Techniques
Live View for close-ups
When shooting close-ups I normally use the Nikon D2x since the quality at iso 100 is better than the Nikon D300 at L1 which is supposed to be an equivalent to iso 100 (the lowest iso it would normally go down to is 200) but it doesn’t really work out that way. Without going into too much detail, the D2x produces better results at iso 100 than the D300 which I normally reserve for bird and mammal photography when I may have to shoot at higher iso’s (400/800) and this is when the D300 out-performs the D2x. Purchasing a D3s / D3x would be the all-round answer but of course they don’t come cheap!
But there is a feature that the D300 has (and many other cameras besides) that the D2x does not and that is Live View. Over the 6 months I have come to quite literally, LOVE this feature for close-up photography. Take the scenario below. It’s around 5.45 in the morning and through blurry eyes I scan the grass for chalkhill blue butterflies, the size of a 10 pence piece. Why so early I hear you ask? At this time of the day they are still too cold to move and possibly wet from the nights dew, and if you can find one, you can take as long as you like before the sun rises to compose and take your image. Once the sun’s up, it warms, it’s wings quiver as the blood flows and then it’s off!
Nikon D300, 105mm f2.8 Micro Nikkor, Nikon 3T close-up filter, iso 200, 1/20th sec f8, Manfrotto 055 tripod.
When shooting at such close quarters, it’s absolutely vital to get the camera back (used to be called film-plane) parallel with the most important part of the subject and with this individual, that means the wings, both vertically and horizontally. Depth of field is so small in comparison to shooting landscapes, that unless you do this your images will end up in the recycle bin. Don’t even contemplate firing the shutter until it is sharp across both axes.
Given a sufficient distance between the subject and background and if there isn’t a nagging wind, I would usually use an aperture of f11 or 16 as this would allow me a tiny amount of lee-way. But, there was a nagging breeze and the background was only a few feet away, so a compromise had to be met. Shooting at iso 200, I opted for an aperture of f8 which gave me an all-action-stopping 1/20th sec! Now, this is where Live View really comes into it’s own. I had to be certain that at full aperture the butterfly was sharp on the eye and along the 2 axes of it’s wings. I therefore activated LV and zoomed right in to it’s eye, just as if I were zooming into an image to check it’s sharpness after I had taken it. After focusing on the eye, using the cursor, I then just moved the focusing point to the edges of the wing, checking its sharpness. My first attempt showed that the wing tip was slightly out of focus as it was further back, so I raised the tripod an inch or so which in turn tipped the camera down and brought the wing into sharpness. I repeated the process with zooming the LV until all areas were sharp.
Zooming in and focussing on the eye.
Then checking the sharpness of the wings.
It doesn’t stop there. Aside from sharpness, any wind movement is greatly magnified at such close quarters, so you need to be sure of a dead calm before taking the picture. Rather than straining your eye to see when this is, activate the LV again and zoom in a little where any movement immediately becomes apparent. Cool eh? Unfortunately, as in all things in life, there is a downside. With shutter speeds of around 1/15th sec. and longer and especially when working so close, the sudden de-activation of LV and the slap of the mirror during exposure can cause enough vibration to result in unsharpness. I tested this and it was apparent so I would really only use the technique to see when the wind stops at 1/20th sec. and above. Of course, if you are shooting a stationary subject such as a mushroom, then simply de-activate LV first and better still, if you have it, use mirror lock-up.
There’s probably some of you reading this saying to yourself, “I’ve been doing that for years.” But for those of you that haven’t, it’s a jolly useful technique to have up your sleeve.
So, to conclude, is the slightly inferior image quality that I get when shooting at iso 200 with the D300 worth sacrificing for the benefits of Live View? Definitely! In my book, it’s better to get a tack-sharp image with a bit of grain than it is to have a grain-free out of focus one.
Sunrise
I had to share this sunrise with you. The forecast was for cloud and sun first thing which can be perfect for sunrises. Clear mornings are all well and good if you want to shoot wildlife images where you often need decent light, but for landscapes there’s nothing like having interesting clouds to make an image, especially at sunrise and sunset. Clear mornings yield nothing more than a blue sky and within 15 minutes, that’s it. The sun’s risen and the moment has gone. But with some cloud cover, sunrise lingers considerably longer. Once at the location all you have to do is find something interesting to complement it such as a reflection or silhouette. Clouds are tinged with orange and red and the spectacle is very much worth the early rise.
I used a 0.6 (2 stop) ND grad to 'equalise' the exposure of the reflection and sky.
