Me and Mom
Until they are about ten days old and elephant calf can fit under its mothers tummy.
Tarangire, Tanzania
Until they are about ten days old and elephant calf can fit under its mothers tummy.
Tarangire, Tanzania
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Tarangire, Tanzania
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Dec, 2015Views
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Awards
Chatter Award
Top Shot Award 22
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Animals In The Wild Photo Contest
Featured
Spring Selection Award
Contest Finalist in Adorable Baby Animals Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Love it
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Genius
Virtuoso
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Behind The Lens
Location
Image was captured in Tarangire National Park - Tanzania - Africa. I was in Tanzania to shoot the Great Migration on the Serengeti and visited four different National parks during the trip.Time
It was midday so the light wasn't great - I prefer the golden hours - But sometimes you have to shoot when you have to shoot.Lighting
As mentioned above, nothing great about the light - On safari trips you are often shooting 7-8 hours a day. The golden hours might be preferable, but after taking over 24 hours to get to a destination you want to capture all the images possible.Equipment
Canon 5D MK II - Canon 500 f4 L Series with a 1.4 teleconverter. In East Africa a majority of the vehicles are fully enclosed with a pop-up top. So while in Tanzania I used a beanbag to rest the lens - Sturdier than a tripod. In South Africa most of the jeeps are open, so the best choice is to used an unextended mono pod and place the base between your legs on the seat. Guides are considerate and turn off the engine at good image opportunities. If you share a jeep with other photographers it is good to agree not to be jostling the vehicle when someone else is shooting.Inspiration
I had been shooting the herd for about 20 minutes. Then the calf walked under the mother - Our local guide explained that they can fit beneath the mother's tummy until about 2 weeks of age - so this was a young calf.Editing
I usually up the sharpening a hair and adjust lighting a bit if necessary - I always start with a RAW file, so I have many options if needed.In my camera bag
On international trips I always take a combination of Primes, my trusty canon 70-200 f4 L, a wide-angle - usually a canon 17-40 f4 L. A backup battery and a battery charger that can recharge using a cigarette lighter adapter in jeeps. Also a fan of the Spider Belt system for carrying my backup camera and lens. Camera support depends on the destination of the shoot. It could include one or several of: Carbon fiber mono or tri, bead bag, Gorilla Pod, Bushmaster rifle stock type mount for big lenses (400 prime or larger) if I'll be doing a lot of "birds-in-flight" work.Feedback
Prime lenses, usually within one or two stops of fully open will yield the best resolution. I try to keep my biggest prime lens on my top body but keep a zoom on my second body. With a prime you have to "zoom with you feet" when shooting from a fixed position like a jeep (there are things that would eat you outside) a zoom is needed for images that can't be framed well with the prime. Keep your ISO as low as possible. On my D5, when I start a shoot I'll flip it first into total auto mode and see what the camera meter is telling me about the light - then take an incident meter reading and sort of balance the two in my head I then go into total manual of app/shutter mode depending on how I want the image to look. For white balance I simply put the camera in "live" mode - and dial through the options to see what looks best on the screen - then I go back to using just the viewfinder for shooting.
