Heron with a Newt, London Wetlands Centre, Barnes

I went up to the London Wild Bird Watch event at the London Wetlands Centre in Barnes today along with a few birder friends, Ryan and Euan, along with Euan’s neighbours John and Shelagh. In the car on the way up they tried to convince me that they were birders, not twitchers. Whatever. Mind you, I’m usually met with the same response. It was a beautiful morning, so upon arrival I obeyed my first rule, to strike while the iron is hot, and got straight out with the camera, conscious of the fact that the weather was forecast to close in come the afternoon. I headed along the South Route, making my way directly to the Wader Scrape Hide at the far end.  The Scrape is quite sheltered, not least by the Sand Martin bank to the left, giving a nice flat, reflective water surface. Definitely don’t want choppy conditions if I can help it. I was rewarded with a Lapwing and a Redshank feeding in the shallows.

Lapwing at the Wader Scrape, London Wetland Centre

I think Lapwings are beautiful and unique looking birds, and I’ve been wanting to capture one for a while so this was one off the list. The Redshank was a nice bonus.

Redshank, Wader Scrape, London Wetland Centre

At one point the pair of them crossed paths. Nice.

Then as luck would have it I noticed the Little Grebe very close to the hide. Another off my wanted list.

Little Grebe, Wader Scrape, London Wetland Centre

Returning back to the Cafe a group of people were huddled round some old wood. Turns out there were a few Common Lizards sunning themselves. Time to obey the second rule, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. So despite the fact we were all supposed to be meeting up for lunch I got the tripod out and began setting up…

If this were a snake then the 'S' would be really relevant and would show what a great conceptualist I was. But its a Lizard. Unfortunately.

As if the Lizards weren’t enough (I know, I was beside myself) I then spotted some beautiful fritillaries. What’s more there were bees collecting pollen from them. Rule number two kicked in again.

Fritillary with a Bee collecting pollen

Fritillaries under more subtle light, London Wetland Centre

All these distractions meant that by the time I’d got back to the Cafe my ‘friends’ had finished their lunch and got up. At the time I blamed it on the rain that had begun to fall, but in retrospect I think it was resentment that I know all twitchers feel toward photographers. They would never admit it of course, but they seemed mighty keen to lose me. Ah well, people say I’m paranoid… I know they do.

Undeterred, we all headed off together to the main marquee to hear a very interesting talk from Simon King. Simon spoke passionately about maintaining the enthusiasm for nature in the coming generations, before moving on to some of his favourite subjects, foxes and otters. I think the highlight for me though were the live webcams watching over the Peregrine Falcons nesting in Charing Cross, a stone’s throw from the Wetland Centre. He then topped it off by bringing on a captive Peregrine to the stage, a stunning bird. Throughout the talk the rain thundered down on the marquee roof to such an extent it made it difficult to hear at times! We’d done well to get out in the morning as conditions had definitely taken a turn for the worse.

After the talk we had a good look round the stalls, of particular interest to me was Oliver Smart’s stand, some stunning photography, definitely worth checking out if you get the chance. The sharpness and detail blew me away. I avoided the Canon stand as I knew any sudden impulse buys wouldn’t go down well with the missus. Or the bank manager.

We then headed out via the West Route and another chance to photograph Little Grebe presented itself.

This little fella gave me the complete run around. Not long after this shot he dived down and quite simply never came up again. I looked everywhere but couldn't find him. He's probably still down there now.

Returning from the Wildside Hide a Heron landed very near. This could at last be my chance to get a decent Heron shot.

Getting closer to a good Heron shot, but the foreground reeds are going to annoy me every time I see this shot. Same with the shot at the top of the page, without the foreground reeds it would be damn fine shot.

After a final trip along the South route we headed home, just about beating the rain once more. A very enjoyable day, and glad to at last have got decent shots of Little Grebe, Heron and Lapwing. Euan seemed happy with his ‘list’, 48 species apparently. It’s a different world.

