Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Oldie But Goodie

While searching online for information on the recent death of my old friend Bob Elliot Kutner the other day (scroll down here for info on that), I came across an old (2005) interview that I did for James Morrissey for The Nature, Wildlife and Pet Photography Forum and wanted to share an adapted and somewhat updated version here with you. You can find the original interview by James along with four images here.

Artist Showcase: Artie Morris by James Morrissey

About Artie Morris

JM: Can you tell me about yourself?

AM: I had a very nice childhood. I did not realize how messed up my childhood was until I was an adult 🙂 When I was a kid, I had a whole lot of fun.

I had no early photographic interests. My parents had no interest in nature. I lived in Brooklyn. When I was a young boy, my great aunt Alice and my great uncle Frank would go to Keyport, New Jersey where my great grandma Smith lived. By the time, I was 12 or 13 I would go by myself to Keyport with my Alice and Frank to a Great Grandma Smith’s home. I would collect butterflies, bugs, and box turtles. I used to cut the huge lawn. This was my first experience in nature. I would have told you that bird watching was for sissies when I was young.

JM: What brought you to photography then?

AM: I had two daughters by my first marriage and I wanted to take pictures of them… I purchased a Canon AE-1 and was doing snap shots of the kids and some scenics when I went on vacation. I shot perhaps 10 rolls of film during the first few years that I owned the camera. People had told me in the past, when I was in Junior HS, that I was artistically talented, but I had pretty much ignored it; whatever talent I had had lain dormant within me. In 1976, when I was in my early 30s, I started birding as a means of exercise as my knees were shot and my back was not in great shape.

I was inspired by a fellow named Bob Elliot Kutner from the South Shore Audubon Society in Long Island, NY. He was infectiously enthusiastic. He met a bunch of teachers from my school–including my late-wife Elaine Belsky-Morris and invited himself to our school and did an assembly program with his back-yard movies of Warblers. They were terrible, but he was so into it that it rubbed off. I wound up doing a few field trips with him, and that is how I got started.

JM: So your photographic education started well after you were a professional with the NYC Board of Education?

AM: Yes. I had the camera, but rarely used it. Early on I was influenced by two local guys – Tom Davis, who is dead, and an older Eastern European man named Tony Manzoni. They were both into photography. Tom was a recluse – 6′ 9”, 149 lbs. One time he took out his book of ‘baby pictures.’ They were juvenile shorebirds; he called them his “babies.” After I went to a slide show by Toni Manzoni, I said, “I can do that.” Then, I went out and purchased the Canon 400 f/4.5 FD lens.

Birding was something that developed in me over time after many seeds had been planted in my brain. The first seed was planted by Elliot Kutner, and the next by Tom Davis. I used to work at a pool club in Brooklyn and I would see Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets fishing. After seven years I was getting bored with just birding and took up photography as the next step.

My first marriage–to Dana–ended in 1985 after 18 years. We had two beautiful daughters – Jennifer and Alissa. Soon after my divorce, I married Elaine Belsky, a fellow teacher who had been my best friend for 15 years. I talked her into getting out of teaching in 1992. We got a sabbatical from the board of education, bought a small motor home, and drove twice around North America. Being married to Elaine was like being in heaven. After the sabbatical we returned home on June 30, 1993. If anyone had told me that she was going to find a lump in her left breast the next day and that she would be dead in 15 months, I would have fallen off my chair laughing. I would have said, “I am Artie Morris and this does not happen to me. I am blessed with complete happiness.” That is, however, exactly what happened. It was an horrific blow to me. Elaine died peacefully at home on November 20, 1994. I was a huge mess for seven years.

Ten days after Elaine died, I flew to Bosque Del Apache NWR in New Mexico and began the long, slow process of healing. It took me more than 7 years to get to the point where I could look back and think about how wonderful she was without crying. It was hard for a long time. Once I began doing The Work of Byron Katie I realized however that I had actively chosen to be a martyr. I was doing my best…. Doing the work brought me to peace over Elaine’s death.

A few years after Elaine’s passing I moved from Deltona, FL down to Indian Lake Estates. In about 1998 I hired my older daughter Jennifer as the Executive Director of BIRDS AS ART; her husband, Erik, works as a biologist at a nearby state park. They are the proud parents of my first two grandchildren.

JM: How do you feel that Elaine’s death affected your photography?

AM: Elaine had great confidence that I would succeed as a professional photographer. Many wives might say, “Oh my God, he is crazy. He gets up at 5 in the morning and stays out all day. He is nuts.” Elaine would say, “My Arthur. He gets up at 4 in the morning and he works so hard, and he stays out all day and photographs. He is going to be the best bird photographer in the world some day.” Her support meant the world to me. She was the first person to tell me, “You are good, you are handsome, you are loyal, you are loving, and you are smart.” I have done a lot of work since then and learned that I am all of those things and more.

JM: A lot of people never get to that point.

AM: I have done a lot of great self-help stuff. There is a great book entitled “Seeing Your Life Through New Eyes.” In addition, as I mentioned above, I have studied The Work of Byron Katie; her program, “Loving What Is” helped me find a great degree of peace.

JM: What drives you?

AM: Primarily, the fact that bird photography is fun. It is what I love to do. On another level, I have realized that my father influenced me positively in a convoluted way. He was a WWII veteran who had been severely injured on Okinawa; he lost his right arm and his left hung by a thread at one point. He spent 19 months in the hospital. He was bitter about his war injuries and we did not have a good relationship. He rarely had anything nice to say to me as I was growing up. I sometimes say somewhat jokingly that the nicest thing that he ever said to me was “Take out the damned garbage.” I didn’t realize how deeply this affected me until I was in my forties.

Why did I want to be the best teacher in the district? Why would I rather have died than lose a game of 3-man basketball? Why did I practice golf for 12 hours every day while playing on my college team? With everything that I have ever done, I have been driven to push myself to the max. In middle adulthood I realized that all along I had been trying to get people to say the nice things about me that my father never could or did. A few years before his death, I wrote him and thanked him for withholding praise, for being responsible for so much of my success. I thanked him for being a mean son of a bitch. My sister Arna read the letter to him and told me that he had a huge smile on his face. My Dad never quit. He worked in the same luggage store for more than 30 years and wound up as the manager. Many folks would have simply stayed home and collected their disability payments. I know that I got my determination from him. He was well respected in the industry. Stamps were his hobby. I can remember seeing him in the basement holding up the little squares of perforated paper and examining them with a magnifier. When I turned to photography and found myself sitting for hours on end editing slides with a loupe I chuckled at the similarities.

I am now at the point that I know I have an incredibly wonderful life. I don’t have the need for approval or the need for people to say nice things about me. When it happens though, it is certainly a nice part of the job.

Part of me is still driven to prove Elaine right. When I was in my 20s and 30s, I felt that I got ripped off in that I had no great talent. I would listen to Simon and Garfunkel singing some great song, or I would go to a show and watch talented people perform. I was envious. I wished that I had a talent. I started doing bird photography in 1983 and soon afterwards began doing slideshows. I would click up one of my images onto the screen, and people would ooh and ah. It was amazing; I was able to move people. I started adding humor to my shows. Since then, I have done more than 250 programs. When people marvel at my images or laugh at my jokes, it sure feels good.

