Photography Archives

In the remote and beautiful Ethiopia. I create photography for my love of the human experience.

Although these days I am known mostly for my wildlife photography, there is certainly another love that rests deep within my heart. In fact, I have had a wedding and portrait studio for just north of forty years. Other than three years in the US Navy, I have made my living as a professional photographer my entire adult life. It actually goes beyond that, my teenage years were spent with a camera in hand and photographs on the mind. In my teen years, one of my first jobs was developing and printing black and white images in my father’s portrait studio. With over seven thousand weddings, countless business portraits, and more family portraits than I can shake a stick at, photographing people has been and continues to have a major influence on my love of photography. My style and approach in my work has been to combine my technical and emotional development in both portrait and wildlife photography. In every image that I create, I try to dive deep into the world of that which is flowing through my lens and into my own interpretations and experiences of life. In other words when I photograph a lion in the wilds of Africa, I look for a lot of the same emotions, expressions, and feelings that I search for when I am photographing a human deep in the valley’s of remote Ethiopia. When I photograph people I find myself searching for the depths of hidden thoughts and hard to reach messages that are often found in wildlife. I try to bring out the expressions and messages that rest deep inside the human mind. Through the very creation and development of my own interpretation of life, I look for ways to bring the depths of another living creature to the eyes that view and interpret the photograph that I have created. For me, this journey has been and continues to be incredible. I truly believe that all living things are filled with deep thought and important messages. Messages through expressions, colors, tones, and textures, that can enhance our own life experiences in so many ways. In my journey to narrow the scope of my imagery to emotional impact and the viewers connection to the photograph, I use the technical assistance of a very shallow depth of field and the compression of telephoto lenses. This technique leaves little distraction in my images, allowing the viewer to quickly reach my intended connection to the depths of the subjects thoughts, feelings, and the very story of the photograph.

Canon R3. Sigma 60-600. 1/250, F6.3, 267mm

I have led many journeys to the remote and wild parts of beautiful Ethiopia. Both wildlife and tribal photography have drawn me to this visually stunning and culturally fascinating destination. With so many journeys under my belt, one would think that my selection of camera gear would be a breeze. However, I am embarrassed to admit that I am still highly challenged in this department. I suppose when it comes to selecting what lens to take I start out with them all. Once I realize that my camera bag is so heavy that I would have to travel with a crew of sherpas, I begin the dreadful process of narrowing it down.

The destinations subject matter and the mode of transport are of course, huge considerations when it comes to making my final lens choices. Another important factor that I have to consider is where I will be traveling to before and after a specific location. I will often go from one country to another with very different goals for each location. Often I will be traveling from a wildlife location to a tribal portrait location with no time to head home and trade out my lens for different types of photography. In my situation, it’s important for me to select lenses that offer a variety of uses.

Canon 1dxmk3. Sigma 105 Prime. 1/40, F2.8, 105mm

Canon R3. Sigma 60-600. 1/200, F6.3, 222mm

If I had to narrow down my gear to just one lens, it would be the Sigma 60-600. I have been using this lens as my main go to lens since it was released in 2018. I have used this lens for just about every type of photography I do. In fact I have even used this lens on weddings. I teach several workshops a year in locations where we use bush planes and are restricted to under fifty pounds of weight including clothing and personal items. The first lens I go for when packing my camera bag is my Sigma 60-600. It is by far the best all around lens I have ever used. It is a bit heavy at just under six pounds, however that six pounds is pure usable focal lengths and very sharp. My Sigma 60-600 has been the best all around lens I have owned and used in my 40 plus years as a professional photographer.

Canon R3. Sigma 60-600. 1/400, F5, 139mm

I truly enjoy using my 60-600 for portrait photography. Having the various focal lengths allows me to both be interactive with my subjects when I am looking for a specific pose and expression. On the other hand when I am photographing with a more candid approach I can easily maintain a distance and still reach out and get nice close images. I love how the compression of the telephoto lens builds a very soft, creamy background. In most cases, unless I am using a wide angle lens and telling a story, I personally like to keep my images simple and clean, often using the wide open side of my aperture choices. The easier it is for a viewer to look at at a photograph the faster the photograph will grab and hold the viewers attention.

Canon R3. Sigma 60-600. 1/640, F6.3, 204mm

I never travel with just one lens, I am a firm believer in having a back up system. I use the Sigma 150-600 C as my back up lens. It is very light, very sharp and although it’s missing that 60-150 focal range, it is the perfect back up lens. Gear can be dropped or broken and a back up is vital when investing in a destination type photographic journey. That being said, when traveling to Ethiopia for Tribal Photography, in addition to my 60-600 lens, I prefer to pack and use two other lenses. My Sigma 16-24 and my Sigma 105 Prime.

Canon 1dxmk3. Sigma 105 Prime. 1/125, F1.4, 105mm

Back in the days when I was doing a lot of wedding photography I used an 85mm 1.2 prime lens. I loved the slight telephoto look combined with the minimal depth of field. The wide aperture also allowed me the ability to photograph in low light situations without having to introduce an artificial light source. I wanted to maintain that ability, yet with just a slight bit more compression in the background. So I decided to with from the 85mm to the 105mm. It is a dream lens for sure. I love using it.

