anticipate your subject part # 2 - wildlifecampus - game ... · digital wildlife photography course...

Digital Wildlife Photography Course

Anticipate your Subject Part # 2 © Andre Nel &

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Module # 3 – Component # 3

Anticipate your Subject

Part # 2

Capturing the Moment

Believe it or not, this photograph was actually anticipated. The pied crow

flew into the Black shouldered kite's territory and was clearly unwelcome.



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The kite chased the crow a bit, and vice versa - an altercation that lasted a few minutes. Although the action took place at a distance of 100+ metres, I followed it carefully in my viewfinder, looking for something unusual to

happen. As the kite moved above the crow, the crow inverted and challenged it with its talons. I took a few shots of the action. I would

have loved to have been closer, but I wasn't. The picture does not allow for a tight crop (it loses too much in quality) so I kept the birds small and included some of the hill for context.

This photograph was taken at the Mankwe hide in the Pilanesberg Game

Reserve on a busy day - there were dozens of people there and many photographers. To my knowledge, I was the only person to have seen this action, despite the fact that it was accompanied by much squawking from

the raucous crow - everyone else was talking!



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Baby animals are always rewarding subjects, as long as you are patient. If

you are quiet and motionless, they quickly forget that you are there and when they do so, your photographic opportunities are endless. The key to

effective photographs like this is to be silent and still.



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In my time of observing bee-eaters, I noticed that they treated different

insects differently - if they caught a bee, they would gently squeeze it and wipe its sting off on a branch before swallowing it. Hard-shelled beetles tend to be swallowed head first. To get the correct "swallowing position"

of the insect, the bird will sometimes toss it in the air and catch it again. I was expecting this bird to do that and was ready for it when it did.

Here is another bee-eater at the

same perch. This one had a beautiful dragonfly with iridescent

wings. I wanted the picture to not only show the beauty of the bird, but also of its prey, so I moved my

position so that the insect was against a dark portion of the

background, so the sparkle on its wings would be visible, and I waited until the bird turned its

head to show the sparkle.



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African Black Oyster Catchers feed off mussels/oysters that live on rocks

along the tide-line of the shore. At low-tide, the mussels are exposed and the birds move in to feed. They have to pry the tenacious mussels off the rocks with their beaks, and in doing so, they do not always watch the

incoming waves as closely as they should. I was watching a wave approach this distracted bird and simply waited for the inevitable wipe-out.

In the photograph below, the bird escaped from the wave, but I got quite a nice action shot of him doing so.



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Many photographers get so involved with their subject, that they do not look out for

interesting groups.

Pairs of animals can make lovely subjects - especially when both are adopting the

same pose, as these are here, or when they are

interacting with each other, like the elephants below:



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Groups can be effective, so can a good reflection.



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This photograph did not take much anticipation, but it did take observation

- recognising the humour in this huge, ungainly bird wanting to perch on some flimsy reeds. The trick was then to compose the picture to enhance

that humour - the angle of view here helps a lot with that visual impression.

The picture above shows good anticipation. Knowing that the bird would

have to extend its wings at the last moment to brake for the landing, the photographer waited for a good composition to take the shot.



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Waiting for the right pose is what makes this photograph special. The unusual composition and the stark tree-trunk enhance its prehistoric

feeling.



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Patterns always make for good photographs, so try to anticipate them. Here, the photographer waited for the animals to adopt a similar pose -

creating a pattern in itself, and used that to contrast the very strong pattern in the zebras itself. The viewer is left in no doubt that this

photograph is about pattern, and the tight crop reinforces that message. Photographs with a strong, reinforcing message are always pleasing to the viewer.

Observing the behaviour of junior paid off again in this photograph. Notice also how the tight crop shows the difference in size between Mom and baby.



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Watching a bird build its nest provides many opportunities for observation and then anticipation. In this photograph, I wanted to capture the chaff of this woodworker, heavy at work.



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Here, I wanted to depict the bird hard at work, and I chose motion blur to do it. The key to a successful motion blur photograph is to have some of

your subject sharp - in this case, it is the feet. I used a shutter speed of 1/30 s to achieve the effect I was after.



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And finally in this sequence, I knew that the bird would eventually have to try out the nest for size, so I waited for it to do so.

anticipate your subject part # 2 - wildlifecampus - game ... · digital wildlife photography course...

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