[Leica] Telephoto Lenses

[Doug Herr <71247.3542@compuserve.com>]

On Tue, 08 Dec 1998, Bud Cook wrote:

>Someone recently asked Doug Herr about telephoto lenses for
>photographing animals.  This got me to thinking about my experiences
>over the years.
>
>After giving it some thought, I'm surprised to find that a great many of
>the wildlife photographs that I value the most were taken with
>relatively short lenses and most often taken with an M Leica rather than
>with Nikon F's or Leicaflexes.
>
>Perhaps these are simply the photographs that bring back the most
>pleasant memories.
>
>I remember a charging black bear in Yellowstone where all the people
>around me scrambled to get to safety by piling into the open door of a
>motor home.  I held my ground with my trusty M2 and Rigid Summicron and
>the bear stopped in time to allow me to take his picture.
>
<SNIP>

>I've taken photos of bear and other mammals with long telephoto lenses
>but they don't seem as important to me as those that allowed me to get
>up close and personal.
>
>I won't continue to bore everyone but I wanted to point out that
>successfully photographing wild animals is sometimes simply a matter of
>getting close and that you don't always need specialized equipment to
>bring back a trophy.

Bud,

You're right, lots of specialized equipment isn't really nessesary.  I've
seen a photographer use a 50mm lens with 2x converter, hiding under an old
army blanket, make some truly remarkable bird photographs, but his
technique was exceptional.

Now that I think about it I used a 24mm lens a couple of times on Arctic
Terns and Long-tailed Jaegers in Alaska.  At the time I was a neophyte
photographer who valued the image more than I valued the birds.  I was
standing too close to their nests and the birds were attacking me to defend
the nests.

None of the incidents you mentioned suggests deliberate harassment such as
I had done with the terns and jaegers.  I do want to caution others,
though, not to depend on getting really close to animals with normal-ish
lenses as the animals may feel threatened and might attack.  In the US
National Parks, a bear that attacks a human for whatever reason is
considered a problem bear and will be removed or killed to prevent further
attacks.

It took me several years to understand that the animals' welfare is more
important than my photographs.  I still use the shorter lenses where
appropriate but more often than not a respectful distance is in the best
interest of the animal.

Doug Herr
Sacramento