Realities of Wildlife Photography: Know Animal Behaviour (Ptarmigan in the Cairngorms)

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 (   • Landscape Photography in the Foggy Cairngo...  ). 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. Don’t forget to subscribe! To check out the images from this vlog, head over to my site: https://drl.one/itf32 You can find out more about myself by browsing my website at: https://www.drlphotography.co.uk If you would like to support my work as a photographer then please consider purchasing a print via my website, you can browse the shop at: https://www.drlphotography.co.uk/shop ---- Music used in this video ---- All the tracks featured in today’s film were licensed via a subscription with Epidemic Sound, check out their website here: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referra... 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 If you follow the above link and decide to purchase a subscription with Epidemic Sound then I will receive 2 months free for referring you to their services. ---- Social Media Accounts ---- Facebook:   / drlphotographyuk   Twitter:   / drlphotography5   Instagram:   / drlphotographyuk   ---- Some Kit ---- These are affiliate links to Amazon UK, which means if you make a purchase by following one of these links I will earn a small commission for referring you. Vlogging Main Vlog Camera: https://amzn.to/3iRrdCO Rode Mic: https://amzn.to/3gJfN29 Action Camera: https://amzn.to/3eesjVn Voice Recorder: https://amzn.to/2ZILT7a Voice Over Microphone: https://amzn.to/2AHeSzG Wildlife Photography My Camera: https://amzn.to/2VXJEfk My Zoom Lens: https://amzn.to/3203OsH Teleconverters: https://amzn.to/3iIN4w8 and https://amzn.to/3gDU7V4 The Ultimate Lens: https://amzn.to/32af1H4 #wildlifephotographyvlog #drlphotography #ptarmiganphotography #scottishwildlifephotography #ptarmiganbehaviour #wildlifephotographytips #wildlife