Wild Angle

WildPhotos 2011

2011-10-20T12:04:00.001+01:00

I'm off to WildPhotos 2011 tomorrow at the Royal Geographic Society. It promises to be an excellent event, and is sold out - but there will be a few tickets on the door tomorrow morning if you get there early...

The speakers this year are as follows:

Alex Badyaev
Daniel Beltrá
Peter Chadwick
Bruno D'Amicis
Jack Dykinga
Ruth Eichhorn
Jürgen Freund
Erlend Haarberg
Paul Hassell
Bence Máté
Kathy Moran
Andrew Parkinson
Thomas P Peschak
Mateusz Piesiak
Benjam Pöntinen
Michel Roggo
Andy Rouse
Cyril Ruoso
Paul Souders
Sophie Stafford
Zoe Whishaw
Sven Začek

More details of the event at their site.

Andy Rouse 'Vanishing Worlds' London Exhibition

2009-10-12T13:20:00.002+01:00

Andy Rouse has an exhibition in London starting next Monday (19th October) - 'Vanishing Worlds'. It is at the National Geographic store on Regent Street.

I never miss an Andy Rouse book. I attended his talk at the Royal Geographic Society a couple of weeks ago - an excellent evening. Great images and a very good presentation - he is very passionate about his subject.

Full press release here.

(Further talk dates in the post from a few weeks ago here.)

Contribute to the ARKive via Flickr

2009-09-06T17:10:00.002+01:00

ARKive now have a group on Flickr which allows users to submit images directly to ARKive:

"ARKive is leading the ‘virtual’ conservation effort, gathering together films and photographs of the world’s threatened animals, plants and fungi into one centralised digital library to create a unique audio-visual record of life on Earth.

ARKive is making this resource accessible to all, from scientists and conservationists, to the general public and school children, as a valuable educational resource and conservation tool.

It is ARKive’s immediate aim to compile audio-visual profiles for the world’s threatened species. In order for us to achieve this, we need help from as wide a variety of donors as possible and we would like to be able to add Flickr users to our growing list of contributors."

Find out more at the ARKive Flickr group and the main ARKive website.

Andy Rouse Talk Dates

2009-08-18T13:59:00.001+01:00

Andy Rouse has scheduled a number of talks to mark his 10th year as a professional wildlife photographer:

September 30th - Royal Geographical Society, London
October 30th - Hartlepool
November 11th - Stafford
November 29th - Glastonbury
December 5th - Wadhurst

More details on his blog.

WildPhotos 2009

2009-03-04T12:41:00.005Z

The dates have been announced for WildPhotos 2009: Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th October 2009. Like 2008, it's at the Royal Geographic Society in London (an excellent venue.)

I always meant to write up WildPhotos 2008 as it was a fantastic two days with great speakers and superb images. However I never got around to it. Fortunately they did, and here's their writeup.

If you're a student, a professional wildlife photographer or just a wanna-be like me, you should go. Registration opens in June - you can get on their mailing list by visiting the site linked below.

Wild Photos

Online UK Species Mapping

2009-03-03T17:21:00.006Z

There's a fantastic resource for checking out species distribution in the UK, the National Biodiversity Network. It aggregates data from many different organisations to provide maps of species distribution throughout the UK. It's free to access and well worth a look - this map below was generated with their online tools, and shows the recent records of brown hare sightings in the UK.

The National Biodiversity Network

(For some reason I can't get this image into Blogger without it getting compressed massively. The original 30k PNG file looks perfect.)

Natural World: The Mountains of the Monsoon

2009-02-06T15:42:00.003Z

Check out this excellent documentary about Indian wildlife photographer Sandesh Kadur. His shots are outstanding. The iPlayer link works until 13th March. It's definitely worth watching - he's a great photographer and it's a very well produced programme.

"Indian environmentalist and photographer, Sandesh Kadur, has traded a comfortable career in the family business to explore the natural wonders of the Western Ghats mountains.

Just a few hours drive from the commercial bustle of his native Bangalore, Sandesh could be a world away. The monsoon pours six metres of rainfall each year on the remote peaks and isolated valleys of the Ghats. Alongside familiar Indian species like elephants, tigers and peacocks are more mysterious creatures that are not found anyhere else - a purple frog with a face like a shrew and a monkey with a lion-like mane and tail.

Most intriguing of all, there is a chance sighting of a grey big cat, unlike anything scientists have seen before. To find out whether this enigmatic cat-in-the-ghat really is a new species, Sandesh must climb to the summit of these mountains. His journey is a reminder that in fast-track, modern India, this cloud-wrapped wilderness is more precious than ever."

