March 16th, 2018 Stuff
The shoulder is getting a little bit better each day but abduction of the left arm is greatly restricted and when I try, the pain is a pain 🙂 Especially at night, even when I am doing nothing. My replacement D5 arrived today. Two folks have signed up for Gatorland #2 so we will have late stay for that Thursday night. More reason to join. See the details below.
The Streak
Today makes two hundred twenty-eight days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about an hour and a half 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 Nikon D850/D5 Focus Fine-tune Guide
I will start working on the Nikon D850/D5 Focus Fine-tune Guide tomorrow. There is lots of mis-information out there on Nikon Automatic AF Fine-tune. Working with Patrick Sparkman, we developed a way of using that feature effectively. Patrick was on a roll and perfected a method for using the Focus Peaking feature available only on the D850 to quickly and accurately micro-adjust all lenses and TC-Es with your D-850. Both Nikon Automatic AF Fine-tune and D850 Focus Peaking AF Fine-tune require a LensAlign Mark II kit so that you can obtain accurate results. I learned recently that the Nikon D500 DSLR does offer Automatic AF Fine-tune.
Folks who use one of my links to purchase a Nikon D850, a Nikon D5 DSLR Camera (Body Only, Dual XQD Slots), a Nikon D500 DSLR , or any Nikon gear totaling more than $2,000 will receive the new guide free. I hope to have it finished in two weeks but don’t hold me to it 🙂
The Used Gear Page
Action on the Used Gear Page recently has been fantastic. You can see all current listings here.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 Mirrorless Digital Camera plus two-lens package!
Top BAA Used Gear page seller Jim Keener is offering a Fujifilm X-Pro2 Mirrorless Digital Camera in like-new condition ($1699 new), a Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR (Black) Lens in like-new condition ($449 new), and a Fujifilm XF 50mm f/2 R WR (Black) Lens (also $449 new) in like-new condition for the amazing low giving-it-away price of $1699.00. The sale includes the front cap, five Fujifilm batteries, the charger, the original box, the camera strap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to the 48 contiguous states only. The camera will not ship until your check clears. No PayPal.
Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 310-741-7435 (9am-9pm Mountain time).
The long-awaited successor to Fujifilm’s first X-series mirrorless digital camera, the X-Pro2 sports a high-resolution X-Trans CMOS III sensor and redeveloped X-Processor Pro, along with the tested rangefinder-inspired design now synonymous with the X-Pro system. Now weighing in at 24.3MP, the APS-C CMOS sensor incorporates the proprietary X-Trans technology and its randomized pixel array to afford a high degree of sharpness and accurate color reproduction, along with high expanded sensitivity to ISO 51200. When paired with the X-Processor Pro, the camera is capable of recording stills at up to 8 fps and Full HD 1080p video at 60 fps, along with quick focusing and overall performance speeds. Unique among camera designs, the X-Pro2 is also heavily characterized by its Advanced Hybrid Multi Viewfinder that blends both optical and electronic viewing methods into a single, switchable finder, giving you the best of both worlds in regard to clear viewing and the ability to preview exposure settings prior to shooting. Cementing its place as a professional tool, the X-Pro2 also features a robust, weather-sealed body design accented by a range of physical controls for intuitive handling in any condition. B&H
With this package going for $2597.00 new grabbing it now will save you nearly $1K! With the body in like-new condition it’s as if you are getting the two lenses free. 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.
The Situation
The beach where these birds nested was strewn with jagged limestone rocks. Getting down on your belly was not possible. Sitting required you to clear an area of rocks to avoid puncturing your butt. But when I was seated, the background was plain ugly: green grass interspersed with white limestone rocks and boulders. Along with lots of plastic trash, more than I have seen anywhere in the world. I knew that I needed to get lower to take advantage of the gorgeous green background provided by a relatively distant beach bush. What to do?
