The Kittiwakes continue to do well at the Pier. Most of the chicks are quite well advanced, with most adults with two chicks. There are still some smaller, newer chicks around though, so it is possible to see a cross section of age ranges. I am still continuing to make the more straight images of the colony, but have found the process of making the portrait images quite challenging and fascinating at the same time. I noticed with some of my earlier attempts that the depth of field was so shallow it was nearly impossible to get the eyes sharp. In sunnier conditions the brighter light has allowed more depth of field to be used with a high shutter speed. Unfortunately the adults rarely keep still, so maintaining focus has been difficult. With auto-focus loosing the focus point if the sensor leaves the eye, and my manual focus skills lacking to cope with their movement, it has turned into a numbers game. Some times it all comes together and then it really works well, with pleasing images and the look that I am after.
As well as portraits I have been trying to get some of the interactions between the young, parents and other birds around them. This is proving difficult to get some variation, but overall there is a coming together of the overall behaviour. The young chick above was staring attentively at it parent as it was trying to stimulate the adult to give it a feed by pecking at the adult birds beak. I just like the look on its face.
When it is wet, grey and generally dull with a gale blowing, apart from waves and barnacles on rocks it is generally a difficult time to try and make images. I was having one of those days last Wednesday, where it didn’t matter where I went, I just was struggling to find subjects that seemed to work. I eventually ended up at Arthur’s Stone on Cefn Bryn. Due to the rapidly declining weather I was up there on my own, so when a severe rain storm hit and visibility was reduced to 100m at least I didn’t have to fight with anybody to get the only sheltered spot under Arthur’s Stone itself. It doesn’t matter how good your waterproofs are, eventually the rain gets in, so I was glad for some shelter. I’m actually quite surprised that I was wearing my waterproofs. Normally I forget to take any for me and only carry the ones for my camera and bag!
As the rain cleared a few beams of sunlight came through the clouds and spotlighted some of the landscape. Unfortunately none of them hit Arthur’s Stone, which stayed in rather boring dull light. I knew when taking the images that conversion to black and white would have to be done. The colours were so dull and fairly monochrome anyway, the images wouldn’t work in colour. I like to work with black and white film, plus all the processing and darkroom work. I think that it has a craft feel to it. Unfortunately with my darkroom in boxes at the moment, digital is my only real route to choose from. At least I can now reduce the number of camera bodies that I have to carry. In the days of film I had a couple of bodies loaded with slide and black and white film. This was no problem with the interchangeable backs with my medium format system. but with 35mm it was a bit of a pain.
I was due to do a 1-2-1 tuition today, but managed to switch it to yesterday due to the poor weather forecast for today. As it turns out the weather hasn’t been as bad as they forecast on Friday, but I’m glad I switched the day. Trying to learn photography when you are wet and damp is not fun, as well as being a complete distraction from what you are trying to do.
Earlier on in the week I was trying to make the best of a bad situation as I huddled next to Arthur’s Stone in a very heavy rain storm. Visibility dropped to about 100 metres and even I would admit that there were no real photographic options at that point, plus I wasn’t that willing to stick my head out from underneath my hood to find out!
The 1-2-1 session was all done on compact cameras, and it was quite refreshing for me not to have to think too much about histograms, aperture, shutter speeds etc. The clouds were quite interesting with them changing shape rapidly except for the one pictured above. It managed to maintain its resemblance to a feather as it travelled across the sky. You should have see the size of the birds that it came from! When working with a compact camera it becomes the best tool to practice composition with as most of the other photographic processes are handled by the camera.
We left Mewslade to try and get a decent sunset at Rhossili, and it looked promosing until about an hour before sunset when the clouds built up above the horizon and completely blocked the sun. A few photographic opportuinities were present, but not the spectacular lighting that I had hoped.
I will be having two FREE open days this year. They will be:
CARDIFF BAY Saturday 4th September 2010- meet by the water feature opposite the Millennium Centre at 9.30am
This is not a formal workshop, but more of a chance to meet with me, talk photography and share tips and ideas.
