Its done

Well Dell have completed the reinstall - it only took just under 28 hours!   That, of course, is unfair the actual work tonight took just over two hours.  Now I have the task of rebuilding the computer to the way I want it to be.  This will take a few days so wish me luck.

Computer update

At the moment all is going well.  They are downloading a 105 mb driver for the video card so I haven't got to do anything.  I must say remote assist is a wonderful thing and I enjoy watching the technician work.   At least my blood pressure is a lot lower tonight than it was last night.

so far so good

Well I have started to reinstall the operating system - so far so good.  I have made sure that I install the correct OS this time, my wife is looking over my shoulder this time!   Now I have to wait for the OS to install then the Dell people will ring back and help with the next part of the install, the drivers.  This is where it all went wrong last night.  Watch this space.

Road works

Well it is election time.  How do I know this?   Our local county councillor has sent a circular round explaining what is happening about the local roadworks.  This is nothing unusual you may think - however this is the first time she has written to anybody.   Now there are elections in June so I am suspecting that the two are connected.   I may be wrong of course and this is just a lucky happens chance.  

Waiting for Godo

I have never been that good at waiting - I always find it irritating but I am having to wait for the Dell person to ring me back - as he said he would.  Well it is nearly two hours after he said he would call back and nothing.   So what do I do?   Call Dell?   Well at this time it is usually very busy so I would be sitting for 20 + minutes listening to some inane musac or wait for the phone call.   I think I am going to have to suck it up and just wait for the call.   This is really starting to annoy me. 

Obama's People

Young fresh and alive is the lasting impression I got from the portraits of the transitional Barack Obama team at the exhibition 'Obama's People' at the Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery.   The portraits were taken for a special edition of the New York Times  by London based photographer Nadav Kandar.

The exhibition is in one room.  The walls are painted white and there is a good deal of natural light which enhances the feeling of fresh and new.   Most of the portraits at hung on the four walls of the room.   Towards the rear of the room there is a tunnel construction that is painted black and very dimly lit - but more of this in a moment.

Now for any one who is a West Wing fan there is a wonderful game to play as you examine the photographs - which one is Josh, which one is Tobby, Leo etc?   This is not as silly as it sounds as the producers of the West Wing are claiming that the character of Matt Santos is loosely inspired by the Obama and there are some other neat fits - Rahm Emanual is also very similar to Josh, who was also Santos' chief of staff.   I could go on but I won't.

As you enter the gallery there is one portrait that catches your eye straight away - Hillary Clinton.   She is undoubtedly the second most famous person in the room, although whether she is the second most powerful is another matter.   You eyes are drawn immediately to her and you can tell that she has done this sort of thing before.   She looks relax and yet formal - well aware of the power of her image.  Compare this to the portrait of Reggie Love, Obama's body man (next to Clinton in the collection above).  Here we have a young man who is full of the life that Obama has brought to the Presidency,   he has none of the years of Washington in fighting that has clearly formed and bruised Hillary Clinton

As you walk around the gallery you quickly realise that someone is missing.    Where is Banquo?  This is a feast in his honour and yet he is nowhere to be seen.   This being said his personality can be felt throughout the room - yet where is Obama?   To find Obama you have to enter the tunnel structure towards the rear of the room.   Here, opposite some very ordinary night shots of Washington DC land marks is a very small portrait of Obama.   It is a black and white photograph, see above, and illuminated by a small spot in the ceiling of the structure.   This might be the smallest photograph in the exhibition yet it still holds your attention.

The inner circle of George Bush's first administration

Annie Leibovitz ~ Nov 2001

As I walked around the gallery I kept thinking back to the Leibovitz portrait of the Bush inner circle from his first administration.   This is a rather formal affair of very serious looking people.   It has a sinister feel to it.  Now it is too easy to draw any conclusions from this comparison but it was something I kept coming back to again and again.   The Obama people really do represent the audacity of hope compared to the tired, discredited people they replaced. 

