Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Exposure Quiz

Those who missed the One Second to Act Exposure Quiz blog post are invited to click here and see how smart they are. I will let you know what I did and address the comments within two days at most so best not to tarry.

This image of a stunning white morph Reddish Egret in full breeding plumage was created on the Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Workshop on Monday morning past with the tripod-mounted Canon 500mm f/4L EF IS II USM lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X digital SLR camera body. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop as framed: 1/2000 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode confirmed by histogram check. Three up from the central sensor/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Kudos to co-leader Denise Ippolito for pointing this bird out to the group; most folks were paying rapt attention to either the flock of tame Royal Terns or the beautiful female Long-billed Curlew.

Fort DeSoto/Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Short Notice IPT

Fort DeSoto/Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Short Notice IPT: March 6-10, 2013. 5-DAY: $2399 (Includes 3 mornings on the Hooptie Deux). Limit: 6/Openings: 5.

Join me as part of a small group for five great days of bird photography and learning. We will spend three mornings with the breeding plumage spoonbills on James Shadle’s customized pontoon boat. This alone would cost you $1050 so this works out to the cheapest IPT ever: 5 full days for only $1349. We will spend two of our mornings and four of our afternoons at Fort DeSoto photographing all manner of wading birds, gulls, terns, and almost surely some Great Horned Owl chicks. Our last afternoon will be spent at an active Wood Stork rookery with lots of flight photography opportunities.

This image of a Roseate Spoonbill in flight was created last week on the foggy morning of February 22, 2013 at Alafia Banks on a Hooptie Deux trip with James Shadle with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2 1/3 stops off the sky: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

The New Concept

At lunch on the Monday past after the Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Workshop, I had the group look over my shoulder as I picked my keepers from the morning session on my laptop. In addition to learning why I selected one or several images from a series, folks got to see the images that I created and compare them to the images that they had made. One very nice man, Chuck Murphy, who was using the same lens as me–the 600 II, was amazed. He said, “Having the chance to see the images that you created and to watch you edit them was worth the price of admission for the whole weekend. (Chuck attended the weekend seminar as well as the ITF-Workshop.)

That set me to thinking about a new type of IPT, one with lots of photography, one with lots of small group in-the-field instruction, one with folks watching me edit my day take every day at lunch, one where folks have a chance to share their images from each session. (Bringing your laptop to lunch is of course a necessity.)

The Hooptie Deux mornings will offer lots of great flight photography not only with spoonbills, many in full breeding plumage and many carrying nesting material, but with Brown Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants (many also carrying nesting material), Reddish Egret and White Ibis in full breeding plumage, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Turkey and Black Vultures, and lots more.

At DeSoto the Laughing Gulls will be in splendid breeding plumage with their full black hoods, their wine-red bills, and white eye crescents. They are one of our most under-appreciated species. The Royal, Sandwich, and Forster’s Terns will also be in breeding plumage. And all of these species will be displaying, courting, and mating. You can also expect a variety of shorebirds including Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Dunlin, and many more. And you will need to beat the Willets off with a stick. The additional possibilities are too numerous to mention.

All of the above plus practically private access to one of the planet’s premier photographic educators represents a rare opportunity to grow as a nature photographer. A $500 deposit is needed to hold your spot; call us at 1-863-692-0906. Your deposit may be placed with a credit card. Your payment in full by personal check will then be due along with your completed paperwork both sent via US Mail. If you would rather pay in full via personal check, please immediately to save your spot. I have no idea whether anyone will sign up or if folks will think that the new concept is nothing special. I am sure that it will be a huge success, a new way of learning. As always, this IPT will run with only a single registrant. Yeah, I know that I am nuts but I cannot live with telling folks who have arranged time off from work and made travel plans that I am cancelling the IPT because I will not be making enough money to justify running the trip….

This Royal Tern image was created at Fort DeSoto with the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 400: 1/1250 sec. at f/9 in Manual Mode confirmed via histogram check. With the Mongoose M3.6 on the Skimmer Ground Pod II. We have been selling so many Mongoose M3.6 heads that the manufacturer cannot keep up with our demand; they are currently back-ordered. Place your order now to guarantee receiving yours from our next shipment. Two folks on the in-the-field workshop tried a Mongoose; each purchased one immediately…. Imagine approaching a group of roosting terns as I share my vision with you: “This is the image I want to make.” Imagine lying in the sand next to me as I explain my exposure settings and alert you to small changes in the light. Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s eye and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Strange Pose…

Old NYC friend Joe DiCostanzo has been working on Great Gull Island since 1975 banding Common Terns and computerizing the data. I once asked him about the behavior/pose in the image above, commonly seen with terns and gulls. He said, “The bird is checking to see if it is banded.”

This Just In

I heard from Chuck by e-mail moments after I published this blog post; here is what he had to say:

The classroom sessions with you and Denise were excellent! I really learned a lot about proper exposure and it’s already made big difference in my success rate shooting birds. The field session at Ft. Desoto park was awesome. We had great opportunities with a lot of cooperative birds, and it was a special treat to have that very tame long-billed curlew parading around—that’s a new bird for my life list, and I got some great images.

Thanks again, the classroom sessions followed by the field trip made a great combo, and being able to compare what I shot to what you got when we were in the same place at the same time was invaluable.

This image was also created last week on the foggy morning of February 22, 2013 at Alafia Banks with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/1250 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode; this was a best guess exposure as I did not want to miss the action. 61-point/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF/four lower right sensors active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Nesting Material

This Brown Pelican was wrestling with a large mangrove branch that it hoped to add to its nest but that was just not gonna happen. We will get to photograph several species carrying nesting material.

This Long-billed Curlew was created on the Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Workshop on Monday morning past with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. Left of center/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Long-billed Curlew

The bills of Long-billed Curlews are uniquely adapted to feeding on fiddler crabs. The curve of their bills matches the shape of the crabs’ burrows and the upper mandible has a super-sensitive blob tip that allows them to feel for their prey items well below the surface. This bird, with its extraordinarily long bill, is a female. The males have proportionately shorter bills.

Your Favorite?

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which of the five images above is your favorite. And do let us know why.

Seriously Huge B&H Savings on Nikon and Canon Gear

Nikon

For the first time in many years NIKON is going to be deeply discounting many legacy pro lenses individually for the next 2 weeks only with discounts up to $350. There are also many amazing deals on NIKON Buy together and Save packages as well. Click here to save.

Nikon DSLRS Bundles with Lenses & Flash: Save up to $750. Click here to save. Make sure to add each item to your shopping cart to see the absolute lowest price.

Canon Lenses & Speedlites: Save Up to $300

Click here to save. Make sure to add each item to your shopping cart to see the absolute lowest price.

Canon Buy Together & Save: Save Up to $400

Click here to save.

EOS-1D X AF Guide

You can learn exactly how I set up and use this camera’s great new AF system in our EOS-1D X AF Guide. And you can learn about our other camera User’s Guides here.

Southwest Florida Site Guide

Several folks have written recently asking why this great guide has not been updated since 2007. The answer is that I have not discovered any new hotspots and that the good places remain good and the great places remain great. We found the Snowy Plovers on Wednesday in the exact spot described in the Southwest Florida Site Guide. Go figure.

Typos

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

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders :) And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gizo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

This is the optimized file created in Photoshop after being converted in DPP. This Snowy Egret image was created at Little Estero Lagoon in Fort Myers Beach, FL on the recently concluded SW FLA IPT with the hand held Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero as framed: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 confirmed via histogram check. 61-point/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Canon 300 f/2.8L IS II + 1D X + One Snowy Egret Stretching to Land = So Much to Learn

On the morning of February 20ieth, the group enjoyed a wonderful morning at Little Estero after some fairly heavy fog lifted quickly.

