A Christmas Eve visit to Blashford Lakes, and some very un-Christmas spirit was being shown by a Cormorant, as it attacked a male Tufted Duck.
Not my best video, but I liked the action.
2015
Wet Weekend Birds
Nasty grey wet weekend weather wise, so not ideal for birds photos. And as it was wet, the only option was to go somewhere with sheltered hides, so I visited my local Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve. I did manage to photograph a male Black-necked Grebe for the first time. Although they are large 50% crops. The advantage of a reserve like Blashford, where you have several habitats, and importantly several
Feeder Birds
Whilst Storm Clodagh blew through on Sunday, the best location in my mind was to be inside, and the bird hides at Blashford Lakes beckoned. With the adverse weather the light was low and so a higher than normal ISO was required to get a shootable speed. After the tern hide, and Ibsley hides provided nothing close by in relating to wildlife, a short visit to the Woodland hide provided
The Kestral
I was fortunate to come across a very patient and docile Kestral, sitting in a tree on a sunday walk from Tuckton to Hengistbury Head today. I took a shot from the distance that I first saw the Kestral, as normall when you get close to a raptor, it will take flight. However, much to my suprise this one did, not and with these next images, I was more or
Robin Redone
This cheeky Robin was a difficult subject to capture on camera today at Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve, but not for the normal reason, it kept hoping towards me and getting too close to the lens to take. However a bit of perseverance by me, in backing off from it I got a couple of close up images of the bird. Having recently purchased Topaz Texture Effects, I decided to have
Yorkshire Dales in a Different Light
Whilst up in the Yorkshire Dales in September, a walk on a sunny day, gave me the opportunity to take out my converted Canon 20D camera and take some Enhanced Colour Infrared images. Having now processed them using a variety of methods and several Topaz Plugins ( including Adjust, Restyle , Glow and Texture Effects), I have this collection of Colour Infrared Landscapes from the day.
Topaz Texture Effects
Topaz Labs Texture Effects is a new Photographs Tool, that allows users to create a variety of textured, toned, and lighting effects in a fraction of the time it takes in other editing software. The program includes a library of over 150 expertly crafted effects, an extensive collection of texture assets (275+ high-resolution assets!), and instant access to effects other Topaz users have shared with the new Topaz Community. That
Juvenille Osprey
Over the autumn of 2015, a Juvenille Osprey has been resident at Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve in Hampshire. The Osprey is best viewed from the Tern Hide, when it sits on a perch in the middle of the lake. This perch is a fair way away, so the views are distant, and photos from here need a lot of cropping. These two images I took on an overcast day –
A Topaz Autumn
After taking some Autumn Landscapes images at Anderwood in the New Forest last weekend, I used some of my Topaz Labs plugins to create different looks to the original photographs. I did this to Create new looks to the images. Brighten things up as the weather was overcast and dull. Here are 3 different images, processed with various Topaz Plugins, along with the original image in each case for comparison.
Red Squirrels on Brownsea Island
One of the major attractions of Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, is the ability to see Red Squirrels up close and personal. I had the pleasure of visiting the Dorset Wildlife Trust reserve there on the Island, twice in October, when the squirrels are actively feeding and hiding nuts for the winter ahead. They come very close to people, even sitting eating on the tables right next to you. Here