Sunshine - coohoo!

Today my fear of contracting rickets has been allayed with the welcome appearance of the sun. January has been the most dreary month weather-wise and I'm not sorry to be seeing the back of it.

On the back of this wood pigeon the sun has cast the shadow of his chosen delicacy, ivy berries, whilst lithely taking the last pickings from this winter larder.

Birdwatch Weekend

This weekend is the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, so naturally I thought I should enter into the spirit of things with some garden bird images.

I would love it if someone could explain to me why it is, after years of having to fill the nut feeder on a daily basis, the very same nut feeder now hangs full for months on end? This is an observation made over the last couple of years. Either there just aren't the birds around any more or there is an outside factor (feline perchance?) that declares this particular avian cafe as a no-go area.

Thankfully, due to my thoughtfulness (or rather, laziness) in not stripping out all the expired flowers in the Autumn, one bird species does return to our cafe on a regular basis. Goldfinches choose the slightly damp days to flock to the teasle and evening primrose seed heads, when extraction is clearly much easier. On occasions, there have been over a dozen at any one time and it makes for a spectacular display, with flashes of red and gold at this moving feast. Hence my choice of images. Not the usual portraits, which have a merit of their own, but instead, an abstract interpretation that highlights the busy habit with the grace and beauty of these colourful little garden visitors.

Did the Earth Move for You?

Today I got down and dirty - with these little fellas. Judging by what is visible here, the earth really has been moving for them.

Unlike on a quiet Sunday evening couple of weeks ago when we in our local town all thought the earth was moving for us. What was first thought to be an earthquake has since been reported to be a couple of RAF planes hitting mach 1.

Yesterday

Now is the appropriate time for me to explain what yesterday's photograph was all about.
Holocaust Memorial Day is about remembering the victims and those whose lives have been changed beyond recognition as a result of genocides worldwide. From the Holocaust and Nazi persecution to present day atrocities in Darfur.

A number of years ago, I made a visit to Anne Franks attic in Amsterdam. It was a place with an indescribable atmosphere, where visitors passed through in reflective silence. Lower down in the building, a room had been set aside for an exhibition about the Holocaust and the other terrible events that had, and are incredulously, still taking place. This exhibition naturally used many images that had been taken during those years, and although I had seen some of the images before in books and on TV, seeing them right before me in a place so intrinsically involved, made them all the more powerful. Two of those images had such a profound effect on me that they remain forever in my mental album.

A simple internet search for 'piles of Holocaust shoes/glasses' will pull up those and countless similar images. You must have seen them before? Each time I see them I think about whose mother, father, brother or sister they had once belonged to - they were all real people. So it was with these images in mind that I staged a shoot as my rememberance tribute to all of those people. Representing the very personal items lost or abandoned by anyone moving through the opressive and manacing landscape, whilst caught up in this persecution.

I dedicate this posting to the lost brother of a man I will call Ahio, whom we met whilst in Tanzania. He has not seen or heard anything of his brother since he fled Rwanda.

HMD

Candle image courtesy Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Image Library
Main image Copyright 2011 Ailec Photography 

http://www.hmd.org.uk/

Big Cats

Guess what? It has been yet another miserable day and no point of interest has emerged, so you will have to forgive me for indulging in a spot of archive delving. Following yesterdays encounter in the thicket, it got me to thinking about what else I could have encountered. The inevitable rabbit or hare; other deer such as Muntjak; the Fen Tiger. Wait a minute, Fen Tiger?

Oh yes, it is quite probable. For a number of years, there have been occasional sightings of un-identified large black cats wandering in the region. Our neighbour says he saw one close enough that he could even hear it breathing. That is pretty amazing. Reports appear in the press, but of course, there are seldom any images to accompany the report and even then, they are so poor it could be anyones guess what it might be. (Maybe this is my chance to capture a stunning image of this questionable beast or beasts?) It is believed there must be several on the prowl, as they have been spotted over such a large area it couldn't possibly be a sole feline. Mind you, it would be interesting to see what the mutt would make of it when faced with it in a thicket!

So, what of the splendid cat above? Well, I have included Binti as she is a leopard and it is thought that our big cats are the black versions of leopards that have escaped from captivity. These animals were fashionably kept as pets until it became illegal to do so following the dangerous animals act of 1976. It is said that many were released into the wild and they and their off-spring live on. The thought of these splendid animals being domestically caged for selfish gratification disturbs me. There is really only one place to see these magnificent beasts and that is in their natural surroundings. I was fortunate enough to enjoy a trip to the Masai Mara where on one day, for nearly an hour, we watched Binti behaving as leopards do. She is the granddaughter of Bella, made famous from the BBC Big Cat Diaries series. For us as photographers, it was just perfect and this shot of her in the African thicket, is just one from the stunning set I captured that day.

(If you want to see more of this set, just tell me and I will make a special posting)

Oh Deer, I've Been Seen.

Walks out in the country invariably have to involve my canine companion, for exercise (as she will always remind me) is a daily requirement. However, it is a luxury to be able to go out 'sans chien' and I make the most of the ability of stealth on those occasions.They are the days when I purposely go out looking for photographs.

Today was not one of those luxury days but I always try to carry a camera with me anyway, so that I don't have one of those 'If only' moments. Having chosen a slightly different venue for todays ramble, I let mutt have just a little bit of 'let your hair down' freedom before calling her back to my side. Big mistake. Before I knew it I saw a couple of flashes of medium-sized, black and white rumps, closely followed by one smaller black rump disappearing into a thicket. Knowing that the recall whistle would probably scare anything else away, it was my only hope of voicing my displeasure at her actions.

Thankfully, the hours and hours of dog training classes proved worthwhile and she returned breathless, if looking slightly pleased with herself. Lead clipped back on, we then stood quietly for a while, and surprisingly, she made no attempt to bind me. (I think she might have got the message) Suddenly to my right, I was aware of movement. I quickly lifted up my camera and clicked two shots before the animal and myself both realised we were staring into each others eyes. Seconds later, four Fallow deer blew their cover and shot out across the winter field, allowing me the chance for a couple more 'that's all you are getting' shots.

Stealth is not mutts' strongest trait. But don't worry, I am planning to go back... on my own.