Rustic

Wildlife photography is truly fun, getting on scene and observing the animals, taking hundreds upon hundreds of photos attempting to get one shot out of the bunch. Of course being September, this is in the middle of the rut, and keeping your distance is a priority, with that in mind I pop on my teleconverter longest lens and wait. It doesn’t take long, the animals are running around, making calls, the males chasing each other, the ladies acting like they don’t know these guys. I was between two groups, the largest bull was over near these buildings… the younger males staying to the other side of the open field. I had my choice of photos and compositions. Just had to be patient, and get the shots.

When shooting wildlife a lesson I learned long ago, long before I took up photography, animals repeat actions. If you wait for a bit the animals you’re observing will end up repeating. It’s not a golden rule, but it’s something you can watch play out in nature frequently. This all comes down to patience, and knowing your equipment. You can have your camera pointed the right way, but if you don’t have your settings right, you’ll miss your shot.

When it comes to shooting animals in the field like these elk I’m fond of shooting, learn their habits, their routes, their stops. When you begin to understand the animal, you’ll get better photos, even without my long lens. I started shooting them three years ago with a maximum focal length of 135mm, today I have a maximum value of 560mm with the teleconverter. If you can’t pay for the full lens, check out lens rentals for your camera, they’re surprisingly affordable!

Until Next Time!

Aperture: f8
ISO: 1600
SS: 1/125th
Focal: 560mm

Fujinon 100-400mm + Fujinon 1.4x TC