It would take too long to answer that question but I can give you a few suggestions.

First of all you need the lens. In my macro work I have six macro lenses, extension tubes and a bellows as well as a macro flash and a ring flash. You don't need all that though, a single lens on a bright sunny day is all you really need. In my wild life work I use a Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 lens or a Sigma 150-500 mm.

Whatever you're after it's vital that you have a tripod that is solid. I have a light one that has a hook at the bottom of the column. I place a plastic grocery bag fill of rocks or sand on that hook making the tripod solid like the rock of gibraltar. Sometimes you can work hand held, I do that a lot but sometimes the tripod is the only way to get a sharp image.

When it comes to small stuff I have a variety of flash units but I don't use them that often. Instead I have a mirror mounted on a light stand that I take into the bush. I then set this up to any height and aim sunlight exactly where I need it to get the image effect I want. It's a cheap solution to having intense natural light.

With widllife lighting is often a serious issue but carrying a powerful on camera flash sometimes does the trick.

So that's a bit on the gear side. What is most important however is to get educated and to practice. You can't learn to ride a bicycle by reading a book. You have to get on the bike and just fall off until you find the balance. That's the same with taking super pictures. The more you do it, the more you practice, the more you stop to understand why an image came out well or didn't come out well, the sooner you will master the art of capturing the amazing pictures you're admiring.

How true! A lot of what you said made sense and I will bear that in mind and I am sure it will help me to develop my photography further as a Novice.

Thanking you.


My favourite question has always been "Why". Why did that picture come out so super? Why did this image look so terrible? How can I slow down my subject? Why is my subject skittish, is it something I'm doing? The "why" question and the "how" question both help you to gradually understand what you need to do with your camera to capture the magic images.

Be prepared to also learn patience if you haven't already. If you want to do wild life or macro you're going to need a lot of it.

Oh yes, and let the subject come to you. I've often seen an amateur bounding through the bush to capture a picture of a butterfly. Don't do that. It scares the hell out of the insect so it will never stop for you and it's got a lot more endurance than you will ever have so there's no way you can catch it. A better approach is to sit down comfortably and just watch your subject. Where does it land? How long does it stay there? Why does it select that particular place? These questions will then tell you where you need to sit to get the picture and sure enough it will then come to you.

Over the long term I started simple and as I attempted to get better I encountered many challenges. Sometimes it was necessary to practice more and other times it was the need for a piece of gear that would solve the issue. Ignore the advertising that always tells you if you owned that new widget you will not only take amazing pictures but perhaps also look impressive to the opposite sex. Clearly define your problem and then go find the solution you need. This way you have gear that meets your needs and solves your problems in the longer term. And as you solve the problems you not only have the tools to make incredible images, you also have the skills and the understanding it takes to know how to use the tools effectively.

It's been an interesting adventure for me. I've been taking pictures for fifty years now. I never realized just how far I came until I started to mentor one or two proteges at a time. To my surprise I fire off two or three pictures that end up looking amazing while my proteges struggle with their gear for endless minutes only to capture a mediocre image most of the time. That's what taught me the power of patience and practice. Many eventually get better than me because they kept practicing and of course in the process I learn a bit more too.

Good luck!!