Amphibious Antelope

Meet the Sitatunga...

This is a marsh dwelling antelope native to Central Africa and is also known as a Marshbuck.

It has an unusual way of walking and at first as I observed the small herd in the paddock at Chester Zoo I was concerned at how swampy the ground seemed to be but as I watched a little longer I could see how these animals are perfectly adapted to these conditions. One of their adaptations is long splayed hooves.

The males have beautiful long, curved horns but the females do not.

They are not a threatened species but their main predators are humans, pythons, crocodiles, leopards and lions.

Elephants Just Wanna Have Fun

I have been dying to share this picture since I took it at the end of my visit to the zoo, it is one of my favourite pictures so far this year. However, I had wanted to finish my selection from my day at the beach and so I have had to be patient.

I managed to get a number of really good shots at the zoo and I was on my way out happy with my days work. I hadn't intended to get any shots of elephants because usually at the end of the day they have been moved inside. On this occasion though I was leaving earlier than usual and so the whole family of elephants were out. I was mostly focusing on the younger family members and this little chap was really active. I was so pleased to capture this shot as the young elephant decided to have a dust bath and I got the timing spot on as it threw the shower of dust over its head. 

I think this is a really happy image and so I hope it brightens your day as much as it does mine.

Sunburst

This is the last of the pictures I will be sharing from my recent trip to North Wales when I visited the Syngun Copper Mine near Beddgelert and then the beach at Black Rock Sands near Porthmadog. I really didn't think I would get so many usable images from that day because the conditions were so mixed but I have been pleasantly surprised. 

As you can see it was a beautiful day although if you have followed my posts over the last two weeks you will be aware that it was actually bitterly cold and although the sun was high in the sky behind me a snow storm was blowing in.

I took this shot in landscape mode and again as here in portrait mode and while you might expect a beach scene to look better as a landscape image I think that with the position of the sun it looks much better in portrait mode. 

Shooting into the sun can often lead to washed out or over exposed images but I think I managed to get the settings just right for this one and I love the flare on the sun which was achieved in camera without the use of a filter.

Seaside Scenes

So I know that the second of today's images is a bit like a holiday postcard but I wanted to share it because it follows on from the first picture which is of a fresh water spring which was bursting out from the cliff and really took me by surprise as I was walking along the beach. 
It was pouring out at such a rate that it has carved out a pool in the sand and then as you can see from the second picture it flows out to the sea as quite a wide river, cutting a course through the beach and in places it was quite deep everyone who was walking the beach, from either direction was forced to turn back as the river blocked their path. 
This is an interesting feature though because when the tide comes in the whole beach is covered and the river effectively disappears and then as the tide goes out the river starts afresh.

In the distance you can just about make out Criccieth castle and further in the distance the hills on the Lleyn Peninsula. You can also see the snow clouds building on the right reminding me at least of how bitterly cold it was in spite of the sun.

Cave Troll

Ok so it's not really a troll, it's my youngest son who was with me on my day out.

I am really pleased with this shot because it wasn't posed at all. I had been taking some shots of the interior of the cave and as I turned to leave I was able to quickly capture this image. I think it is a great composition and the lighting is spot on. I did do a slight adjustment in lightroom by tweaking highlights and shadows but apart from that it is pretty much as shot. 

Strata

Hopefully if you liked my post yesterday you will like today's pictures too.

I think the first picture is my favourite. I like the way the patterns in the rocks continue on either side of the crevice that has been worn away over so many years. They are like the grain in timber. I wonder how many years it took to form these rocks, layer upon layer and then how many more to erode them so that we can see them today.

The second shot was taken inside a cave with water dripping from the roof and running down the walls revealing the vivid colours in the rock. It was pretty dark so I used a small torch to illuminate the patterns in the rock and to emphasise the sheen.

After The Tide

I took these shots to show the contours where the receding tide had sculptured the sand around the base of some rocks at the base of the cliffs. I think it creates some interesting patterns and if it weren't for the small tell-tale signs (the small shells, the seaweed and the dogs footprints) it would be difficult to work out the true scale of these miniature canyons.

I like the colours and textures in these pictures. 

