Buzzards at Berwick Bassett

Hello and thanks for checking out my blog. In this first post: How I started photographing wildlife, what I've learned so far, and some notes from a brilliant buzzard shoot.

I shoot with a Canon R5 and a 100-500mm Canon lens. I got it about six months ago and am still working out how to get the best out of it. I've done workshops with local experts who gave me tips and tricks to adjust the controls and settings to get the most out of the camera, and am definitely now finding it much easier to keep the subject in focus. In my experience knowledge is more important than getting the best kit - and don't underestimate how much time it takes to learn how to use and get value from the functions you've invested in. Also - you never stop learning so please share your best tips.

I have been photographing wildlife seriously for about four years. What got me started was a visit to Tom Way's fox photography hide in Buckinghamshire. I have always loved being out in the wild, and photographing from a hide lets you observe nature in a whole new way - plus you get to enjoy a level of peace and quiet that most other hobbies can't match.

There's plenty of peace and quiet to be had in rural Wiltshire, where I grew up, and that's where I headed earlier this month - to Dave White's farm in the village of Berwick Bassett near Avebury, to photograph Buzzards. Luxury isn't necessarily a word you'd associate with wildlife photography - but this hide was one of the most comfortable I've visited, with pleasant seating, heating and brewing facilities. I was initially wary of photographing through glass, being used to hides with a hole for your lens, but this worked just fine and I'm not sure the glass had any impact on the pictures at all. 

I was lucky that the buzzards were visiting all day. There was plenty to admire as five or six of these hefty (by UK standards!) and elegant predators posed, helpfully, on posts, or competed with one another for food. I had to turn up the ISO quite high to freeze the image, particularly in the early hours but found that Lightroom's Denoise function removed the graininess that resulted. It was well worth the long drive from Manchester, and I was really happy with the pictures I came home with.

If youre interested in visiting Dave's hides, which I recommend, you can book here.

Thanks for reading! I hope it was interesting. I always like to hear about other people's experiences in this area - you can find me on Instagram here. 'til next time!