You can remark it as wild-time game, which surely it is. Wild is the community for animals and not ours so it’s there to decide what they will do and what they want to. You can tell them to make some gesture that well-suit your need, or you can’t ask they to align up in the way you want your frame to be. All you can do is to wait, wait and wait.
Patience is the key factor that play miraculous role to be a Good Wildlife Photographer. Whether you are trying to shoot your backward squirrel or the group of lions sitting with their family, you always need to spend time with them so as to get accustomed with their behavior hence forth. Spending time doesn’t mean it is s waste, it’s never waste at all. Every wildlife has its own personality with own means of life. Like after spending several hours with them you can anticipate what they will or going to do at particular time of a day, whether they are going to catch something for their lunch, which female is more lovable to their cubs, etc. In this way you can capture them at their colorful moods. So, the more time you spend the more you get to know them and their whereabouts which in turn makes your images intimate and revealing.

GEARS AND STUFFS

Telephoto lenses are must to have things in wildlife photography .The range of lenses totally depends on how close you are to the wildlife you are going to capture. Herbivores like gazelles tend to be pretty sensitive to other’s presence; they flee away at once you get close to them ruining your patience and effort you put to get them. For them it’s always sensible to use long range lenses so that you can shoot them far from your car and that they don’t sense your notice.

For Carnivores like cheetahs and lions you don’t need to be so much skittish as they don’t at all are. Ya, that’s Right! I heard of some National Geographic Photographers who had have experiences: lion cubs taking shade under there cars, and ultimately chewing up brake wires.. Anyway, I don’t want you to be in that position but at least you should be that close to see what’s going around.

Lenses like 300mm f2.8, 400mm, and 600mm of Canon are must for wildlife. You should choose one among this wisely that your ambience allows you to get the best. Suppose, you are using 300mm for shooting the carnivores, it’s because they are more tolerant to you. But it won’t be the case while shooting Birds, which are swift and flighty .And same for those who are shy. For them you should use the longest possible telephoto you have. Now, when you are in car its ok to use this 400mm, 600mm long lenses but when you are travelling by foot, hiking it would get very tough for you to hover around with this heavy weights. To ease the carriage you can easily use Teleconverters. They are small, light easy to carry and effectively increase the reach of your gun. It comes in different degree of magnifications. The drawback is that you lose some stops of light that lower your image resolution by a bit, but in overall journey you will be much energetic throughout.

Between all this a Tripod is of great concern, especially when you are in car and shooting for long range. A slight movement will blur away your subjects which is quite annoying. I would prefer you to buy Professionals Ball-Headed tripods which are strong enough to hold long lenses. This are swift, easily moveable to keep track of your wild lives .But while you are hiking don’t think to carry this sturdy tripods which are able to hold 600mm , just try to get natural easily occurring supports as of- tree branches, tree trunks, rocks, boulders etc. Your shoulders will be much happier that I guarantee.

Environment and Animal Personalities

Wildlife has their personality to reveal. Their habitat tells a lot , don’t always go on shooting with telephoto lenses, sometime you should use wide angle lenses to tell in what habitat they live one, where they dwell, feed, etc. Here is a shot by Cary Wolinsky and Bob Caputo, see how beautifully they have showcased the ambience, habitat of buffaloes.

Don’t always get swapped away by what is known as charismatic elements, your eyes get easily attracted towards big things. Don’t let your eyes do that, rather while on foot, be conscious to find out small birds, rabbits and much more. Remember Nature always surprise us, be cautious to get Surprised.

Todo List

Recommended Wildlife DSLRs

Though you can photograph wildlife with any camera, some of the following models are better suited for it than others. Digital SLRs with smaller sensors are ideal because they’re easy to carry in the field and also they offer excellent autofocusing capabilities for still and action situations. I have listed some of the best wildlife DSLRs below, however i will make a separate post reviewing the cameras very soon.

Recommended Wildlife DSLRs
Camera: EOS-1Ds Mark III Sensor: 21.1 MP/FF Stabilization: IS in lens Max. Shooting Rate: 5 fps Anti-Dust: Vibration ISO Range: 50-3200 Longest Lens: 800mm
Camera: EOS 40D Sensor: 10.1 MP/1.6x Stabilization: IS in lens Max. Shooting Rate: 6.5 fps Anti-Dust: Vibration ISO Range: 100-3200 Longest Lens: 800mm

Camera: Nikon D300 Sensor: 12.3MP CMOS, 1.5x Stabilization: VR lenses Max. Shooting Rate: 6 fps Anti-Dust: High-frequency ISO Range: 100-6400 Longest Lens: 600mm
Camera: D90 Sensor: 12.1 MP/1.5x Stabilization: VR in lens Max. Shooting Rate: 4.5 fps Anti-Dust: Vibration ISO Range: 100-6400 Longest Lens: 600mm

Camera: D3 Sensor: 12.1 MP/FF Stabilization: VR in lens Max. Shooting Rate: 9/11 fps Anti-Dust: None ISO Range: 100-25600 Longest Lens: 600mm
Camera: D700 Sensor: 12.1 MP/FF Stabilization: VR in lens Max. Shooting Rate: 5 fps Anti-Dust: Vibration ISO Range: 100-25600 Longest Lens: 600mm

Best Wildlife photography inspirations

Lets see some of the best inspirational wildlife photographs submitted in Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

Recommended Wildlife Photography Lenses

Final Thoughts

Wildlife photography can produce spectacular results for the well-prepared photographer. So choose your camera and lens wisely to get professional wildlife photographs. Meanwhile keep the above mentioned tips in mind, it may be useful to you. If you have any tips, please share with us.