Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

What’ Up?

I enjoyed my half-mile swim on Monday afternoon. I headed down to the lake this morning (Tuesday 24 MAR 2020) for a short photo session but did not do much. I got into the BAA Online Store, printed the outstanding orders, and figured out how to print the UPS labels!

COVID-19 News From Dr. Greg Gulbransen

Via text this afternoon from friend and skilled photographer and pediatrician Greg Gulbransen (on Long Island, NY):

46 patients tested. 22 positives. All ages from 6 weeks to teens and college-age (22) and two older folks — 63 and 67. All are doing very well and no one is needing hospital care. It is really not a childhood issue. Two asthmatic patients are doing well. The smokers are doing badly.

Today’s Entertainment

Try the Willie Nelson and Ray Charles Seven Spanish Angels duet here. Two distinctively incredible voices. If you don’t know the words to this love song, listen carefully and bring tissues. For another version and to hear Ray Charles’ comments, scroll to the 47:22 mark of the Wille Nelson retrospective here. Though I am not a huge, huge Wille Nelson fan, I enjoyed listening to the whole thing.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Nikon 500mm PF Lens

Steve Elkins at Bedfords asked me to let folks know that he has two of these hard-to-get-your-hands-on lenses in stock. The 500 PF was my very favorite Nikon lens. Save $50 by getting in touch with Steve as noted below.

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase over $1000.00, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H. Those include the SONY a7r IV, the SONY 200-600, the SONY 600mm f/4 GM, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is eager to please.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was also created on 18 MAR 2020 at the Brandon Rookery. Again I used the Induro GIT 304L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the blazing fast Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body) that features incredibly accurate AF. ISO 640. Exposure determined by Zebras: 1/200 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 5:37:20pm in the shade on a sunny afternoon. Lower Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure. Image #1: Tricolored Heron juxtaposition

The Difficulty of Creating Juxtapositions

As noted often here and elsewhere, you really need to be on your game to create pleasing juxtapositions. Most of the time, one or both subjects are moving. I had moved off the deck to a position to the right of it in an effort to get more on sun angle for the incoming Wood Storks and bird flying low over the dark green waters of the pond. A breeding plumage tricolored landing on the floating dock and walked right in front of me. The bird was completely in the shade of a large oak tree so I went for total Zebras on the background in order to come up with the right exposure for the subject. Suddenly, a second tricolored landed right behind the one I was photographing, its rear half more brightly lit. I moved Center Zone down a notch and grabbed focus ono the front bird but with both birds moving relative to one another getting a perfect juxtaposition was difficult. I finally fired off two frames.

It took some fancy stepping in Photoshop to even out the exposure on the rear half of the bird in the back. Used Tim Grey Dodge and Burn to even out the tonality but that resulted in what had been the brighter area becoming over-saturated. So I painted a Quick Mask of that area, put it on its own layer, and reduced the Saturation on that layer (Control Q) by moving the slider all the way to the left to -100%. Bingo.

Do you like Image #1? If yes, why. If not, why not?

This image was created on 18 MAR 2020 at the Brandon Rookery. I used the Induro GIT 304L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the blazing fast Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body) that features incredibly accurate AF. ISO 640. Exposure determined by Zebras: 1/200 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 5:37:54pm in theee shade on a sunny afternoon. Upper Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure. Image #2: Tricolored Heron — head and neck portrait

Zone vs. Tracking Flexible Spot M

With tall birds in vertical frames, Upper Center Zone gives you a bit more compositional freedom while at times, sacrificing a bit of AF accuracy. On the other hand, Tracking Flexible Spot M offers greater focusing accuracy but it is more difficult to use. Mastering the use of this AF Area requires more skill and a steadier hand (even when you are working on a tripod) … The educational SONY gallery in the new guide will offer guidance on determining which AF Area is best for a variety of situations. To order your pre-publication copy now, see yesterday’s blog post here.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II). You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a Paypal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

Everything mentioned above (except for Capture One RAW conversions) and tons more — including all of my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — is covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my Macbook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: all of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.

You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About two years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One Pro 12 and continue to do so today.

To purchase Capture One, please use this link. Then you can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here.

You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and edited by yours truly. Please use this link to purchase NeatImage.

To introduce folks to our MP.4 videos and the basics involved in applying more NeatImage noise reduction to the background and less on the subject, I’d be glad to send you a free copy of the Free Noise Reduction Basics MP.4 Video. Simply click to shoot me an e-mail to get your free copy.

If In Doubt …

If you are in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog or Bedfords, for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would, of course, appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links or Bedfords for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who regularly visit the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).

What’s Up?

We decided to cut the spoonbill boat gig short by a day. We did two full days, THURS and FRI MAR 19 & 20. We enjoyed a ton of great Brown Pelican flight photography both afternoons, lots of huge am and pm White Ibis blastoffs, and few really good spoonbill flight opportunities. I drove a friend to the airport early on Saturday morning. MCO was pretty much desolate.

