I was recently reminded of a good rule in bird photography – if in doubt go out. We had passed the estuary I was photographing in mid afternoon and I stopped in to have a quick look. The light was horrible and the tide was wrong so I decided it wouldn’t be worth coming back as the sun was dropping and there would be little prospect of birds feeding on the non-existent mudflats. I had a huge pile of images already to work through and was way behind in my writing goals so it seemed the right decision.
Sitting in our cabin working I couldn’t help notice how lovely the light was starting to look and promptly changed my mind. Just being in the light even with little chance of birds would be better than being indoors!
As expected there were no mudflats to work on but there was the sand bank with some resting birds. The air was still, the light lovely and only getting better. As usual, the more time you spend, the more you look, the more you see. The pair of overwintering Kuaka/Bar-tailed Godwits were resting and preening, the Tūturiwhatu/New Zealand Dotterels were being stroppy in their prebreeding territoriality, the Tōrea pango/Oyster-catchers and gulls were being their raucous selves. Amid the crowd I noticed a tiny, hyperactive Pohowera/Banded Dotterel which over time became 4.
Despite covering very little ground I was overwhelmed with subjects in light that just became better and better until the sun set when it became even better! Another case of less is more.
Once the direct low light had gone with sunset I had this dome of diffused soft light bathing the scene. Perfect conditions for a flat, low contrast image as a starting point to make the bird the star of the scene.
The view in the direction opposite to sunset is often one of my favourites for landscape images and after sunset the colours that develop as the shadow of Earth climbs into the sky as the belt of Venus can be stunning. Reflected in the still waters of the estuary this was a rare circumstance that was a buzz to witness and record.
This brief opportunity of light and calm gave me a chance to get a few species on the stage.
Take home message – even if you don’t think it’s going to be worth the effort, get out. Just being out in the light is better than being indoors and you just never know what you will find until you look. Instead of the minor satisfaction of addressing some writing and editing chores, I was elated by the light and had got some of my nicest images of the trip.
Photos with Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S + 1.4x teleconverter
