BIRDS AS ART NOTES DEC 24

BIRDS AS ART BULLETIN 281 DEC 29, 2008

Inspirational, Educational, & Fun. Honest critiques done gently: www.BirdPhotographers.Net (It Ain’t Just Birds!)

BALD EAGLE PHOTOGRAPHIC INSTRUCTIONAL WORKSHOPS, HOMER ALASKA with ROBERT O’TOOLE

BreezeBrowser Pro v1.9.2

NATURE’S BEST PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENTS

CANON PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE PARKS PHOTO CONTEST CONGRATS

PER-GUNNAR OSTBY SWIMMING LIONESS IMAGE

LENS AND CAMERA FOR SALE

LEPP INSTITUTE PROGRAMS

IPT UPDATES

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

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Snowy Owl in beach grasses with snow, Jones Beach State Park, Long Island, NY

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the Canon EOS-1D MIII on the Mongoose M3.5 atop the Gitzo 3530 LS CF tripod. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/400 sec. at f/8.

When you have a great subject in a loverly setting, strive to create a variety of compositions in both horizontal and vertical format. And use a variety of focal lengths as well; I made some wider images of this bird in this spot by taking off the teleconverter. If you missed the details of my Long Island holiday visit, check out BAA Bulletin #280 in the archives here: http://www.birdsasart.com/bn280.htm

BALD EAGLE PHOTOGRAPHIC INSTRUCTIONAL WORKSHOPS, HOMER ALASKA with ROBERT O’TOOLE

Join Robert O’Toole on an in-the-field workshop at the premier Bald Eagle photography location on the planet. As this is slated to be Jean Keene’s last year of feeding, 2009 will likely be very the last year to experience the opportunities at Homer so don’t miss out. Robert O'Toole was the Alaska Bald Eagle Foundation’s “2008 Photographer of the Year.” His banking vertical Bald Eagle image was highly commended in the 2006 BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Robert served ably as co-leader on four Homer, AK BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours.

Bald Eagle P-I-W #1, February 22-24, 2009 3-DAYS: $999. Limit 6, openings 3.

Bald Eagle workshop 2, February 26-28, 2009 3-DAYS: $999. Limit 6, openings 2.

Please see the following links for more information: Bald Eagle workshop 1, February 22-24, 2009 and/or Bald Eagle workshop 2, February 26-28, 2009

These workshops are expected to sell out almost immediately so please contact Robert ASAP if you would like to secure a spot.

e-mail: Robert@RobertOToolePhotography.com Website: RobertOToolePhotography.com 2009 workshop schedule available here

Bald Eagle landing against a glowing sky, Homer AK.

Canon EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens (handheld at 200 mm) with the Canon EOS-1D Mark II N. ISO 400. Manual mode metering +1 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/4.

Carl Sams and I literally ran down to the water’s edge after the sunset to frame eagles playing king of the hill on an rock pile against the orange afterglow. I pre-visualized this image; patience, timing and positioning made it possible.

Bald Eagle skimming the surface, Homer AK.

Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens (handheld at 200 mm) with the Canon EOS-1D Mark II N. ISO 200. Manual mode metering +1 stop: 1/1250 sec. at f/4.

Where else in the world can a photographer make images like this at only 200mm? This early morning opportunity was just about perfect, the south east wind brought the eagles right at us and right towards the sun.

Bald Eagle threat call, close up portrait, Homer AK.

Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens (handheld at 200 mm on a BLUBB) with the Canon EOS-1D Mark II N. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6.

Sometimes I still cannot believe this image was made with a straight 70-200. The secret was the location and the technique. I used my Toyota Rent car as a blind and literally rolled up to the eagle while it was busy screaming at the dozens of other eagles around us at Homer.

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Breezebrowser Pro has been and remains the backbone of my image editing and filing systems. Learn more or purchase by clicking here: http://www.birdsasart.com/breezebrowser.htm

Recent purchasers can download BreezeBrowser Pro v1.9.2 here: http://www.breezesys.com/downloads.htm

Canada Goose in snow, Holbrook, Long Island, NY

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the Canon EOS-1D MIII on the Mongoose M3.5 atop the Gitzo 3530 LS CF tripod. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/8.

I am hopelessly addicted to photographing birds. After spending three hours in the cold and wind at Jones Beach last Saturday I saw some Canadas and some gulls in a pond at the entrance to my Mom’s development. I could not resist and would up spending nearly an hour in the snow.

