Wildlife with a Hasselblad...picture

<p>I received a link to a competition where the winner took a wildlife picture with a Hasselblad, quoting from the description "He switched from using his Nikon D2X to a Hasselblad so he could get the exact framing that he had in mind.". now I don't do wildlife photography and even though Victor H. wanted to photograph birds, I would dare to say that wildlife photography using medium format gear is not the most common style of photography these days. Given that and the usual challenges and catching nocturnal animals, I'd say that the execution of this image is excellent:<br>

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/photo.do?photo=2554&category=56&group=4<br>

Reminds me I should shoot more and spend less time on the net...</p>

<p>it does say "purpose-made Ficap infrared camera trap." but yes, nice shot.</p>

<p>A great shot... I assume it's a 'farm' wolf that's been trained to perform on command...</p>

<p>The trigger isn't so special, but one needs to do a little bit guesstimating about the speed of the wolf and the delays in triggering.<br>

It's hard to say if it's a trained wolf...the text doesn't indicate so, but OTOH the whole setup kinda leads one to think it's trained. In my country the general mentality is that wildlife is supposed to be wildile and everything else is cheating, but in most places the view is not the same. Would be interesting to know, though.</p>

<p>Why would it be a trained wolf, when you have wolves that do this, and you want to make that the subject of your photo?<br>

If you know their route, all you need to do is lie in wait - and that's what the IR trap did.</p>

<p>Oops... Didn't see the infrared trap info... Duh. I also suppose the award wouldn't be given to a set up 'trained wolf' shot.</p>

<p>For birds and small animals, I set up my ELM with a 30m cable release, and put a peanut or other bait on a log or rock, and wait for the critter to come along and snap the photo. It's pretty easy really. Wish I had a pic scanned to share, but not on this computer. The results on Provia or Ektachrome are great.</p>

<p> "He switched from using his Nikon D2X to a Hasselblad so he could get the exact framing that he had in mind."<br>

Yeah... such talk impressed me greatly in my early days in photography. It is absolutely inane and pointless. Hasselblad (and square frames) have nothing to do with that nice shot. Maybe he took the shot "in spite using a Hasselbald"... </p>

<p> "He switched from using his Nikon D2X to a Hasselblad so he could get the exact framing that he had in mind."<br>

Yeah... such talk impressed me greatly in my early days in photography. It is absolutely inane and pointless. Hasselblad (and square frames) have nothing to do with that nice shot. Maybe he took the shot "in spite using a Hasselbald"... </p>

<p>If you like this you might want to check out Nick Brandt's work. All done with a Pentax 6x7 and normal lens.</p>

<p>http://www.nickbrandt.com/</p>

<p>Nick's work is fantastic, but sometimes I think he goes a little overboard on the photoshopping (even though it is convincing...)</p>

<p>Speaking of Nick's prints - they are awesome! I saw them in a gallery and was very much impressed with his work. He had several large prints that also looked great for their size. The book is also great. </p>