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Game Drive and Photography Part II (Motifs & Methods)

bdu — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 04:22:41 +0000

Part II: What and how to photograph?

Remember: Setting “P” is not for “Professional”!

In principle, you can photograph anything that seems interesting to you. Animals, landscapes, individual trees or plants. Some also collect the usual suspects, such as the Big 5. Photos in which people are in the picture with the animals are also popular, thus capturing the closeness and atmosphere.

Of course there is a difference between photographing an elephant and a butterfly. Therefore will be a separate news article for macro photography. The camera system is not so crucial, but rather the right choice of lenses. Here are a few recommendations for choosing the right lens:

Insects: macro lenses approx. 100 to 150 mm
Small birds: fixed focal lengths approx. 500-600 mm
Dynamic situations: fast zoom lenses with focal lengths of 70-300 mm
Medium animals: zoom lenses about 70-200 mm
Large animals: zoom lenses approx. 20-100 mm
Landscapes: wide-angle zoom lenses approx. 15-80 mm

In fact, one is somehow restricted on a game drive. When photographing animals, one often tries to photograph from a special or unusual perspective. But the perspective is clear here. You sit either in the car or in the open safari vehicle. Depending on where the animal is, you can photograph it from the front, above or below and from exactly the distance that the animal has to the road, because getting off or driving off-road is prohibited in Kruger Park. This is not a disadvantage, however, as this applies to all photographers equally, and zoom lenses are also flexible.

In addition to structural and material differences, there are essentially 3 factors that have a strong influence on the amount of light that ultimately reaches the sensor:

II.1. ISO (or ASA)
Indicates the sensitivity of the sensor to light. While this was actually a hardware property of film in the film days, it is now simply a default for image processing. Higher ISO numbers enable photography with less light, but this is often bought at the cost of quality losses, especially image noise. This does not mean that there are no differences in the light sensitivity of the sensors. On the contrary, these are actually quite significant. In contrast to film, however, this sensitivity is not preset to a specific value, but has the effect that with higher sensitivity of the sensor you can get by with less loss of quality with less light.

II.2. Aperture
The aperture value indicates how much the aperture is closed. The maximum aperture is virtually no aperture, the minimum aperture means that the aperture is closed to the maximum. In animal photography, the main reason you close the aperture is because it increases the depth of field. Depth of field means the area that is in sharp focus along the image axis. First of all, there is the focus point, which you set yourself or the camera automatically. The further in front and behind this point it is in focus, the greater the depth of field. However, one should not exaggerate, because aperture values above the optimum (usually around aperture 8 to 11) lead to diffraction blur.

II.3. exposure time
The exposure time is the time that the light (that is used for one image) falls on the sensor. The shorter the exposure time, the more static the object is imaged. Long exposure times lead to blurred images or traces of movement, which are sometimes desirable, e.g. with running water. On a game drive you might regulary use exposure times of 1/250 to 1/500, as you can not use a tripod and other people are moving in the car. When it comes to any movement on scene, you might need something from 1/1.000 sec to 1/2.000 sec.

All 3 factors mentioned above influence each other in an antagonistic way and must be set differently for each motive and each situation. In fact, choosing the best compromise for each photo is an art. A wildlife situation where you have the freedom to manually set all 3 factors to the optimum is rare. Stopping down for more depth of field can be compensated for with a higher ISO and longer exposure time, for example, but then you have more image noise and possibly blurring. You can freeze fast movements with a very short exposure time, but then you have to compensate for this with an open aperture and a higher ISO number, with the disadvantages mentioned above. Here are a few suggestions (strongly depending on the camera system and the situation). Most of these can also be quickly selected via presets or function buttons/wheels:

Fast motifs (camera freely movable):
Aperture: open
Exposure time: less than 1/1,000 second
ISO: Auto

Quiet subjects with maximum sharpness (camera steady):
Aperture: stopped down 3-5 stops
Exposure time: Auto
ISO: 200 to 400

Hand-held macro shots:
Aperture: 8-11
Exposure time: max. 1/200 (+ flashes)
ISO: 200 to 400

The post Game Drive and Photography Part II (Motifs & Methods) first appeared on Kruger Eden Lodge.