We will make images of the architecture mainly but there maybe be opportunities to try some urban wildlife photography as well. Please bring your own lunch or buy something in the bay from one of the many restaurants. Don’t bring too much gear, but I’ll always recommend using a tripod where possible!
To help give me an idea of the numbers of people planning to come along, please drop me an email HERE or contact me via Twitter.
WWT LONDON WETLANDS CENTRE Sunday 24th October 2010 – meet on the bridge outside the centre at 9.30am
I will be attending WildPhotos 2010 this year so I will be in London for the weekend as well. On Sunday I will be at the WWT London Wetland Centre. If you would like to come and join me and have a few hours wondering around this great location learning about bird photography and nature photography in general be there at 9.30am. we will meet outside the centre by the main entrance on the bridge.
The day is not a formal workshop, but an opportunity for photographers to meet, take photographs, talk about photography, swap photographic tips and have a good time.
You will need to pay your own entrance fee to the centre and bring your own lunch or use the centre cafe. Don’t forget to pick up car park token if you come by car. Obviously the main subjects will be the birds, but landscapes and detail images will all be possible. So don’t feel that if you don’t have a long telephoto lens, it won’t be worth coming along.
I have posted a small gallery of images taken at the centre HERE
To help give me an idea of the numbers of people planning to come along, please drop me an email HERE or contact me via Twitter.
I have been visiting the Kittiwakes at Mumbles Pier quite a lot. I am trying to get a complete record of the development of the young. There are plans to redevelop the pier, so I am not too sure how many more times the Kittiwakes will be able to nest on it in the future.
The birds are very tolerant, probably due to the presence of so many fishermen and women. The gulls occasionally chase the bait that the fishermen are using to try and catch fish. Unfortunately at my last visit on Monday one of the fishermen managed to hook an adult bird through the leg. I haven’t seen so many grown men poncing about before, they all seemed to be afraid of the bird which was getting quite distressed. Luckily with the help of one of the more calm fishermen I managed to get hold of the gull while he removed to hook from the leg. Amazingly the bird did not seem to show any pain as the hook was removed, and once released it flew back to one of the roosting sites on the pier. There was a nasty wound still on its leg, so I hope it survives, but it seemed quite okay as I watched it for a while afterwards.
Apart from the straight photographic record shots, the challenge has been to try and find different viewpoints and get a bit more “art” into the images. This is proving to be quite challenging and results are still varied at the moment. As there are only a few places to stand to see the Kittiwakes from so repetition is a problem. Using different light has helped, but overall there tends to be a “sameness” to some of the images. What has been working well is the combination of teleconverters, extension tubes and my longest lens combined to allow extreme close up portraits of the adult birds without having to get too close. Even with this set up giving a focal length of roughly 1680mm it is still quite surprising how close you need to be, not withstanding the focus, depth of field and sharpness issues. I’m still trying to get an image of a wide open mouth of one of the adult birds to show the magnificent red and yellow colouration present.
This extra reach has also helped me get more intimate images of the chicks as they develop. Most chicks seem to be surviving and developing well and are now being left alone by some parents so I can get clearer views of them.
There are still some days to go before they fledge, so I will get in a few more visits before then and see what turns up. A male grey seal was swimming around at my last visit totally oblivious to the fishermen and kayaks around it.
I don’t know if I have been thinking too much recently, but I have started to question the photographs I make. Some examples are:
Are my images different to those of anybody else?
Is it still possible to make images of popular subjects that haven’t been done before?
Does the world need more photographs, hasn’t every thing been photographed already?
My answers so far:
No, yes and not enough.
Maybe, but I’m not sure how.
Probably, apart from very rare subjects.
So where does this leave me? Confused is probably an accurate description at the moment. Lack of focus, short attention span and apathy are all present as well. I’m calling this my “Can’t be a***d” period. I’m in a funk. I’m glad to say I’m not the only one who feels this way at times. American photographer Zack Arias summed it up in his video statement below.
