Wildlife Photography with J David Andrews

Last weekend, I attended a wildlife workshop with J David Andrews. David is a published local photographer, who’s often seen in Canadian Geographic and Explore Magazine. The workshop organized through HarryNowell.com was spread over 2 days and 2 evenings. I was only able to attend the Parc Omega portion. I’ve been past Parc Omega many time, on my way to the race track at Mont Tremblant, but I’d never been into the park itself.

David had organized a late afternoon/evening visit; we were allowed to stay after close, and get out of our vehicles in normally restricted areas. Those privileges were primarily as a result of David’s experience guiding in the Canadian North and many wildlife expeditions.

Not withstanding the sub par weather, the workshop was a great opportunity to photograph gorgeous animals, that you would need many weeks of patience and travel, to experience in the wild.

One of the main learning points, was capturing the subject in a pose or composition that said ‘in the wild’. Many of the animals at Parc Omega, and any publicly accessible wildlife preserve, are conditioned to humans and have often come to expect food. So finding that moment where your subject looked more ‘wild’ than domesticated becomes the challenge.

And no one got eaten by a beaver. Or bison with laser beams for eyes.