The PhotoWILD Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 22: Understanding Wildlife Behavior is the Secret Sauce May 06, 2024

Ethology is the study of animal behavior. As wildlife photographers, what could be more important to our success in the field? Things like autofocus systems and exposure, while important, are the most rudimentary aspects of the craft. The ability to create in-focus photographs that are properly exposed only means you are now able to properly use the equipment in your hand. This doesn’t translate into a compelling or beautiful photograph any more than learning how to hold a paintbrush and mix paints allows you to create the next great masterpiece.

In this episode of the PhotoWILD podcast, we discuss animal behavior, the importance of educating yourself on the subject, and how understanding our subjects allows us to anticipate their behavior and set our selves up for success in the field.

Understanding our subjects, their behavior, their ecology, what makes them tick, and therefore where we can find them and photograph them, is the secret sauce of wildlife photography. To put it simply, if you can’t consistently and predictably find and approach wildlife on their terms, then it really doesn’t matter how sophisticated your autofocus system is or how expensive your lens was because you are going to have a very difficult time being a wildlife photographer if you can’t put yourself in front of wildlife.

While the importance of understanding animal behavior cannot be overstated, so to is understanding how our own behavior is being interpreted by animals. Every time we step into the field, forest, tundra, or whatever habitat or ecosystem you wish to substitute into this statement, we are entering into a two way conversation with every sentient creature within eye, ear, or smell (?) shot.

This episode discusses all of this and more. And for that reason, it may be one of the most important episodes we have done thus far.

PhotoWILD Magazine

The PhotoWILD Podcast is brought to you by PhotoWILD Magazine, where we take the discussion in these episodes much further. If you are serious about your wildlife photography, if you are someone who realizes this is not just a hobby but a way of life, then PhotoWILD Magazine is for you.

photowildmagazine.com

Workshops

Would you like to join us in the field? We offer small group hands-on field workshops designed to not only put you in front of incredible opportunities, but to help you take your wildlife photography to the next level.

photowildworkshops.com

Episode 21: Photographing Bald Eagles and why Manual Makes Everything Easier Apr 07, 2024

Highlights

Photographing birds in flight happens one of two ways: incidentally or purposefully. If you are serious about creating these types of photographs, then you need to set yourself up for success first.
Eagles come together in huge aggregations based around the two primary driving forces on Earth: food and sex.
It’s these aggregations that give us the best opportunity for photographing eagles, especially in flight.
To be successful at photographing birds in flight, we need to simplify everything we are doing.
Using exposure settings like aperture priority or auto-ISO sets us up for failure with birds in flight.
Manual exposure makes everything easier.

In Episode 21, Jared and Annalise discuss photographing one of the most iconic species of birds across North America: the bald eagle. Large, majestic, and one of the most acrobatic species of raptors in the Western Hemisphere, bald eagles spill out of the northern latitudes in the fall and winter as they follow their food sources south across the continent. Come late winter, the whole process happens in reverse. As such, bald eagles often arrive in mass aggregations that can total hundreds, if not thousands of these birds in different places. And one particular area of Alaska plays home to the second largest concentration of eagles in North America.

After spending ten days photographing eagles on the wing, creating nearly 150,000 photographs each, your hosts discuss what it takes to return home with such high success rates with birds in flight. Cutting through all the confusion about best practices, Jared explains his methodology for simplifying the process to set yourself up for success.

Want to Go Further?

Manual Makes Everything Easier

The Best Lens for Birds in Flight

Want to join us on a workshop to photograph eagles?

Epic Eagles of Alaska

Mastering Birds in Flight

In the upcoming Spring 2024 issue of PhotoWILD Magazine, we start our series of feature articles on Mastering Birds in Flight. From breaking down the best autofocus settings to field techniques that are guaranteed to significantly improve your success rate, this series will be a tour de force of all things birds in flight.

