WildlifePracticalPhotograPhy.com 23Building a portfolio takes time
and commitment, but it’s hugely rewarding,
and well worth the effort as simon roy
(simonroyphotography.co.uk) explains.
“i have been a keen birder since
childhood and this has only increased
through my time as a wildlife photographer.
two years ago i created a feeding station in
a local woodland with the aim of improving
my winter portfolio. although i was hoping
to photograph a number of woodland birds,
my main aim was to capture a nuthatch in
the snow. the project has yielded some
beautiful images, but at times it has been
unbelievably frustrating.
“despite the site being minutes away,
a combination of unpredictable weather,
inaccurate forecasts and othercommitments
meant that i often missed thebestconditions.
on this occasion, i was ableto reactquickly
to a sudden change in the weatherand
managed to get into positionas heavy
sn ow started to fall. i had alreadysetup
a prop, a textured tree trunkwitha small
hole where i placed some choppednuts
and sunflower hearts. i didn’thaveto wait
long as the birds had clearlydecidedto
gr ab some food before the snowsetin.
“a fter several visits, this handsome
in dividual paused in the perfectspot,
making a lovely winter scene.”
# 3 Crafta portfolioWinterweathercancreate dramatic backdrops, as
PaulMitchell(paulmitchellphotography.co.uk) found.
“I prefervisitingtheLake District in February as it’s
lessbusy,andyou tendto be rewarded with some wild
weather.On thisparticular morning I delayed my early
startdueto someheavyrain. The weather forecast
predictedit to clearby mid-morning. It can become very
busyat theCastleriggstones but to my surprise, when
I ar rivedI hadthewholeplace to myself. I could see that
theheavycloudwasbeginning to break up, giving brief
glimpsesof brighterskyfor a drama-filled shot. I used a
2-stophardgraduatedfilter to hold detail in the cloud.”# 4 Capturea stormy skyl andsC apesNikon D810 | 34mm | 1/10sec | f/11 | ISO 64Canon 5D | 500mm | 1/250sec | f/6.3 | ISO 1000