Simon Litten Photography

From the archives: Brown Hare

2012-01-30T08:16:00.000-08:00

An old shot from 2008 taken about two minutes after setting up. It's great when this happens: if you get a shot early on it takes the pressure off and you can relax knowing that if you don't see anything else for the rest of the day you've got one in the bag already.

This was taken using a 100-400mm lens zoomed out to just 275mm. I could smell him!

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Gap in distant hedge-line filled in!

Glamorous sticks

2012-01-28T02:02:00.000-08:00

In between sessions with the barn owl yesterday (one good, one bad) I took advantage of the bright day and worked on the garden birds a little more. I was able to shoot with the luxury of a small aperture and a clean iso for a change and opted to shoot using a background of a stubble field a quarter of a mile away to really make the subjects pop and give them a studio feel. The clouds moving across the sky had an ever-changing effect on the background to give a little variety to the shots.

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Barn Owl Chasing

2012-01-27T01:38:00.000-08:00

All did not go to plan with my local barn owl (in terms of distance he's barn owl number 2 - a ten minutes walk away). In fact he led me on a merry old dance! He'd start hunting in one field, I'd get myself set-up on the edge, start tracking him in the viewfinder and he'd fly in to the next field, out of sight behind a hedge. I'd relocate to that field, again get myself set-up on the edge, track him in the viewfinder only to see him return to the first field again! An hour and a half he toyed with me like this. Back and forth, back and forth...Pesky little devil!

It'll do for a first attempt though.

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However, first thing this morning, I looked out the kitchen window and spied another one (barn owl number one - a five minute walk away) hunting in the field opposite. What followed was a mad dash to get camo'd up, grab the camera gear and race down the road to my pre-planned vantage point. I was treated to one fly-by before it crash landed onto a vole and then sped off with its breakfast into a nearby barn.
I managed four shots: three in the sequence were out of focus and one was okay - the price I pay for keeping the 1.4x attached. Still, I only need the one shot to be sharp (although, to be honest, the beaks a little soft, I'm assuming he twitched!)
I don't take many shots that I export from Lightroom without making any changes but this is one of them. All it's had is a tickle of the Shadow/Highlights tool in Photoshop.

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Wet birds

2012-01-26T01:16:00.000-08:00

A few more shots from my day in a wet hide on a wet day watching wet birds! Kicking off with my favourite, again mainly because it's a greenfinch. They're priceless birds that look thoroughly pissed off at the best of times, throw in a downpour and it's a match made in heaven!

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The weather should be perking up for the next few days so I'm going to be on a barn owl quest - before I become known as a 'bird on a stick' photographer! After much searching I think I've found out where my local barnie roosts for the day. When I found it the other evening I stayed to watched him quartering the neighbouring fields when I heard a familiar bird call coming from just behind me. It couldn't be, could it? I turned around and there, perched on the upright branch of a fallen tree, was a kingfisher!

It flew off along a shallow dyke that looks like an ideal nesting site and there's some fishing lakes about 500yds away. All very promising. Watch this space!

High ISO Greenfinch

2012-01-25T03:16:00.000-08:00

I spent much of the day yesterday shooting at the feeding station in the rain. Light was, as you'd expect, minimal yet I wanted to shoot with a high enough shutter speed so that the falling rain drops didn't appear too long and streaky in the final image. I also wanted to shoot at f7.1 one for a reasonable depth of field. This all meant that I had to dial in iso1600 (now I know Nikon users will be going Pah! That's nothing! but I'm on a Mark 3 canon where it can be an issue when shooting for stock).

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In this situation my approach to getting a marketable file is thus:

Get the exposure cock-on when you take the shot, over-expose if anything but you don't want to end up having to push the RAW file and introducing even more noise as you're on a slippery slope then.
In Lightroom I only drag the luminance noise slider up to 15 and the detail slider to 70. I'm not interested in cleaning up the background I just want to tidy up the subject a little.
After exporting the resultant tiff to Photoshop I make a selection of the background and go to work on this with the Noise Ninja plug-in.
The resultant image is, as you can see from the close crop, clean and detailed and good to go.

Crop

More rainy day shots tomorrow.

From the archives: Reed Bunting

2012-01-23T04:42:00.000-08:00

I'm still sifting through my portfolio and readying shots for the new website - a tedious task when the sun is shining outside!

This shot was from a few years back when I spent the morning with some local bird ringers who let me get portrait shots of the birds before they released them. An incredibly knowledgeable bunch of guys who taught me an awful lot in a short time.

Most of the shots from the day needed a little cropping to remove the ringers thumbs! The perfect lighting was provided courtesy of the reflected light coming of the snow covered ground.

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70-200mm +1.4x + 25mm extension tube

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Not bloody more...

2012-01-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

I'm nothing if not predictable! Was really trying for the blue tits today as I'd set up a sprig of holly for them. They, on the other hand, had other ideas. Goldfinches abound at the moment so they felt the rough end of my lens instead.

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The other day I moved around to the other side of the feeders to try for some shots with a different background. Still undecided about it.

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The blogs going to be quiet until Monday - I'm going walkabout!

A continuation...

2012-01-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

More of the same from yesterday...

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And to finish, my favourite shot of the day...just cause it's a greenfinch! Great birds that always look angry and spoiling for a scrap!

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I'll be specifically targeting the blue tits next. When you see the perch you'll understand why!

PS This is my 400th blog entry. Doesn't time fly?!!!

Finch frenzy

2012-01-17T11:07:00.000-08:00

Bagged another shedful of finch shots today. Here's a few of them, I'll spread the rest out of the next couple of days.

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Frosty Morn

2012-01-16T10:40:00.000-08:00

Nice frost this morning, which meant the birds were more than grateful for the selection on offer at the feeding station.
The rising sun broke through the hedge in places and this became a feature in most of the mornings shots.

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More of the same

2012-01-15T09:51:00.000-08:00

'Orrible light today for shutter speeds!

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I'm gonna go for a different style tomorrow. A change of perch and the subject smaller in frame. Had a quick play with the new set up at last light today. Think it'll make for some nice shots if the light is right. I'm also going to work from the opposite side to give them completely different background.

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Back to green

2012-01-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

Same place, different time of day and the background is a more traditional muted green.

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Not overly keen on the focus drop-off along the greenfinches back but I can live with it - one of the hazards of working at such close quarters to fill the frame I'm afraid. The shots work better when the subject is head-on so the that the focus drops off away from the viewer...like the next two.

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Back to Black

2012-01-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

When I was working with the kingfishers last year some of the most effective shots (to me anyway) were when I utilised the dark undergrowth of the bank opposite to create an almost black background, making the subject really stand out. With my new garden feeder site I have the chance to do the same again, but this time with the tits and finches.

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I think it really suits them and highlights just how beautiful they are. And I've decided that bramble makes for one of my favourite perches, although I think I want it a bit more curved. I'll put that right tomorrow - as my bloodied hands will no doubt testify!

