Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The Guardian Unlimited website has a gallery of some of the winning images in the 2007 Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. I particularly like the polar bears on the ice (Norbert Rosing), Bence Mate's Eric Hosking's award pictures, Graham Eaton's fantastic underwater mallard shot and of course Danny Green's lovely water vole.

The winning pictures are on show at the Natural History Museum starting from tomorrow 26th October.

Here's the link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2007/oct/25/wildlife.photography?picture=331055684

Gallery also at the Natural History Museum: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/onlineGallery.do

Martin Eisenhawer: Life in a Cold Climate

There's a good two page article on Swiss wildlife photographer Martin Eisenhawer just gone online at the Canon Professional Network. They have put a gallery up with 30 of his images - many people will recognise the crane and albatross images that did well in several competitions over the last couple of years.

John Isaac Reviews Olympus E-510

Most of the wildlife photographers that I meet are equipped with either Nikon or Canon. I've often thought that Olympus cameras were very suitable for nature and wildlife photography. I've seen some great results from Olympus E series cameras on Flickr, with all sorts of lenses.

The company has had a reputation for excellent optics since the 1960s, and their Olympus Trip camera sold 10 million units in nearly twenty years on sale - reputedly the biggest selling camera of all time.

The Four Thirds system (aspect ratio of 4:3 rather than the 3:2 of 35mm) has allowed Olympus to make their cameras and lenses smaller and lighter than the competition. The 2x crop factor is an advantage, too. All E series customers get a voucher for a free mount that allows use of older Olympus lenses, and many other lenses can be fitted. I've seen Leica, Voigtlander and Nikkor lenses used on an E-1 to great effect.

So it was with great interest that I read John Isaac's Olympus 510 Field Review (link below.) He's used an Olympus E-1 for all the photos in his new book, due out in 2008.

• Olympus 510 Field Review by John Isaac
• John Isaac's website
  
• Tengsama's photos on Flickr (great shots, and check out that lens collection!)

Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam

German wildlife photographer Florian Schulz is featured in a new exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington. "Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam" opened on June 16 and documents the effort to preserve wildlife corridors from Yellowstone National Park to Canada's Yukon Territories. These corridors would link existing parks and public lands to ensure the survival of one of the world's last intact mountain ecosystems.

This is a rare chance to see large format wildlife photography. Schulz spent 10 years roaming the Rockies to capture the images, and will give a lecture and slide show on Oct. 23. The exhibit is organized by the museum in collaboration with The Mountaineers Books and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.

The museum is on the University of Washington campus, at the corner of Northeast 45th Street and 17th Avenue Northeast. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and until 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month.

• The Burke Museum website
• The website of Florian Schulz

Heather Angel Workshop

"World renowned photographer Heather Angel is gearing up for the 11th Wildlife & Natural History Workshops at Saint Hill Manor in West Sussex with Nikon U.K. on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th July 2007."

The press release is here.

News Roundup

• The first osprey chick born at the Loch Garten RSPB site. If you're anywhere near Loch Garten the RSPB centre is well worth a visit. With a very large lens you could get some decent shots from the centre itself, they have a great viewing section.
• BBC Springwatch finished for another year, doesn't Islay look nice!
• Lots of updates on Andy Rouse's blog, he's planning tours for 2008 (and working through his 18-month backlog of captured images!). He's also updated his Canon 1D Mk III review.
  
• WildPhotos 2007 has been announced. "Find out how to take, improve, publish, earn a living from, and make a difference with nature photographs at WildPhotos 2007." It's on Friday 26 & Saturday 27 October at the Royal Geographical Society, Kensington, London. Speakers include Doug Allan, Karl Ammann, Colin Baxter, Gary Braasch, Peter Cairns, Mark Carwardine, Chris Dickie, Mark Edwards, Eddie Ephraums, Pål Hermansen, Laurent Geslin, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Tim Laman, Frans Lanting, Cristina Mittermeier & Colin Prior.
• Fantastic creepy heron
• Tim Ennis is still great
• Zooomr is back up. I like it and I think it could grow into a very good photo sharing site.
• The Valley of the Geysers, Kamchatka, Russia, has disappeared forever. In this article Igor Spilenok, one of Russia's top nature photographers, talks about the lost valley.
  

Jim Cole and Bear Etiquette

If you're wondering about photographer Jim Cole and his mauling by a bear in Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park, here are some links (below) that give a good insight into the sort of wildlife photographer he is. I liked Jim Peaco's words that "hormones, babies and food are the three things a wildlife photographer doesn't want to mess with."

Hopefully Jim Cole will stay away from bears generally, especially sows with cubs. Bears that have mauled humans are normally culled by park authorities. Why not just stay well out of the way?

• Excellent article in the Casper Star Tribune with quotes from several experienced bear photographers
• Ralph Maughan's blog post about it - the comments are very interesting

Bag one with a bag hide

Much to our respective wives' amusement, Team Wild Angle recently invested in camouflage bag hides from Kevin Keatley's excellent Wildlife Watching Supplies. Well laugh no more ladies! On their very first outing they proved their worth.

