Frogs and toads are not something I have much coverage of, so I was really pleased when this opportunity presented itself. A number of toads were walking across the car park today at Fairburn Ings nature reserve in West Yorkshire. They are all on their way back to their breeding ponds and carry on regardless of what's in their path; unfortunately this includes a road and a car park, so some of them don't fare to well. Hopefully enough make it and the population will successfully breed.
14 April 2013
05 April 2013
Blue Tit on blackthorn
My feeding station has given me lots of opportunities over the last few weeks. With the cold weather, I've been spending as many hours as I can in the hide. Capturing small birds on good perches isn't always too difficult, but creating something different - that's another story.. This is one of my favourites from the feeding station: a wonderful pose (note his bad foot), great composition on the blackthorn twig - and some really interesting light that shows the colours beautifully.
Soon the blackthorn will be blossoming which will bring new colour for me to use. Can't wait.!
27 March 2013
Cock Pheasant in the snow
This is one of my favourite images from the current spell of snowfall. Why..? It's all about the light. Male pheasants are simply stunning - and this one is a real beauty. But with the illumination from the lying snow, it gives a wonderful quality of light which really makes the plumage sparkle even more. The background is also perfect for me - a bit of blurred snow at the bottom, and a mostly neutral grey - caused by the snow and trees merging together when thrown out of focus. Added to that a dose of falling snow around the bird and I couldn't be happier with this wildlife image.
Taken from my feeding station/reflection pool with a 300mm and 1.4 extender at around ISO 800.
22 March 2013
Walking Blue Tit
I just manage to catch this stunning blue tit with its foot raised. This was taken this morning at my feeding station. The conditions were quite horrible early on - snow, slush and almost a blizzard. Setting up the correct perches and strategically putting out food also takes time. Once in the hide though, I had some great opportunities with the small birds. Light levels started very low and I was up to ISO 1000. Later on I was able to shoot at about ISO 640, using 1/500 at f6.3. This shutter speed got almost pin sharp images every time. Focusing is really the key here - you need to concentrate on the head, rather than the body. For this, I often use the top focus point on my camera. For a short while the light was really nice, giving an extra bit of sparkle. The blanket of snow beneath also helps to reflect more light and works brilliantly.
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