Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

This head portrait of a breeding plumage Heerman’s Gull was created with the predecessor of the Gitzo 3532 LS carbon fiber tripod, the Mongoose M3.6 head, the 500mm f/4L IS lens (now replaced by the Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens), the 2X II TC (now replaced by the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter))), and the EOS-1Ds Mark II (now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/100 sec. at f/9 in Av mode. Color Temperature: Cloudy. Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF as framed 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. Breeding plumage Heerman’s Gulls will be fairly easy subjects on the Short Notice Small Group San Diego IPT. See below for details.

What Garbage Can?

Before you read on, do you see the garbage can in the image above?

Watch a good nature photographer. See how long they remain in one spot without moving their tripod. Unless they are staying on one spot doing flight photography they will be moving a lot. At the Venice Rookery it is not uncommon to see photographers who set their tripods down in a good location at 7am and do not move it for 3 or 4 hours. In that time a good photographer will have moved their tripod between 50 and 500 times. Sometimes these moves are of an inch or two, to hide a bright twig behind the subject. At other times they might move their tripod anywhere from 1 foot to 100 yards to get on light angle (have their shadow pointing at the subject), to be in the right spot considering the wind direction or intensity, or as mentioned above, to get a better perspective that will yield a cleaner background.

The image above was created on a San Diego IPT at one of my favorite afternoon spots. In some years the folks who clean the beach create berms of sand about 3 feet high. We toss bread onto the top of the sand ridges for the Heerman’s, Western, and Ring-billed Gulls that frequent the beach there. We had lots of handsome birds lined up on the ridge and folks were easily getting close enough to create head portraits with a telephoto lens and a teleconverter. As you can see above it was late in the day; the light was sweet. And the distant beach in the background was in shade thus the lovely grey background that you see in front of the bird.

Moving left and right I picked off attractive subjects one after another with the old 500 and the 1.4X II TC when I saw a unique opportunity. I switched to the 2X TC, moved well to my right, and created a short series of images before the handsome gull flew off. I quickly got back to the group to share my prize. Reaction was uniform across the board: “Where did you get that beautiful blue in the background? Our backgrounds are nice with that shaded slate grey but yours is amazing. I said, “It’s right there in front of you. Just look.” More of the same: “There’s no blue anywhere!”

Then I pointed about fifty yards to our right at a large, squat blue plastic trash receptacle….

By carefully, and I mean very carefully, positioning my tripod I was able to center the gull’s head against the out-of-focus blue of the hard plastic garbage can. Understand that if my tripod has been placed as little as a half-inch to either side that the image would not have been as strong. Once I explained things to the group we put some more bread on the berm and folks went to work with their newly found blue background.

Here’s the principle: always choose your perspective carefully to create the cleanest, boldest images possible. BTW, I love the American Flag color scheme of today’s image.

Pelican Paradise

LaJolla, California is a pelican paradise. At the right time of year, most will be sporting their incredibly beautiful breeding plumage of white and yellow and deep chocolate brown. But it is the olive green and bright red bill pouches that grabs you by the throat and never lets go. One of my LaJolla film images was honored in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competitions. Today, I still don’t have enough pelican images. I’d love to make another BBC-worthy photograph on my upcoming trip. I hope that you can join me in the quest. See below for details.

I’ve been away from LaJolla for too long. I visited San Diego for photography (and until 2007, to visit my folks who lived in North
park; my war hero Dad died in 2001) every year for almost three decades. My Mom, now 91 and living in Holbrook, Long Island, NY, lived in San Diego until seven years ago. Whenever I walked into my parent’s home on Pentuckett Avenue the same conversation would take place:

Hazel Louise Morris: What are you gonna do tomorrow?
Arthur Edward Morris: Ma, you know what I am gonna do tomorrow.
HLM: What are you gonna do tomorrow?
AEM: Ma, I’m going to LaJolla bright and early.
HLM: What are you gonna do there?
AEM: Ma, you know what I am gonna do.
HLM: What are you gonna do there?
AEM: Ma, I’m going to photograph those beautiful pelicans.
HLM: Don’t you have enough pelican pictures alreadY?
AEM: No Ma.

Announcing the San Diego Short-Notice Small Group IPT. January 15-17, 3-Full Days: $1049. Meet and Greet after dinner on your own at 7:30pm on Tuesday, January 14, 2014. Limit 6.

We will get to photograph the California race of Brown Pelican in flight, resting, preening, cleaning their bill pouches, and talking to their neighbors by tossing their bills high in the air. The afternoon sessions will feature Marbled Godwits, several gull species, and Wood and Ring-necked Ducks. If we have a cloudy morning we will get to photograph Harbor Seals. You will learn to get the right exposure every time, to see the best situation, to think like a pro, to create sharp, pleasing images, and to understand the joint effects of light and wind on the birds. All in a small group with tons of individual attention.

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance will be due no later than January 7, 2014. The balance is alo non-refundable. If the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. If your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

If you are planning to register please shoot me an e-mail.

Then please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) Though we prefer a check, you can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail

San Diego Site Guide

Can’t make the IPT? Get yourself a copy of the San Diego Site Guide; it’s the next best thing to being on an IPT. Nearly 30 years of San Diego bird photography secrets revealed in one fell swoop.

Great buy: Used Canon 800mm f/5/6L IS Lens for Sale

Friend and multiple IPT-veteran Monte Brown is offering his lightly used Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens in excellent condition for sale for $9,500. Purchase includes the lens case and hood, the 4th Generation Design Low Foot, the original foot, a LensCoat, the original invoice and the original Canon shipping carton. The lens was purchased new from B&H in April 2009 and was recently underwent a pre-sale clean and check by Canon. The buyer pays insured shipping via UPS Ground to US addresses only. The lens will be shipped only after your check clears.

The Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Autofocus lens sells new for $13,223.00 so you will save a bundle on a great lens. No need to ever use a 2X…

If interested you can contact Monte by phone at 1-765-744-1421 or via e-mail.

Learn more and enter the BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition here. Twenty-five great prizes including the $1000 Grand Prize and intense competition. Bring your best.

Support the BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!

We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

IPT Info

Many of our great trips are filling up. You will learn more about how to make great images on a BAA IPT than anywhere else on the planet. Click here to learn about the just-announced 2014 Bosque IPTs. And click here for the schedule and additional info.

This Brown Pelican image was was created at LaJolla, CA in January 2011 with the Gitzo 3532 LS carbon fiber tripod, the Mongoose M3.6 head, the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Autofocus lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 in Av mode. Central sensor/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s eye and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Gear Bag Discussion for a Big Trip

Denise Ippolito and I are taking 7 clients on a long-sold-out Japan in Winter IPT leaving the US on February 10th. Paul McKenzie who helped organize the trip–he lives in Hong Kong–is co-leading. There have been lots of questions about what lenses to bring. Below I share a few of the e-mails discussing just that subject. As you read the e-mails, do consider the images presented here and how they relate to the e-mails and to you.

