Canadian nature photographer Liron Gertsman captured one of the best photos of a total solar eclipse Gigapixel Saw it before. Goetzmann’s extraordinary wildlife photos, Frigate Bird and Diamond Ring, is the culmination of years of making and researching, hard work, practice, scouting and a little bit of luck. After all, while you can control many things, you can’t control the weather.
Gertzman captured this photo on April 8, as the massive total solar eclipse blazed a path across North America, from northeastern Mexico to Maine and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Gertzman enjoyed four and a half minutes of totality in near-ideal conditions from a rented boat off the coast of Sinaloa, Mexico, and returned to Canada later this week with the photos of his dreams Home in British Columbia.
A photo of a solar eclipse years in the making
“This is an image I’ve wanted to have for a long, long time,” Goetzman said. Gigapixel I talked on the phone the next day after I got home. “[A bird in flight in front of the eclipse] It has always been a dream shot in my mind.
“When it came time to achieve this, I was looking at an upcoming solar eclipse. Obviously, it had to be a total solar eclipse, not a partial or annular eclipse. The moon needed to completely cover the sun,” Goetzman explained.
“That narrows it down because total solar eclipses happen every one to three years or so. It turns out the next article will be published in April 2024.
Gertzman picked the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse from the list and found some particularly intriguing features.
“I’m always looking for places with historically pleasant climates,” the photographer said. “This is also where my background as a biologist and bird enthusiast comes into play, as I spend a lot of time learning about and observing birds. I know that coastal areas tend to have a better chance of encountering things like flocks of birds, usually There are many seabirds that congregate at nesting sites or roost on islands.
“It became clear to me that coastal Mexico would be the best place to do this. I then narrowed it down using online resources, citizen science databases, eBird, Google Earth, Google Street View, blog posts, travel websites, etc. .
Getzman found his ideal location and began booking travel and accommodations about a year in advance. “The town was so busy when the eclipse was happening, which was great. It was a great atmosphere.
Scouting, practice and preparation are critical to success
When Goetzman’s chosen areas proved successful, he also did his due diligence. He scouted more locations in every direction for several hours, ensuring that if the weather turned bad at his preferred location, there would be an opportunity to shoot elsewhere.
While Goetzman could scout locations ahead of time, check angles and adjust camera settings, there was one thing he couldn’t plan for, at least not for sure. What do birds do during a solar eclipse?
“This is a fascinating area of research, but very little is known about it,” explains the photographer. “But I think if we had a place where there were birds both during the day and at night, the possibilities would increase a lot because during a solar eclipse the birds might behave like they’re at night. You need a place that’s not just during the day A place that appears and appears at night.
The Mazatern Islands off the coast of Sinaloa is an ecological reserve and a gathering place for birds. Goetzmann had already scouted several closely connected islands, which was his Plan A.
“They’re a good choice because we’ve been watching it at night when it’s dark and a lot of the birds will fly to their roosts at night.”
perfect bird
This is not just any Goetzman wanted to find that bird in his photo of an eclipsing bird silhouette in flight. His dream photograph was of a frigatebird, a giant seabird with a striking forked tail.
“Extra long wings and a forked tail,” Goetzman said of frigatebirds. “We know they inhabit specific islands.”
Despite the scouting and planning done minutes before totality, there weren’t many birds, maybe 40 or 50. luck.
“Suddenly, there were about 250 birds in the sky. Within minutes. I didn’t even know where they were coming from,” Goetzman recalled. “Interestingly, when scouting at sunset earlier this week, the birds would hover for a while and then land on the island. However, during totality, they did not land on the island. They just hovered in the air, which is actually It’s perfect because that’s the shot I wanted – them hovering in the air.
Shooting from a boat opens up more possibilities, but also challenges
Incidentally, one problem here is that Goetzman filmed it on a chartered boat.
