BIRDS AS ART BULLETIN #345

November 3, 2010

Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245  4041 Granada Drive, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855.  Telephone: 863-692-0906.  Computer fax: 877- 265-6955

Visit: www.BIRDSASART.com

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FEATURES:

FCCC APPEARANCE/NAPLES FLORIDA: NOVEMBER 7

CANON EOS-7D USER’S GUIDE UPDATE

CANON EOS-7D USER’S GUIDE KUDOS

CANON USER’S GUIDE COMPLAIN E-MAILS

MARK IV USER’S GUIDE UPDATE SENT

BOSQUE IPT AND BLURRY DAY LATE REGISTRATION DISCOUNTS

THANKSGIVING AT BOSQUE

CANON USED 70-200M F/2.8 L IS FOR SALE/PRICE REDUCED

A GUIDE TO PLEASING BLURS

POSSE NEWS/ROBERT AMORUSO

SHOPPER’S GUIDE

IPT UPDATES

PLEASE: If you are responding to a Bulletin via e-mail please take the time to delete all irrelevant text and images.  Thanks.

Turkey Vulture landing, Indian Lake Estates, FL

Image copyright 2010: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Canon 400mm f/4L DO lens handheld with the EOS-7D.  ISO 400.  Center-weighted Average +1 1/3 stops off the sky set manually: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6.

This bird had just—and I mean just—flown past a tree that I cropped out (on the left).  Canvas was added right as described in detail in the Digital Basics File PDF.  My recommended setting for C. Fn. III-3 (new in the 7D UG update) kept the AF system from picking up the tree.   

FCCC APPEARANCE/NAPLES FLORIDA: NOVEMBER 7

I will be doing four presentations at the Florida Camera Club Convention this coming Sunday morning at Edison State College, Naples, FL.   For more information or to register, click here.

Jim Litzenberg will be along tending a table of BAA books, CDs, and assorted photographic accessories from BAA Mail Order.   If you would like us to bring a major item for you to save on shipping, please let us know of your needs via an e-mail to birdsasart@att.net.

Turkey Vulture sunbathing, Indian Lake Estates, FL

Image copyright 2010: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Canon 400mm f/4L DO lens handheld with the EOS-7D.  ISO 400.  Center-weighted Average metering +1 1/3 stops off the sky set manually: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6.

The 7D and the 400 DO is a deadly combination.  I got out of the car and walked slowly towards the perch tree to create this image.

CANON EOS-7D USER’S GUIDE UPDATE

I am working on updating the Canon EOS-7D User’s Guide.  It should be done by next Monday, November 8, 2010 and we will have it e-mailed to all purchasers no later than close of business on Wednesday, November 10.   If you have a new e-mail address since you ordered your copy, please let us know.  If you e-mail us before Thursday, November 11 telling us that you did not receive your 7D UG update, your e-mail will be deleted.  Updates to the guide are free so you should get yours provided you are on the list and unless your security settings block it. 

New folks can purchase the 7D User’s Guide here. They will receive the update as above.

This is certainly not a prize-winning image but the BreezeBrowser screen capture with “Show Focus Points” activated shows what I love best about my very favorite 7D AF Selection Area Mode. It works well with both static subjects as seen here and with birds in flight as you will see in the image set below.

CANON EOS-7D USER’S GUIDE KUDOS

I received this by e-mail from Arnon Wilson:

Dear Artie, Your 7-D User’s Guide was my last hope after trying several books. It was worth every penny. I feel as if I upgraded my 7D! Thank you. Arnon

And this one from Robert Johnson:

Artie, I got your guide and sat with it and my camera in front of my laptop for three hours.  When I was done, I felt as if I had been using the camera for years.  And best of all, I went out the next day, used all of your preferred settings and your recommended AF Zone and made a very high percentage of razor sharp flight shots.    Thanks! Bob

And another from Carol Rettinger:

Artie, a note regarding your 7D manual. . . .  .  It has really helped me!    I changed my focusing from the AF Zone I had been using to the one that you love for most of your bird photography while in Al Servo--and my keeper rate increased dramatically.  Last week I did my first boat and bird trip--and was surprised at how many bird-in-flight images I created that were actually very good.  Usually am very disappointed with my flight stuff as I used to lose focus very quickly. Also last weekend I photographed a Polo Match with great success.  Tonight, after meeting you and Denise at George Lepp’s excellent program in Brandenton, I enjoyed following 8 ducklings with my 7D and the 100-400.  When I have a "group" I'm never sure which one to focus on--especially if I have the Mom and babies in the  frame, but the 7D did the thinking for me and the images turned out great.  Thanks for the great guide, Carol