NATURE’S BEST PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENTS

Editor Gabby Salazar e-mailed letting me know that “Nature's Best Photography for Kids” is now “Nature's Best Photography Students.” It is free and available online: www.naturesbeststudents.com. All articles and images are created by students aged 12-21. In her welcome, Gabby wrote in part, “…a free bimonthly online magazine by students for students.” Well I must say that Gabby is dead wrong about the “for students” part. Anyone of any age who loves viewing great images (and being inspired them!) and who enjoys good writing needs to spend some time tooling around this spectacular publication.

In the current issue—it is way-cool how the pages “turn” as if you were reading a real magazine—two brothers search for and photograph Puma in Chile and the photos in the My Best Shot gallery are both technically perfect and artistically designed. My very favorite is the image of a Great Grey Owl on the nest with a chick looking up at the adult by Cassie Hartman, aged 14 of Montana. Long Island buddy Tom Pfeifer’s daughter Emily has an educational piece on depth-of-field and Master’s in the Making features the incredible photography of Jerzy Grzesiak (a talented 19 year old from Lodz, Poland). His Hare at sunrise vertical is simply as good as it gets.

When you visit, be sure to check out the Photo Galleries. Rick Stanley of Bethesda, Maryland, has the

Featured Portfolio. My fave there is his White-necked Jacobin. Rick chose a day in the field with me as part of his prize for being named BBC Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year a while back. The Masters in the Making Gallery features the work of two other young photographers whom I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with, the aforementioned Emily Pfeifer (15 by the way), and Mateusz Kowalski (18). Mateusz is from Poland but travels widely in Europe to photograph my favorite subjects, birds. My favorite of Emily’s images is her amazing “Red-tailed Hawk and Chicks.” With Mateusz, it is too hard for me to pick a single image; you need to see them all.

The My Best Shot Gallery showcases favorite images by young photographers (aged 12-21) from around the world. As you would expect, there is some spectacular stuff here. Seeing the great work of all of these young photographers makes me wish that I had started photographing a lot earlier than at age 37….

Black-capped Chickadee, Morton NWR, Sag Harbor, NY

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with a 25mm Extension tube and the Canon EOS-1D MIII on the Mongoose M3.5 atop the Gitzo 3530 LS CF tripod. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual Mode. Fill flash at -2 stops.

At the height of it on Friday past it was dark and the snow was blowing. Later, when the storm abated a bit, I was able to work at ISO 800.

CANON PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE PARKS PHOTO CONTEST CONGRATS

Congrats to 2008 SW Florida President’s Day IPT participant Bob Blanchard. His “Reflections of a White Morph” (Reddish Egret) image was awarded first place in the Canon Photography in the Parks Contest: http://tinyurl.com/6qjxqn. In a recent e-mail, Bob, who is an active BPN Member (thanks Bob!), wrote: “You were a big part of this win! There is no way would I have exposed the image correctly without the histogram evaluation techniques that you taught us on the IPT!

Reddish Egret, white morph, Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel, FL

PER-GUNNAR OSTBY SWIMMING LIONESS IMAGE

In BAA Bulletin 279 (http://www.birdsasart.com/bn279.htm) I mentioned a spectacular swimming lioness image by Per-Gunnar. He has graciously allowed me to post it here. Enjoy. Do check out P-G’s amazing world travels here: www.pgoimages.com

African Lion, lioness swimming, Botswana

During the image critiquing session P-G explained that the lions always snarl when swimming because they do not like it!

LENS AND CAMERA FOR SALE

New in the Box Nikon 500mm f/4G ED AF-S Vibration Reduction (VR II) Telephoto Nikkor Lens - Black Finish. It has been simply impossible for regular folks to purchase this lens which is and has been on back-order at virtually all of the major discount photo suppliers. The only folks who have gotten one of the very few available have been NPS members. This lens is new-in-the-box, never opened. Asking $8,200. You pay shipping and insurance. Please e-mail me at birdsasart@att.net or birdsasart@verizon.net if you are interested. (The only one that I could find for sale was one on e-Bay at the “Buy Now” price of $8599 plus shipping from Taipei, Taiwan. Good luck with that one.) The first e-mail wins….

