How to improve your British wildlife photography

Pro photographer Laurie Campbell explains how he got this gorgeous badger photo – and shares his top tips.

I’ve always been fond of badgers, and this image of a juvenile inside a hollow log was taken in late summer, near a sett that I discovered in my early teens.

It wasn’t until much later, when I was commissioned to illustrate a book on these mammals, that I began to explore new ways of photographing them. I needed more variety, and decided that the best way to achieve this was to habituate a litter of cubs to my presence.

Every evening for many weeks, I sat quietly on a raised bank overlooking the sett. Gradually, the youngsters began to trust me, and I was able to follow and photograph them behaving naturally.

I increasingly thought about getting shots of them underground, but it was much too risky to put cameras into the sett, even under licence. So, I simulated an underground environment instead. I propped a hollow log against an opening in a wooden shelter I’d built in the wood, and encouraged the badgers to walk through it by offering them a handful of raisins.

For me, the highlight of the whole project was being scent-marked by one of the juveniles – badgers only do that to other badgers. 

Laurie Campbell’s top wildlife photography tips

• Get to know your own patch

• Become a better naturalist
   

• Think laterally, then obsess

 To enjoy more of Laurie's spectacular British wildlife photography, click here or visit his website.