So Janine, what's your favorite animal? That's easy...that's elephants. Definitely! Of course it is.
Great animals. So I was thinking, why don't we make a bit of a different video today...
talking about behavior of animals. What shots to look out for? Not too much technical detail, but
just our experience from out in the field, and what shots our fellow photo enthusiasts can get.
That's a great idea. A big part of wildlife photography is understanding
what's happening in front of the lens. True. It's amazing...let's do it! Okay great!
Aren't we lucky to have the biggest population of African elephants, right here in Botswana!
That's such a privilege. It's amazing...and what I personally love about elephants, is how intelligent
and emotional they are. Everybody has their own character, and you can see it in their eyes...
but that's also the challenge. Trying to capture these stories and these emotions
in one single photograph. I agree. They are so intelligent...no-wonder their brain alone weighs
5 kilograms. Can you imagine? I do agree that behavior plays a huge role in capturing that
unique photograph. My favorite (of course) here in Chobe, is when they play in the water...
because you can really see how happy and relaxed they are. Throwing their trunks up in
the air. Pushing one another back and forth...and even climbing on top of each other. So much joy!
...and from a photographic perspective, they make it really easy for you in the water, because
their behavior is repetitive. So, if you have that really naughty elephant ball climbing on top of
his mate and splashing in the water...and you missed it! You can be sure he does it again. So that's a cool part.
It's also interesting to see that they have certain patterns that they always go about.
It's always the same thing, and we can predict it and position ourselves...and help our guests with it.
First they drink, which is great for some close-up shots from the side...catching the water. Dripping
from their mouth...and then they go in the water to cool off and play...and here in the Chobe, they even
cross to the other side. All the way. In order to get some fresh grass...and after coming out,
it's time for the mud bath...and dusting...and all those amazing photo opportunities that
come along with it. It's especially great when you have a clean bright background,
so that the mud stands out nicely. For the dust, i prefer it when the scene is backlit by the sun.
It makes the dust shimmer and look golden. It's incredible to think that an elephant nearly has
40,000 muscles...only in their trunk!! Compared to us humans, who have just over 600.
They are so so massive, and huge, and strong...but so gentle and quiet at the same time. Talking about trunks, they
also make for great close-up shots...as well as their white tusks. Their wrinkled skin. Their eyes.
Eye lashes...and of course their tail, and their feet. They just have so much texture. That's so true.
I think one often forgets to simply zoom in closer, and capture those details and textures.
What I also like to advise my guests to do, is to look out for the sparkle. The shine in the eye, because
the eye color of an elephant is that gorgeous reddish tone, that you rarely see...and that's so
beautiful. Yeah for sure. Worth the wait. It's such an intimate and emotional moment. I have found
that my guests often get totally overwhelmed, and don't even know where to look first. Myself included.
When taking photographs of their tusks, I prefer a nice dark background...letting the white really
stand out...and depending on the angle, the elephant itself could provide the shade...or alternatively,
another elephant from the herd, or perhaps, just a shady bush. I just simply love the versatility
of elephants...and sometimes they look light grey. Sometimes they look really dark, and nearly black,
when they are wet...or even red, depending on the color of the soil. Low-key images really work great
to isolate the details, or the elephant itself. But high-key images work just as well.
...and they are so easy to do. All you need is your subject in the shade, or against a light source.
In a bright uniform background, such as water, or sky, or sand. Expose the elephant, and then turn
it into black and white afterwards...and you have a beautiful image. I love high-key shots, as they
make really great contemporary modern prints too. I have lots of them in the house. They are stunning!
Overall, I think the key for a really good elephant photograph is just understanding the group
dynamics of herd. Yeah, they are such a social animal. Males for instance, when greeting each other,
will intertwine their trunks. A bit like hugging. Creating a lovely intimate portrait. Yes, so true!
...and now that you remind me, similarly, elephant calves - within a breeding herd - receive comfort,
protection and reassurance from their mother, and other family members even, by wrapping their trunks
around the calf's back...around its belly, or under its neck...or over its shoulder, to protect it.
And the other way around as well...the calf is looking for reassurance, by leaning against
its mother's leg...or touching the heel of the mother's foot, with its trunk, while walking.
By far the best are the youngsters themselves. I love them. They are so cute. Be it a calf that is
still unsure of how it's trunk works, or a group of them simply playing, or chasing other animals.
Such fun to watch in photographs. My heart melts every time I watch those little one's.
In all the hundreds of hours the two of us have been watching elephants,
I personally have never been bored, because they are always busy doing something. They need to actually
feed a full 16 hours a day to keep themselves going. So, they are usually active...unlike lions
for instance, that sleep, and sleep, and sleep...and when you are lucky, you get maybe four hours of
activity out of them. While high-key works really well during the harsh daylight, my favorite time
to photograph them is actually in the late afternoon, when the light becomes really soft...
and casts them in a great contrast with that color. Combine this with a bit of cloud build-up,
and you just have the perfect backdrop for the world's largest land mammal. It's a great way to show an
animal in its natural environment. I am often amazed that I have to remind people to also zoom out and
take in the scenery around the animal. With long lenses we're often prone to zoom in, and just
tightly frame our subject. Africa has stunning scenery, so you should really include that as well.
Talking from personal experience, I am often just too lazy to swap my lens around...
with a dusty environment, or you think you just simply don't have time for it at that moment.
But you are absolutely right...wider shots give the image so much more context of where it was taken.
Revealing the weather conditions, and generally transforming the entire image into a different mood.
We just need a really great backdrop to do so. One thing that I found, is that one really needs to be careful
to be in the right distance from the animal when shooting with a wide angle lens, because if you are
too far away, it just doesn't give you that nice wow factor. So, you need to play around, and just
figure out what distance works...and what doesn't. And talking about wow factor...
I think a silhouette of an elephant belongs in everyone's portfolio...don't you think?
It's such an iconic shot for Africa. Really so beautiful...and all our guests want it, but it's
actually not an easy shot to get at all, because the circumstances need to be absolutely right.
You know how it goes. Yeah, so often they are overlapping with one another...when the sun is
just perfectly behind them, and all you have is that big lump of black. Elephants have such a
defined and recognizable shape, so it is really essential to put yourself as low as possible...
and have the elephant's profile clearly against the sky. Yeah, I agree. It's really important that
they are parallel to you. That they stand from the side, so you can really get that nice
profile, because otherwise you just have a blob...and that is not so exciting. Maybe with ears? (giggle)
Usually, when they walk, I try to watch out for the moment when there's separation between
the legs...and the trunk is in a position where it doesn't melt into the dark ground.
I have so many guests asking me how to expose for a silhouette? It is actually very
easy. By exposing for the sky, the elephant and the foreground, become completely black.
What I have found over the years, is that focusing on silhouettes can actually be quite tricky, because
it's so black, and the camera starts searching for it. But it doesn't have to be, because all you need
to do is place the focus on the edge, where it meets the sky...and the contrast is good...and you
get your perfect focus and silhouette shot. That's a great tip! Actually i forgot about that one, but
in the end, it's all about spending time with the animals, and just looking out for
different photographs that one can get. Yeah!
Hey guys! If this has put you in the mood to come on safari with us...and see with your own eyes, we would love to welcome you in the Chobe.
Just check out the link below, and we will try and find you some elephants to photograph yourself. We hope you enjoyed
this tutorial, and it gave you some inspiration on how to tackle your wildlife photography?
If you did, please give us a thumbs up...and leave us some comments in the section down below.
See you next time. Bye Bye!