Everybody wants to take that cover photo of our White Mountain wildlife. We're fortunate to have the abundance and variety of critters sharing the same area as we call home so its always nice to get a photo or video that we can share with friends and family. A reality check of most cover photos reveals they were usually taken with expensive equipment in a very controlled situation, like a pen or captive studio and with hours and even days of preparation. Who has that kind of time? Sounds like it may even take a lot of the fun out of snapping pictures!

Is it possible to still get good photos without becoming semi-professional? You bet! Many photographs can only be captured by being in the right place at the right time. Since we're living among our photographic subjects (or in relatively close proximity) we have the advantage of being able to see almost any kind of wildlife during our everyday normal travels to and from grandmother's house or just out to recreate. We just have to be a little more prepared with some special equipment and particular procedures to make those impressive pictures and videos.

To be ready for unexpected photo opportunities, we first must have our cameras handy and available. Depending on our activities, we're not going to want to lug around the big camera bag with the heavy SLR camera, extra batteries, and all of it's interchangeable wide angle and telephoto lenses of almost solid glass. But a small “point and shoot” type camera fits in almost any jacket pocket or small fanny pack and takes surprisingly good photos, especially if the camera has the optical zoom feature (which unfortunately requires more moving parts to get clogged with our seasonal gold dust that rains from the sky, known by many as ponderosa pine pollen). Cameras not rated for dust and moisture should travel in a small “dry bag” or dust-proof pack to keep the airborne grit from messing up the works.  

The most compact and powerful combination of a camera is probably the newest generations of smartphones for the most modern form of point and shoot. Try not to use the camera's zoom unless it says it is specifically an “optical” type of zoom, which is better quality but more expensive than “digital” zoom types. If you need to zoom in on a subject, better pictures will result from using one of the many “post-processing” type software programs like Photoshop, or the free Graphical Image Manipulation Program (better known as GIMP) to do the zooming. 

Instead of carrying a collection of lens and multiple filters, the opportunistic photographer might use something like a 35-135 mm lens to capture the equivalent of 2-3 different lens. A single polarizing filter may be sufficient. All this and a spare battery can easily fit in a specially designed backpack with quick access to the camera, or a sling type pack around the front of your body for even quicker access.

The first tip for better opportunistic photo ops is to be alert and aware of your surroundings when wildlife sightings are possible, which is pretty much anywhere during daylight hours. Be looking in the shadows and behind you as you hike. When the animals see you before you see them (the usual), try making the “phishing” sound or whistle to strike the inquisitive nerve in some animals to stop and try to figure out what would make such an odd noise. Obviously, you can try calling in critters like turkey and elk from a blind, but technically that wouldn't qualify as opportunistic, but it can be very productive for good photos!

Settings for focus and exposure should be set to automatic for the first burst of photos you take of wildlife. Our bright winter snow and dark summer shade from vegetation present some serious exposure challenges. Some cameras have an automatic bracketing setting which takes a series of photos with a range of exposures from a little too dark to a little too light so that you can select the best one. Look for a camera with an HDR or High Dynamic Range option, which automatically takes the series of photos and combines the areas with best exposure on each photo into one composite photo that isn't over- or under-exposed in any part of the photo, when everything works out right. It can take a second or two to expose all of the photos needed, so it probably won't work on a stampeding herd of elk near Greens Peak or a flushing flock of geese off of Fools Hollow Lake. 

After taking your initial photos, if you have a willing and cooperative subject, you can always switch to manual mode in the exposure and, for example, adjust the aperture to make the foreground or background more or less in focus. Try slowing down the shutter speed and follow a flying duck as it goes by, continuing to follow through after you click the photo, to get an amazing photo of a clear duck with blurred wings to provide that sense of motion.

Much of our White Mountain wildlife is accustomed to vehicles, as long as you remain inside – just ask any of the bighorn sheep often found on Highway 260 just west of Round Valley. Many great shots have been taken with a long, heavy lens using an adjustable camera mount head that attaches to any car window. There are great parking sites near lakes, large meadows, and overlooking canyons that often provide more subjects to “shoot” than if you drove around draining your gas tank.

You really don't have to worry that much about taking super high resolution photos if you're going to show them off primarily on a web page or Facebook, since images are automatically reduced in resolution to make upload times reasonable. It's a different story if you want to make enlargements for framing on the wall. If that's your goal, use the highest HD settings on the camera, stick to the lowest possible ISO settings (which requires brighter conditions), and preview the output quality before ordering an expensive enlargement, if possible.

Many people are good at enhancing their photos through the post processing of color, contrast, and brightness of the photo with the computer programs such as Phototshop or GIMP.  If you prefer to do this you'll want to take your photos in the RAW format to provide more power and flexibility in how you can adjust the photo. Not all cameras offer this option, but it might be worth it when purchasing a new camera upgrade. For the creative click cravers out there, many programs have preset filters or themes that automatically make adjustments that can be instantly undone if you don't like them with just a click of the mouse. 

The greatest benefit of living in our usually crisp and clean air is the breathtaking quality of the photos we take, “straight out of the box”! Most photos don't need any color adjustments or other enhancements if they are exposed correctly with right equipment. Some photographers are proud to have photos they would certify as “NACOCC”, that is (not really) “Not A Click Of Color Correction.” 

You may not think there is much for accessories when talking about opportunistic wildlife photography.  Besides the backpacks or slings to carry your gear, it can help to have a compact tripod, a car window mount, a case or mount to attach your phone to a tripod, and even a “portable, shoulder mounted tripod” to provide a very stable platform to take photos under low light and steady videos under any light conditions. Since opportunities call under any weather condition, you'll want to have waterproof protection for expensive electronics, unless you have one of the many weatherproof compact cameras.

Just remember that your own eyes and brain are usually a much better imaging machine than any collection of plastic, copper, batteries, and glass. So always be sure to take a quick glimpse, or maybe even longer, of your subject before reaching down for the camera. More often than not, you only get a second or two before the critter disappears into the woods or grasses, so best to at least create a memory. If the subject of your interest decides to hang around as you watch it and simultaneously pull out your camera, consider yourself lucky and click away. Digital film is cheap if you always remember to transfer your flash card memories to another storage hard drive.