Yesterday I posted my favorite landscape/travel photos of 2019 (click here to see them). Today I’m posting my wildlife shots, since I felt the page would have gotten too long if I included both.
My Outlook This Past Year
I changed up my shooting philosophy this year a bit, when I comes to wildlife. I decided I wasn’t going to worry about perfection. With just general walking around wildlife photography, I decided to stop worrying about cutting off a wing here and there. Or if there was a bright spot in the background, or if the photo wouldn’t print perfectly sharp at 40×60 inches.
Instead, I started concentrating more on the moment. Using my camera to get a more intimate view of the wildlife and hopefully capture them doing something interesting, that we simply can’t see without the camera/lens.
Not all of the photos are like this by the way. There are some that are just tack sharp portraits of animals and I could print them as large as I want. Sometimes… BIG and SHARP is just plain fun to look at. But some of them wouldn’t be able to be shared at anything larger than internet size, which is fine because that’s what I do with most of my wildlife photos anyway. It’s not like I’m going to flood my house with photos of birds or monkeys all over the wall.
Are Likes Worth It?
I also have a new goal for 2020. See, I don’t share many of my wildlife photos on my social media pages and I’m going to change that. You know why? Wildlife just doesn’t get the traction that landscapes get on most platforms. It gets a little disheartening sometimes because I think (in general) we often judge ourselves by like count.
But something changed recently and I have to say I really like it. Instagram is rolling out a feature where you don’t see likes anymore. It’s been a very public thing, so just do a quick search and you’ll find lots of discussion.
Well, in the last quarter of 2019, I was one of those accounts they chose to start with (unknown to me). What’s that mean? It means I no longer see like counts on other people’s photos – and it’s hidden on my photos, unless I choose to look further.
If it’s my own photo, in my own feed, I see the left side of the image below. I can indeed tap on it and see the like count if I choose (middle image). But it’s not staring at me every time I look at a photo. If it’s the general public feed (photo by John Weatherby Photography), all I see is the right side of the image below. Even if I tap on it, since it’s not my photo, I can’t see the number of likes a photo has. So whether you got a million likes, or 8 likes, your photo’s (in my feed) all look the same. I have no idea how many people liked it.
Personally, I love it. I learned a LONG time ago that chasing the social media game and likes, and follower count was futile. They all change over time, people move on. And all of that energy you spent chasing it was wasted, because now everyone is on to something else.
Now I simply just don’t care. I share away, and that’s it 🙂 It’s actually very refreshing!
Gear
I’m a Sony Artisan of Imagery so all of my gear is Sony based. But my wildlife setup changed quite a bit this year. I started with only the Sony a7R iii. Then I got the a9 in March. Then I got the a7R iv in September. So I’ve used all three cameras to shoot. (Read more about my thoughts on the a7R iv here).
I also started the year with the 100-400mm and the 400mm f/2.8 lens. Then, last summer, Sony announced what has become my absolute favorite – the 200-600mm lens. So the photos you see were taken with all 3.
I occasionally use a tripod. Many of the backyard bird stuff you see was on a tripod. But more for just the stability of not holding the camera while I wait (I’m often out there for 2 hours at a time). The ball-head is mostly loose and I’m just using the tripod to help support. Anything “in flight” was handheld and everything in Costa Rica (except the tree frog) was hand held.
Here Goes… My 2019 Wildlife Favorites…
Finally, here are my favorite wildlife photos of 2019 in no particular order except the first shot below.
Squirrel Monkeys in Costa Rica – This rang in as my favorite shot. With the little one leaning on the mom, I think you can see why. There’s another one below it where I like how the baby is barely visible peeking through. There, and all monkey photos here were shot from the ground looking up in the trees near Puerto Jiménez in Costa Rica.
(NOTE: Click on any photo to see it larger)
Osprey Portraits and Flight Shots – Here’s a few Osprey portrait and flight shots that made my favorites. This has become one of my favorite birds to photograph. If you looked at my Sparks Lake photos from yesterday, after sunrise, the Ospreys came out so it was a double whammy. I got to shoot an amazing location at sunrise and hang around for a couple hours and photograph the Ospreys as well.
