Bill Silliker, Jr.

The Camera Hunter

     The most critical element for a successful camera hunt, assuming you've found a target to point your camera at, is the proper exposure of your film.   While it's true that all but the oldest 35mm single lens reflex (SLR) cameras have very accurate exposure meters in them, setting the right exposure isn't always as easy as the camera manufacturers would have you believe.  T he newest cameras have automatic programs that set exposures using witchcraft called matrix metering or some other such name that implies it's all done with smoke and mirrors.   While it's true that every SLR has a mirror in it, you'll only see smoke when you really burn film on some critter.   You'd better hope that when that black bear steps out of the woods that you've got the right exposure right or you're going to waste a lot of film, not to mention the opportunity.

Trust Requires Understanding

     Most of the folks taking the wildlife and nature photography courses I've taught over the years with L. L. Bean's Outdoor Discovery Program actually believe what their camera manufacturer tells them: that they only need to point and shoot the thing.   The problem for most folks is that they don't notice the words in the manual that say that this works well to take photographs of "an average scene".

     Show of hands: how many of you believe that all you have to do is focus your camera and the photo gods will take care of the rest?   Let's call that the smoke and mirrors syndrome.   That's not to say that camera manufacturers don't have some a good smoke and mirrors program for most of the photographs that you want to make.   And while newer SLR's have advanced programs that minimize the problems encountered when you point a camera set on automatic program at a scene that is not average, most people don't know a non-average scene when they see one, and so may not select the right program.

     Many wildlife photography opportunities simply are not average scenes.   Think about it.   Is a moose in a brightly reflective pond an average scene?   What about a bald eagle against a light overcast sky?   And how about a white-tailed deer against a dark forest?   Or a black bear anywhere?   How about a loon that's both black and white?   Or a red fox against the snow?

     The answer is to understand what's going on inside the camera before you trust that an automatic exposure will get the pictures that you want.

Smoke And Mirrors

     Average scenes reflect an average amount of light from the elements in the frame of the picture that you seek to record on film.   It's as simple as that.   To consistently bring back properly exposed images, you first need to know what an average amount of light is.

     The range of light from black to white is divided into ten segments, sometimes called zones.   An average scene reflects light similarly to what is called an 18% gray card.   Thinking of 18% gray as reflecting an amount of light halfway between the amount of light reflected by an all white object and the amount of light reflected by an all black object is a good way to visualize the concept.

     All camera meters are calibrated to record the light reflected from 18% gray as an average exposure.   You can actually buy an 18% gray card at some camera stores.   If you're serious about camera hunting, and especially if you shoot slide film, which has less ability to record the range of reflected light, you should get and learn to use a gray card.

     That's not to say that all pros carry gray cards.   Most rely on their experience at seeing light reflect off of "natural gray cards" that they meter in the same light as their subject.   Some reliable natural gray cards include: middle toned blue sky directly opposite the sun; middle toned green grass in the spring and summer; and most autumn leaves, either yellow or red.   Note that you should look for the middle tones, not the real dark or the real light stuff.

     Other natural exposure guides can help too.   For example, most white pines reflect one "stop" less than an average scene.   Use that knowledge accordingly and adjust from a reading taken off a white pine by setting one "stop" more exposure to record a deer standing beneath it.

     Try it with your camera's meter.   Test the light reflective qualities of some natural features and learn what you can trust, and more importantly, what you cannot.

     When you do this test, you need to know how much the camera's meter reads of different parts of the picture.   Most meters are center weighted and select exposures from a small area in the center.

     On some cameras you can select spot metering, even down to a 1% spot in the center.   Read your camera manual to learn the types of metering it includes.   Just don't believe it that the camera will average the metering from all parts of the scene for a proper exposure when your target is a black bear in a snowstorm.

     It also matters what length lens you're using.   Meter with a center weighted meter behind a 400mm lens and you'll wind up setting an exposure for a very small area, similar to using a spot meter.

     Get out there this fall armed with a better awareness of what the smoke and mirrors in your camera are doing, and you’ll be a lot happier with your results.

Catch yours in the good light.

Bill Silliker, Jr. teaches wildlife & nature photography for L.L. Bean's Outdoor Discovery Schools and has done the photography for 5 books, several of which he also wrote. He is editor of the website www.wildlifewatcher.com as well as for his own website at www.camerahunter.com

© Copyright 2000 Bill Silliker, Jr. all rights reserved.