Chris Schmid and the SEL70200G

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Chris Schmid

Sony Ambassador Chris Schmid has dedicated his life to documenting the natural beauty of our planet. His photographs are an invitation to discover the world with wide eyes and vibrant enthusiasm. His aim is always the same: to approach nature right at its heart in order to raise awareness around the fragility of our earth and inspire action to preserve it.

Specialising in wildlife and documentary photojournalism, the quality of Chris’s work is reflected in the widespread recognition he has received. His photographs have been published in magazines such as National Geographic, BBC and GEO, and he has won numerous awards for his photography. His tireless efforts to document and protect the few remaining areas of wilderness are fuelled by a love for the natural world and a desire to protect what's left.

Chris is deeply committed to wildlife conservation and works closely with WildAid, an environmental organization based in San Francisco with the aim of reducing demand for illegal wildlife products. Chris is also a contributor to the Remembering Elephants and Remembering Great Apes projects, and the Born Free Foundation fund-raising book and exhibition, illustrated by the world’s finest wildlife photographers.

 

Chris on his photography style

I specialise in wildlife and nature photography. I love to include the environment of wildlife subjects. For me the environment is as important as the wildlife subject itself. One cannot survive without the other. If we want to protect wildlife, we first need to protect its environment. To obtain these habitats in my photographs I use two different options.

If I want a wide shot, I prefer to get more distance with the subject and use a 70-200mm or even a 500mm. By doing so, I maintain natural behaviour and I’m not disturbing the animal. One also gets a more cinematic feeling by playing with perspective – foreground, mid-ground and background.

What do you like about this lens?

I really love the Sony 70-200mm f4 G because it’s a very light lens without compromising the image quality. An aperture of F4 is sufficient today with the quality of high ISO from Sony Alpha cameras. So you’re not afraid anymore to push the ISO to compensate an aperture of f4 compared to 2.8. The 70-200mm f4 G is very nice when you need to walk long distance and travel light without compromising image quality. The AF is also fast for tracking subject like birds in flight!

 

 Thanks to the fast AF of the 70-200mm f4 G you’re able to follow birds in flight, like this kittiwake flying in Svalbard under some light snow. The camera and lens were able to quickly track the bird.

Keeping the animal in its environment is very important for me. And the 70-200mm f4 G is one of the best lenses to achieve these results. You’re not too close, not too far (and you’re able to recompose your shot if needed), like with this polar bear walking on the pack ice.

 

When you need to walk for long hours, weight is always important. Every gram you can save is always welcome. So if I need to walk long distance I prefer to take with me the 70-200mm f4 G. This muskox was shot in Dovrefjell, Norway, after spending a few days out sleeping under tent and walking long distances in freezing weather.