WFoxPhotography

19/11/2025

The second batch of finished male sparrowhawk photos from the hide session.
This bird’s intensity is unreal — every expression, every movement, razor sharp. Really enjoying working through this series!

13/11/2025

First batch of the sparrowhawk series is ready.
This was one of those moments where everything lined up — light, timing, and a perfectly still perch. The Nikon D780 + Sigma 150–600mm combo really delivered on the detail today.

Plenty more to come from this visit… but here’s where the story starts.

Shot from the hide using:
• Nikon D780
• Sigma 150–600mm C
• 1/360s • f/7.1 • ISO 1600
Tracking AF held perfectly and the moss perch gave a clean contrast for the eye focus.

11/11/2025

First time shooting Astro with the Nikon D780 — finally caught the Milky Way!

This is my first successful attempt at capturing visible Milky Way detail — and also my first time shooting astro on the D780.

I didn’t travel far — just a mile from home — but this time I did something different: I planned ahead. Used Sky Guide app to find out exactly where the Milky Way would be, lined up the shot, and trusted the process.

It’s not a perfect image. There’s light pollution in the lower frame. But for once, the detail came through. I’ve failed countless times before. This is a breakthrough for me.

If you’re just starting out with night skies, don’t delete those RAWs too quickly. With the right tools and mindset, you’ll see progress.

📷 Nikon D780 | 28mm f/2.8 | ISO 800 | 15 sec

11/11/2025

Before You Delete That Astro Shot…

What looked like a dull sky at first was hiding so much more in the RAW.
Shot on the Nikon D750 with 35mm f/1.8 — edited entirely in Lightroom Mobile.
No Milky Way core, just clean starlight and a reminder: don’t discard your dark sky attempts too soon.

09/11/2025

04/11/2025

Funny how things come full circle…
My female Sparrowhawk shots were taken on the D750 & Sigma 150–600 (calibrated back in 2020). That was the day I realised I wasn’t actually bad at wildlife photography — the shots looked spot-on straight off the LCD 👀🦅

Fast forward to last Friday’s shoot — first time using the D780 & Sigma on birds of prey — and it turns out the combo’s slightly back-focusing. Time for a proper fine-tune session before the next hide visit 🔧

03/11/2025

The second part of my Sparrowhawk series — the landscape set.
These were all captured full-frame in-camera from the hide, showing the Sparrowhawk within its environment — calm, alert, and powerful.

Just like the portrait set, every image was refined through my NX Studio → Lightroom workflow, keeping the natural tones, texture and atmosphere exactly as seen through the lens.

It’s been incredible watching this bird up close for the first time — a moment I’ll never forget.

01/11/2025

📷First time photographing a bird of prey up close📷
Here is the first set of finished Sparrowhawk photos.
This was the first time I’ve ever photographed a bird of prey up close and personal — an incredible experience watching this stunning bird’s power and focus from just a few metres away.

Every frame was composed full-frame in-camera on the Nikon D780, tripod-mounted, and refined through my usual NX Studio → Lightroom workflow before sharing.

The landscape photos will follow soon as part of the complete Sparrowhawk series.

31/10/2025

He looked straight down the lens 😳🦅
Moments like this make hours in the hide worth it — patience, timing, and a bit of luck all lined up!
The goal today was sharper detail than my last shoot… and this stare definitely made it worth waiting for.

31/10/2025

🎯 Chasing Sharper Shots | Back in the Hide 🦅
Back in the hide today refining my setup — the goal: sharper, cleaner shots straight out of camera.
I’ve started saving custom Nikon “Flat” Picture Controls directly to the memory card, so my D780 now previews exactly how the RAW files will look when edited. It’s a huge confidence boost while shooting!

That last sparrowhawk image (below) set the bar pretty high — this visit is all about pushing past it with even better sharpness and precision.

27/10/2025

🎥 Behind the Shot — The Falcon’s Feast 🦅
Captured from inside the bird hide with the Nikon D780 + Sigma 150-600mm at 400mm — right in the lens’s sweet spot.
Shot through the camo net at f/6.3, 1/320 s, ISO 1600.
Scaled to 150% in Lightroom for composition without losing detail — the D780’s dynamic range handled it beautifully.
Moments like this make the hours of silence worth it.