Over the last 20 years of presenting photography workshops, I have been asked many, many times to this same question: ‘What is the best lens for wildlife photography?’. This question has come from total beginners to more experienced photographers, looking to upgrade lenses. Below, I have itemised what things to consider before you start shopping for a new wildlife photography lens.

• What is your budget?
• Are you able to physically hold the lens due to its weight?
• Does the lens cause ‘shake’ when you hold it?
• How big in size is the lens?
• Are you after a fixed focal length lens or a zoom?
• What is the minimum aperture the lens goes to when zoomed out fully?

Budget

This obviously has a bearing on what you can buy. If you can afford it, I recommend you always pay a bit more for a lens that’s sharper and is quicker to focus on moving wildlife. If you are on a budget, do your research and look carefully at the lenses in your price range and look carefully at the specifications.

Weight

I recommend you look up the weight of a particular lens you are looking at possibly buying. If possible, try and visit an actual photographic store that has the lens in stock and physically pick it up, attached to your camera. You will instantly know if the lens is too heavy for you.

Shake

When picking up the lens (or lenses) you are looking at possibly buying, hold the camera/lens combo up to your eye for a few minutes and see if you get the ‘shakes’. If so, it maybe too heavy although there are a few things you can do to stabilise the heavy camera/lens combo.You can use a tripod and gimbal, a monopod with a monopod head or even use a photographer’s beanbag in certain circumstances.

Size

Is the lens too big to fit in your camera bag? This point is important to remember.

Fixed focal length or zoom (plus what is the minimum aperture when zoomed out?)

A fixed focal length lens such as a 300mm f2.8, 400mm f2.8, 500mm f4 or 600mm f4 are very sharp and extremely fast to focus. Many pro wildlife photographers own fixed focal length lenses. The thing is, they are way more expensive, usually much heavier and you can’t zoom in or our to compose your shot. You can sometimes physically move but in many cases, such as photographing wildlife from a safari vehicle in Africa or shooting from a zodiac in Antarctica, you can’t always move and may even be too close! Also, the wider focal length allows more light in, which makes it easier to hand hold due to the faster shutter speed.

A zoom lens, however, is usually lighter to hold, cheaper in price and you can zoom in or out, but they are generally not as sharp as a fixed focal length lens. They may also be slower to focus on a moving animal and some lenses only open up to f6.3 or f7.1 at the longest focal length. If you are photographing birds, using one example, in a low light rainforest then smaller (in size) minimum apertures can let you down. You will potentially need to increase your ISO excessively high, which in turn creates too much noise in your image.

Giving you names and models of specific lenses is too tricky, as it depends on what brand of camera you own, whether its a mirrorless, four thirds or digital SLR, what your budget is and what your physical capabilities are. What I hope you take from this article is to read through the pros and cons and whittle it down to a few lenses, then do thorough research on those lenses.

Best of luck researching : – ))

If you have a passion for wildlife, nature or travel photography and would love to go on a small-number, professional photography adventure, please get in touch with Michael Snedic at WildNature Photo Expeditions. You can call him on 0408 941 965 or fill in this Contact Form and he will get back to you ASAP.

A two-hour drive from Brisbane or a one-hour fifteen-minute drive from the Gold Coast, Lamington National Park is World Heritage listed for good reason. Habitats vary from subtropical and remnant rainforests, ancient Antarctic Beech forests, sclerophyll and eucalyptus forest. The variety of wildlife species, therefore, is incredibly varied. Birds and other wildlife are used to visitors, so they can also often be photographed at close range. Some of the species of birds that frequent the Lamington National Park include the rare Albert’s Lyrebird, the Regent and Satin Bowerbird, the Noisy Pitta and the Eastern Spinebill (amongst 245 or so species of birds found in Lamington National Park). Mammal species include the cute macropod called the Red-necked Pademelon, which often frequents the visitor areas, as well as the nocturnal Brush-tailed and Ring-tailed possums which are regular visitors. Two of the many reptile species that can be seen and photographed include the Leaf-tailed Gecko and the pure black Land Mullet, Australia’s largest skink.

Wildlife photography in Lamington National Park is quite easy, as there are plenty of walking tracks where many of the wildlife frequent, so with such an abundance of wildlife that is readily accessible – though admittedly some do require patience – it is one of the best locations in Australia for wildlife photography, regardless of your skill level.

If you have a passion for wildlife, nature or travel photography and would love to go on a small-number, professional photography adventure, please get in touch with Michael Snedic at WildNature Photo Expeditions. You can call him on 0408 941 965 or fill in this Contact Form and he will get back to you ASAP.

Crouching behind the enormous buttress root of a black booyong in World Heritage-listed Lamington National Park. 80 kilometres south of Brisbane, I waited in anticipation.

Working as a guide for O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, in the heart of the national park, I joined wildlife-documentary maker Glen Threlfo in search of a male Albert’s lyrebird. We’d tracked the elusive rufous­ coloured bird, nicknamed “George”, to his display platform by following his echoing call. Unlike the better-known superb lyrebird, which performs its courtship display atop a meticulously maintained earth mound, the smaller Albert’s lyrebird uses a concealed platform of interlaced vines.

Approximate distribution of the Albert’s Lyrebird. Source.

As we sat still and silent, concealed behind some bushes, George began singing his heart out. His smooth territorial call resounded through the rainforest, quickly interspersed with note-perfect renditions of other birds’ calls including the laughing kookaburra, satin bowerbird, eastern whipbird and crimson rosella. As he sang, he inverted his 50-centimetre tail over his head and body to form a silvery­white dome that almost cocooned him. Plucking at the vines with each foot, he held us spellbound.

This performance lasted 20 minutes. Then he stopped, ruffled his feathers and dissolved into the dense undergrowth. In the ensuing silence, Glen turned to me and said, “Why don’t you try to photograph his display? There’s only ever been a few successful photographs.” I decided to take on the challenge, but because the mating season was almost over, I had to wait nine months for an opportunity.

Albert’s lyrebird is found in the undergrowth of dense subtropical rainforest straddling the New South Wales-Queensland border. It spends its days foraging for insects, roosting at night in a tall tree and working its way down at sunrise. A poor flier, it’s extremely shy and when disturbed, runs quickly away.

I’d anticipated that my project would take up to two weeks. It took almost two months. I didn’t sight George for weeks, and when he did appear, it took several attempts to get a good shot of him. Finally, luck was with me. George was back on his vines and his courtship display was even more energetic than usual. He was in a frenzy as he danced, called and mimicked – even making the sounds of a crackling bonfire. He tugged the vines so ferociously that the surrounding palm lilies and lilly-pillies shook with him.

The three-month mating season was drawing to an end, and George was going all out to let any nearby females know where to find him. I wondered how they could resist.

Capturing the perfect photograph of birds and other wildlife can take a lot of patience and perseverance as highlighted by my experience with Albert’s lyrebird and many of my other iconic wildlife photos. However, there are a lof of skills you can learn to help you get the shot just right when the opportunity finally arises.

If you are interested in learning more about how to photograph birds in Lamington National Park from experienced nature photographer Michael Snedic, you might like to join his next photography workshop at Lamington National Park.

First published in Australian Geographic magazine.

If you have a passion for wildlife, nature or travel photography and would love to go on a small-number, professional photography adventure, please get in touch with Michael Snedic at WildNature Photo Expeditions. You can call him on 0408 941 965 or fill in this Contact Form and he will get back to you ASAP.