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