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Last spring, I had the opportunity to leave my home site, KÄ«lauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, and do a six-week detail living and working at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. Stepping into a new ecosystem was thrilling, and soon, I was spending every hour of daylight working or photographing.
There is a lot you can learn by completely immersing yourself in a landscape even for just a few weeks. Nature is full of patterns and surprises that reveal themselves with careful observation.
My best photos came from the intersection of a sense of place and technical skill. I’ve since returned home and tried to implement some of the lessons learned at Turnbull NWR and it has been a rewarding way to re-examine Hawai‘i’s landscape and wildlife.
Here are the top 10 lessons I learned photographing Turnbull NWR.
1. Stay out past the evening’s golden hour � the landscape comes alive, and even low light has its opportunities.
Typically, I plan my shoots during golden hour when the sun is low in the sky and the light is ideal. However, just after golden hour, around sunset, wildlife is very active. While the light is low, limitations can enhance creativity. For this shot, I set my camera on the ground for stability and used a long exposure (1/125). The result was more dreamy than any of my trumpeter swan shots taken in full daylight. The low light helped address the challenge of photographing an all-white bird without overexposing the highlights. Not only that, but long exposures can also reveal movement and color in surprising ways.
If you are photographing in public lands, make sure to take note of visiting hours. Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge closes at 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. depending on the season.
2. Pay attention to when the landscape or wildlife aligns with composition basics: rule of thirds, symmetry, and repetition of form.
Some of the simplest compositions can be the most impactful. Look for natural patterns � in feathers, reeds, reflections � and use them to guide your framing. If you find a strong composition in the landscape, revisit it at different times of day and throughout the seasons. Don’t rely on luck to add drama; instead, position yourself to capture dramatic lighting or weather when it happens.
3. Never count on a moment to happen again � always be ready.
Immerse yourself in the landscape and adjust your camera as the light changes. When wildlife appears, especially more secretive species like porcupines, you may not get another chance. To be ready, consider customizing one program mode for low light and another for high speed, or simply keep your camera set to shutter-priority mode when photographing wildlife. Use a wide aperture and set your ISO to auto. In low light, choose the slowest shutter speed possible without sacrificing subject sharpness. Practice making subtle adjustments ahead of time so that, when the moment comes, you can focus on the wildlife and the light—not your camera.
4. Color can be as important as the subject.
Color in the background can enhance your subject. Using color schemes like this analogous scheme (colors next to each other on the color wheel), creates a unified, visually pleasing effect.
Notice how the time of year offers different color palettes. At the end of winter, subdued colors abound. In spring and summer, look for vibrant hues and play with monochromatic and complementary color schemes.
5. Observations can be more valuable than a "good" photo.
Some days I came back with no usable images � but rarely without new observations. I watched a pair of red-breasted nuthatches return to the same grove before they started excavating a cavity nest near staff housing. I was able to return each day and observe and photograph them until they disappeared (presumably to incubate their eggs).
6. Shy birds are less likely to notice you during courtship.
Even shy birds need to put their best feather forward to attract a mate. These can be great moments to photograph. Of course, it takes careful observation to know when and where wildlife is courting!
In this photo a marsh wren poses atop a cat tail between serenades. The courting continued for several days inviting prospective mates and observant photographers to appreciate the display.
7. Practice on abundant, common birds.
Turnbull is full of swallows and red-winged blackbirds. Swallows � small and fast � are great for improving reflexes and learning to capture birds in flight. Red-winged blackbirds are slower but tricky in their own way: their dark plumage often contrasts with lighter backgrounds, which makes exposure challenging and forces you to think critically about lighting.
8. The best equipment is the equipment you have with you.
Sometimes you might come across a beautiful landscape only to realize you have a long wildlife lens on. Instead of giving up or switching lenses and risking missing the moment, work with what you have. The resulting images can be more creative than if you had the "perfect" gear.
If you are photographing with a cell phone take advantage of what cell phones do well and compose wide angle shots. Look for places where you can highlight composition basics in the landscape. For closeups, chose subjects you can get close to like plants. When photographing wildlife, make the landscape a central feature in your photograph as zooming in will degrade the quality of your photo.
9. Experiment with surprising choices � but always have a reason.
When a subject isn’t in ideal light, slow down and observe how the light plays with the landscape and your subject. In this image the moose was backlit creating a warm rim light that helps separate the moose from the background. Bugs flying through the light became flecks of color � something that could not be captured in neutral conditions.
10. Slow down, return often and observe.
When you make observation a part of your photography practice, each image becomes more than just a picture � it becomes a record of your relationship to that place. Each time you return, the landscape will reveal clues to help you anticipate and respond in real time to the constant pulse of the landscape.
You can work on improving your observational skills at any time and you don’t even need to have your camera with you. Try bringing a nature journal when you eat lunch outside your office. Keep a list of birds you see outside your kitchen window. Notice what each of your five senses each time you step outside. Adding a few of these practices into your life can help you be more present when you are photographing and improve your photos and your relationship to place.
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