Today I got the pleasure of talking with Kirk Norbury of Kirk Norbury Photography. Kirk is from the UK, and is a wildlife photographer. Although quite young, Kirk has had some great success with his photography.
Kirk Norbury from Kirk Norbury Photography
Can you tell us a bit about yourself Kirk.
Well I’m 21 years old, I grew up in Southport, England on a farm on the outskirts of the town. I had always been interested in wildlife since I was little, as living on a farm meant you were surrounded by all types of things like Roe Deer, Buzzards and pheasants. A few months ago my girlfriend and I made a big move up to Ayr in Scotland as we really fell in love with the way of life and countryside in Scotland.
How long have you been doing photography?
I’ve been doing photography for about 4 years now. When I was in college I did a National Diploma in Art & Design and with that course I was offered to get an extra A level in photography so I said yes not knowing at the time that saying yes to do this side course would completely change my career path!
You are a wildlife photographer, and I’ve seen some of your photos and think they are amazing, but how long have you been interested in wildlife photography?
About 4 years ago I started my second year at college and I had just gotten a job so I could afford a better camera but what really started it all off was I picked a photography magazine that had an article about the work of top British wildlife photographer Andy Rouse. His work just blew me away and from that point on I wanted to create just as powerful and visually pleasing images of nature as he did.
I know some wildlife shots can take hours waiting for the animals being in the right place etc, what’s the longest you’ve waited for a shot?
The longest time I’ve waited to get a shot was quite recently. I had started a project on a local Osprey site that I had been working on for the last few months, trying to get the exact locations of the bird so I knew where to set up my hide. I spent 7 hours a day for 2 days waiting to get a decent shot of one of the Ospreys.
How much gear do you take with you on a normal shoot?
As I’m young and do not earn thousands of pounds a year I have to make the best out of the equipment I can afford, at the moment I have 1 camera body: Nikon D3, and 2 lenses: a Nikon 600mm f/4 II (non VR) and a Nikon 24-85mm. I got all of these secondhand to try and save some pennies haha.
On a normal wildlife shoot I’ll take my D3 and the 600mm with a Gitzo 3541LS Tripod with the Wimberley head and that’s pretty much it.
This is a hard question for any photographer, do you have a favourite photo, or one you just love sharing with others?
I never tend to have a favourite photograph as I’m my own worst critique, constantly looking at my images and seeing how they could be better, but I’m glad I’m like that as it helps me expand and learn how to get better at my craft. But if I were to pick an image as my favourite image, it would probably have to my Red Squirrel image titled “The Weightlifter” which has been my most popular image on my website and social networking sites.
“The Weightlifter” by Kirk Norbury
Thanks heaps Kirk for taking the time to answer some questions, even though I know you’ve been out recently searching for that Osprey site. If you would like to see more of Kirk’s photos you can head over to his photography site and blog, Kirk Norbury Photography. Or you can follow Kirk on Twitter for the latest updates on his wildlife photography quests.
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