18 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

theApprentice

guy’s verdict

Ian was apprehensive

when we started, but

he quickly warmed up with the

tips and tricks I gave him

throughout the day. Ian had the

chance to use his dream lens on the day, a Canon

EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens. I hope

he goes through with the purchase as he’ll see a

noticeable step up in image quality and autofocus

performance, making it easier to get the creative

wildlife shots he envisions.

iAn’s comment

Guy set up his stump

in some tall grass and

our bird handler did her best to

keep the Barn Owl perched and

facing us. With a bit of

perseverance I was able to capture this image

where the owl is nicely posed and looking directly

down the barrel of the lens. My focusing fears

have been put to bed and I’ve come away with

some brilliant shots. I can’t wait to practice what

I’ve learnt on the birds in my garden.

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be our neXt Apprentice

e Xpert insight

bring A plAce

For them to

perch

GuY has a whole collection

of gnarly branches and old

weathered logs that he uses

regularly on shoots. He

positions these where he’d like

the bird to land, trying to place

it where he can get some

interesting foreground like

the tall grasses here and a

clean background.

hot

shot

lens Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6l I s II usm

exposure 1/250 sec, f/5.6, Iso 160

iAn’s comment

While the White-

Tailed Eagle was still

drenched from taking a dip in

the pond all of the water gave

her some brilliant definition in

her chest feathers. Her legs were a little rough

so I zoomed in and composed my shot for a

tight headshot to crop them out as I thought

this could make the pic look untidy. The f/5.

aperture has blurred the distant background

nicely. I also think it works well converted to

black and white as this brings out the intricate

detail in the feathers even more.