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The idea for this shot came a few months ago. It was coming up for Christmas, and getting cards with dull images on them. I wanted to create a card for friends and family, which was more personal, than the ones bought out of a shop.
Snow scenes were out of the question, as we'd had very little snow, so the next choice was the traditional Robin Red Breast.
Don't let looks fool you, as endearing as he looks, he is extremely aggressive and territorial to other birds, but during the winter months and food becomes harder to find, he is the total opposite.
This one in the photo, I used to see him every day as I walked around my local loch (lake). He'd follow me as soon as I was spotted, to the end of his territory, but every time I lifted the camera, he'd fly off then come back. It was almost like he was playing a game with me. Not willing to be outdone by a Robin, I started to feed him every day, after a few weeks and a hard frost on the ground, he was eating out of my hand. The camera then became no problem.
I started shooting with a Canon 75 to 300mm lens on the front of an EOS 20D, but after a while, I had to start using a Sigma 105mm macro lens as he was getting too close to me and couldn't focus on him. I did try a Canon 28mm to 135mm IS lens at one point, with the dull days and slow shutter speeds, and normally shooting handheld, I thought this would be the answer, but I was still having to use an ISO of 400. This didn't give me the clarity I was after. The major problem with the macro lens was, although I could really open up the aperture to get a fast shutter, depth of field then suffered. Either, the head, the body, or the tail was in focus, but not all at once. I did get one or two nice shots on brighter days. One of these got me a 1st place in POTM Nature Dec #2 2004. (Thanks to everyone who voted).
I decided to stop taking photos of him, as he was getting to tame, or maybe fearless is a better word to use, due to his normally aggressive nature. I kept feeding him on my daily walks, but concentrated on other birds for a while.
In Feb we had quite a lot of snow over here, and braved the elements one morning. I thought I'd get some really nice snow shots. The snow stopped as I got halfway round the loch, the sun came out, and guess who was sitting in the branches sheltering. Yep you got it. I had the 300mm lens on and conditions were perfect. The sun was still low in the sky, so lighting was spot on for what I wanted. I'd like to add at this point. The Canon 20D fast frame mode is exceptional. I think I got about 10 shots before he moved. I quickly fed him then sped of home to the puter.
You know the rest. Thanks to every-ones votes I'm having to write this article.
Throughout my very few years in taking photography seriously, one thing I have noticed. It sometimes doesn't matter how much you plan, study the subjects habits etc. Sometimes it's just a case of being in the right place at the right time. Fortunately on this occasion I was. But the most important lesson is. Never give up, persevere and you'll eventually get what you want.
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