Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

What’s Up?

It’s been dark here for a few days and it was drizzling this morning when I awoke. That after eleven hours of great sleep with only two pit stops, almost surely a record for the last four decades … I am finished watching all ten NFL playoff games on Tivo — I only knew the results of two of the games — and about 20 episodes of Sports Center at Midnight with Scott Van Pelt. If I can finish 19 episodes of Pardon the Interruption before 6:30pm on Sunday, I will be all ready to watch the Super Bowl tomorrow. Who are you rooting for? Why? My answer soon.

If you have any interest at all in joining one of the Homer Bald Eagle IPTs, please contact me immediately via e-mail or try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. There is just one slot left on the second trip, two on the first.

The Homer Bald Eagle IPTs

For the first trip only, I am offering a $500/person discount for those who sign up with a friend or spouse. You can access the complete trip offering here.

IPT #1: FEB 25 through the full day on MAR 1, 2020. Six full days: $4799.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 1.

IPT #2: MAR 3 through the full day on MAR 7, 2020. Five full days: $3999.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 2.

Via e-mail from Multiple IPT veteran Greg Ferguson:

I attended this IPT in 2011 and can only say it was the most intensive bird photography I have ever experienced. My arms were tired and sore from shooting so many action photos. It is highly recommended! I called Jim today and signed up for a reprise. Greg

Via e-mail from Multiple IPT veteran Dick Curtain:

I attended the Homer IPT in the past and can only say it was a great experience. Many eagles, beautiful scenery, great instruction, and many fond memories. Don’t miss it.

IPT Updates

• The Greatest-ever Bald Eagle Experience IPTs:
• IPT #1: FEB 25 through the full day on MAR 1, 2020. Six full days: $4799.00 (Price reduced to $3999.00!). Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 1.
• IPT #2: MAR 3 through the full day on MAR 7, 2020. Five full days: $3999.00. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 2
• The 2020 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT — MAR 19 thru the morning session 22 MAR 2020: $2599.00. Limit: 5 photographers/Sold out

The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Archipelago Photographic Experience. August 17-31, 2021 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,999.00. Limit: 12 photographers/Openings: 6.

BIRDS AS ART

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

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 created on January 21, 2020, our last morning at Morro Bay, CA. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 433mm) with the blazingly fast and almost-always-accurate AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 1600. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 9:26am on a partly cloudy morning. Center Zone Continuous/tracking (C) AF. Click to enlarge and enjoy the larger version. Image A, the optimized image for Long-billed Curlew taking flight

The Optimized Image

In the Photoshop Hanky-Panky Question … blog post here, I wrote, If you are sure that you see evidence that I did something fairly major in Photoshop to the image above, please leave a comment and state your case clearly. Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t …

This image was also created on January 21, 2020 a fraction of a second before the image that opened this blog post. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (again at 433mm) with the blazingly fast and almost-always-accurate AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 1600. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 9:26am on a partly cloudy morning. Center Zone Continuous/tracking (C) AF. Click to enlarge and see the relatively crispy eye-skins and the sharp face. Image B, a Capture One screen capture of Long-billed Curlew crouching before taking flight

The Frame Before …

The wave broke and the bird crouched to take off. I framed the shot, acquired focus, and pressed the shutter button. Note that as the bird had not yet launched when I made this image that the face is sharp and that you can see the crispy eye-skins. Read on to see what happened next.

This is the RAW file for the optimized image that opens this blog post. Center Zone Continuous/tracking (C) AF. Click to see that the face is not sharp. Image C, the Capture One screen capture of the original RAW file of Image A.

The RAW File for the Optimized Image

As the bird took flight I panned right and fired off only a single frame (before the bird left the frame). That brings to mind something I say often on IPTs, universal advice for better flight photography: pan faster! And this one would also have helped: universal advice for better flight and action photography with a zoom lens: zoom wider!

IAC, I was dismayed to see that in the far more dynamic second image, the eye was not sharp.

The eye and face were likely not sharp due to a combination of factors:

• 1- I jerked the lens to try to keep up with the bird. AKA operator-error. Had I been able to pan smoothly, the image would surely have been sharper on the face and eye.
• 2- There was some motion blur involved as the shutter speed was a bit too slow to match the speed of the departing bird.
• 3- It is possible that the AF system of the a9 II was unable to keep up with the bird as it blasted off.

Saving the More Dramatic Image with a Quick Mask

Since I had one sharp face (Image B) and one soft face (Image C) the solution to me was obvious. After converting both images in Capture One, I brought them into Photoshop and painted a Quick Mask of the face of the bird in Image B, placed it on its own layer, and used the Move Tool (V) to bring the image roughly into place atop Image C. By reducing the opacity of the face layer I was able to position it much more accurately. Since the replacement face was slightly smaller than the original face, I needed to use the Transform Tool to resize the new face. While still in Transform mode, I Rotated and Warped the face layer for a pretty much perfect match of the feathers surrounding the eye. All of that as detailed in APTATS I & II. Lastly, I added a Regular Layer Mask to the face layer and feathered the edges with a soft, 50% opacity brush.

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 will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

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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 :).