Pete Walkden Photography

So, after establishing that higher ISO values can be cleaned up with the new Canon R5 mk2, I ramped it up again during today's workshop, and increased the shutter speed as well.

Why? I wanted to try to photograph a crested tit in flight. Admittedly we didn't have the best light, but the camera tracked the birds more often than not, though mostly they would fly away from the perch.

But on one occasion, mid-flight, the bird turned and flew up into a nearby tree, and I managed to keep it in frame, capturing this image.

Settings: ISO 12800, f/6.3. 1/3200th at 270mm. Taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm.

Crested Tit.

Another one from today, again at a higher ISO, again put through DXO and then processed.

Crested tit in a larch tree, with a Canon R5 mk2, RF100-500mm. ISO 10000, f/7.1, 1/640th at 500mm.

I've not really tried pushing the ISO on the new Canon R5 mk2 until today, but the slightly gloomy, overcast conditions in the woods with the crested t**s, gave me the chance.

Both of these images (though FB will probably butcher them anyway) were at ISO 12800 (f/7.1 and 1/640th) with the RF100-500mm lens.

I've passed the RAW file through DXO v3, then LR and PS with my usual processing.

They look fine to me. I never really pushed the original R5 above ISO 16000, so might have a look at that on tomorrow's workshop, if we get any more low light.

A more traditional pose of a crested tit. They don't hang around long though, so you have to be ready!

Taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm.

From a workshop I was running in the Scottish Highlands. Email me if you're interested...

With all the mild weather of late, I was slightly concerned that the crested t**s might have enough insect-based food to not need to visit the feeders during the workshop I was running.

Thankfully they are using the peanuts as a backup food source, and were visiting frequently enough to provide my client with plenty of photo opportunities.

Here's one I grabbed as I watched the action, as one of the cresties peered round a tree. They're such great characters to watch and photograph.

If anyone fancies a full-day workshop with them, please email me, or check out the dates available on my "Highlands Workshops" page on my website.

Taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm, at ISO 2500.

After returning home from Mull yesterday afternoon, I was back out today running a Highlands-based workshop.

Target was crested t**s, and after seeing linnets, crossbills, bullfinches and a few red deer, we didn't have to wait too long for the "cresties" to appear.

And we were fortunate with the weather too, with the temperature remaining fairly cool, with a very light breeze, and quite a lot of sunshine.

It was beautiful and quiet in the woodland. Here's one I took, with my Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm.

After a break from photography when I travelled south to see family and friends, I was back working again today.

And thankfully the forecast rain held off until just after lunch, by which time we'd enjoyed some wonderful views of otters.

Including this pair, that I think shared some spirited playing near the shore of the loch. They were at it for maybe half an hour, before one appeared to get bored or tired, and came ashore to groom for a while.

Happy days. Taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm.

I won't lie, watching a family of otters enjoying some down time is wonderful, but capturing it on a still image can have its challenges.

The light here was fairly harsh, so while my eyes saw the scene fine, with my brain lifting the details from the shadows and dealing with the brightness on their fur, the camera can't cope so well.

Plus my eyes were able to see all three heads in focus. By stopping down the lens from f/7.1 to f/9 I was able to get them all in focus in the shot.

Then it was simply the case of hoping to get a shot when all three heads were visible - believe me, this is a lot rarer than you'd imagine. Almost always one is looking away!

Taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm, during a workshop I was running last week on Mull.

Just back from a week on Mull where I was mostly guiding a group of friends, some of whom had never visited the island before.

Aside from a fab Mull Charters trip, they wanted to photograph or video otters, so it was a challenge to get similar "experiences" for each client, each day.

At least everyone saw them, though I think a couple of days were better than others.

Sunshine and wet otters don't normally help with photography, as there's little that can be done post-processing for blown wet highlights.

But when they're climbing around on rocks near where you're hiding, half-decent images can still be had. And after the sadness of watching one family earlier in the year break apart for reasons known only to the mother otter, it was good to see a family enjoying one another's company.

Taken silently with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm.

Vile weather yesterday, but the afternoon was brightened a little by the sight of this walking around the edge of the flower beds in the garden!

Didn't catch anything, but was a treat to see for once, as they normally just hurtle through.

