Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/06/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I'd be damned lucky to get a shot like this, and even luckier to get a small yellow flower in the background to balance the image so nicely. At 07:45 AM 6/21/2004, you wrote: >on 6/20/04 10:44 PM, Richard F. Man at richard-lists@imagecraft.com wrote: > > > Doug, your pictures never fail to amaze. Exactly how do you chase a small > > animal like that with a manual focus lens? For example, how much time do > > you have to set up that shot? Since you are not using a zoom, do you > > "stalk" it within reasonably shooting distance and hope it doesn't run > > away, or? > > > > At 09:17 PM 6/20/2004, Doug Herr wrote: > > > >> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/mammals/cgsq02.html > > > >I take some time to allow the squirrel to get used to seeing me as a >non-threatening creature. A bit annoying perhaps, crowding his personal >space, but non-threatening. How much time is required depends on many >parameters including the species, my behavior and that particular animal's >past experience with people. This squirrel took about 1/2 hour, the turkeys >I posted recently took a couple of hours, and I've heard of a Black Bear >researcher in the appalachian mountains, using the same techniques I use to >approach his subjects, finding that after 100 hours or so the bears will >allow him to radio-collar them w/o tranquelizers as long as he distracts >them with a can of condensed milk (I don't recommend this!!!). > >Manual focus isn't an issue. The squirrel is in constant motion. Not big >motion, but turning its head, reaching for another seed pod, scratching an >itch, so the plane of focus is constantly changing. The SL's viewfinder >lets me see what's in focus, or out of focus, ANYWHERE on the viewscreen, >not just at the manufacturer's pre-determined focus points. This lets me >put the squirrel anywhere I want to in the composition and still focus on it >as it moves. The shoulder stock/monopod setup helps a lot because my left >hand is free to focus rather than support the lens, and because I keep the >tilt head of the monopod loose I can also fine-focus by leaning forward or >backward slightly. Can't do that with a tripod. > >Doug Herr >Birdman of Sacramento >http://www.wildlightphoto.com > > >_______________________________________________ >Leica Users Group. >See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information