December 27th, 2017 Stuff
As most of you know, I finally put the icing on the 5D Mark IV User’s Guide on Tuesday. Even that took longer than I had expected. You can order a copy here or learn more below. It sure was a lot of work. 🙂 Remember: if your purchase a 5D IV now using this link, you can send me your B&H receipt via e-mail and receive a free copy of the guide.
I had an Osprey on the tall, skinny perch early on Tuesday morning. I worked it from the car with 600 II/2X III/5D IV combo on the BLUBB. As I was tired of clipping the wings on the raised-wing take-off images, I held my rig vertically. So what does the bird do when a grackle flies by too closely? It raises both wings to the side and poses perfectly — right down sun angle of course — with both underwings evenly lit for five seconds. But working vertically I wold have clipped both wingtips. By the time I rotated to horizontal, the handsome bird was just re-folding its wings. There is always tomorrow … Again I took a walk on a long pier with my 400 DO II/1.4X III/1DX II but there was very little going one. I swam my regular, slow 3/4 mile (66 lengths of the pool) at 3:30pm and then headed down to the lake where I had a few almosts with some perched grackles at sunset.
Today, Wednesday, December 27th, 2017 (but not for long), I will be working on some travel plans and on lots of IPT stuff (both old and new).
There are lots of questions below for you to consider; don’t be lazy. Thanks to Eugen J. Dolan, Doug West, David Policansky, Larry Brown, Warren H, and Elinor Osborne for leaving comments at yesterday’s Black and White and Blue and Pewter Abstracts blog post here.
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-one days in a row with a new educational blog post! This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare. 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.
|
|
|
This image was created on the afternoon of Sunday, December 17 from my Sequoia with the BLUBB-supported Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/80 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode was a tactical error. AWB at 5:13pm in rich, late afternoon light.
Three AF points to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo/Manual selection/Shutter Button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point fell on the back of the bird’s lower neck, pretty much on the same plane as the crane’s eye.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -1.
Image #1: Great Blue Heron on edge of canal
|
Lucky Look-Back
This handsome GBH was sitting on the edge of one of the many canals at ILE in a spot that I almost never check or even see. I am not sure why I looked to my right and well back as I headed down to check The Perch at sunset. But there was this nice bird so I figgered that I would photograph it. There will be lots of questions today so do consider leaving a comment if you know any or all of the answers. 🙂
The Tactical Error?
When I wrote this, em>ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/80 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode, what was my tactical error?
Image #1
What are the strengths of Image #1? The weaknesses?
|
|
|
This image was also created on the afternoon of Sunday, December 17 from my Sequoia with the BLUBB-supported Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/80 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB at 5:18pm after a cloud covered the sun.
One AF point to the left and three rows up from the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter Button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point fell on the spot where the bird’s white chin touched the folded neck, pretty much on the same plane as the crane’s eye.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -1.
Image #2: Great Blue Heron on edge of canal
|
Exposure Questions
Exactly how many stops different were the two exposure?
Why did I need -1/3 stop EC for Image #1?
Image #1
What are the strengths of Image #2? The weaknesses?
Your Opinion Please
Which image has the nicer background? Which image has a more pleasing composition? Overall, which image is stronger? Why?
|
|
|
This is an unsharpened 500 pixel wide crop from the image viewed at 100%. No Eye Doctor work, no Contrast Mask on the face or anywhere.
|
For Jay
Does this look sharp to you?
|
|
The 5D Mark IV User’s Guide
|
The 5D Mark IV User’s Guide
$48.00. Order yours here now.
Regular readers of the BAA blog know that I have been loving my 5D Mark IV ever since I got my hands on one about two years ago. Right now I own and use three of them. I love the light weight, the high quality image files, and the great autofocus system that is the same as with the vaunted 1DX II. I use my 5D IV bodies for everything I shoot: birds, flowers, wildlife, scenics, and Urbex and architecture.
The 5D Mark IV User’s Guide has been in production for more than a year as I continued to learn the camera’s intricacies.
As with all BAA Camera User’s Guides you will learn a ton. If you have trouble deciphering the 676 page 5D IV camera body Instructional Menu you will be delighted with this new guide. I explain everything that you need to know about your 5D IV in my clear, concise, informal, easy-to-follow style. You will learn about the top LCD and all camera controls and buttons, about the 5D Mark IV drive modes, how to manually select an AF point, how and why to choose an AF Area Selection Mode (with explanations and sample images), and how to access the various Menus and Menu items.
