Photography

They shoot, mostly finding their target. They sometimes miss their targets. They very often end with breathtaking “trophies” to show for their efforts. Wildlife photography is an extremely popular sport-cum-art – much more, if all participants are counted, than hunting!

The joy of it is that you may, without the legislative constrains, aim at a much, much greater variety of targets, having less weight to carry afterwards, less red tape, much less expenses and still doing the same route, with much the same amount of enjoyment on the way. Yeah, it’s a safari, all right!

Photographers have the freedom to shoot any of the almost 400 species of mammals, 800 species of birds, 20 000 species of flora, an absolute uncountable number of insects and reptiles, let alone the scenic heavens, mountains, rivers and fields which won’t object a single time to do the background artistry.

Wildlife photographers may decide for themselves the league in which they wish to compete – against the hunter which have to obey the ballistic rule of the thumb. Which means that you may shoot the biggest elephant with the most tiny little photographical junk if you like. And just the same you may do the photo of your live on the little white bird taking off from a submerging hippo (if you have the right equipment).

As with everything, the better your knowledge of the subject, the greater your encounters become. Knowledge of the bush, the animals or the surroundings, combined with knowledge of your equipment, will yield one of the most satisfying sporting experiences anyone could wish for. Interested in an eco-safari, armed with your camera? Prepare yourself for one of the most richly rewarding experiences!

Of course, a full photographic course can’t be given here. But it will serve the interest of many aspiring safari-going tourists to have a few hints about the use of a camera in the bush, especially coming from a source who have had the good, the bad and the ugly experiences in this regard!

We will share some information on this topic covering some practical hints about both the conventional and digital cameras, and covering also some information about

the use of the videocameras/camcorders, lighting, lenses, filters, film and tripod’s.

We would like to draw the attention to the fact that some magazines, like the very readable Natura Wildlife and Safari Magazine, that covers exactly this topic as it’s leitmotiv or even great tourist guiding magazine’s like Getaway, that almost always features articles on South African wildlife photography.

