Now that is a quick bath: Incredible images of blue tits having a wash captured in just 10,000th of a second

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Bath-time: These blue tits were captured taking a bath in just a 10,000th of a second using homemade equipment by photographer Kim Taylor


Watching a group of blue tits taking a bird bath might not seem like an incredible visual experience, but when it’s captured in just 10,000th of a second, suddenly it becomes a work of art.

Using home-made equipment, photographer Kim Taylor took these amazing shots with pinpoint clarity, turning a common garden event into photographic genius.

The difference is that now we can see what the human eye can't - the amazing detail and action behind that blur in your bird bath.

Mr Taylor, 77, a former Government biologist, decided to attempt to capture the motion of common garden birds using the bath at the back of his Surrey home.

The results are a breathtaking - and sometimes humorous - collection of great pictures of some of our favourite British birds.

The photographer was able the capture his unique set of images by setting up all the equipment himself before hiding in his kitchen and watching the action from his window.

He said: ‘People will have not seen images like this before. They are a great insight into how birds move when they come to wash themselves.

‘They move so fast that I had to use a shutter speed of 10,000th of a second - ten times faster than most cameras.


Amazing detail: Mr Taylor, 77, a former Government biologist, decided to attempt to capture the motion of common garden birds using the bath at the back of his Surrey home


‘I also had to use a very powerful flash at 35,000 volts. There was still the problem of how fast the birds moved. Just when I thought I'd got the perfect shot I'd take the picture - only to realise the bird had already flown away.

‘The thing is you can't normally see what is happening when a blue tit or a wagtail is taking a bath in your garden, because it's so fast.

‘With these pictures I had just enough time to see into another world and I'm very happy with the results.’

Mr Taylor said that his photography revealed a pattern among most birds that visited his garden.


The perfect shot: The group of blue tits frolic in the water, but instead of looking like any common bird bath, the image captured has turned into a stunning work of art


He said: ‘Surprisingly just like us, most birds like a bath and a wash before bed time often coming to the garden just before dusk to use the water.

‘They also, and this goes for different species, seem to wash in the same way. They dip their heads in first before washing the water back over their bodies.

‘They all seemed to do it the same way. When you see them leave the bath, you think perhaps they will get cold from the water, but actually their feathers plump up perfectly to keep them warm. They know what they are doing.’


source: dailymail