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Wildlife photography on Mersea Island during lockdown

19 June 2020

Wildlife photography on Mersea Island during lockdown

 

We have been a fan of Shaun Mills’ photography for some time now, having started following him on Twitter a while back, so we were very excited when he tagged us having hired the Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sport lens to go with his Canon EOS 5D IV! He took the telephoto lens to get a closer look at the wildlife in his garden on Mersea Island; over to Shaun to find out how he got on with the lens…

"I'm an amateur photographer living on an island just off the North Essex coast and I mainly specialise in land and seascape photography, with the occasional foray into London for some city architecture and street photography.

However, during the COVID-19 lock-down I've been unable to get out and about with the camera so have been looking closer to home for photographic opportunities. In this respect, I started to look a bit more closely at the wildlife that visits my garden and I'm really fortunate to have a good variety of birds and animals that pay me a visit, including a very tame robin – many of my followers on Twitter will already be well aware of him. I also see many other species of birds such as blackbirds, sparrows, wrens, blue tits as well as the usual pigeons and doves. There a couple of local foxes that pop into the garden on a frequent basis as well as slow worms, frogs and toads. We are also privileged to have a number of red squirrels on the island, having successfully been reintroduced a few years ago and I sometimes get the fleeting sight of one disappearing over a fence or up a tree.

Sigma wildlife lens

"My usual kit set up is the Canon 5D Mk4 with the 70-200 F/2.8 and 24-70 f/4 lenses, which are more than capable for generic wildlife photography in the garden, however, they are restricted on the focal length and as such you need to get closer to certain birds to get a decent shot. This led me to hiring the Sigma 150-600mm Sport lens from Hireacamera to coincide with the elongated Easter Bank Holiday weekend and the forecast of good weather, with my plan being to spend as much time as I could in the garden trying to capture those more elusive animals.

"Having used Hireacamera many times before I knew how easy and simple the process was to select the relevant lens from the very large selection they have available, check live availability and then decide on the length of hire. The delivery and collection was also incredibly easy, with equipment being delivered the day before your hire actually starts.

Needless to say, there were no issues with delivery and the lens arrived mid-morning the following day, and as such I got even more value from the hire as I was able to use it during that day as well.

Sigma lens wildlife photography

"With regards to the Sigma 150-600mm Sport, having used it before I knew the capabilities of the lens, and on this occasion it really did deliver, allowing me to capture images of wood mice and blackbirds from a safe distance that I would not have dreamed of being able to do with the 70-200mm lens. Optically the lens is incredibly sharp and focuses really quickly on the subject. It is a heavy beast, but not so heavy to prevent good quality hand -held shots from being achieved, although I'd suggest a tripod / monopod would be useful for longer shoots.

Sigma lens wildlife photography

"I enjoyed using the lens so much that it's now moved to the top of my wish list, as post lock-down there are plenty more subjects that I'd like to use the lens on."

Sigma lens wildlife photography

Sigma lens wildlife photography

Sigma lens wildlife photography

Sigma lens wildlife photography

Sigma lens wildlife photography

Sigma lens wildlife photography

Sigma lens wildlife photography

We would like to say a big thank you Shaun for his brilliant report on his time with the Sigma 150-600mm lens, and his lovely comments about his experience with us here at Hireacamera, hopefully it won’t be long before he can hire it again and take it further afield!

You can find more of Shaun's brilliant imagery via the links below:

Website

Instagram

Twitter

You can hire the Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sport lens, HERE.