Nature Photo Magazine 2013/1

spring / 2013/1.

naturephoto magazine

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online photo magazine

XII. BOB | Photo and Video competition New mexico | Photo adventure Wildlife | Portfolio

travel | wildlife | landscape | people-culture | test

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2013.03.04. 17:20

Welcome Dear Reader, Here we are with our 2013/1 issue, and the spring is coming again.

Time passes very quickly, a lot has happened in the last three months and the last year. We have compiled a sampling for You out of these materials.

This is our fifteenth issue and the fourth year of the magazine. We are available in English under the title of Nature Photo Magazine for English-speaking readers too.

Photo: © Tamás Imre Canon EOS-1D X, EF600mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x III 1/500sec f/9 ISO 800

Have a taster from our new issue: We had an adventure tour in New Mexico, USA. There we encountered Sandhill cranes and Snow geese. You can familiarize yourself with this faraway land through the pictures of Anikó Imre and Tamás Imre.

Our professional contributors Árpád Krivánszky journalist and László Suhayda nature photographer wrote about the photography of spring themes, providing lots of support and ideas both for beginner and advanced photographers.

In our new column now we present the Full Frame DSLR cameras from the palettes of Canon and Nikon. Both companies launched three-three cameras of this segment in the passed year. We examined what they knew and what they were for.

The magazine’s portfolio column presents the introductory material and photos of the “Vadvilág” (Wildlife) Society of Hungarian Nature Photographers, inspiring the viewers of the pictures for the love and protection of nature.

We tested Canon EX 600 RT flashes and control system in the field: we fought with rain and mud and darkness in extreme circumstances. We can have an insight into the workshop secrets through the pictures and text of Tamás Imre fine art photographer.

Our „People-Cultures-Cities” series is continued by Pál Teravágimov.

This time we can read his article on Uganda, and our readers can watch not only high-quality pictures but videos as well for their more enjoyable entertainment.

Our „Life under the water” column is the first to give a report to the public on the National Underwater Photography Competition.

Three members of our editorial team were featured in the professional jury: Dániel Selmeczi chairman of the jury, Bence Máté professional nature photographer and Tamás Imre professional nature photographer. The final result speaks for itself.

Nature photographer János Szekeres involves his readers into the secrets of fox photography. He has been taking shots of the fox cubs which are going adults slowly for a year now.

We could test in the field Nikon’s newest professional lens, AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/4G ED VR. We took the lens with us for the Carnival of Venice and set it to work live.

Please receive our fifteenth issue now in IPAD, iPhone and ANDROID versions as well!

Tamás Imre Editor-in-Chief

Photo adventure - The paradise of the Sandhill Crane and the Snow Goo customer guide - Full Frame DSLR 20

photo school - spring themes

26

In our new column started in the last issue I introduce you to the world of full frame high sensitivity sensor cameras.

We have received plenty of emails recently with questions regarding the newly launched Nikon D600 and Canon 6D, asking whether it is worth switching to full frame sensor cameras.

As I have already mentioned in my previous article I would not run a super test this time, I’d rather provide an entirely subjective but professionally well-thought-out shopping guide for you.

Now photographers have had enough of the cold, the winter, the whiteness all over, although recently winters are not that really white here. Let the spring come! First it approaches timidly in March, then in the next month everything starts to bloom explosively, and in May nature switches to fortissimo and everything is overwhelmed by the amazing, rich green of revival. Nature calls you!

portfolio - wildlife

40

The Wildlife Society of Hungarian Nature Photographers (Vadvilág MTE) was established in September 2005 by the joint will of 18 nature-lover photographers, under the leadership of professional nature photographers Tamás Imre and Anikó Imre. The members of the association are mostly beginners or the talented students of professional nature photo courses who - after the successful completion of the course - are still motivated and committed to nature photography.

ose 6 tips and tricks - foxes

© Tamás Imre

58

people-cultures-cities - uganda

70

field test Canon EX 600 RT flash

and ST-E3 RT control AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm

f/4G ED VR

32 64

life underwater In May 2011 when I was sitting in front of a foxhole, I had an idea that how nice it could be to get the cubs into the habit of visiting the nearby glassed bird hide and photograph them there. The cubs rarely draw back to the burrow because it was full of fleas, so they rather sheltered under the nearby bushes.

I can start this travelogue by telling things happened either in the distant past or not too long time ago.

Perhaps it started sometime when I first saw the film titled Gorillas in the Mist which showed Dian Fossey’s struggle to save mountain gorillas. But if I do want to start the story from that far, then I have to recall Nature Photo Magazine’s 2011 journey to Kenya when I led a photo safari jointly with Tamás Imre and Anikó to the Maasai Mara and the Lake Nakuru.

12th NATIONAL DIVE

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM COMPETITION 2013.

86

Photo adventure New Mexico (USA)

The paradise of the Sandhill Crane and the Snow Goose The state of New Mexico in the USA is not a very wellknown photo scene, not too many European photographers heard about it. This desert region is extremely hot during the summer months, this may be the reason why it is less favoured by photographers. Through the following two-part series we invite our readers to the fantastic scenes of New Mexico. First we visited the nature reserve of Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM 1/100sec f/8 ISO 640

Several months of preparation and Branson Reynolds, a guide with very good local knowledge helped to realize our journey.

The reason why we went to this very place to photograph has a story of several years.

Cranes are very gracious birds to me, perhaps, the most beautiful ones. When I started to photograph them in Hungary, I decided that once I want to capture Sandhill cranes too. I found this place in the United States after a long research. I read a lot on the Internet and I always had my nose in bird migration atlases - if we travel that far, then we should be at one of the best places. During my research I managed to find out that the population of Sandhill cranes lives quite widely scattered within the area of Canada and the USA. Primarily they breed in swamps and in smaller hollows of the Northern Prairie too, however, when it comes to migration they feel themselves good in larger groups. Therefore, above all, we focused on finding their wintering places.

Sandhill cranes gather together in the largest numbers in the western plateaus of New Mexico and in the eastern part of Texas. We got in touch with our guide, Branson Reynolds after we made the final decision. Branson holds workshops for nature-lover photographers in the region and he has an in-depth knowledge of the behaviour of birds and the habitats of the region. Jointly with the art manager of Nature Photo Magazine we decided to take part in a tour led by Branson, so we would have nothing else to do just discover the area and select the most ideal photo scenes.

We flew to the USA and met our team at the arranged place: a Canadian, two English and three American photographers participated in the workshop. I was very glad to meet these enthusiastic photographers. Although we were put up at two different places, but at dawn we went to the photo scenes together. The main destination of our expedition was Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and its region.

We went to the visitor’s centre of the bird reserve where they count the actual number of wintering birds almost on a daily basis.

