A look through the works of the best nature photography not only induces a feeling of awe but there's also a wonderment about how he or she was in the right spot at exactly the right time with the right lens and great lighting. Over the past few decades I'm been lucky enough to travel with a who's who of the world's greatest nature photographers. Often I've been their expedition leader in Antarctica and I've had the chance to closely watch how they work.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

The bad news is that the universal attribute of every one of them is extreme dedication to their craft. Two years ago, rare stable conditions allowed me to put every passenger ashore for seven hours at South Georgia's Salisbury Plains where tens of thousands of king penguins plus crowds of fur seals and elephant seals make their home. Most surrendered to the intense cold and returned to the ship after three or four hours. Frans Lanting, whose patience is legendary (one African waterhole gave him three covers of National Geographic), left on the last boat back to the ship. Art Wolfe, who has sold more than 500,000 photographic books in eight languages, was alongside him. For the whole seven hours they had roamed the site seeking the best composition while waiting for the best animal action and the best light.

Sleep is only an option when the light is bad. I've been privileged to work with Daisy Gilardini, multi-awarded, a Nikon Ambassador and arguably the world's best polar photographer – especially for her portfolio of polar bear images. In the long daylight of an Antarctic summer she offers everyone the chance to be woken at 3am (or earlier) to see what the morning light conditions offer. That's often after shooting sunset at midnight, too.

The easiest way to insult a photographer is to look at one of their images and say "Wow, great shot. You must have a really good camera." That's like saying to Roger Federer "you must have a great tennis racquet". Back in the age of film I took legendary Canadian photographer Freeman Patterson (whose work is in many fine art museums around the world) to Antarctica. His camera was a very basic Pentax K1000.

On the other hand, a good camera with a quality lens doesn't hurt. Peter Eastway, AIPP Grand Master of Photography and publisher of Australia's Better Photography magazine, shoots with $50,000 worth of Phase One camera and lens – with 100 million pixels you can see the detail in the eye of each penguin in a crowd of 10,000.

With trepidation I once gave a talk on the basics of photography on a ship, knowing that the next presenter was Jonathan Scott, star of the television series Big Cat Diaries. He was travelling with his wife, Angie. They are the only couple to have both individually won the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. However, Jonathan's talk was a mirror of mine – some of the basics we both described are listed in "Take Better Pics" (below).

I have a seen a whole coach load of tourists arrive at an Italian historic site, walk into the middle of the piazza, take photos in every direction then climb back onto the bus. It's unlikely any of their images would be memorable. However, for most travellers simply arriving somewhere can be so remarkable that you immediately need to capture it – if I ever make it to Timbuktu I'll be taking a selfie. And if you reach your goal mere minutes before three days of rain you'll want to capture the destination in the last of the sunshine. But once you've got a basic photographic record you can work on better photos during the rest of your stay.

The amateur approach to destination photography, particularly in this digital age, is to take photos of everything and work on percentages that one might be a gem. That's a far cry from the professional.

In three hours ashore, Freeman Patterson might take just two images. His talk on photography was to look for the pattern of triangles that creates the best landscape photographs. He's meticulous in capturing them and only presses the shutter when every element is how he wants it.

Much of the genius of the best photographers lies in being ready. Behind South Georgia's Gold Harbour we were making our way through a swamp to a viewpoint. Suddenly a young elephant seal charged through a crowd of penguins that scattered in panic. With military precision, Frans and Art dropped to their knees in the guano and perfectly captured the moment from the best perspective. Of course both had wide-angle lenses on for the perfect shot. They had thought of likely scenarios for the walk and prepared their cameras accordingly.

Many of my passengers come on board with professional camera equipment identical to that of the pros. The advantage held by the pros is not just their great technical and artistic knowledge but their willingness to forgo sleep, warmth, comfort and meals for the chance of the ultimate shot.

HOW TO TAKE BETTER PICS

1. Use a tripod – there's a reason why every pro uses a tripod: it leads to sharper images and you can take more control over shutter speed and aperture.

2. The rule of thirds – put the horizon one-third down from the top or up from the bottom to make your images more dynamic and more interesting. And don't place the primary subject in the middle but rather to one side (looking in).

3. Approach holiday photos the way a pro tackles an assignment – take close-up, mid-range and long shots, inside and outside, wait for crowds to clear but place a person in the photo when appropriate and mainly shoot at dawn and dusk when the light is best.

4. For animals, if you can't get the whole creature in focus make sure the eye, or eyes, are in focus.

5. Find your own style – maybe perfect night sky shots, animal shots from ground level, moments of animal bonding, patterns in nature, or simply candids of your family.

6. Sometimes put your camera away – you don't want to see the whole world through several layers of glass.