10th December 2012
Nature photography can be a frustrating hobby; there are just so many things that can go wrong. The first problem is usually finding a subject: you need information, skill as a naturalist and often a touch of luck too. Then you need reasonable weather and decent light: which can be problematic in the UK. You also hope for an attractive setting which shows your subject's habitat. Obviously you need the right camera gear for the situation and the skill to use it properly (we all fail at that sooner or later). Of course your subject may not show up or it may appear and then disappear immediately or hide or go to sleep, so you have to be glad of one or two nice poses and any interesting behaviour is a real bonus.
I had never seen a black-necked grebe, so when I read about one on the Dawlish Warren website, I decided to go there at the first opportunity. December 10th dawned bright and clear and I spotted the grebe immediately I reached the pond. There are three vantage points where the vegetation has been cut back at the water's edge, but two were under water because of recent heavy rain. I waited quietly at the third point at the southern end of the pond, while the grebe was busy at the northern end and the sun rose in the sky.
I knew that I needed my 500mm lens and 1.4 converter for good results, and when the grebe came to the middle of the pond I got a few record shots. I saw immediately that the bird was so small that I needed it to come closer. Checking these images and their histograms made it clear that there was no point in shooting unless the bright red eye was illuminated by the sun.
Then the magic happened. Everything just fell into place. That wonderful little bird came closer and closer, swimming across the smooth water and diving in front of the reeds where the light was brightest. I knew that I could have no excuses; if my photos were no good, it could only be my own fault. That's the final challenge of nature photography - are the photos as interesting and as beautiful as they ought to be? You can judge for yourselves.
I had never seen a black-necked grebe, so when I read about one on the Dawlish Warren website, I decided to go there at the first opportunity. December 10th dawned bright and clear and I spotted the grebe immediately I reached the pond. There are three vantage points where the vegetation has been cut back at the water's edge, but two were under water because of recent heavy rain. I waited quietly at the third point at the southern end of the pond, while the grebe was busy at the northern end and the sun rose in the sky.
I knew that I needed my 500mm lens and 1.4 converter for good results, and when the grebe came to the middle of the pond I got a few record shots. I saw immediately that the bird was so small that I needed it to come closer. Checking these images and their histograms made it clear that there was no point in shooting unless the bright red eye was illuminated by the sun.
Then the magic happened. Everything just fell into place. That wonderful little bird came closer and closer, swimming across the smooth water and diving in front of the reeds where the light was brightest. I knew that I could have no excuses; if my photos were no good, it could only be my own fault. That's the final challenge of nature photography - are the photos as interesting and as beautiful as they ought to be? You can judge for yourselves.
As I was taking the photos I kept telling myself to keep the camera as low as possible, although I was shooting over a low fence and some pruned willows and to watch the reflection as well as the bird. I think the reflection gives the photo a sense of the environment and adds greatly to the aesthetic effect. Unfortunately I missed it on the last shot because the little guy just came too close! This is not a common problem for bird photographers.
Technically speaking, I was disappointed that I had not got the focus exactly right on many of my photos. It took me some time to understand why. The basic rule is to focus on the eye, but I had my focus set on a single central point, But because I was including the reflection in each shot, this put the focus point on the bird's 'waterline'. Normally this wouldn't matter much, but this small grebe has a very broad beam, so my point of focus tended to be just in front of its eye and there was not enough depth of field as I was shooting at about 1/400s at f/7.1 with a 700mm focal length. I should have realised this while I was shooting, but the grebe was diving and surfacing so frequently and coming so close that I had to work hard to focus and compose each photo and I didn't have time to think things through
I wanted to try again using a focus point above the centre of the image and ready to remove the converter if the grebe came very close.
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