Posted by Mark Fellowes on August 8, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Hi everyone
This is another orangutan shot taken in Borneo a couple of weeks ago. On this day the afternoon was just one heavy tropical deluge, but at least the humidity was less than 90%. The female orangutan was waiting to get to the supplementary food, while the dominant male was eating his fill. I like this shot because it avoids the 'cutsey' (I have plenty of those!), and the turned away head of the female emphasises the expression of her baby, but maybe that's just me?
As an aside, a benefit of the supplementary feeding is that orangutans in this area breed more frequently than those not fed (every 5-6 years as opposed to once every 8), which is helping to build numbers up.
Thanks for looking.
Mark
Techs: D80, 105mm IF-ED VR Micro Nikkor; ISO 200; handheld (under poncho!) 1/15 & F2.8; PP in CS2; slight crop for comp.
Posted by Graeme Lee on August 8, 2007 at 12:14 PM
Good work hand held Mark Looks good at this size. Although fairly tight, the comp really works. Good one
Posted by John Arthur on August 8, 2007 at 12:57 PM
Mark, nice shot (thanks be for VR/IS), crop works for me and shows the environment better than a close up would have done
You are a brave man for using a D80 in that climate, how is it holding up? are you using a rain hood or just hiding under a poncho, I would have thought humidity would have been as big a problem as the rain.
Another good orang image-different-did you see them trying to hide under a leaf to escape the rain-very funny to see-suprising really that something that lives in a rain forest hates the rain
Dave
Posted by David Kjaer on August 8, 2007 at 1:15 PM
Hi Mark
Classic image, a tad tight in the frame but that is minor as everything else looks great!
David
Posted by Paul Compton on August 8, 2007 at 1:39 PM
These are great shots Mark, have you got all your shots in one place on the web to view at all?
These are great, it must have been a great experience, looking forward to more,
The only thing I would prob do here is tone down the highlights in the bg a little.
Posted by Sean Bolton on August 8, 2007 at 4:54 PM
Hi Mark
Great image, fantastic creatures. I would prefer the adult looking more towards the camera but still a nicely taken shot.
cheers
Sean
Posted by Mark Fellowes on August 8, 2007 at 6:09 PM
Hi
Thanks for the comments and advice - I really appreciate it. Paul - there are a few more shots on my web-site (first couple of pages) but they're only half-way updated. Dave - it's funny that you mention the umbrellas - I was tempted to mention this earlier. We saw several individuals doing that, taking branches and fashioning umbrellas - I was really pleased to see it, as it was the first time I'd seen tool-use in primates. John - I have to admit that I expect to update my camera every two years or so, so I can't justify buying a D2X to myself (wish I could!) so I went to the D80 from D70 when it came out. I much preferred the D70 handling (much more solid), but in spite of this the D80 copes with being flung around, and I'll live if it falls apart. It coped perfectly well with the conditions, which were much worse this year than last. However my main external flash which I'd been using for fill died after about half an hours use at 90%+ humidity. I used the poncho as a rain hood - worked well!
Thanks again
Mark
Posted by Paula Graham on August 9, 2007 at 10:11 AM
Discussion
9 repliesThis is another orangutan shot taken in Borneo a couple of weeks ago. On this day the afternoon was just one heavy tropical deluge, but at least the humidity was less than 90%. The female orangutan was waiting to get to the supplementary food, while the dominant male was eating his fill. I like this shot because it avoids the 'cutsey' (I have plenty of those!), and the turned away head of the female emphasises the expression of her baby, but maybe that's just me?
As an aside, a benefit of the supplementary feeding is that orangutans in this area breed more frequently than those not fed (every 5-6 years as opposed to once every 8), which is helping to build numbers up.
Thanks for looking.
Mark
Techs: D80, 105mm IF-ED VR Micro Nikkor; ISO 200; handheld (under poncho!) 1/15 & F2.8; PP in CS2; slight crop for comp.
You are a brave man for using a D80 in that climate, how is it holding up? are you using a rain hood or just hiding under a poncho, I would have thought humidity would have been as big a problem as the rain.
Cheers, John
Dave
Classic image, a tad tight in the frame but that is minor as everything else looks great!
David
The only thing I would prob do here is tone down the highlights in the bg a little.
Great image, fantastic creatures. I would prefer the adult looking more towards the camera but still a nicely taken shot.
cheers
Sean
Thanks for the comments and advice - I really appreciate it. Paul - there are a few more shots on my web-site (first couple of pages) but they're only half-way updated. Dave - it's funny that you mention the umbrellas - I was tempted to mention this earlier. We saw several individuals doing that, taking branches and fashioning umbrellas - I was really pleased to see it, as it was the first time I'd seen tool-use in primates. John - I have to admit that I expect to update my camera every two years or so, so I can't justify buying a D2X to myself (wish I could!) so I went to the D80 from D70 when it came out. I much preferred the D70 handling (much more solid), but in spite of this the D80 copes with being flung around, and I'll live if it falls apart. It coped perfectly well with the conditions, which were much worse this year than last. However my main external flash which I'd been using for fill died after about half an hours use at 90%+ humidity. I used the poncho as a rain hood - worked well!
Thanks again
Mark