Digital Camera World » Wildlife

Photo Anatomy: capturing un-tamed moments in the wild

jmeyer — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:00:04 +0000

In our Photo Anatomy series on Digital Camera World we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work.

In our latest instalment award-winning wildlife photographer Bence Máté reveals how he captured a rare confrontation between a hummingbird and a snake.

Shallow depth of field
By using a telephoto lens and throwing the background completely out of focus, Bence has concentrated attention on the bird and snake. The branch provides context and a frame.

Long lens
Bence captured this unusual stand-off with his Nikon D300 fitted with a 300mm f/2.8 lens. He was only able to fire off a few frames before the hummingbird flew away.

Supplementary lighting
Rain was falling and the light was poor, so Bence used two flash units – one in front and the other behind the action. The flashes enabled him to capture the motion of the hummingbird’s wings.

Restricted colour palette
The photograph uses different shades of green to striking effect. The bright green snake and moss, and the hummingbird’s mid-green plumage, stand out brilliantly against the muted, darker green background.

Expecting the unexpected
Bence was photographing hummingbirds in Monteverde, Costa Rica, when he noticed they had become agitated. He soon realised why: a side-striped palm pit viper was coiled on a nearby branch.

We Say
“Getting into the situation where you can photograph something like this is one thing, but this picture could easily have been ruined by the poor light. Using flash to supplement daylight gives wildlife images added impact, and allows you to work with faster shutter speeds.”
Chris Rutter, technique editor

DIY Photography Hacks: how to use your car as a mobile hide for bird photography

jmeyer — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:00:59 +0000

In our latest DIY Photography Hacks post we show you a simple way to bag frame-filling pictures of wild birds from the comfort of your car’s bucket seats. Find out how you can ditch the uncomfortable hides for good!

Image by Mark Hamblin

One of the most frustrating things about photographing birds is finding a way to get close without scaring them off. However, a tried and tested technique is to use some kind of portable hide, and what could be more portable than your own vehicle?

Using your car as a mobile hide is perfect for approaching many bird species and has the advantage that you can change position easily, quickly move on to new locations and have a warm, comfortable place to wait for the action to unfold!

So what do you need? Well a top of the range 4WD would be nice! But any vehicle will do just fine. The important thing is the support for the camera.

It’s possible to simply rest the lens on the glass of the open window, but this won’t provide much stability.

A beanbag (or perhaps a bag of lentils!) is a much better bet, or you can splash out on a purpose-built window mount with a tripod head to attach the lens.

This has the advantage of keeping the lens in position while driving. It can help to drape some camouflage netting over the window and lens barrel to conceal your face and hands.

There are some road safety issues to consider with this technique, so only attempt it on quiet roads where it’s safe to pull over.

It’s much better and safer if someone else is driving so you can concentrate on photography, with the added benefit that you can have your lens ready on the beanbag to start shooting as soon as the car comes to a halt.

How to photograph birds on the move the DIY photography way

Provide support
Use a beanbag to keep your lens steady and prevent camera shake. One that looks like two bags sewn together (www.wildlife watchingsupplies.co.uk) is ideal, as these have a gap that drops snuggly over the glass to form a solid platform to rest the lens on.

Be prepared to shoot
Before you approach, set your camera up. Set the exposure in Manual mode by taking a meter reading from a nearby midtone. An aperture of around f/5.6 is ideal, and use a shutter speed of 1/250th sec or faster to stop unwanted blurring.

Make your approach
To stalk roadside birds, reduce your speed to a crawl, and as you get closer, turn off the ignition (to prevent vibrations and noise) and coast into final position. Ensure you stop at the right spot, as starting your engine again may frighten the bird away.

Photo Anatomy: black and white wildlife photography with instant impact

crutter — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:00:45 +0000

In our new Sunday series on Digital Camera World, we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work.

In our latest instalment award-winning wildlife photographer Richard Peters reveals the techniques behind this striking black and white image of an owl.

