Canon EOS 50d, EF 100-400mm L lens
1/2000 @ 6.3, ISO 400, 115mm
We spent the day at the "Nature in Focus 2010 Seminar" at WWT Slimbridge with well known photographers Ben Osborne, David Ward, Phil Malpas, Charlie Hamilton-James. It was put together by "Wild Arena.com", Canon, Paramo clothing and others. The talks were very interesting particularly David Ward on landscapes, because the information he put over applied to all aspects of photography. Something worth repeating here is his assertion that you should look for something, in a photo, that will engage the viewer. Take the photos above , I could have taken a picture of the Ruddy Shelduck just swimming along, as ducks do, but I wouldn't have needed all my equipment to do that, a camera phone would have done it nearly as well. Instead I waited - as I usually do - until it did something interesting.
Canon EOS 50d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/1250 @ 5.6, ISO 400, 400mm
At lunch time and again in the afternoon (3-4.15pm in time for the best light) we were out in the wetlands centre taking pics of anything that appealed to us. It's easy to get distracted at Slimbridge, there is so much to see, both native and non-native species. But although I took pictures of some of the Non-Native collections they were wing-clipped so don't qualify as wild life. I took over 200 pictures and feel I only scratched the surface of what is available, for instance we never got as far as the larger pools and hides.
Canon EOS 50d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1600 @ 5.6, ISO 200, 400mm
As you see, there were some common species around, species that I could easily photograph around my home county of Leicestershire. But they offered a chance to get something interesting and I saw no reason to miss out on a good picture just because I'd travelled around a hundred miles for something different.
Canon EOS 50d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/3200 @ 6.3, ISO 200, 400mm
And finally, although this species (below) isn't a bird and is an import from America, I couldn't resist taking it. As I approached the enclosure, it must have thought it was feeding time because it rushed towards me and gave me the chance of some close up shots. The quality isn't the best because there was a glass barrier all round the enclosure and I wasn't expecting the Otter to oblige so readily, that's why the settings are so low, I didn't have time to change them.
Canon EOS 50d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/125 @ 7.1, ISO 200, 100mm
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