Canon 1dxmk3. Sigma 105 Prime. 1/40, F2.5, 105mm

Early in the morning when the beautiful people of Ethiopia are starting their day, I love to spend time with them photographing and learning about their culture. This is a time when I will often use my Sigma 14-24mm 2.8 Art Lens. I will normally take a low camera angle and photograph the mornings activities with a natural and candid approach. Often these days start very early, normally just as the sun is making its appearance for the day. I find myself photographing in very low light conditions and using the lenses 2.8 aperture quite often. As the light improves I may also use an aperture setting that allows me a bit more depth of field . However, I truly enjoy using the wide lens with a minimal depth of field.

Canon 1dxmk3. Sigma 14-24 Lens. 1/320, f2.8, 14mm

Canon 1dxmk3. Sigma 14-24 Lens. 1/640, f4, 14mm

Canon 1dxmk3. Sigma 14-24 Lens. 1/150, f2.8, 17mm

Canon 1dxmk3. Sigma 14-24 Lens. 1/30, f2.8, 14mm

In conclusion, I am a huge admirer of the line up of Sigma Lenses. I do have my favorites and the three lens that I use when photographing the tribes in wild and remote Ethiopia are right at the top of favorites list. I try to select my lenses to match my style of photography and these lenses meet those needs. I use gear that is an extension and a pathway of expressing my personality. My gear is a tool and a connection to the expressions of how I view and share the world through my photography. I am very specific to select the gear that fits into my style and my technique. These Sigma lenses are the very windows that allow me to enjoy, feel, create, and share my love of photography.

Canon 1dxmk3. Sigma 105 Lens. 1/5000, f7.1, 105mm

I am excited to head back to the remote parts of wild Ethiopia where we find and photograph tribes that still live and practice their traditional cultures. We have spent years establishing relationships with these wonderful people and the experienced guides and interpreters that accompany us on these life changing journeys. I love sharing this amazing adventure and teaching the techniques of people photography in such an inspiring and interesting location.

Canon R3. Sigma 60-600 Lens. 1/640, f5, 79mm

24Aug

By kdooleyin Pantanal, Uncategorized

Sigma The Jaguar

All Wildlife Images made on a Canon R3 with a Sigma 60-600 Lens

The sunrise over the Cuiaba river was the perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of rich Brazilian coffee. I glanced to the southwest and felt a twinge of excitement running through my body. Another beautiful day in the wild Pantanal is about to begin. My safari group has had a wonderful start to our jaguar safari. With two days of some of the very best jaguar sightings I have experienced, we have already photographed several beautiful jaguars . Today we will travel several miles up the Cuiaba river and connect to one of my favorite areas of the wild Pantanal. The narrow and winding upper Caxiri Channel. An area that is normally full of wildlife. The large caiman hug the shorelines in search of fish and the many birds offer such wonderful photographic opportunities. The capybaras sit upon the river banks and occasionally swim and feed along the waters edge. All this activity keeps our cameras busy, however, it also provides both food and the perfect habitat for the jaguar. Today we will explore and enjoy the wild and beautiful Pantanal.

Our boat captain was a very quiet man. Often protecting his face with a bandana and his eyes with dark sunglasses. Due to my lack of speaking his native language and his inability to speak mine, we became experts in the art of hand gestures. However, there was one word that we both shared with full excitement. “Jaguar”. I have always had a fairly good knack for spotting wildlife but, compared to our boat captain, my ability of spotting Jaguars in the thick jungle was not even close to the his abilities. He was also an expert in navigating our boat through the river channels of the wild Pantanal, often having to avoid fallen trees and masses of floating vegetation.

Enjoying our journey up the Cuiaba river, stopping to photograph monkeys, birds, and caiman, along the way, we eventually reached the mouth of the Caxiri channel. A narrow and sandy opening led us into the channel and we began our adventure down the winding and narrow waterway that would eventually empty back out into the main river. A few years back I had seen two jaguar brothers in this area and I was hoping to find at least one of them again. I was curious to see how the young jaguars had grown and flourished. Just shortly after stopping to photograph a family of capybaras I glanced to the river bank in front of us. We were entering a very sharp turn and the river bank was tall and steep. As I scanned the thick vegetation upon the tall river bank, I spotted a jaguar looking straight at us. Before I could get a word out our boat captain beat me to it. “Jaguar, Jaguar”, he said.

I had my Canon R3 with my favorite Sigma lens, the Sigma 60-600, resting on my lap and ready for action. I quickly brought the camera to my eye and managed to get a few images before the jaguar moved into some thick bushes. I immediately realized that this must be a shy jaguar and possibly a jaguar that has not been spotted or photographed previously. We slowly worked our way around the river bend and continued to look for the jaguar. With no visual, we decided to wait a few minutes and see if she reappeared. I saw an area on the riverbank that looked to be a trail through an opening that came to a stop at the rivers edge. I asked the caption to slowly back the boat up so that I could see down the trail. In doing this we spotted the jaguar laying down on the trail just far enough back that we could not see her from our previous position. Again I began to photograph her and at this moment our other boat arrived. The guide and I came to the conclusion that this was a new jaguar to the area. She was shy and did not stay around for too long. We felt she was a jaguar that had not been seen or photographed before.

That evening we touched base with the wildlife biologist and compared the images to the jaguars that have been discovered in the area. There is a complete list of photographs of the various jaguars along with their given names that help the biologists keep track of the jaguar population in the Pantanal. After confirming this was a new jaguar to the area, I was allowed to submit the photographs and present a name for the new jaguar.

Why would we name a wild animal? The Pantanal holds the largest concentration of wild jaguars in the world. The importance of studying and maintaining a healthy population of jaguars is vital to the continuation of this rare and beautiful species. Each jaguar is unique in appearance, having specific and identifiable markings and patterns helps the researchers and biologists to keep track of the well being of each individual jaguar. Such important details such as age, reproduction, habitat, diets, and interactions with each other as well as other species can be studied. The jaguar population within the Pantanal is a very important indicator to the over all health of the jaguar species. Therefore it is much easer to keep records and study information on a specific jaguar when it has a given name.

