AFTER a hard week at the garage, there is nothing mechanic Malcolm Brown likes better than sitting in a hide by the river Test waiting to snap a photo of a kingfisher.

For many of us the most we ever see of one of these birds, which are protected due to their scarcity, is a bright blue and orange flash as they shoot past.

But Malcolm’s practice and patience have paid off. The amateur photographer has taken tens of thousands of snaps of the elusive birds since he began photographing them less than two years ago.

Among this vast number is a collection of around 200 stunning photos of the tiny and hard to capture birds, in flight, catching fish, perching, preening, mating and fighting.

The 55-year-old from Langley in the New Forest has developed an international following on the Internet of fans of his photos, which demonstrate his skill, patience and passion.

He has always been interested in wildlife but only got into photography after his three children had grown up and a divorce left him with time on his hands.

He was a keen fisherman and became interested in kingfishers after spotting them as he sat on various Hampshire riverbanks and lakesides.

Knowing he would need more than just enthusiasm for the little birds to capture images of them in flight, he joined Marwell Wildlife’s photographic club and joined fellow members for trips to Andover’s Hawk Conservancy Trust.

“On my first trip up there the first bird to fly out was a barn owl. As I brought my camera up I could hear all these clicks going off. The bird had flown from one point to another and I hadn’t even taken a photograph. I said to the person next to me ‘blimey, that was quick,’ and he burst out laughing and said ‘no, that’s the slowest bird!’.”

Malcolm spent a couple of years learning to photograph birds and teaching himself how to use his camera before trying to photograph kingfishers.

But after a year of trying to find them he’d had no luck.

He contacted amateur photographer Alan Willis, whose photos he’d seen on Internet photo sharing site Flickr. Alan invited Malcolm to join him at his hide on the banks of the River Test.

That was 22 months ago and Malcolm has been going to the hide every weekend since.

As well as capturing amazing images of the birds, which have been used by the Wildlife Trust on its calendar and publicity material, Malcolm has also become an expert on the birds.

He can recognise each of the kingfishers he photographs by sight and has a favourite – a feisty female who is comfortable enough in Malcolm and Alan’s presence to preen in front of them and even sit on top of the hide. This has allowed Malcolm to capture some amazing images, but he is always striving for the next difficult to capture shot.

“To start with I just wanted to get a photograph up close on the perch and get all the colour and detail,” he explains.

“Then I thought it would be great to get one in flight. Now I’ve got most of the ones of them on their usual flight paths so it’s the unusual ones I want, such as when a gust of wind catches them and they get blown off course and coming out of the water with fish.”

It is the difficulty of capturing good photographs of kingfishers that is a big part of the appeal of snapping them for Malcolm.

He never uses flash photography but makes use of the natural light and adjusts his camera settings as necessary. He always uses a hand-held camera rather than a tripod and shoots in manual mode.

“They are stunning colour-wise, they’re small, they’ve got a really hard life and they’re courageous when they’re fishing – they’ll go in even when it’s really gold or if the water is fast-running,” he adds.

“It’s their ways that have really captivated me.”

Malcolm photographs little other than kingfishers, and snapping them takes up most of his free time.He rarely fishes as that’s time he could be photographing the birds and has taken time off work to snap them, sitting in the hide for up to nine days in a row.

“It’s like a therapy for me,” he says. “Sometimes I can go there feeling a bit moody and by the time I’ve got to the river and seen them once I’m totally relaxed – it’s so peaceful.

The longest I have to wait to see them is about half an hour but normally they’re there within five minutes.

“As time goes on I’ve got more and more good photos and I’m probably my own worst enemy when it comes to demanding a high standard.

“After a day I’ll come away with 40 or 50 flight shots and if one or two of them are what I’d consider to be really good, I’m happy with that.”

Malcolm often gets asked for permission to use his photos by everyone from charities to someone who wanted to copy an image for a tattoo.

He has also produced a book of a collection of his images, My Year With Kingfishers.

But he has never made a penny from his work, selling the book at cost price and allowing people to use the images for free.

“I’d rather give the images away than sell them,” he says.

“I think it’s because it’s a hobby to me. I value doing it and if I turned it into a business it might not be so enjoyable.”

Malcolm has even sold the book for a slight loss at times, covering some of the postage himself.

“I just like people to see the pictures,” he says, “it’s such a passion of mine.”

* To see more of Malcolm’s pictures and to order his book visit malckingfisher.co.uk and flickr.com/photos/5467965 6@N04/