From the archives: Linnet

2012-01-12T06:45:00.000-08:00

First off I'd like to apologise for all this dull weather we've been having lately as it appears that, when the sun IS shining, all I have to do is step outside with the camera and within five minutes it's as black as your hat! For everyone's sake I'll try to stay in for a few days!

I'm still prepping images for the new website. I'm working on stuff from the summer of 2010 at the moment, when I spent a few morning with a pair of linnets. I was obviously feeling a bit arty when I took this shot. It was taken through a whole in a bush which gives it the mushy surround.

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I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of these 'from the archive...' shots over the coming weeks as my strike rate so far for this year is abysmal!

From the archives: Bearded Tit

2012-01-11T05:03:00.000-08:00

As the long range forecast is for grey skies I'm taking advantage of the down-time and have begun constructing a new website (although the sun's out at the moment so I'll be hitting those yellowhammers shortly) so I'm trawling through my portfolio and readying images for upload. This means revisiting shots I'd forgotten about. Like this one of a female bearded tit. It's an example of my favourite type of shot: the subject is shown in its habitat with out the habitat over-powering the subject. It was very considerate of her to perch where the background was clear!

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Yellowhammers: W.I.P

2012-01-09T04:10:00.000-08:00

After much experimenting I've finally constructed a way of getting close to the damn yellowhammers. Now I just need them to start landing on the perches with the better backgrounds, some better light and the pheasant to stop walking over and scaring them off!

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ALTHOUGH THEY'RE NOT GREAT SO I WOULDN'T BOTHER!

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From the archives: Barn Owl

2012-01-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

A couple of barn owl shots from 2009 that I've reworked over the Christmas period as I was never happy with the originals. The second shot needed rotating a few degrees - filling the corners - and I've extended the canvas to improve the composition. Think it might make a nice print now.

Those barn owl faces...sometimes they're too human looking for my liking!

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Manipulated Full frame!

Thumb twiddling

2012-01-04T07:03:00.000-08:00

What with waiting in for furniture deliveries and the appalling weather, 2012 has hardly got off to the most productive of starts! I was a very frustrated bunny this morning when the light was perfect and my local barn owl was quartering the neighbouring field...and I couldn't leave the house because Interlink were due to deliver (they didn't turn up, obviously; they couldn't find the house apparently, despite the big signpost outside! Still, it's not as if they do it for a living!)

I did grab this crappy shot earlier...

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Like I said, a crappy shot - dull lighting, too busy a background, too slow a shutter speed, yada yada yada. But I did take it from the living room! This pleases me no end! He's a regular visitor though so I will get better (this shot's destined for the trash bin).

I did have a session with the yellowhammers that hang out by the bins. There's a bit of spilt grain there that draws in half a dozen of the little beauties constantly throughout the day, always first perching on the long grasses before flying to the ground to feed. So, confident that shots were there for the taking, I set up my chair hide one morning and readied myself for a busy few hours. After just ten minutes the first pair arrived. Excellent. A didn't want to start firing away and scare them off so I let them get settled in and just watched them feed. After a minute or so, as a tester, I fired the shutter once. No reaction. Great news, this is going to be easy. The pair finished feeding and then flew off. I set me exposure, sat back and waited for the next lot.

I didn't see another damn bird for the rest of the day!!

Pesky birds!

PS In the last week or so my agent's sold three of my images...for 2013 calendars! This year's flying by!!!

2011 Favourites Part 5: And finally...

2011-12-31T10:43:00.000-08:00

The last few shots from 2011 that made me grin when I opened them in Lightroom.

I got my 1d and 500mm lens back from servicing today so I'm ready to rock and roll again!!

2012? Bring it on!!!!

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Barn Owl

Greylag Geese at Dusk

Barn Swallow

Short-eared Owl

2011 Favourites Part 4: All The Small Things

2011-12-31T10:32:00.000-08:00

I've been really pleased with my progress regarding macro photography this year. The progress coming not from any improvement in my ability but in my attitude: it's not about getting close.

Whenever I used to strap on the macro lens the aim of the game for me was always to get as much of the frame filled with the subject as possible and, to be honest, it was a task I never enjoyed and, quite frankly, I was rubbish at it!

Nowadays I take a step back, keeping the subject small and shooting compositions exactly the same as I do when working with birds or mammals, looking for ways to include their terrain. It makes macro a joy for me now and something I really want to expand on in 2012.

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Grasshopper

Ladybirds

Ladybird

2011 Favourites Part 3: Fur Trade

2011-12-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

Had some good news today. I've had the camera and 500mm in for a service and they've got the all clear. Apparently the mirror box was a bit dirty - which would've affected the focusing - and a few other bits needed adjusting and tweaking but no repairs required, which means no hefty repair bill! So fingers crossed I'll be able to get back up to speed with my photography. Which is great because I've got yellowhammers feeding around my bins at the moment! I also spotted eight Roe Deer in the neighbouring field the other day and a Muntjac at the end of the driveway! So much to do!

Anyway, back to the 2011 review.

The mammal count was incredibly low this year when it comes to my photography. You really need to put the time in when it comes to mammals, which unfortunately circumstances would not allow.

At my last address I spent many years tracking the local hares and knew where to be at what time of the year to yield the best results, making them the most numerous subject in my portfolio. Of course, now that I've moved I'm going to have to start all over again! What joy!!

Here's a handful of my favourite furry things from the year.

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Brown Hare

Rabbit

Red Fox

2011 Favourites Part 2: Waters Edge

2011-12-26T14:20:00.000-08:00

Being a Norfolk Broads based photographer a lot of my work naturally leans towards wetland wildlife. It's great to be able to return to species like the Sedge Warbler year after year to witness and capture their lives in the ever-changing habitat as the seasons progress.

Here's a selection of some of the beautiful species on offer that I've been fortunate to frame in the viewfinder this year.

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Kingfisher

Sedge Warbler

Marsh Harrier

Little Grebe

Turnstone

Reed Bunting

Bittern

2011 Favourites Part 1: Garden Birds

2011-12-26T12:47:00.000-08:00

For me, 2011 was a bad year for photography. With an operation that left me out of action for months, selling a business AND moving house I was always struggling to find quality time with the camera. It was impossible for me - until the latter stages of the year - to indulge in any long-term projects as real life would always interrupt, so I just had to work close to home and in short sessions. I'm actually quite chuffed to have anything of merit to show for the year at all!

One of my goals for the year was to expand my portfolio on garden birds. This meant participating in the rather soul-less activity of feeding-station photography! For some reason I've never been a fan of this; my mind seems to drift off and I lose focus too quickly. I think it's the narrow field of view you have when sitting in a small hide - it's all a bit too blinkered for my liking. There's no thrill of the chase! It's the photography equivalent of the ready-meal! You know that every time you miss a shot an almost identical opportunity will arrive only minutes later and that by the end of the day your memory cards will be full of hundreds of slight variations of the same shot!