Canon EOS-1D X, EF600mm f/4L IS USM 1/1250 sec f/4 ISO 1600

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x III 1/60sec f/16 ISO 500

Canon EOS

S-1D X, EF600mm f/4L IS USM 1/4000sec f/5.6 ISO 640

To my greatest surprise 8,500 Sandhill cranes stayed in the area, but the number of Snow geese was also very high: about 35,000.

The number of birds which belong to the Anatidae family was 25,000. This altogether is a considerable amount of birds. I counted on the presence of Snow geese, that’s why we chose this reserve. As my another favourite photo theme is shooting geese, but I did not expect them in that high number.

After leaving the visitor’s center we explored the field and Branson showed us where the birds will move. We photographed through an evening flight, then we went for a dinner together. During the dinner Branson explained the photo opportunities and the technological secrets of bird photography, then after the dinner we said goodbye.

The next morning we met at 4.30. Well, that’s a bit early, I thought, but I was happy to get up as I knew that successful bird photography comes with early rising and late sleeping. It was good that I watched the weather forecast as they predicted -10C° by dawn. I could not believe it first as New Mexico is a desert and plateau area, but the forecast was true. We drove to that lake where we shot the evening flight and waited for the sunrise when the birds, about 70 thousands of them, take off their feeding places at the same time. The waiting was quite unpleasant, I thought that I froze to death when the morning wind bit into my face.

I have to mention here that hide tents or similar camouflages are not needed there as the birds accustomed to the sight of photographers.

Apart from us about twenty photographers were there from all over the world, but mostly Americans. Touching the cold metal surfaces of the lenses was almost painful, but we have to bear it as we are here now to concentrate on the flight off, because if the cranes set off, then all these enormous number of birds fly out in about a minute. At least an hour had gone when finally the dawn started to break.

Canon EOS-1D X, EF600mm f/4L IS USM 1/4000sec f/8 ISO 800

The sky started to become colourful, but around the place of the Snow geese there was not too much light.

They set off before you could blink.

It was a stunning experience to see, hear and photograph this amazing scene. Some groups flew above our heads so close that I almost felt the flapping of their wings. In about a minute the small lake where they spent the night was evacuated. Branson said us to hurry as the cranes would set off soon, but from another place.

There they can be photographed very well as they fly off one by one or two of them at the same time, and they are fairly close to the lakeside.

We got into the cars and started up.

Arriving at the viewpoint I could not believe my eyes, the cranes spent the night in a small, swampy area, incredibly close to the lakeside. I could almost look into the eyes of the cranes, they were within a distance of ten metres from me. As I watched the watersurface more carefully, I got very surprised as the birds were actually standing on a thin layer of ice. Some of them was waiting for the sun to warm them up a bit as they froze into the ice a little. Hundreds of cranes stayed at this place and nice and slowly all of them flow off their feeding areas by half past eight. Thanks to Branson we could take high-quality pictures of Snow geese and Sandhill cranes even on the first day. Anikรณ and I was very happy.

It was a great experience to photograph the wildlife of Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge so close.

We spent three beautiful days in these paradise. We dedicated our time only and exclusively to bird photography every day between 4 am and 7 pm.

In the next part of the New Mexico workshop we will guide you to the desert area of White Sands National Park.

To be continued.

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

Planning Destination: North America, New Mexico.

Accessibility: from Albaquerque Airport.

What to photograph: migrating birds, mammals and lands.

What to take with us: wide-angle lens, minimum 300 mm telephoto lens, but if we can afford, 400-500 mm lenses can be useful

too, w gradu as yo

Acco aroun hotel

The b from

with 1,4x and/or 2x teleconverter; tripod; ND uated filter; memory card and batteries as much ou can.

ommodation: nd Albaquerque you can choose from different ls according to your needs.

best time to go: October to March.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM 1/30 sec f/11 ISO 100

Customer guide Full frame DSLR cameras In our new column started in the last issue I introduce you to the world of full frame high sensitivity sensor cameras. We have received plenty of emails recently with questions regarding the newly launched Nikon D600 and Canon 6D, asking whether it is worth switching to full frame sensor cameras.

As I have already mentioned in my previous article I would not run a super test this time, I’d rather provide an entirely subjective but professionally well-thoughtout shopping guide for you. Full frame cameras of Nikon and Canon has been completely changed in the past year. These cameras were available for the editors of Nature Photo Magazine often for weeks of testing, thus I have sufficient experience to write my suggestions for a possible shopping. The present digital singlelens reflex (DSLR) cameras have been improved to an incredible degree compared to their predecessors.

The market has definitely orientated producers in the direction of higher resolution but full frame cameras.

Let’s have a look at Canon’s solution. In 2009, our editor team tested Canon EOS 5D Mark II with 36 x 24 mm CMOS sensor and bigger micro lenses. The resolution and size of the final pictures was 21.1 megapixel and these pictures could be huge sized, 5616 x 3744 pixel in JPEG or RAW formats. The latter could have even in 14-bit color depth and ISO 100-ISO 6400 sensitivity which brought a picture quality which had never been seen before. It sold like hot cakes, but the AF system of this camera was not really good. Then in 2012 altogether three full frame cameras was launched by Canon one after the other, first came the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Canon has worked a lot on the new cameras, such users requests were included which so far could have been found in the most professional EOS 1 series.

The resolution of the sensor had only minor changes 36×24 mm CMOS, 22,3 megapixel - thus the size of the pictures could be 5760×3840 pixel. However, the ISO sensitivity was increased fantastically, currently it is ISO 100-25600 and the 61 focus points AF system is completely equivalent to the professional EOS-1D X body.

The second camera was the long-awaited Canon EOS-1D X which came onto the market at the end of summer.

A long-awaited big gun appeared in the Canon portfolio with a resolution of 18.1 megapixel, its AF has a completely new 61 focus points system and offers hundreds of customizable options for photographers.

which one shall i choose?

The sensitivity of the camera is incredibly good, ISO 100-51200, which can be extended even up to ISO L: 50; H1: 102400; H2: 204800. And that’s not all: we can soup up our camera even up to a speed of 10-11 picture/second. The robust construction of the body makes it suitable for shooting in very extreme conditions as well.

The Canon EOS 6D body was the greatest surprise for the professional press, when it was announced no one expected it, and here you are, how good it is!

Let’s have a look at the data. They made customers happy with a full frame 20.2-megapixel sensor, a sturdy, lightweight construction, sensitivity to ISO 25 600 (ISO can be expanded to 102 400), 11 points autofocus, a position capture option as an addition (with GPS), Wi-Fi file transfer, remote control and Full-HD video make customers happy, and last but not least with excellent price/value ratio.

