Monthly Archives: March 2019

Mar 18 2019
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ShareMondays2019 – Stick With It

Stick With It

ShareMondays2019 – Stick With It

I had a great photoshoot with drummer Andy Gray yesterday! It was a shoot that was testament to the resilience of creatives in the face of adversity. Andy’s bad back and my multitude of medical annoyances were NOT going to get in the way of the creative photoshoot we had planned!

Using the rehearsal space at Firespark Studios with the wonderful Julia K has allowed me to get back to a style of photography that I have always loved. For me, portraiture needs to tell a story. Sometimes a minimalist, subtle image can carry that story in a far more powerful way than a traditional portrait. Andy’s drumsticks are an extension of himself, in much the same way as my camera is now, or my brush was when I was painting.

When you stick with the thing you love, not just what you do, but who you are, the means by which you choose to express yourself aren’t just tools any more. The connection becomes organic. I am my art. Julia is a spark of creativity and Andy is his music!

Mar 14 2019
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Enough Of This S#!T

Enough Of This Sh*t!

Enough Of This S#!T

My message to the politicians of this country! I know our country is split. Even my family is split on what they believe! I am so fed up with the way this has been handled from the moment David Cameron decided it was a great idea to put forward a Referendum without even providing proper information on every possible outcome of leaving the EU. I’m not angry with anyone who happens to have a different opinion than me but I am angry with the leaders of this country for misrepresentation, misinformation (on all sides!) and a lack of guidance. We’re on the edge of a dangerous precipice and if some politicians want to take a leap of faith off it then fine, go ahead, just don’t think you can drag me over with you!

Mar 11 2019
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Branching Out At St James’s Park

Tawny Owl juvenile in St James's Park

Branching Out At St James’s Park

When tawny owlets are only about five weeks old they leave the nest. They’re not fledging yet, they’re branching! The staff at St James’s Park discovered that tawny’s had returned to the park after an absence of twelve years, when they discovered one of the branched owlets in the back of a tractor. It’s not unusual for branching owlets to fall off their perch. Most of the time they will be absolutely fine and the advice is to leave them where they are unless they are lying down, showing other signs of distress or are in immediate danger. They will sit still on the ground until nightfall when they are known to use their strong talons to climb back into the tree! Even if they don’t return quickly, the parents will carry on feeding the owlet on the ground. Gardeners at the park were actually able to return this little owlet to it’s mother in the tree!

It was quite incredible to be able to watch this owlet and one of its’ parents last Friday. They were high up in the trees and it had started raining. I was captivated though! Fortunately I had my raincoat so I was able to observe them for a while despite the weather. It did make it hard to photograph them though. I was using a Fujinon 100-400mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter to watch and photograph. You really do need a long lens or powerful binoculars to see them closely! The owlet has some good adult feathers coming through on the tail and wings but still plenty of downy fluff too. It was stretching the wings a lot and jumping between branches really well. The other wonderful behaviour I was able to watch was the circling off the head as the owlet builds up a full picture of it’s surroundings.

There are also Tawny Owls in Regents Park and these sighting are brilliant news for the species! It’s also a good sign that wildlife conservation and habitat management in The Royal Parks is working well. There must be a good amount of prey species available for these wonderful owls and this owlet certainly seems to be thriving! If you do go to St James’s or anywhere else to watch tawny owls and owlets, please keep a reasonable distance from their tree so you don’t disturb them. They are a protected species and these London owlets are very precious!

Mar 11 2019
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ShareMondays2019 – Punk Pelican

Punk Pelican

ShareMondays2019 – Punk Pelican

I went to St James’s Park in London on Friday after a morning appointment at Guy’s Hospital. I went for the wildlife and I wasn’t disappointed! The pelicans were gathered ready for their afternoon feed, showing off for the public. It’s a lovely opportunity to study them up close. Absolutely stunning birds! When the breeze lifted this pelican’s crest, I couldn’t help but be reminded off the sad loss of Prodigy front-man, Keith Flint, last week. He would have rocked this hairdo too!

Mar 4 2019
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ShareMondays2019 – Close Up With A Creeper

Tree Creeper

ShareMondays2019 – Close Up With A Creeper

Almost at the end of a lovely afternoon in the sunshine at Bushy Park and a couple of treecreepers appeared, on birch trees in the Woodland Gardens, near the Pheasantry Cafe. I had to let my tea go cold while I went to try to get some images! They eluded me on many of the trees, circling around and climbing very quickly, until one decided to pause at the base of the tree I was standing right next too. I hardly wanted to breathe, let alone move! It paused long enough to let me get a few close shots from behind. Those markings allow this tiny bird to almost disappear against the tree bark from a further distance!