Monday 30 July 2012

Lucky dog poo!

As today was forecast to be the best of the week weatherwise, I decided I must walk home from work through a nature reserve that I often visit. I was mainly interested to see how the family of ducklings that I'd be watching several weeks previously had matured. But this beautiful little oasis of wild countryside in a suburban area also offers plenty of other opportunities for wildlife photography.

As I wandered along the river bank, I was disappointed that there was a distinct lack of life around. I'm not at all sure why this was the case - usually it's thriving and full of potential pictures - but aside from a rusty bike dumped in some long grass by the side of the river, there were no photo opportunities around.

Already downhearted at what looked like was going to be a blank trip, my journey got worse as an investigation into a bad smell coming from my left shoe found that I had trodden in some dog mess. At that point I decided to cancel my trip and head home via the quickest route possible.

Feeling grumpy, I stomped home dragging my left foot on any patches of raised grass I could find in a vain attempt to clean it up, cursing irresponsible dog owners who let this kind of thing happen. Even though I had effectively given up taking pictures, I didn't pack my camera away. As it turned out this was a stroke of luck because a little while later, some squawking altered me to the beautiful sight of a young kestrel perched on a chain linked fence. Suddenly, all the hassles up until now faded away and it was game on!

I carefully approached step by step, firing off bursts of frames, feeling so excited to be having this opportunity. The kestrel allowed me to get within just a few feet before trying to fly away. When she did, it was easy to tell that flying (and being out by herself) was something very new and not yet mastered. At one point, she returned to her perch with the leg of a spider hanging out of her beak. Even eating on her own was a skill not quite yet fully learned.



In all I fired off 600 shots during a 20 minute spell observing this young but magnificent creature, a fair proportion of which I'll be happy to work with. And to think I'd never have had this chance if I hadn't stepped in some dog crap and decided to take the most direct route home!

Sunday 29 July 2012

Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails

I have always been fascinated by and a keen observer of all types of nature and wildlife. I may not know very much about it from a scientific point of view, but all the various shapes, sizes and colours have grabbed my attention since a young age. Although I don't remember it consciously, my mum will often remind me about the time when as a toddler, I went missing for a short while, only to be found sat in some long grass at the end of the garden cradling a frog.

Before I ever took the thousands of pictures of all different types of creepy crawlies that I do now, I would just follow them around the garden watching what they got up to. Even undesirable creatures such as wasps would fascinate me as they gently dug into our wooden fence to gather building materials for their amazingly intricate nests.

My love of photographing garden wildlife was sparked by a very lucky event one summer. Whilst shaping up to take a picture of some lavender, a kindly bumble bee happened to float into frame at just the right moment, opening my eyes to a new range of possibilities of what I could capture with even the most basic of cameras.

I'm a very inclusive nature photographer without discrimination - I love pretty much all the living creatures that I encounter. This often involves getting close to what many people would describe as 'pests'. Rats, flies, pigeons, squirrels, foxes - I've spent many happy hours stalking and photographing these beasties. But look closely at even the most common of creatures and you will see, what I consider to be, some beautiful and hitherto hidden sights.

The picture I'm sharing today is just an everyday housefly. Something that would usually at best cause mild annoyance and at worse, inspire you to seek out a rolled-up newspaper. But look closely (something that macro photography helps us to do) and you will see some amazing details and life in this little creature that knows only how to be a fly and fulfils this role perfectly.




What grabbed me most about this picture are the air bubbles within the main bubble. This tiny fly breathes the same air as you and I, and here we actually see the air bubbles being exhaled (who knew flies chewed bubble gum, right?). Seeing this made me feel a real sense of connection - the 'life force' that animates this fly is the same as what sustains all life on the planet.

My macro lens is only 40mm in length. This means I have to get within just a few centimetres of any subjects in order to capture 1:1 image magnification. Conventional photographic wisdom says that in order to photograph bugs or flies and the like, one needs to stand as far away as possible so as not to frighten off the subjects and therefore a lens of around 100mm is preferable. What I have found though and which this picture proves, is that with a respectful attitude, even a short lens can capture a great close up picture.

Saturday 28 July 2012

The games have begun!

Did you see the Olympic opening ceremony last night? Over 27 million Britons watched it on the BBC - a staggering audience share given the amount of channels that even the most basic tv package provides these days.

I must confess that usually I'm really not a big fan of opening ceremonies of major sporting events. In fact if I'm totally honest, I normally detest them. Strangely dressed people swinging around on ropes whilst groups of bizarrely clad children dance around underneath them seems to be the standard show. It's like the creative directors of such events all take the same type of drugs and end up with the same trippy vision.

But last night was so different. The British history that Danny Boyle managed to fit into a relatively small period of time and arena was staggering. The way the landscape transformed from idyllic countryside, to a dirty industrial scene, to a celebration of the NHS was done in such a slick fashion, it almost appeared seamless. Added with some genuine surprises (a parachuting Queen), real humour (a orchestral Mr Bean) and an inspiring British soundtrack, it served up a truly astonishing spectacle. It's not something I would ever say lightly, but it genuinely made me feel proud to be British. It encapsulated the spirit and achievements of our tiny nation and underlined some genuine contributions we have made to making the world a better place.

