Winter is a testing time for all living animals, always remember when working with wild animals they come first and the last thing you want to do is to impose yourself to quickly or scare the animal you’re wishing to photograph. It’s also very important to know that calories are burned off more quickly during the winter months so fieldcraft and respect have to be the first priorities of any wildlife photographer.
New Year brings increased snaring in the Peak District National Park. Snares are cruel, inhumane and indiscriminate and most European countries have banned them. Please be vigilant on the moors and report all snares urgently. Walkers and pets are at risk as well as wildlife.
If you’re out in the Peak District National Park and come across any snares, traps or see any suspicious activity from gamekeepers take photos, mark the location, take a short video if possible, using your watch or a GPS to show the date, time and location and report that information to Moorland Monitors and Hunt Investigation Team. Or call 101 for a non-emergency; 999 in an emergency and ask for Derbyshire Constabulary’s Rural Crime Team.
Intentionally overexposing a photograph can create a fascinating image that tells a beautiful story. High key photography can be achieved very simply by adjusting your camera settings. Everything you need to know about High-key photography is actually in the name.
The Winter Solstice occurs in December and in the Northern Hemisphere the date marks the 24-hour period with the fewest daylight hours of the year, which is why it is known as the shortest day and longest night.
Natures got the Love
Dawn and Dusk are truly the best times for light that often yield the most pleasing conditions in which to photograph in. With the Winter season now with us this will offer you a softer, more angled light which can offer the photographer endless opportunities for dramatic images of wildlife.
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation is an amazing charity that does so much to help wildlife all around the world. So it’s wonderful that they have chosen my image of Fateh, a dominant male Bengal Tiger named after the famous Fateh Singh Rathore as their front cover, celebrating their 35th Anniversary edition.
The Norfolk Spring Tides are the biggest and best tides for witnessing the thousands of birds feeding on the mudflats, being pushed closer to shore. During a Spring Tide most if not all of the estuary is consumed by the sea and submerged underwater. Out on the mud and sand flats you’ll see thousands of wading birds feeding at low tide, as the tides rises, the mud and sand flats disappear underwater and the birds are suddenly forced to move closer into shore by the incoming sea.
