The TPU Darkroom - Digital SLR and Photography Club

[the54thvoid]

For native, unscripted wildlife, you need to research behaviour of your 'target' in a particular location. You may spend several days, or weeks, going back and forth to get the right moment, the right light etc. Of note, I've never had the time (or weather) to do that. Then you need patience to wait. As @grunt_408 says (and despite his humility, he's definitely a pro, at least in my regards), the kit is secondary. Any basic camera will capture a good image. The problem is when the conditions demand a rapid focussing lens, or perhaps a wider aperture etc. But no amount of kit will create a great image. That's all down to the photographer.

If I could quit my job and live off my side projects, I'd probably be a better (more patient and prepared) photographer.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

When I mean better kit I really do mean it I'm not talking DSLR or anything, I have a old Fujifilm bridge camera which was really good but there's a issue with the focus on it now and I haven't had the time to look at it and my phone has a sensor issue where when there's too much light I get some weird interference. I literally mean I need a bog standard camera that works is all.
Taking good photos is something else entirely and my partner tells me regularly I have no style.

 

[Ferrum Master]

When I mean better kit I really do mean it I'm not talking DSLR or anything, I have a old Fujifilm bridge camera which was really good but there's a issue with the focus on it now and I haven't had the time to look at it and my phone has a sensor issue where when there's too much light I get some weird interference. I literally mean I need a bog standard camera that works is all.
Taking good photos is something else entirely and my partner tells me regularly I have no style.

Well. Composition is a thing you should learn and read up, also the idea is about the thing your eye catches first, not the whole picture, the rules are suggestions and not carved in stone. There are plenty of material about that depending on the object you shoot and with what lens, then looking at the pics you would get the idea, how it is made, based on the settings you see. Then light is the second you must learn. This topic is all about sharing tech how you did it make happen, not only spamming pictures, so asking for help a norm.

Picking up gear is a serious investment. My suggestion would picking up used a6000 or a6300 and arm it with some of the new Asian AF 3rd party lenses like Viltrox or SAMYANG as a starter, other platforms are closed sourced thus don't have such cheap but really decent glass offerings. Refrain from getting variable lens as a starter. A fixed length glass will get you into thinking getting the shoot right more and understand the rules, getting a fast nifty fifty is the most classic start for everyone, for Sony APSC crop it would around 35mm then.

 

[NoiseBox]

Snakes are great fun to work with, I get more bloopers working with snakes than I do working with anything else, for obvious reasons.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Snakes are great fun to work with, I get more bloopers working with snakes than I do working with anything else, for obvious reasons.

I am more concerned about your flash setup CRI rating and placement.

Also could you share your settings and gear on pictures? Even your EXIF is blank, there is no learning from just seeing some random picture. That's instagram for.

 

[grunt_408]

@ThaiTaffy A crop DSLR and nifty 50 lens was my starting point and it taught me a lot about how to compose my images and not rely on zoom then when I wanted to learn macro I learned that I could use the 50mm lens with an adapter ring that screws on the filter thread and allows you to mount it in reverse, this coupled with extension tubes is how I got a lot of my images for the first few years and cost is very minimal. It is difficult to use a reversed setup (No auto focus or aperture control) but if your heart is in it you can learn anything. I guess this is why I can use the MP E65mm at higher mag as I learned on the bare basics and the mpe is basically a reversed 65mm on varible extension tubes. But you might not want to do macro sorry you have my 2 cents worth anyway.. @Ferrum Master I am sorry my last few images have not been posted with exif in the description. I forgot about that. EDIT Anyone here print at home? I have just picked up an Epson P800 and omg what an experience after learning how to set up and proof images it is so satisfying to print. The largest I have done so far is A4 but ordering some A2 fine art paper very soon.

 

[NoiseBox]

I am more concerned about your flash setup CRI rating and placement.

Also could you share your settings and gear on pictures? Even your EXIF is blank, there is no learning from just seeing some random picture. That's instagram for.

Sorry about that, these were done in the studio, with a standard 3 way lighting set up for portrait shots using LED hot lights (I tried flash initially but it bothered the snake, so I switched to continuous lighting)
Nikon D7000, 50mm f/1.8@ f/11 1/50sec shutter speed, ISO 100 with a custom white balance

(EDIT) I can't show you the bloopers (there are many) because they are NSFW, but if you've ever worked with animals, you know how much fun they can be to pose and/or give commands to.

