faunagraphy
Active member
- Post score: 11
- #1
I participated the WildArt POTY photo contest (link) which runs for 10 months and has a new theme each month. The theme for July is "Human Nature" i.e. showcasing photos of nature or wildlife with people or human-made objects. I thought I'd share them here as well, along with how these photos were taken ...
This one here
shows Vaux's swifts - to be specific, their behavior of roosting by the thousands in specific locations: large snags in forests or tall chimneys in urban areas. This happens at dusk in autumn (very poor light) as they prepare for migration to South America. Using artificial lighting when they're descending into their roosting spot would be most unethical, since it could disorient and injure them or make them vulnerable to predation.
Here's what I did instead: I shot a burst at slow shutter speed (1/25 s) and merged 10 consecutive shots in Aurora HDR, which brought out a lot of detail in the chimney and traced the paths of the swifts. I also shot a few at 1/400 s and merged one of them with this HDR stack. All of this was then converted to monochrome since it looks nicer that way. Olympus E-M1 Mark ii with Olympus 300mm f4 Pro at f4.5, all shots handheld.
It took some planning and lots of tries over many days to get this shot. Ultimately, I got quite a few photos of birds flying past this sign and like this one the best (even though the swallow is slightly OOF). I found the Perspective tool in Gimp to be extremely helpful for eliminating rolling shutter. In the RAW file the sign is tilted to the right but it looks much nicer after processing in Gimp. If you know a better way of handling rolling shutter, please let me know! OM System OM-1 with Olympus M.Zuiko ED 300mm f4 Pro.
This one was shot with a Minolta MD 28mm f2.8 at f2.8. It's very frustrating to me when people let their cats roam outdoors (I say this as a fanatical parent of 4 wonderful cats, three of whom are ex-ferals). There's really no excuse and it is most irresponsible, especially when it comes to migratory birds such as this Stellar's jay. I also got some photos of the cat looking at his victim but like this one the best because cats do not hunt out of malice, and I do not want to vilify them. The fault lies with their human guardians. All channels except for blue and cyan desaturated in Luminar 4.
Shooting this photo posed an ethical challenge - of course if I have to choose between a subject's well-being and getting a shot, I'll prioritize their well-being every time. Still, this Anna's hummingbird chose to nest right along the busiest street in my city and I wanted to showcase the resilience of wildlife in human areas. I thought it would be best to juxtapose this small nest against a heavy vehicle, such as a bus or logging truck. I observed the nest from a distance for 3 days and noted times when the mother would be away and the chicks resting, and planned the best way to bring the camera up to the nest without disturbing the vegetation around it (essential for protection from predators). I also studied the bus schedule and made sure there were no pedestrians around, so that the nest would not be revealed to anyone who might harm it.
The rig involved my OM-1 (Bird AI for accurate focusing), 8mm Pro, a tall monopod, wireless shutter release and a LumeCube 2.0 at 30 lumens (low-light mode) to balance the sunlight. After careful maneuvering around the vegetation, I was able to get the shot as the bus passed by. Ultimately, it only took a few moments while the mother was away, and the chicks fledged 2 days later!
This isn't a shot that I would have attempted in the past, for ethical reasons. I think I finally have enough skill for this, but I would welcome criticism of my approach.
Shot with an IR-modified E-M5 (850nm) and Minolta 28mm f2.8 at f5.6.
A red-wattled lapwing built her nest on a hard piece of plastic, which protects the eggs from ground heat, unseasonal flooding or falling into the cracks in the ground. Shot inside Satpura Tiger Reserve in central India. Even in a pristine wilderness such as this, there is human waste to be found, but animals are adaptable and sometimes find ways to use it to their advantage! Shot with a Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye at f3.5 and E-PL3.
I wanted to take some wide-angle environmental shots of birds in flight. Took a number of shots with my Panasonic 20mm (used in MF due to slow AF), Panasonic 12-32, Sigma 56mm (much faster AF than the Olympus 60mm macro!) and Minolta 28mm (please keep in mind that Micro Four Thirds has a 2x crop factor). Some were shot handheld and others by triggering the camera remotely. This one was remotely triggered using the Pany 12-32. The woman and her dog were incidental but that's what makes this photo special to me. Heavy crop, processed in PhotoScape X.
Large cuckooshrike (actual name of the species), photographed with my Canon FD 300mm f2.8L at f2.8. Ordinarily I would eschew any photos of birds on wires, but the symmetry here was too good to pass up!
