https://preview.redd.it/dp6aejj5xgzb1.jpeg?width=1896&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=767d6bbfcfa89af4f91518b5b87a27a1a9581938

It’s all about the setup and glass. Being as close as you can be while maintaining ethics. Then, taking thousands of photos until you get that 1 perfect (in your opinion) photo. Wildlife photographers spend weeks/months/years photographing specific species. When you think of a week vacation, they are spending 7 days sitting in a snowy field eating beef jerky and granola bars waiting for an elusive snow leopard, and hiring sherpas to help pack in base camp.

Don’t be scared of high iso. It can be reduced fairly effectively in post, and chances are you won’t see most of it anyways. High iso is only generally a problem for pixel peepers. Noise is most visible in the shadows and darker portions of an image so the better job properly exposing your image, the lower the visible noise to start with.