Why would I name a jaguar “Sigma”? I tried to share my reasons in writing this little piece of how I feel about my Sigma 60-600 lens. My travel companion and friend, indeed I am so grateful to you. The joy I have had, the happiness I have felt, the accomplishments you have given to me. So trustworthy and solid. In all that you have shown to me, close and clear, wide and fulfilling, bright and crisp. With approximately a million images, three cameras, over eleven country’s, and several years of being my main lens, I do believe you deserve this special award. So in your honor I have named this amazing wild and beautiful jaguar “Sigma”.

Being blessed with the honor of naming a wild jaguar with the purpose of helping their population flourish goes beyond my wildest dreams. To explore such amazing places as the wild Pantanal, is an adventure beyond words! As our week in the Pantanal continued, we would end up having photographic opportunities that were incredible. With every outing both morning and afternoon we found and photographed many different Jaguars. If this journey is an example of how the Pantanal gets better and better each and every year, I can not wait to see what next year brings in the wilds of Brazil. A true wildlife photographers dream place.

29Dec

By kdooleyin Uncategorized

Nature's Best Photography

Benjamin Mkapa Photography Awards

After a few attempts to write this blog, I am finally feeling like I have a better handle on the over whelming emotional impact that winning such an award can have. Although I have had the blessing and been fortunate enough to win several photographic awards over the last few years, this one was certainly one of the most important and meaningful to me. The amount of time and effort we as wildlife and nature photographers put into our much loved craft is simply a statement of the love and passion for wildlife and photography that most of us have. Indeed some winning images in any photography competition can be of luck. Of course being in the right place at the right time and having your camera settings set to capture the image can easily happen every once in while. However in most cases a winning image in such a prestigious photographic competition will be made up of a lot of skill, patience, hard work, and talent. I find this to be particularly true for those photographers who can consistently do well in photographic competitions and win in more than one category or with multiple images. This is when it goes way beyond getting lucky and the true skills involved in constantly creating great wildlife images becomes evident. Indeed many hours , hard work, great joy, a love of wildlife and nature, a love of photography, and dedication and the will to never give up, make up the workings of most winning wildlife photographs. There are so many factors that impact wildlife photography, and I think this is such a good thing. I have been a professional photographer that has made a living only from photography for over forty years. Mostly wedding, commercial, and portrait photography have been my main source of income. Wildlife photography has also been a part of that, however that is not my main reason for continuing in this journey and adventure. The simple fact that wildlife photography consistently offers so many challenges and the knowledge of most likely never fulfilling my dream list of desired images keeps my passion alive and never ending. So many factors come into play when creating wildlife photography. Subjects that do whatever they like, weather conditions that can be unpredictable and sometimes very uncomfortable. Traveling to remote places in hopes of finding subjects that may or may not be there. Dealing with government officials, border crossings, and traveling conditions that you may not be comfortable or familiar with. The ever changing lighting conditions and of course guides that may or may not understand the excitement and desire to obtain great photographs. In fact in many cases we as wildlife and nature photographers are up against so many odds that it is amazing that we are so successful in obtaining the images we manage to get. It takes a very special breed of person to constantly pursue images that are on the edges of impossible to get. Indeed I do believe this is the very reason why so many of us dedicated wildlife photographers are so addicted to the challenge.

All images by NBP, Kevin Dooley, and Eric Maripane

Entering Photography Contests

I personally believe it takes a lot of guts to enter your wildlife photographs into photography competitions where you will be competing against photographers world wide. Given todays high quality cameras and lenses, it is a very competitive world out there and winning photography competitions require very good images. To be brave enough to present your photographs to a panel of judges is no easy task. However it is a very positive and fun opportunity to be a part of a community that concentrates on both nature conservation and the betterment of the art of photography. I can not express the importance in entering photographic competitions to both build your confidence and to help you grow your skills as a photographer. Maybe even more important is that photographic competitions are a vital part of sharing the beauty of our wildlife and the importance of taking care of it. So many people in todays society will never venture out of the cities and see the world that exists in the wild places. Many people have no idea what it is like to watch a wild baby elephant play in the mud, to witness a grizzly bear in the wilds of Alaska fishing the winding rivers. So many people will never see a wild tiger or float the rivers of Brazil in search of the elusive Jaguar. With no reference to these amazing and life changing experiences, an understanding of keeping our wildlife and wild places strong and flourishing is unknown. It is the photographs that are shared throughout the world that bring these realities to the people who will never see them. The importance of wildlife photographic competitions that share the photographs with the world go way beyond prizes and the honors of having a winning image. These photographic competitions play a major role in the conservation of our wildlife. Every single person who enters these competitions is a winner in so many ways. One brave decision to enter a wildlife photographic competition is one brave decision to make the world more aware of our natural and beautiful world. When I hear a person say that I am not a good enough photographer or that I don’t believe in competitions, I am saddened that there is one less person out there to help save our planet. It is through the amazing photographs and the economic benefits that travel and awareness provide for our wild places that keeps up the interest and the desire to preserve these treasures.

