Wildlife on a budget

We would all love to go on a 2 week safari with a top of the range camera with a 400mm F2.8 lens (over £8000 just for lens) but for most, a serious lottery win would be required first. So our options are, well we do have our own wildlife, for me a good image of a stag is hard to beat. Looking for something a little easier? Have a look at my image with the 2 bears at play in the water, captured with an entry level dslr with a Sigma 70-300mm lens, by zooming in to 300mm to get as tight as possible this image could have been captured anywhere, it was however taken at Blair Drummond, Scotland a local wildlife park. We have many wildlife parks and zoo's around us some are better than others for the photographer. The secret, well it's not a secret just common sense is composition, we don't want to any signs of an enclosure in the shot. Any DSLR with a telephoto lens is all that is required by photographer, but do try and get there for opening time, buy a program with the feeding times listed and try to stay the full day to increase your chances of getting that shot. Feeding stations for the birds in you back garden are great way to encourage more birds but set it up so you have a bare branch close by for the birds to land on to give you that photographed in the wild look.

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