Just for Bret: real wildlife

This past weekend I stayed at a private game reserve here in Kwa-Zulu
Natal and of course a bag full of Nikons came with.

I have a new respect for nature photographers, because this is a very
difficult field to get good shots in. Unfortunately most of mine suck,
but I thought I would share these few with you anyway.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Rhino_1.jpg

There we were driving along the rutted path and lying under a fig tree
right next to the road were these two white rhino. The park keeper told
me prior to me venturing out on the reserve that they were pretty
docile, but that I shouldn't get too close. I think I got too close!

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Rhino_2.jpg

As I tried to inch my way around them they got up and started snorting
abuse at me. You don't want a rhino sized hole in your Ford, so I backed
away and took a different route around them.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Buck_1.jpg

These are some or other type of buck (I'm no expert). It's about as
close as I could get before they began to run away down the hill.

These were taken with the D70 and 70-200mm f/2.8 VR.

This is a half-assed attempt at landscape photography.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Vista.jpg

I lost the highlights but managed to keep the detail in the foreground.
Again, D70 but with the 18-70mm DX. I think I have much better film
shots (waiting to be processed) that I took with the F100 and 17-35mm
f/2.8. Will be dropping them off at the lab this am.

The biggest problem with this type of photography is getting to the
animals at the right time of day. At the time these were taken it was
about 11am (except for the landscape one) and the sun was high and
sharp. We came across a group of giraffe who were grazing in amongst
some flat-top trees, but I couldn't get a decent shot under the
conditions.

Maybe next time I'll go on my own and leave the wife and kids at home.
Hey Bret, you keen on some adventure???

--
DD
www.dallasdahms.com
Central Scrutinizer

Why do digital shots all look so flat and lifeless?

I have a new respect for nature photographers, because this is a very
difficult field to get good shots in. Unfortunately most of mine suck,
but I thought I would share these few with you anyway.

You'll get no argument for me.

Maybe next time I'll go on my own and leave the wife and kids at home.
Hey Bret, you keen on some adventure???

Always. Send me a ticket.
Putting me in that game reserve with my 20D ... man, that'd be like
shooting fish in a barrel.

This is a half-assed attempt at landscape photography.
http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Vista.jpg

Can you e-mail me the NEF file? You were shooting RAW, I hope.

In article ,
DD wrote:
This past weekend I stayed at a private game reserve here in Kwa-Zulu
Natal and of course a bag full of Nikons came with.

I have a new respect for nature photographers, because this is a very
difficult field to get good shots in. Unfortunately most of mine suck,
but I thought I would share these few with you anyway.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Rhino_1.jpg

I like photographing wild animals. Or trying to. From my ratio of almost
decent shots to animals simply centered in the frame, I've concluded that
wildlife photography is a lot harder than hunting. But photography has
been something to do while I'm in the woods rather than the reason to go
out there, so I've never felt that my time was wasted.

More often than not I could spend hours in the woods and go home with
nothing at all. But from watching the way the animals behave when they do
show up I've decided that a lot of hunting equipment, like dirt-scented
wafers (Dirt scented? Like you can't find dirt in the woods?) are more
for the hunter than for the animals they hunt. I think a lot of those
folks go out to the woods once per year in November, don't want to take
any chances on missing the opportunity to bag a buck, and otherwise can't
think of enough reasons to go out there during the rest of the year to
notice how much good their gear is doing them.
--
"Will we be suturing the anus?"

In article . com,
says...
Why do digital shots all look so flat and lifeless?


I was just saying that to a friend the other day. We were going over some
of his portraits to be used for a CD cover and he was commenting on how
they look like a picture of a cardboard cutout of the person, the ones
that are used in stores for display. He is going to try to get the band
to come back for a re-shoot with film.

I am sure this can be improved in the future. Is this just some types of
sensors, the way they pick up light, or some other factor?

DD wrote:
This is a half-assed attempt at landscape photography.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Vista.jpg

I lost the highlights but managed to keep the detail in the
foreground.

Yeah, obviously washed out, but I like it in the fact that it could
have been interesting with better exposure. I kind of liked the
simplicity of the composition, and so on.

--
"I ain't evil, I'm just good lookin'..."

DD wrote:
This past weekend I stayed at a private game reserve here in Kwa-Zulu
Natal and of course a bag full of Nikons came with.

