Raptor Photography

It's no secret I enjoy photographing birds of prey, so last autumn I booked a photo day at the Raptor Foundation, based not far from me, in St. Ives, Huntingdon. It had been a while since my last similar experience, when I photographed birds of prey in a studio environment, and this time I wanted to capture them outdoors, with some woodland context.

This first photo was a great chance to use the back-lighting coming through the trees, and to let it highlight the edge of the bird, as it perches on farm equipment. I'm really pleased with this one because it's a very natural depiction of the species, and I love the out-of-focus plants which add texture and context to the space beside the subject.

Barn Owl Perched

The second barn owl portrait takes this lighting a step further, by under-exposing to cast the shadows right down to near-black, and leave only the rim-lit feathers fully exposed. It's a favourite lighting technique, which I like to use in all kinds of situations, with all kinds of animals. It just keeps things simple, and achieves a focus on just one key element of the subject.

Barn Owl Rim-Lit

This is a tawny owl, again perched on the aged wooden equipment, just a few meters from the woodland; their natural habitat. I love the effect of the out-of-focus dabbled light here, and of course the eye-contact from this characterful bird.

Tawny Owl Perched

Now for a bird I'd never seen in real life before; a goshawk! And what a beast.

Goshawk Eye-Contact

I love the relatively muted colours of this bird, in contrast to it's incredible eyes, that draw you in. You fear for any unsuspecting pigeons caught in it's gaze. It really does look all-business. I also love the blue-green background, which complements the subtle warm tones in the feathers. I'd have liked more photos of this bird, but the only other decent one I got was quite similar to this, so I've omitted it here. Definitely a species I'd like to photograph again in the future. They're the top predator in their woodland habitat, and are incredibly swift and agile, flying between dense undergrowth to snatch unsuspecting prey.

Last up is this peregrine, and I love this stare into the distance. It looks like it's acquired a target, and is about to leave it's cliff-top perch to launch a strike. It has a real focus to it.

Peregrine Stare

The Raptor Foundation focusses primarily on rescuing and rehabilitating birds of prey, funded by visitor access, demonstrations, and photo days like mine. They're also purveyors of fine cakes and tray-bakes (shout-out to the home-made chocolate tiffin), which also helps fund the rescue and care of the birds they take in. On the day we visited, they admitted two red kites found by members of the public, both injured by separate road collisions in the local area. It's great to be told that the fee we'd paid for the photo day would fund their care. There are more organised and finely polished bird-of-prey photo days around, but I'd recommend the Raptor Foundation for the fact that you're very evidently putting your money to good use. It's a real win-win.

If you like these photos, check out some other Related Posts, linked below. For enquiries and prints, get in touch.

Cheers

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George