- (photo: Andrew Evans/National Geographic Traveler)
Andrew Evans of National Geographic Traveler has a list of tips for photographing wildlife on the Galápagos Islands and he says our snapshots will sparkle if we learn a few lessons from Charles Darwin:
“Darwin didn’t have a camera,” Evans writes, “but he would have made a superb photographer. His sketches and lengthy descriptions of animals in the Galápagos reveal a traveler who observed everything with curiosity and recorded in colorful detail.”
How Evans applies those lessons is laid out on his National Geographic Traveler Site, “Digital Nomad.”
He tells people to learn the behavior of the animals they’re photographing and to get close to their subjects. (Bear in mind that Galápagos guides will tell people to stay about six feet–two meters–away from animals.)
“If there are ants swarming the ground, get down on the ground,” he suggests. (Yeah, but watch for those guys crawling up your leg as you could add a whole new meaning to the old expression: “bitten by the photography bug.”)
Being patient may be the most important suggestion: “Sit in a spot and let the animals come to you,” Evans suggests, “In the Galápagos, they will.”
(Of course, if you’re on a tour, you may hear the guide shouting at you to catch up with the group as you wait for that perfect shot of the blue-footed booby preening its feathers.)
All kidding aside, his hints are well worth reading and will help make your Galápagos shots all that more memorable.