Simplify your wildlife photography - WWT Martin Mere
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- čas přidán 7. 02. 2024
- This week I headed over to Martin Mere Wetland Centre in Ormskirk, the weather was fine and I was looking forward to getting out in front of the camera and doing some wildlife photography.
Unfortunately Martin Mere Wetland Center doesn't open till quite late in the morning around 9:30am, so it was a late start for wildlife photography.
However, I had seven hours in which to find some wildlife around this fantastic nature reserve. I started off by heading down to the Ron Barker hide which is quite a good location as it overlooks the fields beyond where the Raptors tend to hunt such as the marsh Harrier and the barn owls and buzzards, which always offer some great video and photo opportunities.
Also in the Ron Barker hide is the Kingfisher perch, and if you're fortunate enough the king fishing come on land of these perches just long enough for you to get a few photos of this magnificently coloured bird.
My 2:00 PM the going was rough and I hadn't managed to capture very much at all a very quiet day on the reserve despite the fine weather, so with that in mind and only a few hours left I decided to simplify my photography and go back to basics, at the Kingfisher hide where the bird feeders used to be they have now put up a reflection pool, this is a great little attraction however it is a little close to the hide and people tend to stand at the window and expect the birds to come and land on the reflection pool logs, this is not the case and never will be, I managed to find a spot standing against the central pier of the structure, with my camera on the tripod I focus on the reflection pool now a couple of meters away and let the birds come in, and this they did, I manged to get a few photos of different species before other people came up into the hide area and came to look at the reflection pool and stand in the windows therefore frightening the birds off, and not returning until had all gone quiet again.
Whilst doing this I was fortunate enough for the barn owl to come in and make a few flybys creating some great opportunities for some video and photos of this wonderful barn owl flying around over the reserve hunting for its afternoon snack.
A fantastic day at Martin mere highly recommended and great for wildlife photography.
PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT USED
Canon R5 amzn.to/3KGnZ4t
Canon R6 amzn.to/3qsEytK
Canon R7 amzn.to/41jeNcw
Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L
Canon EF 70 -200mm f2.8 IS III L
Canon RF 85mm f1.2L USM DS Lens
Canon RF 1.4 x convertor: amzn.to/41L7YBO
Smallrig Camara cage x3
Benro Tortoise 24CLV Tripod: amzn.to/3H4TKSu
GoPro Hero 12: amzn.to/3H3Y18Y
Atomos Ninja 5.2" : amzn.to/47eNDWw
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CONTACT ME ash@wildlifephotographeruk.co.uk
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Other items used, and in my Kit
SNEAKY 3D PULL-OVER SET W. JACKET - 40 INNOVATION CAMOUFLAGE - www.deerhunterclothing.co.uk/...
Tragopan HIDE HOKKI V3 tragopan-shop.com/gb/hides/26...
*Tragopan GHILLIE BLANKET KHAKI*: - tragopan-shop.com/
*Tragopan 3D SUIT 2 PIECES*: - tragopan-shop.com/
Hahnel Captur Remote- amzn.to/3ro79B7
Sony ICD-TX660 - Digital Voice Recorder: amzn.to/40OeG8a
Benro Gh5c Gimbal Head: amzn.to/3TGYgLs
Benro Tortoise 24CLV Tripod amzn.to/3DGLLJ9
Self Adhesive Camouflage: amzn.to/3SkqWsp
Rain Poncho: amzn.to/3VN8Bal
Camera Battery Case: amzn.to/3VOFtQ8
Tripod Stool: amzn.to/3eW2sIr
Camouflage scrim: amzn.to/3z3rdt4
Hey. Great footage of the animals. The hide is really nice. Greets Stefan
What a great day, Ash! Funny how things turn out when you just relax into the day & just "go with the flow" as they say. Really good to see the water rail, and that footage of the barn owls was fantastic too! I'm looking forward to watching part 2 of the Cairngorms when it comes out. Take care buddy! 😊👏👍
Cheers Russ, yeh turned out ok in the end, you see photos of on Facebook groups etc, showing the owls, kingfishers, Marsh Harries, etc and it sort of makes you want to go, there, then you go and nothing shows up it like 😯, but then in those last two hours everything just appears all at once, a great day out in the end. Yep just loading the car now and heading off looking forward to a great trip thanks, take care, and see you on the next one 👍
@@WildlifePhotographerUK Yep exactly, keep at it and just enjoy it whatever! See you out there one day eh. And have a really great trip!
