- I always bring a water bottle with me
and I actually use it to help moisten the salamander.
There you go buddy.
A wet salamander is a happy salamander
(upbeat drumming music)
Oh hey coyote pack.
Mario here.
As you may know, we currently have
our Brave Wilderness Adventure Kit out now.
And you know what edition it is?
The Reptiles and Amphibians edition, our favorite.
Now what's pretty cool about what's in this kit
our very first poster, check that out.
Now what's so special about this poster to me
is the fact that we've actually used
some of my images on here.
For example, a lot of the amphibian species
that you see here
like this red salamander, this glass frog
and this dumpy tree frog.
Now you might be wondering, Mario,
how do you take such cool images?
Well, it's all about technique.
So what we're gonna do today is take you out into the field
and show you how you can actually get
the same type of images.
So grab your cameras
(camera clicking)
and let's head out into the field
and take some pictures.
So I'm at one of my locations where I tend to find
a lot of amphibians.
And I've got this one spot where I think we could find
a really charismatic species to photograph.
(upbeat music)
There it is, our target species.
The spotted salamander.
Now they're fairly common in this area
and to find them all we have to do
is flip over some logs.
All right, this looks like a good log.
It's big, looks like it actually situated down
into the soil quite a bit.
And with any luck, we're gonna find our target species.
Right there, check it out, a spotted salamander.
This is a perfect spot for you buddy.
There you go.
The next step is to find a location
where we can actually set this guy up
to get some really cool shots.
Ready?
(cheerful music)
I think this might be a good spot to set up
for a little photography session.
So first step is,
gonna actually set up a little spot here
where we're actually gonna place this guy under.
Gonna keep this guy here for now.
Nice and hidden.
And this is why I actually really wanted
to find this species.
It's such an easy species to handle, it's safe.
And of course we wanna be very gentle
and be very conscious of the stress levels
of this animal.
So the fact that I could actually place it down
and cover it under some debris to make sure
it feels secure is really good.
Especially while we set up our cameras.
So I always go into the field
and have my backpack.
So this backpack, my camera backpack
has all these little compartments that has
my different photography equipment.
Of course we've got the main body and the lens.
Today we're gonna be doing macro photography.
And macro photography requires a macro lens.
Now what's special about a lens like this
is that you can actually get really close to the subject.
It's got a one to on magnification.
And that means that you can see the details really well.
And once again get really close to subjects
that are small like that salamander.
Now of course every situation is unique.
So the fact our subject matter today is not dangerous.
It's not gonna run fast,
it's not just gonna hop away
means that we can actually be very deliberate
with our set up and try to get the best shots possible.
So when working with amphibians
it's very important to make sure we keep them
nice and moist.
Make sure they're out of direct sunlight.
And I always bring a water bottle with me.
And I use this to keep my hands nice and moist,
it's very important.
And I actually use it to help moisten the salamander.
There you go buddy.
A wet salamander is a happy salamander.
So once you've got your subject
in the right spot or position
you gotta get creative with your angles.
To me it's very important to get a nice low perspective
on the species.
It all depends on the species we're working with.
For the spotted salamander it lives
in a terrestrial environment.
So I wanna get nice and low to show that perspective.
Just don't be afraid to get down and dirty.
The first shot I'm gonna get is what I call
my tight shot.
I wanna make sure I get it's face in a profile angle.
(camera clicking)
So when it comes to macro photography
the goal is to basically almost eliminate the background.
You wanna make sure the subject is in focus
and that it's the primary focus of the viewer.
Now when it comes to any shot that you're taking
of a animal,
the eyes are the focus, right?
The eyes are not in focus,
then unfortunately image is not as strong.
Let's go for the medium shot.
(camera clicking)
So I've got my tight shot, I got a medium shot
so now I'm gonna get the wider shot
which is the entire body.
This is what I kind of called the field book shot, right?
When you want to identify an animal,
wanna make sure you got the entire body in view.
So that's what I'm gonna do now.
Get my wider field book shot.
(camera click)
Macro photography, it's one of my favorite types
of photography out there.
It really gives us a close look
into the world of the small and bizarre creatures.
And I think that's really neat.
Hopefully this little photo session
inspires you to go out and get your own photos
of the wildlife that you find in your area.
A spotted salamander defintely did a great job.
I think it's time to put him back
underneath his log.
I'm Mario Delcoa.
Be brave, stay wild, we'll see you on the next adventure.
All right, thanks buddy.
You were an excellent model today, off you go.
Wildlife photography does not require
fancy or expensive gear.
You can actually produce great results
with a simple point and shoot camera.
Or even your cell phone.
And most importantly, documenting your special
wildlife encounters should always be
a fun and creative process.
If you thought the spotted salamander was interesting
make sure to go back and watch the episode
where we feature another iconic amphibian,
the Australian Green Tree Frog.
And don't forget subscribe
and click the notification bell
so you can join us on the next adventure.
(coyote howling)