The guide covers almost all the Menu items and Custom Functions including the following: Image Quality, Auto Lighting Optimizer, Highlight Tone Priority, the AF Configuration Tool (including new information on the Custom Case settings that I have developed and used), Tracking sensitivity, Acceleration/deceleration tracking, AF point auto switching, Lens drive when AF impossible, Orientation linked AF point (I love this feature on the 5D IV!), Highlight alert, Histogram display, Auto rotate, Custom Shooting Mode set-up, Safety shift, using the Q button, setting up rear focus, and lots more.
The guide includes an image gallery with illustrative, educational captions and, for the first time ever, a Cheat Sheet, a concise summary of all menu items with the appropriate settings.
Please note: Some Menu items are not mentioned in the guide either because they deal only with video (which is not covered in this guide) or because they are irrelevant to nature photography. Each of those should be left at the default setting. You will receive your PDF file via e-mail.
You can order a copy of the 5D IV guide by clicking here.
What They are Saying
From Mitch Haimov, the principal reviewer
Thank you for your new 5D IV guide. You’ve put a lot of useful information in there. I appreciate the time and effort you devoted to this project!
Dane Johnson, who caught some nasty typos!
I think that the guide is very well done and packed with lots of useful information, as is usual. The images speak for themselves.
From Lee Sommie, 5D IV B&H Purchaser
This 5D Mark IV User’s Guide is fantastic! Your conversational writing is fun and easy to read. Your explanations of 5D Mark IV functions will appeal to novice and expert alike. This guide is the jump start for all 5D Mark IV wildlife photographers. I can’t put it down. The wait was worth it!
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 :).
December 26th, 2017 Stuff
I am finally done. It feels good. It is a bummer that I am such a perfectionist! Right now I am headed into the pool.
|
|
The 5D Mark IV User’s Guide
|
The 5D Mark IV User’s Guide
$48.00. Order yours here now.
Regular readers of the BAA blog know that I have been loving my 5D Mark IV ever since I got my hands on one about two years ago. Right now I own and use three of them. I love the light weight, the high quality image files, and the great autofocus system that is the same as with the vaunted 1DX II. I use my 5D IV bodies for everything I shoot: birds, flowers, wildlife, scenics, and Urbex and architecture.
The 5D Mark IV User’s Guide has been in production for more than a year as I continued to learn the camera’s intricacies.
As with all BAA Camera User’s Guides you will learn a ton. If you have trouble deciphering the 676 page 5D IV camera body Instructional Menu you will be delighted with this new guide. I explain everything that you need to know about your 5D IV in my clear, concise, informal, easy-to-follow style. You will learn about the top LCD and all camera controls and buttons, about the 5D Mark IV drive modes, how to manually select an AF point, how and why to choose an AF Area Selection Mode (with explanations and sample images), and how to access the various Menus and Menu items.
The guide covers almost all the Menu items and Custom Functions including the following: Image Quality, Auto Lighting Optimizer, Highlight Tone Priority, the AF Configuration Tool (including new information on the Custom Case settings that I have developed and used), Tracking sensitivity, Acceleration/deceleration tracking, AF point auto switching, Lens drive when AF impossible, Orientation linked AF point (I love this feature on the 5D IV!), Highlight alert, Histogram display, Auto rotate, Custom Shooting Mode set-up, Safety shift, using the Q button, setting up rear focus, and lots more.
The guide includes an image gallery with illustrative, educational captions and, for the first time ever, a Cheat Sheet, a concise summary of all menu items with the appropriate settings.
Please note: Some Menu items are not mentioned in the guide either because they deal only with video (which is not covered in this guide) or because they are irrelevant to nature photography. Each of those should be left at the default setting. You will receive your PDF file via e-mail.
You can order a copy of the 5D IV guide by clicking here.
What They are Saying
From Mitch Haimov, the principal reviewer
Thank you for your new 5D IV guide. You’ve put a lot of useful information in there. I appreciate the time and effort you devoted to this project!
Dane Johnson, who caught some nasty typos!
I think that the guide is very well done and packed with lots of useful information, as is usual. The images speak for themselves.
