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BIRDS AS ART ON-LINE Bulletin #99 February 15,
2003
Sarasota Photo Weekend March 22-25, 2003
Tanzania Gustafson/BIRDS AS ART Photo Safari
Follow-up
100-400 AS 1:2 Macro Lens!
New Mexico Bound
African Lion male in early
morning light
Digital capture: EOS
1Ds, 1.4X II TC, 500mm f/4 L IS lens.
ISO 400, Evaluative Metering: 1/200 sec. at
f/11
Wimberley head with Safari Todd-Pod
Image copyright 2003 Arthur
Morris/BIRDS AS ART
The lions of Ndutu are clean
and caramel-colored! It ain't just birds!
SARASOTA/FORT DE SOTO PHOTOGRAPHY WEEKEND
MARCH 22-25, 2003
Arthur Morris/
Birds As Art
Nature
Photography Weekend
Sponsored by
Johnson Photo Imaging and Canon USA
Sarasota,
Florida March 22-25, 2003
The Art Of Nature
Photography; It Ain’t Just Birds!
Two-Day How-To
Seminar: SAT/SUN March 22-23, 2003
Fort DeSoto Park In-The-Field Workshops:
MON March 24 and TUES March 25
On Saturday and Sunday, March
22-23, 2003, internationally renowned bird photographer Arthur
Morris will present a two day Seminar--The Art of Nature
Photography: It Ain’t Just Birds. More than 10,000 of Mr. Morris'
technically perfect, artistically designed images have appeared in
virtually all natural history, photography, and birding
publications, as well as in many general interest publications,
prestigious calendars, advertisements, and on posters and web
sites. Artie has been a Canon contract photographer since 1995,
has done a worldwide television commercial for the EOS 1N, and has
appeared in seven episodes of the Canon Photo Safari television
program. He is a contributing photographer with VIREO
(Philadelphia), Windrush Photos (UK), and The Stock Market, (New
York). He has written four books; the latest, The Art of Bird
Photography is considered the classic how-to work on bird
photography. He is a columnist for Outdoor Photographer.
This
seminar is for all nature photographers (not just bird
photographers) who want to learn how to make better images. Artie
will describe the methods and techniques that he has developed and
used since 1983. His comments on equipment (including digital),
film, autofocus, light, exposure, composition and picture design,
image sharpness, getting close to wild subjects, and his tips on
photographing action and behavior will benefit everyone with a
telephoto lens who wishes to dramatically improve the quality of
their images.
Attendees will learn:
1.
All about modern autofocus cameras and lenses as well as
the pros and cons of both the Canon and Nikon systems and
digital photography.
2.
How to get closer to free, wild and unrestrained creatures
than ever before while minimizing disturbance.
3.
The secrets of producing razor sharp images and the
benefits of image stabilizer lenses.
4.
About Artie's two favorite films, and how and when he uses
them.
5.
How to shoot calendar quality silhouettes at almost any
time of the day!
6.
How and when to use flash and projected flash as main light
and as fill light.
7.
How the quality and the direction of natural light affects
your images.
8.
How to come up with pure, clean, out-of-focus backgrounds
that are the hallmark of Artie's style.
9.
How to use their camera’s evaluative metering system to
come up with perfect exposures quickly and accurately.
The
In-The-Field Workshop(s) will be held at Fort DeSoto Park.
They are open to all; you do not
need to register for the SAT/SUN Seminar to attend (but lord only
knows why you would want to miss it...) Limit: 10 participants.
A 400 mm lens with a 1.4X teleconverter is the minimum recommended
focal length lens for these Workshops. 500 and 600mm telephoto
lenses are ideal. (Pre-dawn to sunset with a two-hour break after
lunch.)
The cost of the Two-Day Seminar
is
$100.00 at the door, $90.00 in
advance. If you buy your ticket on or before Feb 14, JPI is
offering an early-bird discounted price of $80.00.
You can sign up for the SAT/SUN only by
calling JPI (941 752 0550) or by visiting the store
on
SR 70 E, about 1 mile West of I-75 at 6709 State Road 70 East,
Bradenton FL 34203. Coming from the north use Exit 217, from the
south use Exit 217B. The phone number is 941-752-0550.
The cost of the In-The-Field
Workshops are $200.00/day. Probable subjects include Laughing
Gulls in full breeding plumage performing various courtship
displays, hundreds of shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, and
various herons and egrets including both the dark and white phases
of Reddish Egret (see the latter at:
http://www.birdsasart.com/bn73.htm)
in spectacular breeding plumage with their bright pink bills and
ultramarine blue lores.
Important Notes:
1-The ITF-Workshops are open to
everyone. You do not need to attend the SAT-SUN Seminar in order
to attend the ITF-Workshop (but it sure would be a great idea to
attend the weekend sessions).
