Wildlife PhotographyTalk at Selby Camera Club

Thanks to everyone at Selby Camera Club in Yorkshire for making me feel so welcome as their guest speaker. I thoroughly enjoyed the talk and was really pleased with the comments - particularly that the intimacy and connection of wildlife to its environment really came across in the pictures. That's what I strive to do, so it's great when this is recognised. It only makes me even more determined to get closer to wildlife and capture truly special moments in nature...

http://www.naturephotographycourses.co.uk     http://www.paulmiguel.co.uk

Photographing a captive Goshawk...

Photographing a captive goshawk was a real challenge today. Even when working with captive birds of prey, achieving good images is anything but easy. Finding suitable perches and backgrounds whilst trying to cope with terrible light in a dark woodland are just some of the challenges. Add flight shots into the bargain and it becomes even harder..!  The image I had in mind was almost impossible to capture, due to such low light levels. In the end the best result was photographing side on whilst panning to capture a motion shot; even with this technique I found myself using ISO 1000  -  I think for the first time ever..!!

Towards the end of the day, the fleeting sun provided soft backlighting for a pleasing natural shot of a goshawk within its woodland habitat. Many thanks again to Ben...

http://www.naturephotographycourses.co.uk/     http://www.paulmiguel.co.uk/

Autumn Roe Deer

A couple of weeks back I was out looking for roe deer again. It was during that ridiculously hot spell, and it seemed to bring a wave of wildlife activity. I don't think I have ever had so many quality views of wildlife in one day. From roe deer to foxes, red kites, hares and more.. It was wonderful.

This image shows one male roe deer chasing another male. Roe are funny animals; you never know what they are going to do next. At first they wandered casually into the field; then suddenly broke out into a frenzy of galloping. After a few seconds they were back to normality and carried on happily grazing together. I managed to stalk pretty close with a straight 300mm lens. Annoyingly the deer I was concentrating on didn't spot me at all; but the other one did..  One bark and they were both off, leaping away to safety and putting end to another morning's wildlife photography...

Who says rain stops play..?

Heavy rain is usually my cue to get some more work done in the office - it's useless for pictures... right..? Well, not always. Wildlife photography is as much about capturing the surrounding atmosphere as it is about recording the actual subject. This afternoon was a perfect example - as I drove along the winding upland track near Grinton looking for red grouse. Some of the downpours were just torrential, and within minutues there were large puddles and temporary streams cascading across the road. No good for wildlife you might think. I've often thought just that - but today was different. I decided to photograph in the rain, to create more atmospheric shots... and to produce something different from the norm. Not only did the rain record beautifully, but the quality of the deeply subdued light gave wonderfully rich colours and superb detail. And on top of that - it was rather fun too...!

 I needed to be prepared to shoot in such soggy conditions and used my own waterproof cover for the camera and lens. This allowed me to shoot in extremely heavy rain from the car. At first I shot on ISO 250, then after securing some shots switched to ISO 100. Shutter speeds were ranging from 1/80 to 1/30 and in all cases the rain was recording as streaks... just the way I wanted. The majority of the grouse were young birds, and all were capable of fending for themselves. Pitty no other birds stuck around, but I just don't think they were able to tough it out like them grouse..!

Note that if you come on one of my Upland Birds Photography Courses and the weather looks atrocious - all is not lost..!!

Birds of Prey Photography

Our recent Birds of Prey Photography Workshop proved just how imporant finding the right location can be. We're lucky enough to have access to acres of Yorkshire farmland, and the mixture of habitat is perfect. Old buildings and barns are ideal for little owl and barn owl - not to mention two wonderful open windows which our barn owl is happy to fly through for photography! The surrounding landscape is also beautiful, including barley fields during the summer, and a pine plantation that provides natural settings for long eared and eagle owl. Here's just a few images from the last bird of prey workshop.

This farm near to Masham will be a regular location for our birds of prey photography courses. Images taken by clients can be viewed at Yorkshire wildife and landscape photography. To see other workshops in Yorkshire visit nature photography courses

Bird of Prey Photography Workshop - Farm buildings and barns

I still have places remaining on the 14th May Birds of Prey Photography Course. The workshop takes place on a rural Yorkshire farm; we will be using the buildings, barns and variety of farm machinery, along with other natural perches to photograph barn owl, little owl and kestrel. We will also be shooting a stunning male goshawk in the surrounding countryside. Click here to see previous images from these birds of prey workshops in north Yorkshire. These days are ideal for anyone with an interest in wildlife photography who wants to practice and develop their skills.

Landscape Photography in Malhamdale & Swaledale

I still have places on the Malham photography workshop and Swaledale meadows photography course. The Malham day is in just a few weeks, on Sunday 8th May. We will be photographing the dramatic scenes at Malham Cove and Gordale Scar, along with the tranquil spring woodland and waterfall at Janets Foss. These courses will start later in the day to maximise the light, with the opportunity of staying for sunset. All workshops include lunch and refreshments. Bookings can be made via email or phone, and payment via paypal. Mob: 07759 485791 Email: paul.miguel@ntlworld.com View all landscape photography courses in the Yorkshire Dales

Birds of Prey Photography Course

Our recent birds of prey photography course was probably the best location we've used so far. We try to use new locations and different settings to provide different backdrops, whilst keeping everything looking as natural as possible. The setting for August's workshop was an old farm in North Yorkshire with barns, old buildings and gates... and beautiful rural surroundings including rolling green pasture and ripened wheat fields.
It's the perfect place to photograph barn owl and little owl in particular, with lichen covered stone walls and barn windows. We even managed to fly the barn owl through an open window numerous times providing stunning flight shots! The farm should now be one of our main locations for future bird of prey workshops.