Photographing insects in the field demands higher shutter speeds, a steady hand and a smaller aperture of c.f9 to ensure sharpness. On warm summer days, insects are mobile and easily found. However they provide minimal opportunities to carefully compose an image – they are too busy flying, feeding and living life. Choosing a complementary background…
Wildlife Photography: Photographing Red Squirrels Eurasian Red Squirrels are diminutive, skulking mammals with an extensive range from Ireland through Siberia to Japan. They are very photogenic and have that cute gene that really shouldn’t be a winner when it comes to evolution. Over many years I have collected many poor images of Red Squirrels clambering…
Winter Wetlands: Photographing Whooper Swans A winter wetland has always held a special place in my heart. It presents a unique wildness largely derived by winter wildfowl arriving from Arctic landscapes in early winter. The drama is intensified by birds of prey drawn in to harry prey during the short, cold days. The nervousness of…
Proceeding to the copse of 5 trees beyond the crossroad, a haunting atmosphere descended through fog. I observed a Merlin hunting a pipit on the way, relentless in its pursuit, arcing up and driving the quarry down to the heather over and over. I hope the pipit managed an escape. I spent a good hour…
An Autumn Landscape Photographer’s Diary Each September, I set out to capture autumn colour in photographs and each September I’m surprised to find no autumn colour – only a worn out post mid-summer green. And each subsequent weekend reveals a slow burn to autumn gold. So next autumn, I’ll set my alarm clock for Halloween.…
Donegal: The Crohy Sea Arch, Bunbeg and Sheskinmore It’s a fortnight since I walked barefoot across the bay to the white dunes of Sheskinmore. The sun warmed sand softly received each footstep. An Arctic Skua broke the near silence and harried a Comic Tern. The only other sound became apparent – the surf resonating from…
Donegal: Dunlewey and the Poison Glen Dunlewey Lake rests under the looming presence of Errigal. The Poison Glen provides a western entry point into Glenveagh – a protected, boggy valley that deceives to end suddenly beneath granite cliff faces. The ruined church at Dunlewey is cradled between these two fine locations. As such, the area…
Greatly inspired by macro photographers such as Naska Photographie(Flickr) and the charismatic Thomas Shahan(You Tube), I decided to explore macro in more depth this year. I sought a style of imagery that conveys the beauty of marshland meadows – a beauty largely hidden from view. It is not until you sit, be silent and observe…
Puglia: Photography in Gargano and Matera Puglia, the heel of the boot of Italy is a fascinating travel photography destination. We chose to tour the northern Gargano peninsula for the first 6 nights of our trip discovering the hilltops towns of Mont Sant Angelo and Vico De Gargano ,the seaside town of Vieste and Forest…
Woodland Photography in Early Summer Photographic opportunities in early summer woodlands are often overlooked. A window exists in the last week of April into the first weeks of May just before the “forty shades of green” summer lushness overwhelms all other colour. Beech trees are the first to leaf just as they are the last…