CASE STUDIES - HOW I GOT THE SHOT

This section of the website illustrates the problems and hardship which you find in the field and how I overcame these problems and achieved the resulting photograph. There are at present 3 case studies each of a different wildlife subject or area and i have basically described how i set up and searched the area to find the best location to photograph the wildlife subject from. I then move on to the logitics and the type of equipement used as well as any problems which arose before explaining the composition and any metering difficulties which occurred to try and get the resultant shot.

If you have any further questions about any of the case studies don't hesitate to contact me and i will do my best to answer your questions

CASE STUDY 1 - Red Squirrel falling asleep on a branch at sunset

One of my favourite wildlife subjects to photograph is the red squirrel. Being based in Cumbria it is one of the last few havens within Britain that the Red Squirrel is still able to

survive in. I have spent countless hours observing their behaviour and building up an idea of each Red Squirrels personality. In the summer months of 2003 I was regularly visiting a site every evening for a couple of hours to photograph a group of Red Squirrels which came to a feeding spot. The position was perfect as in the evenings the sun set directly in front of the feeding position on the side of a mountain wood. From regularly visiting the site I knew the best position to try and capture a nice side lighting from the sunset on the red squirrels body, however as I am sure many of you will know the Lake District is renowned for it’s poor sunset’s and every time in the last month the sun just disappeared without forming any ‘spectacular’ light.

By late August the shot I was looking for (a red squirrel sitting on a branch with its fur lit up in the evening sunset) was not forthcoming. However perseverance and interest made me continue to go back to the site and eventually it paid off. One evening around 9pm as I was just about to pack up (because the sun had just gone down) a red squirrel, I named George (don’t ask me why) popped his head up around the bottom of the tree I was aiming to get the ‘shot’. Suddenly it climbed up the side of the tree and promptly collapsed on the side of the branch and fell asleep. At the same moment in time the sun as if knowing that it needed to produce that special bit of light shone a golden red light across the sky. I immediately grabbed the 100-400 Canon IS lens and 1V body and moved myself into the best position I could which at that moment in time was a sharp bramble bush. As I was shooting away I paused and looked through the viewfinder unhappy with the kind of shot produced. I moved back to my equipment set up (which was where I had been photographing the red squirrels eating hazelnuts that I had placed down for them) and picked up my big bertha (600mm Canon IS lens). I then quietly moved back to the uncomfortable position that I was previously in with my 100-400 lens and got the resultant tightly cropped shot you can see above. Throughout this whole time period the squirrel did not move an inch. As it was so used to me being there it trusted that I was not a threat and hence was relaxed in my presence. All the hard work that had been put in throughout the previous couple of months had been worthwhile. Once the light had disappeared I stayed for a while and just watched George for a bit (who by now was fast asleep), before quietly moving off, feeling pretty pleased with myself.

CASE STUDY 2 - GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER IN THE SNOW

One of the photographs that I wanted to add to my stock collection was an images of a great spotted woodpecker in the snow. However with the lack of snow in this country

recently it didn’t seem that likely to occur. However, while I was up photographing wildlife in Scotland during February 2004 it fortunately decided to snow. A local photographer and friend then took me to a site where he had a hide set up and great spotted woodpeckers visited on a frequent basis. Getting up to the hide by this time was a bit of a mission because now the snow was up to your knees (it had been snowing for several days previously before this point in time) and moving camera equipment in these conditions is not easy. Anyway setting up quietly in the hide with my 300mm f2.8 canon lens (the tree was to close for the 600mm f4), I pre-focused on the spot where I was told the woodpecker would feed and waited. (I knew the position that the woodpecker would land because cut into the side of the tree was wire mesh where food was placed. Obviously this was out of site of the part of the tree where the photograph would be taken).

After a couple of freezing hours, watching the snow build up around the hide and wondering if I would be able to get out I saw the woodpecker at the top of one of the trees. I quietly changed the batteries, as by this time they had frozen, and swapped them with a new pair which I kept in my coat pocket. However, the woodpecker decided that for a laugh it wouldn’t land on the tree with the food but constantly fly from every other tree in the wood. Instead of following the woodpecker with the camera, which would have made the bird aware that something was wrong I watched and waited. After an hour of this the woodpecker finally landed on the side of the tree which I had pre-focused but in a position where only his back could be seen. By this point in time my hands, feet and everything else were numb with pain from the cold. Eventually the shot I had aimed for at the beginning occurred and I managed to achieve the shot you can see above. It just goes to show that patience is a virtue, even when you are partially frozen!