I decided to have a look back at some images that I had taken a while back and a set with Carla took my eye. Having learned a bit more about applying textures in Photoshop I though I would try to create some soft, pastel images by applying a mixture of overlays and other techniques…
I haven’t been out with the camera for a good few weeks so thought I would have a look around my garden to see what was lurking in the shadows. The first thing I came across was a group of Scarlet Lily Beetles (Lilioceris lilii) congregating on a rapidly decaying Lily. So I put the…
Beyond doubt my favourite owl is the Little Owl (Athene noctua) and it’s been a while since I photographed one. The owls in these images are totally wild but have been encouraged to find food in a working farmyard barn. By placing two grubs a metre or so apart it is possible to shoot the…
In an age where images, photos, music all seem to abound on the World Wide Web and people are just downloading, uploading and sharing stuff I though I would write a short piece about copyright. Unfortunately, a lot (most!) people do not understand copyright or intellectual property rights and think that everything can be had…
The Cuckoo is a bird that was often heard but rarely seen, nowadays it isn’t heard that often either. As I’ve been roaming about the countryside I feel that I’ve been lucky if I hear one a year these days and until this occasion I had never actually seen one. This particular Cuckoo was photographed…
I spent a couple of afternoons in spring observing and photographing a pair of Sparrowhawks in southern Scotland. The woods were a riot of colour as the spring flowers were in bloom with the bluebells being spectacularly prevalent. The female hawk was particularly compliant and paused on several rocks and trees as it surveyed the…
I’ve always been keen on sport, having played cricket and squash for many years and since taking up photography I’ve wanted to combine the two. I have photographed quite a few local sports so far but really want to photograph at a higher level within the various disciplines. This year I was fortunate enough to…
Dippers are a bird that I have long wanted to photograph but one that I have found difficult to locate or track down, even asking around has brought little success. However an opportunity arose and I jumped at it.Dippers are quite a small, plumpish bird with a small erect tail that live and breed by…
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge built in 1933-37 that links San Francisco with Marin County to the north, costing in excess of $35m at the time. It is an instantly recognised structure around the world and as I was in the area it was on the list of things to photograph, luckily…
America’s Yosemite National Park is well known for it’s dramatic, rugged scenery – the mountains, trees and waterfalls that soar far into the skies. Spring is the time to see these waterfalls at their best as the snow on the mountain’s higher reaches begins to melt, filling the falls to the max and creating awe…
Hummingbirds have been on my ‘bucket list’ for quite a while now, in fact for so long that I was beginning to give up hope of ever seeing any. So, here I am in Mariposa, California and the Guest House that we are staying at has hummingbird feeders and… Hummingbirds.These little birds are quite diminutive…
I know, I know – I said I didn’t do landscapes anymore but when you are in a place such as Yosemite you just have to take some shots. This first shot is the iconic view from the tunnel exit on the way in from the west side. It has been shot many times in…