Hints when setting off into the wild, camera in hand

• Plan the shots you would like to take (for example, if it is action photo’s of running wildlife, you won’t fit 100 A S A film, but 400 A S A into the camera) and make a list of the equipment needed.. Although this is obvious, the excitement of the safari may tempt people to forget that good planning needs to be done on the equipment side as well. A forgotten tri-pod or a flat camera-battery can’t easily be replaced deep in the bush. And bring along enough film – you may never know what scenery is waiting around the next bush…
• Always have the camera well-cleaned and well-covered. Even the sandy bushveld in South Africa, have it’s own fine dust (let alone the red powder-dust of some places). When the big wheels of the 4 x 4 vehicles are turning, or the zebra’s are running flat out in a herd, equipment may become very dirty if not enclosed in a dustproof bag. What’s more: South Africa, even in wintertime, can become very hot. Heat will damage all conventional film and even most digital equipment (if, for instance, left in closed vehicles for a long time). Always make provision for protection in this regard, even if it only means to open the car window a centimetre or two to cool of the vehicle. A cooler box with some softening inside, may even be the best camera-bag in South Africa! Even using your sleeping bag to protect your film isn’t such a bad idea for those that haven’t earlier made provision for the heat.
• Light-readings of cameras may not be as accurate in the bushes where shadow, light and dust intermingle, and, if shots are done very professionally, it even may be necessary to bring along a second meter. Because of the fact that the camera-person and hunter may be together on the same mission, or simply because of the absolute silence that may sometimes be needed in order to prevent a rare specie to take flight, or because of the rough terrain, all settings should be done as early as possible. Once the beautiful animal is flashing his magnificence, one may experience the same “fever” as hunters do. This simply means messing up the shot because of the excitement of the moment, not finding the right settings, making a stupid noise or realizing too late that the film hasn’t lock in because of a over eagerness.
• Animals are best shot on film at your well-known shutterspeed of 250^th of a second. This is because they mostly will be photographed standing still. If you are using 35 mm film (which is freely available in South Africa), an A S A film of 100 will do just great. Doing shots of running game out of a helicopter will naturally be another matter! (Quicker shutterspeeds and higher A S A!)
• Plan each shot in advance, for all almost professional hunters will be perfectly at peace with the idea of taking you to a terrific scene to fasilitate that awesome shot you planned. Communicate your planned photographical needs as part of your safari’s formal agreement with the outfitter.
• Except for ray-lighting scenes or profile shots at dawn and at sunset, take early photo’s always with your back as much to the east as possible and late afternoon shots with your back as much to the west as possible. This will ensure crisp, sharp-edged photo’s.
• Early morning dawn scenes, as well as sunset scenes in South Africa amounts to the best of photos one could hope to take. It is also the best times to encounter animals at their natural best (for instance, on their way to the waterhole). Now the animals can be photographed in bright sunlight, while in the middle of the day they may be lying in the shade.
• When clouds forms part of the sky, the most magnificent sunset pictures will be taken. A fully overcast day is also a good day to take great pictures: simply adjust your shutterspeed somewhat (to achieve 250 th/s again). Most modern cameras will do that automatically once it is set. Although this may not always be possible, remember that, generally speaking, photos of game comes out better where the horizon features as part of the photo.
• An open space near a waterhole may be a excellent place to cover with your lenses in search of that photo of a life-time. But take care if you are taking a hideout: where will the gruelling sun be shining in a hour or two’s time? In which direction can the wind be expected to blow? The golden rule is: stay downwind from the direction you are planning to photograph. (To determine wind direction, throw some dust into the air or hold in the air some good old toilet paper – not a bad thing to take along in any case). Animals are excellent to pick up a scent, and you may be excused if you thought that your sunshine lotion will be just the thing to take along. If you want to smoke, take a good seat at the safari campfire and do magazine-hunting, because animals will smell a Camel for a mile or three! (In strong downwinds, you may still have a slight chance to fool them. But be careful: game reserves usually have long grass that may easily set on fire, and no sigarette look nice in the natural bush.)
• If you and your camera are left alone to take the prized photo, have you brought along some drinking water?
• Try to understand the animal behaviour. They are reacting in common sense: if they keep on looking nervous and avoiding the water, it may be, of course because of a wonderful hyena catch about to happen. Or it may simply be that they can see through your stakeout!
