• Please use real names.

    Greetings to all who have registered to OPF and those guests taking a look around. Please use real names. Registrations with fictitious names will not be processed. REAL NAMES ONLY will be processed

    Firstname Lastname

    Register

    We are a courteous and supportive community. No need to hide behind an alia. If you have a genuine need for privacy/secrecy then let me know!
  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

Squirrel Monkey Behind Vegetation

I came real close to deleting this image when I was reviewing my shots at the end of the day in Costa Rica, but decided against it based on input from someone who was looking at them with me. I still have mixed feelings about it, and would be interested in comments about the overall value (or lack thereof!) of this image.

We had just left our cabin early in the morning, walking toward the lodge where we were going to shoot before breakfast. As soon as we got to the walkway, we came across a troop of Squirrel Monkeys crossing over the path where we would be walking. We quickly set up our gear, and started shooting. This is one of the images taken at that time.

Canon 1DMk2
Canon 600L/f4 IS
ISO 1600, f/4, 1/640 second (Manual Exposure)

1D2_05945.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I came real close to deleting this image when I was reviewing my shots at the end of the day in Costa Rica, but decided against it based on input from someone who was looking at them with me. I still have mixed feelings about it, and would be interested in comments about the overall value (or lack thereof!) of this image.

We had just left our cabin early in the morning, walking toward the lodge where we were going to shoot before breakfast. As soon as we got to the walkway, we came across a troop of Squirrel Monkeys crossing over the path where we would be walking. We quickly set up our gear, and started shooting. This is one of the images taken at that time.

Canon 1DMk2
Canon 600L/f4 IS
ISO 1600, f/4, 1/640 second (Manual Exposure)

1D2_05945.jpg

These are wonderful creatures. I like the pattern made by the leaves.

Be careful not to get bitten. They harbor viruses which are pretty unique. One is herpes saimiri, the herpes virus of that species and it appears to cause leukemia, or at least a lympoproliferative disease. I and a colleague were independently laboring for 6 months to make a vaccine strain. Unfortunately the technicians refused to inactivate bovine serum as requested for 45 minutes and thought the request was unneeded. So it turned out that the rare virus we had isolated was just a contaminant. What a disappointment! I wonder if a vaccine was ever made subsequently.

Asher
 
I came real close to deleting this image when I was reviewing my shots at the end of the day in Costa Rica, but decided against it based on input from someone who was looking at them with me. I still have mixed feelings about it, and would be interested in comments about the overall value (or lack thereof!) of this image...

For me, of all the images I have seen you post, this is one of my favorites...maybe my most favorite. Thank the person that saved it profusely.

What's not to like about it? Of all my images made on safari, it's images like this one that I value the most. My least favorite are the formal, neat, "Audubon" shots.
 
Thanks for sharing that story, Asher - bummer about the outcome!

Thanks for the input, Winston. I guess I would be happier if one of the leaves didn't go right across his eye, but do like the overall effect, and appreciate your perspective. Sometimes I'm too close to my own work, and have a hard time gaining a wider view.
 

John Angulat

pro member
Hi Don,

I'll echo Winston's comment - "what's not to like?"
It's delightful in many ways - the jungle variant of the "venetian blind" effect, the way the tail pokes through the leaves.
You could wait a lifetime for another image such as this!
Truth is, not all images need be technically perfect to be "perfect".
Glad you saved it!
 

Eric Diller

New member
Great shot...love the natural environment.


Still in Costa Rica...I have so many surfing and bird shots...... I am going to get little sleep
 
Thanks for sharing that story, Asher - bummer about the outcome!

Thanks for the input, Winston. I guess I would be happier if one of the leaves didn't go right across his eye, but do like the overall effect, and appreciate your perspective. Sometimes I'm too close to my own work, and have a hard time gaining a wider view.
Yes, it is too bad about the leaf accross the eye.

Do you shoot bursts? I frequently do when I don't have much control and to guard against blinks and the like.
 
Thanks for the comments - this has been very helpful to me. I guess sometimes my left-brain's seeking of technical perfection overpowers my right-brain's artistic appreciation!

Eric - looking forward to seeing your Costa Rica shots when you return.

Do you shoot bursts? I frequently do when I don't have much control and to guard against blinks and the like.

I definitely take advantage of the camera's high frame-rate in the appropriate situation, which can be of great help in getting the best shot. Sometimes it all comes together, but other times the 'perfect' shot still manages to elude me!
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Don,

You use the 1D Mark II and take advantage of it's fast focus and shooting speed. Is this all you need or do you feel that the 1D Mark IV will allow you to get successful shots where you now fail or break through a print size barrier that limits you. I aks since I too have the 1DII and am impressed by the higher dynamic range. However the pixels of the 1DII are larger and so damn good! So is there a real practical advantage you'd get from the nearly $5,000 upgrade?

I love your costa Rica pictures and the natural atmosphere they carry. I'm looking forward to seeing tons more. This is wonderful work where you are not just framing a wild animal with a long lens. Getting natural vegetation or landscape around it gives us so much extra, like being there, besides you.

It's a real treat to see this work!

Asher
 
Top