Now I know what a BIF capture is I can't stop taking them

I kept a keen eye on the weather reports leading up to the Easter break. It looked like there was only going to be one window of opportunity, on the Friday morning, with clear skies and a frost giving way later to cloud and rain that would dictate the rest of the weekend. I was caught in several minds as where best to go, but I finally settled on Papercourt Gravel Pits as I’d never been there before, and had heard some good reports (cheers Ryan!)

Here's another one, just to prove the point

As it turned out, it was an extremely Good Friday. The conditions were perfect, as the sun came up there was a beautiful mist that made for some very atmospheric conditions. I’ve been a little concerned recently that my wildlife photography was going down the wrong path. I feel that recently I’ve been taking little more than record style shots, and I think I’ve been losing sight of what I really want to be doing, which is creating images with an atmosphere and a mood. I think my most successful shots have been those where I’ve made the effort to get up early and made the most of the beautiful morning conditions, and I’ve not done that enough recently. I can’t say as I ever enjoy getting out of bed at some silly hour in the morning, but once you’re up and out it’s always worthwhile. The first hour or two after sunrise are without doubt the best part of the day.

Conditions were great, a beautiful frost, and some lovely light

Canada Geese, Papercourt Gravel Pits

So it was with this in mind that I set the alarm for 6′clock (I wasn’t going to go mad) in order to catch the first light. Thank heaven for the clocks having just gone forward. 5 o’clock on a bank holiday just isn’t cricket. As I made the journey over to Woking I could see a low lying mist at Papercourt Meadows, and I knew I could be in for a good day.

Canada Geese, Papercourt Gravel Pits

Great Crested Grebe ruffling its feathers in the mist, Papercourt Gravel Pits

I loved the way the light breaking through lit up the Grebes

There were a few birds I was keen to see, perhaps most of all the Little Grebes, and I’d also heard there were Kingfishers and Buzzards. Sadly, none of these made an appearance, but I did at least get to catch up with my old friend the Great Crested Grebe. I just can’t seem to get enough of these birds. From what I could tell there were two breeding pairs, possibly even more. A decent shot of a Heron still eludes me, I disturbed one not 10 yards away from me, and by the time I’d got the camera to my face and focussed,  all I managed was a shot of a Heron showing a clean pair of heels! One day …. one day.

Two Canada Geese in the cool tones of morning

But I think the main thing is that it almost doesn’t matter which birds were in the shot, because the conditions were so good.

I recently received a mini Velbon tripod for my birthday, and this was it’s first outing. I really like the lower viewpoint that it gives. My neck and back don’t like it so much, but hey, you have to suffer for your art sometimes. For it’s size it’s remarkably stable and I’ll look forward to using further in the future.

Even Coots can look good in this light

I loved the complementary blues and greens in this shot

Some more subtle tones

Thought I'd end on another flyer, just for all you BIF fans out there

All these shots were taken on the large lake for anyone interested, I’ve heard the small lake can harbour a few species but when I looked all I could see were Coots and Mallards. Maybe next time the Little Grebe will poke his head out and come out to play.

This was the last shot I took at Kilve, exposure time was 3 minutes. So often the case that the best shot I take is always the last.

Ever since I went to Kilve last year and  failed to get the shot I was after I was keen  to return and give it another go. The opportunity arose when I booked myself onto a Workshop with leading Landscape photographer Doug Chinnery. I redesigned and reskinned Doug’s website last year and by way of return I got to go on a couple of Workshops. When I saw Doug was running one of his Camera to Computer Workshops in Somerset I leapt at the chance.

The day was to be spent in Weston Super Mare, so I came down a day early, checked myself in at the hotel, and then set off further south to Kilve. The weather was looking promising, with changeable conditions, sun breaking through the clouds and even low lying mist. Sadly, by the time I got to Kilve it had become rather overcast. Undetered I scoured the beach for a composition that would work. The problem is that there is almost too much to choose from and it becomes quite bewildering. The plan was to use the Big Stopper to create a long exposure, creating soft, milky sea contrasting the fantastic rocky ledges. The main problem is the fast rising tide (10-12 metres). With exposure times between 2 and 3 minutes your timing has to be spot on to allow enough water around the rocks to create the effect, whilst at the same time not getting cut off by the tide and finding your wellies full of water, or worse still losing your footing and ending up destroying your equipment.

