Judy Stepenaskie showed up barely understanding how to operate her Canon gear. After a 90-minute camera body setup session, and a bit of in the field instruction, she began making some excellent images. And she continued to do so for the next five days. When she got back home, she shared some of her images with her partner, Dave, and sent me this e-mail:
Hi Artie: I can’t believe it – Dave was looking at some of my pics and he said: “You never made pictures like this before”!!!
I can believe it. Bird photography is not rocket science. If you cannot join an IPT, be sure too study and bookmark the Improve Your Bird (and Nature) Photography By Leaps and Bounds blog post here.
Which of Judy’s five featured images do you think is the strongest? Be so kind as to leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.
What’s Up?
I removed my bandages yesterday for the first time. The trigger finger (thumb) incision — six stitches, is looking good, and the carpal tunnel (laparoscopic) incision is barely visible. As expected, I continue to have a bit of numbness in the first four fingers but the debilitating tingling and pain is blessedly gone. I am feeling a bit better each day. As the nerves continue to calm down, I am looking forward to a full and complete recovery.
In the previous blog post here, I was a bit surprised that all but one person picked Image #3 as best. Monte Brown and I liked the first image best. Me because of the blue water and the bit of seaweed. (From the original The Art of Bird Photography, “Add green whenever possible.”)
Today is Monday 26 August. I will be finishing up and submitting my Bird Watcher’s Digest Magazine Fort DeSoto article and get back to work on Murder on the Beach. I hope that you too have a great day.
First Ever Emperor Penguin Chicks Cliff Diving
Check out this amazing video by National Geographic photographer Bertie Gregory:
If, like me, you have never heard of Bertie Gregory, click here. I did, and was awestruck. Do not miss his spine-tingling stuff on Antarctic Killer Whales here. His accomplishments at age 30 are mind boggling. If you start surfing his site, be prepared to spend at least a few hours with your jaw hanging down…
This image was created on 5 January 2023 on a San Diego Instructional Photo-Tour at La Jolla, CA. I used the handheld Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (at 200mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 2000: 1/320 sec. at f/5.6 (a mistake) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:02:16pm on cloudy afternoon.
Tracking: Expand Spot AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1:Judy Stepenaskie on the beach with her Canon RF 100-500mm.R6 II rig.
The First E-mail Exchange
AM: Hi Judy,
Good to hear from you. Thanks for getting in touch. I am just finishing up with the Bald Eagles in Homer, AK.
A few questions if you would: Can you easily handhold the Canon 100-500 or do you use it on a tripod for flight? How much bird photography have you done? Where do you live? What camera and telephoto lenses have you used previously?
JS: I am interested in the July Photo-tour at Nickerson Beach.
AM: Great.
JS: I was wondering how much individual instruction is given.
AM: Lots. Always. Right now, Monte Brown, the only person signed up has been with me many times and has the basics down pat.
JS: I am using a Canon EOS R6m2 with a 100-500 mm zoom lens. I have not been able to capture birds in flight with this camera and need help with the settings to do this.
AM: Though I have never used either the R6 or the R6 II, I am fairly confident that I can help you out with the AF settings.
If you sign up for the IPT I wills send you a free copy of our R5/R6 guide. I used the R5 and a 100-500 for more than a few months when it first came out.
JS: Would I be getting the help I need, or would a day of individual instruction be better?
AM: In general, beginners and/of folks with new camera bodies would benefit greatly from a day of private instruction the day before an IPT begins. I do that often.
LMK on my questions and any additional thoughts you might have.
With love, artie
This image was created by Judy Stepenaskie on 27 July 2024 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY on the first afternoon of the first Nickerson Beach (Extended) IPT. Seated on dry sand, she used the hand held Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens (at 400mm) and the impressive Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using the in viewfinder histogram and confirmed after evaluation of blinks on the JPEG. AWB at 5:51:10pm on a sunny afternoon. ISO 1250: 1/2000 sec. at f/7.1.
Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1: Black Skimmer adult calling
Image Courtesy of and Copyright 2024: Judy Stepenaskie
The First Afternoon
Judy showed up 90 minutes early as planned with her R6 II/RF 100-500 rig. She explained that she had been working in Aperture Priority with AUTO ISO. Her camera set-up was 100% inefficient. I explained to her that working in an automatic exposure mode was a terrible approach as the exposure would change as the tonality of the background changed. As she had no understanding for exposure theory, I frankly explained to her that any good images that she had created previously were due to luck.
She understood, she did not take my comments personally, and quickly agreed to work in Manual mode.
Next was the camera set-up. We reviewed the R5/R6 guide and made lots of menu changes. We set up her R6 so that she could toggle the histogram in the viewfinder On and Off and use it to determine her exposures. I taught her to examine the resulting image for blinkies and thus evaluate her exposures in each new situation. We limited her AF options and made it easy for her to change from one AF pattern to another. As it had been quite a while since I had used the similar R5, we phoned BPN Avian Forum Super-Moderator Dan Cadieux who helped immensely in tying up the loose ends. He saved us a ton of time.
Judy was a quick study, and more importantly, she trusted me. We headed to the beach and in short order, she began creatitng quality images that were sharp and correctly exposed. The skimmer image above was her first keeper. With the southeast wind, she did a great job of waiting for the look-back head turn!
This image was also created by Judy Stepenaskie on 27 July 2024 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY on the first afternoon of the first Nickerson Beach (Extended) IPT. Seated on dry sand, she used the hand held Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the impressive Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using the in viewfinder histogram and confirmed after evaluation of blinks on the JPEG. AWB at 5:51:10pm on a sunny afternoon. ISO 2000: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1.
Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #2: Common Tern — large chick begging
Image Courtesy of and Copyright 2024: Judy Stepenaskie
Incredible!
I was amazed that same afternoon when Judy came up with a long series of sharp, perfectly exposed images of a frantically begging Common Tern chick. We had a hard time picking the best of the lot in Photo Mechanic and I was quite impressed with the Animal Eye tracking AF system as it had no problems tracking the eyes of birds.
This image was also created by Judy Stepenaskie. This one on 30 July at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY on the third morning of the first Nickerson Beach (Extended) IPT. Seated on dry sand, she used the hand held Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the impressive Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using the in viewfinder histogram and confirmed after evaluation of blinks on the JPEG. AWB at 7:13:58pm on a sunny afternoon. ISO 500: 1/1000 sec. at f/7.1.
Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #3: Adult Common Tern feeding chick
Image Courtesy of and Copyright 2024: Judy Stepenaskie
Nobody Ever Believes This One
I often state that beginning photographers, with their cameras set up properly and a modicum of instruction, can, on occasion, produce images as good or better than those created by a professional sitting right next to them. That, however, is exactly what happened when Judy created Image #3. As I was to her right when she created Image #3, she had a better angle than I did. She did however, nail the focus and the exposure. QED. (Quod erat demonstrandum: “Which was to be demonstrated.”)
This image was also created by Judy Stepenaskie. This one on 31 July at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY on the fourth morning of the first Nickerson Beach (Extended) IPT. Seated on dry sand, she used the hand held Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the impressive Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using the in viewfinder histogram and confirmed after evaluation of blinks on the JPEG. AWB at 8:02:02am on a sunny afternoon. ISO 250: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1.
Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #4: Adult American Oystercatcher preening (& large chick)
Image Courtesy of and Copyright 2024: Judy Stepenaskie
The 1.6x (crop)
As Judy’s longest available focal length (500mm) was shorter than everyone else’s (600mm), I recommended that we set her camera to 1.6X crop mode. On the Red Menu, screen 1, the third item down is Cropping/aspect ratio. The default is FULL. We changed that to [1.6x (crop)].That gave her an effective 160 – 800mm lens. Image quality remained quite good.
On the Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5 to f/7.1 L IS USM Super-Telephoto Zoom Lens
At f/7.1 on the long end, this lens is quite slow, faster only than some of the off-brand telephoto zooms. My biggest problem with this lens, however, is the balky, inefficient zoom mechanism. Even with the Tight/Smooth ring set to Smooth, zooming in and out is quit difficult. And the fact that the physical length of the lens changes as you zoom, is a huge negative. The zoom ratio is also poor. I know more than a few very good photographers who use this lens very often. My hat goes off to those who do and produce some very fine work.