Even now as I listen to the range of sporting events on the radio, I keep finding myself feeling disproportionately emotional at the news of various individuals personal achievements. The 'vibe' and energy of this event feels like its doing my soul good. It represents a coming together of a group culture that all too often, is far more isolated and segregated.

Another event where I had this feeling was back on July 12th 2012 when the Olympic flame started the next leg of its journey at precisely 07:49 from outside of Salisbury Cathedral. What made this even more special was the fact it was being carried by superstar American athletics legend Michael Johnson. The chance to see both him and the flame in front of one of my favourite buildings was so exciting, I could barely sleep the night before. One advantage to this best kind of insomnia was that getting up at 4am was fairly easy. This early start ensured I got a really good spot, right in front of the cathedral entrance. Local school children were assembled to perform various songs and music which helped entertain the ever expanding crowds until the main event was ready.

In order to get a prime spot, I had to wait in the shadow of the magnificent gothic masterpiece that is Salisbury Cathedral. Although this brought me the benefit of some great views, it also had the drawback of making things colder and darker than if I had set up camp a little bit further down in the breaking dawn sunshine. Even though it was a pleasant July morning I was glad I'd packed my jacket, but with both hands exposed holding and adjusting my camera, I wish I'd also packed gloves! I remedied my freezing digits by vigorously applauding each performance the children's choirs and bands gave. They must have thought I was their biggest fan.

Shooting in the dark shadows meant I had to set my camera to an ISO of 400. Although my camera can cope fairly well with the extra 'noise' higher ISO's inevitably produce in an image, I always try and get away with the lowest possible. Since I was shooting with a lens that only measured 105mm at the longest end, I would be cropping into my pictures in order to effectively extend the zoom range and this would only make any image noise worse.

But, it's better to have a slightly noisy image that has captured the subjects in focus thanks to the faster shutter speeds available, rather than a noise-free photo that contains blurry people. I captured most of my pictures that day with shutter speeds of around 160 to 200/1 second. Definitely the lower end of image-freezing speeds, but thankfully nothing was moving exceptionally quickly so I had no need to reach for any higher ISO settings.

The combination of charming school children, the Olympic flame and an athletics legend, helped me capture some shots that I was genuinely thrilled with. One of them was featured on the Guardian newspaper website and others were used in various local media. Considering I didn't have the luxury of the full access granted to accredited photographers there, I was pleased with my final results.

The image here of Michael Johnson carrying the flame captures the spirit of that morning well:




The excitement and awe in the schoolgirls faces would have made a great picture by themselves, but with the dignity and grace of Michael Johnson proudly carrying the torch, I think it covers all the emotion of not only this leg of the torch's journey, but all of its travels across the nation.

Friday 27 July 2012

Olympic spirit

July 27th 2012 - a date that the nation has been anticipating for past seven years or so. Finally, after all of the speculation and build up, we have the start of the London 2012 games. Even if you usually detest sport, I think it will have been hard to remain completely unstirred by the excitement that has gripped so many of us. Following on from the Jubilee, union flags hang proudly in streets up and down the nation, creating a truly lovely feeling of unity and harmony that is all too rarely felt (at least that is how I have perceived it).

A major contribution to this coming together is, I believe, the Olympic torch relay. Pretty much wherever you are based in the country, you will have had the chance to see this amazing procession and possibly even get involved with it directly. Even though the chance to see the games unfold in a live arena is a privilege reserved for relatively few, everyone who has seen and been moved by that eternal flame will feel like a part of us is represented in the fiery cauldron that will burn throughout the duration of games.

This leads me into today's picture: a portrait of rapper Wretch 32 (which by the way, just in case you're not yet cool enough to know it, is pronounced 'Wretch three two' and certainly never 'Wretch thirty two' unless you're being all clever and ironic).

Wretch 32 was performing at a number of venues up and down the country during the Olympic torch relay. I was thrilled when I discovered that he would be in my home town (and just a stones throw from my house at that). I excitedly told people all about this, only to be greeted with a blank look and a question regarding who this man was. The only people who already knew of his music was my younger sister (who is very up to date and cool) and one of my best friends (who I forced to dance to his big hit of last year at the Christmas party). It made me wonder how a usually pretty uncool man of my age could have been so familiar with his work, but then I have always adored rap music and know more about it that many of today's 'kidz'.

Seeing as he would be performing so close to my house, I decided to go home via the venue when I left work to see how things were coming along (this was mainly motivated by the fact they were running a free shuttle-bus service that saved me a cool £2). There was no way I expected to see any of the performers at that time (it was about 2pm) but I thought there would be some good picture opportunities on a bright sunny day with a carnival atmosphere.

After getting off the shuttle-bus, I stumbled my way to what would usually be the main entrance to the field where the mini festival was being held, only to find a sign saying 'no public access'. There were a couple of security guards directing unauthorised cars and people away to the proper entrance further down the road. For some reason they just ignored me. I guess having arrived from work wearing smart clothes, a tie, company security pass and with a big camera dangling from my neck, I must have looked somewhat official.

