Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

What’s Up?

I was discharged from Thornton Hospital a bit before noon on Friday March 25. I saw Dr. Parsons who said that everything went perfectly and that I looked great. But for the expected discomfort I am feeling pretty good. I am back at Robin and Patrick’s home resting. The trick now is to avoid developing an internal infection. Many thanks for all the prayers and good wishes.

I was pleased to learn on Thursday that Barry and Marilyn Barfield of Brisbane, Australia signed up for the Japan IPT. Three slots are now filled.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 141 days in a row with a new educational blog post. Assuming that I will be making the trip to Namibia on April 11, this streak will come to an end soon. As always–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) that we would appreciate your business.

This image was created at La Jolla, CA with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 188mm) and the amazing mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 50. Exposure determined trial and error via histogram check: 30 seconds at f/16. Daylight WB. Center AF point (Manual selection)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the closest part of the large rock on the left and re-composed (as is almost always best when creating tripod-mounted land- or sea-scapes). Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Offshore rocks and high surf

What do you do when nothing’s happening?

Another Option

What can you do when nothing’s happening? You can reach into your gadget bag and grab something that you have been meaning to try for quite some time…

With wind against sun conditions and bright blue skies, things were not looking too good. First I reached for my Singh-Ray Mor-Slow 10-stop Neutral Density (ND) filter. Then I screwed the Canon foot/Wimberley P-20 plate assembly onto the 100-400 II, mounted one of my two 5DS R bodies on the lens, and placed the rig on my Induro GIT 304 tripod. When I am hand holding the 1-4 as I usually do, I almost always remove the foot. In fact, it is usually not on the lens. I put it on only when I need to put the lens on a tripod as with today’s image.

More 100-400 II Versatility

Today we see the new 1-4 as a seascape lens with a wonderful focal length range for extracting a variety of elements from a wider scene.

Canon Foot/Wimberley P-20 Plate Notes

When I am hand holding, I generally remove the Canon foot/Wimberley P-20 plate assembly and place it in my vest, in my fanny pack, or in my Think Tank rolling bag, depending on whatever. Note that for best balance the P-20 plate should be mounted backwards on the 100-400 II with the flange at the front of the foot. The flange stops the plate from twisting. By mounting it backwards it is easy to balance the 100-400 II perfectly whether it is zoomed all the way in or all the way out. With this unorthodox configuration, the rear end of the P-20 plate sometimes prevents you from un-mounting the lens as it hits into the viewfinder box on the top front of the camera body; it is best to get into the habit of loosening the tripod collar before un-mounting the lens.

Singh-Ray 10-Stop ND Tutorial: making 30 second exposures in bright sun

When I tried the 10-Stop ND in Alaska on the last Bear Boat IPT, I learned that it is mandatory to have an absolutely stationary subject to go along with the moving water. If the subject is sloshing around in the current, it will not be sharp and the image will be ruined. The nice rock formation off the coast of La Jolla fit the bill perfectly. And the strong west wind was slamming big waves into the rocks.

Here is the technique that I developed for using the 10-stop ND painlessly and effectively.

• With the rig on the Mongoose, frame the image as desired and tighten both the horizontal and vertical locking knobs. Turn the zoom ring a bit toward Tight to prevent an unwanted focal length change.
• Level the image by rotating the lens in the tripod collar by using the electronic level. I prefer the in-viewfinder level to the one on the rear LCD. Then tighten the tripod collar snugly.
• Set the ISO to 100 (or to 50 if possible).
• You will need to focus accurately before you put the 10-Stop ND otherwise neither you nor the AF system will be able to see anything as the viewfinder will be too dark. Set up for rear focus and focus from 1/3 to halfway into the frame. Alternatively you could use One-Shot Shutter button AF and then turn AF off by moving the AF switch to M (for Manual focus).
• Once you have set the focus, mount the 10-Stop ND; it is imperative that you use the Xume system with the magnetized rings otherwise you will likely screw up the framing and possibly the focus as well if you need to thread the filter onto the lens. See more on the amazing Xume system below.
• Work in manual mode.
• Set the exposure to 30 seconds and start with an aperture of f/16.
• Make an image. There is no need to use the two-second timer, mirror lockup, or the 2-second self timer.
• If it is windy, be sure to remove or tuck in your Black Rapid RS-7 Strap to prevent possible sharpness problems with the rocks; you want them razor sharp.
• Check for blinkies and evaluate the histogram. As always, you want lots of data in the rightmost (highlight) histogram box, the fifth box for Canon, the fourth box for Nikon. Push the exposure just to the point of blinkies and then back off 1/3 stop. This will keep the WHITEs white despite the blend-blur effect. When you get the right exposure, you can mentally note the exposure compensation on the analogue scale; though the viewfinder will be close to black you will be able to see the analog exposure scale. Once you do that, you might wish to experiment with somewhat faster shutter speeds like 15 or 8 seconds. You will of course need to set a correspondingly wider aperture.
• Once you have fine-tuned the exposure, make lots of images. Make some when the waves are really breaking, and make some when there is a lull between sets.

