Nature Photo Magazine 2014/2

SUMMER / 2014/2.

nature photo magazine

®

ONLINE PHOTO MAGAZINE

TRAVEL | WILDLIFE | LANDSCAPE | PEOPLE-CULTURE | TEST

LAKE TISZA | Photo adventure ÁGNES APFEL | Portfolio NIKON D4s | Tested in the field

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WELCOME Dear Reader, We are here with our 2014/2 Summer issue. The time for holidays has come, so families of photographers are about to go out to nature to photograph. So we tried to write articles which provide tips for the discovery of nature’s beauties.

A taster of our current issue: The Photo Adventure provide an insight into the bird paradise of the Lake Tisza and its region with the thoughts and photos of Tamás Imre and Anikó Imre.

In our Shopping Guide Column – thinking of holidays – we give tips for choosing the suitable camera backpack, to help our readers to make the right decision.

In the Interesting Places column János Szekeres wrote an article on the Great Bustard, most treasured bird of the Körös- Maros National Park (Hungary) and presents the region and the photo opportunities of this large-bodied bird.

We have tested in the filed Nikon’s newest cutting-edge full frame camera, D4s. Basically we were curious of the difference from Nikon D4 and the precision of the new AF system. We could use the machine for a two-week testing which was well enough to take all the challenges.

We welcome Ágnes Apfel in our Portfolio column who enriched our magazine with her wonderful butterfly and macro pictures.

In our tips and tricks column Árpád Krivánszky and László Suhayda gives advices on the photography of the Lake Tisza and its region, and how to capture landscapes, plants, birds and macro themes.

Tamás Imre wrote a cultural article for the People-Cultures-Cities column about the Maasai, the most known people of Eastern Africa and illustrated it with his own pictures.

In the Life Underwater column photographer Dániel Selmeczi gives advices on photography with compact cameras thanks to an assignment by Panasonic. It was an exciting and challenging task for a professional diving photographer. The result speaks for itself.

Our colleague, László Szilágyi comtimues the introduction to Adobe Lightroom processing programme. He presents watermarking, the most important tool of photographers and includes the usage of Photoshop as well.

Photo: © Ágnes Apfel Nikon D90, Sigma EX 180mm f/3.5 f/4 1/4000sec ISO 200

Please receive our 18th issue with love – now in IPAD, iPhone and ANDROID version as well!

Tamás Imre Editor-in-chief

Portfolio - Ágnes Apfel 38

PHOTO ADVENTURE - LAKE TISZA

The summer is coming, the season of bird photography is here, after 15 June anybody can approach the heron and other bird colonies in the Lake Tisza Reserve. We guide you to this wonderful bird paradise which is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. In this photo adventure we would like to introduce to you the fantastic wildlife of the Lake Tisza. Lake Tisza is an artificial water reservoir with a huge area of about 127 square kilometres.

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SHOPPING GUIDE - DSLR BACKPACKS 32

TESTED IN THE FIELD - NIKON D4s

The summer is here and the photographer community of the world will be on holiday soon. The holiday destination is always an important aspect for a photographer families since they normally want to be at a scene where good photo themes can be found. This is a natural desire of both amateur and professional photographers as during oneweek or two-week holiday many good pictures can be taken. The most important thing is at such times the safe delivery of your equipment.

Nikon has launched the refreshed „S” version for almost each of its professional bodies in the recent years. This is what happened in the case of Nikon D4s too. The company announced the launch of the refreshed professional camera back in February 2014, and started the sale at the beginning of March. Unfortunately March was not the best time for me to test the camera, so I took the body for testing a bit later.

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© Ágnes Apfel

PEOPLE-CULTURES - MASAI PEOPLE

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INTERESTING PLACES - KÖRÖS–MAROS 96

TIPS AND TRICKS TISZATÁJ

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LIGHTROOM 5 FREEHAND CAPTIONS

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LIFE UNDERWATER HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH WITH A COMPACT CAMERA?

The Maasai people, one of the most ancient ethnic group of Africa, inhabit the plateaus of Kenya and Tanzania. They are primarily Kenyan people but has been also present at the Ngorongoro Crater for about 150 or 160 years. They are considered to be one of the well-known nomadic, pastoralist tribe of Africa. They originate from the warlike pastoral people of Nilotes tribe inhabiting the area of Maasai Mara and Serengeti National Park and and their outskirts and beyond.

The total area of the Körös–Maros National Park (established in 1997) is 51 125 hectars. The national park is the conservation authority responsible for the southern area of the Great Plain (Alföld) in Hungary, with a head office in Szarvas. Its operation area includes Békés County, the eastern part of Csongrád County and the Dévaványa-Ecseg grasslands and part of the Körös flood plain in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County.

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Photo adventure

LAKE TISZA (HUNGARY) The summer is coming, the season of bird photography is here, after 15 June anybody can approach the heron and other bird colonies in the Lake Tisza Reserve. We guide you to this wonderful bird paradise which is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF400mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x

f/5.6 1/500 sec ISO 400

PHOTOGRAPHY FROM A BOAT In this photo adventure we would like to introduce to you the fantastic wildlife of the Lake Tisza. Lake Tisza is an artificial water reservoir with a huge area of about 127 square kilometres. The construction was needed to control the floods of the River Tisza caused by the frequent fluctuation of its water level. The internationally recognised bird reserve is situated at the Tiszavalk Bay, on the northern part of the lake where more than 200 bird species have been seen out of the 380 bird species of Hungary. The unique spectacle of the lake is that her you can find Europe’s largest water caltrop and nymphaea (water lilies) fields. Moreover, the romantic backwaters are covered with water lily carpet.

Before starting the story, I want to present the bird reserve. The area which belongs to the Hortobágy National Park is a strictly protected nature reserve and an internationally recognized waterfowl habitat. It is highly recommended to hire a professional guide in the area of the bird reserve and at the Poroszló-Tiszafüred part. It is important because without guidance you can hardly find or cannot find at all the places where you can take nice shots. In addition, you cannot boat and photograph at the same time. And if you want to get into the strictly protected parts of the river, you are not allowed to do it without a guide and registration. We, nature photographers, also consider it very important, since we could not protect the breeding colonies without this regulation.

Well, this fantastic water world attracted us to the Lake Tisza for a photo adventure tour on boat. Shooting from a moving, lurching boat requires very different photo technique and a special preparation. You should use high light intensity lenses such as f/2,8 200 mm, 300 mm or 400 mm.

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM

f/9 1/80 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x f/9 1/640 sec ISO 320

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, EF300mm f/2.8L USM +1.4x f/4.5 1/1000 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, EF300mm f/2.8L USM +1.4x f/5.6 1/1250 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, EF300mm f/2.8L USM +1.4x f/4.5 1/1000 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, EF300mm f/2.8L USM +1.4x f/5.6 1/1000 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS-1D Mark III, EF300mm f/2.8L USM f/8 1/2500 sec ISO 400

You can also apply converters to these telephoto lenses to increase their focal length depending on the distance and the size of the theme. A high light intensity zoom, e.g. Sigma f/2,8 120-300 mm or, with a little compromise, Canon EF f/4,55,6 100-400 mm IS lens. If you cannot hold out these lenses for long, you can take a monopod or a bigger bean bag to support the lens. However, the sharpness ratio of handheld shots is much better.

