Firstly, a very Happy New Year to all my friends, clients and those that follow my blog, thank you for your continued support and friendship, I hope 2013 is a good year for you all. To kick off the new year it gives me great pleasure to share that one of my Sumatran Orangutan images graces January’s issue of the much respected BBC Wildlife Magazine. The image has such a special meaning to me and it’s very fitting that it’s published in the 50th Birthday special too. I have copies of this magazine dating back to the early eighties.
As the year draws to an end now and my favourite time of year is just around the corner; Christmas, I would just like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Many thanks to all the wonderful people I have met this year on my workshops and trips and I do really hope I have helped you all, inspired you all in seeing the wonderful and amazing world of wildlife around us at the same time getting the very best from your kit to use on the ground in the simplest of ways. I look forward to welcoming all my clients booked on my many trips for next year and one to ones.
With all my Christmas shopping done early this year I spent the least amount of time within the urban jungle I live in, fighting my way through this habitat in which I am least equipped for, I just have the last dash before Christmas to get the cream for my trifle, which I do each year, a family recipe from my late mum which I still make each Christmas as a form of comfort in more ways than one.
Having done this all early this has allowed me more time to carry on my work with the amazing and graceful Short eared Owls on the north west coast of the UK. Having spent many days and hours at these owl sites I have got use to alot of their patterns, their larders in which they store their catch while the going is good. They are beautiful birds and often I have this place to myself as I watch for the slightest movement on the ground. They are normally late risers and their liking for a lie in sometimes catches you off guard and one minute nothing.
Then once you make a cup of tea or do something else and look up there before you is the flapping of their wings and the faint call or hiss as they awaken and start gliding through the air with those large wings, a mixture of beats and flaps followed by a graceful soar then this routine is repeated as they hunt. I am always greatly touched upon seeing wildlife go about their lives around me and this spurs me on to hide away more, not wanting to break that trust you build up over time.
These images I have been processing took me back to my recent time spent with these owls, where I relived every moment as I was processing each special moment captured. Some I shot into the natural light, some I under-exposed and over-exposed creating a hi key effect which I love. I also used the blurring effect to create movement with some, this gives the image a sense of movement and when shot in portrait composition it gives a dramatic effect which brings my creative side to the surface. You pick up the subject as early as possible then with your camera and lens firmly attached to your tripod follow or pan keeping your focus on the subject the best you can.
Hidden away having watched these owls now for some time I got alot of information about their ways and patterns and I chose to hide away, low to the ground hidden and camouflaged with the wind in my face to take any noise away from the approaching owl, no fast movements, nothing that would make these owls jump or be scared in his pursuit of food.
I saw him coming towards me so here I waited, waited and then once he was so close he almost filled my viewfinder and I pressed my shutter capturing several amazing close ups, this is one I love with the sense of movement captured in the wings by the slow shutter speed while I nailed the focus on his face, giving that sense of impending movement to the image. Every moment I spend with nature is special to me and everyday my life is enriched with its beauty and time spent with these owls of late was no exception, a wonderful, close, special moment with this owl as he went about his business and I watched and marvelled at his skills in hunting and catching prey, his flight patterns, his calls, his ability to fly and turn without warning, just amazing!
For me wildlife photography is about using your skills and knowledge of wildlife together in the pursuit of capturing an image from the wild where nothing has been changed by man. As a professional I think I have a duty of care to not only the subject but also to the general public to show an image as seen on the ground. This approach is the whole foundation to my work. In an age when there are lovely images everywhere you look I think images should be judged today on the amount of effort and knowledge and fieldcraft used in order to capture an image as personally I don’t like anything that is to contrived or set up where the animal is made to do something in order to get an image almost like a master and servant, where if you do something you get a prize for that, it has to be unplanned, unscripted and true for me.
My passion for wildlife goes alot deeper than just an image, I watch, study, listen and spend time in watching their behaviour, trying to work with the animals and sometimes when I get an image I feel I have cheated the subject by using my skills in capturing that given image by laying in weight having studied them I hope that makes sense. When I watch an animal I have that connection and I shoot with my heart and eye and I build that trust and care for the subject and when I have taken the image and captured that priceless moment I worry if I have betrayed that trust built up through patience, fieldcraft and care.