Thank you for looking! Feedback and critique would be most welcome!
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
This one here
shows Vaux's swifts - to be specific, their behavior of roosting by the thousands in specific locations: large snags in forests or tall chimneys in urban areas. This happens at dusk in autumn (very poor light) as they prepare for migration to South America. Using artificial lighting when they're descending into their roosting spot would be most unethical, since it could disorient and injure them or make them vulnerable to predation.Here's what I did instead: I shot a burst at slow shutter speed (1/25 s) and merged 10 consecutive shots in Aurora HDR, which brought out a lot of detail in the chimney and traced the paths of the swifts. I also shot a few at 1/400 s and merged one of them with this HDR stack. All of this was then converted to monochrome since it looks nicer that way. Olympus E-M1 Mark ii with Olympus 300mm f4 Pro at f4.5, all shots handheld.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
It took some planning and lots of tries over many days to get this shot.
Ultimately, I got quite a few photos of birds flying past this sign and like this one the best (even though the swallow is slightly OOF). I found the Perspective tool in Gimp to be extremely helpful for eliminating rolling shutter. In the RAW file the sign is tilted to the right but it looks much nicer after processing in Gimp. If you know a better way of handling rolling shutter, please let me know! OM System OM-1 with Olympus M.Zuiko ED 300mm f4 Pro.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
This one was shot with a Minolta MD 28mm f2.8 at f2.8. It's very frustrating to me when people let their cats roam outdoors (I say this as a fanatical parent of 4 wonderful cats, three of whom are ex-ferals). There's really no excuse and it is most irresponsible, especially when it comes to migratory birds such as this Stellar's jay. I also got some photos of the cat looking at his victim but like this one the best because cats do not hunt out of malice, and I do not want to vilify them. The fault lies with their human guardians. All channels except for blue and cyan desaturated in Luminar 4.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
Shooting this photo posed an ethical challenge - of course if I have to choose between a subject's well-being and getting a shot, I'll prioritize their well-being every time. Still, this Anna's hummingbird chose to nest right along the busiest street in my city and I wanted to showcase the resilience of wildlife in human areas. I thought it would be best to juxtapose this small nest against a heavy vehicle, such as a bus or logging truck. I observed the nest from a distance for 3 days and noted times when the mother would be away and the chicks resting, and planned the best way to bring the camera up to the nest without disturbing the vegetation around it (essential for protection from predators). I also studied the bus schedule and made sure there were no pedestrians around, so that the nest would not be revealed to anyone who might harm it.
The rig involved my OM-1 (Bird AI for accurate focusing), 8mm Pro, a tall monopod, wireless shutter release and a LumeCube 2.0 at 30 lumens (low-light mode) to balance the sunlight. After careful maneuvering around the vegetation, I was able to get the shot as the bus passed by. Ultimately, it only took a few moments while the mother was away, and the chicks fledged 2 days later!
This isn't a shot that I would have attempted in the past, for ethical reasons. I think I finally have enough skill for this, but I would welcome criticism of my approach.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
Shot with an IR-modified E-M5 (850nm) and Minolta 28mm f2.8 at f5.6.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
A red-wattled lapwing built her nest on a hard piece of plastic, which protects the eggs from ground heat, unseasonal flooding or falling into the cracks in the ground. Shot inside Satpura Tiger Reserve in central India. Even in a pristine wilderness such as this, there is human waste to be found, but animals are adaptable and sometimes find ways to use it to their advantage! Shot with a Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye at f3.5 and E-PL3.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
I wanted to take some wide-angle environmental shots of birds in flight. Took a number of shots with my Panasonic 20mm (used in MF due to slow AF), Panasonic 12-32, Sigma 56mm (much faster AF than the Olympus 60mm macro!) and Minolta 28mm (please keep in mind that Micro Four Thirds has a 2x crop factor). Some were shot handheld and others by triggering the camera remotely. This one was remotely triggered using the Pany 12-32. The woman and her dog were incidental but that's what makes this photo special to me. Heavy crop, processed in PhotoScape X.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
Large cuckooshrike (actual name of the species), photographed with my Canon FD 300mm f2.8L at f2.8. Ordinarily I would eschew any photos of birds on wires, but the symmetry here was too good to pass up!
Thank you for looking! Feedback and critique would be most welcome!
