bird photography - Paul Miguel Wildlife Photography

Bulgarian Trip Report June 2023

Paul Miguel Abroad, Birds, bulgaria, Tour, Wildlife 26th June 202326th June 20232023, balkans, bird photography, bird photography tour, birds, black headed bunting, bulgaria, drinking pool, golden oriole, green woodpecker, hawfinch, hide photography, hoopoe, june, little owl, ortolan bunting, paul miguel, red backed shrike, reflection pool, summer, syrian woodpecker, tower hide, tree top hide, trip, wildlife, wryneck 0 Comment

After a couple of days break, following on from my Serbian Tour, I met up with my clients at Varna airport for this year’s Bird Photography Tour in Bulgaria. Our transfer is pretty short – it takes just over an hour to reach our rural Bulgarian village which – our base for the next 5 nights.

Our first photography session was at the Drinking Pool.. and what a difference a year makes! This time last year the pool was very quiet – now it is a hive of activity, with Finches, Tits and Woodpeckers visiting non-stop.

This is no ordinary drinking pool – it’s set around 10 metres high, part of our Tree-top Hide amongst the canopy. Aside from photography, this is a unique experience for wildlife-watching to be at eye level with a variety of birds… and the occasional Red Squirrel! Woodpeckers regularly landed in adjacent trees and Nightingales serenaded us, briefly showing themselves!

Great spotted Woodpeckers were regular visitors as were the Greenfinches, but the most active bird was the Syrian Woodpecker with different individuals coming to both drink and feed young on the pool edge. The main challenge was to capture the best reflections possible and luckily we were often blessed with calm conditions. Most of my images were composed vertically making for easier composition and ensuring I could include all the reflection.

The most exciting moment was when a male Green Woodpecker suddenly flew in and began to drink. I didn’t have the best autofocus settings set and whilst I photographed the bird, I didn’t get the head sharp enough! At least I managed a quick portrait as he perched on the opposite side before flying off! We also had a female land, but all too briefly for a picture.

Greenfinches were on mass and provided great opportunities for full reflections and drinking images. Another highlight was a pair of Hawfinches – a bird I always love to see.

One of my favourite aspects of Bulgaria are the opportunities for photography outside of hides. The surrounding habitat is so bird-rich and it’s just a case of putting in time at the right location to get good bird photos. Shooting from a vehicle we managed some lovely images of Black headed Bunting and Corn Bunting and had good views of both Woodchat Shrike and Red backed Shrike. In the past we have set up pop-up hides for various birds including Red backed Shrike, with success.

The Wryneck is a fascinating bird and they can be found, and heard, around our base. However, they are not easy to photograph! This year we had our best views and photos of this slightly bizarre bird. From a tent hide we were able to photograph a pair of Wrynecks as they returned to the nest to feed young. It was at quite a distance but by keeping the ISO low I was able to capture reasonable images, even after being significantly cropped.

The best encounter for me was coming across a Wryneck searching for ants by the roadside. The bird seemed relatively relaxed with the car and I managed a few shots – again this has been quite heavily cropped. We continue to learn about this bird – every bit of knowledge helps us to increase our chances of photographic success.

This year the Golden Orioles were difficult to photograph. Good photo opportunities are largely dependent on weather factors and food availability and this year the odds weren’t in our favour. That said, we regularly saw and heard Orioles pretty much every day and we had great views of them feeding on fruits from the Tree-top Hide – just a little too distant for photography. Last year we captured amazing Oriole images at close range. We also watched Blackbirds and Red Squirrels feeding on the fruits this season.

This year a pair of Hoopoes chose to nest very close to one of the permanent hides. The site is one of my favourite locations – a mixture of wildflower meadows and woodland with a small stream at the bottom of a bank. It’s a wonderful place to just stop and listen to the birds. Watch my Bulgaria 2023 video to hear the beautiful birdsong here During our session we had many visits from both parents and we captured some great flight shots. The light levels were always low so we had to whack up the ISO. I’ve also done a little post-processing to reduce the background noise.

You never know what’s going to turn up in Bulgaria. We saw many more birds including Linnet, Western Yellow Wagtail, Turtle Dove, Lesser grey Shrike and a Little Owl that would often sit on the roof! We also heard Scops Owl and Nightjar in the evening.

