Wildlife Through the Lens with Karim Iliya
This past week I got to talk with Karim Iliya, a Hawaii-based wildlife photographer and documentarian, about his work. Karim and I have worked on several projects together over the past few years, taking us to Greenland, North Korea, Iceland, and Far Eastern Russia’s remote subarctic regions in search of reindeer herders.
Karim is an outstanding photographer, filmmaker, drone pilot and underwater photographer, so I wanted to learn more about his motivations and techniques when it comes to photographing and filming animals in the wild.
Vava’u, Tonga. A newborn humpback whale, still very light in colour, swims curiously at the surface of the water off the coast of the Vava’u Islands, Tonga. This image was featured in a full two-page spread in National Geographic Magazine. Karim Iliya.
Why do you do what you do?
There are a few reasons why I do photography and filmmaking. One is that I love it. I love seeing the beauty of the world, documenting it, and sharing it with other people.
I know that most people don't have the opportunity to see much of the world and they're restricted to their own home area. If I can bring the world into people's homes and show them far distant places— wildlife, nature, other cultures, landscapes, they can appreciate these things and see some more of the world in a way that they hadn't previously.
I think that inspires people to start caring about the planet, our resources, and the animals that live in it. They can make changes in their life to keep this place as good as it was when we got here, and maybe even make it better.
This was not initially my goal or my mission when I first started doing photography. However, as the world changes and it becomes more apparent that we are having problems with climate change and losing ecosystems and animals this has become something very important to me.
But the initial thing that drew me to photographing the world is just beauty and seeing all these strange animals-- animals that can fly, and swim, and do all sorts of highly specialized things. This includes animals that can hunt underwater, birds that can swim, whales jumping out of the water and fighting against each other for mates, volcanoes with lava and to just see melted rock spill across the planet.
So that is why I do it— it’s to share the beauty of our planet and to try and protect the places that we love.
Arenal, Costa Rica. The above images show beautiful close-up images of lizards. A macro lens is needed in order to capture these kinds of close up shots, along with a very open aperture, hence the bokeh background. The focus must be precise and the shutter speed fast enough to capture the subjects clearly. Karim Iliya.
How did you get started with documenting wildlife?
Well, I first started taking photos around the age of 13. One of the things I was photographing were little lizards. I wasn't doing much wildlife photography at first because I didn't have a telephoto lens— one that I could use to photograph animals up close— and so it really took a while. It wasn't until I was about four or five years in that I finally got a telephoto lens.
So how did I start? It was probably with lizards. I would see one, or see another small animal, and I would try and get on its level to see what it looked like from that animal's perspective, rather than as a human standing above and looking down. I wanted to see and imagine what it was like in their world. I would get close to an animal and I would look at its environment.
I was doing this before I started taking photos. This curiosity of what it would be like to be in that animal's world then translated into photography and bringing the camera down with me.
From there, I became interested in photographing other animals and it was really a matter of opportunity— whenever I would see an animal I would try and take photos of it. Eventually, that led to seeking out animal encounters so that I could photograph them.
Siem Reap, Cambodia. A close up of a captive Asian elephant resting its tired eyes while working in Cambodia. Karim Iliya.
What are the two greatest lessons you've learned while doing this work?
There are a lot of lessons that I've learned while photographing and filming the world.
Two of the most important lessons I've learned is that animals, plants and nature have just as much of a right to be where they are as we humans do and that we often put our own desires first.
Whether that's for land, roads, resources, or food, we don't even think about how that will impact the animals. We often go ahead before we know how our actions will affect our ecosystems.
This has led to the second lesson— understanding how delicate the balance of nature is. We humans are quite versatile, and not particularly adept at any one specific ecosystem; this is to say we are very adaptable.
As a result, sometimes we forget that animals are so highly specialized in hunting one type of creature or living in one ecosystem. Our actions can very easily disrupt them. It is important to maintain a balance and to understand this balance as well as we can before we extract resources and change the landscape.
It is very hard once lost or changed to get ecosystems back to how they once were. And that, I guess, has led to a third lesson, which is when left to its own devices, how resilient nature is and how quickly it can bounce back if we just give it a break.
My hope is that we can try and do a better job managing our relationship with nature so that we are not so imposing and do not drive other species to extinction.
Another personal lesson that I've learned from this is how the idea of completely learning something or mastering something is nearly impossible. The more you learn and the more you see, the more expansive you realize the world is— the more there is to learn and the more there is to see.
For example, the idea of photography and capturing light, it's endless. We have light almost everywhere, and the idea that I will completely learn how to take photos, videos or master photography is a ridiculous idea. I see that I could pursue many lifetimes doing this, and I would still have much to learn. The more time I spend doing it, the more I realize there is to learn.
