Hello & Welcome

Hi

Welcome to my blog. In addition to updating the News & Features of my website I am going to be posting a blog whenever I can. The blog will be more personal - with tales from my photographic enterprises, commissions etc as well as offering hints and tips to other photographers.

After all digital is new, relatively, and although I jumped ship very early (like when digital cameras were the same price as a terraced house) I still learn things that make pictures betters and/or life easier every time I pick up a camera/work on the computer/talk to other photographers - in fact pretty much everyday.

The weather has been really terrible up here on the north east coast of scotland (where I live). I live here funnily enough because of the weather. Now, that sounds a bit arse about face but Scotland is now the only part of the British Isles to really experience seasons. As a wildlife and landscape photographer I want seasons. I like snow, and cold frosts from the point of view of the landscape. I love the light we have up here - although in winter we get so few hours of it! Even that has its advantages - you know that the best time to take photos is usually the two hours after dawn and two before dusk? Well, in winter that means 8.30ish-10.30ish and then 2.00ish-4.ooish. Beats a southern sunrise at 3am handsdown! I get more sleep for starters and in winter the light never really gets bad so long as it got good in the first place.

Of course, this week, it didn't get good. It just got grey, and then we got wet. It rained almost non-stop for three days at the start of the week, then it hailed, then it snowed, then it rained some more.

You can't even photograph sealife when the weather is this bad. IF you can get a boat out then you'll be hard pushed to find the dolphins or the even the seals and IF you do then you'll probably find they are concentrating on feeding and not their usual playfull selves.

I like to watch, and photograph, the seals that come assure about 10 minutes from where I live but having watched them over the last two years I know that they don't come assure when its raining. I think this is because they don't like the rain hitting their faces and especially their eyes. They tend to squint for a couple of minutes at most when its raining before making there way back into the water. They often stick close to shore and even rest on their backs floating as a way to rest but they won't sit on the rocks if the rain comes down.

They don't pup near me so they have no reason to stay ashore. At the moment the numbers close to me are reduced as the females have gone to their normal spot to have their young.

I have to agree with them that here is not a good place as people have little respect for them and often get far to close and let their children run about the rocks near them. I wouldn't want to raise my young here either if I was a seal.

I am waiting for the time when some kid falls on the rocks (which are pitted, covered in seaweeds and lichens and full of rock pools), breaks their ankles and then we all get pushed further back and taking photos becomes ever harder due to the idiot behaviour of some family (invariably tourists).

Oh, well, enough of my musings for today. Welcome again to my blog.

Jan