Nature and wildlife photography
Photographing the diverse aspects of nature and wildlife is a
special joy for me. I have also have a personal interest in insect
photography.
Challenges
Often there are technical challenges involved in photographing
nature in the field and my background in electronics has often
come in handy to create a custom solution. Correct identification
of subjects in photos is also important for stock photography.
Nature on assignment
Nature never performs on schedule. It often takes a lot of time
and patience to make successful photographs of nature subjects.
If a client wishes me to do nature photography on assignment it
is important they understand a lot of time may be required and
even then results cannot be guaranteed.
I wonder if a bear can climb a ladder...
The story behind the Saw-whet Owl picture illustrates the sort
of thing I often get into trying to make good photographs. One
of the researchers in Fundy National Park discovered the dead
tree was occupied by Saw-whet Owls instead of the Flying Squirrels
he was looking for. He showed it to Rob Walker who, in turn, thought
it was a photo opportunity too good to miss and guided me to the
spot. The site was about half a kilometre from the road and I marked
the route with flagging tape.
At dusk I returned, loaded down with my step ladder “high-pod” and
camera gear. My camera was set up about 5 meters from the tree
and about 3 meters off the ground. Rob advised me the Saw-whet
Owls wouldn’t become active until it was completely dark
and then the male would begin bringing food for the young.
So there I sat in the gathering gloom until I could barely see
the tree. Standing motionless on a step ladder for hours is likely
to induce strange thinking, like, “I wonder if bears can
climb a ladder”. By midnight I was still waiting for the
owl to appear. I could hear the male calling now and then and I
began to worry that my presence might interfere with the feeding
of the young. I decided to force the issue.
I got down from the ladder and tapped on the tree like I had seen
Shawn do with the Flying Squirrels. In seconds the owl peeked out
of the tree and I carefully went back to my camera position and
got a few shots before she went back inside. I knew I had the shot
and didn’t want to delay the feeding of young any longer
so I quietly left for home.
A word to the wise. At night, by the light of a flashlight, colour
disappears making flagging tape the same colour as the leaves -
and quite difficult to spot. Good thing they were close together.
- BT |