Kudos again to Judy for not being afraid of the higher ISOs she needed in various situations to properly expose to the right when using appropriate shutter speeds as needed for a given situation. By correctly choosing a fast enough shutter speed, Judy consistently created sharp images.
This image was also created by Judy Stepenaskie. This one on 31 July at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY on the fourth morning of the first Nickerson Beach (Extended) IPT. Seated on dry sand, she used the hand held Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens (at 300mm) and the impressive Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using the in viewfinder histogram and confirmed after evaluation of blinks on the JPEG. AWB at 8:02:02am on a sunny afternoon. ISO 2000: 1/4000 sec. at f/6.3
Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #5: Common Tern adult in flight above colony
Image Courtesy of and Copyright 2024: Judy Stepenaskie
Judy’s Biggest Problem with the Canon RF 100-500mm Lens
Judy’s biggest problem was a direct result of the zoom mechanism problems mentioned above; she found it nearly impossible o change the focal length of the lens on the fly.
I cannot help but compare the Canon RF 100-500 (3 lbs.) with the Sony 200-600 (4.65 lbs.). Aside from the significant weight advantage of the RF 100-500, the speed (f/6.3 to f/7.1), the reach (600mm to 500mm), the price ($700 less), and the smooth internal zoom mechanism (the length of the lens does not change as you zoom in and out) and much faster zoom ratio are all clear wins for the Sony super-telephoto zoom.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
My surgery went well. I am healing nicely at younger daughter Alissa’s home in Ronkonkoma in Suffolk County, Long Island. The best news is that the tingling pain that came and went in the first four fingers of my right hand is pretty much gone. And, I have not had to take any oxycodone. If all continues to go well as we expect, I will have my stitches taken out on 3 September, drive to Lorton, VA on the 4th, and be headed south on the Auto Train that same evening. I should be back home at ILE just after lunch on the 5th.
Today is Friday 23 August 2024. After publishing the new YouTube video and this post, I will begin work on an article for the new Bird Watcher’s Digest (BWD) Magazine; the working title is Shifting Sands; Bird Photography at Fort DeSoto County Park. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too choose to have a great day.
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I checked on renting a Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens for a week. The cost is only $122.00. LensCap: Damage Only coverage can be added for a very low $18.00. Going with LensCap: Damage & Theft would be $27.00. The shipping charge varies. They offer an interesting program called Lensrentals HD. By signing up for this shipping discount program ($99.00/year), you’ll get free Standard Shipping on all the orders you place.
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B&H
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Bedfords Amazing BAA Discount Policy
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Visit the Bedfords website here, shoot Steve Elkins an e-mail, or text him on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers 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. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often stave you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.
The Second Edit — Two Afternoons of Young Skimmers Skimming
On my recent month-long Nickerson Beach (Lido Beach, Long Island, NY) visit, we had two excellent afternoons with decent light and the wind from the WSW. Those conditions had the young Black Skimmers practicing skimming mostly right at us. Sit beside me as I select my second edit keepers as I explain the various factors that helped me decide to tag or delete each image. I kept 27 out of 48 (21 deleted) from the first session and 22 out of 41 (19 deleted) from the afternoon of 11 August. If you like flight photography, you will learn a ton.
The 89 first round keepers had previously been selected from two afternoon folders totaling more than 5,000 images. Do understand that each of the 40 images deleted after the second round of editing (Untagged > Command A — select all, > Command Delete in Photo Mechanic), and another 2000 or so deleted after the first edit, would have thrilled me as recently as five years ago. Why? Flight photography technology has improved drastically with the advent of high end mirrorless camera bodies. Right now, the science-fiction-like autofocus that I had dreamed of for so long is pretty much a reality.
On the first afternoon I used the a1. The next day, I went with the a9 iii. Below are my three favorites from the 49 keepers. I find it a bit strange that all were made at 420mm (300mm f/2.8 + 1.4X TC) rather than at 600mm (300mm f/2.8 + 2X TC).
This image was created on 10 August 2024 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Seated on damp sand, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 4000. 1/3200 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:28:14pm on a sunny afternoon. RawDigger showed the raw file brightness to be dead solid perfect.
