Intermediate

Practical Magic: How the Z 9 Delivers Stunning Wildlife Photos

Glossary

The photographs are extraordinary: a sequence of 28 frames of a snowy owl, shot by Gillian Overholser with the Z 9 and the AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR, at 20 frames per second, with the owl coming straight at her—every frame of the 1.4-second-burst sharp, every frame revealing details of the bird’s flight, details that are evident in the six images we chose to feature from the sequence. 

We’d like to emphasize “coming straight at her” because…well, let’s just say that’s a tough situation for many cameras to handle. “Often times you shoot away and you pray that three [frames] are in focus,” is how Gillian puts it. “Here, every shot is in focus, and every one is dramatically different from the next—28 different poses, all those wing formations, all the details, in less than a second and a half. I couldn’t have gotten all those poses with any other camera. The Z 9 is magical, especially for someone who’s been photographing wildlife.”    

Truth is, we like to hear the Z 9 referred to as magical, in that it makes possible remarkable, one-of-a kind photographs and revealing sequences that weren’t previously possible. 

How It’s Done

“My Instagram went viral,” Gillian says of the response when she posted a set of about a dozen images from the sequence. “I got 58,000 likes and a million looks. People asked how I did it.”

In most cases for her wildlife photography, she does it using animal-eye recognition and single-point AF to lock onto the subject’s eye. “That’ll make sure I grab the animal; it’s the quickest acquire-the-animal mode, in my experience.” Then she’ll press and hold the AF On button (the back button), which she’s programmed for wide-area AF, to start tracking the eye. “Those are the settings I find most effective for what I do,” she says. But for the snowy owl photos, she varied the method. “I used wide-area right away. I didn’t need single-point to acquire the bird because I had it isolated right at the start, so it was wide-area, start to finish.” 

But camera settings aren’t anywhere near the whole story. As extraordinary as the Z 9 is, it’s the skill, judgment and experience of the photographer that enables the camera to perform at the level it’s capable of.  

The Z 9 is magical…28 different poses…in less than a second and a half…every shot in focus, every one dramatically different….I couldn’t have gotten all those poses with any other camera...

Gillian started some seven years ago with photography of backyard birds—there were plenty of them, as she lived next to a nature reserve. “I was fascinated by their behavior and personalities,” she says. “I tried to take pictures of what I was seeing, and, frankly, at the beginning, I was terrible. There were so many things I didn’t know.” But she stayed with it, learning as she went. “The more experience you have, the better you get, and the thing about learning is that you have to be aware to learn—aware that you are storing up knowledge for future photographs.”

A large part of that knowledge involved concern and respect for wildlife. 

“Every animal, every situation, is different,” Gillian says, “but the rule for wildlife photography is if the animal starts doing anything different than it was doing before—starts looking around, shifting, looking uncomfortable— you’re too close. To have no impact, you have to realize that every animal has a different tolerance for humans. The experienced wildlife photographer knows how far back you need to be so the animals remain comfortable and natural, doing what they do without being bothered. Basically, your goal is not to bother them.” 

Having respect and concern for the animal isn’t just the right way to go, it’s also the smart way: you’ll get better pictures—natural attitudes, gestures, personalities. Maybe even a snowy owl coming straight to you, and with the Z 9 at 20 frames per second, you’ll be able to confidently take your best shots. 

Gillian’s website, www.gillianoverholser.com, features images of owls and other wildlife. Major attraction: Bobcats 2022 in the New Photos section of the Portfolio.

This Article Goes Great With These Products