Questions Welcome

If you are confused by anything above, please leave a comment with your question.

Technique Question

Why is it unnecessary to use Live View, Mirror Lock-up, or the 2-second timer when doing 15- or 30-second exposures?

Singh-Ray 77mm Filters

I regularly travel with my Singh-Ray 77mm Warming Circular Polarizer and both the Singh-Ray 5-stop and 10-stop Mor-Slo glass Neutral Density filters. I can use each of them on the 16-35mm f/4L IS, the 24-105mm f/4L IS, the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, and the 100-400mmL IS II. With the intermediate telephotos I always use the Xume magnetized mounting system; this system makes it easy to mount the filters in just a second rather than having to struggle to get them properly threaded. (See more on the Xume system below). Do not use the Xume system with your wide angle lenses as it will cause serious vignetting at the wider settings.

Click on the logo link above to purchase and use the code artie10 at checkout to receive a healthy 10$ discount.

Singh-Ray Filters

Singh-Ray filters have been used by the world’s top photographers for many decades. Singh-Ray is and has been the name in quality filters. I own several of the 77mm filters so that I can attain slow shutter speeds in bright conditions. No other filter manufacturer comes close to matching the quality of Singh-Ray’s optical glass that is comparable to that used by NASA. And they continue to pioneer the most innovative products on the market like their ColorCombo polarizer, Vari-ND variable and Mor-Slo 15-stop neutral density filters. When you use their filters, you’ll create better, more dramatic images and, unlike other filters, with absolutely no sacrifice in image quality. All Singh-Ray filters are handcrafted in the USA.

Best News: 10% Discount/Code at checkout: artie10

To shop for Singh-Ray’s most popular solid ND filter, the 10-Stop Mor-Slo Glass Filter liter (for example), click on the logo link above, click on “Neutral and color Solid Neutral Density Filters (glass), then click on “Mor-Slo™ 5, 10, 15 and 20-Stop Solid Neutral Density Filters (glass),” choose the size and model, add to cart, and then checkout. At checkout, type artie10 into the “Have a coupon? Click here to enter your code” box and a healthy 10% discount will be applied to your total. In addition to enjoying the world’s best filter at 10% off you will be supporting my efforts here on the blog.

The 10- and 15-stop Mor Slo filters are great for landscapes with water and moving clouds. With the 10-stop, 1/125th becomes 8 seconds and with the 15-stop, 4 minutes. Next, I need to get my hands on a 15-stop Mor-Slo ND…

Xume Stuff!

Here is how I use the magnetized Xume system with my intermediate telephoto lenses:

First I screw one XUME 77mm Lens Adapter onto the front of my 100-400 II and another onto the front of the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II.

Next I screw my Singh-Ray 77mm 3-Stop Resin Mor-Slo Neutral Density Filter, my Singh-Ray 77mm 5-Stop Glass Mor-Slo Neutral Density Filter, and my Singh-Ray 77mm LB Warming Circular Polarizer into their own individual XUME 77mm Filter Holders. Be sure not to screw the filters on too tightly to the Filter Holders. If you do, it can be a real challenge to remove the filter when you need it for a wide angle lens. Light pressure is fine.

The lens adapters stay on the lenses. The ND filters and the polarizer stay screwed into their own filter holders as noted above. The filter/filter holder combos are stored in the lovely labeled leather pouches that come with each Singh-Ray filter purchase. The three of them fit perfectly into the small upper left zippered pocket of my Xtrahand vest. When I wish to mount a filter onto the front of one of my intermediate telephoto lenses I simply remove the lens hood, grab the filter that I need, and pop it securely into place in less than an instant. Ah, it’s the magnetic thing!

Be sure to replace the lens hood so that you do not accidentally dislodge the filter by whacking it against some shrubbery when you are walking about. To remove the filter simply remove the lens hood, pop the filter off instantly, place it back in its leather case, and stow it. With the Xume system there are no more tears. You do not have to screw and unscrew the filters onto the front of the lens. There are no more jammed threads. The Xume lens adapters and the filter holders are precision-machined to guarantee fast and secure filter attachment every time.