What Images To Select For Photography Contests

It is never easy to know what photographs to select, I personally have difficulty picking out what images I think might do well in a photographic competition. I will often ask others to help me make my selections. I am often influenced by the difficulties that may have been involved in getting the photograph. Forgetting that the judges were not there and they have no idea what I went through to get it. I also find that I have to be careful not to pass up photographs because I have seen them several times and they have lost some of the impact to me personally. Therefore its good to get others opinions as we are often distracted by the details and story of an image. Remember that you need to get the attention of a judge and hold it immediately. The judges will often see thousands of images and you want your photograph to stop them in their tracks. Your image needs to have impact.

Most importantly do it for fun and do not take it to seriously, what one judge enjoys or likes could be completely different from one competition to another.

What Wildlife Photography Means To Me

One of the reasons I wrote my book Wild Faces in Wild places, inspirations and stories of a wildlife photographer, was to share what wildlife photography means to me. There is no doubt that I love photography. I love being creative and I certainly enjoy all the fun gear. However my love of wildlife photography is really more about the experience of being in the outdoors. Basically wildlife photography is a great and enjoyable reason for me to spend time with nature. I am most happy being in the wild places where my mind finds true peace and happiness. As my finger touches the shutter release of my camera body, my mind becomes free and my concentration is narrowed down to what I am photographing. It is a very happy and peaceful place for me. Wildlife photography has been one of the best and most inspiring parts of my life. Spending time in nature, observing, learning, loving, and taking care of our wild critters and places is what its all about for me.

The Images And The Prizes.

I was fortunate enough to have a winning image and five highly honored images in this photographic competition. What an honor it is for me to have done this well in such a highly recognized photographic competition. To have six of my photographs selected to hang in a museum of world renown status is beyond my wildest dreams. In addition to a beautiful Shona sculpture I received a cash prize and five award certificates. My images will also be published in a special edition of Nature’s Best Photography magazine.

My Winning Image

My Highly Honored Images

The Awards Ceremony

There was nothing more that I personally wanted than to attend this once in a lifetime Awards ceremony. However, I was on safari and could not make it up to Kenya for the couple of days required. I decided to ask someone to go in my place. The question was who I should ask? I discussed the idea with my good friend and safari guide Eric Maripane of Mashatu Game Reserve, since he was with me when I made three of the winning images. I decided he would be the perfect person to be at the awards ceremony. Eric has spent hours upon hours with me out on safari. He is my top choice of guides when we are in Botswana and he is also an avid photographer. Eric will go beyond the call of duty to make sure I am able to spend as much time as I need in the bush. Eric knows me and my personality well. He understands my passion of wildlife photography and he knows that I work extra hard to get our safari guests into fantastic wildlife sightings. He is very aware of the wildlife and always puts wildlife conservation first. Eric and I will often wait hours for an amazing photograph. He is from Botswana and I truly wanted him to experience the opportunity to meet the amazing people involved in the Mkapa Wildlife Awards. It was magic for me to watch Eric as he received my awards. In fact in many ways it meant more to me to see Eric at the ceremony than to have won the awards. Often the guides, lodges, and other folks involved are forgotten once an image makes it to this level. Without these amazing people and their efforts we could not reach these levels of photographic excellence.

Watch the awards on You Tube

Links to the Nature's Best Photography Gallery of all the winning images.
Click Here

A great big Thank you to Eric, Nature's Best photography, the African wildlife foundation, and all the folks who have done so much to help our wildlife.

My Gear

My gear.

Its really quite simple with me, the less gear I have to mess with the more I can concentrate on my images and my joy of the freedoms of nature. I carry two camera bodies, a Canon 1dxmk3 and have just replaced my Canon 1dxmk2 with a Canon R3. The main reason I carry two bodies is in case I have a break down in a camera body, and or I would like to have two lenses with me that are ready to pick up and use. I do not want to fumble around changing lenses out in the field. It distracts me, it increases the chances of picking up dust particles on my camera sensors, and it is time consuming when I should be watching and photographing my subject. I use two lenses for ninety percent of my images. My main lens on my main camera body is a Sigma 60-600, my back up body will have a Sigma 120-300 2.8 or a Sigma 500 f4 prime with a 1.4 converter. On occasion I will keep a Sigma 150-600 C on my second body. It is very light and easy to pack. This decision is based on two things, one being what I have packed , weight is always an issue when traveling. The other consideration is the decision between having a longer focal length or having a lens that will give me more light. Basically it is a choice between f2.8 or a 700mm focal length. If I have the opportunity to take all four lenses with me, I am likely to use the 500 with the converter in the morning when I have more light and the 120-300 2.8 in the evening when light becomes more of an issue. Although I will loose some light gathering capabilities in using my 60-600 zoom, I much prefer having a zoom lens over a prime and for me personally the flexibility in focal lengths far outreaches the advantages of a prime. I use ProMediaGear carbon fiber tripods and the Promediagear Kevin Dooley Safari edition Katana gimbal head. I use ThinkTank MindShift backpack style camera bags. I really try to keep my gear at a minimum, it is strictly a tool for me, an extension of my body that needs to feel natural, and does not interfere in my ability to be in the zone of everything wild that is happening around me.  

01Aug

By kdooleyin Uncategorized

Photographing Walrus in wild Alaska

Photographing Walrus in wild Alaska.

Join wildlife photographer Kevin Dooley on this exciting adventure.

I have always had a hankering to photograph the wild Pacific Walrus. Walrus Photography offers so many opportunities in the world of wildlife photography. These marine mammals are plumb full of life and character. Wrapped in skin of many colors, textures, and shades of lights and darks are just part of the attraction. Huge tusks covered in stains and crevices that look completely out of place, massive broad lips that support long thick whiskers and flat wide noses. All this wonderful temptation of wildlife photography is highlighted by one heck of an adventure just to locate them on the cold wind blown beaches of the Great Bering Sea. Does it get much better than that?

