Wild Dog Ghost -Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana

This may be the shortest essay yet, as this months image is one that “just occurred” through a bit of playful experimentation- even if the sighting was pure bliss.

I was hosting a photo workshop at Mashatu through my company C4 Images and Safaris and we had just spent the last hours of the day photographing a pack of African wild dogs in glorious sunlight. The scene was perfect, with the dogs awake, alert and at times very curious, walking to within a few feet of our vehicle- perhaps attracted to the sound of the clicking shutters, as all of us composed and photographed away.

After the sun had set, we watched the dog’s disappear into the mopane bush setting off on a fast trot. We drove off, content and happy and ready for a sundowner. It was here where we were chatting excitedly away about how stunning these dogs were to photograph when we noticed behind us, in an open plain some movement.

It was about 30 minutes after sun set, so the dusk was quite full, yet through it we saw 16 wild dogs trotting silently not 10 meters from us. They totally ignored us and trotted alertly past as we stood, stunned by the silence and the proximity of these charismatic creatures. I picked up my camera, aimed the lens and fired one frame. Being so dark, I knew the exposure would be long, so I just panned with the movement of the dog as it ran along.

This is the result. Probably not to everyone’s taste, but it brought back to me the same feeling as when I was there and the feeling of elation in seeing them so close and on foot. These ghosts of the dusk hour, shadowing through the bush portray to me a beautiful sense of movement and also reflect their conservation status, as they are critically endangered. To me it seemed a fitting metaphor.

It goes to show what playing around with a camera can produce- never a dull moment when you are prepared to push the boundaries and add another element to a scene.

Exposure information
Nikon D300 - 200-400mm
Exposure – f 4 Shutter Speed: 2 seconds
Exp. Comp. 0
ISO - 800
Flash - none
Exposure mode– Aperture priority, Metering Mode– Matrix
File type– NEF (RAW)
Focal length: 400mm
Handheld
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Improve Your Photography - Part 10, Aperture and Shutter Speed

For any control over the camera, one has to know how aperture and shutter speed combine to
create an exposure.
An aperture is defined as: The device that controls the amount of light entering a camera.
It controls the amount of light entering the camera through a circular diaphragm designed
blade.
The aperture opens in a circular manner. The wider the aperture, the more light it allows
through. And vice versa for when it is closed down.

Shutter speed: A shutter blade that allows light to enter the camera for a determined time.

Exposure:
Exposure is the resultant image that a camera produces once the shutter release is pressed. It
is the resultant image that comes from a combination of the shutter speed of the shutter and
how much light the aperture let through the diaphragm.
Aperture and shutter speed are the two controls a camera uses to make an exposure on the
film when you "take a picture". Shutter speed is the speed with which the camera's shutter opens when the picture is taken. It is the "click" you here when you push the button.

You probably have seen a dark picture or light pictures; these are illustrations of incorrect
exposures. With Compact cameras, these properties are most of the time beyond your control,
as the camera is working in “auto” mode. The more control you have over an image, the less
incorrect exposures you will have. We are lucky that cameras produce good results 95% of
the time- allowing us to enjoy our photography without worrying too much.
However, creative control comes with you controlling the camera, so your camera will have
to move off the “auto mode” and start working in Aperture” and “Shutter” Priority modes on
your camera.
These modes give you control over what aperture to use and how you can control the
resultant image, allowing extensive creative control.

Added to this equation is Depth of Field (DOP).

Aperture also controls Depth of field. The smaller the hole in the diaphragm; the greater the
DOP. The larger the hole in the Diaphragm; the narrower the DOP. We will cover this later,
for now lets look at shutter speed.

Things to consider when choosing a shutter speed:
There are some basic rules that we need to know:

• Most individuals cannot hold a camera steady (without blur in the photo) for anything
slower than 1/60 of a second.
• Subjects need to be extremely still/steady in order to not show motion/blur in the
image less than 1/60 sec
• Fast moving subjects tend to need shutter speeds of 1/250 of a second or faster into
order to freeze motion or prevent blur.
• The faster the subject, the faster the shutter speed needed
• Low levels of light limit one to a slow shutter speed
• High levels of light may limit one to fast shutter speed
• Thus for low light- one needs support to get a steady shot (or flash)
• For High light levels, can hand hold and good for action shots
ISO
Iso is the digital cameras sensitivity to light. As with film, and asa, iso is determined by an
increase in numbers. As each number doubles, so does the sensitivity of the sensor.
Ie: iso goes up as 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 etc
With each increase, the sensitivity of the sensor increases.
If all other factors were to remain constant and iso had to increase, then the shutter speed
would have to also increase. For each increase in iso, the shutter speed would halve. This is
due to the sensor being twice as sensitive to light (it needs half the amount of light to make an
image) and thus the shutter speed halves.
One problem with iso is that as it increases, so does images quality decrease. Thus it is almost
not worth taking photographs at iso’s above 800, unless you are going for a specific effect.

Conclusion
Shutter speed, aperture and iso go hand in hand in determining how your creativity. You need
to know how they affect one another and how you can use them to your advantage.

For more information on Photography courses and how to improve your photography see here.

All text copyright C4 Images and Safaris

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Improve Your Photography - Part 7, Composition

Composition basics

Now that you know how light works, now you can apply basic compositional techniques to
work with light. We are adding more elements to photography to give it more structure and
also give it more impact. It is important to note that you can add certain compositional basics
to together in an image to give it more impact.

Rule of thirds

Used by Artists for hundreds of years, the ‘Rule of Thirds’ rule are imaginary lines drawn
dividing the image into thirds both horizontally and vertically. You place important elements
of your composition where these lines intersect. As well as using the intersections you can
arrange areas into bands occupying a third, or place things along the imaginary lines. Good
places to put points of interest are; third of the way up, third of the way in from the left etc.
You will note that if you divide an image into three, the ratio will be 0.33 this is one of the
Fibonacci numbers as well as the fact that the second third, 0.66 is also very close to the
golden number. So the rule of third is also linked to the divine numbers.
Using the Rule of Thirds helps produce nicely balanced, easy on the eye pictures. Also, as you have
to position things relative to the edges of the frame it helps get rid of ' tiny subject surrounded by
vast empty space' syndrome.
One last thing about the Rule of Thirds- Once you have got the hang of the Rule of Thirds you
will very quickly want to break it! This is fine. These 'rules' are best used as guidelines and if you
can create a better image by bending or ignoring rules then shoot away.

Drop the “Cross hairs” Syndrome

Many new photographers use what I call the “Cross hairs” syndrome when photographing.
They think they are looking at their subject through the sight of a rifle and try their best to bisect
the subject right through the middle of the frame! This is one sure way to ruin an image. Place your
subject to the left, right, top or bottom, to get a better feel to your composition. (Portraits may be an
exception and are discussed further along)

Leading lines

An image can be a nice looking picture, but without using an object in the foreground to give
depth, it will remain just that; a nice image. Great images tell stories and a leading line is a way to
tell a story with a photo. Diagonal lines leading towards your subject (especially if it is small) are
an excellent way to draw a viewer into the image. (The rule of thirds comes into effect here as
well!)

Even horizons

The heading says it all. A good image has even horizons. Skew horizons can make what may have
been a great image look decidedly ordinary.

Subject placement (Subject looking out of frame etc)

If taking portraits or head and shoulder photos of animals, it is a good idea to frame the
subject to the one side of the frame with them looking out of the image into the empty space.
Another example is for a driving motorcar. Place the car in the frame so that the car is driving into
open space. This gives the image balance.

Balancing foreground and background

As with leading lines, foreground interest is very important to balance out an image. By
placing a subject in the foreground of a landscape image, you help draw the viewer into the image
and give it depth.