2-To
register for the one or both of the ITF-Workshops, send a check
made out to “Arthur Morris” for $200/day to Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS
ART PO Box 7245 Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855.
Please be sure to include your preferred date(s), your home
address and phone number, your work number, and most importantly,
your correct e-mail address if you have one.
3-Registrations for the
Two-Day Seminar must be made through Johnson Photo Imaging (see
above). Registrations for the ITF-Workshops must be made through
Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART (see #2 above.)
Grey Crowned Crane backlit, Ngorongoro
Crater
Digital capture
with Canon EOS 1Ds, 2X II TC, 500mm f/4 L IS lens
ISO
160. Evaluative Metering +1/3 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/11
Shaded -side fill flash at -1/3 with Better Beamer
Wimberley head with Safari Todd-Pod
Image copyright
2003 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
When working with brightly backlit subjects it is
best to work in Program mode so that you do not inadvertently
over-expose by choosing to large an aperture and failing to note the
value flashing as a warning... I did just that and lost a bunch of
tight head shots of this bird...
TANZANIA 2004
GUSTAFSON/BIRDS AS ART TANZANIA PHOTO SAFARI
FOLLOW-UP
Amazingly, we have
received 3 deposit checks for this incredible trip,
one additional check "is in the mail, " and Martin Feldman and his
wife are strongly considering joining us... With Todd and I, that
would make 8. We have reservations for 4 vans, with 3 photographers
per van, so the likelihood is that our initial reservations will be
accounted for fairly soon. We are not at all averse to traveling
with more than 12 folks as the safari vans will not be convoying,
that is, each van will set out on its own to maximize the
photographic opportunities and avoid the traffic jam scene. There
are virtually unlimited subjects on both morning and afternoon game
drives. And heck, the fact that I alone missed the spectacular
Saddle-Billed Stork on several occasions is reason enough for me to
return. In any case, if you are at all considering joining us please
do get in touch via e-mail so that we may up-date our reservations.
(Many of the lodges sell out nearly a year in advance...) See BAA
Bulletin for additional details. Bulletin 98 should be archived
soon--if you would like a copy before it is posted, please e-mail us
and request same.
Leopard in tree, Seronera.
Digital capture with Canon EOS 1Ds,
500mm IS lens
ISO 250. Evaluative Metering
+1/3 stop = 1/200 sec. at f/8
Flash at zero with Better Beamer
(subject in full shade)
Wimberley head with Safari Todd-Pod
Image copyright 2003 Arthur
Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Leopard is not
guaranteed on the 2004 trip as we will not be visiting Seronera; we
were extremely lucky to photograph two different leopards there...
100-400 IS ZOOM LENS AS 1:2 MACRO LENS!
At one of the lodges in Tanzania, we encountered
some ridiculously tame Agama lizards. I did not bring the 180
macro to Africa, but I wanted to do some close-ups of the lizard's
heads. What to do? When I began, I had no clue as to the
solution (if there was one). Using the two-element diopter would
give me the magnification that I wanted but I simply could not get
within an inch or two. I could however, get within four inches
or so. I fudged around a bit and eventually came up with the
following: Mount two 25mm extension tubes between the lens and
the camera body. Rack the lens back to 100mm! Set the lens to
minimum close focus. Place the front of the lens right on the
rock and then approach the lizard carefully to within 4-5 inches
until the head snaps into sharp focus! Press the shutter
button.
While this technique worked well handheld with tame lizards, it
would also work well as a tripod-mounted 1:2 macro lens for
flowers and other small subjects. The key was racking the
lens back to 100mm. With 50mm of extension on a "100mm lens"
the magnification is 1:2... Go figure. This serves as an
excellent example of how I solve various photographic problems. I
did not have the technical knowledge to come up with the solution
while sitting on my bed. I needed to get out into the searing
heat try various solutions until l came up with one that
worked (beyond my wildest expectations!)
Agama Lizard, male, Seronera
Digital capture with Canon EOS 1Ds, 100-400mm IS
zoom lens, two 25 mm extension tubes
ISO 400. Evaluative Metering: 1/25 sec. at f/16
Image copyright 2003 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
You can learn more by getting out and
experimenting than by sitting on your duff...
NEW MEXICO-BOUND
I am back to Orlando Airport on Sunday morning to fly to
Albuquerque. I will be working with the NANPA scholarship
students on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, and then
photographing at Bosque on my own through Wednesday morning when I
head back up to Albuquerque for the 2003 NANPA Summit. On Sunday
afternoon and Monday morning I am co-leading a Bosque NANPA
workshop and then conducting the Bosque Post-NANPA IPT (still only
4 registrants--late registrants welcome). I fly home on February
28. I will be home only 4 days before I head down to Fort Myers
for the SW FLA IPT! Life is tough. In all seriousness, I
regret that I will be unable to answer general queries until
mid-March but will be glad to do so after then. If you will be at
NANPA, be sure to come by the booth and say "Hi."
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