From My First Gear e-Mail to the Group

Hi Gang,

I am in a quandary. The first (and last) time that I went to Japan I brought the 300 f/2.8 L IS II and the 800 for big glass. I did use the 800 a bit for head portraits of the eagles off the tripod–yes, on the boat and a lot for photographing the cranes in flight, often with the 1.4X TC. That said I made a ton of great images with the 300/1.4X TC combo and with the 70-200 II.

I no longer own the 800 having replaced it with the 600 f/4L IS II. And I also own the 200-400 with internal TC…

I am trying to decide whether to bring the 200-400 and perhaps a 300 II–the latter is lighter and much easier to hand hold and leave the 600 II at home…. The 2-4 with both TC gets me to 784mm. But the 600 with the 2X TC gets me to 1200, a huge advantage…. I expect that Paul will often have a shorter rather than a longer lens in his hands than me as he loves doing the wide environmental stuff…. I will be also bringing the 24-105 and leaving the fish eye at home….

So my big decision is whether to bring the 600 II or the 200-400 as my big lens. I am leaning towards the 600 II. If I do that I will almost surely buy a new 300 II and bring that so that I have something lighter for flight. The 2-4 would be great but it is heavier and it is nearly impossible to bring the 600 II, the 2-4, and the 300 II and all the rest. Heck, the 600II and the 300 II is load enough…

An option that I did not mention was to do the whole trip without a big super-telephoto, that is, to go only with the 300f/2.8L IS and both teleconverters…. For those considering bring a 200-400 the edge of course goes to the Canon version with the internal TC.

ps: bring lots of layers as the eagle boat might be brutally cold. I think that we had -5F one morning…. But there is a warm cabin.

pps: some might opt to do an afternoon trip at additional expense or possibly to do only one trip in the morning and one in the afternoon. We need six to get an afternoon boat but we could always recruit some other photographers….

This breeding plumage Brown Pelican image was created at LaJolla, CA in January 2006 with the predecessor of the Gitzo 3532 LS carbon fiber tripod, the Mongoose M3.6 head, the 600mm f/4L IS lens) now replaced by the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens) and the EOS-1D Mark II (now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X). ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero in Av mode. Color temperature: Cloudy. Central sensor/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s eye and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Note that as recently as 2011 I was working most often in Av mode rather than Manual mode…

Early Morning Thoughts…

Hi Again All, Here I will share the thoughts that I was having as I awoke in a somewhat dream-like state this morning….

I have always been a long lens guy. I see the world in small rectangular frames as if I were always looking through a long telephoto lens. With a teleconverter. I love 3/4 frame images of whole birds and I love tight head portraits with clean backgrounds. Please remember that that is me. That is my style. I believe that Denise is much the same. I know that Paul tends to work much wider than I do using shorter focal length lenses so as to include lots of beautiful habitat. That said, I think that Paul had his the 600 when I last saw him in Japan. I might be wrong though….

If you brought only a 70-200 with TCs or an 80-400 or 100-400 without TCs or one of the Sigma 50-500s you will have countless opportunities to create great images on the Japan in Winter trip. Will you sometimes be wishing that you had a longer focal length? Of course. I often wish the same when standing behind my tripod-mounted 600 II with the 2X III attached. But do understand that intermediate focal length lenses above often have a huge advantage over long glass when it comes to photographing birds in flight and in action. I am often dead in the water with the super-long focal lengths that I otherwise enjoy working with….

So please temper my enthusiasm for long glass by remembering that that is me, that that is my style. Please consider the type of images that you like to make before packing your gear bag.

I’d love to hear from Paul and from Denise on their gear bag recommendations.

Denise Wrote:

Hello everyone. I will be bringing my Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 300mm f/2,8 Version II lens, Canon 100-400mm lens, 1.4 III teleconverter, 2X III teleconverter, 24-105mm lens and my 15mm fisheye (it weighs next-to-nothing). And maybe a 16-35mm and/or a 24mm tiltshift. I have decided to leave the 600mm II at home and rely on the 300mm with teleconverters as my big glass. See you all soon! Denise

To Which I Responded:

Wow! She’s going light. Thanks for chiming in Lady D. The 300 f/2.8L IS lens is killer and I will almost surely be bringing one. a

This tight face shot of a California Brown Pelican was was created at LaJolla, CA in January 2011 with the Gitzo 3532 LS carbon fiber tripod, the Mongoose M3.6 head, the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Autofocus lens,the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the EOS-1D Mark IV now replaced by the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/500 sec. at f/13 in Av mode. To allow for focusing inside the minimum focusing distance of the old 600 I mounted a Canon Extension Tube EF 25 II and a Canon Extension Tube EF 12 II in front of the teleconverter. That forced me to use manual focus. Manual focus on the bird’s eye and re-compose.

My Reply to Srdjan Mitrovic’s e-Mail

AM: Hi Srdjan, re:

SM: Art, thanks for the recommendations.

AM: YAW.

SM: I can add a 1.4x TCE to the new 80-400 . It becomes f/8 and but am uncertain about the quality.

AM: Though I have no personal experience with that lens and a TC I generally recommend against such combos as the speed of initial AF acquisition is slowed considerably. The same applies to the Canon 100-400mm.

SM: We have also 1.7x TCE and the 2x TCE that we could use on 200-400.

AM: Again, though I have no personal experience with that lens and a TC, I must say that recently I have been hearing many negative comments about the 1.7x TCE, most recently on the Bosque IPT where several folks stated that they owned the 1.7x TCE but have quit using it because of concerns about sharpness. And the Nikon 2x TCEs have been trashed by everyone I know who uses Nikon. Except for Todd Gustafson who regularly uses both the 1.7x TCE and the 2x TCE with his 600 f/4 Nikkor lens…. Everyone that I know is happy with the image quality from the 200-400 with the 1.4x TCE.

SM: If I understand correctly we should have at least 600mm full frame lens reach, correct?

AM: I am not so sure about that… See my comments above.

SM: D800s are 36 MP full frame bodies.

AM: With that file size using a shorter lens and cropping will produce some superb image files even with a large crop. With the 200-400 and the 1.4X TCE and the new 80-400 for hand held flight photography and your 36mp you should be more than fine….

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

later and love, artie

ps: for more on Nikon lenses and TCEs see Big Lens Choices for Canon and Nikon–As I See Them….

The Great Group

We really have put together a great group of truly Happy Campers. Alan and Pat Lillich are both great friends and multiple IPT veterans. Both are accomplished photographers and Pat is a talented sculptress as well. I first met Zorica Kovacevic and Srdjan Mitrovic at Tierra del Fuego National Park where we hung out together and got more than a few great images of some Magellanic Woodpeckers. We then spent three great weeks together on a Cheesemans Antarctica/South Georgia/Falklands cruise. The always-smiling Scotsman (one “t” is correct) Malcolm MacKenzie is another mutliple IPT veteran. He lives in Connecticut. Rounding out the crew are newcomers Lex and Debbie Franks who will be traveling from Australia for their first Instructional Photo-Tour. We all look forward to meeting our soon-to-be new friends from Down Under.