So what am I doing about it? Nothing and everything. I’m stepping back from holding the camera, but planing things to do with the camera. I’m making images but not trying to find images. I plan, I research, I do nothing. Everything seems to help in its way. I need to rest.
Are you now more confused than me? Probably. It is amazing how in a few hours doing all of the above has helped. So what is the outcome and what am I going to do? Let’s look at my answers to the questions now.
For the majority, the answer is no. There are some that are different. I need to study these and find out why. Does this mean I stop taking ordinary images? No, because it is through making these images that the vision improves and the different approach forms and develops to produce the new work.
Possibly, I need to work on it. I have a few ideas, but they need testing first. This will be the hardest thing to develop.
No it doesn’t need more images and yes probably everything has been photographed, but the world demands more images, there is a need for more images. I can give it some of my images.
The Kittiwakes are doing well at Mumbles Pier despite the heat. Check out the photos of fellow Gower blogger, Adam Tilt HERE to see how they coped in the higher temperatures. I revisited last Sunday as it had become a bit cloudier which helps with the contrast in the images. By the time I got to the pier and with an opening time of 9am, the clouds had cleared and the sun was out. Luckily where some of the birds nest is in the shade so I was able to make some images. I was trying to get some images of the chicks, but as they don’t do too much at the moment, plus a lot of the adults are still brooding them, I had limited success. I tried a few variations, some of which worked, but I also decided to make a quick video for those of you who are not able to get to the pier.
A few comments on the video. The audio makes it sound that it is quite noisy in the colony. It is actually relatively quiet for a gull colony, compared to those I have spent some time around on Skomer & Skokholm Islands off the Pembrokeshire coast. The editing just seemed to make it appear as if birds are calling all the time when they are not usually. For those of you who think they can detect the sound of a pressure washer at some stage, you will be correct. The crew of the RNLI lifeboat, which is stationed off the same pier as the Kittiwakes, were cleaning the lifeboat down while I was trying to make the video. It didn’t seem to matter if I stopped filming and started again later. The pressure washer always seemed to come on when I pressed record. I now appreciate after trying sound recording on my course with Wildeye last year how difficult it is to get a clean sound recording like we are used to hearing on TV etc.
The Little Owls on Skomer are well suited for the terrain with superb camouflage. You only really picked them up if they moved and even their bright yellow eyes didn’t give them away. The image above and below were taken to demonstrate their ability to blend in with their surroundings. I was amazed at how many people just walked past them, even though I was pointing a huge photographic lens at them!
After a while of spending some time with them, I got to learn their habits and could identify the male and female, which look the same, from their behaviour. The female stayed closest to the young with the male bringing in food and passing it off to the female. The female would also hunt herself, but when the male arrived at his favourite perch he would squawk, and the female would fly to him to collect the food. I stayed for a few hours and it was great just to be able to watch their interactions. They also got used to my presence and the male decided he wanted a closer look at me, so he came within 10 feet of me. No picture I’m afraid because at the time I was looking in the opposite direction taking a photo of an oil tanker moored in the sound! Even though I turned really slowly, I knew he would fly off before I managed to train my camera on him. That will teach me not to pay him my full attention. They still came relatively close so I managed a few different images.
I decided to leave the Owls in peace in the afternoon and wandered down to the landing area. Normally everybody is in a rush to get round the island that they rarely spend time here. Once all the boats have landed for the day and before the first boat leaves in the afternoon, it is usually very quiet with plenty of birds to see and photograph. If you don’t have long telephoto lens for your camera this is the place to go as the birds are very close with usually a choice of Razorbills, Puffin and Guillemot to choose from. The favourite perching place has been nicknamed “Kodak Rock” by Kenny who works on the Dale Princess as everybody usually stops here to take a photograph on their arrival.
Razorbills have great markings, but it is only when you see them close up can you appreciate that there is quite a lot of brown in their colouring. The same goes for Guillemots as well. From a distance it all looks black. They all seemed to be taking it in turns to pose for me. One would have it picture taken, then fly off ready for another to take its place.
