N-Photo - The Nikon Magazine - UK (2019-12)

Delight in the detail

THE DELICATE DESIGNS OF BIRDS ARE OFTEN ENOUGH IN

THEMSELVES TO MAKE FOR A BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPH

Different photographers have different priorities. I like to show the birds I

photograph in as much detail as possible, in the hope of opening the minds of

others to the intricacies of their colours and patterns. I want people to look with

new eyes at what they might normally overlook. Still, if you find yourself in a

glorious setting, you may choose to locate the bird in its wider environment. Much

of the work I do is in the cropping and shaping of an image and I will often stretch a

photograph as far as the pixels allow. But don’t be tempted to oversaturate your

picture. I may sharpen an image, do a little brightening and add some colour, but I

want to be true to the natural twists and turns of a bird’s plumage.

Left: Arctic tern, Iceland. Little intricacies can bring an image to life and give it some extra

c o n tex t. H e re , th i s s p l e n d i d te r n c a n b e s e e n w ith a fi s h , p in -s h a r p in th e li gh t.

arrives in our gardens during the spring, this
del icate bu nd le of g reen, yel low a nd wh ite w i l l have
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desert, sea and mountain – to reach our lenses.
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Shooting on a level
The tiny goldcrest, no bigger than the noisy wren
and similar in colouring to its rarer cousin the
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But shooting up at a bird – particularly a small
species – rarely yields satisfactory results.
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towards a more favourable height without
disturbing the bird.

Depth of field
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white and black long-tailed tits, that still dance in
busy throngs along the paths of my parents’

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Left: Sedge warbler,

Oxfordshire. Try to be

level with the bird you’re

photographing so that

you get a better sense

of its proportions.

Below: Barn owl,

Hertfordshire.

Capturing species with

your camera for the

first time is part of

the buzz of bird

photography.





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robin singing from a branch in your garden, try to

frame the bird prettily and with as little visual fuss



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there is a depth of background. I try, wherever

possible, to achieve a smooth, blurred backdrop that

allows the bird and its colouring to take centre stage.

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focus can be challenging. By the time you’ve framed



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autofocus unless busy foliage is distracting the

camera’s focus system from the bird itself.

COUNTRYSIDE BIRDS

It’s so easy to take the British countryside for

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yourself in stunning landscapes. The Welsh hills are

three hours or so away. Even closer still are the

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there are still, despite our destructive farming

practices, myriad birds.

Collecting species

Birdwatching certainly appeals to the collector in

me. Racking up species gives me the sort of pleasure

that I imagine trainspotters derive from adding the

12:26 from Doncaster to their lists. Part of the joy in



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white against the winter snow of early 2013,

Whenever possible, you want to

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COUNTRYSIDE BIRDS

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