Photographing Haiti’s Disappearing Biodiversity
Ron Savage, Sierra Vista Images,
Leiocepalus schreibbersi Indigo Beach Club
Getting it right
Hawk Moth
1/250 at F 8 ISO 1250 – Had to pan with the moth as it flitted from flower to flower
Tips for Photography • Keep equipment covered to avoid dust • Charge up extra batteries, have an extra charger • Take a few shots when you arrive at a place to check out
light • Reduce the area you camera’s sensor reads from as sun
gets brighter • Stay under ISO 800 • Shoot largest possible JPEG, or RAW, for cropping • Bracket in non-uniform light conditions • Number you memory cards and batteries • Order extra lens caps, you will need them • Put hooks on your backpacks, in order not to lose stuff
Photographing Butterflies
• Good butterflies can be in your yard
• Usually active later
• Careful of wind
• Watch your shadow
• Stay low
• 125-400 ISO
• Macro lense best
• Often with flowers
• Red and yellow best
Butterflies in Action
Myscelia sp. Front View -1/200 at F 3.5, ISO 125
Fritillary Top View-1/800 at F 6.3, ISO 200
Butterflies Alighting on Flowers
Side View -1/800 at F 7.1, ISO 160
Bottom View – 1/500 at 5.6, ISO 200
Photographing Birds
• Have your biggest lense on your camera • 400-800 ISO •Manual focus often works best •Center weighted •Be quiet •Two photographers best •Focus on the photo, not ID •Backlighting often a problem •Steady yourself
Birds in the Bush
Lizard Cuckoo 1/400 at F 5, ISO 250, Canon 70-200 w/ 1.4 adapter
Hispaniolan Siskin 1/200 at F 5, ISO 250, Tamron 18-270
Birds in Flight
Juv. Blue Heron Side View -1/800 at F 7.1, ISO 200
Kestrel Bottom View -1/1600 at F 10, ISO 400
Shooting Big Game Le Selle Thrush, 1/800 at F 7.1, ISO 800, Canon 70-200 lens
Hispaniolan Spindalis 1/640 at F 5, ISO 800, Canon 70-200 lens
Shooting Hummers and Todies
Thick Billed Tody 1/320 at F 7.1, ISO 400, Canon 70-200
Antillean Mango 1/320 at F 7.1, ISO 400, Canon 70-200
Photographing Lizards
• Bigger is better • Acute sense of hearing and movement • Some like sun, some like shade • Often camauflaged • Many species • Feeding, fighting and mating • Many endangered
Rhinocereus iguana 1/640 at F 7.1, ISO 400, Canon 70-200
Lizards on Rocks
Lizards on Plants Anolis Cybotes
Anolis coelestinus 1/100 at F 6.3, ISO 640, Canon 100 macro
A Lizard in the Hand
Anolis cybotes, Stout Anole 1/800 at F 7.1, ISO 200
Celestus stenurus, Keeled Galliwasp 1/640 at F 8, ISO 200, T 18-270
Photographing Plants
• Sedentary • Predictable •Best no wind, diffuse sun • Flowers ephemeral • Different types of lighting • Attract wildlife • All shapes and sizes • Many threatened • Can be found in urban areas
Taro Leaf 1/150 at F 3.5, ISO 400, Tamron 18-50
Bromeliads and Agaves
Flowers
Datura flowers 1/320 at F 7.1, ISO 200, Tamron 18-270
Native Shrub 1/250 at F 4.5, ISO 400, Canon 70-200 lense
Big Trees
Mesquite 1/320 at F 8, ISO 200, Tamron 18-50
Forest canopy, 1/160 at F 6.3 ISO 1250, Bracketed to get the light right, late morning sun
Shooting Big Game
•No large mammals •Very few mammals
Night Photography
Moth Tarantula
Finding the Right Habitat
Semi-desert, Northwest Haiti
Forets de Pins, SE Haiti
What to do about people?
People in action Local Guides
What about science?
GPS Websites
• Inaturalist
• National Geographic
• Smithsonian
Identifying Species
Still Life Shots
Art Science
Once in a lifetime shot
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