Difficulty level: Intermediate
Time taken: 3 hours
Birds are incredibly exciting to photograph. On assignments to all kinds of different locations (Peru, Tanzania, Antarctica…) and right across the UK, I’ve spent lots of time photographing condors, lilac-breasted rollers, hornbills, herons, penguins and more. I am always impressed by the remarkable diversity of birds in terms of their size, shape, and colour. At rest, sitting on bushes or perched in high vantage points in trees, portraits of birds often require patience and a calm, peaceful approach, so they don’t get nervous and take off.
Photographing birds in flight is a different experience altogether. There’s an adrenaline element, tracking birds across the sky, trying to follow or predict their movements, triggering the shutter in quick succession. Birds can move incredibly fast –…