martinimages

Short eared owls

2011-12-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

Very little photography the last couple of months but today I had a day to go and play and the sun came out. I decided to go owl hunting and found a great site with several short eared owls. None came very close but it was fun watching them sparring and hunting. Would be worth another trip if I can find some more time.

Owls, buzzard and falcons

2011-10-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

A lovely sunny day at a Welsh Valley farm was completed with a wide range of beautiful birds. Our focus4nature workshop included some great locations to show the birds off at their best. Buzzard, barn owl, little owl, tawny owl, long eared owl, hobby and merlin all posed patiently for the group.

For future dates for the same raptor photo day please watch the F4N website.

Hazel dormouse

2011-09-25T13:32:00.001-07:00

I have started my newest illustrated talk and have chosen British mammals as the subject. I have was therefore delighted when a friend running a dormouse survey course asked for some images. We visited his survey area in Gloucestershire and as well as photographing habitat, feeding signs, boxes and handling techniques I was also lucky enough to have this little beauty pose for me.

A tricky subject!

2011-09-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

With one thing and another I have been struggling to get any camera time of late so in desperation have been working on the only subject that can be done after my kids have gone to bed and without leaving home! My garden attracts up to three pipistrelles each night but they are very erratic, flying at different heights and only coming into view once they break the skyline. With no specialist kit, getting them in the shot, in focus and adequately lit has been a virtually impossible task. I shall be persevering however and enjoying these delightful little animals as they zip about feeding up before winter.

white tailed sea eagle

2011-08-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

I have been a bit carried away this year photographing captive bred raptors. This is the grandaddy of them all though! What a bird!

Dotterel

2011-07-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Another short trip to the Highlands looking for dotterel came up trumps. It was a long climb to the mountain summit though and with all my gear I certainly earned my haggis and chips in the evening! I then went on to a small uninhabited island called Eilean Nan-Ron off the North coast near Tongue where I was able to photograph storm petrels and spend some time watching the breeding great skuas.

More raptors

2011-06-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

I can't get enough of em! I love getting close to these most charismatic of birds. And the recent Bird Fair at Middleton Hall gave yet another oportunity to add to the collection. The falconer and I leading a workshop to photograph kestrel, tawny and barn owl. If you want to join me to photograph wild ospreys check out the focus4nature link.

Raptors in Mid Wales

2011-04-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

I will be running some bird of prey photoshoots for Focus 4 Nature later this year so went to Mid Wales for a reckie at the falconry centre. It was a brilliant day with lovely sunshine and a smashing set of birds including this wondeful male goshawk. The shot looks simple enough but it took a lot of time to line up the dark background and then wait for the bird to look around the tree.

Cairngorms

2011-04-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

I love going up to the highlands but another very quick trip to the Cairngorms was dissapointing with poor light continually spoiling opportunities for landscape and wildife photography. I even spent an entire night in a hide waiting for dawn and a black grouse lek. The grouse arrived but the sun never pierced the clouds. Good fun watching them posturing and displaying though.

Exciting news

2011-02-02T04:59:00.000-08:00

I have been invited to join a new Wildlife Photographic Tour company Focus4Nature and lead tours over the next year or so. The first tour will be a brilliant 6 days in Finland photographing divers and osprey and should be a rewarding trip.

F4N will be running tours accross the globe to some of the best wildlife locations and the price will include everything even flights. For more details check out the new website http://www.focus4nature.co.uk/ for mine and other exciting tours.

Golden eagle on the moors

2011-02-01T10:57:00.000-08:00

A very enjoyable day last month saw me in some attractive moorland working with a small group of raptors on a bird of prey photography shoot. The beautiful golden eagle was the main target but a European eagle owl was also an excellent subject. One day (early retirement beckons!) I shall photograph eagles again in the wild but for now these shots will do.

Catching up and planning

2010-12-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

This is a quiet time for my photography so I have started to catch up with processing the images from the year. These two were pleasing ones from the Shetlands. I never seem to tire of photgraphing puffins! Conversley these were the first decent common seal shots ever for me.

I have also done a bit of planning for the year ahead and booked some dates. I get very excited when planning projects and love having trips and local encounters to look forward to. 2011 is looking good too with a week in the Highlands, two possible trips to Finland and my first go at fish photography...watch this space!

Waxwings

2010-11-29T13:15:00.000-08:00

With the waxwing invasion arriving in the Midlands and the sun shining, it seemed only right to don the gloves and head off to a rowan tree in Ludlow. Tricky light and very hungry and mobile birds meant that even with over a hundred to choose from it was hard to isolate any individual and capture a nice pose. I liked the background colour in this image though so worth the cold fingers!

Getting Started in Wildlife Photography

2010-09-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

Following much demand and the great feedback from previous ones I am now offering another Introduction to Wildlife Photography Workshop at Middleton Hall. The day will run from 10-4.30 on the 3rd October. Cost is £28 per person and includes refreshments morning and afternoon.

The workshop is based around a presentation of pictures and illustrations interrupted with demonstrations of equipment and accessories. There will also be a practical session where attendees will get a chance to practice techniques with their own camera.

Each topic will be illustrated with a series of case studies and the day will be littered with top tips and tricks of the trade!

Topics to be covered include:

Camera equipment and accessories
Camera settings
Composing the picture
Learning your subject
Getting close to the subject
Using hides
Processing, printing and publishing

Interested? contact me at nick@martinimages.co.uk for more details and a booking form.

