Flight training

Wildlife photography can be a challenging endeavour, and one of the hardest techniques to master is capturing a bird in flight. Many birds are extremely agile on the wing, which makes them unpredictable and therefore difficult to track.

As with any photographic technique, practice makes perfect, so we visited the Hawk Conservancy Trust, Andover, to hone our snapping skills during their fantastic flying displays. A long lens is a must, but with birds regularly flying close (and sometimes into) the crowd, you don’t need to invest in a big 600mm lens. Anything above 200mm (in 35mm terms) will do and unless you’re taking shots in particularly dark woodland, or