Learn More

Episode 19: The LOST EPISODE. Creating thoughtful outdoor studios, working with flash, and hummingbirds of the tropics Mar 25, 2024

things hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are some of the most extraordinary families of birds in the world whose natural history often defies belief
Understanding the natural history of these species is important for trying to sell photographs of these birds as 99% of photographs we see of hummingbirds are created with non-native species in situations that would never occur in the wild
Understanding how to use flash will dramatically elevate your bird photography, especially when working with hummingbirds
Flash is one of the most important creative tools we wield as visual artists
Using flash to think outside the box can elevate your photography to new levels

The lost episode has been found!

In this show, Jared Lloyd and Annalise Kaylor discuss photographing hummingbirds 8,000 feet up in the cloud forest of Panama. Far from being diminutive and delicate little birds, hummingbirds are some of the fiercest, most territorial, and biologically extraordinary species of avifauna in the world. Did you know the Aztec god of war was named after and depicted as a hummingbird? Did you know the cold weather of mountains helped to drive the evolution of hummingbirds? Did you know that at any given moment, hummingbirds are no more than 20 minutes away from starvation and are forced to go into a state of torpor (true hibernation) every single night to survive! And when it comes to biological diversity, Panama plays home to roughly 1/4 of all hummingbirds in the world.

Photographing hummingbirds in the tropics can be one of the most impossible tasks you will ever encounter as a wildlife photographer - if done wrong. As anyone who has laced up their boots and trekked down a muddy trail into the emerald kingdom of the rainforest can attest, wild encounters with these birds are extraordinarily fleeting and often mere flashes of color in the mid-canopy. For this reason, 99% of hummingbird photography occurs at purpose built setups with anywhere between 1 - 5 off-camera flashes.

Professional nature photographers the world over utilize field set-ups, or outdoor studios, for creating images that would not be possible otherwise. However, far too often, non-native species are used to create these photographs. While hummingbirds are only found in the Americas, often we see them depicted with flowers from South Africa such as the bird of paradise because these are planted around eco lodges where most of these photographs are created. Likewise, species of poison frogs that may be rare and endemic to a small isolated region of Central America, are more often than not, depicted on flowers from Asia such as the Asian ginger. How we create field set-ups matter. From how we work with the animals to keep them safe to ensuring that we creating photographs that actually tell the unique story of the species within our photographs, a lot of thought and intention should go into how these set-ups are created.

Flash is an important component of photographing not only just hummingbirds but most wildlife when working in the dark recesses of the neotropical rainforests. While flash is a staple of so many genres of photography, when it comes to nature photography it is the least understood aspect of the craft. But it shouldn’t be this way. Learning how to utilize flash will revolutionize your photography in so many ways.

Interested in learning more about the workshops we do in Panama?

https://www.photowildworkshops.com/cloud-forest-panama-workshop

https://www.photowildworkshops.com/panama-wildlife-photography-workshop

The PhotoWILD Podcast is a production of PhotoWILD Magazine. Not familiar with us? https://photowildmagazine.com

Episode 20: Weather is the biggest predictor of wildlife behavior in the winter Mar 15, 2024

Key Takeaways

Animals live or die by the ways in which they respond to changing weather
Wildlife photographers can dramatically increase their success rate in the field by understanding how animals are going to behave, feed, move, and react to weather
Barometric pressure is often the most reliable predictor of wildlife behavior in the winter months

Let’s face it: if you can’t find animals to photograph then you are going to have a very tough time being a wildlife photographer. It doesn’t matter how sophisticated your autofocus system is or how expensive your lenses are. Without wildlife, without the ability to predictably find and approach animals, you can’t be a wildlife photographer.

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss one of the most important predictors of wildlife behavior in the winter months: weather. But more than just snow, more than the cold, it’s the barometric pressure that photographers need to understand. This transcends latitudes as barometric pressure impacts wildlife from the tropics to the tundra.

This is one of those topics that needs to be discussed but never is within the wildlife photography community. Jared and Annalise discuss photographing great gray owls and gray wolves in the middle of hunt to explain the importance of this concept on their photography.

