I had a similar frustrating time with a treefull of monarch butterflies. They must have been gathering to migrate because there were just a huge number of them. 'Wow. What a great photo oportunity' I thought to myself. But butterflies spend 90% of their time sitting with their wings closed and only the dull colored outside showing.
I spent two hours running back and forth between two trees, blew two rolls of film ($ cha $ ching $) and only got three decent pictures out of the deal.
Butterflies are made for digital photography.
A good technique to use in this case, or for any subject that you expect to make a sudden move, is zoom out so that there is a "cushion" of space around the subject to allow for your reaction time. That way when the subject moves (spreads it's arms/wings or lunges up/down/left/right), it can't move out of frame in the fraction of time it takes your finger to press the shutter release.
I use this technique a lot in my CONvergence photos to capture people gesturing. A person who talks with their hands makes a much more interesting picture than someone who just stands there.
Ah, I did misunderstand your intention with the giraffe photo. I thought you wanted an abstract look.
I never get constructive comments on my photos, even though I ask for them. It make me a teeny bit careful about offering them to others. I am certainly not deluded into think that my style is the One True style.
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Re: Cropping
Date: 2006-07-16 05:45 am (UTC)I had a similar frustrating time with a treefull of monarch butterflies. They must have been gathering to migrate because there were just a huge number of them. 'Wow. What a great photo oportunity' I thought to myself. But butterflies spend 90% of their time sitting with their wings closed and only the dull colored outside showing.
I spent two hours running back and forth between two trees, blew two rolls of film ($ cha $ ching $) and only got three decent pictures out of the deal.
Butterflies are made for digital photography.
A good technique to use in this case, or for any subject that you expect to make a sudden move, is zoom out so that there is a "cushion" of space around the subject to allow for your reaction time. That way when the subject moves (spreads it's arms/wings or lunges up/down/left/right), it can't move out of frame in the fraction of time it takes your finger to press the shutter release.
I use this technique a lot in my CONvergence photos to capture people gesturing. A person who talks with their hands makes a much more interesting picture than someone who just stands there.
Ah, I did misunderstand your intention with the giraffe photo. I thought you wanted an abstract look.
I never get constructive comments on my photos, even though I ask for them. It make me a teeny bit careful about offering them to others. I am certainly not deluded into think that my style is the One True style.