March 6th, 2012

BIRDS AS ART BULLETIN #400

  • JAPAN IPT REPORT: PART II/THE SEA EAGLES
  • THE CANON EOS-5D MARK III ANNOUNCED AND SHIPPING IN LESS THAN TEN DAYS!
  • F3C CONVENTION/DATE CORRECTION
  • SELECTED e-MAILS
  • THE BLOG IS THE BOMB
  • NIK Color Efex Pro
  • SHOPPER’S GUIDE
  • IPT UPDATES

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This Steller’s Sea Eagle image was created with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 2/3 stops off the white sky: 1/1000 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode.

Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it.

THE JAPAN IPT REPORT: PART II/THE SEA EAGLES

Though photographing the Snow Monkeys was a huge thrill, I am first and foremost a bird photographer, so the anticipation of photographing the huge and beautiful Steller’s Sea Eagles and their smaller cousins, the White-tailed Sea Eagles in their incredibly beautiful sea ice habitat was great. Robert O’Toole timed the trip perfectly; the was lot of ice and it was quite close to shore.

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This image of birds on the sea ice with the town and low mountains of Rausu in the background was created with the hand held Canon 16-35mm L lens and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/640 sec. at f/16 in Manual mode.

Central Sensor/Rear Focus AI Servo AF and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial.

For a greater appreciation of this image, click on the photo.

And just as it was with the Snow Monkeys, it seemed, during that first hour, that making even a single good image would be a near-impossibility…. This is often the case when you arrive at a brand new location and are faced with a variety of brand new challenges. The boat was crowded, mostly with tourists. It was difficult to move around for light angle and perspective control. Photographing flight and action with numb fingers, cold feet, and cumbersome clothing and gloves is challenging. We did, however, figure things out in time. And I even made some very good images that first somewhat frustrating morning.

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This image of the sea eagle tour boat Arulan was created with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens
hand held at 70mm) and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/1600 sec. at f/2.8 in Manual mode.

2nd sensor left of the Central Sensor/Rear Focus AI Servo AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial.

At least the folks could stand up behind their tripods on this crowded boat. We never sailed on the Arulan.

We made five early morning trips on the 65-85 foot long tourist boats; four of them were on the Kamuiwakka, the Fifty Five. (We usually made two trips each morning, the first from about 5:30 till 8:30am, the second from about 8:45 till just before noon.) On our third morning we boarded a different, larger boat that turned out to be a complete nightmare; it was crowded with photographers, and I am talking shoulder to shoulder. It was impossible for me to move even an inch. The ceiling–actually the bottom of the upper deck–was so low that I could not stand up straight. And the bow was tiny and ice covered with an angled deck. In a word, treacherous at best. The wackiest thing of all is that we wound up making some great images on that trip. But we realized quickly that the Fifty Five was an excellent water craft from which to photograph the sea eagles….

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This Steller’s Sea Eagle image was created with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 640. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/500 sec. at f/4 in Tv mode.

Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF and recompose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Here is a great tip that I shared with the group for our pre-sunrise photography: go to either Auto ISO or ISO Safety Shift (with the Mark IV as described in the MIV User’s Guide). Set Tv Mode with a shutter speed of 1/1500 sec. You will not have the perfect exposure in every situation but you will be very close in most and will not have to deal with changing settings in the numbing predawn cold.

We complained to our English-speaking guide about conditions on the boat. In typical Japanese fashion he responded, “You have to go on the boat assigned to you. That is the rule.” We said, “We do not have to do anything. We are paying. Tell them that we are cancelling the next five boat trips and going early to photograph the Whooper Swans and the Red-crowned Cranes.” Our second trip that day and the rest of our trips were made on our preferred vessel.

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I created this head portrait of a Steller’s Sea Eagle with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/2000 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode.

Central Sensor (by necessity) Rear Focus/AI Servo AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial.

For a greater appreciation of the image, click on the photo.

In addition to the sea-eagles we had many great chances with Slaty-backed, Glaucous-winged, and Glaucous Gulls and Large-billed Crow. We stressed to the group that when working in the sea ice it is generally imperative to work in Manual mode, especially when working with large black and white birds like Steller’s Sea Eagle where the amount of black in the frame will fool the meter all the time. I was generally working right at the edge of blinkies with most of our subjects as pretty much all the species had significant amounts of bright white on them.

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This image of a winter adult Slaty-backed Gull was created with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/4000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode.

Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. The sensor was placed on the bird’s upper back to best approximate the plane of the near eye. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it.

