Jon Adams and Andrew James present 10 great ways to capture amazing wildlife shots – no safari needed!
There’s a belief that a truly great wildlife shot needs to be of an exotic species, captured in an T exotic place. But ‘exotic’ is a highly subjective term that pretty much depends on your starting point. After all, if you live near the Masai Mara, then ‘exotic’ may apply far more to a British butterfly than to a local lion.
With that in mind, a great shot of a humdrum domestic species will always trump a so-so shot of something less familiar – and for most of us, the former will be far more accessible and present many more opportunities. We’re not suggesting you turn down a Safari trip should the chance arise, but if you want to take wildlife shots, starting close to home will refine your technique and get you results that can be just as rewarding.
Over the next few pages, we’ll reveal 10 great ways you can begin or bolster your wildlife portfolio, all of which are accessible to those with some general-purpose shooting kit and a little bit of time to devote to the subject. The latter is important, as wild subjects run on their timetable – not yours – and embracing this is all part of the fun. It’s often said that patience is a virtue, and nowhere is this more true than in wildlife photography. But persevere with any of these projects, and you will be rewarded just as much as you would be on a week’s Safari and, even better, you won’t have a colossal bill to pay!
1 BAG A BACKLIT BUTTERFLY
If getting a crisp, clean shot of a butterfly is tricky enough, then I bagging one with the wings delicately backlit by sunlight might seem a step too far. However, keeping a close eye on the weather and the periods of activity in your back garden or local nature reserve will tell you that early in the morning is the best time to venture out.
Butterflies are relatively inactive as they warm up in the sun, and provided you don’t spook them with sudden movements, you can get fairly close to them as they pose. A macro lens or a long telephoto are good choices, but lock your focus point on the closest eye and use an aperture value around f/5.6 to give some leeway with the depth of field.
You can always open up to f/4 or larger for a more creative, shallow focus effect but try to get your ‘keeper’ first, in case your subject decides to flutter off. You will probably prefer to shoot handheld so that you can work quickly. Increase ISO as necessary to get a fast shutter speed of 1/500 sec or more to avo