JM: What kind of slideshows were these?

AM: As you know, I am a Canon contract photographer, an Explorer of Light. It is a wonderful program and they are quite generous to a large number of photographers worldwide. People call me up and say, “We would like you to speak at this or that festival or event.” I offer a variety of photography how-to and general interest programs. As long as we get 100 folks in the room Canon sponsors these speaking engagements. When people ask me how it all got started I trace it all back to the first slideshow I did in 1985 for the Queens County Bird Club. I got paid 10 dollars. Every bit of networking can be traced to that first show. It just grew.

At some point I began adding humor to my shows. One time, I spoke before 700 or 800 people in Cape May, NJ, Paul Kerlinger, the director of Cape May Bird Observatory, got up and said, “This is Artie Morris. It is hard to tell if he is one of the best bird photographers in the world or a standup comedian.” It helped that I had had a few whiskey sours before that program…. Now, I have spoken several times to audiences of between 400 and 700 people and have always found them to be enthralled with both the photographs and with the spiel. It was great to discover that I had had these gifts. And it was quite a thrill that to discover them rather late in life.

JM: I would imagine that you always had to be on stage when you were a teacher.

AM: To a degree teachers are on stage, but teaching was less satisfying and was much harder work, much harder than photography. The first 6 or 7 years I did not know what I was doing. For the 10 years after that I was a great teacher, but for the last 6 or 7 years I was burned out. Now I speak at a lot of birding and photography festivals. I get paid for these appearances and speaking has become an important part of my business. In addition to my honorarium, I have a sales table for the books, prints and photo accessories that we peddle. And I always get a plane ticket and a motel room for a few nights. Speaking engagements have become a great source of income for me, and I enjoy doing them immensely.

Tours are another facet of my business that I thoroughly enjoy. At a NANPA conference I once heard my friend John Shaw say, “If you think that you are going to make any decent money leading tours, forget it.” But he talks about it in terms of leading a tour for a big tour company and getting a free trip and $150-$200 a day. The trips are good ones and he gets to make lots of great images, but the money is simply not there. Not to worry, John Shaw is one of the world’s great nature photographers and he makes money in other ways.

Now, there is no question about it, if you go on one of those expensive tours they can take you to great places, places where I could not go because of the complex logistics involved. You are, however, paying those big tour companies for a large color catalog and a staff of 25 people. If you were going to Bosque with me you will learn a hell of a lot more from me than you would by joining a glitzy company tour. I put my heart and soul into my IPTs (Instructional Photo Tours). Ellen Anon, a very competent instructor and Photoshop expert, helped me out for years and now Robert O’Toole, a talented young photographer from LA helps me out on others. I have an amazing amount of repeat business. 50-60% of the folks that join us wind up coming back for more. If you are getting people back, it means that they are loving the experience and that you are doing things right.

I push myself because I love what I do. I am a people-person and I enjoy photographing with others. I would rather photograph with a group than by myself.

JM: This makes you very different from a lot of other nature photographers.

AM: Yes, I know. A lot of photographers need solitude. I don’t even like photographing by myself. I almost never do it.

Another thing about my chosen profession is that the schedule can be somewhat grueling. The way things worked out, I had been killing myself with Oreo cookies for 40 years (and doing a great job of it!) I met a doctor from San Diego who changed my life by getting me on a program of good nutrition, exercise, and a healthier lifestyle. I have been following this program for 15 years now; working with Dr. Cliff Oliver has enabled me to maintain a grueling pace.

Another big factor in my success has been my determination (thanks Dad!) It is the number one factor – even above self-promotion and the quality of my images. If you believe you can do it, then you can and will do it. Many people say “Oh, it is so hard to break into professional photography.” I say “Good. Fine. Keep on believing that.”

Another thing in the same vein: People read the original “The Art of Bird Photography,” and say, “Oh. I am going to find out how Art photographs birds.” People who like basket weaving might say, “Oh, look, here’s Millie Thompson’s book on the best basket weaving techniques.” Instead, folks need to look into the hearts and souls of those who have achieved great success. In every case they will find that those who have made it were driven to succeed and that they worked very hard to achieve that success.

JM: I know that when I learn more about the individual it does amazing things for me in terms of appreciating their work and their success.

AM: That makes sense to me. I forgot to mention that whenever I push the shutter button I do it to create something beautiful, something dramatic. The greatest compliment that you can get is when others are moved by your work. I never push the shutter button thinking, “This will be good for a two-page spread because they will have room for text.” I never shoot for the market. I make images to please myself. Looking at the overall picture, it makes me laugh: I am just a regular Jewish kid from Brooklyn. I don’t have any more talent than the next person. I just like to work hard and have been doing that for nearly three decades now.

JM: You have had such longevity. You are doing something right – I am not sure if you even know what it is.

AM: Oh, I know what it is. Busting my hump and working hard. That’s all it is. That, and loving what I do. Why do I love the birds so much? I don’t know for sure. They are free, they can fly, and they are colorful. There are so many species (identification is often a challenge) and lots of great behaviors to learn about and photograph. They migrate incredible distances, even the tiniest ones. Those are all the standard answers, but what matters to me is that they have gotten into my heart and into my soul. It is my passion to be out with them. I went out with a friend to DeSoto yesterday morning. I came home and processed the pictures. I said, “Oh My God. I made so many great pictures – and in only two hours. Photographing birds is a kick and I just love it.

I have been so, so blessed. I am going to Galapagos next week for the first time. I am starting to like the international trips. I lead most of them for others and don’t make a cent. I do get to go to great places, and I strive to make the trips educational for the participants. I am returning to the Galapagos next year and will visit Antarctica for the first time in 2007.

Added note: my trips to the Galapagos, to Antarctica, to Midway, the Wild Britain cruise that I did a few years back, my trips to Africa, to Norway, and most recently to Japan have all been among the great highlights of my life.

I’d be glad to answer any questions below.

These two sea eagles–Steller’s on our left, White-tailed on our right–were photographed on the sea ice from the boat at Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops off the snow: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus on an eye of the White-tailed Sea-Eagle and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, more spectacular version. There are two important lessons that we can learn from this image: Even though I stopped down only one stop, from f.5.6 to f/8, there was sufficient depth-of-field to cover the Steller’s. Why? Because these are large birds that were a good distance from the camera. In this situation, at 36 meters, you have 14 1/2 inches of depth-of-field behind the point of focus. Contrast that with less than 1/2 inch of depth-of-field had the birds been at the minimum focus distance of 6 meters. Depth-of-field increases dramatically as subject to camera distance increases. You can learn a ton by visiting one of the many on line depth-of-field calculators. I use DOFMaster. With the larger Steller’s only a few inches behind the smaller white-tailed the birds look roughly the same size. In fact Steller’s averages about 20% larger and heavier than White-tailed with the females of both species being well larger than the males.

BOYS AND GIRLS AND CHILDREN OF ALL AGES

Many of you are trying to help us but are screwing up unintentionally. Please read on for the whole story….