I care about every image I take and what I do, I love wildlife and nature means the world to me, it has helped me in life and instilled a great peace from an early age, nature helps in many ways, its beauty brings joy in so many ways and its presence in people lives helps them to live and breathe and at this special time of year it’s even more important I feel to embrace what we have around us all. A few of my favorite images from the last twelve months are in the following slideshow, showing the true beauty of wildlife.
One of my Barn Owl images graces January’s issue of the much respected BBC Wildlife magazine which is on sale now, its always lovely to see your work in print. I spent two months watching and photographing this male Barn Owl during one of the countries coldest spells of weather for decades. At times it was hard to watch as he was hunting in all weathers and times of the day in a desperate attempt to feed in order to survive, how cruel nature can be to its own sometimes. he did survive though and all ending well for this fellow. Thank you to Wanda for requesting the image and Sophie Stafford, the editor, for having this image in your magazine.
And just before I go I wanted to just update you all as I go live in the new year as PhotoTraining4U’s Wildlife Master. I will be doing a series of short films following me through some of my work in the field, tips and advice when working with animals in the wild and much more. You will see how I work, get a chance to ask questions relating to my work or questions, advice and help in regard to your own work. If you wish to join then quote the following affiliate code: 7816 when joining. Click on the small icon above and this will take you to this site which is an online site for all your photography needs.
It just leaves me to say I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and new year and I wish you all the best for 2012, many thanks.
Where did the time go I asked myself as yesterday came to an end? Two wonderful days showing eight clients ‘The Beauty of Wildlife’, firstly at Calumet Manchester in their brilliant studio/classroom and the second day out on the moors of the Peak District, Derbyshire, on my wildlife workshop in conjunction with Calumet. The aim of this workshop is to demonstrate the simple techniques that I apply to my own photography and to then share these with the group.
I demonstrated to the group how to approach their subject using fieldcraft skills without causing any distress to the animal, this in turn lets them relax, which will present you with the best opportunities to photograph their beauty, expressions and behaviour.
The first day was a mixture of talks, slideshow presentations and photographic tips and advice, followed by a cup of tea and biscuits. After which I went through each clients camera showing how to get the best from each make and model in readiness for the second day out on the moors, where those tips could make all the difference to a well composed image while at the same time learning more from the wildlife that live in this part of the world. All the information and advice we discussed was contained in a handout I’d prepared for each client as seen above, this would help once the group had gone home to use as a reference guide.
Photographing wildlife in ‘the wild’ is the only real and true way of learning about behaviour and fieldcraft, so it was very important for me to show the group on the second day how I work and go about getting the images that I achieve, while working with subjects that are free to come and go as they please and have fear for humans, where you have to work the land and the environment to try and obtain an image, straight from the wild so to speak. The group was a great mix of people, from all over the UK at varying levels of competencies and were really good company.
We had some amazing light on the second morning of the workshop. We met at 5am in the pitch black of the morning and there was a low lying mist, but above I could see the world’s atlas as I call it, the stars, so I knew this would clear as we made our accent. I had gone through some key elements to wildlife photography the previous day in my presentation to the group. One of those elements was ‘light’. Find it, work with, and create your image alongside what light you have. So after a 40 minute accent in total darkness, guided by our small tourches we reached the area in which the grouse, hare and other wildlife of the Peak District make their home in.
Straight away over to the east the sun was just beginning to force its way up, burning off that surrounding mist and exposing a warm, wonderful glow to the area. I quickly saw a silhouette of a Red Grouse, let the whole group know and watched as they all used fieldcraft, slow movements and got themselves into place, went through the settings, checking shutter speed and so forth, using the key skills and elements I’d touched on the previous day.
The images above show that wonderful moment and all of the group had at least one image, capturing several elements that came together during the few minutes this grouse allowed us into his life. Light, colour, silhouette, composition and exposures all working together to produce a lovely and different image, what a great start to the day. I couldn’t have asked for more for the clients. I wanted to try and capture some of the colours and shapes of the clouds during this amazing moment so I used a wide angle to try and focus on the bird while showing the colours. He took off not long after and you can just make him out over to the left, very small in the frame with blurred wings. It gives you an idea though of the wonderful site the group had that morning.