 

[Ferrum Master]

@ThaiTaffy A crop DSLR and nifty 50 lens was my starting point and it taught me a lot about how to compose my images and not rely on zoom then when I wanted to learn macro I learned that I could use the 50mm lens with an adapter ring that screws on the filter thread and allows you to mount it in reverse, this coupled with extension tubes is how I got a lot of my images for the first few years and cost is very minimal. It is difficult to use a reversed setup (No manual focus or aperture control) but if your heart is in it you can learn anything. I guess this is why I can use the MP E65mm at higher mag as I learned on the bare basics and the mpe is basically a reversed 65mm on varible extension tubes. But you might not want to do macro sorry you have my 2 cents worth anyway.. @Ferrum Master I am sorry my last few images have not been posted with exif in the description. I forgot about that. EDIT Anyone here print at home? I have just picked up an Epson P800 and omg what an experience after learning how to set up and proof images it is so satisfying to print. The largest I have done so far is A4 but ordering some A2 fine art paper very soon.

I already know your setup mate, I just nitpick because of possible newcomers. As we see users as ThaiTaffy needs some knowhow, just looking at pics you cant get one.

I had an experience with photo printers only once. I was asked to get an Epson run on Linux. I somehow succeeded. But I have some letter format test shots, that are like 5 years old. They do loose contrast ie are UV sensitive I guess. Keep that in mind.

 

[grunt_408]

They would be reasonably easy to photo if you can find them. I rarely come across them but when I do they don't give a rat's ass about me, they know they're the boss and just take their time and go where they want. Monocle cobras on the other hand are arseholes and actively try to get you.

I've had some great photos Of wildlife but I've only taken them by luck and could be alot better with the right knowledge.
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All of these shots are a good start. One issue I see is you maybe need to look up the rule of thirds. You have placed your hero (Subject) right in the centre of frame and that is not very pleasing. If you look up Rule of thirds and keep those lines in your mind (A lot of cameras have a grid you can turn on) and place your subject on a third line or in a third area..

When I mean better kit I really do mean it I'm not talking DSLR or anything, I have a old Fujifilm bridge camera which was really good but there's a issue with the focus on it now and I haven't had the time to look at it and my phone has a sensor issue where when there's too much light I get some weird interference. I literally mean I need a bog standard camera that works is all.
Taking good photos is something else entirely and my partner tells me regularly I have no style.

Ask your partner if they are really into you I mean if you have no style haha

 

[Ferrum Master]

Nikon D7000, 50mm f/1.8@ f/11 1/50sec shutter speed, ISO 100 with a custom white balance

1/50? I just tried to see what kind of light you had there on the snakey with those settings. Sheesh, it was bright as those lamps shaving pigs off, no wonder her armpit hair glows xD. Overloaded LEDs color shift like crazy, crazy peaks in the histogram... good ol tungsten lamps to the rescue. But that's a rare need really. Scared snakes rarely on some ones daily menu.

 

[grunt_408]

Oh great I have a friend that wants me to photograph his pet snake. Hope it doesn't get scared of my flash and try and eat me

 

[Ferrum Master]

Oh great I have a friend that wants me to photograph his pet snake. Hope it doesn't get scared of my flash and try and eat me

Better hope it doesn't have teeth. You and your macro shots xD

I would only try with an 500mm with 2x tele.... like a moonshot lol

 

[grunt_408]

Better hope it doesn't have teeth. You and your macro shots xD

I would only try with an 500mm with 2x tele.... like a moonshot lol

Hahaha I was thinking the 180mm for sure!! I do not want to be to close to a danger noodle

 

[Ferrum Master]

Here, the noodle up there and my SEL70350G stretched at max xD.

Safe distance for snake photos.

 

[grunt_408]

Here, the noodle up there and my SEL70350G stretched at max xD.

Safe distance for snake photos.

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Nice shot , I secretly admire sony stuff but will never switch from canon.

 

[NoiseBox]

1/50?

Bear in mind those lights were ~10 feet away from the snake, that being an albino Burmese who had a slightly uncertain disposition (the snake was rented) so we didn't need to antagonize the snake by crowding it.

Same set up, same settings, just using an IR-converted Canon 10d (done by LifePixel)

Oh great I have a friend that wants me to photograph his pet snake. Hope it doesn't get scared of my flash and try and eat me

What kind of snake? I have lots of experience working with reptiles, I can make some suggestions.

Better hope it doesn't have teeth

Depending on the snake (Green Tree Pythons and Emerald Tree Boas have some seriously nasty teeth, the kind that leave permanent and deep scars) they have multiple rows of shark-like teeth, and are very look at slashing and leaving you to bleed out (their saliva is an anti-coagulant) but the vast majority of snakes in the constrictor family are reasonably docile, Retics and albino variants being the exception.