Natural World: The Mountains of the Monsoon on iPlayer

Free Photos?

2009-02-05T10:25:00.004Z

If you've got an account on Flickr or on any other large photo-sharing site, you'll probably have been contacted by people asking to use a photo of yours for nothing. Thomas Hawk blogs about it here: Should You Give Away Your Photos For Nothing To People Who Can Pay?

I totally agree with his post. Here are some examples of mine:

Eurostar: wanted it for nothing, didn't even reply when I enquired what they would pay
Watford Museum: as this is non-profit, and I live in Watford, I agreed. This led to work from Watford Council. Watford Museum were absolutely brilliant to deal with.
Construct Ireland: didn't offer to pay but when I brought the subject up, agreed to it without a problem.
Numerous wildlife charities and research organisations: These all get them for nothing.

I urge you - even if you're agreeing to give it away - to make clear the terms of your license. If they have asked for it for a leaflet, make it clear that you are granting a license just for that one usage.

Leica Safari

2009-01-28T10:08:00.004Z

If you've got a spare £6,700 and for some reason don't want to spend it on a DSLR with a very long lens, how about this?

It's an olive drab version of Leica's M8.2 digital rangefinder. The blurb in BJP says it has a "dark green paint finish, making it a suitable option for wildlife photographers." What's even better is that it's only about £2,700 more than a regular M8.2.

Is it April already?

PS I do hate myself a bit for wanting one

Lift-Off

2008-12-25T11:30:00.002Z

Lift-Off
Originally uploaded by vlad259

I can definitely recommend Glenlivet Wildlife for guided wildlife watching in the Glenlivet estate. It's the first time I've seen mountain hare - it was a wonderful day.

Glenlivet Wildlife

Gannets by Arthur Morris

2008-07-05T11:32:00.003+01:00

Long a favourite of mine, Arthur Morris has a regular mailout that is always interesting. I found the June 26th mailout particularly informative: it concentrates on Gannets, mainly with a Canon 400mm DO lens. The pictures are stunning!

- June 26th mailout archive
- Full mailout archives (at the top there are instructions on subscribing to Arthur's mailing list.)

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year

2007-10-25T13:20:00.001+01:00

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

2007-08-08T14:27:00.001+01:00

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

2007-06-27T10:11:00.000+01:00

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

2007-06-19T11:21:00.000+01:00

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

2007-06-19T10:47:00.000+01:00

"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

2007-06-15T14:08:00.000+01:00

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

2007-05-29T13:43:00.000+01:00

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

2007-05-10T21:58:00.000+01:00

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

2007-05-08T13:18:00.000+01:00

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

2007-05-03T14:00:00.000+01:00

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

2007-04-13T17:11:00.000+01:00

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

2007-04-02T15:03:00.000+01:00

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

2007-04-02T10:14:00.000+01:00

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

2007-03-26T08:41:00.000+01:00

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

2007-03-23T10:24:00.000Z

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.

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

2007-03-14T12:06:00.000Z

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

2007-03-05T15:16:00.000Z

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

2007-03-05T11:50:00.000Z

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

2007-03-01T10:28:00.000Z

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

2007-02-19T13:43:00.000Z

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.

Brian Phipps

2007-02-14T13:50:00.000Z

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

2007-02-12T16:25:00.000Z

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

2007-02-02T15:30:00.000Z

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.

Bee-Eater Bonanza

2006-06-05T15:19:00.000+01:00

Excellent photo of the day at photo.net - Vezon Thierry's gallery contains many more equally good shots. I would have shown a larger image but the next size up is massive - it's well worth a look though, click here.

Vezon Theirry's full gallery of bee-eaters

Wild Dorset: The Year in Photographs by Colin Varndell

2006-05-21T21:23:00.000+01:00

In the January 7 issue of Amateur Photographer, I read an inspirational article about planning ahead for a year of nature photography. It gave a concise breakdown of the opportunities in each month, with a handy timeline that I cut out and stuck on my notice board (I wish I'd paid more attention to it January to May, but that's another story.)

So when I found out that he had written a book in a similar vein, I was really keen on reading it. It differs from his articule in AP in that it is specifically about the Dorset countryside and wildlife, and doesn't focus primarily on photography. It has almost 200 photographs, superb landscapes and wildlife shots showing almost anything you can think of. (I love the pictures of bank voles and weasels, and the kingfisher shot is excellent - but there isn't a duff photo in the whole book.)

