Entries Tagged ‘One To One Wildlife Photography’:

I will be running one day “Rutting Deer“ workshops in the month of October to coincide with the Autumn Rut where you will have the chance to photography both Red and Fallow Deer going through their rut. The day will last from dawn until dusk and they can be taken on a one to one basis or up to a group of 4 where the price comes down. Most of the locations are in the central area of England.

The autumn colours and the Deer’s make for an amazing backdrop and one I look forward to each year. The day will consist of fieldcraft, use of natural light, and learning about your subject and what to watch and look for, camera help and advice getting the most from your day and equipment and so on. The dates are as follows –

October 4th- 25th, some of those dates have gone so if you’d like to no more information email me on the following link.

Two images from my trip to India this year, we came across this male Tiger almost straight away as our morning drive began at 6am. We followed him from a safe distance as he traveled through the forest using this dirt track, occasionally stopping to scent mark. As he was walking I saw his paws and feet and angled my camera down from the small jeep we were driving in and I caught one of his paws and a bit of dirt flying up.

For me one of my favorite images of this year’s trip. In death the Indian people kiss the Tigers feet before they are cremated if this is possible out of a great respect and love for the animal. Through this image I pay my own respects to these beautiful animals.

I have a few places still available for my 2015 trip to Ranthambhore, one of the best places in India to see wild Tigers. During your week there you will have 12 safaris, 2 clients per jeep where I rotate myself through the two jeeps each day. One safari in the morning and one later on in the afternoon. If you’d like to join me then see the following link for all the information, trip reports from my previous tours there with clients, many thanks.

First Week – Sunday 12th April 2015 – Sunday 19th April 2015.

Second Week – Monday 20th April 2015 – Monday 27th April 2015

My 2015 trip details HERE.

It was Global Tiger day recently and several of my Bengal Tigers taken in India were used for 21 Century Tiger charity for their campaign. A charity I have donated images too and raised money through he sale of several limited prints since 2010. To see those images where 50% of the profits go directly to this charity that helps wild Tigers survive in the wild see the following link.

Really excited to announce a brand new photo tour for 2015. Lekking Black Grouse and Capercaillie where the males fight with other males over their territory and the right to have all the ladies. Then Wolves, Bears and Wolverines plus Golden Eagles and more if we have the time set against the snowy background of Finland, a few miles from the Russian border.

Those that follow my work will no what an amazing trip we all had to this special place in July of this year which you can see by clicking here. I will be returning to this amazing place in the first week of May 2015 so if you’d like to photograph this amazing event in natures calendar then see the following link

Lots of One to Ones booked in over the next several months and they kick off next week with two days. My Spring-Tide and Barn Owl one day workshops start this month where you can witness this amazing event in nature on the Norfolk coast, Then after lunch and a brew we head to one of several Barn Owls sites I visit and take clients to. If you’d like to see more information on these days and book then see the following link.

My Stunning Shetland photo tour dates are now up too and also for 2015. After the success of the last two years there with clients I’m running this again in June 2015. To see the trip and all the information see the following link.

I am running a whole week on Shetland where we will be concentrating purely on Otters. Fieldcraft, use of light, tracking, looking for clues and signs of Otters and much more on this week long trip. To see this trip click on the following link.

I have a few places for my 14 day photo tour to the Falkland’s in February 2015. We visit some of the best places there to see and photography the beautiful wildlife they chose to live on these spectacular islands for wildlife.  See this link for all trip details and booking.

Finally I’m catching up with lots of one to ones and here are a few images from recent one to ones with clients. Thank you for your company and I hope you all enjoyed you days. To see what One to Ones I offer or to book please see the following link .

I look forward to meeting all new and old clients over the next several months, thank you to everyone who has booked and your company. If you have anything you want more advice on then please send me a message here, many thanks.

Being among  nature is a place I belong and feel most at easy at so its been great to get back out with my camera recently to start photographing the beautiful wildlife on the lead up to spring, the favorite time of year for me. With the issues with rain and flooding over the last several weeks it has delayed some of the projects I have planned for this year. The rain though, fingers crossed seems to have given us the worst and as many communities are still underwater around the UK my sympathies go to them.