I would not recommend a tripod as the movement of the boat and the trembling of the engine will present you numerous blurred pictures. If you can afford, it is worth taking stabilizer lenses which can be applied excellently in such situations.

Do not forget a raincoat, you can cover not only yourself but your equipment too during a summer shower. An unexpected shower or rain can easily catch you in today’s weather conditions, although lights are the most beautiful at such times.

Before we started shooting, I tried to collect as much information about the bird species as I could, what could we find and where, what kinds of birds could we expect. Among others we can photograph cormorants, grey herons, spoonbills, purple herons, squacco herons, night herons, whiskered terns, great crested grebes, mute swans, black-headed gulls, coots, greylag geese just to mention the most important ones. Well, that is quite nice amount of species, you can photograph a quite nice material during two or three boat tour.

It is worth watching the habits and feeding sites of the birds.

You might not expect but they return to certain spots frequently and it is not rare that at the feeding sites you can take your desired picture even with a 300 mm tele. Birds were the most active in the early morning and late evening lights, so we went out for shooting from half past 4 to 8 in the morning and from 6 to 9 in the evening.

Moreover, lights are the most suitable for taking nice photos at those periods.

I set off with my wife and two fellow photographers equipped with digital cameras and lenses to take the challenge. More people in one boat is not recommended as you might disturb each other.

At half past four in the morning, before sunrise we were in the inner lagunes of the Lake Tisza.

As I have already written in many articles, bird photography comes with terrible early wakes.

We have to adapt to nature and not the other way round.

We were going inwards, full of hope. We did not have to wait too long to meet a feeding purple heron, then night herons came and by the time we reached the caltrop covered water fields we managed to shoot squacco herons too. We progressed further slowly to find the next photo theme and while we were enjoying the beauty of the land.

At that point our guide said that he knew a nice place where we can see a shadow in water. Needless to say, we went to discover the scene, keeping in mind to return for the time of the best lights.

A little technical help: set the focus system of your camera to tracking and the lens stabilizator to IS2 at Canon or active at Nikon or switch it off entirely. ISO sensitivity should not be ISO 100 but at least ISO 400 or even more, depending on the light conditions. The point is to get a fast shutter speed, camera setting should be a minimum 1/500 sec, but the best is 1/1000 or more.

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, Sigma EX 120-300mm f/2.8 +2x f/8 1/2500 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, EF300mm f/2.8L USM

f/4 1/2500 sec ISO 320

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, Sigma EX 120-300mm f/2.8 +2x

f/8 1/500 sec ISO 250

Do not try to photograph the bird with a sudden movement because it might get scared and the focus system is not the fastest this way, but approach it slowly and on time, then wait until the boat slowly slides to the theme and when the composition is suitable, expose.

It is interesting that when I am out on the water in this wonderful natural environment, the world ceases to exist and I only can think of the birds and the possible compositions.

Getting out of the hamster wheel of life this feeling calms me down and relax me entirely.

For us, Hungarians, this water paradise is a great opportunity and provides something to explore every time. On the longterm our photo subject could used to us and they often let us to approach them to a distance of 5 or 8 metres. Of course, a calm group of photographers and an excellent boat driver were needed for that. Our guide Sándor Cs. knows the environment and the birds like the back of his hand.

Thanks to him we had taken lots of nice and interesting pictures. It helps a lot if you stay calm and if you cannot do the desired photo for the first time, don’t worry - nature photography requires persistence and yes, many early wakes.

Planning Location: Eastern Europe, Hungary Accessibility: From Budapest airport, via M3 motorway, towards Poroszló and Tiszafüred destination.

Text: Tamás Imre Photos: Anikó Imre and Tamás Imre photographers

What to photograph: birds and wetlands.

What widezoom bigge mono much

t to take with you: -angle lens 16-35 mm, and telephoto lens m 70-200 mm, and/or 300 mm telephoto lens or er with 1,4x and/or 2x teleconverter; bean bag, opod if necessary, memory cards and batteries as h as you can.

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM

f/11 1/60 sec ISO 60

Tips and tricks TISZATĂ J

Rivers, backwaters, semi-natural fish ponds and construction pits provide extremely varied freshwater habitats for birds, attracting populous colonies rich in different species.

These areas are significant in terms of landscape too, and their flora also have numerous hidden treasures and other organisms such as frogs and insects are present in great number.

To sum it up: wetlands attract wildlife, so these places are really for nature photographers.

Article’s sponsor:

ร rpรกd Krivรกnszky

Twilight at Lake Tisza From the Tiszacsege backwaters Lake Tisza is only a short distance away where you can explore the wetland by rented boats. In still air the water surface doubles the sight of the sky like a mirror.

It is not easy to take sharp pictures with proper depth-in-field from a moving and waggling boat, a higher ISO value and a relatively narrow aperture is required. A twilight sky with all the range of colours from white and warm reddishorange to cold blue is very rare.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 28-105mm f/3,5-4,5 1/320s f/10 ISO 400

In this article we choose the region of River Tisza (Hungary) to present, but you surely can find wetlands near your place of residence which offer great opportunities to take nice pictures.

Birds can be photographed from fixed hides the most efficiently. If you do not have a permanent hide or you want some adventure, then you can try stalking and mobile hides as well. However, it is not easy to deceive the birds’ eyes, so stalking rather provides great experiences for us and we can only take landscapes this way where birds are also present. Without a hide tent you can have a chance to take close pictures of birds in touristic places or in places where birds got used to the presence of human due to the nearness of fishermen. But hide tents offer much more opportunities. Birds can approach a well-situated, wellcamouflaged hide tent really close. It is practical to watch the day before the areas where the birds moving the most and install the tent in the afternoon or evening. The next day it is suggested to sit in early, well before sunrise (if you can, the best solution to stay and sleep in the tent for the night). Put up your tent in a way that you can approach it silently and imperceptibly. The photographer can almost certainly go home with „landscape with bird” sort of pictures but with a little luck and a long focal-length telephoto lens you can take closer pictures of birds as well. (If you want to know more about bird photography, please read Tamás Imre’s article, „Lake Tisza” in the Photo Adventure column of the magazine.)

The ideal periods of day for landscapes are nearly the same as the ones for bird photography. Not only the environment of backwaters, but the Lake Tisza itself is really spectacular, not to mention the nearby Hortobágy where – according to the local saying - „you stand up on a pumpkin and can see the whole region”. Besides a telephoto lens, a wide-angle lens is also a good companion for this genre. You can spend the time between the early morning hours and the twilight with flower and butterfly photography. The latter does not require a tripod, but for flower photography you will need a reflector and a diffuser board to transform hard light into diffuse light. The rest of the time you can spend with relaxation at your lodgings and downloading and processing the pictures. You can read further tips and tricks at the pictures.

