Reflection on Bempton...so far

I have just finished working on the photographs from my last session at Bempton.  I have to say overall I am very pleased with what I have captured.  I have created a new collection in Lightroom called Bempton and this allows me to review all of my photographs taken over the last two years.   This was created for two reasons:  firstly, to review the work to date, what trends have I got in the photographs?  What have I missed? What do I need to improve on?   

The second is perhaps more important.  I have just received my first copy of 'The Iris'.  This is the magazine of the RPS Nature Group.   It is a really interesting read, not for its editorial style but rather for the information it contains about RPS distinctions.  This is where the Bempton collection comes in.  I am going to submit a portfolio for my ARPS next year and I need a working title.  To date I have come up with two working titles:  'Birds of the British Coast' and 'Birds of Bempton Cliffs'.   Now these are just working titles but they do allow me to start to structure any submission I might make.

With this in mind it is clear that the Bempton collection falls into both title headings.  What I need to do now is be very dispassionate about the photographs of Bempton, not at all easy but a worth while exercise and try and answer the three questions set above.   So what are the trends?  To date I have captured a large number of Gannet photographs, perhaps I might consider 'Gannets of Bempton cliffs'?  Maybe, but this is not what I am doing at the moment.  One noticeable trend is that the I have very few photographs of Kittiwakes, Guillemots and Razorbills flying.  I also have a total lack of Puffins.  This starts to give me a shooting list for my next visit.  Also I have no chick or young bird photographs - again another add to the list.

So the process has started.  I won't really commit to this until after the BWPA photographs are submitted, again these two work hand in hand so that is a bonus.   Lets see what the months bring.  One final thing.  The photograph of the two Gannets above is unlikely to succeed in any submission to the nature group for an ARPS as it is too interpretive rather than factual - well that is what I think at the moment.  Hopefully I will find that this is not the case but we have to wait and see.