What’s Up?
The weather was gorgeous again on Tuesday morning. I spent an hour photographing various Sandhill Cranes. I began with a sleeping adult crane and experimented (successfully) with depth-of-field. I will share two of the sleeping bird series with you here at some point. After its nap, it began to preen so I kept on shooting. I saw the large colt crane family (once again a family of four) fly across the canal from the North Field to the North Peninsula. It was the first time that I had seen the two colts fly though I suspect they have been flying for several weeks. I made a few frames of one of the colts lying on the grass for a rest.
Today is Wednesday 18 May 2022. The forecast for ILE for this morning is calling for sunny skies with a very soft breeze from the NNW. I will be heading down to the lake early as usual. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about 45 minutes to prepare and makes sixty-eight days in a row with a new one.
It is not likely that anyone can explain any of these. If, however, you are personally aware of a situation in photography that leaves you scratching your head, please do share by leaving a comment.
Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!
Wanted to Buy
If you have a Canon 400mm f/5.6 L Lens sitting on a shelf, have not used it for years, and would like to get a decent price for it, please contact me via e-mail. I have an interested buyer.
BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)
Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.
Can You Explain Any of These?
The MAC Group and Induro Tripods
#1: When Gitzo went down the tubes several years ago, I looked for a relatively inexpensive, sturdy, well-made line of tripods that would stand up to abuse from sand and salt water. I was thrilled to find Induro. I tried to become a dealer but was inexplicably black balled by the owner of seven (I think) camera stores in the Northeast. I own several GIT 304Ls, a 404XL, a 505XL, and one GIT 204L. I promoted the brand and sold many through Outdoor Photo Gear and B&H. The Induro legs met all my requirements. Not only did they cost a fraction of the ridiculously heavy, over-priced Really Wrong Stuff tripods, but they were also lighter and performed better.
Induro was manufactured under the auspices of The MAC Group, the boys and girls who refused to make me a dealer as I built the Induro brand name in the US. I’d say that well more than half of the serious photographers I’ve run across in the last few years are using Induro tripods. I learned recently that the MAC group, in its’ infinite wisdom, has stopped making all Induro tripods and has no plans to re-created them under another brand of theirs.
Can you explain that?
Think Tank Urban Disguise Laptop Bags
#2: I purchased a Think Tank Urban Disguise laptop bag probably twenty years ago. They offered several different models. Mine is the Urban Disguise Classic 60. It is large and roomy and super-sturdy with excellent construction. Over the decades it has gotten me out of many a travel jam. I thought about replacing it even though it still functions perfectly. I learned that Think Tank quit making them five years ago.
Can you explain that?
The Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens and TCs …
#3: This one may very well take the cake. On the February 2022 Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPTs, BPN friend Kevin Hice told me that the new Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens did not accept either of the RF teleconverters, the Canon Extender RF 1.4x or the Canon Extender RF 2x.
That is impossible, I said. That destroys the versatility of the world’s most popular mid-range telephoto zoom lens. I simply did not believe him. Until he took out his new lens and the two TCs. Neither one would fit into the back of the lens (even when it was zoomed out). I was incredulous. I called my good friend from Canon EoL days, top tech-rep Rudy Winston. He stated that the Canon engineers in Japan opted to design the lens that way!
Can you explain that?
ps: Amazingly, Canon is attempting to keep that a secret; there is no mention of this problem in the product information. I did, however, find this review on B&H:
Not compatible with extenders By Rkthunder:
Totally surprised this lens is not compatible with either the 1.4 or 2X RF extenders. Those worked with the RF 100-500mm, which I returned because it was not a high-quality lens. Very disappointed in the RF series so far.
Homer 2022 Bald Eagle Highlights and Handholding Compositional Tips by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Enjoy and be inspired by just a few Homer Bald Eagle highlight images. Hand holding intermediate telephoto lens will always yield slightly different compositions. Learn more about that topic in this short (3:14) video.
