{"id":212883,"date":"2025-02-07T09:07:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T09:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/?post_type=story&p=212883"},"modified":"2025-02-07T09:08:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T09:08:14","slug":"embracing-the-environment-wildlife-photography-with-jeffrey-van-daele","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/pt-pt\/stories\/embracing-the-environment-wildlife-photography-with-jeffrey-van-daele\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing the Environment: Wildlife Photography with Jeffrey Van Daele"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wildlife photographer Jeffrey Van Daele recounts his experience as a photography tour guide on a trip to Antarctica<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Belgium-based image maker Jeffrey Van Daele is a wildlife photographer with a strong documentarian leaning. \u201cI mainly make pictures of animals, but I\u2019m trying to go further than that and focus more on conservation,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat means also getting the not-so-beautiful images of wildlife. Of course, for my job as a tour guide, I have to make classic pictures \u2013 nice subjects with creative techniques and pretty backgrounds. But in my spare time, I mostly try to make pictures of animals in distress or being rehabilitated to give a broader message about what’s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR, 1\/400 sec at F5, ISO 160<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In November 2024, Jeffrey embarked on a voyage to Antarctica aboard a chartered ship of 100 Dutch-speaking birdwatchers, photography enthusiasts and tourists. Jeffrey was among five photography tour guides, who would be leading excursions from the ship to the shores of each destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStarting in Argentina, we first took the ship to the Falklands,\u201d recalls Jeffrey. \u201cFrom there, we went to South Georgia, from South Georgia to Antarctica and then back to Ushuaia. That\u2019s a long trip \u2013 normally people just go to Antarctica and come back. But we wanted to do South Georgia because that\u2019s where you have the enormous penguin colonies. It\u2019s rather unique to see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1\/400 sec at F6.4, ISO 1600<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Exploring South Georgia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were about 200,000 king penguins on South Georgia,\u201d Jeffrey explains. \u201cBecause the expedition ship was resting about 100 metres from shore, we had to take a Zodiac to go ashore. If there\u2019s too much wind, it\u2019s impossible \u2013 so a landing is never a sure thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffrey\u2019s group got lucky with the conditions and went ashore multiple times during their stay off South Georgia. \u201cThe ship that came after us never did the landing \u2013 the ocean was too rough,\u201d he notes. \u201cBut we were able to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1\/200 sec at F11, ISO 800<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This was far from the last challenge facing the group, though. \u201cBecause there was bird flu last year \u2013 and also a bit this year \u2013 we couldn\u2019t lay down on the ground. We couldn\u2019t sit down. We couldn\u2019t put our backpacks on the ground. Only our shoes were permitted to touch the floor,\u201d Jeffrey describes. \u201cAt the end we needed a biosecurity check \u2013 every groove in your shoe has to be cleaned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a photography perspective, this affected the way the group could work. \u201cGetting kit out of your backpack was a real hassle; you had to ask for help,\u201d explains Jeffrey. \u201cI like to lay down on the ground a lot to get a low vantage point, but there you had to just crouch, put your camera low to the ground and look at the LCD screen. For some people that\u2019s not so easy. But photography won\u2019t be easy every time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR, 1\/400 sec at F5.6, ISO 800<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was a location unlike any other, offering opportunities for totally unique images. \u201cSouth Georgia was incredible,\u201d Jeffrey enthuses. \u201cYou have hundreds of thousands of penguins constantly calling. They come up to you because you\u2019re strange and they want to know what you are, but you have to keep a distance of five metres so we were backing up all the time. It\u2019s amazing to be between those penguins and all the elephant seals. And it\u2019s never silent. There\u2019s so much animal noise, it\u2019s overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1\/500 sec at F7.1, ISO 640<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Zooming out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In such a setting, it can be hard to focus on individual compositions \u2013 which is why Jeffrey recommends taking in as much of the scene as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have the standard photos, compositions you suggest to people on the tour; close-up portraits of the animals and that kind of thing. For my wildlife photography, though, I mostly use a wider lens. If I\u2019m in Antarctica, I don\u2019t want to just make a portrait of a penguin \u2013 I want to get the environment with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1\/1000 sec at F6.4, ISO 320<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can do a portrait of a penguin in a wildlife park in Belgium,\u201d he points out. \u201cHere, I wanted the background. A lot of people tried to hide the droppings \u2013 the guano on the floor \u2013 because that\u2019s ugly. But that\u2019s the life these penguins have, so you should make a picture of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want more of a documentary style, not just images you could make anywhere. You have to show people: this is South Georgia; this is Antarctica.