This is the original capture.

The Original Image

As you can see, the bird is a bit too far forward in the frame. And it is fairly easy to determine by looking at the splash behind the bird that the image needs to be leveled.

Before and After Animated GIF

Aside from leveling the image, dust spotting, some minor bill and feather clean-up, a healthy crop, some Eye Doctor work, sharpening the face with a Contrast Mask (15/65/0), the major improvement here was the restoring of detail in the white feathers. This was done with a 12% Linear Burn and a layer of NIK Color Efex Pro Detail Extractor at about 50% and then painted in with a Hide-All Mask.

Believe it or not all of the above is detailed in our Digital Basics file. Digital Basics includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, Layer Masking for Dummies, Eye Doctor work, NIK Color Efex Pro basics, all of my Keyboard Shortcuts, and tons more. This PDF, sent via e-mail, will be the best $25 you’ll ever spent on your photography. Your purchase includes free updates. Learn advanced Layer Masking Techniques in APTATS II.

NIK 15% Discount

A 30% layer of Detail Extractor and Tonal Contrast fine-tuned via a Regular Layer Mask really brought this image to life. As regular readers know, Color Efex Pro has drastically changed my digital workflow and little by little I have begun using Viveza to solve sticky image optimization problems and Silver Efex Pro fo fast, dramatic B&W conversions. You can save 15% on all NIK products (including Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, and Viveza) by clicking here and entering BAA in the Promo Code box at check-out. Then hit Apply to see your savings. You can download a trial copy that will work for 15 days and allow you to create full sized images.

MP4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos

See and hear me at work in Photoshop in these great MP4 instructional videos. Cheap! You can see them all and learn more here and learn about our latest offering here.

This is the BreezeBrowser Main View screen capture for the RAW image. Note that the latest version of BreezeBrowser supports both the Canon EOS-5D Mark III and the Canon EOS-1DX. You can learn a ton by studying the EXIF data here. I have been using and depending on BreezeBrowser for more than a decade now; it enables me to pick my keepers from a 1,000 image morning in record time, usually about 15 minutes. It is designed to run on PCs only. Learn about running it and other great Windows programs like Fractalius in “BreezeBroswer on a Mac” here.

61-Point AF

I have been experimenting lately with 61-Point AF with both my 1D X and my 5D III and have been getting some pretty encouraging results. Here, as you can see by the 3 active AF points illuminated in red, it performed nicely.

My Crop

Why did I choose to crop out the reflection of the body? Would you have cropped this one differently?

Seriously Huge B&H Savings on Nikon and Canon Gear

Nikon

For the first time in many years NIKON is going to be deeply discounting many legacy pro lenses individually for the next 2 weeks only with discounts up to $350. There are also many amazing deals on NIKON Buy together and Save packages as well. Click here to save.

Nikon DSLRS Bundles with Lenses & Flash: Save up to $750. Click here to save. Make sure to add each item to your shopping cart to see the absolute lowest price.

Canon Lenses & Speedlites: Save Up to $300

Click here to save. Make sure to add each item to your shopping cart to see the absolute lowest price.

Canon Buy Together & Save: Save Up to $400

Click here to save.

EOS-1D X AF Guide

You can learn exactly how I set up and use this camera’s great new AF system in our EOS-1D X AF Guide. And you can learn about our camera User’s Guides here.

Southwest Florida Site Guide

Several folks have written recently asking why this great guide has not been updated since 2007. The answer is that I have not discovered any new hotspots and that the good places remain good and the great places remain great. We found the Snowy Plovers on Wednesday in the exact spot described in the Southwest Florida Site Guide. Go figure.

Africa Photo Safari: August 2013

Serengeti Summer Migration Safari: 12 full and two half-days of photography: $12,999/person double occupancy. Limit: 12/Openings: 9.

Leaders: Todd Gustafson, Denise Ippolito, and Arthur Morris. Tanzania Summer Migration Safari. Leave the US on August 3. Day 1 of the safari is August 5. We will visit Tarangire for great dry season photography, Seronera Lodge–aka Leopard City!–twice, Central Serengeti for big cats, Northern Serengeti and our mobile tented camp to search for river crossings, and the spectacular wildlife spectacle that is Ngorongoro Crater. Our last morning of photography is August 18. Fly home from Arusha, Tanzania on the evening of August 18.

A deposit of $4,000 is due now. This trip is a go. Happy Campers only please. Guaranteed maximum no more than 12 photographers plus the three great leaders. 3 persons/van. You get a row of seats for yourself and your gear. In addition to rotating in-the-field instruction with each of the co-leaders, artie, Todd, and denise will be available for image sharing and review and informal Photoshop instruction during breaks and after meals. And–with apologies to Miss Manners–even during meals!

Once we cash your check you will be strongly advised to purchase travel insurance. You may wish to consider using Travel Insurance Services. Do understand that most policies must be purchased within two weeks of our cashing your deposit check. The 2nd payment of $4000 is due MAR 30, 2013. The final payment/balance is due MAY 30, 2013. Sign up with a friend or a spouse and apply a $300 per person discount.

The lodging is all first class. Please e-mail to request a PDF with additional details, the complete itinerary, and a description of the unparalleled photographic opportunities that we will enjoy. Please e-mail or call me on my cell at 1-863-221-2372 with any questions. I hope that you can join us.

You can see a collection of my images from previous safaris here.

Fort DeSoto Morning In-the-Field Workshop/Two Slots Left!

Fort DeSoto In-the-field Workshop: FEB 25. Pre-dawn -10:30am. Strict Limit 16/2 Openings. Includes a great working lunch: $275.

On Monday morning, February 25, Denise Ippolito and I will be co-leading a morning In-the-field Workshop at Fort DeSoto, south of St. Petersburg, FL. We should get to photograph a variety of very tame herons, egrets, gulls, terns, and shorebirds. Spoonbills possible. There will be lots of individual and small group instruction. We will cover exposure and histograms, seeing the situation, creating sharp images, and lots more. Each registrant will have a personalized gear and set-up check. The more questions you ask, the more you will learn.

A great working lunch at the Sea Porch Café on St. Petersburg Beach is included. All are invited to bring a laptop along for image sharing at lunch. After the workshop, all are invited to send us three 1024 wide or 800 tall JPEGs for critiquing. Call 1-863-692-0906 to register or send us a Paypal. Either way, be sure to note that the payment is for the Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Workshop.

Typos

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

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders :) And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gizo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

This pre-dawn group was photographed with the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens hand held at 80mm with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 2500. Evaluative metering +2 stops in Tv mode: 1/320 sec. at f/4. Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s eye and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper version.

Shades of Pink and Blue

When we arrived at Little Estero Lagoon on Day 3 of the SW FLA IPT we were in place well before sunrise. I grabbed the 24-105 from my Xtrahand Vest and went to work to take advantage of the lovely pinks and blues opposite the sunrise on a clear morning. I saw the lovely arrangement of birds as I was setting up and was glad that I worked fast enough to get this lovely juxtaposition. The three cormorants that swam into the scene were an added plus.

When hand holding in low light conditions I like to work in Tv mode, select a fast enough shutter speed, and dial in the exposure compensation. Since I have set ISO safety shift on all of my bodies the camera will set the needed ISO. Here I should have chosen a much slower shutter speed to allow for a much lower ISO. As taught to me by Denise Ippolito I used a layer of Filter/Blur/Surface Blur at 3/4/0 to smooth the background.

