Photo Safaris By Region AFRICA - Botswana Wildlife - Madagascar - Masai Mara Wildlife Reserve, Kenya ANTARCTICA - Ultimate Antarctica ASIA - Essential China—Iconic Landmarks & Landscapes - India—Rajasthan & Puskar Fair - Japan's Winter Wildlife - Laos & Vietnam - Mongolia—The Golden Eagle Festival EUROPE - Best of the Greek Isles - Eclectic Holland - Finland's Arctic Wildlife - Turkey—Continental Crossroads - Tuscany - White Horses of France's Camargue NORTH AMERICA - Alaska Overland - Aurora Borealis—Fairbanks, Alaska - Bald Eagles of the Chilkat River, Alaska - Bosque del Apache & White Sands, New Mexico - Brown Bears of Katmai National Park in Summer - Brown Bears of Katmai National Park in Autumn - Colorado Fall Colors - Denali National Park in Autumn - Exploring Lake Powell - Florida Birds—Best of the West - Grand Canyon at Havasu Falls - Great Smoky Mountains - Horses & Icons of the Wild West - Humpback Whales of Alaska's Inside Passage - Mexico's Colonial Heartland - Monument Valley & Slot Canyons - Nova Scotia—Photo Tour for Women - Olympic National Park, Washington - Predatory Animals of North America - Springtime in Callaway Gardens, Georgia - Ultimate Wolves - Ultimate Yellowstone - Washington's Palouse Country - World's Best Raptor Shoot - Yellowstone & Grand Tetons in Autumn - Nature & Digital Photography Seminars with John Shaw PACIFICA - Midway Atoll SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA - Galápagos - Patagonia's Mountain Landscapes - Ultimate Dolphins Wildlife Models Shoot - Wildlife of Brazil's Pantanal Photo Safaris By Date JANUARY - Ultimate Wolves - Nature & Digital Photography Seminars with John Shaw, Dallas, TX & Raleigh, NC - Ultimate Yellowstone FEBRUARY - Japan's Winter Wildlife MARCH - Florida Birds—Best of the West - Nature & Digital Photography Seminars with John Shaw, Phoenix, AZ & Boston, MA - Midway Atoll - Aurora Borealis—Fairbanks, Alaska - Monument Valley & Slot Canyons - White Horses of France's Camargue APRIL - Springtime in Callaway Gardens, Georgia - Galápagos - Finland's Arctic Wildlife - Patagonia's Mountain Landscapes - Eclectic Holland - Great Smoky Mountains - Grand Canyon at Havasu Falls - Mexico's Colonial Heartland MAY - Wildlife of Brazil's Pantanal - Turkey—Continental Crossroads - Ultimate Dolphins Wildlife Models Shoot - Best of the Greek Isles - Tuscany JUNE - Washington's Palouse Country - Predatory Animals of North America JULY - Brown Bears of Katmai National Park in Summer - Olympic National Park, Washington AUGUST - Washington's Palouse Country - Humpback Whales of Alaska's Inside Passage SEPTEMBER - Masai Mara Wildlife Reserve, Kenya - Denali National Park in Autumn - Alaska Overland - Essential China—Iconic Landmarks & Landscapes - Brown Bears of Katmai National Park in Autumn - Madagascar - Yellowstone & Grand Tetons in Autumn - Botswana Wildlife - Colorado Fall Colors - Predatory Animals of North America - Horses & Icons of the Wild West - Mongolia—The Golden Eagle Festival OCTOBER - Exploring Lake Powell - World's Best Raptor Shoot - Nova Scotia—Photo Tour for Women - India—Rajasthan & Puskar Fair NOVEMBER - Laos & Vietnam - Ultimate Antarctica - Bald Eagles of the Chilkat River, Alaska DECEMBER - Bosque del Apache & White Sands, New Mexico

		Ultimate Antarctica January 5–February 1, 2008 Most wildlife photographers like shooting close-ups, recording the details, capturing the intricacies of pattern or form, and sometimes even revealing the personalities of their subjects in these intimate views. Mary Ann and I certainly do, and it's one of the reasons we love wildlife photography. We love working close, feeling a part of our subject's world. To get a maximum image size, photographers usually use telephoto or macro lenses. But even then, to get close enough to use these lenses effectively, shooters often travel to areas where wildlife is not only abundant, but is accustomed to people as well. National, state, provincial and regional parks, national wildlife refuges, and similarly protected areas are usually great locations for getting close enough to wildlife without too much effort. Unfortunately, though, not all of our wildlife subjects are found in protected areas, and even when they are, getting really close for intimate portraits may still be impossible without additional help. That's where blinds, or hides as they're more descriptively called in Europe, come in to play. Blinds 'hide' a photographer from the quarry, masking the photographer's movements as he or she focuses or changes film and, hopefully