Nature Photo Magazine 2012/3

autumn / 2012/3.

nature photo magazine

ÂŽ

online photo magazine

travel | wildlife | landscape | people-culture | test

landscape photography | Photo school CANON EOS-1D X | Field test INDIA | People-cultures-cities

Welcome Dear Reader, The summer has gone and here we come with our autumn issue, 2012/3. We are the first to report the testing of an excellent professional camera, Canon 1DX, and we also try out Nikon D7000 to do underwater photography.

This is our 13th issue and we started to develop our digital Android tablet and iPad version jointly with DIMAG, and - if everything goes well - our own iPad application for Nature Photo Magazine will be ready in this quarter of the year. The Nature Photo Magazine is available in English again as we have received plenty of mails from all over the world, from people who are interested in our articles about Eastern European photo scenes. Of course, our online magazine remains free, readers only need to register. Our downloadable version – for which you can subscribe in DIMAG’s system – has an advantage: you do not have to have permanent Internet access as you can take the digital, interactive issues of Nature Photo Magazine with you anywhere. In addition, all of our previous issues will also be available soon, with more content and photos and with numerous interactive options.

A taster from our present issue: In the “Adventure tour” our colleague, Béla Szabó guide you to the Tara National Park.

We welcome the long-waited Canon 1Dx in our field testing article. The camera performed excellently, so we do not think by chance that a real gladiator was born.

In the „Tips and Tricks” column our editors offer ideas and tips for autumn photography. Besides Árpád Krivánszky and László Suhayda now János Szekeres also gives an insight into autumnal big game photography.

In our “Photo School” column Tamás Imre photographer shares his ideas about landscape photography, providing help for those who like to shoot landscapes but have not done it consciously so far.

We welcome in the “Portfolio” column László Berta nature and portrait photographer. László has achieved great success in several international photo competitions and he loves photographing the eastern cultures.

In the „Nice places” column we show you two interesting scenes for landscape lovers. We share the hidden secrets of Tuscany of Italy and Bodrogzug of Hungary with the readers, both articles were written and illustrated by Anikó Imre and Tamás Imre.

In our “Life under the water” column instead of the traditional diving photography now you can read about a field testing by photographer Dániel Selmeczi. Our colleagues took the Nikon D7000 camera under the water. „People, Cultures, Cities”: In our series, “A Glance at India”, now Raxaul was our destination. This article was written, photographed and videoed

by Pál Teravágimov – more excitement and adventure for you to be read and watch.

Please accept our 13th issue with love – now in iPad and Android versions too!

Photo: © János Szekeres Nikon D70, Nikkor f/4 300mm 1/320sec f/4 ISO 400

Tamás Imre Editor-in-Chief

Field test

18 Canon-1D X, the new gladiator

Canon EOS 1Dx, EF 400 mm f/2.8 L IS USM 1/3200 sec f/5 ISO 800 photo adventures - tara national park 6

interesting places - Bodrog zug 30

portfolio - lászló berta

Serbia is not a typical tourist destination. We find it hard to accept that the war in the area had been over for one and a half decades. We also must familiarize ourselves with the fact that Hungary’s southern neighbour recently received the European Union candidate status.

If we undertake this adventure, we can get to fantastic places in Serbia. It is true that the Cyrillic spelling can cause some difficulties, but information on the traffic signs is also indicated in Latin characters everywhere.

The main attraction of Tokaj among keen hikers is sipping the region’s world-famous wines. It is less known how beautiful Bodrogzug can be in the wet and misty periods of the early hours. Bodrogzug is between the confluence of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers, a swampy, forested grove, mainly a flood area.

It is the part of the Tokaj-Bodrogzug Protected Area which stretching from the Olaszliszka-Zalkod line to Tokaj.

Berta László was born in Hódmezővásárhely, in 1948. I studied in Hódmezővásárhely, Kecskemét and Szeged. He does professional sound technology and has been the exclusive representative of a big American sound thechnology company for 23 years now. He has been doing photography since his childhood, and does it professionally since 1990. His favourite themes are nature photography, especially birds. He also a keen photographer of aeroplanes and portraits.

38

Š Tamås Imre a glance at india - part 5.

70

As you can read in the previous issue of Nature Photo Magazine, having finished the photo tour in Rajasthan most of the people in our group returned home, but I stayed in India to discover another region of this huge country which is barely visited by foreigners.

life underwater - optical ttl

110

I have fancied for some time to take a new camera under water which I could use for long-term as I bought my current camera back in 2007 and since then it has been my perfect partner during my dives. Due to the technological novelties which permanently appear in photography usually better, higher resolution and quicker cameras are launched on the market.

photo school

landscape photography

56

tips and tricks autumnal photography

86

interesting places tuscany

96

Photo adventures

Tara, Serbia’s westernmost national park Serbia is not a typical tourist destination.

We find it hard to accept that the war in the area had been over for one and a half decades. We also must familiarize ourselves with the fact that Hungary’s southern neighbour recently received the European Union candidate status.

If we undertake this adventure, we can get to fantastic places in Serbia. It is true that the Cyrillic spelling can cause some difficulties, but information on the traffic signs is also indicated in Latin characters everywhere. With knowledge of Slavic languages and English you can get along quite well. However, it can be expected that menus in the less frequented places are written only in Cyrillic letters.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 2,8/70-200 L USM 1/800s f/5 ISO 160

The Serbian cuisine is typically meat-lover, roast meat are characteristic but they also eat lots of vegetables as garnish or salad. They use pork, beef, lamb and goat-meat as raw material. At the same time many kinds of dairy products are also available. Restaurant prices are reasonable and portions are hearty, especially in the countryside.

My first visit to Serbia was by chance. Surfing on the Internet I came across a trumpet festival.

I travelled with my former student at Fotooktatas.hu, Irén Becker who was born in Vajdaság (Vojvodina) and another two photographer colleagues. We thought, we would have a look around in the region, once we got there.

That’s how we got to the Tara National Park.

Being foreigners we visited the management of the national park to ask for information and advice what was worth seeing for us, photographers. At this point we came into contact with Boriša Čolić who was very glad to see foreign photographers, especially that one of them was the editor of Nature Photo Magazine.

During our talk he invited us to return if we want another times too. Taking the opportunity we have visited the region three times already to enjoy the hospitality of the national park. They accommodate us in different areas each time, once in a place where nobody stayed around us within miles.

The Tara is the westernmost projection of Serbia, a mountainous area partly surrounded by the Drina River. It is 50 km long and 22 km wide in an area of 183 km². The Tara stands at an average of 1,200 metres above sea level, so it is a mountain range of medium height.

At some of its points the yawning chasm is almost 000 metres deep below us. In the canyon of Drina at some points the river is hardly wider than 100 meters and the peaks above our heads are 700 or 800 meters high. The Tara Mountains became known for the world in 1893. In that year researcher started to study the region.

But the massive mountain did not reveal its secrets that fast, diligent and persistent work of generations was needed for the results.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 2,8/70-200 L USM 1/320s f/6,3 ISO 500

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 2,8/70-200 L USM 99s f/22 ISO 50, ND64, stand

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 2,8/24-70 L USM

0,5s f//9 ISO 200, stand

The unique species of the mountain is the Serbian Spruce or Pančićeva omorika. It was discovered and named by the Serbian botanist Josif Pančićn in 1855. This spruce differs from other species as it is much slimmer and harder, the bottom side of its needlelike leaves has a silvery gleam, and its unmatured cones are purple.

Thanks to these characteristics the area was declared a national park and special natural reserves were established within its borders.

The first foresters arrived at the mountain area in 1872 and decades of forestry slowly thinned out the dense forests. In order to stop that, efforts were made in 1950 to declare the area protected but the establishment of the national park was realised only in 1981. The area of the national park now is 19 175 hectares, while of the national forest is 11 807 hectares.

Thanks to the employees of Tara National Parks we were lucky to spend longer periods in the region, in summer, in autumn and in winter too, although we had to postpone our February journey due to the huge snowfall in the Balkans. In some parts of the region 200 or 250 cm snow fell and up in the mountains travelling was impossible. Even a month later we could go off the road in snowshoes.

It was an exciting adventure.

