{"id":28356,"date":"2023-06-01T15:29:22","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T13:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=28356"},"modified":"2023-06-01T18:29:08","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T16:29:08","slug":"snap-chat-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/2023\/06\/01\/snap-chat-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Snap-chat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
WITH BBC WILDLIFE <\/em>PICTURE EDITOR TOM GILKS <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Christine Sonvilla on troublesome flies and sociable musk oxen <\/h4>\n\n
\"\"
Christine shares her adventures in photography <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

How did you get into wildlife photography? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

I\u2019d always wanted to be a marine scientist, but realised that visual storytelling suited me better. I then met my partner in life and work, Marc, a photographer \u2013 I was hooked. <\/p>\n\n

What\u2019s your second-choice career? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

A time-travelling marine biologist. I would have loved to explore the oceans around the time of Austrian diving pioneer Hans Hass. <\/p>\n\n

Which shot is most important to you? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

A camera-trap image of a European wildcat in the Wachau, Austria. It was the first high-resolution photo since the species\u2019 reappearance in the country. <\/p>\n\n

Has anything ever tried to eat you? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Yes. I was lying on the sand in a bikini to photograph fiddler crabs on Marco Island, Florida, and I forgot about the \u2018no-see-ums\u2019. My entire body itched for a week. <\/p>\n\n

Have you had any exciting encounters? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Once, photographing a group of musk oxen in Norway, I was so immersed in the changing light conditions that I didn\u2019t see another group approaching. By the time I did, retreating was not an option, so I had to crouch behind my tripod. Two stopped metres away and started chewing on dwarf willow. It was exciting but terrifying. <\/p>\n\n

Have you lost any gear to wildlife? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

We once set a camera trap on a forest road used by bears at night. In the morning we found it 10 metres away in a bush. One bear clearly didn\u2019t want to be photographed. <\/p>\n\n

Of the carnivores you\u2019ve photographed, which has been most challenging? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Wolves! We spent a year negotiating permission to document the pack that had colonised an Austrian army base, but were turned down. So, we tried to photograph those on the German-Polish border instead. After three trips, each lasting a couple of weeks, we finally managed a few wolf shots. <\/p>\n\n

Any advice for budding photographers? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Don\u2019t take no for an answer. In my experience there\u2019s always a way! <\/p>\n\n

Christine is a photographer from Austria. See her work at sonvilla-graf.com<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n
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Create a buzz <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How to improve your insect photography<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

With so many insects on the wing this month, it\u2019s a great time to practice your macro photography skills. We asked wildlife photographer and photography tutor Ross Hoddinott for his top tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 CONSIDER YOUR BACKGROUND <\/strong><\/strong>\u201cWhat you exclude from your image is often as important as what you actually feature. Always make sure to keep an eye on the background \u2013 amessy, cluttered or distracting backdrop will draw the viewer\u2019s eye away from the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 MANIPULATE LIGHT<\/strong><\/strong> \u201cIf you are centimetres from your subject, flash can prove impractical, harsh or unnatural. Where possible, use reflected light. Employ a small reflector (or card covered in tin foil) to bounce light onto your subject.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 THINK ABOUT CONTEXT <\/strong><\/strong>\u201cIt can be tempting to fill the entire frame with your subject, but placing it in context with its natural surroundings will often create a stronger, more aesthetically pleasing image.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From badgers to bluebells, find lots of advice at discoverwildlife. com\/how-to\/photograph-wildlife<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

BEETLE: GETTY<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With BBC Wildlife editor Tom Gilks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":28355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"103","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"103","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_103-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_103-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"June-2023","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"June-2023","purple_external_id":"June-2023-103-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"June-2023-103-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000087245||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000087245||","purple_android_product":"com.im.wildlife.505","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.wildlife.505","purple_ios_product":"com.im.wildlife.505","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.wildlife.505","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"58d61955-0ac4-406c-83f1-ab6f21d86b70","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-05-30T10:24:57Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"16cb6559-b336-44bc-8ce2-9c0bf77b3c7c","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-06-01T13:55:42Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AFstlWbM2RLyM4pwL93s8fA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[29],"tags":[14],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/05\/4ae6e7e3-349c-4636-984e-c2c2c4e1c0df.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/05\/4ae6e7e3-349c-4636-984e-c2c2c4e1c0df.jpg",1430,1051,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/05\/4ae6e7e3-349c-4636-984e-c2c2c4e1c0df-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/05\/4ae6e7e3-349c-4636-984e-c2c2c4e1c0df-300x220.jpg",300,220,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/05\/4ae6e7e3-349c-4636-984e-c2c2c4e1c0df-768x564.jpg",768,564,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/05\/4ae6e7e3-349c-4636-984e-c2c2c4e1c0df-1024x753.jpg",800,588,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/05\/4ae6e7e3-349c-4636-984e-c2c2c4e1c0df.jpg",1430,1051,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/05\/4ae6e7e3-349c-4636-984e-c2c2c4e1c0df.jpg",1430,1051,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"With BBC Wildlife editor Tom Gilks.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28356"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29830,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28356\/revisions\/29830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}