The Way We See It: monkey

Showing posts with label monkey. Show all posts

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Costa Rica 2013 - In the Beginning...

A Window into a Monkey's World (Cebus capucinus) - Hacienda Baru, Costa Rica
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 300 f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

After arriving at Juan Santamaria International airport in San Jose, we grabbed a taxi to the Hotel la Rosa de America in La Garita de Alajuela. Hotel la Rosa is a favorite bookend for my Costa Rica photo-adventures. Located in a quiet spot near the airport, La Rosa has beautifully manicured gardens that attract exotic blue-crowned motmot’s, rufous-naped wrens, and a variety of tanager species. However, la Rosa is just the beginning... we are now eight days into our travels and have seen more than can be shared at this time. Stay tuned, as there is much more to come!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Costa Rica 2013 - Pre-trip Post #1

Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata) - Sarapiqui, Costa Rica
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS - 1/250 @ f/2.8 & iso 400

Towards the beginning of July we'll be returning to Costa Rica for the eighth time. Although I have been fortunate to have safaried throughout East Africa and traveled across Alaska and Canada, I continue to find Costa Rica a compelling destination. Ever since the first trip in 1996, we always leave with the plan to return.

During the next few weeks, I'll post a few archived images and share some photographic goals and plans for our forthcoming July adventure.

Pura Vida,
bruce

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Tip #72: High Key - Black & White

Young Capuchin (Cebus capucinus) - Hacienda Baru, Costa Rica
Canon 30D + Canon 70-200 f4L @ f4.0

When confronted with a shaded subject against a bright background, forget the highlights and shoot for a high key “glow.” Some animals live their lives in the trees, and unless you have access to a canopy blind, distracting highlights are unavoidable. While flash might be the equalizer, a burst of directional light might disrupt the subject and cast an unnatural tone across the image. On these occasions I live the light, accept the compromise, and expose for the subject.

For this image I chose to deal with the backlight and leave my flash in the bag. The inherent curiosity of the capuchin produced expressions that I feared a flash might alter. To capture the eye-eye perspective, I spot-metered the face, added a stop of light and purposefully blew the highlights. The raw image was converted to black & white in Aperture 3.2, while a red filter was used to accentuate the eyes. Throughout the years, I’ve discovered that I prefer to shoot within nature’s constraints, I love to be challenged by the unexpected, and would rather accept the light than impose my selfish goals on my wild subjects.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Tip #11: Shoot RAW!

White-faced capuchin - Hacienda Baru, Costa Rica
Canon 7D + 300 f2.8L IS @ f2.8

Shoot RAW images, but don’t rely on RAW to save you from a poorly exposed or poorly composed image. RAW files allow for more aggressive changes in post-process, but they will not save you from your poor technique.

The image that accompanies today's tip was made under very challenging conditions. This white-faced capuchin (Cebus capucinus) was moving hurriedly through the canopy. Unlike the more deliberate locomotion of the larger mantled howler (Alouatta palliata), these petite capuchins jump nervously from branch to branch. Your best chance at photographing a capuchin occurs whenever these gregarious monkeys congregate around a fruiting tree. The subject pictured here stopped and hesitated prior to making its leap. While I would have rather captured it in mid air, I fear that the contrast range between canopy and sky would have made for an image of a flying blob. Here, the raw file provided me with the flexibility to preserve the detail between the monkey's dark hair and pale face. Had I shot a jpeg file rather than RAW, it is likely that the highlights would have lacked detail and the shadows would have been dark and muddy.

Tip #11: Shoot RAW images, but never depend on a raw processing to save your from poor technique.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The One-Eyed Monkey

What does a one-eyed monkey and broken jaw have to do with natural selection? While I’m not sure I know the answer, I will venture the following hypothesis. However, before I explain, I feel the need to begin with the back-story…

So I’m thoroughly focused on a butterfly larva that looks like a snake’s head. The larva was perched on a large leaf displaying a scale-like pattern and false eyes. More bark than bite, its appearance is intended to be a threat that invokes fear. Since I’m no bird, I recognized the bluff to be an example of mimicry and proceeded to photograph the “sheep in wolf’s clothes.” With about thirty images in the tank, I began to hear the approach of howler monkeys crossing the river valley. The Sarapiquí River divides a patch of rainforest and acts as a natural barrier between two competing troops of monkeys. Hoots and howls from one side of the river inspire a nearby troop to respond. This type of vocalization is a declaration of territory and is a howler monkey’s way of saying… “don’t cross the line.”

Rainforest in Black and White #2

Baru Beach, Hacienda Baru
Canon 40D + 17-40L

With our return trip to Costa Rica only 30 days into the future, I have decided to review past work and reflect on how I can make the familiar fresh. I love to shoot the rainforest, but am forever challenged by the streaky light, bright canopy, and the omnipresent shade of green. You'd think this cornucopia of biodiversity would make wildlife photography easy, but nothing could be farther from reality. The cryptic and shy creatures that inhabit a tropical jungle are invisible to those who know where to look and how to see. It is their "cloak of invisibility" that adds to the great challenge of rainforest photography.

