New to Wildlife photography

[Vijay Karthik]

Hi all,
I have been staying in Germany for the past 3 years. I am interested in going for a vacation trip within Europe for wildlife phottography. I have been taking pictures of nature as well as landscapes using my Nikon D5200 18-55mm. I am currently interested in exploring myself in the field of wildlife photography. Please suggest me some places within Europe where I could take good wildlife photographs. Also it would be helpful, if you suggest me what type of lenses and other accessories I need for this kind of photography, when I am going on a week vacation trip. Help is appreciated.

 

[zombiesniper]

Welcome to TPF.

Wildlife photography eh? Don't like money much do you? lol.
Seriously though I am from Canada so I can't direct you to a good European spot but do check out the link below.

Sign In E-Bird, you do not have to sign in to use it.

Ebird offers a couple of ways to explore potential areas for wildlife.

Explore a Region offers Recent sightings, checklists, birding activity, best hotspots, and top birders for a county, state, province, or country.

Explore Hotspots displays birding hotspots nearby or around the world.

Species Map Explore interactive range maps by species or subspecies — zoom in for details

If you have an area that you wish to visit I would suggest using the Hot Spot map.
If you have a specific bird in mind then I would use the Species Map.

Sorry I can't help more with animals or specific locations but maybe someone else may be able to.

 

[john.margetts]

I live in England and it is almost impossible to avoid wildlife in general. But 'wildlife' covers a multitude of sins! Countryside is better than town most of the time and patience is more important than where.

Lenses: I use a 70-300 mm lens for insects and a 150-600 mm lens for birds.

 

[BrentC]

I am sure Germany have lots of conservation areas, that would be best bet.

 

[Vijay Karthik]

@BrentC,
But I think conservation areas won't provide a good feel for wildlife photography. I need a place where I could feel like I could do some wildlife photography. A feeling that could be obtained when you see animals (more precisely calmness)

 

[goooner]

Having lived in Germany for close on 15 years it is not that easy. Touring an area for a week will be difficult as you need to know the area where you are shooting well. You need to know which time of day to go, where the best spots are, get the animals in the area used to your presence etc. Most of my wildlife photography is done in our garden, and/or local parks or lakes.

Wooded areas are nice, but quite dark, for taking good shots. There are some wonderful places in the border area between Poland and the Ukraine which I would love to visit sometime.
Carpathian Mountains - Wikipedia
On the gear, I use my 70-200/2.8 in wooded low light areas, and my 150-600 Tamron when I have enough light.

 

[birdbonkers84]

Welcome to the forums,

Come to Scotland, we have tonnes of great places to visit, RSPB Troup Head, RSPB Fowlsheugh, Montrose Basin Nature Reserve, The Cairngorms National Park, Loch Lomand Nature Reserve, Isle of May, Bass Rock to name a few.

You could try picking up the Nikon 55-300mm lens, or if you have the money go for one of the bigger budget telephoto lens such as Sigma or Tamron 150-600mm.