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Leader of the Pack |
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The Tamron 55-200mm Di II lens sneaks into the wild to catch a glimpse of wolves in their natural environment. |
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| AF55-200mm
F/4-5.6 Di II LD Macro
by Jennifer Gidman Zumpano |
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In Columbia, New Jersey, Santa Claus is living large, and he’s taking care of wolves. At the Lakota Wolf Preserve, just a stone’s throw from the Delaware Water Gap, professional wildlife photographer Dan Bacon has set up a 10-acre utopia for his furry friends, along with his wife, Pam, and partner, Jim Stein. It’s the only place on the East Coast where you can get this close to these curious canines in their natural surroundings. |
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Ken Hubbard headed to the preserve recently for his fourth visit, taking along the Tamron AF55-200mm Di II lens to enjoy an afternoon of versatile shooting in the great outdoors, photographing the three types of wolves who call Lakota home (tundra, timber, and Arctic), as well as the resident bobcats and foxes. The preserve is broken up into four distinct, fenced-in areas (each species of wolf must be separated from the others—they’ll fight and kill each other if they’re forced to coexist), and each section designed to be completely natural, with minimal human interference (according to Bacon, wolves don’t like anything that is foreign to their territory, and will sniff out and destroy anything they find suspicious). |
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| In fact, the proprietors found this out the hard way during their first few years of operation. One summer they thought it would be a good idea to set up a water hole for the wolves to drink from in the summer. They dug a nice-sized pit, lined it with a special material to prevent weed growth, and created a PVC piping system so the hole could be filled with water from the other side of the fence. By the next morning, the wolves had dug up and destroyed all the PVP piping and ripped up all the lining from the bottom of the pond. |
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Perfect Photo Op |
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The Lakota preserve is a photographer’s dream, according to Hubbard. “When you pay to get inside the first set of fencing, the preserve has set up shooting portals, so there’s no fencing in your way,” he explains. “This means that once you put your camera through the portal, the foxes can get close enough to lick the front lens element. For the most part, they won’t get that close, but every once in awhile, they’ll get curious and come right up to you." |
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The 55-200mm turned out to be the perfect focal length for Hubbard’s shoot. At 200mm, the wolves usually were at a distance that allowed for a nice cropping of the head and part of the torso, and the 55mm end of the lens proved useful when a few wolves were together in a small pack. “I used an aperture of either F/5.6 or 6.3 to increase my shutter speed and also give a really nice, blurred background so the wolves would pop,” he says. “I recommend a shutter speed of at least 125/sec.: The wolves usually are moving around, and the faster you can get your shutter, the sharper your images will be.” |
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Hubbard used the compression effect of the telephoto end of the lens to his advantage as well. For example, he was able to blur out an image of a white wolf in front of a black wolf. “I wanted something more dramatic, and I wanted the black wolf to be the focus of the image,” he says. “The compression effect at 135mm in this image makes it look like the wolf in back is right on top of the other wolf, when actually they’re 10 to 12 feet apart. I also framed it so that there’s no ground showing in between the wolves—this helps with the effect of them being closer to one another.” |
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| The 55-200mm came into play once more when Hubbard spotted a frisky bobcat staking out his own patch of land in the preserve. “The ability to zoom in close to the bobcat was essential,” he says. “Since bobcats are quite a bit smaller than the wolves, you need a little more on the tele end to help create nice framing.” |
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| Having this lens allowed Hubbard not to worry about switching lenses. “With animals that move so quickly and usually don't stand still, you have to keep the camera in a ready-to-shoot position,” he says. “Not worrying about switching lenses was a big plus. Keep your camera up at all times and ready to shoot—you never know when that perfect shot will happen. |
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| Looking to photograph your own pack? “The best time to shoot wolves is when they have their winter coats, from November till about the end of April,” says Hubbard. Go to www.lakotawolf.com for more information about shooting at the Lakota Wolf Preserve. |
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Tip Box Tracking Device Keeping the wildlife in your scope is important if you don’t want to miss a shot, explains Ken Hubbard. “Pick one wolf and keep it framed in your viewfinder as he wanders around,” he says. “This may take a few minutes, but be patient. The ability to zoom in and out with the 55-200mm lens while tracking is a plus—you’ll always have the perfect framing you’re looking for.” The chance that your furry subject will look directly into your lens (or better yet, start howling) is always there. |
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