BIRDS AS
ART BIRDS AS ART BULLETIN
208
August 19, 2006
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www.birdsasartcom
SILVER SALMON CREEK AUG 2007
FORT DE SOTO
UPDATE
SHOREBIRDS; BEAUTIFUL BEACHCOMBERS
APB II UPDATE
Shorebirds, gulls, terns,
skimmers, and ship, Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, FL
Image copyright 2006: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with EOS-1D Mark II N. ISO 400.
Evaluative Metering +1 stop: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6.
Whenever I attempt to make an image of a
large, loose group, I choose one bird in the front row and focus on in. Here,
the Marbled Godwit (lower right), serves as a compositional anchor. Can you
identify each of these additional shorebird species: Willet, Greater
Yellowlegs, Black-bellied Plover (both molting adults and winter plumage birds
of t his species are present and identifiable…), Western Sandpiper, Sanderling,
and Short-billed Dowitcher? Do you know why they are arriving in Florida in
mid-summer? If not, you need a copy of “Shorebirds; Beautiful Beachcombers” (
http://www.birdsasart.com/books.html#SHOREBIRDS
).
…..
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Sandwich Tern, recently
fledged young, Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, FL
Image copyright 2006: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with 2X II TC and EOS-1D Mark II N.
ISO 400. Evaluative Metering +1 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/8.
There is a fairly deep new cut at the point
at North Beach. Standing in it as the tide dropped served two purposes: 1-being
lower, I was less threatening to the birds. 2-though standing at full height, I
had a very shallow angle of declination to the birds. You can learn a lot about
the angles of declination and inclination, perspective, and proper light, head
and body angles in the Advanced Composition and Image Design Chapter in ABP II (
http://www.birdsasart.com/ABPII.htm).
Photographic
Theme: A few of my favorite images from my Fort DeSoto visit on August 16, 2006.
Marbled Godwit, Fort DeSoto
Park, St. Petersburg, FL
Image copyright 2006: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with 2X II TC and EOS-1D Mark II N.
ISO 400. Evaluative Metering +2/3 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/8.
As regular readers know, when using the 2X
TC with an f/4 lens, you are limited to the central sensor only. If I had used
AI Servo AF here, the point of focus would have been on the bird’s breast and
the eye would not have been sharp. To avoid this, switch from AI Servo to
One-Shot AF, focus on the subject’s eye, and recompose to create a sharp,
well-balanced composition.
SILVER SALMON
CREEK AUG 2007
Silver Salmon Creek Lodge Bear/Puffin IPT.
AUG 8-14, 2007. 5 FULL & 2 HALF-DAYS OF
PHOTOGRAPHY: $4,999. (Absolute limit: 12 photographers: only 6 openings left.)
Two co-leaders to be announced.
I spoke to David Coray a lot during the second week of August. He
reported that were as many as 19 bears on the flats right in front of the lodge
every day either clamming or catching silver salmon. On this IPT there will be
lots of opportunities to photograph Coastal Brown Bear (a large race of grizzly)
at fairly close range. The bears of Lake Clark National Park are not hunted and
are totally comfortable around humans, just as they are in Katmai National
Park. In addition to the bears, we will be concentrating on puffins, especially
on Horned Puffin (which is the easier of the two western species to photograph
on one of two islands near SSCrL). All of the puffin outings will require a
boat ride and a bit of climbing. There should be lots of great opportunities to
photograph the Horned Puffins in flight. We may try for Tufted Puffin as well
but they are much tougher to photograph than the Horned Puffins. There are
lots of opportunities for scenic and macro photography as Lake Clark is a
beautiful, biologically diverse area. There will be optional fishing trips for
both halibut and silver salmon. I will be doing some fishing. Last year I
brought home 50 pounds of salmon. The SSCr guides are expert at preparing your
catch for travel and/or shipping. Nobody has to fish if they do not want to,
and there will always be a competent photography leader for each of our small
groups.
We will be splitting up into two or three groups on a daily basis. While we
will do our very best to ensure that you will be able to do exactly what you
want to do each day, there may be an occasion or two when that is not possible.
We will be in Alaska, so please be aware that we might encounter some lousy
weather. You will need to be in Anchorage on the afternoon of August 7, 2006 to
ensure that you will make the float plane on the morning of August 8. The cost
of a double-occupancy room for the night of August 7th is included.
. You can upgrade to a single room upon payment of a single supplement of
approximately $85. (Hotel rooms in Anchorage are extremely expensive in
summer.) It would be best if everyone planned to arrive in Anchorage a day
early (on August 6th) to allow for any travel delays that might cause
you to miss the scheduled float plane convoy (9am on August 8th).
Do note that the float plane trips are dependent on decent flying weather. They
are delayed at times. If you choose to stay arrive early, the cost of the
August 6th room is not included.
We will have dinner together at 6pm sharp on the evening of August 7th.
Please plan to arrive in Anchorage so that you can make this dinner as we will
be doing our introductory slide program then. We will be doing many
instructional slide programs and will be able to tailor the programs to the
needs of the group. In addition, there will be lots of opportunities for image
sharing and critiquing. Don’t be shy; critiquing is the very best way to learn
how to make better images. We will be staying in one of the two Silver Salmon
Creek lodge buildings (that are just a short walk apart). All of the lodge
rooms are double occupancy. There is one room with a king bed that would be
ideal for a couple. First couple to make a deposit wins! I am offering a $300
discount for anyone who wishes to stay in one of the two cabins. One cabin is a
double, one is a private cabin. Though the cabins are rustic, each has a
heater, running water, and electricity. Folks who stay in the cabins will need
to make a short walk to the outhouse or to the lodge during the night. They
will shower in one of the shared bathrooms in one of the lodge buildings. There
is a small possibility that late registrants may need to stay in one of the
cabins.
