Wildlife Photography in Wilpena Pound, Flinders Ranges - South Australia.

The Flinders Ranges spans over 420 kilometres in South Australia, offering ancient and magical landscapes at every corner. However, nothing is compared to the extraordinary and iconic Wilpena Pound. Towering mountain peaks, gnarly gum trees, diverse landscapes offer plenty of protection and life for the wildlife and birds.

Red and western grey kangaroos and the common wallaroo are typically associated with Australian landscapes (especially to the non-Aussies). However, the giant bird in the world is slowly taking over Wilpena Pound, thriving in the conditions and local watering holes.

The Flinders Ranges is littered with wildlife, with Brachina Gorge being an essential population for yellow-footed rock wallabies, a species once on the verge of extinction. Furthermore, I spend an entire day chasing a gorgeous pair of Wedge-Tail Eagles in desperation to capture one of the best wildlife images I have ever captured. (Watch that video here)

Best Location For Wildlife Photography Flinders Ranges.

On my recent trip to Wilpena Pound (which you can watch here), I found the 'best location for wildlife in Wilpena Pound' with 100's and 100's of Emu's on display, wedge-tail eagles, sheep, Cockatoos and too many birds to name - the list could go on and on...

I would have to say this is the BEST location possible to witness and photograph wildlife in the Flinders Ranges. What makes me say that, you ask? Well firstly, you can sit in your car and view the wildlife. Secondly, it's close to Wilpena Pound and will not force you to drive out in the middle of nowhere, and best of all, there is wildlife there at any time of day. Although, I highly recommend you to get out and fully immerse yourself in nature.

Lastly, I highly recommend visiting this location during the golden hours; it will produce beautiful light to add to your experience, but the chance of more and diverse wildlife will also increase. I have compiled below the best images I captured from this location below, and to view precisely where this location is, make sure to check out the map at the bottom of this blog.

It was incredible to see how many mothers (hens) and their chicks came down to the watering hole!

Apart from the wildlife at Wood Duck Dam, I love how the environment screams Australia with the large Gum Trees in the background. It makes this scene a very traditional Australian landscape with a plethora of wildlife!

By far the best image and my favourite from what I captured from this day!

Watch why this is the best location you can visit to photograph and witness wildlife in Ikara-Flinders Ranges and Wilpena Pound. There was SO much going on it was hard to know where to look and what to capture.

Wildlife Photography Gear + Settings

Being relatively new to wildlife photography, I constantly learn every time I head out and shoot. My huge advantage and the reason I am learning effectively is not my years of experience in photography. It's the passion and love I have for photography. I always love a challenge. The thrill of the chase keeps my desire to capture world-class images.

I have two golden nuggets I can recommend and pass over when learning wildlife photography. Firstly, the camera gear you already have is probably good enough. I was shooting in broad daylight. I didn't need a fast F2.8 aperture lens. All my images were shot on the Fujinon XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 and using the Fujifilm X-T3, a relatively slow lens at 200mm, and not perfectly sharp.

Secondly, ISO is your friend in this situation. I missed a couple of images because my shutter speed was not fast enough, shooting at 200mm. Your shutter speed needs to be double (or more) than the lens focal length as a rule of thumb. So, for example, if using a 200mm lens, your shutter speed should be 1/400th sec or faster. Additionally, an image stabilizer will help this number down, but I still recommend following the general rule 9/10 times. Therefore, I bumped up to ISO 800 (even during the middle of the day) and was able to get perfectly sharp images.

Lastly, if you are worried about shooting at high ISO or your lenses not being sharp enough, I use Topaz Labs to enhance all my images for noise or make them sharper. Generally, with wildlife photography, you need to crop in post-production. You can learn more about Topaz Lab here.

If you wish to join me for a photography tour of Wilpena Pound - Find out more information here!

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Best Photography Location Flinders Ranges