keeping the subject at ease. Blinds need not be elaborate. Sometimes, all that's needed is something that simply conceals the human form so that the photographer can move about inside without spooking the subject. Blinds can be conspicuous, if the animal is tolerant or familiar with odd objects. Conversely, when working very wary or elusive subjects, blinds must be so cryptically concealed that they blend seamlessly with the environment. Most of the time, a blind that isn't conspicuous, but conceals the photographer hidden inside, works great. Unfortunately, using a blind often anchors you to one place, so some thought must be given as to the exact placement of the blind. Ideally, a blind should be mobile, so that a position can be changed if the subject warrants it. And that's where your car or truck has value as the ultimate, and perhaps most expensive, photo accessory. Your vehicle is the simplest, most available and certainly the most mobile blind available! If you spot an animal as you drive by, don't stop. Come to a gradual stop, then slowly back up until you are in position. Obviously, a vehicle ranks as one of the more conspicuous types of blinds, but at least it is effective. Along roadways virtually everywhere, animals are accustomed to seeing vehicles, generally paying them no attention. That's as true in a suburban neighborhood where cars stream past cottontails all day as it is in some of the most exotic locations. In fact, on an African photo safari or on a Churchill polar bear trip, most, if not all, images are made from vehicles. For the wildlife of these regions, vehicles are a part of their world. Closer to home, many birds and animals are similarly accustomed to vehicles but sometimes — and here's the kicker — only to vehicles that are moving. A perched redtail hawk may fly off when a car or truck slows to a stop close by, even though hundreds, or thousands, of vehicles pass within yards of the bird each day without provoking a response. That's frustrating, but it also points out how animals accustomed to one set of conditions are still quite wary when those conditions change. There's also a lesson to be learned here and that's how an animal can be conditioned or habituated over time. But more on that in our next installment on using blinds. For now, let's get back to our cars. To use a vehicle for a blind, drive up to your subject slowly. If you spot a potential subject just as you pass by, don't brake suddenly, as this will almost certainly spook the animal. Instead, drive past it, then slowly back up before coming to a stop. An engine running will cause vibrations that your lens may pick up, so it's advisable to turn off the motor when you're about to shoot. In areas where wildlife is used to vehicles, that's usually not a problem, but it can be one in areas where game isn't accustomed to having a vehicle stop nearby. Turning off a motor may be the final straw to spook your subject into flying or running off. If you must turn off an engine, try doing so before you reach your shooting position and let the vehicle coast the final distance. If you can slowly brake while doing so, the transition from moving car to stopped 'photo blind' may be gradual enough that your quarry doesn't mind. Of course, you could goof and have your vehicle stop short. If that happens, we'd suggest shooting from that position before starting up your car and attempting to move closer again. That's almost certain to frighten a somewhat wary subject. Coyotes often wander close to the roadside at national parks and refuges. Although you may have luck getting out of your car and shooting, you'll have a better chance staying inside and shooting through an open window. Most serious wildlife photographers shoot with tripod-mounted cameras and lenses, a somewhat difficult thing to do when shooting from inside a vehicle. If you're using a van-style vehicle with sliding doors, a passenger can easily mount a tripod in the back and use it, but that doesn't work too well if you're driving. We have, on rare occasions, contorted one of our Gitzo tripods into position on the passenger side of our truck, but it's been an effort. It's far easier to use some type of window brace where a lens and camera can rest. Leonard Lee Rue Enterprises (www.rue.com) and some other vendors sell window mounts that work great for this. We've used Rue's Groofwinpod for years, and we love it. Although most of these window mounts accept a ballhead or similar lens-mount, we wouldn't recommend it. We believe that a ballhead attached