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by Bruce Sanford

Digital SLRs have provided enormous benefits for all type of shooting, especially for wildlife photographers.    The new digital SLRs that have come out are now as fast as film camera, and the various settings make wildlife photography a real joy.  Wildlife shooting with film can be very expensive, especially since most of the images end up in the garbage can.  But no longer.  What I don't like, I delete.  Simple.  Digital SLRs along with the greatly improved autofocus capabilities have greater improved the chance of capturing incredible shots--shots that were  impossible with film.  This has really created a boom, especially for bird photographers, who now abundantly dot the landscape with their big lenses.

My wildlife shots are exclusively that—wild creatures in their natural environment. Most of these pictures were taken within national parks or wildlife refuges where the animals are more approachable than in hunted areas. Whether it’s a robin or a ram, a great wildlife picture represents what I call “the three P’s”: planning, patience and persistence. I often use a blind, setting it up the night before and entering it before light the next morning.  I once spent ten hours in a blind getting antelope shots. No chair, no back rest, just me sitting on my legs on hard ground looking out through my lens and following the animals’ movement. Another time I got stuck in mud flats. I had a floating blind that stopped floating when the tide went out, and my legs remained firmly pinned in the mud. While I waited for the tide to return it started snowing. Obviously I did make my way back to shore, cold but not too troubled for I did get one good shot of a plover.

This page is dedicated to the feathered creatures.  For the last several years I have spent considerable time going after these aerial beauties, and for the rest of my natural life, I will continue with this passion.