Page 109 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #05

PHOTO ANALYSIS

THE PHOTOGRAPHER
DAVID PATTYN FEELING
THE BLUES
David is a Belgian anesthesiologist based in the Netherlands 1The fluorescent lights
of the nearby police station
and is also an award-winning wildlife photographer. See more
are cool and blue in tone. I
of his images at www.dpwildlife.com could have adjusted the white
balance to make the image
appear warmer, but I wanted to
accentuate the atmosphere. So,
I used automatic white balance
to keep the colours cool.
OUT OF THE
DARKNESS
2I couldn’t see the grebes
in the darkness, so I exposed
manually on the patch of light
cast by the police station and
waited for the birds to swim
into that area. Sure enough, one
appeared, intent on catching the
mosquito it had locked onto.
BIRD’S EYE VIEW
3 Using a floating hide
3allowed me to stand in
the water at eye-level with the
birds, giving a more intimate
perspective. It also allowed
me to capture the shadow
of another grebe in the
background, adding depth
and interest to the image.
LET IN THE LIGHT
5 As the light levels were
4 very low, I used a high ISO
(which makes the camera more
sensitive to light) and a wide
open aperture (to let plenty
of light in). This combination
allowed for the fastest possible
shutter speed, and meant my
subject turned out sharp.
MIRROR, MIRROR
I love the reflections
5in this image. The light
reflecting of the ripples on
the water creates an ethereal
quality that really makes the
shot. I was using a very limited
depth of field, which is why
the stripes in the background
appear more blurry. I love this
efect and only discovered it
after my first night session.

+ FIND OUT MORE
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wildlife-nature-photography/
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