 |
| In this month's newsletter... | |
| IMAGE OF THE MONTH | |
 |
|
| Red squirrel, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland. | |
|
It's hard for me to let a winter pass without spending time with my local red squirrels. This was one of just a few mornings this winter when snow has fallen with any intensity and even then it didn't last long. This particular squirrel has recently appeared on both Autumnwatch and The One Show and has a forthcoming slot on BBC Scotland's Adventure Show, a clear indication that these loveable rodents have clawed their way onto the wildlife celebrity A list. Another mammal that's never far from the media spotlight is the subject of a recent blog posting - check it out here. BEHIND THE LENS: Sometimes you have to accept what you're given. I was looking to do some wider shots with the squirrel in its forest habitat but shooting through really thick snow with a wide angle lens, is less than straightforward so I popped on a 300mm and used a fairly slow shutter speed (as slow as I dared) to blur the falling snowflakes. |
|
| PHOTO TOUR NEWS AND OFFERS | |
|
We're always up for a bit of a challenge so when a local estate approached us with a view to offering photographers the chance to photograph one of Britain's rarest birds of prey, our ears pricked up. Glen Tanar estate is part of a project trialling supplemental feeding of hen harriers to divert predation from highly-prized red grouse, the backbone of a lucrative sport shooting industry. If the estate can engineer a coexistence between hen harriers and red grouse, it can act as a model for other shooting estates to follow. The revenue from photographers will further strengthen the case for breeding harriers being tolerated on grouse moors. If you'd like to be part of this pioneering project and take up this unique chance to photograph hen harriers under licence, view further details here. |
|
|
|
|
| Special offer on the last Winter Wildlife place! | |
| We have just one place left across all of our Winter Wildlife tours in 2012 and we're now offering a discount of £100! Just one lucky person can treat themselves to a last minute break at a bargain price on our tour running from 25 Feb to 2 Mar 2012 . Simply enter discount code NS-7711-WWIL when booking online here. | |
|
|
|
| Cairngorms AND Skye | |
 For the discerning landscape photographer, autumn creates a dilemma: Cairngorms or Skye? Which is the best - Cairngorms or Skye? Why not join us on our Ultimate Autumn Gold tour and indulge in the best of both.From ancient pine forests to mirror-calm lochs in the Cairngorms; from secluded coastal beaches to craggy mountain outcrops on Skye. Guided by Mark Hamblin and Peter Cairns, we'll make sure you're in the right place at the right time. Cairngorms or Skye? Book here to do both! |
|
|
|
|
| Availability stop press! | |
|
A quick update on final places available on 2012 tours... Winter Wildlife: 25 Feb - 2 Mar 2012: 1 place. Book here. Wild West Coast: 31 Mar - 5 Apr 2012: 2 places. Book here. Wetland Wonders: 11-14 May 2012: 2 places. Book here. Kingdom of the Ice bear: 4-13 Aug 2012: 1 place (single cabin). Book here. |
|
|
|
|
| 2013 (yes already!) | |
 No sooner has our 2012 tour season kicked in and we're busy planning tours for next year! In addition to old favourites, we're looking into new destinations and so far on the list we have the following:
|
|
| IN OTHER NEWS... | |
| DIY in the Cairngorms | |
| As many of you are well aware the Cairngorms National Park really is a special place at any time of the year. Don't forget that for the more independent traveller we have a very cosy self-catering cottage in Glenfeshie, right at the heart of the Cairngorms. There is still the odd week available in 2012 so if you'd like to join us and sample the delights of Britain's largest National Park, you'd be very welcome. More details here. | |
|
|
|
| New e-Xhibition | |
 Our new e-Xhibition visits many of Scotland's islands and takes in familiar landmarks as well as less well known backwaters. Grab a cuppa and take a look here.Elsewhere at northshots.com we've uploaded a new gallery with our favourite images from the Caledonia book. If you'd like to view some of the Caledonia images with the wonderful voice of our friend Ailsa Villegas singing the song of the same name, click here. |
|
|
|
|
| The WOW factor! | |
 Just a reminder that from 1st Feb there will be a new image posted every day for a whole year on the 2020VISION web site. Each image can be downloaded as desktop wallpaper.2020VISION's image library partner, Nature Picture Library now hosts over 3,000 images from the project with several thousand more still to come. Visit their web site and see what the 2020V team has been up to. |
|
|
|
|
| Gomersall in Grantown! | |
|
Our good friend Chris Gomersall will be giving an illustrated talk at the Grant Arms in Grantown on Spey on 13th Feb at 6pm. There will be lots of fantastic bird images that's for sure and The Grant Arms is a great venue with friendly staff and a well stocked bar. If you're around, go along and see Chris. He also has an excellent new book on the shelves - check out my humble thoughts on the book here. |
|
|
|
|
| Andy Parkinson on One2One | |
| Many apologies to those who went looking for the One2One interview with Andy Parkinson last month only to find it wasn't there. We have no excuses - it was a cock up. Rest assured the interview is now live so if you'd like to know more about the enigmatic Mr Parkinson, you can listen here. | |
| A.M.A.N.D.A (Amanda's Musings AND Anecdotes) | |
| This month Amanda reflects on the growing role of technology in any business and reminds us that it's people, not machines, that are at the heart of what we do. Read her blog here. | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
To ensure receipt of our emails, please add info@northshots.com to your address book. This mail is sent to Northshots subscribers, picture editors and natural history enthusiasts. Please respect the time and effort invested in this type of photography by not using these images without prior permission. |
|||||