For the most part I used the 800mm f/5.6L IS on a tripod for birds perched on the ice and the 300mm f/2.8L IS II with and without the 1.4X III TC for hand held flight photography. When the boat was moving and the wind was right the gulls would follow the boat so I switched out the 300 for the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. Between the Antarctica trip and the Japan trip I have totally fallen in love with the 300 2.8II. We wound up doing nine boat trips in all, four doubles and a single on our getaway morning. Each trip represented a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime experience filled with amazing birds and photographic opportunities. Though I had planned on never returning to Japan I am already thinking about going back in the winter of 2014 (albeit for a somewhat shorter IPT).

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This White-tailed Sea Eagle image was created with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops off the ice: 1/1250 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode.

Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it. Learn how my choosing to be more aggressive with flight and action photography helped me create this image by clicking here.

THE CANON EOS-5D MARK III ANNOUNCED AND SHIPPING IN LESS THAN TEN DAYS!

Canon announced and released the rumored and much-anticipated EOS-5D Mark III on March 2, 2012. You can find complete details here. The new camera is expected to deliver superb image quality thanks to a new 22.3-megapixel full-frame Canon CMOS sensor and the high-performance DIGIC 5+ Imaging Processor. It incorporates a new 61-point High Density Reticular Autofocus (AF) System from Canon’s next professional digital camera body, the EOS-1DX that is scheduled to be released later in 2012. And with the 5D III’s six frames-per-second continuous shooting speed it will be great for photographing birds in flight and in action. And it goes without saying that the 5DIII will be a landscape photographer’s dream. Please see the press release for info on the new camera’s video capabilities.

I am most excited by the 5DIII’s light weight and by the new AF system. While I loved, loved, loved the image quality of my 5D II photos from the Antarctica trip–the 5DII pretty much saved that trip for me after my two Mark IV bodies went down for the most part due to operator induced rain damage, my biggest gripe was with the limited number of AF points available. This made hand held nature photography with intermediate telephoto zoom lenses difficult; can you say Snow Monkeys?

I consider the Battery Grip BG-E11 (available end of April 2012) as a mandatory accessory for nature photographers. It accepts either one or two LP-E6 lithium-ion battery packs (or a set of six AA-size batteries–the latter not recommended for environmental reasons). The new grip has a multicontroller and a multifunction (M.Fn) button together a with a full set of grip controls for easy operation when working in vertical format. You can pre-order yours
here.

I have ordered my Canon EOS-5D Mark III body and can’t wait to get home and give it a test drive. I will be working hard on a 5D Mark III User’s Guide this spring.

B&H

Amazingly B&H is now accepting pre-orders for the EOS-5D Mark III and states that the camera should begin shipping within ten days. You can thank us for all of the free information and lessons in the blog and Bulletins and earn free BAA contest entries by using this link to order yours: Canon EOS-5D Mark III. Or you can package your new 5D MIII with my favorite B-roll lens, the 24-105mm IS L zoom lens by clicking here.

Speedlite 600EX-RT

In addition to the EOS 5D Mark III, Canon also announced its new flagship model flash, the Speedlite 600EX-RT. You can order yours with this B&H link now: Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT

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I created this image of three Steller’s Sea Eagles with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode.

Central Sensor (by necessity) Rear Focus/AI Servo AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial.

Creating images that feature a pleasing juxtaposition of two or more subjects requires that you be constantly on the lookout for such situation and that you be ready to act almost instantly. Most pleasing arrangements last only a second or two.

For a greater appreciation of the image, click on the photo.

F3C CONVENTION/DATE CORRECTION

Thanks to the generosity of Canon USA and the Explorers of Light program I will be keynoting at the Florida Camera Clubs Council 2012 Annual Conference, “Pixels to Print:” March 23-25, 2012 at the Naples Hilton, Naples, FL. Fellow Canon EOL George Lepp will also be appearing among a large cast of skilled presenters and speakers. In addition to the keynote I will be doing a field workshop at Tigertail Beach. You can follow the links here for more information.

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This Steller’s Sea Eagle image leaping off its icy perch was photographed with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/4000 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode.

Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it.

This is another example of my deciding to be more aggressive with my flight and action photography. If you missed it, click here.

SELECTED e-MAIL CONVERSATIONS

With Ian Neilson:

Hi Arthur, love your work; it’s an inspiration to me….

AM: 🙂

IN: I am a retired teacher and my passion is bird photography.

AM: Me too.

IN: However, I am confused

AM: Very.

IN: I read and hear from other bird photographers that Canon 7D users with L series lenses should use AV while others says to use Manual mode. When I use Manual mode, however, I have difficulty locking in the light in the middle of the bar (analog scale) in the viewer.

