Shooting with Canon macro lenses: the wildlife photography of Christian Ziegler

Both a biologist and photographer, Canon Ambassador Christian Ziegler's wildlife photography techniques have won him awards and global recognition for capturing the intricacies of life in Panama's rainforests. Often working in a world of miniature, he captures all sorts of creatures in incredible detail.

"I wanted to communicate science and conservation issues to a broader audience," he explains. "I felt that as a biologist I wasn't doing that, and that I could play an important role as a translator. Stories are what people learn from; what I do is visual storytelling, so the context is very important."

If Christian is shooting a story about a particular animal species, he wants people to understand the environment in which the animal lives, forages, breeds and – in some cases – gets eaten. "I want to show the challenges to the species; maybe it has a tough time in the winter, or the dry season. I aim to present every bit about the life of the animal, so that people understand it personally and care for it, and maybe want to preserve it."

Christian's wildlife photography kit

Of course, the challenging conditions of the rainforests that Christian visits demand some hardy photography kit. "I use a Canon EOS-1D X and a Canon EOS 5D Mark III along with a selection of lenses," he says. "But the two lenses I use often are the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM and sometimes the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM. I like how the wide-angle incorporates the bigger picture of the surroundings while still enabling me to focus on a specific subject."

For lighting, Christian usually brings three Canon Speedlites, with a bounce attachment, which he uses off the camera in Manual mode. "This allows me to be very precise and adjust the angle and strength of each flash. It's often surprisingly dark in the rainforest understory and rain is always an issue, especially with the flashes. I've lost many Speedlites to wet conditions."

All three Speedlites are fired off the camera, he explains. "Two flashes are positioned to fire at the front at around 45 degrees, with one above and one below the lens. The last flash is fired from behind the subject, around 45 degrees, to create a good backlight. All flashes are usually fired at around 1/8 power.

"I usually don't use tripods, since I'm in the field and it's too complicated. So I set the the camera down on the ground, or in the branches – whatever's available. I like to use what I call a 'mudpod', which is just a heap of leaves, mud, whatever I can find to make a solid base at the right height."