July 2008
Well, in the last few months I have had a number of projects and trips on the go that have kept me very busy.
In May, I was chosen to exhibit some framed prints and greetings cards in the Bath Place Arts Festival. This event was arranged for local artists to exhibit and sell their wares within the local shops in Taunton's town centre, in a similar fashion to the historic artisans of Montmatre in Paris.
In all, it was a very successful event and I even got a photograph of myself printed in the Somerset County Gazette together with the event organiser Jane Armour. Fame at last ! My image of a willow tree at sunset was also published as an advertisement for the festival.
One of my most interesting commissions came from a caravan site on the East Devonshire coast to take some panoramic views and interactive 360° QTVR movies for use on their website. The views included both the surrounding countryside and the inside of the caravans themselves.
The QTVR tour below was compiled from 12 images stitched together. It was taken with my widest lens the Sigma 12-24mm to display as much of the inside furnishings as possible. The caravan was only 12 feet wide and allowing for cupboards on either side it was a tight squeeze to complete a 360° sweep that allowed the viewer to see more than just the windows !
To navigate the tour, just click on the image and drag the mouse in any direction. You can also zoom in and out of the image by clicking on the +/- symbols on the navigation bar or using the SHIFT and CTRL keys respectively. More images can be seen here.
Regular trips to the local countryside have kept me stocked up with seasonal images. One of the highlights of spring must surely be the bluebells and we are very fortunate to have a number of local sites in the West that have exceptional displays. The image below was taken on the Quantock Hills and caught my eye as the sun lit up the flowers along a path framed by trees.
If you have been following the BBC Springwatch programmes then you will know that that there are a great number of young birds around to photograph at this time of year. I have not had chance yet to put many of these images on this website yet, but more will follow soon.
This is a young Great Crested Grebe showing its mottled downy feathers that once kept it warm and camouflaged in the nest.
It has reached an age where it can start exploring and picking up its own food although the mother (below) was photographed in between frequent feeding visits required to top the youngster up.
The Grebe is a very attractive bird and an accomplished diver who can swim underwater for long distances to avoid photographers ! More images can be seen here.
This young Herring Gull hatched from a nest built on a flat roof and is only a few days old. It has grown at an extraordinary rate after being fed all sorts of goodies including worms and regurgitated chips from the local take-away !
The parents have been very protective over their only offspring - often charging at potential threats whether human or gull. Another good reason to use a telephoto lens.
A young Jackdaw shown below decided to fledge by jumping down our chimney and into our bedroom early one morning. Needless to say he was very upset after realising that he couldn't actually fly yet and needed a helping hand to rescue him (well done Judy !) and return him to a ledge where his parents could keep a watchful eye. During the next two days two other siblings tried the same thing though they were more successful by managing to fly out of the bedroom window ! Luckily, the parents only had three youngsters !
Finally, just as I was getting ready to go out for another trip, we received an emergency call from a neighbour who was cycling across the Somerset Levels and had come across a young green bird that looked unwell. Thinking this may be a great opportunity to take some close up pictures of a Green Woodpecker, we occasionally get these in our garden, the whole family piled into our 4x4 and set off on a rescue mission.
To our surprise the bird was not a Woodpecker, and in fact was not really a native species to Somerset at all. It was a bright green budgie who had somehow evaded captivity and tired itself out on a bid for freedom. Unfortunately, however, the bird did not survive and was found dead the next morning - the ordeal had been too much for him.
For the coming weeks, I will hopefully be adding some close-up shots to this website. I have now purchased a decent macro lens, the Sigma 180mm f3.5 APO MACRO DG HSM EX and will be testing it out in the warmer weather. Well here's hoping (for the warm weather that is !).
As you may have guessed, I have regularly been updating the website. New images have been added to the latest photo gallery, and there is a new search facility allowing you to find images more easily - so there is no excuse now !
