Bracken Dragons

Back out here in West Cork, the hedgerows are promptly progressing, just as they are in the UK. During a walk with mutt this evening, I became drawn to the wonderful forms that each unfurling bracken frond appeared to take on.

Ornate Chinese Dragon

Majestic Horned Bull

Character from Chicken Run

But Why? Dragon

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Give Them Support (...they will need it!)

May I take this opportunity to wish the Royal Couple all the best on their wedding day.

However, I'm sure there will be far more class displayed today, than there was shown in this window display in Cambridge. If this attitude is anything to go by, the couple will need all the support they can get!

Closer inspection reveals more than just the usual tourist tat.

(Let's look forward to the new Duke and Duchess paying a visit to their namesake city soon)

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Evidence of a Close Encounter

It was another Windolene day yesterday as for the second time in about a month, my kitchen windows had a close encounter with a pigeon. It is as if these birds want to play noughts and crosses on the grid of window panes, laying claim to their square in this very definite manner.

This time it was slightly different as there was secondary evidence of this encounter, by way of some feathers on the patio, but unlike last time, there was no imprint from the head of the bird. However, I was puzzled to see that just as before, a clear geometric mark appeared arount the neck area (check out the picture 'Imprint' Thursday 24th March) Initially I thought it might be created by the beak, but closer inspection of the first imprint rules that out due to the position of the eye.

If anyone has a suitable explanation to this puzzle, I would be delighted to hear it.

(Judging by this picture, it was high time my windows saw a Windolene-soaked cloth too!)

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

May

The beautiful May blossom - and it is only April!

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

English Countryside

Each year, for a few short weeks, the brown and green winter patchwork blanket gives way to an all enveloping yellow spring blanket. Flying out from the local airport, reveals the massive extent of this vibrant and valuable crop of rape, which is the choice of all but a few farms.

This phenomenon is a somewhat recent addition to our English countryside as I certainly don't remember these vivid yellow scenes from my childhood. Conversely, in my childhood, I do remember the likes of cow parsley and lilac, laburnam and wisteria all coming to a peak in mid-May. So, with all of these wonderful flowers already in full flower a full three weeks ahead again this year, I have to realise that changes do, and will continue to happen.

I do wish for those special swift-screeching, blossom blooming days of May still to be in May though, just as I used to remember them.

A Hare Treat

A rare treat - an early morning walk 'sans chien'

A hare treat - noticeably scarce since the winter

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Easter Greetings

 

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Nature v. Man

Stencil art, as produced by nature and man.

Nature wins when it comes to bespoke though.

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

New Horizons

Our recent photographic foray into Cambridge was fulfilling two purposes:

1. For fun.
2. To provide encouragement to a young photographer.

With her birthday being today, (Happy Birthday by the way!) this young photographer is now just the same age as I was when I acquired my first camera. The benefit with starting out in photography today is that the images are cheap and minor errors are so easily corrected. However, the same basic skill is required - being able to see the picture, and she has that ability. With gentle nurturing, she has a future.

However, she will forgive me, I'm sure, for using her work to illustrate that doing yourself down, when starting out in photography is not so desireable. By all means, have goals but confidence is by far the better attribute to strive for, and after this venture I am very confident that she has gained confidence.

By coincidence, we both took a shot at the same time. With some post production to adjust the RAW image, my interpretation of the scene can be seen above. She, on the other hand was convinced that her shot was useless, and granted, we had a little giggle over the 'wonky' image, but don't we all have bouts of this non-intentional horizon adjustment? However, with only a couple of extra stages of post production, which she carried out herself to the original jpeg image, I'm sure you will agree, her shot was not useless.

From this...

...to this

So, although we both produced slightly different interpretations of the same view, they are both image-worthy, and if it is the only thing she has learned from the day, she now knows how to avoid at least one post production stage.

To new horizons!

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Piece to Camera

I have always enjoyed 'people watching' and on a photographic foray into Cambridge yesterday we had an ideal vantage point from the window seat of the cafe where we had our lunch.

The resting tourists on the wall of King's College were interesting enough in their own right, but then we were presented with a spot of silent entertainment from a girl clad in a vivid green jumper. With a back-drop of King's College Chapel, there were four takes for this piece to camera before girl and man-with-the-film-camera, packed up and left as swiftly as they had arrived.

