On reflection...

I've had a good two weeks shooting various birds on the Dorset Stour, resulting in some pleasing images - especially those of herons and egrets - but today I feel I should point my lens at something different. However, I still have birds on the brain and ride to a local duck pond to shoot its inhabitants.

It's quite a sparsely populated habitat, but I know what I will find there, and spend an hour or so taking photographs of whatever floats into range - in this case a Tufted Duck - using reflected foliage to add colour. I select this particular shot for the quality of the reflection.

Happy that I won't get anything better, I pay a swift visit to a local nature reserve (and drawing a total blank), I can't resist paying another visit to the same location on the river that has given me so much recent success for a spot of fishing action (birds, not anglers - it is closed season for the latter). There is just a lone egret there, and that flies off shortly after my arrival, so I'm left with an obstreperous Black-headed gull, who, despite the fact there is room for all, refuses to allow any of its species to settle on the line of rocks across the river. After a while it goes home, as do I.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/800 second at f/4.5.  - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 200. Monopod


© 2012

Keeping at it...

Resist as I might, I find myself drawn to the same spot of the river that I have based all my photography on for the past two weeks. I know the light is not at its best with cloudless skies; I know that I have more images of herons (right) and egrets than I can shake a stick at, but I feel I should make the most of it while it lasts. The weather is due to break at the weekend. Besides, it is worth the effort to keep shooting away as something special may just present itself.

I try to mix it up a little today, by concentrating on feeding and flight shots, and although I do get a number of jumping fish and snapping bills, they are not as sharp as I would like. I need to work on my technique a bit.

When discussing photography with others, I try to make a point about a subject's background. Wherever possible I choose that before my subject, but it is not always possible to do so. Today I get the photos I have been after, with the bird's outline sharply contrasted against a wash of out of focus foam.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/3200 second at f/5.  - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 400. Monopod


© 2012

Hey, this way!

Although I am sure there are those who will strongly disagree with me, I'm finding the clear skies over nearly all of the UK a bit tiresome. It is, granted, fairly warm, and it is pleasant weather to be out and about in, but not from a photographic perspective. I long for some fluffy cloud here and there to alter the light a touch. Oh well.

After an fairly busy morning I find myself back on the river. I deliberately try to break from recent habits and shoot with a macro lens - willow catkins, to be precise - but I'm not confident I have anything useable, so I traipse back to a surefire spot and rattle of goodness how many shots of a virtually stationary heron.

But interspersed with this I shoot a number of frames of a Black-headed gull, perched precariously on a slippery rock; mostly static poses, but occasionally a bit of wing flapping for balance (photo). I find this image quite humorous, as if the gull is calling his mates and pointing to something interesting.

I should get out more (but then I do anyway).


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/2000 second at f/8.  -1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400. Monopod.


© 2012

Monopods and portraits...

Another glorious spring day - it's set to continue through the week - and another afternoon shoot at my current preferred location: the Dorset Stour.

Once again I am blessed with the presence of a heron and two egrets, and I quickly set up and start shooting. I say 'quickly', but not as quick as I would like. The monopod that has given good service for the past ten years is beginning to show its age: the individual telescopic tubes are becoming difficult to adjust smoothly, and the locking mechanism for each section has deteriorated due to prolonged use near, and in, the sea. I feel I am beginning to miss shots, and so it will need to be replaced soon (I may as well get a new ball and socket head whilst I'm at it).

I witness the same territorial activities and claims to fishing rights from the two aforementioned birds, but little in the way of feeding images or spectacular flight shots. However, there are a small number of good portrait shots from the session, so all is not lost.

Some days you get 'em, some days you don't.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/4000 second at f/6.3.  -1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

Number 6...

My planned early shoot by the river over the weekend never happened, so I have the alarm clock set for 6am this morning with the intention of putting matters to right. In spite of this (and rolling out of bed twenty minutes later), no amount of effort gets me out of the house until early afternoon. I blame the recent change to British Summertime and the lost hour of sleep, but the fact that I went back to bed at 8am didn't help.

