Seek the perfect shot with Shutterstock’s Artist Series as California-based photographer Daniel Nevares shares his experience on finding resources to photograph and find wildlife.
Earlier this month, we launched the Shutterstock Presents: Artist Series, a video series highlighting creative artists on Shutterstock’s marketplace. One of the first contributors we featured as part of the Artist Series is wildlife photographer Daniel Nevares. A photographer and social worker based in San Francisco, California, Daniel balances his fulfilling career as a 9-5 social worker helping youth, while photographing wildlife during his spare time. One of the things that Daniel is pro at is finding resources to photograph and find wildlife.
[sstk-pullquote align=”full”]“Balancing photography and a full-time career can be difficult, but it’s rewarding at the same time.”[/sstk-pullquote]
Wildlife Photographer Daniel Nevares
Our team travelled to San Francisco, California to learn how Daniel balanced his two careers, and to learn a bit more about his tips on finding resources to photograph and find wildlife. Here is the video from our time in San Francisco with Daniel Nevares.
On being a wildlife photographer in San Francisco:
“I’m fortunate that the best time to find nature is at sunrise or sunset, which works perfectly with my work schedule.”
Image by Daniel Nevares
One of the things that can be difficult as a wildlife photographer is finding the resources to photograph and find wildlife. This is especially true when you are working with a small window of shoot time.
We asked Daniel his tips for other photographers looking to shoot wildlife. What he found most helpful was using online resources to find wildlife before he goes out to shoot. This saves any photographer time spent traveling to national parks, or even parks in their own backyard. Online resources such as bird watching sites are a fantastic place to start before you go to any location.
Here’s a video of Daniels’ top tips on finding resources to photograph and find wildlife.
Pro Tips on Finding Resources to Photograph and Find Wildlife:
Tip #1: Use bird watching sites to track wildlife spottings
Resources such as BirdsEye and BirdTrack are a great place to start, with apps that make download and tracking wildlife and birds easy. If you’re in the UK, Mammal Tracker is another fantastic resource that makes finding wildlife to photograph a cinch.
Tip #2: Use animal tracking sites to spot and record wildlife sightings in your area
Sites such as Where Is The Wildlife when exploring National Parks are fantastic resources. With this site, you can follow along a map to find the wildlife you’re looking for in well-documented areas. iNaturalist.org is another great website that allows you to snap a photo, add your location, and discuss your wildlife find with other wildlife enthusiasts.
Tip #3: Be patient
Animals tend to stick to similar moving patterns, so if you’ve heard a spot is good, be patient. Park for a while, blend into the surroundings, and wait. Patience is extremely important when photographing wildlife.
For the full tips, check out the link here or scroll up to watch the full video.
Image by Daniel Nevares
We hope you enjoyed learning a bit about Daniel Nevares, a wildlife photographer and Shutterstock contributor based in San Francisco, California. Click here to shop Daniel’s collection of images on Shutterstock. And, if you’re a contributor with an interesting story, click here to share your story for a chance to be our next Shutterstock Presents: Artist Series contributor.
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