How to Photograph Birds at Water Level in South Africa
The water level hides at Zibulo offer some of the most accessible opportunities to photograph birds at water level in South Africa. In this week I'll show you where the hides are and some of the techniques and settings I use to photograph birds in flight and at water level using manual mode and the Canon 7 D mark ii and 400mm F2.8 lens.
It's not easy to juggle between stills and video and I don't always capture video footage of the wildlife, a usable still and a piece-to-camera explaining the shot. When I do, I try to put it together to tell a story here on Youtube or to share some info that will help you to capture similar shots.
It's always difficult to pitch the information to the right level. I don't often talk about camera settings or equipment because in most cases it's possible to capture versions of the shot with different settings and different gear - there is no perfect solution.
There is instead, a range of them. I've found that this is often difficult to explain to beginners who typically want to follow a script. Wildlife photography doesn't really have many scripts, we are confronted by a range of problems and it is experience, practice, and patience that offer the best solutions.
Beyond camera gear and settings, wildlife photography, like life, becomes a game of chance and calculated opportunity. It's this experience that I hope to share in most of my videos because this is what really makes the difference between a snapshot and a wildlife photograph.
