Red kite at night

Richard Biggs explains how you can showcase beautiful birds of prey

My love of photography started in 2016 after acquiring a Canon DSLR. From there, the journey began. I find my inspiration from the beauty of nature in all its forms, from calm, peaceful forests and lakes to dramatic, isolated beaches and mountains.

I have a passion for capturing the local environment, with particular interest in birds of prey – buzzards, kestrels and red kites – documenting their lives, habitat, social interactions and feeding habits through the art of photography. Capturing these beautiful birds in images also provides a valuable reflection of environmental changes and the health of the local area. My photographs provide a ‘lens’ on aspects of the local surroundings people wouldn’t normally see, giving opportunities for so many to appreciate the more of the world around us.

My choice of camera is the Fujifilm X-T4, for a number of reasons: its lightness to carry while hiking; its ease of changing settings quickly with its simple operation; and my trust in its focusing system when I photograph birds in flight. The colour reproduction is truly amazing. My ‘go to’ lenses for photographing wildlife are the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 and the 50mm f/1.