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.

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.

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!