During the morning we were all treated to many different encounters as the heathland and moors came to life. Grouse flying, landing, settling down on rocks to call and state their claim to a given area, wondering who these shadowy figures were at that time of the morning, moving around this beautiful and unique environment. Rain and mist came in afterwards, so we all took shelter and waited for the visibility to improve and for the mist to go away, which it did sometime later and the sun shined all day there afterwards.
The group followed the advice I’d given the day before on another real key element within wildlife photography, fieldcraft! Approach with care, stay low, and see and read the signs on the ground in front of you, look for light and above all respect the subject more than any photograph. All the group were brilliant and got some amazing encounters and images through their hard work , ‘you only get out what you put in’. This is the key.
After lunch the group were free to explore for themselves, put into practice skills and tips I embedded throughout those two days and it was really good to see them all going about their own work and capturing some lovely images with strong composition, good use of natural light and above all listening and watching wildlife to build a picture of whats happening around you.
Being in the wild really showed the guys how to capture images using fieldcraft and watching and listening to wild animals in their own environments. This is the only true and real way people will learn this key skill I believe. When I met up with the bosses at Calumet Photographic I stressed that I would only like to work among nature, showing people key elements you must learn and use to be able to photograph wildlife. After the two days I think the whole group enjoyed those two days, learning and benefiting so much this way, which is my main aim when delivering this beauty of wildlife workshop to the public.
A big thank you to all the clients for your time and efforts during the two days. I really hope you got a lot from the days and learned something new. You were all great on the second day and looking back now you can see through the images you captured why the early start was so important to capturing lovely images of wildlife.
I have another two wildlife workshops planned in conjunction with Calumet Photographic, Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd January and Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th March, with other ideas for the spring including a 2 day workshop in the beautiful county of Norfolk, photographing the spring coming alive with wildlife. More details will be posted on Calumets events site very soon and I will update my blog when they are finalized.
Also many of the workshop participants hired camera equipment on the day from Calumet which worked really well for the clients, so if you’d like to attend and hire your equipment then just speak to Calumet, Manchester and it can all be arranged for you when you turn up as their service is excellent. The same goes with the many wonderful workshops I run here in the UK and abroad where you can hire from your nearest Calumet dealer before you come on any of my workshops should you wish to hire. For details of prices and rates contact your nearest branch on the link here.
Calumet, Manchester have a Autumn open day on the 9th November where I will be in attendance to help or answer any queries or questions about wildlife photography, they have lots of other things going on that day including a free camera sensor clean, special offers along with some brilliant companies offering advice and help. So if you are in the area pop in to say hello.
These workshops have been included in this months BBC Wildlife magazine as part of their photographic tours/trips, again for the second year running along with one of my favourite images of a Barn Owl hoovering and hunting as their main image, covering two pages 112-113 of the October issue, it looks amazing, or you can view online here and last years, where have the last 12 months gone. Many thanks again to all the clients who booked, it was nice to meet you all and thanks for a great two days.
A selection of my photographs have been chosen to form part of the online gallery of the highly prestigious and respected BBC Wildlife magazine; Discover Wildlife. Showing a few of my favourite images taken in the wild, capturing private and personal moments with my camera. I contacted the editor many months ago and was informed that there was a long waiting list and thought know more of it after submitting my images. Then a welcome email this week confirming that they are up was a lovely surprise. So a big thank you to Sophie, the editor and her team who were very helpful.
During the last few days alongside my own work, I visited the county of Norfolk for the predicted spring tide, with an early drive to meet clients at 4am. We then head out onto the beach in readiness for this amazing event.
There was good activity earlier on out on the mudflats, with good numbers of Dunlin and Knot all congregating together. Still having the remains of their summer plumage visible which gave a splash of colour within this mudflat environment. Alongside these waders were the Oystercatchers, whose number grow as the weeks pass. The weather was kind in parts but the lack of light at times quashed our shutter speeds during the morning. The weather picked up during the rest of the day in Norfolk.
Once the sea has consumed the land the birds fly around in an almost panic state before settling into the pools or pits as they are better known, in front of the hides located there, which are provided by the RSPB. Upon settling down and looking out of our chosen hide we were greeted by hundreds of Waders, Dunlin and Knot all gathered on shingle banks, moving one way then the next, with more birds coming in all the time from the mudflats.