We will probably never find out what those few seconds of animated speech contained, but the seated visitors resumed their rest as if nothing had happened.

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Plane or Patterned?

Layers of bark pattern, topped off by a branching shadow pattern.

It is both plane and patterned.

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

April Showers

With the weather now conducive to a spot of gardening, I spent yesterday afternoon pottering outdoors, which included clearing up the fallen petals from our magnolia.

Just at its peak, it was looking stunning until the mid-afternoon April shower on Saturday threw raindrops and hail stones at it, all in the same lashing. I watched from the window as one petal after the other, gave up the will to hold on to beauty, floating down to the ground to form a pastel carpet.

In a hope of preserving this image of beauty, I grabbed a large umbrella and my camera and clicked away, with this picture clearly illustrating the undesirable effect of this, frankly, much needed shower of rain.

It just goes to prove that whilst a hydration routine is important, peak of beauty is as transient as any other phase in life.

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Lords, Ladies and...

Lords and Ladies, Jack in the Pulpit, Devils and Angels, Cows and Bulls, Cuckoo-Pint, Adam and Eve, Bobbins, Naked Boys, Starch-Root, Wake Robin, Wild arum or Arum maculatum.

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Marsh Harrier

 

Today I have to thank a friend for introducing us to a wonderful place - Woodwalton Fen. He had previously told us that it may be possible to see a marsh harrier at this reserve, a place he used to cycle to every weekend, as a boy, in the hope he might just see this bird. He never did.

We met early at the gate and took a stroll on this beautiful spring morning, along the peaty paths between the fenland vegetation. As we listented to the bird song, one bird made its presence known with probably the most familiar call of all, the cuckoo. Yes, I can now add that to my firsts list for the 17th April.

We settled ourselves down in the hide with a couple of knowledgeable birders and listened to the calls of the chiff-chaff; sedge warbler; grasshopper warbler; pheasant and... a peacock!? Then, over on the far side of the reserve, we saw it. Skimming above the top of the sedge before lowering his legs like an undercarriage and dropping down to the ground. A male marsh harrier. With bird and birdwatchers alike catching their breath, a second bird appeared and we watched as this female and the male bird twisted and turned together in the air. Feeling justifiably content with this spectacle, we were further rewarded when a second pair put in an appearance, the only thing detracting being the distance from our lenses of this avian stage. Needless to say, I will be returning very soon for a repeat performance, hopefully this time with it taking place on the front of stage.

Oh, and my friends parting comment. "I have waited over thirty-five years to see this"

Fortunate indeed.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/m/marshharrier/index.aspx

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Documenting Work in Progress

I have, on occasions, been commissioned by a building company, to photograph completed contracts for their own publicity or as a record. (As seen in my previous posting from January; Unexciting to Interesting) Sadly, when it comes to refurbishment work, they have usually forgotten to capture a series of before and during images as well as the after images.

This week, I was brought in by them to record an old farm building that will very shortly begin having a transformation, and capture those so far unseen, before shots. I will be returning on a regular basis throughout the contract to record the progress so that this information can also be used for their publicity.

Whilst this subject-matter may not produce prize-winning gallery images, this bread-and-butter documenting is as important to this type of business as photographs of the Spring collection for a fashion house. It is therefore my brief and aim, to produce images that will ultimately help attract the eye of, and inform future customers.

The overcast sky puts over a feeling of impending change and I hope to be able to capture the finished building in an altogether different light. The image of the underside of the rusting courrugated tin roof on old timber purlins provides an interesting artisitic view as well as documenting the current small span that is to be replaced with a single span lean-to.

Over the coming weeks, I hope to bring you, the work in progress images.

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Inquisitive

Continuing with the documentary work during my recent trip to West Cork, I re-visited some friends who farm a herd of organic Galloway beef cattle.

I first came face to face with these boys last year and now they are 'ready to move on'. So, to all you big specialist city buyers, I can tell you where to go looking!

And looking is what this fella was doing- straight down my lens. It was only when I lowered the camera from my eye that I realised just how close. Meanwhile, the farmer was having a quiet chuckle to himself behind me.

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Heron Taking Flight

Another shot from our recent bird "disappearing trick" session in West Cork.

