Zoom Telephoto lenses are the workhorses of wildlife photography. However, there are many attributes that differ between each "class" of zoom telephoto. Whether you're deciding which telephoto to bring on your next trip or are just wanting to know what to look for in your next purchase, this covers it all.

In this episode, we dive into the various components that you should consider when picking out a lens for wildlife photography, including max telephoto length, range, build quality, image quality, and aperture. I specifically go over the pros and cons of different features and which ones are the most important and dealing with various conditions for wildlife photography.

Canon 100-500mm
Tamron 150-600mm
Nikon 200-500mm
Canon Super Telephoto 300mm f/2.8

Court's Websites

• Check out my photo portfolio here: shop.courtwhelan.com
• Sign up for my photo and conservation blog at www.courtwhelan.com
• Follow me on YouTube (@courtwhelan) for more photography tips
• View my camera kit and recommended camera gear

Sponsors and Promo Codes:

• MPB.com - Buy, Sell, or Trade Camera Gear
• ArtStorefronts.com - Mention this podcast for free photo website design
• BayPhoto.com - 25% off your first order (code: TWP25) 
• ArtHelper.com - a photo community to learn, share and be inspired
• Arthelper.Ai - Smart tools to promo and showcase your art.
• LensRentals.com - WildPhoto15 for 15% off

The blue hour is a fantastic time of day for creating unique scenes out of the ordinary.  That time just after sunset and prior to pure darkness has a special hue to the sky.  Not only is it great to photograph during this time of day, but it's a logical "transition" from sunset photography.

Listen for a full digest on how to set up and capture brilliant photography during the blue hour.

Court's Websites

• Check out my photo portfolio here: shop.courtwhelan.com
• Sign up for my photo and conservation blog at www.courtwhelan.com
• Follow me on YouTube (@courtwhelan) for more photography tips
• View my camera kit and recommended camera gear

Sponsors and Promo Codes:

• MPB.com - Buy, Sell, or Trade Camera Gear
• ArtStorefronts.com - Mention this podcast for free photo website design
• BayPhoto.com - 25% off your first order (code: TWP25) 
• ArtHelper.com - a photo community to learn, share and be inspired
• Arthelper.Ai - Smart tools to promo and showcase your art.
• LensRentals.com - WildPhoto15 for 15% off

Bear photography is one of the most spectacular forms of wildlife photography on planet earth.  It's also one of the most popular, with summertime Brown Bear photography in places like Alaska and Yellowstone National Park being a yearly ritual for many wildlife photographers.

In this episode, I dive into the many strategies and pro tips for bear photography to ensure you get the absolute best photos during your bear photography adventure.  While most of my examples speak about Brown Bears, you'll quickly realize that these tips are very generalizable for all bear photography, be it Polar Bears, Black Bears, or any of the 8 species of bears found around the world.

Court's Websites

• Check out my photo portfolio here: shop.courtwhelan.com
• Sign up for my photo and conservation blog at www.courtwhelan.com
• Follow me on YouTube (@courtwhelan) for more photography tips
• View my camera kit and recommended camera gear

Sponsors and Promo Codes:

• MPB.com - Buy, Sell, or Trade Camera Gear
• ArtStorefronts.com - Mention this podcast for free photo website design
• BayPhoto.com - 25% off your first order (code: TWP25) 
• ArtHelper.com - a photo community to learn, share and be inspired
• Arthelper.Ai - Smart tools to promo and showcase your art.
• LensRentals.com - WildPhoto15 for 15% off

In this episode I go through all of my camera gear discussing what I have and why I have each piece, whether its a lens, a tripod, an accessory, etc. I've always found this to be a super useful tool in broadening ones horizons with photography and learning from others.  In addition to the things I do have, I mention certain things I do not in order to break out what I view as essential, nice-to-have, and can-do-without.

Although I call out specific brands and models, this definitely isn't meant to be salesy at all.  It's really just a way for you to understand the what and why behind my lifelong quest to assemble the perfect nature, wildlife and landscape photography setup and all the gear that comes with it.

Court's Websites

• Check out my photo portfolio here: shop.courtwhelan.com
• Sign up for my photo and conservation blog at www.courtwhelan.com
• Follow me on YouTube (@courtwhelan) for more photography tips
• View my camera kit and recommended camera gear

Sponsors and Promo Codes:

• MPB.com - Buy, Sell, or Trade Camera Gear
• ArtStorefronts.com - Mention this podcast for free photo website design
• BayPhoto.com - 25% off your first order (code: TWP25) 
• ArtHelper.com - a photo community to learn, share and be inspired
• Arthelper.Ai - Smart tools to promo and showcase your art.
• LensRentals.com - WildPhoto15 for 15% off

When you're a traveling nature photographer, having a great camera bag is a must.  In this snapshot episode I talk about the components of a great camera bag and give recommendations for my favorite styles for each type of photo adventure.

Court's Websites

• Check out my photo portfolio here: shop.courtwhelan.com
• Sign up for my photo and conservation blog at www.courtwhelan.com
• Follow me on YouTube (@courtwhelan) for more photography tips
• View my camera kit and recommended camera gear

Sponsors and Promo Codes:

• MPB.com - Buy, Sell, or Trade Camera Gear
• ArtStorefronts.com - Mention this podcast for free photo website design
• BayPhoto.com - 25% off your first order (code: TWP25) 
• ArtHelper.com - a photo community to learn, share and be inspired
• Arthelper.Ai - Smart tools to promo and showcase your art.
• LensRentals.com - WildPhoto15 for 15% off

Extraordinary wildlife, stunning scenery, and a travel vibe that is just plain awesome--African safaris are the best!   Today we dive deep into all things African safari photography including gear advice, trip planning advice, as well as specific photo strategies for wildlife, sunrise, blue hour, and landscape photography (and more) in Africa.