This Snowy Egret image was created with the hand held Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering +2 stops in Tv mode: 1/250 sec. at f/2.8. Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s eye and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper version.

Changing Lenses

As I wanted to come in tight on this Snowy Egret in pink water I put the 5D III onto the 300. When I change lenses in the field I do not bother to turn off the camera; I have never had a problem….

This pied, dark morph Reddish Egret was photographed with the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens hand held at 105mm with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 2500. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops in Tv mode: 1/320 sec. at f/4. Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s eye and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper version.

Short Lens as Long Lens

I switched lenses again and went back to trying to create another interesting bird scape with the 24-105, my favorite short zoom, B-roll, all-purpose lens. But this pied, dark morph Reddish Egret was quite tame so I went “long” by zooming to 105mm to create this image while working with the full frame body.

Your Favorite?

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which of the three images here is your favorite. And be sure to let us know why.

Seriously Huge B&H Savings on Nikon and Canon Gear

Nikon

For the first time in many years NIKON is going to be deeply discounting many legacy pro lenses individually for the next 2 weeks only with discounts up to $350. There are also many amazing deals on NIKON Buy together and Save packages as well. Click here to save.

Nikon DSLRS Bundles with Lenses & Flash: Save up to $750. Click here to save. Make sure to add each item to your shopping cart to see the absolute lowest price.

Canon Lenses & Speedlites: Save Up to $300

Click here to save. Make sure to add each item to your shopping cart to see the absolute lowest price.

Canon Buy Together & Save: Save Up to $400

Click here to save.

EOS-1D X AF Guide

You can learn exactly how I set up and use this camera’s great new AF system in our EOS-1D X AF Guide. And you can learn about our camera User’s Guides here.

Southwest Florida Site Guide

Several folks have written recently asking why this great guide has not been updated since 2007. The answer is that I have not discovered any new hotspots and that the good places remain good and the great places remain great. We found the Snowy Plovers on Wednesday in the exact spot described in the Southwest Florida Site Guide. Go figure.

Africa Photo Safari: August 2013

Serengeti Summer Migration Safari: 12 full and two half-days of photography: $12,999/person double occupancy. Limit: 12/Openings: 9.

Leaders: Todd Gustafson, Denise Ippolito, and Arthur Morris. Tanzania Summer Migration Safari. Leave the US on August 3. Day 1 of the safari is August 5. We will visit Tarangire for great dry season photography, Seronera Lodge–aka Leopard City!–twice, Central Serengeti for big cats, Northern Serengeti and our mobile tented camp to search for river crossings, and the spectacular wildlife spectacle that is Ngorongoro Crater. Our last morning of photography is August 18. Fly home from Arusha, Tanzania on the evening of August 18.

A deposit of $4,000 is due now. This trip is a go. Happy Campers only please. Guaranteed maximum no more than 12 photographers plus the three great leaders. 3 persons/van. You get a row of seats for yourself and your gear. In addition to rotating in-the-field instruction with each of the co-leaders, artie, Todd, and denise will be available for image sharing and review and informal Photoshop instruction during breaks and after meals. And–with apologies to Miss Manners–even during meals!

Once we cash your check you will be strongly advised to purchase travel insurance. You may wish to consider using Travel Insurance Services. Do understand that most policies must be purchased within two weeks of our cashing your deposit check. The 2nd payment of $4000 is due MAR 30, 2013. The final payment/balance is due MAY 30, 2013. Sign up with a friend or a spouse and apply a $300 per person discount.

The lodging is all first class. Please e-mail to request a PDF with additional details, the complete itinerary, and a description of the unparalleled photographic opportunities that we will enjoy. Please e-mail or call me on my cell at 1-863-221-2372 with any questions. I hope that you can join us.

You can see a collection of my images from previous safaris here.

Weekend Creative Nature Photography Seminar, Tampa, FL: February 23 & 24, 2013: $149

You are invited to join Denise Ippolito and me on the weekend of February 23-24 on the outskirts of Tampa, FL for a great weekend of fun and learning. Learn to improve your photography skills, your skill at designing images in the field, your creative vision, and your image optimization skills. Sunday critiquing session. Click here for additional details and the complete schedule.

Fort DeSoto Morning In-the-Field Workshop/Two Slots Left!

Fort DeSoto In-the-field Workshop: FEB 25. Pre-dawn -10:30am. Strict Limit 16/2 Openings. Includes a great working lunch: $275.

On Monday morning, February 25, Denise Ippolito and I will be co-leading a morning In-the-field Workshop at Fort DeSoto, south of St. Petersburg, FL. We should get to photograph a variety of very tame herons, egrets, gulls, terns, and shorebirds. Spoonbills possible. There will be lots of individual and small group instruction. We will cover exposure and histograms, seeing the situation, creating sharp images, and lots more. Each registrant will have a personalized gear and set-up check. The more questions you ask, the more you will learn.

A great working lunch at the Sea Porch Café on St. Petersburg Beach is included. All are invited to bring a laptop along for image sharing at lunch. After the workshop, all are invited to send us three 1024 wide or 800 tall JPEGs for critiquing. Call 1-863-692-0906 to register or send us a Paypal. Either way, be sure to note that the payment is for the Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Workshop.

Typos

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

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders :) And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gizo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

This image was created at the Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/30 sec. at f/25. in Av mode. Manual focus. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Surreality Reality Check

Here/s the truth, like it or not. I was trying to create Wood Stork reflection images despite the fact that the breeze that was distorting the reflection. But some of them looked pretty neat. I needed to focus manually as autofocus was being confused by the ripples and in all reflections situations the system does not know exactly where you want to focus.

When I was reviewing my images in BreezeBrowser and happened upon the one above I was stunned to see what seemed to me a somewhat mythical-looking creature looking right down the lens barrel. At first I thought that it was a raccoon but others in the group stated that it had been a small gator. I thought that it was a pretty cool image and a pretty cool and serendipitous happening. It reminded me of a pre-dawn image of a small in the frame Osprey in a big tree with a shooting star in the frame.

Someone commented in a negative way that a good image should not need an explanation. I agree. For me, the image needed no explanation. It put a smile on my face. I will be entering it in the BBC. Chances of it being honored are slim, as they are with every image entered in the competition, but it would be worth it for me to teach a few folks here that having an open mind is not a bad thing….

You can see the original post and read all of the comments here.

Doug Zoern left the best comment when he wrote, “The white thing is the body of a wood stork. The pink is its foot. I would guess it is scratching its head.
The creature appears to be vegetation or something else laying over a stick. It looks like the “eyes” are lily buds. You manually focused because auto focus would be inconsistent. It may focus on the surface or it may focus on the reflections but I think you actually wanted a focus somewhere between these two.”

Doug was the only one who scored on the pink foot of the stork. Good on him. He only missed on the gator.

Kudos also to Maggi Fuller who got tired of some of the comments. She wrote, “Oh for goodness sake! This isn’t about the quality/composition/content of the photograph…. It’s just a fun thing that Artie saw and took for the opportunity to have a bit of fun with us!!” Personally, I haven’t got a clue as I am from the UK & have no real knowledge of the wildlife in this area, though I would probably go with the stork theory….. Not a gator surely?”

As it turned out, it was surely a gator.

You can see a larger version of the optimized image in the “Baptism Under” Fire blog post here by clicking on the photo.

Coy Snowy Plover Clean-up

You can see the original “Coy Snowy Plover” image in “Baptism Under” Fire by scrolling down post here. I put the entire image on its own layer, used the Clone Stamp Tool at 0 hardness and 100% Opacity, and cleaned up. By adding a regular layer mask and fine tuning the layer I did not need to make a single selection. As detailed in Digital Basics which includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, Layer Masking for Dummies, all of my Keyboard Shortcuts, and tons more. Digital Basics, a PDF that is sent via e-mail, will be the best $25 you’ll ever spent on your photography. Your purchase includes free updates.

