400mm
I keep seeing incredible wildlife shots on my social media feeds and it keeps making me want to try it. I couldn't resist anymore. I had to get a high zoom lens. After a bit of research, I decided on a SIGMA 100-400mm variable zoom which I figured would be perfect since I can use it for both wildlife and city candids. The same principle to getting a good candid applies to wildlife. The farther away I can be to be as unnoticable as possible is how I'll get the best shots. Long range zoom lenses allow me to get high quality shots without impacting the scene with my own presence.
After talking with some of my photographer buddies, they mentioned that I should try and capture a photo of a bird in flight. Apparently it's a great way to practice action photography because you need to track fast moving subjects, at high focal lengths, with near perfect settings to capture a quality shot. A great in-flight bird shot seems to be really rare and difficult so I figured it would take me a while to do. I've always considered myself a patient person so I figured I'd put it to the test. Two days ago I spent the entire afternoon until sunset crouched at the opposite end of my yard watching my bird feeder with my camera.
I think I took around 20 thousand photos that day using all different kinds of settings to see what would work best. Of course most of the photos came out pretty bad, but to my surprise I seemed to have gotten the golden shot... twice. On top of some other good photos of birds perched, I got two birds in flight, and they're not just decent shots, they're actually amazing. My friends made it sound like it would take years to get shots like this, but I did it on the first day. Maybe it's a bit egotistical to say, but for someone who has only been a photographer for a month and a half, I'm really good at this.
Maybe it's right place right time, maybe it's beginners luck, but more than likely it's probably a combination of other things. Natural talent, the work I'm putting in to understand my camera, and the practice I'm putting in to be able to implement the shooting techiniques I'm learning. I feel like with the hours I've already invested, a little patting myself on the back is deserved.
Some people might not have been able to sit outside for an entire day waiting for shots like these, but honestly I had a lot of fun. When I'm out there it's more than just getting a good photo to me. Being outdoors, watching the world around me moving forward while I sit still was cathartic. Breathing in the fresh air and watching the animals with no distractions helped me forget about all my responsibilities and problems for those 8 hours. I've never been a big outdoors guy, but after yesterday maybe the same way my camera has helped me connect with other people, it can help me connect with nature. Looking forward to spending more time experiencing the serentity of the natural world.
