was_a_guru

I watched a documentary about this guy who is a well known wildlife photographer. His work is amazing.

One seqment showed him shooting a subject and he was in burst mode. You could hear the shutter sound repeating at a very rapid rate.

I am curious to know what settings one would use for that. A, or S mode? metering mode?, focus mode?, etc?

He has published a number of books. Anyone familiar with those where he might talk about this?

Just curious.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Not too long ago:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-555287-1.html

mcmama

He’s from Nebraska and had a signing on Omaha once. We bought a couple of large images, and were able to meet him, say hi, get autographs on a couple of books, and shake his hand. He’s a very quiet, somewhat humbling man.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

There is a 24 lesson class on Creative Live.

https://www.creativelive.com/class/art-wildlife-photography-tom-mangelsen?via=site-header_0

That said, my bet is that Tom has it on manual focus and exposure most of the time. He is "old school" and didn't have anything automatic when he started shooting.

was_a_guru

Manual would work for a single shot. But when he’s panning and shooting multiple shots in burst mode of a moving bird or animal the distance would change and require refocusing. So I’m guessing AFC (auto focus continuous).

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

He might be manually focusing with slight adjustments and bursting to get that perfect focus on a bear's eye when AFC might be trying to get the fur on the bear's foot!

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

I recently watched a 60 minute segment about him. I am not positive, but I believe Anderson Cooper said that Manglesen does very little post-processing.
I wonder.

tcthome Loc: NJ

I remember seeing a vid on you tube & believe he was shooting with a Nikon d3s or d4s which probably has caps count of 10 or better.

Lorendn Loc: Jackson, WY

I live in Jackson, know Tom, and have shot with him several times. He shoots Nikon, almost always a 600mm, f/4 often with a 1.4x converter. He always shoots in burst mode and has examples where a fraction of a second different can make or break a photo. Tom is a real professional and wants his time in the field and not processing. He is out almost every day and, as you can imagine, may have a thousand shots in a morning (sometimes, I am sure, more). He owns multiple galleries in Nebraska, Utah, Colorado, and here in Jackson so he had a team to review and pre-process his shots before he sees them. He usually shoots manual mode but, I think, sneaks in some aperture priority from time to time. Like everyone, he wants it right in the camera and uses minimal cropping but does do some digital processing.

Tom is a great guy who is always approachable and willing to help everyone get their best shots. Last night he gave a talk at the local TEDx event that was emotional and brought the sold-out house to tears. He is a passionate conservationist who uses his photography share his message with the masses.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Thank you for your post.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Thanks. I'll add him to my Google list.

tallguy56

Lorendn.....I was fortunate to meet Tom 35 years ago. Great to hear that he is the same humble person he was back then

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I've admired Mangelsen's work for many years. He used to have a gallery in my area and I visited occasionally.



Actually, what they said in the 60 minutes story was that he "shuns digital manipulation". That's very different than "post-processing".

They were discussing the image of the grizzly about to catch the salmon in mid-air... one of Tom's most famous images. Anderson Cooper commented that someone might pretty easily just "Photoshop" that image... Which, of course, Tom's shot wasn't because it was taken in 1988, before Photoshop or digital photography existed.

If they've been printed, I can assure you all his images have been post-processed to some extent or another. Maybe Tom doesn't do the post-processing himself, but pays someone to do it!

And I'm not sure where he draws the line what he considers "manipulated". I recall one image of a leopard in a tree that obviously had the background dropped out. I think I saw that image in the 60 minutes story.

I've got one of his very early prints.... shot on film I'm sure. It's a neat photo of a pair of cardinals in a snow scene, but he also missed focus slightly!

A lot of Tom's work is done with large telephotos. I bet he uses aperture preferred (A or Av) auto exposure mode a lot (to control the depth of field).... shutter preferred (S or Tv) AE other times (cheetahs chasing prey).... and Manual whenever he can. Someone with his level of experience knows that each of the exposure modes serves a purpose and knows when and how to use them.

IMO, while his photography is great from a technical perspective and it's of subjects that are interesting and beautifully composed... his real genius has been his diligence traveling to the far reaches to get a shot and his patience waiting for days when necessary to capture the most ideal shot. He also must be a ruthless editor.... when you consider how many millions of shots he must have taken in 40+ years and that at most only a few thousand have been printed and offered for sale in limited editions. (Many more of his images are offered as stock photography.)

Tom studied as a biologist before he got seriously into photography. I think that also has served him well, knowing details of his subjects and with contacts or a network within the scientific community.

Tom is also a master marketer.... Or maybe he has someone sharp handling that aspect of his business for him.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Manglesen prints are stunning. We have five that dominate the walls in our condo living room.

The bargain in his offerings is a large $100 book, "The Last Great Wild Places".

https://www.mangelsen.com/books-calendars-gifts/books/the-last-great-wild-places-forty-years-of-wildlife-photography-by-thomas-d-mangelsen-bkwild.html

oldfaithful

I too watched the documentary and it was outstanding. "Images of Nature,The Photographs of Thomas Mangelsen" is a book I would highly recommend. The book was costly when I purchased it ($50) now I would guess it is over a $100 dollars. Check your local library if you don't want one for your collection. I was fortunate enough to visit the spot where Mangelsen took his famous photo of the "bear catching a fish". It was at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, AL. Using slide film, while visiting the park, I took a similar picture, although not a classic, . How long ago was that ??? Just taking that picture, you gain an appreciation for his patience and genius. The recent documentary showed him using a burst mode so I would agree with the earlier comment that he is now using the latest technology. The book I'm recommending has a copyright of 1989 so I'm assuming the photos were from older technology