. That has been my specialty for a while. 🙂

DJ: You have motivated me to venture into bird and travel photography in my new retirement. I do have a 600mm non-IS; it is very old and very heavy but sharp.

AM: Been there, done that 🙂

This image was created at La Jolla, CA on the last morning of the hugely successful 2016 San Diego IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400: 1/640 sec. at f/11. AWB. Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. This is a very, very, small crop from the left and the top. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see the incredible fine feather detail in a larger version. Brown Pelican bill pouch detail

The 500 II

The 500 II gives me 1000mm of full frame reach with the 2X TC and 700 with the 1.4X; a perfect fit for the 100-400 II unless you need the reach of the 600 II plus TCs…

The e-mail conversation continued…

DJ: I have planned to purchase two new lenses and have narrowed the search down to three. The new 100-400II L IS the Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, and the Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens

AM: Assuming that you have ruled out the 600 II as too bulky and too heavy, your choice is an easy one: go with the 100-400mm II and the 500 II. They were both in my gear bag for San Diego and will be for the Greece trip as well. Note, however, that when I am traveling to places where weight is somewhat of a premium and the birds are tame, I will opt for the 100-400II/400 DO II/combo in part because I am so proficient with the 2X III TC and the Canon EF 400 DO II; folks like me who can consistently make sharp images with an f/4 lens and the 2X III TC will then have a nice 100-400 and 560/800 combo to work with.

DJ: It’s a big decision and I would value your opinion.

AM: Understood and it was wise of you to ask me.

DJ: Which combo would you recommend for wildlife and travel?

AM: See above.

I have always wanted the Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II lens but the new 100-400 a seems to be such a versatile lens.

AM: It is an amazingly versatile lens and I absolutely love the close focus as well as its amazing sharpness and 4-stop Image Stabilization system. Understand that the 400mm DO II somewhat counterfeits the 100-400 unless–as noted above–you are skilled at making sharp images with the 400mm f/4 DO IS II and the 2X III TC. Of note is the fact that the 1-4 II is so versatile that many have gone away from the 200-400 with internal Extender. That one still remains at the top of the list for Africa in part because of its versatility and in part because the built-in TC is a big plus in extremely dusty environments.

This image was created at the highlands of Puerto Ayora at 8:55am on July 21, Day 8 of the 2015 Galapagos Photo Cruise. I used the tripod-mounted Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens with the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 800: Evaluative metering at zero: 1/500 sec. at f/10 in Av mode. Center AF point/Spot AF/Shutter Button AI Servo AF was active at the moment of exposure as is pretty much mandatory with moving subjects. The selected bird’s folded wing as originally framed. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Galapagos White-cheeked Pintail displaying male

The 400 DO II

When working with tame birds or when I wish to travel light, the 400 DO II serves as my big super-telephoto lens, most often on a tripod with the 2X III TC.

The e-mail conversation continued…

DJ: Would the portability of the 400mm DO II make it a better choice than a 500mm II IS? BTW, I will purchase these through your web site.

AM: As above, only in very certain circumstances; I routinely travel to places like the Southern Ocean and the Galapagos with 400 DO II/100-400II combo. On some of those trips the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens comes along for the ride. That old favorite was very useful in several low light situations in San Diego.

DJ: I shoot a 7D2 and a 5DSR.

AM: Good luck 🙂 This will probably shock the world but I may be selling all of my camera bodies and going only with 5DS Rs… Thanks to dear friends Patrick Sparkman it will soon–via a coming blog post–be easy to see and absolutely clear how much better the 5DS R is than anything that Canon offers at present.

DJ: I am planning to book a trip with you this year. I am going to Kenya and France this year with a fellow Tennessean, Jim Zuckerman. I too bought a 5DSR. Seeing your images, I feel it was a good decision–Jim is not so sure. Large, super high-res monitors are coming.