It’s amazing to watch them hunt. They are so laser focussed and always have a watchful eye on the water below. And you get to see so many little nuances about them through the camera, that you don’t see with the naked eye.
Hawks in Costa Rica – These photos were taken while walking the grounds of the place we stay at in Costa Rica during my workshops. It’s not a wildlife sanctuary or anything like that. It is the rainforest and wildlife like this (and more) appear right outside our rooms.
A couple of them have some wings cut off, but as I wrote above… I simply don’t care 🙂
I love the look on the hawks face as he took off toward me (below).
Tree Frog, Costa Rica – This is a tree frog in Costa Rica. This was a staged photo, and as I look at tree frogs and have actually seen them in the wild, I realize that almost all photos we see of them are staged. Frogs typically don’t like to just sit there with a big lens in their face. They jump away. And they’re super small so they’re not easy to find. So when you see shots like this and wonder how the heck they got them – I’d guess that more times than not, the photo was staged.
Also, the frog was not in captivity. It was found and placed on this flower shortly before this, and released right after.
Backyard Birds – These are a few of the small songbirds in my backyard. I have a feeder set up, but I don’t care to have photos of them on the feeders so I set up a few branches around for them to land on. I have to say, photographing these little guys is one of the most challenging things I’ve done in photography.
As for the birds, I think the cardinals always get all the glory because they’re bright red (well, the males at least), but these little Tufted Titmouse birds have actually become my favorite of the song birds.
Howler Monkeys, Costa Rica – The howlers are a bit easier to photography as they don’t tend to move as much as the little squirrel monkeys do. But they’re also really hard to photograph because they’re so dark and often up in trees with bright sky behind them. Probably some of the hardest photos to edit too. If the baby in the first photo looks dark, it was. I didn’t even know it was there until I looked on the computer. So I deliberately left it a little darker than the adult.
Spider Monkey, Costa Rica – This one cracked me up. Just laying around while my friend pics the bugs or whatever off me 🙂 I think I even heard him say… “Hey… is that a Sony camera you got there!?”
Shorebirds in Clearwater, FL – You’ll often find me roaming the beach in Clearwater / Sand Key FL photographing the shore birds – most likely on the ground down low getting sandy and wet. Getting in close is really interesting to see their mannerisms and watch them while they hunt.
More Birds in Costa Rica – Here’s a few more I liked from Costa Rica. I don’t make it a habit to post photos of a birds back. That’s always one of the cardinal rules of bird photography, and it’ll get this one instantly thrown away in a competition. But… the way he’s turned is interesting to me, you can see the catchlight in his eye and razor sharp beak, and I just liked the composition – so I’m posting it.
I also don’t post photos of birds on feeders. I’m not opposed to using feeders to lure them in, but I want them in a more natural setting (which means placing branches or figuring out which ones they’ll land on). But in the second photo I liked the movement, as she shook her tail.
And the third… well, I just love the look. Kind of like “Hey… whachu doin’ down there”.
Okay… That’s Really It This Time
Thanks for swinging by for my 2-day “Best of 2019” posts. It’s the first time I’ve separated them out and I think it worked better this way.
That officially wraps up my best photos of last year. But don’t go away just yet. Later this week I’m going to post an editing video of my best photos so you can see where each one started and ended up. I’ve never done that before but I think it’ll be a good learning experience.
Thanks and have a good one!
I love teaching and photography... In that order. I feel that enjoying photography, and photo editing can get WAY too complicated. So my personal mission (and favorite thing to do), is to create education that simplifies the process of taking great photos, and how to edit them to get the results you’ve always wanted.
Hi Matt
Great photos, tried to pick a favorite from you favourites and couldn’t however I do really like the set of heron photos in the water.
Great images Matt and I’m curious as to how you are setting up branches in your back yard. I have a suet cake in my back yard and get lots of birds but trying to figure out the best way to set up some branches. Thanks.
Hi Steve. I just find old ones laying on the ground and prop them up near the trees with the feeders. Some people grab clamps or something from Home Depot but I just prop ’em up and it works fine.