Snowy Plovers love to nestle down in areas with lots of beach debris and detritus. Their cryptic camouflage, more evident on the male birds, works best in such situations.

Photoshop Mystery Revealed

In the “Is It Real, or … ?” blog post here, everyone missed the boat, as did all the folks at BPN here. The reflection in the original image was untouched. Satish Ranadive of India did come up with a very creative repost that you can see by scrolling down to Pane #8.

In any case, see below for to learn what I did….

Sanderling flapping after bath. Created on Sanibel with the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/1250 sec. at f/10 in Manual Mode. Lens foot buried in the sand. Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

The Optimized Image

The optimized image immediately above was actually created from two different frames from a rapid fire 1D X sequence. The speed of the 1D X is what separates it from the lightweight and fabulous for different reasons EOS-5D Mark III. Read on.

This image was created at 17:43:09. The image below was also created at 17:43:09, in the same one/one hundredth of a second.

The First of Two

The image above, the first of the two frames, featured a perfect head angle and a lovely view of the far upper wing surface. But the near wing position was less than ideal with the wing not being fully raised.

This, the second of the two frames, was created at 17:43:09, in the same one/one hundredth of a second as the first of the two images.

The Second of Two

With the near wing raised a bit more during this after-bath flap, the second image immediately above featured a much better view of the underside of the near wing with a really cool tail position and a great look at the tertials. But it had a lousy head position and not as good a view of the dorsal surface of the far wing.

Mystery Solved

The Photoshop solution was obvious to me and actually took only a few minutes. I painted a Quick Mask of the head and the far wing of the first image, placed it on a layer, brought it into the second image, positioned it by reducing the opacity of the layer, and then brought it back to 100% and fine tuned the edges while working at 100% as suggested by Denise Ippolito. That’s why none of our astute readers had a clue. Dust-spotting and image rotation was done after the head and wing graft was complete.

Additional details on all of the above can be found in Digital Basics which includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, Layer Masking for Dummies, all of my Keyboard Shortcuts, and tons more. Digital Basics, a PDF that is sent via e-mail, will be the best $25 you’ll ever spent on your photography. Your purchase includes free updates. Would any of you like to see an MP4 video of this technique? If yes, let me know via e-mail.

Huge B&H Savings on Nikon and Canon Gear

Nikon

For the first time in many years NIKON is going to be deeply discounting many legacy pro lenses individually for the next 2 weeks only with discounts up to $350. There are also many amazing deals on NIKON Buy together and Save packages as well. Click here to save.

Nikon DSLRS Bundles with Lenses & Flash: Save up to $750. Click here to save. Make sure to add each item to your shopping cart to see the absolute lowest price.

Canon Lenses & Speedlites: Save Up to $300

Click here to save. Make sure to add each item to your shopping cart to see the absolute lowest price.

Canon Buy Together & Save: Save Up to $400

Click here to save.

EOS-1D X AF Guide

You can learn exactly how I set up and use this camera’s great new AF system in our EOS-1D X AF Guide. And you can learn about our camera User’s Guides here.

Southwest Florida Site Guide

Several folks have written recently asking why this great guide has not been updated since 2007. The answer is that I have not discovered any new hotspots and that the good places remain good and the great places remain great. We found the Snowy Plovers on Wednesday in the exact spot described in the Southwest Florida Site Guide. Go figure.

Africa Photo Safari: August 2013

Serengeti Summer Migration Safari: 12 full and two half-days of photography: $12,999/person double occupancy. Limit: 12/Openings: 9.

Leaders: Todd Gustafson, Denise Ippolito, and Arthur Morris. Tanzania Summer Migration Safari. Leave the US on August 3. Day 1 of the safari is August 5. We will visit Tarangire for great dry season photography, Seronera Lodge–aka Leopard City!–twice, Central Serengeti for big cats, Northern Serengeti and our mobile tented camp to search for river crossings, and the spectacular wildlife spectacle that is Ngorongoro Crater. Our last morning of photography is August 18. Fly home from Arusha, Tanzania on the evening of August 18.

A deposit of $4,000 is due now. This trip is a go. Happy Campers only please. Guaranteed maximum no more than 12 photographers plus the three great leaders. 3 persons/van. You get a row of seats for yourself and your gear. In addition to rotating in-the-field instruction with each of the co-leaders, artie, Todd, and denise will be available for image sharing and review and informal Photoshop instruction during breaks and after meals. And–with apologies to Miss Manners–even during meals!

Once we cash your check you will be strongly advised to purchase travel insurance. You may wish to consider using Travel Insurance Services. Do understand that most policies must be purchased within two weeks of our cashing your deposit check. The 2nd payment of $4000 is due MAR 30, 2013. The final payment/balance is due MAY 30, 2013. Sign up with a friend or a spouse and apply a $300 per person discount.

The lodging is all first class. Please e-mail to request a PDF with additional details, the complete itinerary, and a description of the unparalleled photographic opportunities that we will enjoy. Please e-mail or call me on my cell at 1-863-221-2372 with any questions. I hope that you can join us.

You can see a collection of my images from previous safaris here.

Weekend Creative Nature Photography Seminar, Tampa, FL: February 23 & 24, 2013: $149

You are invited to join Denise Ippolito and me on the weekend of February 23-24 on the outskirts of Tampa, FL for a great weekend of fun and learning. Learn to improve your photography skills, your skill at designing images in the field, your creative vision, and your image optimization skills. Sunday critiquing session. Click here for additional details and the complete schedule.

Fort DeSoto Morning In-the-Field Workshop/Two Slots Left!

Fort DeSoto In-the-field Workshop: FEB 25. Pre-dawn -10:30am. Strict Limit 16/2 Openings. Includes a great working lunch: $275.

On Monday morning, February 25, Denise Ippolito and I will be co-leading a morning In-the-field Workshop at Fort DeSoto, south of St. Petersburg, FL. We should get to photograph a variety of very tame herons, egrets, gulls, terns, and shorebirds. Spoonbills possible. There will be lots of individual and small group instruction. We will cover exposure and histograms, seeing the situation, creating sharp images, and lots more. Each registrant will have a personalized gear and set-up check. The more questions you ask, the more you will learn.

A great working lunch at the Sea Porch Café on St. Petersburg Beach is included. All are invited to bring a laptop along for image sharing at lunch. After the workshop, all are invited to send us three 1024 wide or 800 tall JPEGs for critiquing. Call 1-863-692-0906 to register or send us a Paypal. Either way, be sure to note that the payment is for the Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Workshop.

Typos

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

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders :) And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gizo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

This Sanderling image was created on Sanibel with the hand held Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -2/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/10 in Manual Mode. Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Baptism Under Fire

On Wednesday afternoon past, I took my new 600II for a walk on the beach at Sanibel in search of Snowy Plovers. I decided to go hand held. As you can see in the image below, I got down on the ground. I got my whole rig covered in sand. And I mean covered. It took me well more than an hour to clean everything up. But I had a great time. I had the 2XIII in place when I saw this Sanderling bathing. While standing at full height I got on sun angle and waited for the bird to flap. Fortunately I did not have to wait more than a few seconds as my left arm was getting tired quickly. I made four sharp images out of four. This one, a healthy crop from the rear and above and below, with the wings fully forward, was my favorite.

