Become a Better Photographer – with Mashonaland Photographic Society
Wildlife Photography Wildlife photography is fun and rewarding, but not as easy as some might imagine! First of all, it needs lots of time and often involves travelling considerable distances. This article is not intended as a technical tutorial but merely as an insight into what wildlife photography is about.
Decent equipment is essential if one intends to get quality images. Most serious wildlife photographers have more than one camera and a selection of lenses. Switching lenses on a camera not only takes time, where you might miss the shot you’re aiming for, but the sensor often gets dust on it and these show as the image which is annoying.
For those of you who don’t know what DSLR means, SLR stands for; single lens reflex’ which essentially is a camera with a mirror and prism. The combination allows you to view the subject through the lens so you can impose the image yourself. The term reflex comes from the word reflection (from the mirror. DSLR s an SLR camera with a digital sensor.
A wide angle lens or short zoom is good for scenic pictures and herds of animals, but frequently one requires a more powerful lens or telephoto to get up close. Experience has shown that the best focal length for wildlife is around 400mm as this gives the best combination of magnification, proportion, depth of field and clarity. Most lenses these days have image stabilization,’ which is essentially important with more powerful lenses as it reduces camera shake.
The ‘focal length’ of a lens is the distance (in millimeters) from the point where the image is in focus (convergence point within the lens) to the sensor in the camera. The greater the number, the more powerful the lens is in terms of magnification.
The power of the lens has a direct impact on the angle of the view’, which is the area around the subject and helps to tell the story. A more powerful lens has a smaller angle of view. Of interest, a human eye sees images equivalent to a standard lens with a focal length of around 40-50mm. A 24-28mm lens is considered ‘wide-angle’whilst anything over 50mm is ‘telephoto’ and brings the subject closer.
When using the telephoto lens, it is good to use a tripod stand, however, this is not always possible as you may be in a vehicle. Humans are not recognised as such when in a vehicle, but as soon as they get out and show their legs (the dreaded two-legged variety!) most animal and birds move or fly away. A beanbag or cushion does help considerably, but one also has to make sure the people in the vehicle don’t move or scarcely even breath! It also happens to squeeze the shutter release very slowly and keep the camera as still as possible; a remote shutter release is a good aide as there is no need to touch the camera.
The next few articles will be more technical and will have tips on camera settings, lighting and composition etc.
For now, the best advice is to approach the subject very slowly and give it time to get used to your presence. Take insurance shot from a distance then creep forward to take better ones. Don’t try and get too close, as it seldom pays off and more importantly it is invasive and disrespectful to the subject!
Knowledge of your subject helps considerably as you try and predict what might happen and set your camera accordingly. Sadly, more often than not, things don’t work out and you have to try again! Lots of patience is essential.
The main thing is to enjoy it; get into the bush and close to nature as often as you can – the reason many of us live here in the first place.
Remember the photographs you take are mostly for you, although it is nice to share them with others – especially when you get a good one. I may take hundreds of photos I a day, but very seldom do I get more than one or two I consider to be good. I do, however, keep most of the decent ones to enjoy and a ways, immortalise the subject.