Let’s have a look at Nikon’s palette, 2012 was a crazy year here too. They also launched three full frame cameras. First Nikon flagship Nikon D4 was put on the market in February. This body is the successor of the legendary Nikon D3, but with higher resolution. It has a 16.2-megapixel sensor, FX format (full frame) CMOS which can achieve even 11 picture/second speed in FX format. It has a sensitivity of ISO 100–12 800 which can be expanded up to ISO 204 800 and ISO 50 equivalent.

This fantastic camera is the rival of Canon EOS-1D X. We did have to wait too long, exactly after two weeks Nikon’s another novelty Nikon D800 was in the shops. It represents a brand new category as there is no other camera body on the DSLR market which could produce such resolution. It is the king of high resolution with 36.3-megapixel FX-format (full frame) CMOS-sensor with outstanding signalnoise ratio, wide dynamic range and 12-channel data reader. It has an optical low-pass filter without anti-aliasing function. Actually two different types of cameras appeared on the market, Nikon D800 and Nikon D800E and everybody can choose the one suitable for him. Its ISO sensitivity is also quite good in spite of the high resolution, ISO 100–6400 which can be expanded up to ISO 25 600 and ISO 50 equivalent. Both D4 and D800 work with 51 autofocus points for the sake of razorsharp pictures.

And then, at the end of the summer Nikon came up with another new body to make ots customers happy, Nikon D600 which has not less but 24.3-megapixel, FX-format (full-frame) CMOS-sensor.

Its AF system is the high-sensitivity Multi-CAM 4800 which makes 39-point, fast operation possible.

The body’s sensitivity range is ISO 100–6400, but it can be expanded up to ISO 25 600 and ISO 50.

It has an interesting new function, the Time Lapse. It is an exciting and creative option, in which the camera makes exposures at predefined intervals and saves the captured images into a video file, so the events can be played back 24,000 to 36,000 times faster than the reality.

Which full frame DSLR do I need? – that is the question. Let’s see who uses it for what. Canon EOS 6D is the entrance to the full sensor DSLR cameras and is recommended primarily for travel, portrait, press, ambitious hobby, landscape and macro photography - the point is that the subject should not move too fast. Actually Nikon D600 is the same category, in similar price range.

The next category has a different meaning in both segments. Canon EOS 5D Mark III has received a fantastically redesigned AF system with excellent HDR options, even higher resolution and fantastic video function. Wedding, landscape photography, travel, nature action, press or studio photography are all OK for Canon’s new camera.

Nikon D800 is a different category, it is designed for slower themes, but with a resolution we have never seen before. 36-megapixel, oh my God, that is quite something! Landscape photography, travel, architecture and studio photography are its strengths - if you do not want to compromise, choose D800 E. Canon EOS-1D X is currently the king of DSLR cameras, it is excellently suitable for every theme, fast, precise and ruthlessly accurate. I think that professional photographers have never ever had such a good camera. Nikon D4 makes Nikon professionals’ heart thump and now it can produce the killer speed of 10-11 picture/second at 16-megapixel resolution.

This body has been designed primarily for action nature photography and sports photography.

We have a market condition in which no one will regret switching to a full sensor camera or start buying DSLR straight with this type. All the six cameras are excellent quality and have an incredibly good ISO sensitivity, which characterises full frame sensors, and thanks to that we can capture enchanting moments which are beyond our imagination.

It is also important to mention that Nikon DX or Canon EF-S lenses are not recommended to use for the full frame sensor cameras of Nikon and forbidden to use for the full frame sensor cameras of Canon.

If you are interested in any of our DSLR tests, please find them in our previous issues, we have written field tests of almost all of the bodies.

Have a good browsing in the price lists!

Text: Tamás Imre

Photo school spring themes

Now photographers have had enough of the cold, the winter, the whiteness all over, although recently winters are not that really white here. Let the spring come! First it approaches timidly in March, then in the next month everything starts to bloom explosively, and in May nature switches to fortissimo and everything is overwhelmed by the amazing, rich green of revival. Nature calls you!

Sometimes you do not have to go far, even your residential area offers several photo themes: a blooming branch of a fruit tree against the smiling blue sky is always nice.

Orchards and plough lands are just on the fringes of towns and villages. In hilly areas we can walk up and enjoy the sight of the patterns of cultivated fields, the rows of the sprouting crop or later the endless fields of rapeseeds from above. In the wild nature vegetation life kicks off on the southern hillsides first, and by the watersides the last.

The spectacular early spring flowers appear in the meadows and in the undergrowth of forests before trees come into leaf. This is the breeding season of several animals and bird species, those who have longer focallength lenses can photograph migratory birds coming from the south and resting here for a short time. Spring winds can make the work of floral photographers hard, but landscape photographers can enjoy the sight of the spectacular passing clouds.

In windless times the layers of the early morning fog and mist are amazing too.

article sponsor

© László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM 1/80 sec f/8 ISO 800

Solomon’s Seal

© Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D EF80-200mm f/2.8L 1/30 sec f/4 ISO 100

At the beginning of May Solomon’s Seal, a well-built flower bursts into bloom in the undergrowth of forests.

The chaoticness of the undergrowth can be eliminated by positioning and choosing a wide aperture. The little white bells shine nicely in backlight but make sure they are in the same sharpness field. The coming twilight has two beneficial result: the wind drops and the setting Sun illuminates the background less intensely. The reflector is also has a role.

Liverwort The early spring flowers are spectacular and their fresh colours make contrast with their still autumn-like environment. Such flower is the liverwort which is quite common in the southern lands of Hungary. The beauty can be captured in countless ways.

© László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF100mm f/2,8L Macro IS USM 1/200 sec f/5,6 ISO 320

I chose a solution in which the silhouette of a sharply shot flower in the foreground is repeated by a blurred flowerhead situated behind. If the light is too strong, you should use a diffuser and the shadowed parts should be illuminated by a reflector.

Pulsatilla fruits The sky-blue Pulsatilla is the beautiful flower of meadows, forest edges. It is a nice photo theme after blooming as well, as its fruits has an interesting structure. The nicest they are when they occur in a big mass in one place and nicely sparkle in the backlight, particularly in the reddish light of the setting Sun.

© Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D EF28-105mm f/3,5-4,5 1/20 sec f/16 ISO 100

Field of rapeseeds A blooming rapeseeds field is the most spectacular if we can have a view on it from a little above. Its colour is rather greenish-yellow but at high sun position it has a much nicer and warmer colour.

The soft, waving curves of hills, the passing clouds in the blue sky, the tracks of the agricultural machines and the trees enthroned on the hilltops complete the spectacle. © Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D EF28-105mm f/3,5-4,5 1/200 sec f/9 ISO 200

Twilight vision Scilla species like wet, riverside environments.

The photographer tries to capture it in an unusual way.

At sunset, if the sunlight is not too strong due to the mist, you can choose a viewpoint with the macro lense through which a halo is formed around the flower - the setting Sun. A lens with a rounded lamella or a fully open aperture is required (to avoid the sundisc being angular) and sharpness should be set correctly and - due to the backlight - a reflector is needed to illuminate the flower.

