Wildlife Photographers (10): Andy Biggs

Posted by dc on May 14, 2013
Posted in: wildlife photographers. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Just recently, well known wildlife photographer Andy Biggs gave a very informative insight in the way he works and how he became a wildlife photographer in this great video, filmed at Google talks. To me, Andy Biggs is in the tradition of great american artists like Howard Hawks or Ernest Hemingway: Great and unique in their art, but modest and not artsy-like in their character. Andy calls himself not an artist, but “a creative person”. I guess, that says it all. So let his photography talk about the man: his view of Africa and its wild animals is a poetic one. There is always some tenderness and empathy in Andy Biggs pictures of African animals and landscapes. There is never any overcooking involved in his pictures -never too close, never too far away, always on the spot where the photographer has to be. Timing and composition, always great, and always fitting to atmosphere and object.

Andy Biggs offers photo safaris mostly in Botswana and Tanzania/Kenya.

Andy Biggs ist ein sehr bekannter Wildlife Fotograf, der erst jüngst bei einer Veranstaltung bei Google (siehe obigen Link auf das Video) einen sehr interessanten und sehr amerikanisch-praktischen Einblick in seine Arbeit und seine Karriere als Fotograf gab. Für mich ist Andy Biggs  ein typisch amerikanischer Künstler: Seine Kunst sprich seine Fotografien für sich sprechen zu lassen, ohne für sich als Person in Anspruch zu nehmen, ein Künstler zu sein. Andy Biggs nennt sich selbst lieber “a creative Person”. Seine Fotografie von Afrika und den Tieren Afrikas spricht von grosser Sympathie für Landschaft und Fauna, und von Respekt. Seine Fotos sind nie aufdringlich, halten Abstand, wo es sinnvoll ist, Abstand zu wahren, und gehen poetisch in die Nahdistanz, wenn dies sinnvoll ist. Ich mag sein Timing und seine Komposition: immer stimmig, immer atmosphärisch.

Andy Biggs bietet Fotosafaris in Afrika an, zumeist in Botswana und dem Serengeti-Mara Ökosystem.

copyright Andy Biggs

Q safari-photographer: What is your photo equipment, and what is the reason for Canon or Nikon?

A Andy Biggs: I primarily shoot with Phase One medium format gear, however I also use Canon and Nikon both to fill in on a safari-by-safari basis. I rent what I need, and some safaris require longer focal lengths than others.
Q: What are your lenses?
A: My primary wildlife lens is a Schneider 240mm on my Phase One camera, which is equal to around 150mm on a full frame Nikon or Canon camera. I also use a Phase One 75-150mm, and on 35mm equipment I often use a 200-400mm f/4 or 300mm f/2.8.
Q: What is your favorite lense, and why?
A: I absolutely love the 70-200mm f/2.8. It is such a utilitarian lens!
Q: What is your favorite place for wildlife photography in Africa/the rest of the world, and why?
A: I have two favorite places: The open savannah of the greater Serengeti ecosystem as well as the Okavango Delta of northern Botswana. Both of these locations offer extraordinary landscapes as backdrops for the abundant wildlife.
Q: What is your current project you are working on?
A: I am currently working on trying to be at home more often. :-)
Q: What is a dream project for you in the future?
A: My dream project is to photograph in ecologically sensitive environments, documenting threatened species as the result of habitat loss.
Q: What are your concerns for the future regarding protecting the African wildlife and national parks?
A: My concerns are that the wildlife in our parks are becoming islands of isolated genes, separated from each other by large populations of humans. I would like to have wildlife corridors, linking parks and wildlife-rich ecosystems with one other.
Q: What do you try to achieve with your photography?
A: I try to convey a sense of peacefulness, hope and timelessness with my imagery. I try to take viewers to a place that seems far away from home.
Q: Do you consider yourself being an artist?
A: I do, but I prefer to use the term photographer or that I am a creative person.

