PHOTO MECHANIC
Don’t hide from the rain
Wildlife photographers are probably some of the only South Africans who secretly hoped that the thunderstorms continue to stay away during the past two drought-stricken years, at least during game drives.
BECAUSE YOU CAN’T GET GOOD SHOTS WHEN IT RAINS, RIGHT?
1As EMBRACE THE CLOUDS
a photographer, I always smile when the weather forecast predicts overcast conditions for the days when I shoot. Yes, I miss those early morning and late afternoon golden colours, but have you ever stopped to consider the advantages of not having bright sunlight? Firstly, you don’t have to worry about high contrast in your images. This is a very common problem in most game reserves and parks, where dense foliage casts dark shadows on parts of the animals below or between it. Take the leopard photos below for instance. In the first photo, taken on a sunny day, only the leopard’s hind quarters are visible because the rest of her body is in deep shade. The camera simply cannot expose for both the dark and the light areas simultaneously. The second photo was taken on an overcast day. Not only can you see the leopard’s whole body clearly (because scenes with little or no contrast are easy to expose for), but she is also more active than on a hot, sunny day. That brings me to my second point: Cool, cloudy weather means you can photograph for longer during the day and have a bigger chance of bumping into active predators.
2 CAPTURE CHARACTER
As long as it’s not bucketing down most DSLR cameras and their lenses should be able to handle getting a little wet. Having said that, I always try to keep my equipment dry by covering it with a towel or plastic layer, even during a light sprinkle. Great opportunities often present themselves when you’re photographing animals in the rain. Some look miserable and try to hide their faces, others embrace the cool relief. Some, like many antelope, even have fun in the rain, running and bouncing around like children on a playground. These story-telling photos capture the creatures’ character and personally I enjoy taking them much more than simple portraits.
3 SPECS OR STRIPES?
To best capture raindrops you have to choose the right shutter speed. Shoot too fast (1/500 sec) and the droplets will appear as little specs. But shoot to slowly (1/20 sec or slower) and they will appear as stripes. There’s also the added risk of blurry photos. Switch over to Shutter Priority (S/Tv) and play around with shutter speeds of between 1/60 sec and 1/200 sec. The faster the shutter, the shorter the droplet stripes. If, however, you want to freeze the droplets completely, for instance when they’re flying off a lion’s mane when he shakes his head, you’ll have to use fast shutter speeds of 1/1000 sec or more.