Waterfowl Photography: Tips and Techniques

Preparation and persistence are the keys to waterfowl photography. In this video, pro wildlife photographer Doug Gardner travels to North Carolina and shares tips and techniques on waterfowl photography under difficult weather conditions. He discovers a farm field, plants decoys, dresses in camouflage and waders, and hunkers down in a ditch for cover. It’s early winter and the landscape is brown. Doug crops out the field and concentrates on birds in flight, using his 500mm lens. When swans appear in the sky, he photographs them individually, in pairs, and in whole flocks. Later on, he moves to the Mattamuskeet marsh and captures waterfowl through falling snow. Waterfowl photography takes patience, but the waiting is well worth the time.

See all videos in our Photographing Waterfowl Along the Eastern Coast Course:

• Photographing Waterfowl Along the East Coast—Course Preview
• Photographing Wildlife in the South Santee Marsh
• Capturing Wild Canvasbacks
• Photographing Snow Geese in the Wild
• Photographing Swans
• Waterfowl Photography: Tips and Techniques