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The change in atmosphere between these two locations was stark, Jeffrey notes. \u201cWhen we got to Antarctica, it was very early spring, so the ice was melting,\u201d he describes. \u201cWe had to look for places to go ashore, and there were small dots of penguin colonies \u2013 maybe 30 or 50 birds. They were spread around the white, snowy landscape and it was very minimalistic and peaceful \u2013 a completely different environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1\/1250 sec at F5.6, ISO 800<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A minimalist approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For one Antarctic landing, Jeffrey opted to leave his FUJIFILM X-H2S<\/a>, X-T5<\/a> and collection of X Series lenses<\/a> on the ship in order to focus his creativity. \u201cI like to challenge myself. Everyone was taking out 500mm or 600mm lenses, so on one trip I decided to just bring my FUJIFILM X100VI<\/a>. I thought, let\u2019s just take it, go ashore and see what I can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy with a big telephoto lens \u2013 if you have problems with your composition, you can just zoom in and your problem is gone; you have another composition,\u201d he points out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X100VI, 1\/180 sec at F16, ISO 250<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

More than simply challenging himself, this experiment ended up being one of Jeffrey\u2019s trip highlights. \u201cIt\u2019s a moment I\u2019ll never forget,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cI didn\u2019t have all these kilograms on my back so I could just walk around and enjoy everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can create beautiful pictures with a small camera as well \u2013 and this was towards the end of the trip, so people didn\u2019t need as much help with their photography. I could simply wander and do my own thing. It was the most peaceful walk I did in Antarctica.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1\/640 sec at F3.2, ISO 125<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another high point was spotting a completely black king penguin. \u201cThat\u2019s very rare, one in 250,000,\u201d notes Jeffrey. \u201cIt\u2019s a normal king penguin, but with melanism, so it has a pigment condition that makes it completely black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2016, my colleague went to Antarctica and saw a yellow penguin \u2013 another pigment condition. Those photos went on the news all over the world; it was even more special than the black penguin. In three years, I\u2019ll be guiding another tour to Antarctica and we hope to see a red penguin \u2013 then we\u2019ll have the Belgian flag!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR, 1\/400 sec at F5.6, ISO 160<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Building a unique style<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Jeffrey, Fujifilm\u2019s colour science is of huge benefit to his creative process. \u201cThe Film Simulations<\/a> are incredible,\u201d he remarks. \u201cI look at the photo and think, \u2018OK, if I would have done that analogue, which film would I have used?\u2019 Then I just take that film and programme it into my camera. I do a lot of post-processing in black & white, but for colour\u00a0it\u2019s zero. Really, the simulations are spot on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, Jeffrey exclusively frames up his photos using a monochrome preview. \u201cI always work in black & white \u2013 even if I want the colour image, I use the ACROS Film Simulation with the red filter for the preview,\u201d he explains. \u201cThat\u2019s because I like the dark skies. I can see more shapes and lines; I can see the contrast better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to editing his black & white images, Jeffrey will often use ACROS+R as a starting point. \u201cI\u2019ll keep the Film Simulation and then do dodging and burning,\u201d he explains. \u201cI can work from half an hour to one hour on each image. They\u2019re the same techniques I\u2019d use in the dark room, in the times of analogue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR, 1\/400 sec at F9, ISO 160<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jeffrey would always encourage his tour groups to fully embrace the unique setting and make it as much a part of their photos as possible. \u201cLook at the environment and put your subject within it,\u201d he states. \u201cBefore every landing, we gave a talk on photography, and would say to people: \u2018Yes, bring a long lens, but put it to the side. Please take a wide lens and use that.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn all my trips, that\u2019s the most difficult thing to convince people. They always want to get as close as possible. I understand they have to get those images, but once they have them \u2013 I mean, you can make 1000 close-ups, but if it\u2019s the same kind of penguin, the photos will look the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo 2025 \u00a9 Jeffrey Van Daele | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR, 1\/400 sec at F7.1, ISO 160<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZooming out is difficult. You have to look at more \u2013 the lines have to match; you have to have balance in your picture. It\u2019s more difficult, and that\u2019s why people stick to their long lenses \u2013 they can zoom all their problems away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no quick route to finding these environmental compositions consistently, but the first step is committing to working on it, notes Jeffrey. \u201cThat\u2019s why I show my images to people. Then they are convinced, but on their own they\u2019re not going to try it. You have to practise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wildlife photographer Jeffrey Van Daele recounts his experience as a photography tour guide on a trip to Antarctica Belgium-based image maker Jeffrey Van Daele is a wildlife photographer with a strong documentarian leaning. \u201cI mainly make pictures of animals, but I\u2019m trying to go further than that and focus more on conservation,\u201d he explains. \u201cThat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":273,"featured_media":212659,"template":"","category":[],"post_tag":[],"b2b-solutions":[],"class_list":["post-212883","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-02 16:56:01","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/212883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category?post=212883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_tag?post=212883"},{"taxonomy":"b2b-solutions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fujifilm-x.com\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/b2b-solutions?post=212883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}