Getting the right name...

As I write this I am surrounded by reference books; books on flora and fauna; books books books! So I have become to the technicalities of wildlife photography. Not the capturing of a particular image, nor its artistic value. No I am fretting over whether a butterfly is a Large White or a Green Veined White.

Not only do I spend my time looking through books I then revert to examining endless photographs on line. This can be a bit dodgy as you are never quite sure whether the person who has named the creature is correct in the first place. So you endlessly switch between books and the screen. It is at times frustrating and also fascinating - I think???

More time in the Bog...

Just took my new macro lens for a test drive. I have to say first impressions are very positive. The colour and contrasts are a considerable improvement on the previous lens. This being said I found the old lens to be really good under most circumstances - however, it didn't seem very responsive to auto focus of the 1D. Anyway, I took the new lens and 1D to the bog and I found the experience to be most encouraging.

BWPA Submitted

Deer Park - Marloes

Well that's another set of photographs submitted. Now onto the next submission. Well it is a busy time at the moment. I have submitted photographs to the Landscape Photographer of the Year and now the British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA). The next is the Projected Image Exhibition with the RPS. All these competitions are very much the luck of the draw. You try and develop string images that meet the brief and then hope they catch the eye of the judges. There is no feedback nor evolution as you might get with a client.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is the photograph above. I have submitted this as part of the Habitat category of the BWPA and nothing unusual about that I suppose apart from I had forgotten that there was a Habitat category until this morning when I paid my dues and submitted the work. So a quick rummage through my photographs came up with three that I thought fitted the brief. No long deliberation as I had with other photographs but a quick selection process and that was it. Does this mean it has less chance of sucess than the others? I don't know and this demonstartes the random nature of the process. Still it is fulfilling just going through the process and so onto the next submission.

National Trust and Gardens...

I'm working towards entering the International Garden Photography competition. Nothing unusual there. So one of the first question you have to ask yourself is where should I go to photograph a garden (it is more complicated than that).. One of the obvious suggestion that has been made to me is 'well there's always the National Trust...' Are yes the good old National trust. The reliable old relative that you always know about but don't really start to appreciate until you are getting on a bit yourself.

However, it turns out that the old codger has a dark side. It has always been interested in raising money - I, like every other member, get enough fund raising bumph from them every year - goodness only know what the carbon footprint of all this lot is but that is another story. Now they are taking serious action to control their image rights. If you want to enter any photograph taken on a National Trust premises then you must get permission from the Trust before you enter it into the competition. (Click Here to see the full restrictions)

I just love the way that the lawyers who wrote these restrictions have the bare faced check to start the restrictions by saying the Trust '...is pleased to be able to offer photographers the opportunity to take photographs at its properties ...' However, to take up this opportunity you must get written permission from the Trust before you actually take any photographs. They very handily provide the form to fill out so that you can get it signed before you enter any property. Interestingly they don'y ask for such a form to be completed by entrants to their own photo competition (Click here for the rules)

We will set aside the way the restrictions totally contradict the opening sentence of their rules and consider the photograph I took of the Red Squirrel I took at Formby National Trust site last year. The question is this. Does the National Trust claim the image rights of the Squirrel? This is a wild animal that lives on a National Trust Site. Do I need to get a release form signed before I use this photograph - if so from whom? I suppose the Trust could argue that the pine tree in the photograph is their property and so they do have some rights over that - but a wild animal who lives in their woods?

Are we getting things slightly out of proportion here? Probably. But that is the crazy form filling world in which we live. A hoo. By the way the photograph below was not taken on a National Trust property but rather a public footpath in Narborough.

When is a photograph not a photograph?

New Life - Martin Wilson

Every now and then you come across something really different - something that makes you question what you know. I had that experience today when saw the exhibition of Martin Wilson at theBishop Street Methodist Church in Leicester. So what is all the fuss about?

Martin Wilson uses every day objects and letters he finds around in the streets of London to create messages. Nothing too special about this you might suggest about this and if this were the only thing he does then that would be correct. However, Wilson uses film as his medium to record the letters. He then places the stripes of 35 mm film together to spell out the message. Again on the face of it not too unusual until you start to realise that he must work out what each frame of film must contain before he captures it.

If this was not daunting enough then consider the piece 'New Life' above. Here Wilson has used branches of trees to spell out the saying 'I was naked, you clothed me'. Each letter was made up of at least four frames. Not only that but each branch must be framed in such a way as to ensure that it fits together with the other frames that make up each character. Once you start to get your head around that then you realise what a monumental task it is to create each work. Just to complicate matters ', you clothed me' can only be taken in spring when the new leaves are just coming into bud. Mess that up and you have to wait another twelve months to get it right. To see this in greater detail click here.

Now this would be very easy to do using Photoshop but with film it becomes a monumental effort. You only have to think about the attention to detail that must be applied to the planning of each piece and your head starts to spin.