The hides are run by my good friend Terry who always goes above and beyond for his clients. We were very grateful for his efforts and for the suggestions he made on getting the most out out of each situation. Can’t wait to get back! I’ll be looking at a Winter Trip for Woodpeckers and exploring nearby wetlands for more photo tours.

Join me on a Bulgarian Tour – Email Me: paul@naturephotographycourses.co.uk

See Images and Footage from this year’s Tour

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Bird List for this Tour

Close Views / Photographable: Syrian Woodpecker, Great spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Lesser spotted Woodpecker, Red backed Shrike, Black headed Bunting, Corn Bunting, Wryneck, Hoopoe, Little Owl, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Hawfinch, Blackbird, Jay, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Sombre Tit, Magpie

Good Views / Distant Photographs: Linnet, Western Yellow Wagtail, Scops Owl, Golden Oriole, Nightingale, Woodchat Shrike, Woodlark, Crested Lark, Lesser grey Shrike, Turtle Dove, White Stork, Collard Dove

Distant or Heard: Ortolan Bunting, Nightjar, Common Cuckoo, Common Buzzard, Whitethroat

Other Wildlife: Tree Frogs, Red Squirrel, Lizards and many, many Insects!

Serbia Trip Report June 2023

Paul Miguel Abroad, Birds, Serbia, Tour, Wildlife 25th June 202326th June 2023all inclusive, autofocus, balkans, bee-eater, bird photography, bird photography tour, birds, canon, canon r6, clients, egret, europe, flight photography, heron, hide photography, hoopoe, hungary, june, lay down hide, paul miguel photography, purple heron, pygmy cormorant, red footed falcon, roller, serbian, squacco heron, summer, tour report, tower hide, trip report, vojvodina, water hide, white stork, wildlife, wildlife photography tour 0 Comment

Due to the pandemic, the last time I used these hides in Serbia was in 2019 so I was eager to get back. It was a wonderful feeling to be back here again and I can honestly say the hides were as good as ever – in fact, this year I’d say they delivered some of the best opportunities I’ve ever seen. I met my 3 clients, Mike, Karen and Ray at Belgrade Airport before taking our transfer north to Vojvodina.

The next morning we had our first photo session – a beautiful setting for Hoopoe. Both parents were bringing food back to the chicks – my clients worked largely on capturing flight shots whilst I concentrated on video. We also got images of the youngsters peeking out of the nest hole! This hide is one-way glass, situated at ground level, with a wild flower meadow as the backdrop. It also doubles up as a White Tailed Eagle hide in the winter months.

The Tower Hide is always a busy place for photography. Here Red footed Falcon, Common Kestrel and European Roller all nest in close proximity. At times the action can be a little crazy – with so much going on that you don’t know where to point your camera! It often pays to concentrate on a specific species, or focus on a pre-visualised image. I’ve always struggled with flight shots here in the past; this time I managed my best flight shots of both Kestrel and Roller. The Red footed Falcons are always a challenge – their speed can be incredible!

I tried a suggestion from one my clients, Ray, switching to a larger rectangular box for my autofocus. I was amazed how well it worked and I captured one of my best ever flight shots of a Roller as it swooped up to its perch. The Canon R6 auto-focus had locked on incredibly well and from 6 images, 4 were pin sharp on the head. Happy days! Everyone enjoyed the Tower Hide very much and we did another session later in the week.

The Water Hides are some of my favourites in Serbia. There are currently 2 in action, whilst a third one is being built for 2024. The main Water Hide is situated amongst the reed-beds with a beautiful view across the water. The background colours are beautiful and with low winds the reflections are very appealing. From our sessions here we photographed Grey Heron, Night Heron, Squacco Heron, Purple Heron, Little and Great Egret. The light here can be stunning – early in the morning the sun starts to break over the reeds and the quality of both sunlight and reflections is spot on.

black crowned night heron with reflection on water in serbia in morning light

In our last session at the hide we had quite a surprise. Out of nowhere a White Stork landed, right in front of us and began to fish. We all took many, many images as the bird danced around, striking numerous poses and catching its prey. This was an absolute delight and something I had never seen from this hide before!