01 Background
“A dark background helps your subject pop,” explains Richard. “I was shooting into the shade of distant trees, so it was already a dark green. Converting to mono turned it black.”

02 Preparation
Richard knew that a family of owls lived on an area of Sussex farmland. He photographed one of them from a one-man pop-up hide as it perched on old farm machinery.

03 Mono conversion
“Mono is great for making texture and detail stand out,” says Richard. “The rusty detail of the machinery and the dark background suited a black-and-white conversion.”

04 Getting close
Richard photographed the owl from distance using a Nikon D4 fitted with a 600mm VR lens with a 1.4x teleconverter. It was mounted on a Gitzo carbon fibre tripod with a Wimberley Mark II head.

05 Positioning
“For this shot,” says Richard, “it was important to position myself in such a way that I had a clean background, but also had good light on the subject.”

We Say
“Photographing birds in the wild can be tricky, but getting in position and staying there, allowing them to become comfortable, works far better than constantly moving around and following them. More co-operative birds are usually found in places where they are more used to human presence.”
Chris Rutter, technique editor

Professional Photographer to the Rescue: horse photography without the long face

jmeyer — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:01:11 +0000

In our latest Professional Photographer to the Rescue post our professional photographer, an experienced equine photographer, shares his best horse photography tips for taking equine pictures in a range of different styles.

Meet our professional photographer

Equine specialist Craig Payne has been photographing horses since the age of 12. He turned professional in 2007 and has an extensive knowledge of the subject, capturing both action shots of horses at events and specialising in portraits of horses and riders together. To see Craig’s full portfolio head to www.equinephotoshoots.co.uk.

Meet our apprentice

Ecologist and horse-lover Rebecca Hendry is from Yeovil, Somerset. She’s had an interest in photography for the past 12 years, although it’s only in the past few that she’s taken it to the next level. Armed with her Canon EOS 7D, Rebecca was keen to improve her photography skills to understand how to best photograph horses and riders together.

Technique assessment

Craig showed Rebecca how to rein in her shooting skills and get back in the saddle

What mode?
“Rebecca had been using Aperture Priority (Av) mode, but the most important thing about horse photography is the shutter speed as there’s lots of constant movement in the horse – even when it’s standing still,” explains Craig.

“For action shots you need a shutter speed above 1/640 sec and for portraits keep it above 1/250 sec, ideally, although this can be pushed if there’s less light. If the light is flat I take a few readings and put my camera into the Manual (M) mode. If the light keeps changing I’ll shoot in Shutter Priority (Tv) mode, although you need to keep an eye on the aperture setting and ISO value if you do this.”

Raw or JPEG?
“Although you can recover a lot more detail in a raw format file, you don’t have to shoot in Raw if you get the exposure right in-camera,” Craig advises. “A large JPEG means you can spend less time editing your images as your camera processes the image and applies a few basic edits, such as increasing the colour saturation and sharpening.

“I shoot at a lot of events where it’s important to get images to clients quickly, so I always shoot JPEGs, but if you’re not confident in getting it right in-camera then by all means shoot raw – or you could use  the Raw+JPEG option as a back-up until you’re more confident.”

PAGE 1: Meet our professional photographer and apprentice
PAGE 2: Horse photography tips for during the shoot
PAGE 3: Final tips from our professional photographer
PAGE 4: Shot of the Day

Professional Photographer to the Rescue: animal photography tips for any species

jmeyer — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 01:00:57 +0000

In our latest Professional Photographer to the Rescue post, our professional photographer shows our apprentice some simple animal photography tips that are relevant for any type of species you want to shoot, whether in the wild or in your local safari park.

Meet our professional photographer

Professional photographer Ben Hall is from Stockport. He’s been taking photos of predominantly British wildlife for ten years, supplying his shots to the RSPB, photographic publications and as stock to Getty Images. He also runs monthly wildlife photography workshops. Check out www.benhallphotography.com.

Meet our apprentice

Dave Chapman is a supermarket trading manager from Worthing. He’s been using a DSLR for over four years and enjoys shooting motorsports and landscapes, but his passion is wildlife photography. He asked for our help to improve his animal shots.

