paul_wasserman

We are leaving soon for Montana and plan to drive from North Yellowstone to Glacier over about 6 nights. We are thinking 2 nights in Yellowstone (we've been before), 1 on the road, and 3 in Glacier. Based on old posts and other research, we're thinking we'll do Beartooth Highway while in Yellowstone, then head up 89, with maybe a detour to the National Bison Range on the way up.

After Glacier, we'll be heading home on Rt 2 East with limited time, but suggestions for stops along the way would be welcome.

Thanks

On February 20th 2018, the copyright office is setting a limit of 750 images per group submission. Until now it has been unlimited, so you could literally send in tens of thousands of images in a single submission for just the one fee of $55.

So, at $55 per 750 images after that 20th, that's going to add up real fast. Personally, I'm hustling to get in my backlog of photos, but after that, it means I will be paying at least 10 to 20 times more annually to keep my copyright registrations up to date. Either that or I'm going to have to spend a lot more time being selective about what gets registered.

Anyhow, thought I should put this out there for anyone who hasn't hear about it yet.

Paul Wasserman

<p>Heading to the Smokies for a NANPA workshop next weekend. Thanks to Bob for the heads up about the roads.<br>

I checked the official site and their map says Cades Cove was closed through April 23rd, but you had mentioned it was closed till the 3rd week in May.<br>

Do you know which is correct?</p>

<p>On the other side of the coin, there are a few more differences between the two bodies than mentioned. Whether they make a difference to you depends on what you shoot. A couple I've found that make a difference for me in certain circumstances:</p>

<ul>

<li>Autofocus still works at F8 on the 1DsIII, vs 5.6 on the 5DII. Probably not a benefit for your studio, but a huge difference for a nature or sports shooter.</li>

<li>3 Stops of exposure compensation on the 1DsIII vs 2 Stops on the 5DII. Useful If you shoot HDR or in extreme lighting conditions.</li>

<li>Both CF and SD card slots on the 1DsIII. For a critical, non-reproducable shoot, it's really comforting to make 2 copies of every image as you shoot.</li>

</ul>

<p>I currently have both bodies and like the flexibility of being able to pick the camera that makes sense for a given situation. I know the conventional wisdom is to have to identical bodies, but at the cost of these things, I prefer having the flexibility.<br>

Paul Wasserman</p>

I have both lenses, as well as the 100-400. I got the 85 1.2 II recently after borrowing one for a day. I have been a zoom shooter since zoom lenses got good, but this may be the lens that brings me back to primes.

This is just one of those rare lenses that changes the way you see things. It's easier to experience than explain, so I second the idea of renting both. Start with the 85 though, and you won't want to give it back.

I don't do formal portraits, but I do walk-around candids, indoors and out, street scenes, and often shoot in low light conditions. I love what I get from this lens, but there are some trade-offs.

The AF is a bit slower, even on a 1 series body, than you might expect, but is quite usable in most cases, even in low light. If the action is fast, you might miss some shots, but the keepers are killer. Regardless, at 1.2, you really have to pay close attention to exactly when and where focus is achieved, and be prepared to make minute adjustments if the situation permits.

Bear in mind that the Mark II version of the lens is about 1.8x faster than the Mark I, so that's the one to get.

Also note that you can only manually focus this lens when the shutter button is held down 1/2 way, so it takes a little getting used to. No big deal.

In bright daylight, at 1.2, shutter speeds are unbelievably fast, even at ISO 50 or 100, so you lose a little creative control there, but this can be mitigated with neutral density filters.

Given that portraiture is important to you, and that you generally have time to "build" the image, I would think that if you can truly only afford one of the lenses, the 85 is the better choice. Neither the 70-200 nor any of the lenses in your current arsenal will give you what you can get with this lens. Your 100-400 will cover some of the general shots you might otherwise have gotten with the 70-200.

Also consider that your 10-22 EF-S won't work on the 5D, so that might provide a little extra funding when you upgrade bodies. If you can get two lenses, suggestion about getting the 85 and 70-200 f/4 isn't a bad idea.

My subjective, non-scientific take is that the pictures from the 70-200 2.8 have a little more pop, but the f/4 isn't far off, and has the advantage when it comes to size, better IS, and minimum focusing distance.

Paul Wasserman

I live in Chicago and can maybe add to some of the advice offered here. First off, let me confirm that Chicago Wilderness is a good resource for it's seasonal and site specific information. Wooded Isle in Jackson park is a good birding location, best during migration. You'll find shooting waterfowl better at North Pond in Lincoln park, though, as the distances are less.

If you want guaranteed and exotic subjects at close range, the Lincoln Park Zoo has a couple of ponds that are always entertaining.

One of my favorite places for bird photography is the "Magic Hedge" at Montrose Harbor. Turn right at the bait shop and park when you get to the clump of trees on the left, about a block or two down.

This is a great place during migration because you get a real concentration of birds here, and they tend to be lower and closer than you'll find in larger forest preserves. There is also a protected dune and sea bird area at the beach.