But I persevered and have become more accepting of the practice. I find it better if I have a target species - usually the marsh tit, at the moment though it's the greenfinch - and focus/obsess on that. Anything else is a happy distraction while I'm waiting. I find that if I approach a session with that mentality then I don't feel as if I'm going there's a bird, click, there's a bird, click...It puts a bit of pressure on me to nail a shot of the target bird. Hope all that makes sense - reading back it sounds like bollocks!

Anyway, here's a selection of some of my favourites for the year. If I did this selection tomorrow it would probably be completely different though! The dunnock shot is probably my preferred choice of the selection as it was taken under 'wild' conditions ie not a feeding station.

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Robin

Marsh Tit

Coal Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Great Tit

Dunnock

Blue Tit

Chaffinch

Blackbird

2011-12-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

A bonus shot whilst photographing the greenfinches the other day. I wasn't really geared up for such a 'large' bird so had to rotate the camera to portrait and then hope he'd manoeuvre himself into a position where I could fit him all in. He only just did it!

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The next few posts will be 'best of 2011' compilations. A good job as I won't have any new stuff to post over the next few days as the Christmas/new year shoots are taking place on the farm so I'm going to be keeping my head down!

Gr'inch at Christmas

2011-12-25T03:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, just to give my dust-gathering camera a workout, I stuck a couple of sticks into the ground next to my bird table and made merry with the mischievous greenfinches that descend en masse to ravage the sunflower hearts. They're great subjects to work with as they ooze personality and are always willing to hold a pose. And they look the business!

I could've chose better on the perch though!

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New beginnings

2011-12-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

First off, merry whatsit and all that...hence the robin shot in snow. Secondly, a brief update of what's occurring.

After many hours of swearing at BT to get one of their engineers to install a phone line at our new property we've finally got an internet connection. What's more we've got a mighty download speed of...wait for it...1.5Meg!!! Oh, the joys of living in the wilds of Norfolk - it's like being back on dial-up! I can live with it though as the other day I was standing in my living-room watching a barn owl hunting in a neighbouring field!

I've had little time for photography since moving in but I have been scouting the area as much as possible as the whole area's new to me. As you can see from the map I'm in the heart of arable farm land which is great for my two top wildlife loves: the afore mentioned barn owl and the secretive brown hare. I've spotted a few hares already and also located a number of their pathways through the hedgerows, which are always good places to start at. The barn owl seems to hunt over the same tussocky field every evening so he might be my first victim.

At the moment the area is awash with fieldfare and redwing so they'll be meeting the rough end of my lens in the near future. And, probably more exciting, I've already seen more bullfinches in the last couple of days then I've seen my entire life! Also I've found a couple of areas that reek of foxes!

So, with a kestrel frequently hovering next to the house and regular visits from sparrowhawks, my cup runneth over! I just hope I can do it all justice!

I remember when all this was fields!

Bittern MkII

2011-12-11T02:02:00.001-08:00

Here's a couple of bittern flight shots that I took the other day when I had the 1d MkIIn attached to my lens. In a series of about a ten shots these were the only two in sharp focus - a ratio that was still better than what I achieved with the MkIII that day!

I'm not a big fan of these shots - wings fully up or wings fully down is great, but when they're halfway....not so good. On the first shot I've moved some canvas from the right and added it to the left to de-centralize the subject. I hadn't intended on taking a shot at this point but my fingers were so numb from the cold I over-pressed on the shutter by mistake! Sods Law that it was one of the two in focus - the next image along was perfectly composed, wings in an upright position but blurry as a Sunday morning!

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The blog's going to be quiet for a week or so as I'm moving into the new house tomorrow and I'd don't have a phone line until next Friday. No internet for a week! How am I going to cope!!!

On a limb

2011-12-09T14:48:00.001-08:00

After taking 200 plus shots of marsh harriers yesterday with not one being sharp it's definitely looking like repair time for the camera gear - the fault seems to be getting worse. I also had indifferent results with the mkII attached so it might be a lens problem (or extender), but my money's on the camera.
I gave the camera a work out on the feeders to see how it handled static subjects and the results were also disappointing - far too many were soft (it's like I'm shooting wide open with a cheap lens, if you get me) but I did ace a few to make the day a little rewarding!

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More Marsh Harriers

2011-12-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

A couple more marsh harrier shots that haven't been rejected due to focus issues. I've dusted down my 1d MkIIn and I'll be duel shooting with that in the next session to see whether its the lens or the mkIII causing me problems. I've re-calibrated the mkIII once again to see if a slight tweak makes a difference and also spent an hour or so today re-familiarising myself with the mkII's controls so I don't stuff up in the field!

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Hide set-up

2011-12-07T12:52:00.001-08:00

Here's a shot of my hide set-up showing that unlike most (in fact everyone I've met!) I have my camera mounted on a tripod. As there's no centre column I can open two of the legs to their maximum and rest them on the ledge. The third leg is then extended right down to the floor to give me a stable support for the 500mm lens. The only problem with the set-up is that I have to raise the 'floor leg' higher than the other two legs to bring the lens high enough to fit through the window, this means that when I swivel the camera from side to side it moves in an arc instead of a straight line. To counter this I keep the lens collar loose so that I can rotate the camera to keep the horizon straight. Sometimes though I don't quite get it right and the image looks like something off Ski Sunday!!
And yes, that is a fluffy cushion that I sit on. And yes, I am a big girls blouse!

iphone

Here's one of the few shots I managed to get on Tuesday and is a rarity for me in that you can actually see the Marsh Harriers eye!

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During Tuesday's mammoth non-starter of a day I was at least was treated to this site of a female otter and two cubs swimming past the hide on the opposite side of the lagoon. No chance of a good shot but a good memory!

Hugely cropped crappy 'show & tell' shot!

Blue Tit

2011-12-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

As you can see from this blue tit shot, Tuesdays mission with the bitterns and marsh harriers was a complete disaster! With just one distant bittern sighting and the harriers also keeping their distance photographic opportunities were zilch. Disheartened, I stopped at the feeders on the way out just to get something from the day and caught this chappy on his way to the sunflower hearts. Beautiful creatures, as are most garden birds, and always a joy to see in the viewfinder.

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Bitterns & Harriers

2011-12-05T10:14:00.001-08:00

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My assault on the bittern and marsh harrier community continued today.

This beautiful bittern fly-by was the definite highlight of the morning, stunning to see at close quarters in the morning light. These first two shots needed rotating a little (due to my hide set-up which I'll blog about at some point), but again, like before, instead of cropping in after rotation I've filled in the blank corners, that way I don't have to interpolate the finished file.

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As the morning progresses the distant sky line becomes brighter and more washed out in the exposure, which is fine when the bird is big in the frame, but when the sky is an integral part of the composition it's nice to be able to breathe some life into in by processing it as a separate layer in photoshop and bring out the detail. Such is the case with these next two shots.

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Here's a mouseover image so you can see a 'before and after' on the last shot to get an idea of the changes.