This heron continued to be one step ahead of us all the way along the lagoon. As soon as we got up close, he would take off and settle in another quiet spot.

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

I've Been to Hollywood

I've been out west again, and this time via Hollywood. No glamour, no stars, no outsized town signs on the hillside, just a normal, small, rural community in Ireland.

_____________________________________________________________________

Want to make a comment?

I know some of you have been having difficulty doing this through the blog, so try this:-
Click the link below, write the title of this blog page followed by your comment.
I will see the comments, and then post them back on this page.
You can still tick the reactions boxes on this page though.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you.

http://ailecphotography.co.uk/contact.php
_____________________________________________________________________

Camera Shy

We had been observing these bar-tailed godwits on a tidal lagoon in West Cork (I stand to be corrected on identification as it may be a black tailed godwit), along with herons, little egrets, oyster catchers and sandpipers, only to have them wander further into the lagoon as soon as we got our cameras out.

This now seems to be the normal story of my bird-watching activity.

http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Default.aspx?tabid=330

Dawn

Dawn, County Wicklow, Ireland following an early arrival into Dublin Port.

Oak Coat

This 500 year old coat cloaks a body that will one day, reveal many secrets.

Mutt

Where does she get all that energy?

If she doesn't have her head down a rabbit hole, she is on the go!

(I love the pastel drawing-like qualities of this abstract picture of her on the move.)

Hippo Greetings

Range of Ailec Photography, African themed greetings cards now available for purchase from

i2 Art Gallery

26-28 Church Street

Saffron Walden

Firsts

Each year, I note my firsts as a marker for seasonal progress.

24 February     first brimstone butterfly
14 March         first frog spawn in our pond
17 March         first chiff chaff
  3 April            first glimmer of bluebells in the woods

Some have been early, some have been late, some have been about right.

Now I'm waiting for the

first cuckoo
first swift...

but I'm not hurrying the year on, just enjoying the wonders of nature.

Happy Mothering Sunday

For all the mums out there, but of course, especially to my own mum.

Odd One Out

Having gathered an exhausted mutt into the back of the car, following her usual mad dash around the countryside this morning, I was driving the back lanes to get home fairly promptly so as to let her rest in comfort. However, my eye was caught by a patch of brown in the middle of a green field, probably a quarter of a mile away. Slowing up and taking quick glances, I realised it was a herd of fallow deer resting out in the open. Should I stop or should I go?

Of course I stopped, but to get close enough for some kind of shot it would involve parking the car with an exhausted but watered mutt inside (windows cracked open), and then walking zig-zag through fields and along field boundaries to somewhere hidden from their view. Thankfully the wind was in my face all the way, but even though I crept along the last field boundary with utmost stealth, the combined ear/nose power of this little huddle was so sensitive, they clocked me sooner than I thought.

I quickly and quietly laid flat on a conveniently sloped bank under the hedge and observed them as they rose to their feet, the white deer taking the lead. I was further away than I had hoped and I was on the extreme limit of my 400mm lens. I didn't dare move any closer for fear of scaring them off completely. I could have waited longer in the hope that they might just wander in my direction but I was mindful too, of poor mutt waiting in the back of the car. So I grabbed a few more shots and made a quiet departure.

White deer? No, they are not an oddity as we are fortunate to have a healthy population around here.

Breakdown in the Masai Mara

(This is the mishap I mentioned yesterday)

Out for a day in the Masai Mara with big cat expert
and award winning wildlife photograher, Jonathan Scott

One bump too many and a nasty noise
prompted closer inspection

Broken suspension

Thankfully, even though we were in the middle of the Mara,
it was possible to radio for assistance

An hour later, and a team of mechanics arrived from Govenors Camp
to see if the break could be fixed in the field

Sadly, these wheels weren't going to take us any further today
so it was a quick transfer to another 4x4 to make up for lost wildlife spotting time

Having eventually managed to get to see the Marsh Pride during the afternoon

There was just time as the day was coming to a close
to spent a quiet and intimate time observing a herd of elephant at a river crossing

Before rounding off the day with an African sunset

To see TV clips from Jonathan Scott, including the famous encounter with Kike the cheetah go to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/collections/p00db3b8