Realities of Wildlife Photography: Know Animal Behaviour (Ptarmigan in the Cairngorms)
Show Notes
Big lesson learnt: know the behaviour of your target species for wildlife photography. I learnt a lot about ptarmigan behaviour through the year from studying some scientific papers after my day of wildlife photography was cut short by heavy rain. This vlog is about the lessons I learnt and some top tips to photographing ptarmigan in the future!
In my last vlog I was up Cairngorm Mountain doing some great landscape photography in the foggy mountains. I got very excited at one point because the conditions were doing everything that I wanted them to, but my plan for the day was to also do some ptarmigan photography.
This was a little ambitious of me to be able to capture 2 vlogs in the same place throughout the day but after the landscape photography success I was very hopeful and enthused for my chances to capture some amazing ptarmigan pictures.
I began scouting the higher boulder fields, and I explain what I’m looking for as I go, but the majority of the time I was just looking through my binoculars, scouting different boulder fields with the hope of spotting a bird. After several hours, I was having no luck whatsoever. I made my way back down from the steep mountainsides I was exploring to the corrie floor to have some lunch, with the intention of exploring the other side of the corrie.
But as I was eating my lunch the rain began, and continued to intensify, until it was not practical to stay. I had spent about 6 hours looking for birds without any luck and I felt miserable. I questioned my abilities and I was so frustrated.
When I got home I decided to do some research to find out where I went wrong, and so that’s really what this vlog is about. I’m sharing the knowledge that I learnt about ptarmigan behaviour throughout the different seasons, because as it turned out, the summer and autumn are the worst times to spot ptarmigan but there are a few ways that you can increase your chances!
I was deliberating not posting this vlog but I decided to make use of it as a lesson to study animal behaviour. That’s the best way to be successful as a wildlife photographer. There is a lot of valuable information in this vlog that should help you and myself capture some amazing ptarmigan photographs in the future!
I will be heading back out at some point, determined to make a second part to this vlog where I actually encounter some ptarmigan, so we can talk about compositions and styles of photography that work with these beautiful birds.
As I am learning how to make videos, with each new one I am proving and creating a better YouTube channel, so please subscribe and follow along on this journey!
As I didn’t capture any images on that day, the images below are the ones that I featured in the vlog as examples.
Onto the Images
The majority of these images come from a successful wildlife photography trip I had in the spring. That day there were loads of different ptarmigan wandering around the boulder field of the Corrie where I was filming. But the highlight was an extremely confident pair, a male and female that essentially guided my friend and I from the Corrie. By far that pair have been the most accessible ptarmigan I have ever come across, establishing a territory in the floor of the Corrie rather than the steep inaccessible sides of the bowl.
As I mentioned above, I am more determined than ever to get some ptarmigan images, but I think that my approach to wildlife vlogs may change. Landscape photography vlogs can be centred around a single day and the possibilities of working with the landscape and the light of that day, but for wildlife photography vlogs I think I may change it from focusing on the day to focusing on the subject. So, if it takes several days before I manage to get some images, include that but move away from a single day of wildlife photography and focus on getting the images in the end. Otherwise there will be a lot of vlogs like this one, where I attempt to get pictures and result in nothing. It’s something that I am going to work on in the future for my channel.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to continue following my journey in photography!
About the Film
Just a little information about the film and how I made it, as well as some links to equipment.
I edited the film using the Free Version of DaVinci Resolve. It’s an incredibly powerful piece of software that I am still trying to understand and will possibly write an article about in the future.
All the tracks featured in today’s film were licensed via a subscription with Epidemic Sound. (By following that link, if you purchase a subscription then I will be gifted with a month free for referring you to their services)
Any Other Way by Particle House
Cold Light Of Day by Across the Great Valley
Be Nice by Spring Gang
Get You Off by Sionya
A short Kit List
These are affiliate links, which means if you follow them and make a purchase I will earn a small commission for referring you to Amazon UK. You can find out more about affiliate links here.
Main Vlog Camera is a simple Panasonic G80 with the kit lens, its a great little mirrorless camera that I got for the sole purpose of creating YouTube videos. It’s capable of filming in 4k and seems to do everything that I want it to.
Rode Mic, I got this little microphone to boost the audio quality from the inbuilt microphone.
Action Camera, I use this to film myself when walking. It’s a simple DJI Pocket Osmo camera that has a motorised 3 axis gimbal head, which means that I stay in focus and static while the landscape around me moves. It’s also capable of filming in 4k and the audio quality is quite good.
Voice Recorder, to boost the audio quality when it’s windy or I’m using the action camera I use this handy little voice recorder with a lapellier microphone to record audio.
My Camera is a Canon 1DX mark II, the perfect camera for wildlife photography! Although the newer model looks even better!
My Zoom Lens is a Canon 100-400mm f/f-5.6, a nice lens to use for variable focal length and it’s nice and light for handheld use and for trekking up into the mountains!
The Ultimate Lens is a Canon 500mm f/4 and it is the ultimate wildlife photography lens. Tack sharp, great focal length and brilliant bokeh effect when close to a subject!
Teleconverters: Canon 1.4x and Canon 2x, they are very useful in a lot of instances when you just need a little more reach to get close to the subject.
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Written by Daniel Long
Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.
