Al Hoffacker braves Florida's estuaries and ecosystems with his Tamron SP 150-600 VC lens.

By Jenn Gidman
Images by Al Hoffacker

When Al Hoffacker retired a few years ago from 30-plus years as a wildlife and marine scientist, wildlife photography seemed the natural transition. "I got a point-and-shoot camera in late 2012, then moved up to a DSLR in the middle of 2013," he says. "But my photography really changed when I received the Tamron SP 150-600mm VC lens last August. From my very first images, I was amazed at the clarity of this lens and how well it performed. The Vibration Compensation (VC) feature is especially valuable to me, because I'm often heading out on several-mile hikes and don't want to bring a tripod along—it just gets in the way. The VC helps me get rid of camera shake and capture wildlife images with sharp detail every time I'm out there."

To take the kind of wildlife photos Al takes—which often involve him wading deep into the remotest part of the Florida Everglades, South Florida's estuaries, pinelands, or saltwater marshes—you have to want it, he says. "You spend a lot of time waist-deep in water and bugs, sitting in muddy blinds," he says. "Case in point, a few weeks ago I took a photo of a whitetail fawn and mother deer that I had been tracking for a few days from a palmetto ground blind I had recently built along a game trail in Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest."

Al stresses safety for wildlife photographers who seek creative vantage points, but he says he'll cautiously climb 20 feet up a tree if he thinks he'll get the perfect perspective. "I have a special adjustable holster that goes on one shoulder and hangs below one of my arms," he explains. "That allows the camera to slide up and down on one side while I'm climbing."

Growing up in South Florida, Al is an expert at reading the wildlife around him to know when a bird or animal is up for a photo—and when he's better off taking a raincheck. "You have to get within their boundaries until they trust you," he says. "I approach them very calmly, and I never, ever look at them in the beginning."

From there, it's a slow, steady crawl forward. "I'm usually in shallow water for many of these photos, so I'll turn sideways, hold the lens up to my chest, and do a butt-slide along the mud," he explains. "I'll often get within 80 feet or so, and if they appear to become skittish—especially the birds—I'll stop, turn my back to them, and wait five minutes or so before I continue. Some days I'll have to stop at that point and come back the next day. But the beauty of wildlife photography is that wildlife will recognize you over time, so after a few days, they'll be more comfortable, and I'm able to get within 15 feet of them and capture some amazing photos."

Al is always appropriately cautious, but he's found that the respectful distance and presence he offers his subjects is typically mutual. "One of my favorite images of a gator was taken wading in the Everglades at sundown, right in the heart of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge," he says. "This was about a 9-foot gator, and we were about 6 miles from the closest public road, so I guess I should have been the one shaking, but she was probably more scared of me than I was of her. After I took the photo, she bolted back in to her cypress dome refuge for the evening."

For his favorite type of wildlife photo, however, Al simply needs to be on the ground and peering skyward. "I love the clean background of a blue sky combined with the magnificent action of a bird in flight," he says. "It was the hardest photographic technique I've had to learn yet, but it's also the one I wanted to learn the most, so I just kept at it until I figured out how to anticipate their movements and track them. That's another thing about the 150-600 that's so valuable—the autofocus is extremely quick, so my images are always sharp and detailed."

Although Al admits he's still trying to master his lighting techniques, every day that he heads out into the cypress swamps or mangrove forests offers him new challenges. "Unless I get a really good down-sun shot, for instance, I still have to practice getting the sun off my back," he says. "That's why so many of my images are still head-on photos. But I'm experimenting. For instance, I've learned to switch the Picture Control setting on my camera to Neutral when it's really bright outside, which cuts down some of the glare."

He shoots in RAW, opts not to use filters, and doesn't do any post-processing manipulation other than a bit of sharpening or other minor enhancements. "I'm in these natural environments, so I like my images to be as natural as possible, too," he explains. "I try to get everything in-camera, and the 150-600 helps me keep those images as true to what I originally saw as possible. My camera has an Active D-Lighting feature that fills in the shadows, darkens the brights, and creates more of a balance in more high-contrast images."

Al is simply grateful he's found his calling. "I'm blessed to have found photography," he says. "To go out and share the beauty that's been created for us has been wonderful. Even if just one person out of every 10 sees my work and appreciates it, I'm glad to share what I experienced through my photos."

For photographers who want to branch out into wildlife photography, Al offers one piece of advice. "Get out there, and don't be afraid to get dirty, even if it means you end up knee-deep in a marsh," he says. "Click away as often as you can. There's not a good photographer out there who hasn't worn out a shutter."

To see more of Al Hoffacker's work, go to www.half-crackerphoto.com.