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Wildlife Photography Tips: I feel the need. The need for speed.

One of the most iconic lines from the 1986 movie Top Gun. If Maverick had been out shooting  geese in flight, instead of shooting  planes with Goose, his top priority would still have been the need for speed, but a few other things would have come in handy as well.  Almost every wildlife photographer starts out photographing birds. Birds are the most readily accessible and abundant wildlife in our environment.  In the beginning capturing a simple still portrait like the cardinal below is challenging and fulfilling.  If we manage something sharp and clear we’re satisfied and happy.  Sooner or later though we become comfortable with the techniques associated with still images, and there is a desire to challenge ourselves further.  For birds this means capturing birds while in flight.

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Wildlife Photography Tips. Slow down, you’re moving too fast

Paul Simon wrote the 59th Street Bridge Song (” Feeling Groovy “) in 1966. The song starts with the lyrics, “slow down your moving too fast, you got to make the morning last”. I think of that song often and the message it was trying to send. It applies to every aspect of our lives. Nowadays, we all have more to do than we have time to do it. One of the reasons I picked up a camera in the first place was to force me to slow down and see the world in a different light, so to speak. It’s never more important to slow down than when trying to photograph wildlife. Nature works on its own time, and it’s not in a hurry. I think a Chinese philosopher said that, or something like it. Anyway, slow down. Nature rewards the patient photographer.

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Beginning Wildlife Photography, The Golden Hour

Photography is all about the light. In fact, without it photography itself would be impossible. We all know that the character and quality of natural light changes throughout the day. Who hasn’t enjoyed watching the sunrise and marveling in the golden light that is present for the hour after. In photography the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset are referred to as the Golden Hours. Daylight is redder and softer than when the Sun is higher in the sky. When the sun is near the horizon, sunlight travels through a greater depth of atmosphere, reducing the intensity of the direct light, so that more of the illumination comes from indirect light from the sky reducing the lighting ratio. More blue light is scattered, so if the sun is present, its light appears more reddish. In addition, the sun’s small angle with the horizon produces longer shadows. Continue reading “Beginning Wildlife Photography, The Golden Hour”

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Beginning Wildlife Photography, ISO, ISO, it’s off to work we go.

Yesterday I awoke to overcast skies and fog as is often the case in winter. Although the conditions were not ideal, I headed out to see what I could photograph. I knew from the conditions that exposure was going to be a challenge. Knowing that Ducks in flight would be the most readily available wildlife to shoot, I would most likely have to use a higher than normal ISO to achieve an adequate shutter speed. Now if you don’t know what ISO is then here it is. In Digital Photography ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The same principles apply as in film photography – the lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds. Higher ISO’s cause more “noise” in digital photographs. Continue reading “Beginning Wildlife Photography, ISO, ISO, it’s off to work we go.”

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Watch the roadside.

Went out this morning and not much was happening. I make it a habit to always scan the high wires and roadside as I drive back home from wherever I have been taking photos for the day. Birds of prey often use these open areas and high perches to ambush prey. Today I noticed a small bird of prey and stopped to check it out. It was an American Kestral. Continue reading “Watch the roadside.”

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Wildlife Photography Action shots- shutter speed, frame rate, a little bit of luck, and a lot of patience.

I never no what’s going to happen when I head out in the morning. I set out early this morning with the intention of photographing some Wood Ducks that I had recently seen on a local playa. I love Wood Ducks because of their vibrant colors but find them very difficult to photograph. Somehow those colors just dont look the same in a photograph no matter how much saturation I use. When I arrived at the playa however I heard the characteristic chattering call of a familiar bird and it wasn’t long before I spotted the loudmouth. It was a Belted Kingfisher. Continue reading “Wildlife Photography Action shots- shutter speed, frame rate, a little bit of luck, and a lot of patience.”

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Cold morning

It was cold this morning.  At sunrise the temperature on my trucks dash said 33 degrees. There was a light frost, but no wind. Contrary to what you may think, many birds and mammals are more active during periods of cold weather. Because food sources are more scarce, they must often remain active later into the morning and become active earlier in the afternoon than usual in order to meet there nutritional needs.  You can take advantage of this tendency and increase your photography opportunities by getting out more in the winter months. Continue reading “Cold morning”

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Photographing Great Horned Owls

I’ve been photographing wildlife for about the past 10 years. I’ve focused mostly on the wildlife that is close at hand and most common to West Texas where I live.  The wildlife in the area is plentiful and diverse if you take the time to look for it.  I have been fortunate enough to be able to photograph a large variety of birds and mammals over time, but have found Great Horned Owls to be quite difficult to find.  I have studied the information regarding their habitat and behaviors and although plentiful in most areas, they have remained elusive to me. Today, while out scouting my local park, I had the opportunity to photograph my first two Great Horned Owls. Continue reading “Photographing Great Horned Owls”