Sparrowhawk, taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm, through a rather damp double-glazed window.

Normal service for Mull has resumed, with heavy rain and cancellations on the ferries.

I don't think I'll be seeing any sights like this today.

A pair of adult golden eagles, soaring over the hills, earlier this week. I think there was a carcass below somewhere, but with roaring stags on the same slopes, I didn't fancy venturing too far for a look.

Taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm.

Thankfully last week's forecast of horrendous weather has been way off the mark, and we've been enjoying some sunshine out on the west coast.

While it might not be ideal for photography at times, it's wonderful to see Mull as autumn begins to take hold.

And the wildlife seemed to be enjoying the warmth from the sun too, as seen here with a mother otter with one of her cubs, snuggled together after hunting in the loch nearby.

Wonderful to see, and share with clients.

Otters (taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm).

Back on Mull at the moment, guiding a group of friends one-by-one, mainly for otters. But yesterday we all went out aboard the Lady Jayne on a private charter for the eagles.

It was a cracking trip too, with the eagles flying towards the boat to take the fish, and we even had a minke whale put in an appearance between dives from the eagles.

I was having a play with my Canon R5 mk2 again, to see how it faired, and it definitely tracks the head of the eagles better than the original, which had a tendency to pick up wings or the tail.

Here's a wider view of one as it began to track the boat, with the autumnal hills of Mull as a backdrop.

White-Tailed Eagle - taken with an R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm.

We're apparently in autumn now, and today's weather is definitely autumnal... it's pouring down out there.

Thankfully last week it wasn't when I took a drive out to Tarbat Ness lighthouse. It was calm, sunny and warm, and while I didn't get to see many birds flying past, I did get views of eiders, common scoters, many gannets and gulls, and a peregrine falcon.

While it was mostly too hazy for images of the smaller farmland birds around the headland, this beautiful, vibrant yellowhammer begged for a photo, when it popped up out of the gorse right beside me!

Taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm.

On my most recent trip out with Mull Charters, the eagles were often taking the fish, and going to the nearest shore to consume it. Earlier in the season, they would turn sharply and head off back to their nests.

This meant we were treated to views of them flying around the boat with the hills as a backdrop, when they were carrying the fish.

The weather could have been better, but the trip was awesome, with over an hour of watching the eagles at close quarters.

The new camera seems to track the head of the eagle better than the original R5, which often jumped to the tail or wing-tips.

There is definitely more noise in the shots though, at higher ISO levels, though the sensor is completely different to the original, so perhaps a downside of what Canon has had to do, to minimise the rolling shutter issue.

Not a deal breaker for me, as I have plenty of software tools to clean noise away from images.

White-Tailed Eagle - taken with a Canon R5 mk2, RF100-500mm.

I clearly timed my visit to Mull badly for the weather, as it was lovely when I was leaving, and has remained so since.

It was brutal at times when I was running my workshops, with torrential rain on one of the days, perfectly timed to when we had just got some fortune with an otter.

I thought the encounter had then been ruined by other watchers, who crowded us, and stopped me from tracking the otter for my clients, at which point I decided it might be better to have lunch, and to allow me to calm down.

We were rewarded after lunch, when we picked up the same otter later on, and in better weather.

This image was from a different day, with a different individual. Again we tracked it, and were lucky when it climbed out of the loch after eating a small fish, up on to the rocks we were hiding behind. I love getting shots with the hills as a backdrop - really shows off those whiskers.

Taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm.

Another shot from the otter with a lobster encounter.

Not quite the same weather conditions today. It absolutely poured down when we were following an otter earlier.

Great experience, nonetheless.

After a couple of workshops, I was out with a friend today, mooching round Mull.

With some really heavy showers rolling through, including one that had hail as well as rain, we weren't keen to get out for any encounter.

But after spotting an otter off the shore, and with bright skies, we ventured over, and waited. Didn't have to wait long, as it caught something and began to swim ashore.

As it lifted its chin above the surface, I realised it was a lobster, so we got a bit closer, and waited.

The otter clambered out of the loch and dragged the lobster up to a drier spot, which thankfully we had a decent view of.

This image, taken with a Canon R5 mk2 and RF100-500mm, is when the otter was perhaps working out the best way to tuck into the lobster.