How I Got Low When I Could Not Get Low …
I came up with a plan that involved trying something that I had never tried before. First I set my exposure manually. Then I lowered my Induro GIT 204 tripod so that the lens was about six inches off the ground. Then I pulled out the large (moveable) rear LCD screen and tilted it up. Next I turned on Live View and set up Touch Shutter by tapping the visible icons upper left. I framed the shot, tightened the tripod controls a bit, and began making photos by tapping the rear LCD where I wanted to focus. I am not sure how I wound up at f/11 but it turned out to be a blessing. For the most part the big chick was just sitting there. When it yawned, its head came up a bit so I raised the lens just a bit and tapped the rear LCD to focus and fire. I nearly clipped the upper mandible in the NEF file but was easily able to add canvas above and right using John Haedo Content Aware Fill (as detailed in Digital Basics II). The small aperture helped to ensure that the eye was sharp even though the system focused where I tapped, on the lower mandible. And the bush was far enough away to remain pleasingly out of focus. This technique is great with static subject but less than elegant or ideal when the bird moves. I got lucky with today’s featured image. I love to put on my thinking cap in the field and come up with effective new techniques. 🙂
The Induro GIT 204
I recently discovered the Induro GIT 204, the smaller, lighter cousin of the GIT 304L. The 204 folds down to 21 inches for easy packing and at 4.2 pounds (but rated to hold 44 pounds of gear), makes an ideal travel tripod for folks using intermediate telephoto lenses like the Canon 100-400 II, the Canon 300mm f/4L IS, the Nikon 80-400mm VR, and the Nikon 200-500. All of those and the rest of the versatile intermediate telephoto lenses available today do best when your tripod is topped by a Mongoose M3.6. And the GIT 204 is priced at only $525.00, $124 less than its larger, six-inch taller cousin, the GIT 304L. I brought the 204 to Cayman Brac and used it with the 200-500 most often with the TCE-14III and always once the sun had disappeared behind the taller houses each afternoon; it performed superbly. The booby chicks were so cute that we often stayed to photograph them until well after sunset. I will be bringing the 204 on my next Southern Oceans adventure, (October 2018) for the Emperor Penguin chicks — we hope. B&H does not carry the GIT 204; you can order yours by clicking here right now; there are only four left in stock.
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Tame birds in breeding plumage 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.
(2 1/2 DAY option) FRI 27 APR through and including the morning of SUN 29 APR. $1199.
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.
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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. 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.
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 15th, 2018 Stuff
My shoulder is feeling a bit better each day but it continues to bother me after five or so hours of sound sleep. So I get up and ice it and then go back to sleep. I went into town to get my teeth cleaned in the morning and blew up lots of balloons during the rest of the day. My exercise regimen right now includes ten different positions and takes about an hour if I do them back to back to back … I do them two or three times a day.
My D5 arrives tomorrow so I will be getting started on the Nikon AF Fine-tune Guide.
The Streak
Today makes two hundred twenty-seven days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about an hour and a half 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 Nikon D850/D5 Focus Fine-tune Guide
I will be working on a Nikon D850/D5 Focus Fine-tune Guide soon as my replacement D5 arrives provided that my shoulder continues to improve. There is lots of mis-information out there on Nikon Automatic AF Fine-tune. Working with Patrick Sparkman, we perfected a method of using the Focus Peaking feature available only on the D850 to quickly and accurately micro-adjust all of your lenses and TC-Es with your D-850. Both Nikon Automatic AF Fine-tune and D850 Focus Peaking AF Fine-tune require a LensAlign Mark II kit so that you can obtain accurate results. I learned recently that the Nikon D500 DSLR does offer Automatic AF Fine-tune.
Folks who use one of my links to purchase a Nikon D850, a Nikon D5 DSLR Camera (Body Only, Dual XQD Slots), a Nikon D500 DSLR , or any Nikon gear totaling more than $2,000 will receive the new guide free. I hope to have it finished in two weeks but don’t hold me to it 🙂
The Used Gear Page
Action on the Used Gear Page recently has been fantastic. You can see all current listings here.
