Wildlife Photography_ From Snapshots to Great Shots - Laurie Excell [23]
Researching Wildlife
Long before you are face to face with your subject, you should have done your homework and learned as much as possible about your subject. Not only will this knowledge give you an edge when it comes to anticipating behavior, but you’ll learn some fascinating information. For example, a grizzly bear cub is born in the dead of winter weighing mere ounces and nurses for several months while its mother hibernates before they both emerge from the den in the spring. The cubs are born with a light-colored necklace (natal ring), which gradually disappears over the course of a summer. If you are interested enough to photograph a subject, you ought to be interested in learning as much as you can about it. Knowledge of your subjects makes the time in the field much more enjoyable and helps to pass the slow times knowing that action can happen at a moment’s notice.
Books
There are many ways to learn about wildlife. Books are a great resource with tens of thousands of titles directed at wildlife in general, as well as those that are specific to an individual species. A good book on birds helps you to identify them and provides you with information on range, plumage during mating and nonmating seasons, size, shape, and so much more. Most libraries have a great wildlife section, but I prefer to build my own library of the subjects that I am most interested in to refer to at my convenience. I also enjoy coffee-table books filled with gorgeous photographs that give me ideas and motivation to go out and make my own beautiful images.
DVDs
DVDs (Figure 4.1) are also a great way to learn more about your subject. Not only will you learn behavior traits, but you’ll get to witness that behavior in action as you watch bulls sparring with each other over harem rights or the mating dance of a prairie chicken. DVDs are informational and inspirational. The Life of Birds and The Life of Mammals narrated by Sir David Attenborough are filled with hours of great footage and information.
Figure 4.1 DVDs are a great way to observe wildlife behavior with narration explaining it at the same time.
Internet
We are so lucky to be living in the current technology age where information on any and all subjects is available at our fingertips. The Internet is full of sites that are dedicated to wildlife. Some sites provide a wealth of information about any subject you are interested in; others focus on what wildlife can be found in a specific location; and still others place an emphasis on protecting our wild heritage. Additionally, there are forums where members share wildlife sightings by area. You can join these forums to learn more and in the process make friends with those of similar interests. Some of the sites I frequent most are the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478) for in-depth information of birds; Wikipedia for a quick overview of any bird, mammal, reptile, and so on that I need to know about; and Birdbrains (http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html), which is an excellent forum for finding current hotspots to photograph birds in Florida. Numerous sites are available. Simply do a search to find information on the subject you are interested in.
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Note
An Internet search for the word wildlife brought up 240,000,000 results.
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Mobile Apps
Nowadays, you can take your research a step further with apps for your portable devices that you can take with you in the field (Figure 4.2) for on-the-spot information. Not only do these apps tell you all about your subjects, but many provide audio of the calls and sounds they make.
Figure 4.2 iBird Pro is one of the apps that I have on my iPad for in-the-field reference.
Local and National Wildlife Organizations
Check your local area for organizations that are dedicated to wildlife, such as the Audubon Society, which is a great resource for learning with all the classes and field trips they offer. Not only will you