On 2008-05-11 02:48:06 -0700, "Focus" <focus@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> said:
> ****tugal seems to be flooded with birds: I hear them everywhere, but I
can't
> see them!
> So I found some other wildlife that might be interesting for you:
>
> http://photos-of-****tugal.com/Wildlife/
>
> Comments welcome.
> (Please be gentle: they are my first wildlife attempt ;-)
A good start -- I think I see what you are trying to do here, so I have
a few comments.
First of all, toss anything that has a blurry head or eyes. We all get
those pictures; few of us show them. That particularly means head or
eyes obscured by brush, trees, or whatever. Remember, in wildlife
photography you are likely to take hundreds of shots, but only one will
be THE shot.
You will notice that deer have this maddening habit of standing with
their bodies in the shade and their heads in sunlight. So you either
get a low contrast picture with over-exposed heads and under-exposed
bodies, or you get something where you can't see part of the animal at
all. Small wonder that people want to shoot them with real weapons
instead of cameras! I think they are deliberately mocking us.
Well, I expose for the highlights if I have to, but understand, these
will not be your best shots. They sure are not mine. Generally, if you
have enough patience, the animal will either move fully into sun or all
the way into the shade, but he will stay there for only a few seconds.
Have the camera set to motor drive and when you have him where you want
him, let 'er rip.
You are doing good at getting close enough for environmental shots like
these. You will eventually want to get closer for ****traiture, but have
patience with that. Get the technique down with the environmental shots
first.
A good way to practice is to use the Moose Peterson teddy bear training
tool: get three teddy bears: a white bear, a brown bear, and a black
bear. Then photograph them together (preferably using a 200mm lens and,
say a 70mm lens) in all kinds of light against dark, light and neutral
backgrounds, lit from the front, with back lighting, and with light
overhead. Bracket your exposures in 1/3 stop increments to a full stop
both up and down. Keep careful notes on which exposure is which. Then
compare the results. This will calibrate your eye and your camera to
get the exposure you want in almost any kind of lighting.
One thing you will learn is that the background, if it is dark, will
often drop out entirely if the animal is properly exposed. Great if you
are trying to get rid of a distracting tangle of brush behind a jack
rabbit. Terrible if you are trying to show the animal's environment.
Things to remember when you are trying to express your artistic vision.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor
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