Canon EOS-1D X Professional Digital Camera Body & and a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens
Katherine Tryon is offering a Canon EOS-1D X in excellent condition (with less than 16,000 shutter actuations) and a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens for the very fair price of $2324.00. The sale includes the lens strap, an extra LP-E4N battery (new-in-box), the battery charger, the manuals, the protective battery caps, the original box, and insured ground shipping via UPS to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.
Please contact Katherine via e-mail by phone at 1-904-613-9756 (Eastern time).
Two 1DX bodies severed admirably as my workhorse digital camera bodies for several years when I was using Canon gear. The original 1DX has a superb AF system and produces high quality image files. It is fabulous for photographing birds in flight and in action. Some folks wish that they had kept there 1DX bodies and not upgraded to the 1DX Mark II. artie
Amy Says …
I received this e-mail from physiotherapist Amy Novotny on March 10:
Artie, You have been one of my favorite patients. It has been a gift to work with you and meet you. Thank you for trusting me enough to follow my guidance. Keep it up. 🙂 Amy
I wrote back and asked her to write up something simple describing my case and my progress. Here is her reply:
When I first met artie in January, he was desperate for help physically. At that time, he walked on his toes very unsteadily. He was not able to touch his knees together and leaned forward at his hips as though he might fall over at any time. He had numerous complaints of pain and limited motion throughout his body–left knee, low back, mid back, right shoulder, tingling in his hands, hip/buttocks with driving– to name a few. His ribs did not move at all, neither did his hips or pelvis because his back was so locked up. He was not able to squat and was told that he needed a knee replacement. After the first set of eight treatments, he left the clinic able to sit pain free to drive 25-30 minutes, he was able to squat to touch the floor (rather than having to bend over at the waist). He had days with no low back or left knee pain and his shoulder motion improved. He returned for nine more treatments in March and had slight regressions but was able to maintain a lot of his rib and upper body mobility. The focus became on his lower body and unlocking his hips from his low back to allow them to shift and move so as to allow for a normal walking pattern. We achieved that and I taught him how to walk again. He returned home pain free throughout his body. His case is one of my proudest as I could not have done this without his hard work and complete follow through with my instructions. Congratulations Artie!
Amy Novotny, PT, DPT
DHT Physical Therapy, Chandler, AZ 85224. 480-963-9339
Amy’s Impressions
Arizona Highways Photo Workshops Volunteer Trip Leader
My Thoughts
Even though Amy stated clearly from the get-go that my body was a wreck with nothing working the way it should, I did not think that I was that bad. And I do feel that I was desperate; I had had previous successes with a variety of alternative medicine treatments over the years and once I heard of Muriel McClellan’s elimination of her bone-on-bone knee pain I was looking for a miracle. With Amy’s help, I am well on my way. I just made plans to return to PHX for additional visits 30 APR through 10 MAY of this year.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was a visit to a local orthopedic surgeon. At the end of my session he said to me, “I am a great surgeon. I don’t need your business. I am doing 20 knee replacements every week. But as a friend, I must advise that you have knee replacement surgery as soon as possible …” I bought my first plane ticket to Phoenix the next day. 🙂
The Situation
You have a fairly distant and thus small-in-the-frame subject in lovely habitat. You need and want to keep the bird on one side of the frame or another. What is the best AF strategy to use? Note: If you are working with a sleeping or resting bird, you choice of AF Point or AF-area mode with Nikon (AF Area Selection mode in Canon) really does not matter. If you can get an AF point on the bird you can stay in C — Continuous (AI Servo in Canon) and use just about any AF area, even single point. If there is not an AF point in the array that covers the bird you will need to go to Single (One-shot in Canon), switch to rear button focus, or use Focus Lock (as I do with Nikon via the AF-ON button). Problems arise when the bird is walking or swimming or foraging as in today’s featured image. And that goes double when the are constantly changing direction …
Small-in-the-Frame AF Tip for Nikon
When I first tried figuring out how to tackle this situation with my new Nikon gear, I went with either d-25 or d-72. The problem was that with so many AF points — 153 I think, 55 of those selectable — it simply took to long to move the array from one side of the frame to the other — ten taps I believe. When I encountered today’s Black-necked Stilt moving left and then right and the back the other way, I decided to experiment with 3D. This activates all 153 AF points and lets you pick one of the 55 selectable as your starting point. I went with the center AF point and was fairly amazed that when I re-framed the subject the AF point did a great job of staying right where I had placed it. So if I acquired focus with 3D with the center AF point on the bird’s neck and re-framed to move the bird to one side of the frame of the other, AF held accurately most of the time on the bird’s neck. And this worked well whether the bird was moving right or left. I will admit that not every image was perfectly sharp on the eye but the compositional freedom offered by 3D in this specific situation was fabulous. And I wound up keeping 20 very sharp images.
