The Reality of Bird Photography in the UK - Visiting a Nature Reserve on a Wet Windy Day

[@danniburgess]

I think it's so important and refreshing to see professionals also feel the pain of challenging visits! As a newbie to photography, it can be disheartening seeing pucture perfect visits all the time on social media when the reality is rather different! Very entertaining 👏

[@djfletcherer]

More Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve trips! And good tips for making best of poor weather!!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thank you. Appreciate your suggestions.

[@nightwolf1592]

Yep, more of this style please 👍😊

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks!

[@terryorourke4758]

Excellent video. More of this type please 👍👍

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thank-you. Planning more of these.

[@mjm.9082]

Agreed!

[@steveparent8788]

Honest failures from pros are reality. Those videos are really important for all nature lovers. Things don't always go as planned. Effort = A. Thanks for your video !

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Glad it helps. Thank you

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Do you enjoy this style of Vlog? Then check out another Bird Photography Adventure: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqitiaSurtakn8k

[@Bevieevans8]

It's good to see and know we're not the only ones having bad days. Warts an' all videos are sometimes the best

[@robertbrown6060]

Yes, like the video. It’s realistic, particularly with the lousy run of weather we’ve had for the last 5 months.

[@marktaylor9579]

I like these type of vlogs Paul, they show what most of my days out for bird phptography have been lately! I'm sure I'm not alone, but it's 'good' to see that even the Pro's suffer the same fate sometimes 🙂

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Many thanks. I think as KZbinrs, some of us should probably show our failures more - so I will try to do that more often.

[@mjm.9082]

I thoroughly enjoyed this short program; there is a great nature reserve about an hour from my house that has bird blinds along a large waterway, and is often overcast. I will use your suggestions with my similar Canon lens and hope to get some great small bird photos.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thank you. I find a little overexposure can be beneficial in overcast weather. Just be careful of the whites.

[@MichaelTerndrup]

Thank you for sharing love your video

[@doug11127]

Thanks for this Miguel you are showing everyone how hard it is to do wildlife photography. Whenever I go out to my local reserves it’s like this most of the time lol, and always wishing I had a longer lens. Keep em’ coming 😊 cheers Doug

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks so much for that Doug. It's good to show the simple realities sometimes. And it does make the good days so much more worthwhile too!

[@ChrisHunt4497]

Love this style of video. Very relatable. 😊

[@dannydriscoll9744]

Great video Paul, love the photos of the woodpecker and reed bunting!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

cheers Danny. Always love a woodpecker. And I have a soft spot for the reed bunting too

[@richardmerritt5600]

Made me laugh this one Paul ... exactly like most of the days I spend on a reserve 😂

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

It's more real life I think! And for many people it may only be weekends or days off from work. You have to go with the weather. Or not go at all...

[@mjm.9082]

same here

[@frednorman1]

I live in Northern California which has some of the nicest weather in the world. But we also get rainy and stormy days especially, in the winter which is our rainy season. That of course is the most of the waterfowl are migrating up or down the Pacific Flyway. The difference from you is that we see a lot more birds. Last week I saw 2,000 Snow Geese, an impressive sight.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

We do have places with good bird numbers, but probably not as good as you. Wow, 2000 Snow Geese - what a beautiful sight. They look very nice those geese.

[@iaincathro3373]

Love it - reality for the British wildlife photographer.

[@zephalu]

Yup, it isn't easy getting a good photo of a bird. You held it out longer than I would in those conditions and got some great photos. We have watched you since getting out first Canon camera a few years ago.

[@NotSoGoodGamingTV]

Lovely shot of the woodpecker around 7 minutes. A lot of this looks really similar to here in the netherlands.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thank you. I was going to crop in more but I like a bit of the habitat in the shot.

