Amature Photographer Master Class

At the kind – and totally unexpected - invitation of Gemma Padley of Amateur Photographer Magazine, four
members of the Welshpool Camera Club (plus the Secretary!) went to Gigrin Farm, Rhayader in late November to photograph the famous and numerous Red Kites.
The Kite, for those unfamiliar with the bird, has a wingspan of around 1.7m and a distinctive fan-shaped tail. To start with the club members spent part of the morning learning how to photograph flying birds from expert Paul Hobson. Using a long telephoto lens to shoot a small, fast-moving object is not easy, and there were many tricks to learn.

 

 

 

Paul taught us how to handle our digital SLR’s (of several different makes) and to compensate for light and dark backgrounds. Using aperture priority metering is the key, adjusting the ISO setting to achieve shutter speeds in the desired range. It was a dull day with only occasional weak sun, and the advice was highly relevant in the tricky conditions. We learned how to use high shutter speeds to freeze the birds in flight, but also how to pan, using slow shutter speeds, to achieve a more artistic effect. The benefits and occasional drawbacks of image stabilisation were explained. After the theory came the practical! From the vantage point of the tower hide at the farm, we spent a half hour getting used to shooting the birds that gathered en masse high in the sky just before the 2pm feeding time. There were perhaps 200 birds or more darting around the sky. Speculating that Kites have timepieces built in, we eventually spotted the farm’s tractor rattling towards the feeding area, loaded with meat. The large Kites wheeled and swooped, making wonderful and fascinating subjects and often appearing to be looking straight into the cameras.

Their playful jousting with each other after their initial feed was captivating, and the general spectacle of so many large birds in the sky was most impressive. This continued for a good hour, and thousands of frames were taken, including many of the buzzards and ravens that also grazed on meat that the kites did not eat. After a while, the light started to fade (leading to some rare shots of kites flying in front of the moon), and the party returned for a debrief in the farm buildings. Our photos were downloaded to Gemma’s PC and we parted, with aching necks and arms from hours with a long lens pointed skywards, and a great deal more experience in Kite photography.

 

Our thanks to AP and also Samsung, their cosponsors, for a truly fantastic day with the big birds.
CFK WCC Chairman