We all know about the 'Big Five' African animals -- lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and cape buffalo. Well, my nominations for the 'Little Five' are the genet, dik-dik, honeybadger, mongoose, and rock hyrax. This beautiful cat-like creature is a genet, and I was lucky enough to photograph it in sunset lighting. One of the advantages of a low angled sun is that the eyes of animals are brightly illuminated, showing their rich color and amazing detail. Notice the catchlight in the eye. It is a single dot of light from the sun. This is why I don't like multiple catchlights from flash setups. Many photographers use multiple flashes when photographing hummingbirds, for example, and they leave all of the catchlights in the eyes. That looks really unnatural because, in nature, there is only one light source. My settings for this picture were 1/640, f/14, 1000 ISO, and I used a Canon 100-400mm lens.
4 Comments
Jul 13, 2018, 3:40:41 PM
Jim - Hi Ian, The 18-135mm is a good choice. Also consider the 24-105mm. This is what I have and love. It's an f/4 lens which lets you shoot in lower light without raising the ISO. The 7D Mark II has a lot of noise, so the f/4 lens would be an advantage for you.
Jul 13, 2018, 10:10:11 AM
Ian Cocking - Another great shot Jim, I wonder if you can advise me, I am looking to buy a zoom lens to use in general use and zoomed in candid shots, at present I have been using a Tamron 18- 270mm f:3.5-6.3
but the focus Is not what it was when I first bought it. My camera body is the Canon 7D mk 2. I already have the canon 70-200mm f:2.8 which is an amazing lens but not practical to use in crowds, The 85mm I also have is also not conducive for candid crown photography due to it's fixed focal length. I am seriously looking at the canon 18-135mm f: 3.5-5.6 and would value your opinion or suggestion. Many thanks. Ian
Jul 11, 2018, 7:21:39 PM
Jim - Ok, Barbara, I will. I did think to myself that most people won't know what these other 'Little Five' look like. I'll show each of these animals in the next four posts. Thanks for the idea. They aren't as 'glamorous' as lions and leopards, but you'll get to see what they look like.
Jul 11, 2018, 6:51:24 PM
Barbara Vickers - Well Jim, now you must please show us photos of a dik-dik, honeybadger, mongoose and rock hyrax.