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The second water hide is a low down affair. Lying in a 4 foot high tube for hours on end is never comfortable… but I really like the aspect of this hide. Completely at ground level we had close up views of a range of birds that were naturally foraging in the shallow waters. Lapwing, Redshank, Great Egret and Purple Heron all came reasonably close for photography. It pays to keep turning over now and again (a bit like a spit-roast) to relieve tension in both your neck and back. Still, it might help to incorporate a little pilates into your life for moments like these…

Some of my favourite images from this session were of a Pygmy Cormorant. The light was always flat and at times there was a little rain in the air. It was nice to get something different, a little atmospheric – the bird even did a nice shake for me at one point!

There’s one bird I’d always wanted to capture in the past but never been successful – the Black winged Stilt. I think these birds are beautiful. Dainty and elegant.. although they can look a little too ridiculous at times when you realise just how long their legs are. As I’d hoped, a few of these birds slowly wandered in our direction and we managed some pleasing shots, often with blurred foregrounds.

We did a solid 4 hours in that hide and, despite the discomfort, I really enjoyed my time in the there. And there’s always a sense of achievement at the end!

This year conditions for the Bee-eaters were fabulous. Shooting in the afternoon can give incredible light, particularly as the sun begins to set behind us. We shoot from a pop-up hide, which the birds readily accept. The bubbling sound here is just incredible, something that can’t be conveyed in the images – but you can listen to it in my Serbian Photo Tour Video

Simple portraits aren’t difficult to capture and even the food pass is relatively easy. So, with such great light, and favourable winds, I set about capturing some decent landing shots as birds came to alight on the perches. It’s often trial and error, but after a few attempts I managed some images I was really happy with.

Without doubt, one of the highlights for me was our new location for Birds in Flight Photography. This site allows us to shoot at eye level and with such good activity we had numerous attempts at our flight shots. In just a short space of time we had photographed 4 species of Heron, 2 species of Egret and 2 species of Cormorant, not to mention the many Gulls – all from the same place!

Over the week we photographed at a second Hoopoe Hide, a Penduline Tit nest, and enjoyed ‘in the field’ photography with the help of our knowledgeable Serbian guides. We photographed Spoonbill, Great Reed Warbler, Moustached Warbler, a family of Bearded Tits and numerous Marsh Harriers! We had sightings of Red backed Shrike, Saker Falcon and Little Bittern. The species we saw reached impressive numbers – we counted around 50.. just in one morning! We finished our tour with a morning trip to Subotica, with a local guide, for a little sight-seeing and to learn about the history of the town.

It was a great week with some truly memorable moments. As always a big thank you must go the hide operators who work extremely hard. And a massive thanks to my clients for making it such a fun trip, great company to have!

Watch my video of this years’ Serbian Bird Photography Tour on YouTube

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Photograph the Famous Roosting Long Eared Owls of Serbia

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Full Bird List for this Tour

I’ve done my very best to list everything we saw and heard, but there were so many species I may have missed something!

Farmland / grasslands: Red footed Falcon, Common Kestrel, European Roller, Jackdaw, Collared Dove, Common Starling, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow, European Bee-eater, Common Cuckoo, Saker Falcon, Hobby, Stonechat, Turtle Dove, Golden Oriole, Woodpigeon, Corn Bunting

Water Birds: Grey Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Squacco Heron, Purple Heron, Great Cormorant, Pygmy Cormorant, Great Egret, Little Egret, Little Bittern, Spoonbill, Black winged Stilt, Mute Swan, Coot, Mallard, Pochard, Red crested Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose, Redshank, Northern Lapwing, Marsh Harrier, Black headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Black Tern, Whiskered Tern, Kingfisher

Reed beds / Wetlands: Bearded Tit, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Great reed Warbler, Moustached Warbler, Penduline Tit, Sand Martin

Woodland and Scrub: Whitethroat, Red backed Shrike, Lesser grey Shrike, Long eared owl, Little Owl, Great spotted Woodpecker, Syrian Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Jay, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Blackcap, Whitethroat

Other Wildlife: Otter, Roe Deer, Brown Hare, Water Snake, Frogs, Lizards, Butterflies, Damselflies & Dragonflies

Photographing Red Grouse in Yorkshire

Paul Miguel Birds, Nature, Wildlife, Winter 3rd January 20193rd March 2019bird photography, paul miguel photography, red grouse, swaledale, wildlife photography, yorkshire 0 Comment

Ever since my first visit to Swaledale many moons ago I’ve been in love with Red Grouse. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve visited over the years. One particular location provides reliable opportunities with Grouse frequenting the roadside heather. Every day is different but it’s not unusual to get extremely close views if you use the car as a mobile hide. I recently spent a winter’s morning up on the moors, using my Canon 500mm f4 Mark i lens. The technique is fairly simple – just wind down the window and use a good quality beanbag as your camera support. Beanbags provide particularly good support for long lenses and I personally prefer this to using a tripod.