Obama's People

I accidently deleted this review from the blog.  I will try and recreate it tomorrow.

AARRGGHH!!!!!!!!

Ian if you ever read this you can take that smug look off your face.   My computer has gone wrong again.  yesterday I mentioned that we had an electrical storm right over head and this caused some problems with my network.  Well today my computer finally stopped recognising the external card reader leaving me with no way of uploading files that had been captured by my camera.   I had put this off for too long - I contacted Dell.   That is 5 hours I would not wish on my worst enemy.    The long and short of it is that I now have a none functioning computer.

The problem was diagnosed a software conflict and so I was instructed that I would have to reinstall the operating system.   This mean I would have to rebuild the computer as though it was a brand new computer - a problem but not a fatal one.    So I followed the instruction given to me on the phone and reinstalled the operating system.   We then tried to install the drivers and the whole process fell to pieces.  I couldn't get the drivers to work.   I downloaded the drivers from the internet - still didn't work.  I then started to ask for an engineer to attend and sort the problem out - this was not possible as my warranty didn't cover this.   However, I kept insisting on this - so the technician on the phone had to go and talk to his supervisor.   Another hour wait for the supervisor to ring back.   I went through this again and we tried to install the drivers again.   I then found out that I had installed the wrong operating system on the computer, my wife has a 32 bit Vista laptop and my desktop is 64 bit - no wonder the drivers didn't work.   It was not 10 at night and I had had enough.   We will pick this story up in the morning.

So what have I learnt from this episode?   Well first that even premium support from Dell means dealing with the dreaded Indian call centres.   This is nothing against the people who are usually very helpful and obliging but, and this is a big, huge massive BUT, they don't speak english english and no matter how many lessons they go through this will never change.   I have nothing but respect for their technical prowess they just cannot communicate well down the phone.   This is not the people's fault it is the fault of Dell.   They have cut corners on support by out sourcing to India.   telephone communication is a pure verbal communication with no non verbal communication involved and so the message has to be very clear.   When either party doesn't understand exactly what is being said then this is an accident waiting to happen.  Tonight one happened.  I made a mistake, however the person on the phone was not bale to overcome this because he couldn't check which disk I was putting into the machine.   However, his instructions were not clear, especially when things went wrong.   The only moral I would learn from this whole sorry story is to buy a really good support package, one that sends an engineer on site to sort your problems out.   Tomorrow I hopefully will address this deficiency.   However, there will no doubt be more twists and turns in this story.  Oh happy days.

The effects of thunder

New Street Birmingham

I suppose I asked for this.   You may recall a few days ago I wished for rain and bad weather.  What did I get?   Sun and mild weather.  Well this has turned today and we were sitting under a violent thunder storm for about 20 minutes this afternoon.   Just to show you how violent the clamp of the thunder shuck my work desk.   This also brought a powerful electric magnetic shock and wouldn't you know it has had an adverse effect on my network and in particular my server.  Be careful what you wish for I suppose is the moral of this tail!

The Hitcher

From Chris Coekin's exhibition The Hitcher

Ever felt like hitchhiking around Britain?   well if you have then I suggest you visit Chris Coekin's exhibition at the City Gallery, Leicester.   The exhibition is made up of a series of images that Coekin, a lecturer at the University of the Creative Arts, made whilst undertaking this incidental expedition around the highways and byways of the country at other people's expense. 

The exhibition is spaced around three walls at the rear of the gallery.  One wall are self portraits of Coekin in different locations.  He used a small digital camera to capture these images.  Above and below the photographs are quotes from people who picked him up.

The second wall records the detritus Coekin in verges and roadsides on his travels.  The third wall of photographs are portraits of some of the people that picked him and agreed to have their photograph taken.  To my surprise quite a few were women - not what I expected.

The a small wall protrudes into the galley floor and on this there is a collection of the signs that Coekin made to indicate where he wanted to travel to.  Many of these appeared in the photographs.