If this is a topic you are interested learning more about, not only are there several free articles about weather and wildlife you can find on the website, Jared published an in-depth feature article in the Winter 24 issue of PhotoWILD Magazine about this very topic. Subscribers have access to all the back issues, so make sure you check out that issue. https://photowildmagazine.com

Episode 18: The Cloud Forests of Panama and Thinking Creatively Dec 26, 2023

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss their time photographing rare and endemic species in the cloud forests of Panama. Forget everything you think of about the tropics when it comes to exploring the forests that grow at 8,000 feet in the mountains. Dripping with moss and bromeliads, the high mountain peaks are like islands in the sky. Each mountain holds its own menagerie of endemic species and thanks to the elevation, each and everyone must be cold adapted despite being so close to the equator.

Working from purpose built blinds to photograph species of birds that are rarely seen, let alone photographed, an ornate hawk eagle made an unexpected and dramatic cameo appearance in the forest nearby. Jared and Annalise discuss the challenges of suddenly finding themselves confronted with such an extraordinary opportunity in the deep forest. One of those challenges is getting past, psychologically, the urge to create knee jerk documentary photographs. Despite the rarity of a situation, composition and story are still of upmost importance - likely even more so that normally from the perspective of making a living with your photography. And in this episode, the hosts discuss how they worked to pull together creative compositions to move past the oh-so-boring bird on a stick composition, and instead create images that go beyond the trite and cliche to tell stories that sell to magazines.

Jared and Annalise offer workshops to the cloud forest of Panama. If you would like to know more about this opportunity, check out: https://www.photowildworkshops.com/cloud-forest-panama-workshop

Episode 17: Shooting the Moose Rut in Denali and Conquering Noise in the Field Dec 14, 2023

On this episode, Jared and Annalise talk about photographing the moose rut inside Denali National Park. Come September, once the national park bus system shuts down, wildlife photographers can drive the first 30 miles of the park. This gives us access to the prime moose rut area as well as caribou, lynx, wolves, ptarmigan, spruce grouse, and so much more. The only catch is, you have to camp.

99% of the moose rut takes place at night. When we find and photograph moose this time of the year during the day, these situations are truly the very end of the bell curve of activity. It's sort of like "last man standing" at a bar. Let the sun hit the valley or forest floor and the moose begin bedding down or wander off to cooler climes for the day. And this means that for those photographers who are comfortable with working in low light with extremely high ISO settings, we are going to find our best opportunities just before and just after sunrise.

Jared and Annalise discuss both the biology of the moose rut and exactly how they are able to create sellable photographs of the moose rut in Denali despite having to concentrate so much of their efforts to extremely low light situations. If you're someone who struggles with noise in their wildlife photographs, you don't want to miss this episode.

Episode 16: Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing Birds in Flight Photography Oct 17, 2023

In this episode, Jared and Annalise do a deep dive into how camera companies are adding Artificial Intelligence to our autofocus systems and the ways in which this is truly revolutionizing wildlife photography. Making several treks by boat to a horned puffin colony this summer to experiment with the new autofocus modes that capitalize on this new technology, Jared and Annalise discuss how this has dramatically improved action photography like birds in flight.

Photographing puffins in flight is a challenge for every photographer. Small and fast, flying at nearly 60mph, there is nothing easy about keeping up with and capturing in focus images of puffins in flight. However, with these new AF area modes, success rates are skyrocketing to 90% or better.

Key Takeaways

Every camera manufacturer today has introduced Artificial Intelligence to their autofocus systems, but this is largely limited to flagship models. The one exception to this at the moment is the Sony A7RV and the Nikon Z8.
Understanding how to use these new AI autofocus modes will dramatically improve your birds in flight photography.
The real revolutionary aspect to this is the fact that these settings now allow us to focus on the things that actually make a great photograph: light, backgrounds, composition, etc.
This episode discusses a number of birds in flight techniques throughout the entire show.