AM: Jim is somewhat of a friend and someone who has my great respect. My 5DS R images look mighty fine on my Macbook Pro with Retina Display. I will ask a favor: when the 5DSR Image Quality Superiority blog post is published, please send a link to Jim.

To simplify your shopping, here are my affiliate links for the two lenses discussed above:

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens

Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM Lens

Please let me know if you have any additional questions. If you want to chat further about your gear choices give me a buzz at home at 863-692-2806 next week. I will be home late Sunday.

Please let me know if you need any additional product specific links and please shoot me your B&H receipt when you are done shopping.

later and love and be sure to subscribe to the blog.

artie

The 600 II

I continue to own and use the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens when I need every bit of reach, when I can easily get the lens to a given location, and when I do not have to walk long distances.

The 600 II is numero uno when working from my car off a BLUBB. I ship it to Bosque every year so that I can use it to photograph single cranes and single geese in flight. I managed to get it to Japan on my last trip there and to the UK as well for the puffins in flight. It is, however, a bear to travel with.

The 100-400II

Right now, the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens just might be my favorite-ever Canon lens. As regular readers know, and as above, I love it for it amazing close focus (.98 meters!) as well as for its superb sharpness and its 4-stop Image Stabilization system. Not to mention its great versatility and focal length range as well as its light weight and hand holdability. If you photograph birds, wildlife, or nature and do not own this great lens, you should!

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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, 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 visiting the BAA Online store as well.

Facebook

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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 🙂

What’s Up?

Six of us enjoyed a last morning at the cliffs. There were not a lot of pelicans but those that remained after a big group took off were quite tame… Muriel McClellan graciously treated everyone to a fine lunch at The Crab Catcher. In the afternoon I put the finishing touches on my Saturday morning program–see yesterday’s blog–and headed up to Carlsbad for dinner and INSPIRE: The Power of Story. Cliff Oliver’s mentor, Dr. Paul Brenner, the father of alternative medicine in the US, is one of four featured speakers.

If today’s blog post inspires you to join the BAA group for the OCT/NOV 2016 Cheesemans’ South Georgia/Falklands Expedition please scroll down for details.

This image was created with the hand held Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 400mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 1250: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6 was probably +2/3 stop off of the water. AWB. Grey-headed Albatross on final approach to nest Image courtesy of and copyright 2015: Clemens Van der Werf

Clemens Van der Werf Blog Post

If you enjoy good photography, you will want to check out Clemens’ Adventure in South Georgia blog post here. In addition to some good writing you will find a dazzling array of images including lots of scenics, some killer black and whites, and some excellent people in nature stuff.

In addition to being a good friend Clemens is one of (if not the) top BIRDS AS ART students.

Free Relevant Excerpt from the Southern Ocean Photography Guide

Elsehul

On my 2015 trip we landed the next morning at Elsehul after being faced with wind and snow on our landing at Undine Harbor the day before. Cheesemans’ had sent out a scout team to search for Grey-headed Albatross nests and reported by walkie talkie that in addition to the hike being steep in spots and tough (both as usual) that the only nest they had found was quite a distance from the landing site, about 1 ½ miles.
The day was quite lovely and though you can never count on such conditions to last long on South Georgia, many folks decided to make the trek. For me, with my problematic left knee, the decision not to try the hike was an easy one. On the beach you can expect the same birds and animals as noted for Undine Harbor.

Knowing that most of the folks in my group would not be making the long difficult hike I was keen to see if we might find a spot to photograph some Grey-headed Albatross in flight. That search did not take long. In fact, as we landed I noted a headland to the right of the landing site. Both grey-headeds and light mantled sootys were flying by on a fairly regular basis. Bingo I thought.

I asked permission from a staff member to make the gentle climb up the top of the headland and hang out for a while. It was granted. I took my time and the climb was not too difficult at all. Some folks in the BAA group joined me. At first the birds simply stopped flying. I was 100% positive that that was purely coincidental and that the birds in flight were in no way affected by our presence. After a while, I would be proven right.

