The beauty of wildlife photography - article
WHAT MAKES ME CLICK?
On the face of it wildlife photography is idiotic. How can something so exasperating, unsociable, expensive and time consuming bring joy to anyone but the most obstinate, fat-headed hermit? Nonetheless, (or perhaps due to this fact), wildlife photography is my passion. I am no more than a fledgling participant in the world of shutters and apertures, but the obsession drew me in quickly and it wasn’t long after acquiring my first SLR that I found myself slithering through the sodden undergrowth in a distant wood, stalking an unknowing muntjac. Of course, all I took away with me that day was a filthy set of clothes and a healthy appreciation for a muntjac’s sense of smell. Despite this lack of success, I knew I had already been beguiled by the enchanting world of wildlife photography. But why? It was a dull day, in an unassuming wood and I was alone and hungry - not words that conjure up a delightful image; more like a kidnap victim reminiscing their ordeal. I’d walked through countless woods before and seen far more illustrious creatures than the humble muntjac, but I’d never felt like this. The difference was I was looking at the world with a fresh pair of eyes. To be numerically accurate, I should say I was looking with one eye - the eye of a lens to be precise.
THE ROSE TINTED CYCLOPS
Once you begin to understand the ‘rules’ of photography you begin to look for, and see, the beauty in everything around you. Things that were once mundane and lacking in interest become dazzling spectacles of wonder. Wet moss becomes a shroud of verdant colour that sparkles in the sunlight as it cloaks a coarse, wizened log. You begin to look twice at starlings and realise that the older males shimmer with iridescent colour. I knew this fact already, but I never really took it in - not really. I don’t remember bird song sounding sweeter when I fell in love, but I notice it now. Apologies to my dear wife, but it’s true. This is the magic of wildlife photography; your senses throb so much that you can hear the blood pump through your ears. It’s a sure fire way of appreciating the simple things in life and, in the end, isn’t that what most people aspire to?
SIMPLE IN ITS COMPLEXITY
The fundamentals of photographing the natural world are simple, but like so much burnt skin there is always another enticing layer to peel back. One of the joys of photography is that it’s easy to get a lot better very quickly, yet you will never stop learning and improving. The more you know, the more you know you don’t know! With understanding comes appreciation - an appreciation for the complexity, diversity and singular beauty of all living things. What wildlife photography offers over spotting and watching is that you are forced to interact more intensely with your subject, learning it’s nuances, habits and capabilities. It truly enriches the experience. Realising that a blackbird often defecates before flying away is not particularly useful or interesting information to a spotter, but to a photographer that knowledge can be the difference between capturing a blackbird in flight, or not. Not only does a wildlife photographer appreciate the natural world for its more obvious and inherent splendours, but every living thing becomes fascinating and a potential subject for scrutiny and interest.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
I slaver in delight at what lies ahead for me. Whether I’m jauntily striding through a local wood, struggling through a pugnacious bog, or sat perishing in a lonesome hide for countless hours; I will always have my camera by my side to remind me what a breathtaking world we live in. I can bathe in the knowledge that my enthusiasm will never falter - how can it when I have millions of potential subjects to shoot, from infinite angles, in countless locations, using myriad techniques. No, if I ever become tired of photography, I shall be tired of life. But for now I need to give some attention to a very special exotic bird; my wonderfully understanding, supportive and patient Malay wife - the other love of my life.
On the face of it wildlife photography is idiotic. How can something so exasperating, unsociable, expensive and time consuming bring joy to anyone but the most obstinate, fat-headed hermit? Nonetheless, (or perhaps due to this fact), wildlife photography is my passion. I am no more than a fledgling participant in the world of shutters and apertures, but the obsession drew me in quickly and it wasn’t long after acquiring my first SLR that I found myself slithering through the sodden undergrowth in a distant wood, stalking an unknowing muntjac. Of course, all I took away with me that day was a filthy set of clothes and a healthy appreciation for a muntjac’s sense of smell. Despite this lack of success, I knew I had already been beguiled by the enchanting world of wildlife photography. But why? It was a dull day, in an unassuming wood and I was alone and hungry - not words that conjure up a delightful image; more like a kidnap victim reminiscing their ordeal. I’d walked through countless woods before and seen far more illustrious creatures than the humble muntjac, but I’d never felt like this. The difference was I was looking at the world with a fresh pair of eyes. To be numerically accurate, I should say I was looking with one eye - the eye of a lens to be precise.
THE ROSE TINTED CYCLOPS
Once you begin to understand the ‘rules’ of photography you begin to look for, and see, the beauty in everything around you. Things that were once mundane and lacking in interest become dazzling spectacles of wonder. Wet moss becomes a shroud of verdant colour that sparkles in the sunlight as it cloaks a coarse, wizened log. You begin to look twice at starlings and realise that the older males shimmer with iridescent colour. I knew this fact already, but I never really took it in - not really. I don’t remember bird song sounding sweeter when I fell in love, but I notice it now. Apologies to my dear wife, but it’s true. This is the magic of wildlife photography; your senses throb so much that you can hear the blood pump through your ears. It’s a sure fire way of appreciating the simple things in life and, in the end, isn’t that what most people aspire to?
SIMPLE IN ITS COMPLEXITY
The fundamentals of photographing the natural world are simple, but like so much burnt skin there is always another enticing layer to peel back. One of the joys of photography is that it’s easy to get a lot better very quickly, yet you will never stop learning and improving. The more you know, the more you know you don’t know! With understanding comes appreciation - an appreciation for the complexity, diversity and singular beauty of all living things. What wildlife photography offers over spotting and watching is that you are forced to interact more intensely with your subject, learning it’s nuances, habits and capabilities. It truly enriches the experience. Realising that a blackbird often defecates before flying away is not particularly useful or interesting information to a spotter, but to a photographer that knowledge can be the difference between capturing a blackbird in flight, or not. Not only does a wildlife photographer appreciate the natural world for its more obvious and inherent splendours, but every living thing becomes fascinating and a potential subject for scrutiny and interest.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
I slaver in delight at what lies ahead for me. Whether I’m jauntily striding through a local wood, struggling through a pugnacious bog, or sat perishing in a lonesome hide for countless hours; I will always have my camera by my side to remind me what a breathtaking world we live in. I can bathe in the knowledge that my enthusiasm will never falter - how can it when I have millions of potential subjects to shoot, from infinite angles, in countless locations, using myriad techniques. No, if I ever become tired of photography, I shall be tired of life. But for now I need to give some attention to a very special exotic bird; my wonderfully understanding, supportive and patient Malay wife - the other love of my life.
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