Living on the Edge

 I don't think I can say much about these shots, other than it was so exciting to be able to get close to these beautiful creatures. They really are such special birds. I am always amazed at how hardy they are given how small they are and the life they lead, 8 months out at sea, 4 months on a rocky island in a burrow underground.

In a few weeks when their eggs hatch these birds will be on a constant round of fishing and feeding the little pufflings, who when they have fledged effectively just hurl themselves off the cliff into the air and they too will very soon head off out into the wild ocean.

Iconic Landmarks

 Notre Dame and the Eifel Tower, two landmarks that are instantly recognisable and must be among the most photographed sites in the world. Rather than posting the typical "tourist snap" type image I have looked for different views to capture. I hope you will agree these make for interesting images. Which is your favourite???

Hairy Beast

 Highland Cattle are magnificent creatures. I know they're just cows but they are more than "just cows" they have a real presence and they evoke strong feelings.

These specimens are part of a small herd that are often found on Whitefield Moor just outside of Brockenhurst, these were making the most of a little shade from the afternoon sun at Whitemoor Pond. Along with the New Forest Ponies they are quite the tourist attraction, with lots of people stopping to take photographs.

Despite the small swarm of flies attached to its nose the cow in the first image looks quite serene, and is happily ignoring me.

I like the second image, when I look at it I think it has the bearding of a Roman Emperor, all it needs is a Laurel crown to finish the look.

The third and fourth images are the same except for the fact one is colour and the other is black and white. I can't decide which I lime best. I like the image because the cow is slowly ambling towards me. It looks purposeful but despite its size and those formidable horns it does not feel threatening at all. Nevertheless I got out of its way once I had got the shot, it was definitely not going to change course on my account.

Fero da prora

This is such an iconic image from Venice.

The fero da prora is the ornament on the prow of the gondolas and as well as looking nice it is truly functional and the shape itself is symbolic.

The Fero is there to act as a counter balance to the gondolier who stands at the back of the gondola. That surprised me because it doesn't look that weighty but as it curves around the whole front of the boat it is more substantial than it appears at first glance.

A little research revealed that the S shape represents the Grand Canal that flows through the heart of the city, the six prongs facing forward represent the six districts of Venice while the prong pointing backwards apparently symbolises the island of Giudecca and the curved top represents the Doge's cap, while the inner curve at the top is said to symbolise the famous Rialto Bridge

In between the six prongs there are three additional items which represent the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.

So what I thought was just a nice ornament actually is so much more, I am glad I took a few moments to find out and hopefully you will appreciate that effort.  More importantly I hope you like this picture as much as I do

Old Meets New

Liverpool is such a wonderful city with some stunning architecture and especially along the waterfront at the Pier Head. 

I love reflections and it was impossible to just walk past this view of the Port of Liverpool building reflected in the sheer black glass wall of the Open Eye Gallery which are probably my two favourite buildings in the city. If you ever get the chance you should head down to the Pier Head and enjoy the wonderful architecture and stroll through the Port of Liverpool  building looking up at the glorious dome over the atrium I promise you won't be disappointed.

I think looking at these images that the people walking in the shadow of the Open Eye are probably unaware of the perfect reflection of the building just across the road. The buildings are from different eras and in such different styles but somehow they work so well together.

I was faced with my usual dilemma between colour or B&W and I think on this occasion colour wins out, just but then again when I look at the pictures tomorrow I might just change my mind.

Around Firenze

Well today we have walked miles, about ten miles in fact and so it feels good to finally put my feet up at the end of the day.

I have captured a few random images on out wanderings around museums, cathedrals, parks and the streets of the city. Of course I have also captured some of the more iconic images of this most beautiful city.

The first two pictures link to one of the pictures I shared yesterday where someone has added a snorkeling mask to approximations of classic paintings, they appeared all round the city and so I thought I'd share...

The other two pictures are the sort of images you would probably expect to see. There's an imperfect panorama taking in the Ponte Vecchio, the Arno, the Basilica Di Santa Maria Novella and of course the Duomo of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore.

The last is a very soft image of a sunset and the Ponte Vecchio. Hundreds of people had gathered on the Piazzale Michaelangelo to watch the sunset, two couples got engaged and others were having wedding or pre wedding photos done too. It was a nice way to end our time here, as tomorrow we're heading off to Casale Monferrato, a place I know nothing about but hope to have some interesting things to share next time.

All Stacked Up

This evening I am in Copenhagen on day 3 of my road trip and so far we have racked up over 1200 miles.

We left Vejle this morning after breakfast and headed to Billund, home of Lego and we visited the Lego House part of which you can see in today's picture. I have more shot of the building but I will save those for after I get back home.

The outside of the building is a massive playground and we spent so much time exploring it and messing around that we ran out of time to go in and look at the exhibits. We did manage to visit the shop though before setting off again.

On the way to Copenhagen I spotted an I sorry sat on a post not far from the road, I had never seen one before so that was a real treat. Then we drove across the Storebaelt bridge. Wow, I thought the Afsluitdyjk was impressive but today's bridge was somethielse entirely.

