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I’ve Spent 5 Years Capturing Perfectly Timed Action Shots Of Animals In Nature (35 Pics)
Hello Pandas, I spent 5 years capturing action shots of animals. I've been actively engaged in photography since 2016, mainly focused on nature and animals. My pictures show kingfishers, squirrels, dogs, and birds in motion.
Wildlife photography is much more demanding than you would ever think. You have to gain the trust of wild animals and getting the perfect shot. Not to mention, that you have to be really lucky, and the animal sometimes doesn't show up at all. Wildlife photography is a combination of patience, time, skill, love for the animal, and luck. And with luck, you can get good worthy perfectly timed pictures. As a popular saying goes: if you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it, or just let it slip?
I've posted on Bored Panda previously and if you'd like to see my older posts you can find them by clicking here, here, and here.
I hope this post can inspire and bring you a lot of joy!
More info: Instagram | nikicolemont.be | Facebook
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Can you name some of the major influences in your life who've helped you develop and define your photography style?
"Before I started doing wildlife photography 5 years ago, I met two local and talented Belgian photographers, Heikki Put and Koen Cuppens. They inspired me to do more wildlife action photography. They have taught me some of their skills like using a remote control to capture fast animals in motion. I also developed the skill of being very patient in capturing the best moment possible when it comes to animals. These two guys I mentioned earlier are the reason why I’m doing this kind of photography."
What is your favorite type of photos?
"Landscapes, street photography, nature, portraits, and animals. My interests in photography are very mixed. I can enjoy a lot of work from many photographers. But if I need to make a choice, I love the work of Geert Weggen a lot. Our style is totally different."
Do you ever feel burned out by doing creative work?
"Yes, it’s hard to come up with new things and new ideas, but I never feel burned out because being in nature and with animals gives me a lot of joy and pleasure."
How do people mostly react to your work?
"When people look at my work they have smiles on their faces and that's also a reason why I like this kind of photography. It makes people happy and if they are happy I’m also happy. When the corona epidemic started, a lot of people told me that seeing my pictures made them happy. Some people said that it gave them hope and joy in uncertain times—this is the best comment you can get as a photographer."
What part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?
"Good question, I have thought about it before. For me it’s probably building things for the red squirrels, it’s a very fun thing to do. I can put a lot of time into creating the setup, but the fun part is that I don’t have any idea how things can turn out. It's always exciting to see what I have captured in the end."
What inspired you to start an Instagram account for your photos?
"The inspiration for my account came from the idea of having a picture library and connecting with other photographers by learning from them, but things have changed. Right now, I love to upload creative and funny videos and photos of red squirrels. I have a lot of short movies that I need to post, so stay tuned!"
You can even see his little feet against the light coming through his feathers!!
Where did you start as a photographer? Did you explore other forms of art first?
"I started with an iPhone 4 at the age of 21 and at the age of 25, I bought my first DSLR Nikon d5200. Now I’m shooting with the Nikon z6II. I never had any formal education, I've learned everything through trial and error. I made one mistake after another. it's a strange method, but it worked for me."
What motivates you as a photographer? Is it curiosity, the search for beauty, or meaning?
"I just want to spread the love with my pictures and make people happy and laugh. What also motivates me is that I can convey my feelings using my photos. I’m a very positive and happy guy and I want to show that in my images."
Amazing to see all the water droplets splashing about, just caught in the moment!
Fun Fact: Baby birds have that yellow area around their mouths—known as the gape—to help the parental units know where to shove in insects and other tasty morsels.
Bird sex is so fast that I still can’t believe it’s actually effective. It’s called The Cloacal Kiss.
Indeed: Perfectly Timed Shots. After 10 years I still don't have 1 photo that comes close. Keep up the good work.
So curious how long the nature ones took. Especially where the birds are catching food. That takes a lot of patience.
Thank you for sharing these stunning shots with us - would love to see more of you work :D Also, that Bermie is !!!! adorable
The patience and skill to capture these! Really wonderful work!
All, I mean every single one, of your shots are wonderful. Every! Single! One! Thank you for sharing.
You are very, very good and I aspire to have as great a collection as yours some day!! WOW!!!
Love, love, love. I especially enjoyed all the squirrel pictures. They are so acrobatic!
Nikki, you need to come to South Africa and visit with the birds in my garden (Commonly known as Jo's friends). I have a feeding station where I average 17 different breeds at a time. A lot nest in the garden and you get to see the fledglings learning how to look after themselves. Needless to say, I don't get much done most days, it is beautiful to watch. Yoi and your camera would have a blast.
Indeed: Perfectly Timed Shots. After 10 years I still don't have 1 photo that comes close. Keep up the good work.
So curious how long the nature ones took. Especially where the birds are catching food. That takes a lot of patience.
Thank you for sharing these stunning shots with us - would love to see more of you work :D Also, that Bermie is !!!! adorable
The patience and skill to capture these! Really wonderful work!
All, I mean every single one, of your shots are wonderful. Every! Single! One! Thank you for sharing.
You are very, very good and I aspire to have as great a collection as yours some day!! WOW!!!
Love, love, love. I especially enjoyed all the squirrel pictures. They are so acrobatic!
Nikki, you need to come to South Africa and visit with the birds in my garden (Commonly known as Jo's friends). I have a feeding station where I average 17 different breeds at a time. A lot nest in the garden and you get to see the fledglings learning how to look after themselves. Needless to say, I don't get much done most days, it is beautiful to watch. Yoi and your camera would have a blast.