A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is required. A second payment of $2,000 will be
due December 8, 2006 and the final payment of $1,999 will be due by April 8,
2007. All payments are by check only. Please make your deposit check out to
“Arthur Morris” and send it to BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates,
FL 33855. Please include your mailing address, your e-mail address, and your
day, home, and cell phone #s.
As there has been tremendous interest in this trip it will almost surely sell
out quickly. (Six of the twelve slots are already filled.) I do hope that you
can join us for what promises to be an amazing trip. To see my favorite images
from last September’s Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, click here:
http://www.birdsasart.com/bn185.htm
Roseate Spoonbill, mixed
ages, Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, FL
Image copyright 2006: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with 1.4X II TC and EOS-1D Mark II
N. ISO 800. Evaluative Metering + 1 1//3 stops: 1/80 sec. at f/5.6.
Here again we see the advantage of focusing
on the nearest bird in a group, provided that that bird is in nice plumage and
is so situated as to anchor the composition. The bird with the all-white head
behind the main subject is a one-year old.
FORT
DE SOTO UPDATE
I took a short busman’s holiday and drove over to St. Pete this
past Wednesday. Conditions for bird photography were excellent, with southbound
migrant shorebirds being the main attraction. There were several thousand
shorebirds including Willet, Marbled Godwit, Western, Semipalmated, and Least
Sandpipers, Black-bellied, Wilson’s, Semipalmated and Piping Plover, Red Knot,
Short-billed Dowitcher, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, and Greater Yellowlegs. I
found a single Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at my favorite afternoon high tide
spot. There were several spoonbills, a Reddish Egret, and dozens of Royal &
Sandwich Terns (and also some Laughing Gulls) feeding fledged young at North
Beach. As I write in the Fort DeSoto Site Guide (
http://www.birdsasart.com/siteguides.htm#the%20Fort%20DeSoto/Sarasota%20Site-Guide
), this location is one of the very few spots that I know of that
can be fantastic 365 days each year…
Short-billed Dowitcher, fresh
juvenile plumage, Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, FL
Image copyright 2006: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with 2X II TC and EOS-1D Mark II N.
ISO 400. Evaluative Metering +1 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/8.
When the sun in not out, the evaluative
meter is dumb, and you need to add light in order to keep overall light images
light. With its warm colors, and the consistent, even pattern of the feathers of
the upperparts, this bird is an obvious juvenile.
SHOREBIRDS;
BEAUTIFUL BEACHCOMBERS
Across the length and breadth of the Americas, about 35 species of
shorebirds are winging their way south to the wintering grounds. The adults
began their trek in early July, and the young birds of the year are just
beginning their journey. It is the perfect time to get yourself a signed copy
of my book, Shorebirds; Beautiful Beachcombers (
http://www.birdsasart.com/books.html#SHOREBIRDS
). With just a bit of study you will learn not only to identify
the various species that come thought your area, but to identify them as to
their age. (This is actually the easier of those two tasks.) In addition to the
tips on aging and identification, Shorebirds has tons of information on the
natural history of my favorite birding family.
Short-billed Dowitchers in
various plumages, Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, FL
Image copyright 2006: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with 1.4X II TC and EOS-1D Mark II
N. ISO 400. Evaluative Metering +1 stop: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6.
To beat a dead horse: focusing on the
nearest bird in a group is generally the best policy. Note the careful
framing: when photographing flocks, don’t be sloppy and cut a bird in half with
the frame-edge… The bird immediately behind the juvenile (front left) is an
adult nearing completion of its molt to winter plumage. The grey feathers are
the winter feathers. The right-most bird, also an adult, is just beginning to
molt into winter plumage.
ABP II UPDATE
The Art of Bird Photography II (936 pages on CD only:
http://www.birdsasart.com/ABPII.htm) is virtually complete. When I return
from Africa I will write the last preface (#4) and finish the work on the CD
packaging that has delayed publication far longer than I anticipated. I plan on
finishing up no later than mid-October and sending the master CD to the
manufacturer for formal production. We should have the CD book in its final
form ready to ship no later than November 1, 2006. In the meantime, we have
sold ($30 plus a buck shipping) nearly 1000 copies of the pre-publication
(in-house) version and have received only rave reviews. If you are anxious to
learn all that I have learned about bird photography since the publication of
“The Art of Bird Photography; The Complete Guide to Professional Field
Techniques” in 1998. (
http://www.birdsasart.com/books.html#PHOTO_BOOK
). The CD book is an all-new continuation of the original (which
is now available only in soft cover) and we recommend that folks just getting
started in bird photography purchase both as there is almost no overlap in the
two books. Thanks for your patience.
Common Tern, juvenile, Fort
DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, FL
Image copyright 2006: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with 1.4X II TC and EOS-1D Mark II
N. ISO 400. Manual Mode: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 verified by histogram check.
Flight photography with a big lens on a
Wimberley head an effortless pleasure. I have pretty much been sticking with
the central sensor only for flight photography.
And best and
love and great picture-making to all,
artie
Note: Arthur Morris has been a Canon contract photographer since 1994 and
continues in that role today. Hunt's Photo of Boston, MA is a BAA sponsor as it
Delkin Devices. Back issues of all BAA Bulletins can be found in the Bulletin
Archives which may be accessed from the home page at
www.birdsasart.com