Are you ready to finally master birds in flight? Jared and Annalise have two spaces open on their Epic Eagles workshop in Alaska next winter. Find out more here: https://www.jaredlloyd.com/epic-eagles

Episode 15: Staying Safe in Bear County and Mastering Silhouettes Sep 22, 2023

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss everything photographers need to know about the natural history of brown bears and how to stay safe when working in bear country. Do you know about Overt Reaction Distances? Bear bubbles? The signs and behaviors of bears we should all know to keep ourselves safe? This episode covers all of that. From the research on the efficacy of bear spray versus firearms to how food sources drive behavior, this episode is a must listen for anyone who spends time in bear country.

Moving beyond the biology of bears and what it takes to stay safe when working around these animals, Jared and Annalise discuss some of the incredible silhouette opportunities that unfolded this year along the banks of Cook Inlet in Alaska with bears.

Mastering silhouettes will have an immediate, dramatic, and tangible impact on all of your wildlife photography because silhouettes can be distilled down to the seven elements of design. Learn these, understand how they impact composition, and your photographs will never be the same again. In the upcoming Fall issue of PhotoWILD Magazine, Jared will be publishing a tour de force on this very topic.

Want to join Jared and Annalise in the field to photograph coastal brown bears in Alaska next year?

https://www.jaredlloyd.com/brown-bears-of-coastal-alaska

Episode 14: Coastal Brown Bears in Alaska Sep 07, 2023

In this episode, Jared and Analise begin their series on photographing brown bears along the coast of Alaska. Wildlife photographers the world over know about the legendary opportunities the combination of salmon and bears provide. From July through September, wildlife photographers willing to go the extra mile, willing to hop on bush planes and float planes and travel to the remote wilderness of this landscape are presented with what can be non-stop action photographing bears as they fish for salmon - the lifeblood of this ecosystem.

This year in Lake Clark National Park, Jared and Annalise found themselves spending day after day with two sows with spring cubs. While they travel to this remote roadless national park each year for the salmon run, this year the tiny spring cubs stole the show.

Key Takeaways

Summer and fall provide different photographic opportunities in Alaska for bears. Anyone who is trying to plan a trip to Alaska for brown bears needs to understand the differences so they can capture the types of photographs they are looking for.
When it comes to raising cubs in the wild, every bear has wildly different parenting styles that have an impact on how these bears behave around people, other bears, and most importantly, the survival rates of the cubs themselves.
In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss the psychological impacts that compositions have on those who see our photography.
Simple tweaks to our angle of view dramatically change the look and feel of our photographs by creating the perception of three-dimensions in our wildlife photographs.
Wildlife photographers can borrow strategies directly from portrait photographers and painters to dramatically enhance their images of wild animals.

For those who are interested in learning more about composition, Jared is in the middle of publishing an on-going series on the Art of Composition which can be found on the PhotoWILD Magazine membership dashboard. In addition access to all of the back issues of the magazine, and our library of ebooks, subscribers also have exclusive access to articles series such as the Art of Composition and Zen and the Art of Finding Wildlife.

Episode 13: Preparing for Bears and User Questions Aug 24, 2023

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss some of the unique equipment that they always bring with them when photographing coastal brown bears. Far from being something that is only applicable to bear photography, however, this piece of gear is a vital part of how they photograph wildlife in many different situations. Since the release of the podcast, many of the questions that come through to PhotoWILD have to do with camera equipment and one question keeps coming up over and over again: how and why do we chose the equipment that we use? Jared and Annalise take a deep dive into answer this question, discussing exactly what they are looking for in cameras, lenses, and why they own the ones they do and why they consider them to be the workhorses of wildlife photography. Listen to learn why Jared does not like or use the new Nikon Z8 for wildlife photography.