What´s roaming around Kruger Eden Lodge?

bdu — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 04:15:13 +0000

What animals can you see without even leaving Kruger Eden Lodge?

Theoretically, you wouldn’t need to go to the Kruger National Park and you could still see almost all of the species that live there. You could just stay in our lodge and see a lot. You could also walk along the fence to Kruger Park from here, even with a chance of seeing the Big 5. We therefore recommend planning a few more days and not just rushing from safari to safari. So it’s well worth spending the day relaxing on your own terrace or in the jacuzzi and enjoying the 24-hour wildlife show from there.

This is a very incomplete list of species that can regularly be seen directly in the lodge. Of course there is no guarantee. But the more time you spend, the more you see. The nature experience is even more intense and relaxed than in the car, especially since some animals also come very close. When a mighty kudu buck mauling a bush just 2-3 m away from you with its huge horns, it can be more impressive than seeing a lion lying asleep 100 m away in the gras. Feeding or touching is of course strictly prohibited!

Mammals:
Blue wildebeest
Zebra
Bushbuck
Kudu
Warthog
Impala
Duiker
Striped mongoose
Baboon
Vervet monkey
Fruit Bat
Lesser Galago (Small Bushbaby)
Greater Galago (thick-tailed Bushbaby)
Civet cat
Genet cat

Birds:
Ostrich
Paradise flycatcher
African Fish Eagle
Hadeda Ibis
Grey Lourie (Go Away Bird)
Purple-Crested Turaco
Nightjars
Natal Spurfowls
Helmeted Guineafowl
Red Chested Cuckoo (Piet My Vrou)
African Barred Owlet
Verreaux´s Eagle Owl
Brown-Hooded Kingfisher
Trumpeter Hornbill
Crowned Hornbill
Southern Yellow-Billed Hornbill
Black-Collared Barbet
Black-Headed Oriole
Dark-Capped Bulbul
White-Browed Robin-Chat
Crombecs
Sunbirds

The post What´s roaming around Kruger Eden Lodge? first appeared on Kruger Eden Lodge.

Walking the Kruger

bdu — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 04:11:05 +0000

How and where to legally and safely walk around in the Kruger Park

For real Kruger Park fans and die-hard nature lovers, there is hardly anything more exciting than walking in the Kruger National Park. In addition, sitting in the car for a long time is tiring and you long for some exercise.

At first this doesn’t seem like a good idea. From the car you can see hundreds of dangerous animals such as crocodiles, elephants, hippos, lions, leopards, buffalos, rhinos, wilddogs, hyaenas and poisonous snakes in an unimaginable density. You might think that you can hardly get a few steps far. Of course, the animal inhabitants of Kruger Park also have to survive somehow. However, they are usually faster and/or can see, hear, smell better, have better reflexes and/or better camouflage or have natural protection like armoring or weapons.

However, our ancestors also had to walk, but paid a high price for it. Even today, some people want or need to walk through Kruger Park. There are the rangers for example, who do this day in and day out. But they are always in pairs, have a lot of experience, are armed and unfortunately also very endangered.

If you want to hike in the park as a tourist, you can only do so with a professional and armed escort on fixed routes. You can find a number of interesting offers on the Internet. Professional walking safaris should therefore not be considered further here. In fact, there are also other safe ways to get out of the car and move around freely. Be it for exploration, for relaxation and movement or simply for the feeling of freedom. We are concentrating more on the south because it is easy to reach from the Kruger Eden Lodge.

Observation hideouts
There are a few hides scattered throughout the park. For example the Gardenia Hide on the S119 or the hide at Lake Panic near the H11. These are positioned at strategically favorable locations such as rivers, reservoirs, mud pools, etc. Here there is always the possibility to get off, walk a few steps and observe or photograph animals directly and without a fence or car doors.

Picnic places
The public picnic areas such as Nkulu on the H4-1 or Afsal on the H3 are not fenced. You can move freely there and also walk a few hundred meters. Many animals visit these picnic areas because sometimes something falls off. There are often good opportunities for photos here.