AM: It is rare that you would want to do that…. And when working in Manual mode, the exposure indicator will jump all over the place whenever you move the lens; that is what it is supposed to do…. If I may be frank, I need to say here that you have no clue as how to get the right exposure….

IN: When birds are in flight, I set the ISO at A and set the shutter speed at 1600 with a F8. But don’t get the results I want….

AM: That is due in part to the fact that you simply do not understand exposure.

IN: Furthermore, when I am in AV mode with the aperture set to f/8 and the ISO at 400 the shutter speed is calibrated (by the caemra) my results are good.

AM: That is surely a matter of luck and your perception; the very great likelihood is that they look OK but are underexposed. And that goes triple on cloudy days.

IN: Do you have any suggestions?

AM: Yes. You need to do the following. Click here. Order the 2-book combo. If you want to get started quickly making properly exposed images go to the section in the CD book entitled, “Exposure Simplified.” Study it and then study it some more. In five to ten minutes you should have a good handle on getting the right exposure in a variety of situations: sun in, sun out, light background, dark background, white subject, black subject. The material is not difficult. If subject size, light, and background are relatively constant, you will learn that you will be OK working in Av mode. Next find the section entitled “Working in Manual Mode.” Study it. In short order you will become comfortable working in Manual mode in changing light and with changing backgrounds and will be making images with good exposures. And understanding what you are doing and why.

Then, go back to the original ABP and study the Exposure chapter, especially the section on exposure theory. Master it.

Once you have exposure down then you can start to study the additional wealth of material in the two books 🙂 Your improvement will be dramatic and rapid.

later and love, artie

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This pleasing blur was created with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/30 sec. at f/4.5 in Tv mode.

Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it.

In mega-low light situations I always think pleasing blurs before I think of going to a really high ISO in an effort to create sharp images. As I often do, I was using ISO safety shift to ensure a low ISO and thus a wide aperture. Matching your panning rate to the speed of the bird can at times, as here, yield a relatively sharp eye even at very low shutter speeds. Note the snow streaks against the dark wings.

Rudi Van Minnebruggen

AM: Hi Rudi, re:

RVM: In your post: “Will the EF 800mm f/5.6L IS Soon Become Obsolete?” you stated: “In my humble opinion folks who purchase expensive super telephoto lenses would be best using a Mark IV body with it for a variety of reasons. I will try to remember to do a blog post on that soon”. I am very much interested in your humble opinion, so I have been searching your website, blog, bulletins etc etc but could not find anything…. Would you please be so kind to send me the link to the article.

Well, I never followed up on that; here is what I was/am thinking:

With any Canon body that focuses only to f/5.6–including the 50D, the 7D, the 5D MII, and even the new pro body–the Canon EOS-1DX–coming sometime this year–if you have the 800mm f/5.6 you have only one focal length. You cannot get AF with any teleconverter because the lens is (already) at f/5.6.

With a Mark IV you get AF with the lens alone and with the 1.4X II TC. This gives you limited flexibility–two focal lengths–but it is better than being stuck with only one focal length.

The 300 and 400mm f.2.8L IS II lenses suddenly become much more attractive especially for folks who live in areas with lots of tame birds and wildlife or those who travel to places like the Galapagos or the Southern Oceans. That said the 400II with a 2X II TC is nothing to sneeze at in terms of focal length. And with each of these lenses any of the above-mentioned cameras will AF with both the 1.4X and the 2X TCs; this will give you three focal lengths.

With the two new Series II super-telephotos–the 500 and 600 f/4L IS II lenses will have AF with the aforementioned bodies only with the 1.4X TCs. Therefore, if you want to use either of these new lenses with a 2X TC and have AF you will need to hold on to a Mark IV body or two….

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I created this image of a screaming Steller’s Sea Eagle with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering + 2 1/3 stops off the ice: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode.

Central Sensor/Rear Focus/AI Servo AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. For a greater appreciation of the image, click on the photo.

This is another example of going for broke; I saw the bird calling and framed, focused, and fired in an instant without waiting for the image to be more perfect. The bird quit calling an instant after I had made only two images. The one above was the first. He who hesitates….

THE BLOG IS THE BOMB

Even in Japan I have continued to put in 20+ hours a week towards making the blog informative, timely, and beautiful. Most of the educational features that formerly appeared in BAA Bulletins now grace the BAA Blog. If you have a problem subscribing, please contact us via e-mail. If you are not subscribed, you are missing a ton of great stuff almost daily. You can subscribe to the blog posts by clicking here.

