98 DIGITAL CAMERA^
Wild surroundings
How much of the
environment should
I include in my
images of wildlife?
Lucy WadeA
There are no hard rules on this.
I think it very much depends on
the scene you are faced with –
but it’s true that including the
environment as well as the main subject is
a great habit to get into if you love wildlife
photography. I always try to capture a rangeof images at different focal lengths,
although I know the temptation can be to
use the extreme end of your telephoto. In
the excitement of a wildlife encounter, it’s
easy to forget to experiment: it’s not until
afterwards when you’re reviewing your
images that you realise you shot
everything using a tight composition.
There may be times when this is the right
approach, such as a captive animal in an
enclosure, but if you’ve taken the trouble to
find a subject in the wild, why not show its
relationship to it? While a close-up of the
animal will show details of fur, feather or
scales, a composition that includes its
surroundings will often be more effective.If you look at my two example images of a
polar bear in Greenland, the tightly framed
shot is all about the animal’s stride, plus
the colours and textures of the fur. It was
shot at 400mm on my 100-400mm lens.
However the second image, taken at
150mm and from further back, really gives
a stronger sense of place as the bear walks
along the snow line at the base of a basalt
cliff. Both are valid shots, but each one tells
a slightly different story – and that’s what
you should endeavour to do.Keep it natural
Q
I’ve been told
that you can chill
butterflies down
in the fridge to make them
easier to shoot – is this
correct or a myth?
David RussellA
It’s true that you can cool down
butterflies so they aren’t active,
then set them up for shooting
photography – but personally,
I don’t think it’s an ethical thing to do. I’m
not a butterfly specialist, but I enjoy
photographing them every year – and
I’d rather not get a shot than have to
capture them, pop them in a fridge
and then stage a composition in this way.
You can argue the butterflies aren’t
harmed in this process, as it simply mimics
what occurs naturally, but it still feels
wrong to me to remove them from their
environment. If you are catching and
handling a butterfly, there is a potential for
it to be damaged, and that just isn’t right.
If you are struggling to get butterfly
shots because they are always too ‘flighty’,
look for them earlier in the morning, when
conditions are cooler. At this time they are
much less active, and that makes them
easier to photograph: as their wings are
warming, they will sit on a plant with them
spread out. The evening is also a good time:
as the sun weakens, they will start to settle
down after a busy day flying from plant to
plant. If you watch and observe them, you
can get some great shots. On a typical
summer’s day, the first few hours after
sunrise or before sunset are the best
for butterfly photography.98 DIGITAL CAMERA^ JUNE 2019
Q
150mm focal length
400mm focal length