One group member got bored too quickly and left. Others who had faith in their leader stuck it out. And after about 45 minutes they were rewarded. We had birds of both species flying above us and below us, some so close that you had to duck. In addition, we had some good chances with a few Giant Petrels that were exploring the hillside below us for nest sites.

I enjoyed on and off action for about four hours as other group members came and went. When it comes to flight photography, my determination serves me well. Be on the lookout for nice scenics anywhere at this location: on the ridges, on the beach, from the zodiacs, and even from the ship. Heck, the same applies to pretty much all of South Georgia with its spectacular mountains and related geology. The best lens for scenics might range from a fish eye or wide angle to an intermediate telephoto and would include everything in between.

As always for flight photography we worked in Manual mode. We used one exposure for the Grey-headed Albatrosses and went one shutter speed click lighter for the overall slightly darker Light Mantled Sooty Albatrosses. If you are confused by the above please see Exposure Simplified in The Art of Bird Photography II (ABP II: 916 pages, 900+ images on CD only). Learn more in the “A Brush-up Tutorial on Working in Manual Mode” blog post here. Learn which is the best shooting mode in the “At Long Last, As Promised: the Greatest, Most Educational Blog Post Ever? Manual… Av… Tv… Program… Which is The Best Shooting Mode?” blog post here.

Southern Ocean Photography Guide

The Southern Ocean Photography Guide is a work in progress. I hope to have it finished as soon as possible. If you are headed to the Southern Ocean and would like to purchase a pre-publication version please shoot me an e-mail.

All images on the card were created on the 2015 Cheesemans’ South Georgia Expedition. From top left clockwise to center: King Penguin resting on Snow, Fortuna Bay; Macaroni Penguin in snow, Cooper Island; Grey-headed Albatross, Elsehul; King Penguin neck abstract, Godthul; Northern Giant Petrel, Undine Harbor; adult Wandering Albatross, Prion Island; Elephant Seal, Undine Harbor; South Georgia Pipit fledgling/thanks Joe Kaplan! Fortuna Bay; high key King Penguins in snow, Fortuna Bay. Card design and all images copyright 2015: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Hard to Believe: An End to the Best…

I have been to the Southern Ocean five times, the last four with Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris (CES). It is common knowledge that they offer the finest ship-based photographic expeditions to South Georgia and the Falklands. Nobody else is close. They will make landings in tough conditions. Always. Their experienced staff and crew of zodiac drivers will get you on and off safely. You will enjoy so much time on a given landing that you will often want to head back to the ship early! Sorry, not me (though I did go back to the ship an hour early on our 2015 St. Andrews Bay landing. I quit after only 12 1/2 hours to go back to the ship on the 5pm zodiac when I could have stayed till 6pm…. My excuse? I could not raise my lens anymore.)

I learned recently that their October 22-November 6 (on the Sea Spirit) will be their last trip down to wildlife heaven on earth. Here is what Ted Cheeseman had to say:

The 2016 October/November expedition will be our last to South Georgia. Market changes, regulation changes, and as big of a part of our lives as it has been, we realize this next will indeed be the last.

When I asked him if he was sure that the 2016 trip would be the last, he replied:

To be honest, we have been known to go back on our statement of ‘last trip ever’. But for South Georgia, I don’t see how we could do it in the future. We want to continue but the costs are skyrocketing, regulation is threatening in a way that I think after 2016 may very well make it impossible to have free roaming folks ashore, i.e. possibly guided groups only – no thank you. So though I am loathe to say it, the Oct/Nov 2016 trip will be our last. If we do another before the end of 2018, I’ll see to it that you get free passage aboard. How’s that for a commitment?

BIRDS AS ART and the 2016 Cheesemans’ South Georgia/Falklands Expedition

When I got off the Ortelius at Stanley and told Ted that the just concluded voyage would be my last to the Southern Ocean, I meant it. But once I heard that the 2016 trip would be their last, I realized that I had to make the trip. As soon as I sign up a single participant for the expedition’s BAA group, I will be sending my deposit check.

