Andrew Fusek Peters

Andrew Fusek Peters explains how careful preparation and strategically placed nuts help you capture garden birds

Wildlife and landscape photographer Andrew explains his action shots

BACK in the 1940s, Eric Hosking was the first photographer to harness the short duration of flash to catch hitherto unseen

behaviours of birds. His setup weighed over 80lbs, but did the trick. Today, the principles remain the same – but flashguns are a lot lighter.

Garden birds are both small and swift. Their sudden landings and take offs, their squabbles and airy feats often happen too quickly for the human eye to see in detail. So, how can you freeze motion?

First, you have to build a setup that brings in the birds, and make sure your feeders are kept out of the frame. You can use branches, old bits of wood, or perches that will photograph well. By hiding food sources within your branch or out of sight of the camera, you can bring birds to the exact spot you want. If this sounds unnatural, science shows that some farmland species such as goldfinch have had their decline reversed by garden feeding.

The setup then needs to be lit with flash heads and wireless triggers on stands – the more flashguns the better to create an even wash of light.

Finally, you need to be hidden – shooting from inside a shed, a hide in your garden, or even through your window is fine, as long as the glass is clean. Cloudy, rainy and snowy days work better, as there are fewer reflections to deal with. My conservatory backs onto our very small garden, and provided I move around slowly while I’m indoors, the birds are undisturbed.

Now for the magic – exposing almost for darkness and letting the flash do the work means you can shoot at a high aperture, low ISO and low shutter speed. In manual mode, shooting at 1/8 power on my Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT gives me a duration of 1/3,750 sec – fast enough to freeze flight.

It can take weeks (or, in this case, three years) to get the shot you are aiming for, but as long as you respect these beautiful birds, and supply fuel to help them survive the cold winter nights, there is the potential to show their true wonder in a garden safari.

Step 1

Local woodlands often contain fallen mossy branches or old bits of wood – I found this old post on a walk. The hollows are perfect for hiding seeds and peanuts. I set up feeders on either side of my central spot to bring in lots of birds. Have your foreground and feeders in one straight line at right angles to your camera, so that all the action happens in one plane.

Step 2

Flash stands are cheap to buy, and important to help you get an even spread of light, so set up your flashguns on stands in an array around the target area. Don’t worry about rain or even snow – just put clear plastic bags over the flash to protect them and to also act as diffusers. Set to manual, slave, and 1/4 to 1/16 power depending on different light conditions.

Step 3

Get into your hide and take some test shots with your wireless flash trigger, focusing on the spot where food is hidden. You don’t want to blow the highlights, either of your foreground or of the birds. Experiment with different flash and camera settings. In this instance, it was first curtain sync, 1/8 flash, f/20, 1/100 sec, ISO 640.

Step 4

When song birds squabble or fly, it happens quickly. To be prepared, have a remote trigger for your shutter and pre-focus on the hidden food spot, relying on your depth of field when it all kicks off. In burst mode, the flash can fire three times to capture a sequence. There is little disturbance to the birds, which ignore the flash.