Technique assessment

Before heading off, Ben suggested ways Dave could increase his success rate…

Try switching to Av… 
Ben advised Dave to take control of his shooting mode to improve his results.  “Dave was relying on his camera’s P auto shooting mode, so I encouraged him to shoot in Av (Aperture Priority) instead,” says Ben.

“By shooting in Av he can set wide apertures to blur distracting backgrounds and make the animals really stand out in his shots. His camera can then take care of the shutter speed, which will change dramatically today because the sun keeps going in and out.”

Increase your ISO… 
“When photographing wildlife it’s more important to have fast enough shutter speeds and freeze an animal’s movement than to keep the ISO (light sensitivity) down for fear of noisy images,” advises Ben.

“Don’t be afraid to put your ISO up to around 400 or 800 to get faster shutter speeds for sharper, more dramatic wildlife shots. It barely matters because, even at that high level of ISO, you’ll still have minimal graininess thanks to Canon’s brilliant digital sensor technology.”

PAGE 1: Meet our professional photographer and apprentice
PAGE 2: Animal photography tips for during the shoot
PAGE 3: Final tips from our professional photographer
PAGE 4: Our professional photographer’s recommended gear
PAGE 5: Shot of the Day

Wildlife photography made easy: how to shoot in iconic locations

jmeyer — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 01:00:40 +0000

In the final post in our series on wildlife photography made easy, we thought we’d do something a bit different. Every photographer dreams of shooting the world’s most iconic photo locations. Here’s how to make the most of your once-in-a-lifetime trip to make sure you don’t waste any photos and opportunities whilst there!

The photography skills you’ve built up shooting local wildlife will be invaluable when you get the opportunity to travel further afield.

Whether you’re taking pictures of penguins in Patagonia or meerkats on the African plain, you’re far more likely to create more impactful shots if you get eye-level with your subject, use wide aperture settings to soften distracting backgrounds and spend long enough observing the animals to anticipate when they’ll do something interesting.

Naturally, being on the spot when the light is at its best will transform an image, but in national parks and other wildlife ‘honeypots’ you’ll often only be allowed access to the animals during certain periods, and this may not coincide with ideal conditions.

If light levels are low, increase the ISO to give you the necessary shutter speed to prevent an animal’s movement and camera shake leaving you with fuzzy images. When faced with grey skies, compose your shots so that these aren’t in the frame.

Equipment choice can often drive you mad at the best of times, but it can be a real headache when you factor in long-haul flights and other forms of transport.

Travel as light as possible without leaving you short on focal length. An all-round travel kit could include a telephoto zoom in the 100-400mm range, plus a wide-angle zoom and a fast macro lens.

PAGE 1: Wildlife photography in iconic locations
PAGE 2: Don’t forget the basics of wildlife photography
PAGE 3: How to protect your gear

Wildlife photography made easy: simple secrets for getting close to animals

jmeyer — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 01:00:21 +0000

The hardest part of wildlife photography is finding a subject and getting close to it. In our latest Shoot Like A Pro post on wildlife photography made easy we show you how to get prepared to bag the best shots possible before you head out.

Image by Steve Bloom

Once you’re bitten by the wildlife photography bug, chances are you’ll want to explore further afield. It takes persistence and patience to get close to wild animals – and naturally, a long lens helps too.

However, good fieldcraft and an understanding of animal behaviour make a bigger difference to successful shots than an expensive piece of glass.

Researching your subject is vital. Knowing what time of day that a species will be active, or how good its eyesight or sense of smell is, will all help you to be in the right place at the right time.

The internet is an essential tool in this respect, allowing you to get up-to-the-minute details on the location of winter spectacles, such as mass gatherings of wading birds at the coast, or the spectacular aerial displays of roosting starlings inland.

There are a range of approaches to getting within frame-filling distance of animals and birds in the field, but perhaps the most effective is by using a hide. Talk to local landowners and farmers about the possibility of leaving one set up in a suitable spot on their land, as this way it’s likely to be undisturbed by the public.

