WavePad allows you to record uncompressed audio, apply basic EQ and filtering, and export files in sensible formats without forcing you into a subscription. They also exposes enough control to be useful without being so complex that it is frustrating to use in the field. There are valid alternative options on both platforms.

The first step is to position yourself to maximise the signal to noise ratio of your recording. Getting closer to the subject will always help - halving the distance will improve the signal to noise ratio by about 6 decibels. If you're using a directional microphone (like a shotgun microphone or a parabolic microphone), then you can also think about the direction to maximise the signal to noise ratio of your recording - try to place the subject at your front and competing noise at the same frequencies at your back.

Once you're ready, point your microphone at your subject and press record. Hold everything very still during this time - any handling noise will come through in the recording. Watch the volume monitor for any clipping and adjust the gain down if it occurs.

Skip this step if you're using a different type of microphone or the one built into your phone. Parabolic microphones are not tonally neutral. A dish boosts higher frequencies more than lower ones, and the amount of boost increases roughly with frequency. They also get more and more directional at high frequencies. A common rule of thumb is a correction of around 6 dB per octave, applied as a downward slope toward the higher frequencies

Once filtering is done, the final step is export. Things to think about:

• Are you exporting WAV or another format?

• Are you keeping the original raw recording as well?

• Are you naming files in a way that makes sense later?

I usually treat the exported file as a processed derivative and keep the original untouched. Keeping the place, time and any species present is a good idea.

Nocturnal wildlife photography has its own kind of magic and excitement. Hours of searching, scanning the dark, and then two eyes glow back at you. The eyeshine of something alive and watching.  But few things flatten that magic faster than red-eye, steel-eye, or a flat front-lit look that makes an incredible moment feel lifeless.

In this post, we’ll look at why eyeshine occurs, how you can avoid or eliminate it using off-axis flash setups, and how to remove it in post-processing if it does appear. Most of what follows applies equally to nocturnal birds and mammals.

The best way to reduce eyeshine is to move your flash away from the camera's central axis so that there is an angle between the flash and end. Even a few degrees can significantly reduce eye-shine, and positioning further off axis can eliminate it (and result in more natural lighting)

A flash bracket moves your light source off the camera’s central axis, changing the angle between flash and lens. They are simple and quick to operate with a BeamMount setup - you just point the camera at the subject and shoot. Even a few degrees off-axis can greatly reduce both red-eye and steel-eye, particularly at close range where geometry matters most.  However, the effect diminishes with distance, as the angle between flash and lens narrows and reflections become more pronounced and the lighting still looks quite flat relative to off axis flash.

Positioning your flash off-axis a significant distance left or right from your lens almost always eliminates unwanted eye reflection. The idea is simple: your flash beam and lens should converge at the subject, but diverge just enough that the reflected light doesn’t come straight back.

Angles around 30–45° typically look most natural, though even 10–15° is often enough to eliminate reflections. Less is usually required to eliminate eyeshine. Note that in some circumstances such a wide angle will not be possible (for example  due to occluding vegetation). In these cases eyeshine is still significantly reduced.

If solo, use a BeamMount Pro on a tall tripod or a light stand with a tilt and swivel adapter for your flash. If you have an assistant, mounting the torch with a BeamMount to the flash and asking the assistant to point the torch at the subject is the most foolproof, but of course just getting them to hold the torch and flash will work too.

Correcting red-eye or steel-eye is quick if you know the steps. Generally red-eye is easier to correct, and the use of flash brackets or off camera flash close to the camera will be easier to correct than flash on the camera as the red-eye or steel eye won't be as bright. The steps are the same for both steel-eye and red-eye. This section discusses how to do it photoshop, but similar techniques can be applied using other programs including Lightroom.

1. Select the affected area

Use your favourite selection tool to select the red or pale reflective patch. Expand this selection by ~2 pixels so that the borders are captured.

Conclusion

Working at night can be frustrating without the right equipment and techniques - endless scanning, missed focus, and reflections that ruin otherwise perfect encounters. But mastering light geometry turns those challenges into predictable, solvable problems. Once you understand how eyeshine forms, you can decide whether to use it to find your subject or eliminate it for a clean, lifelike image.

The work starts before you pick up a camera. There is no point waiting in a spot which has issues, for example:

Before you choose where to go, it helps to decide what species you want to photograph. Start with the species. Use a field guide to learn what might be possible in your region. Then work out what habitats those species depend on.

Rails and crakes are a good example: if you want to target them, you’ll need wetlands with dense reedbeds, muddy margins, and quiet backwaters. They often feed at the interface between cover and open ground, rarely straying far from cover. Grebes typically require stretches of open water deep enough for diving, but still prefer vegetation nearby for nesting and cover. Dabbling ducks need shallow areas where they can tip up and feed from the bottom, while diving ducks choose deeper pools.  Herons, cormorants, and darters need perches - often prominent logs or branches that give them a vantage point over both prey and predators.

