Diffuse

For this series of images I wanted to experiment further mixing ink and water together to create abstract forms for my photography project 'submerged'. This shoot resulted in some more unusual shots, some of which seem to resemble animals in a subtle way! This shot for example, begins to look like flamingos taking off into the sky, from the waters surface. I achieved this effect by dropping several tiny blobs of food coloring into the water in a line in quick succession!

Flamingos - f/13 | 1/500 sec | ISO 200

For this particular image I had dropped a large amount of the pale blue dye in followed by lots of darker blue in little drops, creating the explosive effect in the shot. It almost looks like an elephant splashing water - or maybe that's just my imagination!

Elephant - f/9 | 1/400 sec | ISO 400

This photograph is a simple capture of the food coloring moments after it fell into the water - before it had fully diffused. To create the thickness in these photographs I mixed food coloring with cream so that it took longer to diffuse into the water and made more unusual shapes and forms for me to capture.

Swirling Ink - f/13 | 1/400 sec | ISO 200

I like the composition of this shot with the dye collecting at the top and bottom of the image creating a frame around the unusual shapes towards the middle.

Of Red and Blue - f/10 | 1/640 sec | ISO 400

The images I captured during this shoot have a studio feel to them but they were actually shot outside on a bright sunny day! I placed a large square vase on a table with white paper underneath which reflected sunlight into the water allowing for a faster shutter speed (important when capturing the dye quickly)! I had a giant wooden board propped up behind with white paper blu-tacked onto it for the background. The only issue was making sure the shadow cast by the backdrop didn't land where the vase was - so I had to keep an eye on the suns position in the sky!

Submerged

Submerged Petal - f/8 | 1/200 sec | ISO 400

An experimental shot from my A2 photography exam work. Following a theme of submerged I experimented with sinking flowers into lemonade, resulting in lots of tiny bubbles forming over them creating an interesting sense of texture and patterns. I love the depth of field in this shot with the bubbles in the background glittering where they are in softer focus. 

European Brown Bears

European Brown Bear - f/3.2 | 1/60 sec | ISO 1600

Young Bear Yawning - f/5.6 | 1/60 sec | ISO 1600

European Brown Bear II - f/5.6 | 1/60 sec | ISO 1600

After two nights in a bear hide in Estonia these are some of my favorite shots of the European brown bear! We saw five individuals including two 1 years olds and their mother which was fantastic! At one point on the second night two males chased the cubs right to the top of a tree and they remained stuck up there for hours! It was amazing to see how quickly they were able to climb trees even the larger adults were able to run vertically half-way up a tree in a matter of moments. 

European Brown Bear III - f/5.6 | 1/100 sec | ISO 1600

Raccoon Dog

Raccoon Dog - f/3.5 | 1/400 sec | ISO 400

During our time in the bear hide in Estonia we had the opportunity to see several individual raccoon dogs! - Yes they are called raccoon dogs not just raccoon's - although the look similar they are not closely related.  

On the second night one was determined to get to the fish despite two large male bears chasing  the mother and cubs away from the food and up a tree  it continued to sneak around in the longer grass, going undetected which was very funny to watch. I like the way each one seemed to have a personality of its own!

Mute Swan

Swan - f/5.6 | 1/640 sec | ISO 200

A mute swan emerging from the grass on the river bank at an Estonian nature reserve.

Endla Bog

Fisheye - f/14 | 1/40 sec | ISO 100

Reflections - f/8 | 1/125 sec | ISO 400

We visited Endla Bog early one morning in Estonia and the landscape was breathtaking, we followed a wooden board-walk over some of the ponds and it was a wonderful experience, despite arriving just after sunrise the light was still very nice for photography!

Wagtail

Wagtail on Drystone Wall - f/5.6 | 1/320 sec | ISO 200

Wagtails are possibly the cutest bird ever, I spent a long time sneaking up to this drystone wall to try to get a closer picture, I like the bookeh effect from the dandelions behind!

