89 Holy Roller Photo
Sep, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from the top of a Jeep in Tanzania Africa, some Ware in the Serenity.Time
I really don’t remember what time of day it was taken, probably around 2:00 pm because I was trying to capture this little Birdy for at least two weeks. The only time of day I saw the bird was around their feeding times in the morning or afternoon. This one looked like it was waiting for his evening dinner.Lighting
Unfortunately, the lighting was coming from behind the bird. It would have been a much better shot if the lightning was actually on the bird. But, in the wild one just shoots and hopes for the best. I was pretty damn lucky that the back light didn’t destroy the picture as it did in so many I just couldn’t useEquipment
I used an Nikon D810 with Nikki 80-400 MM Zoom Lense. Thanks goodness it had vibration reduction or I could have never got this shot. Wish I could use a tripod but standing up in a Jeep all I could use was a been bag and luck and holding my breath as I held my finger down on the shutter release hoping that one of the 7 or 8 continuious shots actually was worth further processing.Inspiration
The inspiration for this photo came from seeing this bird named the most beautiful by, I think, National Geographic and knowing I was in one of the few locations one could actually see the animal. Then, I spotted the bird more time than I could count but it was either too far away, the light was horrible or my setup was not good enough to capture a sharp, clear image. Yes, I have dozens and dozens of really crappy shots of this “Holley Grail” of a bird that seemed to hate me.Editing
Lucky for me I was able to overcome the bad lighting with a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop. Without those post processing tools this would have been just another digital file that never saw the light of day.In my camera bag
My equipment bag was pretty sparse. Traveling in Africa on foot and small planes one could only carry a total of 32 pounds total weight. Yes, this included the camera gear and 3 weeks of clothing. Obviously, this was not one of those special photo excursions where one could carry longer lenses like my 500mm that weighs about 30 pounds all by its self and of course try pods. Sorry, I got side lined. I took 2 Nikons D810’s one with the 80-400 Zoom and the other with a 20 mm f 1.8 lense. Glad I did because changing lenses in the African field could be a camera/lense killer. Honestly, that’s about it except for lense cleaner, a billion cards and my rabbits foot for luck. FYI, flash is forbidden in the Serengeti...Feedback
Unless you are one of those amazing wildlife photographers who have more patients and equipment knowledge than the average yo-yo like me, I would say study all the blogs, books and professional advice. Their tips and tricks will prove to be invaluable even though you will find so many contradict each other. The good part about studying the “masters” is picking up a few things I might not have ever used without knowing about their specific circumstances and how they set up the camera. I found the auto ISO to be the most valuable setting along with shooting at the fastes speed one coul tolerate. You are bouncing around like crazy in those jeeps. FYI one can not get out oft he Jeep in the Serenity it is illegal and the guide told me after the lions or cheetas took a byte they probably wouldn’t like how I tasted. The old saying it is better to be lucky than smart is so true except when shooting in Africa. It is better to be lucky and smart to get that elusive shot. That’s why I named it the Holey Roller....
