March 21st, 2018 Stuff
Tuesday was a dark stormy day in central Florida. My shoulder is actually showing significant improvement. Many of the simple everyday movements that had caused me pain for the past nine days are becoming easier to do. Range of motion is still quite restricted but I am pretty sure that the light that I see at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train.
My Recipe
Codfish Curry
The starred ingredients all have anti-inflammatory properties.
5 oz codfish — 5 oz sweet potato * — diced onion * — smashed garlic * — 4 oz. almond milk — curry powder *
Bake the sweet potato at 425 for 40 minutes and then cut into chunks. Sautée the onion and garlic in olive oil. Dump everything into a casserole dish and sprinkle with lots of curry powder. Salt to taste. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Sweeten with a bit of stevia. Serve with a side dish of unsweetened applesauce. Yummy! And easy on my blood sugar levels. You can of course substitute the protein of your choice.
The Streak
Today makes two hundred thirty-three days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took less than 90 minutes to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not…), the plan right now is to try to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections and my continuing insanity willing.
Lots More to Learn
Read my replies to many of the comments on the Getting Close and Tall for a Reason: Blackground! blog post here. There is almost always a ton to learn by re-visiting the Comments section of each blog post.
A Nikon Camera Body Question
Is there a switch or button on the D5 and/or the D850 that you can use to switch from AF-S (Single servo AF for static subjects) to AF-C (Full time servo AF for moving subjects)? I remember seeing a C/S switch on older Nikon camera bodies but … As I never use AF-S I set a-10 under the CUSTOM SETTING MENU to AF-C. The name for a-10 is Autofocus mode restrictions. The name makes no sense to me … All help and/or explanations would be greatly appreciated.
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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!
The Used Gear Page
Action on the Used Gear Page recently has been fantastic. You can see all current listings here.
Recent Sales
Jim Brennan sold his Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent plus condition for only $1,219.00 on the first day of listing.
Jim Burns recently sold his EOS-1D Mark IV body in excellent plus condition for a BAA record low $998; not sure exactly when 🙂
David Solis sold a brand new Sanho HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA 3 1 TB wireless photo/video memory card backup for $399.00 after being contacted on the first day of listing.
David Solis sold his Canon EF 300 mm f/2.8L IS USM (the original version) lens in excellent plus condition for $2399.00 after being contacted on the first day of listing.
David Solis sold his Canon EF 500 mm f/4L IS USM (the “old five”) in excellent plus condition with perfect glass for the BAA record low price of $3399.00.
Les Greenberg sold his Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM zoom lens in mint condition to a local buyer and is sending me a check for 2 1/2% of the original asking price of $1599.
Joel Williams sold his Fujifilm XF 50 f/2 R WR lens in like-new condition for only $299 in early March.
Rajat Kapoor sold his Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens (the “old 1-4”) in near-mint condition the first day is was listed for $649.
Jim Brennan sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens (the “old five”) in near-mint condition and a Canon EF 1.4 III teleconverter in very good condition for $3,599.00 right after listing them in early March.
Gary Meyer sold his Canon EOS 7D Mark II in near-mint condition for $798 soon after it was listed in early March.
In addition, the sale of John Norris’s Canon 1DX Mark II — premium kit — (with less than 2,000 actuations!) in like-new condition but for a few small scuff marks for top left and bottom right for the BAA record-low price of $3,996.00 became pending on the first day it was listed.
DJI Phantom 4 Pro Quadcopter
Jim Keener is offering a lightly used DJI Phantom 4 Pro Quadcopter in like-new condition $999.00. The sale includes the original product box, the instruction manual, and insured ground shipping by major courier to US addresses only. The drone was flown only five times for about 30 minutes each flight. It is very much fun to use and produces exceptional video. Personal checks only. No PayPal. Your item will not be shipped until your check clears.
Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 310-741-7435 (9am-9pm Mountain time).