Finding a clean composition was especially difficult but I loved the appearance of these rocks.

Thankfully for the most part I managed to stay dry, but I did still have one moment when the water was millimetres from the top of my boots. Twitchy bum time.

Just one more of those wonderful ledges!

Once the light had faded I then headed back to the hotel and locked myself away for the evening and tried to get my head down in anticipation of the 6am start. Due to the karaoke downstairs and my worry that the alarm wouldn’t go off I barely slept at all and ended up getting out of bed at 4.30.

I managed to find this unusual view of the Pier. Lee Big Stopper, exposure around 2 minutes.

Conditions as I stepped out of the hotel were hardly perfect, overcast with a light drizzle, but thankfully it didn’t put a dampener on the day. We started shooting at the Grand Pier, before moving on a little later to Marine Lake at one end of the beach. I got some shots that I was very happy with, in conditions that had I been on my own I probably wouldn’t have bothered with. Doug then treated us to breakfast before luring us into the back of his campervan and going through his workflow and sharing some of his secrets. A very useful insight and I certainly came away having learnt a thing or two. I also came away with the feeling that I would definitely have to get a copy of Lightroom, and perhaps the entire Nik Software Suite to boot! This could end up getting quite expensive.

Rocks, Weston Super Mare. I'd been keen to take an image like this for a while, so glad to finally get it.

Marine Lake, Weston Super Mare. The overcast conditions actually helped here, really adding to the mood.

Steps, Promenade, Weston Super Mare

As I drove back down the M4 I reflected on a fantastic couple of days photography and I feel sure that I’ll return here again before too long.

If anyone’s interested in one of Doug’s excellent workshops they should contact him via his website, www.dougchinnery.com.

I've been trying for so long to photograph these lovely little birds! As an irregular visitor you can never predict when they may next turn up, so my best chance is just to keep an eye out and then sneak into the garage and hope they stick around. On this occasion they hung around for around 20 minutes, which is just unheard of normally. Light levels were low and so getting something sharp wasn't easy. This was 1/25th sec, ISO 400. The rain added a nice mood to the image.

It’s been a pet project of mine over the last couple of years to document the birds that visit our garden. We’re fortunate in that our garage window looks out across the garden, so I can sneak out the front door and into the garage without being seen. With the window open I don’t go to any great lengths to hide myself, but try not to make any sudden movements. The birds, I’m fairly sure, are aware of my presence, as I have numerous shots of birds looking straight down the lens, but very few fly off as a result.

Here's my set up, with the 'hide' (the garage) on the right and various feeders on the left. The perches and feeders are in shadow pretty much all day, so it's far from perfect, so I've just had to make the best of it.

To tempt the birds in I’ve set up a number of feeders opposite the garage. What I’ve found is that pretty much all the birds love the sunflower hearts. Although you’ll often hear that Goldfinch prefer Nyjer seed, in our garden at least they prefer the sunflower hearts. We do still have a Nyjer seed feeder, and it proved very popular with the Redpolls and Siskin when they visited. We also have a nut feeder, and the Blue Tits and Great Tits seem to like these occasionally as a supplement to the sunflower hearts. In the winter, the suet blocks have proved especially popular as the birds try to retain bodyweight. It’s been especially effective at attracting the Long Tailed Tits this year, but pretty much all the birds have been queuing up in order to fatten up. We also have an apple tree at the end of our garden that has managed to retain some fruit right through into February, and has managed to attract the Jay in to feed on it amongst others. It’s also very popular with the Blue Tits, Long Tailed Tits and even occasionally a Blackcap.

The first year in our new house we didn't see these at all, but this year they arrived en masse in the summer, feeding predominantly on sunflower hearts. Whilst we haven't seen them in such numbers over the winter, there are still a couple that still regularly visit.

An exotic visitor to our garden! They visited regularly over the winter of 2011, but unfortunately haven't seen them this winter. Fed mostly on the nyjer seeds.

I’m using a Canon 500D with a 100-400mm L Series Lens. Pretty much without fail I’ll have the 1.4x convertor fitted, and with the lens at full extension this gives me 560mm focal length. At full extension I’m restricted to f8, but this is fine as at f5.6 the depth of field I find is just too shallow. In the summer I’ll push it to f9 to give me just a little more front to back sharpness. These days I never go over ISO800, and more often than not I’ll be using ISO400 to keep the noise down. I’ve managed to get sharp shots using as little as 1/25th second, but as a general rule 1/100th second or above ensures a far better chance of success. I tend to use Aperture Priority most of the time and dial in 1 or 2/3rds exposure compensation depending on the lighting conditions.

A moulting Blue Tit on a nice lichen covered perch I half inched from a campsite at Cheddar Gorge. It was just too good to leave behind! The wife looked on quite disapprovingly as I smuggled a dirty twig into the back of the car.

A Dunnock on yet another lichen covered perch. Along with the Robins these are perhaps the easiest birds to photograph as they keep still for seconds at a time and aren't as nervous as some birds.

To begin with I set up a perch below one of the sunflower heart feeders, and with the camera tripod mounted I would switch to manual focus, and pre focus on the perch and wait for something to land on it. For the perch I’m using a nice lichen covered branch I found in a nearby wood. Unfortunately the birds eat the lichen so I’m soon going to have to replace it soon. I removed any unwanted branches behind the perch, and the leaves create a nice, reasonably clean background. It’s not ideal, our garden is south facing, and with the garage on the right side of the garden, the sun is in the wrong place, with the camera pointing into the sun. Short of moving the garage there’s very little I can do, so it’s a case of making the best of a bad situation.

Not one of the most spectacular birds, but the wet ivy leaves and a nice bit of feeding behaviour make for an interesting image.

As I’ve progressed I’ve now dispensed with the tripod, choosing instead to rest the camera on the window sill, and then brace the barrel of the lens against the window frame. This gives me the freedom to quickly adjust position if necessary as I’ve sought some variety.

A very infrequent visitor, but due to the very cold spell they were drawn in by the apples that had clung on to the tree right into February. I was hoping he'd get drunk so I could capture some unique behaviour but alas it never happened!

Thanks to the holly bush in our front garden we were also lucky enough to be paid a visit by a large number of Redwings this year. I’d been trying to photograph these birds for a few years now, as they used to turn up at our old house, but hadn’t had any real success. We didn’t see them at all last winter, but this year they’ve finally found our holly bush. The best place to shoot them turned out to be the bathroom window and I managed to get a number of nice shots on a very crisp, bright morning. Quite what the neighbours thought is anyone’s guess.

It was -4 on this particular morning, hence the lovely frost coating on the leaves, which along with the movement of the wings, really make the picture for me.

I’ve now captured just about every visitor we have, the only one that still eludes me is the Blackcap. Hopefully one day soon I’ll manage to get it, persistence is perhaps the most important factor in successful bird photography. If there’s one bit of advice I could give it would be to always strike whilst the iron is hot. It’s all too easy when you get a bird you don’t often see to think, ‘Oh, it’ll be back soon I’m sure’. Even if they visit for a number of days, don’t leave it too long because chances are they will just as soon stop visiting, and then your chance is gone. In the case of the Redwings, for 3 or 4 days there must’ve 20 to 30 of them, then just as suddenly none at all. Get out there with your camera and grab your chance!

I hope this article is of some help, and would welcome any comments and experiences.

To see the full collection click here

Beech Wood, near Newlands Corner, Surrey

Photographically speaking, 2011 has been an incredible year for me. I made a real committment to myself at the turn of the year to get out as often as I could, to set the  alarm and get the hell out of bed and take the kind of photos that had existed only in my head for the last few years. Purchasing the Canon L Series lens further strengthened my committment to improve my wildlife photography, and I think I can say that I’ve seen a huge improvement as a result.

The beginning of the year was characterised by my time with the Grebes. I had a certain amount of beginners luck, and got arguably my best photos of them on my first visit to the canal on a beautiful misty morning in March. I had a great trip up to the Midlands in April to photograph Kingfishers using Mark Hancox’s hide and got some shots that I was very happy with. I took a break over the summer but come late September/ early October I had a wonderful couple of mornings at Richmond Park photographing the annual Red Deer Stag Rut. One shot in particular has been very successful, appearing first in the Surrey Advertiser ‘Picture Surrey’ supplement, before then appearing on the cover of Surrey Life magazine, which had been one of my goals for the year.

On the landscape front I had great success photographing the bluebells at Micheldever Woods in April. The shot made it onto flickr Explore, and to date has had close to 2,000 hits, with almost 250 marking it as a favourite. It then went on to win the Forest Stewardship Council Summer Photography Competition, so I’m now an award winning photographer! I also finally got to photograph the Thames Barrier, something I’d been meaning to photograph for a number of years (don’t ask why). October was a particularly furtive time. In addition to the aforementioned Stags I also managed to get a couple of nice shots at Longstock and Lepe Beach, and the Longstock shot then featured in Hampshire Life, although they did manage to chop the shot in half.

Thames Barrier, London

I think I’ve achieved all I set out to with my Guildford project. It was very gratifying to have a couple of my Guildford shots published in the Surrey Advertiser and Surrey Life magazine. Particularly pleasing was my most recent outing to Newlands Corner. I’d spied a great Beech Wood just down from Newlands Corner the previous Autumn that I thought with the addition of a bit of mist would make a great shot. So although I had to wait a full year for everything to be right, come early November the conditions came good and I managed to get a shot that exceeded my expectations.

Pathway, Newlands Corner

2012

So what does 2012 hold? Well I hope to build on the success I’ve had this year and keep the momentum going. I’m keen to continue photographing locally, and in particular championing the wildlife on my doorstep. Close to home there are two heathland sites managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust that are home to the Dartford Warbler, so I’m going to make it my mission next year to capture one on camera. Nearby Papercourt Meadows in Woking has been host to a number of Short Eared Owls, so I’m also keen to capture those. Neither task will be easy but I think I need to take on more challenging projects to further stretch myself. Very close to home, in my own backyard, the Long Tailed Tit still eludes me, I would love to get a decent shot of these infrequent visitors. Also very much hoping that the Blackcap makes a return, as he too proved very difficult to photograph last winter.

Further afield, I’d like to make a trip up to Gigrin Farm to shoot the red Kites, I saw a few whilst in Theale a month or two ago – awesome birds. I’d also like to get back to Skomer Island to spend some more time with the Puffins.

From a landscape perspective I’m keen to expand my Guildford project to encompass the whole of Surrey and Hamphire, there’s a couple of locations in particular I’m keen to visit. In return for redesigning Doug Chinnery’s website I have a couple of workshops in the pipeline. Very much looking forward to those. I also can’t wait for construction of the Shard in London to complete, from what I’ve seen so far it looks awesome, and I’m sure will make for some great photos.

Right now I’m praying for snow, mainly because I love snow, but also because there’s a couple of places like Windsor Great Park and Bracknell Forest that would make for great subject matter with a layer of the thick white stuff. It’ll be interesting to see just how many of my aims will be be achieved next year, we’ll just have to wait and see!

