BIRDS AS ART BULLETIN

Contact us by phone at 863-692-0906 (Eastern Time Zone) or by e-mail at birdsasart@att.net or @verizon.net. The att e-mail address is best from overseas.

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Canon 400mm f/4 DO lens with the 1.4X II TC (handheld) and the EOS 1D Mark II. ISO 500. Metered off the sky 30 degrees up from the horizon and added 2/3 stop: 1/1600 sec. at f/7.1 set manually.
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Captain James (Froggie) Shadle and I took a busman's holiday aboard his flats boat "Hooptie" last Monday morning. I am not a huge fan of the light-toned water in the lower left corner... I tried to make it black and I tried to make it green, but neither worked, so I went with the real deal. Thanks again Froggie!

I am a happy man (as always…) BreezeBrowser Pro v1.7.3 with full support for 1Ds Mark III raw conversion, shooting data and focus point overlay information has just been released. I keep hearing about this or that new program for editing and converting digital images, but each time I question folks about the details the answers are always the same, “It does that almost as well and almost as fast as Breezebrowser, but it costs six times more.” If you are using a PC and you are not using Breezebrowser Pro for your editing and Downloader Pro to get your images off your flash cards and onto your computer quickly with the IPTC data embedded and the location added to the file name at the end of the file number, then you are wasting valuable time, and lots of it. Even Lightroom users will benefit from Breezebrowser’s editing speed. You can learn more about these two great programs here: http://www.birdsasart.com/breezebrowser.htm

Wood Stork, head and shoulders portrait, Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, FL

Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1Ds Mark III. ISO 500. Evaluative Metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6 set manually after histogram check. Gitzo 3530 LSV tripod and Mongoose M3.5 head.

In the Fort DeSoto Site Guide (http://tinyurl.com/2rx39q) I urge folks to arrive early. Wood Storks and spoonbills can often be closely approached in the pre-dawn but usually leave just as the sun is rising. When I visited last Tuesday there were three Wood Storks present early on… Here I added a bit of canvas above the bird.

One of the many things that have amazed me about our new educational and critiquing web site, BirdPhotographers.Net/It Ain't Just Birds (www.BirdPhotographers.Net) is the number of highly skilled photographers from overseas who have joined our ranks as active participants. It is wonderful to see great images of species that I shall most likely never get to experience in this lifetime. Below are links to some of these great images from our foreign contributors.

(If you are a first time visitor, you will be prompted to register. Registration is free. Folks who will be using our image hosting services or otherwise wish to support our efforts are invited to become members by clicking here:

Chris Van Rooyen is as good as it gets: http://birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1981. (BPN has a great feature that allows you to see all of the threads started by a given individual. To see more of Chris’s amazing images, click on the link to his name just above and to the left of the image and—from the drop-down menu—click on View Public Profile. In the Forum Info box, click on Find all threads started by Chris Van Rooyen. You can do the same with any BPN member or contributor.

It is wonderful to see so many great images being posted by IPT veterans. Check out some of the great images below.

As you will see when you visit, activity in the "Avian, Wild and Free" forum (and in many of the other Forums as well) continues at a frenetic pace. Our lead-by-example philosophy has been paying off in spades as many members are now posting honest, substantive critiques done gently. I look forward to seeing you on-line.

Canon 400mm f/4 DO IS zoom lens (handheld) with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. Metered the blue sky 30 degrees above the horizon +1/3 stop: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 set manually.

The key to the success of this image is that the first gull leaned forward allowing me to see the head of the second bird. The tern just behind the 2nd gull is, however, a bit distracting...

I have been using a pair of Neos Adventurer Overshoes for years in a variety of situations. These lightweight overshoes are 1000 times more elegant than galoshes (which still does not make them very elegant…) They are, however, completely waterproof and fit comfortably over whatever you are wearing. Sneakers, hiking boots, even your best Sunday-go-to meeting shoes; slip on your NEOS and your inner footwear will be as dry when you take off the NEOS as they were when you put them on. I have used them in Florida on dewy mornings, in snowy conditions in the northeast, at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay, on wet sub-arctic tundra in Nome and Barrow, and many more spots in between. I have used them in mud and muck and to cross shallow frigid streams. Tuck your pants legs into the tall flaps and seal them with the upper Velcro-ed strap. The ankle strap has Velcro fastening and a strong plastic buckle. If you are tired of having wet feet after an early morning photo session, then a pair of NEOS should be in your future.