And one last one from Garry Revesz:  

Hi Artie,  I want to thank you for the 7D Guide. I found it quite interesting and you have a number "Why didn't I think of that?" or "that's a good idea" points that I have incorporated. I'm still running test shots and I'm seeing some positive results so far. I do think, however, that my lenses need to be focus calibrated and will use the charts included with the guide.  Garry

Turkey Vulture, full downstroke flight, Indian Lake Estates, FL

Image copyright 2010: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Canon 400mm f/4L DO lens handheld with the EOS-7D.  ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops off the sky set manually: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6.

Careful readers will note that I had inadvertently set Center-weighted metering rather than my greatly preferred Evaluative metering.  Working in Manual mode it did not matter.  I simply read +1 1/3 stops off the sky (my best estimate based on the principles outlined in the “Exposure Simplified: section in ABP II—916 pages on CD only), created a test image of a perched vulture, and confirmed the exposure via a histogram check.  Note the perfect histogram in the screen capture below.  

Another BreezeBrowser screen capture with “Show Focus Points” activated shows that my favorite 7D AF Selection Area Mode also performs flawlessly with birds in flight. Most others recommend against the use of the AF Selection Area Mode that I love and use almost exclusively.

CANON USER’S GUIDE COMPLAINT E-MAILS

I received this e-mail from Mike Mathews:

I found the 7D User’s Guide somewhat useful but horribly overpriced. $28 for a pdf? Ho ho ho.   mm

My response to Darrill below addresses the issue raised above:

AM: Hi Darrill,   re:

D: Thank you for sending the Guide so quickly.

AM: YAW. 

D: I have long been an admirer or Arthur Morris. I am always amazed at the quality of his images and consider his ABP I & ABP II to be near the top of the list as far as photographic books go.

AM:  Thanks.  And great values too.  Especially the latter. 

D: But I am disappointed by the guide to the 1Dm4. It offers little new, goes into very little detail and to those experienced with the 1D series of cameras its value is very limited.

AM:  Thanks for sharing your thoughts.  I have cut and pasted this directly from the web site:

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.

We have always let folks know that. 

D: I have also found most fellow photographers willing to simply share their camera settings rather than charging what is in effect the same price that a large book on Photoshop might sell for on Amazon.

AM: Sir, with all due respect, you are missing some very important points:

1-No one, nobody in the industry has given away more information for free over the past fifteen years, spent more time answering e-mail, spent more time on educational web sites, and just plain helping folks than I have.  Period.  Nobody is even in second place.

2-There are lots of large books on Amazon.com, some of them filled with photographs, that are lousy at best.  If you want weight or volume, I am sure that you can get a few hundreds of pounds of remaindered books from a publisher somewhere for just a few bucks.

3-Our three camera user's guides consist of a lot more than a list of my settings.   I let folks know what settings I use and why and what options might or might not work better for them.  It took me more than a week working full time to write the MIII UG, that after using and studying the camera for more than two months.   It took me several eight hour days to compile the MIV UG again after using that camera for more than two months.  And last week it took me two full eight hour days to prepare the free update. That after probably a dozen hours of work on the improved section on making accurate micro-adjustments.  The material in this section will help a lot of folks create sharp images with their $10,000 rigs that would not have been possible without doing a micro-adjustment; how do you put a price tag on that?  Preparing the 7D guide took me about ten full days of work after using the camera extensively for six weeks.  And that included more than four hours of phone calls with some of the tech reps at Canon.

4-I alone developed many of the fine points covered in the guides that apply to solving specific problems that nature photographers deal with in the field.  There is much information in the guides that is simply not available anywhere for any price.

5-The pricing of the various educational products that we offer here is carefully considered and based on a number of factors; the number of words in a book or a PDF, and the number of images included.  The length, size, or weight of a book are way down on the list.  Near the top of the list are the following items:  the effort that went into creation of the project, the number of years of experience needed to produce the information, the quality of the information, the value of the information to potential purchasers, and the number of potential customers.

