Wildlife Photography across the Water: Saved by the flash

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Saved by the flash

I went into the garden at the weekend and watched a huge digger wasp making a hole in some sand that i had put down, It must have been 3-4'' long, I grabbed my D7000 and Sigma 150 macro and tried to get a shot, In hind sight i should have grabbed the 200-400 and some extension tubes to give myself some distance as i just could not get close enough with it flying off, I even waited for it to go down the hole and then quickly got into position but it was too fast, I will keep an eye on the hole and hopefully get some shots, As i was laying on the floor the dragonflies buzzed overhead as i was near the pond, One landed on a thick stem and i slowly approached and too a shot, The background was quite bright and it was making the dragonfly dark, I cursed for not having a reflector or my SB900 flashgun, Then i realized that i had the pop up flash on the D7000 so up it went and it made all the difference, I never use the pop up flash but on this occasion it saved the day

Without the flash

With Flash

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.