to a window mount increases the chance of vibrations being conducted from the interior of the vehicle to the lens. Think about it. The lens mounts to the ballhead, the ballhead to the Groofwinpod (or similar mount), which rests upon the window frame of the vehicle. Vibrations conduct most easily through metal, so having nothing but metal between camera and car maximizes the chances that any vibrations inside the vehicle will be transferred to the camera. Instead of mounting a ballhead to a Groofwinpod, we'd suggest laying one or more beanbags on top of the 'pod and resting a lens on this support. Now, you have a nice vibration-dampening bumper between the camera and the vehicle and, if you use the beanbags correctly, you'll also have a stable lens platform, too. This method can be especially helpful if you find you're not having luck when you turn off the motor. If that's the case, you may be forced to shoot with the engine running. To dampen vibrations, use plenty of beanbags to insulate your camera from the car's vibrations. If you're using a Canon EOS IS lens, or the new Nikon VR lens, the vibration effects from a running engine will be minimized even further, especially if you are using a fast shutter speed. Even with a beanbag on top, Groofwinpods and other window mounts that rest on a windowsill may be too low for effective use. For most folks it's quite uncomfortable to scrunch down low enough in a car seat to look through a viewfinder positioned below shoulder level. To raise the camera to a more comfortable height, stack two — or preferably — three bags into a roughly pyramidal shape. By beanbags, we're not talking about the little bags one uses in the beanbag toss game common at picnics. Instead, we're talking about a bag filled with beans (or sunflower seeds, mixed birdseed, or dried corn) that's about brick-sized or greater. These longish, rectangular shaped bags work well on a Groofwinpod platform as well as just draped over the sill of the door of the vehicle. Both Vested Interest (www.vestedinterest.com) and Kinesis (www.kinesisgear.com) make excellent beanbags for this, equipped with straps that can be used to attach another beanbag or to strap to a Groofwinpod support. Other manufacturers make prefilled bags — the Steadibag comes to mind — but we like the flexibility of having a 'bean' bag we can transport empty and fill on site with whatever material we wish. You can make your own bags, too, but use some common sense when doing so. If you're traveling in your own vehicle, and space or transport isn't a problem, you could make a beanbag of any size you think appropriate; but again, huge bags are generally unnecessary. If you're taking a trip to East Africa where you'll be shooting from the window or tops of vehicles, make sure you don't carry a beanbag that is too large. On one of our safaris a guy showed up with a beanbag about the size of a pillowcase and, as he soon discovered, filling it with the local beans was pretty expensive. Large beanbags are heavy and potentially dangerous, too, if one falls off the roof of a vehicle and lands on the head or neck of someone sitting down below. Don't laugh — it's happened to me, and it's a bit startling and painful when a bag whacks you across the head unexpectedly. If you make your own beanbag, sew in ties or straps so that you can attach the beanbag to the top rack of your safari van, or to a Groofwinpod or similar platform if you're shooting out the window. Double stitch the seams to prevent separation once the beans are added since the bags tend to be treated roughly and could burst open if stepped on or tossed about. Use a zipper closure. Even though some commercially produced bags are secured by Velcro, we don't recommend this type of closure. A zipper is secure and won't rip open and spill your beans at an inopportune moment. By driving slowly along a fence line at the National Bison Range, we were able to photograph Eastern kingbirds and meadowlarks at a very close distance. Whenever we tried approaching on foot the birds flew off. Where baiting birds or small animals is legal, the contents of a smartly filled beanbag can be used for bait. We often pack our beanbags with mixed birdseed that works perfectly as an emergency supply for baiting seed-eating songbirds, chipmunks and other critters. Private campgrounds and most regional parks have no restrictions on baiting, but baiting or feeding wildlife is often prohibited in national and state parks. Placing a lens on a beanbag can create an extremely stable — or a