The exhibition is a fascinating record of the mundane.  The inconsequential road junctions, the rubbish and the everyday people you meet on the road.  It is also a record of the charitable and open spirit still to be found in this country.   Despite the tabloids screaming about the latest crimes there are people out there who are willing to put these suspicions aside and offer a ride.  In someways it records the same people as Chaucer did all those years ago.   An exhibition well worth a look if you get the chance.

My new toy

Well I have gone and done it.  I have bought myself a new camera and these are the first efforts with my beautiful new 1D Mark III.   None of them would win any prizes and were all taken in my back garden.   However, like most photographers the first place I try out any new equipment is in my own garden.  Watch this space for more information.

Just the slightest touch of W Eugene Smith

Apart from the Obama exhibition I did chance to make a few photographs.   This one it seems to me has just a hint of W. Eugene Smith about it.   I have been examining his mammoth work on the US city of Pittsburgh over the past few weeks and this seems to have influenced me just a little here.

Another attempt at a Bluebell wood photograph

Still not sure whether I am on the right track but I feel this is better than the normal 'bog standard' bluebell photograph.

Grubbing about at the Roadside

You know what it like, you see something and you know you have to take a photograph.  Well that happened to me this afternoon.  I was driving in my car and I saw a large patch of dandelion seed heads.  Somewhere in my sub conscious I recorded this for further work.  After my evening meal the sun was setting and the light was just right to go and make the photographs - so I did.

As usual it involved me lying prostrate to get just the right angle for the light.  Now I think I might be getting a bit a reputation locally as the strange man who is found in hedge bottoms or grass verges.  As usual I got some strange looks from the passing motorists which is alright as I am quite use to this by now.

So I have just got home and processes the first two photographs - both with their own problems - however I feel that these actually add, rather than distract, to the final photograph.

Bluebell woods

Been thinking about the question of 'how do you capture a bluebell wood without the photograph becoming a cliche?'   Not sure I have an answer yet but I have been looking at some of the images on Flickr - needless to say they were very much what you might expect.

The same can be said if you do a Google image search.  It is an interesting question though - one I will work at for the next week or so.

Spring time in the bluebell wood

Just come back from shooting some photographs in the Spring Wood, Staunton Harold.  Interesting experience as it is difficult to make something new about a real cliche subject.   Still working at this.

Spring

Spring is a wonderful time.  I got up this morning and saw this view in my garden.   It doesn't matter whether it is a good photograph or not it just adds to joy of being alive.

RPS Nature Group

I have joined the RPS nature group.  Not sure what this will lead to but there looks like some interesting events.

RPS International Print Exhibition.

City of London

It has been a few weeks since I was selected for this exhibition and I have started to realise what an honour this is.   This really is a first for me and I really do not know what the opening reception will be like.   I have arrange overnight accommodation in London for my wife and my self so we can really drink up the experience.

I have viewed the selected prints at the RPS website and it still seems unreal that my print is part of the collection.  So where do I go from here?   Well the simple answer is I don't know.  I have decided that my next move, whatever that might be, will be guided by my appearance in the exhibition.  I clearly want the ARPS and so this will form a great part of my photographic journey over the next 12 months.  Beyond this I cannot say.  However, I am sure that something else will come along.

Not just Sea Birds

Still slowly working through the images from Bempton.   It is a wonderful place to see birds that you wouldn't necessarily associate with the sea.  Here is a selection of birds I captured whilst walking to and from the main sites.

Meadow Pipit

The fields that back onto the cliffs are full of Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and Reed Buntings.  They usually sit on the cliff edge fence and watch the world go by.  You can approach them to within a reasonable distance before they fly off.

Kestrel

We watched this Kestrel for some time.   As usual with any bird of prey they didn't seem to be doing anything but sitting with an uninterested air to them.  This Kestrel was in fact watching something just across the ravine.  Suddenly it was off and flew into the other side of the ravine  with a loud thud.   We couldn't see if it had caught anything as it flew off towards the sea.