Image by Mark Hamblin

The right clobber 
If you’re planning on tracking animals on foot, kit yourself out in the right gear. A cottage industry has built up around the specific needs of wildlife photographers and filmmakers, although army surplus stores are good for the basics.

You’ll need quiet, rustle-free clothing, ideally covered with a suitable camouflage pattern – although this is by no means essential. Zips and popper fastenings are far preferable to noisy Velcro, and there should be enough decent-sized pockets to enable you to keep all your camera accessories with you when stalking.

Naturally, the longer your lens, the more distant you can be and still get shots with impact. You should use a monopod to support a large lens when you’re stalking, as it is more manoeuvrable than a tripod – it can also be used to support you when the going gets boggy!

PAGE 1: Why you want to get close to animals
PAGE 2: Key techniques for getting close to wildlife
PAGE 3: How to set up a hide
PAGE 4: How to shoot from a car window

Wildlife photography made easy: how to find locations that guarantee great shots

jmeyer — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 01:00:25 +0000

In the latest instalment of our Shoot Like A Pro series on wildlife photography made easy, we explain how to find photo locations that guarantee you great shots with minimum effort.

Image by David Tipling

Choose the right wildlife photography location

Most of us don’t have the time to chase wildlife around the countryside. The good news is that there are plenty of accessible locations that present the opportunity to get close to nature (and photograph it) without having to go to extremes.

A city park, pond or nature reserve provides the perfect opportunity to, literally, stretch your legs as far as wildlife photography is concerned.

The animals you’ll find in well-visited locations like these will be more accustomed to people, allowing you to approach without having to deck yourself out in head-to-toe camouflage.

Image by Mark Hamblin

In fact, if you’re heading to your local park, ditch a long lens altogether in favour of a wide-angle or standard zoom. Squirrels frequently get close enough to enable you to shoot environmental portraits, particularly if you’re packing some unsalted peanuts as a reward.

Hold the camera close to the ground and place the food out of shot, just below the lens.

Be prepared to manually select an AF point that matches up with the animal’s eye, as, left to its own devices, your camera may choose to focus on the closest thing to it – which is usually the animal’s nose.

PAGE 1: Choosing the right wildlife photography location
PAGE 2: Look for frozen water
PAGE 3: Getting the best results from long lenses

Wildlife photography made easy: simple techniques for pro-quality pictures

jmeyer — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 01:00:16 +0000

Wildlife photography requires patience and finely tuned approach. In our new Shoot Like A Pro series on wildlife photography we’ll show you a series of simple techniques that will help get you closer to the animals you want to photograph and never miss a shot.

Winter is the perfect time of year to try your hand at wildlife photography. Without the cover of trees and bushes, it’s easier to see wild animals and birds in their natural habitats. As there’s less food available, it’s also easier to tempt them closer to your lens.

Crucially for photography, although the days are shorter, you can photograph for a much longer period than you can in the summer,  and the angle of the winter sun makes for more interesting light throughout the day, with the glorious colours of sub-zero sunrises and sunsets giving your pictures an interesting edge.

Cold weather does bring its own set of problems, though. For instance, metal tripods become painful to the touch – use padded leg wraps or switch to a carbon fibre tripod instead. Batteries also drain faster when temperatures drop.

This problem is exacerbated by the use of image stabilisation, which is an essential feature on the telephoto lenses required for sensor-filling images of distant wildlife.

However, you don’t have to spend weeks shivering behind a £10,000 telephoto in a tiny hide in order to take nature images. Follow our guide to take brilliant pictures everywhere, from your garden to your local park and beyond…

Image by Mark Hamblin

How to photograph garden wildlife

You don’t have to travel far to capture creative shots of wild critters. In fact, plenty of nature pros cut their teeth on garden bird photography – and continue to make a decent income with stock shots of ‘little brown jobs’.