As I parked the car and ran the 100m or so to where I wanted to take the shot (yes, I got there a little late!), I noticed a cow wandering toward me, which, as it got closer, turned out to be a bull. I was just to the side of its path. To get back to the car I would have had to run toward the bull. It looked rather cantankerous, swaying its head from side to side and making low moaning noises. Cattle are not to be underestimated, as has been documented over the last few months. I felt pretty nervous I can tell you. The only place I could go if it charged was in the water. These are not the kind of thoughts you expect at 4.30 in the morning. Anyway, it ambled past me and I got my pictures. Apparently, this particular individual was just roaming around the marsh keeping away from the alpha bull as it were, who, a week earlier had cornered a fireman at a local barn fire!
South Downs 1:1
A very enjoyable day yesterday was spent holding a one to one. We met at Alfriston then headed off in my car to several locations centered around the Cuckmere valley. The location was chosen as it gives a range of opportunities to illustrate techniques within a relatively small area. Total time spent from one location to another never exceeded 10 minutes. The picture below was taken to illustrate how to ’anchor’ the image. To give it foreground interest where your eye then leads through the frame to the distant cliffs. Without the rock it would have been rather uninteresting of just the beach, pebbles and cliffs. I then processed it in black and white since in colour I felt it was too monotone whereas in monochrome it brought out the textures and contrast of the chalk and seaweed.
Nikon D300, 12-24mm at 15mm, iso 200, 1/80th sec. f16, Manfrotto tripod. 2 exposures, one for the rock, the other for the sky then merged in Photoshop CS4. Using an ND Grad would have also darkened the cliffs.
Sundew
I’d hoped for a decent sunrise but alas this never happened, so, after wiping the sleep from my eyes, decided to concentrate on a beautiful, though difficult to photograph, insectivorous plant, the common or round-leaved sundew.
There are 3 species in the UK, the aforementioned being the smallest and most common, the oblong or long-leaved and the great sundew. All 3 are most common in northern England and Scotland though they are also found on southern heaths, notably the New Forest.
Sundews are fascinating plants and have evolved their carnivorous behaviour in response to their habitat which is generally very acidic and poor in nutrients. An insect such as a midge or fly is attracted by its bright colours but then gets stuck on its glue-like droplets at the end of its hair-like tendrils. The sundew then, slowly curls and digests the softer parts of the insect letting the remainder fall to the side. It gets its name by the dew-like droplets that glisten in the sun.
They are very easy to find at Hothfield Common and form splashes of vibrant red amongst the equally vibrant sphagnum moss. But, to shoot the individual leaves you have to get really close. Not just close, REALLY close. The images here are uncropped and shot using a NIkon D300 with a 105mm micro lens at it’s closest focus (1:2 or half life-size) PN-11 (52.5mm) extension tube and Nikon 5T 2 element diopter close-up filter. Other than the image showing the full plant, I was only about 5 inches away. This is when a sound technique really comes to the fore. Don’t rush, take your time. The plant isn’t going to run away! Use a tripod, focus carefully, use mirror lock-up if you have it and use a remote release. The tiniest amount of vibration or inaccurate focusing will show up hugely at such a high magnification.
Water crowfoot
There’s been an explosion of water crowfoot this year across the North Kent Marshes. It’s an incredible sight and in all the years that I have visited this area, have never seen so much. Every ditch, rill and shallow pool is smothered with this beautiful little flower.
The first part of it’s Latin name, Ranunculus, is rather apt for this plant as it means, little frog, due I guess to the fact that it’s found near or in water.
The images above were used without a tripod, something I hardly ever do. However, there are times when it simply isn’t practical. For both I had to lie down overhanging the water, using a right-angle finder and a 12-24mm lens. As the scene was very bright, even though it was only 6.15 in the morning, I could use a small aperture coupled with a reasonably fast shutter speed. A polarising filter helped eliminate specular reflections from the foliage, water and deepen the blue sky.
This one however, taken at sunset with a 300mm f2.8 lens, absolutely required a tripod. A perfectly calm evening was necessary to get the mirror like reflection.
Keeping it small
There’s a lot to be said for keeping the subject small. It can say so much more about the species, in this case a lapwing, than a frame filling portrait. But, and it’s a big but, the landscape surrounding it has to be either photogenic or informative or, both. The lighting played an enormous part when, due to the misty sunrise, the landscape was kept simple and shapes softly defined except for the lapwing caught in light. Imagine the same scene taken in the middle of the day when the orange glow would have disappeared and in its place, green!
Aching but happy
I went back to a favourite spot of mine on the marshes to photograph rabbits. It was a beautiful evening, the wind was blowing in my favour and so, adorned in head to toe camo, around an hour and a half before sunset, I laid down adjacent to some nettles and waited. Within 20 minutes, a rabbit appeared 2m or so away, completely oblivious of my presence, or so I thought. Within seconds, I could feel, through the ground, the thump of it’s hind feet alerting others that ’something’ was up. It obviously couldn’t be 100% sure that I was human, given that other than my eyes, nothing pale was showing. So, it ambled on and nibbled some grass a little way behind me.