With 140,000 images in his stock library, Colin Varndell must have photographed just about everything relating to nature and wildlife in the British Isles. It certainly seems like it - his book is simply packed with information, and is a vital resource for anybody interested in nature not only in Dorset, but in the UK in general. The idea of a chronological tour through the year works really well and makes it easy to dip into to see what is going on at any particular time.

Colin Varndell's book is well worth reading, it is an inspirational resource for wildlife photographers and his photographic output is staggeringly good. I hope that sometime he follows it up with a book specifically relating to wildlife photography, as his technique is clearly faultless and the AP article contained a mine of useful information.

Article on Colin Varndell in DorsetLife Magazine

Wild Dorset: The Year in Photographs at Amazon.co.uk

I can't find his website, but Google Images shows a lot of his pictures

Great Stuff from the Philippines

2006-05-21T11:09:00.000+01:00

Excellent bird images from Romy Ocon in the Philippines (link below.) He has a large collection of equipment which he uses expertly, and as well as a huge collection of excellent bird images, his site has a lot of useful technical information including a number of lens and body tests.

The picture shown is a Spotted Wood-kingfisher, endemic to the Philippines.

Romy's pbase site is here.

Tooth and Claw

2006-05-14T21:59:00.000+01:00

I can thoroughly recommend a subscription to the Tooth & Claw newsletter published by Peter Cairns, Mark Hamblin and Ian Rowlands. It's a companion to their website, which concerns itself with wild UK predators. Their statement:

"We strongly believe that polarized views held about Britain’s wild predators - both present and future - can be reconciled through a shared willingness to celebrate our natural heritage and through partnership and open discussion. This challenge can be met with a greater understanding of predators’ ecology and a stronger empathy with the many communities whose lives are affected by their presence."

The April edition contains information on sea eagles, nordic predators, wilderness reserves in Scotland, the re-introduction of lynx to Scotland and the control of sparrowhawks, amongst other things. Well worth a read!

The Tooth & Claw website

Andy Rouse Newsletter

2006-05-14T21:55:00.000+01:00

There's a new newsletter from Andy Rouse at the WarehouseExpress website. It details his mammoth trip around the bottom of the world: Antarctica, The Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Ascension Island. It's well worth a read.

The newsletter.

Picture shows Andy's highly commended image from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2005 competition.

Little Owl

2006-05-10T13:52:00.000+01:00

Little Owl
Originally uploaded by vlad259.

We spotted this little owl at about 4pm whilst driving down the lanes to Shardeloe's Farm, near Amersham. It flew across in front of us and then obligingly hung around whilst we reversed back and snapped it. If I hadn't left my cameras on the back seat ready to go, I wouldn't have got it. (I know I'm going to regret this at the next emergency stop...)

Owls of Alaska

2006-04-10T11:10:00.000+01:00

Rushing quickly over the fact that Alaska is not in the UK, here is a link to some great owl photos by Bob Hallinen. It's from the BirdTLC blog and leads to some great Alaskan owl information. Googling for Bob Hallinen is quite a humbling experience - he appears to be a very good all-round photo journalist as well as an ace wildlife snapper.

This week, I really will get around to finishing my review of the excellent Colin Varndell book Wild Dorset: The Year in Photographs. Honest.

Lens Coats

2006-04-04T16:10:00.000+01:00

Just in case you haven't spent enough on your massively expensive telephoto lenses, you can cough up even more with a Lens Coat. They do look rather nice though!

Alpine Wildlife

2006-03-31T11:17:00.000+01:00

Outbreak Adventure are a great bunch and they have added wildlife holidays to their repertoire (snow and bike holidays being their regular fare.)

They are based in Samoëns, which is the only French mountain resort to be classified as a conservation village. The Haut Giffre region which contains Samoëns is a real haven for wildlife, and you can expect to see eagle, marmot, chamois, and possibly alpine ibex, lammergeyer (stupendous vultures!). I've also heard rumours of beaver from people I know around there...

Check out Outbreak Adventure here

Normal Service / Horse Photography part 2

2006-03-01T16:49:00.000Z

Normal-ish service might return soon-ish. Don't hold your breath...

... in the meantime, have a look at this guy's horse photos. They are excellent. As well as that astounding collection on photo.net, Wojtek Kwiatkowski also has a multi-lingual home page with more examples of his work.

Model and Property Releases

2006-01-06T13:00:00.000Z

The nature and use of model and property releases are potentially long and complex topics. And unless you have a commercial end in mind for your pictures, you don't need them.

