Birds of a feather

Shayne shows how ‘ordinary’ animals can be turned into extraordinary photos

- Shayne

I’m an amateur Canon photographer who has loved birds ever since my parents would take me to feed the local mallards as a kid. I got my first Canon PowerShot S3 IS bridge camera about 15 years ago on a whim to try out photography. As my photography progressed, I moved onto a Canon EOS 7D and recently upgraded to the 7D Mk II with a 100-400mm lens. I’m eventually hoping to upgrade to a Canon R5, which would be the dream! I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to travel to see a lot of cool birds, from pelicans in California to puffins in Iceland, but my favorite shots always end up being of friendly ducks. I love seeing people’s surprised reactions when they see a cool picture of a bird they would probably ignore. I want to subvert the idea that you have to be on an expensive wildlife watching trip or spend 18 hours in a hide waiting for a rare bird, in order to get a good photo.