Love the squirrel monkeys! Thanks for sharing and thanks for doing this Fresh Start series.
Great shots. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Matt;
Your photos are great! I’ve only problem is you havn’t completed the photo. You need to Identify your subject. If you don’t know what it is, many of your followers can help with the identification.
Hi Lee. I don’t personally believe that you to identify the subject. For me, “Bird” or “Monkey” is good enough 🙂
Several years ago you suggested that we really narrow down the software or editing products that we use and simplify our approach to photography. I took that to heart and extended it to pretty much listening to, and following, one master photographer…you. I haven’t been disappointed at all and feel that I have learned so much. I have been a professional for years but I always learn from you. Makes me smile every time I see one of your emails.
Years ago, on a raft trip far away our guide informed us that the Osprey are the only raptors that toss and flip and re-catch their prey in the air to streamline the flight home. https://www.google.com/search?q=osprey+fish+in+flight&rlz=1C1OKWM_enUS800US800&oq=osprey+fish+in+flight&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.9783j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Wonderful images! Do you print any of your images? If so, do you mat and frame them? Where do you hang and display your prints? I print some of mine on a low end printer – most of the images that are less than 8 X 10 are mounted on foam board and hung on the home’s walls. I change them out every six months or so. If a friend, neighbor or a family member comments on a particular image I pull it off the wall and hand it to them. It makes for a nice surprise.
How fun. Loved your landscape pictures and the wildlife ones are great. As a bird lover I am jealous of some of the varieties you have in your backyard as well as the equipment you are using to shoot with. It takes a lot of patience to get these photos.
Thanks for sharing.
Hello Matt, Thanks for sharing not only the photos but the advice.
I love photographing birds (waders are my favorite) Egrets & Herons.
Again, Thank you for sharing and for this course to help us learn to get better!
God Bless!
That detail in the eyes and feathers of that final osprey portrait is my fav and just incredible!
Love these wildlife photos, especially the Osprey. Have only seen these raptors at a far distance around high mountain lakes in Colorado, but they seem to have a special mystique for me. Just awesome photos! Was interested in your comments about Tamron and Sigma lenses. So much gnashing of teeth on the internet about quality of various lenses. Am contemplating purchase of the Nikon 500mm PF lens, but $3600 is pretty steep for an amateur.Thanks for sharing!
The internet and forums love to talk about sharpness. Follow a true pro working photographer, and listen to them, or watch their videos and watch how many times they talk about a sharp lens. You won’t hear them talk about it, because they know the sharpness isn’t in the lens, but how you use it. As for the 500mm lens, all I can tell you is that I’ve head several photographers come to my Costa Rica workshops with the 200-500 Nikon and they often have some of the best photos from the group. Every person I see with that lens loves it!
Finally, if you’re not sure, buy from a reputable place like B&H Photo. Then return it if you don’t want it. Or rent first.
Thanks for your comments! Very helpful coming from a true professional.
Hi Matt, First: Thank you for showing us your favourite photographs, especially your wildlife ones. Myself I am unfortunately not as mobile as I would like to be, but I do admire your photographs generally very much, and also your various tutorials as well for photo capturing as for photo editing, which I both like doing.
Second: Instagram I hardly ever visit, sometimes flickr. I do sometimes post some photos on facebook, but generally I am pleased that they close “the likes” down a bit, as it gets so tedious. There are many pictures that I like, but cannot click them all, and my postings also become fewer over time. Some are worthwile sharting with a few of my “friends”, but I do not want to count the “likes” every time.
Great stuff Matt but many of us do not have access to your equipment to get these kinds of photos. Trying to figure out for us on a Tamron or Sigma telephoto budget and lower end of the scale camera budget, how do we get close to the quality you get.