Use of HDR in wildlife photography / HDR und Naturfotografie

Posted by dc on May 8, 2013
Posted in: landscape photography, Safari photography, wildlife photography. Tagged: , , , . 3 comments

Maybe I am wrong, but the use of HDR in wildlife photography does not seem very common. It appears to me it that HDR technology is more used in landscape and architecture photography. Well, anyway, I tried to pimp some of my wildlife pictures with the use of the Aperture HDR plugin  called HDRtist. This plugin is a piece of cake to install and can easily convert a single photo as a so called fake HDR into a HDR picture. Actually for HDR you take a series of  the same photo, with different aperture settings, and you stitch these photo series into one single photo by fusioning all the different light situations into one.  The results of using HDR for my single shot wildlife pictures where kind of interesting – if you like this what I call a pop art approach in wildlife photography

HDR Giraffe by safari-photographer.com

HDR Giraffe by safari-photographer.com

Here is the original photo:

Giraffe Bull Etosha N.P., Namibia, by DC Loew

Giraffe Bull Etosha N.P., Namibia, by DC Loew

 

Here comes the zebra in HDR:

HDR Zebra by safari-photographer.com

HDR Zebra by safari-photographer.com

And here is the original photo:

Serengeti zebra in black and white by DC Loew

Serengeti zebra in black and white by DC Loew

Die Verwendung von HDR Technologie in der Naturfotografie scheint nicht sehr ausgeprägt, und das hat sicherlich seinen Grund: Naturfotografie verträgt die Künstlichkeit der HDR Fotos nur ganz bedingt. Schliesslich sind die Lichtsituationen in HDR artifiziell und alles andere als natürlich. Wenn man wie ich nun versucht hat, die hier gezeigten Fotos im HDR Stil anzupassen, so geht dies nur mit einer intendierten Künstlichkeit daher, ich entleihe mir dafür den Begriff der pop art – aber urteilt selbst.

Safari photography tip: Secretary Bird / Safari Fotografie: Der Sekretär Vogel

Posted by dc on May 4, 2013
Posted in: Safari photography, Safari tips, wildlife, wildlife photography. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

One of the animals you will almost anytime encounter when on safari in Africa, and which is very easy to spot and to identify, is the secretary bird. This huge bird of prey can be found in savannas and open grassland, and is home in the sub-saharian Africa. National parks where I did see secretary birds are Masai Mara, Etosha, Moremi, and Serengeti, of course. But it can be spotted in South African parks as well.  The problem with this bird is, to get a decent picture of it.

Mostly, these birds are patrolling the open grass and walk through the bush, preying on all animals which are crawling on the ground, small rodents as well as snakes. But, if the secretary birds spots you in your safari car, it turns around and its back towards you and simply walks way. Or, if you are getting too close, it flies away. So in in most cases you will only have the chance to take a picture of the birds back. Same goes for the nests of them: these are in the top of acacia trees, and the photo taken from the ground aiming up is never a good solution.

The solution is simple: you have to be quick with your camera and spot the bird before it spots you – and walks away. As you can see in this image, taken in Masai Mara, Kenya, the secretary bird just is about to turn its head – and to walk away. That is why the picture is not 100% focussed. But  checking my data, I could not find any other ok photo of this very photogenic bird.

Promised: On my next safari, I will try to take a decent picture of a secretary bird –  I am open for recommendations in which African park I might succeed.

 

Secretary bird by DC Loew safari-photographer.com

Secretary bird by DC Loew safari-photographer.com

Einer der fotogensten und interessantesten Vögel, denen man auf einer Safari in Afrika begegnen kann, ist der Sekretär oder secretary bird. Dieser Raubvogel ist von ähnlicher Grösse wie ein Mäusebussard, hat allerdings sehr sehr lange Beine und wirkt deshalb recht gross. Somit ist er sehr auffällig, einfach zu erkennen und in fast in allen Nationalparks des südlichen und östlichen Afrikas zu Hause. Der Sekretärvogel bewohnt Savannen und offenes Grasland, und ist meistens zu Fuss unterwegs, denn er jagt alles Getier, was sich am Boden befindet, seien es kleine Nager oder sogar Schlangen. Nur im Notfall fliegt er davon, und das ist das Problem, denn: Ein gutes Photo von ihm zu erhalten ist sehr schwer. Sobald der Raubvogel das Safari – Fahrzeug erspäht hat, wendet er sich ab, zeigt dir seinen Rücken, und läuft davon. Kommt man zu nah, fliegt er weg.

