The Wildlife Photography Apprentice
A Wildlife Photography Blog with information about wildlife photoraphy techniques, locations and subjects based out of West Texas.
Wildlife photography is a rewarding and exciting hobby, but locating wildlife can be a challenging task. Finding the right location and knowing when and where to look for wildlife is key to capturing stunning images. In this article, we will discuss some things you can do to locate wildlife to photograph in their natural settings.
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 several 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.
If you have ever been to West Texas then you know there really isn’t much to look at. You can literally drive a hundred miles and not change elevation more than 10 feet. For the most part, it’s dry and arid. The average yearly rainfall is about 14 inches and not a lot can grow in those conditions. Every once in a while though you’re lucky and you find an oasis in the desert.
If Yellowstone is known for anything, it’s one thing, wolves. My trip to Yellowstone wouldn’t be complete without trying to find and photograph a wolf. These iconic animals represent the west’s wild and untamed past. Hunted to extinction in the lower forty-eight states long ago, they were reintroduced into Yellowstone in the early nineties. Since that time they have successfully established themselves in several western states. They are the subject of much controversy. Thousands of visitors a day are drawn to the park with hopes of getting a glimpse of these elusive creatures. In 2016 there were 11 packs with a total of 108 wolves who called Yellowstone home. Although there are over a hundred wolves in the park, as you might imagine finding them can be somewhat difficult, and getting a decent photograph of one can be darn near impossible.
John Muir once said, “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” For my entire life, my family has had a vacation home in northern New Mexico. It was there that I developed my love of the great outdoors. I spent many summers there backpacking and fishing and grew to love the mountains. As a result, through the years I have visited a number of National Parks, but from an early age, I’ve had a dream to visit the grandfather of all National Parks, Yellowstone. Having an interest in Wildlife Photography as I do, requires one to make a pilgrimage to certain places in their lifetime and pay homage to these iconic Wildlife Photography locations, of which Yellowstone is the most iconic in the US. Recently I realized my dream. I took a week off, grabbed my wife, loaded up my camera equipment, and went to the mountains of Yellowstone to “get their good tidings.”
Continue reading “Photographing Yellowstone Wildlife, a Wildlife Photographer’s pilgrimage.”
I love wildlife photography. Taking photos of birds and mammals with large telephoto lenses is fun and challenging. As we discussed in a prior blog though, sometimes the animal or bird you have come to photograph just doesn’t cooperate and show up on time to have their picture taken. It’s at these times that we should, ” Notice the small things. The rewards are inversely proportional”. Macro photography is a favorite pastime of many photographers. The enlargement of small objects to a huge scale allows for the exploration of detail the naked eye usually cannot see. Even though with wildlife photography you may only have a standard telephoto lens with you, you can still take near macro photos.
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.
Continue reading “Wildlife Photography Tips: I feel the need. The need for speed.”
I have a friend who is an interior designer by trade. We were looking at art prints one day to put on the walls in my office. As we looked through stack after stack of prints, he suggested several that I might choose, always with an associated reason for why I should pick each one. Continue reading “Wildlife Photography for Beginners. If you like it, buy it.”
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.
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”