potentially shaky — lens platform. Which one you'll enjoy may depend on how you rest your lens upon the beanbag. Don't necessarily use the lens foot you'd mount onto a tripod, since a sturdy lens foot may still be too small or present too little surface area to be effective, creating a somewhat rocky platform when the lens rests upon the foot. Vested Interest, the makers of the ExtraHand photo vest, offers a Big Foot plate that mounts onto the lens foot. This oversize plate creates a broad surface area for the lens to rest upon a beanbag. We often have flash arms mounted to our largest lenses, and these can be valuable in securing a firm brace upon a beanbag rest. Flash arms, marketed by Really Right Stuff (805-528-6321) and others, permit a flash to be mounted above the lens, rather than the traditional position on the camera's hotshoe mount. This allows the flash to maintain a constant position above the lens axis, even when the camera is rotated to the vertical position. If a flash is mounted on the hotshoe, a vertical camera position puts the flash on the side, creating an unnatural angle to the lighting. With the flash arm, the flash stays above the lens regardless of the position of the camera, thus maintaining a natural look. A flash arm can give you extra stability when shooting from a beanbag, provided a flash isn't mounted at the time. The curved shape of the flash arm creates an extra anchor point when the lens is turned on its side. This provides a brace both along the edge of the lens mount (especially if an RRS lens plate or Big Foot Plate is attached) and along the edge of the flash arm. This combination anchors the lens very securely. If you have a flash mounted to the flash arm, you shouldn't use this method since the flash would be placed on the side, too. This could create torque on the flash mount, which may damage the flash foot, and it will probably produce unnatural-looking lighting from the flash. When you want to use flash, you have two choices. You could use the flash arm as the lens brace, but mount the flash on the hotshoe. That will work, at least for horizontal formats, but remember, you still will have unnatural side, versus top, lighting when you photograph in a vertical format. Or, you could mount the flash on the flash arm, but rest the lens on the beanbag on the lens foot so that the flash is positioned directly above the lens. The camera-lens unit may not be as stable resting on this smaller surface area, but the flash lighting will look natural, and you will run little risk of stressing your flash mount. This ruffed grouse was filmed in very low light at a fairly slow shutter speed. The image has a bluish cast because of the light filtering through the forest canopy. While we really love shooting off a broad and stable window platform like a Groofwinpod, you can get by simply using a few beanbags over the window and resting the lens upon these. In a pinch, when we weren't expecting to shoot from our vehicle, we've used bundled jackets, sweatshirts, kneeling pads, and other objects to form a lens rest. Once, in the Grand Tetons, I shot a drumming ruffed grouse from my little Toyota wagon, resting a 400mm f/4.5 lens on a rolled up jacket and shirt. The light was low, and I had to brace the lens and myself carefully, but I successfully shot images of the bird and its whirring wings at 1/15th sec. One big advantage of using a lens rest, like a Groofwinpod and beanbags, is that slow shutter speeds are less of an issue. We frequently use shutter speeds of 1/60th sec. in our safari vehicles, but we make sure everyone inside the vehicle is still as well. As a general rule, use the fastest shutter speeds you can for your sharpest images, but if you're shooting with others inside a vehicle, make sure they're motionless. Even at fast shutter speeds, you'll have a blurred image if someone rocks your car. You'll have your greatest success using a vehicle as a blind in areas where your subjects are accustomed to slow moving or stopped vehicles. While it's only common sense, it's probably worth mentioning that you shouldn't try filming on busy roads where your stopped vehicle could cause a traffic hazard. You certainly don't want to be rear-ended by an 18-wheeler when you're shooting a sparrow! An eagle ... well, maybe.

	Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc. P.O. Box 655, Vashon Island, Washington USA 98070 Phone: (206) 463-5383   Fax: (206) 463-5484    Email: info@photosafaris.com Copyright © 2008, Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc.