Photo Safaris - Move Slow and Stay Low



				Ultimate Antarctica January 5–February 1, 2008

One of the questions Im most frequently asked is: How do you get close to wildlife? While there are a variety of ways to do so in order to make close-up wildlife imagery, the easiest answer is: Go to areas where animals are habituated to people, and use the longest lens you have. This gives you the advantage of working with wildlife that isnt very wild, so these animals dont flee at the first sign of a human presence.

While that may seem to be the obvious answer, putting that answer into practice is not so easy with many species. Even in national parks, some species, or some individual animals, may be more wary and less tolerant of the humans nearby. In other areas, where wildlife has less contact with man, non-habituated wildlife may be quite intolerant, quickly taking cover or flying to safety at the first sign of people.


Willet

Copyright © 2001 Joe and May Ann McDonald

A case in point — Mary and I live in central Pennsylvania, where the hunting culture is deeply ingrained in the local populace. Consequently, any whitetail deer, black bear, or woodchuck that wants to reach a ripe old age does so by keeping as far away from people as possible. Pennsylvania has one of the highest deer and black bear populations in the country, yet it would be an exercise in futility to stalk our central Pennsylvania woods with camera in hand, expecting to get a great photograph of a deer or bear. Sure, bear and deer images can be accomplished, but theyre usually shot from either a tree stand or a vehicle. On foot, most commonly hunted animals disappear long before you are aware that the animal was nearby.

In protected areas, however, it is a different story. One of the best places to photograph whitetail deer in the United States is (or at least was) Kensington Park, a city park/refuge on the outskirts of Detroit where picnickers feed them. While these tame deer may not be wild, and may not be part of the most satisfying wilderness experience youll ever have, these deer do make for some great shots. Indeed, some of the big trophy bucks sporting the pages of hunting magazines are often made in protected suburban developments where deer thrive, and hunting is prohibited.

Regardless of where you photograph wildlife, your personal approach and method may make all the difference in getting close enough to make an outstanding image. Even in national parks, most animals shy away from a photographer making a direct approach, and may bolt at a sudden, unexpected appearance. In areas where game is tame — whether thats a Florida beach for shorebirds or a mountain meadow in Yellowstone — we avoid walking directly toward a potential subject.


	Baby Mountain Goat

	Copyright © 2001 Joe and May Ann McDonald

Lets consider two attractive species in Yellowstone as good examples. In the sagebrush and short grasses around Gardiner, Montana, in the northwestern corner of the park, its fairly easy to find pronghorn antelopes. In Yellowstone, pronghorns can be very tame and trusting; but if spooked, you can forget about getting an image. Pronghorns are the fastest North American land animal, so when they run, they can really run! One of the best ways to get close to a pronghorn is to let the animal approach you. They can be very curious and, sometimes, if you remain still, one or more pronghorns may walk within yards of your position. If youre trying to move toward a pronghorn on foot, however, it could be a very different story. When we approach pronghorns, we often adopt the lost key technique, where we slowly weave back and forth, stopping often and looking at the ground, as if we were searching for a lost key. We may cover four times the distance following this roundabout route but, by doing so, a resting pronghorn generally stays put.

With some animals, a photographers upright figure almost always poses a threat. For these wary subjects were apt to drop down to a low position, even onto our bellies, to attempt to draw ourselves closer. Once, on the Patagonian coast of southern Argentina, I belly-crawled between a herd of huge elephant seals to make my way closer to a shy group of southern sea lions. While there was some risk involved, since a big elephant seal can caterpillar across the sand both quickly and silently, this approach allowed me to get close enough to the wary sea lions for some great images. There were times when my feet and one of the elephant seals hind flippers were touching. Id definitely not advocate anyone following in my footsteps here -- or my belly trail -- but this anecdote illustrates how, with a low profile and a slow approach, I could pass through a group of animals that would have stampeded to the water had I been standing erect.


