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BIRDS AS ART ON-LINE Bulletin #78 May 1, 2002
BIRDS AS ART 2003 BEAUTIFUL BIRDS CALENDAR
MORE LUCK & LARGE REFLECTORS
COSTA RICA REPORT
BIRDS AS ART 2003 BEAUTIFUL BIRDS CALENDAR
Eight cartons of the 2003 Beautiful Birds
Calendar sit in the laundry room awaiting your order. This
spectacular vertical calendar retails for $12.95 if you are lucky
enough to find it in stores. We offer single copies here for $11.95
each plus $2.00 shipping by 4th class mail = $13.95. As many of
you know, the calendars make great gifts. Order 2-6 calendars for
$9.95 each plus $2.00 shipping. Order 7 or more calendars for only
$8.95 each plus $2.00 shipping. For Florida residents the cost with
tax is as follows: 1 @ $12.67 + $2.00 = $14.67. 2-6 are $10.55
each plus $2.00 shipping. 7 or more are $9.49 each plus $2.00
shipping.
LARGE
REFLECTORS, AND MORE ON LUCK...
On the last afternoon of the Boston In-The-Field Workshop at
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, I was walking with several
participants among the boulders at Emerson Rocks when the sun
finally came out... Having promised the group that we would do some
barnacle photography, I was toting the tripod-mounted Canon 180mm
macro lens. As we wove our way through the boulder-fields, one of
the women asked me what I was looking for. I said, "I am looking
for a large area of solidly packed barnacles on the shaded side of a
rock. (I wanted something in the shade so that excess contrast in
the bright sun would not be a problem.) Ideally, the surface will
be fairly flat, and will slope gently away from me so that I can
work while standing behind a tripod set up about at about 3 1/2
feet; I do not want to have to get down on one knee to make the
image." In short order, I found just what I was looking for and,
composing through the viewfinder, set up the image that I wanted. I
made a few images with and without flash when someone volunteered to
light the barnacles with a huge gold reflector more than three feet
in diameter. With the reflector positioned optimally, the barnacles
lit up like the gold in Fort Knox. Several folks looked through the
viewfinder and were most impressed.
When the woman who had asked the original question took her turn,
she gasped and said, "I cannot believe that you were so lucky!" I
said to her, "What do you mean lucky? I told you what I was looking
for, found it, and then made the image that I had envisioned.
What's lucky about that?" She was, of course, stuck for an answer.
Below, I offer two similar barnacle images, the first made in the
shade, the second with the golden light from the reflector. (Do
note the compositional placement of the large barnacle in the lower
right protion of the frame.)
Image copyright 2002 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Barnacles in shade. Canon 180mm macro lens, EOS 1v body, Provia
F-100 pushed one stop.
Image copyright 2002 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Barnacles with gold reflector. Canon 180mm macro lens, EOS 1v
body, Provia F-100 pushed one stop.
COSTA RICA REPORT
It saddens me to say that the familiarization tour to Costa Rica
that I joined was pretty much a total disaster. Despite promises
from Dr. Barry Barker that there would be lots of free and wild
birds and other wildlife to photograph, we
encountered very few photographic subjects. The weather was poor
with lots of rain, much of it heavy. We were told that hiking boots
would not be necessary, yet we walked for miles through mud and over
rocks in search of birds. At one hotel, an incredibly piercing
siren sounded for three full minutes every two hours all night
long. At another, the alleged air conditioning simply did not
work. Our guide, though personable, had no knowledge of local
natural history, and little knowledge of the locations that we
visited. On our worst morning, we drove around for four hours
trying to find beach access without success. All in all I would
recommend that any photographer who is considering joining a
familiarization tour offered By Dr. Barry Barker through Wild Spots
Foundation think long and hard before signing up.
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