The Phantom 4 Pro from DJI boasts a 3-axis-stabilized gimbal camera with a 20MP, 1″ CMOS sensor capable of shooting up to 4K/60fps video and well as photo bursts at up to 14 fps. The hull has been updated from the previous Phantom 4, now featuring magnesium alloy construction for increased rigidity and reduced weight. The FlightAutonomy system adds dual rear-vision sensors plus infrared sensing for a total of five directions of obstacle sensing and four directions of obstacle avoidance. Compared to the Phantom 4 Advanced variant, the Pro features the noted four, rather than two, directions of obstacle avoidance and offers a 5.8 GHz channel for the Lightbridge link, in addition to 2.4 GHz. B&H
Folks who fly quadcopters are reminded to take care when flying them around wildlife. To put it simply, I have seen birds and animals freaked out by these devices flown too closely. artie
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This image was created on February 17, 2018 at Gatorland with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens (at 500mm) and the mega mega-pixel Nikon D850 DSLR.. ISO 800. Matrix metering probably at +1/3 stop as originally framed: 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. WB: AUTO0 at 9:02am on a foggy morning.
Center Group/Shutter Button AF as originally framed; the diamond pattern was on the male’s shoulder. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
Image #1: Great Egret pair copulating at the nest
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This image was created at Gatorland on the morning of February 22, 2018 with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, and the Nikon D850. ISO 1250. Matrix metering +2/3 stop as originally framed: 1/500 sec. at f6.3. Cloudy WB at 7:28am in the shade.
Center Group (grp) shutter Button AF with the AF cluster centered on the bird’s neck.
AF Fine-tune: +5. (Please see and carefully read Nikon Focus Fine-tune Guide item below). Click on the image to see a larger version.
Image #2: Great Egret with single egg in nest
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My Choice
In the Intimate Views blog post here, I asked which of the two images above was your favorite. Most folks preferred the second image for its intimacy. Only Jordan Cait of Toronto agreed with me in feeling that Image #1 was the stronger of the two. I like it best in part because Image #2 had a pretty bad BLUE/CYAN cast (that I had missed during post-processing). In addition there were the two very good head angles to go with the raised wing pose of the male. Just my two cents.
Blemished or Un-blemished?
In the Blemished or Un-blemished? blog post here, I far preferred the unblemished version. Why not?
In the Is Everything Just Ducky? Moral and Ethical Bird Photography Questions … blog post here, agreement was pretty much unanimous in feeling that if feeding is permitted and the food is healthy that baiting ducks to fly in and provide flight and other photographic opportunities was just fine. I of course feel exactly the same.
Many folks flew off course as far as their comments regarding entering photos of baited birds in major photographic competitions. The last time I looked, baiting of any kind was either permitted (with the exception of live bait) or simply not mentioned. The BBC contest’s only restriction is that if a subject has been baited that that fact should be revealed. I know for a fact that that is — for whatever reason — often not what happens.
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Early Spring Photo Opportunities at ILE
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BIRDS AS ART First-ever Master Class
Master Class. Two Full and two Half Days/Friday afternoon, March 30 through lunch on Monday, April 2, 2018: $1999.00. Limit: 4/Openings 3.
The Master Classe will be a small group — strictly limited to four photographers — with the first folks who register having the option of staying at my home ($50/night) or at a chain motel in nearby Lake Wales. Live, think, and breathe photography from Friday afternoon through lunch on Monday (late-morning); all meals included. There will be three afternoon photo sessions (FRI – SUN) hopefully with glorious sunsets like the ones you saw one the blog in December we should have good opportunities with the cranes even in the afternoon. We will enjoy three morning photography sessions (SAT – MON) with the main subjects being tame Sandhill Cranes almost surely with chicks or colts. Also vultures and Cattle Egrets and more. Limpkins are possible. Intermediate telephoto lenses are fine for the cranes, even the chicks at times. A 500 or 600mm lens would be best for many of the situations that we will encounter.
During the day we will sit together around my dining room table and pick everyone’s keepers and enjoy guided Photoshop sessions. On Monday before lunch, folks can make a single large print of their favorite image from the weekend. If you so choose, I will micro-adjust one of your lenses (at one focal length with your #1 camera body–Canon or Nikon) during a group instructional session. All will be welcome to practice what they have learned during the breaks using my set-up and my lighting gear.
To register, please first shoot me an e-mail to check on availability. Then you will be instructed to call Jim or Jen at 863-692-0906 during weekday business hours (except for Friday afternoons) to leave you non-refundable (unless the session sells out) $500 deposit. Only the deposit may be left on credit card. Balances must be paid by check immediately after you register (unless you wish to pay by credit card plus 4% to cover our fees).
