Hi guys
I've been very busy with life for a while.
I dashed down to the local river near work this evening to try and capture these mammals as they skim the surface in the heat.
It was not as hot as expected, which is good, as last time a couple of weeks back over 1,000 bats died in the 44+ degree (C) heatwave.
Due to a storm coming over turning the light to crap, so I could either go home or try shooting them at very high ISO, the latter, which I chose to do.
Canon EOS 1Dx MKII, Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM, ISO 10,000, f/4, 1/1600th, tripod in water, full Wimberley gimbal. Very small crop.
NR on BG and a little NR on the bat.
Posting at 1,800 pixels. See how it looks.
I hate using a tripod, just for the record, but it is too risky to hand hold when in the water up to my shoulders as I am squatting.
Last edited by Ákos Lumnitzer; 01-22-2018 at 08:45 AM.
Hi Akos - Sounds like tough conditions to shoot in. I love the angle and the splash really adds drama as well. Wing position is about perfect. I know very little about these so won't comment on colors except to say that you don't have an embedded color profile so there may be a shift depending on browser used.
Wow, what an amazing shot Akos, the low POV, the flying pose with great wing position an the eye really make this. Nice techs and appreciate the difficult shooting conditions.
Am not sure of the colours but maybe the magentas/blues can be reduced in the wings.
Good to see you posting again, Akos!
Won't comment on colour as I'm just passing by briefly, but these flying fox shots work well due to the eye level angle, the clean surroundings and the action captured.
Impressive performance in this poor light.
Hi Akos, cool POV and well worth getting your feet wet and I can appreciate how difficult conditions like this are after doing some Grebe stuff with a tripod in the water and full chest wadders many years ago.
For me the focus does look a bit off, not on the face/head, but these guys are faster than a bullet, so great to get what you did, however the wings do look 'sharp' given the techs, so maybe the focus was just a bit too high??? I also think you could just tweak the colours to get a more of a 'punchy' look as you know. I recollect something being posted a few years back, so if this is a 'photo' location, then I think 'honing' some techs, settings and focus, you could really nail this shot with the 1DX MKII.
Look forward to more and to see some SA images later in the year.
Wonderful work, Akos! I really appreciate this frame, as well as the efforts you put in to capture the moment! Great POV. Nice techs too.
Sweet little flying chap (when I looked at the thumbnail I thought it was an avian image you uploaded here by mistake LOL) See if you can tweak the colours a bit as per Steve's suggestion? And maybe a tad more sharpening on the face of the little guy?
On a number of occasions I tried to photograph a paradise flycatcher who had (still has) the habit of diving into my swimming pool in the afternoons. He always landed in a different spot so I eventually gave up...So well done to you, for your patience and determination
Hi Akos this is so special for me !!!
Love everything about it , must be very tricky to get a kind of shot like this . So big big congrats from my side .
From the technical POV i would agree 100 % with Steve on all counts ......
Thank you for the feedback. Steve, you are a hard taskmaster. :)
But it is this that makes BPN great, the honesty and guidance from great photographers around the world.
Thanks again! I will happily make y'all as "bored" as Andreas with his seals. :D
This one is quite remarkable Akos. Steve has made some great comments. If mine, I'd try and tone down the highlights just a whisker but otherwise, hard to see how you could do better than this, especially in the conditions.
Hi Akos, you know I have seen this elsewhere, but posted Hi res really brings this to life. Very well done to have captured this in the frame, and great perspective too. Great show of the wings forming a V, and all the flying water really portrays the action.
Grey-headed Flying Fox - high ISO
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