The common notion is that great wildlife photos, like the ones you see in National Geographic, always come from some exotic local that takes thousands of dollars and a Land Rover to reach. I’d like to debunk this one right now. You can do great wildlife photography without leaving your ZIP code and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
All of the above photos were taken within 20 miles of my home. Starting at the top left, the Great Blue Heron was photographed in a cemetery in autumn, where he was hanging out around a heated pond. I photographed him from my car, using a Canon 70-300mm lens while hanging out the window. You might think that a cemetery is and odd place to find wildlife, but think again – it’s peaceful, there are never many people around at once, and the grounds usually include spacious lawns, a variety of well-tended trees, and often sources of water.
The baby fawn appeared in my back yard during the summer; his mother must have felt it was a safe place and left him there on two consecutive days, hiding at the base of a tree. I photographed him using a Sigma 70-200mm lens and was able to get quite close. My place at that time was hardly in the country; I had a state highway out front. But there was a wooded hill behind the house, separating it from the next subdivision, and that was all it took to encourage everything from foxes to turkeys to pass through.
The penguin hardly required a trip to the Antarctic; I went to the local zoo with my girlfriend and took this shot with my Canon 28-135mm lens through an underwater window. Zoos are perfect for wildlife photography; you get a wide assortment of critters (including some exotic varieties), they are all on clear display, and they are used to people staring at them, so they’re less likely to spook.
Finally, the duck, who is living at a nearby park this winter for reasons we can’t quite figure out. We’ve named him Frederick, and he’s a bit of a ham. To get this shot, I was almost within arm’s reach of him, lying on my stomach in the snow. He’s putting on a display of dominance least I try to invade his corner of the pond. I photographed him with my Canon Powershot SX100. Local parks always have at least a few squirrels, and if there is a lake or pond, you have instant access to migratory birds.
Four photos, four seasons, four interesting subjects, and no exotic travel required. In fact, photographing the local wildlife will likely get you better results than an African safari – no, you won’t likely have any photos of a lion taking down a gazelle, but you probably be able to get better shots, since most of the critters you’ll encounter have some familiarity with humans.
Do NOT approach any of the animals you encounter – it’s not safe for you or them, and the more nervous they are, the less likely they are to act normally. A telephoto lens (or a P&S with 6x+ zoom) is a must, and the longer the better. I now have a 2x teleconverter that turns my telephoto into a 140-400mm lens, which is sometimes sill too short.
If you’re using a P&S, turn off the digital zoom feature – digital zoom is really just the camera cropping in on the photo. You’re better off doing that yourself using software on a computer, as you’ll get better results.
One last thing to keep in mind – always have the eyes (or at least the eye nearest you) in focus. Just like with people, a critter with out-of-focus eyes will not engage the viewer, and your image will look rushed and amateurish.
The real trick to good wildlife photography is patience – be prepared to spend a while getting the shot you want. Sometimes you’ll have to wait for the animal to appear; sometimes you’ll have to wait for it to behave the way you want. Even when at the zoo, be prepared to be there a while. And be sure to study your subjects and try to learn something about them – the more you know about an animal, the better you can predict how it will behave, and the better your photographs will be.