Here are some examples: It took me four years to create ABP II.  The work consists of 916 pages and about 900 images, each btw with our legendary educational captions.  It contains everything that I learned about nature photography from 1998 until 2006 or so.  The information in ABP II is solid.  Yet it sells for only $40.  Still, there are folks who cry, "$40 for a CD, no way!"  Linda Robbins' Hummingbird Guide is probably 1/20 the size of the ABP II at most, sells for $50.  Why?  The much smaller audience size and the value of that information to that small audience factored into the pricing of that great guide.  And so on and so forth. .....

D: Perhaps the guide combined with the Digital Basics File showing the end to end process might offer some real value.

AM: Perhaps you now have a better understanding of the value of the information that we offer.   later and love, artie 

Turkey Vulture, sunbathing, Indian Lake Estates, FL

Image copyright 2010: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV.  ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops off the sky set manually: 1/160 sec. at f/16.

This is a stitched pano.  I was working on the BLUBB from my vehicle and I could not fit the bird in the frame so I made an image of the right side of the bird and an image of the left side of the bird and combined them using Image/Automate/Photomerge. Yes, it is the same bird in the same pose as in the very similar image above that was created with the 7D.  Which one has a better head angle?   To learn more about Head Angle Fine Points check out my continuing BPN Quiz Thread here.

MARK IV USER’S GUIDE UPDATE SENT

The updated Mark IV User’s Guide was e-mailed to the list last Thursday by my older daughter Jennifer, BAA’s Executive Director.  If you previously purchased the MIV UG and did not receive your update, please e-mail us at birdsasart@at.net and please let us know how you paid.

 New folks can purchase the Mark IV User’s Guide here.  They will of course receive the updated version.

Black Vultures with Turkey Vulture, Indian Lake Estates, FL

Image copyright 2010: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV.  ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops off the sky set manually: 1/160 sec. at f/16.

From the Sequoia while working on the BLUBB.  Inspired by Robert O’Toole (as I often am) I have gone back to using rear button AF with my Mark IV bodies….  I will give it a good go.  Here I focused on the eye of the front bird while working at f/16 rather than on the eye of the theoretically correct middle bird….  Whenever working on the big bean bag I am using the Double Bubble Level in the camera’s hot shoe to make sure that I am square to the world. 

BOSQUE IPT AND BLURRY DAY LATE REGISTRATION DISCOUNTS

If you would like to join us (as below) on either the Bosque IPT or the Blurry Day in Bosque IPTs, please call me at 863-692-2806 and ask about the late registration discounts. 

BOSQUE del APACHE 2010 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.”  NOV 20-26, 2010. Slide program on the evening of Friday, NOV 19. 7-FULL DAYS: $3199.

Co-leaders: Robert O’Toole, Jim Heupel, Peter Kes, Denise Ippolito.  

See additional details below in item last.

A BLURRY DAY in BOSQUE del APACHE 2010 IPT:  NOV 27, 2010. Slide program on the evening of Friday, NOV 26.  1-FULL DAY: $399. (Payment in full due upon registration.) Limit: 15/Openings: 10.

Leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. Learn to create a variety of pleasingly blurred images of Bosque’s geese and cranes.  Techniques covered will include pan blurs, subject motion blurs, flash blurs, zoom blurs, sunny day blurs, and lots more.  

Black Vultures (one stretching) with a Turkey Vulture,

  Indian Lake Estates, FL

Image copyright 2010: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV.  ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops off the sky set manually: 1/160 sec. at f/16.

This is an offset stitched pano.  I was photographing all three birds (see the image immediately above) when the Black Vulture on the right moved out on the branch to stretch one wing.  Thinking digitally and thinking fast I created two images of the stretching bird and then pointed the camera left and down, re-focused, and created an image of the two birds on the left (with a bit of overlap).  I needed to offset the two images and add canvas to each.   Here again I was in the Sequoia while working on the BLUBB. 

THANKSGIVING AT BOSQUE

For the past ten years or so, I have hosted a Thanksgiving Day midday meal, in part to honor the memory of my late wife, Elaine Belsky Morris, and in part because I love meeting others who love Bosque as I do.  At first it was at the wonderful and relatively elegant Val Verde Steak House, now defunct.   Then it was at the lovely and historic Luna Mansion.  Luna Mansion closed a few years ago and recently re-opened but will not be serving on Thanksgiving this year.  Last year we had fun and a fine meal at the Stage Door Grill but that wonderful little joint recently bit the dust.  Socorro is a tough place for businesses to survive.

