Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Shooting Great Images of Bonaire’s Flora and Fauna, Bonaire Photographers Share Their Tips--Part Two

Continuing in our series of showcasing some of Bonaire’s resident photographers, Marlies Seelos shares her hummingbird images with us, as well as her tips on how to capture these elusive birds with a camera.  Her images can be viewed in the Bonaire Insider Photo Gallery by clicking here.

Marlies observed that hummingbirds would visit a certain plant in her garden each day at the same time.  In order to let the birds get accustomed to her, she spent some time with them each day.  When she was ready to start shooting, she placed a ladder so she could be at the same height as the birds.  It took about fifteen minutes for the birds to get used to her on the ladder, but after that, they resumed their normal feeding and simply ignored her.

Marlies set her camera so that it would shoot multiple images with one depression of the shutter release.  This is especially important because of the fast movement of the birds and their beating wings.

As she did with her iguanas (see previous Bonaire Insider story by clicking here), she attempted to use an upward angle as much as possible, to keep the hummingbird against a simple blue sky background.  (Source:  Bonaire Insider reporter; images by Marlies Seelos, Marlies Sail & Canvas)

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Shooting Great Images of Bonaire’s Flora and Fauna, Bonaire Photographers Share Their Tips

Many visitors to Bonaire always wish they could take home the perfect postcard image of their vacation on Bonaire.  So, here at the Bonaire Insider, we’ve asked some of Bonaire’s resident photographers to showcase their work and share their tips for taking great Bonaire images.  Today in the Bonaire Insider Photo Gallery we’re highlighting Marlies Seelos and her recent iguana images.

Marlies has captured each of these iguana images in her garden.  She tells us that the large one lives under her roof with his growing family.  Because the iguanas see her each day, they have lost their fear of her, and she can easily stand on a ladder to shoot when they are on sunning themselves on a roof.  In fact, the “big daddy” of them all is quite famous, as the tour buses stop on their northern route to point him out from the main street.

So, letting your subject get accustomed to you and know you don’t mean harm is the best way of getting close to your subject.  Also, try to shoot with an upward angle, with a nice clear background (such as sky) behind the iguana.  This upward angle not only will emphasize the iguana, but separate him from an otherwise “busy” background.  Be sure the eye is sharp, even if other areas of his body are in softer focus.  And last, stay with your subject awhile, it’s usually the last image which is “the keeper!” (Source:  Bonaire Insider reporter; images by Marlies Seelos, Marlies Sail & Canvas)