However, this was not caused the revaluation in me. The question that kept coming back to me was this - is this photography? Now I know that this is one of those questions that you can never answer. It is up there with - is this art? On one level it is photography. All of the pieces exhibited are literally photographs. However, this is like saying a painting is just oil on canvas. It is true but doesn't really mean anything. I think an indication of what Wilson thinks comes from the statement accompanying the exhibition. Here Wilson is described as creating '...photographic artworks...' So Wilson thinks that they are primarily photographs. It is just to me this doesn't really do the work justice - it really seems to have that hybrid nature - perhaps a missing link between the two worlds - this of course assumes that there is any delineation between art and photography.

I don't really have any answer to these questions and in the end I don't think it matters but standing in front of the pieces it just kept recuring in my head and that is surely what good art should do. It should challange you to think again and reexamine your perceptions and provide new inspirations. Martin Wilson's work certainly did this for me.

So if you get the chance to see Martin Wilson's work then it really is worth it.

Oops...

I have just received the latest copy of AG magazine. One of the articles is about series of photographs made by the Russell Wright entitled 'Men of Arlington'. It is a powerful set of portraits of men who live at a hostel in North London. However, for some reason the AG printers have screwed up as the reproduction is not what you would expect. In fact it looks like some of my attempts at black and white printing - but that is another story. However, it does have the unintended effect of making the photographs even darker than should otherwise have been. Now for some this does not work but for one or two it really adds to the power of the work.

Interestingly, the same printing error has occurred on a series of photographs made by David Houghton. Here it just look a mess and distracts from the work. I suppose this says more about the beholder rather than any artistic value but perhaps that is the point of art - it is all in the eye of the beholder?

To see the full selection of images then click here and this will take you to Russell Wright's website.

(Photograph 14 - Men of Arlington - Russell Wright)

The hard work begins

Having had a couple of days away from my Northumbria photographs now the hard work begins. I have selected around 200 images of birds that I may wish to make into photographs. However, I will not be making 200 photographs - I suspect no more than 50. This means that I have to be really strict in what I select - not an easy thing to be.

So what am I looking for? Well first I am looking for photographs that I could use in my ARPS submission. Second I am looking for any photographs that might just sneak into my BWPA selection. Finally, any other photograph that I just like - however this is unlikely as they would have been selected for the first two.

After this I am going to work through my non natural history images - but that is another story!

Rain stopped play...

Fulmar - Seahouses

What a wonderful few days I have had in Northumbria. All my plans went out of the window the first morning standing above the cliffs by Seahouses Golf Club. The wind was howling, the sea crashing against the rocks below and the air was full of sea birds, their white plumage in stark contrast to the slate grey skies. Now that is what I call a real British summer.

I had planned to go to the Farne islands, only two miles off shore but suddenly it struck me - why? Why do I need to build my break around one event/day? Of course the answer was that there was no need and you know what it made the break even better.

So why am I not still sampling the delights of the North East? Well, last night there were severe weather warnings given out for the area. Heavy rain all day. So we could either stay put and watch the heavy rain through the windscreen of a car/house or make our way home. We decide the latter and drove home on Thursday evening. I'm glad we did - the roads were clear and although the weather was bad it was a lot easier driving in those conditions with little traffic on the road than spend the day travelling down the A1 with some Polish lorry driver only a metre from your rear bumper.

So the next few days will be spent working through images and make a few good photographs. Let the games begin! If you want to see the photographs as they are produced then click here:

Northumbria....

So we are off to the land of the Geordie. Well in truth Newcastle has little to do with the Northumbria I know and love. We are going to the real Northumbria far away from the bright lights and flesh pots of the Tyne. To the Northumbria of Bernicia, Lindisfarne, Cuthbert and Aiden. This is border country where once the reivers held sway and the rule of law was rough and ready.

This may sound like a romantic view of this part of the world but it is the way I look at it. Perhaps it is my endless fascination with all things Anglo Saxon but the coast around the Bamburgh is a special place. Not only are there miles upon miles of sweeping sandy beaches but the wind seems to hold portent. We sometimes view nations by their land but this part of the world is dominated by the Sea. It always has done. The great Anglo Saxon kingdoms were first and foremost sea faring. For them the sea was the highway. The land was always difficult to cross. In a away it still is.

After all that romantic nonsense perhaps a little clearer explanation would be no bad thing. We are off to see more puffins. Well, puffins, terns, guillemots, kittiwakes and so. We are going to spend a week bird watching and taking photographs - what could be better?

Beyond this there is the stunning scenery. We love Pembrokeshire but Northumbria is better. There is a loneliness in the empty parts of the north Pennines that I have never felt anywhere else - certainly not in Pembrokeshire which is dominated by the oil and gas industry - even high in the Preseli hills you can still see the refineries of Milford Haven.

Now having written about this it will mo doubt rain the whole week and I'll have no opportunity to take one photograph; the sea will be too rough to sail to the Farne Islands and we'll come home early. Syuch are the joys of holidaying in Britain - you just don't know what you are going to get.

If you want to see more of my Nortumbria photography then click here.

Bad backs and insects...

