On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:39:18 +1100, MJW <me@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>Avery wrote:
>> On Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:15:37 +1100, MJW <me@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>>> I have just had a go at photography in the dark! We have the fruit
bats
>>> around each night for dinner & I thought I would have a go at taking
>>> some pics. I have a Canon 350D, a Speedlight 550 EX II, & a 100mm USM
>>> Macro lens.
>>>
>>> I set up the camera on my tripod late in the aft & used manual focus
on
>>> the lens to get the sharpest focus. I then set the camera to
"****trait"
>>> & waited till it was dark & the bats came. When they did land, I moved
>>> the camera to the spot I thought they were, ( could not really see
>>> through the eye-piece), & snapped away.
>>>
>>> Here are the best 3 pics.
>>>> www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Bat-01.JPG
>>> www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Bat-02.JPG
>>>
>>> www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Bat-03.JPG
>>>
>>> These bats are gonna be around for a while, so I was wondering if
anyone
>>> had some advice on what I can do to get some sharper pics. I have to
>>> wait till dark & I cant move up on em cause they will fly away!
>>
>>
>> Ohhh! What a waste of mangos Michael.
>
>Haha, yeah well we got a lot off the tree already, just couldn't get to
>the ones right at the top.
>>
>> I had these fellers in the fig tree next to my house this time last
year. I set up a halogen work
>> light - the 500w things that you get from Bunnings for not too much
money.
>
>Oh, ok. I have a couple of those. When I was going out & turning the
>outside lights on they would startle & fly away. If I set up work lights
>early & turn them on, do you think they will just come in & land like
>normal?
>
I had no problem with them getting startled - they just did not seem to
care.
The same seems to work for possums.
> This at least allowed me
>> to see the subject in the viewfinder and sometimes auto focus worked
quite well. The bats did not
>> seem to worry about the light too much.
>>
>> I got a few good shots.
>
>Great! I want to be able to use my zoom to get closer. What about the
>flash? Any benefit in using a diffuser? I would like to try & eliminate
>the glarey eyes also.
>
>I will have another go tonight. Thanks Avery for taking the time....
I think you will still need the flash. The worklight will not be enough to
light up the tree for
photography , but it should give you enough to see the bats through the
viewfinder and track them as
they move around.
I have no idea about the diffuser and I have not had much success getting
rid of the glarey eyes.
Fruit bats seem to have really big and reflective eyes, like cats.
Anything front on will probably
result in big ****ny blobs.
The whole purpose of the worklight is just to give you enough light to see
what you are doing and
perhaps get enough contrast for auto focus to work, although I think you
will get best results using
manual focus.
The other thing to watch for is that the halogen lights might introduce
some strange (yellow) colour
casts, but you should be able to compensate in the processing.
Good luck!
and get a longer ladder for those mangos.
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