I write a lot about getting as low as possible when photographing wildlife. In art, of course, there are exceptions to every guideline. This picture illustrates one of those exceptions. These snow monkeys (Japanese macaques) were bathing in a natural geothermal pool during mid-winter in Japan. As you can see, the heat from the water melted the snow. The forest was covered in deep snow, but the monkeys were able to escape the cold and the snow by enjoying the hot water. There were two vantage points from which to shoot. I initially used the water-level angle for a low perspective, but then I moved around the pool and shot down on the animals. They were constantly grooming each other, and that afforded multiple photo opportunities. The macaques are wild, but they are so accustomed to photographers and tourists that I was able to use a wide angle lens for intimate closeups -- a rarity when photographing wildlife. My settings were 1/160, f/14, and 800 ISO. I took this with a 24-105mm lens.
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