The folks from Light Photographic Workshops (formerly the Lepp Institute) asked me to let you all know that there is a single opening on their upcoming Alaska Inside Passage Photo Cruise; the trip, centered around the peak of the herring run, will feature some great photographic subject including Humpback Whales, Bald Eagles, orca, harbor seals, and often thousands of gulls and seabirds coming to the feast.  For more information, click here: http://lightworkshops.com/alaska_yacht_cruise_travel_photography_workshop.html.  If you are interested, please call Jim at the office at 863-692-0906 for the $1000 off discount code before contacting Hal or Victoria.

STORE STUFF

There are several other nature photography-rooted on-line stores competing for your business.  These include a few new ones who are competing very hard.  What makes BIRDS AS ART different?  Every other on-line store offers a far greater variety of gear than we do here at BAA.   That may sound like a great thing.  But it is not.  At BIRDS AS ART we sell only products that I use, know, and believe in.  We offer only four different types of Gitzo tripods.  We do not carry any other brand of tripods; every week there is a new brand of tripod on the market.  Yet we continue to sell only the best.  I have checked out these new cheaper tripods at trade shows and found them to be junk.  And I have been searching for the ideal tripod for folks using small telephoto and small telephoto zoom lenses for more than three years.  I have seen and tested lots of tripods smaller, lighter, and cheaper than the Gitzo 3530 LS but not one of them has been up to snuff so I refuse to carry any of them.   

You can go to several on-line stores that offer many brands of tripods and dozens of different models.  And they will be glad to sell you any of them.  They will often sell you junk that does not meet your needs.  In an effort to be everything to everyone they are failing you. Unlike me they do not have the intimate knowledge of each and every product that they offer for sale.  They have not used most of them even once.  They have not tested them.  They have not had them stand up to years of vigorous use and abuse. 

With tripod heads the story is even worse.  We sell two brands (Wimberley and Mongoose), four different heads in all.  We will gladly tell you which is best for you and why.  There are more new brands of tripod heads than there are of tripods.  Every one that I have held, seen, tried out, or tested has been pure junk.  There is even a new Wimberley rip-off that looks exactly like the real thing.  And costs half as much.  The only problem is that the clamp is faulty and the head does not even come close to locking down tightly.  Our competitors will be glad to sell you one. And heck, they do not even know how bad they are so don't blame them.  Nough said?

As always Jim is here five days a week to help with your mail order needs and I am always available by e-mail (and by phone if you're lucky and happen to catch me at home). 

Snail Kite, male taking flight, West Lake Toho, Kissimmee, FL

Image copyright 2010/Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

 

Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens (handheld) with the EOS-1D Mark IV.  ISO 400.  Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops off the light grasses: 1/1000 sec. at f/4 set manually.    

 

When you see an image like the one above, you probably ask yourself, how did he get the bird back in the frame so beautifully?  How did he get the three trees in the perfect spot?  Well, Jim Neiger can get the bird back in the frame and he can teach the highly skilled to do it also.  For the most part, I do not fit into that category..... I did try.  But I struggle just to get the sensor on the bird and am thrilled to get a sharp one even if the bird is slightly too far forward in the frame; see the original (unsharpened) image below. 

 

 

APTATS II to the rescue;  In Advanced Photoshop Tips and Techniques II Robert O'Toole will teach you to use Layer Masks.  (Nobody else was able to do that despite 6 years of trying.)  With Robert's easy to follow method their is no painting with black or painting with white.  Heck, even I was able to follow along.  With the original image above Robert used one of the Increase Lead Room tutorials in APTATS II to move the bird back in the frame and used techniques from both his APTATS I PDF and my Digital Basics File (also a PDF) to eliminate the large tree trunk that merged with the kite's breast.  I hire Robert on a regular basis to optimize BIRDS AS ART images. 

GITZO TRIPOD NEWS 

Rebate: Gitzo has a $40.00 mail-in rebate going on until June 30th

 

Price Increase:  Prices on all Gitzo products will increase on May 1, 2010.   

 

THE CANON EOS-7D USER'S GUIDE

 

 

 

Great Egret chick being fed, Gatorland, Kissimmee, FL

Image copyright 2010/Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

 

Canon 70-200mm f/4 L IS lens  (handheld) with 1.4X II TC and the EOS-7D.  ISO 800.  Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/5.6 set manually.  Pop-up flash at -1 stop. 

