Winter Wildlife 2011

May 19 2010

We've added extra dates to our Winter Wildlife programme for 2011. These tours book out quickly so if you want to join us for snow, snow and more snow (well actually perhaps not as much as this year), follow the link below.

http://www.northshots.com/photo_tours_view.asp?ID=9

Or perhaps not...

March 30 2010

When I say "we've just emerged from winter", what I should have added was that the emergence was (extremely) temporary! The Highlands has been plunged back into the icy grip, with blizzards raging across northern Scotland.
I managed to battle my way up to a local deer site today - I'll post some images later - but it was tough going with horizontal snow and winds straight out of the north. OK, so I drove up...OK, so someone drove me up...but it was still cold!
Thanks to Graham - you should have taken your camera!

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...

The white stuff aplenty!

February 25 2010

Well what an night! It started off as a breezy suggestion of winter and ended up as a full-scale blizzard with drifts that swallowed my poor old spaniel whole!
Our Slice of the Arctic tour may not have turned out as guests had expected but the description was apt! Alongside my favourite creative best for the afternoon, is Amanda's car and half of our pioneering group who have remained good-humoured throughout. Mind you, they don't know that they can't get home yet!
Thanks to Steve (x 2), Karen, Annie, Chris, Gill and Graham for at least being brave!

There's a price to pay...

February 18 2010

...for snow I mean. Don't get me wrong, it looks fantastic and as camera fodder, it's unbeatable but boy can it be hard work.

This morning saw the conclusion of the latest in our series of Winter Wildlife photo-tours. Guests were 'privileged' to be in a Land Rover precariously sliding on ice next to a deep wooded ravine; having the opportunity to push an out-of-control VW minibus away from a guaranteed collision and finally, racing their prized motor cars full tilt up our snow-laden access track just to get home...and only one failed to accomplish their RAC Rally qualification (sorry Ken!) So, here I am back in the office where I can take a break from life on the knife-edge (and I wasn't even guiding!) Now I can get on filling in the claim form for Amanda's coming together with Emma's poor old VW Polo just yesterday.

Yes it looks great but my nerves and bank balance prefer life without the white stuff. But don't let any of this put you off coming!! And thanks to all those who (I think) enjoyed the snow-laden Highlands this last week.

Sometimes you've just got to do it.

February 12 2010

Some photographers - and I'm one of them - get so wrapped up in projects, outputs, submissions, features, books, tours, blog updating...the list goes on, they forget to do what set them on fire originally - engineering close encounters with wild places and wild creatures.

Today was a day I just had to get out of the office - and what a day! Not a breath of wind on the mountain, light to die for and fresh snow. Thanks to Sam, Chris and an obliging group of ptarmigan for good company.

Hmmm...

January 10 2010

I wasn't planning on going anywhere anyway!

A state of emergency....

January 7 2010

...is what many people think should be declared. No, not the emergency that is the unprecedented loss of natural species; not the emergency of global climate change and the lack of political will to address it; not even the state of emergency surrounding the capercaillie, Britain's fastest declining bird. No, this is an emergency the like of which society has never before witnessed. It is apparent that lots of very important people with very important jobs and very important children - and some with very important holidays to go on - are being inconvenienced by the unusually inclement weather. These very important people are demanding action, emergency action.

Whilst listening to these tales of woe on the very important radio, I noticed a magazine lying on our kitchen table - a legacy from the family Christmas visit. The title read: 'REAL LIFE, 100% TRUE.' The first story inside lead with: 'Decapitated body found in street wheelie bin.' Real life and a real emergency...and I don't mean the body.

Season's greetings...

December 23 2009

...and I genuinely mean that. True, I'm not a fan of the modern consumer Christmas but it looks like being a white one so what more could you ask for? Well actually, quite alot it seems. A number of folk I've spoken to in the south would ask for a more speedy and efficient response to the clearing of the transport system when the weather turns...well, Christmassy! Not that those folk would be complaining when the necessary billions were spent on under utilised snow-clearing equipment of course. Cake and eating spring to mind.

Yesterday was chilly, minus 16c chilly. So chilly that I have minor frostbite on three fingers. I'm sure someone other than me must be to blame for that! It was chilly but it was achingly beautiful. In fact for four days, it's been just splendid.

Have a happy, stress-free Christmas and enjoy the snow - we'll be complaining when there isn't any. Mind you, we can always find someone to blame when that does happen.

A sense of dis-order.

December 19 2009

The British countryside is carefully controlled, managed, manipulated, manicured. It's compartmentalised so we can easily measure who owns what and evaluate the suitability of specific land use objectives. Even nature conservation is governed by that euphemism for control: management.
Against this background, I'm always encouraged to see 'unmanaged habitat': areas of land that have escaped our intervention. They are rarely large tracts but have that something about them, something wild.
The image below is ostensibly bereft of the order that landscape photography ordinarily demands, yet this small patch of wet birch and alder woodland is anything but chaotic.
I've driven past this site hundreds of times but this afternoon, with a blanket of snow draining the scene of colour, I stopped and enjoyed a neatly packaged parcel of wildness.