Hooked on Wildlife
March 21, 2021
GETTING HOOKED ON WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
At the time of writing this I still consider myself someone fairly new to photography, learning more about my art every time I shoot, and at this point I’ve been very fortunate to photograph many of the species I set out to find. But there was a decisive moment when I knew I was hooked on wildlife photography.
I bought my first real camera on my 23rd birthday. It wasn’t a proper wildlife photography camera but it was what I could afford at the time. I could hardly contain myself when it arrived; a Sony a6400, a mirrorless APS-C body and a full-frame 24-105mm zoom lens. Even though the full-frame lens on an APS-C camera body would appear as a 36-157mm lens, only the most habituated of wildlife would allow me to come close enough for them to be photographed. So, I was restricted to duck ponds. Not that this was discouraging, my local park pond had a bountiful variety of waterfowl to practice photographing and is the kind of place many wildlife photographers got their start.
This was until I came across a secret location in a desert canyon. A forest ranger who had been there told me about a herd of elusive peninsular bighorn sheep that come down to drink from an oasis every day, and better yet had become unusually accustomed to hikers over the years. So, I set out to find and stake out this canyon in hopes of photographing a bighorn sheep! After a long drive through the desert I found the canyon and hiked up to the green oasis inside with my camera in hand. After hours of waiting in the desert sun I finally saw them! Walking up the canyon trail and right past me without any care or hesitation. I took what were some of my first non-waterfowl related wildlife photos with those magnificent creatures of the desert, but I would later have an even more unforgettable experience. (years later I would find that waterfowl can make just as amazing and beautiful photos)
A couple months later I had grown frustrated with my short lens; it seemed to be great for photographing just about anything except wildlife. The problem was that real wildlife lenses were much more expensive; so, I started to save, but to quench my thirst for a longer lens in the meantime I started to rent long lenses. The lens I rented was the full-frame Sony 100-400mm GM; the longest glass Sony had to offer at the time (they now have lenses up to 600mm). Holding the lens in my hands after getting it in the mail I was terrified of letting go or even using it, it was worth as much as my car! Needless to say I was very careful with it. After fidgeting with the lens for an afternoon at the local duck pond, photographing common coots and egrets, I headed out to the desert to go another round with the bighorn sheep.
Arriving in the desert at the height of the summer heat, it was a smoldering 115 degrees. I knew from experience that the wild sheep always came down to the oasis in the canyon in the middle of the day when it was hottest, but when I reached the oasis, it was dry! I thought all hope was lost and I wouldn’t get the chance to photograph them with the long lens; not to mention the money spent on renting the lens and the gas to get there (I slept in my car to save money). After waiting at the dry oasis for a while I decided I would go back to my car for some water and gather my thoughts about what to do since it had passed the time they should have come down and I had yet to see them. On my way back down to the mouth of the canyon I started to notice what looked like fresh sheep droppings; this was promising. Then, I remembered that there was a pond that was kept full near the parking lot at the entrance; I wouldn’t think these wild sheep would spend time right next to a parking lot with cars and people, but perhaps the heat and the oasis drying up had driven them to such measures.
When I reached the parking lot thankfully there weren’t any people, I suppose humans don’t like extreme heat either, but where were the sheep? After looking around a little I went over a hill into the shade and there they were! I sat down on a rock a ways away and started taking pictures, which weren’t great in the harsh light, but I was too excited to care. I sat down a little ways away, afraid of stressing them too much, watching them browse on plants nearby. After some time of them watching me they must have decided I was okay because they all felt comfortable enough to pick a shadow behind a bush or boulder and fall asleep! A siesta seemed like a great idea to me too so I joined them! I picked a shadow behind a rock in some comfortable looking sand and took a wonderful nap in the midst of the bighorn sheep.
I awoke to sheep shuffling around and the sound of rams doing some light horn sparring. I guess the boss just needed to send out some reminders of who’s in charge. When animals are comfortable around you, when they give you that peek into their lives, only then do you get the best displays of natural behavior; which in turn gives you the best opportunities for great photos! As the afternoon turned to evening the sheep moved into the shadow of the mountain where the air was much cooler. As they grazed on the opposite bank of a dry stream bed to me, I sat on a rock photographing them and just enjoying being present with them. That day was one I would never forget!
The photos I took that day were some of my favorite ever, and I plan on going back someday to spend some more time hanging with those sheep!