Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Stuff

Saturday started out looking like another gray day but before I knew it the sun was out. I headed to the lake at 8:30am. About a dozen times I had a vulture doing a perfect full double wing stretch taking in the morning sun. And a dozen times I screwed up by taking too long. I came away with nothing. There’s always next time. In the evening the sunset was very clear so I came up with a new strategy: I quit trying to get the Anhinga against the ball of the sun and photographed it against the bright sky. Why? When it does its elaborate stretching it does not completely fit inside the disc of the sun. I missed the dependable head-down stretch while moving the tripod but got a few good ones of the takeoff. There’s always next time.

I was having a problem autofocusing with the 600 II and the 2X III TC last night — AF simply did not work. I will try to figure things out this morning; is the problem is with the lens, the camera, or the TC. Depending on what I learn, I might be doing lots of micro-adjusting today …

Again I spent much of the day doing second and third edits on various folders to make more room on my laptop. The pool temps continue to drop so I tried out my new snorkeling vest and kept myself fairly warm for another mile. It was the first time that I had done a mile three days in a row. Soon I will be one month without swimming.

How I Got Lucky

While multiple IPT veteran Jake Levin of Montreal, Canada, left a near-perfect answer to the “In what ways did I get lucky with the Black Vulture flight image in yesterday’s blog post here, not a single person attempted to answer the quality of light question. Revisits are welcome. Well done Jake. I will see Jake again on the San Diego #1 IPT; there are still 3 spots open on San Diego #2.

Jake Levin
December 30, 2017 at 1:03 pm · Reply · Edit

How I think you got lucky:

1) The bird started flying away, but looked back towards you, creating a good head angle.

2) The selected focus point caught a piece of the wing on the same plane as the bird’s head and eye.

3) The vulture was captured entirely within the blue area created by the background water, meaning you didn’t get any lines cutting through it.

4) The wing position at the time of exposure didn’t create any shadows on the body.

To that I would add that had the wings been down I would not have even seen the bird’s face …

Click on the logo-link above for great holiday savings!
$300 off on the Canon 100-400 II!

The Streak

Today makes one hundred fifty-four days in a row with a new educational blog post! This blog post took about an hour to prepare including the time spent optimizing the image. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections and my continuing insanity willing.

New Listing

Canon EOS 5D Mark III digital camera body

Gerald Barrack is offering a Canon EOS 5D Mark III digital camera body (with extras) in excellent to near-mint condition for $1,349.00. The sale includes the front cap, the Canon camera strap, one Canon battery, the battery charger, the Really Right Stuff camera body plate (B 5D3 A, a $55.00 value), a Delkin 700X- 64GB compact flash card, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US address only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Interested folks can contact Gerald via e-mail or try him on his cell at 201 638 3510 (Eastern time).

I owned and used this superb, full frame, 22mp digital body for several years. It was always my first choice for scenic, Urbex (urban exploration), and flower photography until I fell in love for a while with the 5DS R (for a lot more money!). Then I switched to the 5D IV body. In addition, I loved my 5D III body for birds with my big lenses and both TCs. I used mine to create many dozens of high quality images. artie

Click here for Amazing 5D Mark IV Bundles and Deals

Here is the best news: those who have used a BAA B&H affiliate link to purchase a 5D Mark IV (or other items totaling $3200 or more) are invited to send us a copy of their B&H receipt via e-mail and receive a free copy of the guide. If you would like to review the document before it is published, please send your receipt now. This offer is also valid for future purchases.

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. 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 DPP 4 Screen Capture Click on the image to see a larger version if you’d like to read the fine print.

The DPP 4 Screen Capture

First, note the location of the selected AF point. Next, note the white parking lot line cutting through the bird along with the rest of the mess in the background. Working at f/14 rather than f/5.6 or f/6.3 surely brought up the unwanted background detail. (See how I cleaned up the background in the optimized image below.)

Aperture/Depth of Field Question

What was I trying to do by choosing a very small aperture? Doing so sure created lots of extra work in post processing …

Image Design Question

Answer this question correctly first might actually help you to get the right answer for the aperture/depth of field question above: why did I select an AF point that placed the bird so far forward in the frame?

Learn everything that there is to know about the great AF system of the 5D Mark IV in the new 5D Mark IV User’s Guide.

