Camera
A nature photography tour of Madagascar, Part 1: Andasibe
Madagascar. A huge, wild, faraway Island. Even mentioning its name provokes an exotic, exciting feeling in my soul. I had wanted to visit Madagascar for many years before finally realizing my plans in 2022. It was one of the most wonderful trips I’ve done in recent years, one that stayed with me for a while. It included many adventures, diverse and exciting locations, new experiences and a heck of a lot of photography. Enough photography to be interesting (in my opinion, at least) even for the general photography crowd, not to mention nature photographers.
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Madagascar may not be a beginner’s destination in the sense that it poses some challenges to the traveler. My scouting trip included extremely long drives (one of them two days in total, during which we had to sleep in a guest house surrounded by a very tall metal wall…).
In some locations, sleeping conditions aren’t on par with the expectations of the typical western tourist. The already-poor country was also badly hit by COVID-19, which left some of its better hotels permanently closed. It is currently recuperating and reinstating the tourism infrastructure, domestic flight schedule and higher-tier accommodation possibilities.
While it has more than its fair share of domestic problems, Madagascar is an absolute heaven for wildlife and landscape enthusiasts. In this series of articles, I’d like to tell you the story of my scouting trip to this magical island. I hope it gives you new insights and information about its sheer natural diversity and triggers your interest in visiting. While a Madagascar trip is not always easy or comfortable, it is extremely worth it for the adventurous soul.
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Without further ado, let’s move on to my first stop on the trip: Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. Andasibe Park is located about 150 km (3-4 hours) east of Madagascar’s capital of Antananarivo, near the small village of Andasibe. It consists mostly of a vast rain-forest, which is habitat to numerous species, many of them endemic, rare and endangered, among which 11 lemur species, including brown lemurs, Diademed sifaka lemur, wooly lemur and others. There are several chameleon species and numerous bird and insect species. Andasibe is especially known for its population of the largest lemur species, the Indri Indri.
In general, lemurs are quite hard to photograph. They are energetic, move around quickly and often, and are increasingly reluctant to get close to humans since feedings are being phased out (a wonderful thing in any other respect). They live in dense forests, so good viewings and compositions are few and far between. The photographer often has to chase the animal as it moves through the canopy, which can be challenging and exhausting, especially in the wet, muddy, humid environment. I got back to the lodge absolutely dirty with mud and plant material from head to toe every day.
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An adult Indri Indri in the rain.
Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 |
Indri Indri (locally called Babakutu, which may be translated as “father of a little boy”) is a diurnal tree-dwelling lemur. It lives in family groups, feeding mainly on leaves but also seeds, fruits and flowers. Photographically, the Indri Indri is a wonderful subject. The black and white fur (with hints of brown and grey) is starkly contrasted by its beautiful, large green eyes (and by the colors of its forest habitat). It is also very loud and often bursts into song, allowing easier detection and photography of the singing itself.
The only photographic disadvantage is that it chooses to stay high up in the canopy most of the time (other than when going to the toilet), which can harm the shooting angle; remember, as wildlife photographers, we usually prefer an eye-level vantage point. When you see an image of an Indri Indri at eye level, chances are it was shot during human feeding, which should be avoided and discouraged.
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The song of Babakutu is made of high-pitched glissandos and can be heard from far away. In my opinion, it’s pure joy to listen to. It’s very much an arboreal equivalent of a whale’s song.
Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 |
Besides the Indri Indri, there are several other beautiful lemur species in Andasibe.
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Brown lemurs are some of the most common lemurs, but they’re fun to photograph. They are also the most likely to climb to eye level, making them easier to capture.
Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6 |
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Eastern wooly lemur. Contrary to popular belief, they don’t usually smoke illicit substances. More seriously, this lemur species is highly endangered due to rapid habitat loss. Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6 |
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The Diademed sifaka lemur is one of the largest and most colorful lemur species. Classified as critically endangered, population estimates for the species range between 6,000 and 10,000 individuals.
Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 |
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An eastern lesser bamboo lemur (also known as the gray bamboo lemur). These lemurs are extremely quick and nimble, jumping from branch to branch in the thick forest. They are also incredibly cute and furry.
Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 |
Malagasy chameleons are known for their striking colorations. I shot several species of chameleons on the trip, but the most beautiful one was the male Parson’s chameleon, whose coloration was especially vibrant and eye-pleasing.
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A close-up portrait of a male Parson’s chameleon. Note the amazing coloration on the abdomen.
Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6 |
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Another close-up from a different angle. The horns are nicely visible here.
Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6 |
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In addition to the usual close-ups, I took one ultra-wide angle image with my 11-24mm to better show the chameleon’s habitat.
Canon 5D4, Canon 11-24mm F4 |
It’s interesting to note that the female Parson’s chameleon is comparatively dull in appearance. I guess the male is dressed to impress!
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A female Parson’s chameleon.
Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6 |
In the next article in this series, I’ll talk about shooting the Red Tsingy, a man-induced beautiful natural phenomenon, which was the next stop on my Madagascar trip.
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Erez Marom is a professional nature photographer, photography guide and traveler based in Israel. You can follow Erez’s work on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to his mailing list for updates and to his YouTube channel.
If you’d like to experience and shoot some of the world’s most fascinating landscapes with Erez as your guide, take a look at his unique photography workshops in Svalbard, Greenland, Madagascar, the Lofoten Islands, Namibia and Vietnam.
Erez also offers video tutorials discussing his images and explaining how he achieved them.
