Leaf-nosed Bat

Geez Charlie - cut this out - these are just getting better and better. Super sweet. Love the reflection and the additional details there (like those feet). Water droplets streaming from the mouth are awesome! Start lining up the field guide publishers and museums to buy these shots! I'm not much of an emoticon kind of guy...but...



Thanks a bunch for sharing these...

Brad

Too good. Thanks for the looks.

Neat shot. Nice anatomical view of the wing stucture and wonderful detail in the reflection as well.

I have to give full credit to my friend and mentor Tony Merceica. Tony has been building these trigger systems since he was a kid and was getting photos like this on film back in the '60's (when you only had 12 frames). He was gracious enough to teach me his system and he even built me one of his home made triggers. In his advanced years I can call him any time and he'll drop everything to go spend the night photographing Bats. I only wish I'd met him years ago.

excellent work, can you please tell me what laser trigger have you use..? Keep shooting , love the photos like that!!!VDN!!

Hi Verdon,

Here is some info copied from a previous post, updated a little as I get smarter:

These two links should get you started. The first shows the general setup. I am using a home made trigger, but I also have a Nero Trigger which works as well. Instead of infrared, I use the Nero Trigger on the laser setting to trigger the camera. You'll need a laser pointer that is aimed at the sensor on the Nero trigger. When the Bat flies through the beam, it triggers the camera and flashes. You can find the Nero Trigger on line.

Camera is set on manual to sync with the flashes at 1/250. F16 - f22, iso 400 or so (you can experiment, but the lower the better). Flashes on manual at 1/16 power to get a high flash speed. You'll need 4 flashes. Lens is also set on manual focus. Prefocus on the spot where the Bat is most likely to go through the beam. Usually if you watch them for a while you can see that they fly into the wind and always come to the same spot. You can guide them by screening off most of the surface and just leave a 1 x 2 meter "runway" for them to swoop into for a drink.

The best time to get them is just after sundown and just before sunrise, but they'll come sporadically all night long. You'll need to set up your camera to run off of a 12 volt battery so that it can be on all night, otherwise you'll have to stay up all night changing batteries. These triggers keep the camera in "on" position, so there is quite a battery drain. My Nikon D800 can use a 12 volt adapter so that I can power it off of a car battery. Also, you'll need battery packs for the flashes. Basically you set up in the late afternoon and leave everything on until next morning. Make sure to check your focus, lighting, etc. before leaving the setup be. On a typical night I get around 200 photos.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1213851/Stunning-shots-thirsty-bats-swooping-lick-water-garden-pond.html (You won't need the "Bat Detector")

http://nerotrigger.com/

This is very similar to the multi flash photography used on Hummingbirds. It is the high speed of the flash, and not the shutter speed of the camera, that freezes the action. Camera at f/16 - f/22 gives you the depth of field to make sure that you get them sharp.

Last night I counted approximately 90 Bats coming out of my Bat Box at sunset. You'll need to find a small pond that the Bats use for drinking. Not as hard as it might sound.

By the way, I am not a Flash guy. I'm still learning. Feel free to take my settings and tweak them to what works best for you. I know that there is a way to figure out exactly what all of the settings should be, but I haven't read that book yet so I just experiment until it works. I bring my laptop out into the field, and pull the card out (put another in and keep taking pictures of course) after the first hour or so to see how things look, then go back to make adjustments. Once everything is right you can go to sleep if you did your job well.

Amazing image Charlie! Great detail and you're right, the reflection adds a whole other level to the detail, really fascinating to look at.

What an awesome shot again with great details...Bravo!!!

Awesome stop-action photo Charlie!!! That expressive face is priceless. Thanks for sharing the photos, your technique and equipment used to create these great shots. Looking forward to seeing more.

Ken Archer

Thank you very much Charlie for excellent explanation how to DO IT, keep feedIng us with great work!!!! THANK YOU!!!

Charlie, I've been freaking out over this series, walking around to my wife and all my kids with your image on my phone each time you post a new installment. This one is incredible, but so was the last and the one before that as well. I could list all the things I like about it, but that's certainly been covered and the bottom-line is it's just a fantastic creation.

What I will say is this:

This is why I encouraged my daughters to join NPN and why I myself joined. Yes, the inspiration from truly exceptional natural images taken by skillful photographers...but more than that, the creative thinking that is behind the creation them, and the generous sharing of tips and techniques as you have so graciously provided here.

Thank you for posting these, of course, and for being so forthcoming in how you created them, but much more for challenging us to step outside the normal boundaries we impose on our craft and try some of the crazy ideas we come up with!

Thank you for the kind words, John. One reason I'm glad share this info is that maybe more of you will try it. My wife and I have a great fondness for Bats and are both members of BCI http://www.batcon.org/. We build and maintain Bat houses on our property. They're a lot of fun to watch and most people don't realize what is going on out there at night and how much character these little animals have. I hope to see some others on NPN posting similar photos some time soon.

Wow! Your images are getting better and better! Stunner!

Fantastic! Perfect shot!

Grt, Ingrid.

Hi Charlie,
Perfect reflection, great capture

Guy Nelson

Incredible shot Charlie! The detail in the reflection is unbelievable..

Fantastic!