Sunday 5th February saw me struggle out of bed at 4:00 am, sweep six inches of snow from the car and drive along foggy and wintry roads to reach Manchester Airport. The driving conditions on the Wolds were poor and I was relieved when I made it to the M62. It was below freezing when I reached the airport and I was delighted that the flight to Munich was still on schedule.

Bayerischer Wald is in Bavaria, West Germany and is largely unknown here in the U.K. It is a huge area of forest that spans the border between Germany and the Czech Republic. There are two main centres on the Bavarian side: one at Lusen and the other a few kilometres away, in Falkenstein. If you are consulting a map, then Grafenau and Spiegelau are the two nearest towns. (This link gives detailed information about the area)

I met up with my three Dutch friends (and fine photographers) Michael, Michel and Gert at Munich airport and after a short stop at a shoe store, so Michael could replace his clogs, we headed for the car rental. Formalities over, we loaded the car and drove NE for a couple of hundred km. Michael’s Sat Nav took care of the route finding and we watched with wonder as the outside temperature gauge dropped from -5C to -15 C. We arrived at Altschonchau around eight, too late for dinner so we had to console ourselves with several glasses of the local Pilsner lager. The Hotel Moorhoff is in a superb location, only a couple of kilometres from the entrance of the park and looking out over a wild and wintry landscape covered with over a metre of snow.

After an 8:00 am breakfast and short stop at the local supermarket to stock up on some goodies, we headed for the Park entrance at Lusen. Our intentions were to photograph the European Wolves and Lynx that are kept in large enclosures on each of the reserves at Lusen and Falkenstein. Several species of native european animals including Brown bears, lynx, wolves, bison can be found here. It is, I suppose, a sophisticated zoo but one with plenty of photographic opportunities.

I must confess that it did trouble my conscience to be photographing captive animals. I would much rather photograph creatures in a completely natural setting but this is not always possible. So, I forgot about my personal conflict and just concentrated on obtaining the best possible photographs in the short time available. All the animals appeared to be in good condition; though I refused to photograph the Owls in their tiny aviaries.

During the week, we visited both centres. The one at Falkenstein had a wooden bridge construction that spanned over part of the very large wolf enclosure. You could take excellent photographs from the bridge but most resulting images would suffer from the dreaded ‘zoo perspective’ (looking down at the animal or bird rather than the ideal, which is shooting at their eye level). Setting up your tripod on the bridge is permitted but the adjacent foot-traffic will prevent you from achieving a perfectly sharp shot. Of the two centres, I prefer the one at Lusen.

The highlight of the week was the feeding of the wolves. Accurate feeding times were difficult to discover but at the Lusen reserve, around 2:00 pm on Wednesday, the body of a deer was unceremoniously dumped from a truck by two keepers and the following feeding frenzy was probably captured by at least a score of photographers. Not exactly natural, but what a spectacle!

Photographing the two female lynx at Lusen was a delight. The conditions were perfect. Bright, low sunshine and all that wonderful snow to throw light back into the shadow areas and reduce the contrast. The Lynx look and act like big pussy-cats and it was wonderful to see their breath condense in the cold morning air. I used my 500 f4G VR lens on a tripod for most of the week. I wish I had brought a second body for my 300 mm as well. Most of the photographers appeared to be from Germany or Holland and most were packing their expensive cameras with long lenses. I was interested to be shown a new gimbal head that was designed and manufactured by the owner, Alfred Krappel. It seemed to function very well indeed. I’m not sure that the world needs another gimbal but if it did, then the EKI model sure looked good and solid.

I found it unusual to see so many photographers using hand carts to transport their heavy photographic equipment within the two reserves. Their shiny and expensive carts probably had snow-tyres too! A good idea but not practical for those like me, who travel by plane. Maybe it could catch on at my local reserve of Tophill Low? Maybe something to explore as I get older?

I was glad that the cold temperatures had little effect on my camera’s battery capacity. We all took measures to prevent condensation forming when returning to the hotel. I just kept my bag zipped-up for a few hours until it reached the ambient temperature. It was cold, though! One day, my bottle of coke turned into a ‘slush-puppy’ and my chocolate bar, as hard as a ship’s biscuit. It may have been cold but at least it wasn’t windy.

We tried several times to get some good photographs of the European Bison. Unfortunately, when they were close enough to photograph and not obscured by trees, they stood in a depression that hid the lower half of their bodies and legs. Still, after some patient waiting I did manage a couple of decent photographs. We also tried to photograph the Brown Bears but they remained stubbornly uncooperative.