Key Takeaways

There are a few pieces of relatively inexpensive gear that can make or break your ability to capture the photographs you want - and they have nothing to do with camera equipment.
Working professionals prioritize very specific features in cameras
The equipment we use for wildlife photography is always adapted from other genera of photography. Even 600mm lenses were created for sports photographers, not wildlife work.
Autofocus systems and megapixel counts are NOT the top priority when choosing equipment

Want to join us on a workshop photographing brown bears? https://jaredlloyd.com/workshops

Episode 12: Notes from the Edge of the World Aug 09, 2023

In this episode, Jared Lloyd and Annalise Kaylor talk shop after spending 10 days on boats photographing in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. Kenai Fjords is one of the most dynamic landscapes on Earth and plays home to an extraordinary diversity of wildlife from marine mammals to pelagic seabirds. The PhotoWILD crew timed their expedition to the edge of the world for the peak of the orca migration. Following huge schools of chinook salmon, each day was filled with countless orca sightings in addition to humpback whales, Stellar sea lions, harbor seals on icebergs, sea otters, three species of puffin, and so much more.

Key Takeaways

Photographing from little boats in a big ocean can be challenging and how to overcome those challenges
There really is no such thing as bad light, only our lack of knowledge of how best to exploit that light
When the photography gods throw you lemons, make high key images
Ice drives the entire ecosystem here

Mastering Light book discussed in show: https://www.photowildmagazine.com/mastering-light

Want to join us in Kenai Fjords next year? https://www.jaredlloyd.com/wildlife-of-kenai-fjords-photography-workshop

Episode 11: Bird Photography in the Prairie Potholes Jul 27, 2023

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss their time photographing in one of the most endangered habitats in North America: the prairie potholes. Spending several days working from floating blinds photographing waterfowl such as ruddy ducks, redheads, and blue winged teal in peak breeding plumage along with various species of grebes, Jared and Annalise talk shop about the extraordinary biographies of their favorite species from this trip as well as the challenges they faced and how wildlife photographers can overcome them in their own photography. The prairie potholes are one of the chief priorities for conservation organizations ranging from Ducks Unlimited to the Audubon Society and this episode is the second installment on working from floating blinds.

Key Takeaways

the prairie potholes region of North Dakota is one of the most prolific wildlife photography hotspots in North America
Going beyond the last discussion on floating blinds, this episode discusses the practical use of these tools and explain just how important they were for photography in this region
Floating blinds will completely revolutionize your wildlife photography
Understanding how animals use their habitat will increase your success rate by 90%
In past episodes, Jared and Annalise discussed how that subject tracking and eye autofocus failed as often they succeeded and why other AF Area Modes were often better option, in this episode Jared explains why in the prairie potholes eye detect autofocus and subject tracking made all he difference in the world.

If you want to learn more about photographing from floating blinds such as which types are best for which situations, how to narrow down your efforts to certain key parts of the habitat to maximize your photographic opportunities, and how to use the topography to funnel wildlife to you instead of having to go to them, then check out the Summer 2023 issue of PhotoWILD Magazine. https://photowildmagazine.com

Episode 10: Floating What? Jul 12, 2023

Sometimes it's the ancillary equipment, all the other stuff we use in the field, that can be the most important pieces of equipment we own. As wildlife photographers working in the 21st century, we are bombarded by marketing and advertising for the latest greatest cameras and lenses. Should we buy this camera? Should we switch camera manufacturers? "If only we had ___ lens, our photography would be so much better!" But the truth of the matter is that the equipment you already have in your hands will get the job done. Working professionals like ourselves used to use manual focus lenses, with film that had only 5 stops of dynamic range, and only 36 frames per roll of film. And yet, we still managed to create compelling photographs and make a living selling those photographs to magazines and such around the world.

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss one of their all time favorite pieces of gear that has absolutely nothing to do with cameras and lenses: floating blinds.

Floating blinds have the power to completely transform the way you approach you wildlife photography. From your ability to approach and photograph birds and mammals around the water, to the type of images, the look and feel of the compositions, floating blinds are a critical piece of gear in our kit.

Because floating blinds are a unique concept that most photographers may not have heard of or are not familiar with in North America, Jared and Annalise discuss all the ins and outs of the different floating blinds they like to use before the next episode of the podcast where they dive into the stories behind their time photographing in the endangered Prairie Potholes Region of North Dakota.

