A Black Bear inspects Stefansion’s camera trap at night in a coastal temperate rainforest, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. Stefanison had set up his camera to photograph skunks, so was amazed to see a photo of a bear staring right down the lens. It is thought the small amount of meat that Stefanison used as bait piqued the bears interest. Black bears are curious by nature — not surprisingly his trap drew this bear’s attention.

Advice from the Rising Star of Wildlife Photography

Make images in your backyard, don’t stress about equipment, and shoot for yourself not an audience.

Connor Stefanison has come a long way in a short amount of time. Adding to an already impressive rack of accolades, the 24-year-old Canadian recently won the Rising Star Portfolio category at the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) Awards organized by the Natural History Museum in London.

He goes out, he gets the shot. We thought there nobody better to get some advice on how to survive AND prosper in an industry as unforgiving as some of the terrains into which Stefanison ventures. He talks sense and is eternally thankful to the family and friends who have supported him down the years.

Here are the six winning images plus the image of which Stefanison is most proud.

Vantage: What’s the focus in your work? Subject? Process? Final product?

CS: When I first started photography, of course I had no images, so making a final product was always heavily on my mind. Now since I’ve been shooting for a while, I don’t feel very short on images, and I’m more about everything, the subject, process, and final product. The process of making an image is almost always the most rewarding part.

American dippers bring beakfuls of invertebrates to their hungry-mouthed chicks. Dippers are closely connected to the river ecosystem. Females build their nests above fast-flowing streams, high enough to be safe from flooding and predators, but low enough to stay moist by the spray. Dipper populations are therefore particularly vulnerable to pollution.

Vantage: How do you disseminate your work? And what do you hope to achieve with it?

CS: The main way I publicize my work is with social media — Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and Instagram quite often. Using social media has led to editorial sales. In the coming years, I hope to photograph more stories, and have the images raise awareness for and help the subjects in those images.

This raven was there to scavenge hikers food scraps. After half-an-hour of observing them, one landed in the perfect spot for Stefanison to capture the frame. Ravens steal from one another as well as from humans. They can remember where they have seen other ravens hide food or who saw them when they accessed their own stores.

Vantage: What was your reaction to the Rising Star Portfolio WPY award?

CS: It’s a huge honour, especially with so many people entering. Winning a WPY award for the first time in 2013 was more than enough, so now winning twice is incredible.

Vantage: What might the award lead to?

CS: The awards ceremony leads to meeting many industry connections and great new friends around the world. Although photography is thought of as an individual pursuit, we all help each other out in different ways. The award is also great publicity. After winning in 2013, I had a large increase in print, editorial and workshop sales.

The night was so dark that framing the mountain goats was sheer guesswork, but Stefanison wouldn’t have swapped the clear, starry conditions for anything else. Stefanison camped for three days, to allow the goats to get used to his presence. At one point one goat bumped into Stefanison as he lay on the ground photographing another.

Vantage: Are there any animals or ecologies you really want to photograph?

CS: Like any wildlife photographer, I’m eager to photograph almost everything. I’d very much like to travel up north and photograph arctic wildlife. I also wish to photograph marine life underwater off the coast of British Columbia.

Overall though, I’m most interested in the wildlife that there is to photograph in British Columbia, rather than the exotic species.

The geothermal pools of Yellowstone National Park are heated to a scalding 73˚C by a vast magma chamber, just a few kilometers below the surface. Each year the mineral rich waters deposit two tonnes of calcium carbonate on the park’s constantly growing and multi-coloured terraces of sedimentary rock.

Vantage: Which is your proudest image and why?

CS: One image that I’m very proud of is this image of a Common Loon on her nest (below). This is an image that I always wanted to make, but I never thought I would find a loon that would be tolerant enough! I was extremely lucky to find this loon.

She was more tolerant than I could have ever imagined, and I was able to spend a few days with her, without her abandoning the nest or showing signs of stress. I’ve also been able to photograph her in later years and she acted the same. Unforgettable.

On the nest, great northern divers can be nervous, so Stefanison waded into the lake closer every day, increasing this female’s trust. On one visit she even laid a second egg. ‘I spent a few days waiting for the right light and earning more trust.’ Connor wanted to capture the intimacy of the nest in the lake setting, so used a wide-angle, with his camera (camouflaged) on remote.

Vantage: Any advice for young wildlife/nature photographers?

CS: My three main pieces of advice for young photographers is to shoot locally, worry about composition rather than equipment, and to shoot for yourself rather than your audience.

Local subjects are the easiest to access, and you’ll be able to spend more time with them. This will hopefully result in strong images. Composition is the most important aspect of photography. Without a good composition, your image is likely unappealing to the viewer. Don’t immediately get too caught up with sharpness and achieving pro-level image quality.

Shooting for yourself is the best way to achieve great images, because you’ll be shooting subjects that interest you. This will of course motivate you shoot to the best of your abilities and make great images.

Unlike most terns, which feed solely on marine fish and occupy coastal habitats, black terns feast on terrestrial insects during the breeding season from May to July. They then migrate back to the coast, where they feed on small fish.

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

If you enjoyed reading this, please click “Recommend” below.
This will help to share the story with others.