I really enjoyed my trip to Bavaria and found the whole photographic experience exciting, but artificial. It left me feeling a little guilty for playing the part of voyeur. Still, it didn’t take long for me to convince myself that you don’t get many opportunities to witness and photograph such events in the wild. Carpe diem.

I would like to thank my Dutch friends for their kindness and generosity and patiently acting as translators throughout the whole trip. We all had a great time and had the good fortune of sharing some huge portions of excellent food (except the Italian/Indian restaurant in Grafenau — please give it a very wide berth), exquisite Pilsner lager and some terrible jokes. Thanks guys—see you soon!

Notice that the only photograph showing any ‘zoo perspective’ is the one above! Deliberate?

A Happy New Year to everyone! I know it’s rather late to be wishing you such happiness but I’ve been a little inactive this year.

I guess I became a little exhausted with so many hours in the field — and all this on top of a steady job. So for the last few weeks I’ve been in semi-hibernation

All this free time got me thinking. I really wanted to venture out once again with my large format cameras and make some platinum prints. It’s too early to share my results but things do look promising. It felt good to be back in my darkroom once again, with heightened senses and a constant feeling of wonder excitement. It’s been several years since I made a Platinum print but I’m really happy that I haven’t forgotten my passion for this exquisite, Victorian printing process. Perhaps you can guess one of my New Year Resolutions?

Don’t worry, though! I haven’t forsaken nature photography and Tophill Low. I fly to Munich next Sunday and hope to return with some photographs of the Wolves and Lynx, that live on a nearby reserve. Sounds fun! I’m meeting up with three Dutch photographers, so I guess that there’ll be some alcohol consumed! Bad people!

So, I’ll be back and very soon, rested and re-vitalised and armed with my 500 mm big-rig. Meanwhile, here are three photos from my trip to Hungary, last June.

Remember those warm summer days, eh?…

Unfortunately, there was no white Christmas this year. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to the break and an opportunity of reacquainting myself with the wildlife at Tophill Low. I arrived at North Marsh hide around dawn on Christmas day. A Kingfisher turned up briefly but flew off to explore a less windy location. I waited patiently for a fox to arrive but to no avail. Another chap turned up shortly after 9:00 am and we sat together in the golden light waiting for some activity. A few moments later, I heard some voices outside the hide and suddenly saw a black labrador dog dashing around in the undergrowth at the edge of the lagoon. I opened the door and informed the two young men (as politely as possible) that dogs were not allowed on the reserve.

After an hour or so, I disappeared into North Woods with my camera & tripod and eventually managed to get a photograph of a Great-spotted Woodpecker that had been taunting me all morning with its call and tapping. I returned to the hide and to a lovely female Kingfisher. The Kingfisher stayed for about thirty minutes of fishing before departing. The light was perfect and I was happy to get some more photographs of this delightful bird.

I visited Watton Reserve on Boxing day. After a short wait, I was joined by a chap who was intent on viewing a Green-winged Teal that had been reported a few days ago. He waited around for a couple of hours but left somewhat disappointed. Nothing much happened until after lunch, then a couple of Roe Deer ran across the spit of land separating the two lagoons. I managed to capture a short sequence with almost perfect, golden light. The fox didn’t turn up all day but that’s the way it goes with nature photography.

Yesterday dawned warm and clear and more importantly, the wind had dropped. I headed over to Hempholme to photograph the Short-eared and Barn Owls. A couple of Short-eared Owls turned up around lunch time and spent an hour or so hunting over the scrub. For most of that time, they were either too distant or obscured by the trees and grasses. Still, I persevered, and was eventually rewarded with a couple of close-up photographs that did justice to those haunting, yellow eyes and magnificent plumage. I used my 500 mm lens with a 1.7 T.C. on a tripod with a gimbal head. I must admit that getting a focus lock was tremendously difficult as the birds flew low between the trees.

A pair of Barn Owls appear to share the same hunting ground but usually they wait until the Short-eared Owls have moved on to another location. The photograph above illustrates that the relationship between the two species is rather aggressive and competitive. This photograph was taken a fraction of a second too late but you can see by the flying feathers that the Short-eared Owl had attacked the Barn Owl from above, pushing it downwards with its talons.