Small-in-the-Frame AF Tip for Canon
In the same situation with Canon I would have immediately gone to Large Zone AF. It does a great job of acquiring and holding focus with birds on one side of the frame or the other. I would need to switch from left Large Zone to right Large Zone as the bird changed direction but doing so requires only two taps of the joystick. I will admit that I almost never tried 61-Point AF with Canon; it is most similar to Nikon’s 3D.
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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. 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.
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 14th, 2018 Stuff
I am finishing this blog post on Tuesday evening in hopes of sleeping late on Wednesday. The shoulder felt a lot better as Tuesday wore on. I got lots of work accomplished with travel plans for the lucky Falklands IPT (sold out for forever) group and will be doing the same for the long sold out UK Puffins and Gannets IPT over the next few days.
I spoke to Cliff Oliver and described what was going on with my left arm and shoulder. He felt that it was likely that I have a tear in one of the four rotator cuff muscles. He suggested a few alternative treatments and is 100% sure that I can heal up without surgery. I spoke to Amy Novotny on FaceTime and she had me try a few different test positions and feels that it is very likely that my rotator cuff is intact and that I just need to keep icing and keep up with my ballon exercise protocol. Both conversations buoyed me.
The Streak
Today makes two hundred twenty-six days in a row with a new educational blog post! This one took about two hours 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 Nikon D850/D5 Focus Fine-tune Guide
I will be working on a Nikon D850/D5 Focus Fine-tune Guide soon as my replacement D5 arrives provided that my shoulder continues to improve. There is lots of mis-information out there on Nikon Automatic AF Fine-tune. Working with Patrick Sparkman, we perfected a method of using the Focus Peaking feature available only on the D850 to quickly and accurately micro-adjust all of your lenses and TC-Es with your D-850. Both Nikon Automatic AF Fine-tune and D850 Focus Peaking AF Fine-tune require a LensAlign Mark II kit so that you can obtain accurate results. I learned recently that the Nikon D500 DSLR does offer Automatic AF Fine-tune.
Folks who use one of my links to purchase a Nikon D850, a Nikon D5 DSLR Camera (Body Only, Dual XQD Slots), a Nikon D500 DSLR , or any Nikon gear totaling more than $2,000 will receive the new guide free. I hope to have it finished in two weeks but don’t hold me to it 🙂
The Used Gear Page
Action on the Used Gear Page recently has been fantastic. You can see all current listings here.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Jim Brennan is offering a used Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent plus condition for only $1,219.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, ET-87 Lens Hood, LZ1326 Lens case and strap, Lens Quick Guide, Warranty card, CD, and the original box and packaging. I am the original owner and bought the lens new in November of 2012. I am a non smoker, the glass is free of scratches, haze, and fungus. The body is in beautiful condition with no dents, dings, scratches, or paint chips missing. There are minor signs of wear on bottom of lens foot, and signs of wear around a couple of the screws where lens collar rotates around body. All switches function as they should and zoom ring rotates smoothly. This lens is very sharp. Photos are available upon request. The sale includes insured shipping via UPS ground to US addresses only. I will only accept personal checks or a certified check unless other arrangements are made. The items will not ship until buyer’s check clears my bank; signature required upon delivery.
Please contact Jim e-mail or by cellphone: 1-(609) 432-9210 (Eastern time).