Your Favorite?

Which of the three images above do you feel is the strongest? Be sure to let us know why.

Announcing the San Diego Short-Notice Small Group IPT. January 15-17, 3-Full Days: $1049. Meet and Greet after dinner on your own at 7:30pm on Tuesday, January 14, 2014. Limit 6.

We will get to photograph the California race of Brown Pelican in flight, resting, preening, cleaning their bill pouches, and talking to their neighbors by tossing their bills high in the air. The afternoon sessions will feature Marbled Godwits, several gull species, and Wood and Ring-necked Ducks. If we have a cloudy morning we will get to photograph Harbor Seals. You will learn to get the right exposure every time, to see the best situation, to think like a pro, to create sharp, pleasing images, and to understand the joint effects of light and wind on the birds. All in a small group with tons of individual attention.

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. Your balance will be due no later than January 7, 2014. The balance is alo non-refundable. If the trip fills, we will be glad to apply a credit applicable to a future IPT for the full amount less a $100 processing fee. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. If your spot is filled, you will lose your deposit. If not, you can secure your spot by paying your balance.

If you are planning to register please shoot me an e-mail.

Then please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.”) Though we prefer a check, you can also leave your deposit with a credit card by calling the office at 863-692-0906. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail

San Diego Site Guide

Can’t make the IPT? Get yourself a copy of the San Diego Site Guide; it’s the next best thing to being on an IPT. Nearly 30 years of San Diego bird photography revealed in one fell swoop.

Great buy: Used Canon 800mm f/5/6L IS Lens for Sale

Friend and multiple IPT-veteran Monte Brown is offering his lightly used Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens in excellent condition for sale for $9,500. Purchase includes the lens case and hood, the 4th Generation Design Low Foot, the original foot, a LensCoat, the original invoice and the original Canon shipping carton. The lens was purchased new from B&H in April 2009 and was recently underwent a pre-sale clean and check by Canon. The buyer pays insured shipping via UPS Ground to US addresses only. The lens will be shipped only after your check clears.

The Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Autofocus lens sells new for $13,223.00 so you will save a bundle on a great lens. No need to ever use a 2X…

If interested you can contact Monte by phone at 1-765-744-1421 or via e-mail.

Learn more and enter the BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition here. Twenty-five great prizes including the $1000 Grand Prize and intense competition. Bring your best.

Support the BAA Blog. Support the BAA Bulletins: Shop B&H here!

We want and need to keep providing you with the latest free information, photography and Photoshop lessons, and all manner of related information. Show your appreciation by making your purchases immediately after clicking on any of our B&H or Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post. Remember, B&H ain’t just photography!

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

IPT Info

Many of our great trips are filling up. You will learn more about how to make great images on a BAA IPT than anywhere else on the planet. Click here to learn about the just-announced 2014 Bosque IPTs. And click here for the schedule and additional info.

Mornings and Afternoons at Bosque

In general, mornings are usually more productive at Bosque (except for the last half hour of light at the crane pools on the right afternoons). And on cloudy days, mornings are almost always far more productive than afternoons.

Follow Your Nose…

On the rare cloudy, dreary afternoon the best strategy is to go past the pay booth and flip a coin. Heads, make a right turn and check out the Marsh Loop. Tails go straight up Bosque Road (In the Bosque Site Guide I call it the H Road for obvious reasons). On November 23, the coin came up tails. I was glad as there had been some good concentrations of ducks about 2/3 of the way to the left turn on the Farm Loop. Most of us were messing around with the dispersing ducks, not doing much. A few folks walk a hundred yards up the road to the pool on the right near the intersection. Close to a decade ago this was a good location with lots of ducks and the occasional Neotropic Cormorant. Lately it had been not so good. I forget which member of Denise’s group came back to get us, heck, it might have been Denise, but IAC we were told that there were big groups of blackbirds perching on the dead bushes in the pool and flying around. So we went. The image above was one of the first that I made.

And Then the Birds Took Off

And then the birds took off so I pushed the button while panning with the flock.

A Guide to Pleasing Blurs

Pleasing blurs are not out-of-focus mistakes. They are well thought out, skillfully executed, accurately focused creations. If you would like to learn to create such images, get yourself a copy of “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs” by Denise Ipplito and yours truly.

Follow Your Nose Part II…

After the mass of birds took off they flew north and west so I said to the group, “Let’s go!” We walked west along the H Road past the spot where we had started so that we had a clear view of the Main Impoundment to the north. The flock swirled and turned and veered. I framed and fired off about 60 images over a ten minute period until the action quit and we headed back to Socorro for dinner.

In the image above I love that the flock had split in two with each segment flying in a different direction.

Image Questions

In the second image, why was it a mistake to have the internal TC in place?

In the second image, considering that I was hand holding, what factors helped me to create a relatively sharp image at only 1/30 sec.?

Which of the images above is your favorite? Why? I have two clear favorites and will share them with you at some point.

Bosque del Apache 2014 BIRDS AS ART/A Creative Adventure Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT). NOV 29-DEC 3, 2014. Totaling 4 FULL-DAYS: $1449. Leaders: Arthur Morris and Denise Ippolito. Introductory Slide program: 7:00pm on Sunday 11/29.

Bosque del Apache 2014 A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART “Creative Photography Instructional Photo-Tour.” (IPT). NOV 24-25, 2014. 2-FULL DAYS: $729. Leaders: Denise Ippolito & Arthur Morris. Introductory Slide program: 7:00pm on Sunday 11/23.

Denise and I hope that you can join us. Click here for complete details.

Delkin Devices

As regular readers know, I keep a Delkin 64gb e-Film Pro 700X flash card in all three of my cameras. I use and depend on them 300 days a year. (Yeah, I know: life is tough. 🙂 You can learn about all the Delkin products that we carry by clicking here. For those of you who prefer SD cards–they are too small for me, we would be glad to have your order drop-shipped for you. Please Jim and let him know what you need.

Delkin has been a long time BAA sponsor. They have been generous supporters of the BAA International Bird Photography Competitions since the get-go. In addition to flash cards and a line of great card readers, Delkin carries an interesting line of products. Click on some of the links below and you just might be able to take care of some of your holiday gift shopping in short order and save some bucks while you are at it.

Give a Little Cheer to the GoPro Fan in Your Life. Instant savings on the Fat Gecko Kaboom is valid 12/13/13 through 12/31/13 at 11:59 PM PST while supplies last. Limited quantities available. Bargain Basement orders must be placed through delkinbargains.com and cannot be combined with regular Delkin.com orders. Questions? Contact us toll free during normal business hours at (800) 637-8087.