Finally, this must be my most unusual photograph this year. On Christmas day, a child’s balloon in the shape of a fish (with a plane suspended below) suddenly appeared drifting NE on the wind above North Marsh hide. I couldn’t resist taking a few photographs before it disappeared from view. It certainly made me smile!

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that 2012 is a successful year for one and all.

I’ve not been well lately. Several weeks ago, I received an insect bite that would not heal. It developed into a nasty bacterial rash that covered most of my body and didn’t respond well to the course of antibiotics prescribed by my GP. I think I’m on the mend and hopefully, will be comfortable in time for Christmas.

The short-eared Owls first appeared at Tophill Low several weeks ago. Alerted by Richard Hampshire, the warden at THL, I made a quick trip to photograph these magnificent birds. Their brown mottled plumage acts as very good camouflage as they hunt low over the dead scrub and trees. Unfortunately, this makes it very difficult for my camera’s autofocus sensors to ‘lock-on’ to the Owls flight and I had a good proportion of failures. However, in amongst the dross, I did manage to get several shots that were sharp and with the Owl unobscured by the trees and grasses.

Here’s a few examples…

Elsewhere, the local foxes appear to be doing well and I believe that at least one of the local vixens is pregnant — with cubs due in early March. Hopefully, they will use the same den as last year and maybe I’ll get the opportunity to photograph the offspring?

As predicted, yesterday morning dawned cold and frosty. I arrived at the hide about thirty minutes before dawn, well wrapped with a flask of tea and my long lens. Even with a 500 mm lens and a 1.7 x converter, it is a very difficult place to photograph wildlife. Most of the time, the subjects are at least a 100 metres away but its limited popularity and access usually means that I can enjoy the seclusion and concentrate on my photography.

A fox appeared around dawn for just a few minutes. The frosted grasses and the warm glow of dawn ensured that I had a great back-drop and I managed to make several photographs before the fox disappeared into the vegetation. During the next hour or so, hundreds of Greylag geese descended from the skies and landed on the surface of the lake. There was one ‘rogue’ white goose amongst the throng but it turned out to be of the ‘farm-yard’ variety. There were plenty of Teal, Mallard, Coot around plus a few Redshank exploring the muddy margins. A Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk were also present but did not come close enough for a decent photograph.

The resident pair of Mute Swans and their three signets are doing very well and have managed to escape the attention of the local fox population, unlike the carcass of an unlucky Swan I discovered in the adjacent Starberry drain a couple of weeks ago. It was amusing watching the signets reaction to the parts of the surface of the lake that were still frozen. It must have been the first time that they had witnessed such an event.

Most of the berries on the surrounding bushes had been eaten by the flocks of winter visitors. So, it was disappointing not to see any Fieldfare or Redwing, yesterday. Still, I was pleased with my photo of a Redwing taken last weekend. Several Mallard continued to ‘pair-off’ and mate. Look out for the tell-tale head bobbing display from both the male and female; this is usually a precursor to the brief (and somewhat comical) mating activity.

I was pleased to see the partial eclipse of the full moon on the drive home to Driffield. Unfortunately, I was just too cold to leave my car to stop and photograph the event. Silly me!

Oh! I forgot to mention that this is my 100th Blog entry. This has also coincided with 100,000 visits to my Flick site. So a big thank-you to all of you that have shown interest in my photography during the past couple of years. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ok, some of you may not remember the hit of 1983 “99 Red Balloons” by Nena. If I remember correctly, and despite its catchy tune, its doomsday message was quite thoroughly depressing. And so, as it happened, was my Saturday afternoon at Tophill Low.

I arrived at the hide about 2:00 pm to be greeted by a huge number of greylag geese, 20-30 curlew, several cormorants and the usual teal, mallards, coots etc. Oh, and not to forget the pair of resident mute Swans with their three cygnets. Around 2:30 pm four hot-air balloons flew over the reserve creating havoc amongst the wildfowl. This was obviously disappointing, for me and all the other visitors to the reserve. It’s a pity the pilots didn’t plot their course more accurately—or perhaps they were just plain unaware of the disturbance caused by their actions.

