After 15 years of presenting photography workshops and tours across Australia and the world, I have tutored thousands of keen photographers, all wanting to learn new photography techniques. They also wish to be taken to where the best possible wildlife sightings are and the most stunning natural locations to photograph landscapes, macro and travel photography opportunities. One question comes up regularly: “Which lens (or lenses) should I buy”?

I have answered this question hundreds upon hundreds of times, with varying answers. These answers naturally depend on the needs/wants of the photographer, his or her budget, weight carrying capabilities of the photographer and the the quality of various lenses.

Firstly, I ask people “what is your budget?”. I will then ask “what will be the main purpose of the lens i.e. wildlife, landscape, macro, portrait or a mix of all of these?”. Then, it’s a matter of going through the various lenses and focal lengths and coming up with some suggestions.

If bird photography is your main interest, then you need a lens with a decent focal length that’s not too heavy, has decent focusing speed and is sharp. The more you pay, the better the quality but often this equates to a heavier lens. It’s that compromise you have to consider.

If you are an avid landscape photographer, then a wide-angle lens is recommended. For something like seascapes, a wide-angle lens that allows filters such as graduated neutral density, is recommended. Some of the ‘ultra-wide’ lenses have a large, bulbous front, making it either impossible or very expensive to use filters. It therefore makes them impractical if you want to darken the sky and lighten the foreground, which graduated ND filters allow you to do.

There are also many focal lengths and brands of dedicated macro lenses available on the market. They vary from 50mm to 200mm, so which one is ‘best’? The most common focal lengths on macro lenses I have seen my photo workshop and tour participants use are around 90-105mm. Theses are great lenses for an array of subjects including fungi, plants and many insects. If, however, you are more into flying and skittish insects such as dragonflies and butterflies, then a longer focal length such as 180-200mm is suggested. This way you can be further away from the insect, without scaring them away yet still fill the frame with your subject.

Whatever lens, or lenses you wish to purchase, the important thing is to do your research beforehand. Ask other photographers their thoughts on what macro lenses they are using and also check out the numerous review sites out there on the internet.

If you have a passion for African wildlife, nature or travel photography and would love to go on a specialised small-number, professional African photo safari, 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.

Without question, my favourite macro photographic subjects are fungi. They come in every imaginable shape, size, texture and colour. There are, however, pitfalls to avoid and tips to adhere to, if you want to achieve that ‘special’ shot.

#1 Pick The Best Specimen

If there are a number of individual fungi to choose from to photograph, I suggest singling out one that looks fresh and not wilted or broken. Then you can concentrate on that particular fungi to get the best shot possible.

#2 Focusing On The Leading Edge

For individual fungi, focus on the ‘leading edge’, so that the viewer’s eyes go straight to that spot. This might be the rim of the fungi head or the gills under underneath. Using manual focus will give you much more control when focusing on the leading edge.

#3 Watch Out For Distractions

Look out for distractions in the background, especially shiny leaves. If there are distractions, you may want to move them away. Alternatively, physically move around until you find the best place to photograph the fungi, without any distractions to ruin your image.

#4 Using A Small Aperture For Better Depth-Of-Field

When you find a clump of fungi, make sure you use a small aperture size (such as f22) so that you can get more of the fungi in focus. Focus on one or two of the most prominent ones and let your aperture control the depth-of-field.

#5 Extension Tubes For Closer Focus

Using extension tubes allows you to focus much closer on tiny fungi. I tend to use a tripod when using extension tubes, as the fungi is often found in a dark environment (such as a rainforest). By choosing a small aperture, hand-holding at a low shutter speeds will result in blurry images, due to a very slow shutter speed.

#6 Reflector For Added Light

Sometimes, the gills on the underside of a fungi can be quite dark. By using a portable silver reflector, you can throw natural night onto the shaded gills, to reduce the shadows. I’ve been doing this for many years and it works a treat!

If you have a passion for African wildlife, nature or travel photography and would love to go on a specialised small-number, professional African photo safari, 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.

There are a number of things you can do, in order to achieve a better success rate when photographing wildlife behavior. Below are some tips and techniques I have used over many years, with great results.

