Ever glanced into a stream and seen nothing but murky blur? Don't be fooled. There's a whole world of life, color and action going on below the surface. And here's a great example of a photographer knowing exactly where to look.

The main part of the picture, at first glance, could be mistaken for a piece of antique lace, laid over black velvet. Look closely, though, and you’ll see it's actually a skeleton of a rotting leaf; its soft tissue decayed just enough to leave behind a fine network of veins.

Moving through it, we can glimpse some of the smallest inhabitants in this underwater world. On the right, two tiny, shrimp-like crustaceans, their bodies pale grey and amber respectively, seem to cling together. On the left, a mayfly larva appears in what Hungarian photographer István Hogya describes as a small “window” in the left.

Titled At the bottom of the stream, it's been awarded runner-up in the Pure Nature: Water category of the OurNature Environmental Photo & Video Award.

A miniature world

"These tiny creatures play an important role in the stream’s ecosystem," explains Hogya. "They feed on organic debris while also providing food for larger animals, including fish and birds. A miniature world, barely visible to the naked eye, yet essential to life in the stream."

Even the leaf plays an important role in this ecosystem. It's precisely because such creatures have been breaking it down over time, leaving only the toughest veins behind, that we can see through it so clearly.

Hogya shot the image on a Canon EOS R6 Mark II with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, at 1/125sec, f/8 and ISO 1000, in manual mode with spot metering. Interestingly, Hogya was taken just 37cm away from the subjects. At that distance, even at f/8, only a few millimetres of the scene in front of him could be sharp. Consequently, he made sure both the creatures and the leaf were lying flat at roughly the same depth, keeping everything in focus.

Overall, this prize-winning image works on two levels: as an attractive pattern of light and line, and as a glimpse into an ecosystem most of us would never otherwise pay thought to.

The Our Nature Environmental Photo Award is an annual competition that showcases the most inspirational nature and environmental photography from around the world. See more winnng work in the Winners' Gallery.

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Dave Newman is an amateur wildlife and pet photographer based in Lincolnshire in the UK.

He submitted this fantastic photo to Digital Camera World magazine, responding to shoutouts for its regular 'Rate My Photo' page.

The image gets a full analysis, highlighting the aspects that excel, and ones that could be improved upon.

Before deconstructing Dave's photo, let's go behind the scenes of the shot…

"In this image, I captured a kingfisher emerging from the water with a freshly caught fish, freezing a split second of precision and power," Dave recalls.

"I positioned myself near a known hunting perch. I tracked the bird from the dive, into the water and then back out, and used a fast shutter speed to freeze motion.

"The goal was to reveal the bird’s hunting skill, timing and the dramatic beauty of its everyday survival instincts. This is my best kingfisher capture to date."

Captured on a Sony A9 with a Sony FE 400mm GM f/2.8 OSS. Settings: 1/8,000 sec at f/2.8, ISO 800, -0.3 exposure compensation.

See more of Dave's shots on his Instagram: @daves_spherical_photography

Expert analysis of 'Kingfisher' by Dave Newman

Overall impact

It’s a tremendous shot that has bags of impact. Having the kingfisher coming straight back out of the water like a missile, and with a fish in its beak, makes this perfectly timed capture.

Getting this shot was all down to Dave’s fieldcraft in knowing where the bird was likely to perch and dive from, and where it would emerge, then using his technical skill to capture the action at the perfect moment.

Eye contact

The slight tilt of the head trades symmetry for a more engaging photo. Being able to see the bird’s eye gives the image more of a connection; a symmetrical bird may not have made as good a shot.

Frozen water and spray

The fast shutter speed of 1/8,000 sec means every droplet of water is frozen, giving the splash an interesting shape. The trade-off for that shutter speed is that the ISO had to be increased to 800, but the resulting noise was dealt with in software.

Beautiful background

The wide-open aperture of f/2.8 means the background is a series of pastel coloured bands, with lovely muted colours, allowing full focus on the bird.

Depth of field

The advantage of f/2.8 is the background and keeping the ISO to 800 with that fast shutter speed. The disadvantage is that there is little depth of field.

The focus point seems to be the head and neck area, which is sharp, but some feathers are out of focus, as are the feet and tail.

Would a narrower aperture have achieved more depth of field? Possibly, but it would have impacted either the shutter speed or the ISO.

Vertical composition

Dave has already cropped this image to get closer to the bird, but another option may have been to crop it into a vertical orientation to emphasise the upwards movement.

He could have tried to capture it vertically, but that would run the risk of not getting it in the frame when it was moving quickly, so shooting in landscape orientation was probably the better choice.

Read more from Digital Camera magazine

This content appeared in issue 308 (June 2026) of Digital Camera magazine.

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For photographers, “good weather” may not mean warm and sunny. In the case of some stunning wildlife photography coming out of the London area this week, “good weather” meant early morning fog.

The photograph comes from the lens of Getty photographer Brook Mitchell, who spent a morning at sunrise photographing red stags and fallow bucks at Richmond Park in London, England. October is the rut, or mating season for the deer, which tends to make the deer more active.

Foggy conditions can create limited visibility, making wildlife photography with a long lens particularly challenging. Fog can also cause condensation to build up on the camera lens. But while fog comes with its challenges, it can also create streaks of light if that ground fog isn’t mixed with clouds overhead.

The early morning sun combined with foggy conditions to create some dramatic, glowing light. Crepuscular rays are what happens when sunlight hits the fog’s water droplets suspended in the air and scatters. To get sun rays like this, photographers need to adjust their position so that they are shooting towards the sun.

The sun rays will also show up best with a darker background, like with the trees in Mitchell’s photographs. Because those sun rays are strong, photographing them often means using a narrower aperture or faster shutter speed to avoid overexposure.

Crepuscular rays can also be created from mist, dust, and smoke particles in the air – fog isn't the only condition that will create those sun beams.

Michell’s photos – shot with the Canon EOS R5 Mark II and RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM – were featured on Getty’s top news photos of the week, seasonal shots highlighting the deer’s rutting season.

Many types of wildlife, including the red stag, are most active at dawn and dusk – perfect for golden hour wildlife photography.

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Once you reach your 50s like me, you find yourself saying the kind of stuff you hated your parents saying when you were a kid. For instance, whenever I see youngsters taking endless selfies for their Instagram, I inwardly tut and think, "How vacuous! How superficial!"

If I'm honest, this is mainly jealousy that I'm no longer young and pretty enough to want to share pictures of my own face. And really, it's not true that sharing pictures online is a waste of time. Sometimes, it can be a positive good for society.

Humans of New York is a great example. And now here's another. One man’s holiday selfie has literally helped science identify a new plant species.

Here's what happened. Back in 2021, plant enthusiast Jeremiah Harris was exploring the flooded forests around Inírida in the Guainía region of Colombia. With the help of local guides, his group found huge floating lily pads that were well over a metre across.

Harris, who runs a carnivorous plant nursery in Colorado Springs and holds the Guinness World Record for the largest Venus flytrap, assumed he was simply looking at Victoria amazonica, the best-known of the giant waterlilies. So he took some photographs, including a few selfies, and shared them on his Instagram.

The image was then spotted by Carlos Magdalena, a waterlily expert at London's famous Kew Gardens – and he immediately sensed something unusual about it. The issue was that no Victoria waterlily had ever been recorded in the Orinoco river basin, where the photo was taken.

Magdalena got in touch with Harris, sparking years of work that began with studying satellite imagery. Eventually, a team including scientists from Bogotá’s botanic garden and members of Indigenous communities set out to search the flooded jungle, but without success.

With just 10 hours to go before their flight home, though, their driver pointed them in the right direction, and they sailed overnight in darkness to reach a small lake where they found the waterlilies Harris had photographed.

The power of a picture

The plant has now been officially identified as a new species, Victoria colombiana in the journal Phytotaxa, with Harris listed as a co-author. The leaves are so big that the plants can be spotted on satellite images from space. It's not all good news, though: the plant is likely to be critically endangered as it's estimated only 30 to 50 exist in the wild, so work is under way to protect it.

For photographers, it’s a great reminder of the power of a picture, even one taken casually. Harris’s selfie wasn’t carefully composed. But it was clear, well located and shared publicly, and that was enough to lead to a major botanical achievement. As one of Harris’s followers commented under his post: “Everyone, more plant selfies!”

For as many legendary photographs have been taken in New York City, wildlife photography is not typically the reason that photographers are drawn to the city. But late in the evening, huddles of photographers have been gathering near Central Park in Manhattan’s Upper West Side for an unusual reason: A nesting family of barn owls.

While New York has had its fair share of famous, unusual birds like the escaped Eurasian eagle-owl Flaco, spotting barn owls in New York City is an unusual sight. According to experts at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the family of owls is likely the first recorded instance of the barn owl species nesting in Manhattan in modern history.

Bird-watchers have now spotted at least one adult owl and five fledglings, who appear to be living around a water tower. Before a resident spotted the owls and reported the sightings, residents in the area had noticed unusual screeching, including one resident who recalled first hearing the noise around mid-September.

New York City is just on the edge of the American Barn Owl’s usual range, which makes the nesting family a particularly unusual sight. According to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, eastern screech owls, barred owls, and northern saw-whet owls are more commonly spotted in Central Park.

Now, the barn owl family has become something of a New York City celebrity, with groups waiting in the area at dusk hoping to catch a glimpse of the owls in the unusual urban backdrop.

With the barn owl family’s celebrity status, however, come risks that the crowds disturb the owl family. Wildlife organizations, such as the International Owl Center, recommend keeping a distance and using long telephoto lenses to avoid disturbing the animals.

Photographers and bird watchers should move slowly and quietly around owls – never attempt to chase an owl.

Flash photography should never be used to photograph owls, as the light ruins the owls’ night vision.

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Many bird photographers set out to capture a frozen, pin-sharp scene, every feather in place. But sometimes, it's better to go in the opposite direction, and swap clinical detail for drama and excitement instead.

This shot of a Brandt’s cormorant by Kevin Lohman nails that approach perfectly. Local resident Lohman captured it at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California. “From a public walkway above a Brandt’s Cormorant colony, I watched as birds repeatedly flew in with nesting material,” he explains to Audubon magazine.

He was shooting on a Nikon Z9 with the Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S, at 1/100sec, f/2.8 and ISO 1100. The image received an honourable mention in the Plants for Birds category in the 2026 Audubon Photography Awards.

Slow shutter, long lens

For a bird in flight, 1/100sec is a strikingly slow shutter speed. Most photographers would go for 1/2000sec or faster to freeze the action. But Lohman isn't most photographers.

“I slowed my shutter speed while panning, which blurred this bird’s wings and kept its head and the bundle of grass sharp,” he says. By swinging the camera to follow the bird, he kept its body still relative to the sensor, while the beating wings and background smeared into blur.

In practice, it must have been tricky, to say the least, with a lens that weighs nearly 3kg. Indeed, Lohman admits that “holding a long lens made the process more challenging and most frames were not useable, but I caught this moment.”

Creatively, the effect is striking. Judge Marlene Pantin noted that “the blurred wings in the clouds give an almost ethereal cast to the photo, creating a feeling of deep tranquility.” The palette is restrained, too: dark plumage, cool blue-grey surroundings and a single burst of green and gold from the surfgrass, which acts as the focal point.

“What drew me to this scene was the connection between ocean and cliff,” says Lohman. “These cormorants rely on marine vegetation like surfgrass to build and maintain their nests, linking the health of the nearshore ocean to their success on land. I hope the image highlights the effort behind this behavior and the importance of protecting coastal ecosystems.”

The Audubon Photography Awards, organised by the National Audubon Society, is now in its 17th year. The contest celebrates photos that capture the beauty of birds and the challenges they face. You can see all the winners and honourable mentions on the Audubon website.

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A pair of red-crowned cranes emerged from what looks like a blank canvas, in a dance of courtship across the snow-capped landscape.

With their dark plumage and red crowns standing out as the only anchors of color, the scene raises the question: how much detail can a photographer remove before an image stops working?

“The set I came away with reads more like ink-wash paintings than wildlife photographs,” said Somdutt Prasad, the ophthalmologist and multi-award-winning photographer who created the image as part of a series in Hokkaido, northern Japan.

Choosing Hokkaido and the high-key look

However, this high-key aesthetic was no attempt to salvage an overexposed set of photos, rather a thought-out artistic decision to capture a unique wildlife subject in a unique way.

“I was already thinking about how to make the images intertwine with the crane’s (tanchōzuru) folklore and its place in Japanese culture, rather than simply document it,” said Prasad.

The photographer explained that producing colorful, fully saturated scenes would have resulted in a "fairly standard" photographic series, so he instead chose to push the images toward a monochrome look

“High-key was the obvious direction,” Prasad added. “These birds are essentially black and white already, with color confined to a small patch on the head and neck.”

