THEAPPRENTICE
Canon professional photographer Oliver Wright takes PhotoPlus Apprentice Peter Lau to some of his favourite accessible nature spots to take brilliant nature photos
APPRENTICE
NAME:
PETER LAU
CAMERA:
CANON EOS R5
PETER HAS a passion for nature stemming from an active outdoor lifestyle and was a firefighter for 25 years. In 2014, a mountain bike accident left him paralyzed from the chest down. Ever since, he’s been determined to prove that photography is a hobby everyone can enjoy. He uses an electric Triride to go into environments you wouldn’t think would be possible on a wheelchair. Peter is also a wildlife support officer with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and works with Accessible Nature UK to improve access to outdoor places. www.accessiblenatureuk.com
CANON PRO
NAME:
OLIVER WRIGHT
CAMERA:
CANON EOS R5
BASED IN Garforth, Leeds, Oliver has embraced Canon’s latest mirrorless full-frame cameras, now shooting fantastic macro imagery of wildlife, plants and flowers with his EOS R5. A climbing accident back in 2010 was the catalyst for Oliver realizing his passion for photography, in particular wildlife. Oliver now runs events with Canon and promotional videos. He’s the perfect pro to teach Peter about macro and wildlife photography. www.oliverwrightphotography.com
TECHNIQUE ASSESSMENT
Oliver helped Peter set up his Canon EOS R5 ready to take close-ups of wildlife
MANUAL MODE
OLIVER and Peter both shoot on Canon EOS R5 mirrorless cameras, so Oliver suggested Peter input his camera settings so he could follow along. To begin, he put his R5 into Manual mode and set the aperture to f/7.1 for decent sharpness. Though a clear morning, light levels were still a little low so switched to ISO800 which gave him a rapid shutter speed of 1/5000 sec – fast enough to freeze any birds in motion, and eliminate camera shake.
HIGH SPEED BURST
WHETHER it’s birds in flight or tiny macro insect subjects, Oliver uses the High Speed Continuous burst mode on his EOS R5 to make use of the blisteringly quick frame rates so he doesn’t miss the moment. He also uses the High Continuous Burst+ mode which uses a fully electronic shutter for totally silent shots and enables the fastest 20fps burst. Oliver noted he tries not to use it when birds are flying past buildings as the rolling shutter effect can make them look odd.
Lens Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Exposure 1/2500 sec, f/7.1, ISO800
HOT SHOT #1
PETER’S COMMENT
I met up with Oliver on a bright sunny morning at the accessible RSPB St Aidan’s nature reserve. At the start of the day we had bright sunlight which I thought would be great for capturing birds in loads of sun and at fast shutter speeds, but Oliver noted that it
