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It seems that there is enough people wanting to post wildlife photos that there should be a thread for it. While the bird thread has a very well thought out OP I feel like most of that applies to wildlife. I may add to this OP at a later date but for the time being this is a place to post your wildlife photos, which could be anything from insects to elephants. Here are a few wildlife shots to start things off.    
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Jan 22, 2012 20:53
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Guest post by Bob Socko When I think of wildlife photography, one question immediately comes to mind - what do you want to shoot? It's a simple question, but an important one. Wildlife photography is a very broad subject. Depending on what you're interested in capturing, it could be cheap, easy, and low effort. It could be a five-figure investment and involve hours of sitting in a blind, waiting. So, stop and really consider what it is you want to do. Google the critter, figure out where it is, how it lives, and what opportunities you would have to photograph it. Rather than walk you through a step-by-step list that you can broadly apply to any situation, I thought it might be easier to walk you through a few scenarios. To keep the gear recommendations consistent, I'll assume you own an entry-level DSLR with the kit lens, but nothing else. Squirrels are awesome, I want to take pictures of them. Squirrels are easy and fun to photograph. They're found in most parks, they're relatively tame, and they know that humans have food. So, take advantage of that. Pick up a telephoto zoom lens, such as the excellent Tamron 55-200mm f/4-5.6. I would encourage you to stick with a 5x-2xx lens over an entry-level 7x-300mm zoom, as they tend to be cheaper and have better image quality. Sure, they don't zoom in as much, but we're talking about squirrels here - they don't spook easily. Find a spot to set up, put out a few peanuts, and wait for the squirrels to come to you. You should be able to shoot them handheld, but if you're worried, pick up a cheap tripod or a lens/body with image stabilization.  DSC01321 by Kelly_Davis, on Flickr  DSC01324 by Kelly_Davis, on Flickr Deer are awesome, I want to take pictures of them. You're in luck, deer and deer-like critters (elk, moose, antelope, etc) are pretty common. They don't just live in the woods - I've seen plenty in eastern Oregon and Washington, which is dry and grassy. If you don't already know where to find deer, hop on Flickr and run searches for the word deer and your city, state, or region. See if the photos are tagged with their location to narrow down your search. Once you've figured out a location, use some common sense to figure out if it's a good time of year to photograph deer. Deer hunting season occurs in the late fall, so obviously, there will be fewer deer and they'll be skittish; in addition, there's a small but real chance you could get shot at by hunters. Winter can be better - you can find deer tracks in the snow, and use a bale of hay as bait to lure them out of the thick brush. What if you want to shoot fawns? Animals typically don't give birth in the wintertime for obvious reasons, so you'll need to go out in the spring or the summer. What about gear? While some deer are more tame than others, they aren't like squirrels. Once again, you'll want to pick up a telephoto zoom. If you're looking for deer in the woods, a longer-range lens may not be that helpful - you can't zoom through trees. Don't be afraid to boost your ISO, both to maintain a high shutter speed and to help deal with the darkness inherent to the forest. Your setup will dictate if a tripod is useful or not - baiting the deer with hay suggests you'll be staying put for awhile, so a tripod makes sense there. If you're just walking and hoping to find something, well, do you really want to be lugging around a tripod as well? Just boost your shutter speed and ISO.  DSC04844 by Kelly_Davis, on Flickr  DSC04745 by Kelly_Davis, on Flickr Iguanas are awesome, I want to take pictures of them. Ok, now we're getting into something a little more exotic. Iguanas are native to Central America, so if you want to photograph them in the wild, well . . . your options are moving there or visiting there. Depending on your means and desire, that may be a viable option for you. I went to Mazatlan, Mexico on vacation about two years ago, and found plenty of iguanas near the hotels. I was able to get within five or six feet of most of them before they started to slowly amble away. While I used a telephoto zoom for this shot, this is something that could easily be duplicated with a kit lens.  DSC07722 by Kelly_Davis, on Flickr But let's face it, most of us don't care enough about photographing iguanas to fly to Mexico. What is plan B? Ask the internet. I ran a few google searches for combinations of iguana, zoo, breeder, farm, and so on, along with the word Seattle (as that's where I'm located). I found two traditional zoos with iguanas within an hour's drive, some sort of "reptile zoo" in the boonies, and a few local breeders. The traditional and reptile zoos would be the easiest options. Depending on the local breeders, I could conceivably offer some sort of swap where I could photograph their iguanas in exchange for them getting a copy of the photos. Sure, it's not as "authentic" as a photo of an iguana in the wild, but it's a lot cheaper and safer than a trip to Mexico. Dread Head fucked around with this message at 06:33 on Jan 24, 2012 |
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Jan 22, 2012 20:56
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I think as long as you state they are from a zoo/captive that is fine. My jelly fish was from an aquarium.