Thanks to the cooperation the national park published a calendar this year illustrated with the works of Béla Szabó, Irén Becker and Uros Petrovics. At the same time the calendar participated in the Calendar Competition of the Art Managers’ Club of Serbia where the publication received a special prize.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 2,8/70-200 L USM 1/250s f/6,3 ISO 160

As the next phase of the cooperation the two authors plan an exhibition in Serbia to show the treasures of the Tara National Park through the lenses of Hungarian photographers.

We also plan a series of exhibition from the Tara pictures in Hungary too.

We would like to thank Milica Tomić and Boriša Čolić, and their colleagues who guided and supported our work.

Special thanks to the prior of Rača monastery form where – according to the tradition – the first monks and the people of the region came to establish the city of Szentendre, in Hungary.

Text and pictures: Béla Szabó

Planning Place: South-Europe, Western Serbia. Tara mountains Accessibility: Crossing the Hungarian border at Röszke on road E75 to Újvidék and then on road 21 and 19 to the foothills of Tara mountains.

What to shoot: mainly landscape.

What to take with us: Fish-eye lens, wide-angle lens 16-35mm, wide angle zoom 24-70 mm, zoom 80200mm, stand, ND2x, ND4x, ND8x, ND graduated filter, remote control. During winter it is useful to have good boots and snowshoes.

Accommodation: It is easy to find accommodation, but make sure to look around and plan properly as the conditions may vary greatly.

The best time to go: In my opinion all seasons, but Autumn is possibly the best. Winter is wonderful, especially with fresh snow , but it makes transport very limited. Make sure to have enough layers of clothes and be prepared for several meters high snow.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 2,8/100 L IS USM

1/60s f/9 ISO 200

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 2,8/24-70 L USM 1/4 s f/22 ISO 50, stand

Field test

Canon EOS-1D X, the new gladiator I managed to get Canon EOS-1D X camera for testing even twice. I could catch the first test product back in May from Canon Hungary, and later in August I could try out its final commercial version thanks to Camera Ltd, so I had the chance to check out thoroughly what this “monster� knows. After a nerve-wrecking waiting - the launch was announced more than a year ago - 1D X eventually has been launched on the market but still only the lucky ones had the chance to photograph with it. After the launch announcement lots of questions left unanswered about the capabilities of the camera body.

Cano

100% zoom

on EOS-1D X, EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM 1/4000 sec f/5 ISO 800

First impressions I could try out the first test version under very strict conditions, I had to sign lots of legal statements. A few copies of them were out in Formula 1 races and at that time some of them crashed and there were some other difficulties too, but thanks God I received a test version without any fault. The body looked like a real monster at first sight, it seemed to be quite heavy in hand but I was happy with that as more robust a body, the better the grip.

What immediately struck me was the plus joystick by the grip, it is very useful for still images as I can easily choose focal points.

Canon’s first full frame body The body has a brand new shape, increased attention was paid to the fact that the main functions can be managed even with gloves on. The 1D X is Canon’s revolutionary fullframe body, with 18.1-megapixel resolution and a staggering 12 fps rate in RAW format.

So far, there has been no such body in Canon’s palette which is made to satisfy the needs of photographer up to the maximum.

The biggest innovation is the menu system conversion and the 61-point auto focus.

Redesigned AF and menu system: The day before testing I went through the menu system and the new auto focus system thoroughly. Lucky for me the Canon EOS 5D Mark III auto focus and menu system work completely on the same basis, so it was not that strange, as it seemed in December at a Canon demonstration. The menu is only slightly different from the EOS 5D Mark III, but the user’s functions can be personalized in more detail. Since the launch of Canon EOS 1D Mark III I has been rather skeptical about a redesigned AF. So first we should look through what the 61-point crosstype AF sensor can be used for as it is radically different from its predecessors.

Spot AF: here we can obtain a spot auto focus, in which an AF point can be selected out of 61. The system is weighted in this area, but it adjusts focus with the help of the surrounding points.

A single AF point: here literally a single AF point works which does not take into account the surrounding points, we can set them anywhere by manual selection.

AF point extension: here we can extend the AF points, making a total of nine AF points, below, beside and above the points are also taken into account and the focus is adjusted according to them, the selection can be done in any direction, even according to the trisection rules.

AF-zone: Twelve focal points can be selected in the immediate vicinity of each other in any zone within the 61 selectable focus area.

61-point automatic AF: here any of the 61 AF points can be sharpened and it can even be transferred in tracking AF mode through the transverse system.

AI servo (followed by AF): The biggest innovation of the AI servo system is the graphical menu system of the tracking AF which significantly speeds up the exact focusing. Let’s see how it works.

The first pictogram shows a running figure: it is a versatile, multi-purpose setting designed for irregular movements.

The second one shows a tennis player figure: it continues the focus-track even when the subject momentarily moves from the AF points and ignores contrasted obstacles in the foreground or background.

The third is an instant, lightning-fast focus: when a main subject moves into the AF points, such as a bicycle, racing car or flying bird, etc.

The fourth shows a footballer: focus track subjects that accelerate or decelerate quickly.

The fifth AF focus on subjects with erratic movements such as a bird flying up and down, a skating man or any subject which moves erratically.

The sixth one focuses on subjects with erratic movements and changes in speed: This system manages a quite complicated algorithm, it perfectly catches subjects with irregular movement and speed.

That’s not all, within the menu points we can also set tracking sensitivity and accelerate or decelerate tracking and switch AF points automatically.

It may seem a bit too much at first but it can be set comfortably during work. Which one to use?

It mainly depends on the subject. Everybody has to learn by experience which setting is the most suitable for the given theme.

Canon EOS-1D X, EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM 1/3200 sec f/4 ISO 500

Canon EO

100% zoom

OS-1D X, EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM 1/1600 sec f/4.5 ISO 500

Speed An extremely high-speed exposure is possible. The fifth generation Digic 5 processors, already known from Canon EOS 5D Mark III, work inside the camera. The soul of the camera is the 18.1-megapixel full frame CMOS image sensor which rips at 12 picture/sec speed up to 36 RAW pictures and does not slow down until the exposure of 50-60 pictures, only after then can be sensed the speed subsided.

If you do not need the RAW format, then the speed can be increased even up to 14 picture/sec super high speed, up to 120 big-sized JPEG pictures.

Of course, for this you need a SanDisk Extreme Pro UDMA 7 card. In case you use a slower card, the speed of the series can be slightly lower, but the quality is credibly good. This is the first time we have met that speed at full frame cameras in Canon’s palette. Unbelievable – I even could not see the scenes what the camera recorded at the moment of the exposure! We will make spectacular pictures in the future with such a camera.

Image quality Image quality and ISO sensitivity are the most important factors to choose a camera, and this is a real battlefield among companies. Above all, my Hungarian photographer friends’ first question was: What about the ISO sensitivity, what are the boundaries of the camera? The results are as follows. I worked in the field, in natural light conditions. The results of the ISO sensitivity test: there is no difference between ISO 100 and ISO 400, it did not matter which one I used, of course, I did not try it in studio. A slight noise appears between ISO 500 and ISO 800, but the factory setting corrects it nicely (at high ISO range noise reduction setting). I got usable, excellent pictures. At ISO 1600 I had to look for the noise, but I hardly find any.

But here comes the deepwater what everyone is curious about: hardly noisy at ISO 3200 but checking the DPP Luminance Noise Reduction the light noise was at 7, Chrominance Noise Reduction was at 9 with the factory settings and the quality of the image was incredibly good. I became enthusiastic after the first results, so I had big expectations for the ISO 6400 picture: wow, it is good too, moreover, better than I expected.

Cameras used to fail at this point.

In my opinion, to see an ISO 6400 picture on a 100x70 cm print is quite something! Oh my God, remember when we suffered with an ISO 50 Fuji Velvia! The technological advancement is dizzying. The ISO 12.800 is a bit noisy but not rough, the fine details got lost, however, by setting DPP Luminance Noise Reduction at 09 and Chrominance Noise Reduction at 11 we can get quite acceptable pictures, although these can be enjoyable at size A4 the maximum.

The ISO 25.600 is rather noisy, but with a stronger filtering it can be OK for a family album or for smaller press photos.

I think the ISO 51.200 does not meet the professional quality standard. The funny thing is that about 6 or 8 years ago the ISO 1600 looked the same as the ISO 51.600 now. We can achieve fantastic results by a full frame professional body at high, 18.1-megapixel resolution

Out in the field I tested the bodies in various situations.