Having said that, I know a good thing when I see it, especially when it's free, so here are the model and property releases used by Getty Images.

Camera Tossers!

2006-01-05T13:35:00.000Z

Off topic: "Camera Tossing" is trendy. Here's how to do it: http://www.cameratoss.blogspot.com/. There. Feel creative now?

Talking of tossers .. if you're ordering from Warehouse Express (great shop) ask them what they think of City Link...

Happy New Year

2006-01-04T13:56:00.000Z

...to both our readers.

In Amateur Photographer magazine this week, there is an excellent article on planning your wildlife photography year, by Colin Varndell. I can't find his web site - if he has one - but I did notice that he's got a nice looking book out, about wildlife in Dorset. We'll review it before long!

Horsing Around - Tips and Tricks for Horse Photography

2005-12-02T16:44:00.000Z

OK not wildlife but domesticated animals are interesting too .. so here are our top tips for horse photography:

Be careful! They are large, strong creatures that often take great delight in spooking at nothing. If you walk around the back of them, keep out of range. Wear strong boots - they love 'accidentally' stepping on your toes.

If the horse's ears aren't straight up and forward "like Batman's", forget it! 'Donkey Ear' pictures are not popular with equestrians. To get the horse's attention, get an assistant to stand out of frame in front of the horse and do something like this, very, very gently:
- shake jangly objects (like keys)
- sweep the ground with a broom
- play with something that rustles
- wave a carrot at them

Flash photography. It's for the confident, brave and/or stupid. Personally I never bother, but some people do (see end of article.) At big events, the horses are probably able to take it without spooking. ("They evolved to avoid wolves, wildcats and bears et al, none of which resembles a flashgun.")

For showjumping, I find myself using settings around f/5.6 at 1/300th or faster on my 70-200. Experiment to see (a) what aperture gives you enough DoF, and (b) how slow you can go with the shutter speed. Pictures that show a little motion around the feet are good to have!

If you're not doing event photography, but you have other commercial intentions, get model releases even if your pictures don't include any humans!

For inspiration, have a look at Horses by Yann Arthus Bertrand. He's the guy that does the open-air photographic exhibitions of his 'Earth from the Air' work, but he is also a master at portraits of all kinds. He uses a massive canvas backdrop and lights with two flashes, the results are quite stunning. (We also recommend his book Being a Photographer which sounds pretentious, but isn't.)

Great new BBC show - Hands on Nature

2005-11-29T15:16:00.000Z

Watched the first episode yesterday and it's brilliant. I only found it by chance as for some reason best known to those in BBC marketing, it doesn't seem to have had any publicity at all. Criminal! Similarly, it's on at a funny time - 3pm weekdays. It deserves a better slot than that. Anyway, hosted by BBC wildlife expert and photographer Chris Packham, it takes us on a tour of UK wildlife hotspots - a photographer's dream.

As Chris himself says: "Nature needs to be experienced first hand. You have to be able to touch it, see it, smell it and exercise your curiosity. And that's what Hands On Nature is all about."

We agree. In fact that's why we got into wildlife photography in the first place. By the time you read this, the series may be half way through but there's an excellent website to back it up where you can find even more information.

Here's the link to the Beeb's Hands on Nature website: Hands On Nature.

Wildfile - Mammoth UK Wildlife Links

2005-11-23T14:19:00.000Z

That's mammoth as in huge. Wildfile.co.uk is a quite stupendous collection of links relating to UK wildlife and environmental websites. 41 different categories! The wildlife photography section is excellent. The whole site is a goldmine.

Interesting comment regarding David Bellamy on their site, "Climate change denier David Bellamy must go."

Check out the whole lot.

Puffins on Skomer

2005-11-22T16:02:00.000Z

Off the Pembrokeshire coast are two islands, Skomer and Skokholm. Both are part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, and form part of one of the most important seabird breeding areas in Europe. Manx Shearwaters, Storm Petrels, Wheatears, Oystercatchers, Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, Guillemots, Razorbills, Peregrines and Ravens all breed on these islands.

And so do Puffins, and it is these that are highlighted in Amateur Photographer magazine this week. Marine biologist Matt Doggett has a selection of great puffin shots published in the portfolio section. They are well worth a look! The shot above won the student category in the British Ecological Society's competition this year.