In July 2010, less than two years ago, BIRDS AS ART became a B&H affiliate. We asked folks to consider making their lens, camera, and photographic accessory purchases through B&H using either our main link or specific links to various products. We suggested that doing so would be a great way to thank us for the free information that we have been providing on the blog and in Bulletins for many years. And to thanks me for the hundreds of gear-related, photo-related questions that I answer personally via e-mail every year. It is my firm belief that the topics, tutorials, and information in the blog and Bulletins–all dealing with nature photography, and all free–are unmatched anywhere. I quite literally put in at least twenty hours a week on the blog, and most Bulletins, in addition, takes 8-16 hours to create.

I will admit at times to feel overwhelmed by my desire to create new and exciting blog posts and Bulletin features on a near-daily basis, and to feeling crushed at times by the number of folks writing to request information or have their questions answered. Though I am sure that I miss an e-mail on occasion, such instances are very rare. We do ask that folks write only with new questions that have not been answered previously on the blog, in Bulletins, or in ABP, in ABP II, or in Digital Basics, and that they try a quick search before writing.

At times I have considered going to a pay as you ask system for those wishing e-mail answers, or a shareware payment for the blog and the Bulletins–pay something if you wish–all donations accepted. But I have always resisted, preferring instead to keep everything totally free.

Many folks have kindly used our B&H links. We thank them for the patronage and greatly appreciate the 3% that we receive from B&H. Our commissions have ranged from pennies on small accessories (21 cents on a AA battery case) to $416.97 on the purchase of a Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens for $13,899.00 less than a week ago–thanks you very much for that one! Wow, the price on that lens has gone way up. No matter the size of our commissions all BAA B&H purchases are greatly appreciated at this end. And you will simply not find better prices or more reliable service anywhere: order by 4pm for same day shipment and an easy 30-day return policy. In business since 1973 B&H is simply the world’s leading retailer of imaging products. As for those low prices, when I order an item through the Explorers of Light program I get it for 10% off low dealer price. The low dealer price is the B&H price. That should tell you something.

Now here is what we have discovered recently: many folks, wishing to earn free entries into the BAA 1st International Bird Photography Competition, are sending us B&H receipts and asking for their free contest entries. The only problem is that they have not begun their searches with our track-able BAA/B&H affiliate link. And they have not use one of the track-able specific product links that grave most every Bulletin and blog post. Folks send us the B&H receipt that they received via e-mail. Jim checks the transaction reports and is unable to match the purchase. Then he e-mails back letting folks know of their error. Then the folks write back and say, “Sorry–my bad.”

If you wish to thank us by making your B&H purchases via a BAA/B&H affiliate link, you can click here to ensure that your purchases are tracked to BAA.

Or you can use this link:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/?BI=6633&KBID=7226

Or you can click on any one of the B&H logo links that are found all over the web site and the blog. They look like this:

B&H PHOTO VIDEO [Not a valid template]

If you have a specific product in mind, you can use one of the product specific links that can be found on the blog or in Bulletins both in our legendary educational captions or in the Shopper’s Guide features near or at the bottom of each blog post or Bulletin. Note: to check and make sure that you are using a valid BAA/B&H link hold your cursor over the link and check out the URL in the bottom left of your browser window. It should always end in 7226, our B&H affiliate code number. If you make a purchase from a link without the 7226 appendage, you are not making a BAA/B&H purchase. Not to worry: once you get to the B&H web site you will no longer see the 7226 code. The order is tracked to BAA invisibly.

Lastly you can e-mail me and let me know which product you will be buying. I will shoot you back the correct link asap.

Best of all, you still have two weeks to earn free entries into the contest with your major purchases. See here for payment options and here for complete details.

Much appreciated.

ps: If you purchase a new lens or camera body from B&H using a BAA/B&H link you can further help us out by ordering the additional stuff that you need from us at BIRDS AS ART. These items might include the right Gitzo Tripod for you, a Mongoose M3.6 or a Wimberley V2 head, LensCoats or LegCoats, camera plates or lens plates and replacement feet, flash brackets, flash cards, and lots more. Your BAA Online Store purchases are always appreciate.

Earn Free Contest Entries and Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

More and more folks are earning multiple contest entries with their B & H purchases. See here for details on that. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here to visit the competition home page.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of gear that I used to create the image in this blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens. Right now this is my all time favorite super-telephoto lens.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies.

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….
Gitzo GT3530LS Tripod. This one will last you a lifetime.
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.
CR-80 Replacement Foot for Canon 800. When using the 800 on a Mongoose as I do, replacing the lens foot with this accessory lets the lens sit like a dog whether pointed up or down and prevents wind-blown spinning of your lens on breezy days by centering the lens directly over the tripod.
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.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide. Learn to use your Mark IV the way that I use mine. Also available for the 7D and the Mark III here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.

This image was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens, the 1.4X III TC (hand held at 115mm), and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/2000 sec. at f/5 in Manual mode.

Having Fun With a Fun Image or Creating a Photo Illustration?

The image above was created from the image below; it took me about 30 minutes in Photoshop. I covered most of the extraneous birds in the front of the frame with several fairly large Quick Masks. Additional clean-up work was done with a series of smaller Quick Masks. Several of the Quick Masks needed to be warped. Most of them had Layer Masks added so that I could fine tune the coverage. In addition I used the Patch Tool, the Spot Healing Brush, and the Clone Stamp Tool. The basics of quick masking and image clean-up are covered in detail in our Digital Basics File. Advanced Quick Masking is covered in detail in Robert O’Toole’s APTATS I.

What Do You Think?

In addition to removing the extra birds in front of the flock I made two other significant changes to the image. If you can spot them let us know by leaving a comment.

Was I having fun with a fun image or creating a photo illustration?

In your eyes is the optimized image a photograph?

If you had the skills would you have done what I did? Why or why not?

Remember: be nice. 🙂

My Comments on Your Comments.

Still catching up. I finally had some time tonight to comment on the comments at the St. Andrews Bay/Best Day Ever? post here. Stop by and learn which of the five images was my favorite.

BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #401 On-line

BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #401 is on-line now and can best be viewed in spectacular white on black format by clicking here.

Here are the features:

• THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES: HOMEWARD BOUND
• JAPAN IPT REPORT: PART III/THE WHOOPER SWANS
• THE BLOG IS THE BOMB
• SELECTED e-MAILS
• GEAR EVALUATION: THE CANON 300MM F/2.8L IS II LENS
• NIK Color Efex Pro
• IPT UPDATES

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

Remember: you can earn free contest entries with your B & H purchases. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here for details.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear used to create the images talked about in this blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens. Man, I am loving this lens on my shoulder with the 2XIII teleconverter. I also use it a lot–depending on the situation–with the 1.4X III TC.
Canon EF 1.4X III TC. This new TC is designed to work best with the new Series II super-telephoto lenses.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. The very best professional digital camera body that I have ever used.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

And from the BAA On-line Store:

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.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide. Learn to use your Mark IV the way that I use mine. Also available for the 7D and the Mark III here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
Delkin 32gb e-Film Pro Compact Flash Card. My Delkin cards are fast and dependable.

