Camera consideration – These birds were a lot more tolerant of humans than probably the majority of peregrine falcons in existence. In the UK peregrines are Schedule 1 species, which means you’d need a special licence to be within 100 metres (328 feet) of a nest. Even in places where you don’t need a licence you should be incredibly careful about how you approach any species, and always remember getting a photograph should never come before the species’ welfare.
The bird was shot at 1/2000sec, f11 and IS01600. The fast shutter speed was used to freeze the action with a large aperture to get a wider depth of field. It was so important to not just get the birds but show a bit of the location also, so I had to keep that in mind. I also didn’t want Linda [the falcon] dominating the frame, so I stood towards the end of the balcony to get the shot as she came in. I had to get my focus just right and shoot a number of frames over a short period of time to get the sequence so I could get the wings coming out as she put the brakes on.
