Demanding Nature Photography

  Nature photography can be a demanding and rewarding pastime that frequently runs past the time that you planned for it.

It is just so easy to get busy watching all of the wildlife that you are seeing that you forget to watch the time that is flying by. Then the electronic leash in you pocket starts demanding your attention and pulling you home. Just like the hunting dog that doesn't want to quit hunting, you pull and strain to take that last wildlife picture of that interesting animal you see.

  You really do not have to take far flung trips to enjoy nature at it's finest. If you just look you can often see wildlife as close as your backyard

or the county park just down the road a few miles. For those of us who grew up in “the Country” it was simple to slip out the back door and disappear into the woods for several hours. You quickly learned to leave a note or tell your parents where you were going to avoid a “trip to the wood shed”. If you are old enough you know that that trip lead to pain when “the board of education” met the “seat of learning”.

  If you live in the suburbs, as I do now, it is easy enough to spot squirrels, birds and various insects in the backyard or in or on any trees near your house.

Humans seem to have the eyes of a predator, meaning that they are best at spotting movement before they spot an outline of the camera's prey. Try not to stare directly at something unless you have already seen the movement out of the corner of your eye. I have notice that you will stare right past wildlife that is not moving because it has seen you first and quite possibly walk right by it without seeing it until you hear it leave quickly beside or behind you. Regardless it is a missed opportunity to get that outstanding wildlife picture.

  In Florida state hunting lands are called Wildlife Management Areas (WMA ) and can be expected to produce some great opportunities to further your Nature photography experiences. If it is managed to provide hunting opportunities, it is managed to help the majority of wildlife thrive and survive during the non-hunting seasons.

  In order to excel at nature photography you need to work on many of the same skills that a hunter would need to put food on the table. One of the primary skills both need is the ability to move slowly and quietly while using your ears to help locate any wildlife that is outside your current line of vision. You also want to pay attention to the direction of any wind while you are hunting for that next wildlife photograph. It is normally best to be “nose into the wind” or “cross wind” instead of “upwind” of the animals that you are hunting. You really do want to see them before they smell you and leave without you getting a clear shot with your camera. This 

or this

is not what you want to see when trying to take a wildlife photograph. 

And now a shameless plug for my website to sell my art: http://chris-mercer.artistwebsites.com/. I have a large number of artwork pieces there.