I'm confident there are serious birders out there who frown at the idea of photographing birds in captivity, feeling that it rails somehow against their purist principles. I have little time for that view; being able to observe uncommon, shy or reclusive species up close and personal offers intimacy and detail that in the wild is hard to achieve without the luxuries of a very long lens and a lot of time and patience. Observing them in captivity is in no way a substitute for that which we all love to do: namely witnessing the animal – whatever it is – in its natural surroundings, behaving, well, naturally. But these shots of a Redshank (Tringa totanus) show, I think, why I will continue to do both.
 |
| Canon 1Ds MkII, 1/160 sec, f/8, 336mm at ISO 640 |
 |
| Canon 1Ds MkII, 1/250 sec, f/8, 400mm at ISO 640 |
 |
| Canon 1DS MkII, 1/200 sec, f/8, 318mm at ISO 640 |
Absolutely superb Tim. That last one is just breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteSuper images. I'm with you Tim, nothing wrong with that method, providing the enclosure suits the species. Actually, a visit to Pensthorpe was the first time I got up close and personal with a Ruff ... will probably never happen in the wild!
ReplyDeleteVery hard to achieve such super shots of the shy Redshank Tim, great stuff.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots and the bird doesn't look at all stressed.
ReplyDelete