100 Ways to Take Better Nature & Wildlife Photographs [Book Review]

For me, nature and wildlife photography is up there, in the degree of difficulty, as challenging as Formula One racing photography.

It’s all about camera position, subject behaviour and the challenge of firing the shutter at precisely the right moment.

Author Guy Edwardes has been shooting nature and wildlife for over 20 years and sells his images to five picture banks, including Getty Images, so I guess you could say he has a few runs on the board in marketing his work.

Taking up digital capture in recent years he admits the move has revolutionised his work and that technological advances means that “capturing good photographs of wildlife is easier than it has ever been”, along with the speeding up of the learning process. Clever cameras may be a big help, but Edwardes still feels “the best way to improve as a nature photographer is to spend as much time out in the field observing and working with your subjects.”

The pictures in the book are very impressive, with possibly a little too much emphasis on bird shots and still lifes. The big plus of ‘100 Ways’ is the large size of the reproductions, indicating the high resolution the author has managed to achieve in spite of the challenges he faced in the field.

In response to reader feedback from his earlier books, the author now includes full detail of how he caught each shot. One example is a great shot of a common toad, taken with a “Canon EOS-1D; Sigma 24mm lens; 1/8 sec at f16; ISO 100; manual focus; mirror reflector; beanbag.” There now! That’s how to do it! Off you go!

An example of his working methods is revealed in an encounter he faced with an enormous and grumpy grey seal (above): “I took a few shots of him but in the end his persistent and quite vocal objections meant that my only option was to back off. However, before I was able to move away he reinforced his dislike of me by sneezing all over my lens!” Which was a Canon EF16-355 set at f16 and 1/125 second. One way to get your lens cleaned!

An entertaining read, along with valuable on the spot info on how to do it yourself!

***For those concerned about the well being of the animals, as you should be, please read Guy’s comment below – thanks! // Simon**

Author: G Edwardes.
Publisher: David & Charles.
Length: 144 pages.
ISBN: 978 7153 3149 1.
Price: Get a price on 100 Ways to take better Nature & Wildlife Photographs at Amazon (currently 35% off).