coot
Practical Photography article
My most extensive article to date is now appearing in the latest (December) issue of Practical Photography. When I first put forward the proposal I was just hopeful of getting a couple of pages but then as the deputy editor (Ben Hawkins) and myself discussed it further it dawned on me just how big it was going to be! It’s 11 pages in total.
I surprised myself just how quickly I laid down the bulk of the copy but probably the same amount of time was spent again writing the various captions, taking shots of myself using supports and listing wetland sites to work in.
I really enjoyed writing such an extensive piece, especially on a topic that I feel I kind of have sufficient experience in working in, that is if 15 years of working on the marshes is anything to go by. I am very impressed with the layout. PP have done a great job I think in making it look fresh, interesting and, I hope, inspiring and it has certainly whetted my appetite in me possibly doing a book.
Good month for coots
Well, more like a good month for my coot pictures really! It was very nice indeed to get the front cover of Birdwatch but to also get the inside of Bird Watching and a sale by my agent, all from the same session, was quite unexpected.
They were taken at Arundel WWT in Sussex, January before last. I spent much of the day photographing at the main lake, most notably wigeon, but as the day drew on I turned my attentions to a frozen pond harbouring mallard and coot. With the sun slowly setting, the light was perfect and for the next hour I lay flat on the ground with the 300 f2.8 lens resting on the ice in order for me to get as low as possible. As the coots are much darker than middle tone, I set the camera to deliberately underexpose by -1 stop.
Bird Watching
About Robert Canis
Robert Canis is a professional photographer specialising in the natural world.
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