- First-ever BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field/Meetup Workshop Session (ITF/MWS): $50
- Fort DeSoto Fall IPT/October 11-13, 2014. 3 FULL DAYs: $1099.
- The Blog is the Bomb!
- Jim Neiger Flight School Photography/2014 Alaska Bald Eagle Workshop, Haines, Alaska
- Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
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Fort DeSoto in fall is rich with tame birds. All of the images in this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or early October. I hope that you can join me there this October. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. |
First-ever BIRDS AS ART In-the-Field/Meetup Workshop Session (ITF/MWS): $50
Join me on the afternoon of October 10, 2014 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.
You will learn the basics of digital exposure and image design, autofocus basics, and how to get close to free and wild birds. We should get to photograph a variety of wading birds, shorebirds, terns, and gulls. This inexpensive afternoon workshop is designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.
To register please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours with a credit card in hand to pay the nominal registration fee. Your registration fee is non-refundable. You will receive a short e-mail with instructions, gear advice, and meeting place at least two weeks before the event.
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Obviously folks attending the IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. The good news is that the days are relatively short in October. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. |
Fort DeSoto Fall IPT/October 11-13, 2014. 3 FULL DAYs: $1099. Limit 8/Openings: 5.
Call 863-692-0906 for DeSoto IPT Late Registration Discount Info
Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, and terns who winter on the T-shaped peninsula that serves as their wintering grounds. With any luck, we should get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher likely. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. And Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork would not be unexpected.
Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join us on the ITF/MWS on Friday afternoon as my guest. See above for details on that.
On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, to, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).
At lunch (included) we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one. If you opt to bring your laptop, we will take a look at five of your best images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.
If you decide to register and are traveling to attend this IPT, please make your reservations at the Beachcomber Beach Resort, 6200 Gulf Blvd, St. Petersburg (St. Pete Beach), FL 33706 (727-367-1902) as soon as possible as rooms for the weekend days are scarce: ARR: 10 OCT/DEP 14 OCT. I stayed there on my last DeSoto visit and was quite happy with it. Lodging is tough in Florida at this season…. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). It is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel so if you are interested it would be a good idea to register now and make your hotel reservations as well. We can, however, coordinate easily with local folks who opt to stay at home either by cell phone or e-mail.
Because of the relatively late date, payment is full is due upon registration either by check or credit card. If the former, please e-mail us immediately so that we can save you a spot. If the latter, please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to register . Your registration fee is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight so please check your plans carefully before committing. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, gear advice, and first morning meeting place about one month before this IPT.
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BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT. |
Fort DeSoto Site Guide
Can’t make the IPT? Get yourself a copy of the Fort DeSoto Site Guide. Learn the best spots, where to be when in what season in what weather. Learn the best wind directions for the various locations. BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT. You can see all of them here.
The Blog is the Bomb!
For the past ten plus months I have been putting in 20 or so hours each week into the blog to ensure that it remains informative, timely, and beautiful. Most of the educational features that formerly appeared in BAA Bulletins now grace the BAA Blog. If you are not subscribed, you are missing a ton of great stuff daily. I am currently working on a streak of 306 days in a row with a new educational blog post. You can subscribe to the blog posts by clicking here. If you have a problem subscribing, please contact us e-mail.
If you doubt me or have been missing out, click here and scroll down…. Here are some links to recent posts of interest:
Learn about the new Canon EOS-7D in the blog posts here, here, here, and here.
There was a huge, positive response to the Stress, High Blood Pressure, and Breathing blog post of September, 27. Along with 7D Mark II battery info.
Check out the free CS-6 Crop Tool Tutorial here.
View some very moving images in Variety, the Spice of Life. And Death…
The blog post of September 14 here answers an important question about the EF 300mm f2.8L IS II Lens: How Sharp is Sharp?
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Bald Eagle vertical bank shot/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography |
Jim Neiger Flight School Photography/2014 Alaska Bald Eagle Workshop, Haines, Alaska
Flight School Photography introduces a newly developed workshop to take place at the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska. Each fall, hundreds of Bald Eagles gather along the Chilkat river to feed on spawned out salmon that are accessible due to the open running water. A natural phenomenon in the area warms the water in the river and prevents it from freezing. More than three thousand Bald Eagles congregate here each fall to feed on the Salmon in the shallow open water streams flowing thru the river valley.
