Wildlife Photography

C

^Chris^

Well-Known Member
Is anyone out there interested in the photography of wild animals? A quick look in the gallery certainly proves that there's no shortage of photographic talent on zoobeat- just wondered if anyone else was as keen on wild/native fauna as zoo animals. Photographing wild animals seems to be a lot harder, but somehow more satisfying (or at least it's a different sort of satisfaction). If the mods didn't mind me posting them in the gallery I thought I'd share some of my photos in the hope that other members would do so in return.
[thumb=9604;508;rabbit2.JPG]European Rabbit.[/thumb]
[thumb=9603;508;deer2.jpg]Roe Deer[/thumb]
[thumb=9602;508;Razorbill1.JPG]Razorbill[/thumb]
[thumb=9601;508;Mole.JPG]European Mole[/thumb]
[thumb=9600;508;Green_Spider.jpg]Cucumber Spider on Buttercup[/thumb]
All the best,
 
I agree - it's much more interesting and challenging photographing wildlife.

I was just thinking earlier today that perhaps I could add a wildlife section to the gallery.

Actually, I might just add a wildlife category to each country!
 
Before my gear got stolen I did a bit of wildlife photography. When I get a chance I'll upload some of the wild shots I have. I am getting a new camera soon so I will be back to it as well.
 
Switching from Pentax system to Canon, getting a 30D (or 40D depending on the specs) DSLR.
 
Jo said:
Switching from Pentax system to Canon, getting a 30D (or 40D depending on the specs) DSLR.
Click to expand...

Go the 40D if you can afford it (or wait a couple of months and get the 50D ?? :rolleyes: )

The 40D is dust-sealed, which was one big improvement over the 30D. Most of the other improvements are just incremental, but are still real improvements ...

... which is why I bought a 40D myself for our trip to Patagonia earlier this year :D

I also got the:

24-105 EF f/4L IS USM lens (excellent high quality lens - great for general purpose use),

10-22mm EF-S f/3.5-4.5 USM (brilliant wide angle lens - I ended up using this more than anything else for all the scenery and indoor shots on the trip),

70-300mm EF f/4-5.6 IS USM (which was a compromise between zoom-length and weight, and got a lot of use on the trip for wildlife).

Ironically, my best lens (24-105 f/4L) was hardly used at all on the trip - I either had the wide angle on for scenery and architecture shots, or the zoom lens on for wildlife shots. The 24-105 gets good usage at family gatherings though.

I would have loved to get the 100-400 EF f/4.5-5.6L IS USM, but it is very large, weighs 1.5kg and is rather expensive. We were backpacking - so weight was important (I was carrying enough as it was!).

We are hoping to do a trip to the Galapagos in about 12 months time, and if I can afford it, I'll get the 100-400 lens for that trip - especially if we end up doing a bit of the Amazon at the same time.
 
I am a bit of a Canon noob so have to go back and read the specs again, but the 50D already, sheesh, can't keep up, 40D has barely been out! Have to dig up the card from a shop in town, they have a tameron long lens, f/2 for about $1500. I am still annoyed though I lost my SLRs, I really loved my MZ5N and still like using slide, except for the price. Now I have to learn all the digi stuff!
 
Last edited:
Jo said:
50D already, sheesh, can't keep up, 40D has barely been out!
Click to expand...

I haven't actually heard any announcements about a 50D ... but they do tend to release new models fairly regularly - to the point that if you wait for the next better model, you'll always be waiting!!

I'm very happy with my 40D!

For lens reviews, I found this site to be excellent: FM Reviews - Main Index
 
Everyone that I know who has one of the D series is happy with it. I'll do some research and look at the reviews, thanks sim, next after the body is a long lens. The last dude I talked to said the teleconverters are excellent now, so the fast 70-200 (f/2) could lose a stop to gain the zoom.
 
Excellent photos Chris!

I bought a DSLR (a Pentax K100D) last year and have a developing interest in photographing wildlife. I don't have much reach (only a 50-200 zoom) but sometimes that can be overcome with patience and good fortune.
 
Chris79 said:
Excellent photos Chris!

I bought a DSLR (a Pentax K100D) last year and have a developing interest in photographing wildlife. I don't have much reach (only a 50-200 zoom) but sometimes that can be overcome with patience and good fortune.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words.

I know what it feels like to photograph wildlife with a 50-200mm as that was the lens I used on my analogue SLR. Like you say, it does take a lot more patience, and it's hard to photograph small animals like birds etc. When I got my DSLR, I got a 70 -300mm and its surprising the difference that extra 100 can make. I planned to get a bigger lens, or teleconverter, but so far I've managed with what I've got.
 
This new forum has been set up while I was away doing some wildlife photography in Scotland (with trips to Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park on the side). I will post a shot or two of wild dolphins tomorrow.
Equipment-wise I use a Nikon D300 with 300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor, sometimes with a TC14 (1.4x teleconverter). At the moment I am lusting after a 500mm f/4 VR Nikkor - but how can I justify spending £5k? :confused:

Alan
 
I recently bought a motion sensor camera to take wildlife photos.

Here are a pair of wedge tail Eagles

Aeagles2.jpg


This is the young eagle from the other photo

Aeagle5.jpg


This is my first attempt at puting photos on this site so I hope it works.
 
Great photos Monty. Please keep them coming. The fox photo is great. what sort of camera is it? Where do you get them? How much?
 
Monty said:
This is my first attempt at puting photos on this site so I hope it works.
Click to expand...

I'd prefer you uploaded them to the gallery rather than inserting very large images in posts. In fact I may well remove the ability to include images in posts except via the gallery in the future.

... but nice photos!
 
Last edited:
I have not put photos in the gallery I will see if I can work that out.

The camera is a Sony 6 mp. A bloke in Bainsdale imports the coponents and builds them.

I paid about $450 for it.
 
I tried wildlife photography for a while and found it too difficult to find any animals. I find that visiting the right Zoos, can offer a large variety of animals that can be photographed as in their natural environment.
 
dbyrd said:
I tried wildlife photography for a while and found it too difficult to find any animals. I find that visiting the right Zoos, can offer a large variety of animals that can be photographed as in their natural environment.
Click to expand...

That's one of the reasons I love wildlife photography - it is difficult and requires patience and perseverance. As a result, getting a good photo is far more satisfying!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top