We'd previously found a section of disused railway line in Watford and had some success last summer.

Eager to try out the new bags we found ourselves an uncomfy spot, crawled inside the bag hides and waited. 30 minutes later - bingo. If you fancy a try ...

• Get your bag hides here

Art Wolfe TV Show

If you have access to the PBS TV channel, keep an eye out for Art Wolfe's new show, Travels to the Edge. "Get inspired to travel, learn professional photography techniques, and appreciate the beauty of Patagonia." More details of the show, and the the TV channel schedules for it, can be found at the link below.

• Travels to the Edge

Wildlife Photography at the London Wetlands Centre

Nikon have sponsored the London Wetlands Centre to the tune of a wildlife photography weekend where Chris Packham will give talks and lead walks around the Wetland Centre. The dates are Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 May.

"A weekend of photography walks and workshops supported by Nikon. Nikon will be demonstrating their latest equipment and giving tips to photography enthusiasts. Throughout the weekend wildlife photographer Chris Packham will be leading wildlife walks and tours around the WWT London Wetland Centre giving tips on how to take the perfect photograph as well as telling visitors about some of his favourite species.

All activities are included in the price of admission to the centre and are free for WWT members. Booking is essential to attend one of the talks and walks. To book phone 020 8409 4400. If you do not have a place on one of the walks or tours you are still able to come and meet Nikon specialists and see the latest equipment and Chris Packham will be one site throughout the weekend."

Full details, including a schedule, are here.

Danny Green's Voles

Further to our post below, we've had some pictures from Danny and can now show off some of his fantastic Water Vole images. Absolutely brilliant:






All photos by Danny Green, Danny Green Photography

Balls Wood

Over the weekend, Team Wild Angle had a very nice trip to Balls Wood near Hertford. We hadn't been there before, and were very impressed with the ancient woodland reserve. We went at the crack of dawn for hares, but couldn't find any this time. We did see a Green Woodpecker fairly close by - and heard plenty more. Also saw several tree creepers. The morning light was excellent, and we shall surely be back soon...

• Balls Wood
  

Danny Green's Water Vole Photos

There's a really excellent article in last week's Amateur Photographer about Danny Green's water vole photography. Danny has got really close to water voles over a long period of time, and has produced the best images of them that I've ever seen. AP is out on Tuesdays, so if you get out today you might last week's copy still in the shops. If not, you'll just have to beg Danny to put some more images on his site.

• Danny Green Photography
  
• Water Voles at Creature News
  

Where to photograph Parakeets in London

We turned up at Richmond Park in London for the Deer rut in October having read for ages this was the place to go. We got loads of great deers shots but what I had bargained for when we parked the car were Ring-tailed Parakeets flying from tree to tree.

Vivid green, they obviously make a brilliant subject for a photo - but you'll need to be quick. Pictured here is one I managed to get as I stood in the car park.

By the way, the best place to see them is at the Richmond Gate entrance to the park on Star and Garter Hill. For those of you with Sat Nav, enter this postcode - TW10 6RR. Once there, go through the main gates, turn right on the mini roundabout and head for the White Lodge lodge car park on the right. Once you get out, you'll hear them before you see them!

Interestingly, the Beeb published an article about Parakeets last week. Apparently there are 30,000 in London. Link below.

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6478911.stm
  

Colin Varndell RSPB Talk

There's a chance to see the birds and wildlife captured on film by Colin Varndell during a year in Dorset, on Friday April 20th. It's at Gillingham Primary School, School Road, Gillingham. The event is at 7.30pm and is organised by an RSPB volunteer group. £2 for members, £2.50 for non-members. He is a very talented and experienced photographer, so if you're in the area, drop by - it'll be well worth a visit.

• More event details
• Review of Wild Dorset: The Year in Photographs

Sigma APO 200-500mm F2.8 EX DG Lens Lust

We generally try to stay away from dribbling over new gear, but this is an interesting new lens from Sigma.

"The APO 200-500mm F2.8 EX DG is the world’s first Ultra-Telephoto Zoom Lens that offers a fast aperture of F2.8 at 500mm focal length. It .. maintains its fast F2.8 aperture over the entire zoom range.

Shooting distance and focal length can be viewed on the lens' LCD panel." If they show the current depth of field on the LCD panel, that would be very, very useful, but they don't mention that in their press release.

Filters are rear mounted, and a circular polarizing filter can be used. It comes with a dedicated 2x teleconverter. No price or launch date is set, and the weight is unknown but apparently Sigma were using two people to carry it around at PMA. Rumours that it comes with a free wheelbarrow are unfounded, but it certainly doesn't look light. It doesn't look like it'll be cheap either.

F/2.8 in a lens of this length is unusual, I think it's the world's first. Edit: Thanks Albert (comment below) for clearing up the DG classification - this lens works fine on full-frame 35mm sensors (and film!)

No-one has reviewed it yet, that I can see.

Natura Magica

You might want to double check this, because my knowledge of the Swedish language comes purely from one Stranglers' record.

