- CONTEST NEWS
- Short Notice/Individual or Very Small Group Instruction near Olando, FL This Weekend
- Tualatin River Bird Festival, Sherwood, Oregon
- MIDWAY 2013: JUST TWO SLOTS OPEN!
- Hooptie Deux
- Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris International Trips
- IPT UPDATES
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Cattle Egret, mega-breeding plumage. This image was created with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens, the 2XIII teleconverter, and the Canon EOS-5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero confirmed by histogram check: 1/640 sec. at f/11 in Manual mode–early morning light at 7:56 am. Fill flash at -2 stops with the 580 EX II Speedlite and a Better Beamer. Autofocus with an f/5.6 lens and a 2X TC with a camera that focuses only to f/5.6…. How can that be??? See this blog post: Pushing the Limits with the Canon EOS-5D Mark III–2X III Teleconverter–800mm f/5.6L IS Combination If you would like to join me this coming weekend for Cattle Egrets, Wood Stork & Great Egret chicks, and some great individual or small group instruction near Orlando, FL, see item 2 below. Click on the image for a larger version. |
CONTEST NEWS
The registration period for the BIRDS AS ART 1st International Bird Photography Competition ended at 11:59pm on April 23, 2012, you may upload images or refine your entries until 11:59pm eastern time on April 30, 2012. Thanks and good luck to all who entered.
We will be making initial selections during the week of May 1, hope to have the first round of selects to the panel of judges no later than May 8, and be able to announce the winning and honored images soon after that. We are pretty much thrilled with the quality of the images entered and are looking forward to the huge challenge that judging the contest will present.
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Wood Stork chicks in the nest with the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-5D Mark III. ISO 800. Evaluative metering at -1/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/6.3 in Av mode. Central Sensor/Rear Focus AI Servo AF and recompose. How can I autofocus with a camera that focuses only to f/5.6? That said, how could I have been at f/6.3 when the combo above should have come in at f/8? See the BPN thread here for details; you will need to scroll down and read carefully. Click on the image for a larger version. |
Short Notice/Individual or Very Small Group Instruction Near Olando, FL This Weekend
Join me at a killer central Florida rookery either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, April 27, 28, or 29 for a morning, afternoon, or a whole day of photographic instruction. Morning sessions: 7-10am/$300 single. $200 each for two. Limit 2. Afternoon sessions: 3:30pm to 6:30pm/$300 single. $200 each for two. Limit 2. Full day: $550 single. $375 each for two. Limit 2. The full day includes lunch and image review. In all cases I reserve the right to add a second photographer unless you wish to pay the difference :).
Learn to see and think like a pro, to evaluate various photographic situations, and to use light properly. I will be letting you know what I think of your gear set-up, your sharpness techniques, and your shooting style. And sharing the very best nests with you and explaining why they are the very best nests :). Though a minimum of a 500mm f/4 lens with both teleconverters is ideal, folks with lenses as short as a 70-200 will benefit greatly. Please e-mail for additional details if you are seriously interested in joining me. Or try me at 863-692-2806 or on my cell at 863-221-2372. artie
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This wet and soggy Great Egret was photographed with the the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens and the Canon EOS-5D Mark III. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/125 sec. at f/6.3 in Av mode. Fill flash at -3 stops with the 580 EX II Speedlite and a Better Beamer. Central Sensor/Rear Focus AI Servo AF and recompose.Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click here to learn to set up Rear Focus on your 5D Mark II. Click on the image for a larger version. |
Tualatin River Bird Festival, Sherwood, Oregon
Thanks to the generosity of Canon USA/Explorers of Light I will be presenting the keynote address, “A Bird Photographer’s Story,” at the Tualatin River Bird Festival in Sherwood, Oregon on May 12, 2012 from 6:30 to 9pm. The keynote, “A Bird Photographer’s Story,” is free and open to the public. Click here for details on the “Focus on Nature” portion of the festival. I am doing several other programs that weekend–you can check them out at the link. I hope to see you there!
In the image without text, note the bill clean-up and the brighter, more contrasty WHITEs that still have lots of detail. Bill clean-up was done with the Patch Tool and the Spot Healing Brush and a series of small, warped Quick Masks. The former as described in detail in Digital Basics, the latter in APTATS I. Color Efex Pro has drastically changed my digital workflow. Remember, 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. |
MIDWAY 2013: JUST TWO SLOTS OPEN!
Click here for details and photos.
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This Brown Pelican image was photographed with the the tripod-mounted Canon 800mm f/5.L IS lens and the Canon EOS-5D Mark III. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +3 1/3 stops off the sky: 1/1000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. Central Sensor/Expand/Rear Focus AI Servo AF active at the moment of exposure. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click here to learn to set up Rear Focus on your 5D Mark II. Click on the image for a larger version. |
Hooptie Deux
The image above was created on James Shadle’s pontoon boat, the Hooptie Duex out of Gibsonton, FL. James has been taking folks out on Tampa Bay for Roseate Spoonbill photography for more than a decade. To learn more or to arrange a trip with James–there are lots of baby spoonbills just out of the nest right now–click here.
There are lots of ways to correct a color cast. Average Blur Color Balancing is described in detail in Digital Basics which includes my complete digital workflow and dozens of other great Photoshop tips. |
Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris International Trips
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Photos: Snorkeling with Whale Sharks, Jaguar in the Pantanal, Humpback Whale in Monterey Bay, Zodiac cruising in Antarctica: ©Cheesemans; Brown Bear in Denali National Park: ©Hugh Rose. Ensure you receive our newsletters in your inbox, add info@cheesemans.com to your address book. Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris, (800) 527-5330, info@cheesemans.com |
Full Itinerary
Support the work that goes into the creation of both the Bulletins and the blog by making all your B & H purchases here.
Be sure to save your B&H mail receipts to earn free entries into next year’s contest. Remember, you must use the BAA affiliate link above or one of the product specific links on the blog or in Bulletins to qualify.
Shopper’s Guide
Below is a list of the gear used to create the images in today’s 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 800mm f/5.6L IS lens. Right now this is my all time favorite super-telephoto lens.
Canon EF 1.4X III TC. Canon’s latest greatest 1.4X TC is designed to work best with the new Series II super telephotos lenses.
Canon EF 2XIII teleconverter. This TC is noticeably sharper and is designed to work best with the new Series II super telephotos lenses.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III. Man, I am in love with this camera body. Both the files and the AF system are superb.
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.
BreezeBrowser. I do not see how any digital photographer can exist without this program.
