Inspiring book on high-speed nature photography

[Tom Pinchenzo]

I was given Capturing Motion by Stephen Dalton as birthday present and it's a really inspiring read. Dalton was a pioneer of using flash to capture pin-sharp images of animals in flight, including freezing the wingbeats of insects etc.

The one thing that really hit home reading this book was how there was zero difference (and I mean like, shockingly little difference) in image quality from his early 1970s work using a Leicaflex SL with Kodachrome and his work just a few years ago with a Sony A7Rii and Nikon D800. I know the 'gear doesn't matter' discussion has been done to death but if anyone wants proof, then Dalton's work is it.

I understand that there are benefits to modern equipment, but

 

[HoppyUK]

I was given Capturing Motion by Stephen Dalton as birthday present and it's a really inspiring read. Dalton was a pioneer of using flash to capture pin-sharp images of animals in flight, including freezing the wingbeats of insects etc.

The one thing that really hit home reading this book was how there was zero difference (and I mean like, shockingly little difference) in image quality from his early 1970s work using a Leicaflex SL with Kodachrome and his work just a few years ago with a Sony A7Rii and Nikon D800. I know the 'gear doesn't matter' discussion has been done to death but if anyone wants proof, then Dalton's work is it.

I understand that there are benefits to modern equipment, but

A well exposed Kodachrome 25 slide can be pretty damn good, reckoned to be over 6m pixels equivalent as far as you can make comparisons like that. Dalton was also working at high f/numbers with most of his insect work for depth of field, so sharpness was severely diffraction limited anyway. His main problem was getting enough light from the custom built flash with ISO25, f/16 and the very fast flash duration needed all compounding against him. And then there was the custom shutter essential to reduce lag. Back in the 1970s these were huge technical challenges with no commercially available solutions. He used a Hasselblad for later work with birds etc, but perhaps as much for the convenience of a Polaroid back and speedier processing as any gains in image quality.

He's a remarkable guy I've been lucky enough to spend some time with for magazine interviews. He's one of my photography heroes TBH with a rare mixture of talents - technical photographic expertise in depth blended with great artistic vision, and he's a very knowledgeable naturalist. Perhaps most of all he had the pioneering determination to achieve what was impossible at the time, and very difficult even now. His work has certainly never been bettered

Stephen Dalton website

Stephen Dalton: Welcome

Edit: I have several of his books, mostly out of print now I guess, but this one you have looks like a pretty good retrospective - £15 well spent, I'd say The swallow drinking on the cover was taken in his back garden, with a Hasselblad by remote control - actually shot while he was shopping in Brighton he told me. I also see Amazon has some older used books for sale - Borne on the Wind is probably my favourite, with lots of his early work printed full page with all the technical back-story https://www.amazon.co.uk/Capturing-Motion-Speed-Nature-Photography/dp/0228102723/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3F3JZ5LBXQLU&dchild=1&keywords=stephen+dalton&qid=1618051270&s=books&sprefix=stephen+dalton,aps,149&sr=1-1

 

[Tom Pinchenzo]

The word ‘pioneering’ is so commonly used to describe lots of people, but like you say, he decided what he wanted to achieve, despite there being no precedent or established method and set about solving the problem. It’s really remarkable. Such a rare quality.