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Jan 23, 2012 01:16
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Bob Socko Wrote a much better into than I did and I have added it in the 2nd post. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3462132&pagenumber=1&perpage=40#post399829003
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Jan 24, 2012 06:34
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adventure in the sandbox posted:Here's a snake from the Vancouver Aquarium or possibly the Toronto Zoo. They both had green tree pythons. I have a picture of what I assume is the same snake from a number of years ago. 
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Feb 27, 2012 07:22
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I would love to go to Alaska, I love the first shot.
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Mar 3, 2012 20:46
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ExecuDork posted:Goddamit, I already really really really want to go to Antarctica. You're just making it worse! It is my dream trip, shortly followed by iceland I think. Why do I like the poles so much?
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Apr 1, 2012 02:08
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William T. Hornaday posted:What are the weird vertical lines on the left in the BG? It's all I can see now 
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Apr 4, 2012 17:01
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MrBlandAverage posted:
Came here to post that!
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May 21, 2012 23:58
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Clayton Bigsby posted:Yeah, but having the fence behind the horse kind of ruins the illusion of carefully sneaking up on a Wyld Stallyn.. This. I think oof leaves like this can work but for a domestic animal it just makes it look like you where lazy.
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Jun 22, 2012 07:57
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Elendil004 posted:Sort of like this, then? I think that may be a little extreme 
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Jun 23, 2012 02:53
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Aug 23, 2012 07:35
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Pretty much a giant water squirrel right?
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Nov 4, 2012 20:46
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Star War Sex Parrot posted:Does anyone have any specific suggestions for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park? The last time I was there was when I was a kid, and I don't remember much about their setup other than it's more open than a zoo. I'm expecting to need a bit more reach so I was gonna bring the 2x TC along for my 70-200, but maybe that's overkill? Never really shot at zoo's but the limited experience I have and seen from other zoo photos is that I think you want to get in as tight as possible. The problem with zoo photos is that the environment i never great (natural looking). So if you get a nice tight shot of something and minimize the surroundings I think that you will end up with a picture that does not immediately jump out as being shot in a zoo. If you look at William T. Hornaday zoo shots they are usually a very tight shot focusing on the animals face etc. With all that said lighting is not always ideal so I would bring the 2xTC but maybe try to avoid using it. A TC is not exactly a bunch of extra weight/bulk to carry around.
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Mar 7, 2013 09:25
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Pablo Bluth posted:So some elephants have won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/category.do?category=15&group=1 This guy lives semi close to me, I saw he had posted he had won on facebook. Pretty cool to see.
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Oct 17, 2013 16:50
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Grey whale, was pretty cool to see.
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Nov 15, 2013 03:53
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Almost right after I saw the whale I posted yesterday I got to watch a sea lion destroy/eat a salmon. I have to say this was an amazing experience.  
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Nov 16, 2013 08:41
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Super jealous that you got to spend time up there, I would love to be able to. Where I work does a lot of field work up there but unfortunately I do nothing that would warrant me going up there.
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Dec 16, 2013 07:35
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Pablo Bluth posted:Just be careful not to drive too close. Or you might go to a place that does not exist (404)?
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Jan 16, 2014 04:34
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Jun 8, 2014 08:30
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Jul 8, 2014 03:59
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Aug 29, 2014 08:03
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Sep 30, 2014 05:20
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Oct 13, 2014 01:16
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Moon Potato posted:A young Roosevelt elk bull keeping an eye out for the dominant bull Nice frogs, was trying to find some today, heard a bunch of calls but was unable to find the source. Did find a Western redback salamander though.  https://flic.kr/p/pFyK2f
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Oct 19, 2014 00:11
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Went out tonight looking for frogs, only found an invasive bullfrog.
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Oct 19, 2014 08:19
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Moon Potato posted:Ungulates are grace incarnate. Nature at it's finest!
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Oct 26, 2014 02:41
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for
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Oct 27, 2014 05:56
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Nov 12, 2014 03:52
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Shiruan posted:Really loving these. Super expressive, especially the first two. I like the lion shot but the last one (zebras) looks odd with the nearly white sky (especially on the white BG) also it looks like there is a huge dust piece (or an unfortunate animal in the BG)
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Nov 13, 2014 08:07
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), but I'm a lot happier with my shots than I was on my last trip, about 10 years ago. So... progress.
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Mar 15, 2015 01:53
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Apr 21, 2015 06:05
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Jun 16, 2015 07:41
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William T. Hornaday posted:
Your photos remind me of Joel Sartore's photo ark project.
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Aug 6, 2015 02:44
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VelociBacon posted:(Guess who hasn't been on a luxurious safari to photograph exotic species) It is an invasive species so I guess it qualifies as exotic?
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Feb 5, 2016 03:03
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Mar 22, 2016 04:35
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Sep 22, 2016 05:22
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Pablo Bluth posted:WPY 2016 winner announced. And that Orang shot was with a goPro! I just got back from Borneo and was lucky enough to shoot some semi wild Orangutans which I will get around to processing at some point...
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Dec 2, 2016 05:21
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Dec 3, 2016 08:43
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 03:09 |
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Orangutans. 
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Dec 20, 2016 07:29
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