sub-t rainforest and film

[russ_shade]

I'm doing a short research study in Mondo/Nono Ecuador (assuming the

volcano is finished) in November.

 

I don't pretend to be a photographer, usually, but I have to be one on

this trip since there are already several mags. interested in an

article as well as offers of speaking engagements.

 

I will be in sub-tropical rainforest at the beginning of the dry

season (both continuous and fragmented forest) - fragments have plenty

of light, continuous forest is a bit darker - Most of the work will be

shot through a 400mm/5.6 prime hung on a tripod. I will be using an

older Nikon body with a max shutter speed of 1/2000.

 

My advisors at Dan's Camera City suggest I use E100VS. All my reading

suggests that a color negative film might be a better way to go since

it's a more accomodating film - even though, I realize slides are the

best for publication - I'm willing to forego the publication quality

however if that "uncomplicates" my situation.

 

I'll be shooting medium-sized parrots in lower canopy settings and,

with another body/lens, vegetation samples - close up - for botanical

identification purposes. The parrots are blessed with cryptic

coloration.

 

Temperature will be more or less constant at 75-80 F, reasonable

humidity - we won't be doing much "action" shooting.

 

The price of the E100VS is completely over budget - but I'll go for it

if you all tell me it's a worthwhile expenditure.

 

Your thoughts, please.

[ralf_grambrock]

Hi Russ,

What you are calling fragmented forest is the same than the Australian Open Forest? Distance between the trees is wide enough, that the sunlight can reach the ground?

If, then try Kodak KC 64 and KC 200. Both are excellent films. Both will give plenty of green and, if there are some rain showers, a really good grey sky.

If too expensive, then use Fuji Sensia II 100. The Fuji is a good and sharp film with plenty of color, cheaper than the E100VS.

When travelling through the Australian rainforest, I'm using KC and Fuji.

Slides are much better for publication, don't worry about the temperature.

Take spare batteries with you.

Hope, it is a little help.

Good luck, Ralf.

[jamie_curtis]

A bit darker is an undersatement. Even if you had 2.8 glass, 100 ASA would be woefully inadequate. At 5.6 your going to need a minimum of 800-1000 ASA.

 

If you shoot chromes on this trip your going to come home with a big pile of dark blurred nothing, with the occasional artistic blur or grain the size melons. And when you do get some filtered sunlight the contrast will kill you.

 

Take NHGII and you will be much happier. You'll need the speed, the exposure lattitude and the lessened contrast. The ability to rate the film at 1600 will come in handy as well.

 

Ignore anybody who tells you magazines won't take print film, because they are clulessly living in the dark ages. This is especially true for applications like yours where shooting chromes will produce terrible results.

[dale_smith]

Hi Russ -- In August I returned from three weeks in the rain forest of

East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, shooting orangutans in the

wild. This was my second journey, so I was able to apply what I

learned from the first. Like you, I also have a 400mm/f5.6 (Tokina)

mounted on a Nikon F4. I also brought with me a Nikkor 80-200/f2.8 and

24-120mm/f3.5-5.6, plus a 100 fixed macro and a 20mm fixed. Though the

400 was useful, by far the better choice was the 80-200/f2.8, mostly

because of the speed. The orangutans I photographed were ex-captives,

living independently, so I was able to get quite close. Another thing

I did before I left was to learn as much as I could about flash fill.

Throughout my photographic career, I have resisted flash. But a

gentleman named Bill Smith posted a good explanation on fill on this

or another photo.net form. I also bought John Gerlach's excellent

booklet on exposing slide film. I found that setting the flash fill

index to -2 on the SB-24 worked well most of the time. As for film, in

the rain forest, speed is your friend. I shot Elitechrome II, ASA 200.

