It can be an eternal dilemma in wildlife photography: the closer you are, the better the shot, but the greater the risk of scaring away your subject. “One of my favourite birds to photograph is the grebe,” says wildlife photographer Paul Browning. “To photograph them, you have to get down very low to the water. But as soon as the bird sees me, it’s halfway to the other side of the lake.” This is why super-telephoto lenses are vital for wildlife photographers, especially bird photographers.