Wildlife hasn’t had a great time either with vast areas of the countryside underwater where many animals have suffered like illustrated with the images above of a Short-eared Owl trying to hunt but for miles around all the fields with flooded, quite a sad and upsetting thing for me to see as I really felt for this owl while I recently watched him to to hunt.

I have started working on my Great Crested Grebes project, a bird I love, their elegant pose, their beautiful markings and stunning plumage makes them one of the most handsome water dwelling birds in the UK in my eyes. They are the largest of the European Grebes and during the spring and summer they are such a striking bird, with their spectacular head, ruff and spiky head tuffs when they greet each other or display during courtship.

Last year I photographed these birds at the same site but was unable to go back at the start of the breeding season due to commitments, so this year I’m hoping to capture them as they build their bond between each other and go through their amazing courtship dance where they dive for weed, surfacing with this in their bills and offer it to one another while sharply turning their heads back and forth.

In between the pouring rain there have been breaks in the weather and I have spent alot time there now, the lives of these amazing birds played out before me on each visit. They show real love and care for each other, when one goes out of sight the other calls in an attempt to locate its mate, such a strong bond which is so lovely to witness.

I am using a hide on the shore to photograph this pair of Grebes, just on the water’s edge and not in the water as this disturbs the birds and other species of animals around too much. Getting there before the sun comes up, with the dawn chorus as my companion, each bird jockeying for their own patch, staking their clam to that bit of land.

The are many species of birds there too, all starting to defend their patch so to speak, most are vocal from before dawn onward and there seems lots of fighting and warning  off others in readiness to find a lady and breed. I love to watch and capture animal behavior and by doing so you learn so much more about your subject over time. I managed to capture a full frontal of the male Goldeneye here, if luck is on your side and if you get the head face on they can have a real evil look to them as in the image below.

Canada Geese calling and fighting break the mornings silence many times during my recent visits there, I only wished these images had sound.It’s such an amazing time of day and one you greatly benefit from for being among its beauty and peace. The water levels are still high here so im hoping everything settles down and things can return to normal as soon as possible for people and wildlife really.

I really am hoping to spend as much time at this site over the next several weeks before I leave for Sumatra for two weeks where I will be working and shadowing the amazing work of SOCP – Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, headed up by Dr Ian Singleton, but more news on the very soon.

In the meantime I have some 2015 dates for my photo tours now up on my website click here to view them.  My One to Ones now in their fifth year are as popular as ever so if you’d like to learn more about everything from fieldcraft, to subject knowledge to your own photography then click here to see the places I visit with clients.

I will update my blog with more images from this site in due coarse, I wish you all well with the weather and the forthcoming season of Spring, many thanks.

The weather has been testing to say the least since Christmas, with driving rain, gales, and flooding to many areas of the UK. On top of which mild temperatures with little sign of cold or snow on the horizon.  I have had to put back and re-book many one to ones and workshops just because the weather has been so unpredictable.

More alarming though I’ve started seeing birds acting as though its Spring almost , singing and defending territories in readiness for their partner and nest building. It was almost the same pattern last year until alot of wildlife got caught out around March/April time with snow, frost and freezing temperatures. I only hope nature doesn’t get caught out once more.

I have managed a few one to ones over the last few weeks though,and this cute, soaked Water vole was one such day.  His little face here really is a picture as he kept my client and I company for an hour or so on a rain-soaked windy day last week.

And my Dippers are in full song on many of the rivers I visit throughout the Peak District too and my client had a wonderful day watching, learning and photographing these amazing birds.

I have been lucky enough though on some days to be in the right place with the right weather, or should I say a break in the weather. My Barn Owl project was ground to a halt with the conditions but over the last week or so I have seen both adults around and managed a few photos this being one of my favorites.

Barn Owls are having a tough time of it of late, with several cold winters, now with wet weather and flooding fields and also poisoning issues around the country this beautiful, iconic bird of the UK has its back against the wall and seems to be in real danger. To find out more about what you can do to help the Barn Owl Trust click here.  Its a charity I help with my images, a number of which are in their current handbook that helps farmers and landowners to manage their land better and live with Barn Owls.

Another firm favorite owl of mine and one I was luckier enough to see in the last few days too is the Short-eared Owl. This perch had been put in a few days ago by another photographer and the owl had started to use it to land on. I placed my hide not far from this perch in an attempt to get a nice close up portrait. As the sun came up this owl woke and started to hunt and I was very surprised as I was all set for the long wait because they mainly hunt in the late afternoon.But as you can see by the angle of the light this was the morning, with the light low on the bird which tells you what time of day it is.

