← previous day

Previous Next

1A1A1A

3F3F3F

A shot in the dark. (Serendipity 2)

Posted by MaryB (Staffordshire, United Kingdom) on 9 February 2008 in Animal & Insect and Portfolio.

As the title says, I shot this in complete darkness, (with the aid of someone elses flash) in the Bat house at a safari park. I was quite amazed that I actually got a bat in the shot and in flight. I can't seem to capture as decent shot of a bird in flight in full daylight! LOL :D The quality of this in not up to much though. I used the flash from someone elses camera as they took shots, so not guilty of disturbing the bats :)
Added softness and converted to b&w to improve the shot, the best I could :D
It's probably worth a shot in the dark, you never know what you might get.

............................................................................................................
Any tips or constructive criticism are welcome :)
I really appreciate all your comments, thank you so much. I'm only sorry I've not got time to respond. I do read all the comments and will try to answer any questions you have

Comments (26)

Gary from Cochise County, United States

Incredible capture Mary. I think bats are just amazing creatures. Thank you for some really wonderful displays of nature over the past week or two.

9 Feb 2008 5:53am

@Gary: Thank you very much Gary, and thank you for your continued support, I really do appreciate it :)

Andrew Gould from Sydney, Australia

Even if it's not the sharpest, Mary, it's still quite an amazing capture!

9 Feb 2008 8:36am

@Andrew Gould: Thank you Andrew, I couldn't quite believe that I actually got a bat, I had so many of just the bushes before this one :)

Steven from Montreal, Canada

Great capture!

9 Feb 2008 9:53am

@Steven: Thank you Steven.

Man With 101 Names from Hamburg, United States

And where and WHERE IS THE BAT MAN ! ! !

good googli moogli ! this is cool and the B&W is perfect the bat almost blends into the leaves and I did not see him at first , fabulous capture ...

9 Feb 2008 10:11am

@Man With 101 Names: :D Cheers pal

Helma from Tehran, Iran

cool shot ! Good b&w photo .... thanks.

9 Feb 2008 10:59am

@Helma: Thank you Helma :)

Japanalia from Yokohama, Japan

The bat silhouette is stunning and unexpected! The conversion works very well!

9 Feb 2008 11:21am

@Japanalia: Thank Gabriela, it was a very unexpected capture, there were quite a lot of bats around but I didn't think I'd get one.

Craiger from Vacaville, California, United States

A wonderful shot in the dark!

9 Feb 2008 11:26am

@Craiger: Thanks as always Craig :)

Stefan from Nassau, United States

Great shot, very good work for not even sing yor own flash! How did you time it so their flash and your shot lined up? Great capture!!!

9 Feb 2008 12:46pm

@Stefan: Thank you Stefan, I joined forces with the guy who used the flash, what we did was count to 3 and pushed the button and hope for the best. We tried it a number of times before we got it right. They were flying around loose so there was an outside chance of getting something but I never expected what I got. There was fruit hung up around the place and we actually got one eating the fruit too.

Faramarz from Tehran, Iran

wow...

9 Feb 2008 2:22pm

@Faramarz: Thank you Faramarz

Wolfgang Prigge from Granby, QC, Canada

Talk about a shot in the dark, this is an amazing shot, even more so after your explantions. Bravo Mary!

9 Feb 2008 3:13pm

@Wolfgang Prigge: Thank you Wolfgang. The guy who helped me out was brilliant, very patient and as determind as me to get something, it's thanks to him I managed to get this shot. The bats were actually flying around loose in the bat house, so there was an outside chance that we might capture a bat, I really didn't expect this though. I did get another one, eating fruit, which I may post in the future.

Illuci from Hurdegaryp, Netherlands

This must be really one shot out of thousand, I can't imagine how purposely shoot a flying bat from this short distance in the dark, it seems impossible to me. Really rare! Congratulations, a lot of the lottery!! And nice to watch too!

