Click to Enlarge When you ask where to shoot wildlife photography, thoughts of refuges, preserves, sanctuaries and National Parks often come to mind. In my neck of the woods, Birmingham, Alabama, there are wildlife refuges ranging from the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast to Wheeler Wildlife Refuge in the Tennessee Valley. Not everyone may be as fortunate to have such amazing resources close to home, and it's not always possible to take a whole day for a photo adventure. All is not lost, though -- for many a wildlife refuge is closer than you may think.
I have discovered that I can easily shoot wildlife by stepping out my back door. Granted, I may not have a Bald Eagle perch on one of my oak trees or have a Great Blue Heron wade through the grass, but it's not uncommon to find a vibrant red Cardinal perched in a tree or a squirrels smiling for the camera in my own backyard. I can find butterflies searching for flowers -- and lizards searching for butterflies. You might find out that a great wildlife encounter is but a step out your back door.
Gear
To get the most out of wildlife photography, use a digital SLR. There are some high-end digital, non-DSLR cameras that can produce quality images, but the distance involved in some wildlife photography is beyond most of these camera's limitations. A DSLR is more adaptive to the lighting, distance and stopping action challenges that wildlife photography presents.
I use a Canon EOS 20D and Mark IIn for my photography but other entry-, mid-, or pro-level DSLRs will be capable of producing quality wildlife images. While the camera body is a very important part of the equation, the right lenses will complete the puzzle.
For birds, squirrels and other creatures larger than a lunch box, you probably need a lens with reach of at least 400mm's. Naturally, if you can get close to your subjects without them flying the coop, you can afford to shorten your reach slightly. The Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 APO EX DG, Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 Di LD, Canon 100-400mm f/4-5.6L, and Canon 400mm f/5.6L are some of the more popular lenses for wildlife photography.
As an alternative, if you already own one of the popular 70-200mm f/2.8s, consider a teleconverter. You can add a 1.4x or 2x teleconverter to extend the reach while keeping a functional maximum aperture. Just remember, while a teleconverter extends your reach, it also affects your maximum aperture. A 1.4x teleconverter will turn the 70-200mm into a 98-280mm f/4 and the 2x teleconverter turns it into a 140-400mm f/5.6 on an APS-C class camera with a 1.6x factor.
For butterflies, lizards, spiders, and other creatures smaller than a lunch box, a macro lens is your best bet. There are countless lenses out there that have macro abilities, in that they can focus at short distances, but lack serious macro magnification of at least 1:2. The magnification ratio is the ratio between real-life size and the size the object is sized on the sensor. A magnification ratio of 1:4 means one inch of a subject is recorded as 1/4 inch on the sensor. A magnification ratio of 1:1 means one inch is record at one inch.
For example, Sigma's 28-200mm f /3.5-5.6 Macro has a macro focusing distance (1.5 feet) but not macro magnification (magnification ratio of 1:3.8). In contrast, Canon's 100mm f/2.8 Macro has a macro focusing distance (6 inches) and a macro magnification (1:1).
While you can have success with the lenses that allow for closer focusing distances, those with 1:1 magnification will give way to greater detail. An alternative to a macro lens would be to use close-up filters on a standard lens such as a 50mm. Focusing is noticeably more sensitive with close-up filters but it may be an economical alternative to a macro lens.
Regardless which macro lens you use, remember the depth of field is extremely shallow with macro work. Even at a mid-range aperture of f/8, the DOF will be noticeably shallower with a macro lens. Focus on the head or eyes of the subject to better bring out the interesting details of your macro subjects.
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