Monday, August 9, 2010

Wildlife Photography: Tip #2


Tip #2. Be Aware of Lighting Conditions.


Probably every photographer with a digital camera, who’s been around awhile, has made the mistake of forgetting to check the ISO setting on their camera at least once. After doing a low light or night shoot, we’ve all been caught the next morning wondering why we have shutter speeds in the thousands when the light isn’t so bright outside. Then a little light comes on in our heads. We want to shoot at ISO 100 but, the night before, had set the camera to ISO 800, or higher!

Before I leave home, I check ISO settings, batteries, SD cards and lenses. I look at the sky, wherever I am and can tell you if it’s an ISO 100, 200, 400 or worse day out there, wherever I am. I also, make it a point to preset my aperture and shutter speed before stepping out the door. With wildlife, you want to be able to quick-draw your camera and shoot in a split second. Wildlife won’t pose for you; you have to be ready for them, always. A lot of my favorite wildlife shots were taken before I got to my shooting destination or after leaving it to head home.


This spider was at the edge of the jungle in the path I was taking to do some bird shooting at a beach. Photo taken with Panasonic DMC-FZ50 29AUG2007 9:23AM f/10 1/1000 ISO 100 Focal Length 89mm.

4 comments:

Sumitran said...

A little leaf or a twig somewhere on the edge of the frame would have provided the much needed contrast, I think, Mike.

RyukyuMike said...

Ah, but you don't realize what I was trying to achieve in my composition! See, in the Japanese language the word for spider is "Kumo". The word for cloud is "Kumo", too. And the word for and is "to" (pronounced more like toe). So, I didn't want any distractions in my photo and Titled it "Kumo to Kumo".
Next time I see one of these huge spiders, I'll snag a shot with some vegetation in it for you.

Cheers,
Mike

Anonymous said...

Today must be a goofy day for me. It seems ISO settings will keep mocking me even on your blog, Mike-san!

RyukyuMike said...

Lithium-aura,
It happens to the best. Just always be thinking ISOs and you'll reduce the problems. I still goff-up from time to time but, tell myself "Be glad it wasn't film"!