Masai Mara, Kenya. A female lion rests in the grass in Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve. This image was taken with a relatively open aperture, as the bokeh behind the lion provides a nice focus on the subject. Karim Iliya.
If you could share something you care deeply about with others, what would you say?
I would say that if you can, and you have the opportunity to do so, you should pursue the thing you really care about with your life.
I understand that not everybody has this opportunity and it's already a privileged situation to be in— to be able to freely make choices with what you want to do and pursue in your life. But if you do have that opportunity, then you should take it, because as far as we know this is the only life that we get.
Let’s get real about it though. Throughout life, there are always things that you have to do. There is work. But if you put yourself on the path of doing the things that you love, then the rewards from it, the fulfillment you feel, is beyond anything else that I can describe.
If you choose to pursue something that you are passionate about, you will get better at the craft you take up because you will become more passionate about it. You will put more time in and eventually you will become good enough that people will pay you to do it. That will further invigorate you and have you push towards your goals even more. While it may not be as financially successful or take you in the same direction as a more traditional path of life, it is certainly fulfilling to do the things that you want to do.
Not everybody can do that. Some people are interested in a more traditional path, but whether it be photography, or gardening, or science, if you have the opportunity to, then I think you won't regret going forward with that path in life.
Moorea, French Polynesia. Three adult humpback whales play with a free diver off the coast of Moorea, French Polynesia. This image was taken with a wide angle lens underwater with a relatively small aperture, as to keep all the subjects in focus. Some ISO must be sacrificed in order to capture this image, as it also required a relatively fast shutter speed of at least 1/250 to account for the movement of the subjects and the ocean current. This adds more grain to the image; however, this can be improved in post processing. Karim Iliya.
Vava’u, Tonga. These photos capture moments of tenderness between a humpback mother and her baby. Humpbacks tend to migrate to warm, calm, shallow waters in order to give birth and find mates, such is the case in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans from July to November. Karim Iliya
What is the most magical moment you’ve experienced while documenting the planet?
This is a difficult one. There have been a few; two things come to mind.
Definitely swimming with humpback whales— coming face to face with them, or any whales for that matter. I've had a few moments when swimming alone with a baby humpback whale, one where I was playing with it, photographing it, and at one point I turned my whole body upside down, and so the entire world was flipped for me, and this baby whale also turned itself upside down.
We stayed there looking at each other, arms distance apart for 20 or 30 seconds. I was holding my breath with my entire body upside down looking at the baby whale and we were positioned in the same orientation, but the rest of the world was flipped.
This was such a special moment where I felt I was completely alone in the world with this baby whale.
Another moment I had was free diving with a mother blue whale and her calf. They both turned their body about 90 degrees, a quarter barrel roll, to look up at us. I thought: ‘this is the biggest animal that's ever lived on earth and here it is looking at me as if I'm this creature that it's never seen.
Top left image: A waterfall of molten lava spews out into the pacific ocean from the coast of the Big Island, Hawaii. To capture this kind of image a very fast shutter speed is required to “freeze” the lava as it falls from the waterfall into the sea.
Top right image: Lava rolls down the slopes of an active volcano in Guatemala. This image is a long exposure and requires a tripod and an open aperture, as the stars are visible in the background.
Another experience that comes to mind is watching a volcano explode— hearing the sound and realizing the power of it and seeing how volcanoes helped build our atmosphere and the islands and the land that we live on, such as the islands of Hawaii.
Seeing melted rock thrown across the landscape, chunks of lava the size of vehicles flying through the sky, was quite a powerful experience.”
Baja California, Mexico. Two orcas swim by in an unexpected encounter off the coast of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. This underwater image was taken with a wide-angle lens with a relatively small aperture to ensure focus. Karim Iliya.
Maui, Hawaii. A clownfish finds comfort and protection nestled in a sea anemone. This is a prime example of macro underwater photography, which requires a lot of patience and persistence. Karim Iliya.
What camera settings do you use when photographing animals?
There are no clear cut camera settings to use for wildlife. The main idea is to understand how your camera works, and how cameras work in general so that you can adjust.
Now, I make sure that for me, the most important thing is that my shutter speed is fast enough because if it's not, my image will be blurry. There are other things you can do to balance your photo to make sure that there is enough light, such as change the aperture or the ISO— which though is not a technically correct description of it. I like to think about it as artificial light sensitivity.
But for settings, you mainly want to make sure that your shutter speed is fast enough. Some typical examples— if you are photographing a scene handheld and nothing is moving, usually 1/125 would be the minimum shutter speed that would eliminate most people's micro-vibrations caused by their hands shaking.
