To gain some insights on the subject, we spoke to Kartic Swaminath, a wildlife photography hobbyist and two-time winner of ICICI Bank’s Cameraderie Photo & Videography Contest.
Understand the Challenges of Wildlife Photography
According to Kartic, as a first step, one needs to understand that wildlife is a very broad category, and covers a whole lot of objects, including birds, animals and more. Particularly, birds are not very easy to shoot. Shooting an animal is comparatively easy as you can always go to a wildlife sanctuary to spot a tiger or a lion, however, it can be very difficult to spot birds.
Look Out for Action
Recalling his experience of two unusual photographs in unusual settings, Kartic highlights the importance of action in spotting unusual objects. For example, in one instance, he had clicked a cheetah on top of a jeep, which looked an unusual action. In another instance, he had taken a picture of some birds chasing lizards, which again was a unique experience.
Kartic reiterates that while it’s easy to click a bird or an animal that’s sitting still, a key element of spotting unusual things is to look for action. If there’s some action involved, it makes the photograph interesting because actions make the photographs lively. Other examples of actions in wildlife photography can be an animal being chased by a predator or a bird scooping down to pick up an object.
Accompany Experienced Photographers
For budding photographers, Kartic strongly recommends to go with people who already have experience of shooting in similar settings. In his case, he religiously followed an experienced wildlife photographer and kept on copying him, until he learnt the skill of spotting. These seasoned photographers have honed their spotting skills overtime, and so it can be very helpful to ‘pick their brains.’
Visit in Groups
Another valuable tip suggested by Kartic is to go out on photography trips in groups of two or three, because it’s very difficult for one person to spot unusual objects. This is especially true for birds, because some of them are so small that one cannot spot them at all. In fact, as a golden rule, Kartic never goes for photography alone, but always in a group, and specifically with people who are naturally good in spotting.
Be Alert to the Calls and Sounds
One of the key tips for spotting unusual objects is being alert to calls and sounds. Again, going in groups can be handy here as there are more ears to hear these sounds. For example, if you suddenly hear a call of a bird, you can quickly spot it.
Take the Help of Locals
Kartic recalls another experience of spotting an unusual object -- a bird called Sri Lanka frogmouth. On one of his recent trips to the island country, Kartic had gone to a tropical forest and was really keen on clicking a picture of this bird. His initial attempts of spotting the Frogmouth were unsuccessful.
Finally, he decided to take the help of a local guide, who was accompanying him on this trip. The guide, who has been spotting this bird regularly, was in a much better position to spot it than Kartic who had never seen a real frogmouth before. Even though it was drizzling and the environment was dark, the guide could spot this bird with ease. Kartic recalls that the bird was so camouflaged that in spite of the bird being right in front of his eyes, he could not spot it. That’s where support from a local helped him immensely.
Patience is the Key
Another important thing in spotting unusual objects is patience. Sometimes, you need to wait for hours to spot the right target. However, once you’ve spotted the right object, clicking their pictures is a simpler challenge in comparison as you can click multiple shots of the same object. However, until that time, you need to be very patient.
Practice and Practice
While spotting can be somewhat challenging for upcoming photographers, the skill can be developed by practice. One needs to practice all the tips mentioned above regularly to achieve mastery in spotting. For instance, in the case of Kartic, he used to spend a couple of hours every day practicing photography for 2 to 3 years, until he became confident of his skills. Today, he notices a marked difference in his spotting skills from when he started.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, spotting the right objects is a very valuable skill for any photographer. As seen above, everybody can master this skill as long as they are willing to practice and use the experience and skills of others who are better in spotting.