Bridges
You can disembark on high bridges that are already within the park but before the entrance gates, such as Malelane Gate or Kruger Gate. But not on flat bridges, such as Crocodile Bridge. On bridges behind the gates, disembarking is generally not permitted. But there are a few exceptions, especially further north, where signs allow this. Yellow lines limit the safe area, but you should always stay close to the vehicle.

View points
At some view points, such as the Stevenson-Hamilton Monument on the S22 or Granokop on the H1-1, you can leave the vehicle and explore the area. Some signs indicate the boundaries of the areas. There are fantastic views here. Also ideal for some gymnastics.

Skukuza Golf Course
The golf course is located directly in the Kruger Park and is not fenced! Some photos then also show hyenas, leopards or wild dogs on the green. Another highlight is a tee across Lake Panic, where hippos and crocodiles lie. Balls that land in it are lost forever! Guests who do not play are also welcome, but are not allowed on the pitch.

Half marathon
Once a year a half marathon takes place in the Kruger Park. Running there is a dream for every long-distance runner. However, the places are limited. The entire route is well guarded, but the race often has to be interrupted because lions, wild dogs, elephants, etc. claim parts of the route for themselves.

Campsites
The campsites are an exception and do not really belong in this list because they are fenced. But because of their size, you don’t really notice it that way. There you can sometimes walk a few kilometers, often with magnificent views. There are also restaurants, pools, cinemas and shops. In Berg en Dal you can find a view on a reservoir and the Rhino Walking Trail.

Walking the fence
Walking along the fence in Marloth Park is particularly popular. The trail starts a few meters from our lodge. In principle, this trail is not in the park either, but it leads several kilometers along the Crocodile River and offers a constant view on the river and the Kruger Park with everything in it. On our side of the fence you already see a lot except the Big 5 which makes it a lot safer. However, you shouldn’t hike alone, as the fence isn’t really tight and even lions make it through sometimes. Please infrom yourself before you start walking.

The post Walking the Kruger first appeared on Kruger Eden Lodge.

Game Drive and Photography Part I (Gear)

bdu — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 03:59:01 +0000

Part I: What to photograph with?

Whatever you read here, please always remember rule #1 of photography:

“There are no immutable rules in photography!”

When it comes to photography, the first thing you need to decide is what you’re in the mood for:
1. Just a picture for your own reminder
2. Something you only want to show your friends and family
3. Semi-professional printouts or presentations
4. Professional images for competitions or even sales

For 1. and 2. any better smartphone is often sufficient. In fact you can see a lot of smartphones taking footage in the Kruger Park these days. Well-habituated animals are the reason why this is even possible. This means that the animals in the Kruger Park have become accustomed to the vehicles over a longer period of time and do not see them as enemies or prey. This habituation could develop because the animals do not have bad or tasty experiences with the vehicles. This allows you to get very close to the animals.

If you also want to print out or show pictures publicly, smartphones are is usually not enough. Then a completely different world begins, with a variety of possibilities depending on budget, photographic worldview and quality standards.

In order to orient yourself quickly, here is my conclusion and my recommendation. You can then read the reasons for this in the text below:

Simple Claims:
Smartphone and/or super zoom camera

High demands:
1-2 Micro Four Thirds or APS-C cameras with 2 zoom lenses (e.g. 100-400 mm and 12-100 mm)

Professional Claims:
1 mirrorless full frame camera with medium zoom (e.g. 70-300 mm)
1 mirrorless full-frame camera with higher resolution and a long fixed focal length (e.g. 400/500/600 mm)
1-2 additional interchangeable lenses (wide angle/medium zoom or travel zoom)
Optional: 1 full frame system for macro shooting (camera, macro lens, flashes). Macro photography is only possible to a very limited extent on the game drives. You can take suitable motifs such as lizards, insects or details in the lodge or during the breaks.

If you hesitate to buy more advanced equipment for mybe just this one vaccation, you can also hire.

If you want to dive deeper into the technical ocean, just read the following lines.

I.1. The right sensor format
This is a very fundamental decision. The smaller a sensor is, the lower the potential resolution and thus the possible size of the printouts. But the weight is also lower, especially the lenses. The depth of field, on the other hand, is greater, which is sometimes desirable, but sometimes not, and handling is usually easier. The list below is not complete. There are other formats. In fact, many photographers own several cameras with different sensors at the same time in order to be prepared for very different situations.