Planning before pressing the shutter

Achieving this visual effect began before taking any images, with Prasad planning his visit to the northern Japanese island in January, during Hokkaido’s coldest period. In search of the heaviest snow cover, he braved temperatures below −20°C, which strained batteries, hands, and patience.

In the field, Prasad prioritized mornings, looking for fog rising from warmer, spring-fed areas of marshland to compress the tonal range and separate the cranes from their surroundings.

Although this was no easy feat, the photographer explained that the high-key effect depended on isolating a single crane or, at most, a pair of cranes away from the bustling flock.

“That meant a lot of waiting – for a wing to open against a clean background, for a neck to arch into a shape worth keeping – rather than simply firing at whatever moved,” he said.

The equipment and technique

Snow can easily fool a camera’s metering into rendering a bright scene too dark, so to achieve a high-key look, photographers must deliberately increase the exposure. But push too far and you risk “burning the highlights,” and important details, such as birds’ feathers, can disappear, explained Prasad.

Shooting in RAW on a Nikon Z8 and Nikon Z9, the photographer explained how he kept a “constant” eye on the histogram displayed in the electronic viewfinder to assess exposure while pressing the shutter.

“You have to deliberately overexpose beyond what feels natural and then protect the highlights rather than the midtones,” said Prasad.

Prasad's gear for the red-crowned crane series

• Nikon Z9
• Nikon Z8
• Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S
• Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S
• Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S

The “real transformation” happened in Photoshop

After overexposing “right up to the edge” of clipping, Prasad’s first editing step was to recover detail in the snow by adjusting the “Exposure” and “Highlights” sliders in Lightroom Classic.

Then he ran the images through Photoshop, which, according to Prasad, was where the “real transformation happened.” The photographer masked the birds, carefully refining these masks near the edges of the feathers by hand.

Prasad explained that if a crane was standing on snow, he sometimes included the snow around its feet, using a feathered lasso selection or soft radial gradient.

To create the negative space in each image, Prasad then inverted the masks to select the background, pushing its exposure to the maximum and burning or clone-stamping out any remaining “stubborn” color flecks.

“The processing became an extension of the same minimalist instinct as the framing, stripping out distractions and leaning on negative space,” said Prasad.

For the final touches, the photographer masked the birds’ bodies, deliberately leaving their necks and red crowns untouched, before desaturating the body plumage. “Only then the image is done,” he said.

Controlled, conscious decisions

Prasad’s high-key technique proves that wildlife photography doesn’t always have to capture the rich colors of scales, feathers, or fur.

According to Prasad, when the exposure is controlled and post-production edits are made thoughtfully, a photographer can “strip a scene down to its essentials” by removing most of its color and background detail while still depicting the subject in an interesting way.

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Hobbyist wildlife photographer Brian Johnston has spent much of the summer looking for an elusive “white hart,” a rare albino male red deer, after first photographing one last year. So when he got a tip that the stag had returned, he spent a weekend trying to frame the magical-looking creature in his lens.

Johnston not only managed to capture several photographs of the rare deer, but also found another animal on his wish list in the same weekend: two young foxes.

Johnston, who is a lorry driver (truck driver) by weekday and hobbyist photographer by weekend, set out last Saturday with a friend and fellow wildlife photographer Will Cory near Devon, England. The pair was lucky enough to spot the white deer, but the stag got wind of them and left before the photographers could get a photograph.

While disappointed that he hadn’t managed to get a good photograph of the white hart, what happened next is one of Johnston’s favorite encounters during the three years that he’s spent photographing wildlife. As the two photographers continued walking around, they spotted a fox in the distance and stopped to wait – and then two young foxes came out and played right in front of them.

“I’ve been wanting to get foxes for ages and ages,” Johnston said. “Two young foxes appeared, and they were happily playing in front of us. We watched them for about ten minutes, and we managed to get some really nice photos. That was pretty special. I wanted to get pictures for so long, and normally you see them from afar, so being up close to two foxes was really good.”

The following day, the photographers returned to the area and spotted the white stag sleeping in the field. While the creature was sleeping, the photographers quietly found a good vantage point, then waited. After about half an hour of watching the white hart sleep, the deer woke up and stood, allowing the photographer to capture several photographs.

The wildlife encounter is the second time that Johnston has photographed the white stag, after previously photographing the creature last fall, when the stags are most active due to the mating season.

Seeing an albino red deer is unusual. Leucistic male red deer are more common than a true albino deer, according to the British Deer Society. A leucistic deer will have white fur, but still have normal colors to its eyes and nose. Albinism is a genetic condition that causes a lack of pigment. The deer that Johnston photographed has the light nose and eyes that suggest the deer is albinistic, not leucistic.

The unusual sight is, in part, what drew Johnston into wildlife photography. “The first time I’ve ever seen one was three years ago, when I first started doing wildlife. A friend of mine, Will Corey, kept going on to me about this white stag that he had seen a few years ago. I thought, ‘He must be joking, making it up.’ But then, when I actually saw it, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was unusual to see something like that. It’s become a bit of an obsession, trying to see him again and get pictures of him.”

Johnston photographed the white stag – and the foxes – with the Nikon D780 DSLR and a Sigma 160-600mm f/5-6.3G lens.

For new wildlife photographers. Johnston advises patience and persistence. “When you are out and about, stop and listen. Wait, and you’ll start to see something.”

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The eleventh book in the Remembering Wildlife conservation series has just gone on sale.

Remembering Giraffes will raise funds to protect the world's tallest mammal, and buyers can also view the 20 winning images from the Remembering Wildlife competition that featured in issue 307 of Digital Camera magazine.

A 146-page hardback printed on high-quality art paper, Remembering Giraffes features the work of world-leading wildlife photographers including Jonathan and Angela Scott, Marsel van Oosten, Frans Lanting, Greg du Toit – and many more.

Proceeds from Remembering Giraffes will be allocated to conservation projects for giraffes.

An official hybrid launch event for the book will take place on Wednesday, October 14 – live at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington, London, UK, and also online.

Focusing on giraffe conservation and wildlife photography, attendees will hear inspiring talks from keynote speakers Stephanie Fennessy, Executive Director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation; Marcus Westberg, a contributing photographer to Remembering Giraffes; and Margot Raggett.

Online viewers of the launch will also be treated to exclusive content before the event and during the interval.

Remembering Giraffes costs approx $75/£59.50 and copies can be purchased here.

Ahead of the book going on sale, we caught up with Remembering Wildlife's founder and producer Margot Raggett and asked her to bring us up to date with the series so far – plus what buyers of Remembering Giraffes can expect to see…

Buy 'Remembering Giraffes' now

Remembering Giraffes is a 146-page hardback book that's perfect for your coffee table at home. As it is produced to a very high standard, printed on top quality art paper, the photographs are presented at their very best.

Buy a copy and do your bit for wildlife conservation. Remembering Giraffes costs approx $75 (£59.50) and copies can be purchased here.

The wild cat conservation group Panthera has spotted a highly elusive jaguar thanks to the use of trail cameras for the second time this year.

The adult male cat was sighted in June in the Bi-National Corridor, a critical jungle passageway along the Guatemala-Honduras border connecting jaguar populations in these countries.

It comes after an earlier sighting of an adult male in February this year and marks the first time in a decade that Panthera has observed the species on both sides of this border region.

“We are definitely very excited,” said Dr. Bárbara Escobar Anleu, Panthera’s Guatemala country coordinator.

“Seeing an animal as majestic as the jaguar using areas that both Panthera and other institutions are working to conserve serves as an excellent motivation and a reminder of why we do this work.”

Jaguars are the largest cat species in the Western Hemisphere and live in 18 countries across the Americas, with conservationists estimating that there are some 173,000 individuals in the wild.

However, habitat destruction and fragmentation have meant that the species has lost roughly 50% of its historical range, with jaguars classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

According to Dr. Anleu, Panthera began monitoring jaguars in the Bi-National Corridor as a joint effort between its Guatemala and Honduras divisions in 2017.

Since then, the organization has placed “at least 120 camera traps” throughout the corridor, Dr. Anleu said, with a particular focus on detecting female jaguars to gather evidence of whether they are reproducing.

Female jaguars, however, are much more elusive than males. Unlike wide-ranging males that roam massive territories (observed covering up to 40,000 hectares), females practice philopatry, whereby they stay close to their natal territory.

Although both sightings this year were of male jaguars, Dr. Anleu explained how they provide vital evidence that jaguars are still using this passageway.

“The camera-trap images of the jaguars in both Honduras and Guatemala give us hope — showing that jaguars are still present, even in the midst of all the challenges and threats they face,” she said.

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Shooting animals from a platform rocking about on water offers interesting challenges compared to doing from the security of dry land. No matter whether you’re sailing down the Amazon river, braving a midge-infest Scottish loch or traversing the lake at Longleat Safari Park (like I was).

The first consideration is safety, for both your body parts and your camera equipment. Always make sure that you’re securely braced when shooting because a sudden boat movement can cause havoc if the flooring is wet. Falling in when there are hippos about is not a good idea as these amiable-looking creatures are, in fact, aggressively territorial and will happily tear you limb from limb. And then eat the bits. Seals are the next menace because there’s little difference to them between a juicy fish and a fleshy hand holding a camera over the side.

Obviously you need to have the camera secured, so consider having a strap from it attached to you, in case you lose your actual grip on the camera. If you drop it over the side, no-one is going in to get it back for you. Assuming you and the camera are all secure, let’s take a look at the practicalities of shooting from a rocking platform.

How to capture the action

01 Which mode to use

For the first couple of trips around the lake I used the Mode dial (your camera may have a P/A/S/M or a P/Tv/Av/M dial) to set the camera to Aperture Priority and the ISO to 1000. I was aiming for a shutter speed of 1/1,000 sec but the light was changeable and increasingly murky, so I switched to Manual mode.

02 Let’s go Auto

Having had difficulty capturing the fast moving seals I decided on f/6.3 and 1/1,600 sec as the manual settings, along with Auto ISO. It’s a trade between noise and getting the speed and aperture that you want. A wider aperture on a faster lens would let in more light but an f/6.3 aperture meant that focussing on a gorilla’s face resulted in all the animal being in focus.

03 Autofocus area and subject

This was set up with a wide area box for the focus detection and animals as the subject detection. Focussing on the gorillas, hippos and monkeys wasn’t a problem, because they weren’t moving around very quickly so even with the rocking boat, locking onto them was easy. However, again, with the seals it was much harder as they moved so fast, but this combination worked the best.

04 Continuous shooting

The focussing was set to continuous, which was essential for the seals. Having Auto ISO and fixed settings here was also the best option because with reflective water and patchy sunshine by this point, the metering was changing with every shot. It was also better to have a slightly wider view than a tight crop, in order to get the seals in the shot and not be half out the frame.

What else did I shoot?

How long a lens do you need?

A lot depends on how close the boat you are on gets to the shoreline or within range of the water-based animals. I took my 180-600mm f/5.6-f/6.3 lens which was perfect for the gorillas, even though we were some distance away, because they are quite large. When the hippos are in the water, all you see are eyes and ears so a longer reach would be preferred, but on land 600mm was long enough. The photos of the smaller monkeys on their colony needed cropping, so with those an 800mm lens would have been needed to fill the frame. The seals got quite close to the boat so anything from 150-300mm would have been fine to get a close up shot of them.

Before you go...

To capture animals at long range you'll need a big telephoto lens, a fast memory card and a big camera backpack to put your stuff in.

The King Island scrubtit is one of Australia’s rarest and smallest birds. So when award-winning wildlife photographer Brad Leue visited King Island's Boulder Wildlife Sanctuary, with the audacious ambition of photographing one, the odds were stacked against him.

Experts estimate that only 100 King Island scrubtits are left, a subspecies of the much more prevalent Tasmanian scrubtit. But at only 12cm in length and with markings that blend into their habitat, spotting one is extremely rare – and photographing one is even rarer.

Brad was well prepared. He analysed sightings of the birds to pinpoint potential hotspots and armed himself with his trusty Canon EOS R5 and 100-500mm super-telephoto lens. But with only a week in which to photograph the island’s wildlife, the clock was ticking.

A few days in and the scrubtit was nowhere to be seen, but on the fifth day, Brad’s luck changed. While operating by the coast and exploring the edge of a forest, a little brown job appeared. He told me: “In this type of environment, the targets are mainly small birds, so I had my camera set up for fast movement.” The scrubtit didn’t hang around: “I was only able to grab a few shots that were in focus before the individual ducked back into the forest.”

Thankfully, the encounter enabled Brad to capture two sharp images, which he sent to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy for confirmation. “I was confident I’d photographed the right species, but given how rare they are, I also had a bit of doubt.” Thankfully, it was a King Island scrubtit, making Brad a member of an exclusive club of photographers who have managed to photograph the rare bird.

When asked about the importance of photography for conservation, Brad told me: “We’re a very visual species. Through conservation photography, people can connect with some of the world’s most vulnerable species, allowing them to care and empathise on a much deeper level.”

