Avery wrote:
> 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.
Think I have that covered. I bought the cool-white globes for mine, as
suggested here a while ago I think, cause I wanted to experiment with
mini studio setup!
>
> Good luck!
No luck tonight & last, been raining. Hopefully Saturday night's a great
night for bat shooting!
>
> and get a longer ladder for those mangos.
Next year! :-)
Thanks again!
--
>>>M.J.Wyllie.<<<
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