Kingfisher

2010-09-07T13:06:00.001-07:00

Barely picked up my camera since the Shetlands but finally managed to get out and was well rewarded. Thanks to Mike for the opportunity.

The Shetlands

2010-07-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

Back and finally managed to get a blog post online.

The Shetlands were great, loads of great wildlife and lots of lovely places to visit. Weather could have been a bit brighter but I guess it could have been a lot worse too!

Best bits were with bonxies, puffins, tysties and some very special encounters with otters.

A Highland treasure!

2010-03-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

After receiving a tip off that a capercaillie was showing well in the Highlands I was desperate to go and take a look. With only one day off work though it was a long drive followed by fingers crossed very tightly. After 11 hours searching the forest though it all paid off and I am delighted to have added this absolutely stunning bird to the portfolio!

Local stuff

2010-03-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

A couple of shots from the last couple of days. A quick dash to a local fishery in Worcestershire was rewarded with this smashing Slavonian Grebe. It was very confiding and by lying in the goose poo I was able to ensure a low profile and nice background colour.

This nuthatch has been vistiting the feeders outside my office window all winter and eventually I happened to have my camera with me! I got some sunny shots too but they were too 'contrasty' so I preferred the flatter tones of this.

Welney and Slimbridge

2010-02-26T05:45:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was one of my most productive for photography for months. The forcast was good for Saturday so I headed to Welney to try and catch up with the barn owls. They performed pretty well and for once the light was with me. We even were treated to a couple of short eared owls too so that was a welcome addition to the portfolio.

We also booked a photography hide beneath the observatory which resulted in some great low level waterfowl shots. Sunday it was another WWT site on the agenda and we headed to Slimbridge where again the light was good and the birds performed. Check out Alamy for some of the better shots.

New Year Plans

2010-02-02T07:11:00.000-08:00

People talk about swans but I think I am more akin to a grebe...lots of action under the surface and actually nothing to see above!

I have been busy though doing lots of talks and planning for this years trips, shows etc. I have also moved house and have no internet so hence the break in blog updates.

I have now given the Secret Wildlife of the Cairngorms talk four times and it has gone down well, plans are now afoot to add to it for next winter though and there is even rumour of a Shetlands trips!!

I have also been accepted as a photographer for image library Alamy so will start to make my portfolio available on there as and when I get the time.

Two trips to Gigrin Farm in the last couple of weeks were a bit dissapointing as the weather did not live up to the forecasts. The snowy weather bought out the combatitive spirit of the herons who challenged the resident buzzards. The photos were only records of the event but encouraged me to head back a couple of weeks later. One kite seemed happy to sit in the tree above the hide and look down on us for an hour or so while we tried to get the best angle from within the complex of branches! I also added some more red kite and raven flight shots to the collection.

Plans this month include an owl chasing trip to Norfolk and begin to build the new hide for some late winter feeder photography...watch this space.

Illustrated Talks

2009-11-28T13:28:00.000-08:00

The latest of my illustrated talks is now done and been successfully road tested. This means that I now offer three talks for social, photographic or wildlife groups. Each can be tailored to suit timings and I can provide all equipment including screen if necessary.

The talks are: The Secret Wildlife of the Cairngorms, Discovering Scotland's Western Isles and the Secrets of Wildlife Photography. My fee is £50 plus mileage at 20p/mile. If you have any questions or would like to enquire about availability please contact me at nick@martinimages.co.uk

Nearly there!

2009-10-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

The new talk, Secret Wildlife of the Cairngorms is nearly there. Just a few more slides and a bit more research. As expected though it has left me wanting more so I may have to plan some quick(!) trips up there over the winter and next spring. Need to brush up on my landscapes although this one of Loch Malachie is quite nice.

Plenty of interest in the Introduction to Wildlife Photography Workshop too so I am looking forward to that. Contact me for details of that or talks or any image needs.

Introduction to Wildlife Photography Workshop

2009-09-07T02:25:00.000-07:00

Following much demand and the great feedback from previous ones I am now offering another Introduction to Wildlife Photography Workshop at Middleton Hall. The day will run from 10-4.30 on the 25th October. Cost is £28 per person and includes refreshments morning and afternoon.

The workshop is based around a presentation of pictures and illustrations interrupted with demonstrations of equipment and accessories. There will also be a practical session where attendees will get a chance to practice techniques with their own camera.

Each will be illustrated with a series of case studies and the day will be littered with top tips and tricks of the trade!

Topics to be covered include:

Camera equipment and accessories
Camera settings
Composing the picture
Learning your subject
Getting close to the subject
Using hides
Processing, printing and publishing

Interested? contact me at nick@martinimages.co.uk for more details and a booking form.

Scotland Scotland Scotland

2009-08-30T05:25:00.000-07:00

It's all about Scotland at the moment with images from my most recent trips to the Cairngorms needing editing fully, the new talk 'Secret Wildife of the Cairngorms' to be written and a celebration of Scottish Wildlife evening to be prepared for too.

Discovering Scotland's Western Isles has been very well recieved over the last few years so I am hopeful that people will enjoy the new images from the Highlands. I have enjoyed my time there and am looking forward to reliving the trips as I compose the new talk. Here are a couple of images from the trips this year as a taster.

If you would like to find out more about the new talk or any of my existing presentations please contact me at nick@martinimages.co.uk or 07810 863177.

technical difficulties

2009-08-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry but the main martinimages website has fallen off internet land! Not sure why but will aim to rectify it asap. In the mean time please e-mail me at nick@martinimages.co.uk with any queries, image or talk requests etc.

Thanks for your patience.

Nick