Why Lens Choice is a Crucial Creative Decision For Your Wildlife Photography
Kristi Odom composed this image to show that you don’t have to see the entire bear in order to know its power and strength. NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S, 1/2000 second, f/6.3, ISO 2000, manual exposure.
Not too long ago Nikon Ambassadors Kristi Odom and Tamara Lackey conducted a week-long workshop in Alaska. Think remote wilderness reached by floatplanes, vast landscapes, guides, hikes and the long lenses needed to get just close enough to the grizzly bears that were the main subjects of the adventure. And don’t leave out the eagles, moose and other wildlife likely to be seen along the way.
Tamara took this aerial photo to express “the beautiful way the foreground and background were complementing each other,” and to capture the light coming in through the clouds. Z 8, NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/2000 second, f/11, ISO 1600, manual exposure.
Kristi, Tamara and the workshop’s ten participants could have brought any number of lenses to Alaska, but the floatplane’s weight limit restricted the amount of gear each could carry for a day’s shooting; sometimes it was down to one camera, one lens.
When we learned that the Ambassadors came at their lens choices from decidedly different directions that ultimately turned out to be both practical and creative, we figured that was a story worth telling. We weren’t at all surprised that we learned a few other things along the way.
“There are countless tight shots of bears here catching fish right out of this waterfall,” Kristi says, “but I wanted to emphasize the forest and the layers of green behind him—this is his environment.” Z 8, NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena, 1/8000 second, f/1.8, ISO 320, manual exposure.
Optically Prepared
“We go over lens selection with the workshop’s participants in advance,” Tamara says. “We tell them to have a range of lenses—something wide, like the 24mm of a 24-70mm zoom, and something mid-range, like the 100-400mm, and then longer glass—because there might be a situation like seeing moose at the top of a mountain, moving along the horizon line, and without at least the reach of an 800mm, you won’t get anything from that opportunity except ‘I’m happy to have seen it.’”
To avoid a “happy to have seen it” moment, the lesson is clear: be optically prepared. Tamara certainly was. She brought five mirrorless lenses to Alaska: the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S, NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S, NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S, NIKKOR Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S and the NIKKOR Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR for “when I’m in close proximity and want to shoot shallow, but also fast.” For extra reach, she also carried the Z Teleconverter TC-2.0x. “That’s more lenses than normal, but day to day you have to select which ones you carry, so every day I’d make a choice about how I wanted to photograph things.”
“It was nice to have the 800mm to get some details of these baby merganser ducks,” Kristi says. “I don’t know if they were looking at their mom, or maybe at a ‘baby sitter’ duck that watches over them when mom is away.” Z 9, NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S, 1/1250 second, f/7.1, ISO 1600, manual exposure.
Kristi brought three mirrorless lenses: the NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S, the NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena and the NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S. “If this were my first or only trip to Alaska, I’d have made different choices,” she says, “but I do this Alaska trip twice a year, and this time I wanted to experiment, to play a little bit and see how creative I could get.”
On one-lens days, most of the time her choice was the 800mm.
Other times, though, it was the Plena that made the plane. ”I love that lens, and at the last minute I decided to take it to Alaska to see what I could do with it. One of the things that I think makes a successful wildlife image is the separation of the subject from the background. Being able to really isolate the hero of the shot, the main subject—the Plena just does that so beautifully.”
It worked out so well, she’s decided to bring the Plena for her next Alaska workshop. “But I just purchased the 180-600mm Z lens, and I’ll be taking that, so I’ll have focal lengths between 135mm and 800mm.”
Tamara took this photo as the bear was about to go fishing. “He’s trying to get the best vantage point to see what’s there. He’s balancing now, with his claws digging into the rock, then he’ll crawl to the end of the rock, crouch like a cat and flick his paw to try to come up with a salmon.” Z 8, NIKKOR Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S, 1/3200 second, f/6.3, ISO 3200, manual exposure.
A different lens or a different angle can make for a dramatically different picture.
