Getting Started in Wildlife Photography: Tips for Beginners

Are you captivated by the beauty of the natural world and eager to capture stunning images of wildlife? Embarking on a journey into wildlife photography can be both thrilling and rewarding, allowing you to document the wonders of nature while honing your photography skills. If you’re a beginner with no prior experience in wildlife photography, this blog post is here to guide you through the essential tips and techniques that will set you on the path to becoming a successful wildlife photographer.

Wildlife photography can be both thrilling and rewarding
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Capturing an Elusive Ghost: A Guide to Photographing Bobcats in West Texas

Bobcats are one of the most common wildcats in North America, including the West Texas region. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about bobcats in West Texas, including where and how to find them, their habits, habitat, food preferences, and tips on how to photograph them.

A West Texas Bobcat
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Mastering the Art of Sharp Wildlife Photography, A Beginners Guide

Wildlife photography is a thrilling pursuit that allows us to immerse ourselves in the beauty of nature and capture mesmerizing moments of creatures in their natural habitat. One crucial aspect of wildlife photography is achieving sharpness in our images. Blurry or out-of-focus shots can be disappointing, but fear not! In this blog, we will explore essential tips and techniques to help you capture the sharpest wildlife photos that will leave viewers in awe.

A Northern Cardinal in Brilliant Detail
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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: “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. Super Telephoto Lenses, What to Know.

Buying and using a super-telephoto lens for wildlife photography can be a daunting task, especially if you are new to this genre of photography. A super-telephoto lens is generally considered any lens with a focal length of 300mm or more. These lenses are essential for capturing wildlife images from a distance, allowing you to capture detailed shots of animals without disturbing their natural behavior.

A 600mm f4 allows you to get close to skittish subjects like this Wood Duck
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