9 Feb 2008 3:30pm

@Illuci: Thank you Erik, I really do have trouble capturing birds in flight in full daylight! so to get this amazed me. It was quite a strange place, I could sence the bats flying around (they were flying around freely) and there was low level lighting at ground level so you could see the walk way but apart from that it was really quite dark, especially after walking in from the sunlight.

tyan from Singapore, Singapore

This is incredible mary,a bat in flight and very clear given the fact it was taken in the dark!i think you really have the gift of photography,it'll be a waste if you dont take pictures for National Geographic or sth like that!

9 Feb 2008 3:39pm

@tyan: Thank you so much dear Tyan :) you have paid me a wonderful compliment, it means a great deal to me. I love a challenge and this was a great challenge, I was very determind to leave the bat house with at least something, this was more than I could have hoped for.

Viewfinder from Bradenton, United States

Fantastic! I could try every day for the rest of my life and never get something so cool as this.

9 Feb 2008 5:44pm

@Viewfinder: Thank you VF, I don't think I will manage something like this again but I never say never, it might happen some day. :)

Michael from Wuppertal, Germany

Mary, this is so fantastic! I´ve never seen a bat in life yet- and you just hit it!

9 Feb 2008 7:20pm

@Michael: Thank you Michael, This is the first time I've ever got this close, they were flying around loose in the bat house and there was lots of them.

Steven from Chicagoland, United States

Beautiful shot! I love the shininess of its wings.

9 Feb 2008 7:51pm

@Steven: Thank you Steven, they are amazing creatures.

Stunner from Kingston, Jamaica

This is a fantastic capture Mary! Great night shot!

9 Feb 2008 8:00pm

@Stunner: Thank you Stunner :)

bronzebilly u.k. from Barry,Vale of Glamorgan, United Kingdom

Nice rescue on this shot MaryB(B for Batwoman..???..)
As 101 says it's a neat camouflage shot also..great job..
BillyB...

9 Feb 2008 11:59pm

@bronzebilly u.k.: Cheers BillyB :) My Bat radar was on high alert that day for sure :D

MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany

Stunning! Never seen a photo like that!

10 Feb 2008 12:52am

@MadScientist: Thank you MS, thanks also for your visit, it's really appreciated :)

Richard_Irwin from Belper, United Kingdom

Thats the most amazing serendipity. You must have been so fully tuned into the situation, or it must have been chi energy or something. Wow, an amazing moment, you must have been surprised.

10 Feb 2008 10:06am

@Richard_Irwin: Thanks Richard, it was an amazing place. I think the fact that it was dark another sence kicked in and I was very aware that they were flying around. I was more than suprised to get this, on the way out I stopped to look at what if anything was captured, to say I was pleased is an understament. I did a little victory dance ( similar to a footballer scoring a winning goal LOL :D ) much to my family's amusement.

e. from New York, NY, United States

Wow, beautiful! This is a fantastic night shot.

10 Feb 2008 7:47pm

@e.: Awww! thanks e :)

amy from Rocky Mountain House, Canada

I missed this yesterday... This is just so terrific!! Great work and ingenuity for a cracker shot!! Serendipity indeed.

10 Feb 2008 10:29pm

@amy: Cheers Amy, I've had a really busy weekend i'm just catching up with posts too. Hope your keeping warm it sounds mighty cold there atm.

Rags from Plano, United States

you did a really good job with this image.

10 Feb 2008 11:22pm

@Rags: Thank you Rags :) I really appreciate your comments.

baobab from Cambridge, United States

nice shot Mary - great timing and focus for this shot in the dark! The B&W treatment makes it very atmospheric... getting such a good shot at a slow shutter speed and in the dark is remarkable.

thanks also for your kind comments on both aminus3 and my blogger blog :-)

11 Feb 2008 1:01am

Elisa from Massachusetts, United States

great capture and good choice of B/W!

11 Feb 2008 4:13am

DaveB from Exeter, United Kingdom

Magical shot, the slight blur of the bat in motion only adds to it!

11 Feb 2008 9:58am

Brites from Lisboa, Portugal

Superb B&W dear Mary!

13 Feb 2008 9:41pm

Add your comment ...

next day →

Panasonic DMC-FZ7
1/30 second
F/2.8
ISO 250
36 mm (35mm equiv.)