Do understand that for however long you are capable of hand holding a big lens you will do much better with flight and action than if you were on a tripod.

I let the gear dry overnight. To clean it, I used a 1 1/2 inch Linzer Best angular sash Blended Polyester paint brush from WalMart, the big Giotto’s Rocket Blower that I normally use for sensor cleaning, and a Q-tip with Lens Clens on it to clean the viewfinder. Poke-jabbing at the buttons with the paint brush worked wonders. When I was done getting rid of most of the sand, I cleaned the camera with an old T-shirt and Lens Clens. It needed that before the sand bath!

This image of a female Snowy Plover was also created yesterday afternoon on Sanibel. This one with the lens foot resting deep in the sand with the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/11 in Manual Mode. Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the bird’s eye and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Just a moment after I created this image I called out to Denise Ippolito and Geri Georg, “This cute lady plover just gave me the coyest look.” I think that she was looking up at a bird in flight. The sharpness of the 600II/2X III/1D X is superb as expected. I cleaned the background extensively using Denise Ippolito’s cloning on a layer technique. This technique, along with my complete digital workflow, all of my Keyboard Shortcuts, and dozens more real world Photoshop tips is included in our Digital Basics File, a PDF that is sent via e-mail.

EOS-1D X AF Guide

You can learn exactly how I set up and use this camera’s great new AF system in our EOS-1D X AF Guide. And you can learn about our camera User’s Guides here.

Southwest Florida Site Guide

Several folks have written recently asking why this great guide has not been updated since 2007. The answer is that I have not discovered any new hotspots and that the good places remain good and the great places remain great. We found the Snowy Plovers on Wednesday in the exact spot described in the Southwest Florida Site Guide. Go figure.

Africa Photo Safari: August 2013

Serengeti Summer Migration Safari: 12 full and two half-days of photography: $12,999/person double occupancy. Limit: 12/Openings: 9.

Leaders: Todd Gustafson, Denise Ippolito, and Arthur Morris. Tanzania Summer Migration Safari. Leave the US on August 3. Day 1 of the safari is August 5. We will visit Tarangire for great dry season photography, Seronera Lodge–aka Leopard City!–twice, Central Serengeti for big cats, Northern Serengeti and our mobile tented camp to search for river crossings, and the spectacular wildlife spectacle that is Ngorongoro Crater. Our last morning of photography is August 18. Fly home from Arusha, Tanzania on the evening of August 18.

A deposit of $4,000 is due now. This trip is a go. Happy Campers only please. Guaranteed maximum no more than 12 photographers plus the three great leaders. 3 persons/van. You get a row of seats for yourself and your gear. In addition to rotating in-the-field instruction with each of the co-leaders, artie, Todd, and denise will be available for image sharing and review and informal Photoshop instruction during breaks and after meals. And–with apologies to Miss Manners–even during meals!

Once we cash your check you will be strongly advised to purchase travel insurance. You may wish to consider using Travel Insurance Services. Do understand that most policies must be purchased within two weeks of our cashing your deposit check. The 2nd payment of $4000 is due MAR 30, 2012. The final payment/balance is due MAY 30, 2013. Sign up with a friend or a spouse and apply a $300 per person discount.

The lodging is all first class. Please e-mail to request a PDF with additional details, the complete itinerary, and a description of the unparalleled photographic opportunities that we will enjoy. Please e-mail or call me on my cell at 1-863-221-2372 with any questions. I hope that you can join us.

You can see a collection of my images from previous safaris here.

Weekend Creative Nature Photography Seminar, Tampa, FL: February 23 & 24, 2013: $149

You are invited to join Denise Ippolito and me on the weekend of February 23-24 on the outskirts of Tampa, FL for a great weekend of fun and learning. Learn to improve your photography skills, your skill at designing images in the field, your creative vision, and your image optimization skills. Sunday critiquing session. Click here for additional details and the complete schedule.

Fort DeSoto Morning In-the-Field Workshop/Two Slots Left!

Fort DeSoto In-the-field Workshop: FEB 25. Pre-dawn -10:30am. Strict Limit 16/2 Openings. Includes a great working lunch: $275.

On Monday morning, February 25, Denise Ippolito and I will be co-leading a morning In-the-field Workshop at Fort DeSoto, south of St. Petersburg, FL. We should get to photograph a variety of very tame herons, egrets, gulls, terns, and shorebirds. Spoonbills possible. There will be lots of individual and small group instruction. We will cover exposure and histograms, seeing the situation, creating sharp images, and lots more. Each registrant will have a personalized gear and set-up check. The more questions you ask, the more you will learn.

A great working lunch at the Sea Porch Café on St. Petersburg Beach is included. All are invited to bring a laptop along for image sharing at lunch. After the workshop, all are invited to send us three 1024 wide or 800 tall JPEGs for critiquing. Call 1-863-692-0906 to register or send us a Paypal. Either way, be sure to note that the payment is for the Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Workshop.

Typos

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

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders :) And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gizo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

This Great Blue Heron was photographed at Anhinga Trail with the hand held Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops as framed: 1/500 sec. at f/2.8. 61-point/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

The Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II in Low Light

I set out each morning at Anhinga Trail with the 600 II on my shoulder on a tripod with a 1D X mounted to it and both the 70-200 f/2.8L & the 24-105mm in my vest. In my left hand I held the 300 f/2.8L IS lens with a 1D X on it. When I came upon a situation that I wanted to photograph, I placed the vest on the asphalt walkway or the boardwalk and went with either the 600 II or the 300 II. I was photographing this Great Blue Heron with the hand held 300 II on a very foggy morning. I was sitting low shooting under the small wooden railing that abuts Taylor Slough. In the low light and fog it only made sense to go without the 1.4X TC and get as close as possible. I started off adding a bit too much light and cut back to +1 1/3 after noting some blinkies on the bird’s crown.

I missed the strike but created a long series of images of the bird with its breakfast. After he attempted and failed to swallow the prey item the bird dropped it on the ground and started over. Eventually, he was successful.

This Great Blue Heron was photographed at Anhinga Trail with the hand held Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops as framed: 1/320 sec. at f/3.2. 61-point/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

What Is It?

If anyone has a clue as to what the prey item is, please leave a comment. If you know for sure, that would work well too. I am thinking that it is not a fish. And that possibly it is an amphibian, some the larval stage of a salamander species….

Questions

If you have any questions on my choice of aperture or on the exposure settings, or anything else for that matter, fire away.

MP4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos

See and hear me at work in Photoshop in these great MP4 instructional videos. Cheap! You can see them all and learn more here and learn about our latest offering here.

Southwest Florida IPT $600 Late Registration Discount!

If you would like to join us on the Southwest Florida IPT (see below) please call Jim on Monday at 863-692-0906 to register or shoot me an e-mail to save one of the two availble spots for you. Or contact me via e-mail for a pro-rated quote if you can make only part of this great IPT.

SW FLA IPT. FEB 16-21, 2013. Introductory slide program: 7pm on 2/15. 6-FULL DAYS: $2999. Co-leaders: Denise Ippolito and Robert Amoruso. Limit: 10/Openings 2 due to two late cancellations

Payment in full is due now

This is my bread and butter IPT; learn the basics and the advanced fine points from the best; escape winter’s icy grip and enjoy tons of tame birds! Subjects will include nesting Great Blue Heron and Great Egret, Mottled Duck, Brown and White Pelican at point-blank range, Snowy & Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Osprey, wintering shorebirds and plovers, gulls and terns, & Burrowing Owl. All ridiculously tame. Roseate Spoonbill, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, American Oystercatcher, and who knows what are possible.

Click here to learn more about this IPT.