In RĂŠtszilas, Hungary, at a drained fishing lake I was lucky to photograph from a hide. Here I used a Canon EF 400 mm f/2,8 L IS USM lens, on Induro tripod and from a glassed-in hide.

The conditions: cloudy weather, filtered light, I worked between ISO 800 – ISO 2000.

Canon EOS-1D X, EF400mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x 1/1600 sec f/5.6 ISO 800

Cano

on EOS-1D X, EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM 1/2500 sec f/4 ISO 500

The great white egrets and the grey herons kept fishing the bigger and bigger fish out of the drained lake, it was a fantastic feeling to take pictures of them. The camera settings: Picture Style Standard, AF AI Servo and AF menu was set on Zona AF. 90 percent of the pictures were razor sharp. The most amazing scene was when a great egret wanted to catch a fish, I was on it and shot before the moment of the strike. The bird caught the fish in a split second and flew to the left immediately as another heron disturbed it.

The whole scene happened in 4 or 5 seconds.

I took 46 RAW pictures altogether, all of them were sharp and about 20 of them usable.

Wow, I have been waiting for this for about ten years! I still have my Canon EOS 1VHs film camera, that was just that quick and exact.

I photographed birds, cormorants and mallards, at the City Park of Budapest too.

I used an equipment of Canon EF 300 mm f/2,8 L IS USM with the 1D X there. I expose from the hand at AF Al Servo setting and I selected the erratic movement graphical menu point besides the 61-point AF. The result was very good, about 80 percent of the pictures were sharp. I put it down to the handheld shooting but I had to try it as there are certain themes which cannot be photographed from a tripod. The cormorant flying up from the water surfaces was razor sharp, and when two mallards started to fight, I managed to catch all the 12 pictures sharply in the storm of the water drops.

I did not video with the camera, but if I ever have the chance, I promise to give an account of it.

Summary Canon EOS -1D X is an out-and-out professional camera body. A new gladiator has born and it must be a man indeed who wants to defeat it. It is a must for professional sports photographers and also for action nature photographers. Its price is quite hefty, but you have to pay for professionalism.

The camera body was provided by Canon Hungary and by Camera Ltd.

Tester: Tamรกs Imre

Érdekes helyek

Bodrogzug – One of the most beautiful place of North-East Hungary The main attraction of Tokaj among keen hikers is sipping the region’s world-famous wines. It is less known how beautiful Bodrogzug can be in the wet and misty periods of the early hours. Bodrogzug is between the confluence of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers, a swampy, forested grove, mainly a flood area. It is the part of the Tokaj-Bodrogzug Protected Area which stretching from the Olaszliszka-Zalkod line to Tokaj.

Canon EOS 7D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM 1/160 sec f/11 ISO 100

Mount Nagykopasz in Tokaj Everybody knows this region in Hungary, if not seen at least heard about it, and sometimes foreign tourists know where that small town is in which the Tokaji wine is made. The wine is

worthy of international reputation, the most famous people swear to it since the Middle Ages that a special elixir is made here. The grapes for wine are harvested from the Mount Nagykopasz. It is a must for visitors to pop into a local wine cellar to taste – besides delicacies like a 5 or 6-butt Aszu - the less known ice wine

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM +1.4x 1/50 sec f/16 ISO 200

too. Those, who like dessert wines will not be disappointed. Careful, it is very delicious, large quantities can easily slip down your throat resulting in a headache the morning after. The Mount Nagykopasz is the biggest and highest (512 m) volcanic butte in Hungary. Recently a viewpoint platform was built on the top of the

mount which is famous for its high cost (about HUF 40 million). I was lucky to stand on that concrete block and it did not seem so exclusive as we could think by its price. However, the sight from the stand to the Bodrogzug flood area is absolutely fascinating. Anyway, I have never had so expensive tripod stand.

Bodrogzug Sometimes Bodrogzug develops into a huge lake as a result of the several yearly floods of the river Tisza. The lower parts of the land between the Tisza and Bodrog rivers are flooded several times a year. In the autumn and early spring when temperature is very low at dawn, the wetland is covered by a thick fog cloud at a height of about half a meter. The groves and forest patches are almost dancing in the first rays of sun.

The dawn light dress the land in a colorful robe, its shades range from golden-yellow to light purple and pink. Be sure to look for a high-altitude point where the landscape is clearly visible, from there you can create exciting and mysterious, hazy images.

The braves can stay for days in the region, as it is worth hiking inside the nature reserve. Bodrogzug shows pure and idyllic water world between the flooding periods.

Reeds are spread over the swampy areas, and the water is rich in beautiful reed grass communities. The shallow areas inhabited by duckweed and water caltrop. In the summer periods nymphaeas, fringed water lilies and pond lilies are blooming, creating a real wild-water world for visitors. The birdlife of the place is also unique. It is testified by the fact that Bodrogzug is listed in the Ramsar Convention which summarises bird habitats of international importance.

I recommend the place which is very popular among winemakers and photographers to every nature lover. If you are lucky, you can take special photos at dawn. And if the weather is not favorable, take a seat in a wine-cellar and forget about the gray everyday life and relax in the company of the world-famous Tokaji wines.

Text: Tamรกs Imre Pictures: Anikรณ Imre and Tamรกs Imre photographers

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM 1/200 sec f/16 ISO 200

TervezĂŠs Place: Hungary, Tokaj and its region Accessibility: From Budapest Liszt Ferenc Airport by car, through motorway M3 What to shoot: landscape, wine-growing area

What to take with us: wide-angle lens 16-35 mm, 70-200 mm telephoto lens. If you have a bigger 500 mm telephoto lens, it can be useful for photographing details, 1,4x and 2x teleconverter if possible; tripod; ND graduated filter; memory card.

Accommodation: We can find accommodation in hotels or pensions in and around Tokaj.

The best time to go: September-October, February-April

Canon EOS 7D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM 1/160 sec f/11 ISO 100

László Berta

Berta László was born in Hódmezővásárhely, in 1948. I studied in Hódmezővásárhely, Kecskemét and Szeged. He does professional sound technology and has been the exclusive representative of a big American sound thechnology company for 23 years now.

He has been doing photography since his childhood, and does it professionally since 1990. His favourite themes are nature photography, especially birds. He also a keen photographer of aeroplanes and portraits.

He has had more than hundred national and international exhibitions in the recent years, individually or in a group. The main scenes were Sri Lanka, India, Belgium and Hungary.

Among his numerous national and international awards he is the most proud of the following: - Nature Photographer of the Year 2004 - Sri Lanka - Aves Belgium 2004, 2nd place - Nature Photo Festival, Namur – Category winner, 2006 He participated in several nature photography competitions in Hungary and many of his pictures were ranked or highly praised.

He is a member of the Hungarian Nature Photography Association (Naturart) and the Nimród Photo Club.

He takes his pictures with Canon camera and lenses.

Website: www.bertalaszlo.hu

Portfolio

Bridal dance

Pheasant portrait

Ghost herons / Natur Photo Festival 2008 1st prize in its category

Reflection - ETF Special prize

Scooper portrait

Midnight landing

Heron

Start

Twin hunters

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Photo school

Landscape photography The autumn is here and those who do landscape photography now take their cameras out. You can see better and better landscapes in countless photographic albums or on websites. After seeing them, we all want to make such or similar pictures. First we have to choose a scene.

Everybody can find many beautiful places in his own country but fanatics are ready to travel for them to faraway countries.

When out in the field we realise that the task we are faced with is not that easy.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM

1/4 sec f/11 ISO 200

Beginners’ problems Many people travel in their spare time all over the world. I almost cannot see any tourist group in which someone would not hold a compact camera or often a DLSR camera.

They watch and admire the places which they visited while clicking their cameras.

Returning home they tell their experiences enthusiastically to their friends. But at that moment they realize that the pictures are not that good because they cannot see the desired admiration on their friend’s faces what they felt at the moment of shooting. To avoid basic mistakes please take my advices.

Before setting out Before we set out to the unknown, preparation is a must. Try to gather as much information as possible. We can do it in libraries, bookstores, looking for albums about our place of destination, having a look around the world, especially on the Internet.