Have nice experiences and beautiful lights!

László Suhayda

Canon EOS 7D, EF 500mm f/4L IS USM 1/160s f/9 ISO 400

Kingfisher It is worth sticking a dry branch about two meters high in front of a hide by the lake or riverside, bending over the water. If you did it properly, the kingfisher will settle on it when it looks for a lurking place. You can take nice pictures of the bird waiting for its prey.

Árpád Krivánszky

FRINGED WATER LILY

Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 80-200mm f/2.8L+közgyűrű 1/400 s f/5 ISO 800

Water lilies and other aquatic plants almost cover the whole surface of the lake at some places, thus there is a good chance for taking landscape with the flowers of the lake. The colour and the petals of the Fringed water lily are interesting in close-up too. It is worth using a macro lens or a tele with extension tube. To find a suitable view angle, sometimes you have to bend over the edge of the boat. The usage of a tripod is not possible, so setting a high ISO value is required.

Árpád Krivánszky

WATER TUNNEL The boat route in the north basin of Lake Tisza leads through a flooded forest in a green tunnel. To avoid strong contrasts the diffused light of early morning and twilight hours is the most suitable to take a nice picture from a still boat with high ISO. It is worth underexpose a little to avoid burnt out picture spots; details of the shaded parts can be revealed during the post-processing.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 28-105mm f/3,5-4,5 1/125 s f/4 ISO 800

HERDING AT DAWN The shepherd drove out his sheep before sunrise to the pastures along the flood dam. The sky was barely coloured, and the thin layer of fog makes this photo mysterious.

Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 80-200mm f/2.8L 1/32 s f/14 ISO 400

FOREST EDGE WITH PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE You must take a mosquito repellent with you if you approach the forest belt along the backwater and get into the colourful area of Purple loosestrifes.

The pinkish-purple mass of the flower field matches well with the forest’s green. It looks nice if there is an individual motif in the picture like that smaller tree near the right side of the photo.

Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 28-105mm f/3,5-4,5 1/40 s f/9 ISO 400

CLEMATIS INTEGRIFOLIO The Clematis integrifolio blooms in great number on the meadows of the region, in the shade of the trees. I composed the diagonally situated blooming flower reminiscent of a lampshade and the lanceshaped bud in one picture. If the sunlight is too intense, the details of the flower might burn out. It can be avoided by placing a diffuser board or a white umbrella in the direction of the light to make it diffused.

ร rpรกd Krivรกnszky

László Suhayda

TERN’S FEEDING

Canon EOS 5D Mark III EF 500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x 1/3200s f/7,1 ISO 800

In the second half of the summer when tourists are allowed to boat on the Lake Tisza you can come across with Whiskered terns feeding their nestlings. They are accustomed to the nearness of humans because of the many tourists, so you can take relatively close pictures of them by bigger telephoto lenses without disturbing their lives and endangering the breeding.

László Suhayda

MASS OF BIRDS AT DAWN It is a special photo opportunity to photograph big masses of birds. The picture was taken before sunrise.

The buzzing early morning activity of the birds, the soft lighting, the colour of the sky and the slight mist created a fascinating atmosphere.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III EF 500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x 1/160s f/8 ISO 1000 László Suhayda

GHOST HERONS It is not possible to photograph moving, flying birds in poor light conditions. In such conditions, it is worth experimenting with longer shutter time and tracking the birds, panning. The blurred backgroun and environment, the soft contours of the blurred wings create an picturesque atmosphere.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III EF 500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x 1/32s f/5,6 ISO 3200

FLOOD PLAIN ATMOSPHERE

Árpád Krivánszky Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 80-200mm f/2.8L 1/12s f/14 ISO 400

Misty dawns are less frequent in summer than in other seasons, just like here at this backwater in Tiszacsege. A beam of the morning light coming from the back illuminates a small spot at the other side of the river, it makes this photo special, taken in clear weather. Even the photographer „hunting” for birds should sometimes have a look at the landscape around him.

Árpád Krivánszky

FARM WITH FULL MOON Hortobágy is not far from Tiszacsege either. It was full moon and the reddish disc of moon formed a counterpoint with the farm with whitewashed walls. Electricity power lines do not prevent you to make nice landscape photos here. The details of the ground surface could be reveals by some post-processing.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 80-200mm f/2.8L 0,4 s f/13 ISO 100

REDDISH DAWN

Árpád Krivánszky

You do not have too much time if you want to capture the land in layers of fog in the early morning light. The sun disc can turn white even before it fully rise above the horizon. You can hide the too intense light of the sun disc behind the foliage of a tree, so it would not disturb but rather complete the colourful sight of the dawn.

BUTTERFLY

Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 80-200mm f/2.8L 1/500s f/14 ISO 400

There is a meadow between the forest belt along the backwater and the embankment. Butterflies are flying from flower to flower quickly, they float away by the time the photographer approaches them with his tripod. It is more practical to set a high ISO value and a relatively wide aperture, so the moment can be caught and the background could be favourably blurred at the same time. Find a suitable position from which most of the body surface of the butterfly is in focus, and if its eye can be seen, it should be in the focal plane.

LAKE TISZA (COMPOSITION)

Árpád Krivánszky

Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 28-105mm f/3,5-4,5 1/2500s f/5 ISO 800

The nice reflection of the twilight sky on the water tempted me to make a composition out of two pictures.

The other photo depicted a white water lily. The image processing software has a function of weighting, that is to determine the the light intensity of the individual pictures in the composition. There is no recipe for the pairing, but a composition out of a „linear” and a „patchy” photo can lead to success.

Text and images: László Suhayda, Árpád Krivánszky

Árpád Krivánszky

Shopping Guide CAMERA BACKPACKS FOR DSLR USERS The summer is here and the photographer community of the world will be on holiday soon. The holiday destination is always an important aspect for a photographer families since they normally want to be at a scene where good photo themes can be found. This is a natural desire of both amateur and professional photographers as during one-week or two-week holiday many good pictures can be taken. The most important thing is at such times the safe delivery of your equipment. If you take your photo equipment (or part of it) for holiday, then choosing a practical backpack is a must. In this article I would like to give you some tips on shopping camera backpacks. Let’s have a look around the market to see what is worth choosing.

WHY BACKPACKS? Camera bags are primarily used by report and travel photographers. However, amateur and professional nature photographers have voted for camera backpacks for decades now for numerous reasons. One of the most important reasons is that sometimes you have to walk long miles with your equipment, so it is better to load your back, just think of mountaineers who take their heavy equipment on their back. The other important aspect is that telephoto lenses can only fit into backpacks due to their size.

Most amatuer photographers want to save on accessories, namely they want spend as little as possible on camera backpacks.

However, a professional photo equipment costs a lot of money, so the protection of it is our basic task. The better models even suitable for balance the load by an adjustable height. Thanks to that we can carry even 18 or 25 kg weight with us. For extreme weather conditions, it is suggested to find models suitable for those situations.