This image was created on the morning of November 24 at Robert Moses State Park, Long Island, NY with the BLUBB-supported Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and my favorite gull photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering + 2/3 stop as framed: 1/500 sec. at f/14 in Manual mode. At 8:08am in partly sunny conditions. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -2. Two rows up and three AF points to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the rear upper gape of the bill just in front of and below (and on the same plane as) the eye (as seen in the DPP 4 screen capture below). Great Black-backed Gull, first winter yawning Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version.

The Optimized Image

I knew when I pressed the shutter button with the aperture set to f/14 that I would have lots of extra work to do in post cleaning up the mess in the background. First I selected the background, feathered the selection .7 pixels, and put it on its own layer. By working on the new layer the bird was protected. I used my normal cadre of clean-up tools: the Patch Tool, Content Aware Fill, the Spot Healing Brush, the Clone Stamp Tool, and a series of small Quick Masks that were refined with the addition of Regular Layer Masks. Finally I smoothed out the background with the addition of a 60-pixel Gaussian Blur. I was quite happy with the result, the result that I had envisioned when I pressed the shutter button at f/14.

To see a really nice example of skillful work on a background check out all the learning going on at Joe Przybyla’s fine Florida Burrowing Owl image in the Avian forum of BirdPhotographers.net – It Ain’t Just Birds by clicking here.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) will teach you an efficient Mac or PC/Photo Mechanic/Photoshop workflow that will make it easy for you to make your images better in Photoshop (rather than worse). That true whether you convert your images in DPP 4 or ACR. See the blog post here to learn lots more and to read a free excerpt. You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a Paypal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.

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

Your guessed it, everything mentioned above (and tons more) is covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my Macbook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Do note that you will find the RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing tutorial only in the new e-guide. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

The two most recent and many of the older MP4 Photoshop Tutorial videos releases go hand and hand with the information in DB II):

• The Wingtip Repairs MP4 Video here.
• The MP4 Crow Cleanup Video here.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here.

You can learn how and why I and other discerning Canon shooters convert nearly all of their Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 using Canon Digital Photo Professional in the DPP 4 RAW conversion Guide here. And you can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in the The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly.

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. 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 :).

Stuff

It was a beautiful, still, clear morning on Thursday but there were no birds on the perches. And few elsewhere. Using my hand held 400 DO II/1.4X III/1DX II I had some good flight chances with both Black and Turkey Vultures while working out of the car, and then again when I took my now daily walk on the long pier. I learned yesterday that this pier is the longest fresh water pier in the state of Florida. I did swim a slow mile midday, 88 lengths.

I have lots more work to do on my AZ trip and on upcoming Florida IPTs and the new Master Class offerings. Thanks to the many who wrote with Phoenix help and suggestions.

Click on the logo-link above for great holiday savings!
$300 off on the Canon 100-400 II!

The Streak

Today makes one hundred fifty-three days in a row with a new educational blog post! This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare including the time spent optimizing the image. With all of my upcoming free time (or not …), the plan right now is to break the current record streak of 480 … Good health and good internet connections and my continuing insanity willing.

Click here for Amazing 5D Mark IV Bundles and Deals

Here is the best news: those who have used a BAA B&H affiliate link to purchase a 5D Mark IV (or other items totaling $3200 or more) are invited to send us a copy of their B&H receipt via e-mail and receive a free copy of the guide. If you would like to review the document before it is published, please send your receipt now. This offer is also valid for future purchases.

Booking.Com

Booking.Com came through for me twice again recently with both the DeSoto Fall IPT and next July’s UK Puffins, Gannets, and Bempton Pre-trip room reservations. And all the rates were great. If you’d like to give Booking.Com a shot, click here and you will earn a $25 reward. 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.

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM macro Lens

Price Drop!

Galapagos IPT veteran Paul Reinstein is offering a Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM macro lens in near-mint condition for the bargain price of $225. Why such a ridiculously low price? The lens has a speck of dirt near the center of the lens. Paul tested the lens at f/22 with both near and far focus and the speck was never visible in the image of a clean light background. The sale includes the lens hood, the front and rear lens caps, the original product box, and insured shipping via the US Postal Service to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made. Photos are available upon request.

Please contact Paul via e-mail or by phone at 1-310-946-903 (Pacific time).

