If the animals are looking at you funny, then you are probably taking the right photo!
Kyle Marquardt is a gifted and enchanting photographer, travelling to the heartlands of Tanzania to offer a unique perspective of the world in breath-taking pictures in the African Worlds photo show at the Calgary Zoo. I was lucky to catch animated descriptions (Kyle defintely uses his energy and body in his story telling!) along with amazing pictures that allow a glimpse into African wildlife. Kyle discussed excellent photo-taking tips for capturing wildlife with the audience, while showing the techniques in action with a slideshow of amazing photos, which the amauteur photographer (me) happily absorbed.
Here are some tips he shared with the audience that could help you take the very best pictures of wildlife! All photos are taken by Kyle Marquardt:
1. Lay flat on the ground while photographing animals, you get a better angle and different perspective.
2. Remember the rule of thirds! Sky on the top, animal in the middle and ground on the bottom!
“After spending time at an elephant orphanage I’ve truly come to understand how important a mother and a family is for an elephants survival. This baby elephant who has not yet mastered the art of applying his own mud and dirt sunscreen is highly reliant on the shade of the mother in the harsh african sun. It never occurred that the mother provides so much protection just by standing there, just by existing.”- Kyle Marquardt
3. Closer is better! Observers know that the animals isn’t headless- show some of the details and let observers fill in the whole story with their imagination.
“One of my favourite birds, the oxpecker on the largest antelope in africa, the Eland. The oxpecker feeds exclusively on ticks, flies and other insects that reside on other animals. While this is somewhat of a favourable relationship, their feeding can be intrusive and irritating for the host. Furthermore it has been observed that the oxpecker will re-open old wounds and create new ones to feed on the blood. For this reason other animals will not tolerate them, I have seen elephants swat them away with little tolerance to their presence.”- Kyle Marquardt
4. Try to frame your animal. While you don’t always want to centre your animal, if there are trees and something overhead that would add to the photo, try to see what effect this would have!
“I take a lot of terrible photos initially because I’m not sure if anything better will come along. I take terrible photos like these all the time, but the reason you don’t see them is because I only show my best work. I still want you to take the bad photos but I want you to realize it’s bad right when you shoot it, and expect to take a better one later when presented with the same opportunity. Hopefully the second time around, something magical happens and you are prepared to take the shot because you have a better understanding of what you’re looking for.” Kyle Marquardt
5. Eyes are gateways of the soul. Shoot for them.
“Humans and chimps are both able to establish a connection visually. I wanted to express this with a detail shot of the chimpanzee’s eyes, since they are such a telling and powerful part of this apes expressions. In addition the chimps were behind a fence, as these are wild chimps who’s own private space needs to be respected. The best way to get a shot without having wires in the way was zooming in for detail between gaps in the fence. In addition I only wanted the eyes to be in focus, using an aperture of f2.8 there is no denying the eyes are the focal point of this image. I also waited for this chimp to pose with her arm on her shoulder, as I watched her do this before. This just barely showing her fingers in the background provides a little more visual evidence that these apes are so much like us.” – Kyle Marquardt
6. Look for a repetition of pattern in a photo. Eye pleasing.
“Spending the previous weeks watching vultures circling lazily on the thermals above us, I would casually photograph their figures against the sky knowing some day I will see these creatures up close and personal. Sure enough, as we drove across the Serengeti we spotted a writhing ball of feathers and dust, the vultures were on a carcass. Upon arrival we were greeted with the sight of 20 or so vultures and Marabou Storks frenetically feeding on what was left of a zebra, it was not a civil affair. The air was full of the sounds of squabbling. Nearby vultures were standing still on the ground with their wings out, a behavior that is good for either drying off the wings or thermoregulation in the hot african sun.
“I’m always looking for something unique and stunning, and when I saw the repetition of shape with these vultures lined up I could not keep my camera off this sudden order that developed spontaneously in the chaos. This order and simplicity is extremely attractive to me. I would wait for the birds to line up and turn their heads to face the right direction and squeezed the trigger at the right moment. In addition to the shapes in this image I was enthralled with the texture and detail in the wings, choosing to focus on the wings of the closer bird in order to also keep the focus of the bird and it’s eye. 1/400s f/7.1 ISO100 400mm (35mm eq:640mm)”- Kyle Marquardt
Check out his blog for more amazing pictures and insightful explanation into animal behavouir! Thanks goes to Kids Up Front for providing tickets to this unforgettable and amazing event!
