an insight into wildlife photography

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An Insight intoWildlife Photographywith Will Nicholls

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Introduction

Thank you for downloading this free

eBook!

My name is Will Nicholls, and I am a young

professional wildlife photographer from

the UK. I live in Northumberland, where I

am surrounded by wildlife. It is a wildlife

photographers dream!

This eBook will look through some of my

favourite images I have taken, and tell

you how I got each shot. Ive also included

all the technical details of each image, tohelp you work out what kind of camera

settings are good for different scenarios.

Any techniques described here have been,

or will be, covered by Nature TTL in more

detail. Stay subscribed to our newsletter,

and we will send you the latest and best

tutorials from our team of experts. Our

contributors are some of the best naturephotographers in the world, so you are in

good hands!

I first started taking photographs in 2007,

and have loved it ever since. The first

photos I took were of some sheep in the

fields around my house, and I thought they

were great images! Looking back, they

were not very good at all!

However, with a lot of practise and

persistence, I have managed to improve

my technique and capture better images.

Nobodys photos are perfect, and every

photographer will be able to tell you

imperfections with their own work.

We are all still learning, including myself

and all the contributors at Nature TTL!

If you are reading this and you are newto photography, then I hope this eBook

provides you with some inspiration for

your next shots.

Once again, thank you for downloading

this eBook and I hope you enjoy reading it!

Please note, images in this eBook are

under copyright protection and cannot

be reproduced, redistributed, or altered

in anyway without written permission

from Will Nicholls.

Prints and other products can be

purchased at www.willnicholls.co.uk

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How Do You Do?Northumberland, UK

THE TECHNICAL DETAILS

Camera

Lens

Shutter Speed

Aperture

ISO Speed

Equipment

Nikon D700

14mm

1/125 second

f/7.1

1250

Nikon ML-3

Remote

Red squirrels make up a large portion

of my portfolio. They are extremely

charasmatic and a joy to photograph.After taking thousands of images of

them with my telephoto lens, I decided

it was time for a change. So, I picked

up a wide-angle lens instead, and tried

some remote-triggered photography.

I put the camera in position in the

woodland, ensuring that the backdrop

had some interest within it. The nature

of the wide-angle lens includes detailof the surroundings in the image. I

attached a remote-controlled trigger

to the camera, allowing me to fire

the shutter from the hide. Focus and

other settings were chosen manually

beforehand, and I would pray that

conditions did not change drastically

while I was waiting.

After some time, the first squirrel

investigated. The click of the shutter

sent him running into the trees,

chucking angrily at me. Even so, the

lure of the hazelnuts was too much

for him, and he quickly returned for a

snack.

Soon enough, the squirrels were happily

posing in front of the camera whilst Ifired off a burst of images.

This technique is extremely good fun to

do, and it feels like Christmas has come

around once more when you get to look

through your photos at the end.

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Immature Little OwlNorthumberland, UK

THE TECHNICAL DETAILS

Camera

Lens

Shutter Speed

Aperture

ISO Speed

Equipment

Nikon D700

200-400mm

1/200 second

f/4

500

Manfrotto Tripod

Little owls are not native to the UK,

but they seem to fit in very well to

the British countryside. Luckily for me,there was a pair of little owls nesting

nearby to my home. I acquired access

to the land, and set up a hide facing the

nesting area.

I left the hide in position for a couple of

weeks, allowing the owls to get used to

it and so minimise disturbance. These

owls come out in daylight, which is a

photographers dream.

The first time I visited the hide, I was

planning to see if they would accept my

presence or not. The last thing I want to

do is disturb an animal at its nest, so I

was just testing the water.

A couple of hours passed, and there was

no sign of any owls. I was disappointed,

as it seemed to me that they werefrightened of me being in the hide. I was

considering abandoning the project,

when I heard a soft screech nearby.

I looked out of the left window, trying

to see the animal which was making

the sound, and to my surprise spotted

an owl staring straight through the

camouflage netting at me. Their

eyesight is very good it seems!

The entire family of owls had suddenly

descended on the area. Luck was on my

side that day, as a juvenile owl chose

this very gnarled branch to perch on,

allowing for this shot.

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Great Grey OwlFinland

THE TECHNICAL DETAILS

Camera

Lens

Shutter Speed

Aperture

ISO Speed

Equipment

Nikon D4

200-400mm

1/1250 second

f/8

3200

Manfrotto Tripod

Wimberley Head

My favourite animal is the great

grey owl. They are very hardy birds,

surviving at very low temperaturesthanks to their thick downy feathers.

When I was younger, I took part in a

falconry day and was given the chance

to fly one of these owls. Ever since Ive

wanted to photograph them in the wild!

In January 2014, I booked a very

last-minute flight to Finland to try and

see these owls. I had only two days toget a photo, as I needed to be back

in the UK later in the week. So, the

pressure was on!

The guide and I drove around many

snow-covered fields, searching

desperately for the owls. I was told a

goshawk had been killing a few of the

local owls, further reducing our chances.

Eventually we spotted an owl sitting in

a tree at the back of a field. Creeping

up with my camera, I positioned myself

in the snow. The vole you see it landing

on is dead (sourced ethically by using

voles already killed for research or by

locals trapping in their houses).

To our joy, the owl swooped down onone occasion, and I managed to snap

this photo.

The snow reflected the light on the

underside of its wings, making it almost

look like a painting.

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White-tailed EaglesHungary

THE TECHNICAL DETAILS

Camera

Lens

Shutter Speed

Aperture

ISO Speed

Equipment

Nikon D700

200-400mm

1/640 second

f/4

2000

Manfrotto Tripod

Wimberley Head

I dont go on many trips abroad for my

photography, but another trip I have

done is to Hungary. The aim of thiswas to see the impressive white-tailed

eagles that live there.

I waited for 9 hours every day, for

5 days, in a small hide dug into the

ground. Fish were laid out as bait, which

helps the eagles through the winter

time. This is necessary as the fisheries

they usually take their catches from

have been emptied of fish.

The first day was extremely misty,

and the weather was not looking like it

would improve. Still, the first time I saw

an eagle appear from the thick mist

was magical.

The 7-foot wingspan of these birds is

truly a sight to behold. This photo shows

an adult (left) and a juvenile (right)having a bit of a disagreement over

who should be getting the fish.

The hooded crow you can see on the

edge of the scene is just one of many

crows that surrounded the area. In fact,

it became quite difficult to get a picture

that didnt have an out of focus crow

obscuring part of the picture. Every

situation has its own unique challenges.

Each day the weather improved

on the last, and by the end I was

photographing in relatively clear

conditions, much to my relief. A fantastic

trip with some fantastic birds!

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Black Grouse LekkingNorthumberland, UK

THE TECHNICAL DETAILS

Camera

Lens

Shutter Speed

Aperture

I