If you are photographing something like a turtle, then you might need a faster shutter speed, such as 1/250. If you're photographing something like a whale, you may need 1/500. If you are photographing birds that are flying fast in the sky, you may need a much faster 1/1000 of a second or 1/2000 of a second. You have to take into account the animal’s movement and consider if your shutter speed is fast enough based on how fast the animal is moving.
Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Two pandas play at a Panda Reserve in Sichuan, China. Karim Iliya.
What are the top three things to keep in mind when documenting wildlife?
One, try not to disturb the animals and nature. Try to be as “un-invasive” as possible and blend into the scene. However, with large predators, also make sure that the animal is aware that you are there. You don't want to surprise it as this can be dangerous.
Secondly, to position yourself to get eye level with animals is generally a rule I go by in order to immerse myself in the animal's world. It’s important to not change the animal's behavior, and try and show it as it behaves naturally. While I usually try to shoot at eye level, there are times where an aerial perspective, low angle, or a high angle works better compositionally.
Other than my cat, I try not to move animals around or change their behavior. I don't like situations where the animals are baited. The ideal scenario is to capture the animal in its natural behavior and environment.
If there is a scenario where you are photographing a captive animal or baited animal, then I think it's very important to be honest about that and let the viewers know.
The third important thing for photographing wildlife is having good light.
As with any type of photography, your lighting is everything. Seeing an amazing thing in harsh midday sunlight or terrible light is not going to have the same impact as a simple photo of an animal doing nothing in beautiful light. So when you can, try and spend as much time in those moments of good light-- early mornings and late afternoons.
Patience is very important when it comes to photographing wildlife. The more patient you are, the more time you spend putting yourself in situations, the more likely you are to have a great encounter.
Adaption also is very important because with wildlife, you cannot pose the animal. You cannot change very much. You have to work with what you have. So the ability to adapt to the scene in this scenario is quite important.
Sonora, Mexico. A birds eye view of the vast desert sands. Karim Iliya.
What camera settings do you use when photographing landscapes?
There are a couple of ways to do landscape, but typically landscapes don't move. With landscape photography, people often like to try and get everything sharp from front to back, so having a small aperture, which means a small hole to let the light in (larger f-stop number), will do that.
Using a tripod may even be helpful. While a tripod might slow you down as far as the amount you're shooting and what you have to carry, it will enable you to shoot slower shutter speeds with a lower ISO so you get clear photos that have more dynamic range.
With landscapes, if there's enough light, I'll shoot a fast shutter speed, but if it requires me to be on a tripod and to do slower shutter speeds that are not fast enough for handheld photography, then that's what I'll do. You want to ideally keep your ISO as low as possible without sacrificing your ability to shoot fast photos.
Mole, Ghana. A birds-eye view of a herd of African elephants bathing in a lake in central Ghana. Photo taken with a DJI Phantom 4 aerial photography drone. Karim Iliya.
Can you offer any pointers for using drones to document wildlife?
I would say be very wary and very, very careful when photographing wildlife with drones because wildlife is sensitive. Some animals, including many mammals, can associate drones with the sound of bees and become very agitated, scared, and run away. This action may potentially disturb their feeding or their mating, and increase their risk of injury.
It's very important to be careful when photographing animals with a drone. I would say be as confident and practice as much as you can with the drone before trying to photograph wildlife. Be as knowledgeable as you can about the animal that you are photographing. Ideally, use a drone that has a zoom lens on it so you can photograph or film closer without bringing the drone very close to the animal. The DJI Mavic Zoom, for example, is one of those drones that allow you to zoom in.
The most important thing of all is to move very slowly. Don't get too close; slowly let the animals get used to your presence. With the drone, abrupt movements are going to scare and disturb them much more than very gentle, slow movements where a drone approaches gradually.
I have spent 20 minutes at times bringing the drone closer to an animal before I even film and photograph to make sure the animal has felt comfortable, that I haven't invaded its space, and all the while watching to see that the animal isn't changing its behavior.
If it does, then I back off and stop. In that way, I've spent almost an entire battery just to get the drone slowly closer to an animal, with only one or two minutes of battery life left to take photos. It is very important to minimize the disturbance to the animals. I have not always been perfect at this, but I try my best to evaluate in advance if it can be done with minimal disturbance. Even then, drones are loud and noisy, and it's hard not to disturb them. Be willing to set aside your ego and give up the shot.
Karim Iliya
Karim lives a nomadic life and travels the globe with a focus on photographing and filming wildlife and marine environments using free diving, underwater cameras, and quadcopter drones. Karim’s passion is in documenting threatened animals in an effort to help protect our delicate ecosystems. His work has been featured in publications all over the world, including NatGeo. Follow him at @karimiliya.
