We were fortunate to have a pair of mating lions next to our vehicle one morning on our recent Kalahari trip - so being true to my journey of putting down the telephoto lens and reaching for shorter lenses, I shot with a 24-70mm.
I just posted my own 2014 photographic review on my blog - not so much my overall personal favourites as I did in previous years, but more a collection of images from my personal photographic project: wider angle wildlife images. I call it "10 below 100", 10 images taken at focal lengths of 100mm or less. I hope you enjoy it:
http://bit.ly/Morkel2014
Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 @ 42mm
Kenko Pro CPL
f5.6 | 1/400 SS | ISO-800
Comments
3 commentsI clicked through and read your entire blog entry, but apparently didn't read well-enough (or did the usual got-distracted-by-the-image thing) because when I saw your opening image of Scar (do I remember that's what you call him?) under the "10 under 100mm" heading I thought 2015 would likely be your last year on the planet if you were pushing the envelope THAT far!
You've got some fantastic images presented there, and the closing image of the ellie and giraffes that was a finalist in both BBC WPY and Nature's Best is a wonderful frame.
Great stuff, as pretty much always, my friend! All the best for 2015 (and you and your work are too important to do too many predator shots under 100mm, OK?).
So...what's driving the journey to the short lenses - got a bad back from carrying the big glass??
You know I also like the 'scapes and I think your commitment to them is great. In this case however I'm not sure a 'scape approach works as well as a tighter approach. My thinking is that the main interest in this shot involves the interaction - and in particular the faces and expressions of the lions. While the surrounding scene does add some context, it's not a really strong scene. So...the shot feels a bit frustrating to me - I want to see more detail in the lions and less of the habitat. And in this case the great light on the lions' heads is largely lost (but would be amazing with a much tighter shot).
I think putting away the big glass is a very useful exercise and it will certainly force one to really, really LOOK at scenes and retrain one's eye. Ultimately that vision will be a great skill to have, and when you return to shooting "the best lens for the scene" (utilizing all lenses) it will be interesting. Like you, I find nothing more boring than shot-after-shot of closeups of wildlife that offer nothing but "closeness".
Good luck on your journey and I look forward to seeing more of your "experiments" along the way!
Cheers...
Brad