A successful day of bear photography.

Our day of Bear photography was highly successful, and we even landed a few sockeye salmon to add to our fist day on the Alagnak River in South Western Alaska. Nothing like a comfortable bed, a few episodes of the original Star Trek series, and a mind full of the days memories to drift off to sleep with. I have always been one to hit the hay early and wake up early. With a belly truly satisfied after a gourmet dinner of Smoked Salmon Canapé, Mandarin Salad, Bristol Bay Halibut Curry, and Wild Berry Shortcake. Sleep and relaxation was on my list of priorities. Soon after I shut the curtains and shuttered the long Alaskan days that filled my cabin with a warm golden light, I drifted off to sleep. However, it was not long before a knock woke me and I realized my name was being called. My watch told me that it was just after ten pm, “One Moment”, I answered, Wayne, the lodge owner was at my cabin door. Before I could even get the door open, he was telling me with great enthusiasm, about an incredible opportunity that had presented itself. A bush pilot friend had contacted him with a last minute opportunity to join a few folks who were flying down the coastline to look for the wild Pacific Walrus. There was word of their location and it was just under a hundred miles down the cost line of the Great Bering sea. After a few moments of contemplation, I was in.

Home Sweet Home at ATA Lodge

After a huge breakfast of Pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hot coffee, we boarded one of the lodges jet boats for a forty five minute river journey that would take us to a point in the river where a float plane would collect us. I have always had a love for float planes, they seem to symbolize everything adventure. Just the thought of flying in Alaska on a float plane brings on goose bumps and an elevated heart rate. Our float plane flight would take us to King Salmon Alaska where we would transfer over to one of my other favorite airplanes, the Havilland Beaver, another bush plane that has certainly treated me to some of my best of life’s adventures. I can not express the feeling of flying over the Alaskan Tundra, the landscape is littered with clear glacier fed lakes, winding fast flowing rivers filled with Wild Salmon, and stubby often crooked fur trees trying their very best just to survive. Every direction is vast and untouched, with game trails winding over hills and through valleys where moose, caribou, wolves, and bears have left their prints in the permafrosted ground.

Engine and Prop of our Havilland Beaver Bush Plane

As my mind drifted from the landscape to the thought of photographing wild Walrus, I took note that a thick fog was rolling in off the Great Bering Sea. Visibility was closing in, the fog was rolling over the wings of our bush plane and I knew we would have to find a spot to land the Beaver and wait it out. A quick bank to the left and the Beaver was dropping to the beach with a rapid pace, the tires kissed the sand, the cold ocean waves rolling in on my right and a wall of gravel and rocks to my left. We came to a stop and let the engine wind down to a gradual rest. Our pilot suggested we have our lunch and just relax in hopes that the weather would clear up enough for us to continue on to the Walrus. Our time on the beach was well spent, we found wolf tracks, bear tracks, and seals swam close to us as we enjoyed a lunch of sandwiches, chips, snacks, and ice cold water. We also enjoyed the beautiful bird life.

Alaska has amazing Eagle sightings

With only approximately sixteen miles still to travel to the last known location of a huge herd of Walrus, this opportunity seemed so close, yet the fog was heavy, leaving me with the feeling of uncertainty. The area was a perfect paradise for the Walrus. Long sandy beaches with protective cliffs on one side and at low tide, miles of Razor Clam beds. Walrus love to eat clams and until they have made the best of of all the fresh food, the Walrus would stay in the area. Soon a cold wind picked up and the thick fog began to disappear, I knew it was going happen, I knew I was about to set my tripod on a wind blown Alaskan beach, with one of the most character filled animals in the world. The pilot announced to get aboard, the engine began to purr, back in the air and underway. A beautiful coastline gently accompanied by a bright green tundra lay just below me, we were on our way.

From the small window in the plane I could see the thousands of walrus covering every inch of the available beach as we searched for a good landing spot. We would need to land well over a mile away from the Walrus, so as not to disturb them. There is a certain feeling of excitement, happiness, nervousness, and accomplishment when a much desired species comes within camera range. A feeling that is almost indescribable, a feeling that only happens every once in a while, a feeling that wildlife photographers live for. Upon landing I began to gather up my gear and prepare for the long walk ahead.

Too many Walrus to count

I had packed two cameras, a Canon 1dxmk3 and a Canon 5dmk4, two lenses, a Sigma 60-600 sport, a Sigma 500 prime with a sigma 1.4 converter, and a Sigma FP still and video camera for video coverage. All nicely packed in my MindShift camera pack along with a ProMediaGear carbon fiber tripod and a ProMediaGear Katana jr gimbal head. After close consideration of the walk and the weather, I decided to place my Canon 1dxmk3 with the Sigma 60-600 lens on my tripod and put my video camera in my smaller MindShift sling carry bag. I would leave the rest of the gear in the plane, just too much to carry, especially considering the walking would be in very soft sand. The sky was filled with mixed gray clouds and did not present the look of rain, so I would also leave my rain gear for both my camera and myself in the plane.

