Inspirations – Paul Souders

© Paul Souders

1Ds Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8 at f/4.5, 1.3 seconds, ISO 400

Although I almost never work with captive animals, there are some images you really can’t do in the wild, at least not without breaking the law as well as harassing or stressing an animal.

During a road trip in Southern Africa, I was shooting landscapes of the Kokerboom (Quivertree) Forest outside the town of Keetmanshoop in Namibia. The farm’s owners also maintain a small sanctuary for orphaned cheetahs. I’d always wanted to shoot low and wide of a cheetah striding across the savanna. Here was one setting where, with a bit of sweet talking, I was able to walk beside the habituated animal. She wasn’t entirely pleased with my presence, and kept moving back and forth across her fenced perimeter. I laid nearly flat on the ground and waited as she passed, firing my flash and panning in the dusk as she strode past. I used a long exposure to capture the twilight and create that sense of motion and energy. ~ Paul Souders

Advertisement

Inspirations – Sky Dance by Stephen Patterson

© Stephen Patterson

Kodachrome 25, exposed at around  1/2 second
while a using a polarizing filter

I was on my first trip down to Brier Island to photograph the unusual basalt formations at Green Head located on the eastern side of the island. Attracted by the returning fishing boats, gulls can be found flying in very large flocks overhead waiting for their chance for a snack. This day was no exception and there were dozens of swirling gulls overhead.

I remember thinking to myself for reasons unknown….”white brush strokes on blue!” perhaps being inspired by some impressionistic photos I previously made of moving blossoms in the wind. I panned the camera and 105 mm lens in a slight circular pattern following the movement of the swirling gulls to create the effect here. About 5 attempts gave me the image closest to what I was after. ~ Stephen Patterson