Finally got hold of a nice new 300mm lens, mainly for some decent wildlife shots. Was thinking I would set up a bit of a hide on the edge of some woods close by, wait until dusk and see what I can get.

Looking at getting something to cover up the camera somehow, the purpose made covers seem a little pricey, do people tend to use these or can it be done just as effectively with some green netting stuff you can get from army surplus places?

Also, any advice on anything other aspects of wildlife photography would be appreciated, it’s very new to me and the more advice the better really (apart from ‘have patience’ :wink:)

Scrim netting available from army surplas works well, and doubles as a scarf when you’re cold. Building a hide is a good idea but you need to spend a fair bit of time checking an area out for signs of wildlife ( tracks, droppings food scraps etc ) before you build it in the wrong place

Some of our photos here

You’ll need some animals… and a camera.

what? 😯

If shooting at dusk, you’ll want a fast lens (i.e. large aperture, and fast depends on sensor size), and a camera body that is good at higher ISO settings. And of course a surdy tripod and head. A bit of fill flash to put highlights in the eyes and to bring out shadow detail can be a bonus too. And don’t foget that autofocus systems depend on good light!

P.S. Always aim to be downwind of your target area.

P.P.S check you area isn’t used for shooting!

Make sure you are fully aware of the laws regarding wildlife photography. Certain species are protected by law as they are rare and very sensitive to disturbance. It’s very easy to get carried away and before you know it you’ve frightened a bird off it’s nest and the eggs have failed. You can now get into trouble for unintentional disturbance as well as intentional so be careful.

A hide sounds like a great idea. I’ve never been dedicated enough to build one but I once went on a course led by Laurie Campbell and he’s done loads of hide stuff. He built one at the high tide mark on an estuary and let the waders come to him as the tide came in and got amazing piccies. Have fun!

Do you have a garden? If so I’d start their

If setting up a hide then put some bird feeders up as well. You won’t find animals ever where

Finally if you get frustated (quite likely) travel to a venue where things will be easier

Skomer for puffins (just the best place for wild life photography this time of year is perfect)

Gigrin farm for red kites

rib trip to grassholm for gannets

I understand that there other such venues as well

It depends on what you are trying to take pics of. If you find a badger set you can sit still in full view and downwind and they will walk right past you because they are really short sighted. Something with good eyes however like a bird, you’ll need a hide as you say.

Problem is however with badgers is that they like to come out at night, so you either need infra red or the confidence to take one shot only with your flash 🙂

Know what you’re going out to take pics of. If you just build a hide at random there’s a good chance you’ll see nothing at all.

You can get some good shots just set up indoors trained on a selection of birdfeeders (ideally arranged to look natural if you want to fake things a bit), same with attracting foxes, hedgehogs, badgers etc into the garden. My Mum’s garden is regularly visited by semi-tame urban foxes, much easier getting shots of them there than out in the wild!

Or as ampthill says, go out to somewhere there will definitely be wildlife. Bird of prey centres, wildfowl reserves etc. 300mm is still quite short for true wildlife stuff, most people seem to go for 500mm+ so I’d be going somewhere you know you can get close.

I’ve worked with this chap
Ben Hall

He’s not bad..
Obviously some of the stuff was done abroad, but some of the stuff he’s able to get in this country is brilliant..
You need to know the animal you’re shooting as well, what there habits are and when the best time of year is to snap them.. start in your back garden you’d be amazed what you can get there..

300mm lens, hides and camo?

Never tried it with all that, guess I just stink of the outdoors and blend in well as I am.
top tip, be patient……..wait….. and finally learn creature tracks and habits.

Ben Hall’s work is fantastic, well worth a look for some inspiration.
It’s also worth checking out a new project called 2020 Vision (http://www.2020v.org), which has some fantastic wildlife photographers working on it, all photographing British wildlife.

look here for inspiration

http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vg27&ns=1

300mm lens on a DX body will be fine for starters, getting close, or fieldcraft as its known is the key, that and patience 🙂

look here. for inspiration sell your lens and go riding

http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vg27&ns=1

There I fixed it.