I hope that you can join me on this new adventure.
with love, artie
ps: bring your bathing suit if you would like to try my pool.
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Tame birds in breeding plumage and chicks are great fun.
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Gatorland IPT #2. Sunrise: 6:48am. Sunset: 7:58pm.
3 1/2 DAYs: THURS 26 APR through and including the morning of SUN 29 APR. $1599. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 3.
Must purchase Gatorland Photographers Pass. Click here for details. All early entry. Late stays Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Gatorland IPT #2 should have lots of chicks, and lots of birds in breeding plumage. We will get to photograph Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, and Wood Stork. The Cattle Egrets in full breeding plumage will be present in good numbers. Learn my Gatorland strategy, to get the right exposure, flight photography techniques, my secret Gatorland spots, how to see the best situations (nobody is better at that than me), and how to make great images in extremely cluttered situations.
Help Support the Blog
Please help support my (stupendous) 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.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
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 :).
March 20th, 2018 Stuff
Monday was more of the same: Blowing up balloons. More ice and moist hot towels on the shoulder. Did not work on the Nikon Focus Fine-tune Guide. Ate well. Spoke with Amy on the phone; she advised getting out to do some photography tomorrow. I will do just that on Tuesday morning unless we have mega-foggy day number three in a row. I can easily hand hold the 200-500 or work with the 600 f/4 on the BLUBB. I will do my best not to fall out of the car …
The Streak
Today makes two hundred thirty-two days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took less than an hour to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not…), the plan right now is to try to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections and my continuing insanity willing.
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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!
The Used Gear Page
Action on the Used Gear Page recently has been fantastic. You can see all current listings here.
Recent Sales
Jim Burns recently sold his EOS-1D Mark IV body in excellent plus condition for a BAA record low $998; not sure exactly when 🙂
David Solis sold a brand new Sanho HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA 3 1 TB wireless photo/video memory card backup for $399.00 after being contacted on the first day of listing.
David Solis sold his Canon EF 300 mm f/2.8L IS USM (the original version) lens in excellent plus condition for $2399.00 after being contacted on the first day of listing.
David Solis sold his Canon EF 500 mm f/4L IS USM (the “old five”) in excellent plus condition with perfect glass for the BAA record low price of $3399.00.
Les Greenberg sold his Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM zoom lens in mint condition to a local buyer and is sending me a check for 2 1/2% of the original asking price of $1599.
Joel Williams sold his Fujifilm XF 50 f/2 R WR lens in like-new condition for only $299 in early March.
Rajat Kapoor sold his Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens (the “old 1-4”) in near-mint condition the first day is was listed for $649.
Jim Brennan sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens (the “old five”) in near-mint condition and a Canon EF 1.4 III teleconverter in very good condition for $3,599.00 right after listing them in early March.
Gary Meyer sold his Canon EOS 7D Mark II in near-mint condition for $798 soon after it was listed in early March.
Canon 1DX Mark II Professional Digital Camera Body (with premium kit)
Sale pending
John Norris is offering a Canon 1DX Mark II — premium kit — (with less than 2,000 actuations!) in like-new condition but for a few small scuff marks for top left and bottom right for the BAA record-low price of $3,996.00. The sale includes the original box and everything in it, all of that which is unused/unopened, an extra LP-E19 battery, a SanDisk Extreme Pro Cfast 2.0 64 GB card, the SanDisk Extreme Pro Cfast 2.0 Reader, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. The item will not ship until the buyer’s personal or certified check clears the bank.
Please contact John via e-mail or by phone at 1-214-521-1520 (Central time).
The 1DX Mark II is Canon’s rugged, blazingly fast professional digital camera body. It features a great AF system and high quality image files with great dynamic range. I owned and used two of these for several years. As a new 1DX II currently sells for $5,699.00 you can save $1703 on a practically new body with less than 2,000 shutter actuations. artie
Booking.Com
Several folks on the Spoonbill IPTs used the Booking.Com link below and got great rates and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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 Cayman Brac on February 12, 2018 with the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens and the Nikon D5 with Dual XQD Slots). ISO 800. Matrix metering +1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AUOT0 WB at 8:52am on a partly cloudy morning.
Center Group (grp) Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The four AF points were centered on the trailing edge of the bird’s far wing — see the Capture NX-D screen shot below — yet the image was sharp on the eye
LensAlign/FocusTune Fine-tune: -1.
