Wildlife Photography across the Water: Local Patch-Raleigh-Winter returns

Monday, 2 March 2009

Local Patch-Raleigh-Winter returns

After 2 days of heavy rain it was forecast last night for snow-3-6 inches they said so i went into the garden and repositioned the hides just in case, First thing this morning i opened the blinds and there it was nice and crisp and white as a sheet, I quickly got dressed in layers and put some fresh bird seed out and got ready,Within 5 minutes i had Dark eyed Junco,Mourning Dove,Cardinals and finches fighting for the food,I spent a couple of hours shooting before i fancied a coffee, I noticed a small flock of Cedar Waxwings come and go when i was in the hide so after the coffee i decided to take a drive around the estate and see if they were around, I quickly found a flock of about 50 sitting in a small tree in somebodies garden next to the road so i slowly drove up and began shooting,They were very relaxed and i soon got some shots before they dropped onto the bushes and started to eat the berries,

They moved a couple of times but seemed to like coming back to the same gardens,Really nice to be able to shoot these beautiful birds with snow around, It would have been nice to be able to use some flash as there black band around the eye makes it hard to see the eye if you dont shoot at the right time but there was not enough room in the car to use flash, All in all i must admit i am extremly pleased with a few of the shots and they will make nice greeting cards,When i returned to my house i looked out of the winow to check the bird feeders and there was a white tailed deer eating from the bird table so i managed a couple of shots of the deer in the snow-what a great morning
I should have mentioned that the images were exposed for Manually-spot metered off of snow in the same light as the birds then 2 stops added

Dave

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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.