Wild Dingo Siblings - I got lucky!

What I Love about this image is the silhouetted ears of the two wild dingos, always alert for danger and food.

They are both looking right at the camera - down the barrel of the lens, almost a mirror of each other except that the male dingo has a darker face. I also really like that the sand dune is partially obscuring the lower half of both dingos giving a feeling like they are floating in space.

And of course the black-and-white edit makes for a timeless and more arty feel to this image.

SETTINGS 1/10000 sec shutter speed on a 260mm lens (150-600mm) with aperture and ISO in auto. Animal autofocus using tracking mode.

STORY BEHIND THIS IMAGE:

I was back at one of my favourite wild places, close to where I live - Myall Lakes National Park.

The backstory is that I often come up to this wild place to reconnect with nature, to come and see my pack of wild dingoes who I’ve been photographing for a number of years. To walk in nature get into the ocean and regain that energy I’ve lost. Sometimes modern society drains me with the non-stop information overload and the constant conflict. If you ever feel drained and have lost your mojo then I suggest you get back into nature, slow down and see what happens… works for me 😃 

Every single morning, I'd rise before the crack of dawn, fix myself a cup of coffee swirled with cream, grab my camera, equipped with its long lens, and toss a swimming towel into the mix. My destination? The colossal sand dunes, where I'd eagerly search for those wild dingoes, returning from their nocturnal escapades.

I absolutely love exploring these sand dunes. I often find myself alone as far as the eye can see, It makes me feel like an adventurer from a bygone era, exploring uncharted territory in this vast and empty continent.

But let me tell you, those initial days had me doubting my luck. All I stumbled upon were dingo tracks in the sand, no sign of the pack I've been photographing for ages.

I came this close to giving up and going home, but something compelled me to stay one more night, hoping for my luck to change.

Later that afternoon, I ventured up onto the dunes and made my way over towards the beach. As I reached the zenith of one of the largest sand dunes I glimpsed a dark shape in the distance - a wild dingo, heading straight my way.

And guess what? Right on its tail was another dingo, dutifully following the leader. Together, they ambled toward me, finally settling at the pinnacle of the sand dune.

These two dingos are the latest offspring of Lucy - the alpha female I’ve been photographing for a number of years.

I’ve been photographing this particular pack for a good five years and managed to snap shots of four litters of pups she's birthed.

This most recent litter? A bunch of five cuties: four females and a male sporting a sleek black face—they call him Onyx. As luck would have it, right before my eyes, Onyx and his sister were engaged in the most heartwarming display of affection. These dingoes know me, my scent, because I've been around since they toddled out of their den as little fluffy pups.

As usual I was photographing with the settings I teach in my wildlife photographer lessons: Fast shutter speed using a long telephoto lens.

I had to get really low to remove the brush in the background and get those beautiful ears to silhouette against the background sky.

What did I do in post Once I had downloaded the images and chosen the best capture I cropped off part of the image and then converted this to B/W because right now my BootCamp Challenge is all about Black and White photography. Each month I create a masterclass and challenge for my photo community to teach and inspire photographers so that they go out and take action, capture their image and then post it inside Photo BootCamp Academy and get helpful feedback from me and other members.

BIG LESSON: The more often you put yourself close to wildlife the luckier you get!

I’ve been coming to this particular place and visiting these dingos dozens of times since they were born and every now and then you get lucky - close proximity, behaviour and light.

As Wildlife Photographers we expect to get THE shot but instead return disappointed with nothing. But the secret here is to keep going back and putting yourself into places where at the right time and with a little luck you get to return home with a KEEPER.

Stay inspired.

Brent

P.S. Can I ask you a favour? Please forward this email to any other photographers you know who may be interested in my Wildlife Photo of the Week newsletter.

They can subscribe using this link: https://wildlifephoto.beehiiv.com/subscribe

You’re awesome!