This incoming Red-crowned Crane was photographed at the Akan Crane Center with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop off the snow: 1/3200 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, more spectacular version. To learn what others thought of this image check out “Inbound 747.”

Gear Evaluation: the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II

As regular readers know, I have–thanks to the kindness of the folks at Canon Professional Services (CPS)–especially Paul Ng, been field testing the same Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II for more than two months. I first used it on my amazing Cheeseman’s Southern Oceans trip, then on the SW FLA IPT, and finally on the Japan IPT. It will be returned by Fed-X the afternoon that I get back to the office on March 13th. 🙂

I have long given the 300 f/2.8 lenses short shrift. In the original The Art of Bird Photography I wrote something to the effect that the 300 f/2.8s were favored by many of the world’s best raptor photographers but that I saw little need for one. In the all new follow-up, The Art of Bird Photography II (916 pages on CD only), I totally ignored these lenses but did include a few Homer eagle images made with one that I had borrowed from CPS. The images above and below show the incredible potential of the 300 f/2.8L IS lens/1.4X III TC as a flight photography combination.

This head shot of a point-blank fly-by Red-crowned Crane image was also created at the Akan Crane Center with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops off the snow: 1/2500 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, more spectacular version.

On my Antarctica trip the 300 IS II with the 2X III teleconverter served as my long lens (see the image immediately below) and I used it a lot with and without the 1.4X III TC both on landings and on Zodiac cruises. Carrying it on the long hikes was a pleasure when compared to the long lenses I am used to carrying…. I used the lens sparingly on the SW FLA IPT but my erstwhile assistant Tim Kaufman made a killer image of a Great Blue Heron in flight with a large southern whiting in its bill with it while toting the lens for me at Blind Pass Beach. You can see that spectacular image here.

This Macaroni Penguin preening its mate was photographed at Hercules Bay, South Georgia, with the tripod-mounted Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, the 2X III teleconverter, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -2/3 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/10 in Manual mode. This is one of my favorite images from the trip. The birds were so tame that I rarely if ever felt limited with my longest effective telephoto length of “only” 780mm (300mm X 2 X 1.3). An upper left-hand sensor was chosen manually: AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial.

When I sent the image above to Christopher Robinson, editor of Outdoor Photographer, as part of a submission for an article on pros’ favorite Canon lenses, he commented via e-mail, “By the way…your Macaroni Penguin image, in particular, is incredible. I think it shows the sharpness of that lens better than anything I’ve seen. It’s an awesome lens and in your hands one can see why it’s so highly prized.” And that with the 2X III TC!

That’s me hand holding the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS lens with the 1.4X TC and the EOS-1D Mark IV body alongside the fishing pier at the eastern end of Sanibel, FL. Photo copyright and courtesy of Peter Kes.

What’s To Like?

What can I say. The lens is incredibly sharp. Sharp wide open. Sharp edge to edge. Sharp with the 1.4X And yes, sharp with the 2X. When I do everything right–which is often with this lens in my hands–the images seem to leap off the computer screen. At A.B pounds, the lens is just light enough (5.19 pounds, 13% lighter than its predecessor) to hand hold for extended periods of time even though I have had some problems with my shoulders for the past few years. When Peter Kes made the image of me above we were photographing Red-breasted Mergansers swimming and diving. For more than two hours. I held the lens elevated for extended periods of time. When I got back to the motel and took off my sweatshirt I could barely lift my arms; I was very much in pain. It was sort of like what I did by swimming too many laps when my pool was finished…. By the next morning I was fine. On the sea eagle boat trips in Rausu I made sure to rest the lens on the gunnels when I was not actively photographing; having a nice neutral rest position when hand holding relatively heavy gear is always best.

With a maximum aperture of f/2.8, the lens is very fast. There were times on each trip that I was able to keep photographing in low light without going to crazy-high ISOs. Another benefit of all that speed is being able to work with either teleconverter and still have all AF points active. The lens is very versatile as it offers three focal lengths: 300mm, 420mm (with the 1.4X III TC), and 600mm (with the 2X III TC). I have not worked hand held with the 2X much but with enough shutter speed I am sure that competent folks would be able to create sharp action and flight images. For static work, however, it makes sense to be on a sturdy tripod like the Gitzo 3530 LS topped by a Mongoose M3.6, the latter was absolutely made for the 300 2.8 lenses.

This immature Whooper Swan head portrait was created at Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/5 in Av mode. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, more spectacular version. When using shorter focal lengths than I normally do it is important for me to get low. That often means not being lazy, kneeling, sitting on the ground, and getting down, dirty, and prone. For this image I simply bent over a bit as the Whooper Swans are big birds.

Idiosyncracies

All four of the Series II telephoto lenses have three Image Stabilization modes: IS 1, IS 2, and IS 3. Here’s what Canon has to say about each:

• IS Mode 1: Corrects vibrations in all directions. It is mainly effective for shooting still subjects.
• IS 2 Mode: Corrects vertical camera shake during following shots (i.e., panning) in a horizontal direction, and corrects horizontal camera shake during following (i.e., panning) in a vertical direction. That means that if you hold the camera on end IS2 will realize what you are doing and stabilize in the correct manner.
• IS 3 Mode: Corrects vibration only during exposure. During panning shots, corrects vibration in only one direction same as IS mode 2. They continue: Since camera shake is stabilized only during exposure, following a subject is easier such as when shooting a fast and irregularly moving player during sports photography.

With previous generation super-telephoto lenses I have advised that folks set IS Mode 2 and leave it whether hand holding or working on a tripod and whether photographing stationary or moving subjects.

On our first day photographing the Snow Monkeys I learned that the Series II super-telephoto lenses are completely different animals. When I set IS 2 Mode and pressed the shutter button while working on a tripod the image jumped all over the place. I thought that the lens might be defective right out of the box…. So I tried IS Mode 3 and all was well with the world. Since then I have left the camera on IS Mode 3 all the time both on a tripod and hand holding and been perfectly happy. If I were photographing a static subject hand held I would try to remember to switch to IS Mode 1. And then to switch back to IS Mode 3.

This Snow Monkey image was created at Jigokudani Yaenkoen Nagano Prefecture, Japan with the tripod-mounted Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/200 sec. at f/5 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. When I saw this monkey sitting in a tree I ran up the ramp to get in position taking Kevin Watson along with me. I quickly made about seven images once I got set up and only one had a good head angle. Then the monkey jumped onto the somewhat less natural railing…. It was at the monkey park that I first learned that when working off a tripod it is best to be in IS Mode 3 with the new Series III super-telephotos.

I have not yet had the opportunity to test the new 4-stop IS system at very slow shutter speeds but I will assume that it will perform as well as it does on the 800mm f/5.6 L IS. (Note: I strongly advise turning IS off when working on a tripod with exposure times of 1/2 second or longer.)

This Black-browed Albatross head portrait was created at New Island, the Falklands with the tripod-mounted Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Two upper-right Sensors/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, more spectacular version. I have found that when on a tripod IS Mode 3 is best at all times. Perhaps despite the official word…

The location of the AF/MF and the limit range switches is odd and takes some getting used to. On the 300 IS II these switches are located to the behind the tripod collar while on all other Canon lenses that I am familiar with they are located in front of the tripod collar. I still reach to the traditional spot when I want go from full focusing range to limited focusing range as is recommended for flight photography; initial AF acquisition is much faster when the lens does not have to search all the way back to the minimum focusing distance.

