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How to Be a Better Wildlife Photographer
Nature photography should be more than eye-catching photos.
© Noppadol Paothong
Conservation photographer Noppadol Paothong says that if you go out to take pictures of birds, you shouldn’t just aim to take an eye-catching photo. He spends long hours in photo blinds, often watching and studying birds rather than photographing them. He has become deeply familiar with some populations of sage-grouse, to the point that he can recognize individuals. Caring about the wildlife you photograph, particularly for rare and declining species, will make you a better photographer, he says. Noppadol strives to highlight the challenges that birds face through his photos and point toward solutions.
BirdNote®
How to Be a Better Wildlife Photographer
Written by Conor Gearin
This is BirdNote.
Conservation photographer Noppadol Paothong says that if you go out to take pictures of birds, you shouldn’t just aim to take an eye-catching photo.
Noppadol Paothong: I think what's different in my approach is that I know the subject I photograph. I like to watch the animal I photograph, and sometimes I would rather watch them than photograph them.
By spending long hours in photo blinds and even sleeping in them overnight, Noppadol has become deeply familiar with some populations of Greater Sage-Grouse —
Noppadol Paothong: — to the point that I almost recognize each one of them when I look at the face because they have different marking in their face, or missing a few pieces of feather from fighting.
[Greater Sage-Grouse calls, ML 50119, 0:54-0:56]
When dealing with rare and declining wildlife, keeping the well-being of the species in mind is crucial.
Noppadol Paothong: I think you should care about your photograph. You should care about what happened to the bird, why there's so few of them out there. And that will make you a much better photographer, make you a much better conservationist. Conservation images can alert the public to a problem, and I want my photographs to alert people to the problem and point to the solution.
And he wants to help cultivate the next generation of photographers to keep the mission going.
Noppadol Paothong: That'd be my ultimate goal — to inspire younger people to do what I do, because I can't do this forever. I had a girl who was probably 10 years old send me a letter saying she wants to be a photographer because of me, and she will continue doing conservation work because she believes what she does will make a difference. That means a lot to me.
[Greater Sage Grouse calls, ML 50119, 0:54-0:56]
Learn more about Noppadol Paothong’s photography on our website, BirdNote dot org. I’m Conor Gearin.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Content Director: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Greater Sage-Grouse ML 50119 recorded by G. Keller.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2022 BirdNote June 2022 Narrator: Conor Gearin
ID# paothongn-02-2022-06-06 paothongn-02
Conor Gearin
Writer NarratorLearn more
See more of Noppadol Paothong's conservation photography on his website and in Missouri Conservationist magazine.
Sights & Sounds
