Wildlife Photography - Things learnt the hard way
Photography in general is challenging - and what I mean by that is, for those who are truly creative, there needs to be focus - focus on composition, light, angles, subject/s placement, ISO, shutter speed, f-stops and what not and finally the placement of you, the photographer in the right place to get that shot you are hoping to compose. What I’ve learnt over my short duration of attempting to be a creative in the wildlife photography space and what I have not read enough about is how challenging it is, and how if you do not have the right people around you, your safety and that of the animals you photograph could also be compromised.
While this blog post is not about discouraging anyone’s foray into wildlife photography, it is a collection of some of my learned insights from the past few years since I started doing this. Points and topics I have not read enough about, but what I think is critical that anyone interested in this area pay attention to.
We have travelled to most wildlife locations all over the world -North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa. Our notes below are a condensation of the experiences and at times costly learnings from our travels across the world with a focus on photographing wildlife. And to emphasize again, we are both the kind of people who hold ourselves accountable and responsible to our own safety and the animals and birds we photograph to high standards. Yet, there were some encounters & experiences we wish we were able to avoid - mostly because we placed our trust in the wrong people or were ignorant or did not know the right questions to ask and had to learn those after the fact.
This is going to be a long article, so sit tight and hope you find this helpful. Feel feel to add your comments on any other experiences and tips that might help us and other fellow wildlife photography enthusiasts.
Photography Destinations, Timelines and your expectations
The first question or rather if you are looking at a wishlist of animals or birds you would like to photograph, is the destination and it typically requires some amount of travel. One has to travel to where the animal or bird lives and this requires us at times to travel to far and at times, remote destinations. So yes, the deciding factor is always the animal or bird that you want to photograph. So with that decided, you need to look at your and the target location’s specifics - what is your budget? how many days have you got? what are the visa requirements for the country? Other aspects like safety, vaccinations if any, reliability of tour operators, and more importantly how low or high is the possibility of wildlife sightings and how open are you as an individual? Are you ok with safaris where you might end up only photographing birds for an entire day and don’t see any big cats? Your outlook and mindset are very very important when you travel looking for wildlife. Wildlife are not going to be sitting there waiting for you, but if you are open to welcoming all creatures that choose to come your way, trust me, you will see them all and at times even more.
Another thing we have come to realize is, given wildlife photography is not our full-time profession, going to places that offer a higher possibility of wildlife sightings is a better bet. If all you have is time and money, sure, you can stay as long as you want at your dream destination, but if not, going to a place like the Mara or Serengeti for say 7-10 days would be a really good option to get the highest percentage of wildlife sightings. Of course no one can guarantee wildlife sightings, least of all, excellent photographs of such sightings, but I would say the percentage might be higher in Africa, for a mix of varied wildlife sightings.
Personal Fitness
Now, this is a really big deal if you are say dreaming of photographing gorilla families in Rwanda or Uganda. The trek is treacherous through dense vegetation and while yes, you can give your camera bag to a porter to carry, you yourself have to be fairly fit to reach the families first, especially if you end being in a group that has to trek longer or steeper. And personally, I don’t think a single trek will get you what you want - the one hour with the gorilla families can often be a hit or miss. Multiple treks might be required and I will talk about this later in the sections below, but my recommendation would be to go on a photographer led tour rather than going on your own, unless of course you have already worked out the specifics.
Other situations are even worse when you have to hike for long distances without a porter say and you have to carry a large bag with multiple cameras, big lenses and tripods. Not a simple feat, not for me at least. I’ve fallen sick doing this. The intent is to get that picture, but please don’t let it override safety and health. As photographers, sometimes we are so passionate about that image we want to take that the telltale signs of exhaustion are often overlooked, until it is too late, and what’s worse? you are exhausted to even get that composition you were thinking about >_<
Also, long lenses with a camera and tripod attached is not to be messed with. They are heavy. Again, for me, maybe not for you. My fingers get overworked, my forearms and shoulders become sore at times if I don’t carry it right. There is also a right and a wrong way to carry a tripod and I did it the wrong way for nearly a year, so there goes that. Ignorance, but not intentionally - we are doing way too many things and we can’t really know everything, but it does take a toll. So, yes, learn how to carry a tripod/ monopod with your camera correctly so the weight is distributed properly.