This Whooper Swan in flight against the distant mountain was photographed at Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan in early morning light with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/2500 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Expand AF points left and right as noted in the Mark IV User’s Guide. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, more spectacular version. Here I have stopped down two full stops from wide open and set IS Mode 3 for hand held flight photography.

A final thought from me: for folks with 1.6X crop factor bodies like the EOS-7D and the EOS-50D the 300 2.8 II would not be a bad workhorse lens for bird photography. They would enjoy effective focal lengths of 672 mm with a 1.4X and 960 mm with the 2X TC….

My Only Wish

In an ideal world the tripod collar would be removable making the lens just a bit easier to hand hold. At my age every ounce matters!

Wrong Again?

Though it happens rarely, I never mind admitting that I was wrong. Again. The 300 f/2.8L IS lens is a superb tool for bird photography; it is light enough for most folks to hand hold, it is fast, it is versatile, and it produces stunningly sharp images with incredible fine detail.

This Steller’s Sea Eagle was photographed in the pre-dawn light at Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/4.5 in Tv mode with IS Safety Shift as detailed in the Mark IV User’s Guide. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger, more spectacular version. I suggested to the group that they try my pre-dawn, 1/500 second/+1 in Tv Mode/Auto ISO trick. Here, it worked to perfection.

Canon’s Overview of the 300mm f/2.8L IS II Lens

A worthy successor to the popular Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 IS, the all-new Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 IS II USM super telephoto lens is lightweight, weighing approximately 13% less than its predecessor, yet offers faster operation, improved image stabilization and superior optics. Incorporating Fluorite elements for improved image quality and reduced chromatic aberration plus a number of advanced coatings to minimize ghosting, flaring, and with a newly developed Fluorine coating that keeps soiling, smears and fingerprints to a minimum, the EF 300mm f/2.8 IS II USM is ready to deliver spectacular images in an instant. With a third Image Stabilization mode (Mode 3) that activates IS only when the shutter button is fully pressed, and giving the equivalent effect of a shutter speed four stops faster, the EF 300mm f/2.8 IS II USM allows for easy panning and is ideally positioned for professional action photography. The EF 300mm f/2.8 IS II USM also features a new security slot for wire-type security locks.

You can find links to more info here.

Earn Free Contest Entries and Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

More and more folks are earning multiple contest entries with their B & H purchases. See here for details on that. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here to visit the competition home page.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear used to create the image above. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens. The 300 f/2.8 L IS II with the 1.4X III TC is a killer flight combination.
1.4X III TC. The new Series III 1.4X was designed to work best with the new Series II super-telephoto lenses.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies.

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….
Gitzo GT3530LS Tripod. This one will last you a lifetime.
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.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide. Learn to use your Mark IV the way that I use mine. Also available for the 7D and the Mark III here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.

This image of a young Red-crowned Crane was created at the Akan Crane Center, Hokkaido, Japan on March 4, 2012 with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens, the 1.4X III TC (hand held at 98mm), and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/3200 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.

Crane Park Clear Morning Lessons

Once we got to the two crane parks we had two lousy mornings. Why? It was clear as a bell with bright sun and blue skies. The Akan Crane Center where this image was created does not open till 8am. When we arrived we noted that the birds were 100% sidelit. Not my cup or tea at all. The next morning we got up way early in hope of photographing backlit cranes flying into the fields. It was -16 Celsius, about 3 degrees above zero Fahrenheit. We set up at the Tsurui Itoh Sanctuary only to learn that the birds do not fly in till mid morning…. As you will see in coming blog posts we killed on the sunny afternoons.

Today is March 6th. We woke up to three inches of fresh snow. It is still falling. We are excited and will be heading to Tsurui Itoh at 8:30am.

The young crane in the image above was photographed at 12:40pm in very bright overcast light on our first day at Akan.

The optimized image is below.

Red-crowned Crane in flight above ridge, Akan Crane Center, Hokkaido, Japan. This is the optimized version.

Many Lessons: How Would Your Optimize This Image?

Here’s what I did beginning in Photoshop CS-5:

I converted the image in ACR moving the Recovery Slider a bit to the right to ensure that I had know RGB values great than 230 and then set the black points by holding down the ALT key and moving it to the right until I noticed some speckling on the white field and backed off. All as detailed in Digital Basics.

Next I needed to move the bird away from the frame edge. I hit Control A, Control J placing the entire image on its own layer. Then I hit V for the Move Tool. I moved the bird (and the ridge below) to the right. Then I used a large Clone Stamp Tool to erase the faint edge where the two slightly different tonalities of sky met. This is the most basic of the many tutorials in Robert O’Toole’s APTATS II.

(This amazing CD covers the following topics in detail with numerous screen captures: Composition Correction: Increase Lead Room Without Cropping/Basic, Composition Correction: Increase Lead Room Without Cropping/Intermediate, Composition Correction: Increase Space Near a Frame Edge/Advanced, Super-Fast Element Removal: Basic, Super-Fast Element Removal Plus Composition Improvement, Gradient Background Blur, Mask Blending for Mega-Depth-of-Field, Selective Highlight Detail Enhancement, Selective Noise Reduction and Sharpening, Selective Sharpening with Finely Detailed Edges, and his killer Average Blur Color Balance Trick. Robert teaches you to create actions for most of the above techniques to speed up your workflow even more. This CD is only for serious Photoshop folks who wish to learn advanced techniques; some study will be required.)

Once I moved the bird to our left the primary tips on the layer below showed through. They were removed with multiple passes of a 60% hard Clone Stamp Tool followed by Patch Tool clean-up to restore detail in the repaired areas. The same techniques were used to remove the primaries of the second crane on the left frame-edge. Again, all as detailed in Digital Basics.

Once clean-up was complete I painted a Quick Mask of the ridge and ran a 35% Gaussian Blur to soften the details and then increased the saturation of the ridge only (Control U) and painted the effect from the sky after applying a regular Layer Mask. The basics of Quick Masking and Layer Masking are detailed in Digital Basics; the advanced Quick Masking techniques that I use on more than 50% of my images are covered in detail with screen captures in Robert’s APTATS I CD.

I increased Contrast globally in NIK’s Viveza and boosted Brightness as there as well. Then I used the Quick Selection Tool to select the black portions of the secondary feathers, the head, and the legs. I put the selection on its own layer and ran a 100% Tonal Contrast filter from NIK Color Efex Pro on that layer only. Then I selected the whites using Select/Color Range and applied at 20% round of Detail Extractor (again from NIK Color Efex Pro). The final touch was selectively sharpening the crane’s head and face with a Contrast Mask (Unsharp Mask at 15/65/0).

The entire image optimization process took less than ten minutes. It took a lot longer to write it in a clear, easy to understand style (almost 1 1/2 hours) than to do it!

Take a Moment

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know what you think of the final image and let me know if you have any questions on the image optimization process.

