In the master review column, Jerry Shu will analyze a wonderful wildlife photography work that has won or been shortlisted around the world, and present more wonderful content behind the photo from the aspects of shooting story, species behavior, equipment parameters, shooting location information, etc.
Today's sharing continues with a finalist in the underwater category of the 2016 WPEY Wildlife Photography Competition, from French photographer Greg Lecoeur's photograph of sardines hunting on the way in the port of St. John's in South Africa.
Photo story
For photographer Greg, the annual sardine migration is what he considers to be the greatest migration event on earth, but after searching the sea for two weeks, he only encountered two schools of fish, one with poor visibility and unable to take pictures, and the other time was the one in the photo, he said that the name of this sardine is called "red-eyed small-fin round-bellied herring", and he does not know much about fish, and if there are professionals welcome to correct it. At that time, a South African booby swooped down in the middle of the picture to catch fish, and there were dolphins on the right side who were also fishing and eating, and the scene was very exciting.
Sardine migration trivia
Let's start with this famous sardine migration, where billions of sardines travel north along the east coast of South Africa from the Arghales Shoal, Africa's southernmost tip, between May and July during the winter months of the southern hemisphere, before reaching the waters off Durban.
In the process of migration, the entire sardine school can reach a huge school of fish about 7 km long, 1-2 km wide and 30 m thick, just like a black fish belt in the offshore sea traveling north, which can be clearly seen in the air, which is the famous sardine migration.
This sardine is actually a general term for those edible fish in the herring family, these sardines are slender and slender, not large, almost 10 cm to 15 cm, but the meat is delicious, coupled with a large number, whether for humans, or for the wild animals in nature, it is a delicious meal, but also the kind that cannot be eaten.
For sardines, they face a multitude of predators, but the mission of breeding the next generation keeps them committed. For predators in the ocean, it is indispensable to be able to join this feast. The first is tens of thousands of dolphins, they are very fast, after sensing the migration of sardines, they immediately gather from hundreds of kilometers around, from below the use of bubbles to drive the sardines to the surface of the sea, so that they form a protective state, that is, sardine balls, at this time these sardines act in unison, forming a fish ball with a diameter of almost 10-20 meters, reducing the probability of being eaten.
Other hunters will join in, such as whales, especially Brucell's whales, which often swallow tons of seawater and schools of fish from below.
There are also killer whales, sharks and other fierce predators in the ocean.
Of course, there are also offensive predators in the air, the most powerful and successful is the South African booby, thousands of South African will also have timely insight into the process of sardine migration, followed by dolphins and whales, when the dolphins and whales attack, forcing the sardines to the surface of the water, forming a fish ball, these South African will circle in the air, and then swoop down, while retracting their wings, like arrows off the string straight into the sea, the speed can reach nearly 100 kilometers per hour.
Underwater they can dive briefly, no more than 30 meters, catch sardines and then return to the surface. Therefore, sardine migration is also the subject that many photographers and wildlife documentary filmmakers most yearn for shooting, from the air to the sea to the underwater three-dimensional battlefield, of course, to watch or in the sea, but because the waves are very large, the shooting difficulty is extremely high, so there are not many previous images.
Picture interpretation
Returning to this photo, I think the most successful part is that this photo is a more complete picture of the hunting scene during the migration of sardines. I have seen dolphins hunted before, and there are also solo South African hunting, but it is so complete, there are both South African, there are more complete fish, and the dolphins are also preying on the scene, it is more exciting.
Secondly, the behavior of different animals is accurately and perfectly explained, all in the underwater world, such as the behavior of the South African booby swooping down to dive and fish, especially the wings are retracted, a white bubble column formed by entering the water, and the huge sound can stun the fish 1-2 meters below the water surface, and then the South African booby can use the fins to dive underwater, swallow the fish into the mouth, and then surface, which vividly portrays the fishing behavior of the South African booby.
Looking at the fish school, the sardines have a large number, swim fast, and act collectively, but they will be divided into fish balls just mentioned by the dolphins, but they will still act in unison to reduce the probability of being eaten. The dolphins on the other side use the faster swimming speed to prey on sardines one by one. The behaviors are different, the strategies are different. Of course, these originally unrelated species, such as sharks, whales, dolphins, and, have become comrades in arms in the face of the same abundant food.
There is also the sense of balance and story of the picture, the picture content is more, although they are all elements under the same scene, but if the clutter is put together, the viewability of the picture will be much worse.
The photographer selected this one is very good, the primary and secondary are clear, the South African booby is equivalent to the protagonist, occupying the middle position, and its behavior is the most obvious sign, the dolphin belongs to the supporting role on the right side, the relative behavior is not as obvious as the booby, and it will not grab the camera. The bubble column of the South African booby into the water divides the picture into two, the typical middle division, and the fish are divided into two groups, left and right. The lines and colors of the bubble column, as well as the rows of fish and the silver reflection of the flash, are all elements that add to the readability of the picture.
When the photographer composes the picture, he also shoots at an upward angle of 45 degrees, which can see the sea surface and also explains the depth position of the hunting place in the sea. Photographers can maintain balance in areas with large waves, and it is indeed not easy to grasp such a good composition in the face of scenes that change all the time, and it is indeed not easy to grab such a wonderful picture. Shooting this kind of scene is mainly used ultra-wide angle or fisheye lens, showing a wider range of scenes. The photographer's small F9 aperture also ensures depth of field.
Technical parameters
Shooting equipment: Nikon D7000 + Tokina 10-17mm f3.5-4.5 lens (shooting end 10mm) + Nauticam waterproof cover, and two Ikelite DS160 flash units. Shooting parameters: ISO 200, F9, 1/200 sec. The photographer's personal website www.greglecoeur.com
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The above is the content shared by Jerry Shu's newly opened column - Master Commentary today.
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