Photographing Wildlife in Action
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​Photographing active wildlife, especially a bird in flight, and getting a sharp shot can be difficult, even for an experienced wildlife photographer.  When I was photographing Puffins in Canada I quickly realized that the birds were traveling so fast (55 miles an hour) that I was never going to get the shot I wanted unless I picked up the bird with my camera a long distance away and then followed it in to where I could get a closer shot. Sometimes, this is the only way to get the shot.  I was shooting handheld rather than on a tripod as I find a tripod to be limiting in some ways, although the resultant shot might be sharper.  It's a matter of what works for the individual photographer.  The technique of picking up a bird in the distance can work for any type of bird, and this works especially well when you know more or less where the bird is heading in case you lose it along the way, then it's easier to pick up again and keep shooting. 

​Knowing where an animal is heading helps a lot to get that face and eye shot that wildlife photographers strive to get.  It pays to study an animal for a bit, assuming there is time to do so, before taking the shot.  Animals like routine and they often turn up in the same place around the same time and take the same trail, learning their habits and routines can help to increase the keeper rate.  Also simply knowing how an animal lives in the wilderness can be helpful.  This happened in Yellowstone once. I was with a group and we stopped to photograph a wolf, by the time we arrived the wolf had passed the parking area and was continuing on its path and most of the photographers were shooting the tail end of the wolf as it moved on.  We jumped back in the truck, our guide figuring that the wolf wanted to cross the road after having gotten its drink from the stream, to get back into the hills: we quickly motored down the road a bit, keeping an eye on the moving wolf, then parked, jumped out and we were in the perfect position to get the wolf crossing the road. I got a full front face and body shot and that image hangs in my house.

​If an animal is feeding learn what they feed on and when and where and follow them to their feeding site.  A feeding animal is generally not too concerned with a photographer if the photographer is quiet, still and respects the animal's distance-comfort level while attempting to get the shot.  Never impose yourself upon an animal to get a shot, never disturb them, run after them, or scare them in any way.  Be patient and wait for the shot, be focused on the feeding animal and when their head comes up, snap away.  Don't spend your time while waiting talking to a group of photographers around you as you'll miss the shot!

​Always be aware, look around you, look in back of you, sometimes you find that action shot where you don't expect it.