A PROFESSIONAL APPROACH TO
BIRD & HIDE PHOTOGRAPHY

Venue: Sussex

Dates: A mutually agreed weekday

Duration: 8am-2pm – extra hours £25 pp can be purchased on the day

Places: One or Two persons

Cost: £150 or £250 - Save money - bring a friend!

I have been running these workshops for many years and the fact is they are actually far better when the weather is harsh, preferably with snow and consequentially why I restrict them to the winter months. There is an art to photographing birds coming to feeders or to bait and getting them to land exactly where you want them to. Even cleverer than that is to get them to land on your perch first rather than the feeder where they really want to go! These are typical secrets of the pro bird photographer that I will divulge to you on this masterclass.

Fieldfare Displaying Agression

Hides are essential items of kit in my opinion for bird photography and if you are thinking of getting one you really need to know what to go for and why. You can use a throw over hide that uses no fixed frame and just camoflagues your outline. Right now I am using one on a fox earth where I cannot put up a framed hide as it would attract attention to the foxes. Then at the other end of the price scale I have a tower hide that I had made to measure and is only a metre square but goes up to 60’ but not surprisingly I don’t use it very often. However when I do need it, it is invaluable as you see from this shot of a Sparrowhawk with young at the nest taken at 32’ from the ground in the middle of Worthing Golf Course.

Sparrowhawk at Nest

The hides you will be working from on this day will be either my own specially designed wooden garden hide or one of my more portable Wildlife Watching Supplies dome hides, both types have their advantages and disadvantages for garden birds that I will explain. Should you wish I am happy to provide you with all the measurements and details of the materials you need to make a permanent wooden garden hide.

Wildlife Watching Supplies Dome Hide

If this course appeals to you we first need to discuss dates and availability in order to book a day of your choice but remember it has to be a weekday. The cost of the 1-1 workshop is £150 and a 2-1 is £250 and they run for 6 hours from 8am-2pm. The reason we start this early is because the birds are most hungry first thing in the morning plus, at my main feeding sites, the light is often better at this time of the day. Additional hours, if required, are charged at £25 per hour per person.

Obviously I will do my very best to get the birds you want. It may be that you are already experienced in hide work and happy just to go in the hides and shoot away. On the other hand there will be some participants who will need guidance and this will not be a problem. My target is to have you go away with shots that are more than just simple record shots like these two beautiful birds below. As I write this in January 2012 both species are coming to the feeders daily.


Great - spotted Woodpecker	Goldfinch on Teasel

I will show you how to construct an image to insure great composition. The professional methods used to get diffused out of focus backgrounds that are complimentary to the subject. Learn the importance of your subject’s head position and when, and when not, to press the shutter. Find out the fundamental reason for capturing a catch-light in the eye, how to easily add one, and the powerful and dramatic effect it has on your picture.

I want you to go away with images that are pictorially beautiful. In other words, bird photographs that will get you top points at the club, ones that you will be happy to have printed and hang on your wall or send to friends. Last but by no means least I want you to go away with a new approach to your bird photography and fully armed with the knowledge to put it all into practice.