As you know, if  you have seen my recent posts it was a cold and snowy day, and if you look carefully at these images you will see the white streaks of snow flakes blowing through the shot.

Barnacle Heart

Regular visitors to my blog will know that I have a thing for hearts in nature and whenever they appear I am sure to photograph them. Of course then they end up here in the hope that others will see them and appreciate them just as much as me.

Here are some links to a few previous posts on this theme (Pebble , Beetle , Fern ) and as you can see they turn up in some unexpected places.

Today's heart is a small colony of barnacles clinging to the rocks at the base of a cliff exposed by the retreating tide. It is an unusual sight and although perhaps not the most stunning photo it is interesting nonetheless.

Storm The Beach

This is a lovely stretch of beach on the North Wales coast near to Porthmadog. In the summer months it is a very popular spot for picnics, sand yachting and other water sports but in the winter it is much quieter as you can see from the pictures above. 

Although the sun was out and the sky was blue out to the horizon it was actually bitterly cold, with the wind chill it was around -11 degrees and the wind blew a snow storm from Snowdonia making this a really bracing walk. It was great.

I have lots of memories of visits to this beach where all of my kids have practiced driving at one time or another. I can also remember  along with a group of friends being asked to leave by the police after we were reported for racing. Happy days!

Flying High

I have had a week off work and I have really enjoyed not having to think about the job and I have managed to get out with my camera on five of the last six days.

Yesterday I went to Mere Sands Woods and while waiting (unsuccessfully) to get a shot of a Kingfisher I practiced taking shots of birds in flight. I managed to get a couple of decent shots I think but it will be a while before I get around to posting them here so for today I have chosen a few more shots of the gulls that invaded my picnic on Saturday.

Although these birds appear to be hovering they were actually gliding past at speed. Apparently they fly between 15 - 28 MPH with their most efficient loiter speed being 22 MPH I would say these birds were "loitering with intent".

Rooftop Garden

It may be difficult to work out exactly what you are looking at in today's picture so the title of the post might help a bit.

You are actually looking down onto the top of a wooden fence post which has rotted away to form a concave space which has been colonised by lichens and moss and what looks a bit like a bramble. 

I think it is rather beautiful and it is one of those things that we would more often than not walk past without a second glance but I think it makes a wonderful image and from this particular perspective it looks really good.

Soaring

These common gulls had stopped by to share in my in-car picnic on the beach at Black Rock Sands. I had eaten a delicious Scotch Egg and a Stromboli bought in a local cafe/deli and there was no chance they were going to get any of that. 

I had also bought a cherry bun for "dessert" but I didn't really enjoy that so I threw a chunk out of the window to the waiting gulls thinking that they would tear it apart. To my surprise and amusement one bird swallowed it whole and then seemed to stagger around with a hugely swollen crop. I was a bit more careful to throw smaller pieces for the other birds and was again surprised to see the already stuffed bird fighting with his comrades over the other scraps in a disgusting display of greed.

I was impressed by the aerobatic skills of the birds as they snatched tasty snacks midair.

I took a number of pictures of the birds in flight as they were soaring effortlessly in the strong easterly wind. I think these shots capture the supreme skill of these birds and I particularly like the light in the first image.

Anyone who has had a seaside picnic will have been pestered by gulls and they're widely considered as pests but they are really quite attractive birds.

Bloody-nosed Beetle

This little creature took me a little by surprise as it crossed my path down the hillside on Saturday. It was so cold that initially I didn't want to stop to change the lenses on my camera but as I looked a little more closely I realised that it would be worth the time and effort. So with my 100mm Macro lens I got down to bugs eye level and captured a few shots.

I have done a bit of research to identify what species this is and I discovered that it is a Bloody-nosed Beetle. They are found across the UK usually between April and September so it has emerged quite early which is a real surprise given how cold it has been recently.

It gets its name from the mechanism it uses to deter predators, apparently if you breathe on them the beetle releases a bright red liquid from its mouth, the liquid is an irritant so if a mammal tries to eat it the beetle "bleeds" in the mouth making it an unappetising meal.

They eat leaves, favouring Lady's Bedstraw and they do not fly. Although it looks as though it has wing casings the two segments of the hard shell are actually fused together.

