A Visit to Martin Mere WWT

We spent today at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Centre at Martin Mere near Southport in Lancashire - a centre that combines waterfowl gardens with plenty of habitat and hides to keep serious birders happy.

Ideal for families as well, with push-chair friendly paths and plenty of activities through-out the year. We've been members since last spring, and are likely to re-join next year. 

It's a great place to visit if you're into photography, even if wildlife photography isn't your main interest. The waterfowl gardens let you get up nice and close to species that you'd otherwise struggle to see, whilst the hides offer fantastic views out over the marshes, meres and reedbeds.

The snow from the last few weeks began a major thaw today, but much of the water was still frozen, this Wood Duck finding something interesting at the edge of the ice.

The waterfowl gardens contain a large array of species, split into various continents, and range from Flamingos to less well known species such as the Cape Barren Goose below. For some reason this particular bird always seems to charge me when we visit, and is rather aggressively territorial. Still a good chance to test the auto focus and your panning skills.

The winter weather provided plenty of other opportunities as well, these frozen footprints being one example.

In winter the reserve itself becomes home for vast numbers of migrating Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swans. Today there were reportedly around 1900 Whooper Swan, although this pales into insignificance with the 36,000 Pink Footed Geese that were using the reserve back in Autumn. The views out of the hides with this number of birds is fantastic, and provides a visual feast - for both seasoned birders and those new to the whole experience.

There's something quite majestic about watching the swans fly over. Once airborne they seem to move with such ease and grace, and sometimes it's nicer to simply watch than follow with the camera.

Overall a fantastic day, and a place I wholeheartedly recommend a visit to if you're in the area - although it eventually became too much our young daughter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all,

Andrew.

Helvellyn In Winter

The Lake District will always have a place in my heart, and is an area of the UK that I am drawn to time and time again. Why? Difficult to say - there's the rugged fells, the peaceful lakes, the dramatic weather, and many other alluring sides to its character. In combination they produce an area that is unlike any other, an area full of photographic opportunity.

Of course the factors listed above don't guarantee successful photography, you still need put in some leg work - quite literally if you want some sunset photos in winter from England's third highest peak...

The photos you see in this post weren't ones that had specifically been in my mind before we set out on this walk, but the general ideas were there and, more importantly, we had planned the timing and the day of our walk to at least give us a chance.

The hours just before and after sunset are often spectacular and this day was no exception. We reached the top of Helvellyn about 30 minutes before sunset, having spent a fantastic day high on the hills. The gentle curve leading to the summit was ideal for an photo, and Blencathra in the background was glowing in the evening sun. Click!

From a gear point of view we had been unsure of the fell top conditions, so my rucksack this day included crampons and ice axe and I had chosen to go light on my camera kit. I had decided to forgo a tripod, leave the filter kit at home and bring just two lenses. Perhaps with hindsight I would have put up with the extra weight, but as it was I ended up hand-holding and relying upon lens stabilisation to help balance shutter speed with aperture and subsequent depth of field.

 

Shooting in RAW without the benefit of a graduated filter meant that the aim of the game for the day was to expose as far to the right of the histogram as possible, being careful not to clip the highlights. The foregrounds were typically still left looking a little dark so post-processing included giving these a little lift. Some selective dodging and burning was then performed, adding further life to the images.

 

We certainly weren't the only ones out on the fells this day, and others were also clearly enjoying the views. In the distance a man stood alone on a summit, admiring the scene and the beauty of the sunset.

As we began to descend, still above the snowline, the setting sun cast it's slanting rays through the gathering mist in the valleys below. The scenery came alive and crouched down on one knee, camera held steady, it was time for another shot. If you want to try and work out the peaks in the background then feel free - a starting point is Great Gable on the left and Grisedale Pike on the right.

By definition sunset photography requires you to be in location as the sun is setting, and with a location high on the fells we were always going to end up walking downhill in the dark - forward preparation was as much about ensuring we had the equipment to return home safely as it was about the photography. Prior knowledge of the route was great help here, removing any element of doubt as our descent was completed via the dim glow of our head torches.

We weren't the last to leave the tops though, and even as we descended into the darkness, the outline of others could still be made out high up on the ridges - walking steadily along under the weight of their packs.

I haven often heard people comment that you need to be lucky to take good photos. In part this is true - you do often need a small element of luck. However there are so many steps you can take to weight the odds in your favour - look at the weather, pre-visualise your shots, make sure you're in the best location at the best time of the day. Take these steps and you increase your chances tenfold. You may return home tired, but you'll remember the day for a long time to come.

