Starting of my canal project this year at the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire. The plan was to photograph fish coming from the River Kennet in Wiltshire to the canal to repopulate it after a fire caused population and killed some of the fish in the Erewash.
One of the fine common or bronze bream being released
Taking nets full of small fish out of the oxygenated tanks into the canal is quick and is less damaging to them.
This was one of the larger perch 2lb +
The project is to look at native species, high light invasive species and show some of the more serious problems on canals like pollution and litter. Underwater photography will be used in the clearer canals!
if you have any interesting canal wildlife do let me know!
OK so I thought I’d go through some useful tips that have helped
me get some great shots when going after all kinds of subjects in the filed.
I'm not talking about the normal 'Get down low' or 'Eye contact' if your a
wildlife photographer this should be second nature!
So here’s my top 5
general photography tips
1. Treat your
camera like a lady, keep her clean, comfortable and try to press the right
buttons or something could go wrong!
Being out in the
rain, sand, mud and what other environment your in can really take a toll on
your camera and if you've got a expensive one make sure you keep on top of its maintenance
simple lens
cleaning kits (see below) are relatively cheap and can save money in the long
run like getting the sensor cleaned (I’d still recommend doing this though
every 6 or so months)
a filter will also
help keep the lens safe and away from dirt!
2. Bigger is
not always better!
i have quite a
large camera bag which fits all my kit in nicely though when walking up places
like the cairngorms can be quite tiring so a smaller bag can often be a better
choice allowing you to cover more ground.
3. Explore your
local patch
People get fixated
on travel all over the world or indeed UK to get the very best shots when often
it’s on your doorstep. Gardens, parks, even city centres all hold the fair
share of wildlife and provide a cheaper and easier study subject then going
abroad.
4. Talk to
strangers (not if they offer you sweeties though)
Dog walkers are
often the best I’ve found who see wildlife running away from the dog and can
let you know where they see them most or failing this wardens at wildlife
reserves will have excellent intel of where to find that pesky kingfisher!
also if you see
someone else with a camera pointing at a tree it s a good bet there a wildlife
photographer to most I’ve found to be nice people who will have a chat about what’s
a around and always a good networking opportunity.
5. Do some
video also!
Video often sells
more then photography and is easier to get into with people e.g. a wildlife
photographer works alone and wildlife cameraman works with a whole team of
soundman, editors and assistants.
With most modern
SLR cameras now having a video mode its even easier to get into.
