Blog Post

Loch Visions April 2018 Newsletter

Philip Price • March 23, 2018

The challenge of using the dreaded 70-200mm lens for wildlife photography

I am in a new phase in my career. I love long lens work but I need to make more contextual photos, both for showcasing the amazing locations I am lucky enough to be able to use to run my workshops and hides but also to tell important wildlife stories through Scotland: The Big Picture work. I have had lovely results with wide angle lenses as if you get animals close then the nature of the lens kind of does the job for you (see below) as the perspective has such a wonderful impact on the viewer.

The lens I struggle with the most is the 70-200mm lens. I have never taken a shot with this lens that I have been over the moon with. There is very little perspective with it and you don't get that lovely high impact feel like from the 500 f4 which is my main lens. So what does it do and why bother?

Well this tricky lens can be fantastic for increasing the balance of the landscape in the shot, ie making cliffs look bigger while still showcasing the animal or in the above case really getting a sense of the squirrel in amongst giant ancient temperate rainforest Oaks. Wider lenses either have the animal too small in the frame or shrink the background too much sometimes. The key is planning, planning and experimenting, failing then more planning!

I tend to take the lens out with out any wildlife around to take lots of test shots to see what I like. I use a cuddly toy in place of the animal so I can get context and scale. Then you need to figure out how to swap toy for animal. Usually a bit of food does the trick but sometimes knowing the animals movements well is all you need (lots of reccy time). Then you should see the images start to improve with this lens. It is a lens I am really only on the beinning of a journey with and hope to discover more of what can be done with this tricky mid ranger and of course share that knowledge through my workshops and tours.

New hide for rent: The Hill Top Hide

Set on the edge of a giant temperate rainforest with panoramic views over Loch Craignish this hide is designed so you can really push your own photography. This is a hugely creative hide with all sorts of possibilities allowing the photographer to get some truly unique images. All the above and below images were taken from this hide and you can book it online now. The hide covers portrait, scenic and action shots. You can also set wireless trigger wide angle cameras up and the squirrels are perfectly happy!
Click Here
or on any of the images to find out more

Otter family at one of our Otter locations

We have a new family in town!!!!! Otters are being particularly wonderful at the moment and we have spaces next week on a 3 day Otter Tour or you can book any available day as a Otter Workshop

New Guest Images Online

Check out winder wildlife image from our new hide and the first Otter workshops of the season - Click Here

< Older Post Newer Post >

Mail

GOOD NEWS IN 2021...AT LAST!

January 13, 2021

I have just processed pics I took the last time I was out with our Otters, which was a few days before Christmas...oh yeah and Happy New Year everyone! What a terrible start. Anyway having just gone through the images I am pretty sure this Otter above , who is called Éowyn, is pregnant. Look at her belly in all these images and there is a definite bulge. This is incredible news and means we should have a family in our main territory again in the next 3 or 4 months, just in time for nice warm spring and summer days!!

How not to use my hides.....a professional guide to avoid my idiocy

By philipvprice • December 16, 2020

I spent an incredible day in my hide which is the first time it has been used since I dug it in to improve the photography angle and to stop it getting destroyed by every storm. Usually this is where I would then say 'to get great images you need to do this and that etc' which is what most photographers write about. I have decided to take a different approach mainly due to my slight (to great) incompetence on the day. Rather than hide my head in shame, I decided to do a 'how NOT TO guide' to wildlife photography in our loch side hide.

Otters Otters Otters

November 30, 2020

As some of you have read before if you follow anything I do, one of my main ambitions over the last year with my business is to try and incorporate effective and useful citizen science into our photography workshops. It means when you come along, not only do you get to take amazing photos (hopefully) but you will be contributing to the protection of that animal or the enhancement of it's environment. Due to Covid a lot of my ideas did not happen this year. However our Otter project did kick off and I have absolutely loved it!!

Common animals can sometimes make the very best photographic subjects

Don't forget what is all around us

By philipvprice • December 4, 2019

Common animals are all around us. And generally let us get very close to them which makes them ideal subjects for wildlife photography.

November 2019 - And we are back!

By Philip Price • November 14, 2019

This newsletter I am so so excited to say for the very first time I can combine my environmental work with delivering new workshops. Here's how it works. For most of my tours and some of my workshops next year, not only will you be able to get some incredible images and experience some world class moments you also get to genuinely help the animals or their habitat that feature on the tour or workshop. Here is a flavour of what we are doing: Red Squirrels Hours of incredible photography combined with tree planting to create more habitat for these amazing wizards of the forests. Beavers Great photography combined with helping the Argyll Beaver Centre with their camera trapping monitoring program. This is vital work for the national re-population of beavers in Scotland.