Next to Nature Photography

A Mixed Evening!

My intention on this evening was very much the same as previous, which was to photograph the Roe Deer, yet again!

However, on the way I saw a pair of Mute Swans with four young Cygnets, which is not unusual at this time of the year but three of them were riding on mums back. If I hadn't of seen this I probably wouldn't have stopped but I did start taking a few shots but the conditions were not quite right, mainly the because of the light, therefore I thought I would wander off and return when it was a bit later in the evening and the sun wasn't as harsh.

As I moved off I saw a GreyHeron take to flight and started to circulate around the lake, therefore I stopped again to see whether that would be worth a go. I didn't expext too much because I had just given up on the swans because of the light but the couple of shots below haven't come out too bad, hence hanging on to them!

After a little while this bird flew off and it was now time to see if I could come across any Deer and sure enough they were about but it took a while before I saw anything that was worth photographing.

This was in the Buttercup field at the edge of the wood which has great potential but I have yet to have all the elements in place to get the shot that I envisage.

On this occasion it was a female, in amoung the flowers but everything was in the shade of the wood but at least I did manage to get some shots away.

I thought my luck was going to change when I saw a Buck enter the bottom of the field and make his way towards the Doe but all he did was to chase the Doe off and in the end I was left with nothing but to move off back to the woods to see if I could track down any more.

Going a bit deeper into the wood I did come across another female who again was in the shade but was not disturbed as I approached and started clicking away.

By this time I was aware that time was getting on and I did want to return to the Mute Swans and their young, therefore I left this Doe in peace and headed back to the lake where the birds were now in a better position and the light had improved. However, the cygnets were not as I would have liked to have seen them but then trying to pull all the elements together relies upon luck and has little to do with skill!

Continuing with the Roe Deer

My third visit over a period of four days where I have been tracking the Roe Deer and a really enjoyable three evenings it has been, albeit hard work but that is starting to pay off.

Again I have started in the woods and my first sighting was of a doe in some quite thick cover as she just went about her business of feeding and cleaning etc., as in this first shot!

She continued to graze and wandered off, un-disturbed by my presence but making it difficult for me to follow, therefore I left her and continued to search for others when I came across another doe. On this occasion she had spotted me but stood her ground as I wasn't being a threat and got a few more shots away, as she was content in the cover of the trees.

After this female had moved off I wanted to see if any were grazing in a field full of Buttercups on the edge of the wood, as it has the potential for some nice shots and sure enough there was a buck right in the middle of the flowers. However, I messed up and all those shots have ended up in the bin and I will have to do that again!

Moving off from here, I went back to the wood and while walking through I saw this buck lying down at the base of one of the trees and managed to get in a position without disturbing him as he continued to rest.

No more sightings on this particular evening but I am sure I will be back very soon, especially to the Buttercup field, where hopefully I might get it right next time!

Getting up close with the Roe Deer

I finished off my last blog by saying "Until the next time!" Well, the next time was the following evening but it has taken me a while before I was able to sort those pictures out.

However, it was back to the same location where I came across a Doe after only being in the woods a short while. Initially I did disturb her and she made off but I tracked her to an area where she was quite well hidden but that does help because Deer appear to be more confident if they have the cover of the trees and foliage within a wood, as in this first picture.

Having located her here I wanted to get a little closer and using the cover of the trees and a bit of stealth I got into a good position and managed to get some more shots as she maintained her stance.

It was a bit windy and the foliage was blowing around and kept going across her face and as she moved slightly I saw an opportunity to get a bit lower, infact almost on the ground, where there was a clear view through to her, which meant for a much more pleasing shot.

However, having got into this position and looking right at her I let the camera slip causing a sudden movement and she had seen enough and off she trotted, therefore I was very lucky to have bagged this shot, which was the only one I took from this position!

I then went off wandering again to see if I could see her again or perhaps see if I could find any other animals and after covering a lot of ground I saw another female but this time the conditions had changed whereby it was getting later in the evening and the light was dropping.

Thank goodness for digital cameras where the ISO can be changed at random to accomodate the low light levels and I was able to continue with a few more shots before packing up for the evening.

 

A summer evening following the Roe Deer.

The weather has certainly improved of late, which make me feel a whole lot better and it gives me the incentive to get out a bit more. It also helps because the evenings are much longer now and it allows more time to concentrate on a given subject, like my most recent visit looking for Roe Deer.

My intention was to photograph them in the wood but it is like they say about "best laid plans", however it is always good to see them anywhere and my first sighting was in the middle of a field.

Therefore, I set off , trying to keep as low a profile as possible, where there was a grazing young buck who didn't see me as I approached but then one movement too many caused him to look straight at me but not before I got a couple of shots away. As you can see this is possibly a first year buck from the state of his antlers!

It wasn't too long before he had seen enough and decided to leg it but expecting this I had the camera set to capture him as he ran back towards the safety of the woods, where on this evening I did't see him again but I will certainly be able to identify him again on future visits.

There was little point in trying to track him, therefore I wandered back through the wood but it wasn't too long before I came across an older, rather splendid looking buck and began photographing him, who had clocked me but approached anyway to have a look at what I was. Keeping low and behind the camera doesn't give away that I am a threat and their inquisitive manner nearly always brings them closer.

This male then wandered off deeper into the wood where it is very much overgrown with thick bramble and I wasn't able to track him through that without totally disturbing him, therefore I moved off to another area of the wood where I did come across a doe and her young fawn.

