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Patience is one of the most important qualities for good wildlife photography.  Patience is not just required because it takes time to locate wildlife, but because the best pictures are rarely made in the first few moments.  Good wildlife images require a considerable amount of time.

The above image was captured after almost two hours of waiting.  In the northern Serengeti, we watched a larger herd of elephant approach a river.  They appeared to be looking for a good place to cross.  Being on the opposite bank, we followed them as they moved through the dense brush along the shoreline.  It wasn’t until an hour had passed that we got our first real photo opportunity, and that consisted of a female freaking out when she realized there were some really ugly primates hanging out at the far shore (that would be us).  That photo-op lasted a good 3 seconds.  After her initial scare, the entire herd remained in the bushes for another 45 minutes as they tried to figure out if it was safe to come out.  It wasn’t until a mother got fed up with the situation and braved the river with her young calf.  After this first successful crossing, the others decided it was safe and slowly began to cross.

It was at this point that the real photography started.  Everything leading up to this was preparation for the big event.  Of course a good river crossing picture should be more then an elephant standing in the water.  Unbeknownst to many people, elephants do not drink water through their trunk.  Instead, they suck water into the trunk and the spray it into their mouth.  This can lead to great images when an elephant decided to get a little silly and “play with its food.”  This female was obviously hot and needed  a drink (hiding in the bushes for almost an hour will do that), but she decided to have a little fun.  Rather then just drinking, she would spray the water into her mouth at full blast, sending water in every direction.  The result was a great photographic opportunity that took two full hours to develop.

So, what is the point?  Almost anything can be turned into a good photography, but not at any given moment.  Next time you come across  an interesting subject, give yourself the time to watch events unfold and have your finger on the shutter button.  You never know what will happen.

Image was created using a Canon 1D mark 4, 500mm lens, at ISO 200.  The image was captured from a vehicle with the lens supported on a beanbag.