Tiger Shoot - Results for 6/11

[TexIndian]

Joe, I have used the Better Beamer (actually a Kirk Flash Extender) extensively on birds with great results. I usually set the speedlight for balanced fill flash minus about 2/3 stop, and with the zoom head set to 50mm (per the instructions). Then I set the camera for rear-curtain sync. That way if they flinch or react to the light, the shutter's already closed. I've used it with the 600mm lens out to about 60 feet and it really puts some detail in feathers and a twinkle in their eyes. The only problem I've run into is at very close range, where the flash seems to become more dominant and starts leaving its own shadows, etc.

The problem I had with the cat shots was basically red-eye or washed out eyes when they were too close. I've had that problem before with some mammals, but not all. I've tried elevating the flash further above the lens to get around that and that works, but aiming the 'beamer' becomes a problem - worse with shorter lenses where the two have to be right in sync. I could have elevated and removed the beamer at the distances we were getting, but I didn't bring the extra gear for that.