For 2010 we are going a bit upscale and will be dining in the New Mexico Ballroom at the Hilton Albuquerque hotel: 1901 University Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102.  Telephone: 1- 505-884-2500.  The Hilton is just a bit more than an hour from Socorro.   I have group reservations for 11:45am on Thanksgiving Day of course.  Right now we have a group of about thirty folks.

I will be picking up the tab for the IPT group, but as always, all visiting birders and photographers are invited to join us.  If you would like to take part in the fun and camaraderie this year please send a check for $40.00 per person made out to “Arthur Morris” to cover the cost of the buffet that will include the traditional items as well as tax and tip.  Drinks are on you.  Please mark “Thanksgiving Brunch” on your check and mail it to; BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 4041, Indian Lake Estates, FL  33855.  Sorry, no PayPals or credit cards.   I do hope that you can join us.

CANON USED 70-200M F/2.8 L IS FOR SALE/PRICE REDUCED

Alex is offering a used Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS in excellent condition for sale with the tripod collar, case, lens hood, original instructions, box, and strap) for $1500. This price includes FedEx 3rd biz day shipping to continental US addresses. Cashiers check accepted or pay +2% via PayPal, Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

Contact : “Alex” Alexander by e-mail to alex@PupsAcrossAmerica.com or by phone at 239-671-0740.

A GUIDE TO PLEASING BLURS

"A Guide to Pleasing Blurs" by Arthur Morris and Denise Ippolito is a 20,585 word, 271 page PDF illustrated with 144 different, exciting, and artistic images.  The guide covers the basics of creating pleasingly blurred images, the factors that influence the degree of blurring, the use of filters in creating pleasing blurs, and a great variety of both in-the-field and Photoshop techniques that can be used to create pleasingly blurred images.  

Artie and Denise teach you many different ways to move your lens during the exposure to create a variety of pleasingly blurred images of flowers and trees and water and landscapes.  They will teach you to recognize situations where subject movement can be used to your advantage to create pan blurs, wind blurs, and moving water blurs.  They will teach you to create zoom-blurs both in the field and during post-processing.  Artie shares the techniques that he has used and developed for making blurred images of flocks of geese in flight at his beloved Bosque del Apache and Denise shares her flower blur magic as well as a variety of creative Photoshop techniques that she has developed.  

With the advent of digital capture, creating blurred images has become a great and inexpensive way to go out with your camera and have fun.  And while many folks think that making successful blurred images is the result of being a sloppy photographer nothing could be further from the truth.  In "A Guide to Pleasing Blurs" Artie and Denise will help you to unleash your creative self.  

The book is laid out in landscape format to make for easy viewing and easy reading on any decent computer monitor.

You can order your copy of "The Guide to Pleasing Blurs" PDF now for only $33 either by PayPal to birdsasart@verizon.net or by phone: 863-692-0906.  A download link will be delivered to you via e-mail within 12 hours or less (except on weekends).  Please note: this book is available only as a digital file in PDF form. You will need either Adobe Acrobat Reader or Fox-it to read the file.  Both are free downloads.  Instructions will be included with your purchase.

Black Vultures on road-killed Armadillo, Indian Lake Estates, FL

Image copyright 2010: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-7D.  ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3.

On the way back from the lake to my office/home this morning I came across these two vultures sharing breakfast.  I couldn’t resist J  I was working from the car with the window open for this one. 

POSSE NEWS/ROBERT AMORUSO 

Merritt Island/Viera Wetlands Photographic Instructional Workshop

December 3-5, 2010 – Three full days of extensive in-the-field instruction at two of East Central Florida's best avian photography locations. Classroom sessions include image critique sessions each day of images you created during the workshop, proper exposure and compositional techniques, and editing & processing your images. Field instruction includes isolating your subject, understanding light, proper exposure (exposing to the right), using depth of field to your advantage and lots more. We will also be visiting the Avian Reconditioning Center for a private up-close and personal photography of raptors. CD with lesson plans included – no note taking required. Learn more here.  Previous Amoruso workshop participants receive a 10% discount on this workshop.