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If you're interested in the role photography has to play in wildlife conservation, over 300 custom-made camera traps spread across an area the size of Cape Verde make important wildlife discoveries. Photography is at the heart of remarkable discovery of a new cat species – even if it was science that delivered the definitive proof. Plus, here's the latest camera news.

When researchers in West Africa’s Côte d’Ivoire Taï National Park spotted vibrant orange, yellow, and black feathers, what followed looked almost like choreography. With one researcher with binoculars and another with a camera, the team managed to capture photos of a bird species that hasn’t been spotted for 13 years: The Ghana cukooshrike.

Field research fellows Paulo Ditzel and Stephanie Bartlett were nearing the end of a six-month, four-country expedition with the International Bird Conservation Partnership earlier this summer when they were scanning the trees for birds in Taï National Park.

Ditzel first spotted the bird and used his binoculars to relay the bird’s location in the tree canopy to Bartlett. “If I had seen that bird with anyone else, it wouldn’t have worked out,” Ditzel said, “and we would not have gotten a picture. We have this perfect little way.”

The Ghana cukooshrike spends much of its time in the canopy of Africa’s forests – which, combined with its vulnerable status as a species, means that one hasn’t been spotted since 2013. The new photos from the researchers recover a “lost” species and hint that conservation efforts in the region are working.

“I got a photo of the bird before I saw it,” Bartlett said.

As Bartlett took photos, the cukooshrike moved through the canopy along with some chestnut-capped flycatchers and a white-breasted nigrita. Dietzel ran back to the station to give the rest of the research team a chance to see the lost species as Bartlett continued to record the bird.

But by the time Dietzel returned, the bird had disappeared into the canopy again. The bird only reappeared again after most of the team had returned to the base, when the cukooshrike snatched a white caterpillar.

Director for The Search For Lost Birds John Mittermeier described the photos as “probably the best photos ever taken of this bird.” The Ghana cukkoshrike’s preference for thick canopies and vulnerable population makes it a rare bird to photograph.

Bartlett also captured what's believed to be the first videos of the species.

Birding in West Africa’s forests is often a challenge. “They’re scared of you,” Bartlett explained. “You don’t get close to them, and so often you have to use the camera as a tool for identification.”

Researchers are hopeful that the Ghana cukooshrike’s sighting suggests that conservation efforts in Taï National Park are working, while recovering the lost species indicates further efforts are needed.

Taï National Park is part of the Upper Guinean rainforest, an ecosystem under threat as logging and agriculture shrink the rainforest’s size.

In the 1970s, the Ghana cukooshrike was spotted frequently, with 20 sightings within just 62 days. But according to the Search for Lost Birds, in a nearly two-year survey in 2005 and 2007, the bird was only spotted two times. The last time the bird was photographed was in 2013.

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Take a look at the best cameras for wildlife photography, or dig into the best lenses for bird photography.

A photo of an unusual fox is quickly picking up viral fame on social media – and authorities at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources say that it’s “an incredibly rare sight.”

On social media, the Michigan DNR has confirmed that a photo of an unusual dark-furred fox is actually a melanistic gray fox. “This is an incredibly rare sight, and it’s the only example we’re currently aware of in the Midwest,” the government organization said in an Instagram post.

The DNR explained that melanism is a genetic condition that gives an animal a much darker coat than the species usually exhibits. Michigan’s most common example of melanism is the black squirrel, which is actually a melanistic gray squirrel.

Michigan has two different species of foxes, the more common red fox and the less common gray fox. The DNR says that the photo is a melanistic gray fox.

Melanistic red foxes, commonly referred to as silver foxes, are uncommon, but more frequently spotted than melanistic gray foxes. A key indicator is the tail. Red foxes have a white tip to the tail, while gray foxes have a black tip. Gray foxes can also climb trees, while red foxes cannot due to differences in their claws.

The social media comments on the post, however, were quick to point out that Michigan’s rare melanistic “black” gray fox actually looks rather purple. So what’s going on in the photograph?

While the fox’s different look is due to genetics, the fox’s “purple” is likely due to a photography error. The photograph appears to have an incorrect white balance. White balance adjusts a photo’s colors based on the light source, and an incorrect setting can skew a photograph’s colors towards orange, green, blue, or purple.

Looking closely in the background of the shot, the white clover flowers also take on a purple tone, suggesting that the purple coloring likely comes from a camera setting and not from manipulating the fox with software.

The Michigan DNR is currently looking for reports of fox sightings, both current and past, particularly with photos, as part of research to better understand where red and gray foxes live in Michigan. The DNR encourages reporting Michigan fox sightings and photos with an online reporting tool.

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A National Geographic filmmaker has captured footage clearly showing great white shark depredation – the act of stealing a fish hooked on a fishing line – beneath the waves.

While great white depredation has previously been observed from the surface, according to National Geographic, this is the first time a recording has been made of the behavior below water.

The footage was captured by Brian Skerry, a renowned whale and shark filmmaker, at Cape Cod, on the Atlantic Coast of Massachusetts, US.

According to National Geographic, Skerry, a native of Massachusetts, had been trying to capture the footage for several days earlier this year, when the moment finally struck. “It was so sudden, it wasn’t even a second. She just rocketed through and then it was over,” he told the publication.

In the split-second footage, which, according to Skerry, was captured in slow motion, we see a juvenile female great white shark snagging hooked striped bass at lightning speed. Skerry also explained that he used a custom-designed camera setup that ensured the fishing lure stayed in the camera's frame.

Above: watch the moment a juvenile female great white sharks rips the striped bass off the fishing line

According to Scientific American, great white populations have “surged” off the coast of Cape Cod in recent years, with the area now considered the first-ever white shark “hotspot” in the North Atlantic. The publication has explained that sharks are convening on the Cape because the gray seal population there is rebounding.

By the 1960s, New England seal populations had been largely culled by commercial fishermen. However, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 gradually restored seal numbers in the region, with an estimated 30,000 individuals on Cape Cod by 2017.

According to Scientific American, seals are a favorite fat-rich prey for white sharks as the fish make their annual northern migration, typically arriving on Cape Cod between mid-May and late June as the coastal water warms up.

Skerry told National Geographic that he recorded the footage to help people understand that Cape Cod and the Gulf of Maine have a “healthy, recovering” population of large, predatory sharks.

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Not so long ago, the European common hamster was well named: it was so ubiquitous in German fields that farmers treated it as a pest. Today, though, its name feels very outdated: thanks to intensive agriculture, it's actually become one of the continent's most threatened mammals.

Christoph Kaula's photograph, Managed revival, runner-up in the Rewilding Europe Award, highlights the hard work now underway to bring it back.

The collapse of the European common hamster hasn't just been a tragedy for the species itself; more broadly, it's become a symbol of the collapse in biodiversity across farmland in general. There is, though, cause for hope,

Specialists from the Hamster Conservation Working Group at the Hessian Society for Ornithology and Nature Conservation are using targeted captive breeding, along with burrow mapping and genetic sampling, to trace the animals' movements.

That way, they can identify where habitats are connecting up and where more work is needed.

How it was shot

Managed revival shows a young European hamster pausing at the mouth of a wire trap, whiskers forward, eyes fixed on the camera. Behind it, out of focus, a researcher smiles. It's a small moment, but simultaneously a powerful one too.

Kaula shot with a Canon EOS R5 with an RF 35mm f/1.8 prime at ISO4000. Focusing through wire mesh in low light is the kind of thing that can send autofocus spinning, so the R5's animal eye detection is a real asset here.

The camera's 45MP sensor also handles ISO4000 comfortably, which matters when your subject is mostly active after dark.

In terms of composition, this is a picture of two halves. On the left, the researcher is soft and anonymous but smiling. On the right, the hamster is sharp and alert, framed by the tunnel of the trap, whose wire lines draw the eye straight to its face. A warm glow at the back of the trap balances nicely against the cool blue tones on the left.

The key decision here, to my mind, is to keep the human out of focus; you feel her presence, but she avoids overwhelming the animal subject. And that neatly mirrors the broader message.

"Bringing a species back is never the work of a single organization or individual," Kaula stresses. "It's a collective effort. And that also means raising awareness and communicating the importance of conservation to a much wider audience."

Think of the word "rewilding" and you'll probably imagine remote valleys and wide open spaces, far off in the countryside. But rewilding can be just as impactful in urban environments, and the winning image in this year's Rewilding Europe Award is a great example.

Captured by Jan Wieczorek in 2025, the night-time shot features three beavers lurking in the shallows, two of them nose-to-nose.

They're surrounded by gnawed stumps and stripped branches, the unmistakable signs of beaver engineering. And roads and railway lines cross their territory, and new housing going up nearby, support from local residents and the city authorities means the animals are thriving.

Wieczorek, who has been observing these beavers for around 15 years, explains why that matters.

"The story behind the photograph shows that nature doesn't always exist somewhere far away," he says. "It can thrive right next to our homes, beneath our bridges, and in the centres of our cities. By framing the housing development alongside the wetland created by the beavers, I wanted to show that it is possible for humans and wildlife to share space."

How it was shot

His kit list is short: a Sony A7R III, a 16-35mm f/4 lens, a tripod and an infrared sensor. The framing is wide, low and close, allowing the lens to pay proper attention to the animals in the foreground, without losing that city background.

The A7R III is gaining in years now, having launched in 2017, but its 42.4MP sensor delivers plenty of detail, and the setting of ISO 1600 is well within its comfort zone.

Monochrome is a smart choice, too. A night scene like this typically might mix orange streetlights, cool skylight and the hues of whatever lit the foreground. Opting for black and white instead nullifies such potential clashing colors, and turns the mist into a soft, glowing backdrop.

Why it won

Rewilding Europe Award, now in its fifth year, is a special category within the GDT's European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. It's run in partnership with Rewilding Europe, a non-profit organization dedicated to making Europe a wilder place.

"The winning and commended images capture the essence of how humans and wildlife can live side by side," says judge Viktoria Pezzei. "Photography like this translates the complex relationships between humans and wildlife, ultimately helping us understand them better."

Wieczorek will be honored at the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year ceremony on October 23, 2026.

Researchers conducting camera-based surveys off the coast of one of Samoa’s smallest populated islands found something unexpected when they looked at the footage: An endangered leopard shark.

A group conducting surveys with National Geographic Pristine Seas was dropping baited underwater camera systems, also known as BRUVs, off the coast of Samoa’s Apolima Island. That's when they managed to capture footage of the rare leopard shark, or Stegostoma tigrinum, which is sometimes also called a zebra shark:

While the endangered species has been caught on camera before, this was the first time that the shark has been recorded in Samoan waters. Previous reports suggested that the species could occasionally be found there, but the researchers say the footage is the first verifiable evidence that the shark is also found near the Samoan islands.

But beyond adding evidence of the shark’s range, the footage helps illustrate the importance of deploying cameras in wildlife research. BRUVs are unmanned baited cameras that are typically left alone in the ocean for about an hour in an attempt to document wildlife that may be more skittish around human presence.

Impressively, the zebra shark was actually captured on the team’s first camera deployment in the region earlier this summer.

“A single camera deployment can reveal something entirely unexpected and add an important piece to our understanding of a species distribution,” said National Geographic Pristine Sea scientist Jett Walker.

The leopard shark is a slow-moving shark that’s typically found along sandy bottoms, as the shark prefers a diet of gastropods and bivalve mollusks, such as snails, clams, and mussels. But the footage also adds to growing evidence that the sharks can be found in coral reefs.

The successful capture on the group’s first baited camera drop in the region also gives the researchers a “promising start” to their work in the region.

National Geographic’s Pristine Seas mixes filmmaking and underwater photography with scientific research. The group’s work has already helped to support the establishment of 31 protected marine reserves.

The footage isn't just aiding in conservation – it adds to a growing pile of evidence of how camera traps can aid wildlife research and conservation.

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For more inspiring ocean research powered by camera technology, read about the shelling dolphin captured on camera. Or, for a laugh, read about the tiger shark that stole a camera.

Optical illusions aren’t just for internet entertainment – new research suggests that the patterns in butterfly wings serve as an optical illusion to help the winged creatures avoid predators.

The study was made possible using slow-motion cameras capable of capturing videos of butterflies taking off at more than 1,000 frames per second. The researchers from England’s University of Essex and the University of Exeter recorded the takeoff of five different butterfly species against a green screen background at 1,057 fps per second.

Then, the researchers fed the footage through a bird-vision computer model and compared the movement suggested by the slow-motion footage to how the butterfly had actually moved.

“The first slow-motion video of a butterfly I put through our bird-vision computer model was glowing with downward motion even though the butterfly was moving up,” said researcher Dr. Jolyon Troscianko. “First I checked this wasn’t a coding error, that I’d swapped up and down somehow, but then it dawned on me that this would be a perfect way to confuse attacking predators.”

