What’s Up?
I was in a bit of a funk on Wednesday and spent most of the day on the couch watching movies. The best was Training Day with a very evil Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. I was back in top form on Thursday morning after sleeping 10 hours, a record for me. I was glad to learn the IPT veteran Chuck Murphy signed uo for the DeSoto Spring IPT. That leaves just two spots open.
I am sure that Anita will be thrilled to see all of your comments on her work. Right now she is in northern Manitoba hoping to photograph baby polar bears coming out of their dens. At -50 below F. …
with love, artie
Cheap Gatorland Saturdays
You are invited to join me at Gatorland on SAT 2 MAR as below. I will be offering these sessions from here on until further notice. If you are interested in this or any upcoming Saturday, please get in touch via e-mail or call my cell at 863-221-2372. Limit three photographers.
Morning Session — 7-10am: $200
Morning Session with working lunch including image review and Photoshop: $300.
All of the above with a late afternoon session from 4pm till closing: $400.
IPT Updates
I still need three folks for the Galapagos trip, and the UK Puffins and Gannets trip is wide open with only a single registrant. Please shoot me an e-mail to learn about the huge late registration discount on the Galapagos trip.
- The 2019 Fort DeSoto Spring IPT/THURS 18 APRIL through the morning session on SUNDAY APRIL 21, 2019: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 4. Meet and greet at 7PM on the evening of WED 17 APRIL.
- The New, Expanded 2019 UK Puffins, Gannets, & Red Kites IPT. Thursday June 27 (from EDI) through Tuesday, July 9, 2019 (on the ground; fly home on Wednesday July 10.): $9,999. Limit 10 photographers/Openings: 9. This trip needs four to run. Co-leader: Peter Kes.
- The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. July 23 to August 6, 2019 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,499. Limit: 12 photographers/Openings: 4. Please e-mail to learn about the huge late registration discount for this trip.
BIRDS AS ART
BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. Most recently the price of used Canon 600mm f/L IS II lenses have been dropping like a rock with the introduction of the 600 III. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.
Important Used Gear Note
All sales include insured ground shipping via major courier to lower 48 US addresses only.
Sony a7R III Mirrorless Camera Body
John Bowden is offering a Sony a7R III mirrorless camera in near-mint condition for $2298.00. The body was purchased from an authorized Sony dealer on 9/12/18. Included is the original box and everything that came in it (except the hot shoe cap): the front body cap, the neck strap, the manuals, the original battery, the battery charger and power cord, the USB Type C cable, the cable protector, the reference guide and insured ground shipping via UPS to the lower 48 after their check clears.
Please contact John via e-mail or by phone at 919-358-5717 (Eastern time zone).
With 10 fps and an excellent AF system the 42.4MP a7R III image files are spectacular. As it sells new for $2998.00 you can save a neat $700.00 by grabbing John’s lens now. artie
Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS Lens
John Bowden is also offering a Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS lens in like-new condition for $998.00. It was purchased from an authorized Sony dealer on 9/18/18. Included is the original box and everything that came in it, the the front and rear caps, the lens shade, the soft case, the instruction manual, and insured ground shipping via UPS to the lower 48 after their check clears.
Please contact John via e-mail or by phone at 919-358-5717 (Eastern time zone).
The versatile lenses in this focal length range are in the never-leave-home-without-them class. They are great for bird scapes, scenics, quasi-macro stuff, people, and just about anything else. As the lens sells new for $1398 you can save 400 of your hard-earned dollars. artie
Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS Lens
John Bowden is also offering a Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS lens in near-mint condition for $848.00. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it: the front and rear caps, the lens shade, the soft case, the instruction manual and insured ground shipping via UPS to the lower 48 after their check clears.
Please contact John via e-mail or by phone at 919-358-5717 (Eastern time zone).
This outstandingly sharp versatile lens is a landscape and general photographers dream for fill frame Sony camera bodies. It sells new for $1248.00 so you can save $400.00 by getting in touch with John now. artie
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, 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 currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is taking pre-orders for the new Nikon 500 P and the Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body.
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.
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This image was created on the third afternoon of the Spoonbill Boat IPT. I used the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and my souped up Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering plus 1/3 stop off the sky: 1/2500 sec. at f/8 was more than a stop under-exposed. (Even though the skies were clear, it was late in the day; the light was very soft and, in addition, it was a bit hazy.) NATURAL AUTO WB at 5:27pm on a clear afternoon.
Nikon Focus Peaking fine-tune value: 0. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here.
Center Group (grp)/Continuous (C in Nikon/AI Servo with Canon) AF was active at the moment of exposure. The array was centered on the bird’s face; good on me. This image is perfectly sharp on the eye.
Brown Pelican — forward-facing/turning left flight pose
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What am I, chopped liver?
The following comment came up for moderation last week on the Flight Poses and Wings Positions: Part I of Many. And a killer forward-facing/turning left flight image made with the 500 PF/TC-E14/D850 Rig blog post here.
Andrew Browne
Sorry Art. On my iMac the brown pelican looks very plastic and over processed. I have the PF 500mm lens on my D500, don’t use a teleconverter on it because the images just lose so much detail, and much more if you crop the images. I concentrate on trying to get closer to the birds or just don’t bother to keep the images. I definitely wouldn’t post such an image. Cheers AB
My initial response was to delete it rather than to defend and attack as the image in question (above) is one of the finest flight images I have made over the course of the past 35 years. It is sharp and well processed and the image quality is superb. (Don’t forget to ask yourself, what the heck does he know?) In any case I deleted it.
