Wildlife photography and the art of getting closer

One of the maxims wildlife photographers like to throw around is "if your photos aren't good enough then you're probably not getting close enough".  This nicely ties in with a question often posed by beginners to wildlife photography - "how do you get so close to capture all that clarity?"   As far as equipment is concerned, the answer is simple but costly - go out and buy an up-spec DSLR and a lens of 300mm or longer.   Whilst this last statement is certainly true, there is another major factor involved in getting great wildlife shots that is far kinder to your bank balance - get up closer!

Professional wildlife photographers get results because they put themselves in situations where they know they will encounter their chosen subjects.  They will blend into the background by hiding fairly close to where they know they'll get great shots and they'll wait.  And wait.  And wait.  Sometimes day after day, if that's what it takes.

For serious amateurs like me, I can't quite do that.  Work life, family life, home life means that 'photo time' is limited to moments I can grab in between all the rest that's going on.  So, with that in mind, how does the serious amateur, or beginner, grab some wildlife photo action without spending a week dressed as a bush up a hillside?  Here's a suggestion to get you going......

The Photo Hide

In my experience, while there are plenty of hides and screens available at plenty of reserves up and down the country, most of them were not really situated with photographers in mind.  Great for observing wildlife with digiscopes, but for the photographer the subject is often too far away for detail.  There are, however, some dedicated photo hides that put you far closer to your subjects.  Some are for hire and can be costly, but some are far more accessible.  Take the photo hide at the RSPB reserve at Lochwinnoch in Scotland for example......

Don't forget - the less you have to crop during processing, the better the detail. 

Here's what you see when you are sat in RSPB Lochwinnoch's photo hide - which in the nicest possible way isn't much.  Looks can be deceiving though!  The first thing you'll notice is how everything is up-close and personal.  Central to the view is a bird feeder on a ground spike - a ground spike because we want to offer minimal 'landing surface' to visiting birds and get them to land nearby instead.  To either side are what could best be described as 'props' - in this case a freshly harvested rowan branch with just a few leaves and berries left on and a long 'landing strip' of bare wood leaning toward the feeder.  To the right of the feeder are a couple of chunky logs placed in the ground, again with some decoration leaning against it.  Just off-shot to the left is a small pond - again, close to the hide.

Yes - that IS the same rowan twig!

You have probably guessed how it works by now - attracted by the contents of the feeder, birds will either (annoyingly!) go straight to the seeds - or - sit for a few seconds on the strategically placed branch.  Its these 'branch sitters' we want because then the whole thing looks natural.  Fine, you could photograph birds on the feeder, but that's not the result we are looking for.  Take a look at the photograph above and see how the background is so out of focus it produces that (I hope) pleasing 'bokeh'.  This is achieved because from RSPB Lochwinnoch's photo hide the background is so far away to the lens that it just fuses into a pleasing overall colour.

Crop away and still keep detail!

You'll no doubt be relieved to hear that you don't need a £10,000+ 'super telephoto' lens at this particular location.  In fact, the subjects are so close to you that you couldn't really use something like that.  I had a 300mm prime lens fitted when I visited and, to be honest, I think I would have found my 70-200mm tele zoom more use.  At this particular location, you will still get great results with a lens of around 100mm focal length, in my opinion. In other words, modest and inexpensive kit will still bring home the bacon.

Grab the in-flight action close to the feeder

RSPB Lochwinnoch's photo hide is often visited by their local woodpeckers - always allowing for great pics if you can catch them remaining still long enough......

We all love a 'woodie'

Here is a short list - very short at the moment - of similar non-commercial photography-friendly hides.  Feel free to advise me of others you know of and I'll add them to the list.......

• RSPB Lockwinnoch, Scotland.
• Cromwell Bottom NR, Elland, West Yorkshire - excellent screen, built by photographers.
• Hatfield Moor NNR, South Yorkshire - great for close-up woodpecker shots.