A Ball of Cute

 I am sharing some more recent images today, but will go back to some of my older files in the coming days.

These pictures were taken at Martin Mere early  in January. It was a very cold and dull day and so there is quite a lot of noise in these images. Even so I was pleased to capture these few shots of one of my favourite native birds, the Long-tailed tit. It is so cute and as they fly around in little family groups chattering away they are absolutely adorable. 

I haven't done much wildlife photography for quite a while and so I am looking forward to warmer days with better light so that I can get out and if I am very lucky get some better pictures than these. For now though, please enjoy the Long-tailed tit. If these don't make you smile you need to give yourself a really good talking to because they are gorgeous.

Dilly Dilly

 

Here are a couple of shots of some lavender flowers as they emerge in my garden.

We used to have a massive lavender plant in our front garden, planted in an old chimney stack. It was so large it would beat against our window when the wind was blowing. I was a beautiful display of colour and so fragrant. No one else had lavender in our street and it was nice to see people stop to admire it and to take in the scent.

Sadly it got so old and woody so it has been replaced with some younger plants which are just now coming into their own.

They are such beautiful flowers, and the scent is so relaxing, it is no wonder that lots of hotel rooms use pictures of lavender to soothe their guests.

Native Blue

 There is something special about walking in the woods in spring when you are surrounded by beautiful flowers and the heady smell of the bluebells. I remember walking on Bluebell Hill near Maidstone with my parents and seeing masses of these flowers and then for years I don't recall seeing them in any numbers, perhaps I just wasn't looking. A few years ago I went to Skomer to photograph the Puffins and other seabirds and large parts of the island  were completely covered in Bluebells and that was the first time I really appreciated not just the flower itself but the wonderful smell, the air was filled with it. It was a perfect day and is a wonderful memory.

These two shots were taken at Boilton Woods near Preston. I have a few more images from a little closer to home at Burton Mere which no doubt I will share if I get round to uploading them.

A Morning Kiss

These are Roe Deer, the two females in the first image were quite a distance away but it was nice to capture a tender moment as they touched noses in greeting. 

I had actually been following the buck in the second image and hadn't realised that there were three deer altogether so it was a nice surprise to see them all. It was nice also because although they were very wary of my presence they did not immediately disappear into the woods and i was able to watch them from a distance.

It was yet another reminder to me that it very often pays off to be up early. That's not such a bad thing either when I usually wake up at stupid o'clock.

 

Common but Beautiful

 

Last weekend I went over to see my son and daughter-in-law and took a number of pictures of their exotic pets. I have sorted out several to share on this page however I just haven't got round to it during the week so I will need to get more organised because there are some really interesting shots that I am sure you will love (or maybe they will give yo chills).

However today I was off work and for the first time in a while I felt really motivated to go out and get some new pictures. I got up at 5:30am and headed off to a reserve near Preston called Brockholes. Getting there early was a good idea because there was lots to see, from Brown Hares, Roe Deer, Longhorn cattle, all manner of birds and lots of wild flowers. The conditions were perfect and I had a fabulous time and got a really nice selection of shots. I would say it is the first time in a long time I have felt so positive about an outing like this and I can't wait to share some of my favourite images.

The first pictures I wanted to share were taken about 45 minutes to an hour into my visit. I had spotted this Common Kestrel hovering in the distance and I watched it settle in a tree off to my left. As I tried to get closer it kept flying off along the treeline and settled just out of range. It was so frustrating but as I very slowly made my approach it had obviously worked out that I was not a threat and it stayed settled for some time.

I was really pleased with the first image because moments before it had pooed (too much information???) so I knew I didn't have long before it took to the air again. I wasn't wrong.

What surprised and thrilled me most however was that the bird flew almost directly towards me and went into a stoop almost directly above me allowing me to get the next two images, before it realised it was just a bit too close and then flew off.