The newest source of information is the guidebooks and albums can be subscribed on tablets, iPads. You do not always have to spend money, many application are available free of charge at APP Store or Android Store.

Often we can find videos about the famous photo scenes, YouTube is worth looking around. It is almost sure that a renowned photographer has been to our chosen place before. Gathering information is also useful for learning from other’s mistakes or from their good pictures, so you could photograph the chosen scene according to your taste.

We can find photo albums in Hungarian at Alexandra Publishing House. Prices range from 5.000 to 10.000 HUF. Digital versions are available in English for a couple of dollars at the above mentioned sites. Android tablets are available from 30.000 HUF, iPads from 99.000 HUF.

Canon EOS 1D-s Mark III, EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM 0.8 sec f/22 ISO 200

Balance of soul and place The good landscape photo grabs your soul, it makes the atmosphere of the place almost tangible. The most important thing before exposure is to think through why you stopped there, in that very place. When you make your composition, your main subject should be the one which grabbed your attention. If you succeed, the picture will express the atmosphere of the given land and the sight will attract the viewer.

Canon EOS 7D, EF 8-15mm f/4 L Fisheye USM 601 sec f/4 ISO 100

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM 1/160 sec f/10 ISO 200

Image editing and depth of field At our chosen scene, the most suitable device to choose the appropriate cropping is a 24x36 mm cardboard frame. Covering one eye we can watch the sight through this viewfinder frame. With an outstretched arm we can see a view of a telephoto lens, while drawing it near to our eyes we can see a view of a wide-angle lens. If you do not find the view suitable, then change position as you often can find a much favorable viewpoint a few steps away. To achieve the suitable depth of field you should select a narrow aperture, f/11 or f/16 on your camera. To do so you should set aperture preselection (A) or Canon (Av) on the mode selector switch. It requires a longer exposure time, so using a tripod becomes inevitable. Moreover, I use a tripod in every case as doing so I have time to set the desired composition, so it does not move, while doing it handheld you cannot set your frame back to the same position again.

Photography with ultra wide-angle lens When using wide-angle lenses (e.g. Nikon 14-24 mm or Canon 16-35 mm) make sure you do a proper space arrangement, choosing the suitable foreground is essential. The monotonous surface of the foreground can be made more vivid by “sub-subjects” composed into the golden section if we connect them into the lines. The oblique lines draw the viewer’s attention from the edge of the picture to the center, from the foreground to the main theme. Such lines can be the ditches, chasms, double diagonal lines are especially impressive. But they can be natural objects too, such as flowers, trees, bushes or vineyards, stones, cliffs, a lonely path or anything which can give the depth of the picture in the foreground.

Ultra wide-angle lenses range from 10 mm to 24 mm, but the zoom versions are also very good. Prices are varied between 90.000 HUF and 400.000 HUF.

Photography with telephoto lens We apply telephoto lenses for landscape photography when we want to emphasize the details. Wide-angle lenses are not the only solution to capture landscapes. There can be themes where we can show the atmosphere of the place in a much more astonishing and interesting perspective.

For example we can highlight a mountainside, hillside, curves, or a glacier wall in the landscape. Mount the camera on a tripod, then zoom in your main theme with a telephoto lens, narrow the aperture suitably (take care of the quality, of course) and then you can expose.

Light intensity is not important in case of telephoto lenses, so you can succeed even with a simpler 55-200 mm lens.

The most used filters for landscape photography I am sure that everyone has encountered the problem of the overexposed (white) sky, or the reverse, the dark and monotonous foreground, however that’s not what we saw in our viewfinder. If there is no other solution, you have to use a filter to create a nice and detailed, saturated picture. There are many kinds of filters out on the market, now I just mention the most important ones.

The polarizing filter: a polar filter is primarily for strengthen the blueness of the sky, but it is also useful for filtering atmospheric disturbances, and for color saturation or to avoid unwanted reflections. Therefore, it has its place on almost every lenses use for landscapes.

The Hoya and B+W filters are the best choices, they cost 15.000 to 50.000 HUF, depending on the size.

Canon EOS 7D, EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x 1/15 sec f/11 ISO 100

www.hoyafilter.com

Ca

www.cokin-filters.com

anon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 1/20 sec f/11 ISO 100

ND filters: Neutral Density filters, or ND filters are designed for making longer exposure time.

Another variation of them is the so-called graduated ND filter. ND filters are applied to decrease light value (LV), especially in the sky. They can be ND 2 which filters 1 LV, ND 4 which filters 2 LV or ND 8 which filters 3 LV from the lightness of the sky. By this technology you can expose in situations which seem impossible.

One of the following versions of ND filters are worth buying: B+W, Hoya and Cokin. Their prices range between 10.000 and 50.000 HUF. Effect filters: graduated filters can be colored, such as tobacco, blue or sunset versions. We can use these effects to make the sky more dramatic. Cokin products are well suited for coloring or filtering landscapes. Cokin filters are available at a price range between 3.000 and 15.000 HUF.

Longer exposure time The simplest way to represent the movement of waterfalls and to avoid overexposure of the water surface is the application of a full ND 8 filter. This filter slows down the exposure time suitably and makes the lights more even.

The joint application of a polariszing filter and an ND filter is also a good solution.

Using a tripod is essential for long-exposure landscapes in the evening lights.

The suitable scale In case of an unknown landscape it might be necessary for the sake of the viewer to compose a tree, a small house or a man into the photo to give the suitable scale.

The picture can be made even more vivid by a joint composition of a recurring shape, object or a man, but it is a more difficult task. Any object with a well-known size is suitable to show the scale. Always make sure to choose an object which suits to the theme of the picture!

The play of the lights The most professional trick of landscape photography is shooting in nice lights. Early morning light or late afternoon lights are the most suitable to avoid unwanted and rough shades. Nothing is more intimate than a land illuminated by the warm lights of sun filtered through the early morning mist. Always meter the main light when shooting sunrises or sunsets, not the sun as it can burn out your retina but the lightest area near the sun. In this composition certain parts of the land in the backlight can appear as silhouettes in the picture.

As you can see, there are certain rules which cost nothing, although if we have to use a filter, it will not be free of charge.

A professional photographer devotes time and money to create quality works. I wish you a good experiment!

Text: Tamรกs Imre Pictures: Anikรณ Imre and Tamรกs Imre photographers

Canon EOS 7D, EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM 1/500 sec f/8 ISO 400

Canon EOS 7D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 1/1000 sec f/11 ISO 400

People-Cultures-Cities A glance at India - Part 5

Our days in Raxaul

Girl in the afghani village close to the hospital

Morning shave

How did we get to Raxaul?

As you can read in the previous issue of Nature Photo Magazine, having finished the photo tour in Rajasthan most of the people in our group returned home, but I stayed in India to discover another region of this huge country which is barely visited by foreigners.

The philantropic disposition of my wife (who is an obstetrician and gynaecologist) made this trip possible as she decided to spend her well-deserved holiday in 2011 (just like in the previous year) working in the small town of Raxaul, North-India as a voluntary obstetrician and gynaecologist. In 2010 she undertook the adventure on her own, but at this time I joined her myself.

Lunch is getting ready

The journey started in the capital city of India, Delhi, followed by a 26-hour train trip to Raxaul, 950 kilometres to the north-east. The train journey from Delhi to Raxaul was fabulous.

We suspected that we would have a splendid journey right at the beginning when we were watching close up as our fellow passengers who did not hold reserved seat tickets kept jumping through the windows of the train which rolled into the station, throwing in their luggage and bundling the female members of their family into the carriages. Of course, it was associated with excited shouting. The who gets in the train first will have a seat and can reserve even more seats for his folks, that was reason behind the hysterical crowd scenes. After the first attack had passed, it was our turn as we had reserved seats, so we could have our seats comfortably.

We travelled third class as there is no other option on the train to Raxaul. There are no compartments here, only „blocks�. One block seats eight but we were eleven and of course plenty of cases and bags. We were packed densely like herrings and tried to convince ourselves that it was the adventure we wanted.

Luckily, after eight in the evening we could fold our seats flat, so both Emese and I could have a sleeping berth, so we could watch our fellow passengers having their dinner from a cosy place. This way the rest 23-hour part of the journey seemed to be only a moment.

Indiain graffiti

Siblings 1.

