Tips for Shooting Exclusive Wildlife Photographs

Some of the best photographs of birds in flight are taken early in the morning and my preferable ISO setting is between 100 and 400. In most cases, a shutter speed of 640/1 should work preferable well. Although I carry a monopod or a tripod most of the time, I, however, rarely use them as they restrict free movement.

Greylag Geese and Painted Storks are some of the larger birds that can be shot easily in flight, taking off or alighting. If you are subtle enough and careful about hiding yourself from the birds, you might get close enough to them to use a 70-300 mm zoom lens. I find the USM lens handy enough for wildlife photography.

Some of the larger animals like Antelopes can be photographed using a slower shutter speed, again if you are still enough and properly camouflaged. Wearing clothes in muted colours helps a lot. This is why the clothes you wear is as important as the camera equipment you carry. Although I wear spectacles generally, I avoid wearing them on wildlife shoots. Any glint from the lenses of your glasses can frighten away wildlife. I like shooting in the raw and aim for slightly underexposed photographs so that the colours come out really nicely!

One very important tip for all wildlife photography enthusiasts is to reach the venue early in the morning, preferably before all the others appear. My go-to place happens to be the Sultanpur National Park in Gurgaon, or the nearby wetlands, especially the Basai Wetland. I prefer reaching the spot by seven in the morning even when it is foggy. Fog, ironically, makes the animals and birds lethargic and thus easier to photograph. The fog also helps conceal the photographer from the animals and birds. This brings me to the question of photographing birds in flight. A reasonably fast shutter speed coupled with the right angle can help greatly. The photographs below are those of Painted Storks landing on the ground to collect sticks and twigs to build up their nests. They have come up reasonable nicely because of the angle of the camera and the direction of the sun.

A final word about taking exclusive photographs of wild animals and birds is that it requires a lot of patience and an instinct for being at the right place at the right time. In the case of the Asian Antelope, it was all about standing still and calmly taking well-aimed shots without making excessive movements. While the Doe was feeding her calves, the male stood guard. All three of them probably did not find my presence threatening so they went on with what they were doing. All these photographs were taken in foggy conditions early in the morning at the Sultanpur National Park in Gurgaon.

Bird Species spotted at the Sultanpur National Park in January and February, 2020

The above two photographs are of an Indian Robin performing a courtship ritual. No doubt he was so busy with trying to attract a female that he didn't mind me!

A Shrike waits patiently for breakfast.Shrikes are apparently the wait and watch kind of hunters.

The above two snaps are of a Drongo waiting for an insect to eat. Incidentally getting the eye is a challenge because of the rather dark colour of the feathers. 

Greylag Geese move en-masse, they somehow live in communities of five or more birds.

Pintail Ducks are named so because of their tails which seem to be pointed like pins.

Eurasian Spoonbills seem to prefer solitude. They swing their beaks from side to side in shallow water to catch bits and pieces of food.

Spot billed Ducks are pretty common in this region. They commonly forage in the weeds for food. I have also found them in groups if four or five.

Northern Shoveler Ducks like the Spot billed ducks are very common in the region at this time of the year. Observe the shape of its beak, you will notice that it is wide like a shovel!

Spotted Owls, especially juvenile birds can often be spotted perched on the same branch in twos or threes.