THE STUDIO
W I L D LY C R E A T I V E
A C E R TA I N A , S M A L L C A R P E N T E R BEE STOPS ON A PURPLE ASTER. PHOTO BY MURPHY
AN EYE FOR DETAIL A Photographer Explores the Intersection of Art and Science BY ELLEN KANZINGER
AFTER WEEKS OF CHASING A RARE
subspecies of black-and-white ruffed lemurs through the forest of Madagascar, Dr. Asia Murphy had yet to see one in person. She could hear the lemurs communicating with a loud call that “sounds like dogs snarling and demons screaming,” but there was no visual sign of their whereabouts. Right before she was set to leave the site, Murphy came upon one lying on a branch just off the trail she was hiking. Keeping one eye out for obstacles while trying to be quiet and focus her camera on the lemur, she followed it for about 20 minutes to a larger group. “I was getting such good
shots—clear, the lemur looking straight at me—it was great,” Murphy said. “It was only when I left that site and was able to upload the pics that I realized I had overexposed all of them, so they were useless.”
Anyone who has ever tried to photograph wildlife.... knows that it takes a little bit of luck and a lot of patience to get the focus, exposure, and framing to all come together. It’s a tough lesson that every photographer learns at some point in their career. Anyone who has ever tried to photograph wildlife—the slither through the grass, the flight from a perch, or the shimmy up a tree—knows that it takes a little bit of luck and a lot of patience to get the focus, exposure, and framing to come together. That experience didn’t dissuade Murphy from the medium. In fact, she doubled down on learning the camera’s
A MADAGASCAR REED FROG RESTS O N A L E A F. P H O T O B Y M U R P H Y
M AY 2 0 2 2 | B LU E R I D G E O U T D O O R S . C O M
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