Norfolk Continued

With my GCSEs fast approaching it would have been difficult to continue my Norfolk blog post one by one unfortunately, so here is my final post, with a high photo:word ratio!

I had the opportunity to photograph Snow Buntings, an endearing little bird perfectly at home in the biting Norfolk winds. My photographs from Salthouse of these birds can be found here:

http://www.alexberrymanphotography.co.uk/p1053212348

One species I was really keen to photograph (or even see) were Cranes, a species that can only reliably be seen in two locations in the UK, Norfolk being one of them. I was lucky enough to see two on my visit...

Another species that is easy to spot in Norfolk is the Barn Owl; one individual was particularly obliging, perching just 15 metres away from the car!

And now just a couple of other photographs from the trip!

Sorry for the haste but hopefully you like some of the images! I ill try and bog before the end of my Easter holidays with Seals, Owls and a Black-Necked Grebe!

As always thanks for stopping by!

Norfolk ~ Day 2

I have been fairly neglectful of my blog recently, for which I apologise but I am now hopefully back on track!

I wanted to photograph some more waders when in Norfolk so over the course of the Sunday and Monday, I visited my two favourite beaches for waders, Titchwell and Wells-Next-the-Sea. At Titchwell over 500 waders graced the beach, more than I have ever seen at this site, the majority being Knot but with a few Sanderling too.

And my personal favourite from the day ....

A fly-by Curlew at sunset...

Of course a trip to Titchwell would not be complete with a bit of birding and 5 Long Tailed Ducks and a Mediterranean Gull were nice to see.

This final shot epitomises the difference between birders and photographers in my opinion. This Long-Tailed Duck was reported as 'Showing Well' at 15:30. Well, the below photograph was taken at 15:27 ... showing well?

Equivalent Focal Length with Applied Crop = 7253mm

Norfolk ~ Day 1

Well as I eluded to previously, I have spent the past week in Norfolk, taking over 8000 images. I have photographed some fantastic species which I will share over the coming weeks. To start with, some shots of a Black-Bellied Dipper, which showed exceedingly well in Thetford which was enroute to our accommodation near Fakenham.

The light was really poor making it almost impossible to get any shots of the bird in action, but I managed one; these birds swim far more often than I expected, often diving for long periods of time.

An extremely unexpected but certainly welcome surprise was the appearence of Thetford's 2 resident Otters, who were present on the neighbouring river adjacent to the Dipper's favoured stream. They played on the bank and were very showy. We watched them for around half an hour before they moved off to an inaccessible stream. 

I Bring Good News!

Well for once I have a few bits of good news to share before I get on with a few images from the past few weeks!

Firstly I am really pleased to announce that I have been commended in the World Photography Organisation's annual photographic competition:

http://www.worldphoto.org/images/image/558327/?FromImageGalleryID=16143

This competition has received 122,000 entries this year from 170 countries, so being commended is a real honour!

Secondly as many of you know I was announced RSPCA Young Photographer of the Year 2012 (12-15 Category) towards the end of last year, and because of this a small article about me has been included in Amateur Photography Magazine! 

Now for some images! 

With the snow falling in January it was a perfect opportunity to get some images of wildlife in the snow. Many are still residing in my 'To Sort' folder, but here are a couple:

I also saw a few waxwings Yesterday - crap conditions for photography but nice to see them again!

And finally, I have been lucky enough to be sponsored by Stealth Gear, a company that sell a whole range of products to the wildlife photographer. I have already received a few products to test and review (many of which I shall test in Norfolk) which I will share with you in the next few weeks! One of the products I am testing is their High Quality Filter System. The filters are fantastic, much cheaper than the equivalent Lee Filters and yet the quality is outstanding! I had a quick go with one of the ND filters yesterday. The weather was appalling and I am fairly useless at this sort of thing but a few of my photos from the session can be founder here:

http://www.alexberrymanphotography.co.uk/longexposurewaterfall

Thanks for stopping by!

Bearded Tits - Hyde Park

Yesterday I went over to Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens to photograph the Bearded Tits/Reedlings that have been in Hyde Park for nearly a month now. After a somewhat uneventful journey I arrived at the reedbed opposite the Diana Memorial Fountain, and there they were; incredibly close and seemingly unaware of their admirers, they fed happily in the reeds just 3-4 metres away. Perfect photo opportunity? Well no, not exactly.

The wind was appalling, the birds were blowing all over the place. They seemed perfectly content, but my camera's autofocus was definitely not. Then there was the light. If the sun was shining, the birds were skulking at the base of the reeds, and when the light was crap again, out they came!

Nevertheless they are real stars. If Hyde Park is easily accessible for you and you're not familiar with Bearded Tits, head over there, you won't be disappointed!

So time for some images:

Please let me know which is your favourite, and once again, thanks for reading! I will try and post some more photos before I head off to Norfolk!

Wader Portraits

As promised, it is time for some waders. I mentioned in my previous post that I had a number of small projects going on throughout 2013 and another which I forgot to mention is my simple (or so it may seem) aim to capture eye-level portraits of as many of Britain's wader species as possible. This is a mission I set myself towards the end of last year.  Living in the North of Hampshire means the best areas of wader habitat are nearly an hour's drive from my house, which does of course restrict the amount of time I am able to spend photographing them. So far I have managed to photograph 6-7 species well, and by the end of the year I would like to try and double this figure. I am off to Norfolk in February and with vast areas of mudflats and shingle beaches, I hope to capture Redshank, Knot, Grey Plover and either of the two Godwit species.

18 months ago, during a family holiday to Scotland I managed to capture a nice portrait of a Dunlin (which incidentally came 2nd in the Junior Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2011).

Back to Hampshire and one species high on my wishlist was a Spotted Redshank, a fairly scarce wader but perhaps one of the 'easiest' species to find in Hampshire, with one particular individual returning to one location in the South East of the county for the past 7 years. What is most remarkable about this individual however is its amazing confidence when around people. It resides in a stream which is a haven for dog walkers, yet the bird continues to feed just feet away from them without the slightest concern. When I was down there, the bird did little, however came amazingly close so I was able to get some nice portraits of this stunner.

Next on my wish list and a trickier species to find in Hampshire, Purple Sandpiper. There is only one well known location for these (another occasionally holds these birds) and that is Southsea Castle in Hampshire. On this occasion, the light was flat and dull, on occasions I even had to use a small amount of fill flash. I apologise in advance for the sheer quantity of images here, most of which will appear to be exactly the same, but I am afraid I simply could not pick my favourite!

By now you are probably getting a little fed up so I will try and move this post along a bit. I haven't covered a single species in as much details as these two (you'll be pleased to know!) so now for just some odd shots including Ringed Plover, Sanderling and Turnstone (all taken at one beach in Hampshire!).

You are probably now losing the will to live with all these static subjects so time for an image with a little more going on! 

Thanks as always for reading!