Wildlife Photography across the Water: Purple Days

Monday 30 March 2009

Purple Days

Some days are memorable for many reasons, Purple day photographic sessions don't come around very often but today was one of those days, The weather man said that Monday would be the best day of the week weather wise so i was up and out before the sun was up and down at a large lake about 10 miles from home to have another go at the ospreys, With the weather being nice i knew it would be a short session as the light would get harsh and contrasty once the sun was up high, The ospreys were flying around the nest when i arrived so i quickly set up and took some meter reading and some test shots, The next thing i know is a beaver swimming right towards me, A first for me since i have been here,He came pretty close as if to check me out then did a few large circles and headed off only to be joined by another beaver who did the same, Every now and again one would smash his tail against the water and bolt off under the water,They did this for a few minutes before heading off around to the next bay,

The beaver dam cant be that far away and i will go back and see if i can find it,What a great start, Things went quiet for about an hour with just one osprey on the nest and then 3 more arrived, One had a fish in the talons and briefly dropped down onto the nest a minute later it was off which i thought was strange, It went over the trees and suddenly returned being chased by a juvenille Bald Eagle who swooped around trying to relieve the osprey of its catch,After a minute or 2 it gave up and order was restored, I had this time used the 600 and 1.4x combo with the D300 as the weather was brighter than the last time and the D300 would give me some more reach, The ospreys started to mate on the post above the nest so i swapped the 1.4x for the 1.7x and waded abit further out into the lake, i was still further away from the nest than i would like and next time the chest waders are making an apperance as i ended up with 2 boots full of water, Cant complain though as the beaver and eagle shots were unexpected as were the mating shots,Back tomorrow i hope

Dave

2 comments:

Peter Edge30 March 2009 at 18:35
Sounds like a great day Dave. I am jealous as I have been having a few of the opposite to purple days(whatever that is Black I suppose)
When you wade out to the ospreys next time take a nice tree with you.
Pete
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mark wood30 March 2009 at 19:55
Stunning report as ever Dave look forward to more posts on this subject
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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.