The question I would ask is "What are the goals of taking photographs of wildlife?"
For me, there are a number of goals.
1) I get outside and enjoy nature. That is key for me, to get away from the maddening crowd and just relax in nature.
2) When I start taking pictures of an animal or bird, it's with the hope that I'll get something special, either a specific pose, or an activity that the animal is engaged in. Something that will set the image aside from all the others out there. This is to an extent self-serving; I want images that I can show to others, something good enough to peak their interest. I cannot imagine making pictures and not sharing them with others. That's one of the main reasons I attend Backcountry Gallery.
3) Display my pictures, either by printing and hanging them, or posting them to forums such as this for others to enjoy, critique, or offer suggestions to make it better. Many of my images are hanging on the walls of my home, perhaps not good enough for the most discerning of viewers, but good enough for me.
4) Learn more about animals. I cannot tell you how many times I've learned something new about animals by photographing them that I would not necessarily have noticed with the naked eye. For example, kingfishers beat fish against a tree branch to stun it before swallowing it. And while some small birds like finches, cardinals, etc., can crack open a sunflower seed with their strong beaks, birds with smaller beaks like the downy woodpecker, chickadee, and nuthatch, they have to take the seed to a tree where they use the hard surface of the tree to open the seed. The chickadee holds the seed down on a branch with its toes and pecks it open, while the nuthatch lodges the seed in a gap between the tree and the bark to hold the seed while it works on it. This means that some bird species come to a bird feeder to dine inv while others take a seed to go, eating it elsewhere before coming back for another one.
The vast majority of the images I shoot are trashed after reviewing them. I keep a select few, of which I edit even fewer, and some of those are posted here on the gallery. Once in a while I'm happy enough with one to print and hang it. So to summarize, for me wildlife photography is a hobby, and a process to arrive at the final product. Get out there, make the best possible images I can, get back home, edit the best ones, post those, and occasionally print and hang one.
The more I take pictures the more my skill levels improve, and the more critical I become of my own work. When I started out years ago I posted images that today I wouldn't even bother to edit, they are trashed immediately.
One of the best ways to improve one's photo skills involves growing a thick skin, and then posting an image in a forum that is dedicated to critique of images, such as this forum here on BCG. Many good folks out there are only too happy to share advice on how to improve. Having done that many times over the years since 2005 when I got into digital photography has helped me tremendously to improve my work.
The one piece of advice I would offer is to be specific as to the kind of feedback you need when posting here for critique or advice. That way people know what you are looking for and can address that specifically.
