Cookham's Wildlife - are you snapping yet?

Organised by WildCookham and the Cookham Festival the competition is for photos taken in Cookham of local wildlife and wildlife habitats and you have another six months or so to take your best snaps. It will result in an exhibition at next year’s Festival with plans to create a Wild About Cookham calendar for 2020. Photographers – of all ages – are being encouraged to take pictures that will give a real sense of the variety of life and the special wild habitats that still exist in the Cookhams. A panel of judges will select photos for the exhibition and the calendar and the exhibition visitors will vote for the prize-winners in adult, under 17 and smart-phone categories. Full details of the competition are at https://buff.ly/2wEjC42

To help you on the way local photographer Mick Vogel has offered his own top rules for taking good wildlife photos:

- Make yourself familiar with your subject, including their habits and habitats

- Have a particular shot of your subject in mind before you set out. That will give you something to aim for

- Don't make all your shots 5ft 9'' shots... By this I mean don't take all your shots standing up, experiment with different angles by kneeling or even laying down

- Try to take ''clean'' pictures, There's nothing worse than a great shot being spoiled be a stray twig or piece of grass in front of your subject, this also applies for the background

- Never put yourself or your subject in danger, no shot is worth that...

- You may have the best most expensive kit on the market, but if you don't have this one key ingredient you can forget taking up wildlife photography... PATIENCE

- Don't forget your mobile phone has a camera, if you see a great composition and you don't have a proper camera - use your phone!

-And last but not least... practice, practice, practice...you have time to perfect the shot (you have until the 22nd April 2019)

	Click for the Cookham News Front Page
	Cookham's Wildlife - are you snapping yet? With thanks to Mike Copland (Updated 5 October 2018)
	Amateur photographers have been busy taking photos through the summer for the ‘Wild About Cookham’ photo competition. Here are a few that locals have taken (though not necessarily entered for the competition yet!) Organised by WildCookham and the Cookham Festival the competition is for photos taken in Cookham of local wildlife and wildlife habitats and you have another six months or so to take your best snaps. It will result in an exhibition at next year’s Festival with plans to create a Wild About Cookham calendar for 2020. Photographers – of all ages – are being encouraged to take pictures that will give a real sense of the variety of life and the special wild habitats that still exist in the Cookhams. A panel of judges will select photos for the exhibition and the calendar and the exhibition visitors will vote for the prize-winners in adult, under 17 and smart-phone categories. Full details of the competition are at https://buff.ly/2wEjC42 To help you on the way local photographer Mick Vogel has offered his own top rules for taking good wildlife photos: - Make yourself familiar with your subject, including their habits and habitats - Have a particular shot of your subject in mind before you set out. That will give you something to aim for - Don't make all your shots 5ft 9'' shots... By this I mean don't take all your shots standing up, experiment with different angles by kneeling or even laying down - Try to take ''clean'' pictures, There's nothing worse than a great shot being spoiled be a stray twig or piece of grass in front of your subject, this also applies for the background - Never put yourself or your subject in danger, no shot is worth that... - You may have the best most expensive kit on the market, but if you don't have this one key ingredient you can forget taking up wildlife photography... PATIENCE - Don't forget your mobile phone has a camera, if you see a great composition and you don't have a proper camera - use your phone! -And last but not least... practice, practice, practice...you have time to perfect the shot (you have until the 22nd April 2019)
	Click for the Cookham News Front Page