Walrus are fun to photograph in Black and White

As we walked towards the walrus I thought over my camera settings, and began to plan out a few of the images I wanted to try and get. I knew we would not be able to get too close to the walrus, cropping would definitely be needed in some of my images. Especially for the portrait type Images I wanted to get. Therefore as low an ISO as possible would be needed to prevent excessive digital noise. Walrus are not fast moving animals and with a very sturdy tripod, super fast shutter speeds would not have to be a strong consideration. I did notice that when the walrus argued among one another they did move their heads relatively fast, so I would need a shutter speed fast enough to stop that movement. Because the walrus are clumped together and the long white tusks could become a distraction with in the photographs background, I would select an f-stop with a minimal amount of depth of field. The air was filled with both blowing wind and sea mist, this would present a challenge in both exposure and in keeping my lens clean and dry. The light was very consistent, with some spots of gray clouds and mostly a grayish haze. The sun was not clearly visible and I knew the exposure would be fairly consistent. With all that being said I decide to start out with this exposure set up. 1/800th of a second, a shutter speed fast enough to stop the movement of the walrus as they head butt each other. Will also take me one setting past my maximum lens focal length of 600mm, preventing my images from becoming blurry from camera movement. My f stop of 7.1 will give me enough depth of field to hold the walruses heads and tusks in focus, still putting my background and foreground out of focus. This depth will keep the viewers attention just where I want it to be. My ISO of 800 is high enough to give me the shutter speed options that I require, yet keep the digital noise to a minimum. I will be using all my camera settings in the manual mode, allowing me the complete control of my cameras performance.

Our visit with the Walrus seemed to fly by, we had a long journey back to the lodge, and we did not want to stress the Walrus by spending too much time with them. I created a few more images and we began our hike back to the bush plane. Wayne and I talked of just how amazing the experience was, we enjoyed our walk along the wild bering sea knowing we would never be the same again. With the understanding of just how fortunate it is to live this opportunity of seeing the Walrus in the wild. To put a few more stories in our memories that we can share with the world, a few stories of both the importance of living life as it was intended to live , as well as the importance of keeping our wild places wild and taking care of our wild species. This would be a day to remember, with a beautiful bush plane flight with just enough time to relive the entire experience in my mind.

Dinner would be good, sleep will come easy, today was a day that only dreams are made of.

Join us in Alaska

Alaska Bear Safari with Kevin Dooley July 2020/2021

23Apr

By kdooleyin Pantanal, Safari Gear

Photographing in the Pantanal

I’ll never forget the day I created this image of a Black Vulture. We were headed up river just as the light was starting to peak over the thick canopy of the wild and stunning Pantanal region of Brazil. A place that I have learned to love and admire, a place of great opportunities to photograph wildlife. I was feeling a bit full from the huge breakfast of fried eggs over easy, crispy bacon, and an assortment of fresh fruits and home baked breads. I had slept so well the evening before. After all the excitement of some incredible Jaguar sightings, a beautiful day on the river, and enjoying my friends, I was ready for a restful night of sleep and dreams of the new day ahead. The sounds of the river and surrounding jungle are such a melody to fall asleep with.

All Photographs by Kevin Dooley and Jeff Morrison

The fires were heavy in the Amazon and spreading, although the fires were several hundred miles away, the sky was filled with a thick smoke. Fortunately most days we were able to escape the over hanging cloud of smoke, however this was a morning where the winds had pushed the haze straight towards us.

We were headed to a Jaguar sighting that we had located the evening before, a large female Jaguar had taken down a Caiman and was feeding on it. The spray of the cool river water was refreshing and invigorating. My body and mind were filled with the normal excitement I get when we head out on a new and exciting morning of adventure, I get this massive amount of excitement no matter where I am in the world. Something about being out in the wild with my favorite camera gear, great friends, and a sense of discovery that just gets my blood flowing. I simply love it.

The Jaguar was hidden deep in the bushes and we could only make out a few of its spots, however the black vultures were waiting for a chance to feed on the remains of the caiman. As the Sun rose the smoky sky filled the morning with incredible color. I moved our boat and lined it up with the vulture. As the vulture opened its wings, the feeling was overwhelming. A burning Amazon, a jaguar on a caiman kill, a vulture in his paradise.

The Black Vulture is a stunning bird to photograph. These scavengers reside in the southern parts of the United States as well as Central America and South America. They are a bit smaller than their red headed relatives, the Turkey Vulture. The Black Vultures are not as adept in the art of smell, however, they do have an incredible sense of vision. They use their vision to spot other birds of prey and then zero in on the kill. They can live for approximately 20 years, and are very strong flyers. Like other vultures they will wait for the air to warm up before taking to flight.

I like to say that the bird photography in the Pantanal is second to none, but I am still there for the Jaguars. The birds, caiman, and other species are amazing to photograph, but I am a huge lover of photographing the wild cats, and this is the place to find the Jaguar. The Jaguar in my opinion is one of the most elusive and cunning of all the big cats. Only the tiger in India pulls the kind of overwhelming feelings of intensity that the Jaguar gives me. In fact, I still have moments where I get so caught up in the moment that I forget to raise my camera.

One of the best things about being a wildlife photographer and guide is getting to experience the joy of the photographers that accompany me on my safaris. To witness the expressions, the holy moly moments, the excitement in their voices, when an image and or a sighting is beyond expectations. This brings a kind of joy to me that is hard to explain, a sense of being part of fulfilling a persons dream. To know that one of my guests just got an image of a lifetime, is to know true happiness and satisfaction. I often travel with my buddy Jeff and he always comes home with some truly prize winning images. What an honor it is to say I was there when he got that image, I saw his smile when it happend, I simply love it when a guest or travel companion gets an image of a lifetime.

A few of my buddy Jeff Morrison’s Images from the Pantanal.

