Antonio Liebana has been a wildlife photographer for over 25 years, traveling to places such as Antarctica, Africa, and Borneo to showcase spectacular wildlife across the world. However, some of his recent work with his new Sony Alpha 9 III has been much closer to home in Spain.

'Even close to a big city, like my home in Madrid, we can find wildlife,' says Antonio, 'but for this to continue, we must conserve these spaces.' Antonio has a mission to teach Europeans about some of the incredible birds that can be found across Europe, even close to some of the continent's largest cities.

'Just 15 minutes from a city like Madrid, we have Iberian imperial eagles, a species that was on the verge of disappearing with only 25 birds. Now they are starting to thrive, with numbers increasing overall and they are much healthier thanks to conservation work.'

Amongst the birds that Antonio has photographed with the Alpha 9 III are goshawks, hoopoes and little bustards, all of which he photographed in his home country of Spain. Then there is the iconic puffin, which Antonio photographed on Hørnoya, a small island on Norway's Varanger peninsula.

'A few of these species can be found throughout Europe. Whilst I love photographing all birds, the little bastard has become a particular interest to me. Found in some parts of cereal-growing Spain and some strongholds in Europe in a limited way, the bird has seen a dwindling numbers over the last 20 years, with a reduction by more than 80%.‘

This decline drives Antonio to spend hours in the field photographing them and researching the birds and their behaviors.

'Photography of wild birds requires prior preparation and a study of the species you will photograph, knowing their habits, where they live and in what areas you can see them.'

Antonio has been using the Alpha 9 III paired with the FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and the new FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS lenses to capture his recent images. One of the biggest challenges he has photographing birds is judging the correct distance between him and the birds. 'You must be in the right spot to capture the image you want. But the birds move around, and it becomes even more complicated when they are in flight.' Thankfully, the two lenses provide the ideal focal lengths, particularly the 600mm lens, which Antonio uses for around 80% of his images.

'It is a great super-telephoto lens that allows me to get closer than other lenses; I can get even closer using the Sony 1.4x or 2x teleconverters. The f/4 aperture gives me all the light I need and the beautiful aesthetic you get from the shallow depth of field. Its light weight also means I can roam around and shoot birds like the puffins for hours.'

Sony's technology pushes the boundaries of what wildlife photographers can capture. 'When I mount these lenses on the Alpha 9 III it is a feeling of power that I have never seen in photographic equipment.', says Antonio. 'The AI focusing system makes my work so much easier. I use Bird AF to set the focus on the bird's eye, and then I completely forget about the focus, knowing the Alpha 9 III will automatically track the bird, even when shooting video. And with the global shutter, if the lighting conditions are right, I can use a flash at up to 1/80000 sec to capture a moment in time with complete precision.

Although the incredibly fast shooting speeds and global shutter technology receive all the headlines, the Alpha 9 III's image quality is also unmatched;  'I can work at those fast shutter speeds without any limitation or loss in image quality. It changes the way I work. I love looking for opportunities to shoot at high speeds to achieve different things. It is crazy knowing that I can synchronise flash at such a high speed.'

Birds aren't the only animals that Antonio has on his radar to photograph. Alongside his Sony Alpha 1, he has an exciting few months ahead of him;

'In the next few days, I'll pack my Sony Alpha 1, Alpha 9 III, and lenses and leave for the Pantanal in Brazil to search for the jaguar. Then, I am traveling to British Columbia in search of coastal wolves. They are very different environments, but I completely trust the total reliability of my Sony cameras.