Gordon Black Photography

Gordon Black Photography An enthusiastic club photographer who is trying not to be defined by convention.

This isn't so much a presentation of my best images, but more a diary of my voyage of discovery !

The kingfisher squadron attack !This is a montage of three images of the female kingfisher buzzing the male created usin...
30/08/2026

The kingfisher squadron attack !

This is a montage of three images of the female kingfisher buzzing the male created using a focus stack, but with two images of the stationary male deleted to avoid it becoming a 3-headed hydra ! A few yucky artifacts so will need some fine-tuning and not the greatest sharpness, but am having fun trying something new !

Canon R5.2 + RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L, , f7.1, 1/5000s, ISO 3200 (auto on), continuous AF + animal detect & track, custom mode, handheld. Warnham NR, Aug 2026.

Aww !
26/08/2026

Aww !

When the missus gives you hell !A lot of kingfisher activity at Warnham Nature Reserve this afternoon. Most I've ever se...
24/08/2026

When the missus gives you hell !

A lot of kingfisher activity at Warnham Nature Reserve this afternoon. Most I've ever seen. Mr Kingfisher was quietly sitting on his perch looking for fish when Mrs Kingfisher swoops in low and fast and gives him a point blank fly-by. He literally fell of his perch.

Canon R5.2 + RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L, , f7.1, 1/5000s, ISO 3200 (auto on), 30 fps, custom mode, AF = continuous AF + animal detect & track, handheld. Warnham NR, Aug 2026.

Another bum shot ! I'm not entirely sure what this is - possibly a Migrant Hawker. I've tried to keep the image simple b...
23/08/2026

Another bum shot ! I'm not entirely sure what this is - possibly a Migrant Hawker. I've tried to keep the image simple by removing distractions and have given the subject room to breathe. I'm not a fan of tightly cropped library shots unless there is something special within it. Shame it's not facing towards the camera. As ever with wildlife, a snatched shot as it was only there for a couple of seconds so no time to change settings (despite me re-programming the multi-function button just for that eventuality 🤦‍♂️).

Canon R5.2 + RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L, , f7.1, 1/4000s (way too fast hence ISO 3200), wrong custom mode !, handheld. Warnham NR, Aug 2026.

A Little Grebe with a big meal on it's mind. Fabulous little diving birds. Difficult to catch surfacing as they stay und...
21/08/2026

A Little Grebe with a big meal on it's mind. Fabulous little diving birds. Difficult to catch surfacing as they stay underwater quite a while and can surface anywhere !

Canon R5.2 + RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L, , f7.1, 1/2500s, ISO 500 (auto on), manual mode, handheld. Warnham NR, Aug 2026.

Can't get enough of these lovely birds. Having fun overlaying images using focus stacking rather than cut and paste for ...
20/08/2026

Can't get enough of these lovely birds. Having fun overlaying images using focus stacking rather than cut and paste for once. Pretty ropey post-processing but just having fun. Finally getting my birds-in-flight auto-focus settings the way I want them although still some tweaking to go (in the weeds of the settings !).

Canon R5.2 + RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L, , f7.1, 1/4000s (firing at 30 frames per sec - this image is every 3rd frame), ISO 3200 (auto on), AF = Servo + Wide Area AF + Animal detect & track, custom mode, hand held. Warnham NR, Aug 2026.

Bit of a library shot, but Heron's are so impressive in flight - like giant bats - the Vulcan bomber of the bird world !...
18/08/2026

Bit of a library shot, but Heron's are so impressive in flight - like giant bats - the Vulcan bomber of the bird world ! I love how blue their wings are. Still trying to get settings I'm comfortable with on the R5 Mk2. Just changed everything around, so I'll be out again soon.

Canon R5.2 + RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L, , f8, 1/2000s, ISO 320 (auto on), AF = Servo + animal detect & track, manual mode, handheld. Aug 2026, Warnham Nature Reserve.

Fishing 3of3: Not such a tiddler for a kingfisherA kingfisher gives a minnow a good shake, spraying water droplets every...
06/08/2026

Fishing 3of3: Not such a tiddler for a kingfisher

A kingfisher gives a minnow a good shake, spraying water droplets everywhere, before swallowing it (always head first so the scales don't get caught in his throat). Only the male seems to fish from this stick but both fish from the stick in front of the other hide (the females have a bit of orange on the lower beak). Loose crop to show environmental context. Bit of a challenge processing this one as the sun was behind it so the original image was very dark. Hurrah for Lightroom !

Canon R5.2 + RF100-500mm f4.5-7.1L, , f5.6, 1/2000s, ISO 500, manual mode, hand held. Jul 2026, Warnham Nature Reserve.

Fishing 2of3: Bit of a tiddler !Thank goodness my camera is 45MP. This is cropped horribly tight. Bit of sharpening on t...
04/08/2026

Fishing 2of3: Bit of a tiddler !

Thank goodness my camera is 45MP. This is cropped horribly tight. Bit of sharpening on the minnow, some dodging on the drops of water, & a bit of saturation on the Little Egret's eye.

Canon R5.2 + RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L, , f8, 1/2000 (still set up for birds in flight - ooopsy), ISO 640 (auto on), AF = servo + animal detect, manual mode, handheld. Aug 2026, Warnham Nature Reserve.

Fishing 1of3: Whilst not the sharpest of images, what struck me about it was the sheer number of dragonflies (or damself...
02/08/2026

Fishing 1of3: Whilst not the sharpest of images, what struck me about it was the sheer number of dragonflies (or damselflies ?) around the Grey Heron's feet. BTW, the heron missed the fish !

Canon R5.2 + RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L, @ 428mm, f8, 1/1600s, ISO 1600 (auto on), manual mode, Servo AF + animal detect, manual mode, handheld. Jul 2026, Warnham Nature Reserve, West Sussex.

Address

Handcross
Haywards Heath
RH17 6EB

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Gordon Black Photography posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category