This tulip image was created at the Willem-Alexander Pavilion at Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/5 sec. at f/16 in Manual mode. Again, manual focus on the distal end of the pistil. Click on the image to enjoy a larger size. Image #4: Tulip Multiple Exposure: “Beauty of Spryng”

How I Use Live View

I have found myself using Live View more recently than in previous years, especially for my flower photography.

Here is how and why I use Live View:

For flower or macro work, I often use Live View along with the 2-second timer to ensure sharp images in wind-free situations. Live View raises the mirror with the simple push of a button.

Again, mostly with flowers I have used Live View to ensure getting the right exposure by viewing the RGB histogram that you can bring up in Live View.

I use Live View when creating images with stacked teleconverters using Live Mode AF which focuses off contrast on the sensor. The funny thing is that once I have achieved focus I turn Live View off, look through the viewfinder, and push the shutter button to make the image.

I rarely use Live View at 10X magnification to focus manually with stacked teleconverters when there is not enough contrast for Live Mode AF to work.

And of course I use Live View to create the few videos that I make.

That’s about it. Note: I do not use Live View to check composition or image design. For that I make an image and then check the LCD on the back of the camera.

I never once thought that using Live View might in any way be potentially harmful to the sensor. Is there a danger? Keep reading.

This image was created in-camera at Keukehof Gardens in Lisse Holland on the first Tulip IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. ISO 100. Evaluative metering +1 stop at f/22 in Tv mode. What do you think was the shutter speed? Central sensor Surround/AI Servo Rear Focus on the first row of pink tulips. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

How’d He Do Dat?

First off, do you like it? Do you hate it? Why? Be forewarned: I love it in part because of the outline effect on the pink tulips. Do let us know how you think this image was created in-camera? What technique or techniques were used? Please be as specific as you can. What was the shutter speed? Here is a clue: the original was rendered as a JPEG. Sometimes you can come up with something new and creative just by screwing around and having some fun.

This image was created at the Willem-Alexander Pavilion at Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland with the tripod-mounted Canon Telephoto EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM Autofocus lens and the and the Canon EOS-5D Mark III. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/25 sec. at f/8 in Av mode. Central sensor AI Servo/Rear Focus on the closest large tulip petal on the left and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Live View (for Mirror Lock) and 2-second timer were used to create a sharp image of this Tulipa “Washington Orange” at a very slow shutter speed.

Live View Caution/A Guest Blog Post by Tim Grey

From the December 11, 2013 edition of the “Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter.”

Today’s Question: In a recent podcast episode Tim and Renee spoke highly of shooting with live view, especially for close focus shallow DOF [depth of field] circumstances. I have tried it for this purpose too and it works well. The Canon 6D manual, however, cautions against continuous live view use for a long period as it can cause internal temperature rise that would cause image quality to deteriorate, and I have read elsewhere it could possibly even cause camera damage. So my question is, how long is a “long period”?

Tim’s Answer: This is a great question, which of course doesn’t have a clear and specific answer.

To begin with, there is no question that using the Live View feature of your digital SLR will cause some problems. On any camera, such continuous use of the image sensor will lead to a rather significant (and relatively quick) increase in heat, which leads to greater noise in any images you capture. Of course, the same is true for capturing a large number of images in a relatively short period of time, especially under hot conditions. By contrast, if you use the Live View (and thus the image sensor) sparingly, and the temperature is relatively cold, there will be less heat buildup and thus less noise in the images.

For cameras (such as digital SLRs) that feature a shutter mechanism, the Live View option can also be harmful to the shutter, leading to earlier-than-expected failure of the shutter. That is because the shutter must remain open the entire time you are using Live View, which among other things can stretch the springs used in the shutter assembly.

Of course, you could also argue that simply taking a picture damages your shutter, since a shutter has a limited life expectancy measured in a number of actuations. That, of course, would generally relate to the number of images captured, and most shutter mechanisms in today’s digital SLR cameras have a life expectancy measured in the hundreds of thousands of actuations, perhaps up to a maximum of around one million actuations.

In any event, I do recommend being somewhat judicious in the use of Live View. I certainly couldn’t cite a number in terms of how long you can use Live View before too much heat builds up or until you’ve actually done harm to the shutter mechanism. But the point is that while I love using Live View, I do try to minimize the use.

In other words, if I feel it will improve a given photo, I will absolutely use Live View. But I will also try to limit the amount of time I’m using Live View by working somewhat quickly, and also by being conscious of these issues and not turning on Live View until I’m ready to use it, and turning it off as soon as I’m done using it.

I wouldn’t go to extreme measures here, as in most cases the harm done will be relatively modest. But it is something worth keeping in mind, and it is worth developing good habits when it comes to the use of Live View.

My Question

Does anyone know if the same potential risks occur while doing video? Heck, at least it was cold at Bosque 🙂

Follow-up from Time Grey via E-mail

Yes, the same issues relate to the capture of video clips. I am addressing that question in an “Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter” next week, as a reader posed the same basic question earlier today.

Pixology Magazine

Get in-depth articles every month that will help you optimize every aspect of your photography, with my digital magazine, Pixology. Subscribe today by clicking here.

It seems that I get a copy of Tim’s eNewsletter in my personal Inbox most every day. The amazing thing is that I read almost every one of them and always learn something new. You can subscribe to the Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter by clicking here.

If you would like to learn to be a better, more creative tulip photographer consider joining us on the 2014 Tulip IPT.

Holland 2014 7 1/2-Day/8-Night: A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART/Tulips & A Touch of Holland IPT. April 17-April 24, 2014: $4995 Limit: 12/Openings: 5

Act soon: this trip is now a go and is filling quickly.

Join Denise Ippolito, Flower Queen and the author of “Bloomin’ Ideas,” and Arthur Morris, Canon Explorer of Light Emeritus and one of the planet’s premier photographic educators for a great trip to Holland in mid-April 2014. Day 1 of the IPT will be April 17, 2014. We will have a short afternoon get-together and then our first photographic session at the justly-famed Keukenhof. Most days we will return to the hotel for lunch, image sharing and a break. On Day 8, April 24, we will enjoy both morning and afternoon photography sessions.

The primary subjects will be tulips and orchids at Keukenhof and the spectacularly amazing tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulb fields around Lisse. In addition we will spend one full day in Amsterdam. There will be optional visits the Van Gogh Museum in the morning and the Anne Frank House in the afternoon; there will be plenty of time for street photography as well. And some great food. On another day we will have a wonderful early dinner at Kinderdijk and then head out with our gear to photograph the windmills and possibly some birds for those who bring their longs lenses. We will spend an afternoon in the lovely Dutch town of Edam where we will do some street photography and enjoy a superb dinner. All lodging, ground transportation, entry fees, and meals (from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 8) are included.