WHICH ONE SHALL I CHOOSE?

Kata Bumblebee PL 220

The waterproofness of zippers is also important, I know a colleague who fell into the water from a canoe and his equipment even did not get wet as the backpack had protected it from humidity. Apart from the fright and his clothing being got soaked, he suffered no other damage. Just think of it, if his backsack was leaked, he could have suffered even a damage of EUR 10,000 or more. My colleagues and myself have also photographed in extreme, desert or arctic conditions many times and the camera backpack had to resist to the possible shocks as well. Producers ask a serious price for a multifunctional and safe protection which often discourage customers. It is only a bag, why does is cost EUR 200 or EUR 400?

WHAT TYPE IS THE MOST SUITABLE FOR ME?

Lowepro Protrekker 300

If you want to buy a backpack today, consider the followings. If you travel by plane a lot, then the size of your backpack should be fit in the handbag size; I would not recommend to check in your photo equipment as normal luggage. I could always take my terasured backpack on board on normal flights. However, you have to expect thorough investigations at the checking points as your lenses and accessories (e.g. cleaning pump) might show shapes reminiscent of the devices of terrorist activities. Never argue with border guards, it is better to bear the inconviences and pack out and in as they wish. They always do it with us and if we are helpful, we can get rid of them sooner.

Another aspect is that all of your equipment should fit in the chosen backpack. The best method is to take your equipment with you for shopping and pack them int o the selected model in the shop. If everything fits in, then it is good. It is easy to be tempted; but your main aspect should not be the colour or the different supplements but durability and it is also good if a laptop fits in separated by a hard board at the back or at the rear of the backpack.

Vanguard Skyborn 53 Pro Vanguard

Now let’s see the concrete things. I can recommend three brands without compromise; these are Lowepro, Kata and Vanguard.

Actually the first two are the best ones, Lowepro has proved its quality for decades and the company provides full guarantee for its products. The other favourite is Kata which is owned by a far-eastern company. They primarily produce bags for extreme photo and video situations for press photographers and film shootings, and by now the developed a camera backpack family of excellent quality.

Vanguard has been on the market for 25 years, they produce good quality for reasonable price. If you do not want a professional quality, you will find your choice here.

Some specific things. Lowepro Pro Trekker AW Series is sold in three sizes: AW 300, AW 400 and AW 600. You can put a notebook in each of the three backpacks, the first two are compatible with the size standards of planes. The type numbers refer to the fitting telephoto lenses, the first one (AW 300) suitable for 300mm

F/2,8 lenses, AW 400 is for 400mm F/2,8 lens, while the third and the biggest type AW 600 is for 600mm F/4 lenses and also for plenty of accessories. I would not recommend the biggest one as it has a huge weight and cannot be taken onboard. However, there is a solution, a smaller AW 300 backpack and instead of a notebook bag a 600 mm lens case can be taken onboard at many flight comapnies, so I used to go for this option. My favourite supplement is a raincover which protects our whole photo equipment even in the case of bigger showers.

Kata series provides several alternatives, but Bug203 PL and Bug-205 PL are the proper choices.

Besides the DSLR, the 203 series can take a 300 mm telephoto lens and 4 or 5 other lenses as well. If you choose the 205, you can take 5 or 6 lenses besides the tele and it has a laptop case as well. There is a raincover supplement kit for this model, under the name of Bug-Kit PL. With this supplement it brings the quality of Lowepro. An even bigger backpack is sold under the name of BUMBLEBEE PL 220 in which you can put even

Kata Bug-Kit PL

Lowepro Protrekker 400 Raincover

5 further lenses besides the 500 mm lens, and if you are skillful, a replacement DSLR body as well.

If you want a bigger bag then go for Pro-V-410 PL or Pro-V-610 PL. The 610 model can accomodate a 500 mm lens and further 5-6 lenses too.

My third suggestion is Vanguard’s Quovio model, the winner of 2013 TIPA award. It does not belong to the cheaper segment either, but can be a good choice. Besides the DSLR and the 70-200, you can put four lenses as well in Quovio 44, or one or two of the bigger lenses.

Its price is more favourable than of the two previous brands. If you want bigger bags, you can find even more expensive pieces, such as the members of the Skyborne family. Their prices are over EUR 300, similarly to other brands.

TO SUMMARIZE It is not worth saving on backpacks, as they can be your faithful companion for even 10 or 15 years! I have a Lowerpro Trekker as a

reliable case of my equipment for 18 years.

Besides stable tripods, we should sacrifice on backpacks too, as smaller accidents or drops may happen to anyone and it does matter what protects our equipment.

Entrance level: Do not buy cheap backpack, you will replace it soon!

Intermediate level: Vanguard EUR 200-350 Advanced level: Lowepro, Kata EUR 300-400 Our next shopping guide will be about travel and reporter bags. Have a nice shopping!

Text: Tamás Imre EFIAP

ÁGNES APFEL

I was born in 1975 and lived in Kisoroszi, on the Szentendre Island in the first few years of my life. Then I started school in Zebegény where I still live today and I believe that this is the most beautiful place in the Dunakanyar (Danube Bend).

The love of nature infused me in my childhood unconsciously since I literally lived, studied, played, walked and hiked in it.

I started to do photography more seriously six years ago when I got my frist and only, treasured SLR camera. As many others I started to learn from books first. Later I tried to learn all the ins and outs of this beautiful hobby on photo courses. I am a member of the Vadvilág (Wildlife) Association of Hungarian Nature Photographers since 2011.

I participated in my first photo competition in 2013. One of my photos was exhibited at the 5th MILVUS Nature Photo Contest. My another work was praised at the Oasis Photo Contest 2013, an international competition. Also in 2013, three of my pictures won awards at the „Varázslatos Magyarország” (Magical Hungary) Photo Contest. I was placed 8th in the annual ranking and 2nd in the other animals category.

Why nature? One of my friends put it like this: „It is natural that most people choose a hobby which is the opposition of their job if possible. Since you deal with people all day long, it is understandable that you do not want to see them at the other side of your camera.”

I think there is some truth in it. With a camera in my hand I lose the sense of time and the viewfinder reveals a different, wonderful world for me. I am interested in every branch of nature photography, however, butterflies and plants fascinate me the most. Sitting in a meadow and watching a butterfly dancing around that beautiful flower… Of course, the real challenge is to give back this experience through a picture. And if anyone watching my picture can feel the same, then it was a worthwhile effort.

Portfolio

Above the stream

Daw

wn

Light s

shower

Drago

onflies

Fam

mily

Morning break

Together

Light butterfly

Twins

Solit

tude

Adobe Lightroom 5 FREEHAND CAPTIONS IN LIGHTROOM Usually most pictures processed with Lightroom has only captions with very simple characters. But Adobe’s software is capable for much more. After a little preparation we can insert even freehand captions in our pictures.

PREPARATION FOR FREEHAND CAPTION WRITING IN PHOTOSHOP Photograph your caption or scan it, there is no difference regarding the result.