In the Summer issue of PhotoWILD Magazine, there will be a feature article all about the the strategies we use for working from these blinds: how to use the topography of the landscape to funnel animals to you, how to eliminate 90% of the landscape around you so you concentrate your efforts where the lion's share of the wildlife is guaranteed to be, and so much more. https://photowildmagazine.com

Episode 9: Everyone Loves Owls Jun 28, 2023

In Episode 9 of the PhotoWILD Podcast, Jared and Annalise discuss their time along the coastal plain of North Carolina before heading to Alaska to lead their Wildlife of Kenai Fjords Workshop. Spending several weeks working in the pocosin swamps of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and the Albemarle - Pamlico peninsula, barred owls proved to be the star of the show. The area is better known by wildlife photographers for playing home to the densest concentration of black bears. Far from being a one trick pony, however, in the springtime this area can be one of the best wildlife photography hotspots on the east coast of the United States.

In this episode, Jared and Annalise dive into everything you could have hope to know about barred owls and how to photograph them.

If you want to know more about how to create stunning bokeh filled images of birds no matter what lens you are using? You don’t want to miss this episode!

Key Takeaways

Understanding their habitat needs and their association with water can help you find and photograph these birds day in and day out - especially once the chicks have hatched.
Barred owls are one of the most varied species of owls in North America, but species such of crayfish are a primary food source. Find the food source and you will find the barred owls.
Like photographing monkeys in Panama, working with owls in the forest create a host of unique challenges
Anytime we photograph in the forest, light cab be a challenge. However, there are specific types of light that makes photographing all forest dwelling species much easier.
There is no such thing bad light, there is only the depth of our own creativity.
Forests are cluttered places. It’s for this reason that understanding depth of field is critically important for creating clean and artfully composed images in these situations. However, there is so much more that goes into controlling depth of field than just f/stops. In fact, f/stops and apertures are often the least important component in depth of field.

Don’t forget, you can always listen to the PhotoWILD Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeart Radio

Episode 8: The Mountain Monarchs of Yellowstone Jun 14, 2023

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss everything you could ever hope to know about photographing bighorn sheep. Given the extraordinary amount of snowfall in the Yellowstone this past winter, the bighorn sheep opportunities were truly incredible. Jared and Annalise spent two months this winter in Yellowstone and much of that time was spent working with and photographing these mountain monarchs.

Key Takeaways

Where to find bighorns in the winter and why you will find them in the same place every year
The biggest conservation challenges facing bighorn sheep today
Winter brings unique challenges, but none more so than falling snow
When the snow is falling, you need a solid focusing strategy as the success rates of most AF Area Modes falls to 25% or less in falling snow
Backgrounds with bighorn sheep are more important than most other species in the Yellowstone Ecosystem
Creating separation between our subjects and the background will make or break your compositons and is one of the most important considerations we make in the field day in and day out
Creating three-dimensions in our compositions is critically important
The importance of slowing down and dedicating yourself to working with one species at a time when on a photography trip

Want to join us in Yellowstone National Park next winter?

https://www.jaredlloyd.com/winter-wildlife-yellowstone

Don't forget, subscribers to PhotoWILD Magazine will have a chance to join Jared and Annalise in Alaska this summer for a private workshop photographing brown bears. Want to know more?

https://www.photowildmagazine.com/brown-bear-workshop-giveaway

Episode 7: Moose Mayhem in Yellowstone May 31, 2023

In this episode of PhotoWILD Podcast, Jared and Annalise talk about all things moose. Photographing moose was a big priority for them during their two months spent working in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem this past winter. And when it comes to photographing these swamp donkeys, timing is everything and there are a host of unique challenges we all face when when creating compelling images of these animals - especially in the winter.