A Winter Wonderland in Lytham

One thing you don't normally associate with the Fylde coast is snow. If we do get any it's normally not much more than a light dusting, but over the last week we've had around 6 inches - a rare occurance, so definitely time to get the camera out!

I've been wanting to add some pictures of Lytham to my portfolio for quite a white, so this was the perfect opportunity. Arriving at Lytham front it was obvious I was going to be in for a treat - snow lay on the ground, fog was clearing across the green, the sun was setting and a full moon was rising. What more could you want - as a landscape photographer if these sort of conditions don't lift the spirit then nothing will.

In rapidly changing conditions such as these, I often prefer not to use a tripod. This way I can move around an area more easily and make the best of the light as it evolves. Modern cameras offer several features to help, so why not make use of them - stabilised lenses allow you to handhold at slower shutter speeds, and you can safely push the ISO up without seriously compromising image quality. I could still use my trusty Lee graduated filters to balance the exposure of the sky, and the instant preview on the lcd was useful for checking highlights and sharpness.

The conditions really were beautiful, and I certainly wasn't the only photographer making the most of them. Everyone had a smile on their face, despite the sub-zero temperatures. The view above would normally show the estuary and the sea beyond, but the fog, snow and sun combined to create a magical atmosphere.

The full moon was added bonus, and really helped make this scene - although I had to be careful with exposure not to lose all of its detail. Lytham windmill itself recently had its sails damaged in the storm - apparently they will be replaced in the new year, so the image above will probably be a one off. Hands numb, I eventually put the camera away - aware that I'll probably never see conditions quite like this again.

I'm sure some of these images will be available on my main website soon (www.astannard.com), so please check there or get in touch if you're interested.

The Langdale Pikes

I spent an enjoyable day last week wandering around Langdale in the Lake District, with the aim of getting some pictures of the Langdale Pikes. Harrison Stickle has always been on my list of best mountains - I first climbed it at the tender age of 4 and have been up there many times since. Until now though I've never really had any photographs of the peak.

Given the recent weather I was a bit concerned about the conditions on the fells, so went armed with ice axe and crampons, although as I drove down the valley it was apparent that the snow wasn't actually that bad, so the winter kit stayed in the car. Photographing mountains in winter is always a balance between the amount of kit you take and the weight of your rucksack. I use a winter climbing rucksack with a sleeping bag comartment adapted for camera storage. This gives plenty enough room for my camera gear and walking gear, with room for storing tripod, crampons and ice axe if necessary.

As I started up towards Pike of Blisco I soon gained enough height to get a good view back across to Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle. The light wasn't great, but there were a few breaks in the cloud, and with a bit of patience (a useful trait for landscape photography!), I took the picture above.

Winter days are always short, and it didn't feel like long before the sun was starting to drop and so I made my way over to Blea Tarn for some more shots before the light disappeared. A frozen tarn was an added bonus and I was able to spend some time wandering around trying out different compositions. Extra warm clothing in the rucksack a necessity here, as body temperature is quickly lost when sat stationary by a tripod.

Graduated filters were the order of the day here, helping to prevent the highlights being blown, or the foreground being lost in the gloom. Some prefer to take two shots and merge in post-processing, but personally I prefer traditional filters for this type of shot.

With the best of the light now gone, it was time to make my way back to the car, headtorch on. The legs were tired, but it had been a great day.

First Post - Welcome to my Blog!

Well this is my first post to the blog, so I feel that I ought to explain what it's about. Why have a Blog when I already have a website?

Well this blog will provide a bit more of an informal perspective on my photography. If you're looking for print sales then head over to my website at www.astannard.com, this blog will be more about some of my adventures in photography, a means to share some images and the stories behind them, and also a means of sharing some photographic tips. I've already got a few articles on my website, so expect to see some of them transferred over as well.

Given that it's a photography blog I ought to start with a photo, so below is a sunrise shot of Winterhill., Lancashire.

I'd like to say that I braved freezing cold temperatures and a 5 mile walk to get this photo, but truth be told I didn't. This was actually taken out of the toilet window at home! Quite a view for first thing in the morning, I hope you'll agree. No room for a tripod, so camera was braced against the side of the window, with a bit of an ISO bump to 400 to give a quick enough shutter speed. The sun was always going to overexpose, so exposure was all about balancing detail in the clouds with segregation of the two foreground layers. Shot in Raw, as I normally do, and the processed in Lightroom. This image will shortly be appearing as a print on my website.

Well that's it - first post over. Let me know what you think!