Used Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II Professional Digital Camera body. This was my very favorite camera body for more than two years. The 16.7 mega pixel files are superb. If you are using an EOS-1D MII or the EOS-1D MIIn this body is the natural upgrade for you. The camera is in very good to excellent condition. I am prepared to give it away for $3,000. You pay shipping and insurance. Purchase includes the original box, 1 battery, 1 battery charger, camera strap, cables, and all the rest. Return the body in its current condition (i.e., you did not drop it) at your expense within a week and we will gladly refund your $3,000 no questions asked. Please e-mail me at birdsasart@att.net or birdsasart@verizon.net if you are interested.

Eastern Grey Squirrel, Morton NWR, Sag Harbor, NY

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with a 25mm Extension tube and the Canon EOS-1D MIII on the Mongoose M3.5 atop the Gitzo 3530 LS CF tripod. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual Mode. Fill flash at -2 stops.

There were squirrels on the seed almost constantly but good poses were few and far between as they had their faces deep in the snow most of the time. It ain’t just birds!

LEPP INSTITUTE PROGRAMS

The program below offers an amazing opportunity for you to grow as a nature photographer. To learn about this week-long program, click here: http://www.leppphoto.com/Bird_Photography_Intensive_Workshop.html To register, click here: http://www.leppphoto.com/forms/registration2009.html. (You cannot register thru BAA.)

Intensive Instruction in Bird Photography/Lidi Master Series/January 12-16, 2009, 5 FULL DAYS: $2650. (Limit: 10)

Note: this is a rare occasion to join me for a formal seminar, in the field instruction, and follow-up image processing. And you will be able to print one or more of your finished images. From soup-to-nuts, this five-day course has it all. (The weekend session is sold out.)

Join acclaimed bird photographer, educator, and tour leader Arthur Morris for five days of intensive nature photography instruction in beautiful Morro Bay, CA. In-classroom sessions will be held at the Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging in nearby Los Osos, CA. With the group size limited to ten and a minimum of 40+ hours of instruction there will be great opportunities for you to improve both your in-the-field and Photoshop and Lightroom skills. (Note: all Lightroom instruction by Hal Schmitt.) The Monday program will consist of a full day of in-classroom instruction. Tuesday through Thursday will combine morning and possibly afternoon photography sessions with mid-day image editing and optimization sessions. Monday thru Thursday will include informal evening sessions from 7-9pm and a 90 minute midday break. There will be a morning photography session on Friday.

Course outline:

In-classroom/Monday: Putting Art in Your Nature Photography: Composition and Image Design, Understanding Digital Exposure via the Histogram, Understanding and Using Natural Light, Tripods, Heads, and Sharpening Tips, Lenses and How to Use Them, Better Beamer and Flash set-up Demonstration, Understanding Flash as Main Light, Flash as Fill, and Manual Flash, Getting Close; Is it Magic?, and Using Shutter Speeds Creatively, What’s the Big Deal with Depth-of-Field?

Tuesday thru Friday In-classroom: Downloading, Editing, and Optimizing your images in Lightroom 2.0 and Photoshop, Shared and Group Image Editing, Converting Your RAW Files and Recovering Detail in Over-Exposed RAW Files, Workflow Basics: Dust Spotting, Cropping, and making Shadow Highlight, Levels, Hue-Saturation, Curves, and Selective Color Adjustments, Advanced Photoshop Techniques: Expanding Canvas, 1,000 Uses for Quick Masks, Average Blur Color Balancing, Leveling the Horizon, Creating Actions, Batching, Making Selections, Why Refine Edge is Superior to Feathering, Making Adjustments to Selected Areas, Dealing with Bright Pixels, , Clone Stamp Tips and Tricks, Using the Patch Tool--It is Magic. Using the "Divide and Conquer" and "Protect and Defend" Techniques to Clean Up Distracting Background Elements, Digital Eye Doctor Techniques, Dealing with Reds and Yellows, Using PhotoMerge to create Panoramic Images, Levels Adjustment Trick for Silhouettes, and lots more. Guided Optimization of New Images.

Wednesday thru Friday: Making test prints on Canon printers and creating at least 1 professional size print (perhaps more depending on time). Thru Friday afternoon at 3:30pm.

In-the field: Seeing and Using the Light, Tripod Handling, Tips, and Techniques, Getting Close including Various Stalking Techniques, Getting the Right Exposure, Understanding In-the-Field Strategies, Evaluating a Situation, Learning to See; What Does a Pro Look for?, and AQA (all questions answered!)