To increase stability I also push down slightly on the barrel of the lens with my left hand; with good technique you can use surprisingly slow shutter speeds if the bird is relatively still. Red Grouse are beautiful birds but they seem to have that kind of plumage that camera’s don’t like! If you’re using off centre focus points and the camera is struggling, try switching to the centre focus point and recomposing – you might find the focus more accurate. Above all try to spend as much time as you can when you find a photogenic bird: capturing some kind of behaviour will really lift your images.

Bird Photography Tips and Tricks

Paul Miguel Birds, Nature, Wildlife 14th November 201814th November 2018background, bird photography, bird photography tips and tricks, branches, natural, perches, photographing small birds 0 Comment

When it comes to capturing strong images of small birds there are a few tips and tricks you can use to improve your bird photography.

Perches

Birds on feeders rarely make for great photos; it’s much more natural, and fun, to photograph them on attractive perches. It’s important here to use a suitable perch, so if you’re not familiar with the species it might be worth a little research to understand the habitat the bird lives in – that way you can find an appropriate perch. When it comes to finding perches it’s simply a case of searching around. If you’re working in a woodland setting then hopefully you can find branches and logs covered in moss, lichens or even fungi; this is going to add some extra colour to your images. It’s also important to consider the size of the perch – a thick branch covered in lichens may look wonderful… but is it going to dwarf the small tits that land on it? Bigger logs and branches can be ideal for larger birds such as blackbirds and jays, but for small birds try using thinner more delicate branches and twigs.

Getting them on the perch!

So you’ve got a suitable perch for your chosen bird – how to you get the bird to land on it? The tried and tested method is to use food as bait. Garden birds for example will easily come down to bird seed, peanuts, fat-balls – and meal worms. Watch which direction the birds come from – they will often congregate in a nearby bush or tree. After watching their flight path you can then erect your perch near the food so that the birds land on it before they visit the feeders. This won’t work every time, some birds will ignore the perch (that’s nature) but you should get enough opportunities for photography. There are different ways to set up the perch, including poles, tripod attachments and pushing into the ground. Once the bird lands you need to be quick – focus, compose and fire a series of shots. You should be able to do this in less than 2 seconds – which is sometimes all you’ll have! If you’re interested in setting up bird feeders check out this YouTube Video where I set up a bird feeding station.

Background

Perhaps equally as important as the perch is the background. A good bird photograph can succeed or fail depending on choice of shooting position. Try to avoid too much distraction behind the bird – this can take some experience but essentially you want a background that will go nicely out of focus when you focus on the bird. Tree trunks, light coloured branches, highlights and shadows can all cause problems. Try to shoot against an area that looks as smooth as possible – in the same light. Also try to find a background that is quite distant; this will instantly help to give a clearer backdrop. Another way to improve things is to use a wide aperture – this will blur the background more, but it won’t compensate enough if the background is just too cluttered.

bird photography technique — Great tit on Holly; shot towards a clear grass field for soft background

A brief word about mini-ecosystems. Moving branches, logs and rocks can affect what grows there – lichens and mosses in particular thrive on very specific micro-environments. You may also be affecting small invertebrates that live there too. That said, we are talking about very occasional changes and I do not consider it to be detrimental to the environment. If you end up with a few logs and branches that have been used as perches, then create a new pile – and a new ecosystem! A word too on hygiene: if you are feeding birds, please wash your hands before, or at the very least give them a good rub. Birds are susceptible to germs just as we are!

