B&H Lectures in NYC on July 6 and 7

If you are in the NYC area, please come and hear me speak at B&H on July 6 and 7. You need to RSVP for each talk, so click on the links below for more information and to confirm your RSVP. Here are the details of each talk:

The Perfect Print

Tuesday, July 6, 2010  |  3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Learn the latest digital printing techniques from Master Printer and African Wildlife photographer, Andy Biggs. Andy will cover ICC Profiles, color management, how to choose inkjet papers, types of printers and how to build the ideal digital print studio.

A Year in the Life of an African Wildlife Photographer

Wednesday, July 7, 2010  |  11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Come and share two hours with renowned African wildlife photographer and workshop instructor Andy Biggs. Andy will share a typical year in his life as a wildlife photographer by discussing the myriad safari locations he travels to in Africa. From the wide open savannah of the Serengeti in Tanzania to the seasonal waters of the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Andy will tell you how he travels from jet planes to bush planes and helicopters to Land Rovers. Receive practical advice about how to photograph wildlife and discover how Andy travels internationally to hard-to-reach locations. Andy will share his award winning photographs, along with the stories behind each image, and what equipment he used to create beautiful images.



Digital Printing lecture in Santa Fe, June 24

I will be in Santa Fe, New Mexico next week to do a 2-hour lecture on digital printing. The event will be held at the Santa Fe Camera Center from 5:30 to 8pm on June 24. If you live in the Santa Fe area, please come by for some free refreshments at 5:30, and my talk will begin at 6:00pm sharp. The event is free.

Here is a lecture synposis:

Learn the latest digital printing techniques from Master Printer and African Wildlife photographer, Andy Biggs. Andy will cover ICC Profiles, demystifying color management (do’s and don’ts), how to choose inkjet papers, how to properly calibrate and profile displays, types of printers and building the ideal digital print studio.

When to use teleconverters?

Canon 1.4x II teleconverter

What is a teleconverter?

A teleconverter is an adapter that is used in between your lens and your camera, and they typically magnify your focal length by 1.4x or 2x. If you have a Nikon lens you will get the best quality with a Nikon teleconverter, and the same goes for Canon and other lens manufacturers. I am not a fan of off-brand manufacturers, such as Kenko.

• Canon makes 1.4x and 2x teleconverters
• Nikon makes 1.4x, 1.7x and 2x teleconverters
• Other manufacturers make 1.4x teleconverters at a minimum

A 300mm lens with a 2x teleconverter becomes a 600mm effective focal length. A 400mm with a 1.4x teleconverter becomes a 560mm.

Canon 2x II teleconverter

When you use a teleconverter, you also lose light coming into the lens. With a 1.4x you lose 1 f/stop of light, a 1.7x you lose 1.5 stops, and with a 2x you lose 2 stops. With a 300mm f/2.8 lens mated to a 1.4x teleconverter you end up with a 420mm f/4 lens.

Nikon 1.7x TC-17EII teleconverter

When do we use a teleconverter?

You will want to use a teleconverter when you would like to have more focal length.

What are the downsides to using a teleconverter?

Unless you are using the best glass on the market, you are likely losing optical quality. You are also losing 1 to 2 stops of light, so you will need to make sure that you can afford the light loss. I am often shooting at ISO 1600 and above at the end of the day, and I usually do not use a teleconverter when I am at the edge of my minimum shutter speed. Additionally, some cameras cannot autofocus when a lens is wide open at f/8. For example, for Canon shooters with a 500mm f/4 and a 2x teleconverter, you will be at f/8 as your wide open aperture, and on some cameras you cannot maintain autofocus with that configuration. A big down side, for sure. Canon 1-series cameras can maintain autofocus at f/8, however only with the center AF point.

Kenko 1.4x teleconverter

Which lenses can be used with a teleconverter?

A rule of thumb is that fast telephotos are the only lenses that you can use a teleconverter with, and zoom lenses will not work. There are exceptions, but not many. Here is a short list of lenses where you can use a teleconverter, and there are certainly more:

• 70-200mm f/2.8
• 70-200mm f/4
• 300mm f/2.8
• 300mm f/4
• 400mm f/4 DO
• 400mm f/2.8
• 200-400mm f/4
• 500mm f/4
• 600mm f/4

You technically can use a teleconverter on the popular 100-400mm, but please do not attempt it. Yes, technically it will fit together, however the optical quality absolutely sucks. Really sucks. I see this attempted all of the time, and I cannot emphasize strongly enough that it isn’t worth the effort.

I always travel with at least a 1.4 teleconverter for my longest telephoto lens, so it is an easy for me to gain more focal length without carrying more lenses and more weight.



One-on-One Print Mentoring page updated

I have just updated my One-on-One Print Mentoring page to reflect some updates to my equipment selection here in the studio. Here are the curent printers that I am using:

• Canon iPF 8300 large format 44" 12-ink pigment ink printer
• Epson 9900 large format 44" pigment ink printer
• HP Z3200 44" wide format pigment ink printer
• Epson Pro 3880 17" pigment ink printer

We also have the following equipment to help us with the entire digital workflow:

• Mac Pro desktop with 12GB of memory
• Dual LCD displays (Apple 30" Cinema and a 24")
• Speed Mat mat cutter and Rising 8-ply and 4-ply museum board
• X-rite i1 and iO scanning table for profiling
• GTI display booth with D50 light source
• Epsn V750 flatbed scanner
• Plenty of workspace to layout prints
• All Moab Paper products, including Colorado Fiber Satine, Entrada Bright 300gsm, as well as Crane Silver Rag, Epson Exhibition Fiber, Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl and Photo Rag.

If you are in the market for a new printer, consider coming over to my studio to test drive these printers prior to your purchase. They are well maintained, and I have spent much time on all of them and understand how they all work. I do work for Moab Paper, which means I have relationships with printer manufacturers and access to their technical resources.

Head on over to my One-on-One Print Mentoring page to read more about what a day of printing can look like.

Availability on upcoming safaris

I you are looking for a unique photographic safari in Africa, I have 1 spot available SOLD OUT for the rest of the year on safaris that I am personally leading. Here is a quick recap:

African Wildlife Photography Boot Camp in Botswana and South Africa. August 3-12, 2010.

I have 1 remaining spot available. This is a very unique safari for me, as there is a fair amount of teaching involved on this workshop. 

This safari will be a combination of morning and afternoon game drives, mid-day lectures, evening slide shows and critiques. We will repeat the schedule each day, working one on one with all participants to foster a better understanding of wildlife photography. We will have discussion and assistance on specialized topics such as long lens technique, projection flash usage, action shooting, wildlife observation, field craft and African animal behavior. Advanced techniques will be constantly discussed, demonstrated and put into practice. The end goal is for all participants to end up with new skills to help elevate their African wildlife photography, as well as coming home with excellent photographs.

This workshop is about shooting. Lots of shooting. We will be taking over the use of two lodges, which means we will have a completely private safari where we will relax, learn, photograph by ourselves and enjoy our surroundings. We also have secured private charter aircraft for this safari, with virtually unlimited weight allowances per person, allowing us to bring all of our camera gear.

Safari Highlights

• We have private vehicles throughout the entire safari, with only 1 person per row of seating (except for the sharing spouses / partners - see details below).
• A very liberal amount of weight per person of up to 100 pounds. Bring as much gear as you can! Standard weight allowance is typically only 44 pounds by comparison, but we have secured extra seats on the inter-camp charters.
• This safari offers superb game viewing and photographic opportunities in some of the best areas in Southern Africa.
• This itinerary focuses on a real wildlife experience from the surroundings of your premier accommodations.
• The reserves you will visit offer an insight to the fantastic wildlife in in both of the prime areas we will visit.
• Game viewing is done in open 4x4 vehicles and you will be led by some of the leading guides in Botswana and South Africa.