The antithesis of m4/3

[greypilgrim]

We were at the San Diego Wild Animal Park over the break, and this one really captured my funny bone :ROTFL:. Here I was with my G1 and 45-200 at the lion enclosure, and up comes this guy with his rig, sets up, and machine gun bursts (yup, sleeping lion).... My favorite is the flash he has mounted which wouldn't reach the distance of the lens (although perhaps he had a better beamer or some such in his bag if needed).

Not sure which Nikon lens that is although the one on the secondary camera looks to be the 70-200VR. He was definitely taking tight shots as I was not fully zoomed in.

Enjoy,
Doug

 

[photoSmart42]

Wow!! That's quite a setup. Maybe he's one of the NFL sports photogs in town for the Chargers game, and decided to take his gear to the park. Can't wait for the Panny 100-300 to come out this year. It'll complement the 14-140 nicely.

 

[greypilgrim]

Wow!! That's quite a setup. Maybe he's one of the NFL sports photogs in town for the Chargers game, and decided to take his gear to the park. Can't wait for the Panny 100-300 to come out this year. It'll complement the 14-140 nicely.

That's true I forgot about the 100-300. Hope it is a decent lens.

Might be a good guess on the gentleman with the gear, although the tripod and flash wouldn't be part of his gear for the game. Most sports photogs go monopod for escapability . I'm guessing that was a 500mm VR. looks about right, and that would fit a sports photog.

Doug

 

[Brian Mosley]

It's a pity you didn't have a Nikon adapter with you... It would have been fun to stick your camera on that lens for a 1000mm EFL shot

Good catch

Brian

 

[hodad66]

that's one heck of a tripod.....

 

[greypilgrim]

It's a pity you didn't have a Nikon adapter with you... It would have been fun to stick your camera on that lens for a 1000mm EFL shot

Good catch

Brian

Okay, that got a good chuckle out of me :ROTFL:...

And, given the distance to the lion, I would have been taking pictures of his eyeball .

Doug

 

[Greg Lockrey]

The wildlife photographers I know say they use the flash so that they can put a catch light in the eyes of the subject and not necessarily for fill flash.

 

[greypilgrim]

The wildlife photographers I know say they use the flash so that they can put a catch light in the eyes of the subject and not necessarily for fill flash.

Could be, and the Wild Animal Park is a good place for birds, both wild and captive. And who knows what he saw... Not meaning to denigrate the guy, more comment on the different directions one can go with equipment and the humor I found in the contrast. For all I know, he could have been on assignment form the park to provide them with photos.

But I was much happier carrying around my G1...

Doug

 

[Abbazz]

The wildlife photographers I know say they use the flash so that they can put a catch light in the eyes of the subject

A catch light in the eyes of a sleeping lion?

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[Greg Lockrey]

A catch light in the eyes of a sleeping lion?

Cheers!

Abbazz

Maybe it was to get the glisten off of the sleeping lion's druel.

 

[tripper]

I assume carrying that gear is keeping him warm ? he is in shirtsleeves and the guy behind him is well wrapped up.

tripper

 

[Bill Gordon]

Har, Har that is a very funny picture.

 

[Bob]

Looks like he was checking if the number of eyelashes on the left and the right eyes matched.
That is one of what I call a LBR "Lens Best Rented"
-bob

 

[slau]

Looking at his set up, he is a very serious wildlife shooter. No one will be crazy enough to carry all this gear in a zoo!! He probably just came back from shooting seabirds at the coast. At the zoo, you don't really need a Better Beamer to open up the shadow.

You should have asked to see one of his images to find out what is he shooting. It will be interesting and probably educational.

 

[greypilgrim]

Looking at his set up, he is a very serious wildlife shooter. No one will be crazy enough to carry all this gear in a zoo!! He probably just came back from shooting seabirds at the coast. At the zoo, you don't really need a Better Beamer to open up the shadow.

You should have asked to see one of his images to find out what is he shooting. It will be interesting and probably educational.

Actually, the Wild Animal Park is not your typical "zoo". They have >1800 acres of land, and they actually have photo safaris you take out into the "savannah". At this particular spot, the lion was ~15 feet away (he could have been >100 feet away in this enclosure).

The humor for me was simply the rig he was carrying compared to my m4/3 kit. Heck, his tripod weighed more than my kit . It was a fun contrast for me, nothing more, and it reminded me why I had left my Nikon kit at home while on the trip to San Diego.

Doug

 

[slau]

Hi Doug,
His mono pod probably weights as much as your G1+45-200 . One of these days I wish that our M4/3 gears can do as good as the 'big guns' in wildlife shooting. I have nothing but admiration for guys like this just even for his effort alone. I still shoot and carry gears like him for 'serious' wildlife stuffs.

I have been to the Wildlife Park only once for a short period of time, and hope to visit it again in the near future with proper gears to make up for the missed opportunities.