Wildlife photography tips

A reader once asked me how I manage to get some of the close-up wildlife photos which had been printed in the newspaper I worked for.

More to the point, he asked how I got the animals to pose for me.

Having no formal schooling in photography, I couldn’t offer a lot of technical advice, but experience has taught me a certain set of skills.

First and foremost, it is paramount to understand the importance of light.

Too much light will ruin a picture, just as easily as too little. I try to go out in the early morning or late afternoon hours to capture the vibrant colors of animal feathers or fur.

Next is getting the animals to pose for you. Photographing people is fairly easy in contrast to wild critters.

If someone is giving a speech in front of a crowd, it’s not too difficult to figure out where they will stand. People will also pose for pictures when asked. I’ve tried this with wildlife and it mostly ends with a shot of their rump scurrying in the opposite direction.

So after much trial and error, I have learned a few tricks to help me get the “good” shot.

If you want really great results, you’ll need to invest time and patience. I once sat in a snow-covered farm field for three hours, biding my time as a flock of munching snow geese inched closer and closer. After a couple of hours, the geese were within 10 feet of where I sat. Even then I had to be careful to move slowly, with fluid motions, for fear of startling them into flight.

The big thing to remember with birds is not to stare at them. Eons of evolution and experience has ingrained instant recognition of a set of eyes and automatically equates staring with being stalked by a predator.

So, as I raised my camera, I kept it to my eye and kept my other eye shut.

The resulting pictures look as if they had posed for me.

If freezing your backside off doesn’t appeal to you, I have another tip.

Stay close to home.

Your backyard may be as far as you need go to find wildlife. Deer, raccoons, squirrels, eagles and many other birds have hung out in my yard at one time or another.

It’s not cheating to take pictures through an open window or cracked door.

Again, a certain amount of patience and creative camouflage will ensure great pictures.

Remember, too, that discretion is the better part of valor.

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment when you are trying to get a close-up picture of an animal. Being aware of your personal safety and the safety of the animal should be your most important consideration. Even a raccoon will turn into a blur of teeth and claws if it finds itself cornered.

Besides, give them enough space and animals will act more naturally.

I once got dive bombed by a male red-winged blackbird when I got too close to a nest. He wasn’t more than five-inches long and still I was running away with my arms over my head.

Lastly, keep snapping shots.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then write a novel. Take as many pictures as you can. A digital camera, which uses memory cards instead of film, may allow you to take more than 1000 pictures in one sitting.

The more you take, the better your chances will be of catching your subject in the pose you had hoped for.