Simply put, the TourBox Elite the really darn cool Neo to the next level! I updated my Neo top the Elite over a month ago and glad I did! It’s small, small enough I can take it on the road with me as it takes up no space on my desk (seen above). This powerful little box permits you to “automate” a ton of keyboard shortcuts / features in practically every app you have on your computer. While it comes “packaged” with a ton of Keyboard shortcuts like for Photoshop, you can change them to your hearts content (see below). The goal of TourBox is to permit ultra fast access with a click of a button or turn of a dial to those tools you need in those programs you use a lot to make the process so much faster (and with some personal sound effects, you could be shooting down that TIE fighter at the same time as working). It does take a little time to get the mussel memory working but once connected, it’s a fast tool for image editing!

Set up of the TourBox Elite was a snap! Install the software and in a heartbeat, you’re up and working. Above to the left you can see the first four programs I have working with TourBox, Photoshop, Bridge, Premiere and Photo Mechanic (Epson Print Layout & Audition are next apps on the list to add to TourBox). TourBox is pretty darn smart. I have three desktops set up on my M1 iMac / MacBook Pro and as I scroll to one where say, Photo Mechanic is open and the next desktop where Photoshop is launched (right image above, some of my programming for PS), TourBox automatically switches to work with that program (turn on Auto Switch for this feature) with all the controls I’ve programmed. You don’t have to do a thing. Looking at the photo on the left again, you can see all I created from scratch in a split second as there is no Photo Mechanic preset already set up in TourBox. Easy peasy! I assigned keyboard shortcuts to the various TourBox controls permitting me to operate Photo Mechanic very efficiently as fast as my fingers can go. What’s really cool is you just need to program the buttons in one computer as you can export your settings and load them in another computer retaining everything you have set up in the first. You don’t have to do the programming all over again, schweet!

As I entered the highway heading to Bosque this morning, my mind had been turning for an hour already on my one simple question for the day. What to say from my last morning? As soon as the tires hit the road, the answer came quickly. I headed south in the dark, the promise of sunrise barely a hint in the far east. As I entered the refuge, I noted only one other vehicle and it wasn’t where I wanted to go which make me smile. When I reached my spot, I found myself all alone. Well, vacant of any humans but by no means of birds. By now, the sun was struggling to be seen, the clouds on the horizon drapes hiding its progress. Then in the distance I heard them call, I readied the camera. In the viewfinder I saw the Sandhills coming to join me and in a heartbeat I made the click. What I wanted to say from the morning … a celebration of life!

Every year there seems to be bigger and bigger flocks and every year they grab my attention. The huge flock of Red-winged, Brewer, Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Starlings gather and often fly in mass, at times creating murmurations. Based on the background, I either just watch with amazement or pick up the camera and shoot. This morning long before the sun was up they were gathering. I knew the shutter speed wouldn’t stop the action, nor would my panning so I let things fall where they may. A number of blurs hit the trash can but a couple caught me attention. Today, I like it. Tomorrow is another question when it comes to thinkin unconventional.

Winter is here and with the cold comes the flocks to the feeders. It’s a wildlife photographer’s shag-gra-la! I’m very fortunate to have a number of locations that I can use to photograph the 69 species of birds here at The Ranch. One of them is from the bedroom, inside that nice, warm home. But here’s the issue that directly effects the sharpness of your images. The outside temp when I photographed this Black-capped Chickadee was 18, the inside temp was 61. Shooting out the open window (screen is removed), that warm inside air is rushing out and that causes heat shimmer. This is especially true when the heater turns on. Many associate heat shimmer with summer but it can occur anytime and any place where there is a difference in air temps.

Two other factors that can cause images not to be as sharp as desired in this scenario can be wind and carpet. Since I was using the A10, if there was wind causing the branch to move, I would have seen “ghosting” in the photo. And padded carpet is a really bad platform for a tripod as it provides very limited stability. While these are possible issue, seeing the heat shimmer I knew that was the culprit.