Grasping with Hands

Binocular vision - Upright posture - Generalized skeleton - Facial mobility - Grasping hands - Large brains

Sound familiar?

Kenya 2010: Missing Africa

The Patagonia expedition weight thermals clung tightly to my frame as I braced for the biting cold. It's 7 degrees fahrenheit and the north wind ushered the frigid air through my layered attire. This is Minnesota, it's Thanksgiving Day, and I'm on a hike. My Sorrel bound feet blazed a trail as I crunched through the crusty mix of ice and snow that fell the night before. I'm seeking a winter landscape, and I'm thinking about Africa.

The cold and lonely hike offers me the opportunity to reflect on my summer excursion... We were three on a Kenyan safari... Tamy, my mother and I. It was my opportunity to share my passion for nature, photography and travel... it was an opportunity of a lifetime.

You never know what to expect when you travel abroad. Research helps you predict potential pitfalls and opportunities, but research cannot prepare you for the unexpected. On this trip, my fears were not about the travel experience... I pre-arranged all transports, lodging, and safaris; I knew that our in-country experience would meet expectation. We were in Africa... We were on Safari... Kenya would not disappoint!

Tamy and I travel abroad at least once a year, and rely on these opportunities to add to our vast library of images. International excursions provide a creative and intellectual boost to my psyche, it is the DNA from which I write, teach, and publish. This type of travel photography compliments our efforts home, and fulfills my desire to explore our natural world. We have been travel companions since the late 80's, and have always embraced the intensity of a rich travel/photographic experience. Love of travel and adventure united us in the beginning and continues to be a theme for our lives today. So, if I had any trepidations about my Kenyan Safari, they were about a new unknown. How would the addition of a third travel companion... my mother, influence our travel experience and our productivity?

Ten days in Africa can be a grind for anyone. A safari vacation is not as self-indulgent as it sounds. The distances between refuges are large, the roads are rough, and the days can be long. Having traveled through Tanzania in 2008, Tamy and I knew what to expect. We prepped my mother for the experience, and hoped for the best.

I feared that our excitement for Africa was masking the reality that I knew, but I hoped that the magic of nature would negate the inconveniences of adventure travel. Once we arrived in Nairobi and made that first long journey to Samburu Reserve, I knew that we were in for some fun. My mother embraced the experience in a way that I could have never anticipated. She was enthralled by the people, the landscape and the wildlife. The inner child that possesses me while on the road or with a camera, possessed her. My mother was one of us... not a photographer, not a traveler, not a tourist... she was a student. The intimacy of an intense cultural and environmental travel experience fostered the learner in us all. These are the experiences that enrich our minds and our hearts.

Today is a cold Thanksgiving Day in Minnesota. I am thinking of Africa, pondering my next adventure and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to share my passions.
Image #1: Cheetah. Masai Mara Game Reserve
Image #2: Olive Baboon. Lake Nakuru National Park
Image #3: Elephant Babies. Samburu National Reserve
Image #4: Young White Rhinoceros with Mother. Lake Nakuru National park
Image #5: Lioness. Masai Mara Game Reserve
Image #6: Black and White Colobus Monkey. Lake Naivasha National Park
Image #7: Reticulated Giraffe. Samburu National Reserve
Image #8: My Mother... an all around good sport!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Costa Rica 2009: Serendipity

Ego... “I am one skillful photographer!”

Average Joe... “You must have a nice camera; how many megapixels does it have?”

Ego... “My photography is my art.”

Average Joe... “Man, are you lucky...!”

So what is it, luck or skill?

Is it a vision thing or is it technology at its best?

I’m not sure that I can answer these questions today, but I will offer a bit of insight about how I perceive the photographic process and product. I have found that our best photographs are the product of careful planning, preparation for the field, and serendipity. Look, we can all get lucky once in a while... right subject, right light, and right “auto-setting;” but good photographers plan ahead. When a photographer knows the gear, understands exposure theory, and can previsualize a composition, good things happen when opportunity knocks (apologies for the cliche).

Nature and wildlife photography can be unusually challenging. We do not rely on models who work predictable hours, and we rarely have the opportunity to control the light around us. As a result, nature photographers must be generalists who are prepared for serendipitous moments.

On this day Tamy and I were hiking a 1.5 km rainforest trail within the Hacienda Baru National Wildlife Refuge. There was not a lot of animal activity, so I decided to photograph a flowering bromeliad. Tamy wasn’t very interested in this flower, so she meandered down the trail. By the time I caught up with Tamy, I could hear flailing branches and falling fruit. Tamy was surrounded by a troop of capuchins and now I was too. Serendipity happened, and we were prepared.

The Way We See It