Capturing Wildlife Photography Moments Locally.
Wildlife Photography in Glasgow. After fully focusing on my wildlife photography full time again since August 2023. I started to think of ideas for projects. Projects are important in wildlife photography as it keeps you focused and it keeps you motivated to keep taking images.
It is not always possible to go to exotic destinations to capture wildlife images. It is sometimes just not possible logistically or financially to travel very far.
Sometimes time just gets in the way.
I always found myself saying I don’t have time to just go out and take images. I always thought that I had to go somewhere to take images. I had to find a different species, or go to a new location.
But that just simply isn’t true. Sometimes the best places are the places located close to where you live.
The Benefits of Local Destinations
The great thing about local destinations are that they are just that LOCAL you can go there any time. If you visit a destination regularly then you get to know it. If you visit a location at the same time every day for a number of days you start to recognise:
- Where the light is best for images
- Where specific species like to be
- How light can change a scene.
- How weather can change an image.
- What behaviour is normal for a species at that time of year.
If you visit at different times then you start to see how the position of the sun changes and how therefore the scenes change.
Take that a stage further and go at different seasons and it just broadens the opportunity for creativity even more.
So, my project was very simply to capture images of common subjects in a different way at a location that was easily accessible.
I wanted to look at ways I could be creative and ways that I could showcase the environment, the subject and the available light.
So I chose Hogganfield Park and Loch in Glasgow. It is a location that I have visited several times and I have always been amazed at the diversity of species there and the opportunity to create images.
The main attraction of the park is Hogganfield Loch, a large shallow loch with a wooded island. Hogganfield Park is a 48 hectares site and is excellent for bird watching or simply walking. Access is very easy, with a tarmac path all the way around the loch edge (2 km). There is a wide variety of water birds on the loch, including some rarities. Hogganfield Loch is Glasgow’s best site for wintering water birds such as Whooper Swan and Common Goldeneye.
Hogganfield Park is on Cumbernauld Rd, Glasgow, G33 1AH. There is ample parking at the location. The nearest railway station is at Stepps – which is a 30 minute walk / 10 minute cycle from the Park. Local buses stop at the park entrance on Cumbernauld Rd.
The location is home to a wide variety of species including:
- Great Crested Grebes
- Mute Swans
- Goldeneye Ducks
- Whooper Swans (Winter)
- Tufted Ducks
- Coots
- Grey Heron
- Mallard Ducks
- Goosander
- Moorhen
- Cormorant
- Black Headed Gulls
- Herring Gulls
- Roe Deer
- Red Fox
The great thing about this location is due to the proximity of the loch to the city the majority of wildlife are used to people. Therefore the natural fear of humans and the instinct to disappear is not as evident.
This became my go to location in January – It is also one of the locations that I host my Glasgow based Wildlife Photography Workshops at.
I decided that all of the usual “rules” applied and if I wanted to get the best out of the location I would go for sunrise. That would be my time to visit sunrise to lunch time as many mornings as I could manage.
The first morning I got there 30 minutes before sunrise.
There were no other cars in the car park and as I opened the car window I just sat there and listened to the sounds of the swans, gulls and ducks. I couldn’t hear the traffic noise or anything else. Just the sound of the birds. It was so peaceful and I could’ve been at any exotic destination anywhere in the world, but I wasn’t I was on the outskirts of Glasgow!!
I sat there for a few minutes taking everything in. It was so peaceful and after a small amount of time the sun started to rise, it started by turning the water a beautiful pink colour and then oranges, blues, yellows were all thrown in to the mix, It was a stunning kaleidoscope of colour. I just watched the way that the light was changing the scene in front of me.
What a morning that was. From that moment I was hooked, I knew I had found my go to destination locally and I knew I had to go there again and again to capture images of the wildlife at sunrise. So, I did. Any opportunity that I had; I would go to Hogganfield Loch for sunrise. Of course, I didn’t always get the beautiful colours, sometimes it rained, It was always bitterly cold and sometimes the sun did not come out at all.
But by visiting at the same time day after day. It made me look at light in a different way, I no longer saw the swans, I saw the way the sun lit them in different ways or when it was frozen the reflection off the ice creating patterns of colour and contrast.
Over the month of January, I managed to achieve some great images and I learnt so much. I learnt about behaviour of the subjects in my scene, I learnt about light and how the camera records it and I learnt the most valuable lesson ever. You can create stunning images on your doorstep.
Portraits
Using Light
Birds in Flight
Using the Environment to add impact
Hogganfield Loch will remain a destination that I visit time and again throughout this year and I am looking forward to seeing the changes in the environment, the behaviours and the scene over the seasons.
My biggest tips for maximising a location close to you are:
- Visit regularly – visit for several days at the same time
- Research – Research the species found there and their typical behaviours.
- Approach – Approach your local wildlife photography with the same methodical approach that you would for any species anywhere in the world.
- Observation – Spend time not looking through the camera lens and look at the scenes in front of you.
- Light – Study where the light comes from and plan your route based on the images that you want to try and create.
If you would like to learn more about wildlife photography and are interested in joining me on a workshop then get in touch.
Workshops are priced at
£200 per day for a private one to one.
£100 per person per day for 2 people
£67 per person per day for 3 people
£50 per person per day if there is 4 people
I offer:
Wildlife Photography for beginners covering all the basic camera settings you will need to get started in wildlife photography.
- Understanding Exposure
- Focus Modes
- White Balance
- Composition
- Exposure Compensation
- Shooting in Raw
Improving your Wildlife Photography covering all you need to take your wildlife photography to the next level.
- What makes a good image
- Mastering the Angles of Light
- Photographing behaviour
- Photographing Portraits
Mastering your Wildlife Photography covering all you need to add real diversity and difference to your portfolio.
- See the scene not the subject
- Using light creatively
- Using the environment to add impact
- Black and White
- Understanding the rules and when to break them
- Slow shutter speeds
Birds in Flight covering all of the settings and technique you need to tackle the biggest challenge for a lot of photographers.
- The importance of Observation
- Camera Settings
- Focus Settings
- Camera Technique
- Using the environment to add impact.
- Slow shutter speeds
I also offer various species specific workshops including Ospreys, Red Kites, Otters and Ospreys
Gift Vouchers can also be bought for my workshops
All workshops can be tailor made for private individual or group bookings
To read more about Hogganfield Loch then click here