I'm NOT a wildlife photographer for one simple reason. I don't have the patience, or the tendency towards masochism. My respect for these guys is immense -- lugging about these massive lenses, crawling in the mud, bitten for hours by insects, and remaining prostate for hours each day for many days and perhaps getting nothing of quality for their effort. David Yarrow is just such a person, getting what he estimates is only six great shots a year. His work is shot in black and white and is some of the most stunning wildlife imagery ever taken. Even if you are not a photographer, his candid insights into how he approaches his work is illuminating when you find yourself asking, "how did he get that?" As a photographer I found many of his techniques fascinating -- shooting from an angle below a predator's eyes, limiting the use of long lenses and taking shots inside of 200mm all the way down to 50mm, 95% of the shoot being just research to maximize being in the right place at the right time. Professional or not, the images are spectacular, even though I always grimace in footage where one of the elephants runs over his remote camera (not David), which easily cost thousands of dollars. It happens a lot.
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