Migrating clouds The sight of white clouds passing the blue sky makes the land beautiful. At that times, it is always worth taking photos in black and white with orange or red filter as well. With digital cameras - especially if shot in RAW - black and white photos can be produced subsequently too (with RAW editor or other photo processing softwares, e.g. by the channel mixer function). In these cases the proportion of the sky can be two-third or even more. The duality of the intense contrast and the fine shades well compensates for the “lost” colours. In case of grayscale images extreme care must be taken to the nice and finely balanced composition.

© László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF100mm f/2,8L Macro IS USM 1/160 sec f/4 ISO 640

Desert forms The warm spring sunshine melts the snow and the water absorbs into the soil and the “Lent winds” dry off the surface of the ground. The rising wind picks up the upper layer of the loose, sandy soil and puts it down at another place making a tiny desert with its characteristic formation. It should be photographed in flat lighting to ensure that the play of light and shadow is fully effective.

© Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D EF28-105mm f/3,5-4,5 1/125 sec f/11 ISO 100

The picture is nicer in the warm colours of dawn or dusk. If the pattern has some interesting part, then it should be positioned in any of the trisection points.

If you do not find any, then close the picture with a stripe of the horizon from above. If the wind still blows sand, take care of your equipment! © László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF28-300 mm f/3,5-5,6 L IS USM 1/1125 sec f/14 ISO 800

Orange Tip This nice butterfly is resting with closed wings on the top of a sprout in cloudy weather. In such cases it is much easier to show the patterns of the wing the way it sharp everywhere, however, due to the chaoticness of the background we must work with a relatively wide aperture. © Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D EF80-200mm f/2.8L 1/160 sec f/4 ISO 250

The reflector should be tilted in a way that the butterfly receives enough light but the background is not illuminated too intensely. In these cases there is time to think over the composition.

Ant Besides butterflies and flies ants are also among the first visitors of early spring flowers. The love to visit flowers producing pollen and nectar of which colour and shape are equally exciting.

© László Suhayda Canon EOS 5D Mark II MP-E 65mm f/2,8 1-5x Macro Photo 1/200 sec f/13 ISO 100

Most of the are very tiny sized, so a macro lens (maybe with and extension tube), or a magnifying lense is needed. The reward of the photographer and the viewer is an insight into a world not visible to the naked eye.

Early Marsh Orchid Early Marsh Orchid is the nice flower of soggy fields in mid-May. The pattern of its petals is very nice, although the cylindrical flowerhead is not really spectacular on its own. We should find two, different height flowers close to each other and position in a way they are in the same sharpness field. The camera should be placed low n a way the lower parts of the stems covered by the grass and burred. Make sure that in intense light the lighter tops of sprouts are not be overexposed, so use aperture moderately to achieve a nice background.

Text and pictures: Árpád Krivánszky, László Suhayda

© Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 30D EF80-200mm f/2.8L 1/500 sec f/5,6 ISO 400

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF 200mm f/2L IS USM

1/200 sec f/10 ISO 800

Field test

Canon EX 600 RT flash and ST-E3 RT control I could take Canon EX 600 RT radio controlled flashes and the ST-E3 Rt control unit into my hands thanks to Canon Hungária, and I could also buy one set for myself in the Canon Pro shop of Camera Kft (Canon service). We collected everything just in time, thus we could start the testing with two control units and four flashes.

Before I give a report on the field work, let’s see what technological novelties characterize Canon’s cutting-edge radio flashes.

Canon EOS-1D X, EF 200mm f/2L IS USM

1/200 sec f/11 ISO 400

Novelties Canon Speedlite EX 600 RT really offers the freedom of flash photography. The new flash is often mentioned as the successor of Speedlite 580EX II, but that’s not completely true. The biggest innovation of the system is that it is Canon’s first wireless radio controlled flash unit. It is recommended to purchase the also new Speedlite ST-E3-RT transmitter which provides further opportunities and great freedom for nature photographers and photographers who want to use creative lighting techniques.

In fact the point of the flash is that it can perceive the signals of the transmitter (ST-E3) even from distance of 30 metres, which can be freely controlled from the camera, so it is suitable for hide photography and outdoor photography where the parts of the system can perceive each other even in sunshine as they are radio controlled.

The performance has been enhanced up to 60 key number (at ISO 100-200 setting), and the focal-length was expanded for 200 mm lenses as well, so distant subject could be illuminated creatively. If you turn down the diffuser of the flash it can illuminate the angular diameter of even a 14 mm focallength, extra wide-angle lens. The catch-light is very useful, although it is rarely used in nature photography. In this case the tilted flash-head gives a more favourable, nicer light from a reflecting surface (it can be a reflector as well).

This is the first time we receive a new filter adapter for the play of the white balance.

It give great freedom as we can use it for the further balance of the flashed subject or the background light or just to the contrary.

We have also received two gel filter for the flash as an accessory with which we can play with the colour temperature of the flash.

If necessary, use these tools to balance the artificial light of the traditional incandescent or mercury vapour lamp.

Weather-proofness Speedlite 600EX-RT and Speedlite ST-E3RT transmitter was particularly designed for professional nature photographers, with the same robust and weatherproof structure of EOS1D X camera. Either placed into the hotshoe or controlled externally coldness, heat or humidity cannot damage the device as the design of the seals make it suitable for photography extreme conditions.

Superb: that’s what they write about every professional equipment and that is true. The average user might not be able to exploit these opportunities but those who like pushing the boundaries can do it as there are places where we can take advantage of these extra facilities.

Such places are rain forests which can be characterized by high humidity.

Synchronization of the flash system The synchronization of Canon EX 600 RT and Speedlite ST-E3-RT control system works as follows. First you have to switch on the ST-E3-RT control unit mounted on the camera which instantly gets into master mode. Here you have to select in the menu through which channel we want to communicate with the flash, then you should set the slave mode on the flash and set the same channel, let’s say channel 2. Once this is done on both devices, look for the led labelled “link” which will be green when the two devices found each other.

From this point everything goes quite smoothly, the rest of the flashes should be connected the same way, there can be a, b, c, d, e groups and the performance of each of them can be set individually and at system level as well.

These can be Manual, ETTL, ext.A, thus each flash can be controlled separately, according to the requirements. Special features of the system: If there is already someone on the same channel, your controller link led switches to orange indicating that it is already in use. In this case you can add a unique ID, which can be set to 0000 by default, but there are millions of variants. The system is completely customizable with the photographer, so the “cross shootings” with other photographers on the same site are excluded.