For those who will be bringing a big lens we will likely have an optional bird photography afternoon or two. If we get lucky, the big attraction should be gorgeous Purple Herons in flight at a breeding marsh. We would be photographing them from the roadside. And we might be able to find a few Great-crested Grebes at a location near Keukenhof.

You will learn to create tight abstracts, how to best use depth-of-field (or the lack thereof) to improve your flower photography, how to get the right exposure and make sharp images every time, how to see the shot, and how to choose the best perspective for a given situation. And you will of course learn to create a variety of pleasingly blurred flower images. If you bring a long lens, you will learn to use it effectively for flower photography. Denise’s two favorite flower lenses are the Canon 100mm macro and the Canon 24-105mm zoom. Mine are the Canon 180mm macro lens and the Canon 600mm f/4L IS II, both always on a tripod and both often used with extension tubes and/or the 1.4X teleconverters. Denise hand holds a great deal of the time. For flower field blurs denise uses the same lenses mentioned above. My favorite is the 70-200 often with a 1.4X TC but I use both the 24-105 and the 600 II as well. Both of us use and love the Canon EOS-5D Mark III for all of our flower photography. The in-camera HDR and Multiple Exposure features are a blast.

One of the great advantages of our trip is that we will be staying in a single, strategically located hotel that is quite excellent. Do note that all ground transfers to and from Schipol will be via hotel shuttle bus.

What’s included: Eight hotel nights. All ground transportation except for airport transfers as noted above. In-the-field instruction and small group image review and Photoshop sessions. All meals from dinner on Day 1 through dinner on Day 8. The hotel we are staying in often offers both lunch and dinner buffets. The food is excellent. Whenever you order off the menu be it at the hotel or at one of the several fine-dining spots that we will be enjoying at various locations, only the cost of your main course is included. On these occasions the cost of soups, appetizers, salads, sodas and other beverages, alcoholic drinks and wine, bottled water, and desserts are not included. This is done in part in hopes that folks will be less inclined to enjoy an eight course dinner so that we can get to bed early. As with all A Creative Adventure/BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours both the photo sessions and the days are long. Nothing that we do however will be demanding. Being able to sit down on the ground with your gear is, however, a huge plus. Anyone in halfway decent shape should be fine.

Snacks, personal items, phone calls, etc. are not included.

Beware of seemingly longer, slightly less expensive tours that include travel days and days sitting in the hotel doing nothing as part of the tour. In addition, other similar trips have you changing hotels needlessly. The cost of this years trip is a bit higher than last years to reflect our increased experience and the extra hotel night that is included. One final note on other similar trips: the instructors on this trip actually instruct. On other similar trips the instructors, though usually imminently qualified, serve for the most part as van drivers….

Happy Campers only please. A non-refundable deposit of $1,000 per person is required to hold your spot. The second payment of $2,000 due by October 30, 2013. The balance is due on January 15, 2014. Payments in full are of course welcome at any time. All payments including the deposit must be made by check made out to “Arthur Morris.” As life has a way of throwing an occasional curve ball our way, you are urged to purchase travel insurance within 15 days of our cashing your check. I use and recommend Travel Insurance Services. All payments are non-refundable unless the trip fills to capacity. In that case, all payments but your deposit will be refunded.

All checks should be made out to “Arthur Morris” and sent to: Arthur Morris, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. Please fill out the paperwork here and include a signed copy with your deposit check.

For couples or friends signing up at the same time for the tulip trip, a $200/person discount will be applied to the final payment.

Click here for complete details and lots of wonderful images with our legendary educational captions. Click here and see item one for lots more tulip images.

Jumping for Joy

Beautiful early morning light. The bird is pretty much right down sun angle and the exposure is spot-on. The subject is gorgeous. The wing position is perfect. There is a great look at the silver primary coverts contrasting with the black primaries and secondaries. The perfect image design that features the goose perfectly positioned against a distant, pleasingly de-focused mountain background. When I saw this image on the camera’s rear LCD screen I jumped for joy, though not very high out of concern for my healing left knee.

(Note: click here for the best diagram of dorsal wing surface feather tracts that I have seen.)

Yet the subject is not in sharp focus; the image is a total failure. I did not delete only because I knew that it would be perfect to make the point that in nature photography you need to do everything right. Often within a second or two at most…. That is the great challenge of bird and wildlife photography that drives me to succeed.

Near Perfection Equals Total Failure

As you can see plainly above, the bird’s eye and face are not sharp. The image is a total failure. As you will see immediately below, this failure was caused by operator error.

BreezeBrowser Main View Screen Capture

Above is the BreezeBrowser Main View screen capture for today’s image. Note that the illuminated red square shows that the center focusing sensor was active at the moment of exposure. But it was not on the subject…. In an ideal world one of the Surround AF points would have caught the top of the bird’s far wing. But the main problem was that I had never properly acquired focus and was not matching the speed of the bird in flight with my panning speed. Had I done my job properly the 1D X would have nailed accurate focus as it does so often and well.

Note: in Breezebrowser you need to check “Show Focus Points” under View to activate this feature. To see the focus points in DPP check “AF Point” under View or hit Alt L. Hit Alt M to see Highlight Alert. To learn how and why I use DPP (Canon Digital Photo Professional) to convert my RAW files, see the info on our DPP RAW Conversion Guide here.

Note the perfect histogram and the smattering of flashing highlights on the goose’s neck. The highlight alert in Breezebrowser is a bit more sensitive than the highlight alert on all Canon camera bodies so the few flashing highlights on the subject here let me know that I have made a perfect exposure with the brightest WHITE RGB values at about 238. Just as I like them.

Regular readers know that I use and depend on BreezeBrowser every day of the year. It allows me to sort my keepers and delete the rejects faster than any other Windows browsing program. We use it on the main computer in the home office to catalog our images file-drawer style. And the companion program, Downloader Pro allows me to download my images quickly and conveniently. It automatically adds my IPTC data and the shooting location. I have it set up to create a folder named by the Month/date/year. The Breezebrowser/Downloader Pro combo saves me many hours each week. To learn more or to purchase this great PC only program, click here. As far as the BreezeBrowser/Downloader Pro Combo goes, if you are using a Windows platform and are not using these two great programs you are at best, wasting your valuable time. My understanding is that Photo Mechanic is best for Mac-users who do not opt to run Parallels or VM Ware fusion on their Macs so that they can enjoy the many advantages of BreezeBrowser. See BreezeBrowswer on a Mac for details.

1D X AF Guide and 5D III User’s Guide

To learn everything that I know about the great 1D X AF system check out our 1D X AF Guide here. 5D Mark III users should check out our 5D III User’s Guide here.

Image Exposure Question

Why is the correct exposure here–ISO 800, 1/1250 sec. at f/6.3–1 1/3 stops lighter than my recommended bright white ISO 400 exposure of 1/2000 sec. at f/8? (Note: the sun was out….)