Brown Booby top shot
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Everybody Wants to Know …
Over the past few weeks, I have received many e-mails asking:
- 1- Are you happy that you switched?
- 2- It seems that lots of great bird photographers are switching. Should I switch to Nikon?
#1: I am very happy that I switched from Canon to Nikon. I switched primarily in hopes of becoming a better flight photographer. And that is exactly what has happened. All these years I thought that it was me … As it turned out, I am not too bad. My strength, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills however, are lacking to some degree when compared to the young guns. But, do understand several things:
a-Not every flight shot that I make with Nikon is perfectly sharp. That is most often due to operator error: I fail to get (and keep) the AF point or points on the bird’s face, head, neck, or upper breast. At times when I think that an image should be sharp, it is not. At times that is due to my failing to acquire focus soon enough and track the subject properly. But for me, and I need to emphasize that, for me, a far higher percentage of my flight images are in sharp focus than they were with my Canon gear.
Do know that if I have my Canon gear in my hands I would not have even attempted the top shot that is featured in todays’ blog post. I tried too many times and failed every time. Was every top shot that I attempted with my Nikon gear sharp? No. Fewer than half were sharp in this rather specific situation. But it is good to know that I at least have a chance with the gear that I am presently using.
b-The are many things that the Canon system does far better than the Nikon system. I have mentioned many of them in blog post here over the past few months. Topping that list is AF performance with the 2X TC. And there are many things about the Nikon system that drive me absolutely nuts. Some are to be expected but some are simply due to inferior ergonomics; did they really pay someone to design it that way? Heading that list is the Focus mode selector button …
c-There are many great photographers out there using Canon gear, and many of them are creating astounding flight images. You can find many of them on BirdPhotographers.Net. Check out the amazing current work of David Salem, Daniel Cadieux, Tim Folz, Isaac Grant, Ann Pacheco, Sasan Nejadi, Stuart Edwards, and Stu Bowie. All those on the first three pages of images alone. Gail Bisson uses Canon and makes lots of great images; I have not seen any recent posts with her flight images.
- #2: You switched, should I?
I have no idea if switching systems is right for you. Your job is to assess how you are doing with your current gear. If you are making great images that make you happy then there is no reason at all to switch. Here is how I replied to this question in a recent e-mail: I switched for one reason: better results for birds in flight. For most of what I do Canon is just as good or better than Nikon. If you are not making good images then you need to ask lots of questions, study lots of images –especially images that excite you, and then re-assess. Whether you stick with Canon or Fuji or Sony or make the big switch as I did, please remember to use a BAA affiliate link as a thank you for what you have learned here.
In closing I will say this: If my life depended on making a sharp image of a bird in flight there is no rig that I would rather have in my hands than the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens and the Nikon D5..
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This image was created on Cayman Brac on February 12, 2018 with the hand held Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens and the Nikon D5 with Dual XQD Slots). ISO 800. Matrix metering +1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AUOT0 WB at 8:52am on a partly cloudy morning.
Center Group (grp) Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The four AF points were centered on the trailing edge of the bird’s far wing — see the Capture NX-D screen shot below — yet the image was sharp on the eye
LensAlign/FocusTune Fine-tune: -1.
Brown Booby top shot
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Nikon NX-D Screen Capture
The four barely visible red squares show where the Group (grp) AF points were on the bird at the moment of exposure. Though I could have done a lot better by getting the array on the back of the bird’s neck the resulting image was quite sharp on the eye. From the histogram it looks as if this image is well under-exposed. But I did not need to move the Exposure slider in ACR. I did move the Shadow slider to +36. Why would I call this a lying histogram?
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Early Spring Photo Opportunities at ILE
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BIRDS AS ART First-ever Master Class
Master Class. Two Full and two Half Days/Friday afternoon, March 30 through lunch on Monday, April 2, 2018: $1999.00. Limit: 4/Openings 3.
