(click on the image to see larger version)

On rare occasions, you will have the opportunity to get extremely close to wildlife.  When this occurs, rejoice, get your pictures, and then try to think outside the box.  How can you take advantage of this rare opportunity?  What kind of images can you capture that will stand out from what others are doing?  The Galapagos archipelago is an amazing destination because of the unique wildlife that occurs there, but also because of the total lack of fear exhibited by the animals.  When visiting these islands, it is possible to sit down within inches of animals which continue to go about their lives as if you were not there.

So, how can you challenge yourself to do something different?  During my last visit, I did a lot of my wildlife photography using a wide angle lens.  Most of the time wildlife images are created with long lenses which provide the extra reach needed to give the appearance of closeness.  I admit that I love telephoto lenses and often state that my view of the world starts at around 300mm.  Still, telephoto lenses do have a characteristic flattening effect which produces a particular look.  Switching to a wide angle lens not only includes more of the animal’s habitat, thereby recording something different, but also produces more roundness to the subject in the final image.  Basically, wide angle lenses do a better job of giving photographs a sense of depth.

In the image above, I was able to approach to within a few inches of this 300 pound Galapagos Tortoise.  Heck, I could have sat on him if I had wanted to.  After getting the obvious shots, I decided to try something a little different.  I switched to my wide angle lens (17mm) and set the camera on the ground right in front of where the tortoise was eating.  Each time the tortoise extended its head to grab some grass, I pressed the shutter button.  After only a few minutes, the tortoise had cleared most of the grass away from the area in front of my lens and I had captured a unique perspective.

The image was created using a Canon 1Ds mark 3, 17-35mm lens, at 800 ISO.  The camera was placed on the ground directly in front of the Tortoise and the shutter was pressed each time the neck was extended.  As you can see, the head eventually moved inside the minimum focus distance of the lens, but I think the unique angle and in close action more then compensate for the soft focus.