We are selling them for the cheapest price on the web (more than $10 cheaper in many cases): $64.99 plus shipping via UPS ground. And unlike most vendors, we actually have all sizes in stock. See the sizing chart below.

Neos Adventurer Overshoes Sizing Chart

	XS	S	M	L	XL	XXL
US Men	3.5-5	5.5-7	7.5-9	9.5-11	11.5-13	13.5-15
US Women	5-6.5	7-8.5	9-10.5	11-12.5	13-14.5	15-16.5
Euro	35-37	38-40	41-42	43-45	46-48	49-50
Insole	10.25 x 4in	11 x 4.25in	11.75 x 4.375in	12.375 x 4.5in	12.75 x 4.75in	13.5 x 4.875in

If you plan on wearing your NEOS over hiking boots, it would be best to skip to the next larger size.

I noticed with my brand new EOS 1Ds Mark III that I was only able to make two images before I hit the buffer. A quick e-mail to Chuck Westfall, Canon’s top Technical Representative, turned up the answer. Whenever you use in-camera noise reduction, the camera takes much longer to write the image to the card. Best in most cases to turn off the in-camera noise reduction and do your NR either during or after the conversion. I use the noise reduction in Breezebrowser that is applied during the RAW conversions.

Canon 100-400mm L IS zoom lens (handheld at 375mm) with the EOS-1Ds MIII. ISO 400. Evaluative Metering +2/3 stop: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1.

With the birds so close, I borrowed a 100-400 from one of the Post X-mas IPT participants. A small strip of Brown Pelican was Quick-Masked out along the left edge of the frame. (See original below.)

Be advised that our Mark III User’s Guide would be of great help to folks using (or struggling with) the just-released EOS 1-Ds Mark III as the menus and Custom Functions are pretty much identical. I hope to complete a short update when I return from California in ten days. I was surprised to see that many of the menu and C. Fn items on the 40D are quite similar to those on the MIII bodies. I hope to be able to borrow one from someone on the San Diego IPT so that I can share my thoughts on the set-up of that camera at some point. You can learn more about the MIII and the 1Ds MIII User’s Guide here: http://www.birdsasart.com/MARK%20III%20USER%20GUIDE.htm.

Brown Pelican, sub-adult, early morning light, Estero Lagoon, Ft. Myers Beach, FL

Canon 400mm f/4 DO IS lens with the EOS-1Ds Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative Metering +2/3 stop: 1/1250 sec. at f/7.1. Gitzo 3530 LSV tripod and Mongoose M3.5 head .

When these guys flew in close to grab some of our tossed fish, my first impulse was to get down on the ground, but the mud was wet and yucky. But I did it anyway: there is nothing like the intimate eye level views attained by getting down and dirty. As I say often, “You gotta love it!” I wish that I had been a bit higher so that the horizon line did not intersect with the bird's head...

As most of you know, I have been using Delkin e-Film Pro Compact Flash Cards for more than five years now. I have been using the 4gb and 8gb cards for more than three years without having a single card go bad. Delkin cards carry a life-time guarantee so in the unlikely event of a bad card, we will gladly send you a new card at our expense upon receipt of your corrupted card.

Please add $7.00 per order shipping and handling. Florida residents please add 7% sales tax to the cost of the cards only.

Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with the EOS-1Ds Mark III. ISO 500. Evaluative Metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/60 sec. at f/4. Gitzo 3530 LSV tripod and Mongoose M3.5 head .

