christmas
Quiet
Firstly, a happy new year to one and all. Without sounding too much of a humbug, as much as I enjoy the Christmas period, I am rather glad come the new year to get back to some kind of normality. Things have been a little quiet over the last week on the photography front as a result so here are a couple of images taken over that period when we have had further snow. I am visiting this location every few days to top up the feeders and due to its elevation, snow occurs more regularly and lingers longer than where I live close to town some 3 miles or so away.
Bramble covered in frost.
I have worked this patch for the past 10 years now which also includes several 100 acres of adjacent woodland and downland, with the permission of its landowners. The elderly couple that own this field, amongst others, have farmed this same area for over 40 years and I thoroughly enjoy popping by for a chat, particularly over Christmas to give them their card and just to say thanks. They are quintessentially ‘country’ and only pop into town for their weekly shop. Indeed they lived just a few miles apart from each other in nearby villages before meeting and getting married. They have stories of how the countryside was back then and how it has changed. Birds are nowhere near as plentiful as they were back then. They graze livestock so are not responsible for the use of insecticides etc. And as for foxes? “I live and work in the countryside,” he says, “so must expect a few losses once in a while. It’s a small price to pay and anyway, I enjoy seeing them.” How refreshing I thought.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
Maybe it’s because it very rarely happens these days or perhaps because it offers new challenges for a wildlife photographer, but am I the only photographer out there that fills up with excitement and anticipation when it snows?! I just love it, even though as a country we are particularly useless at dealing with the white stuff when it comes to a stand-still. I am amazed, given the warning, that hardly any gritting took place on so many major roads where I live and even more so, the speeding idiots who think their car will stop even on black ice! I own a 4WD and it has proven it’s worth over the last few days, but that hasn’t stopped several near misses with those driving way too fast. I’ve driven for many years along local country roads and always expect the unexpected so whilst driving gingerly at under 10 mph to my feeding station several miles away, I wasn’t at all surprised to come face to face with a van hurtling towards me then locking its brakes and as a result veering here and there. It stopped just a few metres away where my expert use of international sign language came into use!
So late Friday morning I headed to my feeding station in the hope of obtaining images of birds in the snow. They were coming in thick and fast, so much so that there was hardly sufficient time to frame the image. Eventually I managed to get a few half decent ones, including this splendid goldfinch. You can see the effect of the snow on the ground, acting like a giant reflector.
Goldfinch. Nikon D300, 300mm f2.8, manfrotto 055 with gitzo head, dome hide.
Great-spotted woodpecker
My favourite image however is this one of a robin perched on a fence post. It was pure chance and to me sums up the English countryside in winter, much more so than close-up’s. Perhaps one day it’ll get used as a Christmas card!
It never lasts long enough though and the day after, most of the snow on the trees had disappeared. A few weeks of snowy weather would allow me to relax a little and think of interesting images rather than trying to get as much as possible within 2 or 3 days and the way the climate is changing I guess there is less and less chance of prolonged severe weather. What a shame.
Heading home at sunset.
About Robert Canis
Robert Canis is a professional photographer specialising in the natural world.
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