BIRDS AS ART BULLETIN #450

• Salem Connecticut Shooter’s Gallery Seminar
• BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition
• The Blog is the Bomb
• A Matter of Style
• 2014 Tanzania Summer Safari
• Flight Plan
• Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
• Affiliate Links
• IPT INFO

This vertical pan blur was created with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 300mm) and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/5 sec. at f/22 in Manual Mode. Should have been ISO 50. Why? Central sensor/AI Servo/Rear Focus on the top of the front row of flowers and then pan upwards. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Be sure to check out the firestorm of comments on the blog having to do with the creation of pleasing blurs in “Response to the Blur-Haters” here and the one that started it all, “Keep One or Both” here.

Salem, Connecticut Seminar: Sunday, October 20, 2014

Shooters Gallery Photography Program

October 20, 2013. Salem, CT

Click here to register.

Artie Morris & Denise Ippolito
Date: Sunday – October 20, 2013: Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Location: Salem Gardner Lake Firehouse Hall, 429 Old Colchester Road, Salem, CT 06420
Admission Fee: The Artie Morris presentation from 9:00am until 10:45am is free and open to the public courtesy of Canon U.S.A. The presentation by Artie and Denise from 11:00am until 4:00pm is $40.00 (Lunch & morning coffee included)
Host Organization: Shooters Gallery Photography Group

9:00 to 10:45 – “Choosing and Using Lenses for Nature Photography… BIRDS AS ART Style” – Artie Morris (Sponsored by Canon U.S.A.)
10:45 TO 11:00: Break
11:00 to 12:00 – “Blooming Ideas” – Denise Ippolito
12:00 to 1:00 – Lunch
1:00 to 2:00 – “Refining Your Photographic Vision” – Artie Morris and Denise Ippolito
2:00 to 2:30 – “Pro Gear Handling Tips” – Artie Morris and Denise Ippolito
2:30 to 2:45 – Break
2:45 to 4:00 – “Creating Pleasing Blurs” – Artie Morris and Denise Ippolito

Click here to register.

BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition

Learn more and enter the BIRDS AS ART 2nd International Bird Photography Competition here. Twenty-five great prizes including the $1000 Grand Prize and intense competition. Bring your best.

The Blog is the Bomb!

Thanks to Peter Kes for the recent behind the scenes streamlining of the blog. Download speeds (page viewing) is now lightning fast and the Comments problems are a thing of the past. If you previously left in frustration we understand. And we’d love to have you back/

I continue to put in 20+ hours a week towards making the blog informative, timely, and beautiful. Many of the educational features that formerly appeared in BAA Bulletins now grace the BAA Blog. 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 have a problem subscribing, please contact us via e-mail.

Here are some links to recent posts of interest:

Be sure to check out the firestorm of comments on the blog having to do with the creation of pleasing blurs in “Response to the Blur-Haters” here and the one that started it all, “Keep One or Both” here.

See two killer but vastly different images in “So Much to Share.”

See the types of images you can create on a very grey day in “Cold, Dark, and Windy.”

Share one of my career high points here.

Check out an exciting day on the Tanzania Summer Safari in “On the Kill, the Patient Hyenas, and the Aftermath” here.

This small-in-the-frame Lappet-faced image was created with the hand held Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender (at 236mm) and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/1250 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode+. Central sensor/AI Servo Rear Focus AF on the vulture and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

This, the same Lappet-faced Vulture, was photographed with the Todd-Pod mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/400 sec. at f/11 in Av mode. Central sensor (by necessity) Expand/AI Servo Rear Focus AF on the bird’s eye and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

A Matter of Style

In the two images above, made just a minute apart, you see two different styles: small-in-the-frame with lots of Serengeti habitat, and large-in-the-frame in your face. Made possible by the 600II/2X III TC combo and the amazing versatility of the 200-400 f/4L IS with Internal Extender.

Please leave a comment and let us know which image you like best. And be sure to let us know why.

This image was created on the 2013 Tanzania Summer Safari at Ngorongoro Crater with the Todd-Pod mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon 2x EF Extender III (Teleconverter), and the Canon EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera. ISO 800. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/1600 sec. at f/11 in Av Mode. Central sensor Expand (by necessity)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF on the Cattle Egret’s face and re-compose. Click here if you missed the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. I did not want the bird in the center of the frame and was very lucky that neither the zebra or the bird moved as I was re-composing….

2014 Tanzania Summer Safari

If you are interested in joining us in Tanzania next summer please shoot me an e-mail and I will be glad to forward you the PDF with dates, itinerary, and price.

Flight Plan

After spending more than two months (part time) editing Jim Neiger’s great new e-Guide, Flight Plan, I learned a ton about flight photography. His explanation of the bumping the focus technique finally sunk in. Using this technique has improved my flight photography by leaps and bounds, especially when doing flight photography with an f/4 super-telephoto lens and the 2X III tele-converter. Learning to bump the focus as is a huge help for any type of flight photography.

You learn more about Flight Plan here or order a copy by clicking here.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens

While I love my 24-105mm as a B-roll lens, I often wish that I owned and traveled with the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens. It is miles sharper than the 24-105 and meshes perfectly with no overlap with the great 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II.

Right now B&H has an amazing deal on this great landscape lens–yikes, I need to borrow one for my upcoming Paines del Torres trip–$1,999.00 at check out. The regular price is $2,299.00. What are you waiting for. Please, please pretty please, web orders only using our product-specific link above or clicking on the logo-link below.

Amazon

Everyone buys something from Amazon, be it a big lens or deodorant. Support the blog by starting your search by starting your search by clicking on the logo-link below. No purchase is too small to be appreciated; they all add up. Why make it a habit? Because I make it a habit of bringing you new images and information on an almost daily basis.

Typos

In all Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or leave a comment regarding any typos, wrong words, misspellings, omissions, or grammatical errors. Just be right. 🙂

IPT Info

Many of our great trips are filling up. Two great leaders ensure that you will not learn more anywhere about how to make great images.