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DMR Image Thread

Thanks Stuart. Jaap, no light trap here. I've been working on a book on Hummingbirds of the Andes for the past three years. Target is a minimum of 50 different species before beginning the editing process. I've spent on average 40 days on two trips to the Andes each year since 2006 in an effort to perfect this technique. Single Metz 54MZ-3 flash mounted on a RRS ring that clamps to a long lens plate, allowing the flash to be positioned along a 180 degree axis.

Hummingbird feathers act as prisms, reflecting light and changing colors in ways that can turn blue feathers yellow if the light is not coming from the right direction. While many hummingbird photographers are now using as many as six flash units on tripods positioned around a flower or feeder placed in front of a painted background... I'm looking for a more natural, more realistic way of rendering these amazing creatures. There's only one sun on my planet and nothing looks more fake or contrived, in my opinion, than six flash units freezing a subject positioned in front of a fake background. (For something really sickening see the Jan 07 National Geographic article on Hummingbirds. The author, founder of the Hummingbird Society, catches his subjects in a net and releases them into a white, 1 square meter box sitting in the back of his pickup truck... loaded with strobes. That is anything but a natural look. It establishes a very dangerous precedent, imo, for those who are looking for guidance as to how to photograph hummingbirds.)

I've never photographed a more challenging subject... like trying to photograph a bolt of lightning after you see it flash. Focus is all zone focus and most shots are done with the 400 2.8 premodular APO lens (with or without the 1.4 APO TC) or the 800 modular. Depth of field is in the "hail Mary" range as I'm shooting 4 to six meters from my subject. Depth of field can be as little as 1/2 inch depending on the f-stop and distance to subject. The effect I'm trying to achieve is to capture the sensation of movement and separate subject from background. This necessitates apertures below 5.6 more often than not as I want soft backgrounds that don't fight with the subject.

Since I have nothing to practice on at home (now Pacifica, California) it takes a week of solid 8-10 hr days shooting constantly and studying the movements and behavior of different species before I can achieve any level of consistency. There's a huge loss rate initially as it takes time to develop the reflexes needed to anticipate movement and trigger the shutter at the optimum instant. When it all comes together... it's a life changing experience. The big APO glass combined with the lack of an anti alias filter on the DMR makes for jaw dropping results. If I nail the focus (and luck plays a huge part here) there is no need for any sharpening. The DMR sensor (with APO glass) is insanely sharp when focus is on.

I'm in Colombia at the moment trying to nail down the last six species for the book. Things are more than a little sketchy here... so one has to be extremely careful when moving around with the 35 kilos of camera gear I'm packing. Internet is sporadic and unreliable, so rather than bugger up this DMR thread that's meant for images (with my babble) pm me if you have any questions and I'll do my best to respond when I have an internet connection. A few more smaller images from the collection:
 

georgl

New member
Wow, you made my day!

I once tried to capture flying bats and it looked like dust spots in the dark...

Great technique, great subjects + typical "Leica-look" (vivid colors, crisp and clear)!

Send those images to Leica and you can use the S2 in the future! Mr. Kaufmann, are you listening, give this man a S2! :)
 

cmb_

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Bravo once again Lawrence and thank you for taking the time for the explanation. Please feel free to bugger up this thread all you want, I am certain no mind minds at all!
 

gero

New member
Lawrence, it is really interesting to hear about your tecnic and how you have to work nonstop for a week to get it going. The results are grate but it seems that you had even more fun getting to them. Please tell us about the book when it comes out.
 
Georgi, CMB Gero;
Thanks for the vote of confidence guys. I'll keep you posted on the book project.

Serendipity is key with this subject matter. These little buggers move so fast you never know what you'll get. Success with this gig is a function of long hours and persistence. The DMR and good glass is indispensable as I've seen what others are getting with their gear and they look at the DMR as if it's alchemy (it is). What really kills me is when I'm set up on the Series 5 Gitzo with flash attached, with the 400 or 800 mounted, and someone will come up to me, hand me their point-and squirt camera and innocently ask "Señor: can you show me how to take pictures like yours with my camera?"

They're dead serious! My friends will whisper "the river is that way. Throw it as far as you can and see how big a splash you can make. Then, study photography for 35 years, study animal (bird) behavior for a few more and then you'll have some success IF you have good equipment!" They'll laugh and turn away as I offer my advice: "First you need a reeely big tripod, like this! If your camera is not steady... the birds will not be sharp!"

End of lecture. They'll turn away and say "i could never lift your tripod let alone carry it... so I guess I'll have to be satisfied with blurry images..." Nice to have been spared the full lecture...

The challenge is shooting from 7 am, when the first birds arrive, until it's too dark to focus. Then, after stuffing a big meal in my gullet I'll wash it down with a beer or two and walk back to the hostel (can't afford a hotel when you've burned most of your resources on gear and a MacBook Air) to begin the editing process. This can go until 1 am or later IF there's no power outage and the mosquitos aren't too bad. At 55, the eyes are fine through most of the day... but after dinner and some time on the laptop things start to get a bit hazy. No glasses yet (apart from the one at my side with some Scotch) so I'm grateful for that.

Morning comes all too early as the roosters start jamming at 4:40 am. Either that... or the clown across the forest who decides to test his new stereo system at 5:45 am on a Sunday in his new home that's just a wood shell with no furniture and windows open. Can you spell "sound baffle?"

