On Photography: Stalking the Great Urban Wildlife

I love photographing wildlife. Some of my most cherished moments as a photographer have come photographing wildlife in Yellowstone National Parks. It is always very difficult but can be tremendously rewarding when you get an image that you love.

Working full-time in Washington, DC means that I don’t get to photograph animals in the wild as often as I like. That’s why I got excited when I heard that a wild mother duck and her ducklings had nested across the street on the grounds of National Geographic.  I would get a chance to shoot some wildlife right here in my DC.

Well, I’ve gone to photograph the ducklings a couple of time now and I think I have some truths, and some wisdom, to share with you about photographing urban wildlife.

1. It’s hard–It’s difficult photographing wildlife whether it is in Washington, DC or Wyoming. For some reason I thought it would be much easier to photograph wildlife across the street than across the country so I brought only my high-end point-and-shoot (a Canon G10) with me the first time. Boy was I wrong. The dreaded (though much improved) shutter lag drove me nuts and the camera was just too slow to respond to the fast moving ducklings. I fared much better when I returned with a digital SLR.
2. It’s crowded—I know to expect lots of wildlife photographers when I go to Yellowstone. One way you know where the wild animals are is by the large throng of massive lens holding shooters gathered by the side of the road. I thought I would have the ducks pretty much to myself. Wrong again. There were at least as many photographers (mainly camera-phone pointing tourists) shooting the ducks in National Geographic’s courtyard as I’ve ever seen shooting the elk on the Madison River. I am telling you the competition is steep everywhere.
3. You need to keep a safe distance—When photographing wild bison, elk, and moose in Yellowstone I have learned to keep a respectfully safe distance away from the animals. I do this for my own safety so I don’t get attacked. I didn’t foresee any kind of similar problem at National Geographic. Once more wrong. There were signs posted telling people to keep at least ten feet away from the ducks to insure that their mother didn’t abandon them.  I certainly did not want to be known as the reckless recreant who caused the mama duck to leave her babies.
4. It’s rewarding—Making a nice wildlife photograph feels great where ever you do it.

So, while you are waiting to go on your next safari or planning your next trip to Yellowstone be sure to stay on the lookout for the wildlife that is to be found in your back yard.