Thursday, February 12, 2009

Photography tricks for Antarctica

Antarctica is notoriously difficult to photograph. The stark contrasts of black and white of the snow and the penguins is said to give cameras a hard time. Here are a few tips I have from my trip that might be of use.

How to take better pictures when in Antarctica:
1. Take pictures at the animals' eye level
2. Follow the rule of thirds
3. Over-expose by one stop
4. Turn on the multiple-shot function
5. Use a tight frame for animal shots

1. Take pictures at the animals' eye level
Because penguins are so small compared to us, it is best to take a photo of them at their eye level so that they don't turn out looking tiny on photos. Squat/kneel/sit down and wait for a nice, clean penguin to come along. When you're sitting down the penguins are also less scared by you so would be more willing to come over to check you out.

2. Follow the rule of thirds
Follow the Golden Rule in photography -- apply the rule of thirds. Simply put, imagine that your photo is divided into one-thirds horizontally and vertically (just like on a tic-tac-toe grid). Where these horizontal and vertical lines intersect is where you should place important elements when taking photos (eg. penguin's eyes or mountain peaks). The exception is, of course, when you are taking photos of mountains and their reflections in the water. In this case, dividing the photo frame into equal halves to empasize the symmetry of the scenery may be best.

3. Over-expose by one stop
When photographing large amounts of snow, deliberately over-expose the photos a little so that they are a bit brighter. I have found that if you just use the camera's auto settings (even on SLRs) the photos come out with a grey-ish tone.

4. Turn on the multiple-shot function
Whales are difficult to shoot because they are often far away and because they move very quickly. Once a whale has breached, it's not going to do it again very soon so the best is to turn on the multiple-shot function on your camera. That allows you to basically hold down the shutter and it will take many photos in a rapid succession.

5. Use a tight frame for animal shots
Zoom in close with your camera so that the animal takes up most of the photo. It looks a lot better than a tiny penguin with lots of indiscriminate snow as a backdrop. (Not to mention this cuts out the guano from the photo)

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