Slow Photography #55: Is HDR Wildlife Photography Possible with Moving Subjects?

 

 

REACHING OUT WITH AWE

 

" Wow ! " exclaimed the girl. 

Her mother whispered to me: "I've never seen her speechless." 

We were watching Maximo, looking through the aquarium glass from the shelter of a dim, underground room. Maximo is a salt water crocodile. On the other side of the glass, at Saint Augustine's Alligator farm, Maximo was motionless. As she stared at Maximo with awe, the girl reached out to touch his fingernails.*

Seeing at 15 foot long salt water crocodile filled me with awe. Maximo weighs 1250 pounds. When you see his underbelly through the glass, he seems enormous. 

Maximo's home is Saint Augustine Florida's Alligator Farm. It's a good setting for high dynamic range methods. Why? Many of the animals there, like Maximo, do not move around much. This makes them good HDR subjects. For my HDR work, I took a slow photograph approach.

A sense of awe is at the heart of slow photography. When we pause to stare and to wonder, our minds eye is "awe-filled." Recent studies suggest that awe has positive effects. It may inspire creativity or help us to think more flexibly. 



POSSIBILITIES OF HDR


   HDR wildlife photography is rare. We don’t usually think of photographing wildlife subjects with high dynamic range methods. Tone compression and exposure fusion, both HDR formulas, as usually only employed to process a series of bracketed frames for landscape images. 

   So, is HDR suited for wildlife. I believe it is. Here, lets explore the possibilities of HDR wildlife photography. A tripod, some patience, and an understanding of bracketing are needed.

   For instance, I took three registered frames of Maximo with a tripod-mounted DSLR. However, I first had to quiet my pace. Despite his huge presence, there were times when this humongous crocodile was quite motionless and burst bracketed HDR was feasible.  Anticipating the behavior of an animal, any photographer can make successful high dynamic range photographs.

   Photographing animals with HDR techniques takes the patience of a giant tortoise. The subject has to remain still for however long it takes to shoot 3, 5 or 7 bracketed frames so that all exposures will line up in perfect register.

 MATING Galapagos tortoises.

Which Animals are Good Subjects?:
 
   Some wildlife animals lend themselves to HDR work, so you may want to consider these species, when you can catch them not moving:

Alligators, crocodiles, Komodo Dragons, tortoises, turtles, cold-blooded reptiles, especially in winter, any perched bird,  insects in the early morning  the Big Five game animals of Africa , underwater marine wildlife.

BABY salt water crocodiles hatched
 at the Saint Augustine Alligator Farm in 2012.

 Approach Quietly and Slowly:

   For HDR wildlife, we must approach slowly. Pause and remain quiet. Keep observing the animal until you can record a sequence of frames while your creature is still. Although all animals move, most have to be still for a small fraction of time. Even hummingbirds rest and perch. Just wait for your subject to freeze, then take a burst bracket series.


In the Details:

   There are two kinds of nature images. The first is abstract and pictorial. The second has clear, unambiguous detail. I find clarity makes an HDR nature photograph more interesting. Especially for nature work, it is vital to keep detail in both highlights and shadows because they express emotion. For nature images, overly processed HDR reduces clarity. Over-saturating, or extreme use of the sliders for exposure fusion, should be avoided. The viewer should notice the animal and not the processing. 
 
   HDR wildlife photography is not about producing an “HDR look”. The goal is to show the details of your wildlife subject.  

PREENING Cape Griffin Vulture, Tripod, 400 mm lens, three registered exposures in Photomatix Pro with the tone enhancer, smooth setting. 
 

 Vision & Light:

   The secret of wildlife photography is not HDR, but finding a subject and light that intrigues you. To make compelling HDR photographs, in which the technique is subtle or hidden, you must be inspired.

   Often, wildlife photographs are infused with light. There are many facets of light. Slow photographers take time to notice and plan the HDR exposure for the direction, quality, intensity, color, and contrast of the ambient light around the animal. 

CROWNED CRANES have a seven foot wingspan.
 Three frames, processed in Photomatix Pro. 
 

  Before exposing multiple frames, ask: “Where is the light on my wildlife subject coming from? Is it the soft light of a cloudy day? Am I shooting under high contrast, harsh daylight?” Think about the range of your auto-bracketing. Use a broader exposure bracketing sequence when the light range has greater contrast. 
 
I’ve used HDR successfully for both low contrast and high contrast scenes. The point of trying HDR with high and low contrast wildlife photography is, through experience, to develop and grow your own vision. Don't rely on post-processing to provide interesting lighting. Instead, train your vision and search out mesmerizing natural light for your wildlife shots. 

 

HDR Wildlife Workflow Checklist:

  

1.    LOW ISO. 

Photograph at the lowest ISO possible. Use RAW file capture whenever possible. Auto-bracketing (AEB)  is a useful feature of a digital SLR and newer pocket size cameras also have the feature.
 
2.   STABILIZE.

 If I’ve left the tripod behind, I hand-hold the digital SLR with a 400 mm lens braced on a pole or fence. Taking 5 frames per second is helpful for fast burst bracketing. If your camera has a slower motor drive, you will probably want a tripod to keep the frames in register. I always tripod-mount the camera. A cable release is used to trigger the shutter.

3.    WHITE BALANCE.

 Remember to adjust your white balance in camera. Although Auto White Balance frequently works well, try Manual White Balance settings with a white blank piece of paper.
4.  KEYWORDS. 
  
 After downloading, I add metadata tags to all photographs, using HDR as a descriptor, then crop and straighten if needed.

5.   EXPOSURE & COLOR CORRECTION.

  I adjust exposure, then shift the color slightly because my Canon camera tends to see more in the “blue” light spectrum, using a preset in Adobe Lightroom to warm up the color.

6.   BACK IT UP. 

The crucial part of all digital imaging workflow is to back up all work with separate and safe storage.



When I teach HDR workshops, I invite students to develop a consistent method. For HDR processing, I use Photomatix Pro as the main HDR editing platform, but there are many other excellent software programs. Slow photography means waiting until your subject is relatively motionless, to get all frames in register without ghosting.

GREAT HORNED OWL on Georgia’s Cumberland Island as it dries its feathers after a rain storm. Three exposures, 400 mm Canon lens,
F/9, bracketed, 10th of a second, Photomatix Pro, tone compressor method.

Thanks for your visit. 

Jim

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*Between man and crocodile, communication is vital. A 5 year study of conflict between salt water crocodiles and humans has just been published. The threats to Saltwater Crocodiles were: habitat destruction and loss; illegal killing and harvesting (17 killings out of fear, ~200 incidents of killing for meat and skins, ~800 eggs annually for consumption); 10 incidents of crocodiles being run over by trains/vehicles and electrocution. Also, 33 cases of crocodile attacks on humans were recorded with 8 being fatal, 25 that were non-fatal (minor to grievous injuries) and more than 50 incidents of attacks on farm and pet animals.

 

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