Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
It’s one of those things that nature photographers and filmmakers struggle with. When to intervene in the natural course of events. Typically, most don’t intervene, especially when they’re there in a straight documentary capacity. Humankind has interfered with wildlife enough already.
Sometimes, though, it just feels like the right thing to do, as this wildlife documentary crew for BBC Dynasties decided.
Have you seen the viral drone footage of mama bear and her cub trying to climb up a snow-covered mountain? The baby loses its footing several times and slides back down, but eventually manages to join his mom at the top.
Many people have interpreted this video as a metaphor for determination, but biologists who saw it have a different opinion. The determined baby bear inspired a lot of motivational posters and caused a lot of “awwws.” However, it was apparently the drone that made the animals run in panic in the first place.
There are plenty of great wildlife photographers who take awe-inspiring and interesting shots. But when these animals do funny things and take silly poses: it adds a whole new level to wildlife photography.
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards is centered on the photos of animals that are sure to improve your day. The finalists of the 2018 contest have just been announced, and these will definitely brighten up your mood.
All photographers have their favorite accessories they couldn’t imagine their lives without. In this video, Steve Perry suggests eight of those accessories that could make your life much easier if you’re a nature photographer and often use big lenses. Most of them are pretty affordable, and some are even DIY, so you won’t spend a fortune on them, yet you could really find them handy.
When photographing wildlife – much like hiring a new employee or going on a date with someone you met online – it’s essential to do a background check. What is behind the animal that you’re photographing?
The background can completely make or break an image. It’s essentially the canvas that you’re painting the rest of your picture on top of. By paying more attention to what’s going on back there you can vastly improve your images.
I’m going to show you four photos. They all feature the same Tenerife Lizard and were all taken a handful of seconds apart. The only thing I changed between each image was my physical position in relation to the lizard, giving me an entirely different background each time. Let’s have a look!
Lucus Landers is a film photographer and camera maker. He has recently captured some pretty unique black and white wildlife photos with his Canon 1N. His series shows zebras, buffalos, elephants and many other animals in their natural habitat. But there’s a catch – these photos weren’t made in the wild at all! They were all taken in the Museum of Natural History in New York. Would you ever figure it out?
In 2010, photographer and filmmaker Ivo Nörenberg approached Canon with a request for an “impossible” lens. He needed a long zoom 4K Super 35mm lens, designed for needs of wildlife video production. Canon said “challenge accepted,” and the CINE-SERVO 50-1000mm T5.0-8.9 was born.
Narrated by Canon’s Larry Thorpe, this video outlines the specs of this $70K lens, but also shows Nörenberg thoughts about it, as well the results it lets him achieve.
I must admit I rarely meet teenagers interested in something other than video games and social networks. But, from time to time, I hear about kids who amaze me. Young photographer Josiah Launstein is one of them. He is only 13 years old, and he’s been into photography since he was five. He grew to become a passionate wildlife photographer, and he even started getting awards for his talent and skill.
It’s all you need, really. There you are, in the middle of a field of ice and snow, filming polar bears and their not-so-subtle courtship ritual, and one of your cameras topples over. In this case, the remotely controlled “Blizzardcam”.
Riding on mini skis and propelled by a couple of fan blade motors, the Blizzardcam took a topple going over a bank of snow. It did not escape the notice of the curious courting polar bears. It’s a cute and interesting interaction, made all the more humorous by David Tennant’s narration.
A recent National Geographic’s investigation has revealed a disturbing fact: in the Amazon, the locals keep wild animals in captivity to lure the tourists to take selfies with them. This makes the animals suffer, it’s harmful and even deadly for them. So, Instagram has decided to educate their users about this dangerous trend. Their new alert system detects the hashtags related to this kind of selfies. Certain hashtags trigger a notification which shows the users that their “cute animal selfies” aren’t cute at all.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
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