Jackdaw

As with most other members of the Corvis family the the Jackdaw has an eye for the main chance.   This one was sitting on a fence by the main car park on the look out for scraps of food that may be thrown its way.  Whilst this is not a sea bird there are a large number of Jackdaws that nest on the cliffs next to Kittiwakes and Guillemots.

iPhone

Just a brief update.  Whilst I decided not to use my iPhone at Bempton I just couldn't leave it at home so guess what - I took two phones with me.   I can't explain this anymore.

Seabird City

Staple Neuk - Bempton Cliffs

Visiting a sea bird colony is always an attack on all of your senses.  Usually, first there is an attack on your sense of vision.  Where to look?  How do you capture such a complex and magnificent vision?  What was that?  Which birds are where?   It takes a few minutes just to overcome the sense awe you feel.   Whilst you are doing this the next attack on your senses sinks in.   The smell and taste of the colony.   Once experienced never forgotten.  An intoxicating mix of fish and bird droppings.  The air becomes thick with this acrid atmosphere.  It imbues your mind so much that whenever you see a photograph of a bird colony suddenly you can taste and smell the colony all over again.

Gannet over Bempton Cliffs

As this sensory overload takes hold another layer is added.  The noise.  Usually it is the painful wailing of the Kittiwake, birds that seems to be in constant pain.  Of course they are not it is just the impression that their cry has on you saturated senses.  As your hearing settlers down you start to strain for different cries in the wind.   You identify a cry and make an identification only to realise that it was a trick of the wind.   If you are near a gannet colony then there is the endless bickering of neighbours who are protecting their few centimetres of barren cliff.   You stand and wonder how on earth are they able to cling onto such a precipitous nest site?  Of course to the gannet there is nothing wrong with this.  It is just what gannets do.

Gannet looking for nesting material

Then overhead you feel the wind rush as a Fulmar rushes by.   You look up and the bird gives you an imperious glance as glides effortless on the updrafts.  At that moment you know what it is like to see an angel floating in the clouds.

Gannet

Then at sea you notice more birds.  They bob and heave with the waves.  A small fishing boat slowly makes its way past the colony and you see a flock of screaming gulls following its progress to port.   If you have come to the colony on a boat these are the same gulls that hitch a lift on the captain's cabin, all the time their bright beady eyes scanning the horizon for the next feeding opportunity.

Fulmar

The first time you visit a sea bird colony it is unforgettable.  Something that makes you want come back again and again.  Each time you are never disappointed.  Each time seeing something new.  Then you realise that this an ephemeral experience.  Once the chicks have flown the colony empties until the next summer.   You have to move your attention to the autumn and winter natural spectacles.  All the time waiting for the days to lengthen so that you can experience the assault on the sense once more.

The first reflections on my day at Bempton

Well it has been 24 hours and I have just culled a 1000 images from the 1275 I took yesterday at Bempton.  This sounds like a disaster.  What went wrong?   This was indeed my feelings last night as I had a quick run through the images whilst they were being uploaded to Lightroom.  So many duds - what went wrong?   Luckily I was so tired last night after being up for nearly 24 hours I didn't have time to reflect on this problem as I fell asleep.  A new day and a fresh perspective and suddenly things are not as bad as they first seemed.  Indeed I am now feeling very satisfied with my days work.  So why the change?

I think the answer lies in the conditions you work in at Bempton.  On a bright day you tend to get incredible changes in light, from bright reflected sunshine over the sea to dark shadows near to the cliff face.  You are also trying to capture fast moving birds at really close range.  These birds also tend to be predominantly white which does play havoc with any metering you might do.  The cumulative effect of these problems is that an awful lot of images are, well there is no other word for it, crap.

However, when you start to work with the images you find that amongst the dross there are some real gems.  In fact given the challenging conditions, the only way to really guarantee any chance of capturing something good is to blast away.  It is not pretty, and if I was shooting film hugely expensive, but is works.  