The Master Classe will be a small group — strictly limited to four photographers — with the first folks who register having the option of staying at my home ($50/night) or at a chain motel in nearby Lake Wales. Live, think, and breathe photography from Friday afternoon through lunch on Monday (late-morning); all meals included. There will be three afternoon photo sessions (FRI – SUN) hopefully with glorious sunsets like the ones you saw one the blog in December we should have good opportunities with the cranes even in the afternoon. We will enjoy three morning photography sessions (SAT – MON) with the main subjects being tame Sandhill Cranes almost surely with chicks or colts. Also vultures and Cattle Egrets and more. Limpkins are possible. Intermediate telephoto lenses are fine for the cranes, even the chicks at times. A 500 or 600mm lens would be best for many of the situations that we will encounter.
During the day we will sit together around my dining room table and pick everyone’s keepers and enjoy guided Photoshop sessions. On Monday before lunch, folks can make a single large print of their favorite image from the weekend. If you so choose, I will micro-adjust one of your lenses (at one focal length with your #1 camera body–Canon or Nikon) during a group instructional session. All will be welcome to practice what they have learned during the breaks using my set-up and my lighting gear.
To register, please first shoot me an e-mail to check on availability. Then you will be instructed to call Jim or Jen at 863-692-0906 during weekday business hours (except for Friday afternoons) to leave you non-refundable (unless the session sells out) $500 deposit. Only the deposit may be left on credit card. Balances must be paid by check immediately after you register (unless you wish to pay by credit card plus 4% to cover our fees).
I hope that you can join me on this new adventure.
with love, artie
ps: bring your bathing suit if you would like to try my pool.
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Tame birds in breeding plumage and chicks are great fun.
|
Gatorland IPT #2. Sunrise: 6:48am. Sunset: 7:58pm.
3 1/2 DAYs: THURS 26 APR through and including the morning of SUN 29 APR. $1599. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 3.
Must purchase Gatorland Photographers Pass. Click here for details. All early entry. Late stays Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Gatorland IPT #2 should have lots of chicks, and lots of birds in breeding plumage. We will get to photograph Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, and Wood Stork. The Cattle Egrets in full breeding plumage will be present in good numbers. Learn my Gatorland strategy, to get the right exposure, flight photography techniques, my secret Gatorland spots, how to see the best situations (nobody is better at that than me), and how to make great images in extremely cluttered situations.
Help Support the Blog
Please help support my (stupendous) 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.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
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 :).
March 19th, 2018 Stuff
Had my best night’s sleep in a while on Saturday. Sunday was more of the same: Blowing up balloons. Began alternating ice and moist hot towels on the shoulder. Worked on the the Nikon Focus Fine-tune Guide. Found out in part just how bad the Nikon camera body User’s Manuals are. Ate well.
Happy birthday today to the Executive Director of BIRDS AS ART, a wonderful woman, mother, and wife; my older daughter, Jennifer Lauren Morris. Hard to believe that she is 48 today … I can vividly remember hiding in the bathroom of the delivery room at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn as if it were only yesterday. I peeked out the half-opened door as she was born. Things have sure changed.
Please note: I forgot to include the following (important) item in the the Head Soft? Feet Sharp? blog post here.
Don’t Forget!
If you try this technique, it is absolutely imperative that you set your AFA or AF Fine-tune value back to the correct number when your flight photography session is complete. If you forget that step all of your images in the next session will be considerably front-focused …
The Streak
Today makes two hundred thirty-one days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took less than an hour to prepare. With all of my upcoming free time (or not…), the plan right now is to try to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections and my continuing insanity willing.
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. Patrick Sparkman saved $350 on a recent purchase!
The Used Gear Page
Action on the Used Gear Page recently has been fantastic. You can see all current listings here.
Recent Sales
David Solis sold a brand new Sanho HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA 3 1 TB wireless photo/video memory card backup for $399.00 after being contacted on the first day of listing.
David Solis sold his Canon EF 300 mm f/2.8L IS USM (the original version) lens in excellent plus condition for $2399.00 after being contacted on the first day of listing.
David Solis sold his Canon EF 500 mm f/4L IS USM (the “old five”) in excellent plus condition with perfect glass for the BAA record low price of $3399.00.
Les Greenberg sold his Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM zoom lens in mint condition to a local buyer and is sending me a check for 2 1/2% of the original asking price of $1599.
Joel Williams sold his Fujifilm XF 50 f/2 R WR lens in like-new condition for only $299 in early March.
Rajat Kapoor sold his Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens (the “old 1-4”) in near-mint condition the first day is was listed for $649.