Our last safari to the Pantanal was very successful, averaging six to eight Jaguar sightings a day. We would head out just at day break and return to our floatel for a wonderful lunch and maybe a short nap or some photography workshop time. Mid afternoon we would head back out and stay on the river till dark. Often getting to enjoy a beautiful sunset as we headed back to the floating lodge for an incredible dinner and a restful nights sleep.

The techniques of photographing Jaguars are quite different than just about any other species I have photographed. Because of their very reclusive nature they are often located in the shade and require higher ISO’s and some compensation in shutter speeds and f-stops. However, the biggest challenge can be photographing these cats from a moving boat. When you combine a telephoto lens and almost constant movement from a rocking vessel , it can create some very unique challenges. It is mandatory to work with fast shutter speeds, at least faster than the focal length you are shooting at. In addition you will need to pre determine your shutter release time. On a moving boat, by the time your brain and your finger on the shutter release button connect the position of the image may change. This takes a little practice, another way to deal with this is to shoot a little loose, giving yourself some cropping space.

Jaguars are similar to tigers in the sense that they have a very vivid and busy pattern that provides very good camouflage for them. This type of marking is designed to confuse the viewer and to make it more difficult to be seen. This is a great asset for the animal, however, it makes our job as photographers a lot more difficult. Being presented with photographing an animal that is designed to blend into its environment through a series of busy patterns adds a touch of difficulty in creating great images. The lighting on both the subject and on the background play a huge role in the success of this challenge. The more light on the subject and the less light on the background will increase your odds of success. Both drawing your eyes straight to the subject, and blocking off unpleasant distractions within the environment of the photograph. The Pantanal is basically a jungle, finding and photographing Jaguars in clear areas is not an everyday encounter, when it happens it is certainly a blessing. Its important to use your skills as a photographer to give yourself the best advantage of a great image no matter where you may encounter the Jaguar. This is where your choice of depth of field will come in handy. Taking into consideration that Jaguars have very large heads, much larger than leopards as an example. The distance between the tip of the nose and the eyes can be upwards of eight inches. If a Jaguar is looking straight at you, depending on the focal length and angle, an f-stop of 7.1 or maybe 8 might be needed to hold the focus on both the eyes and the nose. However, you want your background to fall out of focus as much as possible. Therefore shooting in anything past f8 could lead to a confusing image with too much going on in the background. When the subject is in a profile position I often drop my f-stop down to 5.6 or 6.3. The other advantage to these lower f-stops is that it will allow you to maintain a fast shutter speed. This is very important considering the movement of the boat and the long focal lengths that are normally used with wildlife.

https://idubephotosafaris.com/the-jaguars-of-pantanal/

Our next photography tour/workshop to the Pantanal will be August of 2020. Fallowed up with another tour in August of 2021. Join us on this stunning wildlife experience where the adventure of photographing the wild Jaguar of South America becomes a reality.

The Jaguars of Pantanal

Enjoy our youtube video from our 2019 Pantanal safari.

05Apr

By kdooleyin Safari Gear, Safaris, Tribal Photography, Uncategorized

The Omo Valley, My gear.

My gear.

The light is beautiful, yet difficult for image creating. It’s soft and golden, it’s moody and full of emotion. It’s technically challenging and my camera and my abilities are challenged. I had decided to use my Canon 5ds this morning, a camera loaded with image quality, yet a camera that hates high ISO settings. So I would proceed in making sacrifices in shutter speeds and apertures to keep my ISO settings as low as possible. Fortunately my sigma 14-24 lens has the ability to let a lot of light in.

I have decided to travel with two camera bodies and three lenses.

aI was able to secure the new Canon 1dxmk3 just one day before my departure for Ethiopia. When I heard that the release date for this beauty had been published, to be released two days prior to my departure for Africa, I was on the phone and ordering it in a flash. However I would be challenged by a freak accident with the delivery truck while on its way to the camera store I had purchased the camera from. The cameras were not actually harmed, however the truck was deemed undrivable. This would delay the shipment just enough to prevent an overnight shipment to me. I immediately got on the phone and started calling camera stores, however I was presented with the same old story time and time again. The same old story was growing both old and discouraging, ”Sorry sir but we did not receive enough cameras to even fulfill the orders we already have.” After a small prayer and a deep breath, I decided at that point to take a different approach, my thought was the small camera stores might give me a better chance at success. I recalled that just the week before well speaking at the West Texas photographers Convention, I had met the owner of Arlington Camera. He was a very nice gentleman and I had nothing to loose by calling him. An associate answered the phone and I asked the magic question and his answer was more then music to my ears. His reply of, ”Yes sir, we received one this morning, would you like it?” Yes indeed I responded. I received my new dream camera the next morning by ten am, just 19 hours before my flight to Africa.

In addition to the new version of Canons flagship digital camera, I would take my Canon 5ds. A powerhouse of image quality strutting over 50 megapixels of image perfection. I needed both cameras for this journey, the 1 dxmk3 would be my camera of choice for most of my candid images, some portraits, and for the wildlife images in both Ethiopia and Southern Africa. The canon 5ds would be my choice on many of the portraits and some of the candids. The huge file size comes in handy when an image might need to be cropped, or when I am wanting that detail that only the larger sensor would provide.

My lens choices we’re actually quite easy to make, I would need a telephoto, a wide angle, and a portrait lens. Through the years I have owned many telephoto lenses, both prime and zoom. As the technology has improved, I have replaced most of my prime lenses with zoom lenses. Because most of my photography requires travel, in some cases with small planes, I have had to find ways to keep my gear to the minimum. Weight and space restrictions are often in place, and good zoom lenses have often been my answer to this situation.