An example of this is the photograph of the Fulmar above.   Now I have a love hate relationship with this bird.  When you are shooting at a cliff face you can almost be sure that there will be a Fulmar darting around, usually just above your head, you can almost imagine they are taunting you to try and capture a photograph.   Despite this they are a wonderfully graceful bird, almost making no effort to fly past you at great speed, using the updrafts from the cliffs to propel them along.  So to capture an image of this bird I have to take an awful lot of photographs.   It could be argued that I need to rethink my approach but there really is nothing more to do than blast away at every opportunity.  When it works it is great, but it doesn't work very often and can be very frustrating.  In short, as with most other wildlife photography, you have to put the hours in to get the shot you want, this is so true at Bempton as well.

So I will plough through the remaining images to see which can be turned into worthwhile photographs.  Looks like it will be an interesting few days.

Bempton Cliffs

The first of hopefully many

As I write this I am almost falling asleep at the keyboard.  We have had an extraordinary day at Bempton.  The weather was brilliant, sunny and clear.   The birds, as usual, were superb it was really worth getting up at 3:30 in the morning.   Even the sunrise this morning was exceptional, I just wish i had the time to stop and capture a few photographs, but we were on a time table - we must get to Bempton early to get the best light and views before the crowds arrive.

I will publish more details as I finish processing the photographs, and hopefully after a good night sleep.  For now I have only been able to work on one photograph - not bad seeing that this was only taken this morning and I had to drive 100 miles back home before I could do this.

Bempton Cliffs

Just found this photograph of Bempton Cliffs.  It gives you a better feel for the scale of the cliffs - I just hope the weather is better than this day.

Off to Bempton in the morning

We're off the the Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve in the morning, and when I say morning I mean it is a 4am start.  Why such an ungodly hour to set off?   Well it takes nearly two hour to get there so we should arrive around about 6am.  The reserve at this time is deserted and you get the pick of the photographic locations.  As the day wears on then you get a lot more people there and you don't have the freedom to roam that you have earlier in the day.   Also the light starts to become too harsh, it is, after all nearly May and so the sun is getting quite high in the sky.

Gannet

So what do we hope to see in the morning.  Well there will be an ever increasing Gannet colony and if we are really lucky we should see the first Puffins of the season. 

Bempton Cliffs

The Bempton reserve is a strange place.   It is about a mile from the village and when you arrive all you can see are fields and the sea, there is no indication of a bird colony at all.   However, as you walk to the sea you start to become aware of noise of the birds, yet very little sign of them. Then wham you are on top of some of the tallest chalk cliffs in the country and below you are all the birds stacked high up the cliff face.  This stretches for miles along the Yorkshire coast and is a fantastic spectacle in its self.   Lets just hope the weather holds.

Some more thoughts on the iPhone

Well it is nearly two months since I bought this phone and I have to say it has not disappointed.  I find it invaluable in my day to day life.   However, I have one problem which has meant that from time to time I have reverted back to my old phone.   When I am out in the countryside, well away from WiFi hotspots and 3G coverage is patchy, I find the phone very bulky.  This may sound bizarre as it is hardly the 'brick' of old.  No the problem is a I usually stuff my pockets with card holders lens etc and the phone just gets in the way.  My old Nokia, on the other hand, is small slim and less obtrusive.  I suspect that the Nokia might also be a little bit more robust to the bumps and bangs when shooting in the countryside so in these circumstances I revert to the old phone.   Apart from this 'out of envelope' set of circumstances I would be lost without my iPhone.

Playing Catch Up

I suppose we all get those sort of days.  Days when you don't really feel like doing anything other than sitting on you big bum and watching TV.  Well todays has been one of those days.  It has been a real struggle to get anything done.   I was planning on going out and making a few photographs but unfortunately I just couldn't summon the energy to this.  I'm sorry today was just a flop.

The one thing that I was able to do was try and catch up with the back log of photographs I have taken and try to sort through them and process a few.  Believe me this was also hard but I persevered and managed to produce these 4 photographs.   I have a busy few days ahead so I doubt I will be able to get out and make any photographs so I might have to resort to further catching up - perhaps this is not a bad thing after all given the back log I have got!

