Wildlife Photography: A Walk on the Wild Side with Polpich Komson

Aysu — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 06:54:48 +0000

Wildlife Photography: A Walk on the Wild Side with Polpich Komson

Aysu Thu, 02/17/2022 - 12:24

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For me, wildlife photography is about being one with nature; seeing the true beauty of the wild and wildlife in their most natural form.

Alpha 7R IV | FE 600mm F4 GM OSS | 600 mm | 1/320 sec | F4 | ISO 800

Wildlife photography becomes truly successful when we can show the reality of nature in an image. To be able to do that, it requires good preparation, effort, patience, and the most important of all—luck; because we cannot control nature as we wish.

This proved to be especially true in my chance encounter with the rare white-headed vulture.

Once, as I was returning to my accommodation after hours of shooting in the savannah, a white-headed vulture swooped down and started hovering in front of my vehicle.

The car was driving on bumpy gravel road and the equipment was packed away and not ready for shooting. It was the worst case of being unprepared at the right place, at the right time. I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I instinctively grabbed my Alpha 9 and FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS and leaned out of the car window to grab the shot.

Alpha 9 | FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS | 400 mm | 1/2500 sec | F5.6 | ISO 800

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are merely a few thousand left of this critically endangered species, making them nearly impossible to capture on camera. With the accuracy of the Alpha 9’s Real-time tracking AF and excellent 5-axis image stabilisation system, I was able to capture the magnificent white-headed vulture in flight without missing a moment.

When both the environment and wild animals align, we and our equipment must be one in order to create the perfect shot. In my opinion, pressing the shutter at the right time is the charm of wildlife photography.

Alpha 9 II | FE 600mm F4 GM OSS | 600 mm | 1/1250 sec | F6.3 | ISO 1000

Sony’s FE 600mm F4 GM is a lightweight super-telephoto lens that creates beautiful shots when paired with a Sony full-frame mirrorless camera. It has a good balance and is easy to use without a tripod. Because I can use it handheld, it increases my flexibility and my chances to capture wildlife. Being able to keep my distance allows me to immerse myself into the landscape without having to worry for my safety, making it even easier to photograph natural wildlife behaviour.

Alpha 9 | FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS | 400 mm | 1/10000 sec | F5.6 | ISO 400

When I go out on shoots, I prefer to use the Alpha 9, Alpha 9 II and Alpha 7R IV. The speed and accuracy of the Real-time Tracking AF system dramatically increase the possibility of getting that perfect shot. When using a long telephoto lens, framing can become difficult. Not having to keep a fixed AF point or zone over a fast-moving subject makes capturing quick, unpredictable wildlife a breeze.

Alpha 9 | FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS | 339 mm | 1/1000 sec | F5.6 | ISO 400

Sony’s full-frame cameras also have Real-time Eye AF for animals. This means that I don’t have to worry about an animal’s eyes being out of focus as the camera will track it for me. It focuses nearly without error even on the eyes of the predators—such as lions, leopards, wolves, or hyenas.

Alpha 9 | FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS | 400 mm | 1/1250 sec | F6.3 | ISO 800

When we don't have to worry about focusing, we can pay more attention to composition and framing of the photos.

Alpha 9 | FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS | 400 mm | 1/1000 sec | F5.6 | ISO 800

Sony’s cameras and lens are built for durability. They can withstand even the harshest weather conditions which means I can go to any extreme location without much worry. Whether it’s the freezing cold of an icy tundra, a desert storm in Africa, crashing waves at the edge of Atlantic ocean, or monsoon season in Thailand's tropical rainforest.

One additional feature that has been unexpectedly useful, is the ability to charge on the go. On top of the prolonged battery life, the ability to charge the battery through the USB port means my time in the wild is not limited by battery capacity. I can charge the battery via USB in the car while we change locations. Or if we are spending a night in the forest, I can use power banks to charge the battery, there’s no need to search for electrical ports.