NIK

As regular readers know NIK’s Color Efex Pro 4 is now an integral part of my workflow. You can save 15% on all NIK products 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.

NIK Creative Efex Collection

NIK recently announced the availability of a special limited production bundle of 3 of their most popular products, Color Efex Pro 4, Silver Efex Pro 2, and HDR Efex Pro. You can save more than $200 on the bundle which is available only through NIK affiliates. If you would like additional info, please e-mail with the words “Creative Efex Collection” in the Subject line. If you have been on the fence about purchasing the plug-ins mentioned above this is a great chance to save some significant bucks.

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

Remember: you can earn free contest entries with your B & H purchases. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here for details.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear used to create the images talked about in this blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens. Man, I am loving this lens on my shoulder with the 2X III teleconverter. I also use it a lot–as I did for the image of the eagle with fish–with the 1.4X III TC.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

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.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide. Learn to use your Mark IV the way that I use mine. Also available for the 7D and the Mark III here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.

This Steller’s Sea Eagle was photographed from the tourist boat at Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan. I used the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/4000 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. Central Sensor on the bird’s breast/Rear Focus/AI Servo AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. A Double Bubble Level in the camera’s hot shoe ensured that the bird would be square to the world. (The captain puts the boat up on the sea ice for stability so there is no rocking and rolling to deal with.) For a greater appreciation of the image, left-click on the photo.

Taking a More Aggressive Approach to Flight and Action Photography Can Pay Big Dividends…

As a decade long disciple of Byron Katie, The Work; who would you be without your story?, I have learned to question my own unquestioned thoughts and beliefs by asking simply, “Is it true?” For nearly two decades I have been telling folks, “I an not very good at flight and action photography. I leave that to the younger, stronger, faster folks with quicker reflexes. I am at my best photographing static birds; it’s then that I shine.” That’s my story, but on the Japan IPT–still in progress, I began to question it….

For more than two decades I have been telling folks: “When unexpected action occurs, push the shutter button.” Heck, I am pretty sure that you will find those words in the original “The Art of Bird Photography” (Amphoto, NY: 1998). And to think that that was with film…. I am sure that I gave that advice in the all new follow-up, “The Art of Bird Photography II” (916 pages, 900+ images on CD only). With digital, that advice rings even truer. But in believing my own story I had become trapped into not practicing what I have been teaching. On our second morning on the sea eagle boat I was lining up a pristine vertical Steller’s Sea Eagle portrait when I asked myself “Is it true? Are you really poor at capturing images of flight and action?” At that moment I decided that whenever an eagle took flight I would do my best to keep the active sensor on the bird and push the shutter button.

As you can see above (and below), the results were astounding. The more I tried the more I improved and the better the results became. I got some great images of the eagles and gulls gathering to take flight, of birds lifting off the ice and of birds landing. And some killer tight flight images as well. All because I decided to question my own story and start pushing the shutter button.

This Glaucous-winged Gull image was created with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. Note on this sunny morning this exposure quickly became my go-to exposure for any birds with bright whites. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.

In the past, when a bird would raise its wings I would think: “I need a shorter lens. I need to zoom wider. I might cut off the wings.” With my new attitude I quit thinking and push the shutter button. Heck, it’s digital. Your gear cost from $2,000 to well more than $20,000 and your trips may cost the same. Storage and computers have gotten cheaper but those costs still add up. After your initial outlay, however, digital is free (even though that initial outlay is considerable). So go ahead, get in the habit, when the bird moves press the shutter button and see what you get. You might be pleasantly surprised.

This White-tailed Sea Eagle was photographed with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/2500 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. To get the right exposure here I simply opened up one shutter speed click from the go-to white exposure that I mentioned in the preceding image. With no bright whites on the bird I did not mind having to recover a bit in the snow in exchange for getting more detail in the bird’s darker feathers. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.

Unless I am doing body parts images such as head portraits, front-end verticals, feather detail, and the like, I generally prefer that my subjects take up no more than three-quarters of the longest dimension of the frame. So when I am photographing birds in flight and they get larger in the frame than that, I simply quit. But not any more. Now I call images like the one above “fit-’em-in-the-frame miracles.” I have been getting a few of those lately now that I let go of my old story.

This White-tailed Sea Eagle was photographed with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/2000 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Careful readers will surmise (by comparing the exposure here with that in the previous photo) that we were working here in less than full strength sunlight. And they would be correct. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.

Part of my recent inspiration came from watching Robert O’Toole for the past few years keep firing as birds flew right at us. That well after I had given up and lowered my lens. Many times in these situations the AF system will not track accurately and many times you will mis-frame the image, but as you can see here the results can be stunning. This one is just a small crop form our left and frm below.

This adult Glaucous-winged Gull was photographed from the boat on the sea ice with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400: 1/5000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.

Prior to the Japan adventure, when a bird would shake its head–they do that often–I would think, “It ruined my perfect field guide portrait.” Since my attitude adjustment, I quit thinking and push the shutter button. Head-shakes can be difficult to anticipate. But if you try you can wind up with flying spray and some neat head positions.

A Caution

Please do not read the above and be encouraged to be come a mindless machine-gunner. Lord, there were many of them on the eagle boat. What is a mindless machine gunner? A photographer who pushes the shutter button and holds it down on any bird that flies by without regards to light angle, the bird’s flight path, the direction of flight–towards or away from you, the framing, and the size of the bird in the frame. If it moves, they make 10, 20, even 30 or more images on a single fly by. I am never sure of their motivation; perhaps they think that they are impressing others? Amazingly, most mindless machine gunners are toting in excess of $20,000 worth of photographic gear. Go figure…. BTW, on most passes I take 2 to five images at most even with my new attitude.

BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #399

BIRDS AS ART Bulletin #399 is on line and can (best) be viewed here. If you have not seen it do visit and check out the collection of Snow Monkey images. Please note the corrected date for the F3C Convention as noted in item next.

• JAPAN IPT REPORT: PART I/THE SNOW MONKEYS
• THE BLOG IS THE BOMB
• F3C CONVENTION
• NIK Color Efex Pro
• POSSE NEWS: JIM NEIGER
• POSSE NEWS: ROBERT AMORUSO
• IPT UPDATES

F3C CONVENTION/Date Correction

Thanks to the generosity of Canon USA and the Explorers of Light program I will be keynoting at the Florida Camera Clubs Council 2012 Annual Conference, “Pixels to Print:” March 23-25, 2012 at the Naples Hilton, Naples, FL. Fellow Canon EOL George Lepp will also be appearing among a large cast of skilled presenters and speakers. In addition to the keynote I will be doing a field workshop at Tigertail Beach. You can follow the links here for complete information.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear used to create the images talked about in this blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear used to create the image above. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens. The 300 f/2.8 L IS II with the 1.4X III TC is a killer flight combination.
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens. Right now this is my all time favorite super-telephoto lens.
1.4X III TC. The new Series III 1.4X was designed to work best with the new Series II super-telephoto lenses.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies.

