I know the little fish got eaten but to capture a shot like this with the 20 frames a second means you don’t miss any action.
Brilliant Catch
Category: wildlife photography
Time Away To Reflect
hi folks its been a while since i wrote a blog, i had no plan to stop writing but felt it time to return and try and get back to my writing again. I have lots of news but will start with the camera news. My mate and Workhorse Sony A7R4 Died on me about 5 weeks ago with no warning at all. It was out of warranty and after the insurance company messed me about i had no choice but to get a second hand Sony A9.
Loosing half my resolution going from 61mp to 24 is a loss but the speed of the A9 has opened a new world for me, people that follow me know that i love flight shots or any action shots, so the A9 has given me a better hit rate.
The time on site has been very busy and instead of going down to the Hide i have been concentrating on the river for the Kingfisher and up on the moors looking for the Short Eared Owl.
Sitting waiting for hours pays off as other wildlife comes to you without any effort, this will become a big part of the gallery and add some lovely species of bird to my already huge gallery.
Aims this year have been the Kingfisher, Brown Hare and Red Fox and i am glad to say i have met all my challenges spending hours waiting for the image. Together with Bullfinch and Dipper, baby Curlew and many more its been a great season up to now.
Please enjoy the gallery and feel free to ask any questions.
Last Aim of the year is to film the Short Eared Owl and that will make the season complete.
Wildlife Update
arriving late this season was a shame but the wildlife seems to be behind the usual time. The Swallow has only just arrived and the Jacdaw Crow are still collecting material for the nest. But it looks like the Tawny Owl is well into the breeding process with the first young one seen last night.
Saying that the Kingfisher seems to be well behind and not feeding like you would expect at the end of April. I see the first young fledge around 1st May so it will need more observations this week to see if both adults are busy on the river. I have had a fantastic 2 weeks seeing the Red Fox, Roe Deer and Buzzard all in image distance with some great shots to go to my collection.
The Red Fox being my best image of the year so far
Then spending time on the river i came across the Kingfisher and after a few visits i managed to get a few images, which are not the best and i hope to get better when i visit next, as i dont think the young have fledged yet.
So with the first few weeks on site a real good start it just got better when i found out that a Barn Owl Nest Box i built and placed up on the moors in my mates barn has got a adult bringing voles in, means they could have young in it.
I will be updating as i find more birds and animals on site and on my travels
Blackie
Sunny day With 1.4 Ext
I was never a fan of extenders on camera and lens after wasting money on Canon Extenders and suffering with image quality. But the Sony 1.4is just amazing with the focus speed and image quality being just as good at f9.
Today was nothing special and I went out quickly to test the 200with the ext fitted. The ducks were flying and it was very windy. Anyway look at the results from this carking combination.
Even birds in-flight is amazing and I had no problems with tracking as this image of two mallards flying fast left to right.
The Nuthatch Sony A7r4 200-600
Grey Heron in Action
These are some of my first images with the Sony A7r4 when I first tried action shots,or birds in action. I could not believe the sharpness of the Sony 200-600 lens. Since then its the lens of choice for any action shots I try to capture.
Here are a few more examples of the combination.
The Sweet Spot
So the story goes i went for a walk round the park with the r74 and 200-600. I set my camera to:
- RAW
- f7.1
- Shutter 1/1600
- ISO Auto 100-1600
- Zone Focus
- Multi Metering
- Tracking 5 Responsive
- Steady shot left on
- Lens mode 2 Horizontal Panning
The camera performed faultless with one image out of 150 slightly out other than that it nailed focus on every image in flight.
Feb Day 1 Photo Challenge
Well it had to be my fav bird of all time, she came out early and took 3 Voles in 20 mins hunting. She is a fantastic bird to film but i have to be aware that if she sees me i will spoil the fun as i don’t want her getting bothered by my being there. Her eyes are so sharp and her hearing is the best in the world, able to hear a vole heart beat. I set my camera to silent and today i really hid well but just before i left i am sure she looked in my direction for a split second. I will leave it for a few days as i want her to have as much freedom as she deserves and is used to.
