Keep em peeled and take advantage

When i ever i am out i take a pair of binoculars with me, I always have my eye out for whats around me-even when i go to the shops i look at the birds nesting in the signs and when i see something of interest i will go back and work out the best way of getting good shots, A couple of weeks ago i was walking my dog around one of the local lakes when i looked over at a small dead tree that was on the opposite side, I could see a white blob on top so i stopped and looked through the 'bins' and noticed a Belted Kingfisher on the top, Firstly i was very excited by this as i had only seen one since moving here a year ago and secondly i was very surprised as this is an incredibly busy place with dog walkers and joggers every minute of the day, I made my way around to where the dead tree was and found a small track through the lakeside trees that fishermen had handily made, The kingfishers instantly saw me and flew off, I kept it in mind and would look at the tree when ever i was there, A couple of days ago after seeing the bird there again i decided that mornings would be best for the light and set up early,3 hrs later and nothing so before leaving i thought it best to be totally hidden and made a hole on the trees and bushes for the lens to poke through, I returned that afternoon and set up, I took a few test shots but now the light was in front of me meaning that the bird would be back lit, I would need fill flash and so put the flashgun and better beamer on and fired off a couple of test shots to make sure that the light hit the perch through the foliage and that the exposure was ok, I was concerned that if i gave too much flash that the whites of the bird would burn out, I was also concerned that the flash would spook the bird and that it would fly off after one shot, I was there about 45 mins when the bird arrived and landed on the perch, Luckily it was facing me, I let it settle and then took a shot, The bird jumped but stayed put, so after checking the screen for exposure and making sure that there were not any highlights blinking i carried on, The bird stayed about 1.5hrs and in that time i managed 187 shots, It also caught 2 fish, I noticed that when i caught a fish i would land back on the perch for a few seconds before going to another branch sticking out of the water to beat its brains in and swallow it before coming back, I will need to have a look and see if its at all possible to get a position on the other branch as its very low to the water and you will get nice a reflection, So an amazingly succesful first session and i will be back tonight for another go, I have some shots that i would like in mind so now i have some shots in the bag maybe time to be abit more adventurous, I used the Nikon D3 body as the light would be low, Now everybody nows what a great camera this is and how good it is at high ISO,Well i started shooting at ISO 400 and soon upped that to 800 but i still like to keep the ISO as low as i can so i dropped the ISO back to 400 and once i had the focus point over the birds eye i would use a remote cable to fire the shot so getting a sharp image at very low shutter speeds for the length of the lens (600+1.4x), The shots here were about 1/60 @ F11

Gear we use and abuse - Binoculars

The single most important bit of kit I carry in my bag is my binoculars.

Not my camera or long lens? No.

If I cannot see my subjects to begin with then I have no hope of getting into a position to get images of them.

When I go out to photograph wildlife, I always tell my self that I am going to see the wildlife and if I can get a photo well that is a bonus. On days like these, that is sometimes hard to reconcile in your mind - but I try all the same. But the good thing about those times is that I was able to still enjoy watching because I had my binos.

Now these are very personal bits of kit and what some people like others really dislike.

But here are my thoughts based on many many years of bird and wildlife watching, even before the photo bug took hold.

Best size is generally 8 or 10 x. I have tried larger magnifications but it makes for blurry images due to movement, although you can get IS models, but the subject can be much harder to find. I once tried out the Canon 12 x image stabilised models and just found it so much more difficult to find the subjects, particularly the smaller birds in the trees.

I would also recommend getting at least 40 in the second number - the size of the object lens. The bigger the number, the brighter the image as more light is getting in. I have used the dinky 8 x 25 compacts but found them to be pretty poor for serious wildlife watching.

Now the final thing is how much to spend. Well it all depends on how serious you are, but essentially, as with camera lenses you generally get what you pay for. You can get reasonable working models from about £100 to 150 in the UK but as you spend more the image just keeps getting better.

If you don't believe me go to one of the Optics centre that are around some of the larger nature reserves. Pick up a £100 pair and then pick up the equivalent Zeiss, Svarokski or Leica, usually around the £1000 or more mark, and tell me you can't see a difference.

But you have to pick a pair that meets your price range.

I currently use a very fine pair from Opticron, 8 x 42 SRGA models. Conventional shaped binoculars, bright, sharp and pretty light. But that doesn't stop me lusting for the latest Leica HD models.

So never go out without them, as even if you don't get any photos, you will see so much more

Martin