“An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.” – Martin Buber
Probably the best part about animals is that they do not talk. Talk, in words I mean. There is a lot of possibility of misunderstanding one another when you use words to communicate.
Animals on the other hand communicate using body language. They are never misunderstood within their own brethren. They emote through their eyes, they express through their bodies.
Happy and relaxed lions lick or gnaw softly at each other. Giraffes press their necks together when they are attracted to each other. Elephants show affection by entwining their trunks.
Animals respond to their surroundings intuitively and quickly. Never will you catch a fake emotion.
And this is precisely why, to capture an animal through your lens, the single most important thing you need is patience. Equally important is being alert.
Contrary to clicking a human subject, I cannot ask the animal to emote a certain way or hold the emotion for a wee bit longer till I get the light right!
I have had to wait, and wait, and wait for hours on end. And not for a minute, can I let my attention wander. For the right expression will only last a minute before the beautiful creature is distracted by something or someone else.
But never is this wasted time, I have learnt that it takes a long time to get good wildlife shots, even longer to make great ones.
Getting the perfect expression on camera is like tasting blood.
Once you get the right picture, the thrill and the intense urge to capture otherwise unseen expressions of the gorgeous creatures that we co-inhabit this earth becomes an obsession.
An obsession that I do not ever want to give up.