A day in the life….
A day in the life of a Wildlife photographer with the Western Grey Kangaroo.
The alarm goes off and its 4.50 am. Why am I doing this I ask myself. There are another 10,000 great wildlife photographers out there, what is the chances of me winning a wildlife photographer of the year award? This is my mission and the only way I will ever come close, is to do what every one of these guys and girls is doing but better. How do I achieve this I ask? Get up early, research my subjects, research the weather conditions, and hone my skills. Im 52 years of age and the clock is running. Do I do this because I love it, or to receive the recognition is the question I often ask myself? The truth is both, I want to be known as the guy that takes great images and that is my mission.
It’s a Friday morning and I arrive at my shoot location at 6.40 am just as the sun is about to rise. From my home to my location is a one-hour drive, so it needs to be an early start to the day. It’s early morning, it’s foggy and there is an abundance of wildlife visible in the area. I’m feeling kind of lucky so I skull the last mouthful of my now lukewarm coffee, grab my gear and get out of the car. Damn, it’s cold out here I should have stayed in bed maybe. Absolutely not it is an awesome morning. The smell, the sounds, and the peace is amazing. I live for this stuff and feel at peace when I’m out here. If you like your own company this is the gig for you. My day-to-day job is as an Investigator and I specialize in covert or undercover work. So to be alone, bunker down quietly, and wait for an opportunity is my thing. I’ve mastered the art of doing nothing for long periods of time. Your only enemy is your mind and if you can overcome that you have got a good head start. Ive sat for 12 hours on days and never had an opportunity arise. Yes, it can suck but there is always another day “I hope”.
Have I got everything I need? is what I’m asking myself as I walk into the foggy landscape. In my left hand, I carry a tripod for video and in my right hand my backpack with my camera gear. What are my tools of choice today? Well, there is no choice I only have one wildlife rig. It’s a Sony A7Riii and a Sigma 150-600 f5.6 Sports lens. We all dream of the perfect gear but the budget says this will have to do for now. This is good gear but I still go to bed at night wanting that latest model camera and that big prime lens. Do I have a spare 20K to buy it, unfortunately not.. Can I get great images with the gear I currently have? Absolutely. I have learned that my images are getting better and better but I haven’t changed gear. Knowledge is key. Study those guys you aspire to be and you will get better. Every minute you have, take the opportunity to get out there and take photos of different subjects, in different conditions and in different locations. Get to know your gear and what it can and can’t do.
I walk along the reservoir track and in the distance can see a load of bird life on the water. Swans, ducks. grebes, herons, and other species I don’t know. They look beautiful and I could possibly get a great shot of any of these guys but…Not today as my mission for this morning is the Western Grey Kangaroo. They are often in abundance here and allow you to get in range of a good shot without setting up a hide before sunrise. The morning is near perfect we have a little fog, and some nice filtered light this could be a winner of a morning.
To be continued…….