However, if you take photo, make sure that the lighting of the white paper is homogenous. You do not need perfect studio quality but avoid strong shades.

Open the picture in Photoshop and press Ctrl+L on your PC or Cmd+L key combination on Mac. Set the black and white slide in the “Levels” pop-up window the way that the white part of the picture does not show the texture of the paper and the caption is completely dark, then confirm the changes by clicking on OK. Normally you can do it by pulling the white point over the peak of the histogram and similarly move the the black point towards the center. .

Now the only thing left to eliminate the background. Open the Layers panel by hitting the F7 key. In the pop-up window double click on Background, the only layer and confirm the change that it will be Layer 0. Now you can delete the background, just explain for Photoshop what the background is. Choose the Color range... option in the Select menu. The preview in the pop-up window will show the selected area in white.

Levels adjustment

Select > Modify > Expand

Color Range

Click on the background of the picture and the cursor form a small pipette. Finally set the Fuzziness value to 100, then confirm the selection by clicking on OK. To make sure that the edges of your caption will not have some white noise or aura, in the Select menu click on the Modify option, then the Expand option. Set the Expand By value in the pop-up window to 2 and click on OK. Now Photoshop will know what the background is, so you only have to hit the DEL button on your PC or Backspace on Mac. The checkered background behind the caption means that the background is blank.

crop by hitting the Enter key. Lightroom can import the caption in PNG format, so you should save it in that format. Click on File, then Save as menu. You can save the picture under any name and any place, just make sure that the file format is PNG.

Now your caption is ready and you only have to save it, but before that it is practical to crop your picture. Select the Crop Tool and narrow the frame by pulling the edges. You can confirm the

Now you only have to save this picture by the Save as option as it was explained above, and of course, it is worth adding “white” to the file name.

It is practical to add “black” to the file name as you will need to make a white version for dark pictures too. If the saving is done, then go back to Photoshop and press Ctrl+I on PC or Cmd+I key combination on Mac. This will turn the picture into negative, so the black caption will become white.

Using t

the Crop Tool

INSERTING SIGNATURE IN LIGHTROOM Since we normally want to put watermark in the picture to be exported, the work starts with the selection of the pictures and pressing the Export button.

Then follow the steps below.

In the Export window you can determine the destination of the export, the name and format of the files and you can create watermarks as well. Tick the Watermark option at the Watermarking settings, then click on the drop-down menu which becomes active and select the Edit Watermarks option.

You will find a basic setting option at the right side of the top of Watermark Editor window:

Save file as PNG

you can choose from Text or Graphic captions.

Click on the Graphic button, then the the Choose button within the Image Options panel. Determine the position of the caption in the pop-up window, the after pointing out the file, click on the Choose button.

Now your caption can be seen in the preview window of the Watermark Editor, you only have to fine tune it. The Watermark Effects panel includes the correction options. The first slide is Opacity, which does not need further explanation. Then you can change the size by the Size.

The first option is the Proportional which makes manual sizing possible by moving a slide. The Fit and Fill options make the filling of the picture possible, however, it is not applicable for captions.

Export settings

Watermark Editor

Selecting the saved signature

Custom Watermark placemen

By the Horizontal and Vertical slides of the Inset option you can determine the distance from the edges of the picture.

Finally the strange stack of 9 points of the Anchor option is to determine the basic position of your caption, so if you want it to the bottom right, click on the bottom right radio button.

image file for Watermark effect

Check how you caption will look in your pictures. You can browse through your pictures by the left and right triangles seen in the heading of the Watermark Editor window to check whether your caption can be seen well in your pictures and not disturbing. If they are OK, then click on Save button and give name to your setting, for example “Black Right Bottom”. Thus later you can switch between the saved settings easily.

FINISHING The end of the whole process is checking the other settings of the export, then create the ready pictures by clicking on Export button. If you are more familiar with Photoshop, you can combine the freehand caption with a text written with characters or some symbol or logo.

After combining these elements in Photoshop, you only have to save a PNG picture without background, then you can insert it efficiently in Lightroom in several pictures as well.

nt options Text: László Szilágyi

Tested in the field NIKON D4S

Nikon has launched the refreshed „S” version for almost each of its professional bodies in the recent years. This is what happened in the case of Nikon D4s too. The company announced the launch of the refreshed professional camera back in February 2014, and started the sale at the beginning of March.

Unfortunately March was not the best time for me to test the camera, so I took the body for testing a bit later.

I received the good news from Nikon Ltd that I now can take the body for a longer testing. We received the camera for two weeks, thus we had the chance to try it out in several situations. We received an AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR, AF-S NIKKOR 70–200mm f/4G ED VR lens and, thanks to a friend of mine, an AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED lens. Armed with this arsenal me and my wife delved into the testing process together.

NIKON D4s, Nikkor 24-120mm f4 G AF-S ED VR

f/11 1/640 sec ISO 125

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS The „soul” of Nikon D4s has the same resolution as its predecessor; a 16.2 megapixel Nikon FX format sensor. However, it has an EXPEED 4 image processor. It is a very important innovation, the new processor is faster by 30 percent than its predecessor and the extended ISO range opens new perspectives for photography in poor lighting conditions. The extremely fast data processing provides for a speed of 11 image/second. You can even set a smaller sized NEF (RAW S) image in the camera, and with the help of that you can get 4-megapixel pictures (ideal for press photography). The quantity of images can be exposed at one time has also changed. Instead of the former 170 JPEG now it is 200 JPEG, instead of 98 RAW (12 bit) it is 176 RAW (12 bit) and at the highest resolution now we can grind 104 RAW (14 bit) pictures into the camera instead of the former 76 RAW (14 bit). It is quite something, and if you consider that the camera is able to do that at a speed of 10-11 image/second, then in about 10-15 seconds you can expose this amount of pictures.

At a serious action you might even need so many images, so you would not miss the most exciting scenes. The new extendable ISO sensitivity is ISO 100-25600, instead of the former ISO 100-12800, buti t can be a maximum of ISO 409600 which is such a value that you could almost photograph in darkness. The auto focus system was further extended, so Nikon D4s received a new group-area mode in which you can change auto focus fields in small groups, thus focus lock and object tracking has become finer. The video function received the most update, now we can capture video at a speed of Full HD 1920 x 1080/60 fps, and the auto ISO has also become available for video lovers, and in addition, many video functions have been refined too.

THE TEST During the long, two-week test the body had to face several challenges, it had to carry off well in four different situtions. First I took it with me to Tuscany, Italy, to my favourite photo scene, where I hit it for a week and photographed a variety of things, such as city atmospheres, buildings, street photo, landscapes, fog in backlight and so on. It was good for me to study the Nikon camera thoroughly, as many of you know that I am basically a Canon user, however, as editor-in-chief at Nature Photo Magazine I have tested any kind of cameras for about 15 years.