I don’t no who was more surprised, me to see him or him to see me here. I shot through the dense reeds to hide alot of the imposing branch that was there and this was the result, giving a defused effect to the foreground. He stayed for a few moments, once I took a couple of images I just watched him as this was close and its often nice to watch rather than take photos I believe. I love his crazy looking eyes, bright yellow as he looked straight at me, such a handsome owl.

I really hope for all wildlife concerned that the weather improves and there’s not a nasty sting in its tail resulting in a spell of bad weather when nature least expects it. I wish you all luck in whatever you photography and please dont let the weather put you off as one minute its raining the next the sun comes up so always be ready. This Mute Swan was feeding in the dawn light, when I arrived at this site it was raining within fifteen minutes it had stopped and the sun came out so you never no, good luck.

As the trees lose their leaves and the countryside is turned in to a mosaic of stunning colours, animals all around the country are feasting on the bounty of food that is plentiful now, from berries to horse chestnuts, the countryside is a wash with food.  Birds starting to migrate to and from the UK with lots going on.  Over the last two weeks I have been to several different places throughout the UK with clients covering the Deer Rut, Red Squirrels and Short-eared  Owl.

One of the places I visit in the UK has a really good woodland area and when you walk through these woods with their well established and majestic trees there is always a lot of Deer activity around. With the Autumnal colours the Deer blend in so well within these habitats and their coats are beautiful to see, with clear markings throughout. All my clients got some amazing images from some great encounters over the last two weeks.

We had a mixed fortune with the weather after one of the wettest periods in autumn so far, but there is always an image to be taken I say not matter what the weather throws at you. Also over the last week or so I have visited my Red Squirrel site in the North west coastal region of the UK with clients booked in on my One to Ones. This whole area is managed by the wildlife trust who keeps an eye on the population of Red Squirrels that were almost wiped out 4 years ago.

Numbers are slowly increasing with the hard work and dedication of the local trust and volunteers.  We visit this site in the morning and then head to one of my Short-eared owl sights in the afternoon as this is one of the many duel-One to Ones I run. The full list can be seen here. These places are all built off the back of my extensive knowledge on these areas and time served there.

Every living animal for me has their own spirit, their own character and I really try to capture that within my work and try and show and get clients who come with me to see differently and to engage in the bigger picture which in turns makes for better images I believe. Unplanned, unscripted in its truest form, watching wildlife and capturing those briefest of moments when you witness their unique behavior, this is priceless.

These days have only just started so if you want to book on or see what I offer then please click on the following link. I have many other one to ones and workshops that carry on throughout the Winter offering a real encounter with nature.

I do have a few spaces free due to a cancellation on my Tigers of India tour next April. I have been going to India since 2009 and working with the same guys year in and its an amazing trips where clients have some amazing images and times. To see this trip and past blog posts of what we got up to click on the following link and I hope you can join me next year, many thanks.

A good Photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. Four years ago today my website went live and I turned my childhood hobby into my profession. I don’t see this as work but a way of life for me.  My first blog post was about one of my images Family Life being commended in the British Wildlife Photography Awards- BWPA. It was the very first time I had entered any image into any form of competition and in the year that my website had launched it was a nice moment for me.

When I first started out I had no clue really how to work a computer, I had no knowledge of  working Digital cameras, no formal photography training or background, I had no business or marketing plan, no money and had to borrow and beg off credit cards. I brought a prime lens with what money I had saved from working on the mobile cranes and rope access work I did for a living before photography. I learned how to work my camera and get the best from it in a way that works on the ground. I learned how to process images really getting the image right in camera rather than changing it in Photoshop.

I knew I had alot of knowledge of wildlife, I had great skills in fieldcraft and approaching animals and my heart was always among nature. I set up a few workshops that took clients to places I had visited since I was a kid to see and photograph some of my favorite wildlife and so my business started and grew. I was one of the first to start One to Ones with clients, offering a real encounter with wildlife at the same time learning key skills to improve my clients own wildlife photography. I still run these and my other trips very successfully today.

