articles/Nature/walk-on-wild-side-page3

Tom Lee's Walk on the Wild Side - part 3 of 1 2 3 4

by Tom Lee Published 01/08/2015

Prior to leaving for South Africa I wanted to test the lens to make sure that I wasn't carrying a white elephant! I love photographing at Chester Zoo and this was the perfect environment to check quality against my existing lens combinations. Normally for zoo work I would take my 70-200 Nikkor f2.8 with a 2x teleconverter, which delivers very crisp images even with the teleconverter. I couldn't have chosen a worse day for testing: rainy, overcast and cold ...I spent most of the day dodging showers and carrying the camera in my pack.

So for the first test - how does it feel to carry? With my advancing years and a lifetime of carrying a ton of lenses at every wedding event, I hardly noticed the weight when it was in the backpack and was welcome relief for my weary shoulders.

Due to the weather, the camera was tripod mounted so I turned off the image stabilisation as it wasn't needed, and used it wide open to keep depth of field to a minimum. Choosing a shooting distance that I thought was relevant to my upcoming trip, the only other obstacle was the fencing between me and the subject. From the very first shot I was amazed at the clarity, crispness and definition. It was half an hour later that I decided I should move on - I was having so much fun I forgot I was there to test the lens as well as get some great captive shots.

Lioness 1/800s - f6.3 - ISO400 @ 400mm Calling to the male for protection due to the threat from another pride, (handheld) Kichaka

Kichaka
Even from my short visit to the zoo I was convinced I had purchased wisely and couldn't wait to try it for real in the environment it was purchased for. Kichaka is about an hour's drive out of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. I didn't have to wait long as I only had half an hour to check-in and then we were off on the first game drive of what was to become one of the best experiences ever. I was hoping to deliver a masterclass at the 2016 Annual Convention in London, based around my trip and the differences between zoo and game park photography, but this will have to wait for another occasion. I will, however, be delivering two separate Superclass and Masterclasses at next year's gathering.

Getting the tourists close to the animals is the job of the highly experienced trackers and guides, and we all depend on their knowledge, skill and the disposition of the wildlife. Your safety is paramount so they will never put you in a position of danger. If this means keeping your distance - don't question it. In this regard I was fortunate to come within 10m of most animals I photographed and this meant that at 500mm there was no need to get closer for some great portraits, even without a teleconverter.

• Tom Lee's Walk on the Wild Side page 1
  
• Tom Lee's Walk on the Wild Side page 2
  
• Tom Lee's Walk on the Wild Side page 3
  
• Tom Lee's Walk on the Wild Side page 4
  

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