NIKON D4s, Nikkor 24-120mm f4 G AF-S ED VR

f/5.6 1/250 sec ISO 640

I could learn Nikon D4s easily as I had the chance to try out its little brothers, D4 and D800 E as well. The controls are more and less remained at the same place, I only has to browse the menu to find some novelties and I studied the AF system more thoroughly because of the innovations.

For a start I tested the ISO sensitivity, and I have to tell you I had a very positive experience; between ISO 100 and ISO 800 there is so little noise which is negligible.

It is great as normally we use our camera in this ISO range. I tried out ISO 1600 in a nice Italian town.

I photographed the interior of a fantastic 15th century church, and the incoming light was so little that I needed that high sensitivity. The result was an incredible richness of detail and an almost noiseless picture. It is worth watching how nice the dark shades are in the picture despite the backlight. There was a bigger church in this town too where I had to use ISO 3200 sensitivity and that photo was excellent too, however, here I had to apply a little noise reduction.

ISO 6400 brought a little noisy but nice pictures, but I did not encounter so poor light conditions which needed that high sensitivity. Anyway, most travel and nature photographers shoot at maximum ISO 3200, but normally at ISO 1600. It is an excellent achievement of D4s that we can photography in this ISO range without compromise and can apply the photos taken even in exhibition size.

The second big test was a landscape photography in Tuscany at dawn in backlight and fog. Such extreme conditions often cause problems even for professional cameras. Backlight is one of the best compositions, however, it is not easy to set focus and light metering precisely, particularly in foggy weather. Nikon D4s took this challenge easily, it had no problem with focusing on the contrast of the theme, so I could capture the land which could be seen for about two minutes covered by light beams and fog.

The third test was in the City Park (Városliget) of Budapest, more precisely at the bird pond of the Zoo. I could get in before opening, thanks to one of my photo students, so I could watch cormorants and grey herons in their morning activity moving and carrying nest materials without being disturbed by visitors. It was my goal to explore how can D4s track the motions which cannot be determined in advance. I photographed several short series of 15-20 pictures of the birds in motion, and I particularly studied how the camera could track birds taking off the water.

NIKON D4s, Nikkor 300mm f4 D AF-S IF ED

f/5 1/640 sec ISO 800

NIKON D4s, Nikkor 70-200mm f4 G ED VR

f/4 1/320 sec ISO 1600

NIKON D4s, Nikkor 70-200mm f4 G ED VR

f/4.5 1/2500 sec ISO 1600

I was curious about the new group AF functions too. This new function worked a little less efficiently as it could not track the objects moving freely and undetermined, so the ratio of sharp pictures were 50 to 70 percent. I set the camera to 51-point tracking, and by choosing that function the result was better, 65 to 80 percent of the pictures were sharp. However, I still was not satisfied with the result, so I took AF function off the shutter button and applied it only on AF-On button, and that was much better, I could work with 90 percent sharpness result. In the case of nature photos it is a satisfying result.

The fourth test was conducted thanks to the invitation my nature photographer colleague, Bence Máté in his new exclusive hide. We had to occupy the tent in the early morning hours, we set off at 2 am and we were in the hide at 4 am with my wife, Anikó Imre. The fantastic sight of the dawn fog and the numerous fishing aquatic birds provided an excellent opportunity for good pictures. I started off at ISO 1600 sensitivity in the poor light and I experimented with group AF as well. Since birds flew into a welldetermined place, this function worked really well, moreover, I can say that it was designed for such situations. The proportion of sharp pictures was 80-95 percent in both 51-point AF and Group AF functions which is a very good ratio as the photographer can select the best pictures out of a 25-image series. I was enriched by several nice photos of fishing grey heron, black-crowned night heron and black stork thanks to the opportunity provided by Bence. I took about 1500 pictures with the camera during the two weeks, which was more than enough to receive a well-assessable test material.

TO SUMMARIZE Nikon D4s is obviously one of the best cameras of the world with fantastic resolution, excellent ISO sensitivity and a precise AF system. It is a must-buy for Nikon user nature photographers.

I recommend it for everyone who can afford to make his or her dreams come true.

Thank you for Nikon Ltd for the long test opportunity.

Tester: Tamás Imre EFIAP

Life underwater

HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH WITH A COMPACT CAMERA?

A question has been occupying me for a long time: is it possible to take good underwater pictures with a compact camera? /5 percent of today’s divers take some device under the water to record the sights and this tendency is growing year by year. However, the pictures often does not reach the level of enjoyable quality. Since I have been photographing under and above water, I use DSLR cameras with dozens of different lenses almost in every case. It causes overweight problems on the flight towards a faraway diving spot and carrying the heavy equipment to a hide which can be accessed only by walk is not a pleasant thing either. A few years ago I won a nice and small compact, but in the lack of any underwater case I could not test it. But a few months ago Japan’s Panasonic ask me to take underwater pictures with their brand new camera which has not been launched yet. I took the job, and considered it rather as a challenge and not a shooting work.

A few weeks later I received the package from Osaka. I unwrapped it eagerly as the agreement had not determined whether it would be a medium category or the new ¾ standard camera. The package hid a small camera with metallic red body. I was uncertain at the beginning what I would do with a camera looking so simple. Having watched it further I realised that it was a 14 megapixel camera, suitable for HD video, its zoom range starts from 28 mm and, to my greatest surprise, waterproof up to 10 m and shock resistant up to 2.5 m. Well, that’s nice I thought, but what if I sink under 10 metres as usually I do. But the package hid another thing, a polycarbonate case pressure resistant up to 40 m. Well, that’s quite something, I thought.

Bahama

My next trip was to the Bahamas which was good and bad at the same time as I knew that the place provides excellent opportunities for shark photography. I imagined the situation as the long-awaited action takes place in front of me and I am there „clicking” with my cigarette-box-sized camera… I thought that I could not do it despite the promised handsome fee, and I would regret the lost opportunity without having a „proper” camera.

Eventually I found a solution; I attached the camera to the mounting screw of the focus light of the DSLR case. The idea worked, I could adjust the angle and it was always at handy and did not disturb me, I just reached over and expose. A swimming pool test followed with a surprising result. I was particularly surprised by the quality of HD videos, the camera performed really well through the small Leica lens. I have to add that the LED focus light which belong to the two Ikelite DS161 flashes also did a good service for illumination.

It was striking at the first usage that there was no M (manual) mode, but dozens of automatic functions, Auto, ISO and so on, which I have tried to avoid so far. Manual mode is very important under the water, since these cameras were designed for surface use, thus they produce quite strange picture under water. However, I fond a manual menu for white balance (WB) measurement which might do a good service at videoing or at photography without flash.

The time of testing for real arrived and as I mentioned before, the video function worked excellently in shallow water and the colours looked good after the WB setting. But somehow the photos were not successful, it looked like the picture was behind a veil and the background was overexposed in almost every case, therefore the mixed light pictures (natural light + flash light) were not really good.

If there had been a manual mode, it could have been remedied very easily. So the system required some improvement, otherwise it would have not produced a proper result.