Marsh Harriers

2011-12-04T10:12:00.001-08:00

Another couple of marsh harrier shots. I've been shooting at f9 whenever possible as I've not been happy with the cameras focusing. I've spent some time today recalibrating the lens so hopefully I'll start getting some better results tomorrow. Once I'm settled into the new gaff I think job one will be to get the camera/lens calibrated professionally - no point having pro gear that's not race tuned!

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700mm f9 1/1250 iso640

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700mm f9 1/1250 iso640

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Bittern Habitat

2011-12-03T13:57:00.001-08:00

An extreme 'in habitat' shot today constructed from two frames joined side by side. I think it's a good idea but I reckon the pose from the bittern could be a little better and maybe I should have composed him a little higher in the frame. As I concept though I think it works so perhaps I'll have another bash at something similar in the coming week.

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700mm f5.6 1/400 iso800

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Hide Life

2011-12-02T11:37:00.001-08:00

I may have gone a little soft in all the mild weather we've had lately as I was bloody freezing sitting in the hide today! And there was hardly a frost this morning - god help me when winter really kicks in!

Here's the latest offering on my marsh harrier/bittern vigil. Things seem to be progressing nicely on the bittern front as I'm getting a good variety of shots, but on the harrier front I just seem to be replicating the same shot all the time. I need a little bit of luck or a lightning bolt of inspiration to move things along.

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700mm f6.3 1/400 iso800

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Marsh Harrier

2011-11-30T15:12:00.001-08:00

An absolute rubbish day in the hide at Strumpshaw Fen. Very little was moving around the reserve and when it did it was distant and brief. Still, I'm there again tomorrow and things can only get better, although the forecast is for overcast skies so no nice morning light for me!

700mm f6.3 1/400 iso800

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Strumpshaw stuff

2011-11-29T16:08:00.001-08:00

A few more shots from the Strumpshaw hides. Nothing award winning but good for stock.

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It's such a pisser when you get a shot of a marsh harrier in a good pose that's nicely composed and it turns out to be the scruffiest bird in Norfolk!!

700mm f7.1 1/1000 iso640

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700mm f7.1 1/1000 iso640

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There's one part of the reserve that offers a nice woody backdrop and I'm desperate to get a good shot of a marsh harrier against it. This next image is the best so far but falls way short of what I want. I'll keep trying though!

700mm f7.1 1/1000 iso640

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Bitterns Galore

2011-11-28T15:32:00.001-08:00

Spent the day encamped in the hides at Strumpshaw Fen yesterday. I had twelve bittern fly-bys in total (not twelve different bitterns I hasten to add), most were at a distance but a few were close enough for me to get on. Worth the dawn start and freezing fingers!

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700mm f7.1 1/1000 iso640

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700mm f7.1 1/1000 iso640

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700mm f7.1 1/1000 iso640

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Canvas taken from the right and added to the left

to de-centralize comp.

Starlings didn't perform...again!

Hide 'n' seek

2011-11-27T11:07:00.001-08:00

I've spent much of the last two days in a hide at Strumpshaw Fen in Norfolk. To be honest it's not been a very productive use of my time as few opportunities have presented themselves, or when they have I've been distracted eg showing someone how to use manual exposure on there camera when a bittern flies by 40ft in front of the hide!
My main goal has been the 40'000 strong starling roost but thus far conditions have not been right for them to do their flocking thang! They've been flying in and going straight down into the reed beds instead. Still, I'm here for a fortnight so they should perform at some point. Shouldn't they?!
Here's a few ropey shots of what's been on offer. Because I'm stopping in a holiday cottage I'm having to process the images on my computer and then transfer them to the lap top so I can upload them via wifi, so the shooting details are from memory as the exif data's been stripped from the files

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700mm f7.1 1/1000 iso640

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SEO Update II

2011-11-24T03:06:00.001-08:00

No sign again of the short-eared owls yesterday. So frustrating as the light was perfect in the morning and there's sod all else to photograph at the vantage point I'm using! I'll be moving on tomorrow to the next holiday cottage so today's my last chance at getting any more shots. **UPDATE** Just got back - nothing there. D'oh!

Here's a couple of shots, one from the weekend and one from four years ago.

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700mm f7.1 1/1000 iso800

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This older shot was a complete surprise as I'd pitched the hide next to the tree stump to photograph a pair of barn owls that were using it on a regular basis. Couldn't believe my luck when I saw this chap through the viewfinder. I got two shots: this one and another where you can only see his feet as he flies out of frame! So I've been waiting a long time to have another go at this species so it's gut-wrenching to have my time with them cut short by someone else's ill considered actions. Still, I got a few nice shots in the brief window I had and I'm sure our paths will cross again!

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Like I said, I move on tomorrow. Next stop: Strumpshaw Fen, By all accounts there's a very tasty starling roost performing daily and begging to be photographed. I'm there for a fortnight so I should get something worth sharing - wifi connection permitting!

SEO Update

2011-11-22T09:32:00.001-08:00

Still no sign of them. Men still chainsawing and lighting fires so not looking good for tomorrow when we allegedly get some fine weather. Arse!

Another shot from Sunday. Had to lighten the face a little on this one as he was flying away from the sun and it was a little too dark for my liking.

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Head scratcher

2011-11-21T07:38:00.001-08:00

I returned to the short-eared owl site today only to be met with the sight of some chaps from the RSPB attacking one end of the small copse on the site with chainsaws. The branches they were cutting off were going onto a fire and the resultant smoke was blowing through the entire length of the copse.

This was the copse that the short-eared owls were using as a there day roost!

So there's two options here, either:

a) they knew about the owls and carried on regardless, not giving a stuff about the effect on the wildlife, or
b) they didn't know about the owls because no one had checked the site before commencing work.

I really don't know which option is more frustrating!

Needless to say there were no sightings of the owls today. I can only hope that they'll return tomorrow.

A million voices for nature? Looks like the person making the decisions is not one of the million! Hey, perhaps it's the same guy who decided that all their hides should be positioned facing the sun!!! :-)

Here's another shot from yesterday.

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700mm f6.3 1/1000 iso800

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Short-eared Owls

2011-11-20T09:30:00.001-08:00

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Well, we've checked into the first of our holiday cottages whilst waiting to move into the new place. All very nice. I thought I'd check out the surrounding area to see if there were any photographic opportunities and it turns out it's next to a small RSPB reserve! We only booked the cottage because it was cheap and available! What a stroke of luck!

With the missus out for the day I thought I'd check out the reserve and as you can see it's alive with short-eared owls. Awesome! The fog was a bit of a nuisance for much of the day but I'm here for the week so I'm going to be filling my boots - they're brilliant birds to work with!

Fingers crossed more tomorrow.

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700mm f6.3 1/1000 iso800

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A sliver of canvas added on the right

and reduced on the left

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Radio Silence

2011-11-17T14:51:00.001-08:00

The blog's going to be a little quiet over the coming days (as it has been this week) as I'm in the process of moving house. All being well I should be re-locating to a converted barn on a working farm in south Norfolk and yes, I've checked and there ARE hares there! And barn owls too! In fact it looks like it's got everything for the jobbing wildlife photographer! But before I can move in there I've got three weeks living out of a suitcase in various holiday cottages around Strumpshaw Fen...good times!