Landscape and portrait mode

Photographers often forget that you can turn the camera sideways and photograph in another
format. The horizontal format is called landscape and the vertical format is called Portrait mode. As
the names indicate, Portrait mode is best used for portraits. I find this mode great to emphasize
scale and leading lines into pictures.

Changing angle

By changing your angle at which you look at a subject, you can create a completely different
point of view. This is a powerful way of altering your composition and can affect the image
greatly. By simply walking closer, kneeling down or moving side wards you can alter the
background, the angle and shape you view your subject. I use this compositional tool greatly when
approaching a new subject.

Frame filling/Impact

You have heard it before and you will hear it again- Fill the frame. This gives the image
impact and keeps the viewers attention. Other compositional basics also pertain to this section, i.e.
leading lines and foreground interest. A picture may have a small subject, but by using foreground
interest, you are using the whole frame and thereby filling it. For action, sport and portraits, a
subject that fills the frame makes a very high impact image.

For more information on Photography courses and how to improve your photography see here.

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Fiery-necked Nightjar, Botswana

There are a few sayings with regards photography that ring true to getting good wildlife images. The most commonly used is: “patience, patience, patience” and it is very true. Most top class wildlife images are a result of hours of field work waiting patiently for a situation to develop; time spent in hides and driving bad roads searching for decent subjects to photograph.

I always say that lion researchers and nature photographers are of the same ilk. For many hours we watch animals doing nothing and when they do something quite ordinary we humans get quite excited by it all. “Well as long we are out there” is another photography saying. This is normally uttered in reference to a day where everything was perfectly in place: the storm clouds had built up in the east creating a beautifully dark slate grey sky as backdrop, the sun has just peeked out from under the same clouds in the west and is casting a golden glow on a lovely open plain. But the subject doesn’t arrive and nothing of great value is photographed. We say these things when we are actually bitterly disappointed about how promising things were, and so we console ourselves that it was good to be out there. Of course it was good to “ be out there”, but hell, we were searching, scouring for a subject to do the scene justice. But that’s just how nature photography works, it tempts, frustrates, teases and plays with your mind until you either give up, or eventually something of value appears and you “get your shot”. That is probably what separates the goods from the greats in our game.

And that leads onto this month’s image and the saying that goes with it- “being prepared”. As much as nature photography tempts us, nature can reveal small beauties in a very short space of time and this is where “being prepared” comes in. I was camping with some bird photographers on the side of a river course on the Okavango River, taking daily boat cruises to go photograph (you can see a collection of the images here as well as on my blog).
On the first evening there, I noticed a fiery necked nightjar perching on a stick on the outskirts of our camp. We ran to pick up our cameras and managed to get a few images of it. However, the image I wanted was of the full moon rising behind it. I tried, but the moon was quite high and a buffalo thorn was hampering my progress to get the angle I needed. (actually it was tearing at my shirt and skin…)
The following night, I was prepared. I knew the moon would rise about 45 min later, so anticipating the nightjar would land on the stick at around the same time, the moon would be just in the right place to be behind the bird. (Another aspect of photographers is their high level of optimism!) I had my camera setup and at the ready. Now I just needed to have the bird do its thing.
For once, everything fell into place. The nightjar arrived on the minute, the moon was positioned perfectly behind it, Dave Barnes lit the bird softly with a light and I snapped off a quick sequence of this beautiful bird.
Easy as that, job was done. Lord Baden Powel would have been proud.

For more info on going on a Photo workshop to improve your photography, visit C4 Images & Safaris.

Exposure information
Nikon D300 - 200-400mm lens
Exposure – f 4 Shutter Speed: 1/100sec
Exp. Comp. - 0. EV
ISO - 1000
Flash sync– not attached, Exposure mode– Aperture priority, Metering Mode– spot
File type– NEF (RAW)
Focal length: 400 mm (600mm 35mm Equivalent)
Handheld

This article first appeared on shemimages.com

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