Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-07)

18 7 March 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

KIT LIST ▲ ▲ ▲

Technique

Olympus

OM-DE-M1X

Andrewswearsbytheadvanced

in-bodystabilisationin

Olympuscameras,alongwith

featuressuchasProCapture

• it allowsimagesto be
  bufferedandcapturedbefore
  the shutter is fully pressed.

Olympus

40-150mmf/2.

‘Thiscompactandlightweight

optionwillstillgivea decent

telephotozoomandtheoptical

qualityis verygoodindeed,’

saysAndrew.‘I alsolikethe

Olympus300mmf/4 and the

12-100mm f/4.’

Olympus

MC-141.4x

Teleconverter

Thisis compatiblewith

theDigitalED40-150mm

f/2.8PROandDigitalED

300mmf/4PROlensesfor

extendedreachatonly one

stop light loss.

Focusontheeyes

Wherepossiblewithanimals,focus

ontheeyes,asyouwouldwithany

portrait.Thismayinvolveselectinga

singleAFpointora group,

dependingonhowfaryouareaway

andwhetherthesubjectis still.If

youcan’tmaketheeye,at thevery

leastfocusonthehead.Don’tmiss

theshotasyouareobsessing about

focusing on the eyes.

Usesilentshutterspeeds

Iwasouttakingpicturesof haresandhadnoideathisrabbitwouldmakeanaggressive

display.I wasin a hideandjustkeptonshooting,usingthesilentshuttermodetoavoid

disturbing the animals. So again, if your camera supports this feature, turn it on.

Usemorethan one

focuspoint

Focusingonseaottersandleapingwhales

whilein a boatgoingupanddownin the

seais anothera hugefocuschallenge.For

thiskindof imageI willselecta groupof

nineor 25 AFpointsratherthanjusttrying

todoit withone.Imagestabilisationalso

comesin reallyusefulin thiskindof

situation,soif yourcameraorlens

supports it, make sure it’s turned on.

Alwaysbeready

Withlargeranimals,youhaveto beableto reactfast.I was

lyingdownshootingflowerswhenthisbearwanderedinto

myshot.I hadto changesettingsasit rearedup,andhe

wasincrediblyclose.Youcan’twastetimethinkingwhat

aperturedoI need,whatAFpoint,etc,youhavetoknow

your camera inside out and be able to react quickly.

WHILEcapturinglargeranimalscansound

somewhateasierthantryingtocapturedistantbirds

ortiny,easilystartledinsects,therearealsoa lotof

focusingchallengesinvolved.Keyprinciplesinclude

usingcontinuousAFformovingsubjects,orfocusing

carefullyontheeyesandheadwithstaticsubjects

(ifyoucangetcloseenough).Andrewreckonsthe

sophisticatedimagestabilisationbuiltintothe

Olympuscamerabodiesheusesgiveshima big

advantagewhentryingtocapturefast-moving

wildlife.‘TheISyougetwithOlympusis betterthan

anythingelseI havetried,’heexplains.‘I canregularly

shootat1/30sechandheldandgetsharpshots.Slower

shutterspeedsletinmorelightandmeanI don’t

havetousehigherISOs.WiththeOlympus

systems, I fi nd the focus locks on really quickly.’

AndrewFusekPeters

Andrewis a regularcontributorto APanda

highlyregardedwildlifeandlandscape

photographerwhoseworkregularlyappearsin

nationalnewspapers.Hehasbeenshortlisted

twiceforBritishWildlifePhotographerof the

Year.www.andrewfusekpeters.com

Animals

ALL PICTURES © ANDREW FUSEK PETERS