Skomer is definitely on our list to visit! (Good web sites: Skomer & Skokholm)

Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 15

2005-11-18T17:12:00.000Z

Just received this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year book (Portfolio 15.) Guess what - it is stunning! Joe & Ann McDonald - favourites of mine - have three pictures in it this year. Bence Máté's pictures - he has the cover - are wonderful too. You can buy it for £15 at Amazon at the moment:

(one day I will figure out how to get this link in the right place...)

WildArena Seminars

2005-11-18T14:39:00.000Z

WildArena still have a couple of places left for their Autumn seminars. The dates are:

Nature in Focus - Saturday 26th November and Saturday 3rd December.

In The Company of Wolves - Saturday 10th December

I have used WildArena before, on their Leopard and Birds of Prey days, and they were excellent. More details at www.wildarena.com.

A very Oddie autumn

2005-11-17T08:17:00.000Z

No doubt about it, autumn is here - in fact it arrived rather too soon if Bill Oddie's Autumnwatch survey is anything to go by. And judging by the ice on the car this morning winter's not too far away either.

Anyway, photography wise, there's loads to snap away at. And who better to show us the way than the bearded one himself?

Check out his Autumnwatch section here and find the best of UK autumn wildlife - video clips the lot: Oddie's Autumn.

We have a responsibility

2005-11-16T20:48:00.000Z

Following on with another of National Geographic's masters, Thomas D. Mangelsen. He makes a really valid point that many of us may not have considered. "A lot of young photographers just getting into wildlife photography don't quite make the link that they have a responsibility to protect what's out there," Tom says.

"We have the ability to make images that will teach people about endangered species and places needing protection, pictures that can even change minds, and we have a responsibility to do it. Sometimes I meet people who sort of skip that part. They want to take pictures because they think it's a cool thing to be a wildlife photographer. They don't quite understand they have the option to do more than just take pretty pictures."

You'll find the whole article here: Thomas D Mangelsen. (Another good guide - but not perfect - has been written by the Nature Group at the Royal Photographic Society, and can be found here.)

Michael Nichols

2005-11-14T17:37:00.000Z

Excellent set of articles from a National Geographic photographer here - http://michaelnicknichols.com/article/.

All the articles are illustrated with Michael's excellent pictures (do not leave the site without checking out the tigers!) It really is an excellent resource.

Wildife Photographer of the Year 2005 Exhibition

2005-11-14T17:02:00.000Z

From the Natural History Museum website, here are the details:

"The exhibition is in the Natural History Museum's Jerwood Gallery.

Find out how to get to the Museum.

Opening hours are

Monday to Saturday 10.00 - 17.50
Sunday 11.00 - 17.50
Open on bank holidays.
Closed 24-26 December.

Late night opening: From 28 October 2005 - 24 February 2006 the exhibition will be open on Fridays until 21.00. Find out more about Time Out After Hours."

Water Voles - hard to find - harder to photograph

2005-11-03T20:04:00.000Z

Published by the Mammals Trust UK, The State of Britain's Mammals 2005 report covers the key themes of mammal conservation over the last year. Among this year's most notable findings is the description of the water vole as "seriously under threat". Alas I've not been lucky enough to see one in the wild, let alone photograph one. Not hard to see why when the report describes the water vole as "a contender for the UK's most rapidly declining mammal". A real shame.

You can download a free copy of the report here: The Report. And if you want some brilliant footage of wild British water voles, the fantastic Arkive is the place to go: Water Vole movies.

Find Wildlife with Wild Woods

2005-11-03T16:25:00.000Z

Just found an excellent wildlife 'finder', provided by the Forestry Commission. With their web page, you can quickly find sites of interest close to your location. Give it a try - it's at the Wild Woods Homepage.

Epson P2000

2005-10-31T20:13:00.000Z

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

2005-10-31T18:59:00.000Z

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

2005-10-31T13:51:00.000Z

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

2005-10-31T13:31:00.000Z

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

2005-10-28T15:50:00.000+01:00

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

2005-10-28T12:07:00.000+01:00

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

2005-10-20T14:22:00.000+01:00

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

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2005: Results

2005-10-20T13:19:00.000+01:00

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

2005-10-18T13:21:00.000+01:00

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

2005-10-14T13:53:00.000+01:00

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

2005-10-14T13:38:00.000+01:00

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!

2005-10-10T21:38:00.000+01:00

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.

2005-10-10T16:44:00.000+01:00

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!

2005-10-10T15:54:00.000+01:00

"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'

2005-10-10T01:11:00.000+01:00

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...

2005-10-09T13:43:00.000+01:00

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