Bush Warriors Wildlife Photography Workshop: Warm It Up, Cool It Down

After some technical issues last week, here goes with the latest Bush Warriors Wildlife Photography Workshop.

Today we’ll be looking at white balance which, to many photographers, is one of the most difficult concepts to understand.  Now, it’s all fine and well to go through all the technical details, but I believe it is way more important to understand how changing your white balance settings can influence your images.

Before we look at some examples, a quick look at what white balance actually is.

The short version is this: white balance is the process through which your camera ‘sees’ white under different lighting conditions.  Think about it this way…  If you were to take a piece of white paper and look at in bright sunlight, overcast conditions and under a fluorescent light you will perceive the piece of paper to still be white.  Why?  Because your brain knows that the paper is white and makes automatic adjustments to compensate for the different types of light.

Your camera is not capable of ‘thinking’ about the type of light you are shooting in and this is where setting your white balance can make a huge difference to your images.  That being said, some of today’s cameras are getting quite good at measuring and determining light but it is still not as good as human eyes.

Some of the settings on your camera will warm an image up, or add orange tones, while other settings will cool an image down, or add blue tones.  Check out these three examples where each image includes the symbol for the White Balance setting that was used.

This sunset was photographed on Auto White Balance (AWB).  This is how the camera ‘sees’ the scene which, let’s be honest, is not too bad.  The ‘AWB’ did quite a good job on this one.

If I wanted more oranges, and warm tones, in the scene I could set my White Balance to ‘Cloudy’.  This will make the camera think that we are shooting in overcast light and it will increase the warmth and oranges in the images.

See the slight difference?  The oranges are noticeably darker and more saturated leaving a more moody image.

On the other side of the scale, if I wanted to cool the image down by pushing my blues I could set my White Balance to ‘Tungsten’.

Huge difference!  The camera now cooled the image down quite a bit leaving a very moody result.

By playing around with the above three settings you can create amazing sunsets and sunrises.  Try these two scenarios which works wonderfully!

• When you are shooting the very last bit of orange light, set your White Balance to ‘Cloudy’ to give your oranges a little more punch.
• When you are shooting early morning, especially over water, set your White Balance to ‘Tungsten’ for a cool, early morning feel.

Now that’s all fine and well, but what about wildlife subjects?  Can you use White Balance when photographing Africa’s large mammals?

Absolutely!

Check out the following example.

I photographed this male lion a few weeks ago.  The sun had just dropped below the horizon which left the scene lacking contrast and color, and for this particular image my White Balance was set on ‘AWB’.

To warm this image up I could, and you have to try this as it works beautifully, set my White Balance to ‘Cloudy’ which will increase the oranges and warm tones in the image.  For this example, I simply changed my White Balance to ‘Cloudy’ during post processing to show the result but changing your White Balance out in the field gives the exact same result!

Another huge difference!  The camera added the warm, orange tones leaving quite a pleasing image.

Remember this tip: when you are looking at your subject through the viewfinder and the entire scene is in the shade, set your camera to ‘Cloudy’ White Balance to give the colors a bit of punch.

This is not cheating at all.  You are simply using the tools at your disposal, your camera, to it’s fullest extent to create striking wildlife images. Photography is an art and the better you understand the technical side of your equipment, the better equipped you will be to create great images – no matter what light you are shooting in!

When you are next out in the field try playing with different White Balance settings.  You will be amazed at some of the results. Once you have tried playing with your White Balance setting, remember to add some of your images to the Bush Warriors Photo of the Day Contest.

Have a great weekend!

Gerry van der Walt

ORGANIZATION OF THE DAY: Selous Rhino Trust

Devastated by the poaching frenzy of the 1980’s, black rhino populations are dangerously close to extinction. This period of heavy poaching killed off 98% of the black rhino population and saw the massacre of some 90,000 elephants in Tanzania’s 50,000 km² Selous Game Reserve, the second largest area of the world set aside for wildlife (second only to Antarctica). Today, just barely over 100 of these rhinos are left in this World Heritage Site. Their prized horns are highly valuable in the black market and are used in the Middle East and Asia for medicinal and ornamental uses.Only man is to blame for this atrocity, and it is only man who can reverse the situation. When trying to establish a safari lodge within the Selous Reserve, Lizzy Theobald recognized the immediate need for conservation action to save this rhino species and founded the Kidai Rhino Project in 1995.

