Brown Pelican
preening, LaJolla, CA
Digital capture with
Canon EOS 1D, 500mm f/4 L IS lens, two 25mm extension tubes, and
2XII teleconverter
ISO 250. Evaluative
Metering -1/3 stop = 1/640 sec. at 11.
Image copyright 2003
Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Notice that for maximum close
focus the extension tubes are mounted on the lens.
Note also the placement of the bird's eye near the lower
right thirds position.
SAN DIEGO
TRIP REPORT
San Diego was a
roaring success on all counts. 66 folks and Canon Pro Markets Rep
Michael Nadler attended the Saturday "Art of Nature Photography;
It Ain't Just Birds" Full-day Seminar at the Otto Center. I
managed to keep all the attendees awake for the entire day, which
is no mean feat in itself! It was a great day of learning and of
questions and answers. And most folks enjoyed the
point-counterpoint repartee between Mr. Nadler and I. (Mr. Nadler
and me? Mr. Nadler and myself? Yikes!) We finished up by
distributing a raft of great door prizes from various sponsors
including Fuji, Wimberley, Chelsea Professional Color Photo Lab,
and WildBird and Nature Photographer magazines. My friend Bug Bob
(Allen) brought a group down from Orange county and Steve Cirone
of the Sierra Club Photo group did a great job of rounding up the
local folks. Steve brought along a stack of killer prints as
well. Thanks also to my dear friend Dr. Cliff Oliver and
his friend Sharon Murnane for the great flute and musical
accompaniment.
The two
In-the-Field Workshops and the 5-Day IPT were blessed with great
weather and wonderful birds. On my favorite morning, a howling
NNE Santa Ana wind found the pelicans and cormorants hanging above
us as they landed just yards away. Though we could barely keep our
balance on the cliffs, it was the most
fabulous flight photography I have ever encountered. Strangely
enough, a slight shift in wind direction (to more out of the east)
put the kibosh on just about all flight photography the next day
in spite of the easterly strong winds that seemed ideal. It seems
that with that strong east wind that the birds were fine staying
on the big wall behind the cliffs that was in the lee. With the
wind from the NE on the previous day, the last thing that they
wanted to do was stay on that wall and be buffeted.
If you
are photographing in LaJolla and enjoy good Indian food, be sure
to visit India Palace Restaurant at 7514
Girard Ave on the corner of Pearl Street near the Vons
Supermarket (858) 551-5133. We had lunch there several times and
the buffet, especially the Tandoori chicken, was both amazingly
good and moderately priced.
It was great seeing Chuck Loftis
again (as a repeat from last year's 5-day IPT) as he was somewhat
of a digital inspiration to me. The 5-day group visited Tom
Mangelsen's gallery in LaJolla and enjoyed the ducks at Santee
Lakes as well. All of the images that grace this Bulletin were
made on the San Diego trip.
Heerman's Gull adult
braking in flight, Coronado, CA.
Digital capture: EOS
1D, handheld 100-400mm IS L lens at 285 mm.
ISO 250
Evaluative Metering +1 stop: 1/1250sec. at f/5.6
Image copyright 2003
Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Start with one loaf of white
bread, add a 20mph west wind and one sunny afternoon and this is
what you can bake...
DELKIN CARDS ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS
I forgot to
mention the BAA Bulletin that when you order a 640MB eFilm PRO
Cards for $299.00 from Hunt's
(contact
Gary Farber at 1-800-221-1830 X2332 or email him at
filmguygary@aol.com) and mention BAA Bulletins, you
will receive a free
eFilm 2-Pack
digital card case for each PRO Card that you buy.
I extend my apologies to Rob
Galbraith for calling him "Roger."
Brown Pelican "ballet" LaJolla,
CA
Digital capture: EOS 1D, handheld
100-400mm IS L lens at 220 mm.
ISO 200, Evaluative Metering
+1/3 stop: 1/3200 sec. at f/5
Image copyright 2003 Arthur
Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The Canon 100-400 mm lens is
unmatched for its versatility. And with the EOS 1D, it forms a
deadly flight photography combination. Note here that it was
necessary to rack back to 220mm to in order to make the image.
The technique that I used involved racking the lens back to the
predicted effective focal length so that I would not have to be
zooming as I aimed, composed, and released the shutter button.
CANON FACTORY SERVICE
After reading about my
adventures with the Canon 100-400mm IS zoom lens many
folks contacted me for advice with repairs. Unfortunately, I was
unable to help. Remember that George Lepp knows more in one
fingernail clipping about how cameras work than I ever will. When
my Canon stuff does not work right, I send it to the closest Canon
Factory Service Center and suggest that you do the same. For your
convenience, here is the contact information:
Canon Factory
Service Canon Factory Service Canon Factory Service
100 Jamesburg Road 6325 Muirfield Road 15955 Alton
Parkway
Jamesburg, NJ 08831 Hanover Park, IL 60103 Irvine, CA
92718
(732) 521-7000 (630) 250-6500 (949)
753-4000
In addition, Canon USA also provides toll-free customer service
at
1-800-652-2666 and 1-800-828-4040.
Western Gull calling, LaJolla, CA
Digital capture: EOS 1D, 500mm f/4L IS lens
with 1.4XII teleconverter
ISO 100 Evaluative Metering +1/3 stop: 1/500
at f/8
Image copyright 2003 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS
ART
Here was a case of seeing the action
and making the image at what turned out to be a less than ideal
exposure. The great latitude of digital allowed for a successful
image. Do note, however, that just as with film, you need to
avoid blowing out (over-exposing) the highlights. The soft early
morning light helped too. <smile>
BOSQUE PLACE NAMES
AND MORE...
Subscriber Chris Loffredo and I corresponded as follows:
CL: I am not familiar with the crane pools (Ed
Krane Pool and Harry's Crane pool) that you mentioned
in a recent Bulletin. I called Bosque but they were not
familiar with these names. Were you referring to the
pools on the way to the entrance of Bosque?
AM: Yes. Harry's is the
smaller one, I think the first one on the right (on the way
south). Ed Krane Pool is the second much larger one on the
right (again, on the way down). There is a big tree in this
pond, and two parking lots. The parking lot at the north end
of this pond is newly constructed. Kudos to the Refuge Manager
for building it where it was needed!
CL: Can you first shoot the
geese taking off from the main pond/flight deck at sunrise and
then move back to the crane pools or will both be taking flight
at the same time. Is there time for both?
AM On most mornings yes,
fairly easily. Heck, you are practically getting a free IPT
here!
CL: Being a New Yorker (born
Flushing Queens, PS 107) like yourself, I watched Ed Kranepool
played for the NY Mets in the mid 1970's. Knowing a little
about your back ground it got me thinking if this was a Birds as
Art name. Coincidence?
AM: No,
not at all. I love to make up names for photo spots at the
various refuges and see if they catch on. (I did that a whole
lot at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in NYC, especially at my soul
place, the East Pond. Sometimes the names catch on. The Ed
Krane Pool was indeed named several years ago by me in honor of
the Mets old first baseman... Harry's Crane Pool was named for
IPT participant Harry June who suggested that I try it in the
mornings... BTW, I attended PS 207 on Fillmore Avenue in
Brooklyn, and so did my late-Dad.
Double-Crested
Cormorant, crash landing? LaJolla, CA
Digital capture: EOS
1D, handheld 100-400mm IS L lens at 400mm
ISO 250 Evaluative
Metering +2/3 stop: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6
Image copyright 2002
Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
I made a few
test images to be sure of a perfect exposure before making this
spectacular image. PS: the bird landed safely...
TANZANIA
BOUND
Though
I got back from San Diego late on the January 13th, I leave for
Tanzania midday on Wednesday January 22. I am, of course,
dreading the flights. I regret that I will not be able to
answer your e-mails in the usual fashion. Best to hold off
e-mailing until early March as I leave for the NANPA Summit in
Albuquerque, New Mexico seven days after returning from
Africa... Teaching assistant Ellen Anon and I shall have the
pleasure of working with the Infinity Scholarship students at
Bosque for a day this year.
