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Wildlife
Tips & Tricks
by Philippe Clément
username photophil
Nikonian in Belgium
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NIKONIANS
WILDLIFE SERIES OF TIPS & TRICKS
As Nikonians
Moderator of the Wildlife Forum, Philippe Clément, "Photophil",
has contributed -over a long time- most interesting, valuable
and entertaining content; plenty of excellent advice. With
his help we begin here the Wildlife Series of Tips & Tricks.
Below, his contribution to attendees to the 3th Annual Nikonians
Photo Adventure Trip.
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Mamma
Bear - 3rd ANPAT - By Tom Trujillo (tjtrujillo) |
1.
Most animals have a "fear circle" around
them. If you enter that circle, they are inclined to
take flight (or fight). Unfortunately, you need to
be within that fear circle in order to take frame-filling
photos. So, take plenty of time, avoid eye-contact
and don't approach the animal directly, Act as not
being interested in them. Once you get close enough,
talk to them in a calm voice. Always wait till you
get "connection" with the animal, rather
than shouting, as soon as it is in focus. If you want
it to look into the camera lens or sit perfectly still
for a moment, make a funny noise to attract its attention.
2. Take great care about your backgrounds. Move around!
Especially when working with big lenses, only stepping
aside a few feet can provide you a totally different
and perhaps more pleasing background.
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3.
For those with shorter focal length lenses: making strong
pictures of animals in their environment is often more
challenging
than shooting a frame-filler. If your subject looks small
in the frame, make sure it fits in a composition of interesting
shapes.
4.
Take great care when you approach black bears. Personally,
I am more scared of the relatively smaller black bears
than of the big grizzlies. They look cute, but can
be very aggressive, especially when defending their
young. Keep your backpack on at all times to protect
your back in case of an attack. Not that I want to
scare you guys but you never know. Don't drop and play
dead when a black bear attacks, but fight back. |
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5.
Slide film and per frame cost of CF cards is cheap.
When you expect great action and you notice you're
left with only a couple of frames, don't be stingy,
change film or card while you can. Nothing worse
than having to change film or card in the midst of
heavy
action.
Or carry two bodies. Get into the habit of reloading
film as
soon as a roll is exposed, or change CF cards before
they are full. |
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