WolfAvni
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WolfAvni
October 17, 2016
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
Pamelabole
October 29, 2016
Amazing capture...... love the warm color tones and those reflections!!!.....beautiful! : )
Paul_Joslin
September 18, 2017
Wow! Your photo brilliantly captures the natural symmetry of what I suspect was a fleeting moment. Well done!
WolfAvni
September 19, 2017
thanks Paul. that's one of the many magics of the medium; the way it can capture fleeting instances never to be repeated.
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was shot from a ground-level overnight hide on Zimanga, a private game reserve in Zululand, Pongola, South africa.Time
Ideally I would have liked to be on location before the first light of false dawn, but a slow start meant i got to the hide after the false dawn had broken. Some high cloud provided cooler than usual conditions and the game was a little slow in utilising the waterhole. I settled down to take advantage of whatever opportunity presented. A few birds ~ doves, Ibis and a pair of hammerhead storks dropped down to drink, and a couple of warthogs wandered in. Got some great stock, but by Zimanga standards the morning was slow. Late morning, around 11;00 a family of impala (Apyceros melampus) appoached, slowly as cautiously as game does at water, where they are always vulnerable to ambush from predators. But things stayed quiet and the antelope gathered around the water, jostling, and socialising as is their way.Lighting
The hide, designed and built by Charl Senekal, really should be illegal. It just makes everything seamless. Shooting from behind one way optical glass means you are really close to your subject and can work with short focal lengths. The hide is set up as an overnighter, with bunks, ablutions, a kettle and small fridge. My stay was somewhat shorter ~ a couple of hours ~ I was doing a rece of Zululand game hides where, over 6 days I visited eight unique game hides. This overnight hide is rigged with every assistance anyone might require, including adjustable halogen lighting, delay timers, tripods, wimberly heads, etc, etc etc. You could virtually walk in off the street with a half decent dslr and an 85mm standard lens, nothing else and still get great pics on the right day. Not knowing the full lay of the land I dragged my own tripod and Wimberly head along. I shot just off natural light. There was about 95 % high cloud cover, great for shooting wildlife in the bush and I waited for the windows of opportunity as the sun peeped through the thinning cloud holes, giving nice dynamic key and making for softer, slightly open shadows. Noticed the natural symmetry and design elements as the antelope moving in and around to drink, and zoomed to frame the elements of symmetry that caught my eye. The short focal lengths are what provide the unique sense of intimacy in this series.Equipment
Nikon D3, (my standard bodies), Nikon 80~200mm f2.8 ED. Wimberly mounted.Inspiration
In this game, when Opportunity and Preparedness meet.... great things happen. I'm just at old scavenger, always just looking for a moment of sweet light to feed off. Heck! If the light is right, even pond-scum looks good.Editing
Very little post process. Downloaded into View NX and minimal processing with Capture NX2. My basic work flow includes 1. 1 pixel width minus contrast to pull back any blown hilights and shadows 2. Tweek Chroma upwards by between 1~ 20% 3. save as a) raw, b) hi res jpeg and c) a jpeg resized to 72 dpi, which I run a pass of Unsharp mask over (between 1~3 pixel width at 100%)In my camera bag
My road=tripping rig includes the following 1. 2x Nikon D3 bodies 2.Nikkor 500mm f5.6 mirrror lens (circa 1983) 3. Nikon 55mm macro f3.5 analog (1971) , Nikkor 24mm f2.8 analog 1979) with Nikkor III bellows and M2 extension tube BR2 reversal ring, 4. Nikkor 80~200mm f2.8 ED 5. Nikkor 200~400mm f4 VRII 6. An ancient Metz Mecablitz flash held together with ductape and loving kindness. (use mostly for macro and remote trigger night work 7. Hahnel remote trigger/shutter release. 8. Laptop, backup hard drives,Feedback
Every hide offers unique opportunities, but the big thing is patience and anticipation. You may wait hours, or even days for a particular suite of animals and interactions, but if you got bored and left before they occur, you may as well have stayed home. When the action does happen, it is usually fleeting and needs to be anticipated. Game is always super skittish at water and when coming down to drink. They have to drink and predators know this, and so ambushes are often set at the water or around the trails leding in to it. Patience is always rewarded in the bush, if you are alive to the flow of it.