My first instinct when I saw the pink reflections of the south-western sky was to use the long lens as above. Next I grabbed the 24-105 mm IS L zoom lens and handheld it at 92mm to create the image below. (Exposure setting identical.) I could do without the zillion small grasses in the image below. Here is another tip: when handholding short lenses for scenic bird scapes you can level the horizon pretty well by lining it up with the top edge of the viewfinder box…

Thanks to Photo-Safari Bruce Gauger who created this gallery of Todd’s Kenya images from this past summer. It would be wise as you view the slide program to note Todd’s lightening-quick compositional skills. With many of his images, the perfect moment was there only for an instant. Todd never seems to miss them. He surely does not hesitate… You can view the images here: http://www.gustafsonphotosafri.com/kenya2007gallery/index.html. Be sure to play the show all the way to the end so you do not miss the spectacular image of Mt. Kilimanjaro with ground fog below at sunrise.

Canon 400mm f/4 DO IS zoom lens (handheld) with the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. Evaluative Metering +2/3 stop: 1/3200 sec. at f4.

The key to the success of this image was my stooping over to place the yellow-green marsh just above the vulture's head. I love the four strips of soft color in the background.

February 16-18, 2008 Florida Everglades Workshop: This 3-day photography workshop is limited to 8 participants. Only 4 spots are still available. This workshop is being led by Robert O'Toole and Fabiola Del Alcazar with Alfred Forns co-leading. More information available here

February 23-25, 2008 Florida Everglades Workshop: This new 3-day photography workshop has just been added; it is limited to 8 participants. This workshop is being led by Robert O'Toole and Fabiola Del Alcazar with Alfred Forns co-leading. More information available here

As above, join award winning photographers Robert O'Toole and Fabiola Del Alcazar and co-leader Alfred Forns for these special 3-day south Florida Everglades Photography Workshops. Each offers morning and evening in-the-field instructional sessions with afternoon Photoshop instruction and friendly, helpful critiques All workshop leaders have experience with both Canon and Nikon Digital SLRs and lenses. Robert, one of the workshop leaders, presently shoots with both systems. The small group size will insure plenty of time for personal instruction from the leaders. These workshops will offer you great value for your money.

Private Photographic Instructional Workshops: Awarding-winning nature photographer Robert Amoruso is now scheduling private one-on-one and small group Photographic Instructional Workshops throughout Florida in February, March and April of 2008. Robert can help advance your avian photography to the next level with private workshops designed for all levels of proficiency in a relaxed and productive environment. The participant sets the agenda. You can download a workshop brochure at http://www.wildscapeimages.com/extras/WSI-PPIW-Brochure.pdf and find out more about Robert at www.wildscapeimages.com (galleries) and www.wildscapeimages.biz (workshops). Call him at 407-808-7417 or email him at wildscapeimages@comcast.net.

St. Augustine Alligator Farm Photographic Instructional Workshop/ 3 ½ days: May 1, thru 4, 2008/$999. Join Robert Amoruso and Robert O’Toole for a 3½ Day workshop at one of Florida’s best learning classrooms, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. The farm’s gator swamp – a natural wetlands covering approximately two acres – has an extensive boardwalk allowing unencumbered access to the birds. During nesting season you’ll see Wood Storks, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Tri-colored Herons, Little Blue Herons and Cattle Egrets. White Ibises and Roseate Spoonbills consistently roost at the Farm but do not nest there at present.

Canon 400mm f/4L DO lens (handheld) with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1Ds MIII. ISO 320. Evaluative Metering at zero: 1/800 sec. at f/10.

I used 45-Point AAFPS to create this image as the birds were moving about so frantically that it was near-impossible to keep the central sensor on the bird. In retrospect, had I been working with the much faster EOS-1D MIII I would have been able to capture a much greater variety of poses (and dispensed with the 1.4X TC as well…) I

Bosque IPT #1: NOV 22-25, 2008. (Slide program on the evening of NOV 21.) 4-DAY: $1799 (Limit: 10/Openings: 5)

Bosque IPT #2: NOV 29-DEC 2, 2008. (Slide program on the evening of NOV 28) 4-DAY: $1799 (Limit: 10/Openings: 4)

SW FLA POST X-MAS IPT: DEC 27-29, 2008. (Slide program on the evening of DEC 26) 4-DAY: $1799 (Limit: 10/Openings: 8)

With me leading fewer IPTs and with reduced group sizes, the IPTs above will surely sell out far in advance. Announced less than a week ago, the three IPTs above are already 43% sold out… If you are seriously interested in joining me in the field, it would be best to register immediately.