This is the nearest I've got to a 'moving house' related image. Yeah, I know, it's a bit of a crappy shot but better that than a blog entry with no piccy! It's a shot I call 'Back from the Library!' I'll get my coat!

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Mellow Birds

2011-11-12T13:38:00.001-08:00

Strumpshaw Fen. After missing out on the marsh harrier I walked away from the hide, sulking, and worked with the birds coming to the feeders to try and cheer myself up. As I'm STILL hacked off with my camera for letting me down at the crucial moment, it didn't work!

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700mm f5.6 1/125 iso640

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700mm f5.6 1/125 iso640

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700mm f5.6 1/125 iso640

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Barn Owl in flight

2011-11-12T07:23:00.001-08:00

Another old shot given a bit of spit and polish. Not happy about the leg ring but I can't find a clean way of removing it...yet!

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500mm f5.6 1/1000 iso400

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On thursday I visited Strumpshaw Fen again and, whilst sitting in the reception hide, a marsh harrier started hunting right in front of the hide, even hovering for a while over a reedbed. This was the moment that my camera decided to stop auto-focussing and what should have been some awesome shots instead turned into a flurry of expletives! I turned the camera off and on and all was well again but the marsh harrier was obviously disappearing into the distance. Earlier I'd taken the camera body off the lens and reattached it without turning the camera off and this clearly upset it!
It will be a long while before I stop sulking over this!

Dawn Barn Owl

2011-11-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

Another archive shot that I've reworked. In this one I've lightened the left-hand side of the face a little to make it more evenly lit. From memory I think I had to rotate the original RAW shot a little - despite my camera being levelled on the tripod the terrain had the look of a leaning photo.

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700mm f6.3 1/1000 iso320

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Barn Owl Reworked

2011-11-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

I just going through some old barn owl shots and re-processing them, employing new techniques that I've developed over the past couple of years to try and extract more detail from them and make them as good as they can be.

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700mm f8 1/1600 iso 400

95% Full frame & canvas extended

Barn Owl

2011-11-07T13:55:00.000-08:00

I always call these type of shots 'second click shots' as the bird has turned to face you after hearing the first click of the shutter.
The barn owl population has taken a severe hit around my way due to the past two harsh winters so I'm hoping for a milder winter this year to boost the numbers again (although I'm due to move within the month so I won't be able to reap the benefits!).

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500mm f5.6 1/1000 iso640

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Hare in snow fall

2011-11-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just as a counter to the summers hare shot I posted the other day, here's one suffering the perils of an out-door life in winter. He doesn't seem too bothered it though!

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Dunnock...again

2011-11-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

Slim pickings with the dunnocks so far today, with this being the only keeper. One of the bonuses of shooting at home is being able to update the blog whilst having a break and a cuppa!

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700mm f5.6 1/160 iso640

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When you click on an image in blogger now the screen blacks out and the image is resized to fit your screen. Depending on your monitor this means that portrait shots are down sized quite a lot so if you want to see the image at its original size click the 'show original' in the bottom left corner.

Later...

Bad light has stopped play. The dunnocks never returned anyway. Did grab this spuggy shot though (check me with the four figured iso!).

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More Dunnocks

2011-11-03T05:51:00.000-07:00

Another couple of hours spent with the dunnocks yesterday. I still haven't quite captured what I'm after, although to be honest I'm not sure what that is! Something that embodies the alertness of the bird, I think. I might raise my shooting angle next time and see if that floats my boat a bit more.

I prefer this perch to the last one, the mossy branch seems to 'fit' with the berry background better. I do have to keep going out and brush the droppings off though! Dirty birds!!

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700mm f5.6 1/160 iso800

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I've had to crop this next one a smidgen as you could just see under the perch in the lower corner and it spoilt the composition.

700mm f5.6 1/125 iso640

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Hare wash

2011-11-02T04:24:00.000-07:00

Another hare shot from the archives. This shot was taken whilst lying on the ground with scrim netting over the top of me on a windless summers evening. Like all encounters with hares it was a magical moment and a real privilege to observe them up close.

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700mm f7.1 1/1250 iso400

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Dunnock

2011-11-01T03:40:00.000-07:00

Had another attempt at the dunnocks in my courtyard yesterday. I'm trying to make the most of the fruiting hedge bordering the courtyard to make the background more interesting than the ubiquitous muted green backdrop that most 'bird on a stick' shots have. Not that there's anything wrong with that type of shot, it's just good to throw something different into the mix.

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500mm f5 1/150 iso500

95% Full frame - slight rotation

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Grey Heron

2011-10-31T04:25:00.000-07:00

Spent a fruitless few hours on Saturday evening waiting for a flock of fifty or so goldfinches to land on a patch of thistles in a local meadow. Getting close to them by stalking was a big no-no as you've little chance with a hundred eyes on look-out, so I thought my best option was to pick a patch of thistles and sit it out, camo'd up, until they came to me. They decided it was better to taunt me by landing on every other damn patch of thistles but not mine! Pesky things!
Thankfully this heron landed alongside me and started hunting along a dyke. So at least my shutter had a bit of a workout! I've chose to post this shot as it's a little bit different.

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700mm f7.1 1/1000 iso640

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House and Hedge Sparrows

2011-10-30T03:01:00.000-07:00

I set up a feeder and a 'loggy' perch on Friday to try and get shots of the pair of dunnocks that visit our courtyard. The sparrows had other ideas though and chased the dunnocks away whenever they landed on the perch! The first shot is the only one from the day. Knowing when I'm beaten I turned my attention to the sparrows instead!

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500mm f4 1/160 iso400

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Nothing too spectacular but it's always a pleasure to spend a few hours swearing and cursing at the wildlife on your doorstep!!!

Goldfinch and Marsh Harriers

2011-10-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

A couple more shots from my day at Strumpshaw Fen.

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There was a number of goldfinches coming to the feeders but this is one of the very few shots that didn't run into the delete button! As I was shooting at a slight upward angle I've only kept the shots where it doesn't LOOK like I was shooting upwards ie I want them to look as if I was at their level. This requires a little assistance from the birds in the posing department and most of the goldfinches were far from helpful!

700mm f5.6 1/160 iso800

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There were many marsh harriers flying over the reserve but always distant. To combat this I waited until they were flying across the most 'interesting' parts of the sky before taking my shots. During processing I've enhanced the cloud details even more by selecting it as a separate layer and using the levels slider.

700mm f9 1/1600 iso640

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Great Tits

2011-10-28T02:47:00.000-07:00

A few Great Tit shots as promised. Same set up as yesterday's Blue Tits. These shots are good examples of how the Shade white balance setting effects the dappled sunlit leaves in the background and intensifies their colour, whilst the subject that's in the shade is coloured correctly. A funky effect!

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700mm f5.6 1/160 iso800

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700mm f5.6 1/160 iso800

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Blue Tits

2011-10-27T04:57:00.000-07:00

Spent another day at the RSPB reserve at Strumpshaw Fen yesterday. The reserve, on the outskirts of Norwich, has become an enigma for me as, unlike most reserves I visit, I always seem to come away some nice shots! Although, to be honest, it was a fairly quiet day in the hide with little on show so I decided to have a look at what was visiting the feeders by reception.

I set up my camera facing what was clearly the busiest branch on route to the feeders and looked through the viewfinder. I was blown away by the background that was on offer as the light filtering through the canopy of leaves created some beautiful effects. I knew I had to shoot wide open to replicate what I was seeing through the lens (for those that don't know, the view through the lens is at its widest aperture). This was handy as the branch was in the shade and it would give me the best shutter speed. Also, as the subject was in the shade I knew that choosing a Shade white balance setting would make the background, when dappled with sunlight, really vibrant (witness the second shot).

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700mm f5.6 1/160 iso800

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700mm f5.6 1/160 iso800

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All in all, a collection of blue tit shots I'm really pleased with. Tomorrow...the great tits.

Young Hare

2011-10-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

A juvenile hare, taken last year. The depth of field is extremely shallow in this one and there's quite a lot of whisker movement - not to mention the poor lighting - so the shot's been festering in the depths of my hard-drive. Despite its faults though I do quite like it so I thought I'd let him have one day of freedom!

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500mm f4 1/60 iso1000

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Little Egret & Kingfisher

2011-10-23T05:15:00.000-07:00

Whilst on mission bittern the other day I also had another couple of fish eaters grace me with their company (three if you count the otter that kept swimming by). The egret shot was in full sunlight so exposure was adjusted accordingly to keep the detail in the whites and then the shadows were brought back into life during post-processing. Interesting to see the size comparison when the shots are viewed side-by-side: one kingfisher = one egret head!

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700mm f9 1/2000 iso640

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Turnstones

2011-10-21T04:53:00.000-07:00

I've just processed another batch of turnstone shots taken at Salthouse on the North Norfolk coast.
Turnstones are busy little birds and always on the move but still very easy to photograph as their movements are fairly predictable, the only problem with them is that they are incredibly trusting and will often stray too close so you can't actually focus on them!

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700mm f7.1 1/400 iso400

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This next one is hunkered down in the shingle due to an approaching dog.

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This next one's probably my favourite. It's a little too central but I can live with that as the vegetation makes a nice frame.

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Black-tailed Godwit

2011-10-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

This is the godwit I mentioned a few posts ago, taken from one of the NWT hides on Cley marshes.

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Also had a Little Grebe swim by directly in front of the hide. This shot highlights the problem of hide-shooting as the shooting angle is always far too high and the resultant image is dull ,dull, dull. Still, always nice to see one.

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Mission Bittern

2011-10-19T03:45:00.000-07:00

I've always felt a bit guilty as a Norfolk Broads based photographer that I didn't have any decent bittern shots in my portfolio. So yesterday I decided to put things right and entrenched myself in one of the hides at Strumpshaw Fen and was determined not to leave until I'd got some flight shots I was happy with.

It only took three hours!

I knew chances were going to be fleeting so I manually set my exposure to minimise any errors. Using f10 would give me a nice depth of field to accommodate any drifting in focus, and a shutter speed of 1/1250 would negate any untoward movement on my part when tracking. It was a sunny day and the exposure dictated an iso of 640, which I was more than happy with. I had all focus points selected so all I had to concentrate on was getting a ball-park composition! Whenever I use this exposure set-up I always feel I'm dumbing down my equipment as it essentially turns it into a point and shoot camera but it's a technique that always yields results. Shooting with a larger aperture may have given the subject more pop and diffused the background a little more but it's a fine line between sharp and soft when using 700mm of glass and I find this method fairly fool-proof.

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700mm f10 1/1250 iso640

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700mm f10 1/1250 iso640

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The last shot needed rotating a few degrees but instead of cropping the rotated image I've filled in the corners instead, preserving those precious pixels!

Bearded Tit

2011-10-17T05:38:00.000-07:00

Just done a stock take of the prints I brought back from the Cley exhibition and by far the most popular print was this one...

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Full frame - stem cloned out

An exhibition next to some reed beds...obvious choice for a sell-out I guess! Wish I'd thought it through before hand as I would've took more copies!

Marsh Harrier

2011-10-16T04:02:00.000-07:00

This is a big 'If only..." shot if ever there was one. On the face of it it may look like a nice image but the truth is it was shot through a thick veil of mist and there's too much detail lacking in the bird - I had to slide the Blacks slider in Lightroom all the way from the default 5 upto 60 just to give contrast to the image - the original 'milky' image looks like my camera's developed cataracts!!! If it had been a clear morning though I think I'd be punching the air with joy!!
Oh, and the flock of goldfinches that I was going after this morning...well, they didn't show up!

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More Reed Buntings

2011-10-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

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Had a dawn start at the reed beds this morning...and had to wait for an hour and half for the thickest mist ever to clear! No birds were moving and I didn't have a short lens for landscapes so I paced up and down the car park, cursing leaving my bed so early!

Once it did clear the reed buntings started emerging from the depths of the reeds and paraded themselves in front of me, begging to be snapped, and I think the above shot is my best reed bunting image to date. Not a waste of a weekend lie-in afterall!

Whilst there I spotted a great opportunity for some good goldfinch shots, so that's going to be tomorrow mornings target.

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700mm f5.1 1/1000 iso400

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Salthouse Shooting

2011-10-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

Took a trip up to the North Norfolk coast yesterday to take down my exhibition at the Cley visitor centre. The exhibition was a big success which is great considering the financial dip we're in. My ladybird shot proved very popular with visitors which surprised me as most people who go there are birders!

While I was there I took the opportunity of calling in at Salthouse to see what was hanging around the pools and my eye was immediately drawn to the turnstones foraging in the russet-hued vegetation.With the soft overcast light I knew that this would give the images a gentle warmth that would compliment the birds nicely.

Time to lie on the cold wet pebbles!

All was going well until some cock came by with his dog off the lead and it ran straight into the flock! The cock stood there shouting "Buster! Stop that! Come here! Buster! Here! Now!" all of which was completely ignored by the dog. Really, if you've no command over your dog then don't let it off the lead! I understand now why we have such strict gun laws in this country!

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700mm f7.1 1/320 iso400

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700mm f7.1 1/320 iso400

97% Full frame

700mm f7.1 1/320 iso400

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There was the ubiquitous black-headed gulls there, all being ignored by all the other photographers. God knows why as, like all gulls, they've got great personality and make for a brilliant subject. This one was toying with me by standing with his legs at an odd angle which makes me want to rotate the shot despite it being level!!

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And my favourite shot from the two hours of crawling around like a toddler...a chirpy pied wagtail!