Siblings 2.

Waiting for the

Bihar state Raxaul is situated in the Bihar state of India, right at the border of India and Nepal. Bihar is one of the poorest states of India, the annual income per capita is only 115 dollar. The main problem is the lack of health system and education. However, there have been serious developments at least in the field of education in the past decade. Ten years ago only 60 percent of men and 33 percent of women were literate, by now these figures increased to 73 and 53 percent, at least according to the official statistics.

Local people make their living from different services and commerce, and a significant proportion from agriculture. When we asked our friends working in the hospital about the underdevelopment of the state, everybody blamed the incompetent and extremely corrupt local government as the main cause of the troubles.

Such opinions are confirmed by the 2005 report of the biggest international corruption watchdog Transparency International which shows that Bihar is the most corrupt state of India. The organisation studied the extent of corruption based on 11 different aspects and Bihar state has proved the most corrupt of all aspects.

Basket maker family

sunrise

Before Emese travelled there the first time we check up in several guidebooks what they write about Raxaul. What we found was not really promising, we can more and less summarize it that Raxaul is a dirty dusty hole and if possible try to avoid spending even a night there. If you yet have to stay there for some important reason, then you’d be better off to go and find an accomodation in Birgnaj, on the other side of the Indian-Nepalese border. Of course, guide books are prone to dramatic exaggerations.

Basket maker village

But unfortunately I have to say that in case of Raxaul, that description is quite exact. The city cannot be called particularly attractive even with the greatest benevolence, although people are extremly kind, almost without exception. I walked the streets of the city and the nearby villages day by day, and almost everybody welcomed me friendly. They did not need asking twice for a permission to be photographed, mostly they asked me to photograph them and all of their family members.

Duncan hospital Duncan Hospital was established in 1930 by a Scottish gentleman called Duncan and the hospital was named after him. It may sound incredible but 6 million Indian and 5 million Nepalese people are included in the hospital’s service area. Therefore the hospital provide services for 11 million people altogether. Most parts of the hospital building are old and needs renovation but luckily from 2011 there is a new building too, the Mackay Block which was built by the generous support of a Scottish couple, Professor Gordon and Jackie Mackay. Since the the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department is situated in the new building, in 2011 Emese could work in significantly better conditions than in the previous year.

The hospital, despite being a missionary hospital, does not offer free health care. Of course there are exceptions in cases when the patient is obviously so poor that he cannot pay for the lifesaving service. For such treatments the hospital has a charitable budget.

About 6000 deliveries take place in the labour wards of the hospital. Most of the cases are complicated as the patients are in very poor condition. They often get into the hospital only after the smaller local health service points could not help them. Only 15 percent of the pregnant women receive prenatal care. Foetal death is common, mostly due to hypoxia during labour.

Uterine rupture is also common and it can be fatal to the baby in almost every case and often puts the mother’s life in jeopardy.

Heated beds, suction equipment and oxygen are available for neonatal care, intubation and resustication are also possible.

Regisztráció a kórházban

The entrance of the Duncan Hospital

The kiss of life

Preparing for celebration

School in Raxaul There is a close cooperation between the labour ward and the infant and neonatal department which provides care for premature babies or neonates in critical condition. Actually every necessary equipment is available, however not in sufficient quantities. So sometimes the relatives have to provide ventilation until a respirator becomes available.

The first days Emese started work the day after our arrival immediately and quickly conducted two caesarean sections (from that time we basically could meet only inthe evenings as she worked permanently, often even at night) and I started to discover the region. Stepping out of the hospital gate, man at once drops into the beauties of the rural life of India. Dilapidated buildings, trackless paths, poverty. However, it was not the hopeless poverty of tin shacks, because there were real houses in the area. And, as I said, the people were very nice. With one exception, I encountered only positive reactions during the shooting.

This exception was the deputy-stationmaster of Raxaul, who almost shouted my head off when I wanted to take pictures of the station. I tried to reassure him that he need not to worry, I do not want to blow up the station, but in a foreign state in terms of meaningful dialogue chances seemed rather low, so finally I gave up.

But the positive experiences were far more important. For example, when on my first shooting day I walked into a school and by the fact itself that I took photographs I could manage to induce scenes of mass hysteria. The kids were screaming, pushing as they all wanted to be photographed, I was almost dismantled.

The director then struggled to make order among the children, he ordered the whole school to get lined up in my honour in the courtyard. Finally, they even sang for me. I had to promise to the director to bring him printed photos. Of course, I promised, but unfortunately I could not keep my promise. Because in Raxaul - among other things - printing photos is not possible. In the second part of mya report I will try to show details of the circumstances of the photo and video shootings as well.

(To be continued)

Text, pictures and video: Pรกl Teravรกgimov

Tips and tricks Photography of autumnal themes

Autumn is one of the favourite seasons of photographers, however, the character of its months differs widely. September is similar to the passing summer, October is the period of the orgy of colours, the foggy, often rainy November represents the more moderated range of colours and its occasionally inclement weather prepares us for the winter.

The early autumn presents macrophoto lovers with some beautiful flowers such as the Marsh gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe), Sand crocus (Colchicum arenarium), Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) and the numerous species of Asters which are the last laid tables of the insects’ world before the winter comes. Autumn is the mating season of the Red deers (Cervus elaphus) and the Fallow deers (Dama dama), and it is the season of bird migration too, offering countless exciting themes for animal photographers.

Those who are interested in landscape photography can also make a profit from the season The bushes and trees are turning colourful, the dawn and the dusk are more fire red than usual, often spectacular clouds are floating in the sky. The glittering dew and the sparkling hoarfrost clothes the land and its details, highlight its shapes. The rainy, damp, foggy periods offer different, less colourful but more mysterious photo themes.

A good pair of hiking boots, and waterproof and warm clothing do a good service. Take your photo kit and off we go to the mountains, valleys, forests and fields and watersides!

Fallow stag At the end of September me and a friend of mine went out to the field to photograph stag rutting. We arranged our hide tent and sat in to wait for the events. When the last rays of sun shone upon the glade this goodlooking fallow stag stepped out of the bush. The sunshine glistened nicely on his antlers and hair. He was watching our tent nervously, ready to jump away. I managed to take a few pictures of him before he ran back to the woods. The white balance set on cloudy weather gave back the most nicely the original shades of colour.

Nikon D1x, Nikkor 600 mm f/5.6

Š Jånos Szekeres 1/60 sec f/5.6 ISO 400

Foggy forest I.

© Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D, EF 28-105 mm f/3,5-4,5 8 sec f/14 ISO 100

In September a bit “tired” green is the dominating colour of the leave which looks nice in the fog. At this time we should not expect neither vivid colours, nor sharp lines as both are softened by the mist. In contrary, it strengthens the sense of space as we can see more details of a tree which close to us and farther everything are gradually lost in the mist.

The viewer is presented with the sense of mystery: to suspect things is often more exciting than to see everything in meticulous details. I tried to find a detail from the forest of Pilis where the ground slopes and I like to show the stock of the trees, I do not like to “cut” their trunk. It is worth positioning the tripod until the location of tree trunks start to show some harmony in the viewfinder and it will not do any harm if we compose a bit thicker, more dominating tree trunk at the vertical trisection lines.

Light-spotted pinewood The evergreen pinewood does not show a typical, autumnal atmosphere even at autumn, except in certain lighting conditions. Early morning or late afternoon the reddish light of the rising or setting sun dyes the bark of the pine trees and the soil of the forest in stripes and the warm coloured light spots evoke the autumn. But we have to be careful if the light is too contrasted as in this case the sunlit spots burn out or if we underexpose then it can result in dark, undetailed parts. If the light is strong but its colour is still nice we can try out the HDR: most photo processing software is able to edit a picture free from under or overexposure out of series of pictures made with different exposure values. © Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D, EF 28-105 mm f/3,5-4,5 1/6 sec f/14 ISO 400 article’s sponsor

FOTÓOKTATÁS.HU

Red-belly clouds We can often see low-floating clouds in the autumn. If we are lucky, then a wide gap opens around the sun at dusk. At that time the sun is in a very low position or even getting under the horizon and illuminates the belly of the clouds with orange or reddish light. These bright fields are in strong contrast with the other, shady parts which can give a dramatic effect to our picture.

