It is always interesting to have someone new come along to Camera Club to share the results of their photographic skills. Tony McLean had been recommended by next week’s judge, Mike Barnard ABPA LRPS and what a good find he proved to be. Nature on my Door Step was the theme of the evening. The photography just deserved superlative after superlative. Tony’s love of wildlife has taken him all over the world but as he said himself, the challenge of capturing our own wildlife has amazing rewards. However, it was not just the photography that inspired but the man himself. He shared so much of his expertise.

Not far from Tony’s home in Driffield is Tophill Low Nature Reserve. This is where the evening’s photographs were taken. From roe deer to foxes, from swans to wrens, from barn owls to herons, from a rabbit held in the mouth of a fox to fighting pheasants. These were not just images of the pin sharp eyes and perfect feathers of a perched birds – although there were some of those – but images full of drama, aggression, wariness between species and even humour in some cases.

Tony uses a 500 lens with a 1.4 converter and endless patience. Whatever lens may be on your camera, it will often not reach in as close as would be preferred so cropping is necessary. Photographing in RAW is essential to maintain detail when processing an image and the photographer must fully understand the computer program being used for this purpose. Anything not pin sharp is deleted. Tony is always looking for animals doing something different, a different perspective or the most interesting lighting conditions. Early morning is the best time to capture animals and to a lesser degree in an evening. He proved very knowledgeable of the habits of the creatures he photographs which helps to anticipate the behaviour to be photographed. Tony invariably checks the weather forecast prior to a morning out. Ideal conditions include a wind direction that carries his scent away from the animals he wants to focus on and a wind speed below 7mph that means any early morning mist will not disappear to early from the lake.

Googling Tony McLean will enable anyone interested in natural history photography to enjoy some of the images seen by members of the club. Next week, Mike Barnard will be judging the first of this season’s competitions and the following Saturday, 31st, Paul Berriff will be sharing some of the drama and iconic events and people of the last fifty years.