Advice on Galapagos photography needed

[Wendy Kates]

Hi all,

My husband and I will be traveling to the Galapagos in a few weeks. All of the Galapagos photography sites warn that the full, mid-day sun combined with the black lava fields makes photography challenging. Can anyone provide some advice about metering / exposure compensation that would guide me? I will be taking a Canon TSi rebel and monopod with a ball head. I also just purchased a polarizing filter for the 70-200 which I'm hoping will help.

Also, I'm planning to primarily use my 70-200 f/4 with a 1.4 extender for birds and wildlife, and will have my consumer 18-200 lens for landscapes. I also have a 300 f/4, which I could bring instead of the 70-200, and use with the 1.4 x. I know it would give me more range, but i would prefer the flexibility of the zoom. Do those of you who have been to the Galapagos think the 70-200 with the extender will be adequate?

Thanks,
Wendy

[Ed Cordes]

Wendy, the 70-200 with the extender will do you fine. My opinion is to leave the 300 F4 at home. Most of the time the animals are very close so 300 is not needed. When it is your extender will fill the need. RE exposure watch your histogram and be sure the whites on the birds are not blown. If you are shooting against black or dark lava be sure to use - EV as your meter will try to brighten the dark lava. That said, you will many times be close enough that the BG will have only minimal influence on the exposure. One suggestion is to do all you can to get a low perspective. Many photographers on our trip shot animals relatively close standing up. Try your best to get at eye level tot he critter. If you want check out my website and go to the Galapagos galleries to see what my wife and I did last June. www.ecordesphotography.com (http://www.ecordesphotography.com)

[Wendy Kates]

Ed, thanks so much for your input. Re: getting at eye level with the critters: I just ordered knee pads from Amazon to ensure that kneeling down on the lava rocks to photograph the wildlife won't be so painful! Your galleries are beautiful: I loved the blue-footed boobies, and some of your photo captions cracked me up!

[Steve Uffman]

Ed nailed it. I was there the same time last year that you are going. You also are likely to get good shots of birds following your boat. They are likely to be very close. While I was on the stern, I made some nice images of blue footed boobies that were following the boat by over exposing the sky. They were High Key images but i was happy with them. Also did the same with Frigate birds.

Certainly agree about low perspective. It is easy to do. 90% of what I shot was from a low perspective.

Another great opportunity if you are an early riser, are the sunrises (and sunsets at end of day) We had huge cloud formations most days and the colors were spectacular

And one more piece of advice. I let myself get talked out of bringing a low cost underwater camera. We snorkeled everyday mid morning and while the water is not the Caribbean, getting shots of the penguins and sea lions swimming with you is pretty cool. And water around a couple of the islands this time of year can have decent visibility so we got shots of turtles, rays and some pretty nice fish while snorkeling. And most now do video as well, so we put together combo presentations mixing stills and video to great effect. and it you want to walk around with the 70-200 which is what I did, the point and shoot underwater capable camera was great for wide angle and landscapes.

Bottom line is it is an amazing place and a good time of year to go.

By the way, rain can crop up at anytime so have some rain protection for your gear. I have all matter of rain protection all the way up to ThinkTanks Hydrophobia, but you an get effective but cheap protection for you camera and lens with the plastic rainsleeves that BHphoto and others sell...Also helps with the sea spray encountered from boat to landing.

[Cal Walters]

Agree with Ed - and Steve's point on rain. If you are going by sleep-aboard boat & depending on the size of boat you are on, the seas can get to roll about pretty strongly. So plan on storing your camera in a protected carrier and on the floor in a place where it can not slide around at night. A counter top is NOT GOOD - it will slide right off in some of the pitching. Also, One flexible lens on the shore is a good choice - the lava is hard and any slips while trying to change lenses will leave you very unhappy - trust me on this one! Also remember you get to the shore on a Zodiac boat - they generally try to limit the splash, but it is there nonetheless. Most landings we did were on docks, but there were a few beach landings - you may consider a waterproof bag when getting to shore. The 70-200 alone should be fine. As noted, you can get close to most. There were a few places where I wish I had more, but normally I was fine. I did not find I was shooting lots of animals with lots of black lava - there were a few places, yes. But its not like it is just a black sweep. In looking back, I shot about 20% pelagic type shots from the boat, 20% birds in trees / shrubs with overcast skies or light sand, about 25% different landscape shots with sea, sky, & land and the balance people in situ shots. While there is black - there are also islands with lots of red / rust lava colors as well. I even had a few macro shots in there. Lots of photographic options.

[Wendy Kates]

Steve and Cal...I really appreciate all of your great advice and warnings. I was planning to go to my local camera store to get plastic protective covering for my camera and lens...I'm a little concerned about the water landings, as you mentioned, and want to protect my gear as much as possible. Re: snorkeling: we are borrowing a friend's goggles that have a built - in camera....hopefully it will take adequate photos. Thanks again!

[Matt Fragale]

I've never been to the Galapagos, but reading the comment about a cheap underwater camera reminded me of this: http://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/09/lifeproof-iphone-case-offers-protection-against-water-and-shock-damage/

If you happen to have an iPhone (they might make for other smartphones, I am not sure), this case allows you to take your iPhone underwater. It apparently works very well. I saw it yesterday and was thinking about buying one for when we go to the beach here in FL. Could be fun!

[John Walker]

I would take both your zoom and 300. For most occasions teh zoom and wide angle will suffice however there may be a few situations where the extra reach will be useful.
The most important kit to take are KNEE PADS - for many of the best angles you will have to get down low and teh rocks will tear your knees to shreds!
Enjoy your trip

[Art Bori]

My wife and I were in the Galapagos last Nov.-Dec. I think your 70-200 + 1.4x TC will be just fine. I would not take the monopod. I fully agree with the info about knee pads.

I wrote up some photo specific tips for the Galapagos on my blog: http://columnsix.wordpress.com/trips/galapagos-novdec-2011/hints-1/hints-3/#PhotoTips. I also day-by-day entries starting here: http://columnsix.wordpress.com/trips/galapagos-novdec-2011/galapagos-day-1-1/.

Have a great trip!

Art