Several years ago when I was still shooting film, I was in Louisiana and met some guys with whom I became friendly. They wanted to take me out in their boat on a swamp at night to see the nocturnal wildlife, and it was indeed pretty intriguing and very primeval. Using a powerful light, shining the beam over the surface of the black water, we could see dozens of alligators surrounding our boat. Their eyes reflected the light like diamonds in the swamp. They allowed a close approach -- this one was probably six feet from the camera. I know this looks like I used flash, but the illumination only came from the boat light. The juvenile gator was covered with aquatic vegetation, and notice how narrow the pupil is because of the bright light. My settings were unrecorded, but I used a Mamiya RZ 67 II camera along with a 350mm telephoto and Kodak Ektachrome 64 transparency film. I ascertained the correct exposure with a handheld Sekonic L-558 light meter.
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