As a boy growing up in northern Wisconsin, I always enjoyed walking in the woods and seeing wildlife. It was exciting when I spotted something out of the ordinary—a fox or an owl or a colorful bird. This interest persisted over the years but I never really considered trying to photograph the wildlife until after I retired and had much more free time on my hands. A friend suggested I buy a camera. We went to Target and I bought a Cannon Powershot.
Once started, I was hooked. This camera allowed me to get some nice pictures, but I quickly became aware of its limitations. I bought a used Nikon DSLR and a variety of lenses and watched many YouTube videos, trying to learn how to capture the beauty that I saw on my walks. I bought and sold several cameras over the years and I am now using a mirrorless Nikon Z 50 II. Gradually, as I came to appreciate how important lighting and background are in photography, I was able to take pictures that I was really proud of.
Wildlife photography is particularly interesting because you never know when or where your subject will appear. You may be trying to photograph birds flying over a lake where the light is bright and you need a very fast shutter speed. Then suddenly something shows up in the shadows and you have to quickly make adjustments or the photo will be severely under exposed. Sometimes you just fire away and try to catch what you can. This can lead to interesting accidents in which the photo isn’t exposed the way you would like, but you get an unexpected result that works.
For a wildlife photographer, patience is an essential tool. I have sat or walked for hours and not taken a single picture. When I think about the amount of time that I have spent simply to get a few pictures of a bird on a stick, I have to question my sanity. But, for me when I see something really remarkable and I am able to get some good pictures, it all seems worthwhile.
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