I stepped over the solitary traffic cone that was blocking my admission and then hovered on the other side of the threshold. I was waiting for a gruff challenge to come my way, probably accompanied by a yank at my collar, but there was only silence. So, I continued on my merry way. It was only after a few more steps that I realised I was headed backstage through some kind of media area. I snapped away and got nothing more than a casual glance from people who were genuinely allowed to be in this area.

I decided to brazen it out, act confidently and headed towards a group of ball gown clad ladies who were the Salisbury Plain Military Wives Choir. With their nicely coiffed hair and flowing gowns, there were plenty of interesting pictures to be taken, so I snapped away, all the while hopping that I wouldn't be challenged.

A large Mercedes then pulled up along side me and in the passenger seat was the man I'd only previously seen on the sleeve of my iTunes albums and YouTube clips. I brought my camera up to my eye and snapped away furiously, like some kind of paparazzi waiting outside a nightclub. Inside I felt this amazing euphoric rush that I had seen one of my heroes in the flesh and had some pictures of him.

His driver went and parked the car and, with loud vocal encouragement from the Military Wives, he headed over towards us. I was the first person he would walk past, so thrust out my hand and, not really knowing the whole street-cool greeting etiquette, just said, 'Welcome to Salisbury'. He was a very friendly and patient man, happily posing for photographs with the Wives (which I took with shaky hands such was the surreal feel to the experience).

I probably took a coupe of hundred pics of him in total. This was by far my favourite one:






I love the intensity in his expression. A seriousness that lay hidden beneath the friendly outward public persona. Had I caught a glimpse beneath Wretch's mask? Who can say, but it's a picture I would have been pleased with if it had just been him and me in a studio shoot, let alone in a large field surrounded by over-excited and maybe even a little rowdy, military wives in posh frocks.

Thursday 26 July 2012

Congratulations Mr King - it's a blog!

So here it is, my very first blog post! It's something that I've been meaning to do for ages, and yet a combination of being genuinely busy and when not, a little bit lazy, means that it has spent a good few months gestating in my mind. But now, after going through the pain and anguish of blog-birth, it has arrived into the world. More gently mewling than kicking and screaming, but there's definitely a pulse.

The idea behind this is to share my experiences of photography (and art and other things, but mainly photography). Taking pictures is pretty much my favourite thing to do in all the world and it's great to be able to share them on Twitter and other social networks. However, I'm really quite verbose, so having a limit of 140 characters (less whatever space the photo uses up) means generally I share very little with my followers, other than the picture and its title. I thought you may find it interesting to know a little more detail about what I've been up to and how I arrived at the pictures I've taken.

For starters here is a picture I took yesterday (July 25th 2012):



'cling on' Nikon D5000 with Nikon 40mm macro lens

Sometimes I really struggle to come up with a title for a picture - in fact, often they don't really need one. But personally I don't like a tweet that only contains a link to a photograph and nothing else. Therefore I always give at least a hint of what's lurking behind that URL.

Even when taking this picture though, I had the title of 'cling on' in mind. Looking very much like an alien, this little fellow was gamely making his way up and over the thistle, burying his head deep inside where he could know doubt ingest tons of thistly goodness.

Now, at this point I must tell you (if you haven't already guessed) that more often than not, I know very little about the subjects I shoot. I don't know what sort of creature that little guy is, or even if he is a guy. Funnily enough, I really quite enjoy this state of ignorance. When I see something like this, my mind doesn't whir around thinking about its name or scientific classification. Instead it's free to observe its movements in a purely pictorial way and doesn't start worrying that this creature is actually well known for flying into one's ear hole and burrowing into one's brain.

That's not to say I'm not happy to learn about new species. I just don't think it's important to know that kind of thing in order to take a good photo. However it is actually truly enjoyable to observe the behaviour of a creature like this and make certain discoveries for myself, rather than having read about them in a textbook first.

Anyway, back to the picture. What I liked was it has almost an aquatic feel. Insect X reminds me of a lobster and the the wavy thistle bits (aha! another absence of proper terminology - I'm not even sure it's even a thistle to be honest), remind me of the tentacles of a sea anemone, dancing to the rhythm of the ocean's sway.

He was fairly straightforward to photograph. Although constantly on the move, there were also occasions where a slight struggle ensued, slowing him down enough to get a fairly decent shot. As ever with macro photography, the big enemy was the breeze. With such a narrow depth of field to play with (literally a mm or two), the slightest movement in any direction will ruin the shot. Yesterday's trip along country hedgerows was carried out in the searing heat (despite having set off fairly early), so although the breeze was merciful for much of the time, being able to turn it off would have been very welcome.

So there we are, the first day in the life of my blog. If you made it this far, I think you deserve to be a god-parent. Please feed it with nice comments and change its filthy nappy (that's a diaper to my pals in the US) if needs be. If you have any questions or requests for further posts, please get in touch.