I woke up one chilly December morning with the desire to go get a few wildlife shots. So I made my way over to the local wildlife reserve. This area has an abundance of all types of wildlife - mainly birds. Feathery creatures of all different colors and sizes can be found here. From the elegant white egrets to the common house sparrow. Luckily for me, however, sparrows are one of my favorite species of non-predatory bird. So I set out to capture interesting photographs of whatever wildlife I encountered.
It's funny how reality almost always has that funny way of failing to meet one's expectations. I imagined being greeted with open arms (or wings, legs, etc.) by all the animals that inhabit the area. If I wanted an animal to appear, I needed only to extend my hand, whistle, and some furry or feathered creature would appear before me. You know, like in those terrible animated films we all know. Instead, I found myself feeling like the only living thing on the planet, excluding the fact that there were plenty of friendly fishermen there who didn't hesitate to chat with me about my lens. I'm not counting them!
I thought to myself, "Where are all the animals? There were plenty of them here frolicking around last time when I didn't have my Nikon D5500 I knew that I had to just be patient and wait for the wildlife to come out when they were good and ready. After waiting and wandering, and waiting, and wandering. I finally caught mere glimpses of the little sparrows that seemed to be watching and following me out of curiosity. They made sure to keep a safe distance, leaving the safety of the bushes and trees only to dart to the next. They sure didn't mind making plenty of noise however. With the animals being so shy, I knew I'd be going home empty-handed.
I decided to pack up my things and started heading back. As a photographer, I understand that I won't always get a shot. There have been days before when I didn't take a single shot at all. It was nothing new. I finally made it back to my car and started to drive home. That's when I noticed the white egret standing on a piece of wood, preening its feathers. I couldn't pull out my Nikon D5500 fast enough! I took hundreds of shots of that one bird, and ended leaving with great shots after all.
Gear Information:
Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED
Neewer Alluminum Alloy 67" 170cm Tripod Monopod
Editing Software:
Adobe Photoshop CC & Lightroom
Apps: