I am firmly of the belief that the best time to photograph wildlife especially for creative photography is the half hour before and the hour after sunrise.
Someone who I was very privileged to meet once said, when talking about performance ‘there’s very little traffic on the extra mile’. What he meant by that was when you are trying to get your best results, being there first, being at it all day, being the last one there at the end-how many other people do that? That is the extra mile.
I use it as a driver to get me up and out because theres no doubt that whilst the half hour before and the hour after daybreak (especially in summer) are the best times, I quite often find myself being the only one there-even at popular places like Bempton.
My plan earlier this week was to get out early in the hope that it wouldn’t be too cloudy and photograph some waders at high tide.
I got to my chosen spot around 4.30am, it was approaching high tide and I used the cliff behind me to break up my silhouette.
The wind had been in the north-east for a couple of days but had died away leaving a nice swell but out to sea it was oily calm-conditions were perfect.
All I needed was for the wildlife to oblige. It wasn’t long before oystercatchers and terns were flying by. Then the waders were most obliging as the came along the shore running backwards and forwards in search of food. Ringed plover, a turnstone and a group of sanderlings posed nicely along the high waterline with crashing waves lit up by the rising sun made for a great photo opportunity. An inquisitive hare ran along the sand and stopped abruptly for a few seconds before shooting off in the other direction when he realised I was there.
It was all over by around 6 o’clock. The waders were still around and the waves were still crashing but crucially the sun had risen making the photos far less interesting.
It was a joy to be out on such a fine morning the only company I had on the extra mile was the wildlife.
