Entries Tagged ‘Autumn’:

Today is the Autumn Equinox, where the duration of the day and night are of equal length all over the world.

Autumn is a wonderful time of year in nature, the leaves are a beautiful mosaic of colours before they fall from the trees leaving them bare and exposed. Wildlife gorging on the rich bounty of berries, nuts and other food items all produced at this time of year in preparation for winter.

Nature provides food all year round for wildlife in readiness for the coming months ahead, whether it be the spring time or autumn into winter. Often some of these bounties are more richer than others and as a measure of that certain species give us a clue to this with their higher than normal numbers, one such species is the Waxwing.

With temperatures touching nearly 30c over the last 7 days little more proof is needed of the fact our weather is/has changed over the last two decades. And over the last two years I have noticed a warm April and May then the so called summer months of June, July and August seem never to reach their target with regards to temperatures and sunshine. During the summer months when I was in Mull the locals told me of a real wet May, washing away a lot of the birds’ nests, both ground nesting and higher nesting birds having water logged nests.  Fast forward, the warmest September for many years, with the start of October being brought in with sun worshipers wearing swimwear around our coasts.

Many experts have their own ideas to what is causing this but there can be no more firmer proof than in the Polar Regions. Climate change is having a greater and faster impact on the Arctic than previously thought, air temperatures in the region have on average increased by about 5c over the last 100 years.  Change to the way humans live their lives is needed, with population growth worldwide exceeding beyond space.

During the last 7 -10 days the number of items of clothing you apply when working outdoors in the cold at this time of year has slightly been put on hold, instead the summer order as I call it has remained way pass its purposed shelf life within the natural seasonal calendar.  Visits to Norfolk were bathed in sunshine and felt more like a Spanish holiday resort.

Closer to home in the glorious sunshine I have been working on a few subjects, the Short Eared Owls have arrived, coming down from altitude to feed during the winter months around low lying moorland and marshland. I have been lucky enough to have some good sighting over the last couple of weeks of this beautiful owl within the habitat.

With the harvest now having been collected and gathered in by the farmers its left the fields slightly exposed, which helps when trying to find Brown Hares, as the low height affords these mammals no or little cover once they leave the safety of the hedgerows and small pockets of woodland they use as cover. I spent a couple of mornings, dressed head to toe in camo gear stalking, covered in sweat once the sun had risen due to the temperatures. A couple of lovely encounters here from the different days.

The deer rut is an event really just starting now around the country with Autumn upon us.  I have already been out a couple of times, once with a client on a one to one and the other on my own, and its still not really started in great earnest, almost like the calm before the storm.  This year I will, like last year visit the different places around the country, finishing in Scotland hoping to capture different images and angles to this wonderful event in the natural world.  I am also hoping to do a short film for Phototraining4U covering my day from dawn till dusk on this event, so lots going on.

Hopefully over the next several weeks I am able to capture a few images of this event and post them at a later date. I am looking forward to meeting the folks who have booked onto my Beauty of Wildlife two day workshop in conjunction with Calumet Photographic. I will be presenting a few slide shows, talking about some key elements to wildlife photography, then going through peoples cameras and settings in readiness for day two out on the moors of the Peak District.

The second day we will be capturing the wildlife that live in this area, at the same time helping each person to improve their own wildlife photography. Learning fieldcraft in a wild environment, which is the only way people can truly see what skills are needed to approach an animal that’s not use to humans.  I will update my blog after this event which I am really looking forward to.

I am just testing out some new and amazing slideshow software I have for talks and presentations and thought I’d share this first example with you.  I’m still working on different things but it gives you a flavour of what I plan on doing, hope you enjoy this short film.

Our wildlife workshops to the island of Mull, Scotland are getting more and more popular as the perfect trip to capture the true beauty of this amazing place, so we are adding another trip to the itinerary for next year. The aim of this second trip is to capture the stunning autumnal colours there at this time of the year, along with the beautiful Otters that live on Mull, and their cubs, also rutting Deer, White tailed Eagles and much more amazing wildlife. For wildlife photographers who are eager to bring their photography to the next level, or people wishing to see the beautuful wildlife this island has to offer, our photo trip really does cover everything.

The Isle of Mull lies on the west coast of Scotland and it has a breathtaking coastline of 300 miles, the climate is a mixture of rain and sunshine. From the moment you step onto this beautiful island the wildlife is everywhere and the scenery is stunning. The island is a wonderful place to see Golden Eagles, White-tailed Eagles, Otters, porpoises and a whole host of Hebridean Wildlife.  