Great buy: Used Canon 800mm f/5/6L IS Lens for Sale

Friend and multiple IPT-veteran Monte Brown is offering his lightly used Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens in excellent condition for sale for $9,500. Purchase includes the lens case and hood, the 4th Generation Design Low Foot, the original foot, a LensCoat, the original invoice and the original Canon shipping carton. The lens was purchased new from B&H in April 2009 and was recently underwent a pre-sale clean and check by Canon. The buyer pays insured shipping via UPS Ground to US addresses only. The lens will be shipped only after your check clears.

The Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Autofocus lens sells new for $13,223.00 so you will save a bundle on a great lens. No need to ever use a 2X…

If interested you can contact Monte by phone at 1-765-744-1421 or via e-mail.

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

IPT Info

Many of our great trips are filling up. You will learn more about how to make great images on a BAA IPT than anywhere else on the planet. Click here for the schedule and additional info.

Bird Photography Hotspot: Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park.

Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park

Simply put, Anhinga Trail is one of the top bird photography hotspots in the U.S. How good is it? In the original The Art of Bird Photography it was one of only ten listed North American hotspots.

Here, adapted from what I wrote, is a free and updated excerpt from ABP:

Anhinga Trail

Everglades National Park

There are several good bird photography spots in Everglades National Park. None however ranks with Anhinga Trail which consistently offers superb opportunities for visiting bird photographers. The livin’ is easy. The birds are close and they are tame. You can walk the entire trail in under 10 minutes. The straight, paved, main portion of the trail runs roughly east/west and abuts the famed Taylor Slough which lies just a few yards north of the trail. This layout allows photographers to utilize direct frontal lighting from dawn til dusk. When water levels are low as they usually are in mid-winter, there are large numbers of fish in the slough that attract hordes of hungry birds and more than a few American Alligators.

Photography is generally good from early winter to early spring. January, February, and March can be spectacular. Great Blue Herons and the gators spend most of each day hunting by standing perfectly still. Common Moorhens and Purple Gallinules for atop spatterdock or in the short grasses that border the slough. White Ibis, Snowy and Great Egrets, and Tricolored Heron forage along the water’s edge while Double-crested Cormorants dive for fish or sit placidly on the low wooden railings posing for photographers. Green Herons defending their breeding territories chase each other around like kids in a schoolyard. And American Bitterns are sometimes found posing like statues in the sawgrass.

Osprey and Belted Kingfisher hover above the two large pools and Turkey and Black Vultures often fill the skies along with Red-shouldered Hawks and very rarely, the rare Short-tailed Hawk. In March and April Swallow-tailed Kites may be found swooping down low over the trees in the parking lot to grab bit of hanging moss with which they line their nests. If you are lucky enough to have a south or east wind in the morning you might enjoy some great flight photography as both species of vultures land atop the visitor center, the light green metal roof reflecting light on their dark underwings.

Perhaps by now you are wondering, “Why the Anhinga Trail moniker?” Rest assured, the trail is aptly named: Anhingas pose on the low railings for cell phone toting tourists. They spear bluegills, small bass, and an unfortunate variety of introduced tropical fish. They raise their young in stick nests that in some years are located right next to the boardwalk.

Observers accustomed to to seeing this species in their drab non-breeding plumage will be dazzled by the soft parts color of Anhingas at the height of breeding plumage; both the males and females feature bright, Kelly green eye rings surrounded by turquoise facial skin. Courtship and nest building generally take place in in mid-winter and by February most females are either incubating their eggs or tending chicks. If you visit in March you will generally see nests full of the creamy yellow young of various sizes.

The birds at Anhinga Trail are so tame that you can create head portraits of many of the species mentioned above with a 70-200 lens and a teleconverter. Be sure to visit if you have the chance.

Anhinga Trail/Everglades National Park Mini-IPT: Feb 1-2, (SAT/SUN), 2014. (Limit 14/Openings 12): $799. Introductory slide program: 7pm: FRI Jan 31. (Limit 14/Openings: 12):

Join Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris for four great photography sessions at one of the top bird photography hotspots in North America. Morning sessions: 6:15am to 10:30am. Afternoon sessions: 3:00pm till 5:45pm. Lunch included. Informal image review and Photoshop sessions after lunch.

What you will learn:

Autofocus basics and correct camera and gear set-up.
How to get the right exposure with digital every time.
How and why to expose to the right.
How to create pre-dawn silhouettes.
How to design pleasing images.
How to find the best perspective.
How to make strong images in cluttered situations.
How to photography birds in flight.
In-the-Field creative techniques.

Optional morning add-on session:

Jan 31 (Friday) Anhinga Trail/Everglades National Park Add-on/Morning Only (Limit 14/Openings 12): $249

Includes lunch, and informal image review and Photoshop session.

Do consider joining us for the all or part of the South Florida Composite IPT:

2014 South Florida Composite IPT: 6 1/2 days of photography spread over 9 days of learning, hanging out, and travel: $2644. (Limit 14/Openings: 12

Click here for complete details or to register. Please e-mail with any questions or leave a comment below.

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

IPT Info

Many of our great trips are filling up. You will learn more about how to make great images on a BAA IPT than anywhere else on the planet. Click here for the schedule and additional info.

This Blog Post…

This blog post took only four hours to prepare. Each blog post is presented for your enjoyment, to teach you a few new things about nature photography, and hopefully, to inspire you. Please consider doing all of your Amazon holiday shopping by starting with our Amazon affiliate link immediately below or with one of our B&H affiliate links at the end of this blog post. Your purchases will not cost you a penny more and using our links is a great way to thank me for my work here and my work on the BIRDS AS ART Bulletins. :).

Thanks for considering this request. No purchase is too small to be appreciated!

Big Time Bosque Screw-Up

A funny thing happened on the way to a massive fly-out… There was brilliant color in the eastern sky at 6:14am on December 2, 2013. But the huge flocks that would soon be headed north to the Farm Fields were not in the air yet. As usual, Denise Ippolito and I had advised to do a few exposure checks. For the pre-dawn fly-outs we advise that most folks work in Tv mode with Auto ISO, choose a slow shutter speed in the range of from as low as 1/4 second when it is still way-dark to about 1/30 second, and add about 2/3 stop of light depending on the intensity of the color and how much of the image is very dark, aka the mountains or distant strips of land. Plus 2/3 works well when there is just a small layer of the distant ridge bordering the bottom of the frame. With nice color this will somewhat burn the RED channel. This however is a necessity, if you underexpose so that you do not clip the RED channel you the image will be much too dark (and muddy) overall.

I decided to make some pan blurs of the color as I was doing my exposure check. As I framed each image I thought, Why does the sky look so dark in the viewfinder?” When I called out my exposure data, “ISO 10,000 +1 stop in Tv mode gives me 1/3 sec. at f/6.3,” Denise said, That’s gotta be wrong. Are you sure that it is not ISO 1,000. I said, “Nope. There are 4 zeros not 3. She said again, “That’s wrong.” Still nothing clicked.

