REVIEW * TEST SHOOT * SPECIAL PROJECT * PHOTO CONTEST
Itās not just portraits of living objects and landscapes that have value in nature photography. According to Christina Mittenmeyer, co-founder of the International League of Conservation Photographers ILCP //ilcp.com authors should pay attention to environmental issues. For many years I have been taking pictures on the problem of regular spring grass fires. These actions do enormous harm to birds and small mammals, catastrophically reducing the biodiversity of the areas. When a large-scale arson occurred late in the evening at the border of the reserve, a group of inspectors set out to extinguish. In the Far East field, I used every opportunity to recharge my cameraās battery and met this unscheduled photo shoot fully prepared for work.
Master class by nature photographer Andrian KOLOTILIN
When reporting on a problem, you can use photography to try to express how you feel about what is happening. The drama can be conveyed with optics and color. In this case the telephoto lens helped to bring out the warm air currents and flames of a fire moving at high speed through a dry spring bog.
A frame with few details and lots of free space can serve as a so-called āgo-toā first for a magazine or blog post. The typesetter can put the title and the beginning of the article on it.
Photo 8. ISO 400, shutter speed 1/125 s, aperture f/6.7. AND_6246.jpg
We had to take a reportage picture of the inspectors rescuing a nature reserve from a fire in a large smoke-filled area. In my opinion, you canāt direct the shot, so you have to do a lot of takes, making sure that the heroās face has enough contrast among the clouds of smoke. The details in highlights and shadows in the image had to be slightly intensified by converting from raw RAW NEF after the photo was taken. The frame created with a good quality sensor made it easy to do that.
Photo 8-1. ISO 400, shutter speed 1/1600 s, aperture f/5.6. AND_6436.jpg
Being in the center of the event, you can and should use wide-angle optics, especially in the limited space of the roverās cabin while driving. Off-road, firefighting is very shaky and visibility is limited, so you need to set the sensitivity to high ISO 3200. The optical stabilization system built into the wide-angle AF-S Nikkor 16-35 1:4 G VR lens helps a lot. Itās shot in high-speed burst mode at 5.5 frames per second. High-speed continuous shooting is often used in reportage, which helps to ācatchā frames with unique emotions, which are difficult to capture in separate frames.
Photo 9. ISO 3200, shutter speed 1/60 s, aperture f/5.6. AND_8571.jpg
If the opportunity arises, it is worth taking a second look at the peopleās actions from afar, using a long focal-length lens.
Photo 10. ISO 800, shutter speed 1/400 s, aperture f/9. AND_6754.jpg
The harsh conditions of the wilderness put a mark on peopleās characters and faces. Portrait photography is best after the photographer has eaten with his characters at least a little āpud saltā and spent the night by the fire, or has sincerely participated in their work. And itās a necessary part of a photographerās job, too. The equipment is exposed to the effects of the weather, especially humidity. Be sure to carry a backup set of dry wipes, so that you can dry the camera at least for a short period of time, if necessary. The Nikon Dfās water-resistant body allowed it to operate smoothly throughout the expedition.
Photo 11. ISO 800, shutter speed 1/1000 s, aperture f/6.3. AND_1523.jpg
Evening in a taiga research camp illuminated by two candles. Their light is just enough to make a technically good shot at a super high sensitivity of ISO 12800. The tripod and optical lens stabilization system, which is missing in the AF-S Nikkor 24-70 2.8 lens, were not used.
Photo 12. ISO 12800, shutter speed 1/60 s, aperture f/2.8. AND_3335.jpg
Shooting with a light source in the frame, especially one as bright as the sun, was always a challenge when determining exposure. Accordingly, the photograph produces a very high contrast between the foreground and the background. In dynamic reportage photography there is no way to use illuminators and reflectors. The easiest solution is to apply matrix exposure metering and introduce a correction to compensate for the influence of the sun.
Photo 13. ISO 800, shutter speed 1/2000 s, aperture f/13. AND_1792.jpg
Sometimes strange details and images of shadows and silhouettes can liven up the story, complementing realistic sharp pictures with their incomprehensible atmosphere. Water droplets on a roverās glass, had they been taken with a standard or macro lens, would not have given a view of the background, where a human silhouette can be clearly read. Perhaps such a shot in the context of the story has a right to life.
Photo 14. ISO 3200, shutter speed 1/200 s, aperture f/5.6. AND_8632.jpg
I ended my story about the work of the reserveās staff with a simple landscape shot taken with a telephoto lens and published on several specialized Web sites and in the Far East press. After the fire was put out the next day, the haze cleared, I was surprised to see the reserve surrounded by mountains. I couldnāt see them before because of the smoke. I had to keep the aperture wide open because it would be otherwise impossible to get a relatively sharp image of the mountains, the sun disk, and the forest tracts in a flat landscape.
Photo 15. ISO 800, shutter speed 1/200 s, aperture f/22. AND_7376.jpg
OVERVIEW * WILDLIFE * DAYTIME SHOOTING * BUFFET PHOTOGRAPHY
What precautions were taken during the Nikon DF fire to ensure the safety of the photographer and those involved in the reportage? Were any exceptional measures employed to capture the intensity and devastation of the burning reserve?
This sounds like a distressing situation! However, my question would be, how was it possible to capture a reportage during the fire? Were the photographers safe?