Red kites

 So I like the blurriness of the other birds to equal out the other in focus head of the other kite.

 Just a nice general shot of some kites, just showing how many of them they are and how majestic they are to Britannia.

 I don't care about the background, the fact that the bird is nice and in focus. Such a nice image to be looking at.

 This is a different shot of a kite which is what I was trying to get, not to get a classic shot. Of course I did get some classic shots which are over done, but this shows action and direction.

This is a classic kite shot, which I like but its just too common for me to use properly. but photographically it is good and clear with the moment of the wings.

My favorite shot so far shot with my macro, so giving it a nice depth of field but also the sharpness and the speed which I needed to get this beautiful bird collecting its food.

Prints

The images I have chosen to print out are the ones that follow some I haven't put up on here as I didn't think that they were good enough, but then having a second look through them I have decided that they have a very different look.

This image I like as the branches create a kind of opening in the middle, where the bird is. This then gives the image a sort of burred zoom effect even when there is none.

This image is already on the post but it is nice as the water stays perfect balanced, but also it is a very minimalist picture.

At first I didn't like this image, but is has come to grow upon me, even though I don't like the fact that is slanted it is nice with the twigs in the top and how the light is like a blanket.

I also believe that I have posted this on before.

This is a Whooper Swan. Now I don't like this pictureits just a simple picture but its nice and get what the animal is across.

Now I like this photograph. Originally in colour, but looked much better in black and white as I wanted to try get the cloud in the middle to stand out and this was one of the ways I know. So I think it works well as these birds all got up, and then I just started snapping, this was one of the best I got.

 This is a nice action shot, not full in focus but its in enough to be a nice shot!

 Now this photograph. I have a confession, I Photoshopped out a swan, I feel ashamed. I don't like getting rid of things out of photographs. It does look much better and just has a nice shot feel about it.

Having put a few graded filters on this photograph, it took the glare off the water and brought a lot of the reeds and ducks colour out.

 This is a shot of Barnacle Geese its just a standard shot. Not happy with it but not upset, rather indifferent.

 black and white edit is too obvious but its nice make it looks slightly old.

Looks like the same shot, but its in colour but when the sun was out so the shadows look much nicer.

 Nothing to say really. Just a simple shot of a Whooper Swan.

 Again another normal shot I took. Struggling to find my self improving or finding how to take my pictures up to the next step.

Nice shot of a Wigeon on its own, its nice as the sun was shinning off its front so the colours were really nice and bright.

Again another Whooper, it is a new species for me so I got lots of shots of it and they were the best ones. But this shot shows the head and the feathers nicely, but also how much black is on the beak compare to the bewick's swan.

This week I won a university marketing competition.

Now I do like this photograph but I also don't. Its very central. It has been shot like all other of my photographs and I cannot seem to take my photography up to the next level. But I suppose I should be happy as it has done it well, the shot was nice and clear.

This was a shot taken along time ago and might already be on this blog, but I like the negative space and the curiosity of the deer!

This shot I think I have already explained in this blog but I shall do it again. Having used several graded filters I have med this photo what I wanted it to be. I darkened the sky and lightened the for ground, it looks like and HDR but it isn't. But it was the shot I wanted to get with the water smooth but everything else in a nice focus and to be lit.

This was an experiment to see weather I could get the light through the trees and yet to also light them up with flash. I have to say the images that came out were good. I like them very much nothing too noisy or too over exposed. I think next time a bit more time to suss out where I will be shooting will help, as Andrew some how kick a stump and take a lot of skin off his leg. But we did get the shoots we wanted.

Now this is a photo I really like. Reasons? Well I managed to capture the cloud moving across the sky but yet the trees are mostly still so it gives a sense of the sky rushing past rather than the world passing by. I also like it because of the colours and how they complement each other, but also how they manage to change the image from a simple one to a moody but yet expressive photograph.

This photograph was taken at around 11PM yesterday. I really like this photograph because I didn't expect it to come out as light as it did. How ever the only few things I don't like about it is the fact that it was windy. So a lot of the trees are moving and have blurred which is OK I guess for a first attempt but I would prefer if it wasn't.

This picture of a Dunnock I think is very nice. I think it could have been better but I can't put my finger on why. The reason I like it is because is shape against the sharp pointed twigs makes a nice relief. Also the fact that is is, in twitcher terms an LBJ. It defines the image, the fact that the bird is looking out of the frame give a nice feel to it.

Again this took me a lot of time to get in focus. I had to get the center in focus but keep some of the petal's detail. I think I have managed it, but it could be that little bit sharper and cleaner.

This photo I liked very much and I didn't see it to begin with. The focus was on the grass behind, but then while trying to focus, I stumbled upon this and well it really speaks for its self.


Admittedly I could have had a better focus but it was very difficult to get sharp. this was the sharpest I got. But I posted it because it is such a classic photo of water on grass.

Having had the first week in November I have decided to try and do as much as I can in photography terms that is!

So I have had a few walks around the campus to see what I can find and to be honest I haven't really had my heart in photography, I cant explain it but I just haven't. Its just one of those things where I feel like I should enjoy it but for some reason its just wasn't clicking for me. Despite this feeling, I have some mediocre shots which I should post. Not to show how bad they are but to show that I should really try and shoot on a day when I feel like I want to shoot.

Deer Rut 22/10/11

So my first time at the rut was yesterday. It was a beautiful thing, I have to say though we did get there early and went up the wrong path for several hours but eventually we found the best place to shoot. The Deer were a fair bit away and I would have perfected them to be closer but I am doing wildlife photography. It is never as you want it.


So we spent most of our time trying to actually get to see the deer. Eventually we found a good place to shoot the deer from which was a small stream with a good tree line so we could be hidden from the deer. The only problem with this was it was quite light by the time we found them so they could easily see us. So the shots I got were a little far away but it gives me something to work on. To try and get mammals it is much harder than birds, although they are bigger they can see you much sooner than you can see them.

I must also explain that I have been photographing wildlife for some time before since I first got my first Nikon D40. Which was some time back. So having done birds for 6 years, not to any degree of success, but it has helped me get to the stage where I am at today. With this knowledge I just tried to get some shots of the Deer and not to try and get close up shots I wanted to study them and figure out their behavior before trying to get closer to them. I have learned this with my bird photography.