untamedartists

An important factor with wildlife art is photography. Getting behind the lens gives you the opportunity to capture that special moment or pose but what are the features to look for?
Digital photography certainly opens up the opportunities for us to capture the scene more effectively with ultrazoom cameras becoming increasingly cheaper and now sporting lenses that are the equivalent of a massive 504mm lens. For a wildlife artist that gives us a lot of scope in the palm of our hand.
If you are going to look at an ultrazoom camera make sure that it has some very useful features for you. One that I highly recommend is Image stabilization. This can be done a few ways, either by placing a floating lens element inside the lens assembly (Panasonic's Lumix range of cameras use this) or CCD shift (Fuji use this on their large zoom units).
Make sure that the camera has a good quality lens as the lens is the eye of the camera. If it doesn't have good colour reproduction and sharp detail your photos will be lacking no matter what the situation. Stick with the trusted brands and do your research. A great source that I refer to is www.dpreview.com. Their camera reviews are in depth and cover all aspects of the camera, from functions to usability to image tests.
Burst shooting is a handy function for capturing animals that are constantly moving as you can just hold down the shutter and it'll keep firing.
Another factor I'd suggest would be a manual zoom option. This will allow you to override the autofocus system to get your optimum results.

A tripod of some sort will become invaluable for using over long periods and in low light conditions.

Does anyone have a particular trick these use? Let us know!

Excellent topic and one that will be invaluable for wildlife artists. This genre of art has improved out of sight in recent decades with good cameras and the ability to get in close to the action, freeze otherwise unseen movement, etc etc.

You asked if we have any tips. Possibly the biggest tips I can offer are patience and effort. Here's an example. Just a holiday snap, until you realise that this is my wife, almost at the very top of Mount Kenya, and without making the effort to get up there, 'pied piper' situations like this might never have happened. Be prepared to put some work in.



With the following photos, I would have spent upwards of two hours each to get them. I have stacks of photos of the same animal and can now, as you said in another post, choose to use a number of references to create a painting. This is really where patience can work for you.





The rare 'Gerenuk', photographed in Amboseli National Park in Kenya


and the painting that resulted from some of the photos I got



And finally, put yourself out there. Go to where you can get the best reference material. To me, that means go to where they are wild and free, but while you are home, go to the zoo. In this case I did a 'working with wildlife' course at Monarto Zoological Park in the Adelaide Hills and got to feed the zebras, take part in the autopsy of a fox, help dart a giraffe and other things.



Photography can be fun. You don't need the absolute best equipment. That certainly helps, but it's important to try and get out there to start off with, and use what you've got. Patience and hard work can bring incredible rewards and experience.

Very happy to see this here.

Working off of photos seems to be the norm for many wildlife artist, and for many beginners it does mean constantly looking for the photos that can be used in your work. This will almost always lead to copy right issues and creating works that should not actually be sold. Taking your own photos and building a stock of your personal photos certainly seems to be the answer to truly owning and creating a personal work.

VERY recently I upgraded from my canon power shot to a canon 40 D with a canon 28-135 mm lens. I also am currently waiting (very impatiently) for a 100-400 lens. I am fortunate to be in the situation to have purchased this quality of camera, but I must say, all of the devil pics I added to the ref library were from my less expensive power shot and I personally think some of them are excellent pics. Because of the rotating screen on that model I can hold it in many awkward angels and get pics I could NEVER get with all of the new gear. I plan to still carry my power shot everywhere. Moral here, bigger isn't always better in every way and ya don't have to spend a lot to ensure a stock of personal ref pics.

Anywho, this is where I am going with this. Just took a trip to the top end with all my gear. Went to Kakadu, Katherine and Lichfield Parks and so much in between, and in that short time (nine days) I managed to take enough pics to provide me with months of work. And in that time I have learned that taking your own photos is a huge step in creating unique works while truly acquiring a feel for your subject.

My best tip, take as many pics to get those one or two good ones. About twenty pics got me this one (what I consider one of many gems). With all the others of the same owl I got many different poses and was able to capture some of the personality of the this beautiful bird. For this type of shooting, digital is king. In those nine days (8 after travel time) I took over 1500 pics, Can't even imagine doing that with film.

Happy Shooting!

As far as some other tips and tricks- usually the best shots are going to be at eye level, which in many cases means kneeling down or even laying on your belly. Of course eye level is not always possible or the only option and sometimes you can get a unique shot from some other perspective as well.



Be aware of camera distortion, especially when you are using a wider angle lens. It will make the object close to you look very large and things further away too small. If you draw it that way it will look incorrect.

When I am in the field I often shoot environmental shots as well as the animals. These can be used to create reference for believable background and environment for the animals.


Look and learn... while in the field is also a great time to observe your subject and thier behavior. The more you know about your subject, how they move, act, behave, etc. the more you will be able to accurately put this into your work.



Don't overlook zoos, animal parks and captive shoots. While not as good as shooting in the wild, they can give you some shots that you would not be able to capture most likely if only shooting wild animals.

Great insights there Crias! Your expertise behind the lens is well known and I thank you for sharing with us