Jim Brennan sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens (the “old five”) in near-mint condition and a Canon EF 1.4 III teleconverter in very good condition for $3,599.00 right after listing them in early March.
Gary Meyer sold his Canon EOS 7D Mark II in near-mint condition for $798 soon after it was listed in early March.
Booking.Com
Several folks on the Spoonbill IPTs used the Booking.Com link below and got great rates and saved a handsome $25.00 in the process. If you too would like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and to earn a $25 reward on your first booking. Thanks to the many who have already tried and used this great service.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of folks 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.
Getting Close and Tall for a Reason
It is a common situation on the cliffs at La Jolla. If you stay back and work with a long focal length, or if you get low as we are accustomed to doing, you can photograph gorgeous pelican heads against distant blue Pacific backgrounds. When a bird lands up on the cliff, to your left, you move to sun angle and the background becomes tan, sunlit sandstone. But if you get as high as you can and get relatively close, you can work against completely shaded backgrounds of wet sandstone. Today’s featured image is an example of that dramatic, studio-like backdrop. One of the tricks to improving as a nature photographer is to imagine “different.”
Somewhere in an old blog post I shared a similar tight head portrait of a Western Gull with the jet-black background. Hey, let’s coin another new term: blackground.
Light Angle?
Where was the sun coming from?
- 1-Right over the top of my head.
- 2-Over my right shoulder.
- 3-Over my left shoulder.
What Don’t I Like About This Image?
There is one thing about this image that bugs me. If you think that you know what it is, please leave a comment.
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Early Spring Photo Opportunities at ILE
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BIRDS AS ART First-ever Master Class
Master Class. Two Full and two Half Days/Friday afternoon, March 30 through lunch on Monday, April 2, 2018: $1999.00. Limit: 4/Openings 3.
The Master Classe will be a small group — strictly limited to four photographers — with the first folks who register having the option of staying at my home ($50/night) or at a chain motel in nearby Lake Wales. Live, think, and breathe photography from Friday afternoon through lunch on Monday (late-morning); all meals included. There will be three afternoon photo sessions (FRI – SUN) hopefully with glorious sunsets like the ones you saw one the blog in December we should have good opportunities with the cranes even in the afternoon. We will enjoy three morning photography sessions (SAT – MON) with the main subjects being tame Sandhill Cranes almost surely with chicks or colts. Also vultures and Cattle Egrets and more. Limpkins are possible. Intermediate telephoto lenses are fine for the cranes, even the chicks at times. A 500 or 600mm lens would be best for many of the situations that we will encounter.
During the day we will sit together around my dining room table and pick everyone’s keepers and enjoy guided Photoshop sessions. On Monday before lunch, folks can make a single large print of their favorite image from the weekend. If you so choose, I will micro-adjust one of your lenses (at one focal length with your #1 camera body–Canon or Nikon) during a group instructional session. All will be welcome to practice what they have learned during the breaks using my set-up and my lighting gear.
To register, please first shoot me an e-mail to check on availability. Then you will be instructed to call Jim or Jen at 863-692-0906 during weekday business hours (except for Friday afternoons) to leave you non-refundable (unless the session sells out) $500 deposit. Only the deposit may be left on credit card. Balances must be paid by check immediately after you register (unless you wish to pay by credit card plus 4% to cover our fees).
I hope that you can join me on this new adventure.
with love, artie
ps: bring your bathing suit if you would like to try my pool.
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Tame birds in breeding plumage and chicks are great fun.
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Gatorland IPT #2. Sunrise: 6:48am. Sunset: 7:58pm.
3 1/2 DAYs: THURS 26 APR through and including the morning of SUN 29 APR. $1599. Limit 5 photographers/Openings: 3.
Must purchase Gatorland Photographers Pass. Click here for details. All early entry. Late stays Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Gatorland IPT #2 should have lots of chicks, and lots of birds in breeding plumage. We will get to photograph Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, and Wood Stork. The Cattle Egrets in full breeding plumage will be present in good numbers. Learn my Gatorland strategy, to get the right exposure, flight photography techniques, my secret Gatorland spots, how to see the best situations (nobody is better at that than me), and how to make great images in extremely cluttered situations.
Help Support the Blog
Please help support my (stupendous) 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.
Facebook
Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack.
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 :).
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