Frog

Showing off - f/5.6 | 1/640 sec | ISO 100

Another highlight of the Estonia trip was when we saw a group of frogs showing off to one another in a river. It almost looks like they are wearing arm-bands! 

Red Fox

Red Fox - f/5.6 | 1/400 sec | ISO 1600

On the second night in a bear hide in Estonia we saw two beautiful foxes! They have got to be one of my favorite animals and this was a lovely moment when the first fox looked straight at us. 

Jumping Spider

Jumping Spider - f/6.3 | 1/125 sec | ISO 200

A jumping spider I photographed while I was in Estonia. It was difficult to get a good shot as it jumped away when you got close and then you had to find it again - it was tiny! I used my tamron 90mm macro lens which enables me to reveal miniature details you'd never normally see. 

Estonian River Photography

Rocks and Water - f/22 | 4 sec | ISO 100

River Scape in the Evening - f/11 | 30 sec | ISO 400

These are my favorite shots of rivers in Estonia. I took them as it got dark in the evening which cast interesting light and enabled the use of a longer exposure, resulting in the beautiful impression of the flow of water along the river.

Flowers of Estonia

Lady's Slipper Orchids - f/4.5 | 1/1000 sec | ISO 100

Little Blue - f/4.5 | 1/320 sec | ISO 200

Dawn - f/5 | 1/200 sec | ISO 400

Just a few of the flowers we saw in Estonia.

Forest at Dawn

Between the Trees - f/4.5 | 1/800 sec | ISO 200

Misty Forest - f/3.5 | 1/1000 sec | ISO 200

Many of the forested areas of Estonia still feel truly wild and these photographs were shot as the sun rose while the morning mist lingered. 

Beaver Boat Trip

European Beaver - f/5.6 | 1/500 sec | ISO 400

On my visit to Estonia we had the opportunity to go on a boat trip out in a nature reserve to see beavers at dusk. This beaver was our first sighting and is my favorite photograph with the beaver carrying the green plant in its mouth and the greens reflected beautifully on the waters surface. 

River Scape - f/7.1 | 1/500 sec | ISO 800

Adder

Young Adder - f/5 | 1/250 sec | ISO 400

This baby adder we found curled up asleep in the doormat of one of the guesthouses we stayed at, the blades of grass give a sense of scale it was actually pretty tiny!

One of my many photographs from my recent trip to Estonia, led by professional wildlife photographers Neil Aldridge and Remo Savisaar. We saw some spectacular landscapes and a variety of creatures great and small during the trip, and there were beautiful opportunities for wildlife photography! Highlights include a visit to a bear hide in the forest where we had sightings of five bears as well as red foxes, racoon dogs and woodpeckers, amazing!

Fowlmere Through The Seasons

This series of images illustrate the pattern of the seasons over a year at Fowlmere Nature Reserve situated in South Cambridgeshire. The location has sparked my interest in natural history since my first visit as a child, with a variety of habitats, including a lake, reed beds, hawthorn scrub, a chalk stream and meadow. My work aims to capture the artistic beauty in nature and bring attention to local wildlife. This is important because Fowlmere provides an oasis for wildlife in a landscape largely dominated by intensive agriculture or large urban developments. The reed-beds at Fowlmere represent a rare habitat that was once a key character of the area but grows scarcer as land is drained for development.

Winter 

Spring

Summer

Autumn

A New Beginning

Spring Moss - f/5.6 | 1/125 sec | ISO 400

I have decided to make a blog, now that I have finished my A level exams I finally have the time to do so! So here is where i'll post some of my favorite photographs and the stories they often tell. During the course of my gap year I will be travelling around New Zealand among other places so I am sure there will be many interesting photography adventures in the near future!

To begin my blog I have chosen this photo - moss has got to be one of the best things to photograph when your out with a macro lens - I like how the moss on this close up scale almost seems like a woodland in miniature!