Welcome to

19 Sept

A Bird in the Lens

I've loved photography from the moment I bought my very first SLR film camera, too many years ago to mention here without giving my age away.

It was a Fujica STX-1 as I recall, bought with money saved from my first job and it got me hooked. I quickly moved on to a camera that genuinely taught me about the craft and one that still to this day is my favourite camera that I've ever bought. The Nikon FM2. Completely manual, it taught me so much about the relationship between apertures, shutter speeds and film speeds and to begin with the lessons were costly.

Roll Film

These were the days of loading a roll of film into the camera. You could buy rolls of 24 or 36 exposures films, the former being the most popular choice for me because of cost. When I started taking pictures I had to learn quickly because of course, unlike with today's digital cameras, you had no idea what your pictures would look like until they had been processed. This involved sending your roll of film off to a processing lab and waiting anything between 1-3 weeks for them to send you back a packet of prints (and a strip of negatives you could use for reprints) Inevitably as a complete novice I had no real idea of what I was doing and would happily click away at anything and everything I thought looked vaguely interesting, expecting every shot to be a masterpiece. I would then wait for my award winning photos to arrive only to receive a packet of 24 over exposed or underexposed blurry prints many of which were difficult to even make out what the original subject was. The learning curve was expensive but gradually I went from maybe getting one out of 24 that were worthy of being described as a photo, to two, three and then eventually being disappointed if I got more than 5 or 6 bad ones.

This wasn't something I learned overnight because even when I really began to understand about exposure and how to make adjustments for shooting subjects with bright backgrounds or in low light, or fast moving etc, I still had to learn about composition and what really makes a good image great. Being still just a keen amateur, I'm not sure even after all these years I have ever really cracked that part. I guess that is what always separates the amateur from the professional and why you can always tell one from the other. I do now know a great picture when I see one but as we all tend to be over critical of our own work (and I am very definitely in that gang) I wouldn't presume to label any of my images as great, but maybe it's not my place to do that or even worry about.

Much more than just about the picture
Over the years of learning and the enjoyment of just being behind a camera, I have found subject areas that have held my attention for longer than others, such as landscape photography. I got particularly passionate about the sky at sunset and sunrise and anytime I saw a moody one with interesting cloud formations. Holiday photography escalated from the daft family shots in the pool to wandering around the locality early morning to try and capture the essence of where we were staying. It is during these moments when I began to realise that photography was about much more than just the picture itself. It was about the moment and the experience. Of course the goal is really always an image you can be proud of, one that not only captures that moment but takes the person looking at it there too. It doesn't have to be a technical masterpiece but it hopefully tells a story or triggers an emotion.

As you can see by the above picture, I still have my Nikon FM2. It's in mint condition and I could never sell it as it started this journey for me and taught me so much. One of my sons showed an interest in photography at quite a young age and he also learnt on this camera. He is an adult now and we still share our passion for photography, swapping photos we have taken on a regular basis. I love that.

The moment that started it all off

So now I have a new subject area that I am passionate about. In fact it has, as my wife will confirm, become an obsession. It was triggered by 30 minutes or so watching and photographing a kestrel on the fringe of my local beach. The bird wasn't bothered by me standing directly underneath it as it had its eyes firmly fixed on the ground, searching for any sign of something to eat. I obviously didn't fit that criteria so it ignored me, not realising the total thrill I was getting from focusing on it through my lens. Once it had gone to find prey elsewhere, I sat on the beach with the realisation that this was what I wanted to concentrate on. Nothing else I had photographed over the years had given me that feeling of excitement and wonder.

Bird photography has become something that if I haven't been out for a day or two I get twitchy (no pun intended). Something that I absolutely love. And again, it is not so much about getting that award winning 'great' image but much more about just being out there amongst them. It is the experience of spotting them, watching them, seeing a bird you haven't seen before for the first time and then the absolute thrill of trying get a focus on them and capture the image. When I first saw a kingfisher and managed to lock on in my viewfinder, my hands were shaking so much the pictures were very definitely not great but it didn't matter. It is a moment I will never forget and that is the most important thing for me.

Appreciating the beauty of nature
I also find it has slowed me down when I am out walking and that's a good thing. I now am taking in the environment around me so much more, spending time looking at the trees, hedgerows, waterways, countryside and appreciating the beauty of nature as I search for anything feathered moving within it.

Bird photography takes me to some stunningly beautiful places. I am very lucky to live close to the sea and the South Downs National Park so I have a wonderful mix of locations including a number of RSPB nature reserves close by (we have recently joined as members). Early mornings in these places are moments of wonder, of peace, of excitement and I often share those moments with my wife which makes them all the more special.

So welcome to my blog. It's my first blog so forgive me if I don't abide by any must dos or don'ts when blogging. Here I will witter away about my time taking bird pics, sharing the experiences and showing you some of the places I go. Hopefully you will enjoy the read and find some inspiration within it too.

Gear
I may occasionally discuss camera gear too because as much as we all try to deny its importance and its draw, we are all really consumed by it. We love reading about it, dreaming about what we can't afford and always want to know what everyone else is using.

The website
The website the blog sits on is really just a self indulgent place for me to build a gallery of images that I have taken and particularly like. A place to put them so they don't just sit in a large library on my laptop in no particular order of importance, amongst duplicates and duds. Family and friends can go there too in their own time and by their own choice instead of having them thrust in front of them every time they place a foot through my door. The site really has no other purpose than this. Of course if other people stumble across it and enjoy it then happy days.

Thanks
If you have made it this far down the page then thanks very much, I really appreciate you dropping in. If you don't already, you can follow my instagram page where I add the odd funny caption if the image lends itself to one, hopefully provoking a smile or two. If you want to comment or get in touch to share bird related images and stories then I'd be delighted to hear from you.

IG - @a.bird.in.the.lens
E: steve@abirdinthelens.com