I’d like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you for the support of my clients, editors, and people over the years that I have had the pleasure of working alongside. I am launching a photo competition today where the prize is a One to One with myself in the UK. With my ethics as the backdrop to this competition I want those that choose to enter to have captured a truly wild moment. No props, no perches, no animals made to do something in return for food. I just want a simple image taken by the photographer who used his/her own skills and knowledge.

During those four years I have tried and will continue too be as real with my images as possible. Capturing truly wild moments using my own skills rather than rely on bringing the subject to you through bait, food or using captive animals. In an age where you can almost buy any set-up image you want, choosing your perch or prop, setting the background. Where the animal is made to jump, fly,dive and stand on two legs and so forth in return for food and getting the paying guest his or her chosen image.

My wildlife photography was born out a sheer love and passion for nature from a young age. From those early days I spent so much time being at one with nature, close to and watching, hidden from view on the off chance I would see a certain animal. Learning to get close to wildlife without disturbing the life of the animal, almost forgetting the outside world and becoming part of the animal I was getting close to or watching. By doing this I could understand the animal better, gaining many skills by observing their behaviors at the same time giving the subject complete respect which allowed me a private window into their personal and private lives.

My images represent an event that occurred in the wild something that I witnessed and recorded with my camera. My skill lies in interpreting and presenting this in a way that invokes beauty, mood and emotion with each moment captured. Respect for wildlife has to be the first thing in any image obtained, love nature and she will give up her secrets to you.

The result is real images where the subject is completely relaxed by your presence.  At the same time the photographer will learn so much more about the subject and the environment in which the subject lives. You have to learn about your subject and fieldcraft to really embrace the world of wildlife I feel and in turn wildlife photography.

Wildlife photography for me is capturing a moment in the wild, I make no bones about disliking set up images, captive images or where the animal is made to do something in return for a reward, this is image making not true wildlife photography where the subject becomes a commodity in order to facilitate those paying guests.  Where the photographer has  given no real explanation to how and what was behind the image.

The photographer has a duty of care not only to the wildlife but also to the general public who view your work. And in my eyes if you do this for a living and you work in this manner than you should have the integrity to tell those that judge you how you got the image and what skills you used in the pursuit of such an image. Wildlife is not a commodity in which you use to make money from one minute then try and use it as a vehicle to promote your own interests and cause the next.

What I’ve always tired to offer with my workshops here in the UK and abroad is an experience, a true moment in nature where you have learned how to work the land, learned abit about the subject and other skills. The hope is you go home afterwards and apply these skills learned and apply them to your own photography, this is my aim and what’s behind my workshops/trips.

Those clients that have spent time with me really benefit from this approach and learn much more in my eyes. Many have wrote their own thoughts on my Testimonials page which can be seen here.

So with all this in mind I have launched my competition today and its meant to empower those that enter to work in a more ethical way, love wildlife first and foremost and the rest will fall into place I believe.  Its open to anyone and by showing a total understanding of your craft and the ethics behind the image you send in.  I will look forward to seeing all these images and the winner will learn more of what they have already demonstrated with their winning image.

Competition

The competition will run from the 1^st October until the 21^st October.  The winners will be announced by Friday 25th October. You don’t have to have any fancy camera gear, or be a pro or think you’re not good enough if you think you have a nice shot your proud of and its a truly wild moment then enter. The prize is the One to One day with me. Where I will show you everything I know, how I work and it will be fun at the same time very rewarding in terms of knowledge shared and fieldcraft learned.

Please email/message your image at 600 x 600 and 72dpi to my Craig Jones Wildlife Photography facebook page here.

The rules are very simple:-

1. Anyone, any standard may enter the competition.
2. Only one entry per person.
3. The competition is open only to UK residents.
4. Your image must be completely wild were nothing has been changed by the hand of man.
5. The competition will run from October 1st until Monday 21^st October.
6.  The winner will be announced by Friday 25th October.

I would then like a brief explanation of the story behind the image as I am very strong on this and again it tells the full story to those not lucky enough to have been there when the image was taken.

Good Luck to everyone who enters.

As the continued mix of extreme cold weather, then rain seems to be staying with us, this in turn has added a great deal to the photographs my clients and myself have captured over the last two weeks, where the weather has changed animal behaviors, added impact and drama, with the only slight drawback, that its colder and the roads are more difficult to drive on. Nature always finds a way through any hardship and a motto that was taught while I was a serving soldier was- Improvise-Adapt-Overcome. A saying that is well suited to natures power to overcome anything.