Great Blue Heron, three-image stitched pano, Viera, FL.

Image copyright 2009/Robert Amoruso/Wildscape Images

Canon 100-400mm f/5.6L IS lens at 190mm and the 50D. Evaluative metering set manually at 1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800.

Three images were stitched using Photoshop a series created as I panned with the heron as it approached the nest and landed.

St. Augustine Photographic Instructional Workshop

April 14-17, 2011, Three and one-half days of extensive field and classroom instruction at the famous St. Augustine Alligator Farm with Robert Amoruso and Robert O'Toole. We will be using the Alligator Farm's Educational Center for meetings and equipment storage between morning and afternoon sessions. Weather is pleasant in mid-April and coincides with a point in time at the rookery when nesting, chicks, mating and nest building are all occurring - one of my favorite times of the year to be there. Find out more here. 

Private Photographic Instructional Workshops

As good as a group workshop can be, sometimes private one-on-one instruction is the ticket. My private workshops cater to your individual needs. In advance of the workshop we will discuss your objectives and how they can be met in a private setting. Then I design your workshop to meet those goals. My private workshops generally include areas close to my home as I know them well but I can travel to other locations in Florida if you have a specific locale in mind. Download my brochure here. 

Find out about where I am photographing, how-to tips, workshop information and more on my blog.

Contact Robert by cell phone at 407-808-7417 or by e-mail to wildscapeimages@att.net.

SHOPPER’S GUIDE

Here is the gear that I mentioned in this bulletin:

Canon 70-200mm f/4 L IS lens

Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body

Canon EF Teleconverter 1.4X II

And from the BAA On-line Store:

Double Bubble Level

BLUBB: the Big Lens Ultimate Beanbag

If you are considering the purchase of a major piece of photographic gear be it a new camera, a long lens, a tripod or a head, or some accessories be sure to check out our complete Shopper’s Guide.

IPT UPDATES

BOSQUE del APACHE 2010 IPT: “The Complete Bosque Experience.” NOV 20-26, 2010.  Slide program on the evening of Friday, NOV 19.  7-FULL DAYS:  $3199.  (Non-refundable deposit: $500; see details below.) Limit: 10/Openings: 1. Co-leaders: Robert O’Toole, Jim Heupel, Peter Kes, and Denise Ippolito.  Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world's premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet.  Plus great co-leaders and top-notch Photoshop instruction. Please see terms and deposit info below.  

A BLURRY DAY in BOSQUE del APACHE 2010 IPT:  NOV 27, 2010.  Slide program on the evening of Friday, NOV 26.  1-FULL DAY:  $399.  (Payment in full due upon registration.) Limit: 15/Openings: 10.  Leaders: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. Learn to create a variety of pleasingly blurred images of Bosque’s geese and cranes.  Techniques covered will include pan blurs, subject motion blurs, flash blurs, zoom blurs, sunny day blurs, and lots more.

SAN DIEGO IPT: JAN 19-23, 2011.  Slide program on the evening of JAN 18.   5 Full Days: $2399 (Limit 8/Openings 3).  See the blog for a discount on this IPT.  Brown Pelicans in spectacular breeding plumage with their bright red bill pouches, Wood and Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Western, California, and Heerman's Gulls, Marbled Godwit, and lots, lots more.  Please see terms and deposit info below.  

SW FLA IPT: FEB  9-14, 2011.  Slide program on the evening of FEB 8. 6 Full Days: 2899.  (Limit 10/Openings 5).  Escape winter's icy grip to enjoy a wide array of Florida's tame birds: herons, egrets, Wood Stork, shorebirds, gulls, terns, skimmers, raptors, and more.  Please see terms and deposit info immediately below.  

Terms and deposit info:  

A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold a spot on the above IPTs. Deposits may be paid by check, PayPal, or credit card.  Payment in full (by check or money order only) is due four months before the start of each trip and is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out.  You will be required to sign a statement of understanding 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 is Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that 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.   Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check or running your credit card.  Travel insurance protects you against unexpected developments, injuries, or illnesses.  We regret that we must implement this new policy but we have been plagued by last minute cancellations that make it impossible for others to participate and deprive us of essential income.