If you’d like to read all all of the Japan IPT blog posts (that include lots of great Snow Monkey images) click here and scroll down and down.

Here are some links to recent posts of interest:

In A More Aggressive Approach Pays Big Dividends I explain how an attitude adjustment helped me to capture some exciting new action and flight images.

Check out Leap Day King of Hokaido to see one of my favorite images from the Japan trip; many are calling it the finest Steller’s Sea Eagle photograph ever.

If you’ve got a good one, click here.

Click here for lots of free image optimization tips.

If you’ve been dreaming of making a trip to the Antarctic Continent you will surely want to click here.

If you are (mistakenly) deleting images created in the fog you can learn a ton by clicking here.

There will be lots of new Snow Monkey and sea eagle images coming to the blog during the next month or so; be sure to subscribe so that you do not miss any of the valuable free lessons.

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This first winter Slaty-backed Gull flight image was created with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens, 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 1/3 stops off the white sky: 1/1000 sec. at f/4 in Manual mode.

Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it.

In order for bird in flight images to be successful they require a lot more than just being sharp.

NIK

As regular readers know NIK’s Color Efex Pro 4 is now an integral part of my workflow; I used the plug-in on just about every image in this blog post. You can save 15% on all NIK products by clicking here and entering BAA in the Promo Code box at check-out. Then hit Apply to see your savings. You can download a trial copy that will work for 15 days and allow you to create full sized images.

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NIK Creative Efex Collection

NIK recently announced the availability of a special limited production bundle of 3 of their most popular products, Color Efex Pro 4, Silver Efex Pro 2, and HDR Efex Pro. You can save more than $200 on the bundle which is available only through NIK affiliates. If you would like additional info, please e-mail with the words “Creative Efex Collection” in the Subject line. If you have been on the fence about purchasing the plug-ins mentioned above this is a great chance to save some significant bucks.

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This image of a swimming Steller’s Sea Eagle was created with the hand held Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/2000 sec. at f/4.5 in Manual mode.

Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to enlarge it.

This bird had collided violently with another moments before this image was made. Both swam back to the ice. Neither appeared any the worse for wear.

Support both the Bulletins and the Blog by making all your B & H purchases here.

Remember: you can earn free contest entries with your B & H purchases. Eleven great categories, 34 winning and honored images, and prize pools valued in excess of $20,000. Click here for details.

Shopper’s Guide

Below is a list of the gear used to create the images talked about in this blog post. Thanks a stack to all who have used the Shopper’s Guide links to purchase their gear as a thank you for all the free information that we bring you on the Blog and in the Bulletins. Before you purchase anything be sure to check out the advice in our Shopper’s Guide.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Autofocus Lens. This is Canon’s top of the line wide angle zoom lens.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens. Man, I am loving this lens on my shoulder with the 2X III teleconverter. I also use it a lot–as I did for the image of the eagle with fish–with the 1.4X III TC.
Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II lens. This lens proved to be ideal on a tripod for both birds and wildlife with both the 1.4X and 2X III TCs. All images were super-sharp and the lens was light enough for hand-holding both in the zodiacs and when doing flight photograph from the ship.
Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens. Right now this is my all time favorite super-telephoto lens.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV professional digital camera body. My two Mark IVs are my workhorse digital camera bodies.

And from the BAA On-line Store:

LensCoats. I have a LensCoat on each of my big lenses to protect them from nicks and thus increase their re-sales value. All my big lens LensCoat stuff is in Hardwood Snow pattern.
LegCoat Tripod Leg Covers. I have four tripods active and each has a Hardwood Snow LegCoat on it to help prevent further damage to my tender shoulders 🙂 And you will love them in mega-cold weather….
Gitzo GT3530LS Tripod. This one will last you a lifetime.
Mongoose M3.6 Tripod Head. Right now this is the best tripod head around for use with lenses that weigh less than 9 pounds. For heavier lenses, check out the Wimberley V2 head.
CR-80 Replacement Foot for Canon 800. When using the 800 on a Mongoose as I do, replacing the lens foot with this accessory lets the lens sit like a dog whether pointed up or down and prevents wind-blown spinning of your lens on breezy days by centering the lens directly over the tripod.
Double Bubble Level. You will find one in my camera’s hot shoe whenever I am not using flash.
The Lens Align Mark II. I use the Lens Align Mark II pretty much religiously to micro-adjust all of my gear an average of once a month and always before a major trip. Enjoy our free comprehensive tutorial here.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV User’s Guide. Learn to use your Mark IV the way that I use mine. Also available for the 7D and the Mark III here.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.

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