If you would like to join me on what will be an amazing trip to a wondrous place, please shoot me an e-mail with the words “Cheesemans’ Last South Georgia Expedition” cut and pasted into the Subject Line.

All of the images on this card were created in the Falklands on the 2014 Cheesemans’ Southern Oceans Expedition. From top left clockwise to center: Black-browed Albatross tending chick, Steeple Jason Island; Black-browed Albatross courting pair, New Island; the Black-browed Albatross colony at Steeple Jason Island; Black-browed Albatross landing, New Island; King Cormorant head portrait, New Island; hull detail/derelict minesweeper, New Island; Rockhopper Penguin head portrait in bright sun, New Island; Striated Caracara, Steeple Jason Island; Magellanic Snipe chick, Sea Lion Island.

An Expedition Overview

Experience the vibrant spring of South Georgia, a true Antarctic wildlife paradise. Observe and photograph wildlife behaviors seldom seen beneath the towering, snow blanketed mountains (see image below) that dominate the island’s landscape. Southern Elephant Seal bulls fight for breeding rights while females nurse young, overlook vast colonies of loafing King Penguins, watch Macaroni Penguins cavort in the snow, photograph handsome Gray-headed Albatrosses in flight or attending to their cliffside nests and awkward Wandering Albatrosses attempting first flight. The itinerary includes six landing days on South Georgia and three landing days in the Falklands to observe too cute Rockhopper Penguins, Magellanic Penguins standing watch at their nesting burrows, and more Black-browed Albatrosses than you could ever imagine. To commemorate Shackleton’s famous self-rescue crossing South Georgia, CES also offers an optional trek retracing his steps. With Cheesemans’ twenty years of experience in the Antarctic region, they commit to an in-depth exploration of one of the densest wildlife spectacles found anywhere in the world, and with only 100 passengers, they routinely give you the opportunity to completely immerse yourself on each landing.

Two of the scheduled Falklands landings, New Island and especially Steeple Jason Island, rival the best locations on South Georgia. Those will likely include Salisbury Plain, St. Andrews Bay, Elsehul, Fortuna Bay, and either Cooper Island or Hercules Bay (for Macaroni Penguins).

Why Sign Up Through BIRDS AS ART?

If you have been thinking and dreaming of finally visiting South Georgia, this is the trip for you. There will likely never be another trip like this as the best outfit in the Southern Oceans business will not be returning after 2016…. Quit dreaming and act now. Though I will not be an expedition staff member on this trip, those who have traveled with me know that I cannot help but teach. And I will be doing a introductory photography program for the entire ship on our crossing to South Georgia. All who sign up via BAA will receive a free copy the new Southern Ocean Photography Guide (a $100 value) that I am currently working on. It will include pre-trip gear and clothing recommendations and a ton of info that you will find to be invaluable.

I will hold informal pre-landing briefings aboard ship so that when you land you know exactly what to expect and where to go. I will be available on the ship to review your images, answer your questions, and conduct informal over-the shoulder Photoshop sessions. And best of all, everyone who signs up under the auspices of BAA are invited to tag along with me on the landings where I will be glad to offer invaluable in-the-field advice. And the same goes for the shipboard birds in flight and marine mammal photographic sessions.

Again, if you would like to join me on what will truly be a once in a lifetime opportunity to a wondrous place, please shoot me an e-mail with the words “Cheesemans’ Last South Georgia Expedition,” cut and pasted into the Subject Line.

You can learn more about the trip here. If you sign up on your own be sure to mention that you would like to be part of the BAA Group. I’d be glad to answer any and all question via e-mail or by phone at 863-692-0906.

Important Notes

#1: If you fail to e-mail me as noted directly above, and register directly with CES you MUST let them know that you would like to be part of the BIRDS AS ART group.

