Winter’s Details

Snow and Shadows

Canon 5D mark 11, 100mm macrois lens, iso100,1/25@f22

Winter has finally arrived and I have managed to capture some of what winter means, details. I have no mountains or sweeping landscapes, so I make the most of what my county has to offer. This for me means looking for details and translating this into an image which gives a meaning of winter. I had spotted some really nice ice patterns in some frozen pools two days before but I was looking for hunting owls at the time and didn’t have the correct lens for the task, so I made plans to return as soon as possible. A superb Great Northern Diver was too much of a chance to miss on the following day, I didn’t have chance until the day after. Yes you guessed it, the pools were now covered in a light covering of snow. A short walk did however reveal other details to work with, here using a shadows and light to create this image and shot with the amazingly sharp canon 100mmm macro is lens I was more than happy.

Ice Detail

Canon 5d mark 11, 100mm,iso100,1/6@f11

A decent few images to start the winter off, just hope it continues.

I am at the moment in lens nivarna, after the purchase of the canon 800 lens a few months ago and seeing the stunning results in combination with the 5d mark11. Primes are a thing of beauty, the 100mm macro has been out awhile and at first I wasn’t that bothered by the lens but the results I was seeing from other users tempted another purchase and what another stunning lens canon have produced, so sharp it could cut paper, yes its that good, no stunning. Now I am waiting for the trio to be complete with a 24mmtse mark 11 on its way, and I can’t wait. I will post some images when I get into my hands with some images. An exciting time to be a canon user, producing some of the finest sharpest optics I’ve had the pleasure to use.

Bittern Bonanza

Bittern

canon 5d mark 11, 8005.6is lens, 1/1250@f6.3,iso400 ( cropped image)

A superb day for Bittern watching and I managed a couple of flight images of these great birds. A few fleeting chances of these birds as they zipped over the reeds, helped by a very strong tail wind. This made for a frantic few seconds as you picked the bird up and then started  tracking the bird through the viewfinder. The 5d mark 11 tracked very well and produced some razor sharp images although 3.9 frames isn’t very speedy. I would sooner have a couple of sharp images than dozens of out of focus ones! The motordrives seemed to be on hyperdrive in the hide, pulsating to the sound of  any bird that passed. Even when this bird appeared at the end of a nearby reed-bed standing motionless, the hide vibrated to the sound of dozens of images a second passing through the cameras ( I shot four frames all sharp), I wonder how many end up in the digital bin? Anyway a great day, with a couple of nice images of a very retiring bird in some lovely November light.

Bittern

canon 5d mark 11, 8005.6is lens, 1/1250@f6.3, iso400

Lincolnshire Delivers!

Bearded Tit

canon 5d mark 11, 800 5.6is lens, 1/160 @5.6, iso 400

An interesting day photographing and birding along the Humber in Lincolnshire.  The reed-bed specialist put on quite a good show with some nice morning sunshine. The Bearded Tit( male) gave brief views as it came down onto a path within the reeds. A stunning bird, just wished I could have filmed it on some reeds, but just wonderful to watch. A Bittern fly over was nice but just as the sun went behind a cloud so no images, maybe next time. Next on view were Water Rail and Marsh Harrier which were just amazing to watch. The Harrier just got the pulse racing like most raptors do and was great to see hunting over the reeds.

Marsh Harrier

canon 5d mark 11, 8005.6is lens, 1/640@5.6, iso 400 ( no light!)

The Water Rails could be heard  calling as only Water rails can and is something which is very hard to describe, certainly makes the hairs on the back of the neck stand up, scarey! The birds remain hidden most of the time with only brief visits to the margins of reed-beds. However this individual decided to pose on a branch which was sticking out of the reeds. Only takes a second to nail an image, if you are watching in the right place, just wonderful colours and markings.

Water Rail

canon 5d mark 11, 8005.6is lens, 1/250@5.6, iso 400.

To end what was becoming a very nice day out, we went looking for some owls and were no to be disappointed with several Barn Owls and a Short-eared Owl for nice measure. On a camera note the 5d mark 11 seems to be a very capable body with outstanding image qualities with not to bad autofocus, in-fact I have been very pleased on how sharp some of my flight images have been, creating razor sharp images and with great tracking abilities. Static images have been no trouble as expected. Another note is how the camera can capture amazing fine details with great colour rendition, equal to my 1ds mark 111, maybe even better. A great camera and I look forward to using more in the future.