Troscianko explained that the patterns in the butterfly’s wings create an illusion that works a lot like the “barber pole illusion” – even though the classic red-and-white barber pole is only turning sideways, the stripes appear to be moving upward. On a butterfly’s wings, this illusion can cause a bird to miss the butterfly entirely or hit a less delicate part of the insect.

The team looked at five different species – two of which had different patterns between males and females, creating seven different patterns to study. The researchers then looked at patterns for about 400 different European butterflies and found similar patterns that could create an optical illusion once in motion.

The researchers also asked a computer model to “evolve” 50,000 wing patterns, and found computer-generated patterns that were very similar to actual butterfly species.

The research could help answer a longstanding question about butterflies. Many butterflies have muted colors and camouflage patterns on the underside of their wings, helping them to blend in when the butterfly lands. But many species have bright colors on the top side of their wings that seem the opposite of that camouflage.

The new research suggests those bright colors and patterns skip camouflage for an optical illusion designed to make predators miss. The researchers are hopeful the work could open up future work into how patterns across the wider animal kingdom, from zebras to birds, could be a trait built to confuse predators.

The research was published on September 30 in the journal Nature and has already been peer-reviewed.

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Photographer Carl Bovis was shocked to be told by former New York attorney Regina Alberty that she was blocking him on social media for the heinous crime of posting an unflattering photo of a bird.

She implied he had deliberately made the image look bad because he disliked the woodpigeon, saying: "Usually photographers try to take pictures that favor the subject. Do you even like the subject of your pics?" before telling him not to answer, as she would be blocking him.

I got in touch with Carl, who is based in Somerset in the UK – not so far from where Digital Camera World started life – and asked him how it felt to be on the receiving end of this.

He said "I'm usually quite sensitive to criticism but I found that hilarious!" which, if I'm honest, I was expecting – as he'd shared the image on socials "knowing my followers would be similarly amused" he said, "but I didn't quite expect the reaction it got."

As he also notes, "I definitely gained more than I lost. Regina didn't even follow me, but was so offended by my harmless woodpigeon in the rain that she had to block me, and made sure I knew why!"

Others are asking for more 'offensive pigeons' – could this be a new genre in photography? – and Carl has even sold prints on the back of this exchange (see Carl Bovis print sales).

There have also been a lot of funny replies defending Carl on social platforms. He picked out: "I didn't even get *that* testy after I saw my own passport photo." while I enjoyed: "Yeah, the pigeon can't use that on Tinder! What a worthless photoshoot."

Oddly, the pigeon incident might only be "one of" the strangest discussions he has had about his photography.

"One woman once insisted that all my birds in flight photos were dead, and 'posed' in mid-air by string.... that was strange, but I don't think she blocked me!"

I asked Carl about his history in photography (beyond unusual exchanges). He told me "I've always loved birds, and I started taking photos of them back in 2006 when I bought my first DSLR camera, a Nikon D50, so I could have a record of what I'd seen."

He started sharing them on the now-defunct Fotothing, and was surprised by the positive response: "I got very popular there, but the site started to go downhill when other bigger rivals started appearing, such as Flickr and Facebook."

He still uses social: "I started posting on both, then eventually joined Twitter in 2015. That's now where I share most of my work because that's where most of my followers are."

His camera is now a Nikon Z9, and "I like to walk about hand-holding it with Nikon Z 180-600mm lens to get my photos."

He let me into one more secret about the 'singing woodpigeon' as the title suggests: "When I'm at home I take photos of the birds in my garden from my bathroom window as it offers the best view. That's where I took the 'singing woodpigeon in the rain' photo. The pigeon was actually having a bit of a preen in the rain, This is a good time to get unusual angles and poses as the birds shake their feathers and stretch to reach different areas of their plumage. This Woodpigeon wasn't actually singing (or cooing), it had just shaken itself, and I used a very fast shutter speed to freeze this split second in time."

Check our guides to the best camera for wildlife photography and best lenses for bird photography.

A British diver and underwater filmmaker has spotted a rarely seen humpback whale off the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales, capturing footage of the moment the ocean giant swam by his vessel.

Dan Abbott, who makes a living as a professional filmmaker and ocean educator, was scuba diving near the Celtic Deep, a 100m depression in the West Wales seafloor, when the whale made an appearance.

At this moment, the cinematographer was aboard his group’s boat with smartphone in hand to capture the incredible scene. “It is a humpback!” Abbott shouted in jubilation as the whale drifted by, spraying a plume of water from its blowhole, while other group members shouted in excitement.

Above: watch the moment the humpback whale appeared near Abbott's boat

The sixth-largest whale species in the world, humpbacks can grow up to 48 to 62.5 feet (14.5 to 19 meters) in length and weigh up to around 40 tons. They have dark bodies with white undersides, a small hooked dorsal fin on a distinctive hump, and knobby bumps called tubercles on their head.

While Abbott said that seeing a humpback in Welsh waters isn’t unusual, it’s far from an everyday scene. “There have only been a couple of sightings in the last five or six years,” he explained in an Instagram post. “As you can hear in my voice, I was quite surprised,” he added.

However, according to the Marine Conservation Society, humpback sightings are increasing in the UK.

While the organization is unsure exactly why, it believes this could be down to increasing whale populations following the 1986 Moratorium (ban) on whaling, as well as warming oceans amid climate change causing the migratory species to change its movements.

A humpback whale was previously spotted off the coast of Pembrokeshire in 2024. According to the BBC, the animal was “quite small” and covered in scars and had “signs of previous viruses.”

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When a sea turtle was spotted on the sand at a California beach this week, beachgoers immediately called a lifeguard over for help. But instead of an injured turtle, authorities found the first-ever documented case of a sea turtle nesting on the West Coast of the US. Photos prove that more than one mother turtle is nesting much farther north than usual.

On September 16, a sea turtle was spotted laying eggs near Saal Beach in Orange County, California. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called the sighting the “first-ever recorded natural nesting for any sea turtle species on the US West Coast.”

But then, a few days later, another olive ridley sea turtle was spotted building a nest a few miles away at Huntington Beach Pier. At first, authorities weren’t sure if the turtle from both beaches was the same one, as olive ridleys are known to lay multiple nests in one season.

Now, an analysis of photos from both beaches suggests that those nests come from two different turtles. Research biologist Dr. Cali Turner Tomaszewicz analyzed photos of the two turtles and compared the shape and pattern on the turtles' shells, confirming that the two nests are from two different mothers.

While two turtles were spotted laying eggs on the West Coast for the first time, researchers aren’t sure if the occurrence is an anomaly or a potential sign that the olive ridley turtles are expanding their usual nesting grounds.

The species is known for coming on shore at the same time, with mass nesting bringing thousands of turtles to the same beach – typically in Costa Rica and Mexico. The California sighting is the farthest north that the turtles have been spotted building nests.

A number of theories are circulating as to why the turtles have built nests much farther north – one of them being the warmer waters triggered by El Niño.

The two nesting areas have been closed off to the public to protect the eggs, while multiple government agencies and organizations will monitor the nesting sites.

The olive ridley turtle female typically builds one to three nests each year, with each clutch averaging about 100 eggs. While the species is one of the smallest sea turtles, the olive ridley is one of the more abundant species.

NOAA says the public can help by reporting any West Coast sightings and avoiding the nesting sites.

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You’ve probably heard the global news that a new species of cat has been discovered, something that hasn’t happened for over a century. And while it took years for the little feline to be officially recognized in a published paper in Current Biology, not to mention state-of-the-art genomics, it’s nice to know that photography still had a huge role to play in the investigation.

In fact, if it wasn’t for photography, this new Bolivian species Leopardus tilcayo might still be undiscovered. While science certainly played its part, photography is threaded throughout this rather bushy little tale.

Biologist and National Geographic Explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz was quoted by National Geographic as taking “a hundred pictures,” when first encountering the wild cat in question at a sanctuary in Bolivia, and later using a photograph of another wild cat from a guidebook to discover that the new specimen’s markings were unique. From 19th-century scientific illustrations to Paola’s initial photographs of the little tiger cat, imaging always has and continues to be a key component of zoology.

The camera trap

But photography isn’t the be-all and end-all. Digital Camera World publishes a lot of stories about photography’s role in both wildlife and marine life research and conservation, but photography can’t always produce the evidence researchers need, which is where scientific processes such as genomics come in.

Nogales-Ascarrunz et al.’s paper highlights the limitations of photography in relation to identifying wild cats, specifically camera traps, explaining: “Prevalent misidentification highlights a key limitation of camera trapping methods”.

But I certainly don’t take that to mean that camera traps are useless. Camera traps are particularly useful at capturing elusive animals in hard-to-access areas or areas that might be entirely off limits for parts of the year. If you’re interested in how professionals use camera traps to document wildlife, I highly recommend watching The Wild Ones on Apple TV+. This series follows a trio of specialists, including camera trap expert Declan Burley, in search of some of the world’s most elusive species. The program goes into great detail about Declan’s methods for maximizing camera traps.

Cameras for wildlife enthusiasts

If you’re a wildlife enthusiast first and a photographer second, the cameras that I always recommend are bridge cameras like the Nikon Coolpix P1100 and Sony RX10 V. These all-in-one cameras look like serious DSLR or mirrorless cameras, but have fixed lenses. The Nikon Coolpix P1100 grants you a monstrous 35mm equivalent focal length of 24-3000mm, while the Sony RX10 V packs 24-600mm. While the Nikon wins on reach, the Sony wins on image quality and autofocus.

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A photographer has managed to capture an incredible moment between a dolphin and an octopus, in which the hapless mollusc was preyed upon by the mammal, identified as a Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus). According to the Wildlife Trusts, this distinctive species is identified by its bulbous forehead, lack of a beak, and scarred skin. They start life gray in color, but become increasingly white as they age.

Scotland is a UK hotspot, but they are seen further south, including the South West of England, which is where Bill Coulson photographed this particular encounter. Risso’s dolphins prey on octopus, but it’s the nature of this encounter that makes it so photo-worthy. Bill has managed to capture the octopus as it appears to straddle the predator, holding onto the tall, distinctive dorsal fin for dear life.

Vital research

But these aren’t just photographs of an incredible moment. According to the Marine Biological Association, they’re being used as vital evidence for research into an ongoing octopus bloom and its impact on marine life in Devon and Cornwall.

The images captured off Devon’s Berry Head were no accident. Bill Coulson is a member of the University of Exeter’s Risso’s Dolphin Project South West, which provides research and conservation for the charming species.

University of Exeter MSc researcher, Josh Symes, was quoted by the Marine Biological Association as stating: “These photographs offer a fascinating glimpse into the feeding ecology of Risso’s dolphins and the changing marine environment around our coasts (...) The images also highlight the value of citizen science, as observations from volunteers are helping us build a clearer picture of marine wildlife across the Southwest.”

This is an interesting point. Digital Camera World often reports on camera trap sightings, but photography has become so accessible, more and more amateur photographers such as Bill are providing a valuable service by documenting what they see.

Marine photography equipment

If you’re interested in photographing dolphins from the surface, an ethical, chartered trip might get you close enough for a few camera phone or compact camera snaps. But if you’re sighting marine life from the coast, you’ll be best served by using a long super-telephoto lens so you can bridge the gap. Even then, it depends on how far out to sea the marine life is. As such, I’d recommend working with a 600mm equivalent focal lens or even longer. Another option would be a bridge camera with a long optical zoom range.

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There's a good news story to be told about a remote island in the South Atlantic right now, even though you wouldn't think it from the news pages.

They're currently focused on threats from Argentina's president against oil companies drilling near the Falkland Islands, while Britain insists its military commitment to its overseas territory is unshakeable.

Tensions are visibly heightening, at least for the human inhabitants of the archipelago that Argentina attempted unsuccessfully to invade in 1982. On just shy of nine miles of grass and rock at the edge of that territory, however, one island is home to nothing but bird life.

And thanks to one good-hearted photographer, it seems to be doing pretty well.

The story starts, as these things often do, with environmental degradation. Whaling camps, penguin oil rendering, sheep and cattle farming, plus an army of introduced rats, cats and rabbits, had left the island's ecological balance in a precarious state.

Then, in 1972, English naturalist and photographer Ian Jon Strange, who'd been involved in Falklands conservation since the 1960s, teamed up with Falklands resident Roddy Napier to buy the island. And they just stopped it all.

Road to recovery

Whaling was ended. Farming was phased out. Livestock came off the land. The focus shifted to research and low-impact wildlife tourism. And the island's ecology was given room to recover.

Strange spent decades studying bird colonies, writing books (he published ten on the Falklands) and promoting eco-tourism and land protection. From 1982-2013 he was advisor to the Ministry of Defence and the British Forces in the Falklands on environmental matters, and was honored with an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 1992.

Today, five penguin species live on the island (including gentoo, southern rockhopper and Magellanic penguins) alongside other birds including black-browed albatrosses, imperial shags and white-chinned petrels.

