Being a wildlife conservation photographer – Part 1

Observing the feeding behaviour of a Pika

You don’t need just a high-tech camera to be a wildlife photographer but also a genuine concern towards the natural world. Wildlife photography has become popular like never before. But today, our interest in wildlife photography is born out of owning expensive camera equipment, weekend getaways, travelling on endless safaris and clicking pictures of charismatic animals.

Being a wildlife photographer is much more than these. The desire to be one should stem from the pure joy of observing nature and a genuine concern towards the natural world.

Apart from photographic skills, an aspiring wildlife photographer should develop naturalist expertise, respect towards nature, perseverance and knowledge of animal behaviour. Without these, the photographer not only produces mediocre images but also creates havoc in nature.

Buying camera equipment and access to wildlife reserves is easy nowadays. We can even promote our photographs easily through social media. In an open scenario like this, it is crucial to adopt innovative ways of telling a story through compelling photographs.

An aspiring wildlife photographer could practice conservation photography too. As the acclaimed lensman Joel Sartore says, “the typical nature photograph shows a butterfly on a pretty flower. The conservation photograph shows the same thing, but with a bulldozer coming at it in the background. This doesn’t mean there’s no room for beautiful pictures, in fact we need beautiful images just as much as the issues. It does mean that the images exist for a reason; to save the Earth while we still can.”

In the next article, we shall look at how to get you started!