	Elephant Seal Bull

	Copyright © 2001 Joe and May Ann McDonald

Ive used a similar belly-crawling approach to inch up to wary shorebirds. For shorebirds actively feeding along a shoreline, Ive simply lain flat on the sand and let the birds walk towards me. This may take several minutes, or longer. To while away the time Ive actually rested my head and dozed off! Catnapping like this works pretty well, provided that when you wake up you remember to move slowly as you inspect your surroundings.

When youre close enough to your subject that your movements might spook your quarry, it is critically important that you move very, very slowly. Whenever I change camera positions, focus, change film, or contend with a particularly bothersome biting fly, I move in slow motion. I keep my gear or film close enough to me so that changing a lens or changing film requires very little movement. If I have to shift positions, I do so in slow-motion stages.

Remember, close-up wildlife photography is a relative term, and getting close to a subject dictates some form of common sense. In many national parks, some naive park visitors apparently dont realize that a close-up photograph of an elk, moose or bear theyve seen in the park gift shop was made from a safe distance and using a long telephoto lens. Unknowingly, theyll try walking up close enough to a large and dangerous mammal to get that same shot with a point-and-shoot camera. In doing so, theyre putting themselves in harms way, and probably stressing the wildlife. This naturally drives the park rangers crazy and increases their misgivings about all photographers — pros included. For many species you absolutely have to consider the type of animal you are photographing as well as calculating your working distance and selection of lens length.

Common sense constantly tells us not to attempt to get close to a Yellowstone grizzly on foot, dont try wide-angle shots on bison in the middle of the prairie, and dont ... well, you get the picture.


Bighorn Ram

Copyright © 2001 Joe and May Ann McDonald

So, how close is close? One might say, it is as close as is required to get a great shot — but thats not the correct answer. Close may be the minimal distance you can be if there are park or refuge distance limits set or, far more importantly, how close you can get before your presence annoys, upsets, or threatens the subject. In many US national parks, there are published distance regulations for approaching wildlife. In Yellowstone, for example, it is twenty-five yards for the large herbivores and one hundred yards for bear. There may be a gray area if an animal grazes toward you, closer than twenty-five yards. Do you back up, and possibly disturb the animal by moving, or do you sit still and let the animal come closer? If it is a potentially dangerous animal, like a moose or bear, Id certainly suggest backing up! If it is a bighorn sheep, goat, or deer — Ill leave that decision to you.

In areas where there are no regulated distance limits, closeness becomes a matter of personal discretion. While great images are often indeed close-ups, you should never get so close that you are either putting yourself in harms way or you are stressing your subject. Pushing an animal until it runs off or takes flight, shows incredible insensitivity to your subject. Likewise, Ive seen photographers who have worked very hard to get close to an animal just stand up and walk away when theyre finished shooting, even though theyre now at their closest working distance! Invariably, this abrupt change in position and speed of movement frightens the animal — the very animal that had trusted you and permitted you within its zone of comfort. Worse yet, on African safaris Ive seen photographers ask their guides to spook the perched eagles or other birds they had been filming up close, as they wanted to get a flight shot. What a lack of respect! The bird had allowed their close presence, and they repay this trust by purposefully frightening it when they were finished.

This type of behavior not only shows an incredible disrespect towards wildlife but it also shows a callousness, selfishness, and disrespect for all the photographers that may follow you. In working close to an animal you are, by your actions and proximity, habituating that animal to man. You are, or you could be, teaching it that theres nothing to fear — that you (or your kind) can be trusted. Should you teach your subject that after getting your shot, you dont care what consequences your actions may have? You can bet that the next photographer that comes along will probably have a more difficult time earning the trust of this subject. I trust that you can see the bigger picture you might be the photographer who follows this type of thoughtless, selfish shooter.

When you are privileged enough to be accepted by wildlife to work in their close proximity, your presence should never affect their behavior or cause them stress. As you move in close enough for your lenses to do their job, remember your subjects welfare always comes first. Nothing pleases Mary and me more than spending several intimate hours with a wildlife subject and, when we leave, to do so with the animals at ease and undisturbed.



	Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc. P.O. Box 655, Vashon Island, Washington USA 98070 Phone: (206) 463-5383 Fax: (206) 463-5484 Email: info@photosafaris.com Copyright © 2008, Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc.