Anybody want a Canon EF 1200mm?

Looks like B&H is selling the famed Canon EF 1200mm lens for $99,000. Used. Go ahead and treat yourself. You deserve it.

 

B&H link for the Canon EF 1200mm lens

Biking amongst the Maasai

I love it when I get the chance to have new experiences in Africa. I find that on most safaris I fly in, I go out for some wildlife photography, and I come home. All in a day's work. But every now and then I get a chance to lead a private safari, and we have some additional flexibility to add in things that might not be as photographically rich or rich in wildlife, but rather just plain old fun.

So back in 2003 I took an afternoon to go biking amongst a Maasai community. It was a complete blast. We taught a few children how to ride a bicycle, and I think we and the Maasai had an afternoon of fun and laughter. I only speek a few words of Maasai, and I suspect I used all them up within the first few minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portrait photography at its finest

You know, sometimes you just have to chuckle at what shows up da internets. I get a fair amount of emails with links to some funny web sites, and although most are not photography related there are a few that can be classified as relating to photography.

So here is some good 'photography' for some belly laughs.

Great Olan Mills Photographs

Spare lithium batteries and the DOT

You have to be kidding me. Looks like our wonderful DOT wants us to hand carry our 'extra batteries' in our carry on luggage, and not in our checked baggage. Uh yeah. Like that is going to happen, since I have to fly overseas often and have limited carryon allowances. Starting January 1st, 2008, you can no longer pack loose lithium batteries into your checked luggage on flights. If your battery is attached to a device you are okay.

Read on for your enjoyment.

The new TSA policy on extra lithium batteries

[update Jan 1, 2008]

It appears that the TSA has issued a clarifiction on the rules. Here is a link to read:

Safe Travel with Batteries and Devices

"Effective January 1, 2008, the Department of Transportation (DOT) through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will no longer allow loose lithium batteries in checked baggage. These batteries may continue to be packed in carry-on baggage.

Under the new DOT rule, lithium batteries are allowed in checked baggage under one of the following conditions:

• The batteries must be in their original containers.


• The battery terminals must not exposed (for example placing tape over the ends of the batteries).


• The batteries are installed in a device.


• The batteries are enclosed by themselves in a plastic bag.

Loose lithium batteries found in checked baggage may be removed."

[update Jan 4, 2008]

Safe Travel

"Effective January 1, 2008, the following rules apply to the spare lithium batteries you carry with you in case the battery in a device runs low:

• Spare batteries are the batteries you carry separately from the devices they power. When batteries are installed in a device, they are not considered spare batteries.


• You may not pack a spare lithium battery in your checked baggage


• You may bring spare lithium batteries with you in carry-on baggage. see our spare battery tips and how-to sections to find out how to pack spare batteries safely!


• Even though we recommend carrying your devices with you in carry-on baggage as well, if you must bring one in checked baggage, you may check it with the batteries installed.

The following quantity limits apply to both your spare and installed batteries. The limits are expressed in grams of “equivalent lithium content.” 8 grams of equivalent lithium content is approximately 100 watt-hours. 25 grams is approximately 300 watt-hours:

• Under the new rules, you can bring batteries with up to 8-gram equivalent lithium content. All lithium ion batteries in cell phones are below 8 gram equivalent lithium content. Nearly all laptop computers also are below this quantity threshold.


• You can also bring up to two spare batteries with an aggregate equivalent lithium content of up to 25 grams, in addition to any batteries that fall below the 8-gram threshold. Examples of two types of lithium ion batteries with equivalent lithium content over 8 grams but below 25 are shown below.


• For a lithium metal battery, whether installed in a device or carried as a spare, the limit on lithium content is 2 grams of lithium metal per battery.


• Almost all consumer-type lithium metal batteries are below 2 grams of lithium metal. But if you are unsure, contact the manufacturer!"

Wildlife Photography Techniques

Anticipating movement and action

When I anticipate having action or significant movement of my subject(s) in my frame, I will always shoot in AI focusing mode (or Continuous mode on Nikon cameras). I try to keep my frames in more than 2 to 4 frame bursts, unless I am trying to isolate a very inique moment in time. When browsing through my images, I will tend to locate the images where my subject(s) look natural, the overall composition is pleasing, and there is some sort of dynamic element to the frame.

Shooting Mode
I tend to use aperture priority mode most of the time when I am shooting wildlife. There is usually significant movement of my subjects in relation to my light source (the sun), and I find that I can change my exposure compensation much faster. You can read my article on depth of field from an earlier post on this site.

Lion cubs, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, January 2004
Canon 10D, 300mm f/2.8 L IS + 1.4x, 1/250 @ f/4.5, ISO 400

Metering

This is where I use many different approaches, depending on the situation. In fast changing light, I tend to use evaluative metering with some sort of exposure compensation. If the light is not changing quickly, I will tend to use evaluative or spot metering in manual shooting mode. My lazy shooting almost always happens in aperture priority mode with evaluative metering. Most subjects that are out on the Serengeti plains will be around a +1/3 exposure compensation, and those subjects that are darker than middle tones (elephants, wildebeest and rhinos) will have around -2/3 of compensation. All of the big cats (lions, cheetah and leopards) are close to middle tone, but I almost always add in an extra +1/3 of compensation to 'expose to the right'.