Most strikingly, more than two million breeding pairs of thin-billed prions now nest on New Island; an incredible number for a strip of land less than nine miles long. The Falklands tourism board counts 39 breeding bird species in total, and the island now carries both Important Bird Area and Key Biodiversity Area status.

Strange's camera did as much to achieve this as his cash. Long before drone footage and David Attenborough's Netflix series, his photographs and books were busy building the case that Falklands wildlife was worth protecting.

He died in 2018, aged 84. Much of the work is now being taken on board by Falklands Conservation, a local-membership non-governmental organisation. And his legacy remains highly visible today.

New Island draws small numbers of wildlife photographers and researchers each year, most arriving on the same kind of expedition ships that once carried Strange's own images out into the world.

It's a rare thing: an island made famous by photography, saved partly because of it, and tough enough to reach that photographs are the only way most of us will ever experience it.

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Wildlife is one of the most popular forms of photography. It’s also a genre where having the latest and greatest camera gear, while not essential, really does help. And yet fast autofocus, zippy burst speeds, and high-resolution sensors mean nothing if you’re wrestling with your setup.

You see, we live in a world where photography has increasingly become about making things smaller, lighter, more compact. That was the whole point of the mirrorless era after all. But when it comes to wildlife photography, small cameras are often more of a hindrance than a help.

If you put even a moderately sized telephoto lens on a Nikon Zf, Panasonic Lumix S9, or Fujifilm X-E5, you’re going to struggle because the setup will be both too top-heavy and lacking enough grip. Controls might be an issue, too; wildlife photography is about reacting immediately, and if your camera doesn’t have enough physical controls to adjust your exposure settings in an instant, you’ll struggle.

That’s not to say you can’t use any of the aforementioned cameras for wildlife photography. But if you spend any amount of time capturing wildlife, unsuitable ergonomics will become an increasing problem.

What makes a good wildlife camera?

Obviously, every photographer is different. But generally, good wildlife ergonomics will include a camera that’s heavy enough to balance big lenses so they don’t feel top-heavy, along with a deep grip allowing for plenty of purchase. How big the camera is will depend on the size of your hands.

Some photographers may prefer a smaller, solid camera with a deep grip like the OM System OM-1 Mark II or the Fujifilm X-H2S, while those with larger hands may prefer a chunkier Canon EOS R5 Mark II or Nikon Z8, or an even chunkier Canon EOS R1 or Nikon Z9.

All of the aforementioned cameras also sport really well-placed physical dials and buttons, as well as plenty of customizable buttons so you can set up your camera in the most comfortable way possible.

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Check out the best cameras for wildlife photography and the best lenses for bird photography. Plus, here's the latest camera news.

Glance at this image momentarily and you get an instant sense of how this bird on the left is feeling. Fierce. Defiant. Ready to take on all comers.

That open beak, that unblinking stare. It has "apex predator readying for battle" written all over it. Well, that's what I thought anyway. Turns out I was totally wrong.

According to the Italian photographer who took it, Philipp Egger, "the open-beaked chick appears fierce, almost defiant, but the call is about hunger." No one is squaring up for a fight. Just asking for dinner.

The photograph, titled Born of Silence, won the Winged Life category at the California Academy of Sciences' 13th annual BigPicture: Natural World Photography Competition.

It shows two Eurasian eagle owl chicks at a nesting site near Prad am Stilfserjoch in Italy's South Tyrol; so close together their outlines briefly merge into one shape.

The importance of patience

Egger has photographed this same site across many consecutive generations of owls, which is how he got close enough to notice the contrast between the two siblings in the first place. And that contrast is certainly profound.

As Egger puts it: "The sibling seems withdrawn, eyes half closed, already embodying the calm intensity that defines the species. At this age, the birds are still covered in soft down, yet their features already carry the structure and presence of adult predators."

Observing the nesting site for so long has enabled Egger to study the owls’ behavior and rhythms. In this case, neither the chicks nor the adult birds were aware of his presence. And that's key: the birds weren't performing for the camera because, as far as they were concerned, there was no camera to perform for.

As a result, we end up with a picture of two clearly distinct personalities, rather than two startled animals reacting to an intruder.

Technical details

Egger shot this on a Nikon Z9 with a 400mm f/2.8 lens, but rather than opening that lens up wide – as most wildlife photographers would, to isolate a subject and blur the background – he stopped it down to f/22.

This was smart, enabling him to hold both owl faces sharp, given how close together they were and how easily a shot like this could fall apart if one chick's eyes drifted out of focus.

Even at f/22, the recorded depth of field at this focus distance was just 5cm, which shows how unforgiving long glass is even stopped almost all the way down. That both faces stay crisp within a window that narrow says much about Egger's positioning and timing.

That, in turn, speaks to Egger's patience. "I spend weeks, months, sometimes years in one place, waiting for that single moment when everything aligns," he says.

This depth is reflected in his photographs, which have been exhibited across the globe, as well as his work as a cinematographer for documentaries such as Universum, Austria's renowned nature and documentary TV series.

BigPicture: Natural World Photography Competition is run by the California Academy of Sciences. The winning and finalist images are currently on display at Cal Academy in San Francisco.

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What's the most work you've ever put in to getting the shot you desire? For Arctic photographer Audun Rikardsen, it took three years of planning, one motion sensor and a hole drilled through ice to get within touching distance of this dramatic, award-winning wildlife image.

A Seal's Last Sight has won the Grand Prize at the California Academy of Sciences' 13th annual BigPicture: Natural World Photography Competition. It was chosen from more than 7,400 entries submitted by photographers in 64 countries. And that's no great surprise.

This dramatic shot shows a polar bear peering through a seal's breathing hole in the drift ice north of Svalbard; a remote Norwegian archipelago that sits roughly midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

The effect is pretty startling: we're seeing exactly what a seal would see in its final seconds of life. It's a rare vantage point on one of nature's most majestic beasts, and one built on a lifetime of Arctic experience.

How he shot it

Polar bears hunt seals by waiting motionless at their breathing holes. So Rikardsen needed to find a hole that was actually being watched, then getting a camera into position without disturbing anything.

He'd wanted such a picture for years. After repeated failed attempts, he finally located a breathing hole with fresh bear tracks nearby.

He drilled through the ice, rigged his camera directly beneath the hole, attached a motion sensor, then began to wait. Eight hours later, at 4am, a bear arrived. It pushed its head through the thin layer of ice covering the hole, blew its nose, and stared straight into the lens.

Instead of moving on, though, it simply lay down and went to sleep, right above the submerged rig. Rikardsen had to wait another nine hours – adding up to 17 in total – before the bear finally wandered off and he could retrieve his camera rig.

Technical approach

If you're leaving a camera alone under Arctic ice for 17 hours, you want to keep things simple. Rikardsen employed a Canon EOS 6D, a full-frame DSLR that's over a decade old now, paired with Canon's EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM, a wide prime well suited to close-up, distortion-controlled encounters like this one.

He set it to f/9 with pattern metering and manual white balance, since there was nobody there to adjust anything once the bear turned up.

None of these technical details would have made a difference, of course, without his years of scouting and perseverance in some of the Earth's most challenging weather and terrain. Not to mention the willingness to sit through an animal's nine-hour Arctic nap.

So next time you're getting a bit tired and cold on a shoot, and wondering whether to call it a day, maybe ask yourself: what would Rikardsen do?

BigPicture: Natural World Photography Competition is run by the California Academy of Sciences. The winning and finalist images go on display at Cal Academy in San Francisco from September 10.

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South African photographer Chris Fallows became interested in wildlife when he was a youngster and started taking photographs of marine life when he was a teenager.

Best known for his photographs of great white sharks and marine animals, which are captured with a fine-art aesthetic, Fallows was runner-up in the General – Black & White category of 2025's Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) competition.

His low-angle black-and-white shot of a herd of elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park certainly chimed with the 'Power' theme of the awards.

Fallows' breakthrough photo was taken at sea, however, where he spends most of his time.

'Air Jaws', a great white shark breaching the waves at South Africa's Seal Island, was captured in 1996 and set him on the path to global recognition.

He prizes a minimalistic look and feel, and the resulting work lends itself to being displayed at scale – including public spaces like Times Square in New York City and Dubai International Airport.

Fallows sells large prints of his pictures, and invests the proceeds in conservation projects.

"Certain subjects are really strong for black-and-white photos," says Fallows. "On the ocean, I like to shoot into a choppy sea state that gives that mood and really powerful feel when you apply black and white processing to it."

Fallows spends a lot of time at sea, and we spoke to him following a spell working off the South African coast where he photographed 304 humpback whales in one day – a world record.

So let's find out more about the man, and his marine photography…

Find out more

Discover more about Chris and Monique Fallows' art and conservation work or to find ways to collaborate with them, go to www.chrisfallows.com or follow Chris on Instagram at @chrisfallowsphotography

Read more in Digital Camera magazine

A longer version of this interview appears in issue 311 (September 2026) of Digital Camera magazine.

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News in the UK has been aflutter this week with stories about the Montagu’s harrier – an elusive raptor species that has nested for the second year running in the same top-secret location, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Known to birders as “Monties”, these slender, pale-gray birds of prey have historically had low breeding pair numbers within the country, with a record high of 30 recorded in the 1950s.

Following a recent peak of 9 nests recorded in 2009, the population has declined with no pairs between 2020 and 2023, according to the RSPB.

The perilously low UK breeding numbers mean that the location of the new nest is being kept under wraps to stave hordes of avid birders from swarming. However, in Spain, these birds can be photographed reliably – albeit by obvserving “extreme” caution, say conservation groups.

According to the organization SEO BirdLife, when photographing Monties you should never approach or linger near a nest and should only take pictures via professional birding organizations operating specialized hides.

A recent study highlighted that, in 2017, Spain recorded the highest number of breeding Montagu's harriers within the European Union, at some 4,269-5,360. This represents a 27% decline from the previous 2006 recording, hence conservationists’ concerns.

Southwestern regions of Spain, such as Extremadura and La Janda, are known for being sighting hotspots. Though conservationists also warn that birders shouldn’t explore these areas in search of the birds alone without a trained guide.

As for within the UK, it’s unlikely that Monties’ numbers will become significant enough any time soon for it to become safe to photograph them. However, through ongoing conservation efforts from the likes of the RSPB, hopefully this will change in the long term.

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The Pallas’s cat may be a predator of nature, but it’s got to be one of nature’s cutest hunting animals. While famed for its grumpy facial expression, its rounded, low-set ears, uniquely round pupils and thick, bushy tail make it an extremely lovable grumpy feline.

Recently, one of these cats, which also happens to be highly elusive and whose population is largely unknown, was captured on camera by an Iranian nature enthusiast. Majid Batebi, who goes by Batebis online, used a camera trap to capture the footage of the feline near his home village of Dava in the highlands of Mazandaran province.

In the footage, we see the curiously cute yet still grumpy Pallas’s cat (known locally as “manul”) approach the trail camera before nimbly backing away. The footage clearly shows the size of the cat, which is typically around the same size as a domestic house cat – usually between 5-11 lbs (2-5 kg).

The high-quality images also highlight the cat’s thick fur, which happens to be the densest of any cat species on the planet, insulating it against extreme winter temperatures. While temperatures where Batebi recorded the footage in northern Iran can drop to -4°F (-20°C), Pallas’s cats have been observed in temperatures as low as -58°F (-50°C) in the Eurasian Steppe.

In his home province, Batebi has recorded a range of wildlife beyond Pallas’s cats using camera traps. In 2021, he recorded gray wolves and Bezoar ibex strolling the highlands against the backdrop of Mount Damavand. The dormant volcano stands at 18,410 feet (5,610m), making it the tallest in all of Asia.

At the end of the recent Pallas’s cat footage, the cute feline wanders back to the rock face behind it before climbing toward the edge of the camera frame, demonstrating its dainty rock-faring skills.

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I’m a sucker for a good nature documentary, but National Geographic’s new series Lion – which premiered this week – is something I’ve genuinely never seen before.

Directed by Jon Favreau – who also helmed Disney’s 2019 CG remake of The Lion King, along with Iron Man and The Mandalorian and Grogu – the new series follows the journey of a single lion cub over four years, with over a thousand filming days spent on Kenya’s Masai Mara savannah.

During this time, the small cub – nicknamed Kio – goes from fighting for survival to becoming leader of the pack, all of which is captured in incredible close-up detail using a full suite of traditional cameras and camera drones.

Favreau was a newbie to documentary filmmaking before embarking on the series, but he teamed up with Mike Gunton – a veteran BBC producer.

ABOVE: Watch the trailer for Lion

Gunton has worked on many of the BBC nature documentaries narrated by the legendary David Attenborough, such as Dynasties and Planet Earth – the ones that all of us have watched too many times to count (or is that just me?).