• The use of a car as a “hideout” isn’t such a bad idea, provided it is parked in the shade with fresh air running through. This isn’t because the animals will think it is a stone, or can’t smell your oil leakage, but because it is in a motionless state long enough to calm them and give you space to get your picture. Your movement inside the car will not be easily picked up and your noises will be fainter. But don’t park your vehicle in the natural footpaths or walkways of the animals. Mrs. Elephant may have had a bad day!
• Always avoid artificial structures or objects in your picture. Humans aren’t artificial at all, provided that they don’t stand with the videocamera, tri-pod or camerabag in their hands!
• Be as quite as possible for as long as possible. Animals that have seen you, may overcome their fear, or be inquisitive enough to pose for your calendar shot, but that’s the odd ones. Even a lion may choose to avoid a human-infected waterhole!
• Game in the Kruger National Park may be quite used to vehicles, but it may be different at other reserves or game farms. A slow drive and gradual stop, without switching off the vehicle, may give you the best change to do your pic out of a vehicle. Sudden noises or movement is the surest way to loose that beautiful photo you could have taken.
• Be on the alert if any animal have a young one with her/him. Motherhood in nature is typified by the instinct to fend off ALL danger, even if it means killing the intruder. A very good photo still isn’t worth a human life. Also, watch out for older or injured animals, often recognized by their solitary wandering. The rule is: don’t disturb the animals you are privileged to see.
• A car’s windscreen is as good as NO Protection against an ivory teeth or even a lion’s paw. If won’t happen easily if unprovoked, however. But don’t try to photograph the colour of the eyes with a 35 mm lense !
• Animals may be inquisitive. It may also be the most dangerous ones that don’t need to fear others, that dares to come closest. But, if you see a lion coming right to your car, just close the windows and stay put. Don’t make sudden movements and don’t become hysterical inside or try to better the quartermile record. On the other hand, it is best to move out of an elephant’s way if it draws near. But if it isn’t trumpeting or shaking it’s ears, you are still fairly save. And if it does become wild and noisy, there will usually be quite enough time to move away, because most elephant’s will behave in such a way to chase away irritating disturbances. It is only saying that you are in the way or too close for comfort.
• Birds are sensitive to unknown disturbances. You may cause a bird to leave a young one in a nest permanently because it was disturbed by a camera flash or an unknown odour.
• To avoid taking photos into strong light that grants only the silhouette of the object that was photographed, overriding the exposure meter by a stop or two (to open the lense longer) may help. Modern cameras will have some manual switch which have to be used in this instances. Remember that the background will then be over-illuminated. And, on the other hand, if the silhouette scene is the one your’e looking for, quickening the exposure meter manually may do the trick.
• Remember to stay sober in case of a highly exciting scene. A few lions taking down a buffalo may be out of this world, of course, but 36 expensive photo’s of the same thing may, in the end, not be what you planned to do with your film. And in case you’re working with a digital camera, you may ran out of bytes and not be able to do the leopard and the zebra around the next tree. (And OK, if you can load dozens and dozens of new stiffies – or whatever – and have them in the bag with you, go on, click-click, enjoy the day! But you may loose some time sorting them out on the laptop tonight while the others are enjoying the campfire…)
• Any camera –including a cheap one - can take a prize-winning photo…provided the owner knows how to handle it. Having some practice before the actual safari may help beginners in this regard. Mountain and scenery landscapes is, at any rate, best pictured by wide angle lenses, found in the cheapest of cameras (and, of course, by the most expensive ones as well).
• Some people store conventional film in a refrigerator to protect it from the heat. It is OK only if it isn’t opened yet.
• Bring along a charger for electronic devices is great, but it may be that, in some areas, there’s no common electricity available. And the South African power connections may vary to those that tourists are used to. Clear this beforehand with your outfitter and yes, bring along that spare battery!
• If photographing quality pictures is important to you, use the eyes as the focal point of your picture for closer shots. Many professional photographers had prefer the manual settings to that of an automatic ones. But these days, and definitely for most of us, an automatic focus will do quite well. Just remember that some grass of small branch may cause your automatic focus to play cat and mouse in a dense bush.
• Expensive equipment may be damaged by some of the outdoor activities. Take along only what is necessary, don’t put any equipment on the open ground and don’t wear it casually in a pocket or at a string if you aren’t dead certain what may be waiting around the next bush. And there are some dangerous snakes, if not lions, to make you forget about equipment at some time.