#2: Joining the BIRDS AS ART group as above will not cost you one penny.

The Sea Spirit

The Sea Spirit is an “all suite” luxury vessel built for sailing in ice with an ice-strengthened hull and retractable fin stabilizers, the latter deliver smooth sailing to make your polar expedition enjoyable and safe. All cabins have a private, en-suite bathroom, a lounge area, and ample storage. The cabins have unobstructed exterior views via portholes, picture windows, or a private balcony. The ship is outfitted with a presentation room for on-board lectures as well as a gym, library, game room, lounge, bar with bartender, and dining lounge with chef-prepared meals. The Sea Spirit provides warm and comfortable accommodation for 100 passengers, the expedition staff, and the ship’s crew. The Sea Spirit carries a fleet of ten Zodiacs. The Zodiac loading area, located at the rear of the ship, provides a safe and relatively sheltered place from which to embark on our adventures.

Best of all, the Sea Spirit does 14 knots, a huge step above the other ships that I have been on; each crawled along at 11 knots…

Going Light

On recent trips I found myself going with shorter lenses and lighter gear than on my previous Southern Ocean Expedition. It is completely conceivable that you could do the entire trip with either the new Canon EF 100-400mm L IS II lens or a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens with both teleconverters. Nikon folks could go with the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm G ED VR lens or the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II lens and the Nikon TC-14E II 1.4x Teleconverter for D-AF-S & AF-I lenses ONLY. We do not recommend the Nikon 2X TCE.

A good crop factor camera body like the Canon EOS-7D Mark II makes makes life (and landings!) much easier.

Cheesemans’ Well Deserved Kudos

I know from personal experience that if you are a photographer who is going to invest in Southern Ocean voyage, you will want to put your money on Cheesemans’. No other tour company goes as far out of their way to ensure making every possible safe landing. And no other tour company will have you spending more time on land. Michael Viljeon from South Africa was aboard the Ortelius on a Southern Oceans voyage that preceded the Cheesemans’ trip that we were both on. As we headed back to Ushuaia, he said, “The folks that ran that first trip were pathetic. Too rough. No landing today. Surf too high today. No landing. Wind wrong direction. No landing. Cheesemans’ routinely and safely gets folks on land in conditions where the leaders of other tour companies do not even bother getting out of their bunks.”

Here, from the” Way to Go CES! (Cheeseman’s Ecology Safaris)” blog post here, is one of my favorite Cheesemans’ stories:

The landing at Bailey Head, Antarctica, was especially rewarding to me as I had been sitting in a zodiac 100 yards off shore on my 2007 trip when the zodiac in front of mine swamped and the captain of the ship called off the landing…. Early that day it looked as if my weather Karma might not be working. Ted’s “Good morning shipmates” was followed by the news that we would not be able to land at Bailey Head that morning as the swell was too big. The beach there is sloped tremendously and the sea strives to pull the zodiacs back into the ocean before folks have gotten off with their gear. Tom Murphy had said to me several days before, “We will get you on the beach at Bailey Head.” Ted concluded his morning greetings by saying, “We are sending out a scout team to see if landing is possible.”

After breakfast I was thrilled to hear Ted’s voice again on the PA, “We will be landing at 8am.” Afterwards folks noted that it was the calmest landing ever at this amazingly beautiful spot. My good weather Karma (courtesy of late-wife Elaine) had come through one last time. Along with St. Andrews Bay, it was one of my two favorite super-great once-in-a-lifetime days of the trip. And we even got to enjoy three additional hours at Hannah Point, Antarctica before calling it a wrap and heading for the feared Drake Passage. All thanks to Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris.

If you’d like to join me on the OCT/NOV 2016 expedition to South Georgia and the Falklands, please shoot me an e-mail with the words “Cheesemans’ Last South Georgia Expedition” cut and pasted into the Subject Line.

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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 :).