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BIRDS AS ART ON-LINE Bulletin #93 December 11, 2002
TRAGIC NEWS...
BOSQUE REPORT
MORE AMAZINGLY!
IPT UPDATES
2003 BEAUTIFUL BIRDS CALENDARS
PHOTO CONTEST
TRAGIC NEWS...
It saddens me greatly to report that Evamarie Mathaey, Publisher
and Editor-in-Chief of Nature Photographer magazine, was
killed in an automobile accident last night in Boca Raton, FL.
Evamarie is survived by her husband, Ralph, and by three children,
Pete, Frank, and Sue. Needless to say, Evamarie's dear friend and
partner in Nature Photographer magazine, Helen
Longest-Sac is distraught. My condolences and a huge hug are
extended to all. Helen wants everyone to know that the magazine
will live on as a tribute to Evamarie's memory.
Snow Geese
at Heaven's Gate: Bosque Del Apache NWR, New Mexico
In loving
memory of Evamarie Mathaey
Digital
Capture. EOS 1D, 28-135 IS lens at 53mm, ISO 400, Evaluative
metering at zero: 1/100 sec at f/4.5
Image
copyright 2002 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Those who
know me well are aware that I constantly urge folks to have fun
every day, to live life to its fullest each minute, and to be sure
to cherish your loved ones on a daily basis. Unfortunately, this
tragedy serves as further proof that we all need to embrace these
principles.
BOSQUE REPORT...
As usual, Bosque
this year was different yet wonderful. There were tons of cranes
and geese, and the geese offered spectacular and dependable
fly-ins and blast-offs at the main pond every morning. The Ed
Krane Pool and Harry's Crane Pool both offered great chances for
cranes-in-flight images as they have in recent years. It took
me a while, but I have pretty much learned how the various wind
directions affect the flight patterns of the cranes at these two
sites in the morning, but have given up trying to predict patterns
for the sunset fly-ins. The main problem is that the wind often
dies in the last hour of daylight....
Sandhill
Crane taking flight at Harry's Crane Pool, Bosque Del Apache NWR,
New Mexico
Digital capture: EOS 1D,
600mm f/4 L IS lens, 1.4X II TC, ISO 200, Evaluative Metering
-1/3 stop: 1/3200 sec at f/5.6.
Image
copyright 2002 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
I finally had a chance on a
perched female harrier, and some good chances on Kestrel and Say's
Phoebe as well. While I taught for 9 days, I did have 8 full days
off so teaching assistant Ellen Anon and I got to visit
spectacular White Sands for the first time, and I got to work from
the car at Bosque quite a bit. We will be offering a White Sands
Extension on one of the Bosque IPTs next year--it is a way-cool
place and I shall share some of the images that I made there in a
future Bulletin.
Northern Harrier female, Bosque Del
Apache NWR, New Mexico
Digital capture: EOS 1D, 600mm f/4 L IS
lens, 2X II TC, ISO 400, Evaluative Metering -1/3rd stop:
1/80th sec at f/10.
Image copyright 2002 Arthur Morris/BIRDS
AS ART
The Thanksgiving Buffet at Val
Verde was the best ever. Twenty-four thankful and happy
photographers attended and most were IPT veterans and friends from
all over the world, and Joe McDonald joined us only because he ran
out of film) but we forgave him and enjoyed his African tales. I
hope that you plan to join us next year in Socorro. BTW, congrats
to Ellen for winning both first and third prizes in the
Professional Division of this year's Bosque Photo Contest with
first prize going to the spectacular digitally created image
below. (It was--of course--noted as such.)
Sandhill
Cranes, Bosque Del Apache NWR, New Mexico
Digital
composite. Image
copyright 2002 Ellen Anon
MORE
AMAZINGLY... My
very own Canon EOS 1D was waiting for me upon my arrival in New
Mexico. To say that I was totally blown away by my first big-time
digital experience is a major understatement. I have never had
more fun photographing birds than I did for those 17 days. The
autofocus on the EOS 1D is incredible. It's 45 point AF
system (though based on the EOS 1v). is faster and more accurate
than that on any other Canon camera body that I have ever used.
Some folks disagree, and feel that the 1v's autofocus is on a par
with the 1D, but I humbly disagree. I routinely made sharp flight
images with the 600 IS, the 2X II teleconverter, and my new EOS
1D, and with the 1.4X II TC, AF was dead-on accurate and fast,
even with the previously-despised 45 point AF!
Snow
Goose, Bosque Del Apache NWR, New Mexico
Digital
capture: EOS 1D, 600mm f/4 L IS lens, 1.4I TC, ISO 400, Manual
Mode: 1/2500 at f/8.
Image
copyright 2002 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
For months, I have written that
digital's post-image production work-flow (processing, labeling,
storing, cataloguing, accessing, and distributing the images)
scares me the most , and that has not changed one iota. I am
still scared and clueless and will be calling on numerous friends
for help. But, I am, at this
point, committed to switching over completely to digital and
selling all my film cameras. (I did expose
ten rolls of film at Bosque.)
Why the sudden dramatic change of
heart? Digital is fun. Digital allows you to experiment
creatively (more on that in the next Bulletin which is coming
soon). Digital offers immediate gratification and more
importantly, immediate feedback. A glance at the histogram
enables you to guarantee that your exposure is what you want.
Digital is an incredible teaching tool. Digital is the wave of
the future, and it is coming fast. Film and processing costs =
zero. It is environmentally 1,000,000 times better than film. By
utilizing raw mode, it is far easier to save underexposed images
with digital captures than it is with film. Even if it takes a
year to master the work-flow problems, I still have a few images
on film to market <smile> It is fun! More fun than I've had
photographing in years (and I've always had tons of fun in the
field)!
IPT UPDATES
With three late cancellations, there is lots of room on the
post-X-mas 3-Day SW FLA IPT (DEC 27-29, 2002). The San Diego
5-day IPT (JAN 8-12, 2003) has a few openings as well. For
details, visit:
http://www.birdsasart.com/tours.html
2003
BEAUTIFUL BIRDS CALENDAR SALE
Still cannot get to the washing machine. Please order your
calendar(s) today. They make great gifts! To see the calendar,
click here:
http://www.birdsasart.com/#BIRDS
Regular price: $13.95.
Sale prices:
one for $10, two for $18, three for $24, four or more, $7.00
each. BIRDS AS ART pays all postage. All orders are greatly
appreciated.
PHOTO
CONTEST
From friend and IPT veteran Steve Shore: The 24th annual
Photo Contest sponsored by the Heard Natural Science Museum
and Wildlife Sanctuary will be accepting entries by mail
from January 13th to the 25th (2003). There are 5
categories: (1) nature portraits wildlife, (2) nature
portraits other, (3) scenics, (4) people and nature, and (5)
nature - artistic interpretation. For details, visit
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