Short of Jasper-Pulaski, the lakefront is a good place to practice the kind of in the field flight photography that you'll experience at Bosque. Find anyplace that has lots of seagulls and work with them. I like the Museum Campus for this because I'm close, and the protected area at Montrose Harbor is an option. Winthrop Harbor in Wilmette is also supposed to be good for this and other birding.

One of the best resources for current bird activity in the area is the ILBirds group on www.yahoo.com. Here you'll find continuous postings about what's at Montrose Harbor and other locations during the season. Click on "groups" at the left side of the main yahoo screen to sign up, and you can get e-mails updates of interesting bird sightings.

I also highly recommend getting a copy of "Birding the Chicago Region" by Carpenter and Greenberg for additional locations. It's also handy for identifying some of the locations you'll see discussed on ILBirds. Some of my other favorites include the Rosehill Cemetary in Chicago, and McLaury Springs in the Palos forest preserves.

As far as bring the birds in goes, I don't do anything, but on a number of bird outings I've seen some people be quite succesful at bringing in specific birds by playing a recording of their call. Something you might want to look into, but know that some birders have objections to this technique.

Paul Wasserman

I am having similar problems with getting alerts from Classifieds, so I don't think it ever was fixed, at least not there. I used to get them, but they did stop and never restart some time last year, no matter how I try and set them up again.

I've checked my workspace and there's no mention of bounced e-mails or any place to clear that flag.

Any ideas?

I used to have a working alert on classifieds to get all new

postings with the keyword 'Canon'. It hasn't worked for some time

now. I have tried making it as simple as possible, using just the

word Canon, upper or lower case, searching that as manufacturer or

keyword, but nothing seems to work.

Is this feature broken or am I doing something wrong?

The other difference between Canon's 100 and 180mm macros are the performance of the tripod ring.

On the 100 this is an afterthought . . . uh, I mean add-on. It works ok but not great. I found that with a heavier camera, like a 1V with powerbooster, or 1D, the plastic ring that is supposed to anchor the tripod mount to the lens was inadequate. It would either move, or slip out of the tripod mount entirely. Add additional extension tubes or a TC, and you can just forget about it.

The tripod ring is integral to the 180, so this is not a problem.

I'll be driving from Chicago to the Black Hills (for the NANPA forum)

next week, and hope for some fall color along the way. I have plenty

of information for the Black Hills/Badlands, but would appreciate any

suggestions for photo stops along the way.

I'll be travelling via Interstate 90 through Wisconsin & Minnesota,

so any recommendations in that vicinty are welcome.

Has anyone done anything close to an apples to apples comparison with E200 at 640 vs. ProviaF 400 at 800?

Up to 320 I prefer Provia F 100 pushed. I generally shoot E200 pushed to 640 when I need the extra stop.

I've tried one roll of Provia F 400 pushed to 800 and was actually a little dissapointed. It seems like the entire roll was slightly underexposed. I may just try again at 640 for the 2 stop push.

My initial take was that there was perhaps a little more pop to the color than the E200 at 640, but it was hard to really compare.

Obviously more testing is called for - I just wonder if any has been down this path?

We'll be driving from Chicago to the Smoky Mountains in Early June.

I'm looking for recommendations on possible sites along the way, and

good places to stay in the Smokies.

My primary interests are birds & other wildlife, wildflowers, and

scenics. I've looked at the other posts on Photo.net & have some

idea where we want to visit in the Smokies, understanding that we're

not going to be there at the best time for wildflowers unless we're

lucky. I'd be interested in other sites that might be worthwhile on

our way to & from, or in the area.

As far as where to stay is concerned, I'm trying for a mix of natural

setting, easy access to photo locations, and amenities for my non-

photographer spouse.

Some of the cabins in the ski areas outside of Gatlinburg sounded

like they might fit the bill. Recommendations on these and other

possibilities, especially if they would be in less traveled areas,

would be welcome.

Paul Wasserman

Reading this thread we decided to go to the San Juans and Vancouver Island for a labor day trip.

It turned out to be a great time to go and wasn't too awfully crowded. For specifics see http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0010TV&topic_id=34&topic=Nature%20Photography

Someone asked where I ended up, so here it is.<p>

We ended up on the San Juan islands and Vancouver Island. We left a couple of days before, and came back the day after labor day, and found travelling relatively hassle-free (even United was on time<g>).<p>

The weather was great. Just one morning of heavy rain, and some light showers and overcast here and there. Most of the time there were nice dramatic clouds and sunny skies. <p>

Neither the San Juans or Vancouver island were heavily crowded, particularly by Chicago standards. We stayed at Rosario resort on Orcas, which was wonderfully scenic, and had black-tailed deer roaming the grounds and posing. Mt. Constitution, however, was fogged in when we visited.<p>

We stayed on the outskirts of Victoria near a bird sanctuary and I got some bird shots and a spectacular sunrise or two.<p>

