Look at the catchlights in the eyes of this very tiny lynx kitten I photographed in Montana many years ago. The reflections of the forest and the sky in those adorable little eyes look completely natural. When photographers talk about using fill flash to “add some life to the eyes of a subject” (animal or human), the single dot of light from the flash looks anything but natural. In fact, the only creatures that give off light from their eyes live on the planet Zorgon in the 49th sector! They definitely are not of this world. On-camera flash used with wildlife is usually disappointing. It’s flat, dimensionless, harsh, creates a black background, looks artificial, and puts that annoying dot of light in the eyes. I’ve used this kind of lighting but only when there are no other options. I shot this picture with my old medium format film camera, the Mamiya RZ 67, and the settings as I remember them were 1/60, f/5.6, and Fujichrome Velvia 100. I virtually always used a tripod with this camera.
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