by Osprey Photo Workshops & Tours | Feb 20, 2015 | Assateague, Bird behavior, Brazil, Chicoteague, Nature Photography, Photo Technique, Photo Tours, Photo Workshops, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography
Animals are more active early I the morning and late in the day as opposed to mid-day when the light is harsh and temperatures are higher. Therefore you have the best chance to capture images that are dynamic at these times. Cameras that perform well (little noise) at higher ISOs are beneficial when the light is low and yet fast shutter speeds are still required.
Spectacled caiman on a ranch in Ibera Argentina. Late afternoon and warm color.
On a pond in the Falklands. Skipped dinner to photograph this and other birds on the pond.
Careful observation of your subject over time is the key to capturing action and behavior. Alterations in body posture, shifting weight, and adjustment in muscle tension (whether noted cognitively or sensed subliminally) can suggest some change in behavior. For instance, shifting of body weight of a resting animal may indicate it is ready to stand or possibly stretch.
Jack Rabbit stretching.
Birds stretching or flapping wings can often precede flight. Sandhill cranes lean forward before flying. Herons often bend knees and stretch out neck before flying. Seabirds landing on rocky cliffs often employ their wings to provide stability. Birds bathing typically splash while cleaning feathers and then shake off the excess water.
Catching its balance after landing on rock ledge.
Canvas back bathing.
Cinnamon teal bathing.
Black-necked swan taking off from pond. Neck outstretched preceded flight.
Humpback whale preparing to dive. Can predict the point at which the fluke will appear dripping water by observing the curvature of the tail at its base.
Leaning forward before flight. Sandhill cranes, Bosque del Apache.
Bends knees and leans forward before flight.
Chattering and agitated movements within a flock of birds frequently precedes the arrival of more members of their flock, the departure of birds, or the approach of a threatening predator.
Puffin landing. Birds on the ground became animated as the other approach.
Greese were vocal and agitated before leaving the pond.
Photography during breeding season is often rewarding since activities increase – turkeys strut, elk lock antlers, deer mark territory, etc. Nurturing behavior between adult and young often results in touching photos.
Black Browed Albatross preening each other. Pair bonding during breeding season.
Otter protecting young. Difficult to get this photo since rocks were slippery.
King penguin caring for new born.
by Osprey Photo Workshops & Tours | Jan 24, 2015 | Assateague, Brazil, Chicoteague, Digital Photography, Nature Photography, Pantanal, Photo Technique, Photo Tours, Photo Workshops, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography
CAMERA CLUBS & OTHER SOURCES OF INFO
Your fellow camera club members can be helpful pointing out local hotspots for wildlife photography. At one such club meeting in Manassas where I was delivering a lecture, I learned that elk herds exist in Pennsylvania, near Benesette http://elkcountryvisitorcenter.com/drupal/ . They are typically found where there is fresh browse. In the fall, the males bugled just like courtship in Yellowstone. Magazines such as Outdoor Photographer www.outdoorphotographer.com can be a great resource describing favorite locations for photography. Robert Hitchman has a newsletter “Photograph America” with detailed info on trails and photo perspectives for all types of photography. It’s a great resource if planning a trip. www.photographamerica.com Well worth the price.
WATER
Animals require 3 key things for survival, food, water and shelter. Therefore areas that provide these elements attract wildlife add offer photo opportunities. They are also good locations to place photo blinds (later discussion). For example, a pond or spring in an arid area can draw wildlife from great distances. On a ranch in south Texas I placed blinds (hides) near ponds that contained water during the hotter months of the year. At the end of the summer at Chincoteague NWR, water evaporates from the impoundments and waterways. Fish become trapped in the shallows where water remains and attract large numbers of hungry herons, raccoons, and other wildlife. Similarly, during the dry season in the wetlands of Brazil(the Pantanal) http://www.pantanal.org/Mainpant.htm, completion for food becomes fierce and animals become more visible as the water disappears.
Coatimundi drinking at pond in Mexico.
Roadrunner drinking at small pool of water during drought in South Texas.
Deer drinking in one of the few ponds with water on a ranch in south Texas.