For me the second picture is my picture of the day, possible even picture of the year so far, it is almost definitely going to feature in my calendar for 2023. I love the shape of the kestrel as it hangs there in the sky, I love its piercing glare. I love the way its tail is fanned out so you can see every detail. The light on the underside of the wings is perfect and the shadow of its claws... This bird is so so beautiful. 

OK, I will stop gushing now.

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I do.

Chirk; Inside and Out

 Two more shots of Chirk Castle, one from the formal gardens and the second from inside the castle courtyard.

The snow continued to fall while I was taking these shots but I was not deterred. I think this castle looks good in all weathers and the heavy sky and snowfall just add to the atmosphere.

Looking at Yew

I have been feeling a little under the weather this past week so hadn't been out for a few days so today I headed out to Chirk Castle near Wrexham in North Wales to look at and possibly photograph the display of snowdrops .

On the way there I almost turned back due to a heavy snow storm but when I arrived although the conditions were very changeable it was definitely worth the effort of getting out and as well as some shots of the snowdrops (including some experimental images) which I will eventually share I got a range of other images from the castle and grounds which I am really pleased with.

The best display of snowdrops is found in the "Pleasure Ground Woods" and on the entrance to the woods there is an old yew tree. I was struck by the depth and the detail in the ancient bark and took the above shot to showcase some of the detail. As I looked more closely at the image I noticed a chilling face so I rotated the image and cropped it slightly to bring the face into focus as you can see in the image below. It looks to me like an alien face either with the creature's own hand covering its mouth or perhaps being restrained or silenced... I hope you like this as much as I do.

 

Wet n Wild

Here are a few more images from my shoot yesterday down at the New Brighton seafront during storm Eunice.

The first shot shows the storm surge breaking against and over the wall of Fort Perch Rock, the walls range in height from 24 feet (7.3m) to 32 feet (9.8m)  and I think the corner in this photo is towards the higher part of that range so that gives a sense of how high the waves were, as the surge hit they got even higher and it was necessary to retreat to a safer spot.

The lighthouse is 94 feet (28.5m) and at times the waves obscured most of the building, which even allowing for perspective shows how high they were.

This last image is very similar to the one I shared yesterday, it was a little earlier in the sequence of shots, I love the curl of the wave as it retreats and is fighting against the wind. I have applied a mask to the sky to enhance the layers of cloud and help add emphasis to the foreground.

 

Tail End of the Storm

 Once again I brave the conditions so you don't have to...

This was New Brighton lighthouse as Storm Dudley came to an end earlier today. There were a few spectacular moments but none of the really big splashes that I had hoped for.

Oh well with Storm Eunice due to arrive tomorrow promising even worse conditions I will be out there again... 

Garden Beauties

 The beautiful blackbird in the first image stopped by to feed on some seed that had been put out on a tree stump. Blackbirds are easily overlooked because they are a common species and they lack the bright plumage that many other garden birds have. However they really are quite beautiful and their feathers have a gorgeous sheen so every now and then they deserve to be noticed.

The robin appeared in the window of the hide where I was sat, he was a fearless little chap and happily took a mealworm from my fingers and ate seed from the palm of my hand. I think you will agree he is a handsome specimen and although they are a very familiar sight I couldn't resist sharing these lovely shots.

The Holly and the Bokeh

 So, following on from yesterday here are a few more shots experimenting with bokeh.

This time instead of lichen I have used holly as the subject but the naturally fragmented light in the shrubs behind the holly has created marvellous bokeh. 

I love the rich tones of the first two images but I also think it works well in high contrast black and white as in the third image.

Gold Crest

 A few weeks ago I saw a pair of Goldcrests while I was out for a walk, I managed to get a few photos on my phone's camera because they had flown onto a bush right next to me and stayed around for a little while. I wanted to go back and capture some more images using my DSLR so I went back to the same spot and waited.

