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Nocturnal wildlife from Zambia's Sth Luangwa NP #13637
03/04/08 08:07 PM
03/04/08 08:07 PM
Joined: Mar 2008
Sydney, NSW, Australia
africaddict Offline OP
Wanderer
africaddict  Offline OP
Wanderer

Joined: Mar 2008
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Nikon D2Xs / 300 f/2.8VR + Better Beamer
1/250s f/4 ISO400 (with -1 to -1.7 EV)



"Hollywood" pride on Impala kill




2 (of 6) 4 month old Lion cubs waiting for mum's return.




Large Spotted Genet





Cerval hunting on salt pan






Female Leopard quenching her thirst after Impala meal.




Juvenile Giant Eagle Owl




2 year old Male Leopard



C & C most welcome
Cheers
Marc

Re: Nocturnal wildlife from Zambia's Sth Luangwa NP [Re: africaddict] #13638
03/06/08 08:44 AM
03/06/08 08:44 AM
Joined: Oct 2007
NY USA
Jim Rickards Offline
Journeyman
Jim Rickards  Offline
Journeyman

Joined: Oct 2007
NY USA
I enjoyed this series, Marc. Some are different from the "pretty pictures" we often see, in that they show the animals engaged in consuming the kill. In every shot there seems to be at least one eye looking at the camera. Lighting is darkish in many, but I suppose that is close to how it was. Good work.

Re: Nocturnal wildlife from Zambia's Sth Luangwa N [Re: Jim Rickards] #13639
03/06/08 09:22 AM
03/06/08 09:22 AM
Joined: Feb 2005
Manhattan, New York, New York
James Morrissey Offline
I
James Morrissey  Offline
I
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Feb 2005
Manhattan, New York, New York
Hey Marc,

That first shot is rather spectacular. May I ask how the shot was set up? I am assuming that there was a separate truck with a flood that highlighted the kill?

James

Re: Nocturnal wildlife from Zambia's Sth Luangwa N [Re: James Morrissey] #13640
03/06/08 09:44 PM
03/06/08 09:44 PM
Joined: Mar 2008
Sydney, NSW, Australia
africaddict Offline OP
Wanderer
africaddict  Offline OP
Wanderer

Joined: Mar 2008
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Hi James
I took the photo from an open top vehicle equipped with a spotlight that is shone to either side of the animal which at no time is used to any advantage for either predator or prey. And never shone directly in their eyes.
I use RRS off camera flash bracket, with a Better Beamer as shown below. IMO you can never have the bracket high enough and at times I have got my wife to hold the flash some metres away to get the right lighting!
You put it on the flash, set the flash zoom (if it has one) to about 50 mm, and shoot away. TTL exposure works exactly as it does without a 'beamer attached.I always do a test shot to confirm it is pointing where I expect.

50mm is the recommended setting to have the manual zoom set to on your flash.You can go down to as low as 24 mm on the flash and this concentrates the beam so that it will go even further, but the trade of is of course that the beam is narrower and you need to make sure it is aligned correctly.

The key to using the beamer is repeatability, ie. putting it on the same way each time.

I marked my flash with textra colour where the velcro should go
and put the unit on the same way each time and know how it should be sitting. Initially I took it on and off a few times, taking shots each time to confirm that I put it back on right and that calibration is correct.

The easiest way to calibrate is to find a wall or something around 10-20 m away and take a shot of it with the beamer on the camera, adjusting the position of the velcro and or any flash brackets until the whole frame is lit evenly.
I use 24mm for this check as the beam is at its narrowest.
If you get it right here, then you have plenty of margin for error @ 50mm.

Take the flash off the camera and remove the beamer.
replacing it and repeating the test, that way you know you can put the unit on the same way, even then, every so often you should check the calibration just in case I havent lulled into bad practice.








Cheers
Marc

Re: Nocturnal wildlife from Zambia's Sth Luangwa N [Re: africaddict] #13641
03/07/08 02:12 AM
03/07/08 02:12 AM
Joined: Feb 2005
Manhattan, New York, New York
James Morrissey Offline
I
James Morrissey  Offline
I
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Feb 2005
Manhattan, New York, New York
Hi Marc,

Thank you for the technical information on the photos. I like them more and more every single time I look at them. How long was your safari for that you were able to get all of these shots? The cervel and genet are really quite a treat, and I see them rarely posted here.

James

Re: Nocturnal wildlife from Zambia's Sth Luangwa N [Re: James Morrissey] #13642
03/08/08 07:26 PM
03/08/08 07:26 PM
Joined: Jan 2008
Southeast, Virginia
DegasGoneDigital Offline
Wanderer
DegasGoneDigital  Offline
Wanderer

Joined: Jan 2008
Southeast, Virginia
Very nice

Re: Nocturnal wildlife from Zambia's Sth Luangwa N [Re: africaddict] #13643
03/08/08 07:29 PM
03/08/08 07:29 PM
Joined: Oct 2005
J
jebir Offline
Wanderer
jebir  Offline
Wanderer
J

Joined: Oct 2005
Thanks Marc,

for the nice description of how to use the BB.

Your photographs here are really unique! I like them a lot. Did the animals not react to the flash?

Cheers, Jens.

PS. How did you manage focusing in the dark?

Re: Nocturnal wildlife from Zambia's Sth Luangwa N [Re: jebir] #13644
03/10/08 12:21 AM
03/10/08 12:21 AM
Joined: Feb 2005
Manhattan, New York, New York
James Morrissey Offline
I
James Morrissey  Offline
I
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Feb 2005
Manhattan, New York, New York
Hey Marc,

Thanks for sharing how you did these. I look forward to seeing some other shots you have taken. How many times have you been to Africa?

James


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