Monday, 4th August 2008
Caiman Under Stars
by Will & Matt B-L
This photograph of a spectacled caiman was taken at night in the Brazilian Pantanal. The caiman was in a small stream waiting for unfortunate fish to pass through its open jaws. We exposed the foreground with a remote flash and then left the shutter open to capture the star trails.
Will & Matt B-L
We are brothers from the UK with a shared passion for wildlife photography.
Caiman Under Stars by Will & Matt B-L was photo of the day on Monday, 4th August 2008. It is tagged Crocodiles, Stars, Swamps. You can leave a comment below.
23 Comments
Lakshmi
Woow..a crocodile and a long exposure in a single shot is not something I would remotely think of as a possibility!
Ahmed Sharif
ha ha!!…… thats great work indeed!!….. long exposure on a vicious animal is one thing that you don’t see everyday…….
Just Jack
Great shot! Long exposure and flash in the one shot. Never thought of that. BTW He looks like he is waiting for you to get a little closer…
Malta Photography
Very nice shot indeed. the colors are still there and the stars’ movement is great. was that croc alive or sleeping ?
Matt Harvey
Love your photo’s fellas – you’re out there and doing it.
realimage
Look at the long spurs of the stars. A wonder that the second caiman got exactly into the same position…
I guess you have to open up a webbased course how to do such shots, however the roos here would be hard to shot like that.
Anyway great shot (or was it two?)
Billy Bob
Very nice
Sue Gagnon
This is VERY NICE! Typically, I do not go for these shots, but the colors and composition are beautiful! Very nice word indeed!
Simona
sorry but this is a fake, long exposure for sky has to be the same long exposure for water, or in the water you see the small waves how the crocodile , or caiman, is moving( breathing). Anyway is a good result of a good picture. I like the colors.
Marie Dunphy Harding
Quite the combination of stars in motion & the fierce, still creature.
Matt
I think that the technique behind the shot might need a little more clarification. The image is only one exposure and has not been manipulated – the foreground was exposed with a flash burst, effectively ‘freezing’ the caiman and the ripples etc. Then, because the foreground was totally black (i.e. no more light reaching the sensor) it was no longer exposed whilst the star trails were captured in the sky. If there had been natural light falling on the caiman (such as from the moon), then it would have been exposed after the initial flash and consequently blurred due to small movements.
It can be quite hard to get your head around long-exposures, especially when you are combining different light sources.
Kirk Jordan
The exposture all made sense to me, but how you saw it in the first place – Nonsense! How is the world does anyone think, Hey, I’m going to do this time exposure of stars, with a creature in front of my lens that could come and eat me, or nibble on my tripod. Zowee. I love this image.
planet lover
Great work, guys!
Eileen
However they got the shot, it works. Good show! EZ
Pedro Afonso
Amazing shot, a good use of the know-how of photography. Well done
Renee
Nice shot! For me i would not even get that close to something that large..so its great for you
Pauline Jones
This is a really interesting photograph; very clever.
Simona
if is real I learned something and definitely I will try this. I still have doubts, the water in caiman tail area is look to have long exposure.
Laurie
I’m impressed!
su
Like the composition rather you than me with the caiman………….
mike
He looks pretty big.
Renee
Great shot!!
Su
Still has the wow factor