As some of you may have noticed, I'm not a regular blogger - to say the very least - but if you are at all interested in new work that I am producing and my thoughts on nature photography then, perhaps, you might like to consider subscribing to my mailing list where at the end of each month a newletter will miraculously appear in your inbox! You can sign up here.
However, with that said I thought I would post a selection of images from a recent tour I held in southwest Ireland at the end of last month. I (as well as those attending) was really hoping for some extreme weather but it couldn't have been calmer which is most unusual for this region at this time of the year. It was particularly cold with morning temperatures both in Dingle and Killarney dropping to -1 and -2 respectively. Over the 6 days we enjoyed flat calm lakes, misty mornings and spectacular light. Out pre-dawn, back for a delicious breakfast, out until dusk (with a break at a tea-room) and a hearty meal washed down with a pint of the black-stuff was our daily routine. What a chore!
More and more these days I find myself appreciating alternative aspect ratios, particularly 5:4 which lends itself much better to landscape and abstract than the standard (longer) 35mm 3:2 ratio, I think.
The images below shows a cascade, captured, incorporating a little handheld ICM and post-production split-toning. I inadvertently came across using this technique on waterfalls last autumn while 'playing' with the camera - handheld - while others had them firmly fixed onto tripods. I liked the soft, ethereal quality it gave to the image and now use this technique quite often when capturing the fluid motion of streams, waterfalls and the ocean.
While in both Killarney and Dingle we had some incredible encounters, too, which included a nearby soaring white-tailed eagle and best of all an otter. As we walked along the edge of the beach, hugging the high tide boulders (to avoid unsightly footprints on the sand) we noticed otter prints and no sooner had we began discussing it that it suddenly appeared. From our left it bounded across the sand and moved infront of us, silhouetted against the wet sand not more than 8 metres away. It took absolutely no notice of us even though it must have seen or at least heard us, especially following my cry of "look" when it first appeared! What a moment - what a memory, especially since it was the first time either of us had seen an otter in the wild.
As is so often the case in nature photography a few minutes either way and the moment would have been lost. As I drove along the edge of a lake in what was, at the time, thick cloud a window appeared revealing the mountain perfectly reflected. Fortunately it was a very quiet back-road so I grounded the car to a halt and told everyone to forget tripods and to get what you can while you can. It lasted little more than a minute.
Our final morning was spent on the same stretch of beach as our otter encounter the previous morning. We arrived 15 minutes earlier and each sat on a boulder in the hope that the otter might return. Alas it never did but it was nice, nonetheless, watching the light and waves. The prospect of a decent sunrise wasn't looking all that good but how wrong we can be. For a full 30 minutes we were blessed with the most glorious light.
As we loaded the car to make our way to the airport it dawned on us that we hadn't taken a group photo. We decided upon a very photogenic, expansive beach en-route that would provide the perfect backdrop. We parked up and so as to avoid unpacking a tripod that was now in the suitcase we looked for a post or such-like upon which we could balance the camera. There was just one to be found and with the sun where it was I could only point the camera in one direction. As I lined the group up there, just to our left, was a dead sheep that had been washed up being fed upon by crows and to our right all manner of flotsam and jetsam. The irony. For the last week we have been in the most beautiful landscape surrounded by mountains and pristine sandy beaches and there we were stood amidst all this shoreline 'rubbish'! it wasn't long before we were in fits of laughter. I for one hadn't laughed that long and hard since well, the same time the previous year following the 'tea-room incident'. It took many minutes before I could control myself sufficiently to compose the image and wipe the tears from my eyes. What a way to finish a tour. Thank you Selwyn, Lesley and David for making the week such a joy to lead. What a hoot we had!