It started to rain as I waited for the boat and the rest of the passengers to arrive, but all the birds were posing so well I carried on, keeping the camera dry under a waterproof cover. The Puffins nest all around here, so they are quite close and very used to human presence. The background gives a different look to those you get up at the Wick where the main colony is.
While photographing the Whitethroat at Welsh Moor I saw a small area that was covered with Ragged-Robin flowers. I have only now managed to get back and photograph them. Earlier in the day I had been at Mumbles Pier photographing the Kittiwakes. The cloud cover that was present had burnt off, so the conditions were much sunnier and contrasty as a result. Normally I like to photograph flowers in less contrasty, cloudy conditions as the colour saturation tends to be better and more accurate. This year I set myself a challenge to photograph in sunnier conditions with a few more blue skies showing in the photographs. I have found it quite challenging actually, but thought these flowers would be a great chance to try it out. In the end I still prefer the images made when the sun was hidden by a passing cloud!
I took everything including the kitchen sink with me to make the photographs. I am trying at the moment to find a subject and cover it from all angle and with all lenses possible. The top image was taken with a 500mm lens, with the image above using my 12-24mm wide-angle lens. Each gives a different perspective and look to the image. Variation in the results is the desired outcome, and using different focal length lenses makes it easy to vary the look of the images.
The above image finally shows some blue sky! Notice though that there is no direct sun on the flowers themselves. I waited until the sun went behind a cloud so the flowers were in shade, but still had some blue sky behind. The best of both worlds! A breeze was present so it made subject movement a problem with the longer exposure times required. It just turns into a numbers game with a bit of patience thrown in as well. On my return home and while downloading my files from the day, I was being serenaded by this great singer. Time for a few more photos!
Yesterday was a very productive day for my photography, and along with lots of other local photographers and bloggers I have read recently I ended up at Mumbles Pier to photograph the Kittiwakes. Saturday morning was quite overcast, which is the best conditions to make photographs of black and white birds if possible. The softer light reduces the contrast in the image making easier to handle the range of tones in the image.
The birds have nested towards the end of the pier, and seem very content with their position. For a gull colony it is very quiet at the moment. I’m sure this will change when the chicks hatch. One pair has two chicks at the moment, but most are still incubating eggs. They are very tolerant at the moment, probably due to the regular visits of fishermen to the pier, which allows easy access to the birds.
I hope to get back more often to photograph the rest of the life cycle while they are around and before they head back out to sea. For some reason I think that I read that Kittiwakes are under threat, but my RSPB bird guide says they are secure at the moment. I hope that if the new development proposed for the pier proceeds, that the Kittiwakes are still able to nest on the pier. It is an incredible privilege to have access to these birds and watch an intimate part of their life.
Kittiwakes at Mumbles Pier again!
The Kittiwakes continue to do well at the Pier. Most of the chicks are quite well advanced, with most adults with two chicks. There are still some smaller, newer chicks around though, so it is possible to see a cross section of age ranges. I am still continuing to make the more straight images of the colony, but have found the process of making the portrait images quite challenging and fascinating at the same time. I noticed with some of my earlier attempts that the depth of field was so shallow it was nearly impossible to get the eyes sharp. In sunnier conditions the brighter light has allowed more depth of field to be used with a high shutter speed. Unfortunately the adults rarely keep still, so maintaining focus has been difficult. With auto-focus loosing the focus point if the sensor leaves the eye, and my manual focus skills lacking to cope with their movement, it has turned into a numbers game. Some times it all comes together and then it really works well, with pleasing images and the look that I am after.
As well as portraits I have been trying to get some of the interactions between the young, parents and other birds around them. This is proving difficult to get some variation, but overall there is a coming together of the overall behaviour. The young chick above was staring attentively at it parent as it was trying to stimulate the adult to give it a feed by pecking at the adult birds beak. I just like the look on its face.