Wild Eye Magazine

Wildlife photography can be a deeply rewarding pursuit, but capturing images that go beyond mere documentation requires creativity and intentionality.

The winners of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 were recently announced in London, revealing stunning images including the overall winner (above) by Rafael Fernandez Caballero, which shows a Bryde’s whale about to engulf a swarm of sardines. In Caballero’s winning image, the sardines are forming what is known as a “baitball,” which is a defensive tactic to ward off predators.

As we threaded through the Beagle Channel, I wondered if this icy continent could live up to the lofty expectations I’d formed since childhood. Growing up reading the tales of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Roald Amundsen, and Ernest Shackleton, Antarctica became a place of myth in my mind. Would it be as awe-inspiring as those stories made it seem?

Those who eschew social media may not have noticed the deluge of AI-generated landscape and nature images to be found online these days. Guided by prompts provided by the human “creator” that describe what the image content and style should be, these AI-spawned images are often created with the intent of producing maximum impact, “wow-factor,” and generation of “likes and shares,” though the scenes they depict commonly depart from the realistically plausible or possible in significant ways.

There’s no getting around it: wildlife photography is a demanding genre for photography equipment. Whether photographing lions in the Serengeti, penguins in Antarctica, or even just squirrels in the backyard, capturing wildlife typically puts photographers in situations with rough shooting conditions.

Outside of great light, a solid composition might be the single most important aspect of a great landscape image. If you were to ask one hundred landscape photographers what area of their own photography they’d like to improve upon, I bet the vast majority of them would say composition.

I frequently see outdoor photographers spending tons of money for the newest camera or lens, and then mounting their fancy new gear on top of a cheap tripod. Not even the very best glass or camera will improve your images if you don’t invest equally in getting the right tripod.

For venturing out of the beaten path, Channel Islands National Park is one of my favorite hidden gems in the National Park System. Almost undeveloped, the islands offer a rare opportunity to experience primeval and wild coastal California landscapes and seascapes. Fewer than 90,000 land on the islands each year, making Channel Islands National Park one of the least visited national parks in the country.

If you’ve wondered what life was really like for some of the world’s best outdoor photographers, the below video from National Geographic is a good place to start.

If you’re looking for a quick tutorial on how to shoot astrophotography with your iPhone check out the below video, which will have you capturing the stars in no time. Brought to you by QuickTips for the iPhone, this tutorial is for beginners just learning about shooting the night sky with the phone in their pockets.

If you’re just starting out in landscape photography or even if you’ve been at it for a while, you may be making some key editing mistakes while processing your images after a shoot. Not every skilled photographer knows their way around Photoshop or Lightroom and there’s no shame in that.