As a Lake District photographer, and a Cumbria Landscape photographer, I also participate in a little bird and wildlife photography, not as a speciality, but more of a hobbyist, a bit of fun and enjoyment.
Cumbria Woodland Photography Hide
My first experience of Bird Photography was at the Cumbria Woodland Photography Hide, which I have been frequenting for over 4 years now.
Stephen and Linda have worked their socks off in creating and developing the hide, which now regularly attracts sparrowhawks, Jays, and a whole host of small woodland birdlife.
I began photographing birds using my 70-300mm telephoto lens but soon realised that this did not have sufficient reach to get close-up images of the birds. After a bit of saving up, I then bought a 100-400 lens which helped and was further improved when I added a 1.4 tele converter to the lens.
When I purchased my APS-C camera, I even managed to get hold of a very reasonably priced 500mm f4 lens, this was a beast, very large and heavy, and to be truthful to long to capture the birds at the hide, hence its trade-in when I changed to a full frame Canon system, but boy did it produce great quality images.
My technique of shooting birds gradually improved, as I began to “read” the small birds (these are very fast-moving creatures) to be able to capture them in flight.
Looking back at my early photos of the birds, these were nothing special, but everyone must start somewhere.
My technique has improved as my visits to the hide increased, and as the hide was improved over the weeks, months, and years.
As the hide developed, many more people have begun to use it, Stephen and Linda have secured an almost guaranteed visit from the Sparrowhawks.
From visiting the Cumbria Woodland Photographic Hide, I began looking for more opportunities of photographing birds in differing locations and conditions.
Northwest Wildlife Workshop
My first chance to visit another location was on a Northwest Wildlife Workshop based at Ashton in Lancashire.
This workshop had been recommended to me by another photographer, so one bleak autumn morning, I set off travelling to Ashton.
The morning was very enjoyable, we were based in a huge field, the birds were tethered but placed on perches in realistic locations from where we could photograph them.
A good variety of birds were used, and a vast amount of information about the bird’s habitats being provided by the people who were running the workshop, not just a shoot and leave event, you learn a little as well.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the workshop, from which I captured some great photographs.
Andy Howey’s Photography Workshops
I have also attended one of Andy Howey’s Photography Workshops, which are held in the Northeast of England. again, on the recommendation of a fellow photographer, this was a very enjoyable small indoor event where a selection of birds was photographed, perched, and inflight using LED lighting set-ups.
I found Andy’s workshop fascinating, working within a confined space, Andy showed great care of the birds, and created lighting which produced excellent photographs. His knowledge about each type of bird was impressive.
Gauntlet Birds of Prey Photography Workshop
Another workshop which I attended was at the Gauntlet Birds of Prey Photography Workshop at Knutsford in Lancashire.
This was hosted by the renowned wildlife photographer Gary Jones Wildlife Photography, a 6-hour workshop where a wide selection of birds of prey is allowed to fly for you to photograph in natural outdoor locations. An element of education is also provided throughout the day by members of staff, and a small lunch is provided on the day of the workshop.
Birds which were photographed on the day included (but not restricted too) Common Buzzard, White-Tailed Sea Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Tawney Owl, Long Eared Owl, Harris Hawk, amongst others.
Another fully enjoyable days photography, well worth the 6-hour return journey.
Scotland
We visit the Highlands and Islands of Scotland on a regular basis, were, you would think we would see a wide selection of wildlife. I have on occasions seen or come across Red Dear, but I have failed to see any of the renowned birdlife in the Highlands, probably due to my very poor eyesight.
The one time when I though we would see plenty of wildlife was the one time that we have visited the Isle of Mull, an Island that is renown for its wildlife and bird species, sadly, on our visit, I failed to photograph any animals of birds.
I have had slightly better luck in shooting red deer in Scotland, these majestic animals do take some finding in the barren landscape as their coats are ideal camouflage against the brown winter bracken.
Lake District
On my travels within the Lake District, I often come across a wide selection of animals, sheep, cows, horses, etc, and whilst I may ignore these on many occasions, every now and then a scene will include an animal which I wanted to shoot.
An example of this is that on the winters morning of me walking around the shores of Crummock Water, I stumbled across a couple of white horses that were back-light against the early morning sun, this scene created a very nice photograph.
Another time whist in Glencoe, Scotland and whilst driving along the route of the River Coe looking for compositions, I came across another white horse, calmly eating its morning feed, with its coat blending into the white frost covered field.
One animal you do see plenty of in Scotland is the Highland Coows, these magnificent beasts provide an image that is soly related to Scotland, whatever the weather these beasts always make an interesting photograph.
Red Squirrels
An animal that I have wanted to photograph for a long time is the Red Squirrel, not knowing where to find these has always been a bone of contention, but several months ago, a good friend Lorraine agreed to take me to a local location where she had been photographing these intriguing creatures.
On the first visit, I took everything in, just so I would not be doing anything wrong if I returned on my own and captured several nice images to boot.
Several days later we were back, and this time the Squirrels were on form, I got some very good photographs of them running up and down the trees and jumping along to floor.
This has been the start of new chapter in my photography, I have returned several times to try and photograph them, sometimes they turn up, sometimes you never see on, but that is part of the challenge.
My family photography in Cumbria and selling my Lake District photography prints could not be further from the subject of photographing birds and wildlife, but for me, this is the enjoyment of photography, not to be totally indulgent in one subject, the variety keeps creating the interest.
Granted I do specialise in landscape and portraiture, but bird and wildlife photography bring their own, and unique challenges which I fully buy into.
Thank you for reading this article, until the next one by for now.