Hi Mark. I don’t subscribe to the idea that one lens is sharper than another. I think any lens released in the last 5-6 years is sharp and Tamron and Sigma make some of the best lenses out there. So it’s not a brand thing. Sure, some photos were taken with the 400mm prime which is pricey, but many were not – and the ones that were not are just as good/sharp. Many were taken with a zoom lens that you have access to with Tamron and Sigma. These days, quality has nothing to do with the lens (as long as you’re purchasing a good reputable lens which you have) and everything to do with the photographer using it. Best!
Matt, all those images are tack sharp and LOW noise (actually I can’t see any) with 4 digit ISO numbers. Did you do some wizardry in post production?
Hi Ulrich. Hi ISO is the way of all wildlife photography. It’s just normal and noise is natural when it’s there. All noise reduction was done in Lightroom (and usually very little of it because I don’t like to blur the photo, so I don’t do it much). If you look closely at darker backgrounds and shadow areas the noise is there. Look at the greenery in the first two monkey photos or the mountain in the 4th photo (osprey flying). It typically won’t show as much in bright areas and animal fur. Also, noise doesn’t typically show as much when you don’t zoom in to 100% or more (I don’t share zoomed versions on my website). So if you pixel peeped on these photos like you probably do on your own, you’d see the noise. So just don’t pixel peep and share your photos at a web size and you’ll be fine 🙂
Finally, they were shot with several great cameras when it comes to dynamic range and high ISO performance so that also has something to do with it.
Everything I expect when I look at your photos, Matt; just marvelous! I focused on your settings, and with that in mind, I will try to be set up to capture something similar. Thanks!
Hello Matt,
thank you for showing us your great wildlife pictures!
My favorite is the waders in Clearwater, but also the tree frog in Costa Rica is a very nice picture.
Many greetings from Kiel, Northern Germany,
Sabine
Love your wildlife shots. I’m limited in being able to travel so backyard birds are my thing. Yours are so nice and close-up – do you have to crop much to get the bird to fill the image? I can’t get close enough without scaring them off to get such good photos that you have.
Hi Linda and thanks. Some of them are cropped in maybe half of the photo. A few things that helped me.
1) Placing branches in key spots that work for photography, rather than cluttered trees.
2) Sitting in one place without a lot of movement on my part. Just waiting and waiting… and waiting more. I’ve sat there for over two hours at a time. In my yard I just have to be really still for a long time. I bring a chair and try to get as comfortable as I can. When the birds land, you have to be set and ready to go. You can’t be fiddling with settings and moving around or you’ll scare them.
Aim at a tree or branch and wait for them to land. 99% of the time they won’t land there, but that 1% is where you get your shot. Remember you’re seeing my best photos here. I have thousands that suck 🙂
3) A portable hunting blind. You can get them on Amazon for $60-70. It’s camouflaged and you can sit inside and get closer without them seeing you.
Good luck!
Gorgeous photos, and great inspiration. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience. As always, your generosity is much appreciated.
Shots were great again. You never seam to disappoint. thanks.
Just beautiful shots! Thank you for sharing them.
Wow I love your bird shots. I didn’t know you were a Sony guy. I want to go on one of your workshops to Costa Rica.
Your shots are great. Squirrel monkeys should be in “Nature’s Best”. I love the egret shots and the monkeys. Very sharp and show the animal doing their ‘thing’. Tufted titmouse {titmice? 🙂 ] are my favs. Questions: Do you like the a9? Is the 200-600 heavy in the field. You’ve inspired me. Bravo!
Wow! Those are all fantastic shots….soooo jealous?
WOW! All those shots are fantastic. I, too, love the osprey pics the most.
Question about Instagram – I have been using it for about 4 years now and I never really seemed to notice many ads, but all of a sudden I seem to be seeing a ton of them. Do you have any sense for what’s going on with that?
Hi Art. First off, thanks. Next, IG is owned by Facebook. Ads are a way of life since the platform is free. As it rose in popularity over the last few years, ads have definitely gotten to be a bigger part. Remember the old saying… when something is free and you’re not paying for the product guess what?… You’re the product 🙂
Man those Osprey shots are inspirational! They all are really, but I am a huge fan of the detail you snagged in those Osprey shots, tack sharp and perfect! Can’t wait to see more this year 🙂
Thanks buddy!