Zone AF-C AF with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #1: Black Skimmer juvenile flying with seaweed
Practice Skimming
Though I have been watching young Black Skimmers skim near the shore at Nickerson Beach in August for more than two decades, I have never once seen one catch a fish. They will often pick up bits of grass, seaweed, or small sticks while skimming, but never a fish. They will skim in shallow puddles, and even skim the sand on occasion. It seems obvious to me that they are simply practicing skimming. Most will likely catch their first fish either on very calm mornings or by visiting and fishing nearby sheltered bays.
This image was created on 11 August 2024 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Seated on damp sand, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the ridiculously amazing Sony a9 III Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600. 1/4000 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:20:02pm on a barely sunny afternoon. RawDigger showed the raw file brightness to be dead solid perfect.
Zone AF-C AF with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #2: Black Skimmer juvenile practice skimming with bill in foamy water
A9 iii AF
With most of the a9 iii images, as expected, Bird Face-Eye AF grabbed and tracked the young skimmer’s eye more consistently than the a1 did. Nonetheless, all of the a1 keepers were sharp on the eye despite the fact that with some of the images, a7 INFO showed the AF point on the bird’s wing or on the background. A possible explanation is that the recording of the active AF point or points on the a1 is not quite fast enough to keep up with the AF technology, not as fast as the recording capabilities of the a9 iii. Sharp a1 images will always offer superior quality when compared to sharp a9 iii images, and the a9 iii will always offer those shooting at 60 or 120 fps more wing positions and flight poses. Take your pick.
This image was also created on 11 August 2024 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Seated on damp sand, I again used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the ridiculously amazing Sony a9 III Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 6400. 1/3200 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 7:32:14pm on then cloudy afternoon. RawDigger showed the raw file brightness to be dead solid perfect.
Zone AF-C AF with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #3: Black Skimmer juvenile practice skimming leaving wake
Your Call?
Which of today’s three featured images is your favorite? Why?
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Which of today’s three magical evening images do you like best? Please leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.
What’s Up?
Today is Wednesday 21 August 2024. I will be heading to St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY at 7:30am for “two for the price of one” right hand surgery. In addition to carpal tunnel release surgery, Dr. Puopolo will do trigger finger release surgery on the right thumb. Unable to get back to sleep on Sunday evening due to the numbness, tingling, and pain in my right hand, I realized that my right thumb was clicking. When I awoke I experienced pain at the base of my right thumb. As a veteran of about six different trigger fingers, I recognized the symptoms quite clearly. I called Dr. Pop’s office on Monday morning and he called me back soon afterwards. That is when I signed up for the double-header surgery.
Thanks for all the good wishes at the last blog post. Again, there is no guarantee when it comes to any surgery, but I am of course hoping for relief. I do have 100& faith in Dr. Poupolo who has twice before operated on me with outstanding results.
A Magical Evening on All Counts
On Monday evening past, I traveled to Lawrence, Long Island, one of the Five Towns, with friend Anke Frohlich and friends/clients Geri Georg and Marc Wortsman. We had all been generously invited to dinner at Prime Bistro, a Kosher, French steakhouse by Izzy Flamm, my B&H affiliate manager. We have been friends now for 13 years. His friend and associate, the very delightful, very sincere, very spiritual, and very funny Stuart Honickman joined us. Needless to say, the wine, the appetizers, the entrées, and the conversation were all superb. A great time was had by all. Huge thanks to Izzy and to B&H for our wonderful meal.
The four photographers then headed to Nickerson Beach for a sunset photo session and I was thrilled that Izzy decided to join us as he had done in previous years. Just as we arrived at my AirBnB in Lido Beach, the skies opened up and it began to pour. I, however, was optimistic. The storm passed quickly so we made the 3-minute drive to the beach and headed out. There was a bright rainbow to the northeast. By the time we got out to the berm, an amazing yellow light lit up the eastern sky. The Atlantic Ocean was rendered in golden tones. As they had been doing every evening for a week, the large flocks of terns and skimmers repeatedly blasted off in all directions. Izzy was blown away. As we all were. It was a fabulous end to a great Monday afternoon.
