Meet the locals

Charlie Anderson snaps the wildlife near his home, and shares his secrets

After picking up a camera in 2019, I quickly began to fall in love with photographing wildlife – especially on trips away, where you could capture some incredible animals. We’ve now spent most of the last year in rolling national lockdowns, so I’ve continued to hone my skills while out in the local area on my daily walks, and I’ve discovered a new love for the animals around my area. While I wish I was out shooting cheetahs in the wild, the skittishness of a local squirrel makes for an equally challenging subject to capture.

I’ll admit that some of them weren’t as friendly at first, and if you carry nuts in Bournemouth’s gardens, it’s guaranteed that a squirrel will pickpocket you. However, with my trusty Sony Alpha 7 and a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, I was able to snap some great shots of my newfound friends. I try to use my shooting technique to showcase the interactions you can have with your local wildlife, and how I’ve come to know these common creatures with unique personalities.

My love of animals means that I prefer to shoot at longer distances, to allow the animals to be in their own habitat and act naturally. To take these pictures, I use a particularly long lens; my new Sigma 100-400mm Contemporary, which I swear by. The optical stabilisation modes on this lens allow me to shoot all the way at 400mm with little-to-no camera shake or motion blur, all without a bulky tripod getting in the way.