I took an Ikelite DS161 and a manual controller which I needed to set off the external flash by the small flash of the camera and to control the flash strength of the external flash. I fixed all these to a motherboard and flash arm combination which I borrowed from a friend of mine who uses compact.

The system started to look quite serious, although it was a bit like a Trabant engine in a Ferrari but I thought that will eventually work. Another dive followed and the results improved, however, I still could not do anything with the background and I was not able to expose the natural light by the camera. I was near to think that I would not be able to take such pictures, and I would focus on the ones in which I could avoid natural light (such as fish in a cave, subject near a coral wall. etc.) Having browsed the menu one day I found a setting related to flash. It is for setting the minimum shutter speed when using a flash. If I set it to the fastest value then, even if the theme is underexposed, it will work really good underwater. The next dive brought the desired result, almost perfect pictures with blue background!

When the external light decreased, I just decreased the minimum shutter speed and I got a well exposed picture again. I have to note here that although there is a exposure correction function on the camera but under the water it provided the same result in almost every setting. I took some pictures of sharks with more and less success, but unfortunately it did not bring acceptable result due to the visibility not too ideal for the camera and the relatively too intense external light.

A few weeks later I travelled to the Red Sea and I wanted to finish the job there.

Bahama

The first few dives brought the same result as I described above. Fast-moving organisms like clownfish were not easy to photograph but I tried persistently. Up to that point I had only used wide-angle shots and almost never touched the zoom, I used the camera in the setting compliant to 28 mm. However, during a night dive I found a macro theme which I wanted to capture. I tried zooming but unfortunately I received a blurred picture.

I looked around the menu and found the macro mode and macro zoom mode functions. I selected macro zoom and turned back to the theme and lo, I got a sharp picture at 2:1 enlargement. After a few minutes I felt like I was shooting through my Nikon 105VR macro lens! The small machine performed great in the past few days!

compact camera. But my recent diving experiences changed my view and now I think that you can take correct pictures with a compact, even if it is not easy but with some thinking and exploration of your camera it is possible. Today’s cameras work with very short exposure delay, so they have become suitable for capturing fast-moving themes.

Use an external flash to reach the proper result!

Manual setting also helps a lot!

Conclusion: Previously I thought that it is impossible to take good underwater pictures with a

Finally, experiment with settings and lighting as well! Have many nice pics and joyful dives!

Make sure that the wide-angle setting starts from a minimum of 28 mm. Each new model has a video record function; you can use it for making some short records out of which you can edit a simple short film afterwards. Take care of the basic photo techniques and composition. Do not use automatic mode underwater!

Text and images: Dániel Selmeczi

People-cultures-cities Maasai people of Eastern Africa

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM

f/13 1/250 sec ISO 400

The Maasai people, one of the most ancient ethnic group of Africa, inhabit the plateaus of Kenya and Tanzania. They are primarily Kenyan people but has been also present at the Ngorongoro Crater for about 150 or 160 years. They are considered to be one of the well-known nomadic, pastoralist tribe of Africa.

They originate from the warlike pastoral people of Nilotes tribe inhabiting the area of Maasai Mara and Serengeti National Park and and their outskirts and beyond. They engaged in subsistence farming on the enormous African savannas of the region from the south of Lake Naivasa to the Ngorongoro Crater in

small family groups of 20 or 50 people. Their appearance and body shape is similar to Galla and Somali people and they likely originated from them and mixed with Hamitic tribes only during their later wanderings.

We do not have exact data about them as, according to our local guide, authorities have not managed to conduct a census among the Maasai people, therefore their number can only be estimated. Besides cattle raising, today they also keep goat and sheep, however, because the Maasai are proud and warlike people they still do not say no to a little raid on the cattle of the neighbouring tribes. It can still result in

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

conflicts and according to our driver sometimes even fatal clashes can occur which they strictly keep secret, although these events cannot be checked due to the lack of census. They do the raids as a religious act as according to their faith their God, Ngai gave the herds of cattle to the Maasai to raise them and keep their people alive, therefore they have the right to steal them from other tribes.

They need it because they cannot grow crop on the savanna and their main source of food is meat, milk and cattle blood. Women cook and do the housework but in today’s modern society they also play an important role in making popular gifts for tourists and the Maasai tribes

f/6.3 1/800 sec ISO 400

are keen on selling their stuff. Boys live with their parents until the age of 12 and look after the animals. Later their elder brothers and the men train them to be real Maasai warriors and teach the hunting techniques, military skills and rites. Those who learned the lesson well can become young warriors (Moroni) at the age of 15.

Being warriors they are seperated from their parents and live in isolated villages in strict discipline. Their weapons are simple but dangerous. They use their lances and leather shields the most, upon which the distinguishing signs of their age range and tribe are drawn, so everybody knows where they belong to.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

f/7.1 1/320 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF200mm f/2L IS USM

f/8 1/100 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS 7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

f/5 1/160 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark Canon III, EF300mm EOS-1Ds Mark f/2.8LIII,ISEF100mm USM f/2.8 f/5.6 Macro1/400 USMsec ISO 400 f/5 1/320 sec ISO 250

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark Canon III, EF300mm EOS-1Ds Mark f/2.8LIII,ISEF100mm USM f/2.8 f/5.6 Macro 1/640 USMsec ISO 400 f/5 1/320 sec ISO 250

Canon EOS 7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

f/6.3 1/250 sec ISO 400

The elderly with their wives live in small villages of 10 or 20 huts which are fenced in with thorny branches to defend themselves and their animals and keep out lions. National park workers have the most problems with the conflicts between Maasai hunters and lions. As if a lion gets hooked on the cattle of the Maasai and, God forbid, they even attack the children too, then warriors come together and kill the beast. They don’t care that it is against the law, they take bloody revenge for the damages of their folks. The situation has changed a lot recently as there are less and less nomadic tribes and Maasai villages have become tourist attractions to increase the income of the tribes. The elderly wear big brass earrings and play an important role in the community. Maasai girls become adults by a ceremony, then their parents marry them off and after that they can wear the metal spirals around their neck, the ornaments on their arms and legs and different piercings in their ears.

The red plaid blanket is part of the Maasai culture and does a good service in the cold evening hours and nights and at the same time it distinguishes the Maasai from the members of the other tribes, since only the Maasai wear this kind of clothing in Africa.

After this cultural introduction please take my suggestions for photography. You must see the Maasai villages, the best ones are near the national parks. Always discuss the shooting with the leaders of the tribe or the elderly in advance, otherwise you might get yourself into an awkward situtation that they do not want to be photographed. It is also not rare that after you take one or two pictures they come up to you one by one and demand 10 or 20 dollars fee for being photographed.