After sunset we have to be quick as the phenomenon only last for one or two minutes due to the low position of the clouds.

© Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D, EF 28-105 mm f/3,5-4,5 1/125 sec f/13 ISO 100

Reflection The forest streams such as the stream of Apátkút which runs from Pilisszentlászló to Visegrád present nice reflections for nature photographers. Pictures can be taken in which the original and the mirror image can be seen together, but for me showing only the reflection was more exciting. The funny sight of the upside down trees is closed by the rocky stream bed at the top, and the flowing water ruffles the reflection. The blue sky is neighboured with the golden colour of the yellow leaves, the light surfaces are harmoniously divided by the heavy darkness of the tree trunks.

„Impressionist” beech forest The yellowish-brownish-reddish leaves and the fallen leaves on the ground make an interesting colour pair with the light-grey beech trunks. If the forest is illuminated from the side nicely, then we can try out the so-called “pulled” photo technique. It is worth choosing the exposure time in advance - between ⅕ and ⅛ second - the automatic light meter will adjust the suitable aperture size to it. While moving the camera upwards push the shutter release so the camera will move during the relatively long exposure period and makes stripes in the picture resulting in an impressionist blur in which the original shapes are preserved relatively well. In my opinion, the pulled forest picture is the most beautiful if the stocks of the trees can be seen and the trunks are arranged harmoniously.

Do not panic if your first attempt is not successful, out of five or ten there will be one for sure which finds your favour. © Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D, EF 28-105 mm f/3,5-4,5 1/5 sec f/18 ISO 100

© Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D, EF 28-105 mm f/3,5-4,5 1/13 sec f/9 ISO 250

ravine

© Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D, EF 28-105 mm f/3,5-4,5 2 sec f/16 ISO 100

The deep ravines, gorges of streams - specially in mountains with volcanic origin - provide exciting photo themes, different from those of an average forest.

Late autumn the trees have little leaves, colours are determined by the basic colour of the rocks, the colours of the sky which illuminates the gorge, the green of the moss which covers the rocks and the thin carpet of the fallen leaves. The trees are leaning to different directions and the huge blocks of rocks which border the ravine almost provide a threatening effect in the picture.

Arcimboldo in the Vértes mountains Once in the 16th century lived a strange painter Giovanni Arcimboldo whose ordinary pictures were forgotten by the posterity but those which he drew up from fruits and crops are still favoured because of their speciality and uniqueness.

Well, it seems that the surrealistic painter of ancient times was in the Vértes mountains in 2009 and set up a hatted man head looking to the right out of white rocks, reddish smoketree and green-leafed trees.

This figure or something similar can be found in midOctober by a sharp-eyed photographer as at this time only smoketree bushes turn colourful, the other trees and bush still keep their greenness.

Waltz of leaves

© Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D, EF 28-105 mm f/3,5-4,5 1/20 sec f/16 ISO 250

In forest streams sometimes whirlpools - or rather just eddies - develop in which leaves rotate for a while before they can get free. A photo with long exposure time can illustrate this whirl, in a way which invisible to the naked eye.

For the sake of the sharpness of the stationary environment we need a tripod and a release cord or a self-timer will do too. The speed of rotation largely depends on the actual quantity of water, so we cannot determine an exposure time suitable for every eddy.

By making attempts you can find out which picture will provide the nicest and most exciting view. The number of leaves in the whirl and their position also affects the picture.

You can influence the quantity of the whirling leaves and even their colour by a creative intervention. © Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D, EF 28-105 mm f/3,5-4,5 4 sec f/16 ISO 100

Foggy forest II. The thick fog has a monochrome character, so it makes possible to create a picture in the shades of grey.

The arrangement of trees in a forest is usually unstructured, “chaotic”. When we choose a forest detail we should be careful to place the trees into a composition. It is worth trying out lenses with different angles (wide-angle, normal, small tele) and different focal lengths as all of them make different effects.

If we shoot a bit downwards with a wide-angle lens will result in strongly sloping trees but it is not disturbing as nature is full of oblique lines and even curves. This way the sight is more exciting. The advantage of the fog is that it covers lots of things which would spoil the sight. There are landscape details which can only be shot nicely in foggy weather.

© László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM 1/125 sec f/10 ISO 800

Cobweb Cobwebs are always rewarding themes, even those from which the spider is already missing and their strings have been broken by the autumn wind. The web has not caught an insect, only a nice and colourful autumn leaf through which the sun shone and revealed its interesting veins.

I placed the middle of the little wheather-beaten web to the nearness of the top right trisection point, while I put the illuminated leaf to the bottom left trisection point.

The strings stretched between the two trunks and the illuminated leaf were as much lighter than the background that it became homogeneous dark, making a strong contrast against the objects.

Cranes Autumn is the favourite season of nature photographers because of the bird migration. The most exciting is the birds which occur in large numbers such as the waterfowl or those which live a water-related lifestyle like cranes.

The picture was taken early in the morning, before sunrise, at the “blue hours” which this determines the greyish-bluish world of colour. These birds which spend the night in the shallow lake stand with dignity very close to each other, they are preparing to fly off to their feeding place almost in military order. Some of them have already flown off, painting blurred patches in the sky due to the relatively long exposure time. The picture cannot give back the cacophony which comes with the fly-off, however, more and more cameras are suitable for video recording with sound. © László Suhayda Canon EOS 40D, EF 500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x 1/15 sec f/5,6 ISO 400

© Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D, EF 70-300 mm f/4-5,6 1/160 sec f/5 ISO 320

Colourful beech forest

© László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM 1/13 sec f/9 ISO 200

In Hungary perhaps beech forests are the most beautifully coloured woods in autumn. Autumn colours are not the same every year, it is affected by the amount of rainfall, temperature etc. Luck is also needed to find a really colourful beech forest as the process of colouring lasts for several weeks but the most beautiful colours can be seen only for a few days.

Here also the soft, almost shadowless lighting is the most suitable (cloudy weather or misty sunshine), although the periods before sunrise and after sunset are also good with their special colour effects. Depth of field is necessary for forest details so we have to use narrow aperture which results in longer exposure times at poorer lighting conditions so using a tripod is recommended. We need a windless period for taking such pictures.

Hoary blackberry leaf For photographers it is worth going out to the nature in the autumn, during the time of the first frosts to catch some frosty themes with special atmospheres.

These can be leaves, late flowers or cobwebs as well. In this picture the cold, deep greenness of the blackberry leaf makes a nice colour contrast with the background which is consisted of warm, yellow, autumnal leaves and its patchiness provides an excellent background for the main theme.

© László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM 1/20 sec f/8 ISO 400

Misty morning The picture was taken on the Bükk Plateau in a beautiful, misty and foggy morning. The fog settled in the hollow parts, the sun rose in front of us and flooded the land with golden light. I was with a group on a joint photo tour. The landscape was fantastic and fabulous.

© János Szekeres Nikon D2x, Nikkor 50-300 mm f/4.5 1/250 sec f /7.1 ISO 200

in a row The picture was taken in a rainy afternoon. When I went out to the field it was not raining. As I had set up the hide, it started to rain and did not stop all the afternoon. I like the rain, animals are calmer and the light is nicer and more balanced. I imagined where they should come to, where they would look nice in the landscape. While I was pondering about, these four rams appeared and just stood in front of me.

© János Szekeres Nikon D2x, Nikkor 600 mm f/4

1/180 sec f/6 ISO 400

Brook in the Mátra mountains If the autumn is more rainy than usual, the stream beds are filled with water so we could take more spectacular pictures. Particularly when the stream is surrounded by a nice and splendidly colourful forest detail. For these kinds of pictures contrasted light is more suitable than diffused light which would show the water surface unanimously grey, however, at contrasted light there is a risk of overexposure on the water surface. It is lucky if the deeper located water surface do not receive direct sunshine but the forest is illuminated.

Such situation is possible at a low position of the sun when the direction of sunshine significantly differs from the downstream. In this case the water takes up the blue colour of the sky and makes nice contrast with the dominating colours of the autumnal forest. It is important to find a position of plants and trees in the forest detail along the stream where they are nice and harmonious. It is worth playing with the size of the aperture and the exposure time as the extent of the blur of the water surface creates different atmospheres.