Die Lösung ist einfach: Man muss den Vogel überraschen, und nah an ihm dran sein, bevor er einen sieht. Dann die Kamera schnell parat, mit einer langen Linse und geringer Verschlusszeit. Dann sollte man die Chance haben, ihn zu fotografieren, bevor er einem den Rücken zuwendet. Das Foto oben ist auf einer Safarin in der Masai Mara in Kenia entstanden, kein sehr gutes Foto, zugegeben. Eher ein dokumentarisches Abbild als gute wildlife Fotografie.

Und versprochen, auf meiner nächsten Safari steht der Sekretär auf meiner Wunschliste für ein gutes Foto.

 

 

 

Hippo in the grass /Ein Flusspferd im Grünen

Posted by dc on April 29, 2013
Posted in: Safari photography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

This photo of a browsing hippo was taken on a Safari in Seronera Valley, Serengeti, Tanzania, at around midday. The story behind it is simple: We were on  game drive in the Seronera valley, pretty close to the parks headquarter, and it was about time for our lunch boxes.

Normally, at this time of the day you should not expect to see a lot of animals or take a good picture – it is too hot, too dusty, and the light is really bad – too much sun washing out colors, contrasts, everything what makesa good picture is hardly to meet at lunchtime in the Serengeti.

Besides that, hippos have very sensitive skin and the try to stay away from the sun, so normally they get out of the water only at night, to graze. But to our surprise we encountered this hippo in the hot midday sun, taking a stroll through the high grass besides Seronera river.

The high grass made it difficult to a gain decent focus, and the hippo disappeared as quickly as it showed up, but here is the picture:

Canon EOS 5D MkII, Canon EOS EF-L lens with 300mm. I used the canon doubler, so the focal length is 600mm! ISO at 250.

Maybe not a great, outstanding picture, but interesting because of the rare animal behavior documented, and kind of mastering the moment. Maybe because that is why I like it!

Hippo in the grass by DC Loew

Die Geschichte hinter diesem ungewöhnlichen Foto eines afrikanischen Flusspferdes ist schnell erzählt. Das Ungewöhnliche ist: Normalerweise bleiben Hippos den Tag über im Wasser, und verlassen dieses erst gegen Abend, wenn die Sonne nicht mehr ihre empfindliche Haut schädigen kann. Das wusste das oben abgelichtete Exemplar aber offensichtlich nicht!

Gegen die Mittagszeit, wenn Licht und Gelegenheit in der Serengeti  gegen so ziemlich jedes gute Foto sprechen (Die starke Sonne bleicht Farben und Kontraste total aus, es ist staubig und die Luft flimmert und sorgt für Unschärfe, und die Tiere verstecken sich vor der Hitze) trafen wir auf dieses grasende Flusspferd. Es war im Tal des Seronera Flusses im Herzen der Serengeti, gar nicht weit vom Hauptquartier der Parkverwaltung.

Genauso schnell und unerwartet wie sich diese Foto Gelegenheit bot, verschwand das Flusspferd auch wieder, das hohe Gras machte ein scharfes Foto ziemlich schwierig, aber oben seht ihr das Resultat, die Schärfe ist manuell eingestellt und halbwegs ok.

Canon EOS 5D MkII, Canon EOS EF-L Objektiv mit 300mm. Ich nutzte den Canon 2x Konverter, die  Brennweite ist 600mm! ISO  250.

Sicherlich kein besonders grossartiges Tierfoto, aber ein schönes Naturdokument welches ein ungewöhnliches tierisches Verhalten dokumentiert. Aus fotografischer Sicht wurde aus den schlechten Umständen das bestmögliche gemacht, insofern mag ich  dieses Foto genau aus diesem Grund!

New on safari-photographer: most important National Parks in Africa and trekking trails per country

Posted by dc on April 26, 2013
Posted in: Africa Tourism, Safari tips, Südafrika, travel Africa, Trekking in Africa, Walking Safari. 1 comment

Some weeks ago I added some english language texts to safari-photographer.com which feature descriptions about the most important African National Parks in the most important safari destinations: South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia and Botswana.

Serengeti Special campsite by safari-photographer.com

Serengeti Special campsite by safari-photographer.com

These texts also include, as I like hiking and trekking very much, African trekking trails. This week I want to highlight the South African chapter, as it was much work getting all the information together. You can find the texts linked in the header under the headlines “Safari in Africa” (English) or “Safari in Afrika” in (German).