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I love taking shots like this were the subject is small in frame yet still dominates the image. After leaving Salthouse I went to one of the hides on the Cley reserve. There were several photographers in there and one was taking shots of a distant godwit with a canon 1d Mk4 and 500mm lens "I wish it would come closer," he said. He zoomed in on a centrally composed image on the back of his camera and said contentedly, "Still, I can crop right in and it'll make a nice shot." Yeah, way to use that ten grands worth of equipment! All the gear and no idea sprang to mind! Each to his own and all that, but if you're going to shoot with that mentality then why not try digscoping instead? It's a lot cheaper way to get a close-up shot!

Grey Seal Adult

2011-10-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

Some more seal shots to continue the weeks theme.

While photographing the cubs is quite easy when it comes to composition, the adults have always been problematic to me when it comes to portraits as most head shots are usually pretty dull as I don't think their bulbous design lends itself well for a dynamic composition. I've found that the best shots are when you can see a little bit of the white of the eye as it imparts more character into the shot.

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700mm f6.3 1/320 iso500

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700mm f6.3 1/320 iso500

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Grey Seal Pup II

2011-10-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Just to carry on the theme from yesterdays post, here's another whitecoat seal pup. I was really pleased to be able to include the breaking waves in the shot as it reveals what's in store for the youmgster.The funky pose from the seal itself was an added bonus!

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Grey Seal Pup

2011-10-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

I posted this shot on 500px.com a few days ago and it went down a storm!

I use the site to vet my prints. If I've got a shot and I'm in two minds as to whether to market it as a print or not I upload it to the site a see how it gets received. Well, as the shot's heading towards 6000 views I think this one's a goer!!!

Taken last November and cropped in more than I'd normally allow - the composition with three-quarters of the seal in shot just didn't work so had to crop in a few hundred pixels so about half was in shot, which works better.

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Buntings in the mist

2011-10-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Went down to my reed bed site at first light on Saturday morning hoping for some reed bunting shots. It was a little bit misty to say the least!

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The reed buntings themselves were sensibly keeping a low profile until the mist got burnt off. By the time that happened though the sun was too high and harsh for any photography. Damn birds!

Here are a few of the shots I managed to get during their fleeting forays into the open during the morning (not overly happy with any of them to be honest, the second shot probably the best of the three).

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More Little Grebes

2011-10-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

A few more dab chick shots. Now that the wind has picked up the birds are staying clear of open water and hugging the edges of the pond, giving me little chance of getting anything decent. I'll have another go at them this weekend when hopefully the wind has dropped.

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Little Grebe Family

2011-10-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

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It was quite a challenge to get the parent and chicks in the same shot as all the chances have been fleeting. As soon as the adult bobs up from the depths of the lake the chicks race over to it, grab the food, and then the adult dives under the water again before I've fired a shot as this always seems to happen with all the birds keeping their backs to me or behind some overhanging branches! Grrrrr! So I'm pretty pleased with these shots.

Blogger has a new template design to show the blog in. It's 'dynamic' where the viewer can alter how the blog appears by clicking the template designs in the menu bar. Have a play by hitting on the link above and see what you think. I'm undecided on it.

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Little Grebe Chicks

2011-10-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

A few shots of the October chicks.

I'm getting as low down as I can at the site and only making any movement when the adult has dived under water, in an attempt to avoid detection. It still takes an hour or so before the birds are within reach though, which is an awfully long time when your elbows are in goose shit!

In the evening the bordering reeds are lit up and the reflections are stunning and I'm desperate for the birds to swim across them as I think the resultant shot would be lovely. We shall see tonight...

I've put full frame under all the images but most of the shots have had a small degree of rotation so I've probably lost fifty pixels or so off the lengths.

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Little Grebe

2011-10-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy boy with the camera over the past couple of days with dawn starts and dusk finishes. Bagged a few shots I'm pleased with which I'll post over the coming week.
First up, a little grebe that's feeding a pair of chicks in a pond near me. Chicks! In October! What great news!!

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Bird Trilogy

2011-09-29T03:31:00.000-07:00

I've just created a 'best of 2011' gallery on my web site and noticed that three of the shots are, aside from the species, damn near identical! Clearly I'm a big fan of this composition!

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Looking at the content of the gallery is quite depressing as it reveals just what a lean year its been. Fingers crossed that once I finally get this house move out the way, and the after-affects from my op are now minimal, things will start to perk up for the latter part of the year.
I'm off to Cley-next-the-sea again on Friday to re-stock my exhibition as the walls are looking a bit bare by all accounts. Ka-ching!!

House Sparrow

2011-09-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

Had another attempt at photographing the pair of dunnocks that visit my small courtyard 'garden' today. They clearly never read the notice board as they didn't bother to show up! Luckily the resident sparrows did.

Working in such a small area is quite challenging as there's nowhere to get a diffuse background so what I've started to do is suspend a piece of card behind the perch - by means of a Plamp - and hope that the bird - in the case a female house sparrow - lands in the right place. Initially I was going to go for a green background but decided that was too obvious and went for a buff card instead. The jury's still out on that one!

I've had to crop this shot a little as the edge of the card was on show!

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I've now changed the perch for something more vertical and changed the back drop to...black! Might work, might not - I'll find out over the next couple of days.

iPhone

Barn Owl

2011-09-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

A barn owl, wet from landing in dew laden grass, passes along a field margin in August.

The inclusion of the hay bale in the shot was a big bonus for me as it instantly puts the subject in its place. Not planned, just luck!

There's a little too much empty space behind the owl to be honest but hey-ho, I don't think I'll ever take the perfect shot!

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Sedge Warbler

2011-09-25T03:43:00.000-07:00

Whilst at the NWT reserve on Friday I flicked through the books on sale in their visitor centre and came across one of my sedge warbler shots in Kate Humble's Watching Waterbirds book. Which was nice. It also seemed like a good excuse for a blog entry!

Here's the original shot - for publication they've cropped it to portrait (booo!) but used it full page (hurrah!).

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Coot on white

2011-09-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

Had to call in at Cley on the North Norfolk coast today to set up an exhibition at the Wildlife Trust Visitor Centre - tell all your friends! - and found myself, once again, sitting in a hide in the middle of the day with the sun blazing down with its harsh light.
I sat there for a while watching a pair of coots dving just in front of the hide and started to think of the swan shot in the last post and wondered if a reverse of the image would work and started over-exposing on the coots.

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Again. I have pushed the effect to the max in Lightroom and Photoshop to burn out most of the water detail, leaving just the ripples from the bird itself.

Does it work? Well...not quite. I don't like the fact you can see its feet under the water and the the ripples are too many and too wide, but it's something to have another crack at in the future.

Swan on black

2011-09-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you'll find yourself sitting in a hide, on a Norfolk bird reserve, in the middle of the day when something remarkable happens.

The sun comes out!!

Shooting in full midday sun is a big no-no as the resultant images are awful. I have a rule that if my shadow is shorter than I am then it's time to put the camera down.

Sometimes though you can squeeze something out of the downtime if start playing around with exposures, in this case a bathing swan. I exposed solely for the highlights, leaving everything else under-exposed. In Lightroom and Photoshop I then pushed the dark areas even further with the Blacks slider, masking off the facial areas to retain detail there.

