We often overlook the small things when we head out into the field.
I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again. The Big 5 are absolutely amazing to photograph but too many people get so obsessed with them but this obsession can lead to many missed photo opportunities. Make no mistake, I love the thrill of finding, watching and photographing the big guys but the last while I have made a concerted effort to not post big 5 pictures on the blog.
Perhaps, in a small way, it’s my version of one of those 365 projects that some people which I think is a great creative plan if you are able to stick to it but I cannot get myself to commit to something like that. Hey, this blog keeps me busy enough with regards to getting the creative juices going so all good!
During my quest to photograph the smaller things out there I have seen some amazing things and have had to challenge my own photographic skills quite a bit. Focusing distance, depth of field, background, angles – only a few of the things that you need to approach differently when shooting small. Great fun and some very different images. It is all too easy to fall into a rut and just shoot what you are good at, or think you are good at, but by moving out of your comfort zone you will not only end up with new and different images, for you, but you will start thinking differently when shooting your normal subjects.
I shot the spider yesterday morning during an extremely overcast and wet morning. We almost didn’t see her, but when we stopped and moved in for our close ups the water drops on the web made the scene come alive in an almost dreamlike fashion. Nice one.
I shot this little guy a few days ago after he demanded my attention after crashing into me as we were driving through the bush. He sat still just long enough for me to change lenses, get myself into a very strange position and fire off one shot. Quite like the reflection on the bar where he landed but most importantly a great exercise in photographing a small subject without any time to plan. See subject , change settings, compose and shoot. Nice!
Now in complete contradiction to what I said above, we have been having the most amazing lion sightings and the photographic opportunities have been fantastic so from next week I will start posting a few more lion images.
Finding the big cats early in the morning and taking the time to follow them around will always lead to amazing photographic moments. Here we were waiting for the big guy to walk right past us, he did, which led to an interesting discussion on the vehicle. When you go out on safari it is important to pre-visualise the shots that you want. We saw the scene unfold and were pretty sure that the male lion would continue to walk past us and the first image I wanted was the one whee he breaks the shadows in the corner of the frame above. All it took was patience to get the shot I knew was going to happen but while we were waiting I saw this very typical safari scene. Click. Got it.
It is a great help to have a photographic guide who can help you see these moments but with practice it gets easier and you will find that you ‘see’ more images when you go out there.
Now as I mentioned earlier this week I have not done all that much bird photography and when I get the chance to shoot an image like the one above, and pull it off, I still get childishly excited. Love it! Great challenge which I believe requires great patience, great skill and a good deal of luck.
If you are keen on some tips and advise on bird photography, combined with some mind blowing bird images, you have to make sure not to miss tomorrow’s guest post by Isak Pretorius. Isak is a South African wildlife photographer who has pretty much perfected the art of photographing birds and in tomorrow’s post he will be sharing his knowledge and experience in ‘Improving Your Bird Photography’. Great advise, awesome images – a post not too miss!
I will be back with new images, cool blogs to follow and some other bits and pieces on Friday!
Bye 4 now and remember to look for the small things! 
Gerry
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