Epson P2000

As Vlad says in an earlier post, we really recommend Epson's P2000 Media Viewer/Storage device. I take mine everywhere and wouldn't be without it now. Just to have the re-assurance of being able to back up your CF cards in an instant, plus the ability to do a quick edit of what you've done in the field is brilliant. It also plays movies in .avi or .MP4 format. I've just discovered Handbrake (Mac only) which converts all your DVDs into said files in a whizz. So if the wildlife doesn't want to come out and play, I can sit back and watch The Office Series 1 which I've just converted.

In fact, if you don't want to take my word for it, one of the world's greatest wildlife photographers, Moose Peterson uses one. There can be no higher praise in my book. Check out his thoughts here: Moose's P2000 Review. You can find more from Epson themselves here: Epson P2000. Sometimes I think we're too kind advertising other people's products for free. Must see what we can do about review 'samples'. Did I mention I was thinking of trying out Canon's new 5D? : )

Howdy

Howdy

OK it's not from the UK .. but this is unbelievably great. Aleutian Fox - a photographer from Flickr - disappears for weeks at a time and always comes back with exceptional photos. This is one of his latest and greatest.

However, if you do fancy checking out the UK Otter scene, this is as good a place as any to get started UK Otters.

Paranoid Backup Strategy

It's worth being paranoid about your data. Michael on Luminous Landscape is even more paranoid than me - that's difficult - and has the mother of all backup strategies detailed here.

You might think it's going too far .. but what is your data worth?

Incidentally, we can recommend the Epson P2000 that Michael mentions - it's a great machine and has an excellent screen.

Pixmantec RawShooter Premium Thoughts

RawShooter Premium is on special offer for the rest of today, my experiences with it over the weekend have been good. I particularly like these features, most of which I think are new:

- nice cropping tool

- curves support

- card downloader which can work in the background - you can start viewing a slideshow part way through the copy and the new pictures copied over get tacked on the end of the slideshow (good for reviewing your stuff quickly)

- great hot pixel setting (zaps individual problem pixels painlessly)

I still need to look at these features, they sound promising:

- upsampling capability (doing it at the raw stage is a good idea!)

- view multiple images at same time (to find sharpest of a sequence etc)

I wish:

- ... I could find a way of doing basic white balance presets (cloudy, daylight etc) in a similar way to Adobe Camera Raw

All in all this program does most of what I need, I find some of the settings very harsh in their default mode, but that might just be a matter of taste. I personally do not sharpen unless I'm in the output stage, so I have found myself turning sharpness and detail extraction right down in RawShooter. That may be a matter of taste though...

In summary, I think this is an excellent program. I don't think I'll be chucking my copy of PhotoShop away - but I certainly won't be using Adobe Camera Raw as often.

Favourites from Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2005

I haven't bought the book yet - I don't think it's quite finished rolling off the presses - but these are my favourites so far from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2005 competition. The pictures link to their pages on the official site, which has the story behind each photograph.

Andy Rouse shows that unlike Charlie, Penguins DO Surf

Thorsten Milse produces a masterpiece proving rules are made to be broken

Sérgio Brant Rocha's picture does not look great at this size. But take my word for it, see it at A4 or bigger and you will be astonished. You can see the shape of each individual swift .. it's an astounding picture and shows just how much resolution there is on slide film.

Pixmantec RawShooter Premium Released

The new fully featured version of the popular RawShooter Essentials raw converter is on special offer until Monday - UK residents can have it for about £44.

Up until fairly recently I used PhotoShop CS2 for most raw conversion and Capture One sometimes for bulk conversion. Aboard Guideliner in August, David Leaver recommended RawShooter Essentials - a free program - and gave me a copy. Recently I've found myself using it more and more often, and RawShooter Premium may just have the extra features to make it my main raw converter.

Andy Rouse is involved with Pixmantec and he is pushing this software a lot - it looks like it's going to live up to the hype.

Get RawShooter Essentials (freeware) or RawShooter Premium (US$ 59 plus taxes, about 50 euros) from the Pixmantec website. Expect a review on here tomorrow!

Nikon Small World 2005

This is the image that won Nikon Small World 2005: awesome. See the gallery here.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2005: Results

The results are in for the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, 2005 - this is the winner. It's a peregrine chasing a huge flock of starlings, in Rome, Italy.

You can see all the winning, runner up and commended images from the competition here.

Science in Action

Nice to know that wildlife photographs can win in non-wildlife competitions.
This one was taken by Jim Greenfield. It's another kind of toothbrush - a tiny shrimp cleans the teeth of a bigger fish.

All the winners from 2005's Visions of Science.

Don't Write Off Digiscoping

Look back
Originally uploaded by sparkyfaisca.

I've heard plenty of people state that digiscoping results are often disappointing, and can't be compared to a good SLR/lens combination.

This guy on Flickr - sparkyfaisca - makes me question those statements. He takes the best digiscoped shots I've ever seen. They are quite phenomenal. The kit is listed on the photos but most of them seem to be taken with a Canon 350D attached to a spotting scope.

His photos on Flickr His web site

The Art of Sitting

I found an interesting article on Moose Peterson's site. He's always an advocate of showing the utmost consideration for wildlife. In his words, "meeting wildlife on their own terms most often rewards us with great photographs."

Something I've heard before from another great wildlife photographer, David Leaver, is "always leave before your subject has had enough of you!" David Leaver cruises the Hebrides for much of the year, and I'm sure the otters, basking sharks and minke whales can recognise the sound of his engine. He has a rapport with them - they know there is no need to fear his boat. You can apply the same principles to your local wildlife - it works!

The Art of Sitting by Moose Peterson

How to photograph 40 British species in a day!

The British Wildlife Centre in Surrey is a revelation. Over forty species of British mammals, birds and reptiles, all living in natural settings. As a wildlife photographer of any level, you'll appreciate just how difficult it can be to see these animals in the wild.

Here you can observe them up close, learn more about the challenges they face in the wild and through special photographic days, have your very own David Attenborough and the Mountain Gorilla moment as you get up close and personal.

We've tried it - can't recommend it highly enough.

The British Wildlife Centre ... give it a try

Why do some shots work and others don't? Enter The Edge.

Not U2's legendary guitarist, but a fascinating theory from renowned UK wildlife snapper, Niall Benvie. Much food for thought.

Niall Benvie's theory - The Edge

David Attenborough Wants Your Photos. Yes Yours!

"Over the past few decades a vast treasury of wildlife images has been steadily accumulating, yet no one has known its full extent - or its gaps - and no one has had a comprehensive way of gaining access to it. ARKive will put that right. It will become an invaluable tool for all concerned with the well-being of the natural world."

Sir David Attenborough
CH FRS

So, if you've dined out on Mother Nature, even made a few quid doing so, here's a chance for you to give a little back. And it's free. Happy days ...

The Arkive photo donation pages

Mike Lane's 'Where to Photograph Wildlife in Britain'

Pine Marten
Originally uploaded by vlad259.

Mike Lane's book 'Where to Photograph Wildlife in Britain' is an excellent resource for UK wildlife photographers. He has been compiling site guides since 1998 and the latest edition has 47 excellent sites, documented in detail.

Many different species are covered, including Pine Martens, Brown Hare, Grouse, Deer, Seals and Red Kites.

The book is available from Mike at his website www.nature-photography.co.uk.

[Picture: Pine Marten at Speyside Wildlife hide, Rothiemurchus Estate, Inverness-Shire]

Our Mission...

...to be a portal for all useful information relating to Wildlife and Nature Photography in the UK.