Typos

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

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gizo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

This Black Vulture in flight was photographed with the hand held Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR Camera (Body Only). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop off the blue sky 35 degrees up from the horizon: 1/5000 sec. at f/5.6 Central sensor Surround/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper version. This is my first keeper hand held flight image with the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens. Be sure to see the animated GIF below to see how NIK Color Efex Pro’s Detail Extractor brought this image to life.

Loving My New 600 II

My brand new 600 II arrived at the motel late on Friday afternoon. In short, I am totally in love. The light weight with the balance much farther to the rear makes it easy for even this old man to hand hold it for flight. Do understand that it is much easier to hand hold a big lens for flight and action than for static images. With the latter it takes much more strength to hold the lens steady for more than a few seconds (unless you are seated or otherwise able to support the lens).

Though I own the 500II, the 600 II is already my go-to super-telephoto lens. You will be seeing lots more 600II images with both teleconverters here over the next few weeks. The 600 II is incredibly amazingly sharp with both the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (teleconverter) and the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter). At some point I will be doing the promised blog post comparing the Canon 500mm f/4L EF IS II USM lens with the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens.

If you missed the comparison of the 800 f/5.6L IS and the 600 f/4L IS click here to see the results that surprised many.

Give the animated GIF above a few moments to play. Note the before and after differences. Be sure to click on the optimized image below to see the large version of the optimized file.

NIK Color Efex Pro Detail Extractor Rocks

Here I chose to go with (only) +1 stop off the sky. But my exposure call was right on as adding only 1/3 stop to the exposure in DPP resulted in blinkies in the vulture’s white primary webs. I relied on NIK Color Efex Pro’s Detail Extractor to reveal the detail in the BLACKs. Do understand that with the white primary webs properly exposed that the BLACKs were 1 2/3 to 2 full stops underexposed. Yet with the remarkable latitude of quality digital files the detail was there. I selected the bird with the Quick Selection Tool, brought the image into NIK Color Efex Pro, and ran a layer with 50% Detail Extractor and 15% Tonal Contrast. Then, after merging that layer I selected the bird’s face with the same tool, put the face on its own layer, applied a 15/65/0 Contrast Mask, and then lightened that layer with a Curves adjustment (Control M). Voila. Be sure to click on the opening image to see the larger version.

All of the above as described in detail in Digital Basics which includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, Layer Masking for Dummies, all of my Keyboard Shortcuts, and tons more. Digital Basics, a PDF that is sent via e-mail, will be the best $25 you’ll ever spent on your photography. Your purchase includes free updates.

NIK 15% Discount

A 30% layer of Detail Extractor and Tonal Contrast fine-tuned via a Regular Layer Mask really brought this image to life. As regular readers know, Color Efex Pro has drastically changed my digital workflow and little by little I have begun using Viveza to solve sticky image optimization problems and Silver Efex Pro fo fast, dramatic B&W conversions. You can save 15% on all NIK products (including Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, and Viveza) by clicking here and entering BAA in the Promo Code box at check-out. Then hit Apply to see your savings. You can download a trial copy that will work for 15 days and allow you to create full sized images.

MP4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos

See and hear me at work in Photoshop in these great MP4 instructional videos. Cheap! You can see them all and learn more here and learn about our latest offering here.

Southwest Florida IPT $600 Late Registration Discount!

If you would like to join us on the Southwest Florida IPT (see below) please call Jim on Monday at 863-692-0906 to register or shoot me an e-mail to save one of the two availble spots for you. Or contact me via e-mail for a pro-rated quote if you can make only part of this great IPT.

SW FLA IPT. FEB 16-21, 2013. Introductory slide program: 7pm on 2/15. 6-FULL DAYS: $2999. Co-leaders: Denise Ippolito and Robert Amoruso. Limit: 10/Openings 2 due to two late cancellations

Payment in full is due now

This is my bread and butter IPT; learn the basics and the advanced fine points from the best; escape winter’s icy grip and enjoy tons of tame birds! Subjects will include nesting Great Blue Heron and Great Egret, Mottled Duck, Brown and White Pelican at point-blank range, Snowy & Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Osprey, wintering shorebirds and plovers, gulls and terns, & Burrowing Owl. All ridiculously tame. Roseate Spoonbill, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, American Oystercatcher, and who knows what are possible.

Click here to learn more about this IPT.

Pines West Camera Club EOL Program

I will be presenting “A Bird Photographer’s Story” for the Pines West Camera Club in Pembroke Pines, FL at 7pm on February 12, 2013. The program, sponsored by Canon Explorers of Light, is free and open to the public. Click here for additional details and scroll down for directions.

Typos

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

Give the animated GIF above a few moments to play. Note the before and after differences. Be sure to click on the optimized image below to see the large version of the optimized file.

Tufted Titmouse: Expand Canvas/Clean-up Magic

During one of our Photoshop sessions on the NOV 2012 Bosque del Apache NWR IPT, participant John Haedo shared the neatest-ever expand canvas technique with the group. When I tried it yesterday morning while preparing to start work on our latest MP4 Photoshop Tutorial video, I was stunned at how well it worked on expanding canvas left in the image presented here. Additional efforts included dust-spotting with the Spot Healing Brush, and using the Spot Healing Brush, the Patch Tool, the Clone Stamp Tool, and a series of Quick Masks to clean-up the perch and to a lesser degree, the bill. I ran a 50/50 NIK Color Efex Pro layer of Tonal Contrast and Detail Extractor on the bird and the perch and painted out the effect on the bird’s breast using a Regular Layer Mask. All as described in detail in Digital Basics.

Tufted Titmouse just finishing wing stretch, Elizabeth A. Morton NWR, Noyac, NY. With the tripod-mounted Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Autofocus lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X digital SLR . ISO 800. Evaluative metering -1 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/10 in Av mode. Here, uncharacteristically, I was working in Av mode. Why? The sun was going in and out every two minutes; working in Av Mode at -2/3 or -1 stop was easier than making the larger changes (more clicks) that I would have needed if I had been working in Manual mode. Working at close range is the time to stop down a bit as depth-of-field is at a minimum, here measured in small fractions of an inch. Focus on the eye and let ‘er rip. Central sensor (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. I had the central sensor on the side of the bird’s breast on the same plane as the eye. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Tufted Titmouse: Expand Canvas/Clean-up MP4 Photoshop Tutorial Video

In this 32-minute screen capture video you will see and hear me working in Photoshop as I optimize the image above. Techniques covered in the video include expanding canvas with a remarkable new technique, dust-spotting with the Spot Healing Brush, and using the Spot Healing Brush, the Patch Tool, the Clone Stamp Tool, and a series of Quick Masks to clean-up the perch and to a lesser degree, the bill. Also included are the use of a 50/50 NIK Color Efex Pro layer of Tonal Contrast and Detail Extractor on the bird and the perch and painted out the effect on the bird’s breast using a Regular Layer Mask, and some Eye Doctor work.

You can purchase this video for $4.25 through the BAA store by clicking here or by calling Jim or Jen weekdays between 9am and 5pm (3pm on Fridays) at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. Easiest is to send us a Paypal for $4.25 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words “Tufted Titmouse MP4 Video” cut and pasted into the Subject line of your e-mail. Sorry, no checks are accepted for the MP4 videos.

Fort DeSoto Morning In-the-Field Workshop/Two Slots Left!

Fort DeSoto In-the-field Workshop: FEB 25. Pre-dawn -10:30am. Strict Limit 16/Openings 2. Includes a great working lunch: $275.