Autumn tree The different species of trees turn colourful at different times and their characteristic colours are also varied. With a little luck and choosing the right point of view we can take photos which boast many colours. The too strong, contrasted light is not suitable for taking such pictures, all the more the soft, dispersed light in cloudy weather or misty sunshine. If we put a polar filter up, it can make colours more saturated. © László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM 1/50 sec f/8 ISO 200

© László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 1/6 sec f/18 ISO 100

autumn I took this picture in a chestnut grove. Chestnuts were falling and games love searching for it, it is a real treat for them. I set up my hide tent here and waited for the events. The wind blew from the right direction, the most ideal for shooting. They were coming and going all the afternoon. I had the chance to present the nice autumnal landscape together with the deers. I was so moved by this pure autumnal atmosphere.

© János Szekeres Canon EOS D60, Tamron 28-200 mm 1/30 sec f/5.6 ISO 400

Sunrise in the Bodrogzug One of the favourite type of fogs of photographers is the thin layered fog, close to the ground through which the sun can shine and bushes, trees and other objects can stand out of it. The sunrise - or more rarely the dusk - offer an opportunity to take special, monochrome but not grey-shaded pictures. The reddish rising sun - if we look to its direction - dyes the fog teh shades of orange, red or pink of which we can take impressive photos.

© László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM 1/100 sec f/8 ISO 200

The sight can be immortalised in two ways which result in different picture atmospheres. From a suitable viewpoint we can look at the land from above and we can photograph compositions including wider and larger fields. We need a properly structured land, e.g. with trees or groups of trees. The other option is to take a picture from the ground level, in relatively thick fog with the rays of sun filtering in.

Fight

© János Szekeres Canon EOS D60, Nikkor 50-300 mm f/4.5 1/250 sec f /5.6 ISO 200

We were sitting at the edge of the forest in tent. The stags had been rutting in full swing but unfortunately it was so hot and they showed up late. We were waiting for a long time. The last rays of the sun scanned the field when these two nice stags emerged from the woods. Once they spotted each other started to fight immediately. The fight lasted for minutes.

I had time to wait for the nicest moment. The highstand in the background is symbolic, it suggests the atmosphere of hunting.

Roaring stag The picture was taken in a nice afternoon, at end of August. I was sitting in a hide tent at the edge of the forest when I heard a roar from the direction of a wallow.

I was wainting nervously. The stag was coming towards me, but the wind blew from him, I chose the right place for shooting. Once he just stepped out. The muddy water was still dripping from him when he raised his head and started to roar. It was a nice and moving moment.

I achieved the appropriate exposure by spot metering and I set the white balance on cloudy weather. © János Szekeres Nikon D1x, Nikkor 600 mm f/5.6 1/200 sec f/5.6 ISO 400

State of tension The picture was taken at a lucky time. I wanted to photograph deers, I was prepared for it. Unfortunately there was an alternating wind, that is the worst as such times it is impossible to set up the hide tent properly.

So nothing had shown up. I was about to give up but still waited a bit. It was worth it. From the right side this sow with its piglets emerged from the forest. Because of the bad wind they immediately nosed me so they stopped and sniffed. I managed to catch this moment.

Two trees with colourful clouds This picture of the two trees was taken in late autumn, after leaf falling when the structure of the trees become visible. Photographers cannot be prepared in advance for the atmosphere like this, except they discovered these nicely structured trees before and they are near their home.

We have to watch the weather and if nice clouds at dusk are expected - at cold weather front, and loosely structured - then the desired picture can be taken. In our climate conditions it is very rare that such amazingly coloured clouds develope. It is worth playing with the exposure time: usually we have to underexpose to make nice, saturated, deep colours appear. Often the clouds are not that time the nicest when the sun is still over the horizon but after sunset, for a few minutes.

Text and pictures: Árpád Krivánszky, László Suhayda, János Szekeres

© János Szekeres Nikon D1x, Nikkor 300 mm f/4 1/100 sec f/5.6 ISO 400

© László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM 2 sec f/8 ISO 400

Interesting places

Tuscany, for the landscape lovers Many people look up suddenly if the middle part of Italy, the „Tuscan landscape� is mentioned. Those who have seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun will never forget it. The movie was a great success (2004 - Golden Globe-nomination for the best comedy or musical actress: Diane Lane) and it is still popular. Many Americans arrive at this scenic landscape under the influence of the movie, the performance of Frances (Diane Lane) is brilliant as she could abandon herself to the feeling of happiness after lots of afflictions.

In my childhood, at the age of 14, I lived in Tuscany for two months. This first experience was so fascinating that I visit this region very often, I have been there at least fifteen times. Its atmosphere is unforgettable, it is the land of nature and culture characterised by wild mountains and geological formations, not to mention the thousands of years old culture and the fantastic small towns established in the 12th or13th century.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM

1/5 sec f/11 ISO 100

A glance at Tuscany If you want to visit Tuscany first you have to decide which part you are most interested in. Among Hungarians the most known route is Florence – San Gimignano –Pisa. The atmosphere of this wine-growing area can be really experienced in autumn, especially of San Gimignano and its region. In autumn the land is a riot of color and shows the fantastic shades

of red, yellow and brown. At dawn misty moods and impressions can be shot but to do this you have to get up much earlier than an average tourist, and you have to select the scene the previous day if possible. Pisa and Florence are the citadels of the Renaissance, one can absorb so varied and plentiful quantities of culture that it could last for a lifetime to tell about what we have seen. In case if we get in after hours of queuing... Do not think that peak season is only

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM 1/125 sec f/16 ISO 100

in August in Florence: people are flocking here from early spring to late autumn to see the Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery, the Ponte Vecchio, the Palazzo Vecchio, I could go on and on with the sights through pages. After admiring the magnificent and monumental Duomo we can start to analyze and contemplate on the works of the biggest renaissance painters, Botticelli, Leonardo, Raffaello. It is a food for thought how future-proof art is – even in the

21st century millions of people are amazed by the details and fine brush strokes of these centuries-old paintings. Photography is permitted only to a limited extent but by today’s high ISO range cameras we can take quite good photos, even with hand-held or cautiously held up cameras. I recommend the Gorillapod travel tripod for those who do not want blurred pictures but do not want to attract attention with a bigger tripod.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 16-35mm f/2,8 L USM

1/80 sec f/11 ISO 100

Tuscan landscape If you devote more time to Tuscany, you should not miss Siena. The lands between San Gimignano and Siena are cultivated, so you can photograph characteristic landscapes

which are unique in the world.

The story is simple: in the age of the Roman Empire wheat-growing areas and olive groves have been established here to feed millions of soldiers. Tuscan farmers were poor and many of their descendants are still in the

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM 1/60 sec f/11 ISO 100

traditional farming deal. They produce such a quantity that the cultivated lands has radically transformed the landscape, what modern people find beautiful. The centuries-old traditional farming survived almost intact the modernization, and as a result, many plant and animal species found home in this area.

In the spring poppies and white daisies bloom side by side, sometimes in cornfield-sized areas. In the hilly landscape the cypresstreelined roads leading up to farm buildings show an idyllic picture which are admired ornaments of a traveling photographer’s folder.

Canon EOS 7D, EF 400mm f/2,8 L IS USM +1.4x

1/6 sec f/11 ISO 100

Maremma National Park Maremma National Park is situated in South Tuscany, near Grosetto and bordered by the Tyrrhenian Sea. This marshland was first cultivated by the Romans, but remained almost intact and uncultivated from the

18th century. In 1975 a national park called Parco Naturale dell’Uccellina was established here for the protection of species of fauna and flora and to prevent the economic developments which would transform the sight of the region. Here you can photograph fallow deer and night herons without any hide tent, and the intact sandy coast is just amazing.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 300 mm f/2.8 L IS USM 1/10 sec f/11 ISO 100

You can ask for a guided tour from the national park center but at certain places you can stay and photograph without holding any permission, after you paid the entrance fee.

I left the most pleasant for the end – sitting by a glass of fiery Tuscan wine, you can ponder about the secret of this awesome land. In this

fast-paced, globalized world, you should allow yourself a little relaxation to travel to one of the most beautiful place on earth.

Text: Tamás Imre Pictures: Anikó Imre and Tamás Imre photographers

Planning Destination: Middle Italy, Firenze and its region.

Accessibility: from Firenze Airport by car.

