Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
Macro photography is fun and it opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities. Naturally, the same goes for macro photos of wildlife such as snakes, frogs, spiders, and other tiny creatures roaming the earth.
If you’d like to start photographing the wildlife up close, especially in remote locations, there are a few things to keep in mind. And in this video from B&H, photographer Colby Brown shares with you five tips to help you get started.
I grew up watching wildlife documentaries and David Attenborough was always a favourite in our household. So naturally, when I started my photography journey I fantasised about photographing exotic wildlife in beautiful locations: polar bear cubs in Svalbard, emperor penguins in Antarctica, snow leopards in the Nepalese mountains. Funnily enough all cold-weather locations but maybe it’s just because we are currently in a heatwave!
Getting started in wildlife photography can seem daunting at first, but it really doesn’t have to be. You can start small, and even if you live in the middle of an urban jungle you can still find plenty of interesting wildlife to photograph. In this excellent video, wildlife photographer Roie Galitz shares his top 10 tips for beginning to shoot wildlife (with a camera obvs).
One commercial photographer I know who shot a lot of pet food advertisements used to joke that the animals in his studio were so well trained he could almost get the cats to go make him a coffee. Not so with wild animals, unfortunately, where the saying ‘never work with animals’ becomes pretty accurate. This photographer found out the hard way when this elephant took a distinct disliking to his camera gear.
In the video posted by TikToker hannahrosealt we see a man with his camera bag of equipment, shouting in despair at an elephant who appears to be having a good old time crunching up his tripod.
A wildlife photographer had a close encounter with a black bear when he was out photographing in Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. But his instincts as a photographer overtook his survival instincts and he filmed and photographed the whole encounter, even up to the point when he had to resort to using bear spray.
Curtis Matwishyn says that he was out shooting photos on a trail when the bear started following him. He started out a good 100 metres away, far enough that Curtis was actually having to use his long lens to capture the bear.
A group of ten world-renowned wildlife photographers have teamed up with animal activists PETA to send a letter to Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MOD). The letter requests that the Queen’s Guard no longer use real black bearskins in their uniform, particularly in the ceremonial helmets.
The letter states that “the only way bears should be shot is through a lens”, and asks Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace to change to using sustainable faux fur for the uniform instead.
Being a wildlife photographer can bring you many adventures. One of them is interacting with animals that trust you and don’t want to do you any harm (sometimes even bears!).
Wildlife photographer, filmmaker, and conservationist Nick Kleer was recently lucky enough to gain the trust of a gang of meerkats. They didn’t only approach him – they climbed on him to get a higher vantage point and better see the surroundings. Thankfully, Nick’s camera was around and he filmed this adorable encounter, and I believe it’s the cutest thing you’ll see today.
Another day, another animal eats a GoPro…or so it seems anyway. This time, it was the turn of a hungry and curious alligator in Florida’s Everglades that decided to see how a camera tastes.
Photographer and filmmaker Bobby Wummer was filming some shots of the ‘gator in Ochopee, Florida. Just to be on the safe side, he had mounted his GoPro on a 12-foot long pole and was making sure he kept it high out of the way. But obviously, it wasn’t high enough.
Given the date, it does sound like a practical joke, but no. Camtraptions has released a solar panel for speedlights. Yup, you heard me. It definitely seems a little odd, but there’s a practical application here that’s pretty specific. It’s for using with camera traps that are often left out in the wilderness for days or weeks at a time or around dangerous animals where you don’t have the ability to swap out batteries every day.
The solar panel essentially keeps the speedlight’s batteries topped up during the day so that it can do its thing at night without user intervention. It plugs into an adapter cable that goes into the external power socket on the Camtraptions Flashes and then charges up four Ni-MH rechargeable AA batteries inside it.
It’s common for animals to cosy up for the winter months and find a nice comfortable place to call home. It’s not so common, however, when that cosy nest happens to be inside the viewfinder of your camera!
Photographer Joel Robison got quite the shock when he discovered his camera had been converted into his very own Spider Holster, with this little guy quietly chilling out inside his camera. Joel estimates that the spider has probably been there for around 10 days at this point, and is currently showing no signs of moving out.
Have you been feeling a bit stressed out recently? If so, take a look at this amazing video created by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).
The video shows 29 different species of jellyfish, pulsating gently to music as they swim around in the water. It’s 10 minutes of total calmness and has a sort of meditative quality to it.
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