PRO TIP WILDLIFE WATCH
plan as he consulted The Photographer’s Ephemeris app on his phone. A full moon was due that night, and so the idea was to shoot the sun setting behind the lighthouse. Once they had that shot, they’d then have to circle around to the other side to capture the moonrise – should the weather conditions permit it.
But it wasn’t looking promising; when they arrived the whole sky had completely clouded over and storms were forecast to move in from the west. A couple of other photographers also arrived and set up in the field. “Oh great,” muttered Tom M, “That’s just where I wanted to shoot! But, you know, this is a big space…”
WHY DOES IT ALWAYS RAIN? Then, half-an-hour before sunset, the heavens really opened up. Tom M produced a couple of chamois leathers from his pack and draped them over the cameras. “I always carry a chamois in case of rain,” he explained. “I do have a custom-fit Gore-tex rain cover that wraps around the lens, but the chamois is quick and easy to just throw over the camera, and when the shower has passed you can just dab any splashes off the front of the lens with it and you’re ready to shoot.”
It was too much for the other photographers, however, and as the rain became more persistent, they left. And the two Toms had the place to themselves.
And then, just minutes before sunset was due, and as quickly as the skies had clouded over, the orange sky lit up behind the lighthouse. The pair had already composed the scene, using an f/10 aperture to capture detail from the long grass in the foreground all the way to the lighthouse, and attached a 3-stop mediumtransition
Tom M says… As we were heading towards our sunset location, we heard a commotion over our shoulders and something moving. Tom had his camera in hand, which happened to have his telephoto zoom attached, and managed to quickly rattle off a shot – capturing this barn owl illuminated by the sun as it flew past a dark copse of trees – complete with a field mouse in its talons. He didn’t have any time to adjust his settings, but with his camera set to Aperture Priority and autofocus enabled, managed to capture it perfectly sharply – which would have been unlikely had the camera been set to manual. You never know what else you might encounter while out on a shoot, so it pays to be prepared for every eventuality!
ND grad to enhance the dark ominous feel of the sky and balance it with the field in the foreground.
Checking the histogram and image on the rear LCD revealed that the glow had blown out a little, so Tom M suggested dialling in -2/3 stop of exposure compensation to bring it back within range. In the end, Super Shot #4 had been more than worth braving the elements for.
THE MOON’S A BOON
As soon as the sun went down, the pair were prepared to call it a night; they were getting wet and it was clear they weren’t going to be able to see the moon through the thick clouds. But on reaching their cars, the persistent rain had reduced to drizzle, and looking back they saw the clouds starting to part – and the moon beginning to rise. They exchanged glances,