Schedule/Monday (all times approximate): 9-noon/Slide Programs, Demos, and Discussion. Noon-1pm: lunch. 1pm till 2:30pm: break. 2:30-5:30 pm: Slide Programs, Demos, and Discussion.

Schedule/Tuesday-Friday (all times approximate): Dawn till mid-morning (weather permitting): In-the Field Instruction and Photography/Morro Bay. 11am: lunch. Noon till 1:30: break. 1:30 till 3:00: Photoshop sessions and image review and optimization. 3 pm till sunset: Either In-the Field Instruction/Morro Bay photo session or Photoshop/Printing sessions. Dinner: as time permits… Evening sessions (daily except Friday): after dinner till 9pm. The length of the various sessions may be changed at any time by the instructor to best meet the needs of the group.

Northern Cardinal, male in snow, Morton NWR, Sag Harbor, NY

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the Canon EOS-1D MIII on the Mongoose M3.5 atop the Gitzo 3530 LS CF tripod. ISO 1250. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/125 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual Mode. Fill flash at -2 stops.

Man oh man, those cardinal are fast. Just getting them anywhere in the frame and in focus was a challenge.

IPT UPDATES

SW FLA PRESIDENT'S DAY IPT: FEB 13-17, 2009. Slide program on the evening of FEB 12. 5-DAY: $2249 Limit: 10/(Sold Out.) Co-leaders: Robert O’Toole and Scott Bourne.

POST-NANPA 2 ½ DAY BOSQUE IPT. FEB 22-24, 2009. 2 1/2-DAY: $799. Limit: 15/Openings: 5. Best combined with my Sunday morning NANPA Summit program: "Photographing Bosque Del Apache: In-the-Field Strategies and Post Processing Techniques" Sunday FEB 22, 2009. (Registration for the Sunday program through NANPA only.) Photograph Sunday afternoon till sunset and all day Monday and Tuesday.

Bear Boat #1: June 4-10, 2009. Openings: 3. (It is advised that you be in Anchorage on the afternoon of June 2nd to be assured of not missing the boat!). This trip will feature an afternoon (and possibly more) of otter photography (weather permitting), Bald Eagles with chicks in the nest probable, puffins possible, and lots and lots of coastal Brown Bears clamming and eating luscious green grass.

Bear Boat #2: Sept 4-10, 2009. Openings: 3. (It is advised that you be in Anchorage on the afternoon of the September 2nd to be assured of not missing the boat!). This one is the bears catching salmon trip. In addition, Glaucous-winged and Mew Gulls eating roe are a certainty. Dark phase Northern Fulmars and Black-legged Kittiwakes (including the gorgeous immatures), Harbor Seals, and Stellar ’s Sea Lions are likely. Did I mention bears catching salmon? And more bears catching salmon?

Rates for the 2009 trips have increased due to increased fuel costs. Bear Boat #1 (cheaper by $250 as we use the float plane only once): $6749. Bear Boat #2: $6999. Three slots are filled on each trip.

Bosque 2009 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 21-27, 2009. Slide program on the evening of Friday, NOV 20. 7-FULL DAYS: $3199. Limit: 10/Openings: 9. Co-leaders Scott Bourne and others TBA. Non-refundable deposit: $500 per person (Deposits may be paid by check, Paypal, or credit card.) Please note our new cancellation policy: A non-refundable deposit is required to hold a spot for each BAA IPT, Photo-Cruise, or Photo-Safari. Payment in full (payable only by check) is due four months before the start of the IPT and is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out (10 in this case). You will be required to sign a statement to this effect. Travel insurance is of course highly recommended. Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options, you can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage, which expands the list of reasons for your canceling to an infinite list, from a sudden work or family obligation to a simple change of mind. My family and I use and depend on the great policies offered by TIS whenever we travel. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services (We regret that we must implement this new policy but we have had recently been plagued by last minute cancellations that make it impossible for others to participate and deprive us of income. The new policy does not apply to any of the previously announced trips listed above.)

Australia Birds, DEC 2009. Please e-mail us at birdsasart@att.net or birdsasart@verizon.net for details, costs, cancellation policy, and itinerary.

Best and love and great picture- making to all,

artie

Note: Arthur Morris has been a Canon contract photographer, part of the Explorers of Light program, 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. To unsubscribe please click here: unsubscribe.