The use of the video cameras/camcorders, lighting, lenses, filters, film and tripod’s

• The use of a digital video camera/camcorder may be a great idea not only to capture the fauna and flora, but also the whole safari. However, this equipment may be very sensitive to handle (and it is fairly expensive) and should not easily be taken on rough endeavours. Tourists may even consider the use of a South African video service to capture and edit a video of their safari.
• Small digital video cameras these days are extremely powerful (it easily covers easily 1.8 millions pixels or more). This is about as good as the eye can appreciate. The miniDV format is good enough for BBC broadcasting and can be considered most suitable, especially when featuring night vision, view stabilizer, extensive optical lensing and the like. However, a much, much more standard camera, like the older analogue videocamera can still do the job quite fine, especially since analogue videotapes can now be switchted to digital format by household computer software (or better hardware equiptment). Of course, the digital signal will be better, but don’t underestimate those “old” analogue video cameras.
• A video camera/still camera combination may these day easily be purchased in South Africa (and abroad), and may be a good idea. The only problem may be to protect expensive equipment like that in rough safari terrain, but it could, with some effort, be done without too much trouble. Just remember that the computer hardware and software to comply with that sophisticated equipment should be purchased as well!
• Don’t buy a cheap camera and still expect awesome pictures every shot. Only the more expensive cameras can be fitted with different lenses and filters to take ambitious photos. Close-up photos, as well as useful photos of far away animals, can only be taken with equipment that isn’t cheap: telephonic lenses and different styles of filters (to highlight aspects of a picture, blurr some part of it, crystallize the light etc.), focus the lenses, adapt the lighting or shutterspeed, fit professional flashes, tri-pod stands or taking self-timed photos, to name but a few. These days, the older (bayonette type) optic lenses is making sort of a comeback in digital format. This is due to the fact that digital zooming simply isn’t very effective past the 12 – 15 times enhancement. But remember: a camera is just as good as it’s owner.
• No midrange 35 mm camera with some optic zooming can be considered as outdated: it still yields the best of those type of photos that the most tourist may be seeking. South Africa have development centres all over the country that can develop those photos in one hour’s time. Digital photos of the same quality can be taken with very expensive cameras, requiring very good software and printing facilities to go with it. In most South African centres, these may be obtained, but this might take a little more effort or be somewhat difficult in the smaller areas. Digital cameras, however, have the advantage that effects and manipulation of the photo can be done on a computer afterwards. It can to some extend also be done with conventional film, but then you need to do your own dark room developing.
• A winder (or motor drive) that is added to a conventional camera may yield a range of photos that can’t be taken as fast (one upon the other) manually. This is for that moment when the crocodile flashes out of the water for the zebra! Digital still cameras mostly features an amount of seconds which allows for video-like “taping” of ongoing action. This may give you up to 20 seconds (or more) of action out of which a photo or photos may be selected. Best still (but much more expensive) is a quality digital video camera in combination with a good photo-software program as well as a exceptionally good colour printer, which will make hours of video-taping available in digital format. Any moment captured on the video camera can be selected as a photo. The advantage is that it covers a wide range of time. The disadvantage here is that one may lack the real artistry of a well-planned photo that the professional will “work into” one brilliant moment of time.
• Light readings was essential in the older cameras, for the shutterspeed had to be set manually. Today, most expensive cameras will adjust the lighting automatically once you have focused on the target. However, the more options the camera feature, the more important knowledge of your equipment becomes, for you may select to use one of many special features, in which case you have to switch from the standard (or default) settings, to the special ones. As equipment improves, more and more features becomes available, with more and more knowledge of the camera that is needed. But the advantages of this knowledge is enormous (for example, to take photos in the dark with night vision, without disturbing a bunch of lions at a carcass with a burst of light from your flash).
• Sound recordings may interest some people as much as photography and easily goes with the same effort as the that of taking the photo. This is a specialized field in its own right and may even be focused only on birds, nightlife, etc.
• Professionals may equip their customized 4 x 4 vehicles with standard fittings, tri-pods, extension plugs, lense containers, movie cameras, dark rooms, computers, printers, satelite tracking and telephones, special lights etc. But to most of us one good camera, the right lense, good light and a solid tri-pod will be enough to come pretty near professional quality. If movement of the camera still causes you some problems, a cable release may be money well spent to minimize that movement when the photo is taken.

Lenses

Few wild animals will be comfortable close to any person. A choice of angles from your camera lenses (bayonette telephoto lenses of different sizes, a fitted zoom-in function of an modern, conventional 35 mm camera, or a zoom-in function of a video-camera, but preferably NOT the digital zooming) thus becomes important.

When choosing camera with differnet lenses, or buying the lenses itself, the following may be taken into account (although this is a somewhat personal thing):

