Suspicious Lemur

Suspicious Lemur

 

Lemurs are not exactly the easiest subjects to photograph, they are fast, never stop moving, and mostly live in densely forested habitats which are dark, rainy and muddy.  The Black and White Ruffed lemurs are especially fast and restless, but they do have a very endearing behaviour: they like to hang upside down from tree branches from their hind legs. Armed with this knowledge (and of course my camera equipment) I got an idea into my head to photograph them straight from underneath. Easier said than done. After a lot of what I can only assume was pure comedy from my part in the end I got what I wanted. It is a pity the sky was overcast and that there wasn’t thicker tree cover (where is it when you need it?!), but that’s wildlife photography – luck always plays a part unless you have unlimited time to get the shot – a luxury which I obviously never have. I used a flash for this photo to help counter the high dynamic range presented by having the sky as a background, and to be better able to freeze the ample movement of my hyperactive subject.  I also used a diffuser on the flash to soften the light, bounce it around a little and avoid startling or annoying the lemur. It didn’t seem to mind in the very least.

Techs: Canon 7D | Canon 15-85mm @ 29mm | f/5.6 | 1/125s | ISO 200 | Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT with diffuser

Check out my blog post on Africa Geographic for more Madagascar wildlife photos and fun facts!