Seen through my lens

Common here is exotic somewhere else

nobody@vox.com(Scotty) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:19:22 +0200

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People like the exotic more than the mundane. As a result, photographers may be tempted to ignore the things around them that they view as common. But we sometimes forget that what we take for granted is seen as exotic in other parts of the world. It was with this in mind that I took this (and I have others) photo of a protea.

Here in South Africa, the protea (there are many varieties) is pretty common. In fact, it is so common it is our national flower. Personally, I think it is a horribly unattractive flower (anything that has to be pollinated by flies ain't good in my book). However, I have come to realise that because they are not something people in other parts of the world see very often, the flowers, and photos of them, tend to attract interest.

So the lesson is - don't take it for granted that what you see as ordinary and unattractive will be seen by everyone in the same way.

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Don't call me Barbie

nobody@vox.com(Scotty) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:16:41 +0200

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I spent the past week on leave (using all my leave up prior to resigning from my job today - anyone want to offer me work?). One of the things I did was drive out to Skeerpoort in South Africa's North West province.

I did not actually go to Skeerpoort intentionally. I got into my car and drove from Gauteng province to North West and wandered about the area aimlessly, looking for rural areas and hoping for something to photograph. I can recommend this kind of aimless wandering - you get to see things that you might not if you had gone somewhere intentionally. That way, you don't have any preconceptions.

In any case, I did find quite a number of things to photograph, and I'll post a few here over the next few weeks.

The subject of this photo speaks for itself. How did it come about? As I was driving, I noticed that there was a lot of barbed wire in the area, preventing livestock from vanishing from the farms I suppose. Suddenly the thought presented itself - why not take a photo? And here it is.

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Veiled effect on a waterfall

nobody@vox.com(Scotty) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:06:33 +0200

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The soft appearance of the water in the photo above is known as a veiled effect. Used on waterfalls like this one, or on flowing rivers or the ocean surf, the effect can be quite pleasing.

The main requirement is a slower shutter speed. Different environmental lighting conditions will require different speeds, so you should experiment with your shutter speed and aperture to find what works. Generally, though, you'll want to avoid full midday sunshine, as the light will be too harsh to get the desired result. The above photo was taken mid-morning, and the waterfall was nicely shaded, so I didn't get blown highlights resulting from a slow shutter.

While you're experimenting, try out a polarising filter as well.

For those who like to know locations, I took this photo in Pretoria, the capital city of South Africa.

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Tiger - the artistic treatment

nobody@vox.com(Scotty) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:09:17 +0200

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Just every now and then I get a little artistic. I took this photo in the zoo in South Africa's capital city, Pretoria (tigers do not live in the wild in Africa). There is nothing wrong with the original - in fact I have that version on my Photrade page too - but I thought a more artistic treatment would also be interesting.

I created a custom brush in Photoshop, changed the colours, did some burning, and there you go. I think it worked out rather nicely. What do you think?

I'll show the original in the next post.

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Eddie the Cheetah

nobody@vox.com(Scotty) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:10:17 +0200

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Eddie is one of the cheetahs at the Rhino & Lion Reserve, located in the area known as the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage site in South Africa's Gauteng province. Unlike the wild cheetahs in the reserve, Eddie was hand-reared, and so he cannot be rehabilitated.

He's a beautiful animal, though, is he not?

At the time I took the photo, Eddie was wearing a harness for being exercised. I used Photoshop Elements to remove the harness from the photo. Maybe it's cheating a little (pardon the pun), but I think within acceptable limits.

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African wild dogs with meat

nobody@vox.com(Scotty) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:41:36 +0200

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The Rhino & Lion Reserve is such a great site for wildlife photography that I returned this past weekend to get some more shots, this being one of them. The photo is of African wild dogs feeding. The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is a carnivore found only in Africa. It stands about 75cm at the shoulder and weighs between 17kg and 36kg. African wild dogs hunt in packs and can reach up to 45km/h during pursuit.

I don't often use selective colour in my photography, but I did so in this instance. The dogs' colour is very similar to that of their background, so having them in black and white enhances their visibility. However, making the whole photo black and white would have taken away the impact, as the meat would also have been greyed out. Leaving the meat in colour provided the best effect in this instance.

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Zebra Portrait

nobody@vox.com(Scotty) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:03:00 +0200

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Zebra Portrait

I took this photo at the Rhino & Lion Reserve in Kromdraai, South Africa. I am fortunate enough to live within driving distance from several nature reserves, and this is one of them. In addition to rhinoceri and lions, the large reserve is also home to several cheetahs, zebras, hippopotami, ostriches, and various other animals. I like this reserve because it is large enough for the animals to roam in large areas.

There are several challenges involved in photographing in this kind of environment. First, you are not guaranteed to see any animals at all. They may be lying in long grass or under shady trees. And even if you do see them, they may be so obscured by long grass that the photo is not a good one.

When photographing wildlife in the wild, the most important tool in a photographer's kit is patience. So when I want to do this kind of thing, I set aside plenty of time so that I will not be under pressure. And I also make sure I have lots of memory available, because when I am capturing animal images, I use burst mode. I tend to use burst mode for all moving subjects to ensure I capture the right image.

One additional note: I used a shallow depth of field here to ensure that the zebra's head was the focal point.

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