The finished result is quite funky - a little bit surreal - but better than an empty flash card!

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It was only after I'd spent half-an-hour tinkering with this image until I was finally happy with the 16bit tiff file that I realized I'd exported it from Lightroom WITHOUT the output sharpening turned off!!! Grrr!

One fox a leaping!

2011-09-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Spent the day at Strumpshaw Fen in Norfolk yesterday. Shots of a hunting fox was not what I was expecting to come home with!

I've tried these shots as panoramic and I like the result but have posted them as shot as I also like all the space the fox has got!

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Dunnock

2011-09-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

I had a quick go at my courtyard garden dunnocks today. In such a small area shooting angles are at a minimum so you have to take what you get with the background. On this shot I've tried to neaten it up a little but it's still less than ideal, also the bird's partially obscured by a foreground bush on the left hand side. I've got a few ideas though so I'll have another crack at them over the weekend. Thought I'd share it though as it's quite a nice pose from the dunnock as he's twisted his body so that a lot of him is in sharp focus even though I was shooting wide open.

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Norfolk Broads

2011-09-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

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Well, it looks like my time living in the Norfolk Broads is coming to a close soon. It's been a great place to live where wildlife abounds - once you've unlocked all their secret hidey-holes! - and I'll certainly miss having it on my door-step
The hardest part about moving from an area is after spending six years tracking the movement of the local wildlife, discovering all the best best nesting sites and breeding grounds, establishing rapports with the land-owners and learning where best to be at different times of the year you're suddenly in an area where you know nothing and no-one and you've got to start all over again! Bloody exciting though!!!

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Young Starlings

2011-09-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

For a few days in the summer a few years back a family of starlings would descend upon my courtyard garden and empty the feeders, making a right racket in the process. A quick shuffle round with the feeder positions, an introduction of a nice mossy perch and a few hours sitting in the doorway with my camera poking through the fly-screen and bingo! Two cute youngsters book-ending each other!

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Brown Hare

2011-09-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Another recently processed image. The sky in this shot shows the threat of rain but the hare itself is lit by a diffused sunset.

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When I took this I was lying on the ground, fully visible without any camouflage concealing me, yet the hare stuck around for quite a while, only showing a casual interest in me when the shutter clacked. A magic moment. I love it when wildlife accepts you into their world!

Kingfisher

2011-09-11T02:05:00.000-07:00

Another shot that I'd overlooked. Nice light on this one, I think.

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I've been trying to link this blog to my Facebook account but I'm having mixed results. I'm importing through the My Notes app and initially all my blog entries showed up on my homepage but were in a random order. No idea why. Now I've just noticed that the blog entry I've made since linking the account isn't showing up. Odd. Lets see how this entry fares.

Update.
Didn't work. Facebook is supposed to read the feed from my blog but clearly doesn't. Damn you Zuckerberg! So I've added a SHARE icon onto my blog entries and I'll do it manually. Same old story: if you want a job doing properly then do it yourself!!!!!

Sedge Warbler

2011-09-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

I'm currently going through the process of preparing an agency submission, hence a few images being unearthed from earlier in the year. Like this one, a buoyant sedge warbler singing his little heart out on an overcast morning!

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Muddy beaks and paws

2011-09-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

A few more shots from the summer that I've just decided I quite like and worth processing from RAW to Tiff.

I posted similar shots at the time of shooting but thought these could have an airing too.

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This first shot sees Mr Kingfisher getting in a mess from cleaning out the nest cavity in readiness for the second brood.

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This next shot is the result of one of my sneaky 'joining two landscape shots to make a portrait' shots, as highlighted here.

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Blog changes.

2011-09-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

I've been making a few changes to the blog over the past few days, ditching the stark black and white lay-out and opting for a softer colour scheme and including a barn owl in the background. And I've even renamed it. Hopefully it's now a bit more individual.
Hope you like it!

Sedge Warbler

2011-09-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

Another early summer shot. Sedge warblers are reasonable showy birds and it's not too difficult to get a shot of one in the clear, as they all have their favourite calling perches. It's just a matter of scouring the reed beds until you spot one calling from a perch that has a clean background and an uninterrupted view and then returning morning after morning until you get a shot you're happy with! Simples!

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Reed Bunting

2011-09-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Another shot from earlier in the year that's been in my to do pile for far too long. Cracking birds, even with a scruffy tail!

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Hoppers

2011-09-02T03:43:00.000-07:00

Had a play around with light yesterday evening in an attempt to elevate my 'grasshopper on grass' shots from the norm. Reasonably pleased with my efforts but think I can do better, only trouble is clear skies at sunset are hard to come by at the moment!

I'm car-less at the moment by-the-way, hence the leaning towards the very local stuff recently!!

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Grasshopper wrangling

2011-09-01T03:36:00.000-07:00

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Needs cropping in though tbh - poor comp

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For those of you who want to photograph some grasshoppers there's a basic rule when it comes to handling them: don't try and capture them! You'll remember from your childhood days that this usually results in a grasshopper short on the full compliment of legs! The best method is to gently ease your fingertip under its head and, attracted by the warmth, it will crawl onto you. You're then free to position it where ever you want. Once it's on your grass head, or whatever prop you're using, you can gently rub it along its side to nudge it into the right position.

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Grass coming out of hoppers head...not good!

Grasshopper

2011-08-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

One scary mother...!

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Ladybird Set-up

2011-08-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

The Set-up

As you can see I'm working in my local churchyard as there's an

abundance of ladybirds there. I've got a plastic pot full of earth and arranged my blade of grass

on it, bending it into shape with a piece of straw. As I'm shooting down on to the subject I've placed it on a pedestal to give a better working distance between subject and background, ie the ground.

The RAW Shot

Complete with dust bunnies!

The End Result

Piece of straw cloned out, ladybird brightened and and the

upright section of the grass softened. Please click on it to view it large.

It's kind of the shot I've been after: a simple composition that contains just a blade of grass

and a ladybird but with the whole of the frame used.

It probably needs just a little bit more space on top if I'm being critical

but I can live with it as is.

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Swallow

2011-08-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

Just been processing a few shots from the summer (well...it's as good as over now!). At the time of this shot I posted some images taken with the 1.4x to give me a focal length of 700mm but this is one of the few I took with it off. I've cleaned up a bright patch in the background and cropped in a little to hone the composition. Nice to get one on a stick and not barbed wire for a change!

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Ladybird IV

2011-08-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

A few initial attempts at getting the desired shot highlighted in my last ladybird post. Not quite what I'm after but it's given me a few ideas on how to achieve what I want. I'm going to have to manipulate the blade of grass to get the right composition but I think I've found a way to do it. Watch this space!

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Bunny Up!

2011-08-27T03:08:00.000-07:00

Another shot from the session that yielded the yawning rabbit post from Monday and probably my favourite upright bunny shot to date. Really pleased that you can see its back feet and tail as these are usually concealed in most of my other shots.

Fingers crossed I should be getting some barn owl shots this evening at a friends farm. Weather permitting!

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