 

[Ferrum Master]

You can rent a snake? That's some heavy fetish stuff.

 

[NoiseBox]

You can rent a snake? That's some heavy fetish stuff.

Yup, you can rent all manner of animals (at least around where I am) which can lend itself to all manner of fetish work, or simply lots of wasted film (yes, I still shoot on film, medium and large format if the need arises and the subject or animal is working well together) or time

 

[grunt_408]

Bear in mind those lights were ~10 feet away from the snake, that being an albino Burmese who had a slightly uncertain disposition (the snake was rented) so we didn't need to antagonize the snake by crowding it.
View attachment 236331

Same set up, same settings, just using an IR-converted Canon 10d (done by LifePixel)

What kind of snake? I have lots of experience working with reptiles, I can make some suggestions.


Depending on the snake (Green Tree Pythons and Emerald Tree Boas have some seriously nasty teeth, the kind that leave permanent and deep scars) they have multiple rows of shark-like teeth, and are very look at slashing and leaving you to bleed out (their saliva is an anti-coagulant) but the vast majority of snakes in the constrictor family are reasonably docile, Retics and albino variants being the exception.

I do believe it is a carpet python and has its good mood days and its bad mood days.

 

[NoiseBox]

I do believe it is a carpet python and has its good mood days and its bad mood days.

Oh boy, carpet pythons are problematic...
Let his owner handle him, and you tell the owner how you want the python to be moved around, and be prepared for a lot of wasted shots.
I'd use hot lights, or a lot of indirect lighting, bright flashes can trigger snakes to strike.

How big is it, do you know?

 

[grunt_408]

Oh boy, carpet pythons are problematic...
Let his owner handle him, and you tell the owner how you want the python to be moved around, and be prepared for a lot of wasted shots.
I'd use hot lights, or a lot of indirect lighting, bright flashes can trigger snakes to strike.

How big is it, do you know?

He has had it for a lot of years, I was planning on just plonking it down on the white backdrop and shooting it with flash haha. It is breeding season atm so it isnt going to happen for a while yet

 

[NoiseBox]

He has had it for a lot of years, I was planning on just plonking it down on the white backdrop and shooting it with flash haha. It is breeding season atm so it isnt going to happen for a while yet

All good, wait until breeding season is done and if there isn't going to be a lot of handling, then perhaps feed the CP well beforehand, a full belly lends itself well to lethargy.
Also, find a full length heating pad, put it under the backdrop and lay the snake on top (after it's gotten nice and toasty) the snake will stay put.

 

[Ferrum Master]

What's next? Crocodiles? Gators?

Medium and Large Format is expensive AF. The entry ticket way too expensive unless I decide to use some Soviet Hasselblyatski with ARAX mods.

After I got this combo my film needs are tamed. Loaded with Ektrachrome or Ilford BW I am set.

 

[NoiseBox]

Soviet Hasselblyatski

Built like a tank, and about as refined....
Still want one tho.

This is my view camera.
It makes lovely mistakes (and expensive!) when you are not paying attention to what you are doing.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Built like a tank, and about as refined....
Still want one tho.
This is my view camera.
It makes lovely mistakes (and expensive!) when you are not paying attention to what you are doing.

Kodak Ektachrome costs around 30€ for a 36 roll... there are rumors that the price will go up... so each derp cost you 1€. That somehow teaches to not to act recklessly.

Imagine an expensive show off using your mighty 4 FPS burst... nobody but you and your rat understands how expensive it is. Didn't I say 4€ per second? , maybe I should pick up the a9, they I could do ~5€ per second, that would be an useless upgrade in every other way as I would loose hypersonic AF focus support. Only the latter Ti version and retrofitted a9 supported the latter Sony AF protocol, that obviously was Minolta's(yes they had already the Ti moniker Jensen took for Geforce 3, although it was real titatium used on the camera) but those are rare. The a7 had it from the start, albeit nobody knows that it also works with Sigma HSM. It is not documented anywhere as the glass is years newer than the camera body and almost no one even thought of using it on a 35mm film body, I tried and it works. The Ektachrome grain is equivalent around 20mpx, so you have to have a really good glass on those slides.

Well that behemoth is a studio cam. You can't really walk around with it, if it gets exposed to harsh environment it would be a tragedy. The Kiev-88 has many faults tho, as any other Soviet product, you have to fix it even if was new.

Well it seems this forum lacks whacky Pentax cuckoos . But their Pentax 645N seems to be a more reasonable investment then. Still way too much for what it really is.