As there were very few cases of coronavirus in Polk County, I decided to get myself as protected as possible and do some shopping sooner rather than later so that I could hole up alone (self-isolate) at my home in Indian Lake Estates. So that is what I did. The story is continued below.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Support Bedfords

Many here on the blog have purchased their camera gear from Bedfords Camera. All have received stellar service. Many in the south-central states visit one of the seven Bedford stores regularly. Many Bedfords associates know their customers on a first-name basis. Your passion has been their passion since 1974. Each shirt ordered through the link below helps an employee at a local Bedford Camera & Video store. Pre-order your shirt now. We don’t have an ETA on delivery, but our goal is to have these available in mid- to late April. Every shirt purchased will go to help one of Bedford’s 80+ employees. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your local store if there’s anything you need! Orders can be placed online and be shipped directly to you. All of thee stores are working with customers for drive-thru or curbside delivery. Thank you for your support, we hope to see you in our store once things return to normal.

Sean and Steve

Sean Kaiser/Director of Business Development
Steve Elkins/Executive Vice President

You can order your shirt here.

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase over $1000.00, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H. Those include the SONY a7r IV, the SONY 200-600, the SONY 600mm f/4 GM, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is eager to please.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

artie dressed for shopping

BIRDS AS ART and COVID-19 and You

In order to self-isolate, I spoke with my two employees — right-hand man Jim Litzenberg and older daughter Jennifer Morris — and informed them that they would be getting a paid vacation for as long as it takes for things to return to normal. When I went shopping yesterday, I wore a single rubber exam glove on my right hand and kept my left hand in my pocket. I grabbed my items and pushed my cart with my right hand and used my left hand to pay with my credit card and open my vehicle when I was done. I discovered a gray headband in my car that I used to cover my nose and mouth (as seen in the image above). Note: The CDC states, If you are NOT sick: You do not need to wear a facemask unless you are caring for someone who is sick (and they are not able to wear a facemask). They also say this under Know How it Spreads: Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). Via (sic) respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.. Now I am no doctor but it seems that wearing some sort of face mask would offer at least some protection should you get sneezed on by an infected person … So I opted for the headband-mask and looked a bit dumb.

I saw many dozens of folks in two different Publix supermarkets shopping while conducting business as usual — many with total disregard for social distancing and all but one other person wearing gloves touching cart handles and goods with impunity. What really struck me as odd was seeing couples shopping with their kids — from infants to teenagers — in tow. You might think that having one parent stay at home with the kids while the other shopped would greatly minimize exposure. That especially true because it seems quite likely that folks can have the virus, be asymptomatic and feeling great, all the while infecting others.

When I got home, I gloved both hands and got all the bags out of the car. Then still wearing the gloves mixed one cup of bleach with 16 cups of water, grabbed a hand towel, removed all of my items, discarded the plastic bags, and then wiped each item with a wet cloth soaked in the diluted bleach solution. We are advised to let the items dry rather than drying them with a clean cloth. After a few minutes, I removed my gloves and put each item away. Then I put the gloves back on and wiped down all the counters. Since Jim had been here recently, I went through the house and wiped down all the light switches, doorknobs, desktops, countertops, phones, and computer mouses — it seems strange to type computer “mice.” The I put all of my clothes in the washing machine, added a touch of bleach, and used hot water. Note that the CDC recommends a much more diluted bleach solution be used to disinfect: 1/3rd cup bleach per gallon of water.

I canceled the DeSoto Spring IPT with full refunds. On Monday, with Jim’s phone help, I will try to get into the BAA Online Store and fill any orders. If you have placed an order please shoot me an e-mail with your confirmation e-mail showing your order and I will do my best to get it filled as soon as possible. I plan on heading down to the lake once or twice a day to do some photography, swimming every day, and doing some extra blogging to give others who are self-isolating something to do. Coming tomorrow: 1200mm down-the-lens-barrel Roseate Spoonbill Flight Insanity.

Please, please, pretty please start taking COVID-19 seriously if you have not done so already.

Early predictions are that coronavirus might spread to as many as 50 or 60% of the approximately 331,000,000 million Americans. Some suggest infection rates as high as 40-80% in densely populated US cities. A major factor is that it seems that the virus can live on a surface for a long as 48 hours, and possibly for a lot longer than that. It is entirely possible that we ain’t seen nothin’ yet … The good news is that about 80% of those infected will have mild symptoms. For a different take on things, you might find the STAT First Opinion piece here an interesting read. This op-ed piece is written by John P.A. Ioannidis, professor of medicine, of epidemiology and population health, of biomedical data science, and of statistics at Stanford University and co-director of Stanford’s Meta-Research Innovation Center. Be sure to read all the comments, many of which trash the article and the author. Me? I am not so sure and am hoping that Ioannidis is more correct than not.

Don’t Forget

Washing your hands often with plain old soap is highly recommended.

Your Immune System

Folks interested in strengthening their immune system can consider the following protocol:

Take daily:

2,000mg Vitamin C — the liposomal form is preferable.
5,000 units Vitamin D3
10,000 units Vitamin A
15mg Zinc

I began the protocol above today, Sunday 22 MAR 2020.

At the first sign of viral infection, to turbocharge your immune system, take:

DAY 1: 50,000 units Vitamin D3, 150,000 units Vitamin A.

DAY 2: 35,000 units Vitamin D3, 100,000 units Vitamin A.

On DAY 3, if feeling better, repeat day 2; if not, repeat day 1

On DAY 1 take 15,000mg Vitamin C — the liposomal form is preferable. Follow that with 7,500mg each day thereafter for 10 days — the Chinese experience found this to be helpful.

If In Doubt …

If you are in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog or Bedfords, for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would, of course, appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links or Bedfords for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who regularly visit the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right.

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).