Focus on your personal fitness is important for being a wildlife photographer, especially if you are serious about it and want to go to remote places to photograph that particular bird or animal. Workout, do weights, cardio, walk long distances with your camera bag and get your body and mind accustomed. It is very important that you stay healthy and fit for you to be able to take the photographs you dream of and to go the distances that is required for that.
Safari Vehicles
There are different types of safaris these days - on land (vehicles, walking tours), ocean (zodiacs, boats, ships), air (helicopters, hot air balloons etc.,) and what not. If your focus is photography, the type of vehicle you go on for photographing matters a lot. Especially if you are someone who likes to take eye level shots. Speed is of the element in wildlife photography - so if you are fiddling with the vehicle window pane or the door or the bean bag or your dry sack on the zodiac in the ocean- by the way they are all ok - most of the times, its about setting expectations to yourself so that you do not get frustrated. You are NOT going to get every shot right all the time. It’s ok if you did not get that one particular shot. I’m sure it happens to the best out there far more times that we can imagine.
While talking to the tour operator of your choice, inform them of your intent - that you are not simply going to view wildlife but to photograph them and that you have certain requirements - this helps very much in the long run. They can then provide you options and there are photographers of all skill levels that try their hand at wildlife photography, so discuss with your tour operator, ask them to share pictures of the types of vehicles they have and evaluate if it might be a good fit for your style of photography. Your requirements will evolve over time, but its good to start early if that helps.
An open vehicle that allows you to quickly get your bean bag on the window or better, always have it there, ease of getting on the floor for eye level shots with flexible doors, allowing open roofs or flexible roofs for stand up shots of say giraffes would be the dream vehicle. I learnt these over the course of multiple safaris, what I prefer and how I like to photograph. So, while this might not be the same for you, the point is to explore the options out there and find something you like and check every time you go on a photography safari for your request. This becomes as important as your camera gear.
Safari Guides
Very Very Very Important!!!! I cannot stress on this enough. Since you might most often be in a different country, wildlife habitat and non-familiar surroundings, it is very important that you have someone who can do these for you, and do it well. It is also a key point to discuss with your tour operator. Having a safari guide who is one, knowledgeable of animal behavior and its habitat, and two, who is committed to your and the animal’s safety are perhaps the most important traits I would suggest we need to look for. If he/ she is aware of photography, they don’t have to be experts in the field, just need to be people who understand the basics of photography and appreciate the efforts that go into composing a shot, then you hit jackpot. Even if they are not, if they are easy to talk to and are able to understand your requests of say placing the vehicle at a certain angle or in a certain spot in a certain way, and get into position quickly, that would also work nicely.
However, reality is not always that sweet. We have had more failures than jackpots. I was visiting the gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and the guide (In this instance, the guide was provided by the park on the day of our visit. That is usually the case for gorilla treks and are managed by park authorities. We later learnt you could place a request through your agent for a guide who is familiar with photography or has worked with photographers. A miss on our part, but well, this article is about that.) who was with us, I did mention to him I was a photographer, I don’t think he cared, and though in the briefing he said he will call our name and say move left or right in case a gorilla comes too close, never did get my name at all. When the gorilla did come at me about 40 minutes into the allotted one hour visit, and dragged my rain jacket’s hood, of course along with me and knocked me to the ground, all everyone could do was stand back and watch in horror. I kid you not. And no, I did not wander off or poke my 100-400mm lens in a gorilla’s face. I was with the general group, crouched, and trying to take a picture yes, but not bothering anyone. What went wrong here on introspection was that the guide had ignored warning signs. This was the largest gorilla family in the park and had multiple silverbacks and black-backs (sub-adults) and they were showing restless energy (one of them had already dragged another person and another had pushed through the group) all through our visit. We should have perhaps left earlier or moved farther. Another thing I learnt later was, during October, the gorillas tend to eat a lot of bamboo and this results in fermentation in their stomach leading to a certain intoxicated state. Add multiple sub-adult male gorillas or boys to that and I don’t blame the animals at all. They were as animals are. Also, during the briefing no one tells what to do if a gorilla does drag you. If you go, please ask the right questions I did not ask or at least know, so you can be vigilant.