 

I often use an AF Area Selection Mode that few folks embrace. Note below how the camera's AF system picked the proper sensors for the image above (AI Servo AF).

 

 

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I can honestly say that the 7D guide is amazing. Pretty much everything on the 7D is brand new and many folks have been seen shaking their heads in confusion.   Learn everything that you need to know about setting up and operating your camera so that you are able to consistently produce the images that you want.  This all new guide will open your eyes as to the possibilities.  I share all of my Menu and Custom Function settings along with the reasons for each choice.  I describe each of the five AF Area Selection Modes in detail and let you know which ones I use for what and why!   And I have written a totally new section on making micro-adjustments.  There is a ton of stuff in this guide that you will never see or hear anywhere else.  You will, for example, learn how I create, save and use three different personalized Camera User Settings.  Or how to set up and use Live View for a variety of nature photography applications.  The stuff on AF with Live View with lens/TC combinations that should not autofocus will blow you away…. The entire guide is of course written in my easy to read, easy to follow, designed for dunces how-to style <smile> So easy that even a child could follow along.  Do note that 7D UG does not cover the creation of video.   

 

The first complete edition of the Canon EOS-7D User’s Guide PDF is available now.  Updates--there will be at least one--will always be free.  

 

The 7D User's Guide (7D UG) sells for $30 if you send a check or a PayPal or call with a credit card in hand.   If you purchase the 7D UG through the BAA On-line store, a $2.00 discount will be applied.  Order your copy today for only $28 through the store by clicking here: https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=285.  You will receive your PDF via e-mail so be sure to check your spam folder and security settings if you do not receive yours in a timely fashion.   Do get in touch if you do not get the e-mail in a day or two (except when ordering from late Friday through Sunday <smile>)

 

 

 

 

Roseate Spoonbill, tight flight, Alafia Banks, Tampa Bay, FL

Image copyright 2010/Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

 

Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens (handheld) with the EOS-7D.  ISO 400.  Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/3200 at 400 sec. at f/6.3.       

 

When working with flying birds at a distance the 400 DO/7D combination can be quite effective. This image was created with central sensor AI Servo AF.   Despite the fact that the sensor was not even close to being on the bird at the moment of capture the image is sharp on the eye. 

 

CANON EOS-1D MARK IV USER'S GUIDE INFO

 

 

 

Wood Stork, Lakeland, FL

Image copyright 2010/Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

 

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV.  ISO 320.  Evaluative metering +1 stop off the sky: 1/2500 sec. at f/5.6 set manually.      

 

 After doing much research for the MIV User's Guide I wound up tweaking several settings; as a result, my flight images were a bit more consistently sharp than they had been before.  As always, when I do everything right the images are sharp.  When I screw up, they are not.  Go figure....  (I do need to do the focus micro-adjustment with my #2 MIV body and the 400 DO as I did with my #1 MIV body and the 800 f/5.6L IS.)  Robert O'Toole did a great job of adding canvas and a wingtip to save this really cool pose.

 

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The first complete edition of the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide PDF is available now.  Updates--there will be at least one--will always be free. 

 

As the MIV is in many ways similar to the Canon EOS-1D MIII camera body, folks moving to the Mark IV from the Mark III will not be as challenged as those who have used any other Canon professional or pro-sumer digital camera bodies.   That said there are enough new bells and whistles on the Mark IV to make the guide valuable even for experienced Mark III folks. The MIV UG is fairly comprehensive; it covers all of the camera controls including buttons, dials, and wheels and most of the menu items and Custom Functions except those dealing with video.  There is a great section on how to set up and use Live View for a variety of nature photography applications.  The stuff on AF with Live View with lens/TC combinations that should not autofocus will blow you away…. As always, the Mark IV UG is written in my easy to read, easy to understand style.

 

After following my own directions and doing the micro-adjustment on my Mark IV/800 combo I wound up setting +4 for that combo alone and +6 for when I added the 1.4X II TC.  My already sharp images got just a bit sharper!

 

The Mark IV User's Guide PDF sells for $25 if you send a check or a PayPal or call with a credit card in hand. If you order through the through the BAA On-line store, a $2.00 discount will apply.  To order your copy now and save $2.00, click here:  https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=286.  You will receive your PDF via e-mail so be sure to check your spam folder and security settings if you do not receive yours in a timely fashion.   Do get in touch if you do not get the e-mail in a day or two (except when ordering from late Friday through Sunday <smile>).