I look forward to returning to the Humber shortly and maybe getting that flying Bitten image I’ve always had in the back of my mind?

Barn Owl

canon 5d mark 11, 8005.6is lens, 1/320@5.6, iso 800.

Juggling Jays

Jay

canon 1ds mark111, 800is, 1/640@7.1, iso 400

Its has been quite frustrating to film Jays. I had nailed down their flight path, but the birds seem to have other ideas. The activity was starting to build up last week and was looking good for some great action. Oh no, the birds have gone quiet with just the odd flight chance for me, even with some fine weather. Maybe thats the problem.The weather its just to nice. The birds have no urgency to stock up with food. Please can we have some cold weather to kick start the birds and give me some better filming. Only time will tell if it’s going to be another missed chance. This is my best shot to date but needs to be better, lighting isn’t great with the shadow cutting across the bird, but I like the acorn!

Young Pretender

Red Deer

canon 1ds mark 111, 800is lens, 1/250 @f7.1, iso 400

After failing again to get any worthy images of  Jays in flight, although I have spotted some nice flight paths. The season has only just began for Jays collecting food and there should be more action in the coming weeks, hopefully! Anyway the Red Deer are starting to show signs of the ‘Rutting’  and this young buck was thrashing around in the grasses and gave me a nice look in the process, so quite nice to say its in the middle of Nottingham. I do like the eye contact and the ears, theres also quite a few flies buzzing around the head which I’ve not removed, not dust spots! Side-lighting can be used to good effect on mammals revealing nice details in the fur and adding some visual impact to the image.

Backlight

Carrion Crow

canon 1ds mark 111, 800is lens, 1/500@7.1, iso 400(-2stops)

After several hours waiting for Jays to fly over my head and with no success. I decided to head home and its when I turned around to look at some crows fighting that I saw an image that looked worth trying for. I underexposed the image by 2 stops to bring out the backlighting, and with a few contrast adjustments in capture one pro and photoshop the image revealed itself to what my mind had been seeing. Understanding how to keep looking and having the camera ready and knowing how the camera controls work, so making quick adjustments like exposer can make the difference in image creation. I’ve made this mistake many times in the past and comments such as ” that looks nice” or ” look at that” begin to become a thing of the past.

Perfect Pec’

Pectoral Sandpiper

canon 1ds mark 111, 800 5.6is lens, 1/400 @f8, iso250

How can you resist when such a wonderful wader  decides to stay long enough to give me and a friend  a chance of filling our cards. This stunning wader was filmed at Draycote Water in the midlands and only just over an hour away from home I took the time to visit along with a friend. A good choice as the light was wonderful and with the bird feeding within a few feet of us, it proved to be worth the effort of the journey. It was also a great way to use my new canon 800, and what an amazing lens, so sharp and almost as light as the 500, it’s going to be great fun filming with this stunning optic. The ‘IS’ being very quiet and with 4 stops of ‘IS’ is going to be of great use this coming autumn. This is why I love photography, getting close to birds and having the chance to  observe at close range amazing plumage details. Now the big question is the bird  from the USA or Russia?, winds were coming from both directions during September! Migration is one of the avian events which ask so many questions and what makes birding/filming so exciting. My friend watched in amazement as this juvenile fed unconcerned within 3 feet of his 300. Time to stop filming and just enjoy a stunning wader, the ‘Perfect Pec’.

Spanish Splendour

Its about time that I blogged about the holiday in Spain with my family in easter this year. What a stunning holiday it was, with breath taking scenery, bird-life everywhere ,this was one fantastic holiday. It all really started when the we left Seville airport, with hundreds of common swifts flying around the buildings, an amazing site, so much that I made a mistake leaving the airport and had to go around the airport again! The driving was easy leaving Seville because of the direction given to us by our hosts for the holiday, Peter and Norma(www.andaluciaholidays.eu). The sun was setting by the time we had left Seville, but I didn’t care as we watched a Montagu’s Harrier hunting along a field close to the road. A lot better views than the dots seen in the UK!  Finally we had arrived in the tiny village of  Canaveral de leon, several miles from the nearby town of Arancena, set within the Sierra de Aracena, about one and half hours drive north of Seville.