Cold and Grey

Hide with a view.  The Manton Bay lagoon where an Osprey is nesting on a nesting site - it really was this bleak!

Another frustrating day sitting by the reservoir.  I arrived at the Lyndon nature reserve just before 9am.  I signed in and off I went through the mud and gloom towards the Shallow Water hide at the far end of the reserve.   The first part of the walk was reasonable enough.  I saw a Blackcap and Chiffchaf singing away, their songs lifting the gloom.   Just as an aside I do wish the BBC weather people would get their heads out of the London centric forecasts.  They had predicted good weather for the East Midlands almost as an after thought.  Needless to say the forecast was wrong.

I finally arrived at the Shallow Water hide after about of a mile walk.  I had the hide to myself which is always nice.   I dropped the cover and took a look out.  My heart sank.   Somewhere in the gloom about 1/2 a mile from the hide was the Osprey nesting site, a specially built platform in the middle of Manton Bay.   I peered through the gloom with my binoculars and was surprised to see a bird on the nest.  The surprise wasn't that there but rather that it wasn't an Osprey but rather a more common Canadian Goose!   Spirits plummeted.

No matter I thought lets just see what might happen.   Nothing.   This, of course, is not true.  There was plenty of things happening, none of it within easy photographic reach.   The only thing that came within range was a flock of Hebridean sheep wondered by.   Out on the water the House martins were performing and flocks of ducks and Egyptian  geese squabbled amongst themselves.  None of this near where I was sitting.   After about an hour or so of this I decided to give up and walk back to the visitor centre.

Photo of the day!

As I walked back along the farm track, leaving the muddy path to its own devices, I came across a number of slugs slimming over the track towards the grass.  Out came my trusty G9 and I started snapping.  After this I went back to the centre had a chat with a fellow visitor who informed me that the Osprey nest had eggs in it, not sure what the goose was doing there perhaps a bit of baby sitting?

The weather hadn't improved so I decided to take a walk to other end of the reserve in search of a reported nightingale.   Again the track was muddy and I am sorry to say I only made it as far as the Swan hide as I had almost fallen over.  This is a well named hide as it over looks a small pool which had a resident pair of mute swans, a pair of mallards and coots.   After about 15 minutes I decided to call it a day and slithered my way back to the centre for some warmth.   The weather still didn't appear to be lifting so I beat a retreat home.

So what of the hunt for the Osprey?   Well they are there but too far away to get any interesting photographs.   Do I continue?   Well yes but it is not looking promising but you just never know.

More thoughts on Ospreys

Example of my attempts at Digiscoping

Having thought a little more about the Osprey problem (See previous posting) another option would be to consider digiscoping. Now I had a go at this a few years ago and found it a bit hit and miss.  However, things have moved on considerably since then as have my skills and knowledge so maybe this is the answer?  I have a already got a very good scope and the costs of a good compact, I wouldn't use the G9, would be significantly less than the outlay for a very long lens.   It is worth considering.

I am going to make another reci of Rutland water tomorrow so hopefully more ideas will come to me.

Printing

Had an enjoyable day printing off some photographs.  I love doing this and some how the photographs obtain much greater meaning and value to me once they have been printed off.   This is a strange reaction when looked at coldly.  The image is the same, or very similar, to that on the screen so what is the difference?  I suppose the difference is that you can hold a print, feel it, smell it.  It has a life beyond a VDU and hard drive and may well last well beyond the hard drive from whence it came has been recycled.  I am going to try and run some more printed off around once a month so I wonder what I will print off then?

More thoughts on the Osprey

5R sitting on fallen poplar in Manton Bay - John Wright - from official Rutland Osprey Website

I have been giving this project a lot of thought over the last few days.   Just how do I capture a really good photograph of the birds at Rutland water.  One option would be to bite the bullet and buy an even longer telephoto lens, the longest I have at the moment is 600 mil,  however, I am not sure that this is the answer as the equipment never takes a good shot the photographer does.

