An illustrated Photography Journal

[Chris Hawes]

After some thought I have decided to start a kind of photography journal, chronicalling my efforts to capture shots of the UK's wildlife (specifically birds for now). I have decided to start this thread and add to it regularly in order to a) give me more incentive to get out and take photos! and b) hopefully receive some critical advice.

I took up wildlife photography as a hobby around three years ago, but due to various other comitments (and to be honest, a touch of laziness!) do not spend as much time on it as I could.

Like me, my wife is a also birdwatcher and she loves making lists of what she's seen, and I have something similar. Only mine is not a list of species I've seen, but species of which I've taken photos that I'm really happy with. This is obviously very arbitrary, but very loosely they are pictures which I am proud of and which I think I will seriously struggle to get a better shot of that particular species. So my aim is really to add to this list. So far the list is 7 species long (for the UK - I do the same thing for world species and that has a few more on it, but I will keep this UK only for the purposes of this journal).

Here's the list so far:
Grey Heron
Snow Bunting
Black Grouse
Puffin
Razorbill
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Redshank

Hopefully I will add to these soon. (I will post these 7 pictures a bit later as a starting point to the journal).

I currently have a few 'projects' I've started, and which I hope to develop over the coming months. One thing I've noticed is that I have largely ignored some of the more common species in order for species more out-of-the ordinary, so I am trying to rectify this and get some shots of more common birds near me.

Project 1) Back Garden - we have feeders in the back garden which regularly attract robin, goldfinch, blackbird, woodpigeon, and blue, great and coal tits. I have positioned them carefully so that I have a nice background and have just positioned a natural looking branch near to them which hopefully the birds will use.

Project 2) Woodpeckers - I have also set up some feeders in a local wood with the aim of attracting great spotted woodpecker and nuthatch. I visited it a few weeks back and was pleased to see that woodpeckers had found it and visited several time in the few hours I was there. I'd also scattered some nuts on the ground and a jay came in a few times to feed on these, so I may be able to get some shots of that too. No nuthatches though as yet. I haven't been back in a while so will try and visit one morning this week to fill up the feeders and see what is about.

Project 3) Little Owls - this is a bit of a longshot. Near to where I work I have found a site where I have seen little owls a few times. I hope to monitor where I saw them and see if they use a particular post regularly. I am in work tomorrow so plan to stop in first thing in the morning to see if I can see an owl.

Finally, not really a project but I always take my camera when I go out bird watching with the wife and take point and grab type pictures when we're out and about. These don't usually tend to be as good as when I plan things a bit more, but a few have turned out ok.

Sorry for the long post first up, but I wanted to 'set the scene' a bit. I will make this journal as honest as possible and so will not just post my better shots but also some of the ones from which I can learn and improve.

[Ollie]

What a great idea and great post Chris. I look forward to seeing your results and I for one will be folliwing this thread.

Good luck
Roger

[Bub-les]

Sounds good and I'll await developments with interest
Barbara

[Chris Hawes]

Thanks Ollie and Bub-les.

As promised, here are the seven photos from my 'list' so far. They are a bit of a mixture and shots that I, for various reasons, like above my other images. They are all fairly standard portrait shots - not a lot of action going on, so one thing I am going to try and work on is more behavioural photos.

Snow Bunting:


Razorbill:


Puffin(s)


Black Grouse:


LBB Gull:


Redshank:


Heron:

[Brocker]

good post and nice shots Chris. Good focus and colour with good detail. You got some good ideas there and I will follow with interest. . . .

[GME]

Yes, I'll keep my eye out for any new posts too. Sounds a great idea! I love the Redshank shot in particular

[deer boy]

Hi Chris great shots look forward to more soon

[Ollie]

A great start Chris with some lovely shots.
Roger

[Chris Hawes]

Thanks for the kind comments. Ollie - you couldn't send a yellowhammer or two my way could you?! I've just seen your thread on them - what fantastic shots of a bird I very rarely see (and certainly not locally).



Ok, I stopped in at the little owl site on my way to work this morning, but I was running late so wasn't very hopeful of seeing anything. However I did spot an owl sitting in a tree, next to what looked like a hole. The tree was some way off (about 120-150m from the footpath along which I've previously seen one sitting on a post). This presents a potential problem and possibly an end to the chances of photographing the owl(s) here. I am presuming the hole was a nest site, and as such this immediately throws up all sorts of issues regarding Schedule 1 listed birds, licenses etc. I am not even sure little owls are on the list - one source I looked at quickly didn't have them, but I wonder if it is current. Clearly I am going to have to do lots of research on this before proceeding any further.

It is encouraging though that it/they are in the area and as I was viewing from a well-used public path at some distance away, I don't think I am comitting any disturbance to them by simply viewing them through binoculars.

I am also planning on doing some research on little owls themselves, their behaviour patterns, hours of activity etc etc, so I have a bit of reading to do.

[Chris Hawes]

I hadn't been able to do any photography since starting this thread, but spending the Bank Holiday weekend in Devon enabled me to get a few opportunistic type shots on Dartmoor and Prawle Point (i.e. point and shoot photography rather than anything planned).

Firstly are a few yellowhammer shots - nothing to rival Ollie's pictures but I don't get to see these often. The background to the second shot is one of Dartmoor's many torrs.





One morning we got up early to try and find red grouse, and we did manage to find this one. We managed to get fairly close to it - unlike the other shots, this is uncropped.



Finally a couple of shots taken at Prawle Point - both firsts for me. Here's one of about a dozen or so Whimbrel we saw on the rocks below the path (you'll have to look hard for it!), and lastly a shot of one of the local Cirl Buntings.





Of these I am pleased with the grouse shot in particular, although the light could have been better (I had to set the ISO at around 1250). I don't think I'll add to my list of best shots, but it was certainly good to get out and use the camera again!