An Otterly beautiful day.
While Otters are seen occasionally along this stretch of the River Teifi I have been treated to repeated visits by a Mother and her two kits and in just over a week and a half have learned much about them.
By their sizes I would say that the kits are this years and will typically be accompanied by their Mother for up to a year while she teaches them how to swim and hunt.
I am often asked when is the best time to see them and over the last 17 years I have been photographing them - any time. Just about being in the right place at the right time. But as I say the more I observe the more I am able to predict their behaviour. That is not to say there hasn't been any times when I have sat for hours without a sight. But when you do see them it is well worth it. And when I do, I know some of their favourite routes up the river and where they might come out onto land. They can move very quickly especially under water and so once I have spotted them I get into position and check camera settings immediately.
Further up the valley the light is poor and where I prefer to position myself is near the narrowest part of the river for a chance to get frame filling shots.
Camera Settings.
I generally need the higher shutter settings so on manual I select the widest aperture of the lens to let as much light through as possible. I then consider the level of action and therefore the shutter speed I will need. This because of the length of the lens (600mm) and even allowing for image stabilisation is normally around 1/640th to 1/1000. If the Otter catches a fish and begins to eat then 1/1000th is better. To get a good exposure I then set ISO to Auto. If the Otter is relatively still in a shaded area then I reduce the shutter speed to around 1/320th to reduce the ISO and improve image quality. Autofocus pattern is set to single and I will shoot between 20 and 50 frames per second depending on action.
This is my first attempt at a blog and so it is a bit of a test. I will end this here but will work on what other relevant information might help other photographers or people just interested in Otters.
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