Bufflehead in channel at Chincoteague, VA
FOOD
A reliable source of food will attract wildlife. Ripening seeds, acorns, crab apples, and fruit will attract monkeys, bears, and squirrels, as well as songbirds and other bird life. The upwelling of nutrients and food caused by strong currents such as those off the southern tip of South America attract marine life and provide food for whales, seals, sea lions, and penguins as seen in the Falkland Islands. The protected waters around Peninsula Valdes in Argentina offer shelter to elephant seals, southern sea lions, penguins, and calving southern right whales and attract photographers from around the world. But you don’t have to go to exotic places to attract and photograph wildlife. In your own backyard you can put out feeders with seed or suet, add a source of water and include an interesting perch nearby so you can capture images in what appears to be a natural setting.
Squirrel storing nut for the winter.
Chickadee feeding on berries.
Giant River Otter eating fish in the Pantanal.
Great Blue Heron with fish.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak at bird feeder.
FAVORITE PERCHES
Birds such as kingfishers, cormorants, and kiskadees often dive for fish from the same perch and return there to consume their fish offering excellent opportunities for photographs. Turkeys, vultures, snail kites, and other birds often roost in the same location each night. These are perfect places to stake out with your camera.
Kiskadee fishing from favorite branch.
Thick-billed tern perched on pole preening and fishing.
Belted Kingfisher fishing from its favorite perch.
DUSTING AREA & MINERAL LICKS
Mineral licks are also great places to photograph wildlife. At Custer State Park, SD http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/custer/ buffalo, mule deer, and pronghorn frequent these bare patches of ground rich in minerals and nutrients. These spots are easy to recognize by the reddish color of the dirt. Other locations where animals return repeatedly are dusting areas, sections of bare ground and loose dirt where “wild burros”, buffalo, guanaco, horses, road runners and other animals kick up and roll in the dust to rid themselves of pests.
Burro dusting in Custer State Park, SD
Elephant seal throwing sand perhaps to cool off.
ICE, ROCKS & ISLANDS
If on a boat in Alaska, ice flows area good areas to look for seals. Round Island is prefect if interested in photographing walrus.
Walrus warming in the sun on Round Island.
by Osprey Photo Workshops & Tours | Jan 4, 2015 | Digital Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Photo Tours, Photo Workshops, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography
Requirements
Knowledge of Equipment —
- Check settings heading out for a day of shooting. If camera has be to the shop for repair or cleaning, often the service people change the settings back to the defaults.
- Make sure the camera batteries are fully charged and there is a memory card of an appropriate size in place. Always carry spares.
- When traveling I back up my images onto two 1 or 2 T portable drive connected to my laptop. Then I import them into Lightroom and verify that they were transferred without any glitches or corrupted files. Only then do I format my memory card. I prefer to start with a clean card each day, 16 or 32 G. At home, I will copy the files from the smaller drives to a larger one.
- As you approach your subject, from a distance preselect the lens and settings that are most appropriate. for the situation. Consider the direction, quality, and color of the light when choosing your approach. Be aware of subtle changes in muscle tension and poses that may indicate action (addressed in later blog) and be prepared to act instantaneously.
Sandhill crane. Saw this crane approaching a pond filled with other birds. Selected my 600 mm lens and set aperture large enough so would be using a fast shutter speed. SInce it was the end of the day, also elevated my ISO. Locked focus on bird at a distance and continued to follow it as it landed. Took a series of shots.
Osprey Nest – Selected 80-400 mm zoom lens and elevated ISO. Waited patiently for the osprey t leave the nest. Took a series of shots. Photographed from the water but nearly drowned my camera when stepped into a hole where the water reached my waist.
Knowledge of Subject —
- Research your subject’s behavior. Where and when is it found? What is its temperament?
- Speak with others familiar with your subject including researchers, biologists and even learning tips from hunters as to the subject’s behavior and tolerance.
- Approach from down wind if animal has an elevated sense of smell as does the Giant Anteater. Those with long/pointy noses tend to have better sense of small than others.
Capuchin Monkey. All animals are attracted to food and are easier to photograph when their attention is on something other than you,
Giant Anteater at termite mound, Pantanal, Brazil. Long nose and good sense of smell so approach animal from down-wind.
