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.

Bullfinch

p4Male Bullfinch taken at F5.6at 1/250 with an ISO of 250 at 400m.Surprisingly low shuter considering the conditions.

A female Bullfinch again the same settings but i had to change shuttrt speed down to 1/200 sec to get it.

Perfect they have come down from the trees to get some seed that i have scatterd in front of my hide but they were so nervous i had to be quick but i am pleased with the result .The female was taken at 1/400 sec and the male at 1/1000 both at f5.6 at 400m with an ISO of 320.these two shots have to me cosidering the pair were on the ground a good colour and a nice composition as there  are no distractions in the pictures,just the birds that i had set bout to get.

The male here was getting slightly bolder and flew a bit closer but i still needed the full zoom of the lense to get him,this was a rare chance to get him without any branches in front of him.but with a clear sky behind him i managed to raise the shuttrt speed a little to 1/640 .

The skys darkened and this Female tones in nicely with the greyier sky behind her as she feeds on new shoots in the tree,again a change of shutter speed now down to 1/320 sec as the light changed.

This last shot looked stunning as it happened a perfect place to land with a dark background so the male here would stand out , i again slowed the shutter to 1/80 sec ,looking back i could of raised the ISO from 320 to around 800-1000 so i could of used a faster shutter but doing so could of led to a grainier picture which i did not want.

My mission today on the 18/3/11 was to photograph Bullfinches at Cannok Chase,the weather was perfect bright and sunny with little cloud (perfect)The plan was to use my Nikon D300s with a Nikon 80/400 telephoto zoom lense hand held as the Bullfinches are quite nervous and get spooked easily so setting up my tripod and then getting a fix on the birds might of been to long to fire some shots.With good light i could set a fast shutter speed and a low ISO as there was plenty of light.

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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Red Grouse

 This first shot was taken in real bad light with mist and an icy wind blowing which maybe ideal for Grouse but certainly not good for photographing them .To compensate i choose an ISO 250 which i should of set higher which would of allowed me to use a faster shutter speed rather than the 1/160 sec i had chosen which is a bit to slow when hand held.The aperture was set at f5.6 at 400 focal lenth as i could not get any closer without the risk or frightening the grouse off.

 As you can see here the weather was a big improvment which allowed a faster shutter speeed of 1/800 secwith an aperture of f/8 and my focal length at 400m.with the light being so bright  i ccould take quicker photos,so i could hand hold the camera with out worrying about camera shake but still had the VR on my lense.

 This was taken in a clear bright frosty day with  an aperture of f6.3at1/500sec with an ISO of 400 at 400m

 For this shot i cropped the original photo to see the Grouse's eye markings a bit easier to see.To get this shot i crawled on my knees slowly approaching as not to scare it away as i wanted the bright blue sky and the yellowing grasse's to be blured with the Grouse nice and sharp in front like a 3d picyure. i used an F5.6 aperture with a 1/1250 shutter speed at 185m focal length and an ISO of 400. if i could do this shot again i would try to get the sun more directly behind me so it would not appear under exspoed on the right of the grouse.I have chosen these images as they have very little or no distractions so your eyes do not wonder around the image

 this shot appealed to me as it lokked as if it were nesting but it was only basking in the warm winter sun.

when i was on the hunt for Grouse i stumbled across this well hiden Short eared Owl so  i grabbed the camera once again and got a couple of shots of just before it silently flew away as i was checking the image i had just taken.

These photo's were taken on the outskirts of Buxton in the Peak National Park heading towards Leak on the A53 at a small narrow road called Dale Head.The land is smootherd in Heather and whispy grasses that lie on a peat base.The land is very boggy in the winter months and the weather is extremly changeable with Snow,hail,sun,fog,rain and stong winds which can happen all in the space of a few hours so a weather check before setting out is a must.Here are a few shots with variable weather conditions.