Bird Photography Workshop with Toya Heatley Bushy Park Tarapuruhi: 25 and 26 February 2022 By Donna Jennings I was excited to join Toya and the other enthusiasts for a workshop on photographing birds in the bush. I am relatively new to bird photography and wanted to gain more confidence in photographing these small quick birds in fairly dark places. The workshop started with a talk from Toya on Friday night. This was informative and covered the need-to-know stuff with some discussion on the finer points of settings, equipment, and ethics for bird photography. On Saturday morning, we headed to Bushy Park to meet Toya and the other participants. Bushy Park was the perfect place for the workshop, with lots of birds available within a short walking distance of the carpark and visitors centre. Toya stationed herself at one of the hihi feeders and helped people set up their shots. We were fortunate that hihi are prolific feeders, so there were quite a few to practise on. We all stalked the elusive and beautiful tīeke, trying to get clear shots of this bird that spends its time hiding in the bush. And the friendly robins were always nearby, ready to pose. We finished the day with tea and scones at the homestead to refuel and share what we learned and photographed.
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A highlight for me was photographing a shining cuckoo at the end of the day, perched in a kōwhai tree in the homestead garden. I had never seen one of these amazing birds, let alone photograph one. The following morning, most of the participants were back at Bushy Park to put in some more practice. It was clear that everyone must have enjoyed the workshop to come back for more. Many thanks to Toya and the organisers. And special thanks from Toya and PSNZ to Panasonic New Zealand for supporting the workshop by loaning some gear for people to try out.