Important note: please print, fill out, and sign the registration and release forms and include them with your deposit check (made out to "Arthur Morris." )  If you use a credit card to register, please fill out, sign, and mail the forms asap.  Your registration will not be complete until we receive your paper work.  You can find the forms here.  

ROBERT O’TOOLE PHOTOGRAPHY HOMER BALD EAGLE INSTRUCTIONAL PHOTO-TOUR WITH ARTHUR MORRIS/BIRDS AS ART. 

March 18-22, 2011: Limit 12 including the leaders/Sold Out. 5-FULL DAYS: $3249/Sold Out.

March 24-28, 2011: Limit 12 including the leaders/Sold Out. 5-FULL DAYS: $3249/Sold Out.

Homer the way it used to be. 100% legal eagle feeding. Both of these trips sold out within hours after being announced to the BAA Friends List. The Friends List consists of IPT veterans who fit in the happy camper category. If you have been on an IPT and would like your name added to the BAA Friends List, please e-mail me at birdsasart@att.net and include a short note. Non-refundable deposit: $1,000. See terms above. Please call to check on availability before sending your deposit check.

March 12-16, 2011 (slide program the evening of March 11) 5-FULL DAYS: $2799. ABSOLUTE LIMIT: 5/Sold Out.

The trip above was added by popular demand; only Robert will be leading it.

GALAPAGOS 2011 PHOTO-CRUISE OF A LIFETIME IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience: July 3-20, 2011 (July 5-19, 2011 on the boat): 13 1/2 days of photography plus a last morning panga ride: $12, 499. (Limit 11/Openings 1)

This two-week trip features an unparalleled photographic itinerary that will visit all the great spots in the islands; we will not miss a thing. The highlights include Tower Island—tons of nesting birds at knee and eye level, Punta Espinoza (Flightless Cormorants), Puerto Ayora (tortoises in their natural habitats), Hood Island (Waved Albatross and lots more nesting birds), South Plaza, and North Seymour. Each of these locations is on a par with Antarctica or East Africa when it comes to spectacular photographic opportunities. If you make only a one week cruise you will miss half of these great locations. With two full weeks we will enjoy a relaxed pace with shorter navigations and lots of time for snorkeling, image sharing, and small group Photoshop instruction. You will have a great photographic leader (that would be me) with 7 years of Galapagos experience teamed with the very best most knowledgeable guide in the entire archipelago. We will be the first boat on each island in the morning and the last boat to leave each island every afternoon. If we are blessed with overcast weather, we often spend as much as six hours on a landing. Jeez, I almost forgot our spectacular and romantic motor sailing ship, the Beagle: www.thebeagle.com.ec

The group will be flying to Quito on their own to arrive on July 3, 2011. We have a travel insurance day on July 4th (with an optional trip for perched hummingbirds at Tandayapa). On the morning of July 5 we fly to the Galapagos and board the boat around midday. We leave the boat two weeks later on morning of July 19 after our last photo session, a short panga ride. We fly back to Quito on that same day, July 19, overnight in Quito, and fly home on the morning of July 20.

Note: some of the walks are strenuous. Though I will be bringing my 800 f/5.6L IS lens along, great images are possible on all landings with a hand held 70-200mm lens.

Please e-mail me at for a complete 2010 itinerary. Happy campers only please.

Included: three nights in the luxury hotel–the Hilton Quito Colon, round trip airfare to and from the Galapagos, all meals on the boat, a killer buffet lunch with the tortoises!, all park fees and related costs, and all transfers. Not included. Your round trip airfare from your home to and from Quito, beverages, phone calls, and the $500/person tip for the guide and the crew. A $5,000 non-refundable deposit per person is due immediately. Please call me at 863-692-0906 or 863-221-2372 before sending your deposit to check availability.

Please print, sign, and return these two forms along with your deposit check.

Two additional non-refundable payments will be due as follows: $4000 on NOV 1, 2010. The final payment of $3,499 will be due on FEB 1, 2011. Travel insurance is of course beyond highly recommended as none of your payments are refundable. You need to protect yourself in case of an unexpected illness or accident or other unforeseen developments.

MIDWAY ATOLL IPT, April 2012, (from Oahu, HI). 7-FULL DAYS OF PHOTOGRAPHY.  (Sold Out.)

Best and great picture-making,

artie

Note: Arthur Morris has been a paid 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 that may be accessed here: http://www.birdsasart.com/bn.html