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Wildlife Photography
By: Marc Vaccarino
Wildlife
photography: Photography
wildlife
tips.
Just close your eyes for a moment and try to visualize what
the essence of wildlife photography might be. You are bound to see the mesmerizing images of a lion or a cheetah
going for the kill. This is because this class of photography aims to captures and captivate you! If you have a passion for photography and if you love being
nature, raw and unforgiving, then photographing wildlife is the ideal choice
for you.
There are certain key factors that will play an important
role in shaping each image while drawing you out for a ‘kill’. You just can’t
pick your camera and walk right into a game hunting reserve to shoot a wild
animal. You will have to learn ad unlearn. The results, when drawn out of your
camera, will be well worth the wait despite the difficult but thrilling process
involved in shooting the game.
There are some commandments that you need to follow in wildlife photography and they are:
-
Tracking: You need to study and develop skills that will help
you to track a tiger in 100 sq miles of forest land. Tracking
is important for the perfect photograph and you can do it by
following the paw marks, and the feces.
- Patience:
patience is a big virtue and if you want a great picture, you will have to
wait. Remember, you are in their territory!
- Eye Contact: One of the important rules of photography in the wild is: never try to
make eye contact with a wild animal that is bigger and more dangerous like
lions, cheetahs, leopards and even wilder beasts.
- Timing:
Timing is synonymous to animal photography. If you are not there at the
appropriate time then you will most certainly miss the opportunity. You can
achieve perfection in timing by applying the watch and wait theory.
- Proximity:
Don’t get too close to predators as their behaviors can be erratic and
dangerous. If you are using a digital SLR camera with a telephoto lens, then
you can even take wildlife photographs from a distance.
- Clothes:
During photography, it is always advisable to wear clothes with earthen tones
rather than camouflage.
- Movement:
Wild animals respond to movements and even the slightest movement can scare the
nervous types like the Deers and Zebras. Sometimes, you will also have to ‘stalk’
your subject, as a predator stalks its prey.
Now that you know the various aspects of photographing
wildlife, all you need is a good camera. Any camera that offers the following
makes for a good buy:
It should provide a manual override of automatic functions.
The camera should have an auto-focus as well as manual focus
option
The camera should allow you to set the required shutter speed and aperture.
It should also have an option for mechanical remote release.
Your
camera should have a wide angle lens starting at 28mm and can go up to
70mm or 105mm. It should also have a telephoto zoom between 70mm and 100mm
and capable of reaching 300mm.
Some of the other accessories required are a polarizing
filter, warming filter (81A or B), UV filter, lens hood and
the camera bag.
Once you have the camera and lenses in place, you should
start from your backyard to get a taste of it before trying out serious wildlife photography. Don’t forget to
enjoy your ‘shoot’!
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