Wildlife shots-how?

skyblueads

skyblueads

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I'm thinking of getting up early on Monday morning, around the 4.30 mark, to try and catch some wildlife. My last attempt, in Scotland in the early evening, was a complete failure, I saw nothing. Some of you on here get incredible results. Any advice or suggestions would be ace.

Thanks all. :thumbs:
 
Yeah you need to get up earlier lol, its fully daylight when I get up for work at 4:40, the morning corus is at full swing at 4
 
In my limited experience before first light is when you need to be out and preferably in position. As the light comes up the place will come to life and your moving through after then your likely to disturb the wildlife.
 
You also need to do a little research to make sure your in the right place. Just plonking yourself down in some woods might not guarantee you'll see much. What type of subjects are you after?

Couple of tips though to get you started...
Keep still, get in position and let your subjects come to you.
If nothing appears after 10 minutes don't get up and move. Wildlife photography is a waiting game so simply wondering around to see what you can find won't get you the best results - it may bag you the odd 'good snapshot' but if you want the money shots you have to be prepared to put the time in more often than not.
 
I was thinking of starting a similar topic.

Even since I failed at sneaking up on a heron in the local park I've had this urge to snap one properly.

The park is near the town centre and will probably be pretty busy and noisy, so I'm presuming that I'll have to find a quiet stream somewhere out of the way and just wait?

Also, do you take camo gear or is it not that important?
 
skyblueads said:
I'd like to shoot deer, stoats, foxes, etc. etc. typical British wildlife, basically. So I need to get up around 3 and get in position then?
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Not the easiest of subjects with all being very skittish (apart from urban foxes which should be easier). I've never seen a stoat in the wild but I've had some limited success with deer and foxes - both required noting where and when they appeared for several days to find the best place to get in to position. Of course you could try baiting them in with food to give yourself a helping hand although this can be frowned upon by some and isn't something I like to do.

I usually wear dark clothing and try to keep my hands covered and to an extent my face (not so easy in summer though).
 
Thanks, I wouldn't want to bait as I want to capture something natural, rather than tricking the animal. I'm looking at the Devon Wildlife Trust website to try and pick a location, I guess this is the sort of shoot where experience is a big factor.
 
skyblueads said:
I'm thinking of getting up early on Monday morning, around the 4.30 mark, to try and catch some wildlife. My last attempt, in Scotland in the early evening, was a complete failure, I saw nothing. Some of you on here get incredible results. Any advice or suggestions would be ace.

Thanks all. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

I don't think there is any easy answer to your question.
I have been photographing wildlife for a short time, but watching it for decades.
The fieldcraft involved is important if you want to get close.
Randomly wandering about is more likely to disturb wildlife.

It would help if you had an idea what you are wanting to see.
However, dress in clothing that helps you blend in with the background (avoid clothing that rustles and keep off skylines).
Move slowly and quietly.
Stop often to look around (you'll need plenty patience).
If you happen to spot a deer, fox etc. remain perfectly still. I have noticed that avoiding eye contact causes less alarm so turn your head away and watch out the corners of your eyes ( I found that pulling the skip of my cap down to hide my face helps).
Very early morning is the best time.

I have also come to the conclusion that it is harder to get near wildlife with a camera than a small pair of bincs. I had much more success in getting close until I took a camera.

You may get lucky and find a place where the wildlife are used to people ( not quite as satisfying IMO).

Expect fruitless trips.
 
The location you choose is also something to think about. All animals and birds have one thing in common ~ water. If you can find a water hole or a stream/river you will have heaps more luck I'm sure.

I'll look forward to seeing whatever results you get :)
 
Well I sniffed out a potential location today, there seem to be some human made hides built from twigs etc. up there, so I think I might be lucky up there. I should be in place by around 4am. I'm assuming I should use the longest glass I have?

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I'm really finding it helpful. Photography is the therapy that gets me through my crap day job til I can hopefully go fully time as a journo/photographer and your advice and replies are much appreciated. :thumbs:
 
For stoats,foxes and other predators,get a rabbit squealer.

And get some patience.

Stoat pic for you.......:)

Stoat503.jpg
 
Good luck for the morning.

Try baiting the same area of land for a couple of weeks,predators and scavangers will soon get used to the free food.There is plenty of roadkill about to pick up at the moment.

Use bird feeding stations to attract our feathered friends.

Google rabbit squealer,there are loads out there.
 
Well I've just got back after 4 hours out and I saw nothing. :shake:
When I got to the woods I'm pretty sure a deer heard me, as something (too dark for me to see) made a hell of a racket as it bombed through the ferns away from me. Driving back I saw some Deer in a different wood and a fox bombed across the road in front of me but as for soemthing to photograph? Nope. Nowt. I guess I'll just have to keep trying!
 
skyblueads said:
Well I've just got back after 4 hours out and I saw nothing. :shake:
When I got to the woods I'm pretty sure a deer heard me, as something (too dark for me to see) made a hell of a racket as it bombed through the ferns away from me. Driving back I saw some Deer in a different wood and a fox bombed across the road in front of me but as for soemthing to photograph? Nope. Nowt. I guess I'll just have to keep trying!
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Don't despair, that's about a normal outcome for such a trip.
You can often get a good idea if you are in an area used by deer if you see places where they have scraped away surface vegetation to make a bed (usually not near a path).
Also look for evidence of browsing on young trees.

