At a recent social event in my hometown, my friend Cindy shared something of a back-handed compliment about my photographs that a friend of hers made about my wildlife photos. Her friend said: “Oh, he doesn’t take those pictures; he gets them from National Geographic or someplace like that.” We laughed loudly and thought it was such an interesting “compliment.” That’s when I told Cindy that I actually contacted Nat Geo when I was 25, including a personal visit to their Washington, DC office. “Maybe it’s time to re-apply,” I said jokingly, which garnered another happy laugh between us.

While photographing members of an active group of 8 Masai Giraffes, this moment of pause provided a favorite wildlife photo on the edge of the Serengeti Plains, one of the best locations for anyone to become a better wildlife photographer quickly (170mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/500 shutter speed, 400 ISO).

That fun discussion made me think a little more along the lines of the fact that earlier in my career I often didn’t admit to being a photographer. I always professed to being a wildlife biologist, yet I was also an editor, a writer, and a photographer. But when living in San Diego, my friend Quino introduced me to some of his friends, saying, “This is our friend Paul, he’s a wildlife photographer;” and that somehow convinced me that, ya, that’s it, I’m a wildlife photographer (even though I get paid for being an editor or wildlife biologist; and being a writer and photographer is more a part of a package I bring to any position to provide a “full package of talents.”

A favorite Rocky Mountain image, I photographed these impressive Grizzly Bears above treeline in overcast sprinkling weather the first time I encountered them. Returning the following sunny morning, the bears used the same route to access water on the shore of a small mountain lake, providing similar photo opportunities under much-improved lighting conditions. Of course, I was in a safe position with a deep cliff between us when they climbed down the mountain slope (350mm zoom lens, f-10 aperture, 1/640 shutter speed, 400 ISO).

So here, among Birding Wire readers, I am known as a bird photographer, which is true – as true as the fact that as a wildlife biologist, I’m almost always a bird biologist. But tonight for example, I photographed 3 White-tailed Deer with antlers in velvet as they were feeding together. That means that tonight I was more of a wildlife photographer, although I also took photos of many birds, including Swainson’s Hawks, Gadwalls, Blue-winged Teal, Mourning Doves, and Ring-necked Pheasants – all wildlife. When you think about it, almost all the wildlife we encounter are birds; birds provide more variety, more numbers, and more photo opportunities.

While photographing Blue Whales a couple miles offshore from my previous home in San Diego, Common Dolphins approached the ship at times. Ready for action, I was able to photograph this dolphin during its leaping flight as it paralleled the ship (130mm zoom lens, f-10 aperture, 1/1250 shutter speed, 400 ISO).

Those above activities and thoughts spawned the idea of sharing a little different angle on Bird Photography by expanding the topic a bit this week to include “wildlife photography.” As excited as I get about birds – locally, nationally, and worldwide – I get just as excited about the gamut of wildlife. Having worked on all 7 continents, including 46 countries, I have photographed birds and other wildlife wherever I go. Among the variety of impressive wildlife landscapes I’ve witnessed nature in motion at some remarkably wildlife-rich locations ranging from Africa’s Serengeti, Luangwa, and Okavango regions; South America’s Amazon Basin, Andes Mountains, and Pantanal; Pacific islands from Fiji to Easter Island, plus into the North Pacific and the Bering Sea isles from Russia to Alaska, and south to Antarctic islands – as well as wild lands of north and northeast Australia, and south and east Asia.

After an overnight snowfall covered Teton country, an impressive bull Moose fed among a small herd of 5 in beautiful early November sunlight. Zoom lenses are especially helpful when photographing mammals, which are often much larger than the largest birds (140mm zoom lens, f-10 aperture, 1/640 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

I’m not bragging, but without this background, some readers might imagine I’m a local-yokel from North Dakota – and I am, proudly, but there has always been one driving focus in my life – my interest in wildlife, especially birds. Just as cranes, eagles, parrots, and seabirds have fueled work travels, so have wild sheep, bears, tigers, elephants, and others. That said, as rambling as it may be, it is an introduction to how I decided to expand a bit this week and provide photo illustrations that feature other animals I have photographed while conducting field research on birds or working as an environmental consultant. At the same time, I hope this article provides a better understanding that although I usually focus solely on birds and bird photography, my photo and personal interests do have more of a broader wildlife focus. Rarely, I also venture into photographing historic architecture, landscape, sports, and people, but not very often these days.