Although it was a sunny day the light in the woodland was not that great and also the large number of dog walkers on my chosen day meant there was a lot more traffic than on my previous visit. The birds did appear after a short while but they were more skittish and wary than the last time so I was pushing my equipment to get these shots. They were all taken at 560mm F8.0 1/1000 sec and 10,000 ISO. Due to the high ISO there is a lot of noise in the RAW images so I have removed some of that in lightroom resulting in some loss of detail. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to see these beautiful birds again and I am fairly pleased with the above images. I am sure to go back again in the hope of getting some more, and better, shots of these stunning little beauties.

A Lone Tree

 Here are two, what I think are nice, atmospheric shots of the limestone pavement above Malham Cove.

The lines in the rock lead the eye towards the lone tree on the edge of the cliff in the second image but shot from a slightly different angle the diverging lines frame the tree against the sky.

Fans of the Harry Potter films may recognise this location as this was one of the locations used in the Deathly Hallows where Harry and Hermione pitch their tent... 

This is stunning landscape and well worth a visit, the views are spectacular and the atmosphere is magical.

Limestone Pavement

 This magnificent geological feature is the limestone pavement above Malham Cove. Over the years erosion has exposed the limestone bedrock and the wind and rain has carved these amazing shapes in the rock. I looks great but it is treacherous to walk across. I have been up here in sunshine, rain as well as ice and snow and whatever the conditions it is challenging to cross.

It is definitely worth visiting though and I would recommend approaching it along the path from Gordale and then down the steps to Malham because the climb up the steps to the top is really hard going.

I have some more views from the top to share so if you like these please look out for more tomorrow.

Along the Way

 Between Christmas and New Year I enjoyed a walk around Malham in the Yorkshire dales. I walked along Gordale Beck to Janet's Foss a delightful waterfall in a woodland setting and then on to Gordale Scar where the waterfall carves its way through the rock in spectacular fashion. This was also the location for a scene in the Netflix series The Witcher where Ciri comes face to face with a vicious monster.

Then I followed the trail towards the top of Malham Cove and the images above were captured along the way.

Crest of Wave

I have posted images of water many times before, often (like earlier this week) ripples and reflections but on other occasions I want to show water in motion like in the images above.

These were taken on the beach at Trefor on the North Wales coast. The sky was overcast and the water had a dirty green tint so I have processed the images in black and white.

I stood watching the waves roll in and I could feel the power of the tide as each wave receded pulling the pebbles of the beach with it.

I love the shapes that are created as the waves break and the spray forms along the crest, I also really like the way the light comes through the waves and the spray. Each time the wave breaks the pattern is completely random but when you freeze that motion and look closely it is possible to see (or imagine) interesting things, for example in the last image I think it looks very like the tale of a whale starting to break through the surface as the water rushes off it.

A Few Days in December

 So, I know that we are now part way through January, almost a third of the way actually so it may seem a bit late to post something with a title "A Few Days in December" but that is what these pictures and those that I  will share over the coming days represent.

I managed to get out for just a few days last month, although I have had a fair bit of time on my hands the poor weather and a lack of motivation on my part meant I didn't get out as much as I would have liked and when I sat down to review my images I actually thought that I wouldn't have very much to show for it. 

As it happens on those few days out I did get more than a few shots and perhaps more important than the images themselves I had time to unwind, to reflect and to connect with nature in a way that I really needed. Although I had my camera with me the primary purpose was just to get out and enjoy being out, without putting any pressure on myself to get the perfect shot.

Above are a few images from my first day out, a short visit to Mere Sands Woods. The weather was not great, the lighting poor and I really should have used a faster shutter speed but as I say photography was not the most pressing thing for me, I really enjoyed my walk and mostly just watching. The pictures, well they are a bonus.

I hope that you enjoy the images above of a Great Tit, a couple of Blue Tits, a hungry Nuthatch and  of course, what winter walk would be complete without a Robin?!

Some of these images were made possible because someone had left out some seed on a tree stump where I stood a while and watched the birds come down in a frenzy to feed. 

The Robin shot was captured right at the end of my walk, I think it is quite a nice image but I had an even closer and perhaps more meaningful encounter with a Robin on one of my other days out, which no doubt I will tell you about in a future post.