Behind the Lens with Wayne Turner

Tell us a bit about yourself

I live in West Sussex with my lovely partner and little boy. I have been a photographer for 10 years or so now, and love it as much as the day I started. I began with aviation photography, such as air shows, but then I started photographing wildlife, and that was the start of my journey, or should I say “obsession”.

How did you come to develop such a love of photographing owls?

Like many others, I had never seen an owl before, but knew about them from my Nan’s love of them and at the time, just wanted to see one and try to get a photo.

It wasn’t quite as simple as I first thought and took quite a while. But while walking with my partner in a particular area, we both spotted something sitting on top of a Hawthorn bush and there it was, a Barn Owl.

There was an instant rush of adrenaline and unhelpful shaky hands as it glided off the bush and started hunting in front of us and eventually out of sight and I just knew I would have to try this again!

What have your learnt along the way about the best way to photograph them and overcome challenges of light and not disturbing them?

Understanding their habitats was the most key part of photographing owls.

Once they have been found, there are many hours spent working out their flight paths and habits before I decide where I am putting myself to get the images I am really after. That way I have the best light where I want it and I’m not on a direct flight path back to a nest, which is a top priority!

My main goal when I am out is for them to not know I am there and I achieve this by using current mirrorless cameras as they shoot completely silently, rather than the clacking of a DSLR. I also use different types of concealment, from throwover hides (big camo sheet with window) and or getting in or under a bush that’s natural cover. Then they have no idea I am there and I don’t impact on their natural behaviour, so they stay in front of me for longer and considerably closer than they would if they could see me.

Do you have a favourite kind of owl and why?

Yes, the Long-eared Owl.

I like to challenge myself in my photography and there is no bigger challenge than finding and photographing a long eared!

They are extremely difficult to spot, but once you see those stunning orange eyes looking back at you, the excitement is off the chart for me.

When I actually spot one, the best thing to do as actually to keep walking slowly past with minimal eye contact and I can then gauge just how comfortable that bird is with my presence and as long as it doesn’t stretch itself upward and make itself very thin which is an alarmed reaction then I’m happy to do another slow pass and this time slowly raise the camera and make a few images before leaving.

What equipment do you use, in brief?

The gear I use is a Canon R5 Mk2 mirrorless body and a Canon 600mm F4 Mk2 prime lens.

Canon is what I started with and as it’s a system you buy into and I’ve spent a small fortune on my lenses and camera bodies so I'm stuck with them.

Has anything unexpected happened when you’ve been out with your camera?

A few years ago I was wedged in a gap of a bush with my throwover hide on, photographing some Barn Owls, when one came around the corner of a bush and straight along the tree line at me. When this happens and they are too close for me to focus, I don’t move a muscle or the camera to even try and get a shot, as I don’t want to spook them with the movement of the lens.

On this occasion it worked too well and a juvenile Barn Owl decided she wanted to perch on my lens hood momentarily until it moved slightly as she landed and then off she went again, I've had close encounters before but that was ridiculous.

Where is your favourite wild space in Sussex?

I have built up an extensive list of sites across Sussex over the years and most of them are quite literally random fields with some sort of public access and some I have been given permission by land owners. But my original journey started at Beeding Brooks and is still a place where you will see me wandering about, especially in the winter months, looking for our winter visitors, the Short-eared Owl.

I also love the Knepp Estate as it’s a unique place to visit and the only place around here where you can see the most majestic of the deer species, the Red Deer.