Alpha 7R IV | FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS | 100 mm | 1/1600 sec | F4.5 | ISO 800

In wildlife photography, we must truly understand the animals' natures and behaviours, so we can increase the chances of being in the right place, at the right time. Then, when the opportunities arise, being one with equipment and its reliability is what separates success and failure.

Alpha 9 II | FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS | 400 mm | 1/800 sec | F5.6 | ISO 1600

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not reflect the opinions or views of Sony Singapore.

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The Power Of Photography On The Front Lines

Aysu — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 07:54:04 +0000

The Power Of Photography On The Front Lines

Aysu Tue, 12/28/2021 - 13:24

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David Guttenfelder: Islands Of Korea

Coverage of the leadership in Pyongyang is constant and at times feverish as inflammatory rhetoric and pundits describing the possibility of war capture the world’s attention on a regular basis. Those headlines deflect attention from the stories of the people there, living their daily lives.

Photo by David Guttenfelder. Yeonpyeong Island. Sony α9. 1/1000-sec., ISO 400

Nowhere is that more evident than it is on a small group of islands in the Yellow Sea. Sitting on a maritime border, the islands truly are on the front lines between the two Koreas and, through a grant from Sony, that’s where Guttenfelder went to show what’s actually happening at the intersection of political rhetoric and the lives of ordinary people.

“I was living in Asia in 2010 when there was an attack on Yeonpyeong Island and I went there as a news photographer to cover the aftermath of the attack,” Guttenfelder says. “Since that experience, I really wanted to go back and see what happened to the islands and the people there. It's a very unusual place. They sit right on this invisible maritime border that divides North and South Korea in the Yellow Sea. They’re places that people know little about, and while the whole world has been talking about the Korean Peninsula either because of missile tests or the Olympics or the U.S. responses to what comes out of Pyongyang, no one really knows about the people on these islands and they're actually the ones that are sitting closest to all this.”

Photo by David Guttenfelder. Yeonpyeong Island. Sony α9. 1/1000-sec., ISO 400.

Photo by David Guttenfelder. Yeonpyeong Island. Sony α9. Sony 28mm f/2 lens. 1/1600-sec., f/20, ISO 400.

A casualty in the fragmentation of the news world has been resources for in-depth, long-term reporting. “It's very difficult for photographers, especially documentary photographers who are doing long term projects to find ways to support their calling,” says Guttenfelder. “Apart from the shorter assignments that we do, I think most of us have a project that is really a lifelong project, so yeah, it's always difficult to keep supporting that. I feel like this grant allowed me to completely kick-start this project that I've been doing for 18 years, all over again, and now I can keep going.”

Photo by David Guttenfelder. Yeonpyeong Island. Sony α9. 1/160-sec., ISO 400

He continues, “The Korean Peninsula is a very important place for me to test the power of photography. It forces people to stand in one another's shoes and makes connections between people that would not know anything about one another otherwise.”

Photo by David Guttenfelder. Yeonpyeong Island. Sony α7R II. 1/3200-sec., ISO 400

David Guttenfelder has spent more than 20 years as a photojournalist and documentary photographer based in Nairobi, Abidjan, New Delhi, Jerusalem and Tokyo covering world events in nearly 100 countries. In 2011, he helped open a bureau in Pyongyang for the Associated Press, the first western news agency to have an office in North Korea. Guttenfelder has made nearly 40 trips to the otherwise-isolated country.

You can see photos from David's project on display at The Photo Society Gallery at Sony Square NYC from February 14-March 8.

This article was originally published on alphauniverse.com

Footnote

Actual colour and dimension may differ from the screen image.
Colours & features of the product shown may differ by model and country.
4K: 3,840 x 2,160 pixels.
Services availability depends on region. A part or whole of software/services installed into or accessible through the product may be changed, discontinued, removed, suspended, or terminated without notice.
Features and specifications are subject to change without prior notice.

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