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Successful wildlife photography requires three essential ingredients: a thorough knowledge of the camera equipment and how it works; quiet, determined patience; and a good understanding of wildlife behaviour. Today’s digital equipment has significantly
levelled the playing field by allowing anyone with a good camera to get lucky and capture that one outstanding image. The best photographers, on the other
hand, have always been measured on a scale of how consistently and reliably they are able to produce those outstanding images. These images are always a result of the photographer’s knowledge, patience and understanding.
Knowing the camera, it’s lenses and accessories and how they work as a single unit is the first step in being a successful photographer. Read the manuals, learn the basics and if there are still questions - and no doubt there will be - go on-line to investigate the answers. Once you have the basics, go out and practice by taking
photo after photo of as many different shooting situations as possible - and at no time be concerned about making mistakes. Mistakes are a learning process. Learn what happens when you increase the ISO, increase or decrease the shutter speed, increase the depth of field and understand the limitations of auto-focus.
The most successful wildlife photographers are a very patient group when it comes to capturing images. Possibly, many hours and sometimes even days have been spent to get that one special image or sequence of images. In wildlife photography, you either make your own luck or at the least give it a good chance to come into play by being patient. The longer you can wait out a situation, the greater the chance that something interesting will occur, resulting in that perfect photo being taken. Wildlife just doesn’t pose on cue. Therefore, waiting for the correct light, eye contact and posture is essential.
In order to achieve the best results, photographers should spend as much time in the field working with and learning the behaviours of the animal being photographed. This enables you to take those dramatic portraits and to document interesting animal traits that the majority of photographers who only take snap-shots often miss. The quality of most photographs is a direct reflection of the amount of time that is put into taking those photographs.
At this point, emphasizing that the taking of any photo should never compromise one’s safety, or the animal’s well being is crucial. These are wild animals, after all. The photographer below just got too close and fortunately had the fallen tree close by.
The most patient and technically adept photographers are still prone to producing less than stellar images if little is known about the subject being photographed. Photographing birds, mammals, reptiles or even insects requires a different set of skills for each. The more you known about a particular animal, the greater the possibilities of capturing quality images of it. A good working knowledge of the
animal is necessary when planning to take successful and spectacular photographs. Most good wildlife photographs are a direct result of prior planning: knowing the animal’s habitat, it’s feeding times and habits, breeding seasons, migration routes and any other daily or seasonal routines.
Let’s look at a few personal favorites and explain how I was able to capture each one.
This Cedar Waxwing was having a tug-of-war with the crabapple. I learned of the location of a feeding flock of waxwings from a friend and proceeded to confirm the best times for shooting according to the light conditions. The best light was in the morning from about 8:00 to 11:00. I spent two days photographing them and captured this sequence on the second day. I let the birds get used to me and establish a flight (fright) zone while they fed. I didn’t chase them around the tree, but instead picked an ideal branch and let the waxwings land on it. I was after the classic waxwing portrait and ended up with this behaviour.
Mallard coming in for a landing. My personal goal was to capture ducks in flight. Most of the photographers on the day this image was taken were more interested in photographing the less common ducks to the area. Consequently, I had the mallards to myself. I had watched the pattern of the Mallards coming into this Lake Ontario location and moved into a spot where the light was good and the background was blue sky. After a number of test shots establishing the correct ISO
speed to stop the birds wings in flight and setting the best exposure, I kept taking photo after photo to nail the focus on the mallard’s eyes. This image made the cover of a national magazine and went on to win first place in a Canada-wide photo contest.
Pika munching a meal. Photographing pikas in the Rocky Mountains proved to be very challenging and a lot of fun. I knew they inhabited rock slide areas and in the fall stored fresh grasses as hay mounds for the the winter. I had to find fresh evidence of hay making and then listen for their squeaks. Trying to find a 16 to 20 centimeter camouflaged animal in the rocks wasn’t going to be easy. I found the
hay mounds, then waited for movement. Pika are creatures of habit and will follow the same path from their food source to their cache.
When I had established both routes, the pika’s and the one I was taking, I began moving in, always cautious not to jerk the camera to my face or make sudden movements. It had a favorite flat rock it paused at before dashing on. So, when I was established and had my camera settings locked in, I waited. The pika did what I expected, posed, and I focused on the eye.
Reflection of a Great Blue Heron. Finding the heron in the water fishing was more than I was expecting. What made this image even better was the almost perfect reflection in the water. Exposing for the reflection was the most difficult aspect of this shot, and after much trial and error, I exposed for the heron’s shoulder. This didn’t overexpose the white crown or lose detail in the dark water. It also helped that the bird was very co-operative and I had the patience to spend about 30 minutes in the hot sun planning and taking this image.
Photographing wildlife can be both a most rewarding and most frustrating experience. Following my three ingredients should make it less frustrating. Know your camera and how it works, not necessarily just the technical data, but how ISO, aperture and shutter speed contribute to making the final image. Knowledge of the animal and having a plan are extremely helpful to a positive outcome. Be patient, learn from mistakes and take picture after picture.
Create the image in the camera and get it right the first time. Digital cameras with a good photographer behind them will create outstanding photos. None of the above photos have been manipulated with Photoshop to create a better image. I come from the film era and every photo we took cost us money (film was expensive). We had to get it right.
Happy shooting,
James Markou
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