photographing haiti’s disappearing biodiversity
DESCRIPTION
Short guide with tips to photographing Haiti's Disappearing BiodiversityTRANSCRIPT
Photographing Haiti’s Disappearing Biodiversity
Ron Savage, Sierra Vista Images,
Leiocepalus schreibbersi Indigo Beach Club
Getting it right
Hawk Moth
1/250 at F 8 ISO 1250 – Had to pan with the moth as it flitted from flower to flower
Tips for Photography • Keep equipment covered to avoid dust • Charge up extra batteries, have an extra charger • Take a few shots when you arrive at a place to check out
light • Reduce the area you camera’s sensor reads from as sun
gets brighter • Stay under ISO 800 • Shoot largest possible JPEG, or RAW, for cropping • Bracket in non-uniform light conditions • Number you memory cards and batteries • Order extra lens caps, you will need them • Put hooks on your backpacks, in order not to lose stuff
Photographing Butterflies
• Good butterflies can be in your yard
• Usually active later
• Careful of wind
• Watch your shadow
• Stay low
• 125-400 ISO
• Macro lense best
• Often with flowers
• Red and yellow best
Butterflies in Action
Myscelia sp. Front View -1/200 at F 3.5, ISO 125
Fritillary Top View-1/800 at F 6.3, ISO 200
Butterflies Alighting on Flowers
Side View -1/800 at F 7.1, ISO 160
Bottom View – 1/500 at 5.6, ISO 200
Photographing Birds
• Have your biggest lense on your camera • 400-800 ISO •Manual focus often works best •Center weighted •Be quiet •Two photographers best •Focus on the photo, not ID •Backlighting often a problem •Steady yourself
Birds in the Bush
Lizard Cuckoo 1/400 at F 5, ISO 250, Canon 70-200 w/ 1.4 adapter
Hispaniolan Siskin 1/200 at F 5, ISO 250, Tamron 18-270
Birds in Flight
Juv. Blue Heron Side View -1/800 at F 7.1, ISO 200
Kestrel Bottom View -1/1600 at F 10, ISO 400
Shooting Big Game Le Selle Thrush, 1/800 at F 7.1, ISO 800, Canon 70-200 lens
Hispaniolan Spindalis 1/640 at F 5, ISO 800, Canon 70-200 lens
Shooting Hummers and Todies
Thick Billed Tody 1/320 at F 7.1, ISO 400, Canon 70-200
Antillean Mango 1/320 at F 7.1, ISO 400, Canon 70-200
Photographing Lizards
• Bigger is better • Acute sense of hearing and movement • Some like sun, some like shade • Often camauflaged • Many species • Feeding, fighting and mating • Many endangered
Rhinocereus iguana 1/640 at F 7.1, ISO 400, Canon 70-200
Lizards on Rocks
Lizards on Plants Anolis Cybotes
Anolis coelestinus 1/100 at F 6.3, ISO 640, Canon 100 macro
A Lizard in the Hand
Anolis cybotes, Stout Anole 1/800 at F 7.1, ISO 200
Celestus stenurus, Keeled Galliwasp 1/640 at F 8, ISO 200, T 18-270
Photographing Plants
• Sedentary • Predictable •Best no wind, diffuse sun • Flowers ephemeral • Different types of lighting • Attract wildlife • All shapes and sizes • Many threatened • Can be found in urban areas
Taro Leaf 1/150 at F 3.5, ISO 400, Tamron 18-50
Bromeliads and Agaves
Flowers
Datura flowers 1/320 at F 7.1, ISO 200, Tamron 18-270
Native Shrub 1/250 at F 4.5, ISO 400, Canon 70-200 lense
Big Trees
Mesquite 1/320 at F 8, ISO 200, Tamron 18-50
Forest canopy, 1/160 at F 6.3 ISO 1250, Bracketed to get the light right, late morning sun
Shooting Big Game
•No large mammals •Very few mammals
Night Photography
Moth Tarantula
Finding the Right Habitat
Semi-desert, Northwest Haiti
Forets de Pins, SE Haiti
What to do about people?
People in action Local Guides
What about science?
GPS Websites
• Inaturalist
• National Geographic
• Smithsonian
Identifying Species
Still Life Shots
Art Science
Once in a lifetime shot