Thursday 28 July 2011

Photography at a Snail's pace..!

This morning was another early start to try and undertake some more macro work whilst the weather was calm. However, when visiting one of my usual sites for damselflies and demoiselle's I was sadly disappointed.. Over a two hour period my friend and I only found a couple and even then they flew off and didn't want to be photographed.

However, not to be beaten I decide to take advantage of the plentiful Amber snails that were around, following an evening of rain. There were also a number of Soldier beetles which also made for good subjects to 'focus' our attention.

Whilst photographing macro subjects may seem straight forward, it's always more rewarding when you try something a little different. In this case I wanted to use the available lighting conditions to bring out the best features in the snails and perhaps inject a little anthropomorphism into the scenes.

I used the diffused sunlight to offer a certain amount of backlighting to show the translucent nature of the molluscs fleshy body against a series of different backgrounds. By shooting into the dense undergrowth I could give the appearance of an almost 'black' background to an image or likewise, into the 'grey skies' to give an almost studio 'white' background as seen in the images below..


Canon 5D MKII, Tripod, Sigma 150mm Macro f2.8,  1/80 @ f11, ISO 2500,  Ambient Light.


Canon 5D MKII, Tripod, Sigma 150mm Macro f2.8,  1/500 @ f8.0, ISO 2500,  Ambient Light.


Furthermore, by angling my camera to an extreme, I was able to give the impression of space in which this snail was almost falling as it explored the single leaf it was 'perched' on.


Canon 5D MKII, Tripod, Sigma 150mm Macro f2.8,  1/250 @ f8.0, ISO 2500,  Ambient Light.


The Soldier beetle spent quite a lot of time 'grooming' itself and it was quite difficult, in the available light, to obtain enough shutter speed to slow down it's actions in order to freeze-frame it and to gain a nice portrait. However by using and ISO of 2500 (Yes 2.5K..!) I was able to use a shutter speed of 1/125 sec at f13 to provide an adequate depth of field in order to capture this image..




So, after what appeared to be a wasted morning actually turned out to be really quite productive with some nice images in the bag and of some subjects that I might otherwise have overlooked. I'm sure there's a moral in that story somewhere..!

Until next time.. Enjoy Yourselves!

Friday 22 July 2011

Reculver

For some time now I've been thinking that I should try and concentrate on expanding my photographic interests beyond the realm of wildlife. I've wanted to try and capture the very beauty of the environment in which my subjects live so that I piece together a complete story and to provide a much grater diversity of images than I currently have in my library.

On Saturday 16th, between rain showers, there was a wonderful sunset at a nearby 'English Heritage' site known as Reculver Towers.

Reculver Towers is situated on a headland due east of the coastal towns of Whitstable, and more closely, Herne Bay. The site was once home to a Roman fort, followed by monastery. Little remains of the grand church that once stood here but the prominent towers that act as a waypoint and beacon for many sea goers.

The image I obtained from that fine evening is a composite of 2 exposure, 1) taken as an exposure for the sky and 2) an exposure for the foreground and huge boulders that make up the sea defences. The resulting image captures the beauty of this area of coastline and goes someway to fulfilling my hopes of adding 'Landscapes' to my photographic repertoire..

Reculver Towers at Sunset - 16th July 2011





Monday 4 July 2011

Marbled Whites at Sunset..

Perhaps one of our countries most beautiful butterflies and a real pleasure to spend time photographing them. In previous years I have obtained some nice images of these perfect little insects but this year I wanted to do something a little different and used the setting sun to produce some nice, almost silhouette images of them when roosting. (Click on the images to enlarge)











...and perhaps a couple of the more conventional portraits.






Finland Adventures Part 1...!

We set off for Finland on the 19th June very excited about the prospects of our very first encounter with wild, European Brown Bears. Our journey took us from London Heathrow to Kajaani (Ka-ya-nee) via Helsinki and without any delays! We arrived very hungry and looking forward to a bite to eat upon our arrival at the Martinselkosen Eräkeskus wildlife centre. 


The journey from Kajaani to the wildlife centre was approximately 2hrs by car and we spotted Raindeer, Black throated divers and a Moose on route which made for a great start to our adventure. 