The competitive exclusion principle in ecology provides some useful shortcuts. The idea is that no two species can occupy the same ecological niche indefinitely. This is why wetlands often appear crowded, but there is structure in the way species overlap: coots uproot submerged plants and forage underwater, while moorhens work  along the edges. Crakes and rails may share a reedbed, but one species might work right at the waterline while the other prefers slightly drier areas margins. Recognising these divisions helps predict not just where your target will be, but also what might show up along side it.

By starting with the species you want, then working outward to their habitats and how those habitats change with conditions, you avoid the trap of picking a wetland simply because it looks picturesque. Doing this homework gives you a working map before you step into the water, so when you're in the field, you’re heading straight for the zones with the highest chance of the encounter you wanted.

Once you know your goals and the species and habitats you’re aiming for, the next step is to identify locations that offer them. This is where online records, local knowledge, and field reconnaissance come together.

Resources like eBird, iNaturalist, social media, or even word of mouth are useful starting points. They don’t just show if a species is present — they often indicate when and how often it has been observed. But be aware of a bias: people tend to visit places where interesting birds have already been reported, which leads to more checklists from those sites while other wetlands go underreported. An absence of records doesn’t mean an absence of birds.

To spend long periods in the water without becoming uncomfortable, you need to choose clothing carefully. The best option depends on temperature, depth, and how long you expect to stay in. A few main approaches cover most situations:

• Bathers / swimmers. In warm conditions, the simplest choice is often best. Quick-drying shorts and a rash top provide freedom of movement and UV protection. Avoid cotton, which becomes heavy and clammy when waterlogged.
• Waders. Waders are a practical option for shallow wetlands, keeping you dry and adding protection. Neoprene models insulate in cooler water, and integrated boots are convenient. The limitation is depth: once water overtops them, they flood and quickly become hazardous. Waders are only suitable if you know you won’t need to venture too deep.
• Wetsuits. A wetsuit won’t keep you dry, but it provides insulation by trapping a layer of water against your skin. They’re useful for chest-deep water and prolonged sessions, though less convenient and less breathable than waders.
• Drysuits. Drysuits completely seal you off from the water and are the safest option in very cold conditions. They allow you to wear insulating layers underneath and are the best choice when hypothermia is a real risk, though they are bulkier and more expensive.
• Footwear. Always pair your clothing choice with appropriate footwear. Sturdy water shoes or wader boots protect your feet from sharp objects, rocks, or leeches and add insulation in cooler conditions.

Aside from your choice of clothing it's also worth thinking about insect repellant, hydration, UV protection. and protection from abrasion. Consider long sleeves, a wide-brim hat, and suitable gloves. For concealment, consider camouflage patterns on the parts of your clothing that remain above the waterline. Finally, always plan for after the session. Keep spare clothes and a towel in your car.

Keeping your camera stable at water level is one of the biggest challenges. Every option involves trade-offs in mobility, control, and risk management:

• Handholding  is the simplest method, but also the riskiest. Holding several kilograms of fragile gear while wading leaves you vulnerable to slips, sudden sinks into mud, fatigue, or loss of balance. Even if you stay upright, arms tire quickly and long lenses are difficult to keep steady. Handholding is only realistic for brief encounters in shallow water, and even then it leaves little margin for error.

Generally speaking, you need to make the right camera equipment choice before getting into the water - it's not generally practical to be changing lenses or equipment whilst floating around. As far as camera bodies, lenses and teleconverters the tradeoffs are similar to on land. The method of supporting your camera may also impact your decision in terms of what gear to use - it's easy to support a large prime lens on floating setup but pretty difficult if you're trying to spend an hour in the water handholding.  Match your setup to your method of support and the conditions you expect.

It's worth thinking about rain/splash protection, and making sure you have a charged battery and a big card for lots of photos - it's generally not a good idea to change those things out on the water. It's also worth having a plan to secure essentials like your phone and keys so they don’t get lost or water-damaged. A drybag clipped to your gear is a reliable solution - the HydroBlind includes tether points for this.

Concealment and Movement

At water level, composition changes dramatically. The surface itself becomes part of the image, offering reflections, blurred foregrounds, and soft transitions you can’t get from the bank. Use these elements deliberately rather than treating them as background noise.

When working with reflections, aim for symmetry by keeping the horizon straight and leaving space below the subject. Foreground blur from reeds, ripples, or floating vegetation can add depth, but make sure it frames the bird rather without obscuring it.

Think about movement in the frame. Leave space in front of a swimming bird or one about to take off, so the action doesn’t feel cramped. At the same time, don’t overlook wider shots. Showing a bird in context, framed by reeds, mirrored in calm water, or lit by unusual weather, often tells a stronger story than a tight headshot.