[@adamromek5386]

I was recently in England, near Hyde. I was very lucky because there were moments with good light and small, fast birds. I brought some nice photos home. I must admit that I really like your videos. Nice shots and a lot of technical knowledge, so necessary for a beginner nature photographer. Greetings from sunny Krakow, Adam

[@JockyT1]

Great film, very relatable indeed. Wildlife in the UK always seems to be miles away but there's always the chance that something will happen close by - just being there and being patient is everything.

[@steveparent8788]

Very challenging situations to shoot Miguel

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

For sure. I underestimated the wind.. and I paid the price. Boy was that wind cold. Brutal.

[@WildatHeart123]

I loved this video, especially the fly…🤣. It reminds me of so many of my outings.

[@JohnHarrison-f5z]

Great video, quite inspiring as brits we tend to stay in on horrible days like this (360 times a year) its great to see such creativity even in harsh conditions, Keep up the good work Paul.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks so much John.

[@Suprastar87]

It's good to know that I'm not the only one struggling to get bird pictures at the moment

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

The weather has been largely horrendous.. for like a month!

[@AstralviewsUK]

Great video. With how terrible the weather has been for astrophotography I've taken up bird photography and I'm loving it. It's seriously addictive in my opinion. A steep learning curve to learn what it is I'm photographing and actually photographing small fast birds definitely has a "sporting" feel to it. Very satisfying to land good shots of birds that you don't see every day. I was at the marshes the other day and literally had a treecreeper latch onto a tree trunk in front of me, maybe 10 metres away. Just have to be out and about....no such thing as inappropriate weather, just inappropriate clothing 😂😂😂

[@daelpixphotography]

I like this style of photography Paul..........I went to Leighton Moss (1.5hr drive) for the first time on Tuesday last week. Lovely place, gorgeous weather. I'm back there tomorrow but it's supposed to be light and heavy rain, which I'm not looking forward to, but at least I'll be dry in the hides and the chance of droplets on birds.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

That's the way to think - rain can be great for photography , try to use it as much as you can. Leighton Moss used to be one of my haunts.. before I defected and moved to Yorkshire!

[@ronallen94]

Thank you Steve for this honest video. This illustrates that o matter what plans you make for your photography trip, the weather, the wind or lack of wildlife leads to frustration. However, as you proved, if you wait it out and hang around you could still end up with some good wildlife shots. Perseverance is a necessary trait for wildlife photographers.

[@davepastern]

that first open hide looks like a good spot for morning images of the birds, especially BIFs.

[@ScottRitchie-bw9ls]

When yiur video came up on my notifications, I knew it would be fun and light. And the hardships of crap weather, but having fun. And learning. Lastly Paul I enjoyed the mello jazz soundtrack. Keep it up!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks indeed for that. I really enjoy the jazz too!

[@mickbear413]

Another awesome video Paul. Love it 👌

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

thanks Mick. Always appreciate your support

[@mickbear413]

It's a pleasure mate @@PaulMiguelPhotography

[@iansmith8056]

Very interesting watching your journey today. You obviously know your bird species which are a lot different to bird life here in Invercargill New Zealand. Thanks for an informative and motivating video

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Many thanks. I know many species but still have a lot to learn

[@philnicholson7993]

I have been there a few times always in similar conditions like you had. I don't know if you have been to Low Barn yet, but its one of my favourite reserves, and never disappoints me.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Cheers. No haven't been there still. One to put on the list!

[@nigelbramley4188]

You have this knack of making vids Interesting, humorous and enjoyable with the obvious great advice. Brilliant stuff as always Paul...

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

thanks very much Nigel.

[@malcolmsutton6740]

Keep it up, well worth watching.

[@soethan.1349]

Excellent video paul. It's good to see.

[@RichardCookphotography]

Great video Paul. Really admire your fortitude going out in those kind of conditions...for british photographers a camera that performs at high isos is obviously an absolute must. 😀

[@pdel7007]

Yes , there are times and places when it's not that good. The main thing is to be out there you never know what much appear.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

For sure. And I always try to think of it as a learning experience - sometimes about the conditions; sometimes about the species.