South Africa has a broad spectrum of varying nature from a diverse coast, deserts, savannahs, and mountainous areas and has a good tourist infrastructure, with a lot to offer travellers interested in nature. Over 500 reserves total 642,000 km², an area larger than Spain and Portugal combined.

Trekking tours are popular in the Drakenstein Mountains, in the Kwa Zulu Natal province, with a terrain of up to 3,500m altitude and 1,000 km length in the east of South Africa. There are countless spectacular tracks .

Many of the South African National parks offer excellent trekking tours and walking safaris on so-called nature trails. Some parks also offer the opportunity to use a mountain-bike for a trek through the wilderness. All activities such as safaris, hiking tours, trekking tours, and any outdoor activities are normally organised through the national park management, who accept all the bookings. The network address of the South African parks management is http://www.sanparks.org.

Flight connections from Europe: Nearly all major European airlines (Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France, KLM) and South African Airways from major European hubs like Frankfurt and London Heathrow  fly to South Africa. Most connections go to Johannesburg and/or Cape Town.

For flight connections from the Americas or Asia: South African flies Buenos Aires to Johannesburg with A 340. And there are plenty of flights with airlines like Emirates or Etihad to Johannesburg via their hubs in the middle East. From North America you have to cross the Atlantic and get a connecting flight from somewhere in Europa. Best European airports and carriers in question of transfer time: KLM via Amsterdam, Lufthansa, United Airlines, Air Canada via Frankfurt. British Airways and American Airlines via London, check carefully if your connecting flight goes either from London Heathrow or London Gatwick!

Germany offers direct flights from Frankfurt and Munich to Johannesburg with Lufthansa and South African Airways; Air Berlin leaves daily from Munich to Cape Town except on Sundays.

Bookings: The park management of South Africa has set up a website for queries and bookings of accommodation and camping grounds.

Beers of the world: Huari, Bolivia / Biere der Welt: Huari, Bolivien

Posted by dc on April 19, 2013
Posted in: Beers of the world. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment

Each Friday from today on I will post a picture of a beer I drank somewhere in the world. Lets see how many pictures I have! I strongly believe in the local brew, and always ask for it, avoiding by all means brands like Heineken or Carlsberg, just to give an example.

I start with a beer from Bolivia called Huari. It is not bad for a very light Lager, and to make it a light beer is good idea when you consume it on an altitude of 3.600 m – because: high altitude plus alcohol do not make a good mix! So, yes, Huari beer from Bolivia, not one of the top beers of the world, but definitely drinkable!

In einer losen Serie von Fotos möchte ich einige Biere der Welt vorstellen, welche ich selber getrunken habe, und zwar vor Ort. Von vornherein ausschliessen kann ich Biermarken wie Heineken oder Carlsberg. Es ist mir ein Rätsel und spricht allerdings für den exzellenten Vertrieb von einer Marke wie Heineken, wieso dieses an sich schreckliche Bier weltweit erhältlich ist. Ich frage immer nach dem lokalen Bier, das erfreut die Einheimischen, und ist zumeist die bessere Wahl.

Diese Woche also: Huari aus Bolivien, getrunken in La Paz. Foto: iPhone. Es handelt sich um ein leichtes Lager mit relativ wenig Eigengeschmack, allerdings schmeckt es auch recht natürlich. Schönes Label, aber das Bier selbst hat kaum Farbe und wirkt ein wenig sehr blass. Liegt vielleicht daran, dass es auch geschmacklich sehr leicht ist. Ein leichtes Bier erscheint mir für die Höhe, auf der man es trinkt, eine sehr gute Idee zu sein:3.600m sind ein Argument, ein leichtes Bier zu brauen. Alkohol und eine grosse Höhe vertragen sich nicht sehr gut !

Huari aus Bolivien: absolut trinkbar.

