Photographic Society: June 2023 Report

For our June club night we had the absolute pleasure of hearing from renowned wildlife photographer Robert Harvey & he spoke about what makes a good bird photograph. Robert has spoken to the club on previous occasions and last year, took a group of members to Wiltshire for a few days showing them the sights & sounds of the Wiltshire Countryside.

His talk focussed on moving away from the ‘bird on a stick’ glamour shots and talked about adding background to the image but stressed that it needs to match what you’re trying to say about the photo and whether it relates to the habitat of the bird. He spoke about how Reflections make a great photo and getting up early or waiting until golden hour can be the best photography time with silhouettes making beautiful images if you catch the light in the right way.

He showed us images of birds in flight and how shadows and viewpoints can really make an image ‘pop’ but to always keep settings on Manual. We were shown some images of birds taking off and landing but also how a flock of birds can make an interesting picture if framed correctly.

Birds that interact with each other and are caught in action or calling to each other can create good shots for the viewer & emphasised that although portrait stye shots are great, to focus on birds with interesting and eye-catching head feathers or plumage.

Looking forward on the 28^th of August we will be exhibiting our members images at Steeple Aston Flower show. We are really excited to be there and look forward to meeting you all and talking about our images, the club & anything else photography related.