I pushed it one stop to 400. I could have pushed it to 800, but with

mixed results. I shot fifty rolls, and they all came out fine. The

other piece of equipment I purchased for this journey was an Gitzo

1227 -- carbon fiber tripod. I also brought the Gitzo cabon fiber

monopod, which doubles as a walking stick in the rain forest. Couldn't

get an Arca B1 in time, so had to settle for the Bogen head

(junk)...$100 or so. But when I came across a pair of female

orangutans grooming themselves ten feet up a dipterocarp surrounded by

strangler fig vines, I was ready. I shot with and without fill and was

very please with the results. The tripod made all the difference in

the world. I bought "gray" film from The Film Shop in NYC and I think

I paid $3.75 a roll for it, or close to it. I shot a couple of rolls

before I left, so I knew the film was good inspite of its bargain

price. Of course you'll want to hand check your film. If all your

film is translucent canisters, it won't take so long and the security

folks might even thank you for your consideration. Ecuador is an

amazing country, with all kinds of lush subjects. Don't forget the

small stuff. Unlike the orangutans, the parrots will likely be spooked

by the flash, so get it right the first time. Work

[stephen_schoof]

I'd check with the magazines involved to be sure they have no problem with prints. Even if they have some "transparencies-only" policy you can explain the situation and hopefully change their minds. I agree that shooting the birds (!) on slide film would be tougher than normal even for an experienced photographer. Of course your vegetation samples would be simpler.

 

Either way, you should take a flash to lighten dark shadows and bring your parrots out from the background.

 

Shoot a couple test rolls with similar subjects/situations before doing the real thing (regardless of the set-up you decide on).

[ShunCheung]

For rain forest work, you need fast lens, fast film and perhaps fill flash unless you indeed have plenty of light. E100VS is way too slow for these situations. There are a lot more good-quality fast print film (vs. slide film) on the market at ISO 400, 800 or even higher. The problem is that for magazine publication and presentation, slide film is usually preferred. My guess is that you won't be shooting at fast shutter speed very often. 1/2000sec is much more than sufficient for you during this trip.

[leif pigott]

Sounds like a great chance to get some wonderful photos. I'll add my two cents worth.

1/ Get a flash extender, I have used a "Better Beamer" with a sigma 400mm f5.6 to great effect in the NZ forrest. This should give you enough light, even if the background will be dark. Marketed by Arthur Morris.

2/ Take a few rolls of fuji ms100/1000, and rate it to 600 asa- any higher and I don't like the results

3/ If film price is an issue look at consumer slide film, Sensia II and Kodak EBX-100. I think they are versions of Astia and 100VS.

4/ Take some fast print film Fuji NGHII 800.

Above all else you should practice before you go, and work out how to use the flash. Hope this helps Leif.

[dan_sapper]

I second the idea of using a pushable slide film. It will give you some flexibility when lighting is changeable. My choice would be E200, pushed 1 stop to exposure index 320, or 2 stops to e.i. 640. The contrast of this film is low enough to get good shadow detail, even when push processed. The colors are saturated and will be pleasing for wildlife and foliage. I've used this film in tropical gardens, including tree-covered shade, and it gives very nice results.

 

If budget is so much of a concern, consider using the consumer version, Elite chrome 200. It should be fine at push-1; push-2 may also give good results.

 

For great saturated color, at a more budget minded price, consider Elite chrome Extra Color (EBX 100) where you might otherwise use E100VS.

 

Nothing beats testing some film before you go.

[russ_shade]

I'll admit - I hadn't considered fill flash at all, but I will add that to my practice schedule. I bought 1 roll of everything suggested and will head into the forest here on Saturday and see what happens.

 

As far as pricing goes - 7-8 (US) a roll is fine - I was quoted $13.88 for the E100VS and that's a bit dear!

 

Russ

[ShunCheung]

Oh no, don't pay more than $10 per roll. Check the B&H or Adorama catalog. They sell E100VS and E200 at less than $7 per roll. It is even cheaper if you are willing to buy grey market or the consumer verion of those films. If you are buying, say, 50 rolls for a long trip, it makes a huge difference.