Conservation through the lens of a camera

Local birder Adam Cruickshank, 41, has taken his love for all things feathery to new heights, as his photography skills have increased incredibly. His penmanship is also on the rise with his first article, accompanied by his photos, on birding on the South Coast being published in the January and February issue of African Birdlife magazine.

“I was a birder first. When my mom died three years ago, a friend took me birding and when he made me look at a bird I had spotted on a wire through binoculars, I was instantly hooked.” He got a small ‘point-and-shoot’ camera to document the birds he saw and is now on his third camera, a Canon 760D, using a 100mm-400mm MK1 lens. He shoots on shutter priority (P) and auto ISO, but not above 1 600. He uses Adobe Lightroom to touch up his images.

“My favourite spots to shoot are Lower Illovo and the Drakensberg. In the beginning I would send off the photos I had taken to my friend or use books to identify what birds they were. Safety is always a concern. The Toti Bird Park is great to get close to birds, but not always in great shape. I have found that places are either good for birding or good for photography.”

Adam’s goal is to start selling his prints and the time spent to get the perfect shot is dependent on the type of bird. To get a shot of a Gurney’s sugar bird, he hiked 8km up a mountain and was fortunate enough to snap it in 30 minutes. “The more you understand a bird’s behaviour, the easier it is to get the shot. Camera skills plus knowing bird behaviour equals good photos.

READ ALSO: Birding club opens in Amanzimtoti

Adam was born in Mutara in Zimbabwe, but did his schooling at Mandeni Primary and Stanger High, before moving to Toti eight years ago. He was a founder member of Sapphire Coast Birding, a satellite club of Birdlife Port Natal, which offers bird lovers a chance to participate in local activities on the Sapphire Coast. However, being a satellite, members enjoy all the benefits of the Port Natal organisation, including 80 activities a year. “It also gives us a voice in conservation and Port Natal with 500 members is the second largest birding club in SA.”

Members enjoy outings to Toti, Umkomaas and Illovo and, once a quarter, further afield, such as the Sappi hide or vulture hide in Port Shepstone. “This is the first satellite of Port Natal, which is exciting for Toti. We have a walk a month and every second month, an evening with a talk at Amanzimtoti Sports Centre.”

Adam is also part of the founding group of the Wagtail Birding Festival, which sadly is taking a break this year, but he promises it will be back on next year’s calendar, bigger and better than before.

“My long-term goal is selling my prints, training budding bird photographers and one day, do a book. Now I’m focusing on growing my Instagram page The_Birding_Life and will start uploading photo videos, where I explain how I got some of my shots. I would love to travel for my photography and if I had to choose a place it would be the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. But for now I’m just happy knowing that my photos will might help the public become aware of birdlife and help with conservation.”

READ ALSO: Amanzimtoti conservation festival draws large flock

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