Family
Man and wife Giraffe
Man and wife Giraffe
Read less
Read less
May, 2015Views
63
Likes
Awards
Great Shot
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Genius
Top Ranks
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken at from the side of a road, the game park is Kariega Game Park, these fellows were feeding next to the fence on some thorn trees. The park is situated in the Eastern Cape South Africa. We were on the way to the sea as my son and myself live inland some 54 km from the coast and we go there as much as we can to swim, fish (sometimes) and most of to take photos as both of us are enthusiastic amateur photographers. This was taken with a Canon EOS 550D and a Sigma 70-30mm DG Macro lens. We stopped right next to them (there were around 6 all together and I got out and leaned on the roof of the car and snapped away. This was edited in LR5 and the black and white conversion was also done in LR, I always shoot in raw as it gives me lots of scope to do editing without any loss in image quality.Time
The time of day was around 8 in the morning.Lighting
The sky was nice a clear with some soft clouds which were not in the sky region behind themEquipment
Camera: Canon EOS 550D Aperture: f/10.0 ISO: 200 Shutter Speed: 1/800 Focal Length: 300Inspiration
I just love nature and especially wild life, Giraffes have a special place in my heart, they can be so funny both in looks and character, I have taken quite a few photos of them at another private game park which have a nice population of them and in this game park one gets very close to them and these photos can be seen in my profile. Black and white is something I enjoyed a lot even back in the film photography days and to me Giraffes tend to look good in a B/W conversion and that is why I have a few photos done in this way.Editing
The B/W conversion was done in LR5 I usually do all colour lighting and any other editing before I do the B/W conversion and then tweek it to get the desired look I am seeking, trying to strive to get the clearest whits to the full black tones with all the grays in-between and get the balance as close to prefect as I can, these day I also use the NIX collection t do part of the editing and if it is B/W then it is the Silver Effects Pro 2 plugin, in this image it was LR5 only. All my post production work is done on a Toshiba Satellite i5 processor laptop.In my camera bag
My total camera line up is rather modest; The cameras that I usually use are my two Canons; EOS550D, EOS 100D ( a delightful light weight DSLR that pack big punch). Lenses is the following Sigma 70-300 DG macro zoom f/4-5.6 (X2), Sigma 105 mm macro DG EX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5,6, Canon 50 EF f/1.8, and a X2 tripods, a big one and a small table top, as well as a mono pod, the tripods are not often used in the field except for certain subjects where their use as a necessarily, the mono pod gets a lot of use in the field and doubles up as a walking stick, pretty cool. I do use the table top tripod as a grip sometimes. The Canon EX430 flash is often packed in but seldom used. I do not always carry/pack in everything but take what I need for what I am planning to use that day, The 70-300 is normally permanently on the 550D and either the following three lenses can be found on the 100D, 50mm, 105 or the 18-135 zoom.Feedback
As you can see the most expensive equipment is not always necessarily and one can get great photos with even modest equipment even a good bridge camera will give excellent results. To get the WOW shot takes a few things, know your equipment and know it well, use supports if you need to, I often use a pool noodle cut to fit on the edge of my car window to rest my hand on when shooting from my car and leaning on the roof when out side of my car (only where it is allowed), Know your subject and be watchful for those things that will make the image stand out, always respect the environment and leave only footprints, One has to go often and be ready for the unexpected and develop a eye for what you want to capture, always look for new angles and follow the basic rules of composition as most make the image pleasing to the eye. I this image a lot of luck played a role as they were there and we had a good spot to stop and take photos, the fence was not a problem as there is a bank that is higher than the road side and the road was was level to that embankment. Luck in that we were in the right place and they were in the right place as well, that is why one must be ready all times and watchful for opportunities like this. I have a motto and it goes like this; What I can frame in my camera's viewfinder, I will photograph it, Photography is magical and that is why I love it so much, it has been a passion for me for nearly 45 years give and take a few years when I just did not have the time, and I am still learning something each day, to really get that WOW shot one has to take a lot of photos and with the modern digital cameras it is a lot easier to try new things in editing and one can take a lot more images when one goes out (do not take too many as one might fine it hard to choose the best). The best advice is this enjoy oneself first of all, then worry about all the rest and soon that WOW shot will be there in your camera.