It is an elegant system but I can recommend it only for intermediate telephoto lenses: when used with short lenses and short zoom lenses some serious vignetting will occur at the wider focal lengths. As noted above, you must use the Xume system when working with the 10-stop ND so that you can snap the filter in place after setting the focus without messing up either the framing or focus as you might if you needed to screw the filter on.

If you own only one lens and two filters I would recommend the XUME 77mm Lens Adapter and Filter Holder Starter Kit. It contains one lens adapter and two filter holders.

The next step up is the XUME 77mm Lens Adapter and Filter Holder Pro Kit. It offers two lens adapters and four filter holders. That one was perfect for me.

If you need Xume stuff for front element sizes other than 77mm please use this link; you will find two pages of good stuff!

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. I just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂

What’s Up?

Robin Sparkman drove me to Thornton Hospital early on Thursday morning. Check-in went smoothly, the staff here is great, and my green light laser surgery went well. I was feeling very good right after I woke up (but understandably a bit drowsy at first) with none of the horribly ill effects of anesthesia that I experienced when I had major spinal surgery for a ruptured disk in 1990. Kudos to Dr. Chen for that. The always smiling Dr. Parson reported that all went well. I have zero pain and just a bit of the expected discomfort that will magically be abated tomorrow morning. I expect to check out on Friday morning. Robin will be picking me up and we will head back to the Sparkman’s home.

Patrick and Robin have been amazingly wonderful to me. They were in the recovery room right after I awoke “just because” even though I had not had a chance to text anyone. They brought my insulin and my food along with my beloved laptop. Once I was in my room both Robin and Pat were beyond helpful. Robin is like a second mother to everyone, even those are are not recuperating from surgery. 🙂 Patrick kindly helped me with several laps of walk-the-hallways. They stayed for several hours until I booted them out at about 7pm. I will be forever appreciative of the kindnesses they have proffered; thank you guys!

Elegant Tern Blog Post Answer

In the blog post here, I asked folks to try and figure out the two things that bugged me about the image, an image that I loved very much. As mentioned yesterday, several folks hit on one of the things that bothered me: the bird should have been placed just a bit more forward in the frame as the tail is a bit too tight to the right frame edge.

Here is the second thing that bugged me, the one that nobody came up with. The tern’s lesser (wing) coverts were slightly disheveled, blown out of place by the wind. This caused what for me is a distracting shadow. My great preference would have been that all of the bird’s feathers had been neatly and smoothly in place.

Do understand that it is possible to love an image yet wish that it were still better.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 140 days in a row with a new educational blog post. Assuming that I will be making the trip to Namibia on April 11, this streak will come to an end soon. As always–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) that we would appreciate your business 🙂

This image was created at La Jolla at 7:37am on the morning of March 22, the same morning that I created the three very different images in yesterday’s blog post here. I used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 400mm) and the amazing mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering at about zero: 1/1250 sec. at f/5.6. Daylight WB. Center AF point (Manual selection)/AI Servo Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). Image #1: Backlit Brown Pelican with bill pouch distended

What do you do when nothing’s happening?

Important Point #1

Take a walk. Get out of your box; for me, that meant shooting against the light. In quickly changing light, take risks with the exposure when something unexpected happens. For the image above, the bird distended its bill pouch only for a second; I raised the lens and fired hoping that the exposure would be good. It was not bad. Had I taken the time to check the exposure, I would have missed the action (however subtle).

Saving Both Images

With strongly backlit pelican images you will almost always toast the white or yellow on the top of the bird’s head as I did in the RAW files for both of today’s images. Unless you are using lots of flash, you will have to live with more than a few over-exposed pixels and attempt to fix them in post. For the top image I simply used a 10% opacity Clone Stamp Tool to tame the brightest whites. The over-exposure in Image #2 was more problematic so I painted a crescent-shaped Quick Mask of the properly exposed yellow feathers, put it on its own layer, moved it into place, reduced the opacity a bit, re-shaped it via Tranform > Warp, and then refined the mask by adding a Regular Layer Mask.

Everything above is detailed in Digital Basics and in APTATS I & II. You can check out all of our educational offerings by clicking here.

This image was created at La Jolla at 9:19am (!) on the morning of March 22, the same morning that I created the three very different images in yesterday’s blog post here. I used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens with the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 504mm) and the amazing mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering at about -2/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/9. Daylight WB. Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). Image #2: Backlit Brown Pelican in daisies

Get into your creative zone!