Huari Beer Bolivia, by DC Loew

Wildlife Photographers (9): Gerry van der Walt

Posted by dc on April 17, 2013
Posted in: wildlife photographers. Tagged: , . 1 comment
What I really like about the wildlife photography of Gerry van der Walt is, that it is straight forward, and has something of documentary quality. And if you browse through Gerrys portfolio, especially what he calls “African moments”, you know what I am talking about. A so called documentary moment is really hard to capture with a photo camera, but Gerry does it: His Africa pictures do not only look like Africa, they smell and sound like it, too!
But have a look yourself, here is the interview and all links to Gerrys websites.
As I have been thinking about the problem of bringing really long lenses (or even buying them) to Africa, Gerrys company Wild Eye is renting them, e.g. the Canon 600mm or the Canon 200mm 2.8. Great idea!
Wildnis Fotograf Gerry van der Walt macht grossartige Fotos der Fauna Afrikas, und was ich besonders mag, sind seine Landschaften mit Tieren darin. Das sieht nicht nur aus wie Afrika, das riecht auch fast so. Deshalb denke ich, dass seine Fotos eine gewisse dokumentarische Qualität aufweisen – eine Eigenschaft, die ich als extrem schwierig einzufangen finde.
aber lest im Interview, was Gerry über seine Fotografie zu sagen hat.
Anmerkung: Wer sich schon immer gefragt hat, wie er Objektive wie z.B. das Canon 600mm finanzieren oder im Flieger nach Afrika schaffen kann bzw. wo man diese mieten kann: Gerrys Unternehmen Wild Eye vermietet alle professionellen Objektive von Canon und Nikon.
Gerry van der Walt Photography
Q: What is your photo equipment, and what is the reason for Canon or Nikon?
A: I am originally a Nikon shooter and the only reason for that is that when I bought my first DSLR, the NikoN D70, it was the cheapest one in the store!  From then you start adding lenses and other accessories which makes it very difficult to change your system later on.  These days I shoot both Nikon and Canon as when I lead photo safaris I need to be able to assist clients regardless of what brand they use.  I personally feel that the brand debate is old and tired and the make of camera you shoot with has nothing to do with the quality of images that you produce.  The camera is simply a tool that you, as the photographer, uses to express your vision.
Q: What are your lenses?
A: For most photo safaris I will pack my bag with:
  • Nikon 14-24mm or Canon 16-35mm
  • Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8
  • Nikon 200-400mm f/4
The destination we are heading to will however greatly determine the type of gear I take along.  Southern African destinations do not require as long focal lengths as East Africa so this will be one of the deciding factors.  Recently I have been shooting with the Canon 14mm quite a bit and it is a mind-blowing wide angle especially for star and night time photography.
Q. What is your favorite lense, and why?
A: If I had to choose only one I would have to go with a 70-200mm f/2.8.  It is always the first lens I pack regardless of destination.  The focal range can be use to create anything from tight portraits to landscape images.  Very handy lens!!
Q: What is your favorite place for wildlife photography in Africa/the rest of the world, and why?
A: Kenya has to be my favourite destination in Africa.  The diversity of parks and animals is quite amazing.  In specific lay I have had a bit of an obsession about Amboseli the last while.  The park is pretty small but defines what makes Africa so special!  Later this year I will be travelling to Svalbard to photograph polar bears so I am quite excited about that but Africa will always be in my soul.
Q: What is your current project you are working on?
A: I am currently busy focusing on Wild Eye, my company which offers photographic safaris, workshops and courses, and building the business up so right now there is not too much time for other projects.  
Q: What is a dream project for you in the future?
A: I have a few of those but the one that is right at the top of the list is to do a visual documentary on the various parks in East Africa.  The combination of photography and video will make for a very powerful exhibition and showcase the deeper and lesser known aspects one of the world’s greatest wildlife and photographic destinations.
Q: what are your concerns for the future regarding protecting the African wildlife and national parks?
A: Rhino poaching is obviously something that is in the news and a major concern as far as the natural heritage of Africa is concerned.  I’m not sure anybody las the answer but it is imperative that, as wildlife photographers, we keep on showing the world the beauty of nature.  Perhaps, even if in s avery small way, this will educate people and show them a world that we do not want to loose.
Q: What do you try to achieve with your photography?
A: Apart from showcasing the beauty of nature and sharing my passion for the wild places of Africa I always try and teach and educate people as to how they can improve their own photography.  Too many photographers out there have a holier-than-thou attitude and do not want to share their knowledge which I think is very sad and short sighted.  The more people we can introduce to the wonderful world of wildlife photography the better as it will make more people share images and the passion that we have for nature.
Q: Do you consider yourself being an artist?
A: Yes.  I believe that any person that picks up a camera and creates an image is an artist.  
Find Gerry van der Walt on the web: