I’m not sure about you, but I like shooting animals – and yes, just for the fun of it.
Bears, deer, elk, bison are my common targets, sometimes I’ll find a beaver or muskrat. Birds are a huge problem so far, as they are fast-moving and the unpredictable nature makes it difficult for me to capture high quality shots so far.
Regardless, here are my top ten animal shots of 2015. They may not represent the best photos as far as professional level photography is concerned, but I’m not a professional photographer, and such, these photos represent something more for me.
#10
I captured this Great Grey Owl on an early winter trip through the mountains. View a few more photos here.
#9
I find the Golden Mantle Ground Squirrels to be a fun target for shooting. They always seem to be curious and have some interesting antics when interacting with us humans.
#8
A spring time adventure into Jasper National Park had me spot this bear doing the spring-time happy dance.
#7
On the same adventure as my spring time bear (above), I captured these two Mountain Goats having bit of a battle on the side of a hill.
#6
Out for a walk on Canada Day, I spotted this playful chipmunk hiding out in a planter.
#5
While in Edmonton, I’m so close to Elk Island National Park, it only seemed natural that Bison would become a favorite to photograph. They are a plentiful, and generally a slow enough target that I can experiment with composure on a regular basis.
#4
Another trip into Jasper National Park, a momma bear and here three cubs were casually strolling along the side of the road. This was an easy capture!
#3
I’m not sure if I can really consider this guy “wildlife” as he is in the zoo. But I enjoyed the resulting photo – it was tricky shooting through dirty glass to capture him.
#2
Yes, another Bison, but I was quite happy with the composition and really everything else about this photo too.
#1
This cougar is in the zoo, but I have a thing for big cats, and despite errors in the technical aspects of photography, the grid lines of a fence still visible, this guy gets my top photo spot for 2015.
If you’re curious about my camera gear, jump over to my photography for 2015 page here.
I also added a Tamrom 150-600mm zoom lens late in 2015, so I have high hopes my wildlife photos will take a leap forward in quality and composition for 2016. If you’re interested in learning more about this zoom lens, jump over to Amazon here.
Do you have a favorite animal you like to shoot? Any tips, tactics or strategies for successful shoots you’d like to share?