Bahama

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF 200mm f/2L IS USM

1/200 sec f/7.1 ISO 640

Canon EOS-1D X, EF 200mm f/2L IS USM

1/200 sec f/11 ISO 400

Costa Rica rain forest I tested Canon EX 600 RT flashes and controls in different extreme conditions, not caring about the rain, mud and high humidity. May it sound a bit rough, but it was my goal to establish such conditions in which flashes has not been used so far.

First we photographed colibris in the hidden rain forests of Costa Rica. In that case I used the flashes primarily for illumination with TTL and Manual settings. The radio control worked perfectly even in sunlight and there was no error in the recharge.

However, I missed an important setting in the ST-E3-RT controller: unfortunately high speed, that is fast flash sync control is not possible. But the Canon EX 600 RT as master controller mounted on the camera body could control the other flashes without any problems in fast flash synchrone.

The test shots were taken at. 25-30 C° and at 90 % humidity. The second trial was more difficult, we shot fruit-eater bats at night. Well, it was a real challenge, the temperature was about 10 ° C degrees, and full of darkness and torrential rain on us. I used three Canon EX 600 RT flashes, plus the control unit. I set two flashes on the front lights manually, and one for the background, in order to avoid the background to be completely black behind the bats.

I was standing under a small shanty, protected from the rain, but the flash units out there in the rainforest, and they were doing their job at high humidity and among flying bats. The point is that these nocturnal animals flew for the nectar which was placed out for the hummingbirds. I had not to walk to the flashes at all to set them, I did everything by the control unit, they communicate with each other for several hours without any error.

summary Canon extended far forward compared to other producers’ flash systems with this radio controlled technology. All accessories have been added, I did not miss anything. I can recommend it to everyone who can afford it. Unfortunately the system is not compatible with the old Canon EX flashes due to the radio control system.

Tester: Tamás Imre

Wildlife Society of Hungarian Nature Phot

The Wildlife Society of Hungarian Nature

protection of nature’s values, encourage love

Photographers (Vadvilág MTE) was established in

for nature and environmental awareness

September 2005 by the joint will of 18 nature-lover

by capturing and presenting the hidden

photographers, under the leadership of professional

values and dramatic moments of nature.

nature photographers Tamás Imre and Anikó Imre.

We provide an opportunity and support for members

The members of the association are mostly beginners

to deepen their technological knowledge of

or the talented students of professional nature

photography, and help their development through

photo courses who - after the successful completion

the presentations of renowned nature photographers

of the course - are still motivated and committed

and by the evaluation of their own pictures, bearing

to nature photography. Within the framework of

in mind the development of artistic creativity as well.

Vadvilág MTE, besides supporting and inspiring

At the end of each year, within the framework of

each other, members try to show the unique beauty

a high-quality domestic competition a renowned

and vulnerability of nature (animals and plants) to

professional jury selects the best artworks which

the general public primarily through their pictures

are to be entered for next year’s competition

and by projections, exhibitions and publications.

announced by the National Federation of

The aim of the association is to foster the

Hungarian Art Photographers (MAFOSZ) in

Portfolio

tographers

Ágnes Appfel - Breakfast

which they regularly achieve nice results.

international levels. Among the members of

We believe it is important to measure and show

our association there are several photographers

the photos made by our members not only at

recognized by FIAP, with different degrees

national but at international level as well, therefore

in Fine Art Photography who - through

we take part in the FIAP (International Federation

their successes - provide further inspiration

of Photographic Art) World Cup competition in

for the members of our association.

which we achieve better and better results year

The achieved results inspire us to continue our

by year. For many years FIAP considers us to be

journey towards an even nicer and more aesthetic,

the most successful Hungarian creative group.

“artistic nature photography” to show the our world

In 2010 we applied for membership in FIAP’s

and our environment to a wider public in a way

organisation for international photo clubs (ILFIAP);

we see it. And if our pictures also inspire viewers

among Hungarian photo clubs, Vadvilág MTE

for the respect and love of nature, we can really

is the first to be proud of this membership.

consider ourselves as “fine art photographers”.

The members of our society have achieved nice results not only as a group but in individual competitions as well, at both national and

www.vadvilag.hu

Egon Berecz - Morning walk

Lรกszlรณ Deim - Where am I?

Bányász Gábor - Deer

Ádám Horváth -Face to face

Rita Szilveszter - Star int he ring

Anikรณ Imre - Look at me!

Zoltรกn Laki - Carriers

Jรณzsef Hartmann - Spot light

Lรกszlรณ Suhayd

da - Frostwork

Erika Benkő - Proudly

Ákos Molnár - E

Earth and sky

Hajnalka Probst - Diagonal

Péter Katon

na - Mayfly

Adrienn Kovรกcs - Frozen

Judit Bรกnszki - Glory

Attila Spisรกk -Lambs

Zsuzsanna Jaszenรกk - Dropwave

Tamรกs Imre - R

Raptor backlight

Ildikรณ Szupkay - Symbiosis

Adrienn Barรกth - Mushroom family

Zsolt Darázs - Friends

Péter Tellér - Waterfall

Tips and tricks foxes

In May 2011 when I was sitting in front of a foxhole, I had an idea that how nice it could be to get the cubs into the habit of visiting the nearby glassed bird hide and photograph them there.

The cubs rarely draw back to the burrow because it was full of fleas, so they rather sheltered under the nearby bushes. The decision was followed by action. I took meat regularly to the hide and placed it about eight or ten meters in front of it. There was not any result in the first month, although I put their portion down near the hide every single day. My photographer friends tried to talk me out of the thing saying that it would not come to anything, but I was persistent.

© Tamás Imre Canon EOS-1D X, EF400mm f/2.8L IS USM 1/800 sec f/3.5 ISO 1600

Then the meat disappeared by every morning! I thought that wild boars had ate it up as I often saw their traces in front of the hide or perhaps stray dogs found the free food. I was pondering what to do, whether I should finish the action and give it up, but I’m not a man of this stamp. I give them another month, I thought, and if I would not see them, I’ll give it up!

I kept placing out the meat regularly but I always ensured to put only a little, so their natural hunting instinct could remain the same. The butchers blamed me jokingly saying that I took away the fine bites from the pensioners as I often bought up the giblets of chicken in smaller or larger portions every week.

Towards the end of the second month the ice had broken and the fruit of my hard work had ripened. One of my photographer friend who was sitting in the hide rang me up and said that the foxes appeared late in the afternoon and comfortably ate the lure meat up! Four of them at the same time! From that time on I sat in the hide almost every day and wait for them. They turned up nearly every time in late afternoon.

They became braver and braver, I could even talk to them from the hide.

They listened with interest and familiarized themselves with my voice.

I decided at the beginning that I would not want them to tame and feed from my hands. I rather wanted them keep their natural wildness and independence but I wanted to photograph them comfortably as well. I read several stories about the tragedy of tamed animals, they always ended up with their death, and I did not wish it to my foxes.