“What I love about boats is that it’s a really unconventional way to photograph a solar eclipse,” Goetzman said. “But the reason it’s great for this kind of thing is because it’s easier to move quickly to the right spot. If the birds were somewhere else, you could drive over in a moment. But we ended up getting into the perfect spot a few minutes before totality.” .
The boat was captained by Arturo and Toni of Mazatern Watersports Marina, whom Getzman had nothing but praise for. “They’re absolutely fantastic. They’re as important as anything else in piecing this together, and they’re phenomenal.
He also added that he asked his crew to move their tents, usually over the ship’s rudder, so the captain and crew could view the eclipse on their own. What matters most to Goetzman is that everyone who helps him take photos gets to witness the spectacular event firsthand. The preparation and positioning were so good that Gertzman said they didn’t need to adjust their position during totality.
Goetzman is no stranger to filming on boats, which helped during the eclipse. He is used to working on mobile platforms and dealing with positioning issues.
“Holding a camera steadily on a boat is a skill that takes time to learn,” Goetzman said. “I had a lot of practice because I started taking pictures on boats from a very young age.”
Gertsman’s Canon EOS R5 is awesome
As for Goetzman’s choice of gear for the eclipse, he shot it with two cameras. One is his personal Canon EOS R5, and the other is a rented R5 body. Gertsman and almost all pros agree when it comes to gear, you have to know your gear. While Goetzman floated the idea of renting different equipment, he decided his best chance of success would come from shooting with a camera he was familiar with.
He wanted the two objects to have different lenses without changing the optics during totality. While four and a half minutes sounds like a lot, it’s not. Everything is fleeting and you can’t waste time changing lenses.
As for his lenses, Gertsman shoots almost exclusively with the RF 100-500mm telephoto zoom lens, so he uses it as his primary lens. The second R5 is equipped with the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 standard zoom lens.
Because the lenses have different focal lengths and depths of field, Goetzmann’s focusing method differs for each camera. For the wide-angle shot, he decided to set the focus point near infinity because the flying birds were so far away from the camera.
With the RF 100-500mm, he locked the focus of each burst on the bird itself.
“I use servo (continuous) autofocus and animal detection on the RF 100-500mm,” explains Gertsman. “I use single-shot AF on the 24-105mm.”
“I practiced a lot beforehand,” Goetzman said of his choice.
Not only did he practice in the days and weeks leading up to the solar eclipse in Mexico; He also practiced during the annual solar eclipse last fall.
While Gertzman admits it’s not a perfect substitute for a total solar eclipse, the annular eclipse proved useful in understanding what would happen when photographing birds in flight under these conditions.
Practice makes perfect
Goetzman said this was crucial in all his inspections, reflections, plans and practices.
“None of this would be possible without adequate preparation. I don’t think we are overprepared at all. We have made the necessary preparations.
“After practicing two days ago, I feel more confident about my chances of success,” Goetzman said. During a test run, as the sun began to set, he saw birds appear in perfect positions. “When I saw that, I thought, ‘If this is what happens during a solar eclipse, we’re going to get this picture.'” So, I’m pretty confident.
“But it was mainly the clouds that made me nervous,” Goetzman admits. The morning of the total solar eclipse looked suspicious. But Goetzman stuck to his plan, trusted his instincts, and it all worked out.
As he says, “I always say, in wildlife photography, luck is definitely a factor. But you make your own luck.
“I don’t even remember how I felt,” Goetzman said of the ensemble. “I guess I was mostly just excited and in awe.”
When a photographer like Gertsman is experienced and strives to stay confident and prepared, you can rely on autopilot to help you overcome your nerves.
I’m glad Gertzman got the weather conditions he needed to take his dream photos. He deserves it.
More works by Lilon Gertzman
To see more of Liron Gertsman’s work, visit his website. He conducts many workshops to help other photographers improve their wildlife photography and take great photos. You can learn more about his seminars here.
Image Source: All images by Liron Gertsman unless otherwise noted.
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Image Source : petapixel.com