Trogon Photo Tours

September 2015 - This month's newsletter focuses on photographing mammals in the Pantanal of Brazil.  It includes info on camera settings used, the various mammals there and the photo equipment to use when photographing them.

Jaguar photographed August 2015, Econtro Das Aguas State Park, Mato Grosso, Brazil.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1/1250 F5.6, iso 1600, pattern metering -0.3, Av mode, handheld in boat, full frame.  This was the first Jaguar that we encountered on our recent Brazil Pantanal tour.  After lying in the shade under a tree for a couple of hours he set off hunting.  What I quickly discovered is that the animal was a little bit too close for a 500mm even on a full frame camera.  With some of the best poses I clipped his tail etc.  My only other viable option at this point was a Sigma 150-600 Contemporary F6.3.  I had not used that lens much and with the sun going down and limiting the amount of light I didn't want to change to it so I made the best of it with my 500F4.  Later on the Jaguar launched into the water after a caiman (it's favorite food), I was on the launch but even though we were a little farther away I was too close to capture it well. The Jaguar missed the caiman and headed back into the bushes as the sun was setting so we headed back to our boat hotel.  At this point I was wishing I had brought my 300F4 because 300mm seemed about right for photogrpahing the Jaguars and F4 would be much better in the often low light than the 150-600 at F5.6 to F6.3. 

Jaguar photographed August 2015, Encontro Das Aguas State Park, Mato Grosso, Brazil.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1/320 F4, iso 1600, cropped to about 50% of the original image, handheld from boat.  There is room to put up tripods in the boats we use if you prefer to do so but I shot handheld pretty much the whole time.  I took this one wide open to try and minimize the vines on the left.  I felt the 500 was a good option when the Jaguar was resting but often you were too close if it was moving around or especially if it was hunting because it hunted right on the edge of the creeks or often in the water. 

Jaguar photographed August 2015, Encontro Das Aguas State Park, Mato Grosso, Brazil.  Canon 5D3 300F2.8 II, 1/400 F3.5, iso 1600, handheld from boat.  This was probably my favorite Jaguar shot that I took during the tour.  This is the same male as in the previous close up image a few minutes later as he got up and walked out onto the riverbank.  Our boat was drifting in the current and the boat driver had the motor on to reposition the boat.  The Jaguar yawned and I fired off a round.   This shot which was the first in the burst was the only sharp one of the group.  A regular tour participant and friend had lent me her 300F2.8 II as she was happier shooting with her new 100-400 II.  This is a role reversal as those of you who have been on my trips regularly know that I regularly lend out gear during the course of a trip especially when participants have problems with their own gear.  When working in a boat like this if you are photographing stationary subjects you should be in IS (Image Stabilization) Mode 1 as then the camera will try to correct for both upward and side to side movement as the boat rocks with the water and moves.  However if you are photographing birds in flight or a walking Jaguar you would want to be in IS Mode 2 (Panning Mode). This is so the IS doesn't confuse your following of the subject for camera shake. 

Southern Anteater (Tamandua) photographed August 2015, Pouso Alegre Lodge, Mato Grosso, Brazil.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1/500 F5.6, iso 1600, handheld, full frame.  This was another example where I had too much lens.  We were moving from one lodge to the next and all I had handy was my 500F4.  We found this very tame little anteater, at this moment he had raised up and stood up on his hind legs.  I really wished I had been able to get his whole body in but settled for this nice portrait.  We also had a Brazilian Tapir which walked out of a thicket and I was also too close and just got a head shot.  This impressed on me needing to have a shorter lens handy whenever we were photographing in the Pantanal.  I really don't like to have another smaller lens hanging around my neck or strapped to my side when I am shooting the 500F4.  But I at least should have had it available in the car rather than packed away.  This is another example of when photographing mammals in the Pantanal I think the ideal lens is either a 300F2.8 or a 200-400 F4 zoom.  The 2.8 makes a big difference in the low light and the 200-400 zoom gives you a nice range with still a good F stop maximum at F4. Ideally you are photographing it on a full frame camera with good iso performance and lots of megapixels in case you are not close and need to crop a fair bit.

Giant Anteater photographed August 2015 Transpantaneira Roadside, Mato Grosso, Brazil.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1/1600 F9, iso 800, handheld, cropped about 50%.  We were very excited to find this Giant Anteater along the side of the road as we transferred from one lodge to the next.  This is an animal that I have wanted to see since I was a youngster.  Our driver actually whistled this animal in closer, we first spotted it and took a few shots.  Then it wandered into the bushes.  At that point our driver Luis who had spotted it whistled a few times and it came out of the bushes and closer to take a look at us.  This shows that at times a longer lens like a 500 or 600 is good to have on the trip as well, especially if you want to get a lot of good bird photographs.  

Giant Otter photographed August 2015, Pousada Rio Claro.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1/320 F5.6, iso 1600, pattern metering -0.7, Av mode, handheld from boat, cropped to vertical from horizontal.  Other than Jaguars this is the mammal that we photographed most often in the Pantanal.  They reach 4 to 5 feet long.  Like most otters they are typically in good sized family groups, we had them in sunlight and as here in the shade.  This was probably my favorite close up portrait of this species.  Note the negative exposure compensation which was necessary to hold the details in the light buff on the throat against the dark water background.  I actually decreased the exposure a bit more in camera raw. 

Black-tailed Marmoset photographed August 2015, Pousada Rio Claro, Mato Grosso, Brazil.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1/640 F5, iso 800, Av Mode, pattern metering at 0, 580ex fill flash at -1.0 with Better Beamer, about 75% of full frame.  By the time we found this group of marmosets it was about 11am on a bright sunny day.  The light in the open forest was pretty harsh, so to balance it out I added a fair bit of flash to this one and I was happy with the way it came out.  As I have said before some photographers just don't photograph in harsh light but I won't be back down to the Pantanal for another year and for many of my participants it will be their only chance to photograph this animal so we use flash to get the job done. 

We photographed over 100 species of birds and they will be the subject of another newsletter, the other mammals we photographed in the Pantanal besides the ones shown here include Brazilian Tapir, Red-brocket and Gray-brocked Deer, Marsh Deer, Black and Gold Howler Monkey, Brown Capuchin Monkey, Tayra, Capybara, Azara's Agouti, South American Coatimundi and Crab-eating Fox.  If anyone would like to see the bird list, let us know and I will email it you.