Luckily I had a good relationship with the hunters, they promised me not to shoot them, so perhaps we could admire them for a while.

NIKON D2X, 300.0 mm f/2.8 1/350 sec f/7.1 ISO 400

NIKON D3, 500.0 mm f/4.5 1/250 sec f/7.1 ISO 3200

NIKON D2X, 300.0 mm f/2.8 1/125 sec f/8 ISO 400

NIKON D3, 300.0 mm f/2.8 1/80 sec f/5.6 ISO 2500

NIKON D3, 300.0 mm f/2.8 1/80 sec f/7.1 ISO 2500

I wanted to take pictures in the morning light as well, so I put out the meat a bit earlier every day and I achieved that they came out in the morning too.

This action required a lot of time and regularity from me. I have not been on holiday or away for a longer period for two years now. Consider this if you want to start such an action.

What’s next? I don’t know yet.

My short-term aim was to take nice winter photos of these animals.

We will see how it develops!

Text and pictures: János Szekeres

Field test

AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/4G ED VR Nikon launched this lens back in October 2012.

Many users were happy as this is the first Nikkor 70-200 mm telephoto lens which has f/4 light intensity to the end, even more the new VR technology is also included. The day of truth has come, we can take this excellent lens into our hands. What could be a better scene to test than the Carnival of Venice in Italy?

Nikon D600, AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/4G ED VR 1/100sec f/3.5 ISO 2000

Nikon D600, AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/4G ED VR

1/250sec f/6.5 ISO 400

Technological characteristics This professional quality but lightweight tele zoom lens became the next member of the family of Nikon’s f/4 constant light intensity lenses. With this step Nikon’s palette of lenses has been extended by a completely new category. So far amateurs had to choose 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6G AF-S VR NIKKOR lens and if they wanted more, they had no other option than the 70-200 mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR NIKKOR telephoto lens which was specifically intended for professional users. The price of the latter is three times higher, thus ambitious amateurs or travelling press photographers and portrait photographers often had to carry the “big brother” and struggle with a heavy equipment, in case they could afford it. Now time has come and at last an excellently performing 70-200 mm f/4 lens is out in the market and it is much smaller and much lighter than the f/2,8 version.

The stabilizer system has also been enhanced. This is the first NIKKOR lens which includes Nikon’s new generation vibration reduction (VR) function, so it is able to perform shutter compensation even up to 5 light value.

The high-quality Nikon lens combined with its enhanced vibration reduction is an excellent choice both for professional and amateur photographers.

This technology which offers two VR modes can be applied well in the photography of different themes and situations. The normal mode is suitable for the two-way stabilization of everyday hand-held photography, the active mode can be exploited either for shooting from a moving vehicle or fastmoving sports photography (panning).

If you look into the viewfinder in VR mode both modes offer a stable image by which focusing and composition becomes much more comfortable and exact. The performance of the lighter lens remains intact. moreover, it has an extremely high resolution.

Although it does not come with the basic version In terms of its structure it contains 20 lens elements in 14 groups, and Nikon’s nanocrystalline coating takes care of the compensation of flare and ghosting.

Although the standard equipment does not include but we recommend you to buy the RT-1 tripod collar ring. It is a very useful accessory that improves the stability of the tripod and offers a fast and smooth transition between vertical and horizontal orientation in case we photograph in portrait or landscape format.

The test I received an FX format Nikon D600 camera and the new lens for the test conducted at the Carnival of Venice in Italy. The two devices fit in a small case which made photography much easier.

Since the amount of weight to be carried by photographers in the course of multiple days of shooting does matter.

AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/4G ED VR passed the test very well, I even did not notice that I had the lens on me.

This is a perfect combination of camera body and lens. During the four days I had the opportunity to shoot with different aperture settings and I had the following results. At f/4 aperture the lens performed well and the pictures became sharp enough, at f/5,6 the photos were of excellent quality and the background was sufficiently blurred. To be honest I shot at the maximum of f/8 aperture as it was required by the scenes of the carnival.

The autofocus did its job very quickly and almost flawlessly, all of my pictures were sharp. The new VR technology helped a lot in focusing: in the alleys with late afternoon lights I often had to use ISO 800, ISO 1600 sensitivity, and the vibration reduction (VR) function came in handy.

Summary The Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/4G ED VR lens is a professional f/4 telephoto lens of outstanding performance. The light weight and the price of about EUR 1,200 makes professionalism accessible in this segment. We recommend it to everyone who can afford it, to make your dreams come true.

We would like to say thank you to Nikon Ltd for the long test opportunity.

Tester: Tamás Imre

Nikon D600, AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/4G ED VR

1/250 s

sec f/5 ISO 400

Bahama

People-cultures-cities

A trip to the Land of Mountain Gorillas

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

1/800 sec f/4 ISO 400

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

1/400 sec f/7.1 ISO 400

The itinerary I can start this travelogue by telling things happened either in the distant past or not too long time ago. Perhaps it started sometime when I first saw the film titled Gorillas in the Mist which showed Dian Fossey’s struggle to save mountain gorillas. But if I do want to start the story from that far, then I have to recall Nature Photo Magazine’s 2011 journey to Kenya when I led a photo safari jointly with Tamás Imre and Anikó to the Maasai Mara and the Lake Nakuru. We made up the itinerary of our October 2012 trip based on these two experiences. These latter scenes of Kenya have already been presented in detail in the former issues of the Nature Photo Magazine,

thus now I want to focus on our adventures in Uganda, however, I will also touch upon Kenya briefly.

The plan was as follows: Starting out of Nairobi first we visit Maasai Mara again, then we touch Lake Naivasha and drive to Lake Nakuru. From there we turn towards Uganda and after several stops we get to the southwestern corner of the country, the Lake Bunyonyi, close to the border with Rwanda and Congo. Then we continue our journey to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where the mountain gorillas are waiting for us. It sounds very simply in writing but, of course, the African reality always makes travellers life a little harder.

The well-tried Kenya Basically, things are going on relatively predictably in Kenya. It is almost a clichĂŠ but true that during the time of the big gnu migration, in between August and October, Maasai Mara is perhaps the best and most interesting national park of Africa.

The highlight of any safari, an encounter with the big cats is practically guaranteed. Luckily, we had a special experience at this time too, the sight of a leopard at the top of a tree playing with its prey, a carcass of an antelope. Based on the experiences of the previous year we spent more time for sailing around the island in the Lake Naivasha to watch African Fish

Eagle. Thanks to this decision, it was one of the highlights of our trip. However, I was a bit disappointed in Lake Nakura. Since the time of our last year visit the water level of the lake has risen by several metres. It makes traffic in the national park difficult as most of the roads around the lake are covered by water, so some places are just not accessible. In addition, a more serious problem that the risen water level eliminated the shallow and sandy coastlines, the usual habitat of flamingos. As a result, a significant number of flamingos, which used to live here in mass of millions, has left the lake and moved to Lake Bogoria which offers more favourable life circumstances for them. Sadly, we could not visit that place. Maybe next time!