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Adult Bald Eagles squabbling/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography |
The Setting
Towering snow covered mountains surround the river valley providing magnificent backgrounds for our Bald Eagle images. The Eagles soar over the valley and swoop down to attack each other as they battle for their share of the Salmon from the river. We will have front row seats for this spectacular show. If you like Bald Eagles in action and gorgeous scenery, this is a workshop that should not be missed. While our focus will be on photographing the Bald Eagles, we will also have opportunities to photograph the magnificent scenery and other wildlife. Possibilities include bear, moose, and other species of birds.
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Incoming Bald Eagle/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography |
The Workshop
The workshop, conducted by expert bird photographer, Jim Neiger, will take place in early November of 2014. Jim has perfected unique techniques for photographing birds in flight using large telephoto lenses, hand held. The focus of this workshop will be to learn Jim’s hand held, long lens techniques for photographing birds in flight and in action. Jim is known for his consistent production of amazing flight images and images of the most desirable subjects. His Flight School Photography Workshops are a must for any serious nature photographer. The workshop will last 6-days and include a four hour classroom session and 5 days of photography in the field. This workshop is limited to six participants so that everyone may receive personalized instruction in the field.
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Bald Eagle carrying natural salmon carcass/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography |
Workshop Dates
Workshop AK-2: November 2nd – November 7th, 2014
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Bald Eagle top shot/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography |
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Bald Eagle talons out/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography |
Workshop Itinerary
Day 1 (afternoon/evening ): Arrive in Juneau, Alaska which is the base location for the classroom portion of the workshop. There will be a four hour classroom session from 2:00pm to 6:00pm in the hotel meeting room. The classroom instruction will focus on using hand held techniques for photographing birds in flight to prepare participants for the subsequent photography sessions.
Days 2: Morning ferry ride to Haines, Alaska where we will check in to our hotel and spend the afternoon exploring the small town and getting ready for the in the field portion of the workshop.
Days 3-5: In the field photography sessions in the Bald Eagle Preserve.
Day 6: We will spend the day photographing in the preserve followed by an evening ferry ride back to Juneau.
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Bald Eagle mountain background/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography |
Learn Hand Held/Long Lens Flight Photography
The workshop, conducted by expert bird photographer, Jim Neiger, will take place in early November of 2014. Jim has perfected unique techniques for photographing birds in flight using large telephoto lenses, hand held. The focus of this workshop will be to learn Jim’s hand held, long lens techniques for photographing birds in flight and in action. Jim is known for his consistent production of amazing flight images and images of the most desirable subjects. His Flight School Photography Workshops are a must for any serious nature photographer. The workshop will last 6-days and include a four hour classroom session and 5 days of photography in the field. This workshop will be limited to six participants so that everyone may receive personalized instruction in the field.
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Bald Eagle saying “uncle!”/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography |
More Info
For more info or questions on this workshop please contact Jim Neiger of Flight School Photography by phone at 407-247-5200 or by e-mail. Jim will be happy to provide you with any additional information.
Learn more here.
Flight School Photography website.
You can enjoy a gallery of Jim’s spectacular Haine’s Bald Eagle images here.
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Bald Eagle top shot/Image copyright 2013: Jim Neiger/Flight School Photography |
Flight School Photography Website
Be sure to visit the Flight School Photography website. Jim offers both scheduled and personalized pontoon boat trips and land-based instruction at various locations around central Florida.
Jim Neiger’s Haines, AK Photo Gallery
You can enjoy a gallery of Jim’s spectacular Haine’s Bald Eagle images here.
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Flight Plan
I can say without a doubt that after spending more than two months (part time) a while back editing Jim Neiger’s great e-Guide, Flight Plan, that my flight photography improved by leaps and bounds whether I am working off a tripod or hand holding. His explanation of the bumping the focus technique finally sunk in. Learning to use this technique regularly is a huge help for any all types of flight photography. In addition, I recently implemented two of Jim’s AF recommendations; again, the quality of my flight images increased as did my percentage of keepers. You gotta love that.
You can learn more about Flight Plan here or order a copy by clicking here.
Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART
Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20% plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. If you are in the market for used gear, click here to see the current listings.
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Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