Wildlife photography has developed markedly over the years, both in response to a stronger public and media interest, and because improved camera technology has opened up many new picture possibilities. There are, in addition, many more photographers who are prepared to put considerable time and effort into breaking new ground. The thrust of modern wildlife photography is animal behavior. The best work in this field has long since passed the l9th-century stage of showing what an unusual or rare animal looks like to those who have never seen one. Its aims are to give new insight into the way creatures behave, and to achieve high pictorial standards. (Show Photo)
Here, there is a real need for specialized knowledge beyond that needed purely for the photography. So, for example, while it is possible to practice reportage photography on native wit, and landscape photography on a personal rapport with the environment, prior knowledge and experience of the animal subjects is a prerequisite for successful wildlife pictures. The rewards, however, are considerable: more and more, images of wildlife in a natural environment contrast greatly with the organized urban life with which most people are familiar. (Show Photo)
Equipment
As so much wildlife photography is concerned with getting close to shy or elusive animals, the basic tool is the long-focus lens. Indeed, the majority of techniques revolve around its use. Although there are certainly many situations in which a moderate telephoto is sufficient, and remote-control techniques make it possible to use even normal lenses sited very close, the lens of choice is very long and very fast (that is, with a large maximum aperture). These, unfortunately, are the two most expensive lens qualities, but for a professional wildlife photographer the prime piece of equipment would have to be a telephoto in the order of a 600mm f4 lens. Less costly alternatives are to use a tele-converter to increase the focal length of a less powerful telephoto and to settle for a smaller maximum aperture. If the latter, mirror lenses represent good value for money, and offer powerful optics in a compact form.
The value of a fast lens, however, lies in its ability to extend the lighting conditions for shooting, and this translates directly into picture opportunities. As the depth of field with long telephotos is extremely shallow in any case, and the normal way of using them in wildlife photography is at a distance, there are virtually no occasions when it is worth stopping down the lens significantly. These telephotos are nearly always used wide open. A difference of two stops in the maximum aperture, therefore, means that as the evening draws on, a faster lens allows the photographer to continue working for appreciably longer. In general, a great deal of wildlife activity takes place as daylight fades, so this is particularly relevant. The same, of course, applies early in the morning, and in dark locations such as dense forest.
The choice of film enters this equation. A faster film extends the shooting possibilities in the same way as a faster lens, but the extra graininess may offset the advantage. The convention in wildlife imagery is for high resolution and medium-speed films are the normal choice (even slow films in circumstances where there is guaranteed to be sufficient light, as in close-up flash photography). Fast films are normally an emergency option.
The weight and magnification of a long telephoto makes a tripod essential. Exposures for wildlife are rarely longer than 1/15 sec, but an extreme focal length magnifies even a slight unsteadiness to the point where it gives a blurred image. To an extent, a lighter monopod may be useful, but a weather resistant tripod is more adaptable.
If your camera has the option to fit one, a motor-drive is well worth the slight extra weight, as it can cram the maximum amount of pictures into the short flurry of activity that is common in many wildlife situations. It also makes it possible to shoot an action sequence which can then be displayed as a series of pictures. The principal disadvantage of a motor-drive is its noise, which in some instances will startle an animal more easily than would the manual shutter release. Some camera models are noisier than others in this respect.
Stalking
One of the most straightforward techniques, though it has a high failure rate, is stalking. To be successful, it depends heavily on the photographer having the knowledge and experience to find the animals in any locality and then to be able to move with sufficient stealth that they are not aware of being approached. In many ways, the photographer is on an equal footing with the subject. Shooting is normally hand-held (practice holding and using a long lens to improve the slowest shutter speed at which a sharp image can be guaranteed).
A long lens has a special advantage that aids stalking. Because of its shallow depth of field, foregrounds such as foliage and branches may be thrown so far out of focus as to be hardly visible. So, not only is it less important than one might imagine to have a completely clear view, there are times when a light foreground obstruction, while not interfering with the image, helps conceal the photographer from the animal.
It may be necessary to exercise some fine judgment on making the first exposure. If the animal is skittish, it may bolt as soon as the shutter is released. Typically, an animal will head off in the opposite direction, and a rear view of an animal in flight is fairly useless. This is particularly a problem with birds on a perch or nest; too close an approach will put them to flight away from the camera. It may be better to sacrifice some distance for the opportunity to photograph them flying off when they choose, possibly towards the camera.
Hides
Hides are camouflaged camera positions situated close to wherever animals are likely to visit regularly, such as nests or watering-places. In established wildlife reserves and sanctuaries there may be permanent hides maintained by wardens or rangers. Elsewhere, a customized hide may have to be erected by the individual photographer, and this calls for preparation, forethought and patience. Hide photography is relatively cautious and relies little on the serendipitous encounter that plays such a large part in stalking. For long-term observation, close to the most sensitive places in most animals' lives, it is the only practical method.
A portable design is adequate for general use but for certain kinds of work it may be better to construct a hide that is specifically tailored to the surroundings. Makeshift hides, using materials such as branches and leaves, can be effective even though extremely simple, while for a serious long-term project a permanent shelter of wood can be built, possibly even over a pit.
A hide is only as good as the way it is used. The objective is to work inside an animal's safety zone unobserved, so the most critical times are when you enter and leave it. Whenever possible, do this when the animal is absent. Otherwise, enter with a companion, who then leaves; this can fool most animals into thinking that humans have arrived and left. Inside, move quietly and carefully, and avoid touching fabric walls. Also be careful when pushing the lens though an opening in the wall; some photographers leave a tube or bottle end in place of the lens when not in the hide, so that the animals become familiar with the shape.
Keep checking the light level, even with a fully automatic metering system, and monitor its effect on the shutter speed. As mentioned above, there is little value in stopping down a long lens, and there is nearly always a demand for a faster shutter speed. Early and late in the day, when most activity takes place, the light level changes the most rapidly, and it is important to know which shots are worth attempting. For example, with the camera trained on a subject just before sunrise, the maximum shutter speed may be only 1/30 sec, which would mean waiting for pauses in an animal's activity; a little later, as the sun rises, a faster shutter speed would mean that even the animal's more abrupt movements could be captured successfully.
Hides are often used in conjunction with baits or lures, but this requires specialized knowledge. In particular, they can disrupt an animal's normal life, and should only be used with experience.
Birds In Flight
Photographing birds in flight requires consummate skill. Even with a good viewpoint close to a flight path, there is likely to be a shooting window of only a few seconds, and in this time the bird has to be followed, framed and focused accurately. Larger birds, such as storks, are the least difficult, not only because of their size, which fills the frame at a greater distance, but because they tend to fly more slowly. (Show Photo)
A long telephoto is essential, but its long focal length gives very shallow depth of field and calls for precise focusing. In these situations, an auto-focus lens has an overriding advantage.
With a manual-focus lens, there are two basic techniques. One is to re-focus continually as the camera is panned to keep the bird in frame; the other is to focus ahead of the bird and wait until it flies into focus. In either case, without the benefit of auto-focus, the shot must be timed with great precision, and focusing errors are normal.
The odds are shortened for this kind of picture if the camera can be located close to a known flight path. The most obvious place is close to a nesting site at a time when the birds are either collecting nesting materials or feeding chicks. Then there are likely to be frequent sorties, with the added advantage that the birds flying over may be carrying things in their beaks.
Exposure may be another problem. As in all wildlife photography, it is essential to expose correctly for the subject rather than its surroundings. Against a definite blue sky this should create no special difficulties for an automatic exposure system, but a white or pale sky is likely to cause underexposure, particularly if the bird occupies only a small part of the frame.
Locations
The easiest places to see and photograph wildlife are organized sanctuaries. These vary considerably, not only in how efficiently they are run, but in the density and accessibility of the wildlife. (Show Photo) North America, for example, is particularly fortunate in having a well-organized network of national parks and wildlife refuges and staff with knowledgeable and good information on what to see and where. Given the inherent difficulties of photographing animals, it is best not to attempt to photograph rare animals in an inaccessible environment without considerable experience.
Professional wildlife photographers make full use of local knowledge, recruiting local guides to accompany them. The noted wildlife photographer Frans Lanting calls them "my eyes and ears; without them I'd be as lost as a babe in the woods". A good local guide will be able to advise on the best times to visit, the techniques needed for particular species, and precise locations.
The Habitat
A combination of landscape and wildlife photography is the environmental portrait. A broad view of a complete environment, taking in life at all levels, creates the opportunity for a coherent set of images of the complete habitat - a version of the picture essay. By covering a range of subjects, including animals, plants and landscapes, the series of photographs automatically takes on an ecological slant.
Think of the habitat as a complete unit, with every element, from weather and landscape to plants and insects, interconnected. This is an essential key both to understanding and shooting it. Photographically, such a treatment gives the opportunity for visual variety that may be difficult when dealing with only one animal. Indeed, visual variety is essential, and can be achieved by paying close attention to the lighting, to different scales (from over-views to close-ups), to varying the focal length of lens used and to composition.
Close-up
Landscapes and life on a small scale offer some of the richest picture possibilities for outdoor photography. Surprisingly few people pay much attention to the real detail of the environment - the plants and creatures that live on a scale measured in centimeters and millimeters. For this reason alone, photographs of life in miniature have the ability to surprise. Moreover, even when a larger landscape lacks visual drama, or if the light is flat and dull, a tiny piece of the same habitat may well hold the potential for a striking image.
Simple observation is one thing, however, taking a successful close-up photograph is another. Just as our eyes are more comfortable working at normal distances, so cameras and lenses are easiest to use with full-scale subjects. To fill the frame of a 35mm slide or negative with an insect or small flower, the lens has to be able to focus down to a small distance only, and must also be able to give sharp images at such a short distance.