#1 Observe Your Subject(s)

One of the most important factors in capturing that special wildlife behavioral ‘moment’ with your camera, is to preempt what the individual might do. It’s not always possible to know exactly what will happen, but by spending time beforehand observing the animal (or animals), you will certainly have a much greater chance of capturing that ‘once-in-a-life’ moment with your camera.

#2 Do Your Research

Before I head to a location to photograph wildlife, I always research the area beforehand. Surf the internet, talking to those who have been there before and seek out professionals in their field who can help you familiarise yourself with the area, and it’s animal. Otherwise you have no idea what species are around or where the best spots are to find them.

#3 Being in the Right Place at the Right Time

Sometimes, you can simply get ‘lucky’ when it comes to getting that unique wildlife behaviour shot. For the image featured (above), I was on an expedition ship in Svalbard, in the Arctic, presenting a photo tour. We saw a lone polar bear feeding on a seal carcus and decided to head out in zodiacs to get a closer look and take some photos. The bear was oblivious to our presence and kept feeding. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another polar bear leaping from the ice in and out of the water, heading to the one feeding. Since the one feeding was quite full, no fighting occurred. There was bit of a growl but it let the other one in to feed. It really was a magical moment and a case of ‘being in the right place at the right time’!

#4 Plenty of Memory and Batteries Charged

When out in the field photographing wildlife, its important to make sure you have plenty of memory on your card, plus a spare. Same goes with your camera’s battery – it needs to be fully-charged before you head out and always carry a spare. Not only can the battery run out but occasionally batteries fail, so carrying a spare is paramount.

#5 Use Continuous Focus

When a wildlife subject is moving, it can be difficult to keep focus on it with your camera. I always suggest using Continuous Focus when using Autofocus (called AI Servo for Canon users). When you have locked your focus point on the subject, keep your finger depressed halfway on the shutter button and follow any movement. When you are ready, hit the shutter button, taking lots of photos. By choosing the ‘burst’ mode, you can keep your finger depressed and the shutter will fire away continually.

#6 Using a Fast Memory Card

If the memory card you are using is ‘slow’, the buffer on the camera won’t be able to keep up. You could therefore lose the opportunity to capture valuable behavioural moments on your camera. By purchasing a fast card, the buffer will be much higher and you will be able to capture many more shots in the sequence.

If you have a passion for African wildlife, nature or travel photography and would love to go on a specialised small-number, professional African photo safari, 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.

When taking images of wildlife or people, there is nothing worse than a distracting background. It basically takes the viewer’s eyes away from the subject you are wanting to portray. I’ve heard some photographers say “I’ll fix it in Photoshop”, but my theory has always been to get it right in camera first, so you end up with more time out in nature with your camera and less time on the computer!

#1 Beware of Trees and Poles

One of the most common mistakes I see when reviewing images taken by my photo workshop and tour participants, is seeing trees or telegraph poles sticking out the back of animal’s heads! Often photographers are so absorbed in what they are focusing on (literally) that they completely miss the background!

#2 Man-made Objects

When you are out in nature photographing wildlife, be careful not to accidentally include man-made structures such as posts, fences or buildings end up in your shot. It’s certainly more appealing to have a native animal ‘in the wild’ then to have mad-made subjects in the background.

#3 Photographing Through Wire at a Zoo or Wildlife Park

Zoos and wildlife parks can be great places to practice your wildlife photography. The only problem is that in some cases, you will have wire between you and your subject. Many photographers aren’t aware that if you go right up to the wire and focus ‘through’ it and onto your subject, you can completely blur out the wire.

#4 Blurring Out Your Background

It’s not always possible to get rid of distracting subjects in the background (difficult access, for example). In this case, you may want to use a wide aperture as this has the effect of completely blurring the background. This is especially so if the subject is near you and the background distraction is far away.

#5 Choose Your Spot

Often, it’s simply a matter of moving around until you get the best possible background. If I see a bird perched on a branch and there is a distraction in the background, I’ll usually move around until I find a clear background.

If you have a passion for African wildlife, nature or travel photography and would love to go on a specialised small-number, professional African photo safari, 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.

