I’ve had some magical wildlife experiences in my life: humpbacks in Hawaii, brown bears in Alaska, polar bears in Churchill, but one experience, high in the Washington state alpine, sticks with me.
Mountain Goats in the North Cascades.
Two friends and I were on an overnight backpacking trip in North Cascades National Park. After a magical sunrise, we started packing up. Then, seemingly to appear out of nowhere, a half dozen mountain goats joined the party.
We immediately stopped what we were doing and grabbed our cameras.
One by one, they streamed into view. I had seen mountain goats before. But never in a place like this. And never with them standing in such a photogenic location.
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The goats, with towering, jagged peaks behind them, meandered around; unbeknownst to them, they were the stars of the show.
As they mulled around Sahale Glacier Camp, thousands of feet above the valley floor, we respectfully tracked them. At one point, they caught us off guard, coming within 15 feet of our campsite and bags. A tense staring contest created some remarkable images before they wandered off, looking to startle the next unsuspecting group.
Enjoy these photos of Mountain Goats in North Cascades National Park
Wildlife Photography Tips
Whenever you photograph wildlife, the goal is to capture a crisp shot. This means having a fast shutter speed and good autofocus. It’s better to land a clear shot with grain than to keep your ISO low and end up with a blurry photo because you slowed your shutter too much.
Now, in this case, for mountain goats, they don’t move too quickly, so you don’t need a shutter speed of 1/2000, for example. You can probably get away with 1/500, especially if you’re only using a 70-200 lens like I was.
The point is, don’t be afraid to bump your ISO to 500-1000 to get a good photo, and then fix it in post.
Next, try to find unique angles to photograph animals. Low and shooting up is always great, as well as getting the animal mid-step with a foot/hoof slightly in the air.
Finding small, unique moments that set you apart (like a tongue out) will make the viewer take a longer look at your image.