Wildlife Photography across the Water: Long Lens Technique

Monday 25 May 2009

Long Lens Technique

Every wildlife photographer wants/needs a long lens-300mm+ and more than usual 500mm+, This is a great tool to have but brings its own specific problems, Dont just think that now you have a mega lens that your photography will improve, If anything for a while it will go downhill until you find a technique that will give consistently sharp results, This is called Long Lens technique, The longer the lens then more magnification on any movement you will have will be shown up in the final image,If you have a body with live view just turn it on and zoom into maximum zoom on the screen and lightly tough the lens-you will see that even the lightest of touches will create a massive blur-So firstly only have your tripod set as high as it needs which in reality should be minimum height but sometimes you will need to have it higher and that's when things really need to be tightened down and for you to shoot in a calm and calculated manner, there are 2 methods that i use, Firstly by jamming my fist between the lens foot and lens barrel and secondly by having my left hand holding the top of the lens-why would you do this-well firstly it balances the lens and secondly and most importantly it takes out any vibration down the lens that is caused by mirror slap (when taking the shot the mirror in the camera body causes a small vibration that can travel down the lens and causes a soft image) I would say it took me a good 3 months or more to get a technique that i was happy with when i first bought a 500F4 lens 9 years ago, In extreme instances when shooting in lowish light i have actually placed a beanbag on top of the lens to do the same job-When getting a long lens for the first time practice a lot and find what works for you

Dave

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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.