In which I enjoy photographing running dogs

Sadly, we don't have a dog at the moment.  Our beloved long haired Jack Russell terrier and ex racing greyhound lived long - 16 and 14 respectively - but have now left us.  But my daughter has two, a bull lurcher cross and a deerhound x greyhound, and I often join her on one of the local dog fields to enjoy their free running.  

Both rapid sighthounds, Sweet Pea (the fawn) and Sampson (the black) represent an enjoyable challenge to photograph, one I couldn't really manage with my previous Canon gear, but can with the Olympus kit.

The key is speed.  The combination of the Olympus EM1 MkII and the 40-150mm f2.8 Pro allows me to set an ISO 800 and f2.8 combination to generate a fast shutter speed - 1/4000 sec in the shot above.  The lightning fast and accurate autofocus of the combination then allows me to pick up the dogs extremely rapidly.  Finally the high speed sequential shooting mode generates a good sequence of shots per burst, giving a variety to choose from.

Sighthounds have a unique high speed running gait called a double suspension rotary gallop, where the feet are barely supported or even off the ground in both the tuck and extension phases. The shot above shows 7 unsupported legs in synchrony. Only Sweet Pea has one foot on the floor. This generates high speed running of up to and even over 40 mph. Sampson is demonstrating his high speed capacity with three phases of the gait in the image below.

These side on shots are relatively easy to capture, requiring only focus lock at the start of the sequence and panning during the rub.  1/2000 sec kept the images sharp and detailed.  Rather harder are head on shots. Even with continuous autofocus and tracking set on it's still a bit hit and miss to keep the eyes in sharp focus with a dog moving at 40mph.  The additional depth of field bonus from the M43 sensor helps - but expect a lot of failures.  But when it does work...

..it yields some lovely images.  Though it's rare for me to get the pair of them head on, together, and both heads in focus.

Why?  Because they usually spend their time coursing each other in frantic activity bursts followed by rest periods.  40mph is energy intensive.

Time for a lie down.  And a roll.

Pro Capture on the Olympus EM1 MkII

I've owned the EM1 MkII for about 18 months and I'm still exploring all the features of this camera. One feature that I've only briefly played with and really need to explore further is Pro Capture.

Essentially, the camera can be set up to buffer a series of shots on a continuous loop when the shutter button is half pressed.  Firing the shutter then writes the shots both prior to and after firing.  The number of shots pre and post press, maximum frames per second (60max), and the frame count limiter (25 max) are set up in the C1 | H settings | Pro cap options in the Custom (*) menu.  There are plenty of 'how to set it up' videos on YouTube so I won't look at it in more detail.  It's the results that count.

Effectively it overcomes some of the limitions of human reaction time.  It's so easy to miss a shot that requires split second reactions to capture.  The sparrow coming in to land on our back garden feeder is an excellent example,  Using Pro Capture I was able to sit in comfort with the 40-150mm Pro set at f2.8 and camera at ISO 1000.  As soon as I saw the bird coming in to land I started the Pro Capture loop and pressed the shutter as it landed, capturing enough buffered shots to give me a few reasonable in flight images.

It works for take off shots as well.  This is an Azure damselfly, Coenagrion puella, taking off from a waterside leaf.

All I had to do was focus on the resting damselfly, start the Pro Capture buffer loop and, as soon as I saw movement, fully press the shutter.

It all sounds easy, and, judging by the number of superb in flight and fast action shots using Pro Capture with this and later cameras in the EM1/OM1 line, it's definitely simplifying the generation of impressive results.  

Of course there are downsides.  It's battery hungry. I'll need to get another one or even two batteries if I'm going to use it more extensively next year.  It also generates a lot of files.  Even with the restricted buffer storage of 25 images per Pro Capture run it's very easy to generate hundreds of files in a short space of time.  Add in the ability to capture in RAW and card space can become an issue.  It also takes goodly amounts of time to go through the resulting files to pick out the best and delete the rest (trust me, you don't want hundreds of almost identical shots sitting on your hard disks).

But it's fun - and that's what really matters.

Using the Olympus STF-8 macro flash

A lot of field macro work is only possible using flash to light small, often moving, subjects.  In the past I've used external flashguns and small softboxes, either singly or as a pair, mounted on a attached bracket and fired either with a connector cord or wirelessly. They worked - but cumbersome is an apt description of using them for photographing insects in leafy areas.

So I was delighted to find a used Olympus STF-8 twin flash for sale at Wex Photo and Video earlier this year.  The price was very reasonable compared to new so I raided the piggy bank and took the plunge.  After all, I'd easily recoup the investment, wouldn't I.  Gear aquisition syndrome strikes again.

The macro flash comes in it's own elegant carrying case.  I think I've used it twice since the first opening.  Assembly and fitting of the flash unit to the camera and 60mm macro lens is pretty simple and results in the following compact unit.

Small, compact, lightweight and weather sealed it's ideal for field use in terms of easy manouverability. The individual small flash units and diffusers can be rotated round the filter ring to provide optimum lighting directions and the control unit sits and locks neatly to the flash shoe.  Four AA batteries - I use rechargeables - power the whole thing.

Flash exposure is set from the back control panel.  I use manual exposure on the camera to set up aperture and shutter speed (max 1/250 sec on the EM1 Mkii) and, for most uses the left hand dial is on the camera/RC setting to allow TTL flash exposure.  It's possible to set the flash power manually but field working often doesn't provide enough time to play with the settings.  The right dial allows the user to balance the light between right and left flashes to enhance modelling.

So, does it work in practice?  And have I recouped any of my investment?  Short answer, yes.  Long answer, read on.

It's certainly easy to use in the field.  I can hand hold it for hours and even use it one handed, allowing me to hold a leaf or card for background colour to avoid the classic bright subject / black background unnatural flash 'look'.  In this case the background is a dock leaf.

The diffusion is not quite as good as I would like, the flashes generating small hot spots on shiny insects such as this greenbottle fly.

Having said that, even fairly sparkly subjects such as this iridescent eyed Dolichopus griseipennis fly come out well.

Duller subjects such as this tortoise shield bug, Eurygaster testudinaria, are no problem.

Overall, I'm very happy with the STF-8.  I'll do some experiments next year to increase the amount of diffusion to see if that generates superior results.  I'll also look at more focus bracketing / stacking to give a greater depth of field.  I've had a couple of goes.  It's not as easy as it sounds!

Finally, have I begun to recoup my investment?  Yes. $70 (to me) sales thus far. Hopefully there will be more next year.