|
Section:
The Herald Outdoors
Topic:
Wildlife Photography
Points taken from an interview with Karen Edmundson Bean.
Statements surround an image of three pronghorns photographed by Bean.
Don't disturb the animals. In some cases - for example, bears- it's dangerous to you. More often it's harmful to the animals.
Swift, sensitive and shy, pronghorns seldom show people more than footprints, but wildlife photographer and filmmaker
Karen Edmundson Bean was close enough to photograph this trio with a 250 millimeter lens. How do you get that close? "Go
get a hunting book," she says, especially one used by bow hunters. The stalking techniques are the same.
Try not to look dangerous. "Almost all the animals in the United States have been hunted. A camera looks like a gun."
Bean says. The solution is to be inconspicuous, moving slowly and fluidly, and placing yourself to avoid notice. What works
best is a location with your back to the sun, next to a larger object, such as a stump or a rock. Do it right, and you'll
blend into the background.
Animals are most active the four hours around sunrise and four hours around sunset. Be up and in position before dawn,
or before the light starts fading. Speaking of light, you'll spend a lot of time with barely enough. Bring a tripod to keep
the camera steady.
How much trouble it takes to get near the animals depends on your locations. In some places, such as the National Bison
Refuge, where this was taken, the animals are relatively used to humans. If you want to photograph a particular animal, research
where it can be found.
Besides a tripod and a 500 millimeter lens, equipment might include a motor drive to allow you to take a lot of pictures
quickly. But if you're in a good enough spot, you can get a spectacular picture with any camera.
Bold or shy, the animals are not likely to conform to your schedule, so you'd best have a way to pass the time. Bean recites
poetry. Her repertoire includes T.S. Eliott's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and all the poems from "Alice
in Wonderland."
By Fiona Cohen
Return to In The News
|