I spend four hours on the Dorset Stour, photographing a Grey Heron and Little Egrets - something of an ongoing project for the foreseeable future. After a couple of test shots to check exposure settings, I settle down and wait. More often than not, the best results of a shoot tend to happen towards the end, so I am mildly surprised this time around to find that the sixth exposure proves to be the best (photo) and is the first shot in a sequence of three.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/1600 second at f/5.6.  -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200. Monopod


© 2012

Spring!

For the first time this year I feel confident enough to go out shooting without a coat, as temperatures are expected to hit 20 ºC across parts of the UK. Whether that occurred in my part of the county or not is by-the-by: it was warm outside today. Spring!

I feel I have now gleaned enough information from locals as to the whereabouts of the elusive otter that I have been recently seeking, so all it really requires is to plan an early start and hope for the best. The upcoming weekend seems a likely bet.

It's on my way back from my latest "fact finding mission" that I come across a fine specimen of a willow, resplendent with male catkins (photo), and notice the attention given to them by a large number of bees. I am forced to press a super-telephoto lens into service as a close up lens (it's the only lens I'm carrying) if I want any meaningful images, and start making photographs, but it's the sudden arrival of a Red Admiral butterfly that makes the afternoon's shoot a success.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. 1/1600 second at f/4.  -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200. Monopod


© 2012

The writes of spring...

You make me feel like spring has sprung, sang Frank Sinatra in 1956, and to a large extent it has, but not in a spectacular way. More of an indecisive crawl, to be honest, possibly due to spells of mild weather interspersed with very cold snaps during the early part of the year. Daffodils, for example have been sprouting and blooming since mid-January, and there are still some not open at one of my favourite locations.

This year the display is less than unified, and many at Branksome  on Poole bay, Dorset, are withering whilst others are in their full glory (photo) or yet to open at all. Of course, a late spring means a longer spring, so maybe that's a good thing, but it's nothing to write home about and I'm struggling for good images. I try all the usual approaches and angles before opting to shoot wide. Very wide.

I dig out my fisheye lens - specially brought along for the purpose - and get down to ground level, with the trumpets almost touching the front element of the lens. I'm shoot by framing the blooms using the display screen on the back of the camera (something I rarely do) but this technique undoubtedly produced the more interesting images of the series on this occasion.


10.5mm f/2.8G Fisheye Nikkor. 1/1000 secons at f/6.3.  -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200


© 2012

Little effort and big returns...

It is a bright and clear day, and springtime. It's   official: the vernal equinox was yesterday, and for the first time this year we have more daylight than darkness in the northern hemisphere. What better way to celebrate that to get out for some wildlife photography.

In actual fact, bright, sunny conditions is not the best time to choose for such subjects, as the directional light tends to wash out colours and increase contrast, but I have something specific in mind. I want to photograph the local Grey Herons feeding.

I return to a favoured feeding spot, armed with the necessary lens and support, and spend three hours shooting a heron and egret, busying themselves in the art of survival. I also manage several good flight shots of the egret, but it is the heron's behaviour that intrigues me. Ordinarily, these birds stalk their prey and then strike with lightning precision, but this one (above) had perfected the technique of watch and wait, and snatched fish (I am informed that they are trout) out of the air as they jumped the rocks in their effort to  make their way upstream. An effective strategy that involved very little effort for big returns.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/2000 second at f/6.3.  - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400. Monopod


© 2012

Food for thought...

Conditions over the past five days have been less than conducive for the early starts that will be necessary to photograph the otters on the Dorset Stour. This is probably more down to me being less than willing to drag myself out of the house before dawn than the weather itself, but today I feel I made some progress in my search.

But once again my movements are arrested by the presence of a Grey Heron feeding on rocks that straddle the river, and once again this magnificent bird performs for the camera. I get several good images of both stalking and flight shots, but choose this particular image for the blog

Having spent more than an hour patiently waiting to get what I want from a photographic point of view, the heron helpfully flies off, and I move on to a recommended location by (yet) another local.

Again, no otters, but for the first time I see evidence that they are, indeed, in the area, by way of a fish skull stripped bare and left on the river bank. I'm no angler, but to me it looks like a pike, purely because of the rows of backwards facing teeth. If it is, then it's clear that otters are quite formidable predators.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/1600 second at f/6.3.  - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 500. Monopod.