On Monday morning, February 25, Denise Ippolito and I will be co-leading a morning In-the-field Workshop at Fort DeSoto, south of St. Petersburg, FL. We should get to photograph a variety of very tame herons, egrets, gulls, terns, and shorebirds. Spoonbills possible. There will be lots of individual and small group instruction. We will cover exposure and histograms, seeing the situation, creating sharp images, and lots more. Each registrant will have a personalized gear and set-up check. The more questions you ask, the more you will learn.

A great working lunch at the Sea Porch Café on St. Petersburg Beach is included. All are invited to bring a laptop along for image sharing at lunch. After the workshop, all are invited to send us three 1024 wide or 800 tall JPEGs for critiquing. Call 1-863-692-0906 to register or send us a Paypal. Either way, be sure to note that the payment is for the Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Workshop.

Weekend Creative Nature Photography Seminar, Tampa, FL: February 23 & 24, 2013: $149 Limit: 50/Openings: 2

Best to register soon as there are just 4 seats left. The In-the-field Workshop above follows the Weekend Creative Nature Photography Seminar. You are invited to join Denise Ippolito and me on the weekend of February 23-24 on the outskirts of Tampa, FL for a great weekend of fun and learning. Learn to improve your photography skills, your skill at designing images in the field, your creative vision, and your image optimization skills. Sunday critiquing session. Click here for additional details and the complete schedule.

Pines West Camera Club EOL Program

I will be presenting “A Bird Photographer’s Story” for the Pines West Camera Club in Pembroke Pines, FL at 7pm on February 12, 2013. The program, sponsored by Canon Explorers of Light, is free and open to the public. Click here for additional details and scroll down for directions.

Typos

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

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gizo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

Polar Bear mom with cub, Spitsbergen, Norway. With the tripod-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4G ED VR II AF lns (Black), the Nikon TC-14E II 1.4x Teleconverter for D-AF-S & AF-I lenses ONLY, and the Nikon D4 digital SLR body. ISO 800: 1/1250 @ f/11. Thick overcast light. Mom and the cub were walking around, so the easy thing to meter was the white background. I metered a bright area and–working in Manual mode–placed that tone at + 1.7 stops. Since the light was not changing, all that I had to do then was wait for a good pose. Image courtesy of and copyright 2012: John Shaw.

John Shaw

John Shaw was one of several who inspired me three decades ago. His gorgeous flower images that featured pristine blossoms–I remember lots of purple and pink ones–set against out-of-focus green backgrounds stuck in my mind and served as the springboard for what would become the BIRDS AS ART style. Thanks John.

Early on, John’s The Nature Photographer’s Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques, published by Amphoto Books in June 1984 was my bible and fueled my dream to do a bird photography book for the same publisher. That dream led to the publication of “The Art of Bird Photography; The Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques” in June, 1998. In the 1990s John Shaw’s Business of Nature Photography guided me through the difficult early years of my career; bible #2. Thanks John.

Over the year’s John has become a friend, joining me as a guest co-leader on both a San Diego and a Fort DeSoto IPT. Thanks John.

After posting “Learning to Think Like a Pro In the Field,” a reader of both of our blogs e-mailed John letting him know that he was mentioned in my blog post. As a result, I received the e-mail below from John.

Pintado (Cape) Petrel, in the Drake Passage en route to South Georgia Island. With the handheld Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II Lens at 400mm and the Nikon D4 digital SLR body. ISO 800: 1/2500 at f/8. The high shutter speed was needed due to the fact that the ship was really rocking and rolling. The petrel was flying around the ship, and the background would change from white clouds to blue sky and back again. I metered the sky, and, while working in manual mode, placed it as a middle tone. The biggest problem was not the photography, but trying to keep from either falling on my butt or going overboard. Image courtesy of and copyright 2012: John Shaw.

John Shaw on Exposure/A Guest Blog Post

Since my name was brought up in this discussion – and since I got an email asking about my thoughts on metering the gull photo – I’ll toss in my 2 cents worth.

So, how would I have metered the grey sky/gull situation with my Nikon? OK, I’ll use matrix metering in manual exposure mode. By using matrix, which reads the entire frame, I need to aim the camera at a large area of consistent tonality. The light gray sky is the obvious easy answer. With my D4 I would open up about one and one-third stops. But I’ll bet that if we compared actual shooting exposure, both Artie and I would be close to the same. We just have gotten there different ways.

Thanks John. John is of course correct. When I photograph with Nikon-user James Shadle at Alafia Banks on his custom pontoon boat, the Hooptie Deux, we have a good laugh when it turns out that we are both working at the same exposure values (always within a third stop of each other at worse) despite the fact that we use different methods and obviously different in-camera meters. And do note as I have mentioned here and elsewhere that while Nikon folks do not need to add as much light in low light/light toned situations they need to subtract more light when working in bright light/dark toned with brilliant white situations as in the image featured here. Nikon folks would have been very close to -3 stops to come up with a good exposure on the displaying Long-tailed Duck image featured there.

In a follow-up e-mail John wrote referring to the Pintado Petrel image:

If I had used an autoexposure mode, the meter would have read the sky when that was behind the bird, then read the lighter toned clouds when those were behind the bird, and consequently given two different exposures. But so long as all were in the same light, there should be only one exposure.

John and I had a nice pre-SuperBowl chat this morning by phone. We both agreed that digital capture offers far more exposure latitude than film ever did, and we chuckled at the online experts who claim otherwise. We agreed that too many folks with expensive gear do not take the time to study their craft, and in the same vein, that many folks simply do not take the time to study and learn the intricacies of their in-camera meters.

I can’t tell you how much fun it is to chat with a friend who was and remains an idol of mine.

Learn more about John at his website here. Those who are interested in learning even more about exposure will find John’s recent blog post, “ETTR to the Far Right”, of great interest. His most recent blog post, “Eleven False Statements,”is both a hoot and filled with important truths for digital nature photographers.

Here’s #6: You can evaluate exposure by looking at the image on the camera’s LCD. You can adjust the LCD’s brightness on almost all DSLRs, so exactly which level of brightness would be “correct?” Sorry, not true at all. For that matter, the camera LCD most certainly is not a color corrected and calibrated monitor. You can evaluate composition; you cannot evaluate color or exposure. You definitely should use the histograms for exposure information.

I hope that that sounds familiar to all who have been on a BAA IPT.

Questions for John

I am pretty sure that John would be glad to answer any questions left in the Comments section when he has a bit of time.

SW FLA IPT

Speaking of IPTs, we are, due to two recent cancellations, able to offer a huge late registration discount to the first two lucky photographers to respond. Call me today at 863-692-0906 or call Jim or Jen at the same number asap during the week.

SW FLA IPT. FEB 16-21, 2013. Introductory slide program: 7pm on 2/15. 6-FULL DAYS: $2999. Co-leaders: Denise Ippolito and Robert Amoruso. Limit: 10/Openings 2.

Payment in full is due now

This is my bread and butter IPT; learn the basics and the advanced fine points from the best; escape winter’s icy grip and enjoy tons of tame birds! Subjects will include nesting Great Blue Heron and Great Egret, Mottled Duck, Brown and White Pelican at point-blank range, Snowy & Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Osprey, wintering shorebirds and plovers, gulls and terns, & Burrowing Owl. All ridiculously tame. Roseate Spoonbill, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, American Oystercatcher, and who knows what are possible.

Click here to learn more about this IPT.

Pines West Camera Club EOL Program

I will be presenting “A Bird Photographer’s Story” for the Pines West Camera Club in Pembroke Pines, FL at 7pm on February 12, 2013. The program, sponsored by Canon Explorers of Light, is free and open to the public. Click here for additional details and scroll down for directions.

