Wood turns his lens on wildlife
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Once there, things can get a lot easier, if you happen to be interested in shooting landscapes. You just find a majestic mountain, lake or stream, set up your camera and tripod and fire away.
But if you decide to photograph the fascinating and beautiful creatures that wander through this wilderness, get ready to deal with some subjects that aren?t quite so ready to cooperate. Most nature photographers will tell you good wildlife photography depends on luck as much as skill. That once-in-a-lifetime shot is usually just that, once in a lifetime.
Just ask local resident Tom Wood, whose vivid and detailed wildlife and nature photographs are rapidly making a name for him in the region. It doesn?t hurt that Wood knows his subjects well. His interest in photographing animals in their natural habitat isn?t that surprising, since he has made a career out of wildlife management.
Wood, the husband of WCMS principal Betty Wood, currently works as a Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency assistant supervisor, so his concern and affection for the natural world and its creatures comes, well, naturally to him. Add to this a decidedly creative bent, and it becomes obvious why the urge to preserve the world he knows so well in photographs was probably inevitable. Still, Wood says he didn?t really come into his own as a photographer until a few years ago.
?Like everyone else I?ve had a camera all my adult life,? Wood said. ?But I had not really taken it seriously until maybe the last six years or so. That?s when I started really getting into it.?
At that point, Wood was in his mid-40s and found himself more and more drawn to document the natural world he had loved since he was a child.
?I?ve had an interest in wildlife all my life,? Wood said.
Though he has a great respect for wildlife, Wood also enjoys hunting, which he says has it?s place in wildlife management, listing its effect on controlling the deer population as an example. His interest in hunting has led him to travel extensively, even out of the country, in pursuit of that activity, with photography only a secondary interest at first.
?I always took a camera along on trips,? Wood said. ?And then I started taking the camera out just for the sole purpose of shooting wildlife.?
But as his interest in photography grew, he quickly began to see he had some limitations that made it difficult to create the images he saw in his mind?s eye.
?I realized I didn?t have the knowledge, or the equipment, to really get good photos,? Wood said.
One of the first things he did to improve his work was seek out advice from experts.
?I started getting a little more serious about it,? Wood said, ?and then I ran into a guy named Byron Jorjorian. He?s a professional nature photographer who lives in Thompson Station, over near Columbia. He has helped me tremendously.?
Jorjorian, who is a talented painter as well as a photographer, encouraged Wood, who had begun attending the artist?s nature photography workshops in an effort to improve his skills.
?I?ve been to several workshops and training sessions with him,? Wood said. ?I?ve been to the Everglades, Okefenokee and all over with him. He has taught me a lot.?
Wood has attended workshops with a number of other professional nature photographers as well, and highly recommends it to anyone who is serious about photography.
Along the way, Wood moved from film photography to digital imaging, obtaining some pretty serious equipment as he progressed, including a much-loved 12-megapixel Canon 5D SLR with an image-stabilized telephoto lens, which makes up his current setup. Wood says going digital has made a major difference in his photography, especially in the area of cost. With slide film he was averaging around $1 per shot after bracketing exposures, which was getting expensive.
?Digital gives you the freedom of taking lots of photographs,? Wood said. ?Then you can just delete the ones you don?t like and it doesn?t cost you anything.?
And with programs like Photoshop, Wood was able to overcome some other obstacles.
?That?s another thing about digital. Not only does it allow you to experiment and take more shots,? Wood said, ?you have complete control over those images, from their inception in the camera all the way through to a print. Of course that?s a whole other learning curve,? he added with a grin.
Of course, true to form, Wood began taking classes in Photoshop as well.
But all the work and training has been worth it, Wood says, especially since he has begun getting some recognition for his work. He has already had some photographs published in wildlife calendars and magazines like Tennessee Conservationist and Tennessee Wildlife. His work is also on display locally at Highland Rim Music on Main Street, and at the Perfect Light Gallery in Pikeville. In addition, he has been successful in a variety of competitions. As a result, Wood says he plans to continue with his photography and see where it takes him.
?I?m looking to take it a step further,? he says. ?I?d like to do that. I mean, who knows where it will go from here.?