NZPhotographer Issue 35, September 2020

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WHITE FANTAIL F4, 1/400s, ISO800 Behind The Shot with Guy Vickers GUY, TELL US ABOUT YOU AND YOUR PASSION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY... I grew up on a dairy farm in Taranaki so was surrounded by the natural world and had plenty of opportunity to adventure during scouts, school trips, and family adventures. In 1978 I went on a school camp to North Egmont and my mother bought me a roll of 120 black and white film to go in her Box Brownie camera. The results were mediocre, but it was the beginning of a passion to photograph my adventures. Many years went past until I bought my first camera - an Olympus XA2 point and shoot. That camera survived some pretty tough treatment at my Outward Bound course, tramping and climbing trips, and kayaking the Whanganui River. When I went to University to study agriculture, I met other outdoor photographers who were using slide film and SLR cameras, their results were far superior to the images I was getting with slide film in my XA2, so I made the switch to the Olympus OM system and used Fuji Velvia slide film exclusively. I have worked in agriculture my whole career, fitting in as much adventure and photography as I can. I have always loved photographing wild untouched places and recently I have discovered a passion for photographing people and birds. I currently use a Canon 5D mark IV as my main camera and a Canon 7D mark II for bird photography. My lenses are all Canon and include 16-35mm L f4 IS, 40mm f2.8, 24-105mm L f4 IS, 85mm 1.8, 135mm f2 L and 400mm f5.6 L. I add a Canon 1.4 times teleconverter to my 135mm f2 lens when I use it on my 7D II, this increases the reach to that of a 300mm (fullframe equivalent), which is my go-to for forest birds like the white fantail. My 400mm is perfect for birds in flight and with the crop sensor 7 D II gives me good reach for birds on the water. 34 NZPhotographer
TELL US ABOUT YOUR SHOT OF THE WHITE FANTAIL... Once I knew we had a rare white fantail in our local forest, I knew I had to work fast to win the birds trust while it was still young and feeding near the nest, it was the only way I was going to get close enough to photograph it. Every day I would visit the river and wander from one feeding area to the next hoping for a sighting. I walked back and forth to the river each day during the covid-19 lockdown and that gave me time to reflect on the birds’ behaviour. I also picked several strategies that I knew other bird photographers were using and decided to put them to the test. I wore earthy coloured clothes and a camouflage baseball cap with camouflage buff and sat quietly in the shrubs near the birds feeding area. I held the camera near my eye for long periods of time to avoid having to lift it when the birds eventually came in close as they don’t like sudden movements. Whenever the bird came in close I would shoot over my left or right shoulder using my left or right eye on the viewfinder. I found that once I was behind the camera, I could move forward or backwards to get a clear shot of the bird that was usually hiding behind a branch. Each day I would wait in one spot and then move to another after about half an hour, this increased my chances of coinciding with the birds feeding. After the first 10 days the birds were curious and accepting of me and would come in close to feed around me. When this happened I started talking quietly to the birds and they got used to my voice and of course the clothing that I wore each day. Their behaviour indicated that they had accepted my presencehappily preening, singing, and drinking within 2-3 metres of me while I sat motionless. After struggling to get sharp photos with my 400mm f5.6 lens in the low light of winter, I switched to my shorter Canon 135mm f2 lens with 1.4 x teleconverter attached and this allowed me to get sharp photos in low light and create nice background blur. With the white bird now trusting me more and more it would feed around me and often come in close, chirping happily for a few seconds before flying off to a new feeding area. As my understanding of correct exposure, auto focus, and the birds’ behaviour increased and the days became longer near the end of winter, I was able to chance this shot late in the day. I was talking quietly to the bird as I eased forwards and shot in continuous drive, manually focussing on the birds head. Everything was at the limit, I couldn’t open the lens up any more, or I would get softness, I