I think they are quite handsome and I like the bobbly antennae and the other feature that I really like is the segmented legs/feet which I will add to my collection of natures' hearts. You could say that the beetle wears its heart on its sleeve (obviously not literally but you can see what I mean).

Different Ends Of The Valley

These two shots were taken yesterday but they look as if one was taken in winter and the other in summer.

I had just emerged from the darkness of the copper mine high up on the side of the hill. Underground it had been relatively warm but coming outside I was hit with the icy blast of the wind blowing up the valley. There was snow blowing around and with the wind chill it felt like it was -14 C. From the first image you can see the snow storm approaching and even though it only left a light dusting it was enough to let me know that winter isn't ready to end just yet.

Turn 180 degrees and the scene is completely different, apart from the absence of leaves on the trees you could imagine it is a summer's day. Next stop from here was going to be Black Rock Sands near Porthmadog. It is a lovely expanse of sand with impressive cliffs and a great spot to visit so the clear blue sky was drawing me there however I wasn't sure whether I would get there before the snow...

Underground

Today I have been underground as I visited the Syngun Copper Mine near Beddgelert in North Wales. It stopped operating as a mine over 200 years ago. The conditions underground must have been dreadful as the workers used hand tools and only had candles to light their way. We use copper for so many things and take it for granted but seeing these conditions made me reflect on how so much of what we have comes at the expoense of other people.

The pictures today show one of the excavated chambers where Stalagmites and Stalactites have formed, and are still "growing" creating these beautiful formations and reflections in the underground pool.

Also while I was walking through the passageways deep inside the mountainside I thought of the song Underground by Harry James Angus which conjures up some interesting imagery of a mysterious and magical underground world it is well worth a listen

Pink And Blue

Here are two more lovely shots of flowers from Ness Gardens to bring a bit of much needed colour.

The first is a Hydrangea, in France they are called Hortensia and in Brittany they are really abundant and they have Hortensia festivals to celebrate the summer blooms. Often the petals can get battered and discoloured so I was really pleased to see this perfect flower.

I don't know what the flower in the second shot is so if anyone knows please leave a comment for me. I love the tiny flowers with the little buds that open out to these delicate tendrils.

There is so much beauty in this world.

Blue Fortune

This flower is a variety of Lamiaceae called Agastache "Blue Fortune"

I wanted to post something full of colour and to try to tempt Spring to arrive because the weather has been dreadful recently and there is another icy blast on the way so I think this is a much needed floral treat.

Signals

Today's shot is another from my trip to Grosmont in the North York Moors near Whitby. It was taken as you can see on the platform of the station. It was almost midday and a steam locomotive was due shortly so behind me were scores of people waiting for the spectacle.

With the historic trains and the old station this place feels stuck in time.

All Aboard!

To get this shot I had walked along a narrow pathway alongside a workshop. Getting up close to this big locomotive, the noise and the smell was amazing. I am not at all mechanically minded but there is and always has been a fascination for me about stuff like this. 

I love wildlife and nature photography and to be a wildlife photographer would have been my dream job but big industrial settings and machines also make great images . I remember one of my first outings with my first SLR camera over 35 years ago was with my best friend in Boston and we took pictures of the railway tracks and bridges around the town and the fishing boats along the river, I'm sure I will have a stack of negatives from that day in a box somewhere.

Anyway, back to today's post I really do like this image and I think it works equally well in either colour or black and white. Sometimes if I do a picture in colour or black and white like this I will have a clear favourite but with this one I'm not sure, I really like them both. The black and white might just come out on top but its a close run thing. 

One of the things I like about this image is the fact that it feels alive. It isn't just an inanimate lump of machinery, the people in the shot, preparing the engine for its days work give the shot a vibrancy that would be missing if it was just the locomotive on its own and there is movement from the driver as he is preparing to climb the ladder into the cab. 

Looking For Thomas

Last summer I had a lovely couple of days on a trip to the Whitby area in North Yorkshire and I spent a couple of hours visiting the North York Moors Railway at Grosmont.  