Still, many years of management training have taught me that you should always look for opportunities as well as the threats. By this time, nearly every bits had taken to the air and the cormorants and curlew were circling in the skies above the lagoon. I spent the remainder of the afternoon taking several “bird-in-flight’ photographs. Here’s a few…

Just before the balloons arrived, I spotted an unusual looking Goose on the edge of the lake. I hadn’t read about all the excitement of the ‘snow goose hybrid’ on Richard Hampshire’s Blog, so I just took a lazy couple of snaps for record purposes. I’m not sure if it’s the same bird but it looks pretty close to me. I hope my picture aids the debate? I will try to put something special together for my 100th Blog (and this also may coincide with my 100,000 view on Flickr). More soon…

I’m back home again and now fully recovered from my short break in Holland. Last Saturday morning, I was stood outside my front door in my dressing-gown drinking a cup of Espresso, when I suddenly heard a commotion in the bushes a few feet away. A female Sparrowhawk, and quite an old one judging by its white head feathers, came crashing through the garden. It perched in a bush just long enough for me to dash indoors and retrieve my camera. I rested my 500mm lens (plus a 1.7x T.C. that I hadn’t time to remove) on top of my car and managed to make several exposures before it flew-off. It returned again this weekend so it must be a regular visitor to this part of Driffield.

I’ve spent a few afternoons at Watton Reserve but without much photographic success. Plenty of Greylag geese and a score of Curlew to view so well worth a look. Last Sunday, I was just about to leave the hide when this Vixen made a brief appearance. How do I know it was a vixen? Well, perhaps this photograph may give a clue

In fact, I’ve been quite lucky photographing several foxes on the reserve during the past few weeks. Here’s a couple of examples…

The kingfisher at North Hide continues to entertain but was chased away by the local Sparrowhawk last Sunday morning. Here’s a picture of the Hawk perched in a nearby willow tree…

I know it may only be a modest bird, but I believe my greatest success of the week obtaining a sharp photo of a Goldcrest in the willow at North Marsh. This is the U.K.’s smallest bird (along with its more exotic cousin, the Firecrest) and I was really pleased to get a reasonable photograph. Just goes to show that often the best things come in very small packages.

A few weeks ago, I had arranged to meet up with my fellow photographers from our Squiver trip to Turkey earlier this year. We had agreed to meet in Amsterdam as I was the only non-Dutch national in the party. I resolved there and then that I would not be taking my heavy DSLR camera with me. Instead, I planned to use my Canon PowerShot S95 for all of my photographs. I must admit, I was a little concerned that I may miss those ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ shots that would perhaps, be impossible with a compact camera. Nevertheless, I was going to trade pixels for portability and that was going to be interesting.

I had two main worries regarding my ability to make good images with this camera. Funnily enough, despite its small sensor size (7.49×5.52mm) it wasn’t its resolution. What I dreaded was ‘shutter-lag’. That is the time between pressing the shutter and the camera doings its magic. I had been very disappointed with earlier compact cameras for this reason and was delighted to find that the delay was manageable and I could record those fleeting moments, such as the pictures immediately above and below.

The silver Porche parked by the side of a canal was interesting enough. However, what I wanted was another element in the photograph. As the cyclist approached I got ready and pressed the shutter just as he gave the classic car an admiring glance. The next photograph is of a father and his three sons watching a game of outdoor chess near the Hard Rock Cafe near the Leidseplein. The animated expressions on the faces of the family group were perfect. The audience prevented me from getting as close as I wanted but I was pleased with my effort anyway.

Thankfully, I was blessed with bright blue skies on both Sunday and Monday morning, so I could use a low ISO. I had the S95 set to record Raw files and I used the exposure compensation dial to underexpose the images and prevent any highlights from ‘blowing-out’. The contrast range was very high but with the help of a little tweaking in Photoshop, the resulting images were very good indeed. This image of the sun setting behind a street light, with a church spire in the background, held some glorious detail throughout. I was impressed.

My second worry was that the camera has no optical view finder. To compose an image, I have to stand with my arms outstretched to view the LCD screen and then try to press the shutter as gently as possible. I find this technique to be a real chore and was sure that it would advertise to everyone that I was about to take a picture. Still, after a while I realised that the general public took a whole lot less notice of me than when I had used my rather large DSLR camera.

I really did enjoy the freedom of wandering around with a camera that could be slipped into my pocket. I looked and behaved like a typical middle-aged tourist and just melted into my surroundings. The S95 has a 28-105 mm lens that was at times, a little too short for me. There were bright blue skies and with strong primary colours and interesting people everywhere, I was in heaven. Here’s a couple of bold images with a touch of humour to cheer everyone up!

