By Tom Martens

16 October 2008

By TOM MARTENS

I always wanted to be a wildlife photographer.

In checking out web sites or watching programs at our local photo club, I stared transfixed in awe at the dazzling photographs of wild animals. You know the photos of baby hummingbirds in a nest ... the telephoto shot of sunset reflecting in an eagle's eye ... the close-up of a mountain lion from a blind ... the shots of those ham-it-up-for-the-camera turtles in Galapagos.

I wanted to be one of them in the worst way. But, alas, I have certain limitations.

I don't live on an island without people -- where my only neighbors are birds, bees and bugs. I live in Davis, California, a college town between San Francisco and Sacramento. My neighbors are wild all right, but of the beer drinking student variety.

I would be divorced or dead (killed by my wife) if I dropped three grand on a telephoto camera lens.

I would be equally dead if I announced that I would be spending the weekend in the Galapagos to take photos. I would be dead twice over if I announced that I would spending our anniversary night in a blind, so I could get that early morning photo or a mating red tail hawk.

What's a wannabe wildlife photographer to do?

To be a successful wildlife photographer, I had to first get over the "National Geographic Syndrome," the notion that the only good photo is a publishable, once in a lifetime shot that takes infinite patience and tons of expensive equipment. It's OK if my photos regularly get published only as screen savers on my computer. My audience is myself for the most part.

Like any good photographer, I've learn to adapt, to find opportunities that allow photography without super fancy equipment or exotic locations.

With that in mind, here are some tips on my road to success as a wildlife photographer.

Before beginning, a confession is in order.

I earn part of my income as a freelance outdoor writer, so do get out in places where wildlife hang out. However, I write mostly about conservation and fly fishing for trout, not the most photogenic of species, although some of my trout fishing buddies will argue differently.

So here goes:

EQUIPMENT. Although it's not impossible, creating any kind of memorable wildlife images with a camera phone or a point-and-shoot camera is a challenge. Thankfully, the price of the 35 mm type digital camera is dropping, and some kits even include a longer lens. Some time ago, I purchased an Olympus E-500, 8 megapixel camera kit , which came with two zoom lenses, one that went out to 150 mm (the equivalent of 300 mm in the old, 35 mm days). That has proven to be plenty of camera and lens to begin. You should, of course, spring for a tripod or unipod to get the sharpest photographs.

ROAD KILL SHOOTING . Well, shooting road kill may produce a certain kind of wildlife photo, but that's not what I mean. I have learned the fine of shooting wildlife out of a car window before the animal becomes road kill. The challenge of shooting wildlife is that animals don't sit still (hence the name wildlife). This is not like shooting photos of house pets, which can fed into posing submission with dog or cat treats. But many wild animals seem to tolerate cars, probably because there are so autos around.

I considered buying a nice, $20,000 pickup truck, so I could stand in the bed with a camera and tripod taking wildlife photos. My wife would, of course, dutifully do the driving. I considered that option for the moment, and then abandon of the plan before it was even presented to my wife (I couldn't decide what kind of truck to buy). But I digress.

As an alternative, I rigged a little car window cradle that holds the camera. This allows for taking great photographs while slowly driving down country roads or in wildlife areas (note from my busy body lawyer: be sure you stop the car before taking the picture). By the way, many spotting scopes come with car window attachments that will work with a camera, so check with your birder friends, because they might have one for free.

SPOTTING SCOPES. Speaking of spotting scopes, if you own one, check on the manufacturer, because a number of them are starting to sell camera attachments. Some of the designs are pretty hokey and made for point and shooters, but others are made for 35 mm type digitals. Check out the camera makers that also sell scopes (e.g. Nikon, etc., because they seems to be ahead of the others). One of the members of our local photo club brought a Nikon setup to the show-and-tell night. The rig, which included scope and camera, cost some $2,000, which is beyond my budget.Shooting from a boat. In waters with boat traffic, wildlife don't seem to be too bothered by slow moving watercraft ... the more quiet the boat the better. I have good luck shooting wildlife from a canoe, but also from my small aluminum fishing boat. It's got an electric fishing motor, which helps. This works well in small rivers, where the shoreline is close. It also works for taking pictures of sea lions that regularly feed on salmon in our local waters.

ZOO SHOOTING . The key to good wildlife photos is to find subjects that don't move too much and provide for close-up shots. Zoos provide such settings, except most wildlife look like they are on drugs. And zoos have those pesky bars on cages, which are hard to shoot through. I'm not fond of shooting in zoos, but they do have a good supply of well fed wildlife.

URBAN PARKS. Surprisingly, some urban parks made good settings for taking wildlife photos. As example, there is a hawk that hangs around the buffalo paddock in the Golden Gate State Park in San Francisco that loves to pose for the passing tourists.

WILDLIFE REHAB CENTERS. While you may have to become a volunteer to get in, wildlife rehabilitation centers make wonderful places for wildlife photography. Some will treat injured animals, which are off limits for photography, but others keep a number of wild animals that can't be returned to the wild and are used for school programs. In my home town, we are lucky to have a center that rehabs raptors, which make great subjects. These are great places to shoot portraits of wild animals, including rare and endangered species.

SCHOOL PROGRAMS. There seem to be a growing number of wildlife groups that make presentations to elementary schools. Tag along on one of these, because they usually include talks that involved live animals. Use a long lens to blur out the blackboard in the background, and your friends will think the photo was shot in the wild.

WILDLIFE FESTIVALS. I find that wildlife festivals are great places to shoot photos of wild animals. Many of them include tours of wildlife viewing sites that are led by experts, biologists, birders, other photographers with very expensive equipment.

WILDLIFE TOURS. Watch for wildlife viewing tours, because they provide a great opportunity to get photos. These are typically sponsored by wildlife areas, nonprofit wildlife sanctuaries, parks departments and open space districts. Most of the tour leaders are wildlife photographer wannabees themselves, so they welcome fellow photogs.

SHOOTING SMALL CRITTERS. Don't forget that small critters make great subjects things like may flies and dragon flies, bumble bees, lizards, cockroaches, angleworms, bats.

BACKYARD SHOOTING. It invariably happens. I come home from spending afternoon getting skunked shooting wildlife in the wild only to find a hummingbird posing at the feeder. Or a couple of love birds smooching on the power line. Or a squirrel in a head-to-head standoff with a rat.

Snap. It an instant, I'm a wildlife photographer.

Oh yeah, another confession is in order. I never really saw a picture of the sunset reflecting in an eagle's eye. I'd like to though.

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