This will be a fairly short post, but I think one of the most helpful ways to learn is through the mistakes of others, and this particular mistake is one I’ve made more times than I can count (although my maths isn’t that good).
TAKE A PRACTICE SHOT!
By simply taking a photograph before whatever you are hoping will happen actually happens, you can check that your settings are right, your framing is good, you have the right lens for the occasion, etc. etc. So many times I have sat waiting for a leopard to jump out of a tree, or an elephant to throw mud on itself, or something that requires patience, and I have neglected to check my settings, and ended up with a blurred shot, or something completely overexposed or equally unusable:
Hadn’t checked my settings, so this was the first shot I got….
And then after some hasty corrections…
The more specific the shot you want to get is, the more dialled in your settings need to be, and therefore the less likely that the next scene you want to photograph will require the same settings.
24 hours on safari can present you with such a wide array of photographic opportunities that this whole practice shot thing should be absolutely mandatory. From astrophotography in the evening you could be photographing a leopard silhouette at dawn the next day, then want to capture a motion blur of the cat coming down the tree before moving to a waterhole to capture a freeze-frame of some elephants dripping water off their trunks when drinking… it’s a veritable smorgasboard!
I had this practice shot thought come into my head whilst browsing my Lightroom catalogue and I came across this picture:
(After publishing it was pointed out to me that the cub is actually in the tree already; it’s head can be seen peeking out on the left of the dead branches. I hope this doesn’t detract from the point of the post!)
At first I was a bit confused as I couldn’t remember why I had taken a photo of a seemingly random dead tree, but then when I clicked to the next photo, I remembered:
The Ndzanzeni female had an impala kill right down in the south-eastern sector of Londolozi, and she had with her this very shy cub of only a few months old. We knew the cub was there as we could see it creeping around in a thicket near this fallen marula, so we parked far away so as not to scare it. Hoping it would climb the dead branches, we took some practice shots and settled down to wait. Luckily the cub came out and climbed up exactly where we were hoping.
The end result is quite cropped as the photo was fairly wide, but the main thing for me is that here was evidence of actually taking the test shot, which I’ve so often forgotten to do.
At the start of each game drive it’s crucial to check your settings, and not only to make sure you are ready to go should a photographic opportunity present itself, but also to check the space on your memory card and check your battery life, both of which are easy to forget about and then you suddenly find yourself frantically deleting photos one by one as you miss half the action in front of you because your card has suddenly filled up!
When it comes to wildlife photography, you don’t often get second chances, so make sure you are camera-ready!
Thanks to the advent of digital photography, a lot is recoverable in post-processing, but don’t rely on this. Get your settings right before the shot presents itself!
Taking a test photo is as easy as pointing the camera at something, pressing the shutter button and checking the result. It doesn’t even take 10 seconds, but it’ll save you an enormous amount of frustration in the long run…
Thanks James. Super tips. Guy also stressed these points to me over the weekend. You have a great team of Rangers and Trackers!
Thanks Mark!
Hmmm, they’re ok…
Haha 😉
James, I loved the little leopard in the tree – but you took the photo of trees,
you didn’t see the leopard in the tree🤗
Hahaha well spotted Joan! WHoops! I KNEW that photo was in there for a reason. I had totally forgotten about that!
The little one just hide very well
Great reminder James – thanks
And yes you can post process many things – but a blurred image is never really recoverable – so I always say be ready for action – landscapes don’t move – leaving time to set your camera!
Very much looking forward to putting this all into practice again at Londolozi in April
Spot on, if you excuse the pun.
Great advice and so necessary whilst shooting animals, sports and people. I was so looking forward to capturing more wildlife there in a month but a freak accident has left me in a full arm cast after breaking two bones 😬😢. So I’ve had to cancel my stay there. So disappointed!!
………Or, just keep snapping! (100) photos at a leopard sighting should be your bare minimum in the digital photography age (but, aim for closer to 400). Snap, snap, snap! Don’t stop! If you’re anticipating the leopard about to do something you want to capture, start snapping before your best guess at when this action will occur. Again….don’t stop. If your first snap looks blurry….shame on you!….you shouldn’t be looking at that last snap because your finger should still be pressing down like a piston in a Formula One race car. This can all be sorted out when you get back to the room or back home. In the field is not the time. If the leopard yawns, if the leopard stretches, you should snap a minimum of (5) snaps. A leopard goes for a drink, continual snapping until the drinking is done! You’re bound to get at least one money tongue shot this way. If a lion pair is mating, don’t forget that the actual act will be followed by some fantastic snarling action from the pair…….(8) snaps minimum! If an elephant charges your vehicle….well, I can forgive you for forgetting to snap in a moment of self-preservation……..but if you can stomach the courage…..snap, snap, snap! Chances are the guide isn’t going to let the ellie get tot he vehicle anyway and you’ll go home with photos and a story to tell. Want a challenge? Try and catch a Lilac-breasted roller taking flight displaying the colors of the underside of it’s wings. I’ve tried this on a few dozen game drives across two safaris and not even the snap, snap, snap technique has succeeded in catching this one, but keep trying!
Always take a practice shot!!