I have a new respect for nature photographers, because this is a very
difficult field to get good shots in. Unfortunately most of mine suck,
but I thought I would share these few with you anyway.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Rhino_1.jpg

There we were driving along the rutted path and lying under a fig tree
right next to the road were these two white rhino. The park keeper told
me prior to me venturing out on the reserve that they were pretty
docile, but that I shouldn't get too close. I think I got too close!

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Rhino_2.jpg

As I tried to inch my way around them they got up and started snorting
abuse at me. You don't want a rhino sized hole in your Ford, so I backed
away and took a different route around them.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Buck_1.jpg

These are some or other type of buck (I'm no expert). It's about as
close as I could get before they began to run away down the hill.

These were taken with the D70 and 70-200mm f/2.8 VR.

This is a half-assed attempt at landscape photography.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Vista.jpg

I lost the highlights but managed to keep the detail in the foreground.
Again, D70 but with the 18-70mm DX. I think I have much better film
shots (waiting to be processed) that I took with the F100 and 17-35mm
f/2.8. Will be dropping them off at the lab this am.

The biggest problem with this type of photography is getting to the
animals at the right time of day. At the time these were taken it was
about 11am (except for the landscape one) and the sun was high and
sharp. We came across a group of giraffe who were grazing in amongst
some flat-top trees, but I couldn't get a decent shot under the
conditions.

Maybe next time I'll go on my own and leave the wife and kids at home.
Hey Bret, you keen on some adventure???

Not at all bad given the conditions. The Rhino photos show a common
problem when photographing either people or animals, that both seem to
want to stand in the shade when it is sunny.

Scott

"DD" wrote in message
...
This past weekend I stayed at a private game reserve here in Kwa-Zulu
Natal and of course a bag full of Nikons came with.

I have a new respect for nature photographers, because this is a very
difficult field to get good shots in. Unfortunately most of mine suck,
but I thought I would share these few with you anyway.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Rhino_1.jpg
It might have helped the shot if you had used the curve tool to increase the
lighting of the rhinos without further destruction of the grass.

There we were driving along the rutted path and lying under a fig tree
right next to the road were these two white rhino. The park keeper told
me prior to me venturing out on the reserve that they were pretty
docile, but that I shouldn't get too close. I think I got too close!

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Rhino_2.jpg
It is so very hard to get good exposure in these conditions. The curve tool
may provide some help.

As I tried to inch my way around them they got up and started snorting
abuse at me. You don't want a rhino sized hole in your Ford, so I backed
away and took a different route around them.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Buck_1.jpg
There is no real demand for shots of the back of these animals.

These are some or other type of buck (I'm no expert). It's about as
close as I could get before they began to run away down the hill.

These were taken with the D70 and 70-200mm f/2.8 VR.

This is a half-assed attempt at landscape photography.

http://www.dallasdahms.com/photos/Vista.jpg

I lost the highlights but managed to keep the detail in the foreground.
Again, D70 but with the 18-70mm DX. I think I have much better film
shots (waiting to be processed) that I took with the F100 and 17-35mm
f/2.8. Will be dropping them off at the lab this am.

The biggest problem with this type of photography is getting to the
animals at the right time of day. At the time these were taken it was
about 11am (except for the landscape one) and the sun was high and
sharp. We came across a group of giraffe who were grazing in amongst
some flat-top trees, but I couldn't get a decent shot under the
conditions.
That is the wrong time of day. Think early morning or late afternoon. The
high sun contributes to the dark shadows which is why you should avoid
taking shots in the middle of the day.
Jim

Maybe next time I'll go on my own and leave the wife and kids at home.
Hey Bret, you keen on some adventure???

--
DD
www.dallasdahms.com
Central Scrutinizer

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:50:28 GMT, wrote:

I am sure this can be improved in the future. Is this just some types of
sensors, the way they pick up light, or some other factor?

Digital sensors behave like reversal films (hard clipping in the
highlights), and most people are used to shooting with negative stock,
which is much more tolerant of overexposure. What we perceive as
"flatness" is the resultant lack of highlight detail, and overall loss
of contrast.

--
Central Maryland Photographer's Guild - http://cmpg.org
Strange, Geometrical Hinges - http://rob.rnovak.net