Selected Articles by Erez Marom:
Camera
Pentax K-1 and K-1 II firmware updates include astrophotography features (depending on where you live)
Yesterday, Ricoh quietly released firmware 2.50 for its Pentax K-1 and K-1 II DSLRs. However, the features you can expect to gain from this update may depend on your geography.
Ricoh’s English-language firmware pages for the K-1 and K-1 II state that firmware 2.50 delivers “Improved stability for general performance.”
However, astute Pentax users noted that Ricoh’s Japanese-language firmware pages (translation) indicate that the update also includes a limited feature called “Astronomical Photo Assist,” a collection of three new features designed for astrophotography: Star AF, remote control focus fine adjustment, and astronomical image processing.
Star AF is intended to automate focusing on stars when using autofocus lenses. Rather than manually focusing on a bright star and changing your composition, it promises to let you compose your shot and let the camera focus.
Remote control fine adjustment allows users to adjust focus without touching the lens and requires Pentax’s optional O-RC1 remote. Astronomical image processing will enable users to make in-camera adjustments to astrophotography images, including shading correction, fogging correction, background darkness, star brightness, celestial clarity, and fringe correction.
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| Astronomical image processing on the K-1 and K-1 II will enable users to make in-camera adjustments to astrophotography images, including shading correction, fogging correction, background darkness, star brightness, celestial clarity, and fringe correction. |
According to Ricoh, Astronomical Photo Assist is a premium feature that must be purchased and costs ￥11,000 for an activation key (about $70 at current exchange rates).
Although these astrophotography features appear to be Japan-only for now, a Ricoh representative tells us, “Ricoh Imaging Americas confirmed that the premium firmware features for the PENTAX K-1 and PENTAX K-1 Mark II will eventually be available to US customers.”
Firmware update 2.50 for both the K-1 and K-1 II is available for download from Ricoh’s website.
As part of our twenty fifth anniversary, we’re looking back at some of the most significant cameras launched and reviewed during that period. Today’s pick was launched seven years ago today* and yet we’re only quite recently stepping out of its shadow.
The Nikon D850 is likely to be remembered as the high watermark of DSLR technology. We may yet still see impressive developments from Ricoh in the future (we’d love to see a significantly upgraded Pentax K-1 III), but the D850 was perhaps the green flash as the sun set on the DSLR as the dominant technology in the market.
Click here to read our Nikon D850 review
Why do we think it was such a big deal? Because it got just about everything right. Its 45MP sensor brought dual conversion gain to high pixel count sensors, meaning excellent dynamic range at base ISO and lower noise at high ISOs. Its autofocus system was one of the best we’ve ever seen on a DSLR: easy to use and highly dependable, with a good level of coverage. And then there was a body and user interface honed by years of iterative refinement, that made it easy to get the most out of the camera.
None of this is meant as a slight towards the other late-period DSLRs but the likes of Canon’s EOS 5DS and 5DSR didn’t present quite such a complete package of AF tracking, daylight DR and low-light quality as the Nikon did. With its ability to shoot at up to 9fps (if you used the optional battery grip), the D850 started to chip away at the idea that high megapixel cameras were specialized landscape and studio tools that would struggle with movement or less-than-perfect lighting. And that’s without even considering its 4K video capabilities.
In the seven years since the D850 was launched, mirrorless cameras have eclipsed most areas in which DSLRs once held the advantage. For example, the Z8 can shoot faster, autofocus more with more accuracy and precision, across a wider area of the frame and do so while shooting at much faster rates.
But, even though it outshines the D850 in most regards, the Z8 is still based around what we believe is a (significant) evolution of the same sensor, and its reputation still looms large enough for Nikon to explicitly market the Z8 as its “true successor.”
Nikon D850 sample gallery
*Actually seven years ago yesterday: we had to delay this article for a day to focus on the publishing the Z6III studio scene: the latest cameras taking precedence over our anniversary content.
| Photo: Richard Butler |
We’ve just received a production Nikon Z6III and took it into our studio immediately to get a sense for how the sensor really performs.
Dynamic range tests have already been conducted, but these only give a limited insight into the image quality as a whole. As expected, our Exposure Latitude test – which mimics the effect of reducing exposure to capture a bright sunrise or sunset, then making use of the deep shadows – shows a difference if you use the very deepest shadows, just as the numerical DR tests imply.
Likewise, our ISO Invariance test shows there’s more of a benefit to be had from applying more amplification by raising the ISO setting to overcome the read noise, than there was in the Z6 II. This means there’s a bigger improvement when you move up to the higher gain step of the dual conversion gain sensor but, as with the Z6 II, little more to be gained beyond that.
These are pushing at the extreme of the sensor’s performance though. For most everyday photography, you don’t use the deepest shadows of the Raw files, so differences in read noise between sensors don’t play much of a role. In most of the tones of an image, sensor size plays a huge role, along with any (pretty rare) differences in light capturing efficiency.
As expected, the standard exposures look identical to those of the Z6 II. There are similar (or better) levels of detail at low ISO, in both JPEG and Raw. At higher ISO, the Z6III still looks essentially the same as the Z6II. Its fractionally higher level of read noise finally comes back to have an impact at very, very high ISO settings.
Overall, then, there is a read noise price to be paid for the camera’s faster sensor, in a way that slightly blunts the ultimate flexibility of the Raw files at low ISO and that results in fractionally more noise at ultra-high ISOs. But we suspect most people will more than happily pay this small price in return for a big boost in performance.
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