Wildlife Photography

[Kumarnishith]

The nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), is the largest Asian antelope and one of the most commonly seen mammals inside SGPGI Campus after us "humans" & our distant cousin "Rhesus macaque"...


Nilgai




-Nishith

P.s. To see original image click on following link:

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n51 ... 6cb56b.jpg

[nevil]

Hi Nishith these are really nice pictures please keep uploading
Nevil

[Kumarnishith]

Hi Nishith these are really nice pictures please keep uploading
Nevil

Thanks Nevil

-Nishith

[Kumarnishith]

Few more pics from last week shoot...I am really enjoying my all new Sigma 150-500mm, it gives me the extra reach which is very important for wildlife photography!


Painted Stork



The painted stork is a large wading bird in the stork family which is usually found in the wetlands of the plains. It derives it's name from their distinctive pink tertial feathers...


Close up of the Painted Stork..




The painted stork, also known as the janghil or dokh in Hindi can live upto 28 years in captivity!!


Also came across our National bird few days back while roaming in the wooded portion of our campus..The male peacock also posed for the camera & fanned it's extravagant eye-spotted tail covert feathers, which it displays as part of courtship







-Nishith


P.S. For the un cropped images click on the following links:

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n51 ... 6b7b8b.jpg

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n51 ... 3b7d60.jpg


http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n51 ... fa3736.jpg


http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n51 ... 2ce051.jpg

[brihacharan]

Hi Kumar,
> Fabulous photographs - well composed, good lighting & sharp
> Would like to know some details such as:
1. Aperture
2. Shutter speed
3. ASA rating
4. Focal length of lens at the time of shooting
> Were these hand-held shots, rested or was a tripod used...
> The clarity of your Sigma 150mm - 500mm is excellent...
> You're lucky to have your college campus surrounded by a nature park
> Keep them coming....
Briha

[Kumarnishith]

Hi Kumar,
> Fabulous photographs - well composed, good lighting & sharp
> Would like to know some details such as:
1. Aperture
2. Shutter speed
3. ASA rating
4. Focal length of lens at the time of shooting
> Were these hand-held shots, rested or was a tripod used...
> The clarity of your Sigma 150mm - 500mm is excellent...
> You're lucky to have your college campus surrounded by a nature park
> Keep them coming....
Briha

Hello Briha Sir..

Thanks for liking the pics..

I just checked the EXIF data of the pics on my laptop..

Pic 1

Focal length: 198mm
Aperture: 5.375
Exposure time: 1/320
ISO: 400
White balance: auto

Pic 2

Same as pic 1. I cropped the image during processing.

Pic 3

Focal length: 439mm
Aperture: 5.375
Exposure time: 1/250
ISO: 800
White balance: auto


Pic 4

Focal length: 267mm
Aperture: 6
Exposure time: 1/250
ISO: 800
White balance: auto

All the pics were taken handheld ..

-Nishith

[brihacharan]

Hi Kumar,
> Thanks for your prompt response...
> I notice that in spite of the varying focal lengths, aperture setting, shutter speed & ISO rating the clarity & color balance are amazing
> Your steadiness of hand is truly appreciated.....
> Keep shooting friend...
Briha

[dr.jayakumar]

Kumarnishith,
the painted stork is excellent.how do like the sigma 500mm?do you get grains at higher focal length?have tried any teleconverter on your camera?
here are some pictures from my last trip,will keep posting more pictures.
regards
dr.jk

[brihacharan]

Kumarnishith,
the painted stork is excellent.how do like the sigma 500mm?do you get grains at higher focal length?have tried any teleconverter on your camera?
here are some pictures from my last trip,will keep posting more pictures.
regards
dr.jk

> Excellent composition Doc
> May be 1/2 to 1 stop aperture stepping down could have given the pics more clarity...
> Its possible that your original shots are clear - may be the downloading through photobucket has caused a bit of dimness...
> Always 'bracket' your exposures of the same image....
1. Normal exposure
2. 1/2 stop under
3. 1/2 to 1 stop over
> Further a bit of 'photoshopping' can induce the desired results....
> Remember that by adding on a 2X multiplier to your lens - you lose on 1 to 1 1/2 stop aperture opening.... you must compensate for this while using the 2X multiplier....
Briha

[dr.jayakumar]

Thanks Brihaji for your comments.i am using a 2x teleconverter,so maybe the reason for dullness.''> Always 'bracket' your exposures of the same image.... i didn't get this sir.
few more pics.
regards
dr.jk

[brihacharan]

Thanks Brihaji for your comments.i am using a 2x teleconverter,so maybe the reason for dullness.''> Always 'bracket' your exposures of the same image.... i didn't get this sir.
few more pics.
regards
dr.jk

Hi Doc,
> Hope the following points will help you understand the technique of 'Bracketing', to get more pleasing photographs...