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2023 Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPTs
IPT #1: MON 20 FEB 2023 through the full day on FRI 24 FEB 2023. Five full days/20 hours on the boat: $5500.00. Limit 5 photographers
IPT #2: SAT 25 FEB 2023 through the full day on THURS 2 MAR 2023. Six full days/24 hours on the boat: $6600.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 4.
IPT #3: FRI 3 MAR 2023 through the full day on TUES 7 MAR 2023. Five full days/20 hours on the boat: $5500.00. Limit 5 photographers.
Save $1,000.00 by doing back-to-back trips. Save $1500.00 by doing all three.
These trips feature non-stop flight photography as well as many opportunities to create both environmental and point-blank portraits of one of North America’s most sought-after avian subjects: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Other reliable subjects will include Sea Otter, Glaucous-winged and Short-billed (formerly Mew) Gulls.
In addition, we should see Common Murre, Black Guillemot, Pelagic Cormorant, two or three species of loons, and a smattering of ducks including two species of merganser, all three scoters, Common and Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Bufflehead, Harlequin, and Long-tailed Ducks. Close-range photographic chances for these species will require a ton of good luck. Some of these species, especially when in flocks, can, however, often be used effectively when pleasing creating bird-scapes.
If we need to be out early, we will be the first boat out. If conditions are great, we will stay out. And when there is a chance for sunset silhouettes, we will be in the right spot.
We will be traveling through gorgeous wilderness country; landscape and scenic opportunities abound.
Also featured is a professional leader, often referred to as the world’s most knowledgeable bird photography trip leader, who is conversant in Canon, Nikon, and Sony. You will learn practical and creative solutions to everyday photographic problems. You will learn to see the shot, to create dynamic images by fine-tuning your compositions, to best utilize your camera’s AF system, and how to analyze the wind, the sky conditions, and the direction and quality of the light. This is one of the very few trips Homer trips available where you will not be simply put on the birds and told to have fun. You will learn to be a better photographer. But only if that is what you want.
You will learn to get the right exposure when it is sunny, when it cloudy-bright, when it is cloudy, when it is cloudy-dark, or when it is foggy. Not to mention getting the right exposure when creating silhouettes.
You will learn to make pleasing blurs working in manual mode and to create silhouettes working in Shutter Priority mode.
Most importantly you will learn to pick your best flight images from tens of thousands of images.
You will enjoy working with the two best and most creative boat captains on their sturdy, photography-spacious, seaworthy, open-deck crafts.
The second and third IPTs are the only Bald Eagle workshops that feature an incredibly helpful first mate.
Only five photographers (not the usual six), plus the leader.
Small group Photoshop, Image Review, and Image Critiquing sessions.
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All images from Homer or Kachemak Bay, AK |
What’s Included
One four hour or two two-hour boat trips every day (weather permitting), all boat fees and boat-related expenses (excluding tips), ground transportation to and from the dock and back to the hotel each day, in-the-field instruction and guidance, pre-trip gear advice, small group post-processing and image review sessions, and a thank you dinner for all well-behaved participants.
What’s Not Included
Your airfare to and from Homer, AK (via Anchorage), the cost of your room at Land’s End Resort, all personal items, all meals and beverages, and tips for the boat captain and/or the first mate.
Please Note
On great days, the group may wish to photograph for more than four hours. If the total time on the boat exceeds 20 hours for the five-day trips, or 24 hours for the second trip, the group will share the additional expense at a rate of $225/hour.
Some folks may wish to rent their own vehicle to take advantage of local photographic opportunities around Homer.
Deposit Information
A $3000 non-refundable deposit/trip is required. You may pay your deposit with credit card or by personal check (made out to BIRDS AS ART) and sent via US mail only to Arthur Morris. PO Box 7245. Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. Your balance, due 90 days before the date of departure, is payable only by check as above.
In Closing
I have been going to Homer off and on for close to two decades. Every trip has been nothing short of fantastic. Many folks go in mid-March. The earlier you go, the better the chances for snow. The only way to assure that you are on the best of the three trips is to sign up for all of them. Can you keep up with me? If you have any questions, or are good to go for one, two, or all three trips, please let me know via e-mail or give me a call on my cell phone at 863-221-2372.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
