History
I was bought my first camera when I was twelve and I have been taking photographs ever since Now I specialise in wildlife photography, though I have worked in a camera shop concentrating on studio photography, and spent a long time on landscape photography.
At university I concentrated on the technical aspects of photography and imaging with a BSc(Hons) in Imaging Science and a PhD in digital image quality. This gives me a good insight into both the mechanics of imaging and the cognitive processes that affect what we see in an image and how we interpret it.
Equipment
My first 'real' camera a Zenith E was a long time ago. I then moved via Praktika to Olympus had an OM 1n that gave really good service. However, my boss at the camera shop where I worked at the weekends used Nikon, the lure of different lenses to use meant I soon jumped ship. I have stayed with Nikon ever since, from my first Nikon FE to the D800e and D810 that I use now.
My first underwater camera was a Motormarine II which I quite liked - though I managed to flood two of these. By then though underwater photography was a major part of my diving, so I upgraded to a Subal housing for the Nikon F90 I was using at the time. I have since had two further Subal housings and I never flooded any of them.
For my wildlife photograhy I have slowly built up some specialist lenses, mainly long focus fast zooms and macro lenses. I also have the Nikon close up flash set which is very versatile, and Nikon SB900/910 flashguns that are incredibly powerful for their size.
Long lenses, these can be a big help with perspective in images. Generally, a subject will appear more powerful if its eye-line is at or above the eye-line of the photographer. Long lenses help the appearance that wildlife is on the same eye-line as the photographer which is shown in the diagram below:
As far as software is concerned my favourite program is Adobe Lightroom which I have been using since v2.0. This is a dedicated digital workflow program with all the image corection tools that I need as a wildlife photographer. I am also impressed with Nikon Capture NX2 which allows me to copy files from the flash card to two destinations simultaniously - a godsend on location when you have limited time and recharge opertunities.
Musings
My grounding in photography was firmly in the analogue era and this has a bearing on my attitude to kit purchases. I still firmly believe that the best place to spend money on photographic kit is on lenses. Good glass will always stand you in good stead, if you put a cheap lens on an expensive camera all you get is a perfectly resolved blurred image.
Life was easier in the analogue days as mostly a camera was a box to hold film and the film itself was the detrminent of imaging capabilities. These days however, the 'film' is an integral part of the camera body itself. Good news for the camera manufacturers as it means we need to keep updating our camera bodies...
Wildlife Tips and Tricks
Having been lucky enough to go on a great many wildlife photographic safaris in both South America and Africa I have picked up some usefull information that may well help you to pack sensibly and maximise what is available to you.
Research! I can't over emphasise this. Make sure you are going to the right place at the right time to see whatever it is that you want to see. For instance if you want to photograph tree frogs in Costa Rica you have to go in rainy season - they spend the rest of the year in the tree tops. Don't go to South Luangwa in Zambia looking for cheetah - you won't find them. They do have African Wild Dog though if you are very lucky...
Guides / Naturalists, these are the make or break for your trip, you need to get them onside as soon as possible. Remember if you want guaranteed sightings go to the zoo! The guides are good and given the chance will do their best for you, but they can't perform miracles. Also not all guides are photographers, If a birder can see most of a bird in several stages as it moves around the tree they are quite happy - it's only photographers that need to see all of it in one go, or complain because there is a branch across its face. Equally the guide doesn't know what you can see through the lens so give feedback as to range, direction of sun etc. I find it is always a good idea to show the guide any good pictures on the camera screen - this often helps to explain why you wanted them to move the vehicle forward three feet.
Patience, patience, patience. As I mentioned above there are no guarantees in nature, if you want guaranteed sightings go to the zoo. Often sitting quietly and waiting can bring great rewards. The two key words here are quietly and waiting, in case you missed those they are quietly and waiting. Noise disturbs most things, we were photographing a large tarantula conveniently positioned on a tree stump by the path when a group approached on their night walk. They were so busy talking to each other they frightened the spider back into its hole and barely noticed us, let alone the spider they had frightened off! Also before you get too keen on rushing out to the furthest edges of the reserve I have seen or tracked most things in or around camp - including Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and even African Wild Dog.
Apart from being in the right place at the right time, a big help for serious photographers is private guides and vehicles. Having the guide and vehicle to yourself means the guide can concentrate on what you want, and you can spend as much or as little time on a sighting as you wish. Certainly with regard to Africa I have seen enough sleeping lions to last a lifetime - though I do like to know where they are so I can come back at a more appropriate time.
Just to put those last two points together, don't dash around all over the area trying to be in all places at once, observing what is in your area and reacting to that is usually more productive than rushing around. Allow the guides to use their local knowledge and skill to put you in the right places at the right time. We always make sure our guides are aware that we know there are no guarantees and sometimes the wildlife just doesn't want to play. Don't give the guide a hard time it's not their fault, you would have seen even less if you had spent your time rushing around the park in response to others radio messages. On a related note - big cats are not the only wildlife in Africa! Learning more about the animals you are seeing and their behaviour is not only rewarding but can also help you spot more unusual things.
For instance, did you know that warthogs and porcupines often use the same burrows? Porcupines being nocturnal sleep in the burrow during daytime whilst diurnal warthogs use them at night. Porcupines enter the burrow head first so their protective quills face outwards, whilst warthogs back in so the armed and armoured front faces any would be attacker. A good system that generally works well - unless you get an overlap which can result in an annoyed Porcupine and a very uncomfortable warthog as can be seen in the picture below:
