In contrast to big animals, with small creatures you must get much nearer to get a full frame image. Frequently you’ve got to sit in blinds for hours, often days, with a long lens and wait till the animal is close enough to get a photo. Not so on the island of Madagascar, off the southern African coast. This large island is home to some of the planet's most endangered wildlife, many of them small to downright tiny. One of the finest paths to shoot tiny animals there is by going on one of several Madagascar tours which visit some of the best places to shoot with a leader who knows the subjects.

In Madagascar it is comparatively straightforward to shoot animals because lots of the animals, like the chameleons, don’t move very fast and are almost tame. The fun thing about photographing chameleons is that they come in different colours and sizes. For some you want a macro lens because they’re the size of your thumb, for others a short zoom lens will do. I love to find some grasshoppers and place them within about 3 feet of the chameleon. The chameleon slowly moves closer and when inside striking distance, the tongue shoots out and catches the grasshopper. To capture this, you’ve got to set your camera on continuous photographing and use the speediest shutter speed or flash.

The lemurs are rather more challenging! They regularly speed through the trees, jumping from branch to branch. I watch the groups carefully and go in the direction they’re moving. I look for a couple of trees that are a little apart so that the lemurs must jump thru the air to get to the other tree. This is excellent for photography: the first animal jumps and you can watch what occurs and get ready for an ideal shot when the remainder of the lemurs follow. One at a time the lemurs will use more or less the same path and over the next few minutes you can capture the same action.

On the ground, you can get near to the lemurs. Moving extraordinarily slowly, avoiding sudden movements, I have been able to get about within the reach of them. With a 70-200mm zoom, everybody can get good lemur photographs.

Birds are always more difficult to shoot. Luckily , some of the lodges put out food to attract them and get them out into the open. With a lot of patience and a longer lens like a 400 or 500mm, you will be able to get some good pictures.

For me, Madagascar is an extraordinary place to visit. You’ve got everything from fascinating locals and landscapes to entrancing wildlife. Often the tinier animals are overlooked. Many of them are prey and have to hide or come out at night, for example the Glass frogs. I always try to find a Leaf-tailed gecko. This lizard has such a great camouflage it’s fun to photograph. Regularly viewers of the images can’t even find the gecko!

Good luck with your shoot and remember: When you are photographing wild animals — wherever you are , — remember the tiny blokes!

John Randall is a 1 leader of adventure travel. Read more detailed info about Madagascar as a photography destination in this Photographing Madagascar Tour.

Tags: Adventure Holiday

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