22 Explore | Masterclass
Kelotok Riverboat Speed Blur 3
I experimented with a series of long exposures to totally blur out the background . The best results combined a slow shutter of ½ a second and an aperture of f22 to keep the light levels balanced and Weny in focus .
4 Timing is Everything in Wildlife
Photography The most challenging aspect of wildlife photography is just how unpredictable wild animals can be as photo subjects . You can ’ t ask them to pose , look at the camera or do something cute .
Timing is Everything in Wildlife Photography 4
From the moment I saw this mama and baby orangutan , I had several ideas for shots I was hoping to capture . The baby seemed unsure about venturing too far from its mother , spending nearly the entire time almost invisible , lost within the tangle of its parent ’ s mahogany-coloured fur . With my zoom lens set to 200mm , I framed the shot and just waited for something to happen . And waited . And waited . Finally , the baby popped its head out to see what was going on , giving me an instant to capture this single frame .
5 Kelotok Sunset on the Sekonyer River
Half the fun of a trip to Camp Leakey is the river cruise in a traditional kelotok . Chugging upriver , our boat passed everything from screeching proboscis monkeys to orangutans perched in trees overlooking the swirling , chocolate-coloured currents . the Muhur rainforest is one of Borneo ’ s rarely visited gems . We spent a day trekking along the river and exploring waterfalls . I wanted to capture the magic of this spot with a long exposure to create a dreamy blur of the crystal-clear water .
I used my tripod to shoot three long exposures , one underexposed , one properly exposed , and one overexposed with an aperture of f9 . In post-production , I used Photoshop to combine the three photos into one high dynamic range ( HDR ) photo that is balanced for the darkest of the dark tones and the brightest of the bright .
3 Kelotok Riverboat Speed Blur
Looking for a way to capture the energy and fun of the riverboat trip as we travelled upriver to Camp Leakey , I noticed our friend Weny perched on the railing , scanning the trees for wildlife . Every time she spotted a new animal , she called out for all of us to check it out .
For the first few frames , I used a fast shutter speed to freeze the action , but after reviewing them on the back LCD panel , it was pretty obvious that approach wasn ’ t capturing the emotion of the moment . Taking a minute to set up the camera on the tripod ,
As the late afternoon faded to sunset , the tea-coloured water of the Sekonyer River created a perfect mirror , reflecting the cotton-candy clouds above . I was taking photos of the sky , but looked down to see the boat captain taking a brief rest at the bow of the boat , seemingly surrounded by a river of sky . I used a slow exposure ( 1 / 20 th of a second ) to slightly blur the passing vegetation and bring more attention to the prow of the blue boat and the captain resting there .
6 Portrait of the Dayak Ngaju Tribe
at the Babukung Mask Festival Festivals like this are often the best spots to capture memorable portraits of local culture . Among the groups taking part , the Dayak Ngaju tribe stood out with their beautifully detailed traditional costumes .
The late afternoon sun was scorching hot , and after 20 minutes of practising their performance for the Babukung competition , the tribe members took a break and were standing together casually .
I used a 24 – 70mm lens with the aperture opened all the way to put the focus on one warrior while his fellow tribesmen are blurred behind him to give the portrait a deeper connection with the culture of the tribe .