Photographing Alone or with Others Preference?

I have always preferred to photograph wildlife alone because I can spend as much time on a subject as I care to without another person wanting to move on. Others also have different preferences, such as action shots over portraits, birds over mammals, etc. I was just wondering how others feel about shooting with partners, especially when travelling. I do have some shooting partners that are great to shoot with too, just to clarify. What are your preferences?

Joe

I also prefer to photograph alone. Frankly, I can't imagine why anyone would want to photograph in a group. Why would you want to get the same image everyone else is getting? What value does that have?

Also, in many cases the animal is skittish enough with one human zeroing in on it with a huge camera lens. Multiply that by six and you have a situation in which acquiring a decent photograph at all becomes extremely difficult.

John

I prefer to photograph my subjects alone and at my own pace. However, I like to have a fellow photographer present at the same place who is also working at his/her own pace for safety considerations in case something might happen. When you reach 70+ you think about such things.

Joe Smith

photoman4343 wrote:I prefer to photograph my subjects alone and at my own pace. However, I like to have a fellow photographer present at the same place who is also working at his/her own pace for safety considerations in case something might happen. When you reach 70+ you think about such things.

Joe Smith

So true! Just yesterday when a friend and I were following the Bighorn Sheep, we both fell separately and out of sight of each other. This is an area comprised of nearly all large boulders and some very loose gravel on a somewhat steep hillside. He got a pretty good gash in his shin, while I was OK. I also was skirting a large hole (about 6 feet deep) with snow on the edges. I probably would have been more cautious if I was alone, but things happen quickly.

Thanks for your participation, so far.

Joe

My wife and I love to shoot together and share the experience.

SantaFeJoe wrote:

photoman4343 wrote:I prefer to photograph my subjects alone and at my own pace. However, I like to have a fellow photographer present at the same place who is also working at his/her own pace for safety considerations in case something might happen. When you reach 70+ you think about such things.

Joe Smith

So true! Just yesterday when a friend and I were following the Bighorn Sheep, we both fell separately and out of sight of each other. This is an area comprised of nearly all large boulders and some very loose gravel on a somewhat steep hillside. He got a pretty good gash in his shin, while I was OK. I also was skirting a large hole (about 6 feet deep) with snow on the edges. I probably would have been more cautious if I was alone, but things happen quickly.

Thanks for your participation, so far.

Joe

Gotta say that usually i like to have someone else with me. Not necessarily another photographer, but maybe a person with a set of binoculars to help spot and such. Plus if the shoot turns out to be a bust, nice to have someone to chat with. Some of the best conversations i have had with folks have been at the lake when it was too foggy to see eagles.

On another note, as for the safety aspect, i know preaching to the choir but three things should always happen when going out by yourself.

1: Tell someone you are going and where. Tell them to check up on you if they don't hear from you in 48 hours.
2: A whistle and a strobe/mirror and some sort of fire starter should be in your kit.
3: Evaluate your own skills and abilities to survive in the environment if you were to be stuck there. Too often a twisted ankle or minor fracture becomes a fatal injury because the person had adequately planned for the possibilities. 

Remember, it is exposure that kills most folks. Not some traumatic injury but the inability to survive after the injury.

There's something magical about being alone with an animal that has accepted your presence and goes about its life. On the other hand, wildlife photography is 90% waiting and it's nice to have a companion to chat with during those idle hours.

I voted for 'with one other person'.  I am lucky that I have a husband who is the perfect partner on any photographic trip and all our best wildlife experiences have been just the two of us in some amazing locations.  I am not a herd animal so groups just do not work for me - I did try.  

I didn't vote, because it depends. If I'm doing wildlife or landscapes, I prefer to be alone. Actually I always prefer to be alone, but.... With night photography, I prefer to have one or more companions for safety. Safety is mainly because of other human predators. In Africa (Serengeti) for night photography I'll hire an armed guard for safety from the animal predators after previous experience. When I am out, especially at night, and have traveled by car in the US, I have my bear spray on me, even when not in bear country, if you get my meaning. I have had encounters at night of the 2-legged kind but fortunately nothing bad happened so far.

But I also enjoy going on trips with a few friends. So it depends.

Roger

Roger, same as you and did not place a vote because it all depends.  I enjoy photographing on my own or in small or large groups.  A time and place for everything.  My preference is to shoot on my own but am comfortable with a crowd as well.  Sometime a crowd is actually preferred.  Such as when shooting in controversial situations where you can get lost in a crowd and not stand out.  The more the merrier in such cases.

Andrew Kandel wrote:There's something magical about being alone with an animal that has accepted your presence and goes about its life.  On the other hand, wildlife photography is 90% waiting and it's nice to have a companion to chat with during those idle hours.

Could not agree more - thats the very essence of my idea of wildlife photography

OntPhoto wrote:Roger, same as you and did not place a vote because it all depends.  I enjoy photographing on my own or in small or large groups.  A time and place for everything.  My preference is to shoot on my own but am comfortable with a crowd as well.  Sometime a crowd is actually preferred.  Such as when shooting in controversial situations where you can get lost in a crowd and not stand out.  The more the merrier in such cases.

What is a controversial situation?