Stoats & weasels - I see these mostly near stone dykes or heaps of stones. They like to explore holes, but they tend to appear and disappear in a flash.
 
Something else to consider for the hot,dry summer months...(well,we live in hope!)....animals need to drink,if it has been dry for a while,get yourself comfortably sat on a water course either late evening or early morning.

Keep trying though,wild deer are very timid,if they scent,hear or see you getting too close,they will scarper.Deer prints are similar to sheep prints and they are creatures of habit,travelling the same paths generally.Spot them and wait.Vixens will have cubs at the moment,so will be more wary than usual,they are excellent mothers. As mentioned,stoats and weasels hang arond dry stone walls and rabbit warrens,they too will have young to feed.

Sometimes you have to wait for things to come to you i`m afraid.

Sorry if i`m teaching you how to suck eggs here,
 
I always thought this would be a case of 'if at first' so thank-you for the advice. I'll keep trying, I think perhaps I need a better location, I'm gonna do some more research.
 
In Exeter, I've seen foxes in Pennsylvania, Heavitree, St Davids and in the town centre - all in darkness. I've seen badgers in Pennsylvania as well. Plenty of deer in Stoke Woods. Even more up on Haldon and Telegraph hills. If all else fails, there's always Powderham!

If you can, avoid soap and deodourants for a few days before going out - nocturnal and crepuscular animals tend to have a pretrty good sense of smell. Same goes for your clothing - old, dirty (mud etc rather than oil...), quiet (they've got good hearing too!), comfortable kit. Don't smoke or chew gum. Sit as still as possible. Turn your mobile and MP3 player off so you can hear the animals.

Most of the stand out wildlife shots are the result of many hours of waiting - of course, you CAN get lucky but patience tends to be more reliable than luck.
 
Nod said:
In Exeter, I've seen foxes in Pennsylvania, Heavitree, St Davids and in the town centre - all in darkness. I've seen badgers in Pennsylvania as well. Plenty of deer in Stoke Woods. Even more up on Haldon and Telegraph hills. If all else fails, there's always Powderham!

If you can, avoid soap and deodourants for a few days before going out - nocturnal and crepuscular animals tend to have a pretrty good sense of smell. Same goes for your clothing - old, dirty (mud etc rather than oil...), quiet (they've got good hearing too!), comfortable kit. Don't smoke or chew gum. Sit as still as possible. Turn your mobile and MP3 player off so you can hear the animals.

Most of the stand out wildlife shots are the result of many hours of waiting - of course, you CAN get lucky but patience tends to be more reliable than luck.
Click to expand...

I might try Haldon this evening. I'll Sky + Spingwatch. My only concern is some of the, erm, 'nocturnal activities' alleged to go on in Stoke Woods and Haldon Hill. Don't want to bump into anything like that. :puke:
I guess settling down around 8pm til dark would be the way to go?

Also, how should I set up my camera? Stupid question but I'm still very much a noob and don't want to miss anything, should I get lucky
 
skyblueads said:
I might try Haldon this evening. I'll Sky + Spingwatch. My only concern is some of the, erm, 'nocturnal activities' alleged to go on in Stoke Woods and Haldon Hill. Don't want to bump into anything like that. :puke:
I guess settling down around 8pm til dark would be the way to go?

Also, how should I set up my camera? Stupid question but I'm still very much a noob and don't want to miss anything, should I get lucky
Click to expand...

Does photographing "dogging" count as animal photography ?

Doubt it's worth your while hanging around after the available light becomes too weak.
Cannot see you getting within flash range of much.

Glad you are keen to have a go, though.
Best of luck.
 
Settings? Well, as wide as possible an aperture (in Aperture priority mode) with as high an ISO as you're happy with the noise.

We've seen reasonably large herds of deer close to the splay at 3* 35.674' W 50* 39.414' N on Haldon as well as plenty of individuals on both the A380 and A38 (western sides) verges and Old Haldon (where it splits from the A38 just past the racecourse turning, heading towards Exeter). Seen plenty on the road that runs from the A380 across the ridge to the racecourse as well.
 
Research your subjects more, as Fracster said most creatures are creatures of habit wandering the same paths keeping to the same area.....it would be better to find a spot that they graze (deer) and sit at a distance upwind from them (as they will be able to smell you). Any sudden movements are likely to scatter them.
 
Well I'm home, had some limited success, did get a few shots, but they're noisy as hell and the deer were pretty far away. So nothing to shout about, but it seems I've made a little bit of progress and I've got somewhere to go back to and try again.
 
What kit have you got mate?
 
Canon EOS 400D and I was shooting with my EF-S 55-250mm, which is the longest lens I own. That was it really! (Spot the noob!) I'm still learning, as all I've really done with my (limited) kit before is shoot cars and motorsport for the car mags I write for.
 
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