The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II is an amazingly versatile lens; I made a zillion great images with it when I was using Canon. It works well with both the 1.4X III and the 2X III TCs, even with the 7D II! It is easily hand holdable. It is great for tame birds, landscapes, urbex, indoor stuff likes concerts and recitals, and just about anything you want to photograph. A new 70-200 II currently sells for $1,949 so you can save a cool $730 by buying Jim’s lens at a great low price. artie
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This image was created at the Gilbert Water Ranch Alafia Banks on the morning of Friday, March 9, 2018. The camera was the Nikon D850. ISO 800. Matrix metering at zero: 1/125 sec. at f/6.3. AUTO2 WB at 7:48am on a cloudy morning.
Click on the image to see a larger version.
Anna’s Hummingbird, male with gorget lit up
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The Questions
In the Sharpness and Image Quality, Focal Length, and Cropping Quiz … blog post here I asked the following:
What focal length do you think was used to create today’s featured image?
What percentage of the original pixels do you think the image above represents?
- a- 10.3%< (a huge crop)/li>
- b- 24.7% (a very large crop)
- c- 39.5% (a large crop)
- d- 53.1% (a very healthy crop)
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The full frame original …
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The Answers
Immediately above is the full frame original image capture. More than a few folks correctly thought that I was using the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens and the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III, with the Nikon D850. And they were correct.
As for the crop, I trapped almost everyone by putting the seemingly impossible correct answer as choice a- 10.3%< (a huge crop).
Only Galapagos Photo Cruise veteran Dietmar Haenchen nailed the crop answer when he posted:
Since we are dealing with a very small bird, I guess you used the long end of the 80-400 and used a huge crop (a). If my guess is right, I would say that the image quality is amazingly good. This would be a great statement for the camera and lens. Overall, not considering the my guessed crop factor, the sharpness and image quality still is very good.
Though he guessed the wrong lens his guess was not a bad one. Why? The magnification of the Nikon 600mm is 0.14X. The magnification of the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens is 0.2X. All that I needed to do was get closer — perched hummers are often ridiculously tame — and the bird would have occupied a larger part of the original frame. If you are having trouble understanding how a 400mm lens can have a greater magnification than a 600mm lens the answer lies in the minimum focusing distances of the two lenses: 1.75 meters (5.74 feet) for the 80-400, and 4.4 meters (14.4 feet) for the 600mm.
Dietmar was 100% correct with his comments on the sharpness and image quality; even I was amazed.
The Pixel Math
The pixel dimensions of the converted, flattened 8-bit TIFF file are 8526 px X 5504 px = 130 M. The pixel dimensions of the cropped flattened 8-bit TIFF file are 2647 px X 1764 px = 13.4 M. So the cropped file represents only 10.3% of the original file. It is hard to believe how well image quality held up when 89.7% of the original pixels were cropped away and discarded …
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This image was created by friend/client Muriel McClellan on a recent Antarctica photo cruise with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 400mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering (probably at about -1/3 stop as framed: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. The EXIF shows Custom WB; I have no idea where that came from …
Image #1: Humpback Whale tail with texture from Daily Textures’ wildlife package
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My Favorite Whale Tail
Thanks again to multiple IPT veteran Muriel McClellan for sharing her whale tale images with the group. Like many of the folks who commented I liked them both. By I felt that Image #1 (above) was by far the stronger image. Why? I liked the tighter framing of the tale and the water dripping off the tail is fabulous. But the magical, almost mystical mood created in part by Muriel’s choice of texture and her handling of the background tonalities put #1 over the top for me. Lots of folks who commented agreed with me and almost as many preferred Image #2. If you missed the original A Whale of a Tale. Or the Tails of Whales? blog post you can click here to see both images.
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Early Spring Photo Opportunities at ILE
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BIRDS AS ART first-ever Master Class
Master Class Session 2. Two Full and two Half Days/Friday afternoon, March 30 through lunch on Monday, April 2, 2018. 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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Typos
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