It was standing shoulder to shoulder a couple of years ago at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands at sunrise that drove me to do more night photography   There is nobody there at 2am!

However, I have met some very nice people in "the crowds," like at Bosque.

Roger

I prefer going alone but in most instance would like one other person present, to share ideas, equipment if mine malfunctions, talk when nothing is happening, support if there is a mishap (especially if human predators are around) and to simply take the burden off a long drive.

Pradeep

rnclark wrote:I didn't vote, because it depends.  If I'm doing wildlife or landscapes, I prefer to be alone.  Actually I always prefer to be alone, but....  

Roger

"OntPhoto
 My preference is to shoot on my own.....

For the purposes of this poll (started by me), those would both fit into the first category. Sometimes, circumstances require good judgement and that may mean we don't go with our preferences, but rather with what is prudent! Other times it is nice to share a special time, place or subject with someone else. It makes for good memories for both, especially over a nice dinner. Thanks for the participation so far. I, personally haven't voted yet either, but it will be "Alone".

Joe

I have a very limited number of friends that I would trust enough to be quiet, anticipate animal's behavior, and in general, respect the animals we are watching and photographing. I said "limited number" because I can only think of 2-3 people I like to be out there with. Of course, there's my partner Anita, who loves photographing birds while I'm a large mammal guy. She will photograph mammals, and I will photograph birds too, so it works out great when we go out photographing together. It doesn't hurt that she's a fantastic spotter too! But ultimately I'm a loner who loves to be out there in the woods by myself, Automatically you increase your chances of observing animals by 100% if you are alone. But up here in northern Maine it can get pretty remote, and it is just not the safest place to have a problem. Thick Boreal type woods with many bogs and marshes to deal with....and NO cell service! I do use the SPOT messenger service (a GPS that will send a e-mail with a short message along with very accurate GPS coordinates and Google Earth map. It is a small handheld device.) It has the ability to summon a rescue group if needed. Not bad insurance for $100. per year! I highly recommend this service. I've tested it on several occasions (works well in overcast, rainy, or snowstorm weather) and it's accurate to about 10 feet.

My truck has been modified to include a lift kit, a 8,000 lb. winch, and large 32" tires for the muddy /snowy logging roads of northern Maine. All this so I don't get stuck out there alone. Ain't no tow truck gonna' make it some of the places I go!  Yup, I am a bit paranoid about being out there alone and being stuck without a vehicle, So I guess ultimately, I don't mind shooting with close friends because it's a hell of a lot safer!

Thanks, Mark, for posing about SPOT! I wasn't familiar with it. Sounds very useful for many of us who go out alone.

Joe

I don't have a one-size-fits-all-answer. There are many times when a group is fun as long as nobody interferes. Think of Oxbow Bend in the Tetons at sunrise or sunset -- it's the way it is. But in more constrained locations the presence of one or two others can be nice -- again, as long as we don't get in each other's way.

Two of my favorite places to shoot are Great Falls National Park and Blackwater Falls in West Virginia. It's possible to be alone in the latter but almost impossible in the former. A funny thing about Blackwater Falls is that often there will be one or two other photographers there at the break of day, usually photographers from the area who are often wonderful people with great stories. After getting our shots we sometimes will hit the breakfast buffet at the lodge and share fellowship.

At Great Falls you usually struggle, even before sunset, to find uninterrupted space. It's a challenge and frustrating at times when there are many children running around unsupervised and sometimes in dangerous ways with oblivious parents. And then there are the people there with significant others. I think that offering to take their pictures together tends to make them happy and cooperative. That said, my last time there was special. There were two older teenage (late high school/college freshman) girls dressed in Muslim fashion, although quite colorful. They were taking photos and asking lots of questions about composition, technique, equipment, etc. In my past experience Muslim women were typically "reserved" and didn't interact much yet these teens were just like a couple of "regular American" kids (as Archie Bunker might say). It made my day.

I go out shooting with my wife almost always.
As her eye sight is much better then mine, she finds the birds for us almost always.

Great topic and great comments.  I voted to shoot by myself but I find that harder and harder to do that these days.  Often there are more photographers that birders at most of my favorite haunts.  That's not necessarily a bad thing as more eyes will find more subjects but I hate shooting in a crowd. The perfect day is to find your own subject (mainly birds in my case) and spend as much time as possible with it.  It is very true that there is something magical about a subject that tolerates (anthropomorphizing) your presence but these days I enjoy that experience more that I enjoy seeing my images.

Despite having been a birder for 40 years I've learn more about birds since carrying a camera. The only downside is I have to exclude so much else (scenery, flowers, even people) when I'm in that photographic zone.

Cheers,

Jim

I will almost always prefer to photograph alone, there are only 2-3 individuals that I will partner up with at times. But in this day and age of digital photography, it is almost virtually impossible to be alone especially with birds/animals that are on public land or doing landscape/botanical photography on public land. I have been going to a bog in Northern MN for over 20 years, In years past most of the time I could spend the day alone or maybe just see one or two other individuals. With social media, one owl is spotted and the roads are filled with photographers/birders the next day. I am not complaining just glad others enjoy the outdoors the way I have for many many years. It is a challenge for me to find not necessarily undiscovered places but images from a different perspective.