Natura Magica is a Swedish nature photography collective of eight photographers who have a very interesting, graphic style. Their work is striking, and well worth a look. Much use of long exposures, and lovely soft bokeh. A lot of it is very abstract, and most of it is nature, rather than wildlife.

• Natura Magica
  

EOS 1D MK III

Arthur Morris and Andy Rouse have both spoken about the new Canon pro SLR - the EOS 1D MK III.

Arthur Morris is in the Canon 'Explorers of Light' programme, and has had a 1D III in his hands - he said that after one day with it, he was impressed enough to order two. His latest newsletter has some shots showing the amazing ISO 3200 performance, "comparable to ISO 400 in the 1Ds MII and the MII 1DN." Unrelated to the MK III, Fabiola del Alcazar has interviewed Arthur Morris on her excellent Nature Art blog.

Andy Rouse has prepared a document detailing the new features in the MK III that are particularly of interest to nature and wildlife photographers. (He also has some great new pictures from the Arctic Circle on his blog.)

• Andy Rouse's blog - he has a document on the EOS 1D MK III available for download
• Rob Galbraith's full treatment of the EOS 1D MK III
• Fabiola del Alcazar's Arthur Morris interview on the Nature Art blog
• Arthur Morris' website and bulletin archives (the latest newsletter is not yet archived.)
  
• Canon's Explorers of Light
  

British Deer

The British Deer Society run an annual photo competition in four parts. We've already missed the first deadline, but three remain, and there are prizes for each stage.

The categories are 'deer', 'deer country' and 'stalking connections.' "The judges will be looking for imaginative pictures which are well executed, composed, exposed & focussed. Deer doing something or illustrating a particular activity will be more eye catching than a straight forward portrait – provided the above qualities of production are complied with. Deer Country & Stalking Connnections should also be imaginative and illustrative and technically well produced. Deer do not necessarilly have to feature in either of these categories although it would be preferred if there was some evidence of, or relating to, deer in ‘Deer Country’ pictures."

For non-BDS members the competition costs £5 per quarter, the three remaining entry dates are 1st May, 10th August & 10th October 2007.

Neil McIntyre is a previous winner of the overall competition, and we've been lucky enough to spend some time with him in Scotland a couple of years ago, where we had some excellent opportunities with red squirrels, crested tits, greater spotted woodpeckers, and of course, deer. There is an interesting interview with him on the BDS website (link below.)

Our two favourite places for red deer are the Scottish Highlands, particularly around Melgarve and the Findhorn Valley, and Richmond Park, in London. (Richmond Park has Fallow deer too.)

There are many other good areas for deer photography - take a look at your local wildlife trust website (the BBC has good regional information too). One popular area is Ashridge forest near Berkhamstead.

• British Deer Society competition
• Neil McIntyre interview
• Neil McIntyre website
• Ashridge forest information
• UK Deer information
  

Above photo 'Deer and Photographer' taken in Richmond Park (c) Matt Jones

Wired for Wildlife

Kim Wolhuter is a wildlife photographer, National Geographic cameraman and independent filmmaker based in Southern Africa. He is the most web-savvy wildlife person I've ever seen, and posts daily updates in many different ways: blogging, flickr, youtube.

At the moment he is documenting the making of his new films on a daily basis, posting stills and video clips galore. The process is fascinating and the photography is amazing, not to mention the spectacular African scenery.

• His blog - www.wildcast.net
  
• Flickr photostream
• Interview
• YouTube channel
• Website - www.kimwolhuter.com
  

Brian Phipps

Brian Phipps is a successful UK nature photographer based in the West Country. I first noticed his owl photography in AP last year - the article was very interesting and had a wealth of tips for the prospective owl photographer. Since then I've also seen other articles showing off his excellent portfolio of deer photos. His library is very extensive, and on his website you can see a broad range of excellent images of the wildlife and landscapes of Great Britain. And if - like me - you've never seen a 24-hour old badger, have a look in the news section of his site! That is a beautiful creature.

www.brianphipps.net


Image (c) Brian Phipps

Congratulations to Jørgen Flemming

Danish photographer Jørgen Flemming has won a prize in the World Press Photography competition 2007, with this superb shot of buzzards fighting over a hare. It won 3rd prize in the Nature section - you can see the rest here.

We're Back / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007

We're back, in a manner of speaking, and an email landed in our inbox today inviting us to enter the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 2007. If we do enter, I doubt we'll trouble the scorers, but one thing is for sure: if you don't enter, the odds are stacked against you.

Advice from Mark Carwardine: "Imagine you are a judge looking at thousands and thousands of photographs. Many are technically flawless - well exposed, perfectly sharp and pleasantly composed. After a while you take these key ingredients for granted. You become desperate for something really creative, fresh and surprising to leap out from the screen. The pictures that do leap out are the ones that win. So just repeat the mantra 'originality, originality, originality' first thing every morning and last thing at night and you'll be on the road to success."

Closing date is 23rd March - full details here.

The stunning snowy owl photo is from Vincent Munier - it's one of three brilliant shots that he got in the 2006 competition. He has a book out called White Nature - you can find more details at his web site.