Canaveral de Leon

The lanes around the village( the tiny white houses in the distance) abounded with wildlife. Vultures and eagles soured above with Redstarts and warblers in the oaks, swallows including Red -rumped darted around searching for insects. A Montagu’s Harrier glided past in front of me one afternoon( several males watched over the week). What was interesting was the amount of birdlife, birds like Corn Bunting and skylarks were on most wires surrounding fields, with the  Stonechat standing sentinel on any prominent post. This was so refreshing, to watch birds that in my county are not that common and in such great numbers.

Corn Bunting

Oaks

The birdlife continued to amaze with Blue Rock Thrush singing while we eat breakfast, White Storks on lots of village roofs, vultures and Black Storks riding thermals from the surrounding hills. Another highlight was when Peter guided us to look for Great Bustard in the Extremadura region and to look for Larks and raptors. We did see three Bustards feeding in a field( a lifer for me!) The birdlife is just amazing in spain and I could give you a huge list, but for me it’s just quality birding with many exciting encounters. My daughter especially liked the Black Kite following just above the roof of the car on a lane near the village. I was amazed on counting over 35 Woodchat Shrikes while birding with Peter one evening along a small lane. My wife loved to watch the Bee-eaters hawking for insects, I think you get the idea, its brill’!!! Another highlight was when we all went horse riding in the hills. I loved it, and riding through a small spanish village with the locals watching with joy and the sound of horses echoing in the tiny streets, magical. My wife still is amazed at how good I looked when cantering!!!

White Stork

Woodchat Shrike

Cowboy Details

Donkey Colours At Festival Time

A Day trip to the Cota Donana and the town of El Rocio, with its cowboys riding through the sand streets and its wonderful church standing next to a large lagoon where you can watch Flamingos and waders, with Pratincoles hawking over the water for good measure.

Whiskered Tern

El Rocio

Canaveral de leon was such a wonderful place to stay. The friendly people, amazing bird-life and with such great hosts, Peter and Norma. I can’t recommend staying with them enough, Its beautiful and safe and Peter who guides in the region has a wealth of knowledge on wildlife and Spain. Go stay there and see the real Spain in all its splendour. www.andaluciaholidays.eu

My Local Bump

Living where I do, Nottinghamshire, there’s not any mountains or deep lakes or coastal beaches to explore !  I try my best to capture what’s important to me, local scenes. Capturing details and wonderful light on a familiar landscape is hard to do. Now this small hill has been a thorn in my side for many a year, I’ve filmed in snow, frost, and just about every other weather you can imagine, but have failed to capture just what this small hill means to me. I had convinced myself there was an image there. A brief visit late last evening, the light was stunning with some fabulous clouds drifting overhead, was this the evening for rewards? My pace had quickened, there was a large bank of cloud on the horizon and the light would soon disappear below it. The hill just looked amazing glowing in warm reddish light with the added bonus of the moon rising. Several images later, I was happy, the hill had shown some of its spirit. The sun sank beneath the cloud, and it was over. I know its no huge mountain photographed in some distant place, but it’s ‘my local bump’ and at last the light had rewarded me. Also a common buzzard drifted low over a hedgerow on my way home, another reward.

Pulpit Pleasure

There I am standing in a heavy shower tripod and cameras slowing getting wet, my family having returned to the car and the other photographer standing behind me has deserted his post.  Why , simple, the light is going to show, that small gap  in the clouds will reveal a beautiful warm light, lighting up Pulpit rock on Portland headland. Light matters to all and waiting for a heavy downfall to pass in order to capture a magic moment is what its all about. The high tide is starting to pound the rocks below and the rain is starting to ease, I pull the polarizer out of the pocket and make some adjustsments and start exposing, the light is slowly illuminating the rocks and I am quite happy with what I am capturing, the clouds could had more color, but I am happy. Job done, I wonder around the corner of the rock and return to my waiting family, time for a bag of chips! we are on holiday . equipment canon 1ds mark 111, 24-105, polarizing filter.