Both Denise Ippolito and I loved this lens for flowers and more. She used it hand held almost all the time; I on a tripod about 75% of the time. Different strokes. It is a lightweight, super-sharp lens. At the minimum focusing distance of 12 inches it offers true macro at 1:1 magnification. Note: the tripod ring is not included with this lens even when you buy a new one; you can go with the Canon Tripod Mount Ring D for IS 100mm f/2.8L Macro lens or the far less expensive Vello Tripod Collar D (Black) for Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro lens. artie

This image was created at Fort DeSoto on the morning of October 28, 2017 with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 520m), and my favorite flight photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +3 stops off the light gray sky: 1/500 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. AWB at 9:34am on a cloudy day. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: extrapolated to -1. One row up and four AF points to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure as framed. As seen by the illuminated red AF point above, the selected AF point was on the bird’s shoulder. The DPP 4 Screen Capture Click on the image to see a larger version if you’d like to read the fine print.

BLACKs Too Dark …

Note that with nearly all the data in the right-most (highlight) box of the histogram that the very dark tones on the cormorant are way too dark. I did not want to overdo the Shadow slider so I moved it only to +1 for the RAW conversion in DPP 4 and dealt with the too dark tones in Photoshop as detailed below.

Double-crested Cormorant and Derelict Navigation Tower Click on the image to enjoy a larger version.

The Juxtapositional Concept

The Navigation Tower in the background of today’s featured image was wrecked in Hurricane Irma. Hundreds of pelicans, cormorants, and gull can usually be seen roosting on what is left of it. I have photographed it often in different types of light but have never published any of them here. I had zero interest in photographing this cormorant but as I walked by it the derelict tower crept into the frame of my vision so I went to work. Choosing your side-to-side (and to a lesser degree, in this case, the up and down) perspective in situations where you are trying to create a pleasing juxtaposition of two objects is of course paramount to the success of the image. I just love that the tower is completely out of focus. Realize that with the 1.4X III TC in place that wide open is f/8; I was not going for more depth of field at f/9 in an effort to get the tower sharp. In fact, had it even been possible to render the two sharp I would not have liked the image at all.

Dealing with the BLACKs

I began working with the too dark dark tones on the whole bird. I selected the bird using the Quick Selection Tool (W), feathered the selection .7 pixels, put it on its own layer (Command + J), and applied my NIK 40/40 Detail Extractor/Tonal Contrast recipe. That was perfect but the bird was squinting and its face was still too dark. First I did some Eye Doctor work: I opened the eye a bit with a small, transformed Quick Mask and the Warp command; then I used Tim Grey dodge and burn to darken the pupil and lighten the iris; next I touched things up with the Clone Stamp Tool; and finally I selected the iris with the Quick Selection Tool (W) and increased the Saturation on that layer only (Command + U). The eye was looking much better.

Next I selected the bird’s face, bill, and neck, again with the Quick Selection Tool (W). I put that on its own layer and pulled up the Curve (Command + M). The problem was that there was a visible line where the lightening met the darker body. To eliminate that I added a Regular Layer Mask and painted the line away (B + D + X) with a fairly large 50% brush. Last was a bit of a pano crop.

Your Thoughts?

Do you like the image? Why or why not? How might you have improved it either in the field or at the computer. What if anything did you learn from this blog post?

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) will teach you an efficient Mac or PC/Photo Mechanic/Photoshop workflow that will make it easy for you to make your images better in Photoshop (rather than worse). That true whether you convert your images in DPP 4 or ACR. See the blog post here to learn lots more and to read a free excerpt. You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a Paypal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.

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

Your guessed it, everything mentioned above (and tons more) is covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. The new e-Guide reflects my Macbook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow. Do note that you will find the RGB Curves Adjustment Color Balancing tutorial only in the new e-guide. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

The two most recent and many of the older MP4 Photoshop Tutorial videos releases go hand and hand with the information in DB II):

• The Wingtip Repairs MP4 Video here.
• The MP4 Crow Cleanup Video here.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here.

You can learn how and why I and other discerning Canon shooters convert nearly all of their Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 using Canon Digital Photo Professional in the DPP 4 RAW conversion Guide here. And you can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in the The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and yours truly.

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. 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 :).