Abstract

Here i was trying to capture oil on water as seen in Digital Photo magazine issue 139 Feb 2011.I used my Nikon D300s Camera and fitted a Nikon 2.8/105m macro lense with VR (vibration reduction) and SW (silent wave motor) .I attached the camera to a tripod and then turned the VR off on the lense as the camera was supported enough as not to warrant the VR .

 Here i used a focal lenght of 105m ,ISO200,shutter speed F/3.5.

With the aperture wide open the coloured cards behind the water have merged together giving a pleasing result.

I used a large glass bowl filled with water and placed several coloured cards under the bowl .the lense was set to manual and i placed a match stick in the water and then manually focused on the match's head untill the image was sharp.Ialso connected a cordless shutter release to the camera so when firing the camera their would be no movement to the camera. I opened the flash unit on the camera but coverd it with card and then placed my Nikon speed light 600 on another tripod with a slave unit which would also fire the flash which i bounced of a wall as i did not want a direct flash hitting the water and reflecting the light ino the cameras sensor .if i were to do this again i would take more phots of the set up as it would explain more for other people so if they tried the same experiment they could see the set up.

Comparisons with Richard Ford Wildlife Photographer

I took the lower image and to me there is no comparison ,i have beat him hands down with this one ,mine is clearer,sharper,brighter,relaxed,nicely composed with a clear blurred backdrop.I should of cropped this picture with the bird more to the right as to give a better composition,I also think that the texture of the feathers stand out against a clean backdrop.

The two Little Owls are both sharp but the top photo by Richard Ford although slightly darker than mine (as pictured below) has better composition and the tap is not interfering with the picture ,instead it adds to the picture were mine is sat on a electric cable which spoils my photo.I do like the tap in the photograph as it gives the viewer the scale and size of the owl ie (little owl) .The focal point of each image is the owls eyes,sharp,clear with good colour and the too shots have the eyes spot on and extremely similar.

Here the top photo taken by Richard Ford has a relaxed Robin with good composure and no distractions ,a good sharp image with good colour ,i took the one below which is slightly over exposed on the log on which the Robin was stood on ,but the Robin itself  has a good posture with good colour tones with no distractions and still nicely relaxed.The top Robin has less distractions and has good space to move into and works well with the rule of thirds.

The top Bullfinch by Richard Ford is rather dull with the bird squatting down and looking a little agitated and cautious,it also has a branch at the front of the picture which is a little distracting as it leads the eye away from the subject.The Bullfinch below which i took is a lot sharper ,more relaxed and a more natural look altogether, i did have better light on this occasion and i think i got this one spot on. (but i would say that would'nt i) It looks like we both used the same focal point (its eyes) and the lines on my shot lead you down the slope and contour of the land.Not only is the Bullfinch's feather texture good i also think the grass in the forground has also got good colour and texture,in my shot i have the rule of thirds,texture,lines colour and composure.

The two Chaffinches i have chosen here  were taken in different light conditions,the top one i took and the tones are a lot richer as the light was duller the bottom one was taken by Richard Ford and although he had better light the bird looks duller in comparison,they both look nice and relaxed with good posture but the tones are to me quite different considering the light ,if i had had the same light i think mine would of stood out more as the colours are more richer.

Here are two shots of a Nuthatch,The first one is done by myself and the second one was taken by Richard Ford,I actually prefer my shot as the colours look more natural .The two shots are very similar with the birds stance ,as with the blurred background.The tones in both shots work well and the composure of the two shots are similar with good lines to follow and both images lead you to where the Nuthatch is going next,What i could of done was to give more space at the left side as to give the Nuthatch more space to move into.

Red poll

As i was waiting for the Yellowhammers these little Sparrow looking things appeard so i took them with a usuall f5.6 at1/250sec at400m with an ISO of 320.when i got home i got out my trusted book on British Garden Birds by Collins Nature Guide and low and behold i had bagged my first ever Redpolls .

As i am getting to know more about Cannock Chase i am in awe of just how much wildlife there is there,it covers 26square miles of woods and open land where you will find anything from rere butterflys,snakes,lizards,birds on migration and birds escaping colder weather ,they also have a good head of Red Deer and  Fellow Deer,There are at least 2 visitors centres were you can ask a Ranger for any sitings of any species you are after.Cannock Chase is close to Cannok in staffordshire,you can walk,cycle or Drive when there at your own leasure and is always busy at the weekends.The forestry Commision maintain the Chase at a very high level and are always clearing areas and re planting others.The only safety issues i have on the Chase are to take care when walking through the bracken as it does have a lot of Adders and a bite is not uncommon in the warmer months but thney usually slither away before you get to close.Another issue would be to remember  your way back as you can soon get lost,but if you do go there you will see a lot of wildlife in its natural habitat and its half an hour out of Burton.

For this  last shot i wished i had changed the aperture so both birds would of been in focus ,by changing the depth of field and slowing the shutter speed down the light would of stayed the same but with a sharper image of the second bird.

NUTHATCH

The setings i used were on manual at iso 400
                                                                                          aperture 1/250 sec
                                                                                          with a full 400m focal length.

These were taken on Cannock Chase in Staffordshire,on a previous visit i had noticed the Nuthatch so i returned armed with my camera (nikon d300s) with a 80/400 nikon telephoto lense and a bag of peanuts as bait.When i got to the site i searched for a good branch that i set up close to a pole with a feeding bowl on a metal rod rest which i had taped a twig onto so i could take photos of the nuthatch with out the feeder being in the frame.I hand held the camera and waited for the bird to arrive.I also found a branch that was weatherd and i placed that next to the fedder .I waited for 10-15minutes and was rewarded with these images.

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