[@tomlee812]

Typical of my wildlife experiences here in Sussex recently over the past few months. Wet, dull, flat light, cold and windy. It's a real challenge to get any keepers at all in these conditions. Well done sir for giving it a go.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

It's tough. I think some subjects suit overcast light but generally I like the early morning and evenings.

[@nicolasthorpe9385]

Thank you Paul for an encouraging video. More of the same please!

[@dust1415]

Paul I like this style of video and showing all the fun times. We are sitting in a hive waiting for a bird to come along

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thank you. I hope it went well today

[@garethedwards3379]

Really enjoyed watching it! Hope to see more like it soon. Thinking of investing in a good camera myself for my birding trips!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Many thanks. Hope my videos can help you in the future too.

[@tonygreenwood1798]

Great video. Makes me want to find a local hide and have a go.

[@alanwinkley8811]

Wow a professional having my kind of days photography............ bring it on Paul. In all seriousness it's nice to see these videos from time to time. Cheers take care.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Glad you enjoyed that Alan

[@chrisdunford2346]

Makes me feel better about my own sorry efforts. Good video showing what it's really like in the UK. We do live in one of the world's worst countries for wildlife.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

It is a concern - if the lens breaks down it probably can't be fixed. On mechanical shutter with my R6 it can't do fastest frame rate - it's about 7 or 8. Electronic stays the same.

[@nslbirding]

a very honest video, been there and done that. 😅

[@MyWildSide_photography]

Thumbs up..... warts 'n all works for me. Reality vs perception can be very far removed from each other and I get very deflated when I take a day off work, the weather is grim and it ends with nothing much worth saving and it feels like everyone else gets endless good conditions and amazing shots and I'm missing something. Social media is often misleading. Good honest vlogging is more inspiring sometimes than endless great captures. You have the knack of making successes and failures equally as interesting, entertaining and inspiring. Keep on being you and giving us the whole picture. Great chanel.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks so much. I intend to make more videos like this - and just upload... even if I feel it's a complete failure, lol! I know exactly how you feel when you have limited time.. been there for sure.

[@Andyhelliwellphotography]

that sqruiel at the end haha !

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Lol! It was pretty podgy..

[@Andyhelliwellphotography]

yes it was @@PaulMiguelPhotography

[@messylaura]

where you had the wb set to Kelvin, do you use a specific Kelvin for you daytime shots or do you set the Kelvin to match what your eye sees at that time? you should do a vid on a cemetery wildlife walk, they great places for wildlife

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Great idea for the cemetery - something I've had in the back of my mind. White balance - I've done this for years now.. I literally set the Kelvin the same and leave it, it's on 5600K. I find it gives consistent results. Only time I really change it is twilight, or night shooting.

[@peterwoolliams1283]

No binoculars? Helps with finding and seeing what’s about.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Ideally. I just have enough stuff to take when vlogging

[@jimshanks8352]

Paul, why is the foot of the collar on your lens pointing to the rear? I’ve never seen it fitted like this before. Is there some advantage in having it this way?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

You mean pointing upwards? I sometimes just prefer hand-holding it like this, with it out of the way

[@hjones451]

How do you cope with the eyepiece when wearing spectacles?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

It doesn't seem to affect me. The biggest problems are steaming up.. and having to look over them for close up (I'm mid forties now...)

[@hjones451]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography Yes Paul, steaming in certain weather conditions can be annoying.

[@alisonandguywildlifephotograph]

I like it truthful … I’ve been out for a few walks over the last few miserable weeks… barely worth taking a camera 🤦‍♂️

[@owenpeller6471]

you get an A for effort but it sucks. Your better off doing something else or traveling

[@paulbaldwin2290]

Excellent video Paul really love flying geese and woodpecker great filming like the longer videos 👏👏👏

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Cheers. The R6 is so good for filming - I literally switch between stills and video all the time!