News - Photo Uploads

I hadn't realised it was so long since I updated, so apologies!

I've had a busy time and have uploaded quite a few images since last summer but neglected to note this down in the blog...

This is the latest image I've uploaded:



It's the iconic Hay Tor outcrop atop Dartmoor National Park - this is a place I've wanted to capture this at a special time of day. The sun was hidden by a bank of cloud but as it broke through a gap, it bathed everything in a warm golden light!

Not having attended any motorsport for a while, it was great to see some local Karting and hone some shooting skills! Weather turned out to be good, and with a selection of classes, there were some great opportunities and some great racing too.

I have hundreds of shots, so there are a selection in the gallery, with more to come as I go through and process the good from the bad...

Click here for Portfolio

Last night (20th May 2011) was the first evening of the new Tiverton Balloon Festival.

Having lived in Northampton for many years and never once visiting the annual festival there, I decided it was high time I tried my hand at capturing some of these gravity defying contraptions!

It was certainly an interesting evening, Jay joined me too and we both learned quite a lot about shooting the night glow.

Hope you enjoy this small selection of the many shots I've processed...

Click for portfolio

I've been stopping at various woodland locations over the past couple of weeks to check out the progress of the Bluebell flowers (and see where a good low sun shot can be taken).

Swell Woods in Somerset just so happened to be fully in 'Bluebell bloom' when I stopped by on Wednesday, so Fran and I revisited in the late evening sunshine to catch the long shadows and diffuse light.

Here's a 7 shot pano of part of the wood. I set up quite low to get as much colour as possible, and made sure the sun was just visible to give a focal point for the long shadows.

I have many more shots to process, and more woods to visit - at dawn next time!

A change from many of the sunset Kilve shots I've posted in the past, further illustrating how this place changes so much day on day!

The tide was due to be fully in around sunset yesterday, but Jay, Ben and I decided to head on down anyway - the recent spell of Atlantic weather ensured there would be some swell to create a few breakers...

This shot almost got me wet - crouched down so I could catch the splashing waves back lit from the sun, I had to shift quite quickly when the spray reached me!

Next week (8th) is the annual Kilve BBQ shoot - welcome and open to all! (bring your own sausages :P )

When I came down to breakfast this morning, we had a visitor!

She's been a few times over the last couple of months, but seemed determined today - normally flying off at the slightest movement behind the kitchen windows.

Today she didn't budge an inch while I photographed her.... the reason? Breakfast!
She must have been hungry - minutes after I took this shot there was a blur of wings and she chased a poor Sparrow into a bush, crashing after it and emerging with a takeaway meal.

Not called a Sparrowhawk for nothing!

Last Saturday, I (along with my better half Fran and some very good friends, Ian and Ann, who run the nature's best photography website in the links section) took a trip to Snowdrop Valley on Exmoor, near Wheddon Cross.

The River Avill winds through this deep wooded valley, every February the valley floor erupts in a carpet of white Snowdrop flowers marking the onset of spring and the dying embers of the meteorological winter.

Although impressive at a distance, I like to get down and close up to the wonderful plants - hope you enjoy the show! Click through to the gallery to see all in glory...

Snowdrop Valley

Part of the walk around Hinkley Point (see the image on my Flickr pages - see Links) takes you along the edge of low lying common land bordering the Power Station.

At the edge of the footpath there stands a thick reed bed, with lovely full seed heads that wave in the breeze... although a reed silhouette can be a little clichéd, I hope you find this as pleasing on the eye as I did - with the late afternoon sun and contrails making a perfect backdrop to the reeds.

Back last year I shot Clare and Paul's wedding - it was a fabulous day, although tiring!
Clare and Paul have kindly allowed me to show some of the pictures here, now they've enjoyed them for a while.

Here are just a few images, all available in the Wedding Gallery:

Taking advantage of a free afternoon today, I decided to test out my new winter tyres by taking a trip to the Staple Plain car park on the Quantock Hills. Needless to say the tyres work!

The wind was cold and strong - most of the snow up there has been scoured from the ground, drifting in hollows and ridges, the trees look almost as if they are trying to stand tip-toe out of the frozen ground!

I had meant my next upload to be a collection of Autumn shots, but this opportunity was too good to refuse!

As I had to wait for a colleague on a visit to Newhaven, I took a walk to the harbour entrance where the gale force winds and swell were whipping up some magnificent waves.

The downside.... spray got everywhere, camera, clothes, hair! Took a while for the lens to dry off but I think it was all worth it for this triptych?

Jay and I took an early morning trip to the National Trust's Stourhead estate in Wilthsire, to try and take advantage of the warm tones in the rising sun knowing that it would complement the turning colours on the trees around the wonderful lake.

We both took a heck of a lot of shots of the trees and reflected temples (follies) but I was quick to take advantage of a young Swan that made across the best coloured reflection!

This is one from a couple of weeks back. Jay and I decided to head on to Watchet (West Somerset) to make a change from the Kilve beach sunset location that we have favoured quite a lot this year!

Using my 10-24mm lens with 9 stop ND filter, I managed to capture this shot that illustrated the deep blue of the twilight sky - and appropriately the tone matched my face after the wind got up and chilled me to the bone!

This is the new addition to the Mullacott family, little Harry!

Luckily the light was just right for the monochrome conversion - levels lightened a little to make sure you could see more than a silhouette, but think it works well!

West Somerset Council and Butlins Holiday Park got together to arrange a Summer Festival in the seaside town, luckily enough at a date free in the calender!

The highlight of this was the amazing RAF Red Arrows display team who wowed the crowds with gravity defying aerobatics!

We decided to station ourselves at the end of the seafront away from the crowds and thus were luck enough to have the jets overhead at times, and approaching at angles you wouldn't get if perpendicular to the action.

Enjoy the set of shots! (11 in total available in Events gallery)

I've decided to populate a bit more nature on the website, so here are some bird shots taken over the past couple of years.

In the main (excepting a couple here) I try to get more of a natural look to the shots rather than relying on feeder shots but now I have a long telephoto I plan to take advantage and start to concentrate more on woodland/reserve birds.

Having said that, I will be posting images of rescue/captive birds from time to time!

A couple of recent silhouette shots taken while out and about:



This photo was almost the last shot (in fact 2nd from last) taken on a trip to the popular RNAS Merryfield open evening.

This event is held each year so the Royal Navy can thank the local population who live close to, or are underneath the flight path of, the helicopters that train here. The pilots practice all kinds of eventualities, including landing/taking off under fire with low engine power. These guys are often posted to Afghanistan so you can imagine the bravery....

To take this shot I ended up prone on the floor being blasted by grit from the downdraft of the rotors - worth it though as I think it's a stirring image!



Another meet-up of like minded photographers - this time we climbed up Glastonbury Tor in anticipation of the National Trust lighting the Tower.... only for a member of the public who took it on themselves to decide they didn't like the lights and cut the wires.

So, as the sun dipped and we all took shots of varied things (in this case everyone lined up to shoot the orange tinted moon which was rising) I decided to shoot the shooters!

Sometimes the light, clouds and conditions are spot on - just have to find the right place to pull over!

Wind Turbine in Somerset

Cold night + ploughed fields = gently rising mist

Taken near the A303 this morning, one of those spur of the moment stops!

Sigma 50mm 1/1000s f3.2

OK, they are a weed and they've taken over the lawn.... but the seed heads are great to photograph!

Instead of the normal full-headed shot, I've chosen one where the dandelion has hung on to one of it's seeds, almost like a nebulous parasol.

Sigma 50mm f8 1/125s