There really is no limit to the types of bird photographs you can create given the multitude of perches out there. Think shape, texture, colour – and get creative! If you want to improve your bird photography skills consider joining one of my Bird Photography Workshops or a day of tailor made One to One Tuition

How to Photograph Birds in Flight

Paul Miguel Birds, Uncategorised, Wildlife 14th November 201814th November 2018bird photography, canon, canon 300mm f2.8, canon 400mm f5.6; canon 500mm f4, exposure, flight photography, how to photograph birds in flight, wildlife photography 1 Comment

Photographing action is one of the toughest aspects of wildlife photography and none more so than photographing birds in flight. It requires practice and perseverance – along with a little technical know-how.

What Lens to Use?

For the majority of bird photography you’ll need a fairly big lens – probably 400mm or bigger; but for birds in flight a 300mm may suffice. The focal length however isn’t the only consideration. Are you likely to be hand-holding? In this case the weight is a significant issue. If you’re not sure, the best way is always to test one out – you’ll soon get an idea just how long you can hold it for! I’ve been a Canon user for a long time and the Canon EF 300mm f 2.8 (Mark i and Mark ii) has long been regarded as one of the best lenses out there for photographing birds in flight. Other options include the Canon EF 400mm f5.6 and the Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5 – f5.6 IS (Mark i and Mark ii). All these lenses are suitable for hand-holding and can be carried around for reasonable amounts of time. Longer lenses such as the Canon EF 500mm f4 IS (Mark i and Mark ii) and the Canon EF 600mm f4 IS (Mark i and Mark ii) can also be excellent for flight photography but can only be hand-held for short periods of time due to their weight It’s more appropriate is to use these larger lenses with a tripod and a gimbal head allowing for quick changes of direction when tracking birds.

Flight Photography Technique

It’s tempting to try and concentrate solely on keeping the bird within the focus points. Whilst this is the idea, I find it best to try and match the speed and movement of the bird – so try and think of it more that way when you’re tracking. When hand-holding try to pan from the waist whenever possible; stay reasonably relaxed and fire the shutter smoothly: watch the YouTube video to see me demonstrating When using a gimbal head, make sure you adjust the resistance knobs so it is comfortable for you. It’s also important to be aware of relative speed. If a bird is in the distance you won’t have to move the camera as quickly but once it comes near you will have to pick up the speed of panning. Most modern lenses will also have image stabilisation/vibration reduction. It is sometimes believed that they help to get sharp images of action but in reality that’s not really the case. Using IS or VR won’t stop movement of your subject – and with fast shutter speeds it probably won’t have much effect on camera shake either. However, it can help by stabilising the viewfinder, thereby making tracking a little easier.

Shutter Speeds and Apertures

Above all you need a fast shutter speed for birds in flight. I like to be at 1/1000 or faster most of the time. However, every situation varies. Whilst 1/1000 is a good shutter speed to aim for, slower moving birds such as hunting owls can be photographed with slower speeds such as 1/500. On the quicker side, a diving red kite for example or a small bird in flight, and you’ll often need 1/2000 or higher.

how to photograph birds in flight — Red Kite in dive, 1/3200 with 300mm f4 lens

As for choice of aperture, setting a fairly wide aperture will let in more light, helping to keep the shutter speed higher. That said, I like to stop down a little to ensure a greater depth of field throughout the bird. With a lens of 400mm or 500mm I’ll often use around f7.1. In terms of ISO it’s really a case of adjusting this to give you an accurate exposure without creating too much noise in the image. In bright light you might not need to go above ISO 400 whilst in duller conditions and when shooting near sunrise or sunset you might be closer to ISO 2000.

Focusing and Frame Rate

For birds in flight you’ll need the tracking auto-focus option. The will be AF-C on Nikon and AI Servo on Canon. So long as you keep the focus engaged this will track the bird continuously. You can focus with the shutter button (half pressed) or you can use the Back Button Focusing method. Experiment to see what works best for you. You need to have the frame rate set to continuous as you’ll want to take a burst of images. Modern cameras can shoot 14 frames per second and more but the majority of the time a frame rate of around 7 frames per second is sufficient. On advanced cameras such as the Canon 1DX you can set a maximum and minimum frame rate.

When it comes to the actual area of focus there are a number of options. A single focus point in the centre can often be accurate. However, a small cluster of 4 or 9 for example, around the centre is also a good option. My advice is to use less focus points if the background is a little ‘busy’ and if the bird is relatively small in frame. If the bird is more frame filling with a good clear background then you may be able to use all the focus points effectively.

