GDTfoto

The winners of the GDTfoto competition have been announced, a competition that I didn't even know existed. But there is a lot of creative stuff in there so well worth a look. With the winning image being very different and good as long as you don't mind a bit of blood!

Climping, West Sussex

1/500s f/6.3 ISO400 400mm

Taking advantage of the clocks this morning I went down to the beach expecting to see lots of winter waders but there was just an Oystercatcher and some Turnstone. It may have been because I got there when the tide was going out instead of coming in but I was a bit disappointed.

After a lot of waiting I was able to get close to the only bird worthy of photographing and after numerous attempts due to dog walkers I finally got some images I was happy with.

1/400s f/6.3 ISO200 400mm

As I am sure you are aware, the 2009 Wildlife Photographer of the Year was announced this morning and of course there are some amazing images that are well worth a view.

With the announcement of the new 1D mkIV and Nikon D3s there are arguments and reviews trying to decide which one is better. If I had the money I would be moving to Nikon as they seem to have the edge over Canon especially regarding price.

But I think Vincent Munier's latest images may have swayed me a little bit...

Red Kites

1/400s f/5.6 ISO640 400mm

1/400s f/5.6 ISO640 400mm

Today started very badly, the weather was rubbish and I got a bit lost so ended up walking around the wrong reserve. The first two images were taken when the light was very harsh and I couldn't get the bird and sky exposed correctly despite being very close.

So I have applied some black and white treatment along with boosting the contrast to try and get something different, I quite like the result.

1/800s f/6.3 ISO250 400mm

1/800s f/6.3 ISO250 400mm

After finally finding Aston Rowant I positioned myself in a bush and waited, I was entertained by quite a few kites and the local Kestrel but few wanted to come close. I got lucky with one which was almost eye level and gave some great views, just need a decent background now and some light...

Autumn

I have been very busy this week, and rather desperate to take some pictures but this weekend is looking promising. Especially with trees looking very autumny, if that is a word...

A new photographer for you to drool over, Mark Walle he is not English but has some great work so well worth a look.

Inspired by this I II, I am inspired to find some urban foxes in Newbury something that may take some time and effort but the pictures Laurent Geslin has taken really are amazing. Night photography is something I want to experiment with so mixing it with some wildlife could be interesting...

More Mist!

1/320s f/6.3 ISO200 400mm

Managed an early start this morning, so I went to Woolhampton Gravel Pit, it seems that every time I go there the light is perfect and there is always a lot of mist. Not that I am complaining as it gives some great photo opportunities especially with the rather dismal weather we have been having...

Greenham Common

1/800s f/5.6 ISO200 400mm

1/1000s f/5.6 ISO200 400mm

I cycle to work through it everyday but this evening I decided to see if I can photograph some Stonechats and maybe a Dartford Warbler the latter deciding to hide a bit to well. But there where a lot of Stonechats which I thought at first would be a good thing but it meant that if one flew away all of them flew away so I had to find some brave birds for these shots. Will be making a return trip to try and get a full frame image but I really like the light.