A day out in the New Forest

A day out in the New Forest

Recently, I visited the New Forest Wildlife Park. It is a beautiful spot and well worth visiting if you get the opportunity. The park is home to hundreds of species, including endangered otters, and features expansive enclosures for deer and wallabies. These areas are open for visitors to walk through, providing a fantastic opportunity to get up close to the wildlife. I captured some fabulous photographs in this section—there’s so much to see and shoot!

It was a lovely, sunny day, so I could keep the ISO low and capture the animals’ movements with a fast shutter speed. My settings changed throughout the day as I moved between different indoor and outdoor environments, but this didn’t feel like a challenge at all. The digital viewfinder on the Canon EOS R6 allowed me to adjust the settings and see their effects in real-time.

I particularly enjoyed following a field mouse and the otters around the park. The animal tracking feature was excellent at locking onto their eyes, and I was very impressed with how sharp my photographs turned out.

The Canon RF 100-400mm lens was great for moving around due to its lightweight design, and it provided me with a good range of focal lengths to experiment with. However, because this lens has a variable aperture, it doesn’t let in as much light when shooting indoors compared to, for example, the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L lens. To compensate, I had to boost the ISO to achieve faster shutter speeds. Fortunately, this wasn’t an issue, as the Canon EOS R6 performs well in low-light conditions, and I was very happy with the overall results.

One of the best spots in the park is the otter lake. If you're planning to photograph there, I’d recommend using a polarising filter to reduce glare and harsh reflections on the water. Some animals are behind fencing, which can make autofocus tricky. To work around this, I switched my camera and lens to manual focus mode, got close to the fence, and used the focus ring to precisely dial in on the subject. I also positioned myself with the sun behind me, to get a black background and a nice halo of light around the subject.

When visiting nature parks, a few key rules can help you capture great shots: be patient, use natural elements around you to enhance your composition, use a telephoto lens and a fast shutter speed. Spending time observing the animals will allow you to pick up on their unique personalities and capture them in your photographs.

I hope you enjoy my photos from a wonderful day out at the New Forest Wildlife Park!