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

1/320 sec f/9 ISO 100

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

1/250 sec f/4.5 ISO 400

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

III, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

Uganda: adventures at every step The traffic, which was not that simple as it was in Kenya, left its mark a little on the Ugandian part of the trip, particularly in the south-western part of the country where we spent most of out time. There is no real problem around the capital, Kampala, but going towards the west roads are worse and worse and the traffic is more and more chaotic. Our bad feelings started when - still in Kampala - a stone shot by a lawn mower smashed the window of our minibus with a massive bang right next to the head of my travel mate. Luckily, there was no bigger trouble, the concerned guy was peacefully having a nap when the incident happened, so he was the only one who did not get frightened.

During our travel from Kampala to the Lake Bunyonyi long sections of road under construction followed through which we could struggle only at a snail’s pace. Finally, around Lake Bunyonyi and Bwindi Forest asphalted roads completely disappeared and the constant rains made the dirt roads almost impassable at some points. We got stuck in the mud several times and we could only continue our journey thanks to the helpfulness of local people. Once the local boys lifted our car out of the mud enthusiastically, but there was an occasion when even that did not help.

1/200 sec f/5.6 ISO 200

At one place we got into a hopeless situation from which our progress seemed completely impossible due to the stuck-in-mud trucks and vans. To lift the mood even higher the night was beginning to fall and this forecast a rather unpleasant night in the wilderness, supplemented by the fierce attacks of hungry mosquitoes. Luckily a jeep and a dozen of local youth, seemingly specialized in saving troubled travellers, could somehow drag one of our buses through the swamp along the blockedup road, so half of our group could continue the journey in the African night. However, nothing could help our other car, thus we forced to leave it behind and crammed into a jeep which could get through the obstacles and we reached our hotel for the night. The lost car was taken to us the next day by one of our driver with a huge detour. Despite all these difficulties we could realize our most important plans, the visit to Lake Bunyonyi and the encounter with the mountain gorillas.

The Lake Bunyonyi irregular shape, at a height of nearly twothousand metres situated between carefully cultivated mountainsides. Its area is about 61 km² and it is said to reach a maximum depth of 900 metres. If that is true, then it is the second deepest lake of Africa. Another specialty that the lake is free of bilharzia and neither crocodiles, nor hippos live in it, thus it is one of the few lakes in EastAfrica in which you can swim safely. After the long and tiring day I could not resist to the temptation of the inviting stretch of water and I can state, as I am still alive, that swimming in the lake is really harmless.

Besides having seen the beauties of nature we had a plan to get to know the life of the local tribe of Batwa-pygmies. Batwa people have been living in peace with nature for centuries or even for thousands of years in the area of today’s Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. They lived as hunters-gatherers in the one-time endless forests. They did not cultivate lands, thus the concept of ownership of land was unknown to them.

This became the ruin of them. In 1992, when Uganda - to protect the habitat of mountain gorillas - established the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the area where Batwas lived their nomad gathering life and they were expelled form the forests.

The have never received any compensation as they acknowledged that the forest was not their property.

How could they say anything else as the concept of ownership was practically unknown to them? Thousands of Batwas were expelled from the forest overnight, no one cared about from what and how would they make their living afterwards. Since that time Batwas are the poorest people of Uganda. Most of them works as a daylabourer on other people’s land to secure the daily bread for their families. Another source of income for them to receive visitors like us and show their customs and dances.

Sailing between the small islands of Lake Bunyonyi we visited one of their villages where we could have an insight into the life of these people of tragic history.

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

1/800 sec f/5 ISO 400

1/60 sec f/4 ISO 640

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

1/500 sec f/5.6 ISO 200

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

1/500 sec f/4 ISO 1600

Canon EOS-1 1/200 sec f/4

1Ds Mark III, EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM 4 ISO 1600

Bwindi, the land of mountain gorillas The most important aim of the trip was to find some species of the mountain gorillas, one of the most endangered animals of the Earth. After careful preparation we realized that would have the best chance to find them in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. There live about half of the 700 mountain gorillas of the world, about 340 of them.

These numbers really mean the whole population of gorillas today. We cannot talk about mountain gorillas living wild and in captivity, since, as far as we know, mountain gorillas are not able to survive in captivity, we do not know about any specimen living in captivity. All of the gorillas in the zoos are lowland gorillas which belong to a less endangered species. There was another point in favour of visiting Bwindi - its area is only 331 km², while the other big habitat of mountain gorillas, the Virunga National Park in Congo has an area of 7800 km², so there a little less number of gorillas lives in a twenty times bigger area. Of course, it is not easy to find them even in Bwindi but the employees of the national park try their best to avoid visitors’ disappointment.

It is easy to guess by the official name of the national park (Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park) that there are no roads in the forest, only narrow paths, sometimes almost unnoticeable.

Thus the encounter with the mountain gorillas takes place in the framework of a hiking tour. Before the start of the tour rangers give a detailed briefing in the forest, particularly about the proper behaviour in the nearness of the gorillas.

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

1/400

The most important rule is that no one who feels ill even a little cannot take part in the tour. The precaution is for the sake of gorillas not the tourists as the species is so endangered that the smallest infection or epidemic could be fatal. The rangers take a tourist group of eight every day to visit one of the gorilla families which is accustomed to the presence of visitors. Since mountain gorillas wander only a few miles a day, we have to look for them around the place where the rangers saw the particular family on the previous day. This way, there is a good chance to find them after a shorter or longer walk. There can be a problem at the times of heavy rains (and it can happen on any day of the year as we are near the equator), when the forest becomes almost impassable. We were lucky as we had an ideal weather, so in beautiful sunshine, after about twohour walk we got to one of the families.

The encounter with these beautiful, peaceful creatures is an uplifting experience. Perhaps, it makes it more special that these rare animals can be seen face to face, only from a distance of a few metres and not from a car. Contrary to popular belief, the mountain gorilla is completely harmless to humans, it is a peaceful, herbivorous animal. In order to secure an undisturbed living condition for them, the duration of visits is extremely tight, tourists can disturb the life of gorillas only for an hour per day.

However, this single hour proved to be unforgettable. There is no difficulty, obstacle, tiring adventure which could not became insignificant at that moment when the old, silvery-backed male of the gorilla family welcomed us banging on his chest showing that there in the woods he was still the boss.

Text, pictures and videos: Pรกl Teravรกgimov

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM 1/250 sec f/5 ISO 800

Can EF 1 1/2

sec f/5 ISO 400

non EOS-1Ds Mark III, 17-40mm f/4L USM 250 sec f/9 ISO 800

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM 1/320 sec f/5 ISO 400

Life underwater

12th NATIONAL DIVE PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM COMPETITION 2013..