Minutes later after running across the forest trail in my skivvies and sandles I'm hammering on his door. The music stops and he runs downstairs to see what all the commotion is. At the door is a gringo in pinstripes with red eyes and steam pouring out his ears. "What are you thinking my friend? Are you deaf?" A few more choice words follow, all in Spanish, and I've made my point. His tail is between his legs and he promises never to wake up the neighbors again on a Sunday morning. Thank God for small miracles!

I can't wait till tomorrow... The simple pleasures of birding in the Andes.

A few more that were pleasant (and unexpected) surprises. And with respect to the last image "Chillin' "... who says hummingbirds aren't smart!
 
Robert,
It's all your fault! I had been looking for a clean premod 400 APO for nearly ten years before I ran into your images over on the old Miranda DMR Bible thread. You sold me on that lens with the many stunning images you posted. There have been no regrets. If there are any shortcomings with that lens they're mine and mine alone. I've stacked both the 1.4 and 2X APO TC behind that lens and the images are just nuts at 4.0!

I sent you a few frames after I bought the lens as I thought it might be slightly soft (or my sensor might be slightly out of alignment). I took it to Ecuador and shot for 40 days. What I initially thought was "soft" with exposures at 2.8 was that Leica glow that shows up with this lens when shooting wide open. I love the look one gets with bird portraits when shooting wide open. By f4 it's sharp and by 4.8 there's that clinically sharp phenomenon that APO glass is known for.

I later bought the 800 modular, only to discover that I couldn't get both the 800 and 400 in my LowePro DryZone 2 bag. With luggage restrictions on carryon gear I wasn't about to check either, especially when flying out of the US. The only solution was to pick up the 1X module for the big modular head... so I now have both the pre mod and the mod 400.

Comparing the two side by side the mod is slightly sharper wide open... but one loses that beautiful glow that the pre modular has. I'll have to eventually let the premodular go as I can't carry both. The 1X and 2X modules will easily fit in my bag, along with the big head... something I couldn't do before so the initial problem has been solved.

Thank you again for steering my in that direction. It has redefined my photography.
 

robsteve

Subscriber
Lawrence:

Is your pre modular rommed? When I had ROM put on mine, the mod included a new part that gave me a half stop between f2.8 and f4. I think even that half stop improves image quality. Prior to tthe ROM install, it always bugged me that I couldn't shoot at f3.5.

Robert
 
Robert,
My pre modular 400 is not rommed. I couldn't afford to part with it long enough to send it to NJ. Now that I have the modular 1X there's no need.
Lawrence
 

doug

Well-known member
Lawrence, words fail me. Good luck finding the remaining six species. If I buy your pre-modular 400 will I get pictures like these? ;)
 
Doug,
From what I've seen you do with your 560 Telyt... you could make a coke bottle sing! The problem would be the temptation to use up all your sick leave, followed by carpal tunnel and a host of other office disorders that would allow for more shooting and less time at work as this glass (as you've so eloquently stated ) is Crack for photographers.

I was very happy with my 400 and 560 Telyts until I made the mistake of buying the 400 APO. I couldn't test it first as it was in Europe and the owner didn't know much about it. I took a chance and bought it because it was super clean. I researched the lens for all I was worth and there just wasn't much out there. Then I took it to South America and gave my 280 (pre modular) APO Elmarit a break. It simply redefined everything I thought possible with the big APO glass. I'm still picking up pieces of my jaw from that first session.

I think Erwin has mentioned on numerous occasions that if you expect the APO glass to perform at it's highest level you need a very stable platform. My experience confirms this in spades. Here are a couple taken with the pre modular 280 APO 2.8, followed by one taken with the 400 pre modular with the 1.4 APO TC, and finally one with the 400 pre mod APO at 3.4. No doubt these could be improved upon had the platform been steadier than it was. After all... the sensor and glass were fine-tuned by fanatics.

Something to keep in mind: Leica isn't making this glass any longer. Fortunately for some of us... there are those who bought this glass and don't have a clue as to how to get the best from it. They let it go before testing with a proper tripod and head and write it off when they failed to use proper technique. Now if you can get results like this with something that moves as fast as a hummingbird... imagine what is possible with a static subject?
 

doug

Well-known member
Lawrence, thanks again for showing your photos. I hope you don't mind, I've pointed a few people (like, the whole LUG) to this thread as an example of another wildlife photographer using the DMR to produce fantastic photos.

I agree, seeing photos made with the DMR plus APO glass (280mm f/4 in my case) is a mind-boggling experience. I have over 700 hours of unused sick leave on the books... hmmm....

I'm curious how you've been managing the DMR's limited battery capacity. You doubtless have several, and it seems you have facilities to re-charge them overnight.
 
Hi Doug,
I have four (or is it five?) batteries for the DMR. I also bring the car charger in case there is a power outage (not uncommon in the Andes). As soon as one is spent I plug it into the charger as the DMR is a power hungry beast and running out of juice is not an option for me.

I don't do much chimping and I generally wait until the day's shoot is over to delete soft or blown images from my 2 gig cards (I always have seven on hand though have never used more than four in a 10 hour shoot). Reviewing images on the DMR's LCD uses battery power and takes me away from the work at hand. By continuing to shoot (and waiting to delete images from the card during the editing process) I miss fewer shots and increase my hit rate. The batteries also last longer as reviewing images uses a lot of battery power.
 

David K

Workshop Member
Lawrence, I'll add my thanks for posting these remarkable images. Superb work and a reminder of what the DMR/Leica glass is capable of in the right hands.
 

David K

Workshop Member
Back to using my DMR while my D3 is on loan to a friend who dropped his. My new Mini Cooper JCW Clubman... a blast to drive. My battery died before I got the shot I wanted but at least I have a better idea how to take this kind of shot before next time.
 
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