Great video. Super Owl images.
Beautiful
Barn Owls are probably the best and photogenic bird in the UK. For, me anyway.😊
While you were at the Wetland Centre I took my first my first ever trip to the Mach Loop for birds of a different kind.😀
Hi Frank, ahh great stuff how was it I might make a trip there this summer.
@@WildlifePhotographerUK I went down with Stephen on Wednesday, and had 4 opportunities. The Lakes and Scotland got most of the action. For my first ever attempt at military aircraft, in the wild, I was pleased to get a Texan with a blurry prop. Many of the regulars told me they were still trying to achieve that effect.
I think, I’ve caught the bug now. 😀
Another lovely video Ashley! That footage of the barn owl 👌stunning!
Thanks @AWilderLife, glad you enjoyed it, yeh just nice to be out with the camera and bumping into subscribers. 😜
Hi Ashley, another great video, I love Martin Mere, it has such an abundance of wildlife and is well kept. Top footage and love the Barn Owl on the fence post, that type of shot is on my list 😊 see you on the next one Mate 📸
Lovely stuff. Patience really is a virtue.
Glad you hung around to catch the barnie, with the bonus of a kingfisher too.... Happy to be the subscriber you bumped into
Hi Scott, hey great to meet you Yesterday, yeh it was about 3.30 when they showed up, shame we all had to leave an hour later. 😕
Another great video Ashley. Looking forward to the next one..
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, just a quick trip out, needed to take some photos of animals, done nothing but take photos of people for two weeks, animals are easier 😂😜
Hi Ashley, another top video 📸 I love Martin Mere, it has such an abundance of wildlife and is well kept 👍🏽 top footage, I love the Barn Owl on the fence post, that type of image is on my list 😊 see you on the next one Mate 👍🏽📸
Cheers @leehanley71, Yeah it's a great place it does however get very busy even on a weekday like yesterday the ron barker hide was like a tea room 😏
Great vid Ashley never seen a water rail thanks for that hopefully I will remember it if I see it ! Really chuckled about the bleeding geese ( shell ducks ) 👍
cheers @shauncraffey3580 glad you liked the video and got something out of it, yeh i thought I would leave that part in about the shell ducks just keeps it real lol 😅👍
Another great video and images Ashley. When you couldn't remember the name of the Geese/Duck, just made me laugh. As you get older, the old grey matter starts to go. I'm the same, and I'm 70 this year 🤷♂
Cheers @mickbear413, lol yeh, I knew it, I just could not find it in my head at that time lol 😕😂
Did you rent the barn owl? 🤭 Absolutely great pictures! Thx
haha lol not unless someone lost theirs 😜😂
I would love to visit a big hide like this! I wish we had one like it close by. My God, the reflections of the birds in the water were extraordinary! What a fine job you did with them. And your video of the Barn Owl was superb. I really enjoyed seeing them. Thanks for a great video. Just found your channel. I'm a birder in Florida and am now learning photography.
Hi @junebug1553, welcome to my channel and thank you for subscribing, I am glad you enjoyed the video. yeh, starting out photographing birds was a big learning curve for me, not so much the photography but the birds them selves and trying to identify them. shame you don't have a hide near you, perhaps if you got together with other local photographers you could come up with a plane to create one somewhere.
Anyway lovely to meet you and al;l the best. Ash 👍
Stunning flight shots of the lapwings, beautiful scenes. And, patience and persistence paying off in this video. Absolutely gorgeous.
It's great you're making a studio. Will you still be able to look out to your livestream? So looking forward to another on the Cairngorms. You spoil us, Ashley.
Hi @joan and family hope your all well, many thanks for the comment, yeh I will stall have the bird feeder live stream, and hopefully, I might get some birds in the bird box cam this year.
Great vlog as always, I do love Martin mere, but I’ve never seen the reflection pool, where have they put that,
Hi Alun, yeh it is a new feature at the Kingfisher Hide, to the right where the feeders used to be, the birds are still a bit cautious about it so I stood well back with my tripod and they came in fine, as soon as you or other people go near the window/opening they fly off.👍
@@WildlifePhotographerUK fantastic, I will just have to remember which hide is the kingfisher hide
@@alunlambert7456 its the one before the Ron Barker hide on the left as you walk down, you have to walk up the steps to reach it.
@@WildlifePhotographerUK Fantastic, thank you