Wildlife and Animal Photography

National Geographic contributor and wildlife photographer Steve Winter just created what might be one of the most striking photos I can remember seeing in recent memory: A 125 pound mountain lion, staring straight into the camera, with the background illuminated by the lights of downtown Los Angeles.  

Devin Graham, better known by his internet alias Devin Supertramp, recently created this video (and BTS piece) that utilized over 50 GoPro cameras to capture dogs jumping and playing as if they were Neo dodging bullets in the blockbuster film The Matrix. If this doesn't make you crack at least a tiny smile, I'm pretty sure you may be Scrooge himself.

Strapping a GoPro to a moving object has become 'the thing' over the years. More recently, we've begun to see spectacular aerial footage of GoPro's mounted to small remote control drones, such as this video shot over New York City earlier this year.

It felt like yesterday that we featured Underwater Dogs. Seth Casteel took those incredible photos and it definitely was a really memorable series of animal shots. How could you not love them? In fact, Seth is such a great animal photographer that he didn't just stop there. He's created some great tips on photographing animals for the intent of getting them adopted.  

The Weather Channel recently released "Brink" a series of gripping short films showcasing six stories of animals that are dangerously shrining in numbers due to poaching, development and hunting.

The Clown Fish wasn't always a famous fish that people recognize or know about, but thanks to Pixar and Disney, it became one of the most popular fish in the world. Visually of course, not on the plate. 'Nemo' is a bright orange fish with 3 white stripes. Easy to recognize, and great to photograph.

Every time I go to state parks along the lakeshore, I always see a few people with DSLR cameras walking around taking shots. Anytime there's an interesting bird nearby, it often becomes the subject of their attention. These colorful creatures are as majestic as they are quick though, and don't usually tolerate humans being too close to them.

I love animals and many of us do. They're so expressive and it makes you wonder what they're thinking of. You see the innocence in their eyes and you know it's genuine. Let's not forget to mention their ever ready playful demeanor. When you combine these vibrant attributes with photography, it sets up for some endearing work. Cue in animal photographer, Jessica Trinh.  

Thanks to redditor Gypp and his amazing sense of humor and creativity in photoshop, the world now has an abundant new array of animals to appreciate. How would you like a Guinea Lion or a Purilla to be roaming in your neighborhood?  Which one would you keep as a pet?

Killer Penguin

You submit your assignment images each year as a staff photojournalist at a major newspaper and never place in the prestigious Picture of the Year International competition. Then, years later as a freelance photographer, you win first place for a body of work that was undertaken solely as a personal venture.

Would you ever turn your back on a river full of roaming crocodiles while your cohorts chucked food into the water? I wouldn't either, but this photographer at the “Crocodile Bridge” over the Tarcoles River in Costa Rica, got a close look at one of the river beasts while perched in the grass.

Rick Coleman was scuba diving off the coast of Southern California at night from a personal kayak. As Rick was entering his boat after the dive a sea lion pup jumped aboard. Rick eventually was forced to push the pup back into the water but the pup jumped back on. luckily Rick had a couple of GoPros rolling throughout the whole experience. 

An assignment to capture images of trophy canines at the Westminster Dog Show yielded a striking New Yorker magazine portfolio by photographer Landon Nordeman. An award-winning imagemaker who frequently shoots for Saveur, ESPN The Magazine, and The New Yorker, Nordeman is no stranger to visual storytelling at the greatest dog show on earth.  

Over the last 100 years, National Geographic has brought us some of the most iconic and incredible images of wildlife spanning across the globe. Though on rare occasion, we're able to actually see the work that goes into capturing these images. Some of these amazing photos take days, or even weeks to capture.

About a year ago I posted a short and sweet little film about the phenomenon known as a murmuration, which is when an enormous flock of starlings gather together in one location and create a breathtaking visual feast.

Whenever I talk to another photographer the topic of “personal work” always comes up. Usually in the casual form of, “hey, have you shot any personal work lately?” This standard artistic rendition of the workplace, “how’s the weather” is usually brushed off and more enjoyable conversations quickly replace it.

Last time I was writing about polar bears, some poor photographers at a public zoo had dropped some Canon gear into a tank. Word must have gotten around that lenses and camera bodies are a tasty treat, as this video shows wildlife shooter Gordon Buchanan from the BBC getting tossed about inside of his plexiglass enclosure by a large female polar bear! 

For years, videographers have been saying video will replace photography altogether. Last year we tested this controversial statement in our own Red Epic Video vs Hasselblad Photo Shootout. In this latest video, Abraham Joffe along with Philip Bloom and Sue Bryce test the idea of simply pulling out still shots from video and printing them at reasonable sizes.

One of the best contests each year is the National Geographic Photography Contest. They always receive so many photographic entries that are simply amazing shot from locations all over the world. I picked out a few of my favorites to share here along with the links to go see more.  

Ed Hetherington was photographing animal life in Kenya from a remote on-the-ground setup when a lion approached and found it rather odd...and oddly tasty. The series of images that followed show the lion sniffing, carrying, and enjoying the camera for a while. The lens survived despite getting a little dirty, but the body wasn't so lucky... 

A few weeks ago I posted an interesting behind the scenes video of cheetahs running at full speed while being filmed with the 1200 fps Phantom camera. The camera setup is pretty crazy if you haven't watched the BTS video already. Here is the final slow motion footage of five different cheetahs running along side the dollied camera.

Using salvaged x-ray films and a somewhat disturbing design sense, Brian Andrews video "Hominid" has blurred the lines between human and animal anatomy. The resulting video is the result of a year of work with Ex'pression College of Digital Arts, mapping the movements of different animals to create a realistic blend between the two or more species being represented.

If you're a fan of setting up bird feeders and watching the adorable little animals swoop into your back yard, you might want to look into this new piece of equipment designed by Bryson Lovett. Instead of hunting down your favorite avian wildlife at 200 mm, this little contraption allows you to view and photograph the birds up close and personal without invading their space.

Good special effects are the ones you don't really realize were "special." They are the moments that give you that sense of awe without dragging you away from being caught in the moment. Fuel VFX specializes in creating special effects for a wide range of movies, some of which you've most likely seen this year.