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 🙂
Gitzo GT3530LS Tripod. This one will last you a lifetime.
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.
CR-80 Replacement Foot for Canon 800. When using the 800 on a Mongoose as I do, replacing the lens foot with this accessory lets the lens sit like a dog whether pointed up or down and prevents wind-blown spinning of your lens on breezy days by centering the lens directly over the tripod.
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.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide. Learn to use your Mark IV the way that I use mine. Also available for the 7D and the Mark III here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.

This Steller’s Sea Eagle was photographed from the tourist boat at Rausu, Japan this morning–baited with smelly, frozen fish. It was our first clear sunrise and our first chance with the eagles in sweet, early morning light. I used the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/11 in Manual mode. Central Sensor (by necessity) Rear Focus/AI Servo AF and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. A Double Bubble Level in the camera’s hot shoe ensured that the bird would be square to the world. (The captain puts the boat up on the sea ice for stability so there is no rocking and rolling to deal with.) For a greater appreciation of the image, click on the photo.

Got a Good One?

As I processed this image this afternoon in the lobby of the traditional Japanese hotel in Rausu, Japan, I recalled a conversation that I had recently with Robert O’Toole and some IPT participants. Robert mentioned that he had checked out the websites of many photographers honored in the most recently concluded BBC contest and was amazed that the images that he saw were in many cases overall poor. I agreed. You do not need to be among the world’s greatest photographers to have an image honored in the world’s most prestigious photography competition.

Got a good one? Do consider entering it in the BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition; read on for the bad news and the good news.

The Contest: Bad News and Good

First, the bad news. The number of entries is running far behind what we expected. Many categories are crying out for winning entries. Now for the good news. The prize pool still totals more than of $22,000 US. And the list of prizes is still incredible. It includes $2450 worth of B&H gift certificates, a multitude of Delkin 16 and 32 gb UDMA Compact Flash Card, a Wimberley V-2 head and a variety of Wimberley plates, a Mongoose M3-6 head, $1,100 worth of Lens Coat gift certificates, a Giotto’s tiny ballhead, two Kwik-Camon blind, two Lens Align Mark II kits, a Magnum Xtrahand Vest, a Think Tank International Airport V2 rolling bag, $1,000 in gift certificates from Canvas on Demand, 20+ licences for Breezebrowser and Downloader Pro, a variety of Lens Pen kits, Better Beamers and accessories, more than 30 subscriptions to Nature Photographer magazine, and dozens of other great prizes. You can see the complete prize listing here.

Click here and follow the various links to learn everything about the contest that you need to know. Read the organizer’s message here. To register, click here. To learn about payment options including earning free entries with your B&H purchases, click here. To peruse the rules, the categories, and our relaxed digital guidelines, click here.

The deadline is March 31, 2012 so now is a great time to enter. Best of luck.

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

Remember: you can earn free contest entries with your B & H purchases. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here for details.

My Comments on Your Comments.

Still catching up. Responded to numerous questions and comments at the “Home From the Southern Oceans Trip” post and the few at the “China Poot” post.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear used to create the image above. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens. Right now this is my all time favorite super-telephoto lens.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies.

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 🙂
Gitzo GT3530LS Tripod. This one will last you a lifetime.
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.
CR-80 Replacement Foot for Canon 800. When using the 800 on a Mongoose as I do, replacing the lens foot with this accessory lets the lens sit like a dog whether pointed up or down and prevents wind-blown spinning of your lens on breezy days by centering the lens directly over the tripod.
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.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide. Learn to use your Mark IV the way that I use mine. Also available for the 7D and the Mark III here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.

This image was created with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 2/3 stops off the grey sky: 1/800 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.

Ten Degrees of Flight Photography…

It was -12 degrees Celius, about ten degrees Fahrenheit when we arrived at the dock in the harbor at Rausu, Hokkaido, Japen at 5:30 am in the dark today, Sunday, February 26, 2012. Though the sun broke through at about ten am it got colder as the morning progressed. We were fortunate to start with some clouds as for the most part, it would have been wind against sun. The clouds allowed to photograph the birds flying and landing toward us.

It was pretty much a flying circus with hundreds of gulls and Long-billed Crows along with our target species, White-tailed and the stellar Steller’s Sea Eagles surrounding each of the nearly half dozen tour boats that feed the eagles daily during the long winters. Even with every type of glove and hand warmer known to man kind the cold brutalized the fingers of my right hand. My core was warm, my left hand was toasty, and my feet were even fine, but oh that right hand. Every ten minutes of so I needed to take a warming break so that I could feel those fingers again. Then it was back to the fray.

The scary part is that weather-wise it was a rather benign morning. Most of the rest of the group did better than I did with the cold. I am not sure if my problems are related to my diabetes–control of my blood sugar levels has been excellent for more than two years now–or if I have simply turned into a Florida wimp.

Regular readers here know that I have been raving about the manner in which NIK’s Color Efex Pro 4 has completely revamped my workflow. The animated GIF above will give you a good idea of why. Learning when to use Details Extractor (and at what opacity), when to use Tonal Contrast (and at what opacity), and when to use a combination of both requires some practice and experimentation. After converting the RAW file in ACR I figured that Details Extractor would be a no-no with this image but that Tonal Contrast would make it sing. I was correct to the tune of 100%. I ran the Tonal Contrast filter at 100% and did not even bother to see what it looked like with the opacity reduced.

I just peeked out the window of our hotel and see that things bode well for the morning: it is snowing.

Take a Moment

Take a moment to let us know what factors went in to making this a successful image. Note: with a shutter speed of only 1/800 second I am fine with the small amount of blurring of the near wingtip.

NIK

Color Efex Pro 4 is now an integral part of my workflow. Each of the three images above had a 25% White Neutralizer and a 25% Tonal Contrast filter applied immediately after I finished my background clean-up. You can save 15% on all NIK products 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.

NIK Creative Efex Collection

NIK recently announced the availability of a special limited production bundle of 3 of their most popular products, Color Efex Pro 4, Silver Efex Pro 2, and HDR Efex Pro. You can save more than $200 on the bundle which is available only through NIK affiliates. If you would like additional info, please e-mail with the words “Creative Efex Collection” in the Subject line. If you have been on the fence about purchasing the plug-ins mentioned above this is a great chance to save some significant bucks.

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B&H Specials

Learn about the Canon Instant Double Rebates on a variety lenses and Speedlites when bundled with one of several Canon dSLR bodies including two of my favorites–the EOS-7D and the EOS-5D MII–and earn free contest entries by clicking here. Offers expire March 3, 2012.

Save up to $350 on Canon lens and camera body bundles (including two of my favorites–the EOS-7D and the EOS-5D MII) and earn free contest entries by clicking here. This offer also expire March 3, 2012.

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

Remember: you can earn free contest entries with your B & H purchases. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here for details.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear used to create the images talked about in this blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens. The 300 f/2.8 L IS II with the 1.4X III TC is a killer flight combination.
1.4X III TC. The new Series III 1.4X was designed to work best with the new Series II super-telephoto lenses.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies.

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.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
Black Rapid RS-7 Strap. The Black Rapid RS-& strap allows me easy access to the lens on my shoulder while working behind my big lens on a tripod. And for flight photography from a boat or a zodiac it gives me security knowing that my rig will not wind up in the drink.
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.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide. Learn to set up your Mark IV for flight photography the way that I do. User’s Guides are also available for the 7D and the Mark III here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.