And then I remembered. The morning before while we were doing blurs, I had removed the clear drop-in filter and inserted a 3-stop Neutral Density Filter into the lens’s filter drawer… That explained why the sky looked so dark through the viewfinder and why my ISOs were three stops higher than everyone else’s….. Then I remember that when I had stored the lens the previous day that I had realized that I had the ND filter in place in the 200-400. I said to myself, “I’ll take it out later. I will surely realize that everything is looking too dark.’

Unfortunately, that had not been the case. The lesson: when using ND filters or polarizers to attain slow shutter speeds along with wider apertures be sure to remove them when the blur session is over. 🙂

Compounding The Disaster

With the color in the eastern sky getting more vivid every minute I hesitated going back to the car and switching out the ND filter. But I was loving the 200-400 in the pre-dawn so I finally decided to do so. While I was looking for my filter wallet and switching the two filters I missed a huge fly-out blast off that went right through the brightest colored section of the sky. Big time bummer.

When I finally returned to the scene of the crime I did manage to salvage things a bit by catching a small group of geese heading back to the Flight Deck and going through the bright colors at 6:34am and 7 seconds.

Recovering In Part

With still some nice color remaining I somewhat made amends with the 70-200 (above at 7:34:52 am) and with the 24-105 (below, 4 seconds later at 7:34:56 am.). Missing a huge blast-off through the best color was not what I had planned but as a lover of what is (see The Work of Byron Katie–Who would you be without your story?–here) I opted to see the experience as just another lesson learned. That was a far better choice than beating myself up. And heck, the story made for an interesting blog post….

The Bosque Site Guide

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, if you head to Bosque without a copy of my Bosque Site Guide on your laptop you are just plain foolish…. Let my 20 years of experience ensure that you will be in the right place for all weather, wind, and sky conditions. It’s that simple.

I will be working on a 2013 Bosque Current Conditions Update early next week. It will be sent at no charge to all who have previously purchased the Bosque Site Guide and also be offered at a discount as a stand-alone purchase. Best advice? Purchase your copy of the Bosque Site Guide today and receive the 2013 Current Conditions Update free next week.

Your Biggest Screw-Up?

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know of your biggest nature photography screw-up. Comments on the images are always welcome.

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

IPT Info

Many of our great trips are filling up. You will learn more about how to make great images on a BAA IPT than anywhere else on the planet. Click here for the schedule and additional info.

A Fitting Ending

I saw it coming while we were still on the North Farm Loop Road, streaks of thin white clouds radiating in the western sky. “We might get some monster color about 20 minutes after sunset. We did. It was a fitting way to end two great weeks of photography at Bosque for Denise Ippolio and me. We thoroughly enjoyed ever moment that we spent with the two groups.

Short Zoom Lens Tips

The obvious focal length choice was 24mm to include the vast expanse of clouds and sky. After checking the exposure and creating several versions of the opening image here, I decided to zoom in and create an image that featured lots more color. In a variety of situations, we taught the groups to use Tv mode when appropriate. For the sunrise fly-ins and blast-offs it is much easier for most folks (including and especially me), to pick an appropriate shutter speed, dial in the correct EC (exposure compensation), and work in Auto ISO (or set ISO Safety Shift as I do) than it is to to work in Manual mode where you will often need to be change two or three of the exposure parameters every few minutes or so as the EV (light) levels increase.

I use this technique when I wish to ensure a minimum shutter speed for hand holding. Here, with the 24-105’s great IS system, I knew that creating sharp images hand held at 1/60 or 1/80 sec. would be child’s play. I could have gone a lot slower without a problem.

Learn more about using the 24-105mm and other short end zoom lenses in “Scenic, Wildlife, and B-Roll Versatility” here. If you plan on adding the 24-105 to your lens line-up, please use one of the B&H affiliate links here or start your B&H or Amazon searches using the generic link in the right hand column. Doing so would be greatly appreciated. As always, feel free to e-mail me with your gear questions.

Image Questions

After getting a perfect exposure for the opening image at +1 stop why did I use the metering exposure for the tighter image? Note: I added one full stop of light to the opening image but did not add any light to the second image. The question at hand is why not?

If you have no idea, you can learn the basics of exposure by studying the “Exposure Simplified” section in “The Art of Bird Photography II (ABP II: 916 pages 900+ images on CD only) and the chapter on Exposure in the original “The Art of Bird Photography” (soft cover). Best deal: order both when you buy the two book combo.

Astounded

When we arrived at our chosen crane pool there was another workshop group at work. I was astounded when I saw that everyone was using telephoto lenses despite that fact that going wide was the obvious choice; light levels were much too low for folks to be using long glass. Not a single on of the participants was using a short lens. As soon as we had exited our vehicles, I had shouted to the group, “The shorter the better; 24-105, even 16-35. Deboarh, your 24-70 is fine. The 70-200 is too long.” Everyone listened and we all made many great images.

Above you see part of the group at work. Denise Ippolito is checking the composition on the rear LCD screen of her 5D Mark III. Again, it was a fitting way to end a great two weeks.

Your Favorite?

Which of the three images above do you like best? Please let us know why you made your choice.

BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition

The December 21, 2013 closing deadline is fast approaching.

Learn more and enter the BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition here. Twenty-five great prizes including the $1000 Grand Prize and intense competition. Bring your best.

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

IPT Info

Many of our great trips are filling up. You will learn more about how to make great images on a BAA IPT than anywhere else on the planet. Click here for the schedule and additional info.

Who is Dave Klein?

Dave Klein is a dentist and dental educator who lives in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis near where my buddy Jim Neiger (author of the great eGuide, Flight Plan) grew up. In recent years Dave has begun to feel that he is a photographer trapped inside a dentist’s body.

All of the images here are courtesy of and copyright 2013: David W. Klein.

Dave’ e-mail to Denise’s Bosque Group

Hi Everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!

I certainly enjoyed meeting all of you as we shared the joys and struggles of Bosque together. I have been there three times before but never experienced a snow event like the one we enjoyed, nor the mega-blastoffs we witnessed, nor those challenging north winds. I hope that everyone got home safely and didn’t forget anything important like a tripod in New Mexico 🙂 Note: Cheryl Slechta, a moderator on the Out-of-the-Box forum at BirdPhotographer’s.Net, left her tripod on the tour loop road; it was kindly returned to the Visitor’s Center where she was happily re-united with it. Cheryl, Lynn and I had a nice, albeit cold time at the crane pools on the Monday afternoon after the workshop ended and created some nice color blurs at sunset along with images of silhouetted cranes in flight as they arrived at their evening roost. Note: Lynn is Lynn Fulton (aka McFulton), Denise’s good friend and client from Ontario, Canada.