Bird photography tends to have fewer dangerous subjects than other forms of wildlife photography, but when visiting areas with poisonous snakes, we literally should watch every step we take. Among the most poisonous snakes, a Mojave Rattlesnake is not commonly encountered, but always a point of interest if not considerable concern; and remember, rattlesnakes don’t always rattle (210mm zoom lens, f-16 aperture, 1/500 shutter speed, 400 ISO).

For the most part, the difference between photographing birds and photographing other wildlife is not very different at technical or lighting levels, but there are some distinct differences between birds and mammals, and birds and reptiles. Actually, in some cases the biggest difference is the danger level of photographing in the field. In areas of southern and east Africa for example, it’s paramount to be aware of the possibility of encountering dangerous animals like lions, buffalo, hippos, and a variety of poisonous snakes. Grizzly Bears, and especially Polar Bears are similarly dangerous, as are rattlesnakes, cobras, and other poisonous snakes. In fact, you essentially need to watch where you place your foot during every step to be sure you avoid a rare encounter with a poisonous snake.

Big mammals seem to provide more opportunities for action photography, as with these African Elephants that stopped and smelled to assess the vehicle that stopped along their route. Standing on the edge of a larger herd of 9, these 2 were the dominant females; notice that the elephant on the right only has one tusk (130mm zoom lens, f-10 aperture, 1/1000 shutter speed, 400 ISO).

Even so, these are the kinds of animals that often attract photographers, hobbyists, and travelers the most – although maybe not the snakes – ha. And since I mention travelers, the more we travel for birding or in search of wildlife experiences, the broader our photo files become, and the better photographers we become. A week in the Serengeti Plains can help anyone rise to the next level as a wildlife photographer – providing a year’s worth of photo experience just by the multitude of photo opportunities created hour by hour, including the variety of antelope, and such obvious animals as zebras, giraffes, baboons, crocodiles, and lions – plus Kenya offers more than 1,100 species of birds to search for and try to photograph.

When you can get down to the ground level of a smaller animal, like this Long-tailed Weasel that was showing its winter color late last fall, the photo takes on a more intimate feeling than when you photograph from a standing position. It probably also makes the animal less concerned when we make ourselves small rather than tall (600mm zoom lens, f-14 aperture, 1/2000 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

One thing about mammals though, they tend to be larger than birds, which is a big plus when trying to photograph them. If an animal is larger, there is less need to get closer. That’s where a zoom lens really provides an important range of magnification for you to work wonders with in the field. In Kenya I used a very versatile 35-to-350mm zoom lens that provided a wide angle view for photos of large herds of wildebeest and zebras, or to zoom in on a resting cheetah from a safe distance (and from a safe vehicle). For bird photos, I formerly used my 400mm telephoto lens almost exclusively, and today I use a very versatile 150-to-600mm Tamron zoom lens with vibration compensation to photograph birds, mammals, reptiles – even insects and spiders.

An excited Rocky Mountain Bighorn ram approaches a female, showing a classic spark of behavior that is typical of Bighorn interactions during fall and winter when rams join mixed-sex and mixed-age groups. As with any wildlife photography, always try to anticipate action after making sure your camera is technically ready by checking the aperture and shutter speed (400mm telephoto lens, f-8 aperture, 1/1600 shutter speed, 400 ISO).

Aside from bats, most mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and other wildlife cannot fly, which makes them a little easier to photograph than birds too. But isn’t flight one of the things that attracts us to birds, that enthuses us to photograph birds in flight? It’s one of the many things that sets birds apart for photographers and that attracts us all to become birders. Also, birds seem to be everywhere, while most days I see very few mammals, amphibians, reptiles, or other wildlife, partly due to the nocturnal nature of most other animals and the diurnal behavior of birds. But birds are distinguished in one other way – they have attracted a percentage of humans to become birders – and even the word “birder” is unparalleled among other wild animal groups – there are no reptilers or mammaliers, or even frogwatchers.

During September, bull Elk become most active, bugling often and gathering a group of females during the mating season; this spectacular bull already had a herd of 12 he was guarding. Over the years, I have found that locations that are good for photographing mammals are rarely good for photographing birds, so it’s sometimes necessary to choose your photo destinations with that in mind (350mm zoom lens, f-9 aperture, 1/1250 shutter speed, 400 ISO).

Yes, birds deserve their favored place among wildlife, and bird photography creates a most noble level of success when you can photograph any bird that flies, swims, walks, or runs. Keep the sun at your back as you photograph birds, be ready for action, and enjoy all the birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, and other living things as you walk the earth with your camera! (To view a mixed selection of Paul’s favorite wildlife photographs, you can refer to Wildlife Adventures and yes, he took all those photographs – ha-ha!)

Article and Photographs by Paul Konrad

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