Cole Ridges is a 20-year-old wildlife photographer. He has been focused on taking pictures for two years, and just began printing his work at The Image Flow to prepare for his exhibition at the Shelter Ridge Club House this past April. We were captivated by his incredible photographs. Not only is Cole technically skilled, but each of his images shows a story of practiced patience and a keen eye. Learn more about Cole Ridges’s photographic journey in his own words below.
Wildlife photography is a lot like hunting. But the shot doesn’t change the animal’s life. It stops time.
There are not many 20-year-old wildlife photographers. They’re out there, but I know that—at every workshop, every animal sighting—I’ll be the youngest. That’s perfectly okay with me.
When I leave the house for a sunrise or sunset shoot (that’s when the best shots happen), I know which animal I’m looking for and where it lives, because photographers talk.
There’s a massive tree in Tiburon with a pair of Great Horned Owls. There’s a dirt road in Point Reyes with bobcats. There’s a campground in Mexico with Elf owls. When I photograph a new animal, my first mission is to get comfortable taking its picture. My goal is simply to shoot the animal—to get to know it. As I learn its behavior, I go after the action shot, or the one that’s most indicative of how the animal behaves in its natural habitat.
A good wildlife photographer puts the wildlife first before the image.
Getting the shot involves a lot of patience. I spot the animal and slowly moves toward it. Then sit and wait. Maybe 10 minutes later, I move a little closer. Sit and wait again. When shooting bobcats, I stays diagonal, parallel, about ten feet back. They get used to my presence. If it looks at me, I look away. No eye contact. Respect is the rule.
As I prepare for the shot, I get as low as possible, with my stomach on the ground, to make the animal look bigger—and better in the photo—so I see what the animal sees.
The heron with a gopher in its mouth took me eight months to capture. How sweet the reward.
A fellow photographer mentioned offhand that he’d seen a great blue heron eat a gopher. I committed myself to getting the shot. Every time I saw a heron, I stayed with it for a long time. Many, many attempts. Cows spooked the bird. The heron struck and missed. Nothing.
Almost eight months later, at an Audubon wildlife pond, I walked back to my car. A heron. I stayed with it. Less than ten minutes later, it caught a gopher—and I caught them both.
Some people say the shots are mostly luck. I believe it’s knowing the animal, knowing its behavior, knowing what it likes and where it likes to hang out. There’s a little bit of luck. And patience. Patience, patience, patience.
I grew up picking up snakes, spiders, tarantulas, and any bugs I could find. In fifth grade, when my whole class was asked what they wanted to be, I said I wanted to be a photographer. Two years ago, the two things finally collided.
I have what I describe as an unreasonable passion for this. I read about animal behavior, research locations, study photographers, and literally dream about my life’s work.
Upon seeing my prints from The Image Flow, I couldn’t stop smiling. This is the first time—you could say in 20 years—that I actually felt like I accomplished something.
There is nothing like seeing your photos printed for the first time, and we at The Image Flow were honored to share this moment with Cole. This perfectly captured our motto, “it is not a photograph until it is a print.”
Cole shared that he is excited for a future of leading workshops, selling prints, and photographing as often as possible. We’re looking forward to seeing how his work continues to develop. Next, he will be traveling to Antarctica, Brazil, and Africa to photograph.
Keep up with Cole’s work through his website and Instagram.
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