I continue with a detailed overview of safari regions, discussing the merits and specifics of East Africa and Southern Africa photo safaris, getting down to the country level.

And finally, we discuss what a typical day looks like on the best African safaris to help you plan and prep for your extraordinary photo adventure.

Court's Websites

• Check out my photo portfolio here: shop.courtwhelan.com
• Sign up for my photo and conservation blog at www.courtwhelan.com
• Follow me on YouTube (@courtwhelan) for more photography tips
• View my camera kit and recommended camera gear

Sponsors and Promo Codes:

• MPB.com - Buy, Sell, or Trade Camera Gear
• ArtStorefronts.com - Mention this podcast for free photo website design
• BayPhoto.com - 25% off your first order (code: TWP25) 
• ArtHelper.com - a photo community to learn, share and be inspired
• Arthelper.Ai - Smart tools to promo and showcase your art.
• LensRentals.com - WildPhoto15 for 15% off

Today's digital cameras have SO many settings and modes!  This can be overwhelming, but it's actually a good thing once you understand the perfect settings for your photography.  In this episode you'll hear my go-to settings for every time I'm out in our wild world taking wildlife and landscape photos.  If you match my settings I have no doubt you can master your camera and use these perfect (and easy) settings to capture the best photos each and every time.

Court's Websites

• Check out my photo portfolio here: shop.courtwhelan.com
• Sign up for my photo and conservation blog at www.courtwhelan.com
• Follow me on YouTube (@courtwhelan) for more photography tips
• View my camera kit and recommended camera gear

Sponsors and Promo Codes:

• MPB.com - Buy, Sell, or Trade Camera Gear
• ArtStorefronts.com - Mention this podcast for free photo website design
• BayPhoto.com - 25% off your first order (code: TWP25) 
• ArtHelper.com - a photo community to learn, share and be inspired
• Arthelper.Ai - Smart tools to promo and showcase your art.
• LensRentals.com - WildPhoto15 for 15% off

When we see a pro photographer's wildlife portraiture, there is just something special about its look.  It just "looks so professional."  Want to know how this is consistently possible?

In this episode, we dive into how pro photographers use their tools and techniques to their advantage to get amazing portraiture of animals and emphasize that sensational contrast of blurred background with tack-sharp focus on the animal subject.

Court's Websites

• Check out my photo portfolio here: shop.courtwhelan.com
• Sign up for my photo and conservation blog at www.courtwhelan.com
• Follow me on YouTube (@courtwhelan) for more photography tips
• View my camera kit and recommended camera gear

Sponsors and Promo Codes:

• MPB.com - Buy, Sell, or Trade Camera Gear
• ArtStorefronts.com - Mention this podcast for free photo website design
• BayPhoto.com - 25% off your first order (code: TWP25) 
• ArtHelper.com - a photo community to learn, share and be inspired
• Arthelper.Ai - Smart tools to promo and showcase your art.
• LensRentals.com - WildPhoto15 for 15% off

Photography certainly has its fair share of fancy terms and complicated menu systems. This is even more true in this digital age.  However, bracketing is actually one of the more ancestral options within a camera menu, with roots stretching firmly back to film days.

Do you need bracketing?  What is it?  Tune in to learn all about it, the various applications, how to use it, and what are the best scenes to actually use it.

Court's Websites

• Check out my photo portfolio here: shop.courtwhelan.com
• Sign up for my photo and conservation blog at www.courtwhelan.com
• Follow me on YouTube (@courtwhelan) for more photography tips
• View my camera kit and recommended camera gear

Sponsors and Promo Codes:

• MPB.com - Buy, Sell, or Trade Camera Gear
• ArtStorefronts.com - Mention this podcast for free photo website design
• BayPhoto.com - 25% off your first order (code: TWP25) 
• ArtHelper.com - a photo community to learn, share and be inspired
• Arthelper.Ai - Smart tools to promo and showcase your art.
• LensRentals.com - WildPhoto15 for 15% off

It's one of the more frequent opportunities we have as nature photographers...to capture an awesome sunset or sunrise.  However, there is a big difference between just documenting it and capturing something extraordinary.  And for those times where these solar displays are just mind-blowing, we tend to get lost in the moment and forget the artistry involved.

I've honed these techniques and tips for years and years of photographing sunsets (and sunrises!) from all over the world and am excited to share them with you.  Some are simple...some are a bit more complex, but each will individually level-up your sunset photography.  And when used in conjunction, they come together in a grand formula for getting sensational, and unique, sunrise and sunset photos guaranteed to impress.

Court's Websites

• Check out my photo portfolio here: shop.courtwhelan.com
• Sign up for my photo and conservation blog at www.courtwhelan.com
• Follow me on YouTube (@courtwhelan) for more photography tips
• View my camera kit and recommended camera gear

Sponsors and Promo Codes:

• MPB.com - Buy, Sell, or Trade Camera Gear
• ArtStorefronts.com - Mention this podcast for free photo website design
• BayPhoto.com - 25% off your first order (code: TWP25) 
• ArtHelper.com - a photo community to learn, share and be inspired
• Arthelper.Ai - Smart tools to promo and showcase your art.
• LensRentals.com - WildPhoto15 for 15% off