These offer them a safe place to roost in, rest and relax until the spring tide starts to retreat, exposing the vast areas of mudflats, where the sea has replenished the whole area with food brought in by the incoming tides. I wanted to try and convey all the movement, shapes and sights of these waders, so I focused right into the heart of the action using a tele-convertor along with my long lens.
Its then you get to see their numbers and sheer power, feeling the force as they take off from these pools. The noise is amazing and the sheer power of one of natures most amazing spectacles has to be seen to be believed. It’s always great to witness when clients haven’t seen this amazing spectacle, people are amazed as they witness this event in nature and all the drama it brings to these Norfolk shores a couple of times a month.
We all had a great day and the weather was really kind which is something I always wish for clients to have on their day. I have been running these great days now for sometime, where each month there are a few dates when this amazing event happens, so if you wish to make an enquiry or book, then send me an email here and I will get back to you with dates, spaces etc.
These One To Ones can be run on an individual basis or as a two to one as in Ian and Marie-Laure’s case. Big thank you to you both and I hope you enjoyed your day with me having learned more about wildlife photography.
I attended this amazing visual and inspiring event again this year alongside friend and designer/director of Traxwatch; Kevin Bromley. We were both amazed and inspired by the images presented by the different photographers from around the world. Some very breathtaking images and a few firm favourites for me were the Bird Of Paradise images from Tim Laman . They were stunning and I particularly liked the way in which he captured these images by climbing into the tops of the trees. It was also great to see the locals building a hide there and watching the sun rise over the jungle valley beneath him was truly brilliant and something I love to do one day in my own work being a trained climber/abseiler.
Kai Fagerström images where amazing too, telling a lovely story of abandoned houses being reclaimed by mothernature and becoming home to many animals including Badgers. His image was a prize-winner in the 2010 Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, and for more than ten years, he has photographed badgers and other animals active at twilight in the area around his Finnish home, and for the past few years he has recorded the twilight and nocturnal activity of the wildlife inhabiting abandoned houses amazing, I really loved these images.
Nice also to speak to Joe Cornish I found his landscapes truly inspiring and learned a lot from his presentation. I don’t do a lot of landscape photography as such but I do love to capture a animal within their natural landscape which is very important to my work and watching and listening to Joe’s presentation was very interesting. It made me look at an image in a different manner to that of one with a living subject in. A recent image of mine in this years British Wildlife Photography Awards 2010 called ‘Frosty Morning’has been included in their book which illustrates this ethos perfectly.
The image was of a male Barn Owl quartering a field where the landscape formed a big part of the image for me, it was taken during the recent cold spell at the beginning of the year which stayed with us for several months while many animals suffered to find food. The background was frozen solid and was in the shade at the time I took the image, compared to the rest of the image which was in the morning sunlight. The Owl was hunting as temperatures where around -8oc, he did survive the cold spell though which was great news.
Really nice to meet up with Charlie Hamilton James again after the Birdfair and I am looking forward to seeing him again in the new year when hopefully he’s going to help me with my underwater photos of Kingfishers, which he is the master of. A great show and nice to meet alot of nice people while we were there. It was great for Kevin also with his remote camera system Traxwatch creating a lot of interest. Kevin has chosen me to be one of the wildlife photographers to put this equipment through its paces and also promote this brilliant piece of kit along with Charlie, where it captures video, time lapse, freezes images and much,much more so really looking forward to trying this style of photography I have not used in the past. Also really great to see one of my Barn Owl images on his product, which is brilliant and I wish you all the luck Kevin.
Yesterday I was back to what I love, acompanied by Steve where we photographed the Red and Fallow Deer in the morning light which was beautiful, always on the look out for a different image. I captured this very soft and delicate looking young Fallow Deer feeding among this woodland. I waited for him to pass through the few shafts of light penetrating the tree canopy to capture him in the amazing sunlight, the image can be seen below, thanks for a great day Steve and a few surprises there from folks along the way.
There is a wonderful link that has just been sent to me from the BBC Wildlife Magazine, where it lists Photography courses for all and you’ll see another one of my Barn Owls images on my very popular advert I have with them , the link can be seen here. Have a look around the site, there’s some amazing images with great help and advice on lots of different topics.