It was a hot and sunny day and the good weather and the lure of steam had brought a lot of people to this otherwise sleepy village. I was like a kid when the steam engines came through but I wasn't the only one and it was so nice to see the excitement on the faces of other people who were there. In this shot the platform looks deserted but not long after this the place was heaving.

Raindrops On Roses

Well ok, not roses...

But a couple of macro shots of raindrops nonetheless.

I like the magnifying effect of the raindrops on the oak leaf in the first image and in the second shot the droplets seem to emphasise the fragility of the flower. 

Noisy Nuthatch

I have seen nuthatches many times and they are really beautiful birds. 

I love the way they cling onto the bark or branches of trees lying flat against the surface or hanging upside down, they are so agile. I love their black mask giving them the appearance of a bandit.

This particular bird was spotted during a walk in the New Forest, I was actually stalking a herd of Fallow Deer at the time and it was pretty wet and grey so the lighting wasn't great. The noise in the title to this post doesn't relate to the birds' song but to the "noise" in the image because it was shot at an ISO of 20,000 so inevitably it was very grainy and nowhere near as sharp as I had hoped it would be. 

I had almost discarded these shots as worthless but after a little bit of tweaking in Lightroom I have found that they could be salvaged and they are closer to what I had pictured when I took the shots. I really like the poses in both shots so I am glad I was able to "rescue" them. Now that I know how I will be able to go through some older files and see if I can apply this fix to other shots that previously I had discarded.

Small and Chunky

According to the RSPB pocket guide to birds of Britain and Europe "Small and chunky" are the words used to describe the Stonechat, seen here perched at the top of a Hawthorn bush on the open heath land of the New Forest.

This is a male as you can tell from his black head and throat, his white neck and his rust red chest. 

This perch is typical for the species that like to sit high up on bushes  surveying the land round about and calling out Tsak, tsak-tsak before flying off in search of spiders and insects to feast on.

He really is quite a handsome bird and it was great to spot him while out walking with my son.

Red Panda

One of my favourite mammals; the Red Panda. 

OK it may be a bit cliche because they are just so cute but they really are beautiful and whenever I visit Chester Zoo I am drawn to see them. 

I love this shot, I think the lighting is spot on with the sun coming in from the right and the shaded areas helping to frame the panda as it was trotting towards me.

Light It Up

I don't normally post pictures of people but I really love this shot. The subject is the lighting guy for the band Pumarosa who were the support act for Everything Everything last night in Leeds.

I like the concentration on this guys face, but what you can't see in the image is how as well as being focused on his job he was also totally lost in the music. 

I like the lighting in this picture too, the way the lights from the desk illuminate his face and while everybody in the venue was fixed on the action on stage there was also so much going on here, behind the scenes. Normally when I go to see a band I like to get in the crush with the crowd but last night I took a spot nearer the back and as well as having a good view of the stage I got to observe a little bit more and I am glad I did.

Electric

So tonight I am out in Leeds to see the band Everything Everything. If you haven't heard of them you should check them out. Their album A Fever Dream is amazing and I'm really excited to be seeing them. But I didn't want to miss a chance to post something. The city at night looks quite good, there's some really nice architecture.
I liked this street lamp on the edge of a public square and I think the perspective in this shot works well.

Striking A Pose

These Bush Dogs really are so cute and catching them out running around making the most of the winter sun was such a treat. 

They are almost constantly on the move though and they rarely seem to stop so when these two paused momentarily I was lucky enough to capture the moment. Reviewing these images I thought how they were striking a model pose, especially the second one where he was looking directly at the camera.

Abstract Two

Here are two more abstract images to follow yesterday's choice. When I initially took these pictures I only chose to share a couple but having revisited the collection I decided that with a little work there was more to share than I had first thought.

I like the vivid colours as well as the abstract patterns which were created by moving a light stick with three flashing lights. Using a long exposure in complete darkness other than the light stick it was possible to achieve some great images. It took a little bit of experimenting to get things right and I am very pleased with the results.

Folding Light

So a change of direction for today. 

I wanted to share something other than wildlife so decided to go back to some of my "light painting" images from a while back. 

I like the abstract images, the tie dye effect in the first one and the stepped, or folded effect in the second. They are simple but effective, well I think so anyway.