© 2012

Distracted...

The blanket of cloud on the visible satellite image provided by the Met Office was, apparently, wafer thin, so once the sun got high enough it burnt large holes in it across the UK. I hadn't planned on shooting today, but once it brightened up I found the idea irresistible.

I think about resuming my search for otters, and return to a local river, suitably equipped with the right lens, primarily to cover more ground than earlier in the week. It is, however, something of a half-hearted hunt as I know it is not the best time of day for a sighting. Nevertheless, I keep an eye out all the same for evidence of their presence. Nothing.

Despite drawing a blank in that respect I do come across something worth photographing, though, as it is the mating season. Several pairs of ducks and Mute Swans are busying themselves with ritualistic behaviour on the river: this mallard, for example, taking flight from the river in pursuance of a female. Quite easy to get images like this, since the waterfowl have other things on their minds than me being there, taking photographs.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/2000 second at f/5.  - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 640. Monopod


© 2012

Off the rocks...

As planned yesterday, I set out in the early afternoon in search of otters on the Dorset Stour. It is mainly a reconnaissance trip today, but I am travelling fully equipped. just in case. My first choice location visit drew a blank, but chatting to a local (another fisherman), I was informed that I was in the right area - but my timing was poor. He advised me to try a specific stretch of riverbank further upstream. I acknowledge his input and get back on my bike.

My secondary location, as supplied by the aforementioned angler, proved to be just as fruitless, otter wise, but no matter. Making further enquiries I was constantly informed by people with local knowledge that early morning was my best bet - but not here: "You want to go further upstream for otters", they all advised. I did, but still no evidence of my quarry. Again, it didn't matter, as it was a fine, warm spring day and I was enjoying the scenery as much as anything.

I decide to give the search another half mile or so when I come across a weir across the river, and more importantly, a Grey Heron and Little Egret vying for space to feed in prime positions. Well, it was somewhat more one sided than that, as the heron - by far the larger of the two birds - was not willing to tolerate the egret's presence, and repeatedly chased it off of rocks. It is during this activity that I am able to get some good flight shots.

No otters today, but that hardly mattered in the end.



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter.

Top: 1/2000 second at f/5.  -1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400
Right: 1/4000 at f/5. - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

Spring...

No doubt in my mind: it's here.The weather, the wild and plant life all shout it, although curiously, some of the flowers that promised so much in the early part of the year now appear to be lagging behind: daffodils, I'm looking at you (if only). Maybe I am being a little impatient. More than likely.

I spend a few hours in the Stour Valley Local Nature Reserve in Dorset, and in that time I am treated to the sights of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a kingfisher, a buzzard, a Red Admiral butterfly and the chap on the right; the only one of which I got a shot of. The others were simply too far away or too quick.

Oh yes, the chap on the right is a Little Egret.

As I mentioned above the flora (as well as the fauna) is kicking off, and the photograph of the Common Hawthorn flowering against a blue sky sums up spring for me, and I couldn't resist the opportunity once again to take a few shots.

I also spend a while talking to a fisherman on the riverbank - not my cup of Earl Gray, fishing - but you never know what gem of local information these people may impart, and today I'm lucky. I know otters have re-established themselves on the Dorset Stour, but as yet I have not had the pleasure of seeing, let alone photographing one. All that is to change, it seems.

"Otters! You want otters?" the angler asks. Yes, I say, and he goes on at some length, giving me precise directions to the location where I will find them. Seemingly satisfied that I have understood him to the letter, and to drive the point well and truly home, he concludes his deliverance with: "...and if you don't find them there, then you won't find them anywhere. I stake my reputation on it". What reputation, I think to myself - I have no idea who he is! I thank him and cycle off.

Tomorrow is time for a spot of reconnaissance... and a long lens.


Top: 300mm f/4D AF-S Nikkor. 1/2500 second at f/7.1.  -1stop EV compensation. ISO 400
Below: 24-70mm f/2.8D AF-S Nikkor. 1/800 second at f/5.6. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

Yet another stone...