Regular lenses generally focus no closer than about 30cm (l ft) and are designed by the manufacturers to perform best at distances greater than this. As a result, close-up photography often needs additional equipment and some special techniques to go with it. This said, the reputation that close-up photography has for being technically difficult is no longer as well-deserved as it once was. The calculations that used to plague photographers, such as working out the extra allowance for exposure and exactly how close to position a flash unit, have largely been done away with by camera automation. And increasingly, the standard lens supplied with some cameras has a macro facility, allowing it to be focused closer than normal.
All these lens-extending devices make longer exposures necessary. The further the film is from the lens, the less light reaches it. However, any camera with TTL metering handles this normally.
Using Daylight For Close-Up Work
Technically, and aesthetically, there are two approaches to outdoor close-up shooting - with and without flash. Flash is convenient and efficient, but it can produce a sameness in close-up images if used all the time. Natural light has many qualities that may make it more interesting. Direct sunlight can give a harsh effect when frontal, but as back-lighting it strengthens shapes and can make leaves, for example, almost luminous; when strongly directional, it gives a sparkle to water droplets. A dull, overcast sky can bring beautiful tranquil lighting in close-up. And, because the subjects are small, it is easy to manipulate reflected light with small mirrors or pieces of white card, bouncing sunlight into shadows or shading it from other areas.
To work with daylight, it is nearly always essential to use a tripod; the one important technique is to keep the camera steady enough for the inevitable long exposures. As the majority of close-up subjects outdoors are close to ground level, use either a small tripod or one that has the facility for its legs to be spread wide. Alternatively, the column that carries the head can, on some tripods, be reversed so that the camera is suspended.
Flowers and fungi are among the easiest outdoor subjects, but the essential skill is, in nearly all cases, to find a way of isolating them visually. Often, other plants get in the way and clutter up the picture, something that the eye tends to ignore but the camera cannot. Sometimes the composition can be improved with a little judicious "gardening", although rooting up plants is not a good way of treating the environment, and may even be illegal.
Using Flash For Close-Up Work
Flash involves rather different techniques, and for insects and other small animals is virtually essential. For this kind of subject, good depth of field is highly desirable, and this means that the lens must nearly always be stopped down to a very small aperture. With natural light, even on the brightest day, the shutter speed would then have to be extremely slow- too slow to prevent camera shake without a tripod and too slow to freeze the movements of an active subject (and a high-speed, grainy film would defeat the purpose of getting a crisp, clean shot). (Show Photo)
On-camera flash, however, has the drawback that the lens extension may block its light from reaching a close subject. More useful is a detachable portable flash that can be positioned close to the animal. Although a single flash-head is satisfactory, the close working distances often mean that it has to be positioned to one side of the insect, and as a result casts a strong shadow. A better setup is to position a reflector (mirror, foil or white card) or a second flash unit on the other side of the animal.
A dedicated flash unit, linked to the camera's metering system, is obviously a convenience, but many photographers who specialize in close-up work devise a fixed set-up, with the flash units in a pre-set position, so that at each of a few lens extensions, they are familiar with the aperture settings. With this method, which calls for some testing at home beforehand, even small, inexpensive, non-automatic flash units can be used. A flash extension lead gives much more freedom in positioning the light - overhead, for example, to simulate sunlight.
Photomicrography
At reproduction scales greater than about 20:1, the normal optics used in camera lenses, and normal lighting techniques, become inadequate. A microscope is needed, and although some of the advanced techniques are complex, basic photomicrography is within the reach of the non-specialist.
At these high magnifications, microscope optics give the best image quality. The camera, therefore, should be attached without its lens; microscope adapters are available for this. Only an SLR camera with removable lenses is practical. The camera's TTL metering system can still be used, although if flash is used as the illumination, some testing will be needed.
The principal microscope lens is known as the objective and its two most important qualities are magnification and resolving power. The magnification is normally between 5x and 100x, but a second lens, in the eye-piece, enlarges this further. Eye-piece lenses are normally between 5x and 25x, and the total magnification is that of the two lenses multiplied together. The resolving power is the ability of the lens to distinguish fine detail, and is measured as the numerical aperture, or NA. The highest normal NA is 1.0.
At high magnifications, lighting affects image quality. The sub-stage condenser (so called because it is underneath the stage where the specimen is mounted) focuses the light and is a part of the microscope's optical system. The actual lighting, normally tungsten, may be separate or built into the microscope, and often has a diaphragm to control the size of the beam.
The basic method of lighting is known as brightfield illumination. In this, the light shines up through the specimen, and the background appears white. The light source must be centered and focused so that the illumination is even across the picture area. Use the camera's TTL meter as a starting point for the exposure, but make a series of tests. Lock the mirror up in a SLR to lessen the vibration, and use a cable release.
Darkfield illumination gives better contrast to some specimens and is normally achieved by blocking the light from directly behind the subject. A darkfield stop, as it is called, effectively turns the light source into a ring surrounding the specimen to give a kind of rim lighting. The effect can be striking, but the light level is reduced considerably.
Special films are available for photomicrography, giving extremely fine grain and high contrast, but a normal high-resolution camera film is perfectly adequate for most circumstances. The color balance of the film should be matched to the light source.