I’m thankful I’m ok and without injury, but let’s say it’s not something I’ll ever forget and something I wish I had known earlier. Point here is I might have prevented it If I had known this was a real risk. Might I have not gone? no, I would have, just that I would have paid more attention to my surroundings. I might've even chosen not to take my camera with me. Flash news here to me was this was dangerous stuff - dangerous more to a photographer who is looking through the viewfinder to not notice the bamboo cracking next to her by a 300 pound gorilla only to realize the pressure of its hands at the base of my neck. So even though I had taken a permit to visit them the next day I chose not to, at a hefty price. The reason, I’m sure you already know of one, but another was the challenge to photograph them as that was my only purpose.
Firstly they are in a dense forest and the light can be challenging, also given the color of the subjects, the contrast is a challenge. The light hitting the eye is critical for most shots, at least for me. Weather, Position - theirs, yours, Angles - they could be below or above you - very challenging, depending on where you find them and more importantly not having someone who has your back when you are figuring out the details will definitely compromise your safety.
The typical group size is 8 and all want to take a picture of or with the gorilla (in the background of course) and if the guide has not set the tone of preference to a serious photographer than someone taking on an iPhone, please do not get me wrong. There are times I get excellent photos with the iPhone, but it’s different when someone is attempting a composition professionally or creatively. Request you to please take this observation in that tone. It gets challenging to get into a spot where you have a better angle on the subject or frame you are looking for. Additionally, given the vegetation you might later find that that perfect shot is marred by a branch or grass or leaf in the frame or before you could ask another person to give you some space the subject has already moved.
If your guide does not understand that as a photographer your attention could be scattered, and is not there or has not assigned someone to oversee your safety, what happened to me could happen to anyone. I understand this could happen to non-photographers also and this is typically considered normal happenings in gorilla treks and I have previously watched YouTube videos of people being dragged before my personal experiences as well, but as a photographer, I feel this is very important for fellow photographers to know. Also, if you become afraid of an animal you are attempting to photograph, well, good luck with that.
Wildlife viewing is not the same as wildlife photography. The shots that I was able to take of the gorillas on the first day were average at most. Hence the importance of going with leaders or guides who are aware of and can support photographers if that is your primary intent. There are photographers who do this - search them, talk to them and go with them if photography is your intent. These tours too have their challenges, but you might be safer, be with a group with common interests, and have more opportunities than if you ventured alone.
Another option is if you have the resources, do it without your camera first, just observe and inform yourself of the behavior and patterns. When you go again the next day, you at least know what you need to look for. This has worked for me in multiple places and my shots on the second day were almost always much much better than the first. Again, a learned experience when I was photographing bears eating sedge in Alaska. We had to wade through a few miles of mush and mosquito infested landscape to get near to the bears. The viewing was great, the photography not so. Multiple factors, light, heatwaves, the physical frustrations from the insects and the insect net over your eyes blocking your view of what you are photographing. You might write me off as a person who can never become a wildlife photographer and all this is complaining, and that is ok by me. I have physical limitations and sensitivities that I need to look out for, and I’m doing my best. The post is more for those who might relate to me and find the things I write here helpful.
We have had similar challenges elsewhere in our travels too where not all guides understand the complexities or significance of photography and I’ve even had people in some countries look down on me and not give credence to me or the work I do and thereby me not having the comfort levels to be as creative at those times. Another factor is people who have an opinion on your photography and tell you how you should be taking photos. There have been instances where I’ve told the guide to stop the vehicle at a particular spot and they do it too late, and they instead stop at a place and tell me to take a picture of something I don’t want to. I’m not blaming anyone here, but I hope you understand what I’m trying to say here, these are real challenges and photography is a very personal and creative process. Feedback and inputs are welcome but my thoughts shape the image I see and the final outcome. Whether it changes based on someone’s feedback is upto me. If we all did the same things, there wouldn’t be any creativity no? So, yes - there are multiple factors that go behind that good looking wildlife photograph, the photographer’s creativity, imagination, dream, time, energy and money.