Tuesday morning dawned cold and grey, a fitting end to my month long Nickerson Beach adventure. After a short morning session — we were all freezing, we headed back to the AirBnB to pack up. After dropping Geri off at LaGuardia, I dropped Anke off in Greenwich Village, and returned to Lido Beach for a nap. After I awoke, I packed up the car and drove to younger daughter Alissa’s home in Ronkonkoma where I will be staying for two weeks after the surgery.
This i-phone 15 image was created at about 7:45pm on the magical evening of 19 August 2024 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY.
Image #1: Common Tern blast-off in front of the eastern sky
The Yellow Light
The yellow light to the east was both glorious and ethereal. Even had I removed the 2X TC and zoomed out to 70mm, I could not have gotten nearly wide enough with my versatile 70-200 f/2.8 II GM lens so I grabbed my I-Phone 15 from my new fanny pack (details soon) and went to work.
I got very lucky as the terns blasted off while I struggled a bit with my I-phone. I needed to crop a sliver off the top of this image as I had my thumb in front of the lens :-(.
This image was also created on the magical evening of 19 August 2024 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Standing at full height in six inches of water, I used the handheld Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 2x teleconverter (at 198mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Multi metering +1.7 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 3200: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. AWB at 7:48:46pm on a stormy evening.
Tracking: Expand Spot AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #2: Great Black-backed Gull standing on berm after storm
TLC
The image optimization for Image #2 required some tender loving care as far as getting the color right. While I was able to get the surface of the ocean right and the wave washed sand right, the wave and the whites on the bird had a large CYAN/BLUE cast. I corrected that by going Select > Color Range, clicking on the problematic whites, adjusting the Fuzziness and Range sliders, and then doing a Hue Saturation adjustment to the layer; I decreased the BLUE and the CYAN saturation and made both colors lighter. All as detailed in the Digital Basics II PDF.
The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II).
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. Be sure to specify Digital Basics II.
The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)
The technique mentioned above and tons more great Photoshop tips and techniques — along with my complete digital workflow, Digital Eye Doctor Techniques, and all my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. 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.
Please note: the Divide and Conquer technique was inadvertently omitted from DB II. It is detailed in a free excerpt in the blog post 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. Note: most of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.
You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About three years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One and did that for two years. You can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here. Today, I convert my Sony raw files in Photoshop with Adobe Camera Raw.
You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.
This image was also created on the magical evening of 19 August 2024 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 2x teleconverter (at 196mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Multi metering +2.0 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 3200: 1/13 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. AWB at 8:01:31pm on a stormy evening.
Tracking: Expand Spot AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version.
Image #3: Tern/skimmer Blur
Looking Southwest
Good nature photographers keep their eyes moving constantly, especially in rapidly changing situations. Looking to the southwest, I noted a decent tern/skimmer blastoff and was able to include some pan-blurred beach vegetation by zooming out. As first pointed out in the original The Art of Bird Photography, adding green to an image is usually a good idea.
A Guide to Pleasing Blurs
Learn everything there is to know about creating pleasingly blurred images in A Guide to Pleasing Blurs by Denise Ippolito and yours truly. This 20,585 word, 271 page PDF is illustrated with 144 different, exciting, and artistic images. The guide covers the basics of creating pleasingly blurred images, the factors that influence the degree of blurring, the use of filters in creating pleasing blurs, and a great variety of both in-the-field and Photoshop techniques that can be used to create pleasingly blurred images.
Artie and Denise teach you many different ways to move your lens during the exposure to create a variety of pleasingly blurred images of flowers and trees and water and landscapes. They will teach you to recognize situations where subject movement can be used to your advantage to create pan blurs, wind blurs, and moving water blurs. They will teach you to create zoom-blurs both in the field and during post-processing. Artie shares the techniques that he has used and developed for making blurred images of flocks of geese in flight at his beloved Bosque del Apache and Denise shares her flower blur magic as well as a variety of creative Photoshop techniques that she has developed.
With the advent of digital capture creating blurred images has become a great and inexpensive way to go out with your camera and have fun. And while many folks think that making successful blurred images is the result of being a sloppy photographer, nothing could be further from the truth. In “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs” Artie and Denise will help you to unleash your creative self.
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