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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.

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While it is certainly possible to walk around and luck out with a great photo opportunity, the best images are usually the result of knowledge and planning.  The shot above was taken in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania and shows two male lions fighting over a female.  Without a knowledge of animal behavior, it is unlikely that I would have been able to capture this image.

During our drive around the crater, we came across a group of four lions, two females and two males.  As usual, the lions were pursuing their favorite activity, sleep (they sleep over 20 hours a day).  When we arrived, the two females were resting at the top of a hill and the males were down near the water’s edge.  After getting the standard images of sleeping lions (there is only so much you can do with a sleeping cat), we decided that the best photo opportunity was going to be down by the water.  This decision was based on a few considerations.  First, it was a warm day and it seemed likely that the females would eventually come down to drink.  Second, even if the females stayed on the hill, male lions are visually more impressive and usually make better photo subjects.  Third, there was the hope that the females would want to interact with the males.

We positioned ourselves with a good view of the males and it wasn’t long before the first female got up and started to move in our direction.  Lions are social animals and often interact with each other.  Interactions are particularly likely when a new lion approaches.  As the female approached, we got ready to record the interaction between her and the males.  Unfortunately, the action was brief and anticlimactic.  The female walked over to the first male (the second male never even looked up), sniffed him once, and then lay down.  Ah well, so much for planning.

It wasn’t until the second female arrived that the action started.  Once again we were prepared as the female approached, but this time was different.  As the first male approached her, the female rushed right past him and headed directly for the second male (who was still sleeping and not aware of what was about to happen).  Needless to say, the first, and obviously alpha, male did not like the situation.  As the female  reached the sleeping male, the alpha male jumped between them and snarled.  This got the desired response with the second male jumping to his feet and rapidly moving in the other direction.  In the image above you can see the female’s snarl as she expresses her opinion of the events.

Knowledge of your subjects greatly improves your chances of creating powerful images.  Is it possible that we would have captured some of the action without predicting the behavior?  Yes.  It is unlikely, however, that we would have been in such a good location (there were 10 other vehicles jockeying for position) or that we would have captured the entire sequence as it unfolded.  Also, there is something profoundly satisfying about pre-visualizing an image and then watching it present itself before your eyes.

So, what what about you?  Have you ever predicted an event before it happened and used that knowledge to set up the shot?  If so, share your story.