When I saw the small dog in a canal house window, I hoped he wouldn’t disappear before I grabbed a picture or two. Well, in the end I managed one but I just love the expression on his face. Shop-windows and manikins are a constant source of inspiration to me. I passed by this shop earlier in the day when the figures were being undressed and partially disassembled. When I returned a few hours later I quickly took a couple of photos and did the B&W conversion in Photoshop.

Finally, if I have bored you with my holiday snaps then I apologise. Hopefully you will be inspired enough to go out and make your own pictures without worrying about the size and price of your equipment. Your holiday photographs can be improved beyond all recognition if you slow down and study your surroundings.

Oh! Please don’t worry. I will return to nature next week and will be back with more wildlife photos.

I’m often asked if I could recommend a camera or lens for nature photography. It’s a question that usually fills me with dread as there’s no simple answer. Of course, if your ambition is to photograph small birds, then there really is only a limited and expensive choice of equipment. However, I maintain that wonderful and evocative landscape images can be made with just about any camera. You’ve just got to be aware of both your own and the cameras limitations.

Saturday morning saw me at Tophill Low an hour before dawn. The walk through North Woods was a little eerie and I could only just about make out the path. North Marsh hide was cold and damp and the early morning mist was lying over the surrounding marsh and fields. Rory and his Mum turned up at sun-rise and with a little trepidation, I handed over the big camera and lens. I arranged to return at 9:30 and set off with my trusty compact camera. I use a Canon PowerShot S95. A decent enough compact by modern standards but with the ability to shoot in both Raw and Jpeg.

The light was fantastic. A low mist shrouded the base of the trees and the grasses were gloriously back-lit by the early morning sun. I spent over ten years of my life developing and printing in monochrome, so I was eager to see if I could reproduce some landscape images in this digital format. I have always maintained that a great black & white image should show subtlety of tone and I tried my best to capture nuances of the trees and grasses. I didn’t use a tripod and left the camera’s ISO at 400. The picture below of the grasses is a fine example. There is no obvious focal point within the image—just a wonderful combination of grasses and dew-covered spider webs.

As the sun rose above the horizon, I wandered slowly through the woods towards the newly excavated Hempholme site . The pile of logs from Sergeant-Major Woods looked interesting. I focussed on the logs and positioned myself so that the composition linked to the fence posts and the moon in the background. These trees will probably end their life as wood-chips but perhaps fence posts would be another end-product too.

I then turned around and made a couple of exposures of the excavated site with the sun peeping through the mist. You can just about make out two piles of earth but there is plenty of shadow detail.

Even the humble thistle looked interesting, wrapped in their dew soaked cloak…

I returned to North Marsh hide at 9:00 am very satisfied with my little adventure. One thing for certain, I will be repeating the exercise very soon—maybe with a larger camera and tripod. Nevertheless, I hope this inspires others to try something a little bit different. There is a lot more to Tophill Low than Kingfishers, super-long lenses and crowded hides. Why not give it a go? You may well be surprised at the results you can achieve with a humble compact camera and a little imagination.

The short spell of unseasonably warm weather is over and I have forsaken the Kingfishers of North Marsh for a quieter, more reflective location. The Watton reserve hide is a unique location but does demand a very long lens to obtain the best images. The majority of the action takes place at least 100 metres away from the hide but that’s a challenge that I am willing to accept. The most common species available to photograph at this time of year are Mallards, Teal, Coots, & Cormorants. There are also a pair of Mute Swans with their three signets, Grey Heron and perhaps if you’re lucky, a Little Egret too.

Once or twice a day, a Red Fox will patrol the perimeter of the lake looking for an opportunity of a meal. Usually, the wild-fowl will be alerted by the presence of the Fox, before I see it. The birds will become agitated and vocal and will swim to the centre of the lagoon, safe from the patrolling Fox. My favourite images of Foxes always seem to involve their interaction with other species. Here are a few examples from the last few days…

A lone Little Egret has been present for much of the week. A few evenings ago, I spent a wonderful couple of hours photographing this spectacular member of the Heron family as it foraged for food along the margins of the lake. A little too distant to see the results of its endeavours but a wonderful spectacle, none-the-less.

The Cormorants seem to be a permanent fixture on this part of the reserve. However, it is very rare to see a bird actively fishing. I was lucky enough to capture this image of a Cormorant devouring a rather large perch.

Finally, here is photograph of a female Kestrel that was being chased by several Crows. It took refuge in a nearby Hawthorne for a few seconds before flying away to a more secluded location. I guess that we both have at least one thing in common!