It just leaves for me to say thank you for passing by my site, I hope some of it may have been helpful, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Surrey Life Cover, November Edition

I’m very proud to say that my photo of two Red Deer Stags Rutting has made in onto the cover of the November Edition of Surrey Life magazine. It’s the realisation of one of my goals so I’m extremely chuffed. It’s the first time they’ve featured a ‘reader’s photo’ on the cover, so it’s nice to be a part of a little bit of history! The image appears again inside as part of Surrey Life’s ‘Beautiful Surrey’ feature, containing photos sent in from their readers.

It also featured in the Surrey Advertiser ‘Picture Surrey’ supplement, both on the cover and repeated again inside, so this particular image has done very well for me!

Bluebells, Micheldever Woods

I’m very pleased and proud to say I’ve won the Forest Stewardship Council UK Summer Photo Competition! My photo of the Bluebells at Micheldever Woods one fine misty morning may have fallen at the first hurdle at the Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards but its finally come up trumps!

You can find out more information about the FSC UK and the other competition winners here.

Longstock, on the River Test

OK, so the squirrels weren’t smoking. But they were very fast. Ever since visiting Brownsea Island to photograph the terns a couple of years ago I’d been keen to get back there. In particular I was keen to photograph the red squirrels. October is supposed to be the best time to see them as they’re very busy foraging for nuts on the ground. So the date was set and my lovely wife gave me the green light (and the car) for the day.

I decided to set the alarm for 5 o’clock and go visit Longstock on the way down. I’d seen a few photos of the fishing hut there and was keen to go have a look for myself. Driving through the pitch black country lanes at half six in the morning was quite eery, and the thick mist just added to the atmosphere. As I parked up and got out the car a couple of owls pitched in with a few ‘twit twoos’ just to put me further on edge. But as the darkness lifted I was treated to a beautiful pre dawn light that made it all worthwhile.

I was keen to get down to Brownsea so didn’t wait around for the sun to come up, but as I drove through the country lanes just before Stockbridge I had to stop the car and capture the scene below, the light and mist were too good to pass by.

Fields in the Mist, Stockbridge. A bit of a grab shot, I was in a hurry!

I managed to get down to the Sandbanks at Poole in good time for the first ferry over and began my search for the little red furry things. I had my first sighting in the first 5 minutes, and it set the pattern for the whole day. He was off like a light, not resting until he’d cleared open ground and found the safety of cover. Clearly no one had explained to him that the low light levels under the tree were no good for photography.

I decided to visit the hides overlooking the lagoon to try and photograph my other target for the day, the Avocet. I think these are very impressive birds, especially in flight, and hoped to maybe catch them flocking. As I entered the hide it was obvious that flocking shots were out of the question, but there was one very obliging Avocet feeding near the hide and I was able to get a number of shots as he waded in up to the top of his (very long) legs. Aside from the Avocet, there were also a number of Spoonbills in the Lagoon, which caused quite some excitement amongst the bird watchers in the hide. I also spotted a couple Egret, but well out of range of my lens.

Avocet feeding at the Lagoon, Brownsea Island

I then headed to the Visitor Centre at the Villa where the squirrels hang upside down on the nut feeders, but it still proved very frustrating getting a decent shot. As soon as they’d got what they were after from the feeder they shot off, and didn’t pause until they had the safety of cover. I must’ve spotted 15 or so squirrels throughout the day, but all were too damn quick. That and the fact my lens was playing up, letting me down at a couple of vital moments.

It wasn’t until the end of the afternoon that my luck changed. Walking along Beech Valley I noticed a very preoccupied squirrel, and so I was able to creep up without being noticed. I lay down, and behind the cover of a tree stump was able to get a couple of ok shots. Not world beaters, but at least I had something to show for the day.

Red Squirrel, Brownsea Island

Sensing the sudden awkwardness he felt compelled to leave. This photo appeared on the BBC Autumnwatch website for a day!

All of a sudden the squirrel was startled and shot off up a tree. I looked behind and some buffoon was walking up behind me, keen to cash in on all my hard work. Grrrrr!! I gave him my best glare so he was left in no doubt how I felt. By this time I was getting pretty tired and made the way back to the ferry port.

