Some say that children and animals are the most difficult subjects to take pictures of (unless they’re sleeping, of course). That’s arguably true for many reasons, a couple of which are that they often just can’t stand still and don’t respond well to the photographer asking them to do so.

Today, we have prepared a list of beaaaautiful pictures of one of the two—animals, as shared on the ‘Crap wildlife photography’ Facebook group. Covering all sorts of scenarios, from the wild beings unable to stand still for a moment, to photographers messing up themselves, the list is filled with some impressive shots; but there’s no need to take my word for it, just scroll down to find them and see for yourself. Enjoy!

In order to learn more about animal behavior and the challenges those trying to capture it might face, Bored Panda got in touch with evolutionary biologist and Professor at the Department of Biology at Queen’s University, Robert Montgomerie, and wildlife and environmental photojournalist Steven Holt, who were kind enough to share their insight on the topic. You will find their thoughts in the text below.

Professor Robert Montgomerie of the Department of Biology at Queen’s University, a bird photographer who has been capturing the winged creatures—often poorly, as the expert jokingly admitted himself—since 1965, told Bored Panda that most birds and other animals are readily disturbed by the close approach of humans (or their pets).

“That disturbance can have detrimental effects on their survival and reproduction,” he pointed out, adding that it’s usually important to keep one’s distance and be constantly aware of any changes in the animal’s behavior evoked by a human’s presence.

“It is fairly easy to detect when a bird is becoming more alert, as it might stop foraging, freeze, start to move away from you, or begin alarm calling. Those are cues that you are too close and that it’s time to back off a bit; or a lot.

“It is also important to minimize the disturbance of a bird’s habitat, especially during the breeding season. Never trim vegetation just so you can get a better shot,” the expert said.

 

 

 

 

A person who has had more than one face-to-face encounter with all sorts of animals, wildlife and environmental photojournalist Steven Holt, told Bored Panda that he is often in the animal’s sight, but makes sure not to disturb them or come too close. “When I’m in a blind, I am usually completely out of sight. But much of the time, even if dressed in camo, I am in full sight of the animal I’m photographing.

“Each animal is an individual with their own level of comfort and some species tend to be much more wary than others,” he pointed out. “My ideal is to be seen but to have my presence fully accepted or at minimum to be tolerated by the animal at a distance.”

 

But even though having his presence accepted or tolerated is the ideal, Holt admitted that that’s not always the case. “Very early in my career, well over 30 years ago, I stupidly ignored the obvious signals of a mother moose and her baby running away across a field,” he shared, traveling back to the time he learned an important lesson.

“I drove to the far side of the woods and re-approached them from the opposite direction. The mother moose quite understandably became utterly incensed. Her eyes started rolling in her head—if you ever see the whites of a moose’s eyes I can advise you to get up a tree, stat.

“Sadly, the small lodge-pole pines surrounding me were not easily climbable. The mother moose charged straight at me. I stepped behind a small six inch diameter tree hoping to do-si-do with the tree in the middle. I was not feeling particularly optimistic that I could dodge a kick from a five-foot-long leg.

“Luckily, I didn’t have to find out how my dancing ability stacked up against this enraged mother moose. Her charge veered off at about 20 feet out and she trotted off with her calf having made her point completely clear to me. I was unethically foolish and damn lucky that day and have since endeavored to always listen when animals communicate any kind of distress,” the photographer said, seconding Prof. Montgomerie’s point that paying attention to the animal’s movements is crucial.

Robert Montgomerie explained that as a human approaches, an animal’s reaction usually escalates from stopping what they are doing, to adopting alert postures and alarm calling, and then fleeing.

“Researchers have recently studied what we call flight initiation distance (FID) and the results are, not surprisingly, that this varies with species, time of year, and even among individuals. Even within species, some birds are very skittish while others appear to be relatively tame,” he pointed out.

“Most of the many species that I have studied pay little attention to humans in the birds’ natural habitats unless we try to approach them directly for photography or observations and as a result get too close. Negative reactions by birds increase dramatically if you are walking a dog, making a lot of noise, or operating a noisy vehicle.”

Steven Holt shared that—in addition to an occasional saving yourself from an angered mother moose—some of the main challenges animal photographers face are the same ones their wild subjects have to face nearly every day of their lives, such as bugs, sun, heat, cold, rain, snow, mud and similar unpleasantries.

“At least, we have technology that can help us against many of these challenges,” he pointed out. “But perhaps the biggest challenge for me is to consciously allow a bug to bite me when I know swatting it would possibly scare off the animal that I have gradually gotten to trust me.”

For Prof. Montgomerie, the part that is particularly challenging when it comes to animal—in this case bird—photography is capturing them in action, when they’re flying, diving, or courting; especially in low light when, according to him, the most interesting behaviors seemingly occur.

But whether the creatures are moving or standing still, far from every specimen of animal photography ends up being an applause-worthy one (and this list clearly proves it). When discussing how often the shots don’t come out the way he expected, the expert said that back in the days of film, that wouldn’t happen that much as he was extremely careful not to waste expensive film. “Even so, probably only one in 100 shots was really a keeper,” he admitted.

“Now with digital photography I often take 1000 or more photos in a day out and don’t really like any of them. The new cameras offer a ton of creative possibilities so I often try to photograph behaviors and birds that would have been impossible for me to capture on film.”

“While I aim to take photos that I really love, just the process of getting out to observe birds closely and trying to get a decent photo is a large part of the enjoyment, even if none of the photos are worth keeping,” Montgomerie told Bored Panda.

He shared that in addition to allowing him to express his creativity, photography helps him to focus his attention on the animal’s behavior and anatomy both while taking photos and movies and later when viewing and processing the material.

“To me this is much more satisfying than the endless twitching of new species. Through photography I feel I get to know the birds better, and I gain a greater appreciation of the interesting behaviors of relatively common species as they tend to be more available and easier to photograph.”

“Spending time being accepted to experience just a small sample of the life of a wild creature is an honor I can occasionally enjoy and that makes any inconvenience all worth it,” photographer Steven Holt said, summing up all the joys and challenges of a wildlife photographer and adding that the life and health of the subjects must always be paramount to the concerns of the professionals working in the field.

If animal content—be it professional photography or photos snapped with one’s mobile—is something you enjoy, feel free to visit Bored Panda’s category dedicated to all sorts of critters and enjoy the serotonin boost their pictures ought to provide.