Whether you are on a photo tour to Tasmania, or on a photo expedition to locations such as Antarctica or the Arctic, photographing in cold climates can have its challenges. Below are some tried-and-tested tips and suggestions I have used over many years, to make it easier to photograph in such environments.

#1 Wear Lots Of Layers

It’s important that you are warm, comfortable and dry when out in cold or freezing conditions. Wearing lots of layers will keep you dry and also makes it easier to remove a layer or two when it warms up. One main outer jacket is best, which is lined for warmth, but also waterproof.

#2 Fingerless Gloves

One of biggest challenges when photographing in cold climates is being able to work the cameras settings, without freezing your fingers. I strongly suggest you wear a pair of light cotton gloves, then use a pair of fingerless gloves, with flaps that can cover your exposed fingers when you are not photographing. Wearing thick ski gloves, for example, make it impossible to work your camera’s dials.

#3 Be Careful Of Extreme Temperature Changes

One of the biggest problems many photographers encounter when photographing in freezing environments is lenses fogging up. This often happens when your gear has been in a warm, heated room and you suddenly venture into the cold, or vice versa. My suggestion, when going from hot to cold or cold to hot, is to let the camera/lens ‘acclimatise’ slowly. If you are coming in from the cold, you can place the camera/lens on your bed, under a sheet or doona. That way it will change temperature gradually and condensation won’t occur.

#4 Watch Your Metering

When photographing subjects in snow, I recommend using Evaluative Metering (Canon), Matrix Metering (Nikon) or Multi-Pattern (other brands). This metering allows the camera to read the whole scene you are photographing. Since the camera’s sensor normally renders the scene a ‘grey’ color, I suggest increasing the exposure, bringing the snow or ice back to a white, as it should be.

If you have a passion for African wildlife, nature or travel photography and would love to go on a specialised small-number, professional African photo safari, 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.

There are many aspects to achieving a stunning image of a landscape. In this article, I am giving you some tips and techniques to help you get better shots.

#1 Rule Of Thirds

When photographing a seascape, for example, the important ‘rule-of-thirds’ plays an important role in getting the image looking ‘right’. Instead of putting the ocean’s horizon in the middle of your shot, which looks too ‘set up’, I highly recommend using the ‘rule-of-thirds’. You can compose your image so that you have one third land, one third water and one third sky. You could choose to have one third land and two thirds sky or even two thirds sky and one third water. This ‘rule’ really does work so if you haven’t tried it before, why not give it a go? You will be surprised by the results!

#2 Think Portrait

So many photographers, when photographing landscapes, only think in terms of ‘landscape format’ (i.e.left-to-right) and not in ‘portrait format’ (i.e. upright). Many landscapes lend themselves to being taken in portrait form, especially if the landscape includes very tall trees, high rock formations or scenes where you want to incorporate the foreground, mid-section and sky in full. In some case, I suggest taking images in both landscape and portrait format and see which one works best.

#3 Foreground Detail

Having a subject in the foreground of a landscape makes for a more interesting image, in my opinion. It may be a large rock, tree, a flowering plant or similar. When the person viewing the image looks at it for the first time, his/her eyes will generally go to the foreground subject and then lead onto the landscape. Foreground detail makes for a much more interesting image.

#4 Best Light Conditions

Early morning (around sunrise), plus late afternoon (around sunset), generally makes for much nicer landscape image sand creates a real ‘mood’ in many cases. Due to the low light conditions encountered during these times, it is necessary to use a sturdy tripod and a remote or cable release, otherwise the image will be blurry. Also, since you are using a tripod, I recommend you set your cameras ISO setting to 100 (or the lowest setting on your camera), to minimise any potential ‘noise’ that may be visible by using a much higher ISO.

#5 Use Water As A Reflection

If you are photographing a landscape scene near a lake or lagoon, and it is a calm day, I recommend utilising the water’s reflection to create an evocative image. This is especially effective when shooting at sunrise or sunset.

#6 Leading Lines

A photo of path within a landscape, which leads the eye out of the ‘scene’ can be a very powerful composition. It keeps the person viewing the image interested, as they often ask themselves “where does that path lead to”?

If you have a passion for African wildlife, nature or travel photography and would love to go on a specialised small-number, professional African photo safari, 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.