We negotiated an acceptable price with the tribal chief and agreed that we can photograph for at least 1.5 hour for the negotiated fee. It is a sufficient time to take quality pictures and to have a talk with those who speak English and get familiar a little with their villages. We even had the chance to have an insight in the local school of the village. I also get acquainted with the family of the local tribal chief.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM f/7.1 1/160 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS 7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

f/5.6 1/250 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS 7D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

f/5.6 1/250 sec ISO 400

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III,Canon EF300mm EOS-1Ds f/2.8L Mark USMIII, EF100mm f/5.6 f/2.8 1/200 Macrosec USM ISO 400

f/5 1/320 sec ISO 250

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III,Canon EF300mm EOS-1Ds f/2.8L Mark IS USM III, EF100mm

f/5.6 f/2.8 1/400 Macrosec USM ISO 400

f/5 1/320 sec ISO 250

The hut I was guided in was not bigger than 10 square metres. The warrior explained that they cook on the little fireplace in the middle of the room and the smoke goes out through the top of the hut. They sleep in a 2 x 2 m part which is separated by a piece of wall. I asked how many people lived there and he answered that him with his wife and four kids and his wife’s parents.

Eight people in 14 quare metres, this seems to be incredibly cramped for Europeans or Americans but they are aware of their situation. The children are at school in the village, the man said with satisfaction, and learn English. I often saw mobile phones in the hand of the Maasai. I think the time will come (or it has already come) when the traditional lifestyle of the Maasai people ends and tourism will be the primary income of the families.

It would not be bad for them but by losing their tradition they will not be that nomadic tribe they were 50 or 100 years ago.

With the help of our guide we had the chance to visit a Maasai market near Arusha in Tanzania on the way to the Ngorongoro Crater. Having seen about 300 or 400 Maasai I told to myself, well, now I have something to photograph as we should visit at leat 10 or 12 villages to see so many people. There were women, warriors, mothers with babies and old Maasai men as well. The villagers were selling their stuff which, watching them close, were more interesting.

How inventive the man is; I saw plenty of black slippers which were made out of used tyres cut and redesigned as new Maasai footwear. But there wer milk, goat and lots of other things but I liked the good practice of recycling on this market the most. However, we had some serious problem as in the absence of a tribal leader and despite the negotiation of our guide we could not photograph more than a half an hour because the old men and the combative women almost tear us apart.

Along the way we visited several small villages in Kenya and Tanzania. If you visit Eastern Africa, you must see the life of these nomadic people because it will not last long and the wandering folks sooner or later will be a forgotten culture in today’s globalised world. And we are very close to that time.

Text: Tamás Imre Images: Anikó Imre and Tamás Imre photographers

Szöveg: Imre Tamás Képek: Imre Anikó és Imre Tamás EFIAP fotóművészek

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

f/5 1/1600 sec ISO 250

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM

f/5.6 1/640 sec ISO 400

Interesting places KÖRÖS–MAROS NATIONAL PARK Photography of the Great Bustard The total area of the Körös–Maros National Park (established in 1997) is 51 125 hectars. The national park is the conservation authority responsible for the southern area of the Great Plain (Alföld) in Hungary, with a head office in Szarvas.

Nikon D300, Sigma EX 300-800mm f/5.6

f/5.6 1/200 sec ISO 500

Its operation area includes Békés County, the eastern part of Csongrád County and the Dévaványa-Ecseg grasslands and part of the Körös flood plain in JászNagykun-Szolnok County. The main objective of the National Park to present the natural values it is responsible for, to the visitors. Visitors centres and nature trails await nature lovers in the area.

The protection activities of the board of directors mainly focused on controlling agricultural works the way that they would not endanger the Great Bustard broods. The agricultural-environmental management programme which provides support for local farmers helps the protection activities a lot. Thanks to the programme focused on Great Bustard protection, the number of broods endangered by agricultural works decreased. Those broods which were still affected are delivered to the Great Bustard Protection Station of Dévaványa where conditions are secured for breeding, raising and re-wilding.

The extended and diverse area is divided into two main parts: the flood plain of Hortobágy-Berettyó rivers and the saline pastures of EcsegfalvaDévaványa. The floodings of Berettyó created the biggest moorland swamp of the Great Plain, the Nagy-Sárrét. After the drainage of the wetlands extended grasslands were formed. The main goal of the protected area is the protection of the Great Bustard. Those who are interested in the grasslands of Dévaványa-Ecseg are welcome by the Visitors Center of Réhely where exhibition rooms and the opportunity to see the Great Bustard and, in addition, getting to know the traditional Hungarian domestic animals provide meaningful pastime. There is a mile-long nature trail from the Visitors Center along which you can familiarize yourself with the botanical and zoological treasures of the region.

Nikon D300, Sigma EX 300-800mm f/5.6 f/5.6 1/320 sec ISO 400

Nikon D300, Sigma EX 300-800mm f/5.6

f/5.6 1/320 sec ISO 400

Bahama

Nikon D300, Sigma EX 300-800mm f/5.6 f/5.6 1/30 sec ISO 800

Nikon D300, Sigma EX 300-800mm f/5.6 f/5.6 1/50 sec ISO 800

Nikon D300, Sigma EX 300-800mm f/5.6

f/5.6 1/500 sec ISO 500

Nik f/4 1

kon 1V1, Nikon Nikon adapter Sigma 4/100-300 1/400 ISO 200

The region provides a suitable habitat for the endangered Great Bustard (Otis tarda).

The number of these birds inhabiting the Dévaványa region (one-third of the whole population in Hungary) has slightly increased in the past ten years thanks to the protection activities. The Great Bustard population of the region currently has 500 birds.

Besides the grasslands, this endangered largebodied bird species frequently uses the different field crops, especially medick (medicago) and grain crop fields for breeding. The characteristic behaviour of the Great Bustard in early spring, the breeding season, is the so-called lekking. During lekking males strut around and bristle up their feathers characteristically, so they look totally different then normally; they are rather reminiscent of a bunch of cotton wool, their mustache feathers stand on end due to their blown up throat pouches and reveal the blue skin of their neck on both sides. After this the male steps to and fro and waddles round and round while his inside out wings are swinging up and down and it makes a characteristic deep voice from its blown-up throat. Lekking is always a complicated ceremony which is aimed at luring the female by showing visually and acoustically the male’s ability for reproduction. The most suitable time for watching Great Bustard lekking is the dawn, early morning and late afternoon hours, since males are the most active during these periods.

It is not easy to photograph them! It is only possible from prebuilt and sufficiently camouflaged hides.

You can approach and leave the hides only in darkness. The bird is very sensitive to disturbance.

If disturbed, it leaves its breeding place and flies to another undisturbed area. It does not make the shooting easier that they rarely come comfortably close to the hides, therefore you need light intense telephoto lenses with long focal-length and a stable tripod. It is also good if your camera has a suitable ISO tolerance as shootings can be done mostly in poor light conditions. You also have too struggle with the increasing trembling of the warming up air which affects the sharpness of the pictures.

So it is not simple to make a good picture of lekking.

Nature photography requires proper preparation and good luck, and stubborn and determined persistence as well. I think that you will need all of these virtues for the photography of the lekking Great Bustard.

Text and images: János Szekeres

EDITORIAL Editor in Chief :

Tamás Imre Tamás Imre

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