Arriving at Martinselkosen Eräkeskus at about 22:30hrs we were quite tired and after a quick bite to eat and drink we were shown to our room where we settled in the for the night readying ourselves for the exciting day ahead. 


Day 1


The Martinselkosen Eräkeskus wildlife centre is situated in the Kainuu Wilderness area and a place called Pirttivaara. The area is very close to the Russian border and amidst the spectacular Taiga Forest. 
(Click on any image to enlarge)







Martinselkosen Eräkeskus, Pirttivaara, Finland



Following a healthy breakfast, I was given the opportunity to head out to a spot where a Great Grey Owl had set up her nest. The area was owned by the family of one of our guides and he said that he would take people out to view the nest site for the hefty sum of €50..! However, despite being a bit of captive audience, you can't blame the guy for trying to make some extra cash since the price of living in Finland is really quite expensive. 


I knew that this was probably going to be a once in the lifetime opportunity to photograph this magnificent bird in the wild and at its nest site, so I agreed to pay the sum and headed out. Fortunately the young had not fledged and the setting provided a good opportunity for some intimate photography with this otherwise elusive species. 





The nest site and the Great Grey owl sitting on the nest at the centre of the image


The owl seemed very relaxed in our presence, having been photographed many times by previous visitors. Nonetheless we set up some camouflage netting aside our vehicle and tried to make as little fuss as possible whilst in her presence. The rewards were great and not only did we get to spend time viewing her and taking the odd photograph or two, but we even got to see both her chicks! Unfortunately, the male was no longer around to help rear this brood and therefore the onerous task was left to the female alone and so the life of her chicks hangs in the balance. 




Female, Great Grey Owl at rest whilst one of her two chicks looks out
at the vast forest beyond its nest. 


After spending a few hours in the presence of these great birds it was time to return to Martinselkosen Eräkeskus in order to have some lunch before heading out to the hides for the evening viewing of the bears..!

Following a nice hearty meal we prepared our camera gear and doused in mosquito repellent (50% deet) before setting off for the 'Swamp' hides for our first bear encounter. The location of the hides are just a short car journey from the centre followed by a gentle 1Km walk into the forest to reach our location. Unfortunately the evening was very overcast and the heavy rain was being blown about by the wind.. Not ideal for photographing bears and I was almost worried that we might spend our first night without even a glimpse of a bear..!

The hides are very simple in construction and not much bigger than the footage of a common garden shed, albeit much shorter in height, even for me..! They have a simple foam covered board that double as both a seat for the duration and a place to lay and get your head down for some sleep when the bears are absent. The walls are punctuated with windows covered in camouflage material in which to pass your camera lenses through and with one-way viewing windows between.



The hides a long 'flu stack' to carry scent away from the hides.
The centre owner distributes 'dog food' around the area to entice the bears in.



Inside the hide showing the seating/sleeping area together with the 
windows and camera 'port-holes'.



Just in case you were wondering.. The toilet is situated under the seating/sleeping board and is by means of one or two plastic 'ice-cream' tubs with lids on, that never get washed out..! You use them, they get emptied and left for the next people to use..! Plenty of alcohol hand wash was used during our stay!


And so we waited....

Soon the bears began to arrive...



You can see from the dense coat just how wet the weather was for our first 
night, making conditions for photography very difficult. 
However, just spending time watching the bears was truly awesome.. 



Soon a mother and her two cubs arrived, one being obscured by his 
mother in this image. 



Showing the family unit together.



The young cubs were into everything and were very playful, entertaining us 
photographers for much of the evening, despite the rain. 



Despite their thick little coats, the cubs soon became 
waterlogged..!  



Following some truly memorable times with the mother and her cubs,
soon we were visited by a very large male. His presence making the mother a little 
apprehensive over the safety of her cubs.



You can see from the scarring on his nose, he's not a bear to be messed with! 
Although not the alpha male in the area, he's still a formidable candidate.
Some of the markings and scars help to identify individual bears. 



So, despite the heavy rain and dark, overcast conditions we were presented with some truly memorable events and first time encounters. We had approximately 13 individual bears visit the area around the hides on this evening and I had very little sleep as I didn't want to miss a thing..! At 7am the following morning we were collected form the hides and taken back to Martinselkosen Eräkeskus ready for breakfast and some shut-eye..! 


To Be Continued.....