Suzi Eszterhas. For top US wildlife photographer. The Digital Camera interview

Transcription

1 98 The Digital Camera interview Suzi Eszterhas All images: Suzi Eszterhas One of the biggest names in wildlife photography talks to Geoff Harris about light, composition and the importance of capturing unique animal behaviour For top US wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas, all successful wildlife shots contain two essential elements great light and unique animal behaviour. It s easy to get nice portraits of animals, but it s their unique behaviour that really makes the shot for me, she insists. California-based Suzi specialises in documenting the family life of wild animals, and her memorable shots have appeared on the cover of Time, BBC Wildlife, Smithsonian Magazine and other famous publications. She s one of those rare and lucky people who ve absolutely lived out their dream. From being a little kid, I wanted to photograph wildlife in Africa. I guess I am one of those weird people who has always known exactly what I wanted to do! Bat-eared Fox with Cub, 2009 This image was taken in Kenya. I worked with the mother for two weeks so she d be used to me once her pups were born. I shot down into their den.

2 99 * Suzi Eszterhas is a leading wildlife photographer who specialises in the family life of animals, notably cheetahs and chimpanzees. * Her work s been published in Time, Smithsonian Magazine, BBC Wildlife and many other prestigious titles. * Plaudits include an award in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, and she s also a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.

3 100 The Digital Camera interview Brown Bear, 2012 (Right) I took this during a wonderful sunset on one of my bear tours to Alaska. Right light, right time! Polar Bear, 2008 (Bottom left) Taken from a buggy in Canada the bear just presented itself on the ground, yawning! Penguins, 2007 (Bottom right) Shot during a highly productive day in Antarctica. There was lovely overcast light and I ended up capturing over 3,000 frames. In the bag I like the Canon EOS-1D Mark III and am looking forward to the Canon pro SLR with crop sensor. I also use Nikon SLRs, as they have better high ISO performance, but will probably stick with Canon when they catch up. For shooting big cats, I use a 500mm f/4 lens, while for apes I favour a mm f/2.8. I use a Gitzo tripod with Wimberley head, and extension tubes for shooting small creatures. Aware of the importance of understanding animal behaviour, Suzi did a degree in environmental studies rather than photography, though she also took as many extra photography classes as she could. Rather than photographers, my early influences were scientists and zoologists like Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey, she recalls. I was also blown away by film makers like Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett, who filmed big cats for British television. They re still a huge inspiration to me. After graduating, Suzi worked as a PR manager for an animal shelter in California, taking off as much time as she could to work on her wildlife photography. I didn t get a big break as such, but started selling more and more shots to stock libraries and US nature magazines such as Ranger Rick. Being able to give up my day job and focus 100% I was also blown away by film makers who filmed big cats for British television... on wildlife photography was the greatest moment for me. It really was like a dream come true. A family affair As mentioned, Suzi largely specialises in documenting the family life of animals. The wisdom of this decision soon becomes apparent. Focusing on family life allows me to do something a bit different. By documenting family life, I also cover so many other facets of animal behaviour hunting, conflict, mating, and so on. And when you re working with young animals,

4 101 Mountain Gorilla, 2005 This image was take in Rwanda. It was an incredible moment the gorilla looked at me in just the right way. For me, it evokes how vulnerable they are, just hanging on.

5 102 The Digital Camera interview behind the image i use a lot of long lenses... technology doesn t seem to be making them much lighter! Composition This shows a 7-8 week old lion cub, meeting its father for the first time at the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya. It was quite a hard shot to get, as they were on a rock above me. The cub s mum was watching the father and me like a hawk! Camera and lens I took this image in 2006, using a Canon EOS-1D Mark II, with a Canon mm lens. I shot in Aperture Priority mode at a shutter speed of 1/1000 sec, with a moderately high ISO of 400. I prefer to shoot in ambient light and rarely use flash. Patience pays off This shot didn t just happen by accident. I d been following the lions for weeks, tracking the cubs since the day they were born. You have to be patient to do this job. It s worth it though, as this has become my most popular image. there is so much drama their behaviour is absolutely phenomenal. There s much more to Suzi s work than cute shots of lion cubs, though, as she follows animals through all aspects of their early lives good and bad. Sadly, a lot of my subjects die quite young, and I remember seeing an entire litter of cheetahs expire over 19 days. But you also get to see this incredible story unfolding. Suzi also stresses the importance of composition in successful wildlife photography. Composition has always been To record unique behaviour you have to be patient and change the way you observe the natural world more intuitive to me than the technical side of photography. I know in my gut when the composition is right. Patience is a virtue Suzi teaches workshops and seminars, and has noticed that poor composition is a problem for many amateur photographers. One of the cardinal sins is cutting off parts of the animal in the shot, or clipping it, she says. Another challenge for beginners is that some people aren t prepared to wait for the unique animal behaviour either, and prefer to focus on portraits. To record unique behaviour you have to be really patient. It s also about being able to change the way you observe the natural world. You need to be able to develop a sense of what an animal s about to do, from its body