From Lee Sommie, 5D IV B&H Purchaser
This 5D Mark IV User’s Guide is fantastic! Your conversational writing is fun and easy to read. Your explanations of 5D Mark IV functions will appeal to novice and expert alike. This guide is the jump start for all 5D Mark IV wildlife photographers. I can’t put it down. The wait was worth it!
December 26th, 2017 Stuff
I spent most of the day on Monday finishing up the 5D Mark IV User’s Guide. It should be in the BAA Online Store some time this morning; you will receive a short notice. It was another cloudy/foggy morning and again I took a walk on a long pier with my 400 DO II/1.4X III/1DX II. Aside from a few flight images of vultures there was not much going on. I swam my regular, slow 3/4 mile (66 lengths of the pool) at 4pm and then headed down to the lake where aside from a few flight images of vultures there was not much going on.
Important Note
More than a few folks over the past few days have sent requests for their free copy of the 5D Mark IV Guide along with their B&H receipts. When I searched my account by their order number, there was no record of the transaction. When I asked them about it, it turned out that either they made a phone order and never mentioned BIRDS AS ART (please remember, web orders only), or that they simply had not used a BAA affiliate link. Please remember to make all of your B&H purchases by starting with the generic Photo Gear and More B&H logo link on the top right of each blog page, or to use a product-specific or to e-mail for one and then click on that. Using these links won’t cost you one penny more and are the best way to thank me for the work that I put into the blog and the time I spend answering your queries via e-mail. Using my Amazon links helps too. All of your efforts are appreciated.
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 days in a row with a new educational blog post! This blog post took about an hour to prepare. 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.
|
|
|
This image was created somewhere with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 400mm) and my favorite abstract photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/500 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:19am in mostly sunny conditions.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -5.
Center Large Zone AI/Servo/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The system activated an array of four AF points that caught the black thing just below the center.
Image #1: What Is It?
|
Black and White and Blue and Pewter Abstracts
The two featured images in today’s blog post are of the same subject. If you think that you know exactly what they are, please leave a comment. The two images were created from slightly different vantage points.
Image Questions
With regards to the composition, image design, and background, which image do you find more interesting? Why?
With regards to contrast, which do you prefer, the lower contrast in Image #1 or the higher contrast in Image #2?
|
|
|
This image was created somewhere with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 220mm) and my favorite abstract photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1 1/3 stops: 1/640 sec. at f/11 in Av mode. AWB at 8:20am in mostly sunny conditions.
LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: extrapolated to -3.
One AF point below the center AF point AI Servo/Expand AF as framed.
Image #2: What Is It?
|
Exposure Questions
Are the exposures for the two images the same or different? How do you know?
If I got the correct exposure at zero EC why did I need to dial in -1 1/3 stops for the second image to come up with the correct exposure?
|
|
2017 in San Diego was a very good year ….
|
2018 San Diego 3 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART IPT #2: Sunday, JAN 28 thru and including the morning session on Wednesday, JAN 31, 2018 and a free morning session on Saturday, JAN 27: 3 1/2 days (+1/2 free day!): $1699. Limit: 8: Openings: 3.
Meet and Greet at 6:30pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Saturday, Jan 27, 2018.
San Diego IPT #2: Shorter and Less Expensive!
Join me in San Diego near the end of January to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (usually nesting and displaying) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Wood Duck and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seal (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lion; and Bird of Paradise flowers. And as you can see by studying the two IPT cards there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Please note: formerly dependable, both Wood Duck and Marbled Godwit have been declining at their usual locations for the past two years …
|
|
|
San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects. With annual visits spanning more than three decades I have lot of experience there….
|
With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there, is usually some excellent flight photography. And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You can do most of your photography with an 80- or 100-400 lens …
Did I mention that there are wealth of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter?
|
|
|
Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings.
|
The San Diego Details
This IPT will include four 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, three 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, three lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. Dinners are on your own so that we can get some sleep.
A $599 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your slot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “Arthur Morris) to us at BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. Or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance is payable only by check. Please print, complete, and sign the form that is linked to here and shoot it to us along with your deposit check. If you register by phone, please print, complete and sign the form as noted above and either mail it to us or e-mail the scan. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.
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 :).
|
|