Canon 500mm f/4 L IS lens with the 2X II TC and a 12mm Extension Tube on the EOS 1D MIII. ISO 320. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/160 at f/11.

Having been to various nests in Cape Coral with my IPT groups a zillion times, it is always a challenge to come up with something a little different. Here, the o-o-f grasses to the left of the bird make a wonderful added touch. I actually prefer the 45 degree profile to the both eyes straight ahead view for really tight head portraits like this one. When working at close range I will try to stop down a bit for added d-o-f. The recent update of the SW FLA Site Guide contains detailed directions to this year’s best nest sites; there are at least four pairs active pairs in sight of the spot that you park your car. In addition, the guide contains the very latest local info. Tip: Estero Lagoon is very good right now. To learn more about the SW FLA Site Guide, click here: http://tinyurl.com/37zsbw.

I will be presenting BIRDS AS ART on the Road tonight, January 15 (at 7pm), at the Lake Wales Public Library. Everyone is invited.

Roseate Spoonbill, one year old capturing tiny—and I mean tiny—baitfish, Little Estero Lagoon, Ft. Myers Beach, FL

Canon 500mm lens with the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 320. Evaluative Metering +1 stop: 1/3200 sec. at f/4.

This image was created on the Post X-mas IPT. I used 45 point AAFPS and remember telling the group, “Don’t press the shutter button unless the bird is angled slightly towards us. The best images will be made just after they pull their head out of the water.” .

With the lead image in BAA Bulletin 251 (http://www.birdsasart.com/bn251.htm) I wrote, "Nobody--including me--can figure out where that light came from as the sun is directly behind the bird..." Many folks wrote suggesting various versions of “the light was bouncing off the water,” but nothing really made sense to me until I received the e-mail below from physicist Chuck Jacob. Thanks Chuck!

Artie, Rays from the sun scattered by water droplets in the atmosphere created - relative to the subject - an extended (i.e., non-point) light source behind and slightly left/right/above the camera/bird axis. That light—in addition to some light bouncing off the surface of the water—reflected off the bird's beak at a grazing angle with sufficient intensity to be captured in the digital image. Basic physics: the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. Happy new year! Chuck

Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS L zoom lens with the EOS 1D Mark III. ISO 1600. Metered off the white sky and added 1 2/3 stops of light: 1/8 sec. at f/4 set manually.

This is another image made on the Hooptie with Captain James (Froggie) Shadle early in January. James knows what the birds will do before they do it! Sort of reminds me of Bosque.

We have sold hundreds of BAA Big Lens Ultimate Bean Bags (BLUBBs) since they were introduced two years ago and everyone loves them. If you use a big lens from inside your vehicle (or, from your boat—place the BLUBB over the gunnels suggests Captain Froggie), and you do not own a BLUBB, you are simply not maximizing your opportunities. You can learn more here: http://www.birdsasart.com/blubb.htm

Just before Christmas my son, who was staying in Florida at the time, bought a BLUBB for me. He phoned you rather early in the morning; I would like to thank you for getting it into the post so that he was able to receive it in time to bring it back to the UK. A simple bean-bag is a fairly basic but essential piece of photo equipment, but the BLUBB is the ‘Rolls Royce of bean- bags (British terminology). It has been superbly well thought out and designed giving a firm, solid base to work from in a number of situations. Finally the materials used and the workmanship are all first class – there is NOTHING else that remotely approaches it on the market. Have a happy and healthy New Year, Melvin

Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 500. Evaluative Metering +2 stops: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6.

In soft light, low contrast situations like this I switch to One-Shot AF unless the birds I moving. In this image I just love the blue face of the tiny wave behind the bird’s neck.

Note: Arthur Morris has been a Canon contract photographer since 1996 and continues in that role today. Hunt's Photo of Boston, MA is a BAA sponsor as is 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