It’s the holidays and you’re probably thinking about next camera related item that Santa will be bringing you this year. However, more than likely you’re thinking about what you’re going to get for yourself this year, because Santa can’t really afford photography gear; after all, those reindeer are not cheap to feed. Whether you’re just starting out, or are a full blown professional, there is always that point where you realize that you’re not getting the results you want and that more and better equipment will alleviate this problem. Not to mention that every book and blog you read mentions loads of camera gear that you will “need” to produce great photos. In nature photography this tends to be a relatively fast high megapixel digital SLR camera and a professional telephoto lens. This, I’m afraid to tell you is true. The better your equipment, the better your results are likely to be.
Alright, I’ve either just convinced you that photography is too expensive for you or that you should place that pre-order for the Canon 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM lens. If you are the former group, don’t be discouraged; if you are in the latter group then you probably have enough spare cash to buy one for me too. The key to keeping your costs low is to learn how to use the equipment you already have and take pictures of things that your camera lens and body are suitable for. In other words learn the limits of your equipment and work within them. If you only have an 18 – 55mm lens, you’re not going to take too many images of wildlife; instead you’ll need to work with captive and friendly subjects, or landscapes, or even portraits and events. When you’re ready, step up to the next item that will give you the results you want. If you want to get images of birds in flight, then consider a fixed focal length (prime) lens that is 400mm or more. Don’t get too bogged down in trying to make the most out of your money by purchasing something that you can use for more than one type of photography. Often what you will end up with is too much of a compromise where it doesn’t do either type of photography very well. Get equipment for specific tasks, and concentrate on taking images that the lens was designed for. You’ll make your money go a lot further by buying the specialized equipment one at a time.
Next get creative. I’m not much of a DIY person, but some tricks are so easy, you’ll kick yourself for not trying them. Want to take some Macro shots and don’t have a ring flash? Use an inexpensive diffuser to bounce the light from your external flash onto your subject. You can find many tricks like that one by reading other sites about photography, not just nature photography. One of the best is strobist.blogspot.com.
Finally all that fancy camera equipment will only take your photography so far. As with anything, if you want to succeed, you need to practice, practice, and practice! I hope that the holidays are good to you this year.
I took a little break from nature photography in 
What I’ve learned when doing portraits is how to use flash more effectively. In particular how to use flash off camera. I have yet to try my newfound fondness for flash photography for nature photography; but I hope to find some sort of application for off camera flash in nature photography soon. One such application that I’ve seen used is to freeze the motion of hummingbirds, but that would be difficult here in South Florida, where we don’t get many hummingbirds. If I do find an application, I’ll be sure to write about it here.