What to shoot: landscape, castles, churches.

What to take with us: wide-angle lens 16-35 mm, 70-200 mm telephoto lens with 1,4x and 2x teleconverter if possible; tripod; ND graduated filter; memory card.

Accommodation: Plenty of hotels and villas are availabl for visitors around Firenze.

The best time to go: April-November

le

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM 1/15 sec f/11 ISO 200

Life underwater

OPTICAL TTL and NIKON D7000

I have fancied for some time to take a new camera under water which I could use for long-term as I bought my current camera back in 2007 and since then it has been my perfect partner during my dives.

Due to the technological novelties which permanently appear in photography usually better, higher resolution and quicker cameras are launched on the market. However, this development has slowed down in the recent years due to the regrettable earthquake which hit Japan and the floods which affected Nikon’s plants in Thailand. As a result up to present there has been no proper successor of Nikon D300. When my friend, Józsi Tóth, bought a Nikon D7000 camera with a Subal housing, I had an excellent opportunity for some testing. Although this camera is aimed at a lower category than D300 at its time but thanks to the developments of recent years even preliminary tests have proved to be a success. However, I missed one thing from my previous camera, the video function which could have been very useful in some situations. Although, I do not that I would join the video department in the future.

The other important and new feature (at least for me) was the optical flash trigger. After the digital revolution nor Nikon, neither Canon offered their new flash technology, iTTL and eTTL, for open source. This cause a serious problem for underwater photography in the first few years. Since the traditional flashes could only be used in manual mode, it was no problem as the right exposure could be checked on the LCD. But TTL flashes can be very useful if we use them in rapidly changing conditions.

Opinions are divided among professional underwater photographers whether manual or TTL flashes are better or more useful. I vote for the latter, in any event.

The other option is a TTL system flash with housing which is not an ideal solution and it does not make parallel usage of two flashes possible.

Bahama

Producers quickly realised the problem, for example IKELITE came out with its own solution for housing and made its DSflashes compatible with digital cameras.

The TTL problem still existed at producers such as SUBAL, SEACAM, SEA&SEA, AQUATICA, etc. For this problem HeinrichWeikamp’s iTTL and eTTL adapters offer a solution, as they can be built in any kind of housing, thus TTL option for several flashes has become available.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned these are not 100 percent solutions as they just tried to map factory coding by decryption. I call this method, according to my experiences, manual TTL as I had to adjust the flash to every situation in the hope of appropriate lighting. Its advantage that its operation recognisable and the photographer can still enjoy the freedom provided by TTL. A few years ago the optic cable solution appeared for compact cameras where the inner flash of the camera triggered the outer flash but its performance had to be controlled manually. Its advantage was that without any electronics it made outer light sources usable through a simple optical cable.

Soon housing accessories for DSLRs has been launched by a Taiwanese producer NAUTICAM, equipped with optical connection, anticipating the raison d’etre of this method for high-end cameras. Thus became the usage of factory TTL flash control available under water too with absolute freedom and it was named S-TTL. It is interesting that I was rather sceptical about this option, I did not believe that it would react quick enough and I thought that its control from the inner flash would be unstable and its inner battery would discharge too quickly. I was preparing for the test after such antecedents so for my two-weeks Sudan trip I packed up my old IKELITE flashes with normal synchronous cables just in case.

Bahama

Now let’s see what kind of system goes under the water: NIKON D7000, Subal housing, INONz-240 flashes, optical cable, ultralight arms. I do not want to deal with the camera too much as plenty of tests are available on the Internet, I just say that in my private opinion this camera is suitable for almost every kind of situation for any underwater photographer.

The housing produced by Austrian company SUBAL which has produced excellent quality products for underwater photography in the recent years, as this housing also proves it. Every button and function can be reached from “outside”, on the housing ergonomically designed so they can be managed even in gloves while looking through the viewfinder.

They all work perfectly including even some complicated solutions such as the opening and closing of the inner flash and the design of the liveview button. It is equipped with Sea&Sea optical flash (during usage the light of the inner flash gets out of the housing only through the optical cable) and normal Nikon V flash with 45-degree outer viewfinder.

In case we want to use an electronic flash synchronous cable, then we can use the flashes in manual mode.

The flashes come from Japan’s INON and have achieved serious recognition with their compact size and reliability among photographers.

The flash works with 4 pieces of AA sized battery and equipped with LED target light, optical and normal cables (in case of the latter only manual control is available). This serious performance out of this small size is just unbelievable. The flash is equipped with a 1” ball which perfectly fits to the usual arm system.

Every test starts at home when I set up the equipment and search for a proper test figure, with as many colours and high contrast differences as possible.

First exposure, I see that both flashes work, I open the aperture a bit, another expo and I look at the picture, it’s perfect, I go towards the other extreme f20 and it’s still flawless. I am a bit shocked at the result, both at the speed and the perfection. I start to shoot a series and do not stop until ten pictures, the result: all good. I am electrified by the opportunity but I say to myself, well, we will see how the system works under the water.

I choose my usual, favourite lens, TOKINA 10-17 for the first dive. For my first pictures, I start with the colourful soft corals which occur in enormous quantity in the Sudanese waters. Their advantage is that they are spectacular and the sun can be easily composed into the picture and, of course, they do not go away.

After a quick composition, sharpness and light metering is OK, I adjust 0.0 compensation to the flash and expose.

The result is perfect, I check the histogram and it is OK. It is not bad for a start, but let’s see some more complicated theme as if I was waiting for an error to appear since the system has held its own so far.

Mackerel flocks used to be a challenge for the electronics as the silvery fish can be easily overexposed. I set the position of the flashes, luckily the flock let me come close, I make a few exposures and withdraw a bit.

The result is perfect. I am only curious to see how it works at macro photography.

I choose a 105 micro lens for my night dive. The inbuilt LED of the flash is doing a good service, although its light a bit too concentrated but the diffuser which comes with it and the red cover can do a good service to approach timid beings.

Bahama

Bahama

I start with one of my favourite themes, the details of sleeping parrot fish as incredible colours and shapes can be discovered in the details. The system works perfectly again, I feel like I was shooting on the surface with a factory system flash, it just cannot make any errors. One of my concerns was that due to the the usage of the inner flash the battery of the camera can be overheated and discharge too soon. But after 901 pictures and three days of shooting the battery meter still shows 28 percent. It is also incredible that I could photograph 5 or 6 dives through with the AA batteries of the flash and it still did not discharge at the end of the day. During the two weeks never had happened any communication or overexposure problem.

There was a button which I surprisingly almost forget where was: the flash compensation. But to mention something negative - I have used high performance flashes the last few years SUBTRONIC NOVA, IKELITE DS161 and INON’s performance lagged behind these products. It causes a disadvantage that you have to position the flashes more precisely and in case of small aperture its usage is limited at wide-angle shootings.

But in average situations the flashes always provided a sufficient performance.

The ISO performance of today’s cameras is excellent so this little deficiency can be easily compensated.

At the end of a test like this the question always has to be raised: Do I want to use this system for long-term? The answer is definitely YES, both the performance and the size of the camera shell are an ideal choice for underwater photographers, the size of the flash is optimal and can be an advantage at flights. Not last, if I want a real TTL than the optical solution can be a key in the future.

Text and pictures: Dániel Selmeczi www.selmeczidaniel.com The products mentioned above can be purchased and advice is available at: www.fotosub.hu

editorial Editor in Chief : Tamás Imre Tamás Imre

Anikó Imre

János Szekeres

Béla Szabó

Árpád Krivánszky

László Suhayda

Adrien Imre

Iván Éder

tamas.imre@naturephotomagazine.com

Editors: Anikó Imre

Árpád Krivánszky

Béla Szabó

János Szekeres László Suhayda Associate Editors: Adrien Imre

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Dániel Selmeczi Iván Éder Martin Perhiniak Copy Editor:

Árpád Krivánszky Art Director: Anikó Imre Graphical Design: Martin Perhiniak Web Design:

FX designport Web Product: Thomas Picture Translators: Péter Pál Tóth Advertising: Anikó Imre aniko.imre@naturephotomagazine.com

Nature Photo Magazine www.naturephotomagazine.com info@naturephotomagazine.com Publisher: Thomas Picture Publisher Ltd. Address: Hungary

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