Victoria itself, although somewhat busy with tourists, was not unpleasantly crowded by any means. The waterfront presented a few interesting subjects, but I'm not much for cities (have all of that I want at home).<p>

So, from Victoria, the best bet for getting out of the city was to drive up along the West coast - a pretty full day trip. Sooke Potholes was a great spot, and China beach gave us a good feel for what the coastline is like there. The further out you get, the scenery gets better, with oldgrowth forest towering above the road.<p>

A quick drive along the East coast gets you to the Malahut(I think) mountains, with a few nice overlooks, and the Malahut Mountain Inn restaurant with great food and view to match.<p>

Whale Watching, at least where we were, was okay, but not great. We only saw one Orca off Victoria, and a few Minkes near Orcas Island. Apparently, June and July were great for seeing Orcas. On the other hand, I talked to someone who'd been kayaking around Telegraph Cove, and they had been surrounded by Orcas the day before. Sounds like thats the place to go for whale watching in Vancouver this time of year.<p>

In any case, the one thing to know if you visit the islands this time of year is to show up early for the ferries, because they do fill up. If you're taking a ferry from Anacortes or the San Juans to Vancouver Island, you can and should make reservations.

Actually, Olympic NP and perhaps the San Juan islands were on the list.

Typically, what can I expect as far as rain goes on labor day?

Are the Orcas still around?

Paul Wasserman

It looks like my only chance for an outing soon will be for a long

labor day weekend. I'm looking for the best nature photo location I

can find, but away from the labor day crowds.

For background, I shoot scenics and wildlife - primarily birds,

butterflys and wildflowers. I checked the other threads on the forum

and had an interest in such locations as Rocky Mountain Nat. Park,

Utah, the San Juan Islands, the Badlands, the Smokies, and the Oregon

coast, but it sounds like all of these will be jammed when I can go.

So, I'm open to ideas off the beaten path, pretty much anywhere in

the Americas that you can do in 5 days.

I use the 100-400 IS option. I carry it in the original case Canon ships it in, except I put a good shoulder strap on it, and have the strap going across my body so that the bag rests comfortably on one hip. The lens hood and 1.4 (sometimes a 2x) TeleConvertor are attached and ready to go. The entire assembly protrudes from the bag, so I have a small bungee cord to secure it. Carried this way, the lens doesn't get in my way, or seem to weigh much at all. Since both hands are free, it is a very quick movement to grab the 100-400 and drop the 'landscape' lens in the bag.

I also find the 100-400 range quite useful for Telephoto scenics. With a 12mm and 25mm extender, the lens also does reasonable macro work.

The 12mm Extender + 1.4 Teleconvertor are also my typical set-up for butterflies or friendly birds.

I have used this arrangement with a Monopod, which is practical to carry on a hike, but find it complicates the rapid swapping of lenses in the scenario you described, so I generally leave it at home now.

Yes, I know it's not the best time of year for birds. Is it even

worth a trip to Anhinga?

Failing that what are the best photo op's this time of year? I'll be

in the South East, but don't mind driving quite a bit if that's what

it takes.

Paul Wasserman

I'll be in Benelux in late April, Early May, and am wondering about

Nature photo ops. Of course I'll do the Tulip gardens in Holland,

and already have good recommendations for general scenic and travel

photos.

Can anyone recommend wildlife sanctuaries, rookeries, natural areas,

that sort of thing? Are there any particularly good locations along

the coast?

Paul Wasserman

Thanks to everyone who responded. I did spend Feb 26-28th in the area, and found that virtually all of the places recommended were either filled, or only had rooms of the $200/night variety available.

I guess this means you've got to reserve well ahead at this time of year.

I ended up in Pt. Charlotte, about 45 to 60 minutes north of Ft Myers, for $84 a night at the Econolodge on US41. Nothing special but nothing wrong with it either. There were also some rooms in Punta Gorda, just a little south of that.

This is actually not a bad location, as it puts you about 30-40 minutes South of the Venice Rookery.

There were rooms in similar price ranges available in Naples too, perhaps a bit closer to Ft Myers on the south end.

Hope this isn't too far off topic, but can anyone recommend

reasonably priced places to stay around Ft Myers at this time of year.

I plan to visit Venice, Corkscrew, Sanibel, etc., and hope to be

within an easy drive of all, but I don't need to be on the beach.

I've been using a Canon A2E for serious Macro work for a while now, and find I'm spending a lot of my time in cramped positions close to the ground.

<p>

I'm considering getting the Angle-Finder B and A2E adapter for this to make life a little easier, but I wonder if it's bright and sharp enough to allow me to do the kind of precise focusing I need with the miniscule depth of field found in 1:1 or 2x Macro shots.

<p>

Does anyone have experience using the Angle Finder B this way?

<p>

Can it be used with the Canon magnifying finder?

<p>

Is there a better alternative (short of buying a Hasselblad<g>)?