Candor Photographer capturing attention!

By Carol A. Henry —

Catching up with wildlife in the Finger Lakes can’t get more interesting than hiking the wetlands, hillsides, and even the roadsides in search of what nature has to offer the photographer. Robert Strickland, Bob to his friends, is dedicated to photographing wildlife in its natural habitat.

“As a hunter, I learned the many traits of wildlife,” Strickland admits. “But as my family didn’t care for the meat I decided to only go hunting with my camera.”

Strickland has been photographing nature and wildlife for over 50 years, both in New York State, and later when he retired from Lockhead Martin in Owego and wintered in Florida. Trips through the Smoky Mountains, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone allowed him to focus on and improve his passion for photographing an assortment of wildlife in their natural environment. And thus, earning him awards for his photography.

Strickland has received several awards to include 1st place in the National Wildlife Federation amateur division for backyard habitat in 2009, Great Backyard Bird Count Photo Contest in 2015, the 2016 North American Nature Photography Association Showcase 1st runner up for Bird, 2023 Universe of Colour Photography, and Photographer of the Year for Wildlife and Birdlife Photography.

When asked what piqued his interest, he reverted back to his early years working on a farm in his teens. He loved cows, and farming in general. And, of course, his love of photography was kicking in. He took photographs of a few of the beef cows and submitted them to the Agway Cooperative Magazine, where he admits that once he saw his published photos, and received a small payment for his submission, he was hooked. 

“That first publication sparked my interest and I have not looked back,” Strickland said. “Since that first publication, I’ve graduated from agriculture to nature and wildlife, as my interest in nature was growing. I became known as a ‘generalist’ in photographic terms, meaning I take photos of anything. However, I specialize in Nature and Wildlife, now.”

Although he admits that he really loves to take pictures of birds, as they are intriguing to watch, he finds them fairly hard to photograph due to the fact that they fidget too much. But then he prefaced that by saying that he also loves to take photographs of big game, such as whitetail deer, elk, and bear, not to mention wild turkey. 

“I use my car as a blind and travel all over Tioga County for the most part, as I have developed hot spots for birds and other wildlife. I occasionally go on day trips to Tompkins County, various areas in the Finger Lakes, and of course the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.”

As for the equipment he uses, he admits that over the years he’s used Canon cameras, lenses, and accessories. Naturally, he upgraded as newer photographic equipment came out. As he got older he wanted to reduce the weight of the gear he was carrying around, and finally sold his Canon gear and went to a Mirrorless lighter weight Panasonic camera. He purchased a Lumix G9, the Leica 100-400mm, and the 12-80 lens. 

“These cameras and lens are known as 4-thirds format, which is equal to twice the full frame camera,” Strickland said, adding, “Therefore making the 100-400mm lens into a 200-800mm, which allows me the option of Burst shooting, where you can capture a bird in flight.”

Which he has done many times when capturing a wing span award winning photo.

As well as winning awards for his photography, Strickland works with the Adobe Stock Agency where he submits his photos for resale to the agency’s clients. He submits his photography to different magazines such as New York State Conservationist, National Wildlife – Wildlife Gardening, Smoky Mountain Journal of Photography, NANPA, Birds and Blooms, Cornell’s All About Birds, Time, Nature Friend, Northern Woodland, Bird Watchers, and had a photo on the cover of the October 2010 issue of Birders World. 

Not just a photographer, Strickland submits articles for publication to Nature Friend, Smoky Mountain Journal of Photography, Nature Photographer Magazine, Nature Photographer Network, Northern Woodlands Magazine, and Wildlife South Magazine. A couple of his published features include Backyard Birding Techniques, and A Greatest Nature Show.

“To get published and or win awards,” Strickland says, “you need to take the best photo you can, and use the best software for post processing to bring the photo to life. I use Photoshop, Lightroom, and FastStone image viewer to get the best photos to submit.”

In summary, Strickland said, “I love Nature and Wildlife photography. It is the best and most fun thing I have done in my life.”

Strickland lives in Candor and since retiring has become an award-winning nature photographer. You can follow him on Facebook, where he showcases many of his photos.