Doug Gimesy Wildlife Photography advice - Wildlife Australia Guide

WHEN I STARTED OUT as a wildlife and conservation photographer, I never used additional lighting. Over time, I started playing with flash here and there, adding one light, then two.

As my skills improved, I began using it more and more, but always during the daytime. Why? I simply liked how it felt, no other reason.

Then about six years ago, I was photographing the little penguins of Melbourne, trying to capture their silhouette in the dark against an evening city skyline. Not far from me were a lot of tourists trying to photograph them before they entered their burrows. Some were using on-camera flashes, others just their mobile phones, with the built-in flash going off.

There were signs that said ‘No flash’, and the volunteer guides did what they could to educate the public, however the relentless explosions of light continued throughout the evening. Bothering me in the distance, I could only wonder what it must have been like for these little penguins close up.

What I saw that night started me thinking about the impact a photographer’s lighting could have on wildlife – whether using flash in the field or even on captive animals.

Having been trained as a