Our base will be the picturesque village of Tobermory, with its brightly painted buildings. Overlooking the harbour of Tobermory and facing out to Calve Island and the sound of Mull is our Hotel, you’ll be treated to picturesque views over the harbour and as well as comfortable accommodation, you’ll enjoy fine cuisine in the restaurant, prepared from the best locally sourced ingredients to make your stay even more memorable, all of the rooms have a sea/harbour view. It will be a wonderful chance to show you the best places that I have found on my many trips to this amazing island and to pass my knowledge of these onto you so you can really enjoy ‘The Magic of Mull’.

This photo tour is for four people maxim, with two places having already gone such is the popularity and beauty of this island. I like to keep all my trip numbers down to around four people if I can as this gives everyone quality time with me while I show and teach everything I use myself within wildlife photography, fieldcraft, composition, camera skills and showing and pointing out photographic opportunities constantly during your time with me.

The dates of this trip are – Sunday 23rd October – Friday 28th October 2011, the price per person is £800.00, this includes all food, including packed lunch, all transport on the island, rooms with sea views, all guidance and expertise from myself.  They are on a first come first served basis, so if you would like to know more info or book then go to my Magic Of Mull page on my website and fill out the booking form or send me an email and I’ll answer any questions you may have many thanks.

The season of Autumn provides us with some of the most beautiful and intense colours within nature. Woodlands all over the UK are revealing their amazing colours of red, orange, yellow and gold.  This happens when the trees start to withdraw their chlorophyll from their leaves revealing these vibrant pigments in the leaves giving this amazing and distinctive appearance during the season of Autumn.

Autumn is a great time to get out with your camera as the ground is laden with fruits and nuts forming a carpet of food.  A very rich bounty in which all animal’s take advantage of this extra food source before the onset of Winter.  Capturing behaviour in some animals during Autumn makes for some beautiful encounters with wildlife. The most commonly known one is the Deer Rut , which was very late this year, I have been to several places around the UK over the last month and seen some brilliant behaviour and great moments.

This time of year is also one of the best times to see and witness one of the most secret and shy birds within the bird world, the Jay, part of the Crow family.  You only normally hear these birds in the tops of trees, but during the plentiful bounty on offer during Autumn you’ll see them on the ground feeding on the acorns and other nuts and fruits the trees shed at this time of year.

The changing seasons and the yearly life cycle of animals, plants and trees will enable you to photograph many different images throughout the year, which will tell the story of the changing weather and colours of the different habitats in which the wildlife live in.  The season of Autumn for me is arguably one of the finest times of year to enjoy and view wildlife with a backdrop of amazing colours, while most summer birds have now gone. Vast numbers of new arrivals make up for their departure, with the likes of Fieldfares, Redwings, and various Geese and Ducks that spend the winter months with us.

One of my favorite winter visitor’s is the beautiful Whooper Swan that have started to arrive from Iceland along with the slightly smaller but equally beautiful Bewick Swan.  When they have all arrived numbers can surpass more than 1,000 Whoopers in and around the various places I visit, one of the best is on the North West coast of the UK.  So graceful and elegant for a large bird they truly are beautiful and amazing to watch in flight.

I have also been photographing a real comical and funny bird, always on the move and constantly calling  as they climb and pose up and down trees with great finesse and ease, the Nuthatch.  I wanted to try and capture a few different view points of these charismatic, iconic woodland birds with their bold mannerism’s.  I waited out of site to where they were landing, hoping to capture their cheeky side within an image.  The following two photos I feel demonstrate this, with the amazing colours of the autumnal woodland as the back drop.  Very funny birds and just one of the many wonderful animals you can photograph now as they feed on this rich source of food nature provides them with during Autumn.

Autumn marks the transition from Summer into Winter and is a short season compared to the other three so make the most of it with the colourful foliage on offer, adding great impact to any photographs you take. With the cooler temperature’s you maybe lucky enough for some amazing sunsets as I was with this lone Kestrel hunting in the very last rays of light over marshland.

With so much happening now my best advice would be to just go out into nature and capture this amazing and visually beautiful time of year, your reward will be views of animals you may not be able to see during the other seasons of the year, at the same time witness these stunning colours. 

The migrants that these shores attract along with the special winter wildlife we have, finally show up in good numbers from now onwards giving you a unique insight into their lives, some of the best for me are Short-eared Owls that come down from the mountains to feed at sea level during our winter months, Mountain Hares that change colour to pure white to avoid predators and blend in with their snow capped landscapes along with Ptarmigan and many more species of wildlife where the only downside is that it becomes colder but you get to put more layers on!!.  Whatever you do you will not be disappointed with the beauty of mother nature.