Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

What’s Up?

I enjoyed my last morning of photography at La Jolla for at least a few days with old friend Aidan Briggs, a fine young bird photographer who has co-led two Morro Bay IPTs with me. Mazel tov to Aiden who will be graduating from UC Santa Barbara this June with a major in aquatic biology. He would like to become a professional nature photographer.

My green light laser surgery is scheduled for 9:05am today, Thursday, March 24, 2016. I have complete confidence in Dr. Parsons while at the same time realizing that there are always risks with any type of surgery and that there are no guarantees. But as they say at the start of each UFC fight, “It’s time!”

Elegant Tern Blog Post Update

In yesterday’s blog post here, I left this comment early on Thursday morning:

Clarifying things a bit:

Several folks hit on one of the two things that bother 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.

Nobody has come close to identifying the second thing about the image that bugs me, the one that I could not control. Many are grasping for straws. Answer on Friday. a

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 139 days in a row with a new educational blog post. 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 🙂

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.

This image was created at La Jolla, CA with the hand held 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 1600. Evaluative metering at about -1/3 stop: 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). This was a small crop from below and from our right. The selected AF point was on the base of the bird’s left wing. Image #1: Backlit Brown Pelican in flight

The Situation

It was cold and windy. Worse than that, it was wind against sun at 25mph from the west. There were mixed clouds and sun making getting the right exposure a challenge. There were no birds on the main cliffs.

How do you get into the creative zone?

How do you get into the creative zone? Simple. Make a conscious effort to get out of your comfort zone. My comfort zone is working right down sun angle. But I am always aware that a bad wind for traditional flight photography is a good wind for backlit flight photography. For those, a dark background is pretty much a necessity. And I knew just the right spots for the conditions. Needless to say, I was the only one there.

I made one of my very best ever pelican in flight images but just barely clipped a primary feather or two. I will share that one with you here as part of this series.

Noise?

This ISO 1600 5DS R image was noise reduced in NeatImage using the techniques in Arash Hazeghi’s new guide. The background is virtually noise-free and the bird is pretty clean too. Are you seeing any noise anywhere?

This image was created at La Jolla, CA with 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 400. Evaluative metering at about +1 stop off the white water alone: 1/1000 sec. at f/8 was about 1/2 stop under-exposed. Daylight WB. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). This one too was a small crop from below and from our right. Though neither the selected AF point nor any of the assist points were on the bird the image is tack sharp. Image #2: Brandt’s Cormorant leaving the scene…

What do you do when nothing’s happening?

So just what can you do to get out of your funk when conditions are terrible and nothing seems to be happening? Take a walk to a different spot. When I did that I noticed the cormorants taking flight over the breaking surf. It took me a while to recognize the situation and most of the birds had flown out to sea by the time I made this one decent image. It is something that I might be able to re-create on a day with high surf conditions.

This image was created at La Jolla, CA with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400: 1/400 sec. at f/9. AWB. Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. This image is full frame. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Sidelit Brandt’s Cormorant displaying

Look all around and keep your eyes and your mind open

I made my way back into my comfort zone: long lens with the 2X III TC working right down light angle doing head portraits of a displaying Brandt’s Cormorant. By force of habit I am always looking left and right and even behind me. On one swing of my head I noticed another displaying bird well off light angle; it was about 30 degrees to my right. While most of the bird was in shadow, its azure gular sac was spotlit and the head angle was such that it was beuatifully lit. I moved only a foot to my right and created a quite dramatic sidelit image, a rarity for me.

Note that this image was created at 10:47am in full sun.

Getting the Right The Exposure

Working down sun angle on the same subject I was perfect at 1/640 sec. at f/9. Without giving it much thought I simply slowed the shutter speed two clicks from 1/640 to 1/400 sec. Why? I was far off sun angle.

Which is the Strongest Image?

Please leave a comment and let us know which image you feel is the strongest, and why. In this race, I have a very clear favorite.

