ANIMAL STORIES

I’ve been fortunate to travel to some of the most beautiful places and to photograph some of the world’s most exquisite creatures, and I’ve come to know that a beautiful subject doesn’t necessarily translate to a beautiful photograph. These experiences have taught me quite a bit about my role in picture-making and in managing my expectations.

I want to create photographs that aren’t simply mugshots of animals. Creating expressive wildlife images requires more than using my biggest lens, waiting for wildlife to show up and pressing the shutter. When I realized my hard drive was full of “meh” and not much “yeah!,” I was determined to become more creative.

Now, instead of just grabbing some random shots, I push myself to capture the feeling of the animal. Here I will share the techniques I’ve added to my visual toolbox to do this. Although the images in this article were shot in