The question remains, How do you come up with a civil, self-realized response to off the wall comments?
On Crafting a self-realized response …
After some thought, I came up with this:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Andrew. I asked myself if your comments could in any way be accurate. To check on that, I posted the image in the Avian Forum on Bird Photographer’s where I participate daily. We specialize in honest critiques done gently, and trust me, the boys and girls do not hesitate to take shots at Mr. Famous Bird Photographer. You can see their comments on the image in question here.
Pretty much everyone thought that the image quality was excellent. Arash Hazeghi, the super-critical sharpness king of the world wrote, Sharpness and IQ look great from here. Krishna Prasad Kotti commented that the details on the bird looked over-sharpened to me on my monitor. Then Dorian Anderson countered that with I don’t see any sharpening issues. The lighting on the face is really nice, and I love how we can see every feather in the wings. The flight angle and diagonal position really work well. I cannot believe how long the wings appear. The detail looks good …
Therefore Andrew, I must respectfully disagree with your assessment of the image. As your opinion was somewhat vehement (I definitely wouldn’t post such an image) and might be considered insulting by some, I would offer several suggestions:
1-If you wear glasses, clean them.
2- If not, get a pair.
3- Purchase a new, high-quality laptop. See the blog post here and please remember to use my link.
4- Join an IPT so that I can see your work up close and personal.
5- Consider joining BPN.
with love, artie
Thoughts?
So you post an image that you know based on 35 years of bird photography is pretty darned good and someone tells you that it is pretty much garbage …
Would you have deleted his comment?
If not, how would you have responded?
Please note that I wanted to post my response to Andrew’s comment but had already emptied the Spam folder … (When comments are deleted they are marked as Spam.)
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Fort DeSoto in spring is rife with tame birds, many in full breeding plumage. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
Clockwise from upper left around to center: Laughing Gull landing on head of Brown Pelican, Laughing Gull in flight, Reddish Egret sunrise silhouette, Great Blue Heron with needlefish, Yellow-crowned Night Heron with ghost crab, Roseate Spoonbill, Sanderling in breeding plumage, and white morph Reddish Egret in glorious breeding plumage.
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The 2019 Fort DeSoto Spring IPT/THURS 18 APRIL through the morning session on SUNDAY APRIL 21, 2019: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 4. Meet and greet at 7PM on the evening of WED 17 APRIL.
Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for a great variety of migrant shorebirds, gulls, terns, and passerines in Spring. Many of the gulls and terns will be courting and copulating. There the migrants join hundreds of Florida resident egrets, herons, night-herons, and pelicans on the T-shaped peninsula. We should get to photograph one of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher almost guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and many of those will be in their spectacular breeding plumages. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is a strong possibility. We may get to see and photograph the amazing heron/egret hybrid that has been present for three years. And we should enjoy some great Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two. Yikes, I almost forgot to mention that nearly all of the birds are ridiculously tame!
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Yes, Fort DeSoto in spring is rife with tame birds, most in breeding plumage. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
Clockwise from upper left around to center: breeding plumage Dunlin, dark morph Reddish Egret displaying, Laughing Gull vertical front-end portrait, Laughing Gull with prey item, landing on head of Brown Pelican, breeding plumage Royal Tern displaying, Royal Terns — pre-copulatory stance, Laughing Gulls copulating, Laughing Gull head portrait, breeding plumage Sandwich Tern with fish, and a rare treat, a breeding plumage White-rumped Sandpiper.
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Just some of the stuff you will learn …
On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).
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Again, Fort DeSoto in spring is rife with tame birds, most in breeding plumage. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
Clockwise from upper left around to center: Laughing Gull in flight, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Sandwich Terns copulating, Roseate Spoonbill, Great Egret with reflection, breeding plumage Short-billed Dowitcher, American Oystercatcher, Royal Tern, white morph Reddish Egret, and Snowy Egret in marsh.
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What we do
There will be seven shooting sessions in all: four 3+ hours morning session and three 2 1/2 hour afternoon sessions. There will be a Photoshop/image review session during or after lunch (lunch is included) on each of the three full days. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.
The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with the hotel/lodging information.
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You got it, Fort DeSoto in spring is rife with tame birds, most in breeding plumage. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
Clockwise from upper left around to center: Roseate Spoonbill, immature Brown Pelican in flight, the heron/egret hybrid, American Oystercatcher feeding, immature Royal Tern on railing, Great Egret morning silhouette, Black Skimmer in surf, and underside head portrait of Great Blue Heron.
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Signing Up
A $500 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check after you register. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight folks so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please remember that the meet and greet will take place on the evening of WED 17 APRIL. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.
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Folks attending this IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.
Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, juvenile Tricolored Heron, Marbled Godwits, Great Blue Heron, juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, Wood Stork, smiling Sea Scallop, Ruddy Turnstone scavenging needlefish, Great Blue Heron sunset silhouette at my secret spot, and southbound migrant tern flock blur.
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Early and Late
Getting up early and staying out late is pretty much a staple on all BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours; on this particular trip we will get lots of sleep as the days are short. Being in the field well before the sun comes up and staying out until sunset will often present unique photographic opportunities, opportunities that will be missed by those who need their beauty rest. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers arrive.
Help Support the Blog
Please help support my efforts here on the blog by remembering to click on the logo link above each time that you shop Amazon. That would be greatly appreciated. There is no problem using your Prime account; just click on the link and log into your Prime account. With love, artie
If In Doubt …
If 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 New 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 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 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 :).