Summing Up

Conditions were so bad that I thought originally that I would be back at Patrick and Robin’s house by 8:30am. Working. I wound up not leaving until a bit after 11 when it was blue sky sunny. I thought that I had done pretty well and though I did not create a lot of images, only about 400 in all, I kept 54 and loved many of those. You will be getting to see a good number of them and learning a ton more in the coming weeks.

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?

I felt much better on Monday morning with just a bit of left knee pain. Got some unexpected good news on Monday: the time of my check-in for surgery was moved up from 12:30pm to 7:00am with the surgery now scheduled for 9am on Thursday.

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.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks 137 days in a row with a new educational blog post. As always–and folks have been doing a 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 on the afternoon of Friday, March 18, 2016 at La Jolla, CA with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 800: 1/500 sec. at f/10. AWB. Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point fell on the lower mandible. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Brandt’s Cormorant gular panting on a sunny afternoon

Gular Panting

Gular panting or gular fluttering is a thermo-regulatory mechanism by which cormorants and (I think…) several other bird families cool down on hot days. It is similar to your dog panting on a hot summer afternoon.

This image was created on the same afternoon at La Jolla with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 340mm) with the mega mega pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/5.6. Three AF points up and one to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Shutter Button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The selected AF point was on the base of the bird’s beak. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Brandt’s Cormorant displaying

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose…

While my primary reason for visiting San Diego was to explore the possibility of undergoing green light laser prostate surgery–now scheduled for this coming Thursday, March 24, I figured that there would be excellent chances to photograph both Double-crested and Brandt’s Cormorants in their spectacular breeding plumages. There have been only one or two of the former species at their usual location, and they have been looking rather plain. There had been and still are lots of Brandt’s around but again, none in their spectacular breeding plumage… Last Thursday afternoon I discovered several pairs of nesting Brandt’s Cormorants. Each bird sported their amazing azure blue gular sacs and their spiffy white head plumes. And best of all, many of the birds spent a good portion of their time displaying. I returned with Pat Sparkman on Thursday afternoon. We were blessed with mixed clouds and a bit of sun. The photography was so amazingly good and so easy that we both felt a bit guilty. 🙂

This image was created on the same afternoon at La Jolla with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens and the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 560mm) with the mega mega pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 1000. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/125 sec. at f/9. Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Shutter Button AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The selected AF point was on the gular sac forward of the eye. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #3: Brandt’s Cormorant displaying tight

Too Good to Be True?

I have spent the better part of the last four mornings photographing the spectacular breeding displays of Brandt’s Cormorant. I am at the point where I see a gorgeous bird in a clean setting displaying up a storm and I barely give it a second glance. I have been trying for flight images of the incoming birds and for pair interactions.

I have learned a ton: I have never come across so many thieving and unfaithful birds. If a bird walks away from its nest for ten seconds its neighbor steals the seaweed, usually in one fell swoop. I watched one bird, presumably the male, bring in about 15 loads of nesting material and pass it lovingly to his potential mate. Wow, they had a beautiful nest going. When he flew off for number 16, she hopped two nests down to copulate with a third bird, knocking the entire nest into the ocean.

The Strongest Image?

Please leave a comment and let us know which image you feel is the strongest, and why. I am stuck between two of them.

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….

2017 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) JAN 11 thru and including the morning session on JAN 15: 4 1/2 days: $1999.

(Limit: 10/openings 8)

Meet and Greet at 7:00pm on the evening before the IPT begins; Tuesday 1/10/17.

Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Duck; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heerman’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals (depending on the current regulations) and California Sea Lions; 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.

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.

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 five 3 1/2 hour morning photo sessions, four 2 1/2 hour afternoon photo sessions, four lunches, and after-lunch image review and Photoshop sessions. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility.

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, payable only by check, will be due on 9/11//2016. If we do not receive your check for the balance on or before the due date we will try to fill your spot from the waiting list. 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.

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 🙂