Just look at the images i took today, not my best as the background messed about with my focus area, but still the different positions she gets into is just amazing.
Sony A7r4 200-600
The amazing combination of this setup has opened a new world for me. Birds in flight is the hardest form of photography to master and I have lost many amazing images because they were just out out of focus
The smaller the bird the faster the bird means you have to have good knowledge of the bird and reactions to it appearing in your field of view.
Over time I have learned many things about cameras and settings you need, but without the skill from the user it is near impossible to get a Razor sharp image of a fast moving bird in flight
So after Canon, Nikon, and Olympus I found Sony. The area i filmed in with all 3 was the same but the difference between the 4 was my keeper rate, the number of images that I had to choose from when editing increased beyond anything I had expected when I switched over to Sony.
So after so many years and Thousands of £s I found my combinati. The feeling when you leave the house to capture a bird you may only get one chance at filming, and the peace of mind you will will return home with great in focus images is the best feeling a photographer can have.
There are days we all have as photographer’s where nothing seems to work and I have experienced that many times, and learned that its me not my expensive equipment thats at fault. Simple Answer pack up and put the gear away.
Another thing I think the person looking at the image needs to know is that to get that one image may have taken 100 or 200 shots to get it just right, it can be in focus colour just right but the background could be all wrong, colour or objects.
I love the challenges I set myself and the harder the better, but my Sont gear gives me so much confidence and we are a great team together.
People that know me will understand when I say that I am happy with my equipment and why should I look at another camera when this combination gives me amazing images. There is a simple explanation, I have to have the best I can afford to achieve my aims in life.
Kindness
On my photography journey there are times when you come across a subject that you are privileged to find, by chance or by word of mouth.
When that happens you always come across obstacles that make your objective harder and sometimes just not possible.
So when I meet a lovely lady called Christine kind and helpful who loves wildlife it started a new opening for me and soon she let her friend know of my work and that lady owns the building where the Barn Owl lives.
Over 10 years of photography covering wildlife I have never had this kindness and it makes me feel so privileged to be able to visit and use the permitted areas to sit in peace and quiet and film wildlife.
Sharing it and telling my wildlife story of how the image or video was captured.
I am hoping the weather and summer will be kind to the Barn Owl so they can breed and raise a family and I can cover the season to the time when the young fledge the nest.
I am keeping the location secret for good reason and I will acting as eyes and ears for the surrounding area for people entering the area or disturbing the Owl.
Blackie.
Angel Delight
How can you not admire this Owl in flight hunting in Total Slence, reason being is the wings.
Some Owls have a comb like leading edge, this enables the to fly silent. Other birds don’t have this feather formation and thats why they make a whooshing noise.
Yesterday I witnessed the Barn Owl beating its wings to pin point its pray. But I was amazed how still and how many different wing formations she did. Looking through my images the Sony A7r4 200-600 focused on the Owl and never lost focus.
They talk about the Sony A911 being the best in the business for tracking. But when your tracking is like this what more do you want. And a facility to crop from 61mp.
Here are some more images of many I got of her on 2 occasions when she came in to hunt.
There not all the same.
What makes a Photographer
Wildlife photography is sort by millions and in todays digital world, is there a true understanding of what it takes to be a true wildlife photographer.
The gear is just a small part of what it takes to get the image you are so proud of.
As I explained before the Barn Owl is my favourite bird and with an unique opportunity to use land from a lovely lady, I cannot turn down a great sunny day with blue skies. Sounds daft but to have the good light for 6 hours is a rare opportunity here in the UK.
With the ground frozen and it only 1 degree i was in position for 9am. After 3 hours I had to move for body circulation reasons.
With 3 locations to choose from I moved and sat for another 2 hours with no sign of the Barn Owl. The Buzzard flew over, a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk made an appearance.
After 5 and a half hours I decided to call it a day when I looked up and Barny was there in front of me. She left the barn and flew away into the distance. It was then when I went back to my first location. Sitting ready she came back and put on a display for me
The images of her looking down into the grass in a majestic way gets my heart racing.
The Sony A7r4 Locked on to all 50 images of her without one being out of focus, together with the Sony 200-600.
Rons life through the lens 