Tragically, her vision was cut short two years later when malaria claimed her young life. Her legacy lives on through the Selous Rhino Trust formed in 2000, having one key goal: “to stop the black rhino from becoming extinct in the Selous Game Reserve”. The Trust works with the Tanzanian Wildlife Division to form the Selous Black Rhino Protection Project, a team of twelve rangers and rhino specialists committed to protecting the rhinos (and other wildlife) from poachers. The remote nature of the Reserve and its rough terrain gives poachers many places to hide and makes locating their activities challenging. To overcome this obstacle, the Project uses aerial surveillance and monitoring to identify poaching threats. When found, location information is radioed down to a team on the ground who moves in to apprehend the poachers. The use of aircraft allows for vast tracts of land to be covered in a timely fashion, while also serving as a deterring reminder of the team’s presence.

(Credit: Piet Payer)

There have been no signs of rhino poaching in the last four years at the Reserve, but signs of elephant and hippo poaching are increasing despite the committed efforts of this brave team. Aerial monitoring also aids in the Trust’s surveying activities by identifying prime rhino habitat and quantifying the number of rhinos within the Reserve. Areas identified by air are then surveyed and studied extensively by a team on foot. The Trust also conducts monitoring activities to identify population numbers and to track movements of individual rhinos across the Reserve. On the ground, rangers rarely see the rhinos, but seeing them is not necessary to estimate the size of their population. They use two non-invasive techniques to achieve this task. Dung is collected for DNA analysis, which identifies individuals, their sex, and allows for genetic linkages to be made between individuals. However, DNA analysis is an expensive and lengthy process. Another way to identify individuals on the spot with minimal costs is by tracing rhino footprints.

(Credit: Brandon Daniel)

Each rhino has a distinct footprint, and, when found, the team traces the print onto a transparency sheet and compares it to all previously-catalogued footprints. This allows the team to determine if the rhino is a new individual or is one they already know about. Many of Selous Rhino Trust’s methods and techniques have not been used before in Tanzania, but it is because of the rangers’ developed skills and knowledge of these techniques that their efforts have been so successful. Ranger training takes place at the ranger post, and the Trust often works with other rhino organizations and programs to share ideas and skills. If it weren’t for the Selous Rhino Trust, the Reserve’s black rhino population would undoubtedly be gone. The actions of these brave rangers and their dedication to preserving this majestic species gives hope to keeping the unique and rich Selous Game Reserve wholly intact.

(Credit: Fernando Quevedo)

To learn more, please visit their website

What is the Bushmeat Trade?

The bushmeat trade is the illegal, over-hunting of wildlife for meat and income.

Already in West and Central Africa this trade has resulted in declines and local extinctions of many wildlife species and the economic, cultural and ecosystem services they provide. In addition, a number of human health threats have emerged from the trade in bushmeat including linkages to  HIV/AIDS, ebola and the threat of anthrax.

Bushmeat trade is not regulated or managed by any authority. Economic benefits from the trade go mainly to hunters and traders. If current trends continue, future generations of citizens in Africa will not have the opportunity to access benefits from wildlife. Using wildlife to meet protein and income demands cannot be supported in the long term.

The immediate threat of loss of economic opportunity, cultural and ecological services, and other values to a wider community must be addressed today.

(Taken From: www. bushmeatnetwork.org)

Here are some images from the Bushmeat Trade for you to get an idea of what we are talking about:

Smoked Gorilla Meat

Poachers kill 65 elephants, 30 rhinos in Zimbabwe

Due to recent shift on the African political landscape,  International crime syndicates take advantage of the situation and are threatening the survival of rare African wildlife species. A recent press release by AFP confirms this report.

Some images from gruesome aftermath: