ISSUE 3
Keeping you on track on your photography journey
WILDLIFE SPECIAL
Photographing Red Squirrels by Monica Doshi Give a kick to images using textures with Les Arnott Free textures and effects download Our regular Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop Tutorials for beginners with Ken Fisher “How I photographed my garden wildlife in seasonal poses� Photographer Sheila Ivison shares her secrets with Phototrain 1
Cover image Monica Doshi
EDITORS PAGE
Gold Award for coming top in the weekly posts.
The start of a new year and hopefully the beginning of a successful one photography wise for all our readers.
I thank all for continuing to follow the magazine and each issue sees more readers joining our clan. I would like to thank the Phototrain team for all their dedication and support.
No doubt many over the holiday season of 2016 Have a great 2017 everyone and keep snapping! many are now brandishing new equipment and raring to get out there and use it? Hopefully we Les Arnott - Editor can help you achieve, or simply inspire you to get some great looking images for 2017. email: editor@phototrain.co.uk Our training video expert Ken Fisher continues Website: www.phototrain.co.uk to teach the beginner new skills in both Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop ....... I say beginners hey he even picks up on things I never knew Contents about! Cover Red Squirrel by Monica Doshi In my own Getting Creative series of videos in this issue I’ll be showing you how to use textures for adding art style backgrounds and tonal enhancements that will help you create some awesome looking images. Not only that but I’ll be giving away some of my own textures to download completely free to start you off.
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Editors Page & Contents
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The Gear Guru - Les Arnott
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Photographing the Wildlife in my Garden - Sheila Ivison
If you have missed any of our previous tutorials then from our website you will find a link from which you can read all our previous issues. Browse www.phototrain.co.uk for more!
12 -15 Using Textures to Enhance Your Images - Les Arnott
It’s a Wildlife Special this issue with Red Squirrels, Red Deer and Field Mice.
16 -17 Phototrain Texture, Border and Effects File Giveaway! - Les Arnott
I’m very excited to include an article by our new Phototrain journalist Monica Doshi a passionate photographer and a credited member of the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain. Monica kicks off with an article on photographing Red Squirrels and I will be keeping the red theme going with an article on photographing my local Red Deer herds.
18 - 19 Beginners Guide to Adobe Lightroom Series - Ken Fisher 20 - 21 Beginners Guide to Adobe Photoshop Series - Ken Fisher 22 - 27 Photographing Red Squirrels, How and Where - Monica Doshi
Photographer Sheila Ivison shows us how she captures great images of the wildlife in her garden with Red Squirrels, a Field mouse and a few seasonal props!
28 - 41 Photographing My Local Red Deer - Les Arnott 42 - 46 Winners of the Phototrain Photography Competition judged by Graham Orgill
We have more winners to display from our weekly photo competition we hold on Facebook. All are judged by Phototrain’s highly experienced Graham Orgill who once again has picked out some highly skilled photographers to be crowned with the very special Phototrain
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Links Page
THE GEAR GURU - Les Arnott This issue I start a new feature where I will be showing some of my own personal choices of the best gear out there currently available that are worthy checking out to help you perform like a pro. Novoflex MagicBall - Possibly the best tripod head design on the market?
I really admire sturdy, well built gear and the Novoflex MagicBall is certainly that! When it comes to engineering then Germany certainly take some beating and this unique looking ball head is certainly made to perform. The MagicBall ball head series is yet another example of Novoflex‘s outstanding ability to develop innovative and practical accessories. There are three models in the MagicBall series for different camera configurations with total weight from 5kg up to 10 kg. The ball heads provide an unbelievable positioning range of 120° in virtually any plane and all three models are easy to handle and compatible with practically any tripod. Part of the secret is the large, grippy point-and-fix handle. The handle is used to position the MagicBall exactly, then a simple twist fixes it firmly in place. On the 2 larger models, designed for heavier equipment, adjustment is made even easier by an integrated friction setting. This variable tension control lets you match the camera weight to the adjusting force. The outstanding design and use of only the finest materials blocks almost any vibration transfer. The knurled wheel allows simple and safe camera mounting. The largest model is suitable for 35 mm and middle format cameras with big telephoto lenses and professional video cameras up to 10 kg and comes with the Integrated friction control. For me the beauty of this design is it’s simple adjustment and immense locking power all with a simple twist of the hand. On the downside it’s not cheap but I still think a good buy for the money and although 3
control of the camera position may seem a little basic for people such as landscape photographers producing top quality panoramas it’s full adaptable in the sense Novoflex produce many attachments that work together with the ball head to be able it in my eyes to be the best designed ball heads there is for all situations and uses. It’s certainly on my wish list for the future should I require a new head.
In the first video above you can see the immense locking power of the system and how quickly it locks into any position. In the video below Join video host Joe Brady and some special guests from Novoflex as Joe shares his experiences and insights with some wonderful gear for both Panoramic and Macro Photography, all of which can be used in combination with the MagicBall.
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Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce Flash Diffusers I have two flashes and both of them have these great snap on diffusers. There are many brands but I feel these beat them all. What do they enable you to do? Create more flattering portraits and professional-looking group shots. Beautifully diffused light, the soft bounce lighting reduces red-eye and harsh shadows. They can be attached or removed in seconds but mine never leave my speedlites. You’ll find many different models for different brands and makes of flash. Try a search on a site like Amazon to find one that fits your flash. Lenspen Lens cleaner A must have device for all. Lenspens are a great device for cleaning a grease mark from your camera, I always have one or two in my camera bag and make sure my lens is spotless before a shoot. One word of caution don’t use it on a wet lens, use a microfibre cloth for that and the Lenspen for removing dust and grease. Available online again there are many makes and some are better than others. The original Lenspens are good but the best I have used personally are the Nikon Lenspens which seem to do a much better job at removing grease spots than others I have tried.
Giottos Rocket Air Blower Simply the best air blower out there! a rocket-shaped air blower ideal for cleaning lenses, filters and cameras with an important air inlet valve design prevents backflow from the air nozzle. This is really important if being used for the first step of sensor cleaning for those brave enough to clean their own sensors. It’s also great from removing dust from switches, dials etc as well as a general all over cleaner. Another use as most camera owners use a PC these days is get that loose dust off your keyboards and PC as well as USB card readers.
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Photographing the wildlife in my garden - Sheila Ivison Les Arnott talks to Sheila Ivison about the techniques she used to capture Red Squirrels and mice in her garden using assortments to create a seasonal theme. Sheila Ivison is an amateur photographer from Cumbria in the North of England. Her work has featured on many websites and publications locally in the area with some wonderful landscape photography, a lot of which comes from the Lake District an area of outstanding natural beauty and very close to Sheila’s home and heart. She often photographs many other areas also being especially keen of the Northern hemisphere in her work it seems to me! Recently Sheila has also took a big interest in photographing wildlife as well as her usual landscape work and it gave us an opportunity to meet up in the flesh after being friends on Facebook for many years when she attended a few of my Birds of Prey photography days with my partners Countryside Raptors at the time in 2016. Sheila and her husband are very down to earth, very easy to get on with and we remain in awe of each others work on Facebook where we both share most of our photography work.
Sheila Ivison with Les Arnott at one of his falconry photography days in partnership with Countryside Raptors
Over the holiday season of 2016 Sheila set about a project in her garden photographing the local Red Squirrels and an enterprising mouse. She used varies bits and pieces to create a seasonal scene to photograph them and captured some lovely shots considering the low light conditions and fast moving subjects. So I asked Sheila her methods in getting the shots.
“I used my Canon 70D camera with a Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS11 USM lens for this work being a fast lens and suitable focal length for the project. Originally it all started with my red squirrel photography, I love red squirrels and started photographing them in 2015, I now travel all over to photograph them, as far up as Fort William in Scotland, The Shap Wells Hotel is another place and the Forest How at Eskdale both in Cumbria. I am pretty lucky as well I have Red Squirrels only a few miles from where I live in Cumbria and also have them in the 6
garden. I have previously used a miniature cup and saucer for props making it look as if the squirrel was having a cup of tea. That worked quite well so I then bought toy mini tractors and diggers but wasn’t happy with the result from them! Next I sent for a mini supermarket trolley to use for my squirrel photography as I thought it would be nice to have a Christmas shopping trolley set up with gifts and goodies with a squirrel sitting beside it.
I wanted to make it look authentic by putting mini gift boxes, mini pine cones and to get the squirrel to come to it I put in a few nuts, it worked very well and the squirrel loved it. I also used a miniature Christmas tree, hiding nuts in the branches, the squirrel helped itself and posed beside the tree. It was quite challenging as the day I photographed them was dark and damp. Then one day I had put the birds feed out in the garden and sat down to watch the birds when I saw a little field mouse sneak around and steal the birds food which then scurried off to its nest, this went on and on. So I thought if staging something for a squirrel works will it work for a mouse. It did and this is how.... First I experimented with a garden ornament, its a little Tudor inn with a mouse type doorway, I placed some nuts in the doorway and waited, minutes later the mouse came round and took all the nuts, it was backwards and forwards until it was happy they had all gone then it disappeared, probably to guard its stash. I set my ball head tripod and camera up in the conservatory and waited to see what would happen. I tried a few shots the SD card was slower than I wanted so that was changed to a faster one. The settings I used for camera was Aperture Priority (AV) Set to High Speed Continuous shooting, Automatic focus, ISO 800 with an aperture of F2.8 dialling in a stop or sometimes 2 stops of light compensation depending on the shutter speed. I needed it to be fast with the speedy movements of the mouse. 7
Again I set the miniature Tudor inn up, by putting nuts in the door and this time also on the roof. The mouse did the same again backwards and forwards until all had gone. It was very fast it was but I managed a few shots. I also have another garden ornament an old mill with a water wheel that compliments the Tudor inn, trying again the nuts were placed in the wheel going from the bottom to the top. Sure enough the mouse came for the nuts starting at the bottom and working his way up to the top, not finishing until he had taken everyone, (by this time the birds are not getting a look in.) I noticed that the mouse takes the easy pickings first. I spent ages filling the house and the mill up with nuts as the mouse kept returning for more, very fast it was as well but managed to get some decent shots. With Christmas being only a few days away I tried the mouse with the squirrels trolley using the gift boxes, nuts and this time cheese also. Next I tried out some shots with a mini Christmas cracker, it happily obliged duplicating the same routine until all the food had gone. Similar camera settings was used 8
as described before as the light was much the same! I set my camera and tripod quite high up so standing around waiting for the right shot wasn’t too uncomfortable. The weekend before Christmas my husband and I had been for a walk up The Langstrath Valley in Borrowdale, its a landscape photographers paradise ... mountains, streams and waterfalls ... perfection! (I am a keen landscape photographer) I saw some holly bushes with lovely red berries on and beside the bushes were some stones covered in thick green moss. I had an idea to take some small branches of holly and some moss to make a mini festive scene for the mouse not sure if it would work, I gave it ago moss surrounded with holly and a small log behind, then placing the camera in the conservatory again making sure no reflections in the windows and making sure the mouse couldn’t see me, the light wasn’t very good again but the Canon lens works well in low light and these pictures are the result. The mouse wasn’t hurt or injured at all it looked as if it was having the best Christmas ever.” Well Sheila I think you did a great job! So hard to photograph a small fast moving animal in dull winter conditions especially through the glass of a conservatory. I’m sure many readers will be inspired to try some similar methods on visitors to their gardens. Let’s finish off by looking at some more of Sheila’s captures that she got during her Squirrel and mouse project, also look out for our other article in this issue from Phototrain’s journalist Monica Doshi who reveals her methods for photographing Red Squirrels in the wild and the methods she used to capture some beautiful photographs.
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Sheila’s hard work paid off and she managed to capture some lovely images with a seasonal feel capturing some beautiful garden wildlife. She is now hard at work creating a reflection pond in her garden to get images of wildlife reflected on the waters surface. Have you got any amazing images or wildlife projects from your backyards you would like to share? If so contact me by email editor@phototrain.co.uk and we will share them in a future edition.
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Using textures to enhance your images
Les Arnott’s Getting Creative with Adobe Photoshop Series
Using textures can change a photograph into an eye catching piece of artwork. From a simple overlaid layer with a applied blending mode, using a texture as a background to an image, to enhance colours or to create an overall ambience to an image, which can be really useful when composing composite images to blend all the images together tonally. As well as this there are many more methods and uses to bring your picture alive graphically. Textures can come from many sources. You can buy them from endless sources on the internet and there are many free ones available too, some of which can be found on Adobe’s own filter shop. You can easily create them yourself by photographing suitable subjects that have a textured surface. Things such as bricks, concrete, paper, walls, feathers, metal, rust etc. all make great subjects that can be used to add to your texture library and it can in itself provide you with a new photographic project to search them out. Before we set out and learn how to use textures let’s take a look at a few examples of textures applied to images in different ways.
In the image above the texture has been applied over the top of the frame of the pic12
ture giving a pleasing effect and colouration to the metal frame.
Textures applied to the composite image above helped blend the subjects into the scene giving an overall ambience to the image as well as creating a feeling of drama. The image below uses a combination of 2 textures. One is used to replace the background and one applied over the top of the image to give a more graphic look to the image. Textures are great when creating images for use in publications such as Christmas cards, calendars, art posters and other graphic projects.
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In the first of the tutorial videos I show how coloured textures can be blurred and simply used to give a kick tonal wise to an image.
In the second video we look at creating an overall ambience to a masked subject to create a classic art style feel. This can also be a really useful technique to use in image compositions to give an overall tonal match to different images that are combined together in a scene
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More tricks and techniques using textures in the third video including creating a layer mask on the subject.
To get you started with textures I have created 4 of my own designs for Phototrain’s readers to download and use free of charge for any personal or commercial use. The textures can be seen below and will give you some great starters to apply to your images. Remember if your using portrait images just rotate the texture ninety degrees. If your unsure how to do this then view the video on the next page which shows how and also introduces you to another great Phototrain gift available in this issue to apply textures, borders and effects to your image. To download the textures shown below simply click this link DOWNLOAD TEXTURE ZIP FILE
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PHOTOTRAIN FREE TEXTURE, BORDERS & EFFECTS PSD FILE GIVE-AWAY FOR PHOTOSHOP With this free give-away file created by Les Arnott for use in Photoshop you can easily click effects onto your images to get picture effects like these and many more.
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Watch the video below to see how to apply the effects to your own images. Colour textures, borders,frames and flares can all be applied by simply clicking to view different layers instantly applying the effect to your underlying image. To download the PSD file which is around 70MB in size click the link below. DOWNLOAD PSD
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Lightroom for Beginners with Ken Fisher’s LiVELiNK Training Videos
Ken Fisher’s Adobe Lightroom for Beginners Series
Hi all it’s Ken here again! In this issue I share with you 3 videos, a continuation of my Lightroom for Beginners series. If you have missed the previous videos then please view the 1st and 2nd Issues of the Phototrain magazine that can be read directly from the Phototrain site here: http:// www.phototrain.co.uk/online-magazine.html
Video 1 - Solo Mode
In the first video I demonstrate how to minimize mousing around by only allowing one panel to be open at a time.
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Video 2 - The Spot Removal Tool In this video I demonstrate how to get rid of those dreaded sensor spots and small blemishes
Video 3 - Getting to Grips with Target Collections In this video I show you how to use the Quick Collection and Target Collection features to speed up your workflow
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Photoshop for Beginners with Ken Fisher’s LiVELiNK Training Videos Hi it’s Ken here again to guide you through some essential skills for beginners using Adobe Photoshop. To get to grips with Photoshop it really is a good idea to know all about the available tools and learn the correct way to use them. Let’s start with Video tutorials on using the Move Tool and the Marquee selection tools.
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Ken Fisher’s Adobe Photoshop for Beginners Series
Next let’s learn how to use the Direct Selection Tools which include the different types of Lasso Tools.
In the final Photoshop tutorial we learn all about the Brush Tool, from using the brushes provided within the program, loading and selecting different brush sets to creating your own custom brush.
Well that is all for this issue I look forward to seeing you all in the next issue of the Phototrain Photography Magazine. Bye for now keep clicking! 21
Photographing Red Squirrels - Where and How? by Monica Doshi CPAGB
Red squirrel showing the long tufted ears during winter. Camera - Canon EOS 1D X mark II with 100 to 400 mm zoom lens set at 100 mm. f5.0 shutter speed1/1600 second
Introduction Last year I made it my ambition to photograph red squirrels, well more that that, to take some decent photographs of these beautiful creatures. I had seen some endearing photographs of them... jumping with nuts between their teeth, nibbling on nuts, peering over snow covered logs and generally looking so very cute. But, I had never seen one before let alone photograph them. Where would I find them? How does one go about this? What equipment would I need? How would I get within reach of them? Here I am going to share my experiences of what I have learnt (often the hard way!) and tell you about what seemed to work best from planning to finding and photographing them. Red Squirrels Red squirrels are small rodents indigenous to the United Kingdom. They are smaller than grey squirrels being approximately twenty centimetres in height and weigh 280 to 350 grams. The colour of their fur varies from grey (yes really) through browns to russet red. Their main distinguishing features are their colour and tufted ears. The ears are longer in the Winter months. They are usually solitary, shy, elusive and nervy creatures with a very acute sense of hearing. They build large nests (dreys) in trees and spend much of their time in the tree canopy. They produce young (kittens) in Spring. They feed on seeds from pine cones, larch and spruce shoots, nuts, fungi, fruit and occasionally birds eggs. They will often hide their food in caches for when food supplies are short. Signs of squirrel 22
Red squirrel on a branch taken from a hide whilst on a 1:1 workshop with Andy Howard http:// www.andyhoward.co.uk Doing such a workshop is a great way to learn some of the basics if this subject is new to you. Camera - Canon EOS 1D X mark II 300 mm prime lens f4.0 shutter speed1/2500 second
activity include chewed pine cones, scratch marks on bark and large dreys in trees. The red squirrel population in the U.K. has been under decline due to competition for habitat and food from grey squirrels and squirrel pox. Red squirrels are protected by law under schedules 5 and 6 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This means that it is an offence “to intentionally kill or injure a red squirrel or intentionally or recklessly damage or destroy any or place a red squirrel uses for shelter or protection, or disturb a red squirrel while it occupies such a place”. In the original Fairy story by Hans Christen Anderson, Cinderella’s slippers were made of red squirrel hide. Planning and Preparation Research With any new subject my planning always commences at home with research. I search the internet, talk to other photographers (in person or on chat forums), read books and find out as much as I can about what I am aiming to photograph - where to find the red squirrels, their physical characteristics, their behaviour, their habitat. I look at photographs for inspiration but also to see what others have done so I think about achieving something different. From this I develop ideas of the sorts of picture I am hoping to achieve and how I can go about it. Where to find red squirrels? There are several places in the U.K. where you can go to see and photograph red squirrels. Professional photographers run workshops, there are hides available (there is often a charge to use these) or you could just target an area where you know they exist and try under your own steam. Going on a workshop often yields better photos. The set up and props are designed for photographers (useful 23
Red squirrel taken in dramatic directional light - the light was raking through a gap in the trees and was low with it being the winter months. Camera - Canon EOS 1D X mark II with 100 400 mm zoom lens set at 104 mm prime lens. f5.0 shutter speed1/2000 second
for the flying squirrel shot), the squirrels are used to obtaining food at the sites and so visit regularly and there is on-hand tuition and advice. Some facilitators even have equipment e.g. lenses you can borrow. For some they introduce you to venues where you can photograph the red squirrels. They do take some of the fun and challenge away from learning to do it through experience and can be costly. Hiring a hide is a good compromise. Going it on your own is more challenging and is accompanied by a sense of achievement if you are successful or a sense of frustration and dismay if not! Places to try include Grasmere, Allan Bank, Whinlatter Forrest, Alston YHA in Cumbria; Near Hawes in North Yorkshire; Brownsea Island in Dorset; Formby in Liverpool; Plas Newydd on Anglesey; Tywi Valley in Wales; Aviemore and the Cairngorms in Scotland and Bathwood Cops on the Isle of Wight. When to take photos Red squirrels do not hibernate so photos can be taken all year round. Winter months offer the opportunity to photograph them when their ear tufts are long for that iconic portrait. However they may not be as active especially in poor or windy weather when they take to the dreys. Light can be challenging and the colour of their coats can be duller. They are more active and therefore more easily seen in summer months. Equipment Wear clothes suitable for the weather and venue. Waterproofs are a good idea especially if you plan to be lying on potentially damp ground for several hours. Go for camouflaged and rustle free clothes. Either boots or wellies are good depending on the conditions. For camera gear, in addition to a body, I would take a long zoom lens, a wide angle zoom and a converter. I often pack a tripod and a bean bag support then decide what would work best once there. More often than not I will hand hold the camera because I find this easier and can respond quicker 24
when in the field. Bait I am not a big fan of using bait but do use it if needed. As a strong supporter of animal welfare I always use food that they would eat in their natural diets. Squirrels, like most rodents, have teeth that continually grow and so need to be continually worn down. Otherwise they grow too long, interfering with their ability to feed and lead to starvation. Therefore whole nuts in shells such as hazelnuts are better for them. The bonus is that they look more natural on the photos. Feeding them peanuts can lead to calcium deficiency and so are best avoided. A good place to buy animal food of all sorts is Arkwildlife, https://www.arkwildlife.co.uk For the squirrels I hide the nuts under leaves or pine needles so that they are having to forage for them as they would normally. Ideas for photographs These can range from portrait shots, action photos of squirrels jumping and leaping, wide angle photos to show the red squirrel in his or her environment or close-ups to show the detail in their fur and eyes. Try some backlit shots. One of my faves is to try to capture behaviour or emotion in photos. Arriving at your chosen place Ideally I plan my visit for two to three days and when the weather forecast looks favourable i.e. it is usually a last minute jaunt. Failing this I will repeatedly visit a place. The more time I spend at a place the more I learn about it, the wildlife and gain inspiration for future photos. I try to speak to local people especially local photographers to find out more about the place and where I am more likely to see the red squirrels. My first visit is mainly to recce the place. This gives me an idea of where the squirrels are likely to be found, observe their routines and to hunt out suitable places to base myself for taking photos.
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Taking the Photos Choosing a good place Once in the woods I find a suitable spot where I think that the squirrels will be. I try, if possible, to place myself away from any main paths and where there is more likelihood of people wandering past. Background is important. I find somewhere where there are few distractions in the background and where any background objects are set away from the squirrels so they appear blurred in the photos. I avoid light spots e.g. visible sky through the trees which shows up as highlights on a photo. I find somewhere where there is good light coming through the trees e.g. a clearing. A few test photos help select the right spot and viewpoint. I hide my nuts under leaves or pine needles where I hope that the squirrels will pause for their photograph. I then position myself so that I am shooting at eye level to the reds. I then wait as quiet and as still as I can, hoping that the squirrels will pass by and forage for the hidden nuts. Knowing their routine runways helps to choose a suitable place.
A backlit squirrel in Winter a red squirrel lends itself well to this type of photo given that its outline is so distinctive. Camera - Canon EOS 1D X mark II with 100 to 400 mm zoom lens set at 117 mm. f5.0 shutter speed 1/5000 second
Camera settings The aim is usually to capture sharp photos with a blurred non-distracting background. The challenge is that woods are dark places and so limits the amount of light entering the camera. I go for as small an aperture my lens will allow (f 4.0). I then adjust the ISO to give me a shutter speed of at least 1/500 second, often shorter especially for ‘flight’ and jumping photos. Squirrels are very fast and twitchy with movement especially in their paws so a shutter speed this high is necessary to avoid movement blur. At high ISO settings grain can become a problem.
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Young red squirrel with a hazelnut. Camera - Canon EOS 1D X mark II with 100 to 400 mm zoom lens set at 104 mm. f5.0 shutter speed1/4000 second
Focus I usually focus on the eye but not always depending on what I am hoping to achieve in my photos. Conclusion I have spent several days over the last year photographing squirrels both through workshops and going on my own. I hope that I have managed to share my experiences in a way that both inspires you and help you to go out and try this for yourselves. My learning as usual has been very much through trial and error. At the same time I have built confidence in capturing these engaging, beautiful and fun creatures on camera. My aim now is to capture one in flight something that has so far eluded me...watch this space.
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Photographing My Local Red Deer by Les Arnott I live in an area surrounded by Red Deer on my village borders. I have followed them since the 1980’s when they started to appear on a regular basis and my first images of them was in film format, now all lost unfortunately. However over the past 5 years I have built up a large collection of images of my local herds in Staffordshire, England and I can usually locate a deer within a ten minute walk from my house on a good day. The location where I live in is a mixture of urban and industrial areas with pockets of heathland and woodlands, so it’s certainly no Scottish Highlands equivalent that is often associated with the Red Deer. That aside we have a large number of Red Deer that appear in some lovely settings and on occasions they will leave there usual haunts of heathland and woodland and appear in urban areas also. Local supermarket car parks, gardens, roads and even on a local rugby pitch. However I tend to prefer the more natural settings to capture a photo of them, .... plus I hate shopping and supermarkets .... unlike the deer it seems! In the images that follow however I will include a few of the more unusual locations that made interesting shots. The Red Deer First lets take a look at the beast itself. The Red Deer is Britain’s largest mammal and males (stags) stand at 107-137cm at the shoulder and weigh around 90-190kg. Adult females (hinds) reach a height of 107-122cm at the shoulder and weigh 63-120kg. The summer coat is reddish brown to brown and the winter coat is brown to grey. There are no spots on the adult coat. Stags have large, highly branched antlers and the number of branches increases with age. Antlers can have up to 16 points in wild animals. They are a native species having migrated to Britain from Europe 11,000 years ago and populations have fallen and risen during man’s clearance of woodlands and suitable deer habitats throughout the
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ages. The Normans protected them for royal hunting, but this protection was lost during the Medieval period causing another decline in numbers in England. The Victorians re-introduced ‘improved’ stock (often inter-bred with larger related species such as wapiti), escapes from deer parks, natural spread, together with an increase in the Highlands and in forest and woodland cover since the early 20th century, mean that red deer are now widely distributed and are expanding in range and number. Equipment Clothing Most of my local deer live out on the heathland where it can get muddy and wet therefore good strong walking shoes/boots and some decent waterproof clothing is advisable. I’ve heard much talk about camouflage clothing helping to get closer but I think any drab colour has worked for me personally. I seem to be able to get close enough, however perhaps in more remote areas such as the Scottish Highlands or deer in large open expanses it would probably be useful to merge more into the surroundings as the deer are more likely to react with human presence. Camera equipment Before I list what I use personally let’s discuss what will work for people who may be photographing deer for the first time. Camera wise any reasonable camera will suffice, even bridge cameras and compacts are capable of getting reasonable shots if the conditions are fair and you can get close enough. However most will be using DSLRs if going about it in a more serious way and it’s these cameras that I shall deal with in this article. So lets talk about the DSLR and what are the important points to think about. First to think about is how much wildlife photography will you be undertaking? If your only going to do the odd bit here and there then really any DSLR is capable of getting good deer shots in reasonable light. OK so what about if you’re more interested in this area? What do you need to think about that will avoid missed shots or possible mishaps? You seriously need to think about the strength of the camera itself. Light plastic cameras may take a lot of knocks out in the field when lying down, climbing through bushes and trees etc. Another thing to think about is how heavy and long is the lens you’ll be using with the camera? A heavy lens slung around on a light body and flimsy lens mounts will of course be more prone to getting broken or damaging, distorting the lens mount. So if nature is your prime target consider getting a heavier, more solid built camera and if possible use one that is weatherproofed. Your going to be shooting in wet conditions and in the case of deer in the rutting season from the end of September to November when most of the action shots are to be caught you will be almost be sure to be shooting in cold, wet and windy conditions. If your camera isn’t waterproof find some way of making it so, even plastic bags can serve the purpose. Whatever your camera make sure you have at least one spare battery to take on your treks. I personally always carry two cameras constantly around my neck with different length lenses as I hate changing lenses in the field and possibly missing a shot. For my deer work the two I usually take are my Canon 1DX MK2 and a crop sensor Canon 7D MK2. Lenses The most important item! Again it all depends on how much wildlife photography you will be performing and what money you have available before making your selection. You will however require a lens of at least 200mm to get enough magnification to get a reasonable framed image, and anything up to 600mm if you need to get closer depending on how approachable the herd is. My personal favourite is the Canon L Series F5.6 400mm prime lens. I use this for most of my wildlife photography as it’s so light compared to zooms, extremely sharp and the only prime lens around at that focal point at a reasonable cost. The fact there is no zoom facility is not an issue with me using two cameras and I’m often only shooting at the 400mm end with a zoom in most cases. I feel the zoom sacrifice is worth it weight, sharpness wise and it’s so quick to focus having less glass. I also use a Canon L series 70-200 F2.8 lens more so when taking group shots of the herd or when I’m closer in 29
to one of them. Both lenses have weather seals and metal bodies which helps in bad conditions. Whilst on the subject of lenses always use a lens hood. For a first you’ll get a better defined image and also an added plus it will help stop rain or drizzle getting to the front of your lens. Another useful thing is that it avoids having to keep attaching a lens cap which in itself can mean a missed shot. Memory cards If you have got yourself a camera that will shoot many frames per second and throw in a cheap memory card you probably won’t achieve half the shots quoted on the camera and if you do the time it will take to write to the card will be reduced drastically, meaning you’ll be standing around missing shots waiting to take another photo! Get fast, good quality cards and read reviews online on places like Amazon you may find good, cheaper cards that way. That said however in the majority of cases with deer you will not need 10 to 14 frames a second and I often just set to single shot shooting. In an active rutting season mind with lots of action then you may wish to switch to fast continuous shooting mode to make sure you get that moment caught on camera. Always make sure you carry spare cards with you as there is nothing more infuriating than filling a card, then a magical moment happens and you’re left with a long depressed look of anguish! Camera Settings In the majority of cases I’m shooting in AV (Aperture Priority) Mode and I have my camera set so that I can instantly compensate with a dial sitting next to my thumb to under or overexpose. Learn how to compensate on your camera, check your manual and see if you have a dial or a button available rather than having to go into a menu to do so. Let’s talk about compensation and when to use it. We need to know what our light reading is set to on the camera. I’m not going to bore you with all the available settings, you can do that yourself by reading your camera’s manual but I tend to use an overall ambient setting known as Evaluative Metering on a Canon camera. That means the overall light is being metered and averaged to give you the exposure. There may be odd times I defer from that but only rarely. Let us imagine we have a deer on a hill, it’s coming up to lowlight with a sunset sat behind it. How do we want to capture the image? Do we want to go lighter and show the details of the deer? Do you want a silhouette of the deer standing against a perfectly exposed sunset? With my compensation set to work directly by my thumb I can achieve either instantly. Take the compensation down into the minus zone to emphasise the darkness of the silhouette and get more detail into the sunset, take the dial upwards into the plus zone and you’ll get more light on the deer and the sky will also get lighter Set to “0” compensation and the camera will try and get an overall average of all the available light. Always check your shot when possible and ALWAYS remember after making compensations to move the cameras compensation back to zero, or you could end up with a days worth of over or under exposed shots! 30
My aperture is usually set around F5.6 which with a longish lens will defuse the background causing less distractions to the subject. My shutter speeds will vary from around 1/200th of a second upwards and 1/1000th of a second or more for fast action shots if I want to freeze the action. I like to set my ISO manually and I’ll keep it as low as possible in the majority of cases at 400 to 800 ISO on my crop sensor Canon 7D Mk2 but on my Canon 1DX Mk2 a full frame camera it’s usually set to 1000 ISO as I know I’ll get no image grain at that setting and I’ll be getting fast speeds from the off. If I need faster speeds I’ll take the ISO up to give me the speed of shutter I require for the shot. There is nothing more annoying if having the ISO set on auto and you find the majority of shots are much too grainy to be of use. I like to know what my camera is capable of in the ISO ranges and set my camera accordingly. A good practise is to explore your camera, play with the settings, see what works and what doesn’t way before you get out into the field and maybe end up with shots not to a good standard. Safety Deer especially during the rutting season can be dangerous. Always think of your safety when getting close and always use common sense, Hinds also are very protective of their young and the whole herd will protect the younger deer. They can kick and cause as much damage as a stag if harassed. Always put the animals welfare before your photography. Approach deer slowly and at a safe distance, keeping low will make them feel more at ease when you can do so. Photo tips and composition Head shots Besides the normal portrait shots I also try to grab a few with expression, a particular look on a face. You can catch some really nice expressions with deer, tongues sticking out, stares, glares, bellowing stags, they are all there to grab. A longer lens of 400mm or more will get you nice head shots, longer lenses need higher shutter speeds or the use of a tripod to get movement free shots. I rarely use a tripod I like to travel light so I open up the aperture and maybe increase the ISO to up the shutter speed if required and depended on the available light. Single Deer Look for a classy stance if possible and if shooting early you may be lucky enough to catch a snort of mist from the nostrils which adds a nice touch. Shooting from a low position of view can make a stag look more dominant and it’s always nice to try and keep at eye level or below with the majority of animal photography. Not too hard to do with a large deer in most cases. Think about backgrounds when possible, does a movement of the camera give you a less distracting background around the head? Think about the time of day if you can get at different times, early morning, evening, misty mornings can all give some atmosphere to an image. 31
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Left: A Hind captured with a Canon 1DX Mk2 and a L Series F5.6 400mm prime Below: A young male in winter coat. See the difference in the coarseness of the fur compared to the fawn on the right where the winter coat has almost moulted displaying a much finer summer coat below. Each individual hair is hollow internally which creates great insulation from the harsh weather conditions.
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Stags in various poses all shot at F.5.6, ISO 400 @ 1/800th sec to 1/1000th sec in AV (Aperture Priority) mode with a Canon 7D MK2 camera with a Canon L Series F5.6 400mm prime
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Various shots took during the rutting of a herd of Red Deer just a short distance from where I live. The bellowing was loud and it’s always nice to get that open gape from a bellowing stag in the heat of the moment. A 400mm was used for these shots and always keep your distance during the rut there are a lot of emotions flying around, both from the stag and the hinds. Try to keep by a safety barrier like a fence, bush or tree just in case. Don’t rush around, move slowly and quietly and keep shooting as moments can happen and pass very quickly!
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Above: Trainspotters? Below: Time for a game of Rugby?
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Images of Red Deer invading a local rugby pitch
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The Phototrain Photography Competition - Judged by Graham Orgill We have a grand selection of winners to display in this issue from December 2016 to January 2017. The weekly competitions we hold on Facebook have been full of talent from which our Phototrain Judge Graham Orgill has made some skilled selections from the posts to our competition wall. So here are our Gold Award Winners a big congratulations to them all. If your a Facebook member and want to take part please join us at:
Gold Award Winner for 19th December 2016 Cassie Smith
Judges Comments Sunrise, the golden hour, giving perfect light to catch this tranquil scene. Good composition great exposure combined with good use of the colour palette. Well captured Cassie! 42
Gold Award Winner for 2nd January 2017 Angela Hill
Judges Comments A super exposure with just the right shutter speed to create the soft milky flow of the water over the weir. Great use of the colour palette creating a peaceful, tranquil mood. A super well composed shot to end 2016. Well done Angela!
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Gold Award Winner for 9th January 2017 Graham Hazeldon
Judges Comments A very creative image- reflections’ in a puddle and then inverted to give the illusion of the buildings the correct way up. A well exposed, simple but very effective image. Most of us would have walked past the puddle without seeing the potential. Well done Graham!
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Gold Award Winner for 16th January 2017 James Gibson
Judges Comments A well exposed lovely composition with great detail and an unobtrusive background. Tells a story Illustrating the comfortable interrelation and empathy shared between the subjects. Well done James! 45
Gold Award Winner for 23rd January 2017 Neil Choopani
Judges Comments Good compositional use of the “thirds�. Choice of aperture gives superb depth of field isolating the bird from the background. Pin sharp detail of this beautiful common bird in a natural environment. Well done Neil!
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Phototrain Email Address: editor@phototrain.co.uk 47
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