Surprising Encounters- one reason I love wildlife photography
I have tried many different genres -so to speak- of photography since I was first given a ‘proper’ DSLR camera 6 years ago. I’ve tried photographing objects, landscapes, cityscapes, portraits etc. However, I always find myself returning to wildlife. This may of course be down to my absolute love of all thing’s nature related. However, I also think the actual experience of wildlife photography is what brings me back. It is the challenge and unknowing of what I might encounter which continues to drag me out of bed at ridiculous hours of the morning and into a nature for hours at a time.
Take for instance a few nights ago, reports of barn owl sightings (I say ‘reports’ really my dad had spotted one above the field opposite his house) had led me to sitting at the edge of a field in a camouflage poncho for 3 hours one evening when after unsuccessfully seeing anything I decided to pack up for the night and head home, only to walk around the corner of the road and see a fox. Honestly this was one of the most exciting moments of my wildlife photography journey so far! The surprise of it all did mean I immediately dropped some of my gear to take a rather blurry photo before it darted into a hedge (I should really work on my reactions) but I think instances like this is what makes wildlife photography so exciting!
This was my first time seeing a fox close enough to snap a photo with my camera, and it made the moment so much more thrilling because I had not planned to photograph foxes that evening, nor had I thought I would be able too! Yes, the picture turned out completely useless and will never win an award BUT I still love it!
The unpredictability of wildlife means you never know what you might see, no matter how much planning, or scouting of locations you carry out. You can spend 6 hours in a hide and see nothing only to pop outside the next morning and be confronted with wildlife on your doorstep. I feel like all the time spent waiting and sitting around in sometimes adverse weather conditions is instantly made worthwhile for a tiny glimpse of what you might see. Some people (all my friends) will say this is completely mad and not worth it but for me it’s one of the many reasons I love and hope to continue my journey as a wildlife photographer, because for me that tiny moment seeing a particular or unexpected species of wildlife is completely worth it!
