Hide away
Q
I’m trying to get
photos of local birds
and animals. Would
a pop-up hide help?
Catriona ReadingA
The use of hides for wildlife
photography is something
that has helped many
photographers get images
of shy animals that would have been
impossible unless they were shooting
from a concealed position. As you
mention, Catriona, there are plenty
of pop-up hides available, as well as
commercial hides where you can pay
to photograph the visiting wildlife.
A hide on its own might help, but you still
need to place it where you know the wildlife
is going to be, or give the wildlife a reason
to visit. Animals go where there is food, so
a feeding station is a great idea to attract
wildlife to an area; but if you are doing this,
you need to maintain that feed, both to keep
attracting the animals and to ensure they
can survive. This is especially true in the
winter, when natural food is scarce.
I’ll sometimes use my car as a hide, but
instead of setting up a feeding station, I’ll
try and find a spot where the animals are
already visiting. My photo of a blackbird
here was taken on a roadside layby where
the berry-laden trees were attracting the
birds out of the woods. I simply put a cloth
across my car window to mask my shape
and photographed the bird with a telephoto
lens through the open window. It sounds
simple – and it was, although even these
birds were cautious, and I had to show
patience to get my shots.Is white alright?
Q
I’m very keen on
taking landscape
photographs, but
all too often I get drab, white
overcast skies. What do
I do when it’s like that?
Kerry TaylorA
The obvious answer is to
capture as much detail as you
can, either by shooting several
images exposed for highlights,
midtones and shadows, then merging them
together in an HDR photo; or by using a
neutral-density filter to take an exposure
that holds some detail in the lighter sky
area. That said, there are times when
the sky is just flat, with very little detail
at all, whatever you choose to do.
In these circumstances I’ll often take
images for processing in black and white.
You still have the same option of capturing
whatever little detail is in the sky – but you
could also choose to avoid any sky detail
at all, and have it really contrast with the
rest of the image. It breaks the usual
rules of landscape photography, as we
are hardwired into retaining detail; but
with some interesting texture and contrast
in the rest of the scene to balance the
overall composition out, a white sky
can work well by emphasising starkness.
I’ve done two versions of a landscape
shot on a drab day. While both work,
I prefer the bleaker atmosphere of
the image with a pure white sky. I’d
happily live with that on my wall.98 DIGITAL CAMERA^ MARCH 2020 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
White sky
Burnt-in sky
Above: If you’re looking for wildlife photo
opportunities, head for areas where
food sources are available.A pure white sky can
act as a complement
to textured areas.