Continuing on from my last few posts, here are some more edits from the backlog of photos I’ve recently got round to looking at, on account of having some time while I recover from surgery.

All are taken with Nikon’s Z mount 400mm F4.5 lens. Someone once remarked on a forum post elsewhere that this lens wasn’t long enough for proper wildlife photography. This struck me as a stupid comment. I hope the following will demonstrate why; you simply need to get closer to your subject physically. For me, that’s half of the fun of wildlife photography - testing your hunting skills, without doing any physical harm to a beautiful, sentient creature.

A wild roe deer

I’ve posted an image of this encounter before, but found a fair few others I like from the batch, since then.

Likewise, I’ve posted a couple of images from this encounter with a juvenile green woodpecker recently, but since done a few additional edits that I like

www.lukebennettphotos.com

Ok, not actual wildlife, but I liked the lighting in this sheep shot.

www.lukebennettphotos.com

Following on from my last post - https://lukebennettphotos.com/blog/2026/1/31/photography-problems-the-ever-increasing-backlog-of-photographs-that-need-editing - here are a few more recent edits, done whilst recouping from surgery a month ago.

I’ve written on here before about how hard and sporadic it can be to get out and about with my camera, even at the best of times, but currently it’s impossible on an ongoing basis. Looking back through these photos whilst editing, I mostly feel gratitude - that despite the pain, exhaustion, and other consequences of getting out and taking them, I’m really pleased I did. I also feel worried that I might not be able to again for some time, or as frequently (despite it already being far from regular, and completely at the mercy of my health), or even at all. But that’s a story for another day.

The following were taken at various points in 2025. Of the beasties, all but the last four photos were of fully wild animals. The last four were taken in a National Trust property, so technically still wild, but within the confines of Charlecote Gardens, so no real skill is involved in sneaking up on them.

A wild roe deer

A very cool experience from a while ago - I went looking for deer and foxes, but accidentally sneaked up on this juvenile green woodpecker. I was wearing camouflage and we more or less uncovered each other at the same time. The woodpecker was extremely curious in me, moving from branch to branch to try and get a better look, but clearly not entirely sure what I was exactly. They were really close too. The whole way through it emitted lots of curious noises. Not being much of an ornithologist I'm not sure whether these were alarm calls or something else. Having never seen one up close before I was really surprised by how big they are, easily a foot or more in length.

www.lukebennettphotos.com

A coal tit, contorting towards its goal.

A heavy crop of a blue tit through my window.

One of our swallow visitors from last summer. I'm really pleased with this shot because of the difficulty photographing a fast and unpredictable subject like this presents. Swallows rarely stay still and they move incredibly nimbly through the air, turning direction completely with ease, picking off insects in the warm evening air.