Arthur Morris / Birds as Art
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Bulletins and Notes Archive
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BIRDS AS ART ON-LINE Bulletin #83 June 24, 2002
FAVORITE CHURCHILL
IMAGES WITH COMMENTARY
THANKS!
FAVORITE CHURCHILL
IMAGES WITH COMMENTARY
WILLOW
PTARMIGAN/displaying male Image Copyright 2002 Arthur
Morris/BIRDS AS ART
I photographed this displaying
male Willow Ptarmigan in Churchill, Manitoba in late
May. Using Velvia pushed one stop, I made the exposure
at evaluative metering +1 stop. As I knew that the
potential for a spectacular image existed, I
end-clipped the roll to make absolutely sure the I had
a perfect exposure. (I had finished the roll with a
12-frame sequence of the displaying bird.) When I
received the clip, the images were a bit light, so I
had the balance processed at (only) +2/3 stop. Canon
600mm f/4 L IS lens, EOS 1v body. Fill flash at -1
stop, 1/250 sec at f/6.7.
HUDSONIAN GODWIT/female
Image Copyright 2002 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
As many of you know, my "early"
trip to Churchill was met with unseasonably cold and
icy weather. Seeing breeding plumage shorebirds on
the frost encrusted tundra was a real kick. We did
out best despite the cold. This female Hudsonian
Godwit was photographed with the Canon 600mm IS lens,
2X II TC, EOS 1v, and Provia F-100 pushed one stop.
Evaluative metering + 1 stop, fill flash at -1. When I
made the snow "white" in PhotoShop, there was a
magenta cast so I added some green and it looked
better.
LONG-TAILED
DUCK (formerly Oldsquaw) drake Image Copyright 2002
Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
I had been following a
godwit pair around the wet, snowy tundra when I saw
this male Long-tailed Duck sleeping on a rock near
shore. Problem was, it was more than a 1/4 mile
walk around a pretty good sized pond for me to get
anywhere near him. There was a small stand of low
willows right at the edge of the pond near the
rock. I thought, "With those bushes there, I can
pretty much hide behind them by staying a bit low,
and when I finally get really close enough to see
over the bushes, I can move really, really slowly as
I set up my tripod so as not to spook him when he
does see me. I worked my way in slowly and he could
see me through the opening in the bushes. When he
would wake up and look at me, I would freeze until
he once again tucked his head into his scapulars.
Once I started photographing him (with the Canon
600IS and the 2XII), he would wake up and then nod
off. I started with pretty much full frame
horizontals, then graduated to front-end
horizontals. Finally, I pushed it a bit and got
close enough for a few front-end vertical
portraits. Here, he raised his head feathers a bit,
and, for this frame only, took his foot out from
under his body. Fuji Velvia pushed one stop. Flash
as main light (at 0), 1/60 at f/11.
The best thing about this was that I saw the
situation and dreamed of what was possible. Then I
went for it. Then my dreams were rewarded. It is my
favorite image of a long, cold, mostly snowy trip.
WILLOW
PTARMIGAN/male Image Copyright 2002 Arthur
Morris/BIRDS AS ART
After
trudging through deep snow banks with my 600mm lens
and getting stuck repeatedly, I was physically
exhausted and upset. The icy world that was
Churchill, Manitoba was spinning about and looked a
bit dark. I was pissed. Finally, the Willow
Ptarmigan that we had been stalking walked right in
front of me at point blank range on fresh snow--the
image that I wanted so badly was right in front of
me. I made sure that I had dialed in +1 stop
exposure compensation to the evaluative metering
reading, attained focus, and pushed the button, but
just once. I had had only one frame left on the
roll. I was upset that I had had just one chance,
but was very pleased with the resulting image. Fuji
Velvia pushed one stop: 1/250 sec at f/4.
Brian K. Wheeler is
the world's best raptor (hawks and their allies)
photographer. My favorite image of his is of a
Rough-legged Hawk on an absolute white sky day with
snow reflecting light onto the bird's undersides
from below. The image is
exposed properly for the bird's dark feathering
, so these darker parts appear in the image
as if they are floating in space; the white parts of
the underparts and the sky itself are a totally
detail-less white, call it over-exposed if you wish,
but the correct exposure is the one that yields the
results that the photographer wants. In this
Ptarmigan image, I tried to duplicate that and
succeeded to some degree: to my mind the whites are
a touch too dark! Do realize that to get the correct
exposure for the dark-toned feathers of the bird's
reddish brown hood, you would need to be making the
image at an exposure level approximately 1 1/2 stops
lighter than you would if your intent had been to
maintain detail in the whites. In other words, you
would need to be making the image at an exposure 1
1/2 stops darker (to maintain detail in the whites)
than I did here. If that were the case, the bird's
hood would be a detail-less black. I simply chose to
"give away the whites" and expose properly for the
darks.
Thanks!
Thanks to the more
than 600 of you who have purchased our "Pocket
Guide to Evaluative Metering." We have received
many complimentary communications and are still
awaiting the first complaint mention. Sales are
brisk at present as there is a blurb for the
exposure guide in the "In Focus" (new products)
section of the current edition of Outdoor
Photographer (on page 19). For more information,
click here: Pocket
Guide to Evaluative Metering
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