6 Suzi Eszterhas 103 I ve had a few near misses with animals, but most of the problems are caused by other people posture, for instance. You need a new awareness of the world, in other words. Suzi had few problems with the transition to digital cameras, and uses both Nikon and Canon SLRs. Oddly, wildlife photography was one of the last genres to embrace digital, and picture editors and buyers were pretty apprehensive about it. For me, the biggest advantage of digital is being able to shoot in raw it gives you so much latitude and is very forgiving! As with most serious wildlife photographers, Suzi keeps her Photoshop usage to the minimum. I just use it for basic adjustments or removing a stray blade of grass, she says. I never go in for digital manipulation or compositing. Suzi s had many adventures in her career, and ended up fostering a baby Serval cat during one of her first shoots as a pro in Kenya. So are there any downsides to being a full-time wildlife photographer? I ve had a few near misses with animals, but most of the problems are caused by other people, she says. You end up working in quite troubled areas, so you soon learn to watch your back. Don t give it away Making a living from wildlife photography is getting tougher too, and the situation s not helped when photographers give their work away just to get published. It s killing the Indian Tiger, 2010 (Left) Shot on one of my tours. Tigers don t stay still long, so I had to work fast, shooting from a vehicle with a tripod and a high ISO. Chimpanzees, 2009 (Bottom left) Feeding time at a sanctuary in Uganda. The chimps were rescued from bushmeat hunters, but most of them will never learn how to find wild food. Elephant, 2009 (Bottom right) An anti-poaching team tries to remove a snare from a stricken elephant at Masai Mara Conservancy, Kenya. Sadly, the elephant didn t make it. pro insight Tips for taking wildlife photos 1Know your subject Researching what time of year an animal produces its young, or where a certain species will congregate, can make all the difference. 2Be patient Wildlife photography requires a huge amount of patience, and if you want to shoot something beyond a static portrait of an animal, you will need to wait for some behaviour to happen. 3Use the light Sometimes you can achieve dramatic results by placing yourself so that your subject is back-lit (shooting with the sun facing you) or side-lit. 4Shoot a lot Always take a few shots, even if your animal is not moving much, just for insurance. After all, you re only wasting pixels! 5Watch your background If there is something distracting in the background, such as a road or a mass of branches, change your position. Move to the left or right, stand on your tiptoes, or even lie down on the ground.

7 104 The Digital Camera interview Orangutans, 2010 (Above) A playful baby hangs from its mother in North Sumatra, Indonesia. It was just a great, goofy moment. Wildebeest, 2006 (Top right) A herd gathers while crossing the Mara River in Kenya. Unusually for me, I previsualised this shot and it took a while to get all the elements in place. Jackals, 2007 (Above right) Male jackals are closely involved in raising their young. Here, the cubs are nibbling the dad, so he regurgitates some food so they can be fed too. This is a good example of the importance of capturing unique behaviour. business for the rest of us, Suzi laments. There s a really worrying trend in the US where photographers are giving their work away for free or are even paying magazines to feature their work, rather than the other way around! Some magazines that I used to sell images to now fill all their pages with free imagery. It s madness wildlife photography is an art form like any other, and you wouldn t give a painting away for free. a positive attitude Suzi has also branched out into publishing, and has recently written six picture books on wildlife for younger children. They re called Eye on the Wild, and have just been published in the UK by Frances Lincoln ( As well as her sterling photographic technique and versatility, what really stands out about Suzi is her attitude. It s agonising that so many species are disappearing fast, I believe my photography can help to raise people s awareness of the problems facing wildlife and it s easy to get depressed in this field. But I try to focus on the species we do have left and what I can do to help protect them. I believe my photography can help to raise awareness of the problems facing wildlife. I work with several small non-profit organisations, doing real work on the ground, including the Sumatran Orangutan Society, the Cheetah Conservation Fund and the Kibale Chimpanzee Project. I sit down with them and we work out how we can best use my photographs for education, fundraising, and so on. See more of Suzi s work, and get details of her tour offerings, at