Unfashionable sea eagles.

March 19 2010

I've just left an interesting conversation with incoming workshop guests - good to see you all by the way - where I picked up on one remark. One guest had spent a week last summer in Norway photographing sea eagles. He enjoyed it immensely (as anyone who has been is bound to do) but he returned with shots that "everyone else has done before."

As some photographers increasingly question the worth of following the footsteps of others, a whole new generation of aspiring photographers want to do exactly that. Is there room for both? Of Course and all in between.

I have a constant appetite for originality but the day I get fed up of sea eagle images, is the day I should stop taking pictures.

And more forecast!

March 4 2010

Apologies for the gap between entries - it's been a hectic period with photo-tours continuing apace. Our 'Arctic' group were snowed in for an extra day and the last of our Winter Wildlife groups (six of which are from Portugal) have enjoyed settled weather but with limited mobility. A half-metre of snow continues to make walking tricky and if the forecast for a further delivery tomorrow is correct, an interesting weekend awaits!

More to follow...

Who judges your images?

February 22 2010

A casual conversation with a workshop guest over the weekend reminded me of the shackles that many nature photographers place upon themselves. Myself and co-guide Nigel Atkinson, worked hard at engineering a few images that might just put a different slant on what is considered 'conventional' - the two images below are examples of the result. After the shoot, our guest (sorry Barry I'm not singling you out) remarked 'nice to have but the judges would laugh at that'. By 'the judges', he was referring to those who govern, or perhaps limit, the creativity of photographers who enter competitions on the camera club circuit. I suggested to Barry that his photography might be more fulfilling if he was to judge his own images. I'm not sure he was convinced.

Thanks to a splendid group over the weekend - I hoped you enjoyed the sun and snow...and the 15c below!

Too close!

February 4 2010

What are photographers like?

We're often found lamenting the difficulty in getting close to Britain's wary wildlife but our new workshop location for photographing red deer throws up a new challenge - they're too close! Are we ever happy? I think mildly satisfied is about as good as it gets.

Integrity my backside.

February 2 2010

Thank you to all who have alerted me to another photographer's blog which contains indirect inferences to me deliberately misleading a set of workshop guests attending a captive 'HIGHLAND RAPTOR' shoot last winter. Now, I'm really, really not going to get involved in petty playground politics (so please don't expect any further postings on this), but in this case - for the benefit of those guests in question - I will set the record straight.

The itineraries for our workshops are set over a year in advance and the target subjects are exactly that - targets. They are subject to a range of factors that can influence their availability which is why we reserve the (contractual) right to change them. Last winter we were forced to find a new falconer and hence, the range of birds that were available, changed too. We replaced the 'missing' birds with others and the workshop took place to the same standard we have maintained for over 10 years.

To intimate that this represents a question mark over my integrity as a tour provider, is unfounded and deeply resented. Those readers who have attended our many workshops over the years can accuse me of many things (and often do!) but a lack of integrity is surely not one of them.

A (captive) golden eagle from today's WINTER WILDLIFE tour...