Kristi turned a color aerial shot to black and white to emphasize the shapes, tones and clouds. “What’s great is the amount of information you get in the files—that really lends well to a black-and-white edit.” Z 8, NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S, 1/1250 second, f/8, ISO 200, manual exposure.
Taming the Territory
Talking with Kristi and Tamara, we came to understand the challenge that wildlife photography in Alaska presented to the workshop participants. Their first views of the locations and the wildlife would likely be overwhelming and intimidating. How would you best photograph what you’re seeing? And even more intimidating, how would your photographs convey the emotions you’re feeling?
Tamara would advise you not to worry too much about either of those questions, and just take a picture. “Basically, I’ve spent my career photographing children and animals,” she says, “and what they have in common is the inability to predict what they’re going to do next. So, I’d tell you that when you get to where you’re going, and there’s a subject to photograph, get something, anything, and then work to make it better. ‘Better’ is kind of up to personal interpretation, but for me it would be a more creative moment, or more movement, or maybe more detail. I might get a shot where there’s an eagle coming toward me, and I’ve got a sharp image—I can see the eyes, the talons. That’s the start. The next shot is going to be framed and composed in a more interesting, more dramatic way. A different lens or a different angle can make for a dramatically different picture; same thing for a change from a horizontal to a vertical view.”
Lupines along the coast on the Gulf of Alaska. “We landed in a lake and climbed through all these gorgeous flowers,” Tamara says. “I got really close with the 100-400mm at 400mm. Everything we shot was hand-held—you don’t want to hike with a tripod if you don’t have to, and you don’t have to because of the Z’s in-camera stability. The stability in the cameras and lenses has changed my career entirely.” Z 8, NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S, 1/1250 second, f/6.3, ISO 320, manual exposure.
Kristi stresses the inspiration that nature offers. “One of the most important things we promote in our workshops is connecting to nature, being able to feel its power,” she says, “and then we get to using our cameras to show that fierceness so we’re able to share these wild places with others. I know there’s a lot of pressure to get the right shot, but if you allow yourself to first feel the grandeur, and then learn how to use your camera to communicate what you’re seeing, you’ll become a better visual storyteller.”
From her vantage point Tamara first saw only the tops of their backs just above the tall grass. “Then, to see them come out of the grass—that’s awe inspiring.” She had Eye AF locked on the cub’s eye all the way. “I felt that the cub had this very vulnerable expression—or maybe it was just puzzled by its first view of a photographer.” Z 8, NIKKOR Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S, 1/1250 second, f/6.3, ISO 1250, manual exposure.
Creative Technology
Kristi sees advanced technology as a creative element that makes for better, more powerful images. “I’ve started to use my Z 8’s autofocus bird-tracking ability to track dragonflies and other insects in flight. I’ve also customized my camera so I can toggle back and forth between AF area modes. There are a lot of bald eagles in Alaska, so let’s say I’ve got a couple of them hanging out in a tree, and while I’m waiting for one to take off, I switch to photographing bears at the bottom of the tree. Then the eagles stir, ready to go, and I toggle the AF from wide-area animal tracking to all-area bird tracking. From bear to bird—that’s technology making opportunities and creative and artistic choices possible.”
”I wanted that wide-open, f/1.8 separation look, so I went really high with the shutter speed,” Kristi says of this image. “This bear was essentially chased out of a group by the alpha male, and he’s walking away, defeated.” Z 8, NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena, 1/26,000 second, f/1.8, ISO 250, manual exposure.
“Creative and artistic” figure into everything Kristi and Tamara teach at their workshops, along with respect for wildlife and appreciation of the power and fragility of nature. “We try to encourage people not to ask, ‘What shutter speed should I use?’” Kristi says. “We try to encourage them to ask, ‘What shutter speed should I use if I want to show chaos?’ or ‘What aperture if I want to show separation?’ We want them to ask about the photo they want to make, and what story they want it to tell. We want to help them express their own experiences in the wild.”
Both Kristi’s and Tamara’s websites—at www.kristiodomfineart.com and www.tamaralackey.com, respectively—feature portfolios of images and information about upcoming workshops.