Exposure

This is probably the trickiest of all and you should experiment to find your favoured way of exposing for birds in flight. If lighting conditions are consistent then manual exposure can work well. In bright sun with clear skies, set your desired shutter speed and aperture, then point the camera directly above at the deepest part of the blue sky. Adjust the ISO until the exposure meter is in the centre. This will give you a good base reading; you may need to adjust slightly. The advantage of manual exposure is that you are in complete control of all settings. Aperture Priority, A or AV, can be ideal and certainly works well in changing light. Here you will set your preferred aperture and the camera will select the shutter speed. Adjust the ISO so you are getting a fast shutter speed of around 1/1000. One issue with this method is if the sky is quite light you will need to add some plus exposure compensation (overexpose) to stop the image coming out too dark. Shutter Priority mode can also be used but is more complicated to achieve consistent results.

Click Here to watch my video on Understanding Exposure

flight photography — Red footed Falcon; 500mm f4 lens, shot on Manual exposure at 1/1250 at f 7.1; ISO 1600

Auto ISO is another useful exposure tool where the camera adjusts the ISO itself. In manual exposure you can set both the shutter speed and aperture then select Auto ISO; only the ISO will change. In Aperture Priority you set the aperture and the camera adjusts the ISO (and shutter speed to an extent).

There’s a lot when it comes to photographing birds in flight but like anything it just takes practice. Put all these skills to good use and you’ll soon be surprising yourself at the quality of your bird shots! If you want to improve your wildlife photography skills consider joining one of my Wildlife Photography Workshops or a day of tailor made One to One Tuition

Iceland Photography Tour Report 2018

Paul Miguel Abroad, Birds, Iceland, Landscape, Nature, Tour, Wildlife 19th July 20183rd March 20192018, 7 nights, bird photography, bird photography tour, Canon 400mm f5.6, clients, explore nature, iceland, iceland photography tour, jokulsarlon, lupins, nature photography tour, paul miguel photography, red throated diver, snow bunting, summer, wildlife 3 Comments

In June 2018 I spent seven nights in Iceland in the enjoyable company of three clients – Shelley, Nigel and Craig. Iceland’s weather is very changeable and you never quite know what to expect. Upon arriving we were treated to glorious conditions with clear blue skies and thin cloud providing beautiful light. Our first part of the tour concentrated on Red throated Divers. This special breeding site on the south of the island really is a remarkable place for bird photography. I’ve been here three times previously and captured stunning images of the divers, but you never get bored of these birds… and there’s always something new to photograph. Over three sessions we managed some quality images – often in near perfect light. At 10.00pm we were still shooting, such are the long days of Iceland’s summer. The light at this time is wonderful – just perfect for bird photography.

Watch my YouTube video of the Red throated Divers

I set myself the challenge of Red throated Divers in flight and concentrated my efforts on one pond. Many divers would fly over, eliciting responses from below with their constant wailing calls. During two evening sessions the sky was almost completely clear, giving perfect backdrops for divers in flight. A few days before the trip my 500mm lens had suddenly failed, so I was making do with the Canon 400mm f5.6. Whilst not as fast, it certainly makes hand-holding easier – and with good light, it’s actually pretty good for flight photography. Around the pools we also photographed a range of birds including Snipe, Red necked Phalarope and Whooper Swan.

Our next leg of the trip included a long drive East, stopping at Vik. The weather was pretty wet here with murky low mist but I was determined to get some images of the beach. Despite the wind and rain (not unusual in Iceland!) I attached my Canon 50mm 1.8 lens and did the best I could hand-held. In these types of conditions I find hand-holding a good option as you can quickly put the camera away should it become too wet. The rain eased off slightly and I went for some shallow depth of field images using the church in the background. Again, hand-held. Despite the dank conditions, Redwings regularly flitted around the lupins occasionally perching on the fence posts.

We stopped again briefly, on our return journey and in (slightly) drier conditions I captured photos of the rock stacks – again using shallow depth of field with the flowering lupins as foreground. For this image I used my Canon 100mm f2.8 and took a number of shots varying the focus. I preferred the focus purely on the distant rock stacks.

