Australian Freshwater Crocodile Reflected In Water. Crocodylus johnstoni.
May 9, 2008. The National Aquarium. Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland. Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes! exhibit.
Click on the photograph of the Australian Freshwater Crocodile to see more information and a larger version. Background Information:
What If I told you that I photographed this Australian Freshwater Crocodile while I was in the Outback of Australia.
If I told you that I was in the Outback of Australia, I’d be lying; I was at the National Aquarium located in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland.
Fortunately for me, since I’m as much a wildlife photographer as I am a neurosurgeon, we can get some interesting wildlife photographs at some not so wild places.
This Australian Freshwater Crocodile was on display during the Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes! exhibit.
While researching this reptile I learned that it is also called Johnston’s crocodile, Australian freshwater crocodile, “Freshie”, Fish crocodile, Johnston’s river crocodile and Crocodylus johnstoni. [1]
“The Australian freshwater crocodile is a relatively small crocodilian which rarely exceeds 2.5 to 3 m in the wild and takes many years (at least 30) to reach this size. Females general reach a maximum size of 2.0 to 2.1 metres. The shape of the snout is unusually narrow and tapering, lined with numerous sharp teeth (unlike the blunter teeth found in larger C. porosus). The body colour is light brown with darker bands on the body and tail – these tend to be broken up near the neck. Some individuals possess distinct bands or speckling on the snout. Body scales are relatively large, with wide, closely-knit armoured plates on the back. Rounded, pebbly scales cover the flanks and outsides of the legs.” [1]
Compositional Information:The reflections of the reeds and crocodile were almost mirror like in the still water of the display.
Shooting in manual mode I spot metered off of a brighter area of the crocodile and overexposed by approximately two stops.
Composing horizontally I wanted to split the frame (horizontally) down the middle with the reflecting line of the crocodile and reeds. I think I succeeded with the reeds, not so much with the crocodile.
My exposure was f-4 at 1/30. I pressed the lens against the glass of the display to steady the camera and remove any possible reflections from the glass itself.
I assumed that the light in the display was approximately 5200 K to simulate sunlight so I set my white balance to cloudy to warm the photograph.
In Lightroom, since I capture using Raw files, I reset whit balance to cloudy and saved as a tif file in Photoshop.
Technical Information:Subfile Type: Full-resolution Image
Image Width: 3072
Image Height: 2304
Bits Per Sample: 8 8 8
Compression: Uncompressed
Photometric Interpretation: RGB
Image Description: May 9, 2008. The National Aquarium. Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland. Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes! exhibit
Make: SONY
Camera Model Name: DSC-V3
Strip Offsets: 25884
Samples Per Pixel: 3
Rows Per Strip: 2304
Strip Byte Counts: 21233664
X Resolution: 300
Y Resolution: 300
Planar Configuration: Chunky
Resolution Unit: inches
Modify Date: 2009-06-07 19:54:36 GMT
Artist: Sam D’Amico
Copyright: (C) Sam D’Amico
Exposure Time: 1/30
F Number: 4.0
Exposure Program: Manual
ISO: 400
Exif Version: 0221
Date/Time Original: 2008-05-09 13:52:28 GMT
Create Date: 2008-05-09 13:52:28 GMT
Shutter Speed Value: 1/30
Aperture Value: 4.0
Max Aperture Value: 2.8
Metering Mode: Spot
Light Source: Cloudy
Flash: Off
Focal Length: 28.0mm
File Source: Digital Camera
Scene Type: Directly photographed
Custom Rendered: Normal
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Manual
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Links: Related Photography Classes and Workshops:About The Photograph-A Nightmare In Gardiner.
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August 1, 2007. Elk heads on the walls of a motel in Gardiner, Montana.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPH
TECHNICAL
COMPOSITIONAL
The driving feeling behind this photograph was fright.
As we made our way to the second floor of a hotel in Gardiner Montana the elk heads on the wall didn’t phase me. As I left the building however, the elk heads took on a nightmarish quality.
It almost seemed like something out of a Stephen King movie. The elk head on the right seemed as if it was turning its head to look at me while trying to keep me from exiting, while the other two, on the left, were bleating in unison with their disembodied relative.
As usual I tried to keep the elements of the composition to a minimum. The elk heads and exit sign were all that I felt were needed. The overexposed window lends to the dreamlike quality.
I spot metered off of the darker areas of the elk head to the right, and left the meter reading as my camera suggested. By letting the elk head reproduce as a mid-tonal value, I knew the contrasty scene would lose details in the brighter areas while holding details in the areas that I felt were of importance.
The long exposure of 10 seconds at f-8 required that I steadied the camera. I attached my camera to a “Pedco Ultra-Clamp” then attached the ultra-clamp to a nearby railing.
Once my camera was steadied, my exposure set, and photograph framed to include only the elements needed, I only needed to press the shutter when no one was in the frame.
Although a few people stopped to talk with me about what I was photographing, I’m glad that no one asked me why.
Related Workshops: Effective Color Photography Elements Of Photographic Composition Intermediate Photography Introduction To Photography-Starts Monthly Metering And Exposure Personal Photographic Expression Using Exposure Creatively