A lot can be achieved during an hour of your working day. You could have a productive meeting with a client, restock the shelves of your shop, or fix a broken boiler. But can you capture highly commended wildlife images during your lunch hour? The answer is most definitely yes.
My Journey
Since the first COVID lockdown in March 2020, I’ve been fortunate enough to work from home and live just a 10-minute walk from Glasgow’s largest park, which I now visit most weekdays at lunchtime. Previously, I would explore small greenspaces near my home or, when working in the office, take my camera to the local Botanic Gardens during my lunch break. Each of these scenarios has provided unique opportunities for wildlife photography.
Time constraints aren’t limited to weekdays – weekends fly by, and there’s not always time for longer wildlife-watching excursions. Sometimes, brief visits to local spots can yield the best results.
In this blog, I’m sharing advice for budding wildlife photographers who struggle to find time for their passion. These tips come from years of lunch break photography, and all accompanying images were captured either during a weekday lunch hour or on short weekend walks.
Tip 1: Pick Your Local Patch
Choose a wildlife-watching location that’s quickly accessible, maximising your time actually observing and photographing rather than travelling. This could be:
- A park, wood, or river near your workplace
- A patch of disused land
- Residential streets
- Small green spaces
- Your own garden, especially if you can set up feeders
Don’t underestimate seemingly unpromising locations – even the most modest spaces can harbour surprising wildlife.
Tip 2: Visit as Often as Possible
Regular visits to the same location might seem monotonous, but familiarity with your local patch makes wildlife discovery and photography significantly easier. Daily visits help you:
- Quickly spot anything unusual or new and recognise potential photographic subjects from a distance
- Capture the same subjects in varying weather conditions
- Document seasonal changes in light and environment
Tip 3: Find Your Focus
After becoming familiar with your chosen location, select a few regular subjects to photograph. Having specific ‘project species’ allows you to:
- Document unique behaviours
- Plan shots based on background, light, and weather conditions
- Develop deeper understanding of your subjects
Combine active observation with home research to make the most of your limited time in the field.
Tip 4: Adapt Your Behaviour
Flexibility in your approach can significantly improve your results. For instance, I recently discovered that local deer grazed closer to the main path during quieter, earlier hours. I only noticed this pattern after taking an earlier lunch break, which led to several successful photography sessions before the daily dog-walking rush.
Consider varying your break times throughout the seasons to maximise opportunities. Small schedule adjustments can lead to remarkable encounters you might otherwise miss.
Tip 5: Search for Sightings
For weekend photography when time is limited and regular spots might be too busy, efficient planning becomes crucial. Using local wildlife sightings information can help you make the most of brief opportunities:
- Follow local wildlife and birding accounts on social media
- Use apps like the BTO’s BirdTrack to search sightings via interactive maps
- Join local nature photography groups for location tips
For example, when bohemian waxwings arrived in November 2023, social media helped me locate them quickly during a brief Saturday afternoon window. Similar approaches have helped me find and photograph local otters.
I hope these tips help other time-pressed wildlife photographers. Please share your own experiences and strategies in the comments.