Just recently, I was in my garden watching some birds that kept flying in and out. They seemed to be visiting a apple tree that had lots of fruit that was soft and ripe for eating. In and out they went and I thought I would get my camera to take a few shots. I stood there for several minutes – the birds stopped coming – or, at least, seemed a bit wary of me. I was only able to get a few pictures of them as they were flying in and out. They hardly settled. It was all rather disappointing and I had nothing to show for my efforts. But my efforts were pretty meagre so what could I expect? A few days later I set up my equipment in the garden. This was in advance of any bird "activity". I decided to do a “stake out”. I had my camera, tripod and other photographic stuff. But more importantly I had a newspaper, a flask of coffee and some biscuits. I was there for a while – it was not a quick visit. If nothing else, I would have enjoyed the peace of the garden and a nice few cups of coffee in which I had dunked my biscuits. In the event, I didn’t have to settle for that as several birds came to that same apple tree and, hardly noticing my presence, chirped and played and pecked at the apples in the tree and on the ground. I got some lovely shots that anyone would be proud of. Because I was prepared to wait. Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com.
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