DO’S & DON’TS
DO
Spend a few mornings or afternoons observing the wildlife activity in your garden, noting favourite perches of birds, and how the light is falling on your plants, and set up feeders if you haven’t already done so.
Move slowly and quietly when photographing butterflies. They are sensitive to movement and changes in the air around them, so restrain yourself from rushing to where they have rested.
Use the right lenses for the subject: macro & short telephotos for plants and insects; long telephotos and zooms for wary creatures, such as birds and small mammals that need to be viewed from a distance.
DON’T
Rely on autofocus. Most AF systems are fast and accurate, but for finer focusing adjustments, particularly when using macro lenses, manual focus is better. It also has the added benefit of being silent.
Try taking pictures without some form of camera support. If a tripod is too cumbersome to move easily from place to place, use a monopod instead.
Use direct flash. Any shadows and direct light burst will be too harsh for an evenly exposed image. Far better to work with the available light and use a reflector or two to direct sunlight into shadow areas. of painted ladies, which emerge after a short pupation, following the summer arrival of the previous generation from North Africa to lay their eggs in Britain’s verdant gardens and woodland verges.
MACRO TO TELEPHOTO
With this much potential for your camera, you might think there is little to be missed by spending more time at home after all. Most garden subjects, from flowering plants to the myriad species of insects, are smaller than a thumb, so a good quality macro lens with a focal length between 50mm and 150mm is an essential piece of kit. Setting up your camera and tripod near some flowers is a good starting point for making a photographic record of the nature to be found on your doorstep. If there is little or no breeze, you can have all the time you want to photograph, varying your point of focus and composition, altering the height and angle of your camera, and experimenting with apertures and shutter speeds to see the effect of depth of field and image blur.
There is another practical reason to commence your garden safari in this way and that is the prospect of butterflies, bees or other pollinating insects alighting on the plants. After all, the secret to so much wildlife photography is not to chase after the subject, but to bring the subject to you. Your best chance of framing one of these creatures in your viewfinder is when
they have settled on a flower or plant to feed or rest, and remain still for just long enough that you can frame, focus and fire the shutter. For photographing birds and other larger garden visitors, swap the macro lens for a telephoto to enable you to frame closely from a distance that doesn’t unsettle your subject. A standard 70-200mm or 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens will give you enough options to compose frame-filling pictures without having to change position.
URBAN SANCTUARIES
As more rural areas and green spaces are covered by out-of-town retail parks, new industrial estates, housing developments and even prisons, the inner city garden is playing a more significant role in the preservation of our wildlife. Birds nest at varying heights and some favour certain species of tree. For instance, the muchloved English oak supports more species of birds and insects than any other native tree. In recent years, tree-planting initiatives in many suburban streets have seen a greater variety of trees lining our roads, each one a potential roost, nest or feeding station for local birds, small mammals and insects.
Whether in your back garden or along city streets, a diversity of plant species also promises a longer season of colourful flowers. For instance, hawthorn is also known as the May tree, because its small white flowers bloom in May. The wild yet delicate dog rose flowers in June, honeysuckle peaks at the height of summer in July and August, while most species of clematis continue to flower from June to September. A wide variety of plants and flowers is more likely to attract a greater diversity of wildlife, so it makes sense to plant shrubs, flowers and trees that provide all sorts of species with shelter and food. Of course, you can supplement what plants naturally provide with seed for the birds. As creatures of habit they will return with regularity to gardens that provide them with what they need. For this reason, put out bird feeders in places that will enable you to set up your camera in advance, and pre-focus on the feeder or baited perch, so that you are ready to trip the shutter when your feathered diners fly into view.