A new website design. Also, a new gallery has been added (fungi). New images added to all other galleries with lots more to come…. 

A very busy few years updating images of species that I should really have photographed by now. I’ve enjoyed the challenge but there are still many species I want to photograph well. Spring/summer always seems too short and plans change due to weather and species.  A recent return trip to the Greek island of Kos in May has certainly fuelled my excitement about photographing abroad again and hopefully, plenty of new beautiful birds and other nature to capture images of. 

Happy viewing and enjoy your visit.

 The same old species in the same old habitats. What’s the point? Now I can tell you over the decades of photographing nature I have fallen foul to repetitively photographing the same species time and time again. Limited time and a desire to at least come back from a day in the field photographing nature with a decent set of images. The benefit is you totally engage your creative endeavors to produce excellent images of a species in beautiful light and behavioral interactions or intriguing photographs which make the viewer pause, well that’s the plan.  I’ll give an example of the Northern Gannet, which people who know me would make them laugh!. I am sure you can relate to yourself in a similar scenario. 

A phone call from a friend with the promise of amazing conditions would have me charging batteries and packing the toothbrush in a flash. Of course, the reality often produced a change in wind direction and a ball of sun all day producing ‘Daz White’ Northern Gannets below the cliff and cursing for pressing the shutter button out of desperation. The actual quality photography days are indeed rare and this is why you keep going back. So you end up with a season of hopefully decent Northern Gannet images and not much else in terms of bird species to add to the portfolio. However, the experiences gained should hopefully help in your approach to the next season. 

Planning for the coming season adds a real focus to your work. What species should I add to my portfolio but have failed to put the time in fieldwork to achieve any decent images? Certainly, various species of warblers were high on my target list. I didn’t just want a record shot but photographs that reflect the species’ character.

So this goes back to my previous points about the season and how quickly it passes and having to keep to your plans. Naturally, plans have to change due to weather, lack of birds, habitat loss all adding extra unwanted pressures. You may have to adjust your desired species for another but that’s ok as it’s a good practice to have backup plans.

In conclusion, if you want a diverse portfolio then make those plans to fill in the gaps, but watch for those favorable conditions when you can catch up with long-time favorites and reflect on how to add new dimensions to your work. Nature photography for me is a lifelong passion but looking through years of work has revealed too many repeats and that has to change due to the very nature of the amazingly diverse beautiful world we share. 

Oh no, a few Northern Gannets have been spotted….!

 Looking locally I found the Great Cormorants were starting to reveal some nice breeding plumages on the surrounding lakes. The light is starting to become quite harsh during the middle of the day, so planning for photography in the morning or late afternoon will be the order of the day when the days are clear. The light and wind direction produced some nice flight images with good feather details in the late afternoon light. It will not be long before the adults will start nest building and this could produce more interesting images. Although this particular species might not interest many photographers because they are common breeding birds this shouldn’t stop bird photographers from producing some fine images. 

Another note to consider is while observing bird behavior of a particularly common species you are also watching other wildlife which might in the future give you ideas for projects. 

All images produced with the Sony A9,600mm,2x