Bracketing Shots in Photography

Every aspiring photographer’s ultimate intension is to get as perfect a picture as possible, be it a composition, correct exposure or the perfect moment. So whatever subject you shoot, capturing detail is fundamental. And bracketing your exposures is one of the best and easiest ways to ensure you can produce images with a high dynamic range and lots of detail.

What is ‘Bracketing’?

Simply put it’s when you take multiple pictures that are slightly brighter and slightly darker than a normal shot.

Bracketing involves taking a sequence of pictures of the same scene at a varying range of exposure settings. There are two reasons you might want to do this; as a safety net to ensure you get at least one well-exposed picture of the scene (as camera exposure meters don’t always get it right first time), or to give you a range of exposures that you can blend together later in software.

The digital sensors in today’s cameras have a limited ‘dynamic range’. This means that they are only capable of capturing fine detail within a certain range of brightness levels.

The exposure that’s set at the time of shooting forms the mid-point of this range, and the camera can record detail either side of this, in areas that are slightly brighter or darker than this ‘middle’ setting.

Dynamic range can be measured in stops. For instance, if a camera offers nine stops of dynamic range, it means it can record detail in areas of a picture that are up to four stops brighter and up to four stops darker than the set exposure.

Contrast

It’s the difference between the darkest and brightest parts – of a scene will often fall within the camera sensor’s dynamic range, which means you can record detail in all areas in a single shot. However, high-contrast scenes may exceed the camera’s dynamic range, so you may end up with a picture that holds no detail in shady areas or bright areas or either.

For example, when you photograph a dark building backlit against a very bright sky the difference in brightness between the deepest shadows on the building to the brightest highlights in the sky may be as much as 10 to 12 stops.

This is likely to exceed your camera’s dynamic range, so it won’t be able to record detail in all of the areas of the picture in one attempt. As a result, you may find that you end up with a picture where the shadows are actually too bright, or the highlights are too dark. This will depend on the ‘middle’ exposure setting that’s selected by you, or automatically by the camera.

To overcome this limitation, you can try taking a whole sequence of shots at different exposures – from a short exposure that under-exposes the shadows (but ensures that the highlights aren’t burnt out) to a long exposure that reveals the detail in the shadows (but over-exposes the highlights).

The well-exposed parts of each of your sequence of shots can then be combined in Photoshop or similar software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image.

Hence the best way to go about bracketing a shot is to:

1.Manually bracket a shot, or let the camera do it automatically. To manually bracket a series of images, set the camera to either:
• Aperture Priority
or
• Shutter Priority

Manual shooting modes more often than not give you optimum control over your exposures.

If you’re working in the first two modes, you can simply take your shot as normal, then use your camera’s Exposure Compensation function (press and hold the ‘+/-’ button) to take another shot that’s brighter by turning in a ‘+’ value or that’s darker by turning in a ‘-’ value.

The amount of compensation you need to turn in will depend on the scene and lighting conditions, and of course the final effect that you’re trying to achieve. Try 2/3 or ONE STOP either way to begin with.

In Manual mode, you can just adjust either the aperture or the shutter speed in order to give you a brighter or darker image.

All these may sound a bit confusing in the beginning, but if you keep using this technique consistently you can master it. The end results, of-course will be some of the best photographs you have ever taken!!!

Good Luck
Briha

[dr.jayakumar]

Thanks again brihaji.
regards
dr.jk

[Moin.]

Very nice pics Doc.Kumar... The Sigmas very very popular lense in the birding community.

Regards
Moin.

[hvj1]

Wow! Spectacular photos Nishith.

[dr.jayakumar]

There seems wildlife every where,if only we look close enough.
regards
dr.jk