Hi everyone,


I just had a simple question, you'll have to excuse me if my question sounds really obvious, I am a beginner in photography. I have an interest in wildlife photography and as you can imagine, one of the goals that I wish to accomplish is to get excellent shots of wildlife (professional grade). I have a 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens that I use, it is the only lens I have. I have recently looked into different flashes (not knowing if they would benefit me or not out in the field) for my Canon 50D. I guess my basic question in a broad sense is if flash (Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash, or any other good flash) would benefit pictures taken outside in the daytime or possibly night. As most of you know, it isn't easy to get close to wildlife without spooking them, so typically the distance from me to my subject is not close, but yet not hundreds of feet away (for the most part). Would a flash be nessasary for a shot that isa good distance away? Night shots are something that I am also interested in, but my built in flash gives the picture that rough look and of course has the red-eye effect on it. I would assume flash (not built in, but more advanced), would be acceptable for subjects at night, such as owls and other nocturnal wildlife? Is there a certain "distance" (both day and night) that using a flash wouldn't benefit the picture? Thanks for your help, again sorry if my questions seem a little broad.