I’d felt a little short changed, and my mood wasn’t helped by my failing lens getting progressively worse. I’m feeling pretty certain at this point that the warranty ran out about a week ago (always the way), and the thought of the repair bill was weighing heavy on my mind. Wanting to end the day on a high I decided to make my way back via Lepe Beach and photograph ‘The Dolphins’. There was cloud forming over the Island and I was hopeful for a nice sunset. However, as I got nearer to Lepe all the cloud disappeared and once again I was faced with a featureless sky. I thought I’d take a few shots anyway, and resolve to come back some other time.

The Dolphins, Lepe Beach

It had been a very long day, and I’d packed a lot in, so I was very glad to get home, crack open a beer, and put my feet up!

Stags in the Mist

Much as I enjoy bird photography I felt I was in danger of being pigeon-holed (sorry), so thought I would get myself along to Richmond Park to photograph some deer for a change. Although the rut isn’t supposed to peak until mid October I thought it would be a good idea to get some practice in and with the promise of good weather I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss. I set the alarm for 5 o’clock and headed up the M3. The mist rising from every field I passed was incredible. I got to the gates at 6.30, and as they weren’t letting cars in until 7 o’clock I decided to have a little wander round and capture the very first sunlight of the day, as the sky turned pink.

Old Branch in the Mist

Then I headed back to the car as soon as the gates were open and started the search for deer. It didn’t take long, within a minute or two I’d found two Red Deer rutting.

Two Red Deer Stags Square Up

The Winner! I think that might be the sheepish loser retreating over to the left.

In my haste though, I’d parked the car at the side of the road and looked round to see the Met Police whacking a fine on my car. With the sun just peaking out from behind the trees I had to wrench myself away to go park the car somewhere sensible. Like a car park. I hot footed it back to the spot, feeling like I just couldn’t get there quick enough. It was like those dreams you have when you’re running on the spot and can barely move. There was about half hour of beautiful golden light. Think I successfully managed to miss most of it. I did however get this chap as he crossed my path, so every cloud and all that.

A Stag in the orange light of morning

More rutting fun. The fella in the background was an added bonus.

As I crested the brow of the hill the light was pouring through the trees creating a wonderful atmosphere, and that’s when I got the shot at the top of the page. As the sun rose higher in the sky the mist soon burnt off, and as the clouds rolled in there was a far more subdued light. I went in search of other opportunities. A number of stags were all trying to out do each other with their calls. I found the guy below giving a good account of himself in the bracken.

Stag in the Bracken

The loudest however, by some margin, was the fellow below. A very deep, booming voice, a bit like Brian Blessed.

The King of the, er, Park

After this he then went in search of some adornment for his antlers. I’m sure that would’ve impressed the ladies no end.

With a full card and flat light I resolved to return again at the first sight of a clear day. Thankfully the following week saw the hottest October on record, and so I again made the journey up the M3. The weather was perfect, with a thick mist to begin with, so thick in fact that it was difficult to find where the bellowing was coming from, and then as the sun came up there were some beautiful conditions with light filtering through the trees. The mist eventually burnt off and we were treated to some beautiful early morning light. When I say ‘we’ I mean myself and the other 200 or so photographers in the park! There were a crazy number there, and at times keeping them out of shot was quite a challenge.

This guy passed right in front of me, a little too close for comfort.

The rut really was in full swing, quite a contrast with the week before when things were just warming up. The air was thick with the sound of stags bellowing all around you. The majority of the action was taking part in a clearing, with photographers lining the edge, all vying for position.

The nice warm light I'd been hoping for. Nice pose too.

I got a few in the bag and then moved on to try and find opportunities elsewhere. As I made my way back to the car, I had the Stag below blocking my path. He seemed to have quite a nark on, and so I stopped in my tracks and waited. And then set the camera up. Hell, if he was going to charge I was at least going to get a decent shot. Eventually he seemed to calm down, as did my heart rate, and I returned to the car happy. And without a parking ticket this time, which was nice!

He's got a right nark on!