Page 107 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #04

PHOTO ANALYSIS

THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
ANN AND STEVE TOON GO MANUAL
Relying on the camera’s
UK photographers Ann and Steve specialise in the wildlife of 1 meter invariably produces
poorexposures in this lighting.
Southern Africa and its conservation. They also lead photo safaris
Instead, go fully manual. Set a
in the region. See more of their work at www.toonphoto.com starting point of, say,1/40 sec
at f4 with an ISO of 2000, take
a shot, review it, and adjust the
exposure accordingly. It’s best
to underexpose and correct in
5 post-processing to avoid the
highlights burning out. The
‘correct’ exposure changes
constantly, depending on the
size, tone and position of the
subjects, so keep reviewing it.
GO SLOW
To blurthe animalsinthe
2 background we slowed
theshutter speed to 1/15 sec,
trusting the main subjecttobe
1 stock-still during the exposure.
BE ROCK SOLID
At such slow shutter
3 speeds, camera stability
is key.A good tripod and head
are all but essential (hand-
holding is just about possible
with an image-stabilised lens).
Framingyour composition is a
littleslower when using a tripod,
and it helpstouseazoom lens
rather than a fixed-lengthprime.
Most animals drink for only a
minute or two, so have your
camera set up in advance.
MIRROR IMAGE
Nocturnal photography
4 isn’t just a technical
exercise. Careful composition
is as important as in daylight.
Here, the symmetry – both
vertical andhorizontal –makes
theimage. This hideset-up
produces lovely reflections, too,
so it’svital not to waste them.
STAY SILENT
Animals are nervous when
5 drinking. If your camera
4 has a silent shooting mode, it’s
worth using. Otherwise, don’t
shoot noisy bursts, but take
one shot atatime. And avoid
shooting too early,in case you
spook the subject before it’s
got into agood pose.

+ FIND OUT MORE
For more photo advice visit
www.discoverwildlife.com/
wildlife-nature-photography/
tips-and-techniques

April 2018 BBC Wildlife