Best, Dave

Dave’s Comment

On the November 26, 2013 blog post, “Beyond Spectacular Part I,” Dave kindly wrote:

All of these are wonderful and I feel very fortunate to have been there to witness these spectacular and rare moments at Bosque. I can’t imagine the BBC overlooking image #5 – it is amazing and my favorite of all of them; it has a dream-like quality to it. Thanks so much for your company and instruction this past week and for your frequent reminders about exposure values as light and conditions changed constantly. You and Denise worked hard to get us in the best positions for the best opportunities that presented themselves. I wish you, Denise and your IPT group a very Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow and huge success throughout your time at Bosque. I hope our paths will cross again – you and Denise were very generous with your time and knowledge and that made this trip all the more memorable for me.

Dave’s Response

After I replied to Dave’s original e-mail he answered as follows:

Thank you for your kind comments on the images. I re-sized them and attached them below. Please let me know if there are any issues with the images. I would be honored if you used them in a blog post. I hope things continue to go well at Bosque for you and Denise and the post-Turkey Day IPT. The blast-off image was made with the Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8 DX fisheye lens pointed directly at the flock taking off. In post I used the lens distortion correction slider in NX2 to stretch the image and to flatten the perspective. That’s about the only way I thought I could get the entire flock in one image. Despite the unfavorable winds and the weather challenges we faced we had some amazing opportunities that I’ve never enjoyed during prior visits to Bosque. Your knowledge of where to be when at Bosque is remarkable.

Dave’s Final e-Mail

In Dave’s final e-mail he wrote in part:

What I liked most about the workshop was the blending of styles that the two of you represent: technical, compositional and creative. Your vast experience with Bosque told us when to be patient with a situation and let the photographic opportunity present itself and when to quickly move on to another location when the circumstances weren’t in our favor. Thanks so much Artie for your dedication to your workshop participants and your readership. I feel privileged to say I am part of both.

Mr. Dave

Who Cares about Dave Klein?

Denise surely does. I surely do. And everyone who met him on the IPT does. His wife and family for sure. And I am betting that all of his patients and students do too.

As for me, I love happy campers. And I love skilled photographers who join our workshops to learn more, to learn to become more creative, and to improve their already considerable skills.

Your Favorite

Which of Dave’s images do you like best? Be sure to let us know why.

BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition

The December 21, 2013 closing deadline is fast approaching.

Learn more and enter the BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition here. Twenty-five great prizes including the $1000 Grand Prize and intense competition. Bring your best.

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

IPT Info

Many of our great trips are filling up. You will learn more about how to make great images on a BAA IPT than anywhere else on the planet. Click here for the schedule and additional info.

Your Goose is Cooked…

If you do not know how to identify and age the geese at Bosque

There are several goose species at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, New Mexico. Snow Geese. often numbering in the tens of thousands, predominate. There are two morphs or forms of Snow Goose at Bosque, the white morph, by far the most abundant in New Mexico, and the blue morph, much less common here. Note: in some wintering locations the flocks may be 50-50, half white snows and half blues. At Bosque blue morph snows make up less then 2% of the Snow Goose populations in a given year. The next most abundant goose is Ross’s Goose, smaller than snows and much more agile fliers. Ross’s numbers vary from year to year. This year is a very good year with probably more then 5% of the white geese being Ross’s. For me, this makes Ross’s a more difficult and rewarding subject than the more common and far more numerous white morph Snow Goose. But you cannot photograph what you cannot see. 🙂 There is a blue morph Ross’s but it is exceedingly rare; I have never seen one anywhere. Many folks have no clue as to how to separate adult white Snow Goose from adult Ross’s Goose. See item next.

As a bird photographer, learning to ID and age the species you encounter is a big plus. There were many folks trying to pick off single birds from the huge flock floating on still blue water yesterday afternoon–a rather rare occurrence at Bosque BTW; most had no idea that they had many of the rarer Ross’s right in front of them.

Ross’s Goose vs Snow Goose ID Tips

The key to separating these two species is the size and shape of the bill. Snow Goose has a much larger bill with, as you can see in the images above, a large grinning patch, the long black shape that separates the upper and lower mandible. Ross’s Goose has much shorter, stubbier bill. To me they look stub-nosed. Bill coloration is usually all pink for snow, pink with greenish or grayish warts or tubercles at the base. The Snow Goose in the image above has a bit of an atypical yellow tinge to it. The differences in coloration of the bills can be seen only with good optics or in close-up images like those here. With practice it is easy to learn to pick out the Ross’s Geese in flight by both there stub-nosed look and their faster, more acrobatic flight. It is not uncommon to see the turn upside down in flight.

Juvenile Snow Goose

Young of the year Snow Goose is a gray version of the adult with a darker bill (not seen in the image above. Most of the grayish geese that you see in flight, on the ground, or in the water are snows. Juvenile Ross’s are quite similar but for their smaller size and stub-nosed bills.

Exposure Question

Why did I go with a 1/3 stop slower shutter speed to come up with a perfect exposure for the juvenile white Snow Goose in the image above.

Adult Blue Goose

Adult Blue Geese are extraordinarily handsome. And that is exacerbated at Bosque where they are uncommon at best. “Incoming Blue Goose” is an oft-heard call at the cornfields. Though the blues with their dark bodies and white heads are largely similar to each other it is hard to find two that are identical.

Exposure Question

Why did I go with a 1/3 stop slower shutter speed to come up with a perfect exposure for the adult Blue Goose in the image above.

Juvenile Blue Goose

Young of the year Blue Geese are dark, a sort of indigo blue. Interestingly enough, Snow Goose genetics are pretty neat. The gene for blue is a recessive trait. Though the odds are long against it, two white snows might have 3 blue young, or any combination of white and blue young. Similarly, two blue snows might have only white young.

Exposure Question

Why did I go with 1 1/3 stops more light to come up with a perfect exposure for this juvenile white Blue Goose? If the exposure questions baffle you or even if you cannot answer them instantly and correctly, you need to get yourself copies of both ABP and ABP II and study the sections on exposure.

Other Species

Canada Goose is the only other regularly occurring goose species at the refuge. Several hundred are usually present each season. A decade ago they were commonly seen feeding near the Flight Deck but now the best chance to view them is as fly-overs. In my 19 years of visiting Bosque in late fall I have seen only two White-fronted Geese though this species is quite abundant in other parts of its wintering range.

Your Favorite?

Take a moment to let us know which of the images above you like best. And why. Which do you think is my favorite? Why do you think?

BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition

The December 21, 2013 closing deadline is fast approaching.

Learn more and enter the BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition here. Twenty-five great prizes including the $1000 Grand Prize and intense competition. Bring your best.

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Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

IPT Info

Many of our great trips are filling up. You will learn more about how to make great images on a BAA IPT than anywhere else on the planet. Click here for the schedule and additional info.