Key Takeaways

Timing is everything. Moose are the first species to drop their antlers in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. If you want bull moose in the snow, then you have a very small window of time to work with.
Finding and photographing moose is all about understanding their biology. Where they live, what they eat, how the changing seasons impact them, and how they adapt to weather on a daily basis. Know this and you will be able to consistently and predictably find and photograph moose.
Eye autofocus often falls apart when photographing moose. Dark eyes set against dark fur and lot's of distractions in the environment make working with other AF Area Modes easier.
Compositions are everything for us as wildlife photographers. To create art we must be able to control something in the process so as to put our own creativity into the results. But with wildlife photography, we do not control the light and we cannot control the animals. This leaves us with compositions. And in this episode we do a deep dive into our philosophy behind compositions.
Lines may be the most important component of the elements of design. They will make or break your composition.

Episode 6: Winter Challenges with Wildlife Photography May 17, 2023

Winter brings a host of different challenges for us wildlife photographers. More often than not, we tend to think of enduring the cold and slippery road conditions as the big challenges of winter. However, when it comes to photographing animals this time of year, there is so much more to overcome than just our own physical comfort. Quite frankly, the very nature of physics is working against us this time of year.

Key Takeaways

Snow absorbs more red light than other colors. This tends to give snow, especially in low light conditions, a blue tint that can completely destroy our photographs in ways that no amount of post-processing in Lightroom or Photoshop can ever correct.
Cold temperatures often results in out of focus images. In this episode we discuss exactly why this occurs and the ways in which you can quickly and easily solve this problem in the field.
Falling snow often renders autofocus systems obsolete. However, there are AF area modes that we can use to easily overcome this.

Winter offers us incredible backdrops to photograph wildlife against while the deep cold often provides us with amazing behavior we simply cannot see and photograph at any other time of the year. However, the obstacles we discuss in this episode are tremendous hurdles that must be understood and overcome to take advantage of the photographic opportunities this season offers the serious wildlife photographer. But to be able to solve these problems requires us to first understand why they happen and how to handle them in the field.

Episode 5: Preparing for Yellowstone May 03, 2023

In episode 5 of the PhotoWILD Podcast, Jared Lloyd and Annalise Kaylor discuss what it takes to plan a trip to Yellowstone National Park in the winter. This year, they spent a month photographing wildlife in this winter wonderland and discuss the many different considerations they make for preparing for their time there. From equipment choices to timing based on statistical averages for weather, if you have ever wanted to photograph in Yellowstone in the winter, you won’t want to miss this episode.

Key Takeaways

While the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has the greatest species diversity of mammals in North America, there is an incredible array of avian species to photograph this time of year such as bald eagles, golden eagles, black-billed magpies, snow buntings, and the endangered Rocky Mountain trumpeter swan - to name just a few.
Lens choices are made for very personal reasons based on the exact type of photographs someone wants to create - close up portraits, environment photographs, images of wolves, images of bison, etc. Identifying what the opportunities will be and specifically what type of photographs you want to create of those species should dictate what equipment you bring on a trip like this.
Historically, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem experiences very deep cold in January and very snowy conditions in February. If you want frosty bison, you should travel to the region in January. If you want photographs of animals in heavy falling snow, statistically speaking, you should travel to Yellowstone in February.
Low pressure systems impact wildlife behavior. The day before a big storm hits an area, wildlife activity increases exponentially.
Successful wildlife photography often comes down to understanding the very unique windows of time that certain opportunities can be found. For instance, if you want moose in the snow, you should come to Yellowstone as early as possible - December to January 15th. Moose are the first species to loose their antlers in the ecosystem. By the end of January, you will be hard pressed to find a single moose that still holds antlers.
Jared’s Yellowstone kit includes the Nikon 400mm f/2.8 with built in 1.4 TC, the Nikon 800mm PF f/6.3 lens, 2 Nikon Z9 camera bodies, the Sony FX6 cinema camera, and Sony 200-600 f/5.6-6.3 lens.
Annalise’s Yellowstone kit includes the Sony 400mm f/2.8, the Sony 200-600, Sony A1 camera bodies.

Want to join us in Yellowstone next year?