couldn’t lower the shutter speed any more, or I would get movement blur from the birds fast moving head. The iso was as high as I wanted and it came down to chance whether the bird would stay long enough for me to get the shot. As if to compliment me on my efforts so far, he allowed me closer than ever before and stayed long enough for me to acquire focus. When I saw this photo on the computer, I was ecstatic. This was the shot I could only dream of! YOU’VE HAD A LOT OF MEDIA ATTENTION WITH THIS SHOOT HAVEN’T YOU? The rare leucistic fantail has been embraced by the media as a feel-good story, much needed during Covid-19. What started out as a small article in the Taranaki Daily News newspaper, escalated to an article on Stuff Media and then an interview with John Campbell and TVNZ for their Breakfast Show. As well as being asked to feature here in NZP, New Zealand Forest and Bird are running a onepage article on how I captured the images in their September magazine too. I've also had quite a few people interested in buying prints of the white fantail, some for commercial use. I have become known as “the guy who photographs the white fantail”which is quite an honour considering I’m just doing what I love! WHAT BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS CAN YOU SHARE WITH OUR READERS? You have to make do with what you have until you can afford a lens of 400mm or longer! Try hiding your camera where birds wade or feed and triggering the camera with an app on your smart phone. Build a hide slowly over time and bait your subjects with carrion or food that they like. Visit places like the zoo, bird feeders, coastal walkways, or bird sanctuaries, anywhere where birds are used to people and will allow you to get closer to them. Next, learn the strategies that allow you to get close to birds to photograph, this includes wearing camouflage clothing, staying low to the ground, not looking directly at the bird etc. Arthur Morris in the USA has been a big part of my learning and I recommend visiting his blog. Also, Youtube has a wealth of information from people like Tim Boyer, Steve Perry and Jan Wegener. It’s important to build a foundation of technical skills, so that when a fleeting moment happens, you are not fumbling with the camera. The best way to do this is to go out photographing with a passionate and successful bird photographer and observe what they are doing in the field - remember to take plenty of notes and ask lots of questions! Lastly, be prepared to get dirty as you will need to sit on wet ground, crawl through the mud or sand, September 2020 35
Page 1 and 2: ISSUE 35, September 2020 LEARNING T
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS 4 10 28 34 38 45 47 52 59
Page 5 and 6: environment and exhausting its reso
Page 7 and 8: TOO MUCH, TOO LITTLE POLES APART Se
Page 9 and 10: with the quality, but it is never t
Page 12 and 13: BIKRAM GHOSH 12 NZPhotographer
Page 16 and 17: CAROLE GARSIDE 16 NZPhotographer
Page 20 and 21: PETER LAURENSON 20 NZPhotographer
Page 24 and 25: STEPHEN USMAR 24 NZPhotographer
Page 28 and 29: Top 5 Sunset Shots by Brendon Gilch
Page 30 and 31: LAKE TAUPO F13, 1/20s, ISO64 New Ze
Page 32 and 33: CHRISTCHURCH OLD SOUTH SHORE JETTY
Page 36 and 37: and wait patiently with camera at e
Page 38 and 39: Interview with Portrait Photographe
Page 40 and 41: VINTAGE F2.0, 1/250s, ISO100, 85mm
Page 42 and 43: CONTEMPLATION F3.2, 1/160s, ISO100,
Page 44 and 45: Remarkable Form, Exceptional Functi
Page 46 and 47: PHOTO COMMUNITY From more than 20,0
Page 48 and 49: IRENE MIDDLETON SHELTER Desmoiselle
Page 50 and 51: BETH CHAPMAN SHAG VS EEL A rather g
Page 52 and 53: Learning To See By Richard Young
Page 54 and 55: TRIP 1 While helping a client set u
Page 56 and 57: $120 / YEAR or $12 / MONTH SUBSCRIP
Page 58 and 59: part in showcasing New Zealand in a
Page 60 and 61: when diffused by clouds so those de
Page 62 and 63: not just finger food and that some
Page 64 and 65: OTHER THINGS TO EXPERIMENT WITH: Us
Page 66 and 67: PORTFOLIO BEST READERS' SUBMISSIONS
Page 68 and 69: MARKET DAY F4.0, 1/1000s, ISO100 A
Page 70 and 71: SERENA PREPARES The ASB Classic ten
Page 72 and 73: MOODY SKIES AT LAKE KARAPIRO Everyo
Page 74 and 75: WELLINGTON CITY LIGHT TRAILS I took
Page 76 and 77: PAPAMOA HILLS F16, 1/20s, ISO100 Su
Page 78 and 79: LEFT BANK, WELLINGTON I took severa
Page 80 and 81: STOP FOR NEON Part of a series of p
Page 82: 'THE CAMERA IS A SKETCH BOOK, AN IN

NZPhotographer Issue 35, September 2020

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