Image Focus

I was in Uganda to lead a photography expedition to observe mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. But when you go to a place to view something specifically, you often find something else that captures your interest just as much.

And that’s exactly what happened to me when my attention was attracted to this Johnston's Three-Horned Chameleon (Trioceros johnstoni). It was the first time I had seen this species. It’s an inherently local species that exists only there, in the Virungas and the Ruwenzori mountains on the border between Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. It is such a colourful chameleon and this one in shot is a male, which is why he is so colourful. Maybe there were females around that he wanted to impress?

I was shooting with my Sony Alpha 1 – it's my go-to camera as it's so versatile. I can shoot everything, from small details to landscapes and wildlife on a trip like this. The Alpha 1 has the perfect combination of a fast 30fps shooting rate and 50-million-pixel resolution. It’s seriously impressive!

Some might think that a chameleon moves slowly, but when you see them up close, you notice they constantly fidget. I used the Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro to take the shot. It is an older lens in the Sony FE line-up, but it has a beautiful soft bokeh before and after the focus point. And it is unbelievably sharp - one of the sharpest lenses I have ever used and perfect for a situation like this.

The shutter speed of my Alpha 1 was set to 1/200th sec. I used the maximum 30fps continuous shooting rate, as just 1mm of movement from either myself or the chameleon makes a lot of difference to the focus and position of the depth of field.

I was also fortunate that it was an overcast day with no hard shadows, as I knew I had perfect soft light to capture the colour and detail, just like a portrait.

What's interesting about chameleons is that when they are about to move, they move their front legs a few times before taking the step. Because I was shooting at 30fps, I could shoot a whole sequence of images and choose the one with the best stepping motion.

But nature doesn't let itself be arranged like you would arrange a shot in a studio, so I also cropped out any details that weren't needed – a leaf on one side and the branch on which the chameleon was sitting. The high resolution of the Alpha 1 means I can do this and still have a large file at the end.

Many nature photographers make the mistake of thinking you must always have the whole animal in the picture. Yet I think the other way around; I'm thinking, get as close as possible and be intimate with the subject. The final result? A graphically simple image with vivid colours which leaves the viewer knowing precisely what they are meant to be looking at.