With the weather in the UK still presenting wildlife with some very testing conditions I find nature always gives off her beauty whatever the weather. I will be sad to leave behind the Barn Owls that I’m currently working on. Hoping that on my return the UK wildlife won’t have had more rain and flooding to contend with. For me though rain or shine nature always shines and makes me smile whatever the weather.

I’m heading to one of Europe’s most mountainous countries, Slovakia, leading two trips for Tarta Photography. I will be photographing Brown Bears within the Carpathian Mountains so I’ll be a little quiet on my blog for the next two weeks. Really looking forward to the trip and meeting clients during this time, where I hope to bring you more on this amazing trip upon my return home.

I’ve had a few one to ones over the last several days amongst my own work, photographing Red Grouse, high up on the moors of the Peak District. Also Dippers, where some river levels have risen and the wildlife have either moved or drown, which is incredibly sad. On the days my clients booked we braved the weather reports and were treated with sunny but at times wet weather.

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After rain there always comes wonderful and very usable light for photography so sometimes it’s just worth taking a chance, where fortune often favours the brave, and those weather fronts I like to study turn out wrong sometimes.

Some of the moors are just starting to show some colours now, in full bloom it can be just a carpet of soft purples covering vast areas, making a wonderful back drop to the grouse. I have a number of workshops during the best times, so if you’d like to join me, learn more about these iconic birds and at the same time learn fieldcraft and how best to approach these birds then click here to see these ever popular days I run.

Many thanks to my clients for your company, where the gamble paid off and everyone got some very nice images of their chosen subjects.  The message here is work with what you have and the wet weather fronts can pass as quickly as they arrive, but wildlife will still have to feed to stay alive. For more information on my one to ones I run throughout the year and at the varoius locations I know well around the UK, then please click here to be taken to this page.

Dates for my talks in 2012/13 covering a wide variety of my work are filling up fast, so if your a camera club, organisation or chairty that would like to see beautiful images of wildlife, whats behind the images and my work then contact me for more details and rates, many thanks.

The onset of spring cannot be denied now, with the warming temperatures, lighter evenings and the morning dawns becoming earlier. Spring is almost up on us, though there may be many false dawns before the days of frost and grey fog are behind us. Over the last week at many of the places I have visited alone and with clients there has been a real air of spring, with birds singing their hearts out, making the dawn corus truly deafening.

Spring is the best time for me, with nature coming into its own from months of dormant inactivity, where as each day passes changes are ever present, a truly beautiful time and one I encourage everyone to just sit somewhere and listen, watch as nature is unfolding.

Birds sing to attract a mate, showing off their pristine plumage where nothing is out of place or left to chance. Lighter morning and evenings add more opportunities for things to grow, bringing everything to life that lives. For me there is no better time to watch and photograph wildlife from wetlands, reed beds, lakes to rivers this time of year will provide marvelous wildlife watching opportunities where you will see different behaviors in wildlife not seen most of the year. The key time for me is when the clock goes back in a few weeks and we gain more light in the mornings and evenings, from this point on it only gets better in my eyes.

Spring is seen as a time of growth, renewal, of new life a wonderful time of year within nature’s calendar. The axis of the earth during Spring is increasing its tilt toward the sun and the length of daylight rapidly increases along with the temperatures the result being new life, growth and longer days.. Animals and birds begin breeding, building homes in readiness for their young.

Catching the season moving from winter into spring is a beautiful time of year.  It’s a complete paradise to be among its beauty at this special time of year, witnessing the countryside awaken from its dormant winter state. The words spring and springtime bring thoughts of life, birth and regrowth to our countryside. A special time for wildlife, where all species are looking their best.  The odd frosty night and cold morning thrown in to confuse and disorient the wildlife is always on the cards but one of the mildest winter s we’ve had is behind us all now I feel.

So make the most of this amazing time and get out into nature as much as you can over the next couple of months and you won’t be disappointed. Thank you to my clients who’ve attended my one to one wildlife photography days over the last couple of weeks. Where I have taken them to some of my favorite places around the UK witnessing the wildlife and also this wonderful change in the seasons, good luck to you all.