Patience and persistence —
- Spend as long as possible with your subject. It some times takes a long time to capture what you are after and may required repeated attempts on different days and with different weather conditions. Avoid distractions and keep your focus. However if another great photo opportunity comes along, go ahead and pursue it.
- Before beginning a project and while at the scene, develop in your mind a vision of what you hope for in terms of results but never limit yourself to just this.
- Continue to develop your skills, trying to surpass previous accomplishments.
- Don’t give up. Look at other ways to achieve your goal. Perhaps move to achieve a better camera angle, light, and background.
Herring Gulls, Common bird by interesting pose.
Canvasback. Often after preening, birds flap their wings to get rid of loose feathers. Watched and waited for one of the ducks to splash water as it flapped its wings.
King Eider, Watched the eiders approach to the beach and waited for nearly an hour before captured this shot.
Curiosity & ability to observe —
- Help you be engaged with the subject and become sensitive to subtle changes in posture, etc. that may precede some behavior of interest.
- No time for snoozing. I find my mind engaged in a detective game. What it happening & why”. What’s next? What do you want to show? What fascinates you?
Billing – greeting and pair bonding. Showing intruder that this is there territory.
Northern Shovler. Anticipated flapping affer some time preening.
Atlantic Puffins. When one animal approaches another there is likely to be some interaction – friendly or otherwise.
See next installment regarding wildlife photography – locating subjects.
by Osprey Photo Workshops & Tours | Mar 2, 2013 | Assateague, Chicoteague, horses, Wildlife
Assateague Island’s Wild Horses & the famous Chincoteague Ponies.
Most likely not the romantic notion that the horses are escapees from a shipwrecked Spanish Galion is not true. They are most likely descendants of domestic animals transported to Assateague Island in the 1600s to graze on marsh grasses, enabling their owners to avoid fencing laws and taxes on livestock. Sturdy animals, they are able to withstand the island’s heat, mosquitos, winds, salt spray, storms, and relatively poor food supply.
There are two separate herds, one in Maryland & one in Virginia on Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. They are kept apart by a fence at the MD line. The herds have divided themselves into bands of 2 to 12 animals, each occupying their own home range. The MD herd is managed by the National Park Service and the horses have been left in a relatively wild state. The wild horses attract visitors to Assateague Island National Seashore, a favorite sighting amongst visitors. The herd size is controlled by using birth control. The southern herd is located on Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and is owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Dept. They are visited by a veterinarian periodically, vaccinated, and provided with food when supplies of short. They are allow to graze on the National Wildlife Refuge by special permit and their numbers are limited to 150 in order to protect critical wildlife habitat and to avoid disturbing nesting birds such as the piping plover. Each year at the end of July, during the festival called “pony penning”, the horses are rounded up by the fire department’s “salt water cowboys” and swim from Assateague to Chincoteague Island where young foals are sold at auction, proceeds benefiting the Volunteer Fire Dept.
It’s a joy to watch the horses interact, but this is best done at a distance. Each year people get bitten or kicked when they approach too closely. Despite their friendly, docile appearance, they are still wild animals, not to be trusted. See my face book page (facebook.com/ospreyphotoworkshops) for a series of images of these magnificent animals.
Join me in a photo workshop on Assateague Island National Seashore, April 19-21, 2013. For info, contact Christina Hulslander 443-614-3547 or the Assateague Island Alliance at assateagueislandalliance@gmail.com. Check facebook.com/ospreyphotoworkshops for more images and details.
by Osprey Photo Workshops & Tours | Nov 16, 2012 | Assateague, Chicoteague, Photo Tours, Photo Workshops, Wildlife
Wildlife Photography Programs – free to public.
23 Nov 2012, 1:30 p.m. @ Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Bateman Visitor Center
24 Nov 2012, 10:30 a.m. @ Assateague Isl National Seashore, Assateague Visitors Center
A Passion for Wildlife, the Stories Behind the Images
by Irene Hinke-Sacilotto
Based on the my more than 30 years’ experience photographing birds and other animals, this lecture covers the strategies, techniques, and equipment required to capture professional wildlife images. The program will include locating, attracting, and approaching wildlife along with prime locations for wildlife photography, the use of photographic blinds, and stalking techniques. Safety and ethical considerations will be included. Throughout the presentation, I will share my field experiences photographing in the U.S. & abroad.
