Category: learning wildlife photoraphy

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Mastering the Photographic Hunt: Enhancing Your Tracking Skills for Exceptional Wildlife Photography

Nature never ceases to amaze us with its vast array of creatures, each occupying a unique niche in the ecosystem. Observing and understanding animals in their natural habitat can be an enriching and educational experience. As a wildlife photographer one skill that can greatly enhance your wildlife encounters and thus photographic opportunities, is animal tracking. Tracking allows us to follow in the footsteps of our wild neighbors, deciphering their movements, and behaviors, and even gaining insight into their survival strategies. In this post, we will explore the art of animal tracking so you can use these skills to improve your wildlife photography.

Morning Dove Tracks in the Sand
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Beginning Wildlife Photography: The Photographic “Time Out”

Part 3, After the Shoot

So now you’ve arrived at the end of your amazing wildlife photographic adventure and are ready to relax. Wait a minute, before you collapse into your lazy-boy recliner, there’s one last checklist to think about, the post-shoot checklist. In part three we will discuss some things to consider once you have taken all your photos to guarantee superb results.

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Beginning Wildlife Photography: The Photographic “Time Out”

Part 2, During the shoot

As we discussed in part one of the photographic “time out” blog, a pre-session checklist can be useful to ensure we don’t miss critical aspects of planning a wildlife photography session. That checklist guarantees we will have done everything we need beforehand to improve our chances of success. In part two we will discuss the in-session checklist items that will make sure our actual time photographing is just as successful. Let’s look at a during-the-shoot ” Time Out” checklist.

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Beginning Wildlife Photography: The Photographic “Time Out”

Part 1, Before the Shoot

“To err is human”, is a common phrase. In the operating room mistakes can be very costly and have severe consequences for the patient. In order to decrease the risk of errors, every operating room goes through a process known as the “ time out” prior to the start of each case. Everyone stops what they are doing while the nurse identifies the patient, the proposed procedure, that the appropriate area is prepped, and that the required instruments are available. Each individual must verbalize agreement before the procedure can begin. While photographic mistakes don’t have quite the same consequences as mistakes in the OR, they can still ruin your day. I once drove two hours at four in the morning to catch a sunrise, only to arrive at my destination and find I forgot my cable release. Not a huge mistake but the quality of the photos I took that morning suffered as a result. Taking “Time Out” beforehand would have prevented the problem all together.

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Wildlife photography: I love my 600mm lens, but how do I get it there? Traveling with a super-telephoto lens.

Most wildlife photographers start using smaller lenses and work their way up to large super-telephoto lenses as time passes. In the beginning, I had a 300mm f4 and like most, lusted after larger lenses but wasn’t sure that wildlife photography was something I would stick with long enough to justify the expense of a larger lens. Once I saved enough and pulled the trigger on a 600mm lens I couldn’t wait to travel and test it out. My first trip with this monster was to Jackson Wyoming and Grand Tetons National Park. I knew it would be the perfect lens for the trip but getting it there on the plane was concerning and would take some thought.

Young Pronghorn Antelope Grand Tetons National Park
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Wildlife Photography: “It’s not the camera, It’s the photographer”, well, maybe not.

  “It’s not the camera, It’s the photographer”. I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve read that in a photography book or magazine, or saw it argued on a photography forum. While it may be true that a great camera won’t make a poor photographer take great photos, it’s also true that it won’t hurt either. Throughout my life, I’ve been fortunate enough to have several hobbies in addition to photography. If there is one thing that I have learned for sure over and over again, it’s that you should buy the best equipment you can afford the first time around. A good carbon fiber fly rod won’t catch more fish, but it will make the experience of fly fishing easier, more efficient, and a lot more fun.  The same holds true for golf clubs, skis, backpacks, and most certainly cameras and lenses.

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Wildlife Photography. Capturing Nature’s Majesty: Big Bend National Park, a Wildlife Photography Paradise

Big Bend National Park is a magnificent destination for wildlife photography, with a diverse range of species and habitats to explore. The possibilities are vast with a wide range of animals such as black bears, mountain lions, bighorn sheep, and over 450 species of birds, as well as stunning landscapes that provide a perfect backdrop for capturing memorable shots of the region’s unique flora and fauna.

A view of the Chisos Basin
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Beginning Wildlife Photography: Composition in Wildlife Photography

A great wildlife photo is one that captures the essence and beauty of the subject in a unique and compelling way. There are many elements that can contribute to a great wildlife photo. Sharp focus, good exposure, emotional impact, unique perspective, storytelling, technical skills, and last but not least, Interesting composition. The photo should be well-thought-out, using techniques such as the rule of thirds, leading lines, symmetry, and framing to create a visually appealing and dynamic image.

Part of composition is capturing drama and emotion when possible
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Wildlife photography: One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi

When I was a kid we used to play touch football in the street. Because there wasn’t an offensive line we had to count ten seconds out loud before we could rush the quarterback. When we counted we would use Mississippis because supposedly it takes one second to say “One Mississippi”. Say it ten times and you could rush the quarterback. I was out recently looking for wildlife to photograph when I came across a number of beautiful raptors that caused me to harken back to those days. I found myself counting each of the several birds circling overhead in Mississippis as if I were a kid on the football field. One Mississippi Kite, Two Mississippi Kites, and so on.

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