Wildlife Photography across the Water: Japan Travelogue-Day 6

Thursday 17 February 2011

Japan Travelogue-Day 6

Today we managed a more civilised start, We managed some breakfast before heading off to Lake Kussharo for a couple of days shooting whopper swans, The lake is large but mainly frozen except for areas where hot springs keep the edges warm, The swans congregate there and are fed by locals with grain, there are mountains in the distance and all in all its very scenic, Much more so than anywhere else we have been since we have been here, the swans are easy to get close to and we spent alot of time on our tummies very close to the swans, i started with the 24-70 and even got some decent birds in flight with it but also shot with the 200-400 when trying to single a bird or couple out, So far the accommodation has been great, Better than we had expected and hats off to Pete for getting it sorted, We spent a couple of hours driving around the area and then back to the Swans for the sunset period, we had met with a tour guide called Mark Brazil earlier on in our trip at Kushiro and met again today, He has been very kind by sharing his knowledge and gave us some tips on an area with a lot of wildfowl so we will go there tomorrow morning, No doubts our paths will cross again in a couple of days when we go to Rausu for the Stellers Eagles, The weather has been great-cold but very clear, We stayed until after dark and watched as a red fox walked past us without a care, We hope to get some shots before we leave, Photography wise things are quite easy, I have my camera set in manual and have spot metered off of the snow and have added around 2 stops to make the snow nice and white then its just a matter of firing away, So far the trip has exceeded our expectations and i hope that that continues,

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.