I was out in the bush last night and enjoyed a lovely sunset. After marveling the view, I headed towards home.
On the way out, I kept looking around for photo opportunities as that soft glow of post-sunset is actually a great time to take photographs because the indirect light gives a special quality to images.
A troop of baboons were playing around the base of some Ebony trees, enjoying the last of the light before roosting for the night.
I waited until the youngsters paused for a moment and took a few shots. I had to push the ISO fairly high to get a shutter speed that would freeze their movement, but by choosing ISO-4000 and waiting for my moment, I got a beautiful shot of two cheeky youngsters!
I then found some puku who were alerted to the calls of baboons in the distance. I checked the light levels and found that even after at this late time, I could get a shot with an ISO of only 1600.
I picked my spot, keeping the Puku ewe as my main subject but allowing the calf to add to the composition and including the distant antelope behind for balance in the frame.
It’s worth trying out different lighting and see what happens. Modern cameras’ sensors are so good that you might be surprised what they can do, even in very low light. Added to this, trying new ideas keeps our photography fresh and interesting, and pushes forward the profession as a whole.