This Snow Monkey image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. Click on the image to enlarge.

Three of a Kind

The night before we hiked up the big hill to the Monkey Park I was in bed dreaming fitfully of the location. When we finally made it–and we all had our doubts–see here, we were all somewhat disappointed…. A single man made pool no more than eight meters long was surrounded by dozens of tourists most photographing with their cell phones. Though the monkeys at Jigokudani Yaenkoen are free and wild, the place strikes you at first as nothing more than a glorified zoo. The animals in this troop are attracted by both the hot spring pools and multiple daily feedings. But as the hours passed and we got to witness a wide range of natural monkey behavior we realized how special the place it. You can learn more about the park here.

In that first hour it seemed close to impossible to create a good image. But the crowds of tourists dispersed and we began to find the clean backgrounds and the best angles and to take advantage of dozens of great opportunities. By the end of the second hour we all realized that the place was magical. The family group in the image above was sitting atop a food storage box. They sat for more than 30 minutes until, you guessed it, one of the rangers came by with a bucket of food. He who giveth….

The youngster here had a nose covered with dried momma’s milk that was cleaned up with the Patch Tool and Spot Healing Brush, all as described in detail in our Digital Basics File. Every Snow Monkey image that I have processed so far has benefited from the application of Detail Extractor (and at times, a small dose of Tonal Contrast), both from NIK’s Color Efex Pro. I will be sharing some striking before and after images with you soon.

Best Part?

Take a moment to leave a comment and let us know what you think makes this image so strong. Hint: it was the hardest thing to get….

My Comments on Your Comments

Learn why I was unlucky with the Sandhill Crane taking flight image and read my comments on your comments by clicking here.

NIK

Color Efex Pro 4 is now an integral part of my workflow. I bring every image into Color Efex Pro after I finish my background clean-up. You can save 15% on all NIK products 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.

B&H Specials

Save up to $350 on Canon lens and camera body bundles (including two of my favorites–the EOS-7D and the EOS-5D MII) and earn free contest entries by clicking here. Offers expire March 3, 2012.

Earn Free Contest Entries and Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

More and more folks are earning multiple contest entries with their B & H purchases. See here for details on that. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here to visit the competition home page.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear that Tim used to create the image in today’s blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens. The 300 f/2.8 L IS II with the 1.4X III TC is a killer flight combination.
1.4X III TC. The new Series III 1.4X was designed to work best with the new Series II super-telephoto lenses.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies.

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….
Gitzo GT3530LS Tripod. This one will last you a lifetime.
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.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide. Learn to use your Mark IV the way that I use mine. Also available for the 7D and the Mark III here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.

This Snow Monkey image was created at Jigokudani Yaenkoen Nagano Prefecture, Japan with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens and the Canon 1.4X III TC (hand held at 280mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering + about 1/3 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. I tried to adjust my exposure so that I had blinkies on the snow that did not touch the monkey. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Granny

The Japan IPT began rather inauspiciously as our day got off to a somewhat challenging start; our bus driver dropped us at the wrong spot and sent us up the very wrong, very steep, snow covered hill with all of our gear…. After we had hiked up about 1/2 mile, the bus driver in his Sunday go to meeting black shoes came up the path and called to us. We were in the wrong spot. Lots of good exercise but for the fact that a much-younger-than-the-rest-of us Robert O’Toole, my co-leader, had volunteered to hike up the hill to make sure that we were in the right spot. He would go on ahead and then come back to get us with the good news…. We screamed for Robert to come back to no avail.

We headed back down the hill to rest in the comfort of the bus figuring that Robert would be back in a few minutes. He was not back in a few minutes. He was not back in 30 minutes. Soon thereafter the bus driver–still in his good shoes–volunteered to hike up the hill to see if Robert had fallen into a ravine. At close to an hour we were happy to see Robert and the bus driver trudging back down the hill. Robert was drenched in sweat and obviously exhausted. He had hiked more than a mile and a half up the hill before turning around.

As it turned out the whole turnaround began when the bus driver learned from two trail rangers that the location of the trail had been moved several years ago…. We were all chagrined when he drove the bus about 200 yards down the hill and parked by the big Snow Monky Park sign that we had passed nearly two hours ago. As I say often, you gotta love it.

After a short hike over mostly flat ground we were photographing the Snow Monkeys. You can learn more about the park here.

I was at one end of the very small main pool when I saw granny hop up on the wall of the hot springs pool. The image above was a grab shot; I was captivated by her personality. After creating a few images–I was not thrilled with the dark/light background–I moved to my left for an all-snow background and created a second series of images. My favorite from that series is immediately below. Lesson for beginners: change the background by changing your perspective. With practice you will be able to visualize the new background before you move. Till then, move and explore.

This image was also created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens and the Canon 1.4X III TC (hand held at 222mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering + about 1/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. I tried to adjust my exposure so that I had blinkies on the snow that did not touch the monkey. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it.

To make these images hand held I sat and braced my left elbow on my left knee. When using rear focus it is imperative that that the camera not move even a fraction of a millimeter after focus is set. Getting low ensured the all snow background that I was after.

The final Snow Monkey image for today was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens and the Canon 1.4X III TC (hand held at 265mm) with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering + about 1/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. Again, I tried to adjust my exposure so that I had blinkies on the snow that did not touch the monkey. Central Sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it.

For the image above I zoomed in to show more of her facial and other details. In a best case scenario I would have been on a tripod and gone to a slower shutter speed for more depth of field. Notice the depth-of-field decreases as magnification increases.

For the record book, I am not at all sure that this is an older female but “Granny” made a good title for this post. If you know any better, please let us know by leaving a comment. Jasper?

Which Image Do You Like Best?

Please take a moment to leave a comment and let us know which image you like best, and why.

NIK

Color Efex Pro 4 is now an integral part of my workflow. Each of the three images above had a 25% White Neutralizer and a 25% Tonal Contrast filter applied immediately after I finished my background clean-up. You can save 15% on all NIK products 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.

NIK Creative Efex Collection

NIK recently announced the availability of a special limited production bundle of 3 of their most popular products, Color Efex Pro 4, Silver Efex Pro 2, and HDR Efex Pro. You can save more than $200 on the bundle which is available only through NIK affiliates. If you would like additional info, please e-mail with the words “Creative Efex Collection” in the Subject line. If you have been on the fence about purchasing the plug-ins mentioned above this is a great chance to save some significant bucks.

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B&H Specials

Learn about the Canon Instant Double Rebates on a variety lenses and Speedlites when bundled with one of several Canon dSLR bodies including two of my favorites–the EOS-7D and the EOS-5D MII–and earn free contest entries by clicking here. Offers expire March 3, 2012.

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

Remember: you can earn free contest entries with your B & H purchases. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here for details.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear used to create the images talked about in this blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens. Man, I am loving this lens on my shoulder (or on a tripod as above) with the 2X III teleconverter. I also use it a lot with the 1.4X III TC.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

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.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide. Learn to use your Mark IV the way that I use mine. Also available for the 7D and the Mark III here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.