This afternoon we have explored parts of the city including the Free State of Christiana, I was warned not to take pictures inside so I only managed a few shots.  We walked along the waterfront and of course went to see the famous but dare I say it slightly underwhelming little mermaid statue...

Tomorrow we're pressing on to the next country on our route... Sweden and we'll be crossing the Oresund bridge, something I've been excited about for weeks. I know, I'm a bit weird and nerdy but some people love me for that so I'm happy.

A Fleeting Visitor

So for today here are two more shots of the beautiful Kingfisher that I had waited so long to see. I love the poses but wish a) he had stayed still and b) that I had had a more steady hold of my camera. Nonetheless it was a real treat to capture these images and a joy to be able to share them with you...

Rail Strike Bonus

No one likes a rail strike, however much you might sympathise  with the cause the disruption is always a little too much to bear.

Today's strike on Merseyside was no different and it meant that I had to make an unplanned trip taking my daughter to university. I had a few hours to kill so decided to head over to Mere Sands Wood, for a photo session.

I had been there last Friday and in the hope of seeing a kingfisher I'd sat for three hours in a hide with a couple of other photographers having been told one was a regular visitor. Sadly on that occasion I was unlucky.

I have seen kingfishers before but I have never been able to photograph one.

Until today...

I had been waiting for a while with very little to see and was almost at the point of giving up when I saw this little gem fly across in front of me and then settle on this perch. He was only there for about 30 seconds so I had to act quickly to get this shot. I managed to get a few pictures but I am going to save the others for some point in the future.

Last summer I got to photograph hummingbirds for the first time and today I got to photograph the iconic kingfisher. Hopefully I will have more opportunities in the future but I am sure I will never forget this fantastic first. 

World Heritage Night

My third view of Liverpool at night. I love this panorama of Liverpool's illuminated waterfront. I have kept quite a lot of the river in the foreground because I like the reflected glow. 

I first came to Liverpool in 1990 and in the past 27 years the city has changed so much. There has been lots of investment and growth in the city centre and gradually the development is  moving outwards. The skyline has changed and the famous three graces (The Liver Building, Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building) have become surrounded by some amazing new buildings. 

On one side there are hotels and offices and on the other there is the fantastic Open Eye Gallery at Mann Island and on the waterfront there is the Museum of Liverpool. I love the city and I am proud to be here. I love this view and hope you enjoy it too.

In A Flap

The last of my pictures from Skomer (well the last that I am posting to my blog anyway) and I hope you will agree that they're pretty good. I have really enjoyed sharing my photos from that trip I think they are among my most favourite shots since I started this blog.

Tomorrow I will be choosing something very different and then later in the week I will begin a series of very colourful pictures from a recent day out which I can't wait to share with you.

Island Life

So after a week of different critters from Skomer I have finally got back to the whole reason I visited the island in the first place. The Atlantic Puffin. 

I was going to post puffins today and then tomorrow I was going to move on to something completely different but trying to narrow down my selection I came up with nine pictures and that was just too much for one post, a little bit of puffin overkill. 

So for today here are four fantastic shots and tomorrow you will have to come back for the other five. I promise that you won't be disappointed because they're just as special as these and I know how much some of my regular visitors loved the earlier pictures so these are for you.

Fratercula arctica

I have rather a lot of photos of the Atlantic Puffins on Skomer, well with so many to see it would have been rude not to take them, and it is tempting now to post them all over the next week. 

However I don't want to overload you so after today I will change things and for a day or two I will post a few different subjects.  You can be sure however that because I am so pleased to have such wonderful images of these wonderful birds I will definitely be choosing some more puffin pictures for you.

As I said yesterday this trip was the fulfillment of a long held ambition and getting up close to some of these birds (less than a metre away in some cases) was actually quite an emotional experience for me. Call me soft if you like but I know I was not the only one affected in this way. While taking this group of pictures I was talking to a Polish photographer who also quite clearly couldn't believe that he was there, and he was almost rooted to the spot. There is really something magical about the Puffin.

A Firm Favourite

Yesterday I promised that I had a real treat in store for today, and I defy you to say that I have let you down...

A couple of weeks ago I got to visit Skomer an island bird reserve in Pembrokeshire, managed by The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales. It is only accessible for a few hours per day and visitor numbers are limited to a maximum of 250 people per day. It is a short boat ride from Martins Haven to the island and then a steep climb from the landing point to what is a wonderful home to colonies of seabirds and many other species of birds. On the day I visited there were only about 100 visitors to the island and it felt like a real privilege to be there. I enjoyed speaking to other photographers (about the birds and about kit) and to some of the warden volunteers whose knowledge really added something to the experience. 

I was especially keen to visit to see the Puffins that were breeding on the island and to be able to get up so close to these iconic birds was a bit of a bucket list item for me. Puffins are on the international Red List of Endangered Species and with decreasing populations they are vulnerable to extinction; although seeing the numbers on Skomer in their burrows, on the cliffs, in the air and on the water it is hard to imagine their total demise. It underlines the importance of places like Skomer where they  enjoy a degree of protection.

So for today I hope you enjoy the three pictures above. I really love them and in the coming days I will share some more. I have pictures of several of the other species from around the island too, and even some landscape shots to share so make sure you come back to see.