Chameleon

[Saurabh Bhatia]

Hi

This is a chameleon shot i took near Mahabaleshwar
The angle may look ordinary but it took me 15 minutes of standing motionless on one foot, on a rotten, felled tree trunk to get this shot
The reptile was prone to running away and it took 6 attempts to land this

Camera: Sony DSC H7; FL-34 mm, F/4; expo-1/320 secs; ISO-100

[Sabyasachi Patra]

It is important to stand still. After a period of time, these fellows feel comfortable and can come close. Did you crop the image?

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Mohan Raj]

I think this is not the chameleon. It is a garden lizard.
Patience pays.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Your patience paid off. The eye contact is nice. Including the tail in full would enhance the image further. Some more sharpness would have been good. Do check the AF point. You could have tried increasing the ISO and used a narrower aperture. Look forward to more.

[Saurabh Bhatia]

my usual problem is that when i see a potentially good shot, i get cold feet. i then become numb to keep altering/experimenting with aperture or ISO.
so when it's wildlife kind of shot, i usually put the camera on auto mode so that i can focus on my approaching as close as possible and on the framing.

How do you experienced guys get rid of these butterflies and think of altering ISO in these moments, when the time may be so short that creature runs away?

[Mrudul Godbole]

my usual problem is that when i see a potentially good shot, i get cold feet. i then become numb to keep altering/experimenting with aperture or ISO.
so when it's wildlife kind of shot, i usually put the camera on auto mode so that i can focus on my approaching as close as possible and on the framing.

How do you experienced guys get rid of these butterflies and think of altering ISO in these moments, when the time may be so short that creature runs away?

I understand what you are saying . What you can do is first get a record shot of the animal or bird. After that you will feel a bit more comfortable that you didn't miss it. Then you can start thinking how you can make it better by altering the ISO and aperture or the composition.

It is always good that you don't get very close to the subject in the start, as it might go away. You have to slowly and steadily approach it. You can read this thread about that - http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64

You keep trying it, slowly you will feel more comfortable and steady. The answer is to keep taking more and more photographs, that way you will improve. Keep posting.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

You are using auto mode as you have to spend time to think about the settings.

The camera has to be an extension of your body. It has to act like your body part. When you accidentally touch a hot object, your hand immediately moves away. It is an involuntary action. Similarly, you have to be so familiar with the camera and settings that it acts like an extension of your body. And that will come with knowledge and practice. You have to try hard to achieve that goal.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Saurabh Bhatia]

I agree with both Mradul and S
I know it needs to come automatically
Just like i don't have to think about my steth when seeing patients, i should not have to think about my camera when shooting
Being amateur i do not use the camera enough so i guess there is no short-cut to it. it will take time :-)