How to get close to wildlife.....



Whitetail deer.
Taken with a 35-420mm zoom at about 12 feet.




Hi, all you photography nuts and nature lovers.

One of the most common questions I get regularly asked is: "Paul, how do you get so close to these animals to take their pictures?"

Of course good equipment and high quality lenses help. Most people realize that time, patience and a bit of luck are usually major factors, but I think many would be surprised at how little time it often takes me to get most of my shots. I think the biggest, key factor to getting quality wildlife photos is shooting in areas where the animals and birds are conditioned to human presence.

All wild species are constantly on the alert for the threat of danger. This threat is usually in the form of predation, competition from other species or competition from dominant individuals of the same species. This is why most creatures you encounter in nature generally don’t let you approach them. They have evolved over thousands of years to avoid these dangers and are genetically hard wired to be in a continual state of “feel fear and flee” mode. This is what makes wildlife photography so challenging but ultimately so rewarding.

So how do we overcome thousand of years of adaptation necessary for the very survival of a species. Although each species is different (as is every individual within a given species) there are some generalizations that can be made to improve your chances of success.

One of the easiest and best ways is to find subjects that are conditioned to human presence. In other words they have lost, over time, their natural instinct to avoid and flee from us as a potential predator. Understand that I am not talking here about animals in captivity or otherwise domesticated. I’m talking about free ranging, wild animals and birds that have learned that humans are not a threat and may even be a source of food, shelter and security from predators and competitors. Humans don’t always appreciate this characteristic in our wild neighbours and sometimes label these animals as pests. To the wildlife photographer however, these “pests” could be our new best friends.

Bull Elk bedded.

At approx. 15 yards with a 600mm lieca lens.

Species that fall into this category include large ungulates such as deer and elk, occasionally moose, and smaller mammals such as raccoons, skunks, squirrels and marmots. The list of bird species that have learned to use human structures in place of natural habitat and that take daily advantage of our generosity at bird feeders, is long indeed.

One thing that most of these species have in common is a high level of adaptability. This is why more specialized species, often found higher up on the food chain, tend not to fit into this category. Fortunately this includes many of the large predators such as wolves, cougars and bears. One exception to that rule is the coyote. This intelligent, cunning and extremely adaptable predator is thriving inside many city limits and has occasionally proven to be dangerously bold around family pets and small children.

As already mentioned, this type of conditioning is not a natural instinct and has to be learned over time. This is evident by the contradictory behaviour of many young individuals that still display natural and immediate fear responses to a human’s approach, even as their own mother stands still or continues to feed nonchalantly. Not to worry though, in time the mother will teach it’s young not to fear regular human presence.

To take full advantage of this behaviour, the well informed nature photographer needs to understand how this conditioning occurs and what is going on inside the animal’s brain to bring it about. For many years I marveled at how seemingly “intelligent” these animals were and how, regardless of my stealth, cunning, camouflage and even scent elimination, they always seemed to know I was coming and ran away before I could get close. After years of studying animal behaviour, it became apparent to me that one of the most powerful thought processes that goes on inside that cranium of there’s is the ability to recognize patterns. This keen ability seems to be standard throughout all species. It is critical to their survival as it relates to a host of daily activities such as avoiding predators, selecting prey, choosing security cover or a bedding or nesting site. For some reason humans seemed to have a lost this ability, apparently as a result of our continually easier and less threatened lives.

So, if you can figure out what the typical daily patterns of human presence are that your photo subjects encounter, then you can copy this pattern during your shoot to become a regular, non-threatening part of the scenery. By acting and looking “normal” in the animal’s eyes you are in effect camouflaging yourself. The key is in appearing normal. How many people do you know that walk around the green fringes of suburbia wearing camouflage clothing? Or who sneak around in a crouched position, stalking like a predator? This is an immediate danger signal to nearly all species, by the way. Your goal should be to look and behave much like all the other people do in that particular area. This may mean walking briskly in the open, down a regularly used trail or staying in your vehicle and just driving right up to that deer or elk as it feeds in someone’s backyard. One of my favourite tricks on farmland is drive a noisy tractor to my blind instead of trying to sneak in along the edge of the field. It is amazing how often I’ve watched animals laying in their beds dozing, completely oblivious to the sound of semi trucks roaring by on the highway or by car doors slamming, even dogs barking. But the instant they hear that tiny twig snap underfoot or the “click” of my camera’s shutter going off, they absolutely explode in panic and head for the hills!

I’m sure that if you think about what you’ve read here you can think of a few tricks of your own that will work just as well for you in your area.

‘till next time, good luck and don't forget to always carry extra batteries every time you head out.

Paul Stone