Look out for yourself. Even with someone like me who does do the research, I missed a lot - its impossible to read all the articles out there, I mean you are not going to search for ‘why would a gorilla drag you’ on google when you are searching for gorilla treks O_O.
So yes, a good guide can make or break your trip. Invest in it, it might save your life.
Your knowledge of the animal’s habitat/ behavior/ environment
This is also quite an underrated topic when it comes to wildlife photography. A good working knowledge about the subjects you are looking to photograph increases your chances of taking signature photographs that could include behaviors, interactions and stories. I used to like taking portraits but these days its reserved to only when I see a frame that enchants me. I’m much more interested in capturing an interesting conversation between members of a lion pride or how a weaver bird gets in and out of its nest and attempting to capture the materials it brings to its nest. You can foresee the interaction only when you know the point in time at which it can generally happen. The guides are usually helpful at this, but again it helps to talk to them about it so they can help educate you about it. It would also help if you are particularly focused about an animal, to have researched about it. Knowing about their behaviors, family, interactions, quirky habits etc., can even help you imagine the kind the pictures you might want to capture. It is not assured you will get it, but you can wait for it to happen if you choose to do so. It can also help in tracking and spotting animals when you come across environments that might be suitable to a given animal’s lifestyle. It can also help with safety and education as additional brownie points.
International Travel Fatigue
This is a real thing. Unzipping and zipping your camera bags for security along with shoes, jackets and what not, worrying about how your trip will be to unknown destinations - along with the usual case of jet lag if your destination is on the other side of the world are all fatigue inducing. Excitement overrides most things at the beginning of the trip but its good to be aware of the requirements of international travel, paperwork and documents that you might need and keep them ready to help yourself have an easier and safer travel.
Also ensuring your tour operator is aware of your arrivals and departures and has made sure you will be picked up/ dropped off will also make you feel safer and less worried. During our recent trip to Tanzania, our wonderful tour operator, The WildSource even arranged a dayroom for us before our departure due to an earlier unplanned arrival to Kilimanjaro. They simply made our entire trip exceptional.
Traveling with your camera gear - particularly big lenses
As mentioned above, unzipping and zipping bags with long lenses should be part of your airport security process, as they do attract their attention overseas. In the US, domestically, not so much, but overseas, almost always it attracts inspection, and in some countries you are required to remove them out of the bags and place them in the trays for scanning individually. Do this calmly. Do it flustered and you are going to drop something. Yes, I have dropped something but it was the laptop and yes it survived, Thanks Apple.
Packing your gear correctly and in the right bags, tagging them as heavy/ fragile when placing in overhead bins are all important to prevent passengers trying to move your bags without really understanding how heavy they might be. My long lens bag usually weights close to 11.5 or 12 kgs/ 25 pounds. You do not want your photography bag dropped and definitely not on anyone, so I usually place a homemade fragile/ heavy - ask for assistance if moving tag on the bag handle. This usually deters most people from shifting it.
For International travel and if your do wildlife photography commercially, you might even need to check whether you need a carnet depending on the destination you are traveling to. Even otherwise they might be needed in certain countries to avoid customs and duties.
For bush-flights in Africa, you might have to get an additional seat, also called XL seats to carry your camera bags as the weight restrictions generally will not accomodate all your luggage and camera gear.
Final thoughts - As you can see from the above and if you have been following us, we are not sponsored, we are not famous, but we are passionate about what we do. What I have written here are personal experiences and learnings that I wish I had known earlier and also wish had not happened in some cases. Does not mean to say I will stop photographing wild animals and birds, but goes to say that wildlife photography is not something like pick your camera and go figure. You have to figure first to go and have the best chance at photographing your ideas as best as possible. And while we strive to be as safe as we possibly can, safety of our own and the animals being the first priority there are a thousand things that can go wrong between the time you pick your camera to focus and click that shutter button. Being aware yourself, having prepared for a specific trip, and ensuring there are knowledgeable and trustworthy people who understand what you do and are looking out for you will make sure your safety is never compromised and your dream frames see light, literally!
I hope it helps some of you out there when you are planning photography focused travels and helps better utilize your time and money. You can reach out to us as well if you have any specific questions on the topic. Thanks for reading!