Another option would be to visit a site where ospreys are far more abundant.  This would involve traveling abroad and would end up costing the same as the long lens.   I am not sure I will ever be able to answer this conundrum but it is something that all photographers go through, just how do you capture the photograph you have in your mind's eye?

How lucky am I?

I have just had a shower and all the time I could hear the birds singing their hearts out.  I don't live in the middle of a the countryside, in fact I am within half a mile of two motorways, yet I have a small oasis of natural music which more than drowns out the distant roar of the traffic.  As I write this a male Chaffinch is calling for all his worth.   The dawn chorus at the moment is wonderful and it makes me realise just how lucky I am.   I hope this doesn't sound too James Stewart!

A good wildlife shot?

I have been thinking about the problem of capturing photographs of the Osprey at Rutland water and the problems associated with it.   The biggest problem would be around the distance between the bird and the photographer.  The only place where you can guarantee to see the bird is at the nesting platform.   this is the best part of a quarter of a mile from the nearest hide - not that close.  So you then have to ask are there other locations where the bird may well turn up.  The obvious one would be whilst it is catching fish.  Again this has a problem.  Rutland water is one of the largest man made lakes in Europe and so in theory the birds could hunt anywhere.  However, this is not quite the case but there still is a large area to try and stack out.

None of these problems are insurmountable but it has started me to question what is a 'good' wildlife photograph.  I know this is an almost impossible question to answer and I am not even going to try to answer this here apart from to say that I am being drawn more and more to what I would call 'situational' photographs.   By this I mean photographs of the animal in its natural situation rather than some close up.  The photograph above gives an example.  Here we see a crow sitting in a tree surveying the land for feeding opportunities.   The photograph also portrays the broader landscape and also provides a sense of perspective to where the crow lives.  Is this a 'good' wild life shot?   I believe it is - however, when you look at wildlife magazines you find a different approach.  They always seem to want the more punchy shot.  The close up, quite literally in your face.  I am not sure this is the wild life shot I like to produce.   I will have to give this some more thought.

Right place at the right time...

Great Crested Grebes

Any one who know Rutland Water will be able to tell you that there is an awful lot of water and quite a bit of it between you and the birds.   The position of the hides doesn't help with the lighting either.  Anyway, we turned up at one of the hides this morning and it wasn't looking promising - the Osprey nesting platform was some distance away and most of the other birds were either too far away or the bright sunlight was behind them.   Not a good combination for any useful photographs.   Then two Grebes decided to perform their very intimate matting ritual right next to the hide at just the right angle for the light.  Now you some time have to wait hours for this but not today.  Within five minutes of sitting down in the hide they performed.  Magic.  Sometimes it just comes off.

The first Osprey Shots...

Well here it is...the first Osprey photograph.  Not brilliant but it is a start.  I have learnt a lot about the set required at Rutland Water and I am afraid there is no substitution for a long lens.  In this case size really does appear to matter.   There are a  lot of technical issues I have to think about before I proceed but I now have some useful data to help this.

Rutland Water

Not an Osprey!

At least I am now out of the bog.  Spent a great day at Rutland Water.  The trip had two objectives.  The first was to see the Osprey and assess the camera angles etc that I might want to use or have available.  The second was to have a nice time in the countryside bird watching and capturing some photographs of birds.   I achieved both objectives.  At the moment I am processing the photographs so I will post a much more in depth report over the next day or so.   I did get to see the osprey - magnificent!  The last time I had seen one was at Walt Disney World when it was fishing in the Seven Seas Lagoon.   

Bog Blog

I know this is becoming a bit like the Bog Blog at the moment but I have found such inspiration in the Bog that I can't help myself.   I love the light and colour you get in these moist and dank places.  Don't worry I'll get over it but there may well be some further Bog Blogs before the infliction passes.