Wicken Fen! What a wonderful nature reserve this is. You have access to acres of fenland and all the fauna and flora that goes with this. Quite a few of which seem to want to have a bit of you as well. So why bad backs? Well I have been nursing a sore back ever since I came back from Pembrokeshire. I thought it had cleared up and so went off to Wicken with renewed vigour. I could be found bending over, squatting and lying flat on the ground (perhaps the last was the only dignified position!). The upshot of this is that I have a recurrence of back acre. It is something I have had to learn to live with over the years but it does cramp your style. Hopefully this will clear up for the weekend when I'm off to Northumbria for a week. If it doesn't I will have to rethink what camera kit I take with me onto the Farne Islands.

So back to Wicken - why so wonderful? Well first off it is flat. I know this is stating the obvious but it does make getting around a whole lot easier - especially with a bad back and load of camera gear. The wildlife is varied but perhaps the stars are the cuckoo and the dragonfly. However, the cuckoo had already left by the time I visited - maybe next year. The dragonflies are a different matter. You have to get your eye in as these things zip around at an amazing speed. The best advice I would give is to find a small patch of water and see what comes by - however, it should be noted I am no expert on these matters and I am sure there may be better ways.

If you are interested in the smaller insects then you need to examine reeds and sedges a little close. However, the insect world is so abundant you are not likely to be disappointed.

I hope to visit the reserve more often over the next few months. If you want to see the photographs I made then click here.

Bitten but happy - Wicken fen

It has been a long day - I am still itchy from all the bites and creepy crawlies but it was a good day at Wicken Fen. Today was supposed to be a scouting mission - I didn't really expect too many things from it on the photographic front. Luckily I was pleasantly surprised. I will try and publish a fuller report over the next day or so. One thing I am find really difficult is finding the correct name for all the flora and fauna.

Variable Damselfly breeding

Four Spotted Chaser Dragonfly

Roesel's Bush Cricket

Creepy things in the bog...

Banded Demoiselle

It is amazing this nature thing. Just amazing. It must be 4 weeks since I was last at the Narborough Bog and what a change. The last time I was there the bog was still underwhelming, things had started to grow but not by that much. Now well it's a jungle out there. I was walking through the reeds this morning and had a sudden cold shiver going down my back. Suddenly I felt I was in Jurassic Park and the reeds were filled with Velociraptor - they are that tall. I am over 6 feet tall and they tower over me - quite spooky.

Large White Butterfly

One of things that comes with this prodigious growth are all the creepy crawlies. These were what I was interested in - well actually the dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies. Again, this didn't disappoint. Whilst the larger dragonflies buzz by too quickly to capture (at the moment) the damselflies and butterflies are another matter. Once you follow the path deep into the reed bed then you are surrounded by hundreds of the creatures. Providing you are fairly still then you can approach them really quite close. Now I am new to this branch of photography so everything is snapped - the 1D really comes into its own. I have been following the advice of Colin Smith FRPS (in the latest issue of IRIS) and shot everything at a high ISO so that I get everything as frozen as possible. On the whole this is working but I suspect there is far more to things than that. Only time will tell.

Tomorrow I'm off to Wicken fen so hopefully some of the lessons I have learnt locally can be applied to one of the best places to see dragonflies. Lets see what the results will be.

One final thing - identification. What a complicated thing this is turning out to be. As I write this I am surrounded by all sorts of reference books used to ID the creatures. Again this should get easier as time goes on - well lets hope so.

Large Skipper

Some Homework...

Starling

I've been feeling a bit flat since coming back from Pembrokeshire and so I decided to just get out into the garden and see what I could capture. I had mentioned earlier that I was thinking about using this as the subject for my ARPS submission. Again I wasn't disappointed. At the moment the garden is full of this years young. They really are engaging to watch but there is a sombre side to this. I know that most will not will see the end of the week let alone the end of the year. The area is inundated with cats - the most prolific predator of young birds. There is also a sparrowhawk that visits the area on a regular basis. On top of this they have to learn to fend for themselves. The odds are not good but some of the brood will survive and seeing as their parents will be having two maybe three broods in a season the attrition is not too serous. If you wish to view all the birds then click here:

All good things come to an end....

My trusty G9 is on its last legs. It is starting to look a bit battered and there is a mark on the sensor, goodness knows how it got there but it has. So I have decided to upgrade? to the G10. A friend of mine has this and she finds it to be a wonderful camera. I have used it and I must say it seems equally as robust as the G9. I am aware of the limitations of the G10 but I intend to shoot on low ISO settings - similar to the G9 - and so many of the image problems shouldn't be there.

Another reason for the upgrade is my back. Since coming back from Pembrokeshire I have been suffering from a back problem - no doubt aggravated in no small part by the amount of kit I haul around. So I have decided to try out the G10 + 1D + a lens as my standard set up. Not sure if this will work but I know the terrain of the Farne Islands, next expedition, and it is a lot easier than Skomer. I also know that the birds are far more accessable, and numerous, on the Farne Islands than at Skomer. So the new set up should not be a disadvantge. That's the plan anyway - we'll have to see if it works.

The new camera has some very big shoes to fill but if it has been as reliable as the G9 - sensor mark aside - then I will be very happy.