This was my first photo shoot of the morning - a beautiful lapwing chick that ran around the grass, every now and then peeping out and posing beautifully for the camera.
Summer offers good opportunities for young birds, such as this grouse family that bumbled along the heather close to the roadside. I had about twenty minutes with these birds, watching the chicks clambering over the heather - overseen by the parents all the while. The lighting here was just fantastic: the sun was now stronger so I shot towards the light and used a diffused flash for fill-in. I'm a big fan of this kind of lighting - and it worked so well here.
Probably my favourite encounter was with this curlew - partly because a good image of this bird has eluded me until now. Usually curlews are flying away from the car: this one was running towards me..! I couldn't believe my luck when it stood on a mound and posed perfectly... pure magic! I had a number of chances as the birds did circuits around my car, running behind me then flying in front, scuttling around and calling constantly. The light was lovely too - soft backlighting which is fast becoming my favourite type of light for wildlife photography... it gives a wonderful quality that I think highlights the delicacy of so many birds and animals.
This day had to be one of the best wildlife photography sessions ever - I can't wait to return! Definitely worth the 4.00am start!! Evenings would be great here too I imagine, but nothing quite beats the stillness and serenity of early morning, punctuated by the evocative calls of the upland birds on this Yorkshire Dales moor.
Yorkshire has some truly fantastic sites for wildlife photography, but perhaps none quite as exhilarating as Malham Cove during the breeding season. Last Friday saw me on top of the cove watching a pair of wild peregrines flying against the perfect deep blue sky. These kind of mornings are what gets the blood flowing... truly inspiring... a special wildlife spectacle, played out in a majestic landscape. Peregrines have nested on the cove for the last few years, and whilst they are protected near the nest by law, here it's possible to photograph them from the public footpath.
These flight shots have only had slight cropping - showing just how close the peregrines can be! All were shot with a 300mm lens and 1.4 converter. I always think that trying to use a tripod or monopod is just a waste of time... these birds are so fast that you really need to handhold to follow them effectively. Still, it's tough..! A peregrine can be on the other side of the valley one minute and then right above your head the next. These images were taken on ISO 400 at shutter speeds between 1/1250 and 1/2000 of a second. I slightly decreased the aperture for some to increase depth of field - which seemed to improve the image a little.
Watching these birds drop like a stone then rise steeply above the cove is an incredible experience. I had a number of chances as both birds performed against the crystal clear blue sky - lit by bright sun.
The conditions were just perfect, and I'm itching to get back before the young fledge. Last year I pretty much missed the whole thing, so I'm more than happy to have these shots in the bag..
The species are not limited to red deer and we will also be able to photograph fallow and sika amidst the grounds. The changing colours of autumn will provide a colourful backdrop for this wildlife photography workshop.
ItineraryEquipment: Ideally a 300mm lens or longer; plenty of memory card space; tripod optional; please do not wear full camouflage clothing
To book a place contact me: paul.miguel@ntlworld.com or 07759485791 (£30 deposit required)
The opportunities along the cliff tops are endless, with non-stop birds returning to their nests and landing on rocky ledges. There are some particularly good viewpoints which give perfect opportunities for flight photography against the ocean backdrop. Tuition will be given on flight photography techniques, exposure and composition and also on predicting behaviour. The gannets will be our main target, but the site is also good for photographing guilemot, razorbill, puffin, kittiwake and fulmar. In addition there is a bird feeding station which regularly attracts farmland species including large flocks of tree sparrow throughout the year.
I recently spent an enjoyable day with a client on one of my Yorkshire Dales Birds Photography Courses As usual there was plenty around, with lapwing, curlew and oystercatcher shouting across the moors. The curlews are particularly difficult to photograph, and although we saw plenty - they were mostly in flight as they passed over the car.. As often is the case, the red grouse were out in force - mostly males who posed obligingly by the roadside for minutes at a time as we endulged in some perfect wildlife photography (congratulations Craig on your first grouse photo!) We were even treated to some classic calling, and a bit of interaction with the odd female. At the end of the day I was lucky enough to capture some cracking images - some of my best to date of red grouse. The low evening light created beautiful backlighting of the birds and the surrounding heather. I varied the shots: some with fill-flash and some without and managed to record some interesting poses. 
An early start this morning at 4 a.m. and another visit to my favourite patch of water near Fairburn Ings, Yorkshire - to photograph wildfowl. The early start was well worth it and I was treated to some wonderful conditions with a subtle blanket of mist hanging above the water.
I recently led another photography workshop photographing upland birds in Nidderdale. The morning was superb - not just for birds but also for perfect weather. We had a great day and managed to bag a number of shots of lapwing, red grouse and meadow pipit - some of which posed perfectly for us by the roadside.. You can view some images taken on my Flickr group: Yorkshire Wildlife and Landscape Photography
Light levels sometimes made life difficult, but although difficult to obtain a truly sharp image, the resulting detail and colour remind me just how useful this lighting is - I would shoot in this light all the time... if it were possible! Fast moving birds just don't really allow this..
This year was particularly good for woodpeckers. Both male and female quickly took to my 'woodpecker feeder' and it was rare not to see one during a session in the hide. They can become wonderfully comfortable once they get used to the food, and are completely used to the camera shutter. At times they simply clamp themselves onto the food and clear the lot. It's such a privilege to watch these birds at such close quarters... On every woodland bird photography workshop I ran, everybody managed to get a shot of this colourful and vibrant bird.
As always, I strive to capture something a little different, whether it's unusual behaviour or a creative setting and backdrop. With this in mind I used a fallen sweet chestnut (kept in the freezer) and filled the inside with fat ball mixture in order to add some shape and colour. The resulting images are perhaps a little too set up, but experimenting is always worth a try, and it allows you to make those extra tweaks and changes that eventually might just lead to that 'perfect shot'..
Next year I hope to run the same nature photography course at the same location.
