ALASKA
TRIP REPORT
TWO
OPENINGS ON TANZANIA SAFARI
WELL
KNOCK ME OVER WITH A FEATHER...
HUNT'S
SPECIALS
What,
no birds?
Grizzly
on fall tundra, Denali National Park, AK
Image
copyright 2003 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon
1D with 300mm f/4 L IS lens. ISO 400,
Evaluative Metering -1/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at
f/4. AI
Servo AF.
This pretty blonde was the first bear
that we saw at close range. Notice that
exposure with digital is generally 1/3 stop
less across the board than with film.
Handheld intermediate telephoto
lenses were invaluble when photographing from
the bus.
ALASKA TRIP REPORT
I left
NYC on September 5 and met the Alaska Photo
Tour group on the evening of the 6th. We
headed for Talkeetna and were treated to
spectacular views of Denali--Mount McKinley
from one of the classic pull-outs. We had a
sumptuous lunch in town and again photographed
the mountain against brilliant clear blue
skies. What's this stuff about the mountain
that's always covered by fog and clouds we
wondered... We over-nighted in a killer B&B
owned and run at present by noted Alaska
photographer Steve Gilroy, where we once again
had great views of the mountain.
The
next morning we headed towards the park and
were met by our Camp Denali bus. We spent the
afternoon photographing the incredible scenery
en route to the lodge which was located 90
miles into the park. On our first morning I
awoke early and was treated to a spectacular
display of Northern Lights (that I was
unprepared to photograph...) The next four
days was a jumble of gorgeous fall tundra,
frost-covered blueberries, incredible mountain
ranges, beaver, caribou, moose, grizzly, and
flocks of migrating Sandhill Cranes. We even
had a chance to photograph Denali
from Reflection Pond on yet another clear
morning.
Our
departure brought the weather we had heard so
much about, wind, cold and snow. It was
pretty hairy making our way along the steep
cliffs on the slippery roads, but our skilled
driver got us safely back to our vans before
lunch. The park roads were actually closed
for most of the rest of the day...
Caribou on hillside, Denali National Park,
AK
Image copyright 2003 Arthur Morris/BIRDS
AS ART
Canon 1Ds with 500mm f/4 L IS lens on
beanbag. ISO 400, Evaluative Metering -1/3
stop: 1/500 sec. at f/11.
Phogtographing from
the bus was a big challenge. It seemed
that whatever lens I had in my hand at a
given moment was the wrong one...
TWO OPENINGS ON
TANZANIA SAFARI
Due to a
cancellation, we now have two openings on
the JAN-FEB 2004 Tanzania Photo Safari
that I am co-leading with Todd Gustafson.
Todd and I were so thrilled with our 2003
Tanzania experience (Todd was born there
to missionary parents) that we will be
returning to Tanzania next year just a bit
later. We will be arriving in Arusha on
the evening of 1-28. We will then have 14
full and one half-day of photography with
game drives every morning and
every afternoon; there will be no wasted
travel days. Though there are no
guarantees, the dates overlap the
typical wildebeest birthing dates, and
there will be dozens of other
wildlife subjects including elephants,
zebras, giraffes, antelopes, predators,
and a good variety of birds. The cost of
this trip is $7000 (all inclusive except
for dinner on the last day). We have
first class accommodations all the way
in two tented camps and both rustic
(Ndutu) and luxury (Sopa Crater)
lodges. Please e-mail immediately for
additional details if you would like to
join us for what will be a
truly extraordinary experience.
(Electricity available at all locations.)
Mount McKinley (Denali) from Talkeetna
Image copyright 2003 Arthur Morris/BIRDS
AS ART
Canon 1Ds with 100-400mm IS zoom lens on
tripod at 275mm. ISO 50. Evaluative
Metering +1/3 stop: 1/50 sec. at f/22.
As far as seeing
the mystical mountain, we were blessed.
By the third day, pretty much nobody
bothered looking at it though it was
"out" virtually all of the time that we
were there.
WELL
KNOCK ME OVER WITH A FEATHER...
Tom
Vezo, long time friend and skilled bird
photographer has--after more than 30 years of
using Nikon equipment--switched to Canon. He
recently purchased two EOS 1V camera
bodies, the 300mm f/2.8 L IS, the 500mm f/4 L
IS, and the 600 mm f/4 L IS lenses among
others.
I spoke to
Tom recently about his decision and he
mentioned that the primary reason for his
switching was that with the Canon system he
found the speed
and ease of initial autofocus acquisition
(especially in low light) was far superior to
Nikon's. He felt that Nikon AF had a
problem finding middle-toned subjects against
middle-toned backgrounds even in decent
lighting conditions. "As far as AF is
concerned, the Canon stuff blew Nikon away,"
he said, "No more of that AF searching and
searching for a bird that's just sitting
there." He was also incredibly impressed
with the sharpness of the images produced with
the 2XII teleconverters and the
super-telephoto lenses. He also praised the
ergonomics of the 1V.
I
gave him the same tip that I give to everyone
who purchases big Canon glass: "Don't drop
it!"
Here
is a list of the Nikon equipment that Tom has
for sale:
Nikon Equipment for
Sale; contact Tom Vezo at:
tvezo@cox.net
Two (2) Nikon F5 Camera Bodies – one
is in excellent condition (revamped by Nikon)
including new grips and new DP-30 viewfinder-
$1500.00– the other is in good to excellent
condition and has not been used much.-
$1200.00
Nikon 600mm f/4 AFS-D-II Lens -
Excellent Condition one small rub mark from
carrying with strap and a few small rub marks
on hood. -$6500.00
Nikon 300MM f/2.8 AFS-D-II Lens -
Excellent Condition with a few rub marks on
hood. $3700.00
Nikon 80-400 mm VR Lens - Excellent
Condition. -$1100.00
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S D Lens with
HB-17 Hood - Excellent Condition.$1200.00
Nikon 200mm Macro – AF-D Lens with
HN-30 Hood - Excellent Condition with a few
rub marks. -$1100.00
Nikon 24-120mm Lens with HB11 Hood -
Good Condition. -$400.00 –
Nikon 17-35mm 2.8 D Lens - Excellent
Condition with HB-23 Hood.-$1100.00
Nikon TC-14E 1.4 Tele-converter Small
Scratch in corner of lens does not affect
photos. -$200.00
Nikon SB-25 Flash – Good Condition
-$150.00
Quantum 1+ Battery with Cord that
hooks directly into the SB-24 Flash – Good
Condition -$125.00
Please contact Tom directly by e-mail as
above. Thanks, and best of luck to Tom with
his new toys...