I've got to stop doing this. I'm getting into a photographic rut, and I need to break out of it and photograph something different. For the best part of a month I have spent most afternoons ambling along the beach of Poole bay, Dorset, photographing details I come across, such as stones, seaweed, feathers, and anything else abandoned by the falling tide or highlighted by oblique light.

I am getting a good number of interesting images - always different from the previous visit - plus one or two surprises, but I feel I'm beginning to repeat myself. However, today there is an exceptionally low tide during late afternoon, and as the sky is totally clear I'm not going to waste it all.

So here, for the last time in a good while (hopefully, eh?), I publish yet another stone on the beach, lit by the evening sun...at low tide. Thank you.


24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/200 second at f/11. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400. Monopod.


© 2012

Walking the backshore...

This afternoon I make an impromptu trip to the beach with a camera, and am immediately struck by the way the light catches the ripples and hollows of the wind blown sand. Immediately, I know what my subjects will be.

Unlike those of the past few weeks, I keep my walk away from the surf line and concentrate on objects found on the backshore - the generally dry part of the beach. At this time of the week the sand has had the opportunity to recover from weekend users, and it is mostly smooth due to wind action.

Long before I uploaded the images to my computer I had made the decision to convert the most successful photograph(s) to monochrome, using shape and form, rather than colour, to get my point across.


105mm f/2.8D Sigma macro lens. 1/250 second at f/11. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400. Monopod


© 2012

Rainbow tree...

It rained for most of the night, and well into the morning, but keeping a watchful eye on the UK weather satellite image paid dividends. By 2.30pm the weather front had passed, and I was out chasing the light.

To be honest, butterflies were my intended subjects, but it soon became apparent that it was not going to the best conditions to look for them. Despite the sunshine it was rather cold.

Shortly after arriving at my chosen location it began to rain again; followed by hail stones. Then the skies cleared and the sun came out - went back in again - and it rained some more, followed by hail...

This cycle went on for the best part of the time I stood on the bank of the Dorset Stour, but complain I did not, as it was producing the most beautiful dramatic light. I had been concentrating my efforts on general river scenes - and produced at least one pleasing shot - but it was on my way home that I took today's photograph. I have passed this tree many times, and always knew there was a photograph in there somewhere. Today, I was in the right place at the right time.


24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/11.  - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

Better than expected...

I've just about had it with weather forecasts that make predictions several days in advance. More often than not they are unreliable, making the planning of specific photographic shoots a lottery. A swift look at a satellite weather map, and then a look out of the window on the day seems to be the best policy when conditions are unsettled.

Today, rain is predicted for the best part, but by mid morning the cloud rolled away overhead and blue skies appeared: time for that reshoot of willow catkins. Since I am shooting a predetermined subject I restrict my lens choice to a standard zoom and a macro lens. Not ideal, as it turns out.

I take my catkin photographs as planned (the final results almost as disappointing as the previous attempt, but better quality), before noticing a nearby hawthorn in full bloom. But as spectacular as it is, the real treat is the appearance of a Red Admiral butterfly, busily feeding from flower to flower. Of course, my long lenses are at home, so I make do with what I have (image), making the mental note to return with something more appropriate another day.

Monday is supposed to be good, weather wise, but that's another story.


105mm f/2.8D Sigma macro lens. 1/800 second at f/7.1. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

Cherry Blossom Orchard: cherry blossom on the trees...

A foggy start to the day gave way to warm spring sunshine, so I pay a second visit to the Stour Valley Local Nature Reserve with the preconceived intention of photographing willow catkins with a fast wide angle lens.

The lens I had for the job was a Sigma 20mm f/1.8, which I have had since the days I shot on film. Now, most lenses perform at their best when stopped down a couple of f-stops, so it was something of a gamble to use such an optic wide open for the most effective differential focus. Unfortunately, my suspicions were confirmed when I opened the resulting files on my computer. A reshoot is already planned.

Blissfully unaware that I had not got the images I thought I had, I move to the perimeter of the reserve, and come across the blossoming cherry trees of Cherry Tree Orchard. It is sights like this (photo) that epitomise the season of spring for me, and my macro lens gets its most use during the year. Wonderful.


105mm f/2.8D Sigma macro lens. 1/320 second at f/11. ISO 500. Monopod


© 2012