When Sigma announced the 60-600 zoom lens, I was beyond excited. A lens with that kind of focal latitude was a dream come true. I had used the sigma 150-600 sport for several years, and have been very impressed with both the image quality and the build quality. In fact a large percentage of my award winning images had come from the 150-600 sport. I could not imagine a 60-600 with matching or better image quality as the 150-600, however I certainly was hopeful. The 60-600 was released to the United States during a time when I was in South Africa leading photo safaris. Fortunately I had a friend who was to join me in Ethiopia on a safari to photograph the Bleeding Heart Monkeys. Sigma sent a 60-600 with him and I was able to start using it within days of its release.

To say I was impressed would be such an understatement, I fell in love with this lens immediately and managed to secure two winning images in Nature’s Best Photography contest in my first week of using this lens. It has become my very favorite lens to date, and I use it for both wildlife and portrait photography.

My second lens of choice for this tribal adventure would be a wide angle lens. I knew I would have opportunities to create candid images of the villagers carrying out their daily activities. I wanted a lens that would give me some wide angle focal options as well as the ability to shoot at wide open apertures. Sigma recently released the 14-24 f2.8 Art lens. However it was on back order for quite some time and was not available. Once again Sigma and timing would come to my rescue, I managed to secure the lens just a few days before departing for Ethiopia. This lens has proven to be an incredible addition to my kit and I find myself asking how I ever got along without it.

My final lens choice was the Sigma 105mm 1.4 portrait lens. I have used an 85mm 1.2 lens previously on many wedding and portrait jobs, I absolutely love the effect of the focal length and the wide open aperture. The Bokah and the shallow depth of field produce an image style and quality that stands on it own. I decided to trade my 85 for a 105 as it gives me just a touch more space between my subject and myself, this is particularly important when trying to creat real and candid expression within your subject. In addition to the distance between the lens and the subject, you gain a touch more distance from the background. This increases the over all effect of the telephoto and wide open aperture combination. In my opinion this is a very specialized type of image that can have a huge impact to the viewer.

Matching up my lenses with my cameras was also quite an easy choice, between having over 39 years as a professional portrait photographer and the high quality of today’s lenses, I had a good idea of the types of images I wanted. My goal was to change lenses as infrequently as possible. Every lens change is another opportunity to collect dust on the camera sensor. I also prefer to not interrupt my flow of photography with having to make lens changes. Changing lenses can both interfere with ones own flow of interaction with the subject as well as distract and interfere with your subjects connection to you. When I find a feeling and a connection with my subject, I don’t want to loose the energy by breaking the flow of communication with some sort of technical activity such as changing lenses.

With my Canon 5ds performing better at lower ISO’s and the image quality being of such high quality, I decided to make the Sigma 105mm 1.4 lens and the Sigma 14-24 2.8 lens the main lenses for this camera. The 60-600 mm 6.3 lens would mostly find its home on my Canon 1dxmk3. The 1dxmk3 is a high performing camera with much better higher ISO range and high ISO image quality. It is also one of the most color accurate cameras I have ever owned. The high rate of shutter releases per second is also a huge advantage for me.

Most people would never consider using a high frame rate on portraits, however I am looking for just the right expression, eye set, character lines, held tilt, and feeling with in the image, just one shutter release can make the difference in getting all of these facial characteristics to come together at the same time. I am searching for a certain feeling within my image and I have no issues with taking several images in succession when it leads me to just the right image I am searching for. Fortunately the new 1dxmk3 is much quieter then it’s predecessor so the camera sound is not overly intrusive.

I would also pack two reflectors and a small LED light. My reflectors are a combination of gold and silver which gives me a beautiful and natural light source. A gold and silver reflector is basically a reflective fabric with both gold and silver combined together. The silver within the reflector provides the punch and levels out a little bit of the warmth of the golden hue that is crisscrossed with the silver in the fabric of the reflector. The gold helps me to maintain the beautiful skin tones of the people I am photographing. In this photographic situation I find that the solid gold is simply overkill and can creat images that are much too warm and look very unrealistic. On the other hand the solid silver is too cool and takes away the beautiful skin tones. A combination of silver and gold works best for me. The larger reflector provides a softer and wider light source, with a fast fall off of light. In most cases I prefer my backgrounds to be at least a stop darker then the subject. The smaller reflector provides a more intense light and I normally use it as a secondary light source. The secondary light source is good for a hair light, a separation light from a back angle to give separation on the shoulders. Another good use for the smaller reflector is to light specific objects in the background. With a narrower beam of light, it’s possible to light a second subject such as another person, or maybe a village hut or some cattle. The secondary light must be done sparingly, it can become very distracting and will often pull my attention away from my interaction with the subject. I will use it on the rare occasion, however I often avoid it all together. There is a big difference between using reflectors on your standard photo sessions, weddings, and family portraits, and using them on indigenous people. It’s vital that you have an interpreter explain what the reflector does. I once had a tribe convinced the reflector was going to harm them and therefore did I not use it. When it is in use, I suggest using a trained Assistent that knows how to feather the light and how to remain very unobtrusive. It’s important they maintain their distance and do not become a distraction for you or the subject. I try to maintain the basic rules of light, however by pushing these rules to the edge or even breaking them, you can create both unique and unusual lighting on your subject.

My led light is just a small hand held light that is easy to travel with and can mount on the hot shoe of my camera. It comes in handy when the sun is just rising or setting. Also great for shooting indoors. Again not a piece of gear that I use a lot but certainly worth having.