Another year over…

It’s been three long months since I posted my last blog entry and I would like to apologise to my regular readers for my tardiness. The debacle over the sale of Watton Nature Reserve dented my enthusiasm for wildlife photography and following a period of reflection, courtesy of a short spell in Scarborough hospital, I decided it was time to re-evaluate my photography. I felt that I was becoming stale and needed a change of direction and a new challenge, so I eventually decided to revert to my former interest in monochrome ‘street-photography’. So, for the past few months I have been pounding the streets of the coastal towns of Yorkshire and documenting the life of these sea-side resorts.

I did consider selling my long lens and camera(s) but a good friend and mentor suggested that I should suspend my decision for a year or two. Three months later and I am very glad that I heeded his advice. I am enjoying my new project and to be quite frank, there are a lot of similarities between these two photographic genres. They both require excellent observational skills, a good sense of anticipation and more than often, fast reflexes too. In fact, I believe that they compliment each other and I can see me participating in both fields for the next few years.

One of my resolutions for the 2014 is to put together a book of my wildlife images taken at Tophill Low. It will be a self-published book, probably using Blurb and I intend to include the best of the photographs I have captured over the past four years. I don’t suppose it will ever make it to the shelves of a book shop. However, I hope it will provide me with a permanent record of my visits to Tophill Low and a reminder of the many friends I have made at this very special place.

Anyway, that’s enough of my struggles with my inner-self. It’s 2014 tomorrow and a whole new chapter. I would like to thank Richard Hampshire and all the volunteers at THL. A Happy New Year to everyone and may at least some of your dreams come true! I’m off to northern Norway in two weeks time to witness the frozen landscape and photograph the aurora. It should be fun!

Oh! and here are some pictures taken at Watton Nature Reserve a couple of days ago…

A hesitant Spring…

Finally we have been treated to a spell of mild, dry weather. The cold northerly and easterly winds have been replaced by their southern counterparts and it looks as though Spring has arrived at last. The trees are beginning to bud and blossom and the local wildlife are busy preparing for the next generation.

Of course, the local predators are always around to take advantage of the situation. Very early one morning, I managed to get a photograph of the local fox with a goose eggs between its jaws; it’s remarkable that such a savage jaw could hold a fragile egg with such delicacy.

The swallows have also returned. Initially, in small groups but yesterday evening, there were more than fifty skimming over the surface of the lake. I managed one decent photograph but anymore would certianly lead to madness. A pair of common buzzards have been visiting on a regular basis and trying to keep their distance from the local jackdaw and black-headed gull communities.

The local barn owl seems to have paired up too and appears to be doing well despite the increased competition from other predators. I was about a hundred yards away from one of the owls the other night when it turned and issued a warning screech in my direction. I backed off straight away and the owl flew off. I was only trying to get back to my car!

But the most wonderful aspect of the past few weeks has definitely been the quality of the light. When the light is that good it’s so hard to stay at home! The last picture in this blog entry demonstrates this beautiful light. A single white horse from the neighbouring farm against a broken old fence. I just had to take a picture!

[As usual, please click on any image in order to see a larger version]

Considerations on choosing a long lens for wildlife photography?

Thought that this question about selecting a super-tele lens for wildlife photography may be relevant to others who may be embarking upon this super expensive and life changing decision!

I am interested in your thoughts and opinions about the Nikon 500mm f4 lens. I am looking to save for a lens like the 300mm f2.8 all the way to the 600mm f4. I have asked other peoples opinions about the 400mm f2.8 lens but have been advised by friends that it is too short for wildlife. So I am still a little undecided about which I should set my sights for.

 Anyway, lets cut to the chase! Do you find the 500mm f4 lens fast enough to keep up with Kingfishers diving into the water and leaving the water and does it produce sharp images of this occasion? Would you recommend this over the 600mm f4 or a 300mm f2.8 (with TCs) to photograph birds, especially birds in flight?

Really depends on what you classify as ‘wildlife’. If you’re intention for the foreseeable future is to concentrate on small birds in the U.K. and you will be photographing from either a hide or a tripod, then the answer is simple…the longer the better! However, if you plan to travel abroad and wish to take your 600 mm lens, then you will encounter difficulties with both the weight and size of this beast.

My compromise was to choose a 500mm lens and take both a 1.4 & 1.7 T.C. This, plus two bodies and other lenses, will fit within today’s carry-on allowance in terms of size—though perhaps not weight! If you plan on going on a safari then the 500 mm is just too damn heavy and inconvenient. Maybe a 300 mm (either f2.8 or as in my case f4) would be more suitable and then perhaps save up for a 200-400 mm to supplement this at a later date.

All Nikon super-tele lenses are capable of producing excellent images but usually not out of the box. You have to learn and practice ‘long lens technique‘ to get the most from these fantastic lenses. Just don’t expect this to happen overnight. Of course another approach would be to purchase a 300mm f2.8, which on a DX camera would give you 450 mm of reach and even more with either of Nikon’s 3 excellent teleconverters.

Fast and accurate autofocus is dependent upon both the sophistication of the camera’s sensor and processor and the maximum aperture of the lens. A 300 mm f2.8 lens on a D3S body will give you a very fast and accurate response and even with a x2 converter, this would prove an excellent choice. This is a combination that I see more and more wildlife photographer’s using every day. It also has the added benefit of being easy to hand-hold for photographing birds-in-flight.

So before you rush into any decisions, I would carefully consider your current and future ambitions and then either beg, borrow or rent several lenses before you spend a king’s ransom on equipment.

—Tony McLean