Heading For The Evening Roost...

The clocks have gone back and the evening are closing in quicker than ever, I spend this evening looking over the wetlands at Martin Mere, watching the Geese coming into roost, with a hazy evening sun slowly creeping towards the horizon I decided to take a few silhouetted flight shots,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/4000. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Painted By God...

Possibly the most beautiful bird on the British list, it really does look like it has been painted by God, perfection I would say,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 800,Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

A Bit To Early For Love Birds...

I took this picture at Martin Mere this weekend during the swan feeding time, it is always such a massive attraction due to the raucous behaviour and the cacophony of noise created by the feeding and fighting swans, I sat there watching when in between and the kayos I noticed these two love birds getting a bit intimate, very touching,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

The Thought Of Warmer Climates...

Well with the Autumn/Winter chill really starting to make it self present, I got thinking about were I might go on holiday next summer, so on this thought I thought I would post a picture of a Mediterranean Gull a bird that belongs in slightly warmer climates but I took this shot on the Lancashire coast,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

An Evening Silhouette...

With the recent influx of Waxwings, it has inspired me to have a look at the pictures that I took two winters and have a bit of a mess around,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/500. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Sing Away The Winter Blues...

Such a readily over looked bird but truly one of my favourites, no matter what the weather they'll always sit there proudly singing and this is ever more apparent during the winter month, empty woods can be fill with life at the break of a Robins song, I truly love these birds and they shine even brighter this time of year, I found this bird just by following it's song through a wood were no other birds were calling,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

There Back...

Well it's that time of year and all the wonderful winter species returning, one of my favourite parts of winter is watching the Whooper Swans return to my local wetlands trust and slowly over the last two weeks their numbers have increased to just over 700 birds providing some great photo opportunities,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/1250. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

A True Autumnal Feel...

Well this weekend was the first time this year I noticed how much the colours are changing around the countryside, we are truly in autumn and it's never looked so good, I mush be the most photogenic season,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 32mm, Aperture: F.14, Shutter Speed 1/40. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

In The Morning Due...

I Took this picture this morning while walking around Martin Mere, while stood in the In Focus shop this stoat came running past the window no more than 2-3 metre away, stopping for a second I took a quick snap then it disappeared, still with the cold autumn air hanging a round, he/she was soaked from the due covered grass,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/500. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

In Search Of A Fungi...

I Took this shot while walking around Mere Sands Wood, the nature was generally very quiet so I decided to take a few pictures of a fungi, recently inspired by one of my Flicker contacts,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 37mm, Aperture: F.5.6, Shutter Speed 1/125. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

A little bit Snowy...

Not Quite The King...

I took this picture last weekend while walking around Martin Mere, the sky was very over cast and there were only a few birds that stood out but I think that you'll agree that it would take a lot to make an Eider Duck look boring,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 155mm, Aperture: F.6, Shutter Speed 1/400. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

The Risen Mist...

I took this shot while walking down the River Ribble, I took it just after the mist had cleared,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 18mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/400. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

how to wash Colours

I Took this picture while walking around Martin Mere, I have always thought that they are so unusual and I have struggled capturing capturing them in the past without them looking to weird but this one was having a bath close to the edge so I set up and took a few shots, I like to think that I captured this ones better side,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 116mm, Aperture: F.6, Shutter Speed 1/500. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Dribbling Mute...

I took this picture while walking around a local nature reserve, with nothing unusual around I decided to slow down and take some shots of our more common bird, which I really enjoyed,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 155mm, Aperture: F.6, Shutter Speed 1/500. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

That Time Of Year...

It's that time of year and the geese are starting to congregate in large numbers, yesterday I went to Martin Mere were there was a record count for the reserve of 32,000 pink feet, on a number of occasions they all took to the sky and what a sceptical, the noise was amazing, no picture could do it justice...



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Broken Dragon...

I took this picture down the side of the Ribble, noticing that this Dragon Fly had a broken left wing, I waited around to see if it could fly properly, after a short period of time it took the the sky and disappeared with no problem, leaving me happy,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/1250. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Enjoying The Autumn Sun...

This picture was taken at Martin Mere, I saw this Tufted Duck having a clean and enjoying the afternoon sun,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/1000. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Dash Of Colour...

This picture was taken while walking in my local area, one of the only flowers that I could find,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/1600. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Eyes To The Skies...

I Took this picture while walking along the River Ribble as I passed under a pylon so I decided to take a picture looking up from the centre,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.14, Shutter Speed 1/160. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

First time out...

Well since my recent move to Preston, I have been out in the local area, so I decided to headed off sown the River Ribble to see what I come across, when out I saw many different birds including Knot, Little Egret and Snipe but few photo opportunities were presented so I only took a few snaps, hope that you like it,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

The Lamb Of God...

This is one of my favourite shots that I have taken, I was walking around the Rivington as the sun started to set sending rays of sun sweeping across the landscape, rather than just taking a picture of the sky, I decided to try and incorporate a subject, so I got low to the ground and took a shot up hill looking to the summit,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 70mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/1600. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

You've All Heard Of Morning Glory, Now I've Experienced Evening Glory...

I Took this picture while walking around Mere Sands Wood, the sun was just beginning to set and it cast a lovely ambient glow across the lake, for me a true magic moment,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/320. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping

Time Flows By...

Why is it that as you start to get older time seems to speed up, days become hours, months become weeks and before you know it it's new year you have to start all over. Recently I have felt as though time is running away and I can't keep up with life and everything happens so fast; so I thought that a still motion photo would be fitting with my thoughts and feeling,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Lurking Through The Shadows...

Walking down a river under the shadow of the trees, it felt like the sun was avoiding me but it showed off a few nice photo opportunities,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Little Frog...

walking around one of the big lakes that we visited in France we noticed this tiny little frog hopping along the beach, not sure what type it was but thought it was cute,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Before The Autumn Mist Takes Then Away...

It's that time of year, the nights are getting colder, longer and they seem darker than ever, the misty morning are starting to creep in and the flowers are starting to disappear so I took a recent opportunity to take a few snaps,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 52mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/200. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Galvanised God...

While travelling around France, we came across a lot of religious figures and statues even in the smallest towns, this picture was taken in one of the smaller towns that we past through and these were by far the nicest ones that we saw, they looked as though they had been galvanised or covered in a thin coat of metal and amazingly looked after,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 22mm, Aperture: F.14, Shutter Speed 1/200. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

On The Inside Looking Out...

I Took this shot while walking around the open gardens, I thought it made a nice picture,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 18mm, Aperture: F.11, Shutter Speed 1/80. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

In A Flutter Of Gold...

I took this picture while walking around the garden of our second villa, I hope that you like it,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/1250. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

From A Different Angle...

I went for a walk around an open gardens and wanted to try and capture the plants in a different way, I hope that you like it,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 18mm, Aperture: F.14, Shutter Speed 1/200. ISO: 400,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Hopping Around

I took this picture while travelling around France, we stopped by a river to fish for Brown Bullheads when it hopped on a rock at the side of me, still not to sure what type it is, so any help is welcome,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/1000. ISO: 800,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.