Wednesday, January 24, 2007

ADFH#1-Wild Life Photography??

So I was surfing the net...Trying to find a unique "photography tips" website and I came across a site that focused on photographing wild life. Specifically those in Siyabona Africa! This site offers tips and ideas on photographing these famous creatures while respecting them with distance between you and your camera, and the animal you are photographing. Also, how to approach the people. Although this seems weird, but I appreciated that they included a lot of text in bold print. I know that's a minor detail but when you're in a hurry, things like that stand out! I knew if it was in bold, it was important! Hey, in my opinion, if text stands out in a webpage, the message is stronger. Easy enough!
This site discussed that it is important to understand the behavior of the animals rather than just frantically trying to get as close as you can to take that one shot, and consequently endangering yourself. They even go as far as to say what film they recommend you to take along on your expedition. They also discuss a bit on lenses and which ones work best for animals and scenery. It even mentioned how to make the animal more effective compositionally. A small tip I never would have thought of was to bring a small bean bag to rest your camera on top of vehicles. Supposedly male gorillas don't take appointments...:)
It was quick & informative. There was no complicated paragraphs, and the site was designed well with some photos, and some really helpful tips for a photographers first few times in the wild. I wasn't bored at all reading these paragraphs because they weren't a thousand words long-EACH. It was clean, well organized, and to the point. So I wasn't clicking randomly, or digging around the link to find the information I would need. Anyway, I thought it was quite neat! I mean, it's not everyday that one goes to Africa, and if they do, I'm sure we'd all like to know what's recommended photography-wise for that kind of expedition. Check it out! Although I would have liked to see more photos of the wild life there, it was definately a site I recommend you read if you're headed out of town! It's worth it and it's interesting!

http://www.siyabona.com/wild-life-photography-tips.html