It was Gunton’s suggestion that Favreau and the team venture into the Masai Mara with drones, something that hadn’t really been done before. To achieve this, the team made use of local talent in Kenya, enlisting aerial cinematographer Anthony Njuguna to get shots with a DJI Inspire.

Favreau has discussed how the story of the series was discovered in the process of shooting and editing. The crew started by covering 50 lions with no idea of what the ultimate story was going to be, but found themselves increasingly drawn to Kio the cub as he battled the odds to survive on the unforgiving savannah.

Despite (or perhaps partly because of) having previously worked on a fully CG film, Favreau was drawn to the project in part by the prospect of creating something that was fully, 100% real.

"As we entered into this project, generative AI came online, and there’s a tremendous influx of content that you don’t know whether it’s authentic or not," he told National Geographic magazine.

"The notion of going out into the field and limiting ourselves to completely analog tools and telling an authentic story that feels real, I find that engaging right now, in contrast to how much out there is fabricated."

And just when I thought I couldn’t be any more excited, the score for the series is composed by the great Hans Zimmer – who also composed the music for Disney’s original The Lion King movie back in 1994 (as well as the likes Denis Villeneuve's Dune trilogy and Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy).

Lion is available to watch now on Disney Plus and Hulu.

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Various news outlets have reported on the moment that an influencer, Tayane Dalazen, was bitten by a nurse shark while swimming off the Brazilian coast. But according to the BBC, in under a year no fewer than three influencers have been attacked.

The report goes a step further by highlighting evidence from a journal that both influencers and photographers are less likely to follow safety instructions.

This doesn’t surprise me one bit – and I suspect it’s a similar case on land. Earlier in the year I wrote an article about an incident where a photographer chased an owl around a field and refused to stop.

This past week, news broke that a stag in London’s Richmond Park was shot after attacking a man having a picnic. This wasn’t a photography-related incident, but the nature reserve is notorious for guests getting too close to the wildlife. And that includes photographers.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there’s a reason why the best wildlife photography lenses tend to be the expensive telephoto and super-telephoto variety. These optics are built precisely to enable photographers to get close enough without having to physically encroach on the animal’s territory.

And even with super-long lenses, you can still end up bothering wildlife. Skittish species, animals with young or animals in season can be easily spooked or aggressive.

I’m not going to go into the ins and outs of wildlife ethics right now – it’s a very broad subject – but if you leave this article with one thing in your mind, let it be this: if the animal’s behavior has changed, you’re probably too close and should slowly back off.

To be fair to the influencer involved in the latest wildlife incident, she was on an organized shark-diving trip and the BBC did report that “she says she 'wasn't there for social media' and didn't touch or provoke the shark”. And footage of the incident posted on Tayane's Instagram (above) shows that she didn't have a phone or camera in hand.

But these stories need to be told and creatives need to be warned, in a bid to help avoid incidents like this happening in the future. Tayane ended up with a big gash on her leg, but thankfully it was nothing worse. And kudos to her for talking about the experience and warning others.

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For more photography news, horrific photograph of starving polar bear still stands out as stark warning this World Photography Day. Now you can play Doom on this 26-year-old DSLR! Is Panasonic ditching Micro Four Thirds? This YouTuber thinks that an APS-C L-Mount camera might be on the cards – and it could spell the end for MFT.

You need only to watch a single Sir David Attenborough wildlife documentary to know that nature isn’t fair.

But when renowned wildlife photographers, Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen, documented a severely malnourished polar bear during a SeaLegacy exhibition roughly nine years ago, it hit home hard – very hard.

The uncomfortable images and footage captured in August 2017 weren’t just another cruel example of the circle of life, but an image of one of Earth’s most magnificent creatures, reduced to a skeletal shadow of its former self. And depending on whom you asked, it was all our fault.

Cristina herself did explain in an Instagram post (above) that the cause of the bear’s state was impossible to tell. However, comparisons with climate change were inevitable.

Polar bears have long been used to raise awareness of melting glaciers, due to the impact to their habitat. And indeed, the image has been shared, once again, by @pawnewsnetwork with the headline: “The heartbreaking polar bear photo that changed how millions see climate change.”

In a world where questions are being raised regarding the impact of AI on the environment, images such as this are hugely important in raising awareness about the potential wider impact on our planet's species.

When photography can sometimes seem less relevant than it ever has done, instances like this are a stark reminder of the staying power of great imagery.

Even in this age of video, I still believe that a single frame carries more weight. There’s no lead up to the decisive moment, no lingering afterwards, it’s simply there, for the viewer to see whether they like it or not.

What Cristina and Paul captured that day is some of the most visceral, evocative and heartwrenching wildlife imaging I’ve ever seen. As soon as I was assigned this article, I could see an image of the polar bear in my mind’s eye before I even clicked on the link.

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Check out the best camera for wildlife photography. Plus, “I started screaming because I know what shelling looks like” – dolphin photographed performing extremely rare behavior. Photographer paddled a kayak to the edge of the continental shelf and waited. The feeding frenzy that emerged reminds us: the best wildlife shots come from watching, not chasing.

In a world where many creatives are facing an increasingly uncertain future, it’s nice to be reminded that – in many cases – traditional photography is still as vital as ever.

And while scientific research might not be the first thing that comes to mind, I am constantly reporting on the craft’s role in documenting rare wildlife encounters.

A recent interaction between researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast and bottlenose dolphins is a prime example.

The encounter happened at Queensland Australia’s Great Sandy Marine Park, between July and October 2025, where a research team led by Dr Alexis Levengood captured imagery of a behavior known as 'shelling'.

The behavior is so rare that it's only been published once before, but this is the first time it's been officially recorded on the east coast of Australia.

According to Dr Levengood, “we spotted a dolphin raising something large out of the water. I started screaming because I know what shelling looks like”.

The animal behavioralist and marine mammal expert explained that the dolphins use 'shelling' to hunt for fish; the shell becomes an implement in which to trap prey. The mammals then shake the makeshift tool on the surface until their prize slides into their jaws.

I'm no marine life expert, but I am an avid wildlife lover and I certainly had no idea that dolphins did this.

To make matters even more interesting, the researchers observed both an adult female and its calf engaging in the behavior, leading them to deduce that the juvenile had learned from its mother.

You can see the remarkable behavior being exhibited in the footage below:

“Our footage provides the first potential evidence of maternal social transmission – a process by which offspring learn behaviour by observing the actions of its mother,” said Dr Levengood. “It challenges the belief that dolphins learn this tool use from their peers.”

In a world of hobbyist and professional photographers aiming to capture the very best photos possible, it can be easy to forget that imaging is also used purely for surveillance, observation and documentation.

It’s not about capturing an attractive image, it’s about clearly capturing the moment for posterity.

If you’re a wildlife enthusiast first and a photographer second, and are looking for a camera to complement your bird or wildlife-watching setup, I’d buy this monster $1000 all-in-one bridge camera.

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This extraordinary image shot by Allan Cronin wasn't down to dumb luck. Now announced as a finalist in the Wildlife category of this year's Ocean Photographer of the Year, Cronin had been closely watching the local wildlife. And that tipped him off to what might be about to happen.

A fur seal gets firm hold of a New Zealand rough skate, flinging it clear of the water in a burst of spray, while a crowd of seabirds shows up for whatever falls their way. The scene is chaotic, visceral and a reminder that nature is not all bunnies and rainbows but, as the poet Tennyson once put it, red in tooth and claw.

It's a terrific picture, and a tribute to the patience of the photographer. Cronin – an ex-electrician turned whale watching guide and skipper – was just offshore from Kaikōura, on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. He paddled close to the edge of the continental shelf and simply waited.

"We kept a close eye on the fur seals and the birds waiting for a moment like this," he recalls. "The fur seals are incredible predators and very messy eaters, which causes much competition between the seabirds as they jostled to be closest to the action. But not too close, in case the seal feels like adding a side dish."

How it was taken

Cronin shot on a Sony A6600 with a 70-350mm zoom at 113mm, giving a 35mm-equivalent focal length of around 169mm; useful reach for staying back from a feeding frenzy without losing the action.

He locked in a shutter speed of 1/2500 sec – more than fast enough to freeze water droplets mid-air and stop a thrashing skate from blurring into a smear – while f/6.3 and ISO500 proved reliable settings for bright open water with plenty of light to spare.

Manual exposure throughout suggests he wasn't leaving the camera to guess at a scene with this much contrast between dark seal, pale fish and white spray.

Ultimately, though, what made the image a success wasn't luck so much as a local who understood the food chain well enough to predict it. The seabirds gave away the location, the shutter speed handled the violence of the moment, and the kayak kept Cronin close enough to matter without becoming part of the story himself.

It's all a reminder that some of the most dramatic wildlife photographs come down to two simple, unglamorous skills. Namely, knowing where to look and having the patience to keep looking.

The Ocean Photographer of the Year contest draws thousands of entries from photographers around the world, across categories including Fine Art, Conservation Impact, Conservation Hope, Human Connection, Adventure and the new Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds.

Winners will be announced in September. The award is presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain.

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An image of a very uncommon and venomous snake appeared on Facebook on August 01, photographed at Singapore’s MacRitchie Reservoir. But would-be photographers or reptile enthusiasts are being warned not to approach or disturb the potentially dangerous species.

Judging by the Facebook comments, there seems to be some confusion as to whether the snake is poisonous or venomous and just how much of a danger it poses to humans. However, this has been cleared up by experts.

According to the Straits Times, the National Parks Board confirmed that the elusive reptile is both poisonous and venomous. The former refers to animals that secrete toxins when touched or ingested, while the latter requires toxins to be injected into the body via a bite.

The same news outlet quoted Dr Alex Figueroa of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, who stated: “The species is known to be venomous, so any handling should be left to experts”.

Judging by the photographs from Mat Chay, a fairly wide-angle lens was used – probably belonging to a camera phone. This would likely require getting closer to the reptile than is advised.

That’s why dedicated wildlife photographers rely on telephoto lenses and supertelephoto lenses, as well as the best trail cameras, allowing them to photograph subjects from a safe distance.

But as is often the case with wildlife photography, keeping a safe distance isn’t just about human safety. Some commenters on Facebook have noted that the reptile appears to have been in the process of ingesting a frog, which is a common form of prey for the species.

One concerned commenter stated: “Disturb the snake at this point and it will spit the carcass out then slither away hungry. Hope nobody denied it its meal.”

Thankfully, that’s what groups like Singapore Wildlife Sightings are for. Posts like Mat’s offer valuable insight into the country's biodiversity, while inviting others to offer advice that will hopefully keep humans (and snakes) sss-afe and sss-sound.

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Want to be a better wildlife photographer? Check out my 10 tips for wildlife photography. Plus, photographer chases owl around field and refuses to stop. This is why we need to talk more about wildlife photography ethics! And finally, here are the best cameras for wildlife.

Drones have unlocked a completely new human perspective of the world. However, something we were yet to see from our technological bird's-eye view was the moment a humpback whale brought its newborn into the watery world.

That was until July 28, when photographer Alexander Forrest became the first to capture the once-in-a-lifetime event with his drone off the north coast of New South Wales, Australia.

While carrying out aerial observations of migrating humpback whales for the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA), he noticed one of the whales acting strangely.

“Between the southbound and northbound migrators, one whale stood out – a lone adult, travelling in the shallows at a very slow speed,” he said in an Instagram post.

“The whale suddenly rose toward the surface, so I hit record – any breath is a chance to capture a unique behavior.”

Alexander Forrest/ORRCA (@forrestfov)

ABOVE: The rare moment a humpback calf 'jets' from its mother to the surface, taking its first breaths

However, the female humpback wasn’t short of breath, coming to the surface to deliver her calf. “It was extraordinary – my adrenaline was through the roof, and it echoes into the footage,” he said.

The video captured a plume of blood erupting from the female humpback, which was the moment Alex zoomed in with the drone camera. Then, moments later, a pale calf “jetted” to the surface taking its first breaths before reuniting with mother.

Upon realizing what he’d just witnessed, Alex contacted ORRCA and was shortly joined by fellow drone pilots from the organization. The group continued documenting the mother and calf’s behavior until sunset, with the ORRCA team back at HQ staying in touch over the phone.

As only the fourth sighting of a humpback whale giving birth ever recorded, Alex said his footage will aid research into how the species reproduces, maternal behavior and the initial stages of a calf’s life.

“It’s a privilege to have witnessed such a remarkable moment, and even more rewarding to know it may contribute to marine mammal science for years to come.”

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Back in 2022, researchers in Papua New Guinea, with the vital help of the local community, made an important rediscovery for wildlife conservation. Through the use of camera traps, they recorded footage of a black-naped pheasant-pigeon. Known locally as Auwo, this bird species that hadn't been seen by humans since its first discovery in 1882, some 140 years earlier.

