PHOTOSTORIES
Photo essays from PhotoPlus readers and professional photographers alike
Steve headed out to take top winter wildlife portraits of birds in his garden and local nature reserve
Iam an amateur photographer, and over the past couple of years, I have developed a keen interest in wildlife and bird photography. Winter tends to be thought of a bit more negatively as a season, to stay in and enjoy the warmth.
However, a crisp sunny winter morning provides plenty of opportunities to capture images – the air is clear, light and very good, and you can capture the birds and other wildlife in the early frost.
I often visit local nature reserves and primarily concentrate on areas near the birdfeeder hides or waterside. At the hides, I look for the birds in the bushes and trees as they approach the birdfeeder, rather than on the feeders – this provides a far more natural-looking shot. Any frost or snow emphasizes the colours of the birds, and often their feathers are more fluffed up, too.
Photographing kingfishers can be a different challenge – standing and waiting in the cold – but it’s worth it to capture images of these colourful birds. The lack of leaves on the bushes actually helps me to spot the kingfishers more easily on the frosty branches.
I currently use a Canon EOS R6 with my Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM plus an RF 1.4x Extender when I need the extra reach, which turns my lens into a 140-700mm at the cost of one stop of light loss. This combination works well for wildlife photography – it is well balanced