I.1.a. One inch and smaller
These sensors are usually installed in small compact cameras and are often only sufficient for small-format printouts. You also have to get quite close to the animals. Interchangeable lenses and larger focal lengths are rather rare, except for the superzoom models but the cameras are very light and quickly ready for use. However, the small size does not necessarily mean that the cameras are cheap. Only conditionally suitable for animal photography.

I.1.b. Micro Four Thirds (MFT)
The name indicates the aspect ratio of 4:3. These cameras are already suitable for medium-sized printouts and some are even used professionally. The decisive advantage is the low weight. Panasonic and Olympus in particular offer some interesting systems with interchangeable lenses and long focal lengths. Well suited for animal photography, especially when traveling and hiking, if no large image enlargements or image sections are planned.

I.1.c. APS-C
This is an aspect ratio of 3:2. This format was also very popular in professional use. In the meantime however, ever larger pixel numbers are making the Micro 4/3 format very interesting as a light alternative and the mirrorless full format is causing customers to migrate to the upper end. If you don’t have the budget to use a smaller system in addition to the full format, you will find a good compromise here. Very well suited for animal photography, especially if no other systems are taken along.

I.1.d. full frame
This format essentially corresponds to the previously known slide or 35mm negative with approx. 24 x 36 mm. As long as you absolutely needed a mirror in the camera to see the same image section in the viewfinder as you photographed, the cameras and lenses were quite heavy. This has fundamentally changed with the mirrorless systems. There is also a huge selection of specialized cameras, accessories and lenses for this format. This is the domain of Canon, Nikon, Sony and others, of which Sony has the most adcvanced system with its alpha 1 and alpha 7 family cameras. Excellent for wildlife photography when weight and size are not an issue.

I.1.e. medium format and large format
These formats are mainly used by specialists and in the studio because the technology is very heavy and/or expensive. It is therefore not considered further here.

I.2. The appropriate focal length
The focal length essentially indicates the magnification. The larger the focal length, the larger the original is imaged on the sensor. As a result, the sensor size of the camera appears to affect the focal lengths of the lenses, since the images take up different amounts of space on different-sized sensors at the same magnification. This effect is called “crop”. For example, since an MFT sensor is only half the size of a full-frame sensor, the crop factor is 2.0. So if you capture a motif to fill an MFT sensor with a 400 mm lens , you would need an 800 mm lens for full format. This is often given as a reason to prefer using APS-C or MFT, but this is a misunderstanding. When using the same focal length on different sensors, the imaged object will have exactly the same size in both cases. With the same pixel density on the sensor, the possible magnification would also be identical. Only those who basically do not edit their pictures would have an advantage, but many disadvantages. The focal length is therefore always given in relation to a full-frame sensor. Prime lenses tend to have better resolution and zoom lenses are more flexible. For example, lenses can be classified as follows:

Wide angle (focal length below 35 mm, e.g. landscape shots)
Normal lenses and light telephoto lenses (focal length approx. 40-80 mm, e.g. animal portraits)
Telephoto lenses (focal lengths over 80 mm, e.g. animal details/small animals and shots from a longer distance)

If you want to take detailed pictures of animals or also want to photograph animals that are further away, you cannot avoid lenses with a focal length of min. 300 mm or more. If necessary, teleconverters can also be used, which increase the focal length mostly by factors between 1.4 and 2.0. However, these affect the light intensity and the imaging quality.

I.3. Maximum lens aperture
The term is somewhat confusing, especially since the maximum lens aperture is identical to the minimum f-number. This means the smaller the f-number specified or set on the lens, the more light can get through the lens to the sensor. The maximum lens aperture thus primarily indicates how fast the lens is. The faster a lens is, the more suitable it is for low light and the more leeway there is in terms of exposure time and the light sensitivity of the sensor. Max aperture of 2,8 is though very desirable for all medium and longer lenses. But the larger the maximum lens aperture, the larger the diameter of the front lens and thus the total weight. There is an 2,8 / 200-500 mm Zoom from Sigma that adds more than 15 kg to your luggage!

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