Each year, Jared and Annalise lead workshops to Yellowstone National Park in the winter. If you would like to join us in 2024, which will be Jared’s 31st trip he has led there, then check out https://www.jaredlloyd.com/winter-wildlife-yellowstone

Episode 4: Photographing Pelagic Seabirds in Panama Apr 19, 2023

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss photographing pelagic seabirds at a nesting colony along the Caribbean Coast of Panama. While many different species utilize the island, the red-billed tropicbirds and brown boobies stole the show. The word “pelagic,” means open ocean. These are species of birds that spend their entire lives on the wing out over the ocean, returning to land only once a year to breed. Of all the many species of birds around the world, pelagic seabirds are both the least understood and also the most threatened group of birds on the planet.

Key Takeaways in this Episode

When it comes to photographing birds in flight, backgrounds are everything
Contrasting colors are one of the most important considerations when it comes to choosing how and where to photograph a species.
Experiments are beginning to suggest that turning off eye detect autofocus increases success rates with birds in flight
Understanding how to use close-focus priority autofocus area modes will dramatically improve your bird in flight photography.

Equipment Considerations

Bird in flight photography is always easiest when hand holding a lens. But when it comes to photographing from a boat, this is a must.
Finding a balance between weight and focal length is important.
On this particular trip, Jared used a Nikon 500mm PF f/5.6 lens with the FTZ adaptor on a Nikon Z9. While this is a fantastic little lens, Jared said he will never do it again. The weather sealing of this lens was just not up to par with what was demanded of the equipment this year in Panama. And by the time they were in boats photographing pelagic seabirds, the 500mm PF lens had condensation INSIDE of the lens itself. This dramatically impacted the lenses ability to find and accurately lock focus. Instead, Jared had to switch to his Nikon 120-300mm f/2.8 lens instead. This lens, while perfect for photographing monkeys and sloths and various mammals in Panama, was not brought with the intention to be used to photograph birds on the open ocean. Next time, Jared will bring the Nikon 400mm f/2.8 w/ built in 1.4 teleconverter instead for this situation.
Annalise used the Sony A1 with the Sony 400mm f/2.8 and had no trouble with weather proofing. While a heavier lens then most would opt for using to photograph birds in flight, the superior glass, weather sealing, and autofocusing capabilities of this lens proved to make the additional weight well worth the effort.

Episode 3: Sloths and Poison Dart Frogs along the Caribbean Apr 06, 2023

Join Jared Lloyd and Annalise Kaylor as they travel from the Pacific Coast of Panama to the Caribbean. The northeast of Panama is a world apart from the rest of the country. Remote. Accessible only by boats. The region is characterized by warm and crystalline blue waters filled with coral reefs, lush lowland rainforest, and countless islands that has led the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to refer to the place as the Galapagos of the Caribbean.

The Bocas del Toro region of Panama holds an extraordinary display of biological diversity - especially in the form of amphibians. And there is probably no better place on Earth to find and photograph sloths.

In this episode, we discuss the basics behind using off-camera flash for macro subjects as well as the challenges of making sloths look sexy.

Episode 1: Pre-Production for a month in Panama Apr 06, 2023

There is so much that goes into planning a photography trip. It doesn’t matter if you’re heading out for the afternoon in the field or taking off on a monthlong expedition to some exotic destination, when it comes to what we do, there are always decisions to make and chief among those is what equipment to bring and why.

Episode 2: Photographing Monkeys on the Panama Canal Apr 06, 2023

Jared and Annalise spent over week working from small native skiffs along the Panama Canal and Lago Gatun in search of monkeys and snail kites. The challenge with photographing monkeys is multifaceted. They are fast, which requires a solid focusing strategy and the ability to keep up. They make their living in the dark recesses of the rainforest where overcast days make things simpler in terms of handling highlights and shadows, but force us to work at extremely high ISOs that can exceed 20,000. The environment these animals live in is complicated, cluttered, and filled with distractions. All of these things, and more, must be overcome to be successful in the field.

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss the natural history of the animals they were working with and exactly how they overcame the daily challenges brought on while photographing in these conditions - from autofocus strategies to handling low light scenarios to compositional considerations when working in such cluttered environments.

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