I did get a couple shots of them together but unfortunately they didn't come out too good and I ended up binning them but again a pair to be aware of on future visits.

The light was now starting to drop a bit as the sun was getting fairly low in the sky and the wood gets fairly dark as a result, so I decided to head back to the open field to see if any of the deer where out grazing.

Normally at this time of night it can almost be guaranteeded and sure enough there was three, with two in the far distance by the far hedge and a doe in the middle of the field. It was back to the same tactics as when I arrived and I began photographing her. There wasn't much good light here as she was stood in the shadow of the wood but I am here and I am going to get some shots to finish off the evening.

Until next time!

Draycott Sleights Wild Flowers

I have recently returned to Draycott Sleights Nature Reserve, Somerset, where the initial intention was to photograph the Beech trees and the lone trees at the top of the hill.

At first I started with the lone trees but I wasn't really feeling it but I took a few shots anyway and as it turned out I shouldn't have bothered as they have all ended up in the bin! So not a great start but unless you start taking those pictures you will never know.

While walking across the top of the reserve there was a nice lot of colour from the yellow Cowslips and purple Orchids which seemed to have a bit more potential. Therefore a change of tact and it was down on the ground to the level of the flowers to see what I could produce as the sun was getting pretty low in the sky as it was approaching late evening.

I started off with the purple flower, which I believe is an Early-purple Orchid. I say believe because my wild flower recognition is not great but if you know different I would be grateful if you can identify it.

However, it was then onto the Cowslips, which I do know is correct, where the nice out of focus backgounds have been provided by both flowers being backlit by the late evening sun.

Time was running out and I was having to work pretty fast as the sun was disappearing quickly but a few more shots to finish off what turned out to be a very pleasant evening.

Within , what seemed to be no time at all the sun had almost gone but time for one last shot, which you can see throws a totally different light upon the scene.

Roe Deer - Limited Time Promotion

Another Limited Time Promotion for you of my Roe Deer Fawn stood in a field of wheat. The offer is for a 36" x 24" stretched canvas and runs for only 5 days from Fineartamerica by clicking on or copy and paste the following link;-

http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=115972

Latest Limited Time Promotion!

Another Limited Time Promotion for you from Fineartamerica of my dragged image of a Bluebell Wood. The technique on this shot has been to use a slow shutter speed and move the camera, while the shutter is open, to create a photograph that looks like a pastel or a water colour painting.

It is available as a 36" x 24" stretched canvas at a much reduced price of only $100, (£65) but there are only 5 prints left and for 5 days only!

Click on or copy and paste the following link;-

http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=115581

Tiger on Track - Limited Time Promotion

My image of "Tiger on Track" is available as a limited time promotion from Fineartamerica where it can be purchased as a 36" x 24" stretched canvas at a reduced price but the offer only last for five days.

For full details go to-;

http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=115421

This image was taken at Bandhavgarh and is one of the most famous tigers to have lived in India. Sadly no longer with us he died in November 2011 from wounds inflicted by a younger rival male but he was a large dominant male during his time who was given the name Sundar and a code name of B2. He was seen here walking along one of the road tracks on an early morning game drive in 2004 and was my first confrontation with a wild Tiger!

The Bluebells are out!

One of the nicest days of the year yesterday where I spent some time in the garden enjoying the sun, well it was a Bank Holiday but it was also the chance to capture some nice warm light in the evening.

Therefore I went out with the intention of finding the Roe Deer, hopefully wandering through the Bluebells that have just started to show, albeit a little later this year.

The Bluebells were obviously easy enough to find but did I see any Deer, well no, nothing! This was surprising as I cannot remember the last time I went out and did not see any, especially when the last time I visited they seemed to appear everywhere I went and in numbers.

However that meant resorting to photographing the Bluebells themselves, which was not something I was going to do as probably every man and his dog will be doing the same at this time of the year and the world is full of Bluebell images. That said, you've still got to get a few more shots for the records!

After taking these shots I was still determined to track down some Deer but it just wasn't going to happen. For some reason I still didn't find any but at least I've come home with some pictures!

Limited Time Promotion

Another Limited Time Promotion for you. This time it is of Loch Cill Chriosd, on the Isle of Skye, Scotland and available as a 36" x 24" stretched canvas from Fineartamerica.

Promotion runs for only five days!

For full details go the link;-   

http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=114245

 

Back to Blagdon Lake

On my last post I had said that the Coots were on the nest and the Great Crested Grebes were displaying but that was for "another evening", as I was there to do some landscape work.

That evening turned out to be last night and although I was prepared to do a bit more landscape the light wasn't quite as good as previous and nothing was really working for me. Therefore, I went to one of the Coot nest and took a few shots of them but it wasn't too inspiring but good enough to keep for the library.

I had hoped to see the Grest Crested Grebes displaying their courtship ritual again but the only birds I saw were miles out in the middle of the lake. Perhaps it was going to be one of those nights were it just wasn't going to happen and as it got to about 8 o'clock I started to walk back to the car to set off home when I suddenly saw a lone Grebe.

The light wasn't great but good enough to see if I could get anything, therefore I started taking some shots as it kept diving and surfacing.

The trouble was it would reappear much further along the water, causing me to run along the bank, (running, something I haven't done for a while!), however, I did manage a few more shots before it moved too far away and into the shadows of the fast fading light. Now was the time to head home!