Fort DeSoto Morning In-the-Field Workshop/One Slot Left!

Fort DeSoto In-the-field Workshop: FEB 25. Pre-dawn -10:30am. Strict Limit 16/Sold Out:wait list only. Includes a great working lunch: $275.

On Monday morning, February 25, Denise Ippolito and I will be co-leading a morning In-the-field Workshop at Fort DeSoto, south of St. Petersburg, FL. We should get to photograph a variety of very tame herons, egrets, gulls, terns, and shorebirds. Spoonbills possible. There will be lots of individual and small group instruction. We will cover exposure and histograms, seeing the situation, creating sharp images, and lots more. Each registrant will have a personalized gear and set-up check. The more questions you ask, the more you will learn.

A great working lunch at the Sea Porch Café on St. Petersburg Beach is included. All are invited to bring a laptop along for image sharing at lunch. After the workshop, all are invited to send us three 1024 wide or 800 tall JPEGs for critiquing. Call 1-863-692-0906 to register or send us a Paypal. Either way, be sure to note that the payment is for the Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Workshop.

Weekend Creative Nature Photography Seminar, Tampa, FL: February 23 & 24, 2013: $149 Limit: 50/Openings: 2

Best to register soon as there are just 4 seats left. The In-the-field Workshop above follows the Weekend Creative Nature Photography Seminar. You are invited to join Denise Ippolito and me on the weekend of February 23-24 on the outskirts of Tampa, FL for a great weekend of fun and learning. Learn to improve your photography skills, your skill at designing images in the field, your creative vision, and your image optimization skills. Sunday critiquing session. Click here for additional details and the complete schedule.

Typos

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

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders :) And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gizo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.

Long-tailed Duck drake flapping. I created this image created on the January Barnegat Jetty IPT with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Autofocus lens, the Canon 1.4x EF Extender III (teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X digital SLR . ISO 800. Evaluative metering -2 stops: 1/1250 sec. at f/10 in Manual mode. Central sensor (by necessity)/Expand/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image for a larger version. Careful readers know that I am usually adding anywhere from 1/3 to 2 1/3 or more stops of light to my exposures. Why-2 full stops for this image?

Canon EOS-1D X Firmware Update 1.2.1: No More Tears, No More JPEGs

In “Shooting Blanks: Do As I Say, Not As I Do,” I shared eight images that were inadvertently captured as JPEGs. In “EOS-1D X News: It Was All My Fault,” the JPEG mystery was unraveled.

The displaying Long-Tailed Duck drake image above is yet another fine image that was made during the accidental JPEG episode. Actually, as a lover of what is, (see The Work of Byron Katie), there were no tears on my part. Just another lesson learned that led to lots of sharing, teaching, and learning. As Byron Katie would say, “It was the best thing that could have happened and I can prove it.” How can I prove that? It happened.

Downloading 1D X Firmware 1.2.1

You can download the new firmware by clicking here, clicking on Drivers and Software, selecting your Operating System and Operating System Version from the dropdown menus, clicking on Firmware, clicking on the File Description, and finally by clicking on I Agree-Begin Download.

Once the file (1DX00121.FIR) is saved to your computer–I put it on my desktop–copy it to a compact flash card, put the card in your 1D X, go to the 4th Yellow (Wrench symbol) menu, click on Firmware Ver. at the bottom of the menu, and follow the prompts.

Custom Function 4-4 Instructions

The info above is from the PDF that comes with the downloaded firmware. Here are your choices for C.Fn. 4-4, Rec card, img size setting:

With C.Fn4, if you set “Rear LCD panel” and then press the Card/ImageSize Selection Button, the small rear LCD panel on the back of the camera becomes active and you can change settings by turning the thumb wheel. This is where folks ran into trouble by doing so inadvertently.

If C.Fn4 is set to “LCD monitor” and you press the Card/ImageSize Selection Button, a large bright screen lights up on the rear LCD. Again, you change your settings by turning the thumb wheel. Had folks been aware of this option–I was not as I never did a complete 1D X User’s Guide–it would have eliminated the accidental change problems. Why? As above, if you hit the Card/ImageSize Selection Button inadvertently it was easy to miss the info in the small rear LCD panel and accidentally turn the thumb wheel. But with LCD monitor set, it would be hard to miss that the entire rear LCD monitor lights up. This would be true whether you were working in daylight or in the dark (the latter as I was when bitten by the M2 JPEG bug!).

For C.Fn4, however, I choose the last option, Disable Card/ImageSize Selection Button: OFF. This last option was the one that was added with the new firmware update. Then when and if you press the Card/ImageSize Selection Button, nothing at all happens. That one works best for me as I never want to shoot anything but RAW. Folks who set this one who need to change the image size or add a JPEG to their captures need to do so by accessing “Image type/size” on the second RED menu.

Canon EOS-1D X

Everybody’s switching. Everyone is loving their 1D X. Who? Arash Harzeghi. Doug Brown. Grace Scalzo. And Peter Kes sold all of his Nikon gear and purchased a 1D X and a Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens! Have I influenced these and many other folks to purchase the greatest digital camera body ever? Very certainly. If you are convinced, please, please, pretty please use the BAA B&H affiliate link directly above.

B&H Canon Lens and Speedlight Specials Expire February 2, 2013/Act Now

As low as the prices might seem when you click on one of the items below, which, by the way, include many of my favorite intermediate telephoto lenses, be sure to place the item in your shopping cart to learn the actual price. In many instances you save another $100 to $400 or more off the price that appears when you click. The prices are just so low that B&H is not permitted by the manufacturer to publish them on the website. But they will pop up in your shopping cart!

…..

B&H Canon Specials

Fort DeSoto Morning In-the-Field Workshop

Fort DeSoto In-the-field Workshop: FEB 25. Pre-dawn -10:30am. Limit 16/openings: 4. Includes a great working lunch: $275.

On Monday morning, February 25, Denise Ippolito and I will be co-leading a morning In-the-field Workshop at Fort DeSoto, south of St. Petersburg, FL. We should get to photograph a variety of very tame herons, egrets, gulls, terns, and shorebirds. Spoonbills possible. There will be lots of individual and small group instruction. We will cover exposure and histograms, seeing the situation, creating sharp images, and lots more. Each registrant will have a personalized gear and set-up check. The more questions you ask, the more you will learn.

A great working lunch at the Sea Porch Café on St. Petersburg Beach is included. All are invited to bring a laptop along for image sharing at lunch. After the workshop, all are invited to send us three 1024 wide or 800 tall JPEGs for critiquing. Call 1-863-692-0906 to register or send us a Paypal. Either way, be sure to note that the payment is for the Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Workshop.

Weekend Creative Nature Photography Seminar, Tampa, FL: February 23 & 24, 2013: $149 Limit: 50/Openings: 1

Best to register soon as there are just 4 seats left. The In-the-field Workshop above follows the Weekend Creative Nature Photography Seminar. You are invited to join Denise Ippolito and me on the weekend of February 23-24 on the outskirts of Tampa, FL for a great weekend of fun and learning. Learn to improve your photography skills, your skill at designing images in the field, your creative vision, and your image optimization skills. Sunday critiquing session. Click here for additional details and the complete schedule.

Typos

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

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders :) And you will love them in mega-cold weather....
Gizo GT3532 LS CF Tripod. This one replaces the GT3530LS Tripod and will last you a lifetime. Learn more about this great tripod here.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera's hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin Flash Cards. I use and depend on Delkin compact Flash Cards and card readers most every day. Learn more about their great 700X and 1000X cards here or about my favorite Delkin card here.