Camera and Lens stabilization
Almost all of my wildlife photography in Africa is taken from a bean bag. There are so few opportunities to get out and use a tripod, and any other means of supporting your cameras and lenses just aren't as effective. However, east African safaris typically have enclosed Land Rover/Land Cruiser vehicles with pop-tops. These are very different from southern African vehicles with open sides. I will be in Botswana in a few months, and will figure out what works best during the safari. I will be prepared to use a variety of solutions, and will settle on one approach within the first few days.

Wildebeest and Zebras at a watering hole, Serengeti N.P, July 2005

Canon 20D, 100-400mm, 1/25 @ f/22, ISO 100

Image Stabilization

In a few words, life would be much more difficult without image stabilization. I use it as often as I can.

Shutter Speed

I rarely let shutter speed be my first consideration in my photos. Well, unless I am deliberately shooting slow speed panning shots. I am usually more concerned with depth of field, and will use my ISO setting on my camera help me achieve my minimum shutter speeds. For some this may sound crazy, but I would rather have a sharp photograph with noise (think ISO 800 and 1/500 sec) than a photograph with no noise and a blurry subject (ISO 100 and 1/6o sec). I am not afraid to push my ISO to higher numbers on my Canon equipment, but with my recent use of the Nikon D2x I would hesitate in pushing past ISO 400.

 

Three Wilebeest, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, February 2005

Canon 1DMkII, 100-400mm, 1/1000 @ f/7.1, ISO 250

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas today. I hope that today you are sharing laughter, smiles and great photographic opportunities with family or friends. Have a wonderful and safe holiday.

The Wildebeest Migration

I often get many questions about the wildebeest migration of the greater Serengeti ecosystem, so I thought I would take a few paragraphs to try to sum it all up. I will try to explain what the migration is in a question and answer style.

Q: What is the migration?

A: The 'migration', or sometimes referred to as the 'great migration' or 'greatest show on earth', is a migration of wildlife between different areas or regions of the greater Serengeti ecosystem. The greater Serengeti ecosystem makes up the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, the Masai Mara in Kenya, Loliondo game controlled area in Tanzania, Maswa Game Reserve in Tanzania, Ikorongo Game Reserve, Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in Tanzania, and perhaps a few other locations without designations. This greater Serengeti ecosystem is roughly 12,000 square miles, or double the actual area of the Serengeti National Park's 6,000 square miles.

Q: What animals migrate?

A: The main migratory animals are wildebeest, thompson's gazelle, zebra and eland. The wildebeest population was reported to be 1.3 million about 10 years ago, and my friends in the research community seem to peg the number at nearly 3 million today. Thompson's gazelle are roughly 350,000, zebra are 190,000 and eland are 12,000. There are other animals that migrate, such as the dung beetle.

 

A view of the migration, Serengeti N.P. June 2007

Q: Are there resident animals that do not migrate?

A: Topi (95,000), impala (76,000), cape buffalo (46,000), grant's gazelle (26,000), kongoni (14,000), giraffe (9,000), warthog (6,000), waterbuck (2,000) and elephant (2,000). It isn't that these animals do not migrate, rather they are not considered part of the 'migration' from a terminology standpoint.

Q: Of the wildlife that makes up the migration, why do they migrate?

A: They are all searching for better grazing conditions. There are 4 major locations that make up the migration: the western wooded grasslands, the northern mara bushed grasslands, the eastern woodlands and the short grass plains of the southern Serengeti (Serengit is the Maasai word for 'endless plains'). In a typical year, the wildlife migrates in a clockwise direction. Once one area is overgrazed, the wildlife will move on to better grasses. They will follow rain and rain clouds, as this is their best indicator of where the best grasses will be. Rich grasses will sprout up within hours of rainfall.

Q: If more than 1 animal species migrates, aren't they all competing for the same food?

A: Not necessarily. Wildebeest and zebras, for example, eat different grasses or part of the same grass. Zebras will eat the uppor portion of the grass, whereas wildebeest will eat the lower portion, including the 'stump'.

Q: What is it like to witness the migration?

A: This is a tough answer, because I rarely have a location where I can look out and see much if it in one scene. Photographing the migration is a bit like trying to fit the entire grand canyon into 1 frame. It just cannot be done. I am still scratching my head on how to best capture the essence of the migration.

Q: Do you like to spend all of your time trying to follow and photograph the migration?

A: Photographing or witnessing the migration is never part of my strategy, because there is so much to see and photograph. The migration goes in and out of park boundaries all of the time, and sometimes I just see small clumps of wildlife. Whenever the migration is out of sight, there is always something rich to view and photograph. When you have thousands of wildebeest in one place, you often don't see other species at that same location. Keep in mind that there are many many resident animals that do not follow the migration. Cheetah, lions, leopards, cape buffalo, elephants and giraffe are just a few that come to mind.

Random images from my last trip to Tanzania

Here are some random grab shots from my October 2007 Tanzania safari.

Trevor at a Maasai manyatta in Loliondo

Labib and Larry giggling it up in the Land Rover. Notice how I hang my long lens bag over the seat in front of me. This gives me quick access to the camera/lens combination, without having to keep the lens in my lap while driving around.

 
Andrea and Mike

Mike, as captured with my 15mm fisheye lens

Phanuel spotting game for us

Labib, you should probably think about an alternative approach to supporting your lens!