A backlit bird in daisies at a quarter after nine on a sunny day? You gotta be kidding me. But when conditions are poor as they were that morning with wind against sun, you’ve got to try to create something different.

Important Point #2

With wind against sun conditions, traditional front-lit bird photography opportunities (including and especially flight photography) will be few and far between. Backlit opportunities, however, will abound.

100-400 II Versatility

The new 1-4 continues to amaze me; I have used it probably 70% of the time on my San Diego trip. And I do not hesitate to add the 1.4X III TC when I need the additional reach. This makes the lens even more versatile.

Here We Go Again

Everyone has been great with the image comparisons and the questions; all is greatly appreciated. So here we go again: which do you feel is the stronger image? Please let us know why you made your choice.

IPT Updates

Learn to improve your bird and nature photography with the best instructor on the planet; join a BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour. Learn more and see the schedule here.
immediately below) has lots of room.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmer head portrait, American Oystercatcher dining on surf clam flesh, Common Tern at sunset, Common Tern adult swallowing flatfish, Black Skimmer in flight, newborn Common Tern chick, American Oystercatcher with chick, fresh juvenile Common Tern (with fill flash), and Common Terns copulating.

Nickerson Beach Terns/Skimmers/Oystercatchers Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT): July 18-22, 2016. 4 1/2 DAYS: $1899

Meet and greet at 3pm on the afternoon of Monday, July 18. Limit 10/Openings: 8.

The primary subject species of this IPT will be the nesting Common Terns. The trip is timed so that we will get to photograph tiny chicks as well as fledglings. There will be lots of flight photography including adults flying with baitfish. Creating great images of the chicks being fed is a huge challenge. In addition to the terns we will get to photograph lots of Black Skimmers courting, setting up their nesting territories, and in flight (both singles and large pre-dawn flocks blasting off). Midair battles are guaranteed on sunny afternoons. And with luck, we might even see a few tiny chicks toward the end of the trip. We will also get to photograph the life cycle of American Oystercatcher. This will likely include nests with eggs and tiny chicks, young being fed, and possibly a few fledglings.

Nesting Piping Plover is also possibly. There will be lots of gulls to photograph; most years I am able to find a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls of varying ages in addition to the Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed Gulls. You will learn to identify and age the various gull species. There will likely be some Willets feeding along the surf and with luck we might get to photograph a handsome juvenile or two. In addition to the locally breeding shorebirds, we will likely get to see some southbound migrant arctic-and sub-arctic breeding shorebird species such as Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, and maybe even Red Knot.

From upper left clockwise to center: Black Skimmers with tiny chick, Common Tern landing with baitfish for young, fledged Common Tern chick in dunes, American Oystercatchers/display flight, adult Common Tern with pipefish for chick, Common Tern fledgling in soft light, American Oystercatcher on nest with eggs, American Oystercatcher 3-egg clutch, battling Black Skimmers.

The IPT Logistics

The tour will begin with a meet and greet on the afternoon of Monday, July 18, 2016. That will be followed by our first shooting session at the beach. From Tuesday through and including all of Friday we will have two photography sessions daily. Our morning sessions will start very early so that we are on the beach well before sunrise. We usually photograph for about four hours. Then we will enjoy a group brunch. We will always have a midday break that will include a nap for me. That followed by our daily afternoon classroom sessions that will include image review, workflow and Photoshop, and a review/critique of five of your trip images. Folks are always invited to bring their laptops to brunch for image sharing. I always have mine with me but heck, I am a big show-off. Afternoon in-the-field sessions generally run from 5pm through sunset.

Breakfasts are grab what you can. Four brunches are included. Dinners (if at all) will be on your own as we will often get back to the hotel at about 9pm. There is a fridge in every room and a supermarket within walking distance of the hotel so nobody should starve. You will learn a ton during the nine shooting sessions, the four in-classroom sessions, and even at lunch. Early morning and late afternoon parking is free. If we want to head back to the beach early we will need to arrange tight carpools and share the $30/vehicle parking fee. Non-photographer spouses, friends, or companions are welcome for $100/day, $450 for the whole IPT.

Save a space by calling Jim or Jen at the office at 863-692-0906 and arranging to leave your deposit of $599–credit cards are accepted for deposits only. Your balance will be due on April 18, 2016. I hope that you can join me for what will be an exciting and educational IPT.

Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links 🙂

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 BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads, Gitzo tripods, Wimberley heads and plates, LensCoats and accessories, and the like. 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 we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. I just learned that my account was suspended during my absence; it should be up and running by Monday at the latest.

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 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 visiting the BAA 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 🙂