• Few people can hold any lense of more than 400 mm in his hand at normal shutterspeeds without spoiling the photo. If longer lenses are chosen, the choice also implies using static, solid tri-pods. Hand-use of your camera is thus lost to a large extent (except if only very quick action photos is to be taken in just the right type of limited light).
• Use 28 mm (or 35 mm) wide angle lenses for scenic photos, but be careful to use it if people are filmed, because, if they are close, it may deform the left and right corners to some extend.
• A macro lense of preferably standard angle (50 mm to 55 mm) enables you to photograph the micro-cosmos of the field very good, while doing the basic, standard pictures just as good as any standard lense.
• The zoom-function of conventional lenses may enable you to have wide and narrow angles available (from 28 mm to 400 mm) at choice, which may be very convenient. It also thins out your expenses and camera bag considerably. However, those lenses are much heavier than having the fixed focal lenses individually and, important to the professional, they “steal away” some light and thus isn’t the very best for ideal pictures.
• Converters, extension tubes, may be a compromising way of adding length to your lenses, without buying an expensive full lense. This may double your length but cut your quality.
• The lense range that serious photographers, intended to shoot film on the African game, birds and scenery, would need will be between 50 mm and 600 mm. If you own three cameras, the 28, 35, 50, 80, 150, 250, 300, 350, 400, 500 and 600 mm lenses all individually, you’re probably a professional photographer and don’t need much of this information anyhow!
• The most expensive conventional 35 mm Movie Cameras (and some 16 mm ones) may have the fittings to exchange still camera lenses on them as well. Only if you have been a very serious cameraman for quite some time, or you are into the real movie business, to still may prefer this type of equipment above the age of digital cameras. But, although digital pictures could not, for quite some time, matched the quality of conventional movie film, now the scale is tipping in favour of the first mentioned.
• The best tip on lenses may be this. Choose:

- a 600 mm (or 500 mm) lense, always with tri-pod, if you are a serious bird photographer

- a 300 mm lense with a 2 x converter of good quality will do almost the same photos as a much more expensive 600 mm lense if the bird are more important to you than the picture quality

- a 300 – 400 mm lense, mostly with tri-pod, to enlarge most game up to the point where you’ll have enough of them. Still good enough to capture most birds as well if you’re using a tri-pod.

- a 150 – 300 mm lense, good enough to enlarge most game (and quite a number of birds) and do hand-held pictures

- a 80 – 150 mm lense (90 mm is best) for portrait studies

- a 50 – 60 mm lense (55 is best) to do insect and wild flora photography

- a 28 – 35 mm lense for scenic shooting. The 28 mm yields the largest angle of course, and may distort the horizontal ends somewhat. Provided you don’t distort well known objects (like animals or people), this may look like a special effect and can improve the photo quality.

Protect your lenses with great caution. Use the standard protection filter cover over them to keep it clean, never clean them with ordinary cloth and use an aerosol spray of lense cleaning tissue to clean them when necessary. Protect them at all times from dust, heat and water.

Using the right film

Only an introductory remark on the enormous world of digital cameras, video camera and video editing (and its software):

The many ways in which analogue and digital capturing may be done, ranging from the much dated beta-video format, the still very abundantly used analogue VHS-format, S-VHS (or, to used their technical names, Video8, VHS-C, Hi-8, the movement from J-Peg to M-Peg to miniDV, etc.) the DVD recordings (still not very generally done, although the prices are coming down for writers like the Pioneer DVD-A03 and others), coming to us from standard video casettes, small camcorder cassettes, smaller digital cassettes, stiffies, standard CD’s, small CD’s, with abitilies ranging from on line senders to infra red or blue chip etc. is, by its sheer enormity, the type of information that may best be handled by the magazine and internet worlds out there. We can’t begin to give a balanced picture here, because of the size of the subject.You may find the Video SA magazine or SA Computer magazine useful in this regard. A number of very usefull digital still cameras can be seen in the July 2001 issue of SA Computer. Photo Shop 2000 (and it’s updates) may be as usefull computer program to do digital photo processing. Adobe Premier 6.0 or uLead Media Studio Pro 6.0 are very potent digital video editing programs (if you have lots and lots of patience to learn and learn and learn).

Conventional still camera film, on the other hand, isn’t that complicated. The usual film will be the 35 mm colour film. Some people prefers black and white film to get an exquisite picture. Most importantly, you have to use the right A S A (film speed). Slow film speed may go down to 60 or 25 A S A. No lightning shots with these! A soft, still atmospheric scene is best taken with these, with the lense opening going down to 1/60 seconds and lower. Your focus will also be limited intensely, meaning that you have to pinpoint your mid-focus with precision, for the smallest movement may blurr the picture somewhat. While most pictures may do well with a 100 A S A film and the F-stop set at 250/s or 60/s, fast action can only be done with 200 to 400 A S A film. But the film reacts quickly to bright light as well, and may easily jump to a state of over-exposure if its taken into bright light.