Now, footage showing the moment of rediscovery, recorded by the researchers themselves, has gone viral four years later. The heartwarming video, captured by study co-lead Jordan Boersma of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, shows the ecstatic scene of his colleague, local biologist Doka Nason, jumping for joy at what the trail camera had picked up.

In the video, you can hear both Boersma and Nason repeatedly saying the name “Auwo” in disbelief, with Boersma later recalling he felt like he'd been “confronted by an image of a mythical creature.”

The black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps insularis) is a rare, quirky ground-dwelling bird native to Fergusson Island in Papua New Guinea. While classified in the pigeon and dove family, it looks and behaves like a pheasant.

It features a mix of iridescent green, bronze, and black plumage with a distinctive solid black nape on the back of its neck, and has a flattened, bobbing tail and long legs adapted for walking.

The researchers, also co-led by John C. Mittermeier, director of the American Bird Conservancy's Search for Lost Birds Program, had already been on Fergusson Island for a month, making the rediscovery just two days before the expedition was due to end. Mittermeier later described the event as “the kind of moment you dream about your entire life as a conservationist and birdwatcher.”

While an incredible story of conservation. And the endearing footage of Nason over the moon at the continued existence of the black-naped pheasant-pigeon is also a testament to how important endemic wildlife species are to Indigenous communities.

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John C Miitermeir and the Search for Lost Birds was also involved in a 2026 re-discovery of the blue-fronted lorikeet, a small endemic parrot found only on the island of Buru, Indonesia, not seen in 100 years.

I recently came across Life At The Edge, a photobook on the rugged Caithness coastline in northeastern Scotland, by local resident Ken Crossan.

After delving a little deeper into his work, I found out that Ken’s photos, which typically depict the flora and fauna of his home county, have also been recognized in competitions on both the national and international stage.

In fact, Ken recently snagged a 2025 Scottish Nature Photography Award (SNPA), has been recognized by the British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA), and gained an honorable mention in none other than the 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards.

As humble as they come, Ken would consider himself a natural historian well before an award-winning photographer. However, his photographic accolades are impressive, and I couldn't resist reaching out for his tips and tricks.

Ken's equipment

Ken is a Nikon shooter through and through. His go-to camera body is the Nikon Z8 and his lenses include:

• Nikkor 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3
• Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8
• Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8
• Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8
• Nikkor 105mm f/2.8

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Ever wonder what the ocean looks like from a shark's perspective? New research on whale sharks is disrupting what science understands about the 20-ton giants – and creating mesmerizing footage in the process.

Whale sharks – filter-feeding sharks that get their name from their whale-like size – have largely been observed from the surface, but researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science and Murdoch University asked a key question: what do whale sharks do when no one is watching?

Electronic tags have long been used to study animal behavior, but for this study, researchers used tags with a small camera built in. The tags were designed to fall off after 24 hours, so the researchers could then locate the tag’s signal and retrieve the footage.

The group attached the small tags to the dorsal fin (the top fin) of five juvenile whale sharks near the Ningaloo Reef off Western Australia.

Combining the footage with previous observations, the team built what they’re calling the largest catalog of the shark’s behavior to date – particularly on the animals' feeding patterns.

One of the key findings that the cameras uncovered is that whale sharks don’t predominantly feed near the surface as first thought. Cameras showed the creatures sinking with open mouths to catch a snack, as well as feeding towards the surface.

The cameras also demonstrated that whale sharks actually have a wide variety of approaches to feeding. During the 24 hours the researchers watched the whales, they spent most of their time in what the researchers called “low-effort” feeding behaviors before switching to more active feeding when locating a larger swarm of krill. Researchers described the behavior as akin to humans snacking while trying to decide what to cook for dinner.

The data is opening up insight into why whale sharks are able to survive in tropical areas where prey can sometimes be inconsistent. Researchers are hopeful that further similar studies using cameras could shed additional light on the ocean’s gentle giants.

The research was published in the journal Marine Biology.

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As a photographer I'm always striving to level up my images, but researchers are warning bird photographers that one way to "improve" a bird photo may actually end up contaminating valuable citizen scientist databases with misleading data.

In a recent op-ed from the journal Nature, researchers from citizen science databases including iNaturalist and the Macaulay Library told a startling story of a Red-Winged Blackbird found well outside its usual range in Brazil.

The problem? The bird was actually a common Epaulet Oriole but, when the photographer asked an AI platform to "improve this photo", AI removed the bird's yellow coloring, making it look like an entirely different species.

While fake wildlife images are already littering social media platforms, the altered images' existence inside these so-called citizen scientist platforms could have serious implications, as researchers will use the sightings reported from hobbyist birders to monitor a species' habitat and patterns.

The image that the researchers used as an example wasn’t from an internet trickster, but rather from a birder who didn’t realize the implications of asking an AI platform to "improve this photo".

GenAI platforms often don't edit a photo in the traditional sense, like improving contrast, exposure and color. Instead, some GenAI photo editors regenerate, turning a real photograph into a generated image. In the world of birding, the AI can introduce subtle 'enhancements' that actually change the identification of the bird entirely.

"AI image processing tools are now ubiquitous, and there is a pressing need to educate contributors of the problems that image manipulation can cause for the scientific record," the researchers wrote.

A growing number of photo editing apps can now use AI to help novices edit photos without the usual know-how. But the apps don’t always make it clear when AI is editing and when it is regenerating pixels – and many don’t come with an option to turn the AI features off.

The researchers call for the citizen scientist platforms to integrate AI detection algorithms – some of which have already been implemented, such as recent changes to iNaturalist. But the large number of different GenAI platforms can make detection challenging.

For birders, the message is clear: don't use GenAI to share wildlife sightings on community platforms for sharing sightings.

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As a professional portrait and wedding photographer, I’m constantly trying to one-up myself, to make the next gallery of photographs even better than the last. But, there’s one genre that I will continue to shoot even if I’m absolutely terrible at it: wildlife photography.

I don’t consider myself a professional wildlife photographer, which is perhaps why heading out to a nature preserve with my camera feels liberating. There’s no pressure to get a perfect shot, there are no wedding timelines and there are no unwilling family members to contend with.

Heck, it’s highly likely that the “subject” may never even show up for the photo shoot at all, wildlife being, well, wild. It’s just me, my camera, and (possibly) some nature.

Wildlife photography is my form of self-care. Perhaps a spa day might be a better form of self-care than hauling the heaviest lenses on a multi-mile hike, and yet, I emerge from the woods sweaty, muscles aching, but a smile plastered on my face.

My use of wildlife photography as self-care dates back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when my usual escapes were all shut down at the same time that I had virtual school placed on top of an already precariously balanced to-do list.

I very quickly realized that if I am both a better mother and a better artist if I take the time to step away and spend some time outside. My creative brain needs time to wander aimlessly, bored, and there’s no better place than a walk through the woods (or a row on the lake).

Sometimes, I head out on a wildlife shoot and I never see anything more exciting than the typical birds that surround my bird feeder at home. Sometimes, I see unusual wildlife and I’m not fast enough to bring my camera up to my eye, so I shoot empty branches instead.

And yes, sometimes I do get some wildlife shots that I’m proud of.

I turned both of my creative hobbies – writing and photography – into a career. But I think every professional artist needs a creative outlet that doesn’t come with the pressures of a creative career. For me, that outlet is wildlife photography.

Even if the subject never shows up, I’m more grounded, my brain more apt to think outside the box, with some time in the woods with my camera.

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Sitting at my desk, a flash of movement outside my window caught my eye. When I looked up, my hands reflexively went for my wildlife photography gear. Right outside my cabin, a flock of cedar waxwings decided to feast on the moths, mayflies, and dragonflies right outside my window.

I’ve always loved cedar waxwings because their wings look impossibly smooth, almost plastic. But perhaps even more importantly for wildlife photography, the birds didn’t seem to mind at all at a human presence, darting right over my head to catch bugs in mid-air.

Birds are the great equalizer in wildlife photography. I can’t photograph a wild giraffe or monkey without a plane ticket. But, from the pigeons on a New York City apartment balcony to cardinals at a country bird feeder to puffins in the Arctic, birds are nearly everywhere.

Sometimes, I plan my wildlife photo hikes – which I often use as a much-needed mental health break – well in advance. I research the best spots and rearrange my schedule so that I can head out when wildlife tends to be the most active.

But other times, wildlife photography opportunities present themselves when I least expect. I’ve often longed for my wildlife gear when spotting a bird that I haven’t photographed before in a grocery store parking lot.

I can’t count the times that I wish I weren’t driving when I spotted wildlife, like the kestrel I saw scoop up a field mouse or the eagle that swooped right out of the fog towards me one morning, his wings feeling nearly as large as my windshield.

I consider myself only a hobbyist wildlife photographer (because when you turn both of your creative passions into a career, something needs to remain a sacred hobby). Thankfully, the cedar waxwings were enjoying the feast of bugs in my yard for more than an hour. That gave me the opportunity to watch, wait, and try for some action shots.

I wasn’t quite fast enough to get the birds swooping midair, but I managed to photograph a few wings poised in mid-flight, along with a few bugs clutched in beaks. A bald eagle even flew overhead while I was out photographing the cedar waxwings.

I walked back in the door, memory card bursting, and a smile plastered on my face – sometimes it’s the most unexpected photo shoots that bring the most joy.

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Triggered emotions are the sign of a successful photograph – and I was reminded of this when I stumbled across photographs of a 55-year-old circus elephant, Badsha Bahadur. The photographs of the now rescued elephant are heartbreaking to see, but also prove the power that photos, videos, and social media can play.

Videos of Badsha’s condition went viral on social media earlier this month – and it’s those videos that sparked a rescue for the aging animal. Authorities rescued the 55-year-old elephant from Naogaon, and the elephant is now undergoing treatment at the Bangladesh National Zoo.

Photographs show the elephant receiving care from a team of veterinary specialists, yet at the same time reveal the extent of the animal’s injuries, which included an injured leg as well as a broken and infected tusk.

Photographer Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury, working for NurPhoto, captured this collection of images using Nikon Z9 and Z8 cameras, showing both the elephant’s emaciated appearance and close-ups of the textured skin marred by sores.

The veterinary team and authorities were able to rescue the animal, however, thanks to videos circulating on social media that revealed the elephant’s condition. Authorities said that the elephant’s previous owner had been unable to afford the cost of treatment and upkeep.

Elephants are critically endangered in Bangladesh. Last year, efforts of conservation groups led to new orders that made capturing the young elephants for use in the logging and circus industry illegal.

Badsha Bahadur is about 55 years old, authorities said. Asian elephants’ lifespan is around 70 years in the wild and around 80 years in captivity with proper care.

Bangladesh National Zoo, located in the country’s capital, Dhaka, is the largest zoo in the country and is operated by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. According to the zoo’s website, the facility houses more than 2,000 animals from 165 different species.

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There’s a video doing the rounds on social media showing a group of wildlife photographers coming within just meters of a puma in the Torres del Paine National Park (Chilean Patagonia), and it’s causing quite a ruckus.

On one side, you’ve got those pointing the finger at the photographers and their guide for what appears to be a major encroachment on the puma’s territory. And on the other there are the photographers who appear in the videos themselves and their supporters saying it was, in fact, the animal who flouted the boundaries.

Having watched the video myself, it's clear that the animal approaches the group, but I’m still siding with the finger-pointers. Why? Because the group – and their guide for that matter – broke the rules. One broken rule leads to another, which we all know creates a slippery slope towards worsening wildlife photography practices, like idiot tourists trying to take selfies with animals…

Above: the viral video shared by Guillermo

Torres del Paine National Park authority clearly states a minimum distance of 50m between animals and people (the rules are in Spanish, so have your translator ready, if need be). And in the video that went viral, which was shared on Instagram by a photographer, Guillermo, who was there that day, we see this rule go out the window.

What we don't see in this video, but which we do in a longer sequence from that day captured by fellow group member and photographer, Belen Etchegaray, is that the puma slowly made its way toward the group, not the other way around, which she says lets them off the hook.

But I still don't buy it. With all due respect, Belen and her crew must hold themselves to higher standards. That 50m minimum distance I mentioned before? Well, the national park also states that it's the tourists' responsibility to maintain it, even if the animal is the one closing the gap.

If anything, Belen’s video is the smoking gun that convicts the group as the guilty party, not the puma, as in none of the frames do the people make any attempt at distancing themselves from the wild cat.

Above: the full sequence shared by Belen Etchegaray

Admittedly, the puma, Diana, who’s well-known to guides thanks to a recognizable cut on her left ear, seemed quite unbothered by the group's presence. In the clips you can clearly see she’s on the hunt for something that’s out of frame, which explains why she’s so unfazed by the humans.

You may now think this works in the group's favor. Nope, in fact, it condemns them even more in my eyes! If the animal is on the hunt, then Torres del Paine is even stricter, stating that the minimum distance extends to 100m.