Nikon D300, 300mm f2.8 and 1.4x tele-converter, beanbag.
Eventually, the whole clan came out of their burrows and bounded onto the grass infront of me. I resisted taking pictures for the first 5 minutes, allowing them to become accustomed to my presence. I started taking pictures and then, from the corner of my right eye, there was a hare! It had snuck up beside me and was now less than a metre away! I have watched and photographed hares more times than I can remember but never appreciated just how big they are. It too, took no notice of me and moved beyond me.
I couldn't believe my luck when both sat upright next to each other.
The next hour or so was spent shooting various images and was jolly fortunate that more often than not, they would pick the area bathed in sunlight, or maybe they just enjoyed the warmth of the setting sun.
Nodal Ninja
I’ve been shooting panoramic images for quite some time now by taking a series of pictures and stitching together using software. However, unless you use a specialised tripod head, shoot anything closer than a couple of metres away and you come across a problem known as parallax. This is when subjects in the foreground move in relation to the background as the camera is rotated. To illustrate this, place your finger a foot or so away from you and move your head from side to side. You’ll notice that the background alters as you move. To correct this, the camera needs to be set back to it’s nodal point. In order to obtain the highest resolution as well as ‘depth’ to your image, you will need to shoot a series in portrait format and for this you will need a specialised head. There are several on the market and arguably, no, unarguably the best for single-row panorama’s, is the Nodal Ninja 3 MK11. Why is it the best? (By the way, I’m not being sponsored!) Because it’s incredibly compact, lightweight, and really easy to set up. Paramount if you just add it to your kit as an aside if you are looking for other subjects as well. For those of you interested, click here to be directed to the UK dealer.
Here’s one I did last week on the North Kent Marshes at sunrise. 5.15 to be exact. How I love getting up for spring/summer sunrises! Always worth it when you get there though. Six upright images, stitched using PtGui software.
Nikon D300, 28-105mm at 55mm, iso 200, 1/30th sec. f16, ND Grad 0.6.
Remote badger
There has been a lot of talk over the last few months regarding the use of remote cameras when photographing wildlife but there are times when it quite simply is the only way, especially if your intention is to create a very different perspective on a much photographed mammal. I was at least present when the image was taken, indeed, I did take it. There were no beams or pressure pads, just me, sitting 20m away in a tree hide firing the camera by radio remote.
It’s an image I have had in my mind’s eye for number of years but for one reason or another was unable to achieve it. Having secured a number of close-ups the previous few weeks, I waited till the bluebells were in bloom then over several nights, would arrive at the scene around 6.30pm (1 1/2 hrs before they usually emerge), climb an old hornbeam, clamp the camera and receiver to a branch, cover them in plastic bags, then retreat to my platform. Once a badger emerged, which it did at 8pm, it was simply a case of waiting until it was in the desired position and hoping above all else, that it would remain still long enough so as not to be just a blur. I set the D300 to iso 1600, aperture priority f4.9 with the resulting shutter speed being 3 seconds. Lens used was 12-24mm. So as to keep any disturbance to a minimum, I waited till it was completely dark, content the badgers had wandered off to forage, climbed down from my platform then went home, returning early the next morning to collect the camera. It was carried out in private woodland and with the camera being a good 15 feet up a tree, I was fairly confident it would still be there when I returned!
Last of the meadow sunrise series
A not at all common species that has been in decline throughout its range of central and southern England due to extensive farming practises and ploughing. Fortunately, this particular site is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust, thereby ‘hopefully’ safeguarding its future for many years to come.
Nikon D2x, 12-24mm at 16mm, 1/10th sec. f16, iso 100, 0.6 ND Grad.
I used a 300mm f2.8 lens here set to f4 with the manfrotto tripod set to ground level. A small reflector placed infront provided fill-in.
I desperately wanted to return, to see if I could come up with new images but most of all, to soak up the atmosphere of an ancient hay meadow in spring, at dawn. Once again, the cuckoo didn’t disappoint.
Quite often I like to reach for my 200mm or 300mm lens, not just to have more control over the backgrounds, but to also give me ample working ditance to avoid disturbing the surrounding vegetation. On mornings such as these, it pays to wear waterproof trousers or a plastic bag to kneel on. there's no fun in spending several hours with wet knees!
Ox-eye daisy
Its name, derives from the Anglo-Saxon words, daeyes and eayes, meaning day’s eye. Its other names include the dog daisy or Marguerite after the French princess who adopted it as her official emblem. It is a herbal remedy for stomach upsets, whooping cough and asthma.
About Robert Canis
Robert Canis is a professional photographer specialising in the natural world.
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