View the 2019 Iceland Photography Tour with Explore Nature

Our last part of the tour included Jokulsarlon, the magnificent ice lagoon. It’s no overstatement to say that this is a photographer’s paradise. From landscapes to wildlife, and something in between, you could shoot here all day. The landscape constantly shifts as the tide brings in new blocks of ice -and washes them away again. Every day is different – not just in the moving icebergs but also in the varying hues of blue. We all managed some landscape photographs and I was particularly pleased to get something decent from the beach – a very strange and quite baron looking environment. Craig particularly enjoyed the landscape and the opportunities to capture more environmental images of birds.

Nigel was in his element, using his 600mm lens to capture Snow Buntings, Arctic Terns and Skuas. The Snow Buntings here are remarkable, allowing really close views. They would constantly hop around the rocks, including juveniles waiting to be fed. Even a torrential downpour didn’t stop these hardy little birds – the males even carried on singing!

Shelley was content to stay by the water’s edge photographing Eiders and Barnacle Geese as they slowly drifted by in this unique habitat. A long lens isn’t always the best option at Jokulsarlon. Switching to something smaller really allows the environment to come into frame. A 300mm or 400mm can be ideal, or even a 200mm zoom.

The Arctic Terns at Jokulsarlon provide amazing photo opportunities – from perched groups on icebergs to frantic mass diving into the glacial waters. We all spent time trying to capture a range of shots, including wider views of terns in the habitat. Skuas were constant companions too – as they mercilessly harassed the tern colony!

We spent three nights at Jokulsarlon, thoroughly enjoying our time there. We booked our last night at Keflavik, near the airport, and our final day saw the long journey back. Still, we had many opportunities along the way for even more photography, stopping for a beautiful landscape view near Skaftafell and a small waterfall by the roadside. You could literally stop round every corner in some parts of Iceland.!

Our final stop was Seljalandsfoss – one of the more popular waterfalls in this part of Iceland. With flowering buttercups below and flying Fulmars above it was a lovely end to our week’s photography. Check out the 2019 Iceland Photography Tour which I will be leading for Explore Nature. For other Nature and Wildlife Photography Tours visit my website at Nature Photography Tours You can watch the video of this 2018 Iceland Tour Here on YouTube

Hopefully this blog inspires you to take your own trip to Iceland. Whilst the country has grown rapidly in tourism, you can easily find places all to yourself without too much effort. Just get off the beaten track… and enjoy the solitude and serenity this country has to offer.

To see more of my landscape and wildlife photography view the galleries at www.paulmiguel.co.uk

You can see more photography from Shelley Knight at shelleyknightphotography.co.uk

Watch a range of Wildlife Photography Videos on my YouTube Channel

Paul

Gannets in the Mist…

Paul Miguel Birds, Photography Workshop, Wildlife 4th May 201616th May 2016bempton cliffs, bird photography, birds, coast, courses, east yorkshire, flight, fog, gannets, guillemots, kittiwakes, photography workshop, razorbills, sea mist 2 Comments

I recently led a Photography Workshop at Bempton Cliffs on the East Yorkshire coast. Upon arrival we were greeted by the thickest of sea mists with terrible visibility. I was pretty sure it would lift by the afternoon, but the fact is – it didn’t! So, rather than complain about what could not be changed, we persevered with our bird photography. It certainly gave opportunities for something different – which is never easy to do at Bempton. The histogram for our images was almost in one place due to the short dynamic range.

The most difficult part was focussing. Regardless of lens speed, autofocus was having an absolute nightmare trying to lock onto wishy washy targets against a wishy washy background. I found the juvenile gannets slightly easier as the camera was able to lock on better due to their mottled plumage. The wind was also a real challenge. A strong easterly breeze kept the birds buffeted about and throwing sea spray onto our lenses. Yes, this was definitely a challenge!! As always its a case of keep trying and we all managed some reasonably sharp flight images including the additional guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes.

A little closer to our cameras was this lovely pair of razorbills. Occasionally the sea fog thinned enough to capture some detail in the birds as in this shot here. A nice change from the constant grey fog.

Thanks to my clients Louise and Martin who braved the conditions and embraced the challenge. It would have been all too easy to give up entirely..! As it happens I’m actually quite happy with some of the images and certainly gives me ideas for the future. If you’re interested in joining me on future workshops check out my Photography Course at Bempton Cliffs