Call me a bore, but the rules are the rules, and the group didn't take the precautions they promised to when they entered the national park. It doesn't matter if the minimum distance to be kept by photographers is 50m, 100m, or 1000m, these rules are to protect the animals we love while still enabling us to enjoy our beloved craft.

Guillermo, Belen, and the rest of the group seemingly made no effort to backtrack and give Diana the 100m of space she was owed. Flouting rules like these sets a dangerous precedent for animals in wildlife photography hotspots everywhere, not just Torres del Paine National Park.

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Snow leopards are one of, if not the, most difficult big cats to spot thanks to their perilous habitats and shadowy movements. These cats typically live at altitudes between 3,000 to 4,500 meters across Central and South Asia, meaning researchers, who’ve nickanmed them the “Ghosts of the Mountains” often have their work cut out.

However, over the years, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has partnered with local conservation efforts to help restore populations of the big cat, in the process drip-feeding images to the public from their trail cams.

The latest photos to appear on WWF’s social channels have come from an ongoing survey which began in 2022 to document the elusive mountain cats across 10 high-altitude regions in China, including the Wolong National Nature Reserve (Sichuan Province) and the Sanjiangyuan National Park (Qinghai Province).

Since then, the network of cameras has captured more than 600 photos of snow leopards and recorded 157 separate sightings, shedding new light on the species’ population, of which only 22% is estimated to have been documented by researchers.

While snow leopards remain largely out of human sight high up in the mountains, the researchers hope the passive infrared (PIR) cameras, which can function in temperatures as low as -40°C, will reveal greater numbers of these cats than previously known.

Along with capturing snow leopards, the current survey has also snapped pictures of other high-altitude species, including foxes and takins – large, stocky mammals native to the eastern Himalayas that look like a cross between a bison and a moose.

WWF hasn’t mentioned when the current survey will come to an end, so hopefully there will be more snow leopard and other wildlife pictures shared over the coming months too.

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At the beginning of the year, I set the cat firmly among the pigeons when I claimed that I only recommend the ‘Big Three’ camera brands for serious wildlife photography: Canon, Nikon and Sony. As you can imagine, Micro Four Thirds camera (MFT) photographers were not happy.

So, Luke from OM System got in touch with me and offered to lend me some kit so I could put my money where my mouth was. Cue the arrival of the flagship OM System OM-1 Mark II and the mighty ‘Big White’ M.Zuiko 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25X IS Pro, as well as the M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS and M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO. Lucky me!

Determined to put the kit through its paces, I headed off to wetland wildlife reserve WWT Slimbridge and the Hawk Conservancy Trust in a bid to photograph some of the most challenging wildlife subjects on Earth: birds. So, read on to find out why I hold my hand up and admit that I was so very, very wrong about MFT. Just don’t expect a puff piece – I’m not ready to give up my full-frame kit just yet…

Wildlife photography weight saving

MFT is renowned for the small size and light weight of its cameras and lenses. But in my review of the ‘Big White’ 150-400mm f/4.5, I called it a bit of an oxymoron. That’s because it’s a 12.4in long, 1,875g behemoth. Still, compare it to a full-frame 600mm f/4 lens and it’s a minnow. It’s also the largest MFT lens on the market, aimed squarely at sports and wildlife professionals.

The M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS is just eight inches long and 1,102g, with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO measuring 6.3in and weighing 880g. To put that into perspective, every MFT lens on the market (even the ‘Big White’) is smaller and lighter than the Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR. And while the OM System OM-1 Mark II is very small and light for a flagship camera, it’s not so prominent that longer lenses feel unbalanced, which is a good thing in my book.

I’m no stranger to heavy kit. I’ve owned a Nikon D800, Nikon D850 and Nikon Z8, and as I get older and my back becomes more temperamental, the weight of my kit is something I’m becoming more and more aware of. Most camera gear seems manageable when you pluck it off the shelf in an air-conditioned store and wave it around for a few minutes. You’ve got to imagine yourself in blistering heat, trudging your way up a gravel track to get to that secluded hide. Or standing on a cliff-top, capturing pan after pan of soaring seabirds.

And indeed, while walking around with my OM System kit, I couldn’t quite believe that I was packing two super-telephoto and one telephoto lens, plus a flagship camera. My own personal Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR is so long, a lot of camera bags are too small for me to pack it with a camera attached. No such problem here. For hide photography I do prefer to use some kind of support, be it a tripod, monopod, or beanbag, but the M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS, especially, is an absolute joy to stroll around with.

Even the ‘Big White’ is easy to cart about. And doing so netted me my favorite image of this little project. I was leaving a hide, ‘Big White’ in hand, when a sparrowhawk landed in a tree, right in front of me (above). I couldn’t believe my luck! I simply raised the M.Zuiko 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25X IS Pro, took full advantage of its huge 800mm effective focal length and squeezed off a burst. No cropping needed.

If you’re physically unable to lug around heavy kit, know that it will impact your enjoyment, or even become a wildlife photography barrier, you simply cannot put a price on MFT’s weight-saving properties. However, it comes with a bit of a caveat: image quality.

How good is MFT image quality?

At the epicentre of MFT’s weight-saving strategy is its 4/3 sensor, which measures 17.3 × 13mm, roughly half the dimensions of a full-frame sensor (36 × 24mm) and roughly ¼ of the surface area, while also being smaller than an APS-C sensor (23.5 x 15.6mm).

This results in what tends to be a combination of lower resolutions and smaller photosites resulting in more noticeable noise, which means MFT images tend not to hold up to extreme cropping as well as their APS-C and full-frame counterparts. The flip side is that 2x crop factor, which means you’re effectively doubling your lens’s given focal length. In practice, this is often a big advantage, but there's one situation where it's more of a hindrance. Let me explain…

So, the big plus point here is that you can fill the frame with your subject, while standing further back. This means you’re less likely to stress or scare wildlife, or better your chances when restricted to a hide. But, this advantage is curtailed somewhat because it leaves you far less room for cropping.

A lot of photographers will tell you to get it right in camera. It’s sound advice, but doesn’t always work out in practice. Wildlife and sports photographers, in particular, often rely upon cropping simply because they cannot get close enough to the subject. This levels the playing field somewhat when it comes to high-resolution full-frame cameras that can be cropped significantly.

If you’re shooting at 400mm on a full-frame camera, you can crop to the point that you can end up with a similar field of view as an MFT camera (800mm), but a 45.7MP or 60MP sensor will still leave you with less resolution than a 20.4MP MFT sensor. However, the margins are fine and the advantage with extensive cropping is that you get more control over your composition. If you’re capturing slower wildlife or wildlife portraits then I think getting it right in camera is definitely what you should be aiming for and in this context the extended reach of an MFT setup can work to your advantage.

But I spent a lot of time capturing birds in flight during the Hawk Conservancy Trust’s excellent flying displays and what I found out was that even though I could get much closer to the subjects using my OM System camera, I was missing more shots. The reason is simple, the larger the subject is in the frame, the less room you have for error.

When the subject is an erratic bird, you really do need to pull back slightly to give yourself some wiggle room and help prevent unintentionally cropped wing tips, beaks, etc. So, while MFT gives you the advantage when capturing portraits or slower subjects, a high-resolution full-frame camera wins for extreme action such as birds in flight.

OM System OM-1 Mark II: Suitable for wildlife?

I really enjoyed using the OM System OM-1 Mark II. After all, Digital Camera World’s resident MFT fanatic, James Artaius, awarded it five stars in his review. For starters, it’s a fantastic price. It’s an expensive camera, but you can find it for under $2,000 / £2,000, which is enthusiast-camera prices for flagship technology. What really surprised me, though, is the camera’s ergonomics.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the OM-1 Mark II is the most comfortable camera I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. The grip feels just right, your thumb naturally rests on the ISO button and your left hand is free to alter the AF mode or burst speed without ever moving your eye away from the viewfinder. I was using my Nikon Z8 on the day to compare and the OM-1’s AF isn’t as good as the Nikon’s, but you’re talking about a more expensive, larger and heavier camera.

Do I still recommend ONLY the ‘Big Three’ for wildlife photography?

I guess I’m recommending the ‘Big Four’ for wildlife photography now. ‘Big Five’ if you include Panasonic’s wildlife-worthy Lumix G9 II. I still stand by my original article in that if someone were looking for the very best wildlife photography setup money can buy, I’d lead them down the full-frame route. But if budget or your back is a concern or if you’re a hobbyist who really doesn’t need to be buying the cream of the pro-grade crop, then Micro Four Thirds is not only a solution, its unique advantages mean that it’s not even a sub-par option. It’s just a different option.

My feeling is that it really comes into its own when photographing almost any wildlife that isn’t birds in flight. The extended reach increases your chances of getting it right in camera, making it a fantastic system for wildlife reserve trips or safaris. However, I still think the ability to widen your framing and crop in post is the better choice when capturing birds in flight.

But that’s what’s great about the photography industry today; there really is a system for everyone. So don’t let me or anyone else tell you that Micro Four Thirds isn’t an ideal fit for wildlife photography. If it meets your budget and saves your back, it’s the system for you. Right then, Fujifilm photographers. Come at me!

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If you're interested in capturing better animal pics, here are my top 10 tips for wildlife photography from birds in flight to insect close-ups. Ethics are a huge part of wildlife photography: I’ve attended baited wildlife photography workshops – is it ever okay to bait or should you always patiently wait? Photographer chases owl around field and refuses to stop. This is why we need to talk more about wildlife photography ethics.

Macro photography is recognizable by its characteristic shallow depth of field and tight framing. In the majority of close-up images, a single subject is isolated in the frame, with a sharp falloff in focus in front of and behind the subject.

This type of composition is fantastic for highlighting details and creating a bug’s-eye perspective. However, there are disadvantages to the macro point of view, namely a removal of context – a limit to situational coverage.

Sometimes we want to show how our subject fits into the environment beyond the frame edges, to tell our viewers a little more about it. And photomerging can provide an answer.

Traditionally, panoramas are associated with landscape photography – yet the widescreen format can lend a unique style to macro. Due to the specific challenges of the genre, however, we must adapt our approach to the shooting process.

As we will be rotating the camera, it's critical to observe the effect on focus placement and make adjustments. Fine control over focusing and exposure is necessary to produce an effective, engaging and successfully merged panoramic view.

For this technique, try using both a true macro lens and a telephoto zoom with a close-up function to see which gives more manageable results.

6 pro shooting steps

1. Set camera height

Start by lowering the tripod so that the camera is aimed at the subject from 90°. This reduces the impact of parallax issues during image stitching and increases depth of field over the subject.

2. Perform test pan

Decide exactly how much of the scene you want to cover and calculate where to start and end your pan movement, as well as how many images this may take to complete.

3. Lock exposure

Find the ideal exposure, then lock in these settings by switching to manual mode and entering the shutter speed and aperture values. This prevents brightness from changing between segments.

4. Focus first segment

Zoom in using Live View to focus the first segment. Here the subject was not visible in the first image, so the distance between it and the camera had to be measured and the focus estimated.

5. Pan and refocus

Shoot the first image and rotate the camera to shoot the second. Ensure the focus position is kept at the same distance relative to the camera to maintain sharpness over the subject.

6. Repeat and stitch

Using a smaller f-number will minimize focus changes between images, but you may need to reshoot several times to perfect focus placement. Turn on focus peaking to visualize the focal plane.

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A wildlife photographer has just been shortlisted for the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year (AGNPOTY) 2026 for his dreamy underwater image of a seahorse so rare that scientists say it is classified as “data deficient”.

Lewis Burnett photographed the elusive tiger snout seahorse meandering among a hypnotic coral growth bursting with soft, pastel blues, pinks and orange colours.

This seahorse is rarely seen in the wild – so much so that according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which documents animal species at risk of extinction, there isn't enough data to categorize its status.

The tiger snout seahorse is entirely endemic to Western Australia, living between the Abrolhos Islands and Rockingham, making them difficult to observe.

They are rarely logged in science databases; seahorse researchers have noted that, out of hundreds of seahorse observations, only a tiny fraction are tiger snouts.

“This site is known for spectacular soft coral growths, so I was able to photograph this iconic species with a background that does them justice,” Burnett told AGNPOTY.

He used a Sony A1 camera with a Nikon Nikonos RS 13mm f/1.8 fisheye lens to capture the scene, opting for a 1/80 shutter speed, f/13 aperture and ISO 400.

The fantastic image of the tiger snout seahorse will now battle it out with 99 other finalist images to be crowned the overall winner of Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2026, taking home AU$10,000 (approximately $6,900 / £5,200) and receiving widespread recognition.

Hosted by the Southern Australian Museum (Adelaide), the competition accepts images showcasing natural flora, fauna, land/seascapes, or celestial objects within the ANZANG (Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and New Guinea) bioregion.

In 2025, the coveted title of Nature Photographer of the Year went to Ross Gudgeon (Australia) for his truly unique image of a cauliflower soft coral.

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