Best of Show Lรกszlรณ Elล d

wide angle photos 1. Lรกszlรณ Elล d

wide angle photos

2. László Előd

4. Attila Bálint

6. Levente Rózsahegyi

3. Csaba Tökölyi

8. Ákos Kovács

5. Tamรกs Varga

7. Attila Bรกlint

10. Csaba Tรถkรถlyi

9. Attila Bรกlint

Fish photography

1. László Előd

2. László Előd

5. András Pohl

6. Csaba Tökölyi

7. Mária Násfayné Kőházi

8. Tamás Szabó

9. Levente Rózsahegyi

… and the other eye is smiling

3. Mária Násfayné Kőházi

4. Attila Bálint

Ranking based on accumulated points: 1. László Előd 198 pont 2. Mária Násfayné Kőházi 136 pont 3. Éva Némethné Mánfai 55 pont 4. Miklós Németh 42 pont 5. Viktor Horváth 34 pont 6. Attila Bálint

30 pont

This photo competition has a great tradition and has been held every five years since 1972 and recently every second year. The title of the competition is not an accident as the organizer is the Hungarian Diving Association - jointly with the Marine Salt Foundation - and they consider underwater photography and filming as a kind of technological sport in the form of “shoot out” competitions on the open seas. (Hungarian underwater photographers, Tibor Dombóvári and Zsolt Gulyás has won three silver medals in former world championships). The main theme of the pictures is the underwater wildlife (both marine and freshwater), therefore these national competitions can be regarded as a sort of nature photography competition as well, apart from the fact that divers can also be seen in these pictures. According to this, the jury consists of renowned underwater and nature photographers and press photographers as well. www.buvarfotosob.hu Although the number of divers, who do underwater photography as a hobby, is increasing - thanks to the digital cameras which are more and more accessible - you should not expect it being a popular sport in our landlocked country, Hungary. The number of participants hit the record in the 2011 competition with 44 contenders and 616 pictures. Unfortunately, less photographers participated in this year’s competition, 37 contenders with 409 photos, although it is also true that the number of pictures was limited to five per category. Another reason why “one of our eyes is crying” is that numerous, award-winning photographers did not apply (e.g. József Tóth, József Kreicz, Károly Szabó, Péter Erdei, László Maráczi) and, in addition, some of the talented, aspiring photographers (e.g. Attila Bálint, István Válóczy and András Pohl with a DSLR) performed weaker than expected. But “the other eye is smiling” as the name of a dozen of new male and five female underwater photographers were also can be found on the list of applicants. And the main reason for smiling is the quality of the pictures which proves that a high-quality competition took place in the five photographers category. The victory of Tamás Szabó was no surprise in the compact camera category and other favourites, András Pohl and Ferenc Őrsi were placed second and third. Róbert Gurisatti’s debut, who was placed sixth, was a joyful surprise, as he is among the few photographers who try to make competitive pictures in the waters of Hungary. The results of the temperate and cold climate category have shown this time again that the sea is not everything, one can perform successfully with freshwater photos even in his or her native country.

Macro photos 1. Éva Némethné Mánfai

Macro photos

2. Miklós Németh

3. Mária Násfayné Kőházi

4. Zoltán Galbovy

5. Miklós Németh

6. Andrรกs Pohl

7. Lรกszlรณ Elล d

Temperate or cold climate zone photos 1. Mária Násfayné Kőházi

Temperate or cold climate zone photos

2. Mária Násfayné Kőházi

4. Viktor Horváth

3. Viktor Horváth

5. László Előd

7. László Előd

8. Mária Násfayné Kőházi

9. Csaba Tökölyi

6. László Előd

10. László Előd

Compact camera photography 1. Tamรกs Szabรณ

Compact camera photography

2. András Pohl

4. Ferenc Őrsi

7. Tamás Szabó

3. Ferenc Őrsi

9. Ferenc Őrsi

5. Ferenc Kovács Zoltán

6. Róbert Gurisatti

8. Tamás Szabó

10. András Pohl

It has been proved by the best female underwater photographer Mrs Mária Kőházi Násfay who achieved first and second places and by Viktor Horváth whose picture was placed third. The special value of Mária’s winning picture - apart from the domestic theme - is that she revealed a moment of animals’ behaviour, while the value of her other picture was the innovative visuals.

Viktor Horváth’s half-half picture is an interesting attempt from the Tapolca Stream with a not quite suitable (flat window) equipment. The macro category was also won by a lady, Mrs Éva Mánfai Németh, but is not a surprise too, knowing her talent, pictures and results in the recent years. Miklós Németh who lives in Komárno, Slovakia is coming up, he caught the second and fifth places, a little surprisingly. In the fish photo category the jury decided to grant the first and second places to László Előd, the favourite of the recent years. In addition, his winning picture “Fish curtain” (Halfüggöny) was the best photo of the competition, the “Best of Show”, and we have to tell that it was fully deserved. However, his another picture, which probably was taken with double exposure and was placed second, is also very strong. You have to know that Előd does not take the camera in his hands sometimes even for a year and a half, but if the chance for the celebratory announcement of results comes up the horizon, he start photography afresh with huge ambition and usually is able to create winning pictures. His talent is also proved by the fact that at this time he also won the first two places of the wide-angle lens category.

The third place of the wide-angle category went to Csaba Tökölyi for his atmospheric, somewhat unusual but exciting composition. This way Csaba broke the curse which condemned him to achieve only fourth places in the national competitions of the recent years. However, Tökölyi is a talented and creative photographer who has won international awards too, so he should have fight for the first places here. Perhaps, the reason for his more modest performance is that he lays more stress upon the terrestrial nature photography.

As for the individual-combined contest which proves versatility, László Előd is never satisfied with one or two victories of categories, he basically goes for the first place of the combined contest, the photographers grand prix.

Therefore he have a look into his archive and pulls out three or four older pictures which are the weaker versions of his good ones, and wins the combined contest confidently even with them. Well, there you go, my dear underwater fellows, this is the recipe, you can follow it. But allow me to smile with my other eye not at the confident winner, but at the surprisingly well-performing ladies.

N.B.

Best video of Show

Digital short films category

1. Zsolt Sásdi: Gigászi rekorderek 2. István Németh: After Dive 3. Gyula Somogyi: Zárt terek 4. István Németh: Tempo – Formula Underw 5. Ferenc Őrsi: Black Pearl – Volt egyszer 6. Zoltán Fehér: Dungi Film category

1. Saser Productions & Természetfilm.hu: C 2. Gyula Somogyi: A 3. Attila Sári: B 4. Zoltán Fehér: M

water r egy hajó

Cápák a keresőmben A sötétség hajói Bent Marsa Alam

Film by Saser Productions and Természetfilm.hu

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