As with other types of wildlife photography, you’ll need a telephoto lens and a decent tripod to support it. Backyard birds are small, and unless you can attract them close with feeders, you’ll be looking at a focal length in the region of 300-500mm for frame-filling shots.

This is where the smaller APS-C sensor found in most DSLRs proves advantageous. An APS-C sensor captures a smaller area of the image projected by the lens than a full-frame sensor does, so the subject appears larger in the picture.

It’s for this reason that you need to apply a ‘focal length multiplier’ of either 1.5x (for Nikon) or 1.6x (for Canon) to arrive at the effective focal length.

So, a 300mm lens on an APS-C camera gives the equivalent field of view as a 480mm lens on a full-frame camera.

Image by Mark Hamblin

Blur backgrounds
In addition to giving you more reach, a telephoto lens gives you more control over the background; the longer the lens, the less of it you’ll see through the viewfinder.

Gardens can be full of clutter, so being able to pick out a clean backdrop is absolutely essential.

Also, the further that trees, hedges and fences are from the bird, the more blurred they’ll appear in the image, allowing the creatures to stand out clearly. Choose a wide aperture to make the most of this effect.

Image by Danny Green

As well as photographing birds on branches, get low to take shots of species that feed on the ground.

Eye-level shots that feature both a distant background and foreground detail that’s close to the lens work best here, allowing you to throw both out of focus with a wide aperture and sandwich the animal between two layers of blur.

Rest the lens on a beanbag to give you the necessary low angle and make yourself comfortable, as you might be there for some time…

PAGE 1: How to shoot garden wildlife photography
PAGE 2: Best camera settings for garden wildlife photography
PAGE 3: How to set up a feeding station
PAGE 4: Choosing the right wildlife photography location
PAGE 5: Look for frozen water
PAGE 6: Getting the best results from long lenses
PAGE 7: Why you want to get close to animals
PAGE 8: Key techniques for getting close to wildlife
PAGE 9: How to set up a hide
PAGE 10: How to shoot from a car window
PAGE 11: Wildlife photography in iconic locations
PAGE 12: Don’t forget the basics of wildlife photography
PAGE 13: How to protect your gear

Hands-free photography: 4 ways to take pictures without touching your camera

jmeyer — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:49:18 +0000

Whether you want to banish camera shake in low light or avoid scaring wildlife, here are four simple ways to fire the shutter without touching your camera.

Even pressing the shutter button can cause camera shake, so there are several things you can do to avoid touching your camera and ensure getting sharp images.

If you just want to fire the camera without touching it to prevent camera shake, you can simply use the self-timer. Many cameras allow you to choose different delay times, from two seconds upwards.

This option is perfect for shooting static subjects, but it’s not ideal if you are photographing a moving subject, when split-second timing is essential.

A simple cable release is a much more accurate and useful option for shake-free shots. Some independent models, such as those in the Hähnel range, come supplied with an extension cord that enables you to fire the camera from just over two metres away.

If you want to fire your camera from further away than this, the best option is to use a wireless remote trigger.

The final, much more technical, solution is to control and fire your camera from your smartphone, tablet or computer. Read on for some concrete examples and options…

01 Self-timer
The simplest and cheapest option for firing your camera without introducing shake is to use the camera’s built-in self-timer. It’s main drawback is that it can be impossible to shoot moving subjects, because it’s difficult to predict exactly when you’ll need the shutter to fire.

02 Remote cord
A simple remote cord enables you to fire the shutter from a short distance using a button at the end of a cord that’s attached to your camera. These are available either from the camera manufacturer or third parties. Get the right model for your model of camera, obviously.

03 Wireless remote
If you’d rather fire the shutter from a distance, try an infrared remote control. However, they will only work from a few metres away from the camera and need a direct line of sight. A more versatile option is a radio trigger, which will work from up to 100 metres away.

04 Tethered shooting
Apps now enable you to shoot tethered and control your camera from a tablet or smartphone, or from your PC. Canon users get a handy free program called EOS Utility, but for other makes you’ll need extra software such as Nikon Capture NX 2 or Adobe Lightroom 4.