Wildlife Callers

Wildlife Callers would like to introduce you to Chad Messa of Mesa Sky Wildlife Phtography. We are pleased to have Chad contribute to our blog and hope you enjoy the information he can provide.  Chad is a professional photographer based in the SouthEast U.S. This will be the first of a two part post as Chad has a lot of info to share with us. Please look for the second part in the next day or two.

 

Chad uses hand calls and would like to expand his calling by using an electronic wildlife caller in the near future.  Chad is the second wildlife photographer that has agreed to contribute to our blog on a periodic basis, we are happy to share his story and his photographs with our readers.

 

Mesa Sky Wildlife Photography

My name is Chad Messa, I am the owner/operator of Mesa Sky Wildlife Photography and we are located in south Mississippi and Louisiana.

 I got started in wildlife photography when I was about 16 years old. My older sister gave me a Yashica film camera and even though I had no idea what I was doing, I took it into the woods every chance I had. As years went by I kept shooting and always kept that camera with me in my truck. Back then I was shooting stuff like birds, alligators and turtles, just local Louisiana wildlife.

 The photograph I took that made me realize I could make a living at this was of a captive jaguar. I learned that if I tried hard enough and read as much as possible about photography, I could make this a career.

I took the photograph of the jaguar with a used 35mm film Minolta maxxum camera that cost me $40.00 and a $100.00 lens mounted to it. When the light was just right and my exposure was set I tripped my shutter. Exposure was set on manual at 4.5 and a shutter speed of 1/125^th of a second. ISO 400 with Fuji provia film. The image was never published, nor did I put it out there to be in print, but I learned so much from that one shot, it’s priceless to me.

 Photographing captive animals allows you to learn a lot about wildlife photography. You learn how much light is absorbed by an animal’s coat, or how using fill flash allows you to catch light in their eyes. You may not sell these images but you learn so much from just taking them. Next time you go into the field to shoot, you will remember the lessons you learned while shooting captive animals.

I decided to turn photography into a career and started to invest in more expensive equipment and went digital. Now we shoot with all Canon Mark II and III camera bodies and Canon L lenses. A lot different from the little film camera my sis gave me.

 Depending on the project and species that we are shooting, my lens/camera body configuration will differ. For example, If I am shooting smaller mammals such as waterfowl or predators, I may use a Mark III body with a 600mm f/4 lens and 1.4X teleconvertor.

If I’m shooting bull elk during the rut, chances are I will have a 400mm 2.8L lens and teleconvertor in my bag. The 1.4X teleconvertor gives me extra reach if I need it without the weight of carrying a separate lens. But I lose a stop of light when using it.

 

My main concern when shooting wildlife is light. This is where big heavy lenses shine! When I’m shooting with a lens like the 400mm 2.8or the 200mm 1.8, they allow me to photograph in very low light situations like early morning or late evening. Although these lenses offer great detail and light capabilities in these situations, they do come with a price, as well as weight.

Expect to spend from $4000.00 to $10,000 dollars on these lenses, another $5,000 to $8,000 dollars for the camera bodies. This just gets you started in the profession, not to mention you need a good support team at home. My Family is the number one reason I succeed at what I do.

 I’m in no way implying that you need to spend this kind of money to get great images. I have this equipment because I do this for a living and want to give my clients the very best image I can. Learning to use the equipment you have to it’s utmost capabilities will produce great shots for you.

We will be continuing with Chad’s post in a day or two, please check back with us for more, in the mean time you can view Chad’s work at: http://www.mesaskyphotography.com/ or contact Chad by e-mail at Chad@mesaskyphotography.com

Thanks for visiting the blog and remember, if you don’t want to miss a post, sign up for the blog, it’s free!  We also appreciate your comments at Wildlife Callers.

Happy hunting and photographing!

Marc Reindell

marc@wildlifecallers.com