Excited By a TV???

[Arthur Morris]

• Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Turkey Vulture, ugly as sin, has been of one of my best selling species. If you take a look at proportions, I have surely sold a higher percentage of my TV images than of any other species. I went down to the lake this morning to photograph some water lilies but did a quick drive around first to check on the birds. A group of TVs were on a crappie that the young Ospreys had dropped and I was able to get close in my SUV, big lens on the BLUBB.

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4x II TC and the EOS-1DMIII. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/500 sec. at f/8 set manually.

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

 

[Arthur Morris]

I'd get excited with any TV that would let me get so close and so effortlessly. That is an awfully clean bill that this carrion eater has here! We don't often see the hints of blues in the plumage such as here...almost makes it look pretty. Hey, we can see your SUV in the eye

Thanks Dan. This guy just flew in to join two others. The prettiest one that I photographed well had one big fish scale on his bill. The bill of this bird was just about perfect. Hey, you can see me too on the TIFF! I did approach very slowly.... One tip for folks: have your big lens on the BLUBB and out the window as you approach, otherwise you will likely scare the birds when you lift it.....

ps: Dan, remember, these are Florida birds!

 

[Jeff Cashdollar]

I posted a Black Vulture a while back and noticed the two species hang together. The BV seem to be a very close family, I believe the TV is a tad larger.

I was wondering with the 800MM and the 1.4 TC what is your effective range to fill your frame say (25%). I was thinking, can you even use flash with this much zoom?

 

[Arthur Morris]

I posted a Black Vulture a while back and noticed the two species hang together. The BV seem to be a very close family, I believe the TV is a tad larger.

I was wondering with the 800MM and the 1.4 TC what is your effective range to fill your frame say (25%). I was thinking, can you even use flash with this much zoom?

Actually, once the BVs came in they drove the TVs away. Even though the TVs are larger, this is typical. The BVs must be tougher.

Jeff, I do not quite understand this: "I was wondering with the 800MM and the 1.4 TC what is your effective range to fill your frame say (25%)." Please explain.

There is no problem using flash with long equivalent focal lengths; I do it often. It is a bit more difficult when working from the car; I need to use one of the Wimberley flash brakcets that attaches to the lens foot. Otherwise, no problem at all with a Better Beamer.

 

[denise ippolito]

Artie, Very nice portrait of a TV w/ great details . I would like to add that the BLUBB is a really great design and I really love it-just wanted you to know!!

 

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Denise! I am especially glad to hear that because I designed it myself!

 

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Sorry Artie,...I am asking, what is a typical subject distance for a medium sized bird (Cardinal). For example, with my 400MM and my 1.6 40d crop factor I need to be within 15/22 feet of my subject to get a decent image not requiring a crop of 30% or larger crop. Just trying to get a feel for distance with this kind of glass , make sense.

 

[Ramon M. Casares]

Amazing shot, great subject with perfect feathers and bill, beautifull eyem colors, and light, I love the touches of blue in the feathers and the white details in the head, just a preety beautifull bird to me.
Big congratulations Artie!

 

[Brian Barcelos]

I don't think you could of taken a better picture in a studio!! Love the colors in it's gross wrinkly neck! By the way, thanks for taking the time out of your W.A. movie to speak to me the other day, it was a pleasure. Oh and Digital Basics is a must have, especially for any one just starting on PS like me. Thank You.
Brian

 

[Sid Garige]

Fantastic details Artie. Excellent job.

 

[Chris Kotze]

Excellent detail,sharpness and super colours well captured

 

[Stu Bowie]

Brilliant detail and sharpness, and I like the light on the plumage showing up the colours nicely. Is this a youngster?

 

[Juan Aragonés]

I don´t consider this one a ugly species and, in fact, this image is a good proof of how much beautiful they are. Just look at those eyes, the feathers, the color of the bill and the red skin (I have to say that, by now, I have never found a bird that looks ugly to me )
This portrait is outstanding, and the BG is to die for. I think that one of the strongest points in this image, is the balance between green and red (both colors compliments extremelly well to each other) and, of course, composition, sharpness, TERRIFIC eye contact, shooting angle, light angle and intensity, but... man, that green BG rocks!
Fantastic image Artie

 

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

killer eye contact/pose and beautiful bg`s color!!!

 

[Morkel Erasmus]

super portrait Artie! wow - 800mm x 1.4 x 1.3 = 1456mm, would love glass of that magnitude one day...
the plumage does have nice colours, and details are pin sharp. not an ugly bird at all. you've got me curious now so I'll have to go to your site and see what a BLUBB is

 

[Arthur Morris]

Sorry Artie,...I am asking, what is a typical subject distance for a medium sized bird (Cardinal). For example, with my 400MM and my 1.6 40d crop factor I need to be within 15/22 feet of my subject to get a decent image not requiring a crop of 30% or larger crop. Just trying to get a feel for distance with this kind of glass , make sense.

I cannot give a definitve answer. For a vertical cardinal, I can probably fill 75% of the frame (the largest that I prefer to go) at about 25+ or so feet with the 800 alone and the Mark III (1.3 crop factor).

When you go from one telephoto to another with a different focal length it takes a while to get the distances down right, i.e., when to stop when you are approaching a subject. Remember: the size of the subject in the frame is a factor of the square of the focal length. So going from a 500 (5 squared = 25) to an 800 (8 squared is 64), the bird will be 2.56 times larger in the frame (64/25). Often times I walk up to a bird with the 800 intending to create an image of the whole bird and find that I have to back way up... Hope that that helps.

 

[Arthur Morris]

super portrait Artie! wow - 800mm x 1.4 x 1.3 = 1456mm, would love glass of that magnitude one day...
the plumage does have nice colours, and details are pin sharp. not an ugly bird at all. you've got me curious now so I'll have to go to your site and see what a BLUBB is

Thanks Mork. BLUBB = Big Lens Ultimate BeanBag: https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=12

BTW, the lens does not take the picture And making them sharp at 28X is not as easy as it seems....

 

[Arthur Morris]

I don´t consider this one a ugly species and, in fact, this image is a good proof of how much beautiful they are. Just look at those eyes, the feathers, the color of the bill and the red skin (I have to say that, by now, I have never found a bird that looks ugly to me ) This portrait is outstanding, and the BG is to die for. I think that one of the strongest points in this image, is the balance between green and red (both colors compliments extremelly well to each other) and, of course, composition, sharpness, TERRIFIC eye contact, shooting angle, light angle and intensity, but... man, that green BG rocks! Fantastic image Artie

Thanks on all counts Juan. I think that they are beautiful too. The BKGR was some marsh vegetation about two to three feet behind the bird.

 

[Arthur Morris]

Brilliant detail and sharpness, and I like the light on the plumage showing up the colours nicely. Is this a youngster?

This is an adult in rather nice plumage (with the purple hues on the back of the head). The young ones have much darker heads without much red at all.

 

[Arthur Morris]

I don't think you could of taken a better picture in a studio!! Love the colors in it's gross wrinkly neck! By the way, thanks for taking the time out of your W.A. movie to speak to me the other day, it was a pleasure. Oh and Digital Basics is a must have, especially for any one just starting on PS like me. Thank You. Brian

Thanks for your kind words and YAW. The Woody Allen movie was Mighty Aphrodite and was pretty good. I was able to enjoy it despite his sordid actions (in his personal life).