Remote Shooting

Gallery: WildlifePosted July 27, 2010258 views6 comments

A few weeks ago I posted an image about the use of Live View in wildlife photography and showed an example of an image of a rock dassie (hyrax) shot using LV. Another way (and a safer one when it comes to large and/or dangerous animals!) to get very close to animals is to use gadgets to operate a camera remotely. During my session with these lovely young dassies I also used my radio remotes and set-up my camera on a tripod close to the where they like to come out and warm up in the sun. (see image below for the set-up, although in a different position than used for the shot above).
This is certainly not a great image and I am very aware of its flaws (but shoot at it please

), but I post this more as an example of how remote shooting can help in getting close WA shots of animals. Easier said than done to get it right however without having full control of the camera and consequently it takes a lot of patience and trial and error. Because these particular subjects were so approachable the preferred method was the conventional way (combined with LV as well), but more shy creatures will approach a set-up camera without more hesitation than a human being.

Young Rock Dassie / Hyrax (Procavia capensis)
Quiver Tree Forest, Namibia
Camera Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Shutter Speed 1/400 Sec
Aperture Value f/11.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation -1/3
ISO Speed 400
Lens EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM + CP
Focal Length 23.0mm
90% of FF
Tripod + pocket wizards

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on July 27, 2010 at 2:09 PM

And the set-up pic...

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Marsel van Oosten on July 27, 2010 at 2:48 PM

Vincent - good to see you've tried this yourself now; great fun, isn't it? How are the pocket wizards?

It's not easy to shoot with remote triggers, but it's highly enjoyable. I took quite a few shots with remote triggers this year, but I haven't gotten around to looking at them in detail.

My advice: don't put your set up where there are elephants.

As for the shot itself - I won't mention the flaws, as you know them yourself. For demonstration purposes, this works just fine.

Registered on March 9, 2004, 285 Posts, 2277 Comments

Comment posted by Harshad Barve on July 27, 2010 at 11:09 PM

What a perspective , excellent image

Registered on July 25, 2010, 39 Posts, 210 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on July 28, 2010 at 11:29 AM

Hey Vincent...thanks for sharing this! I have often thought about getting a pocket wizard, but have not done that yet. I totally understand the difficulty iun getting a good shot, but how easy is it to use form a technical perspective? Does it work as adverstised? Any help would be appreciated!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on July 28, 2010 at 1:55 PM

About the pocket wizard: I am quite happy with them for what I intend to use them for. Do they work as advertised? As far as I can remember (I have had them for more than a year) apart form the price tag it was the range that really disappointed me and was certainly not as advertised. The reach depends on the local conditions. The furthest reach I achieved was 90 meters, although often it is only 30 or less. The lower the camera is set-up the more the range drops. I also have the idea that water surfaces also affect the range negatively. And of course andy obstructions also affect it, but you will mostly work with a clear line-of-sight anyway since you want to be able to see your subject

Marsel, I haven't tried it on elephant (out of fear), but had some nerve wrecking moments when a rhino approached the camera

Unfortunately from behind so I did not even get a frame, but at least my camera survived...

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on July 28, 2010 at 3:05 PM

Given the nature of those rocks, with the big color areas, this looks like a site for working with photo art for interesting posterized effect. As posted the nit that catches my eye is the lack of some space between the tree and the rock. I like the lovely warm light. The remote set-up looks pretty cool. I like the way they are studying the camera in the set-up shot!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments