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PHOTOGRAPH GARDEN WILDLIFE + INTIMATE LANDSCAPES + BEST TENTS AND BIVVIES

landscape | wildlife | nature | adventure

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Seeing the world in B&W Our showcase of atmospheric black & pictures (see page 86) is a wonderful reminder of the power of monochrome. When colour film became widely available, it was expected that people would stop shooting in black & white. In fact, while most people used colour film to photograph birthdays and holidays, black & white remained popular among many dedicated photographers. It was much easier to print your own black & white pictures, which meant you had more control over the outcome so the pictures were more creative.

THE ISSUE at a glance

More recently, when digital cameras came along, it was again feared black & white would become obsolete. Now photographers could shoot in colour and process their work at home without having to use chemicals and a darkroom. But while the vast majority of pictures are in colour, there’s something special about black & white photography that has ensured its survival.

For all its beauty, colour can sometimes be a distraction. When the colour is removed, we become more aware of light and shadow, texture and form. Converting to black & white can add drama to landscapes and wildlife shots, it can make portraits more compelling and photojournalism more powerful.

Talented landscape photographer Dylan Nardini – page 10 TOP STRAP

Black & white pictures retain a visual connection with the early days of photography, but the best monochrome pictures do not look dated. Instead, they seem timeless.

Contemporary photographers such as Nick Brandt and Michael Kenna have produced beautiful wildlife and landscape pictures that move the heart and stir the mind.

They enable us to see the world differently.

LEARNING ZONE Solitary mining bee peeping behind a pink rose petal.

How to bring wildlife to your garden Our gardens can be safe havens for wildlife, a quiet spot for us to relax and a great place for macro photography. Matt Doogue looks at how wildflowers, ponds and simple fieldcraft can help get you started I’ve been a macro photographer for more than a decade and I’ve travelled far and wide in search of macro subjects, but most of them, you will be surprised to know, were found in my back garden. I once did a challenge where I tried to photograph 100 different species over 100 days in my garden, and I succeeded. There’s so much to find and even the most derelict of gardens will no doubt house some form of arthropod. And the more you grow your garden, the more it will attract.

Gardens are not only great to look at, they are vital for declining wildlife such as bees, and it’s safe to say that having a garden, whether that be your own or a community garden, will boost your mental wellbeing. In fact, simply observing wildlife and spending time in nature has been proven to boost our mood.

Enjoy the issue.

Mark Bentley

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01/06/2021 14:40

How to bring wildlife to your garden – page 30

Pictures to restore body and soul – page 38 ON THE COVER Picture by Dylan Nardini See our interview on page 10.

GET IN TOUCH Email markbe@thegmcgroup.com Write to us Outdoor Photography, 86 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1XN Keep right up to date with news by ‘liking’ OP at facebook.com/outdoorphotographymag Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/opoty

Krista McCuish answers our questions – page 42

Find us on Instagram at instagram.com/outdoorphotographymag

Outdoor Photography 1

10

FEATURES & OPINION 10 In conversation with…

Dylan Nardini We talk to the new Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year

18 One month, one picture Pete Bridgwood on Mother Nature’s heavenly hues

28 Lie of the land

LEARNING ZONE

LOCATIONS GUIDE

Guy Edwardes points his camera skywards

30 Nature on your doorstep

45 Viewpoints

Our gardens are a haven for wildlife, and a great place for macro photography, says Matt Doogue

This month’s best locations around the UK and Ireland

38 Intimate landscapes Lockdown and illness prompted Margaret Soraya to adopt a new approach

36 Blending exposures 42 In the spotlight

20 Push back the sandbags Niall Benvie considers how we can make creative practice more central in our lives

22 The conservation of charity How the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and Kew Gardens have managed during lockdown 2 Outdoor Photography

Beautiful pictures by Canadian photographer Krista McCuish

Richard Garvey-Williams on how to blend exposures to cope with high-contrast scenes

53 Inside track A rock god inspires Nick Smith to join a photography workshop

54 Showcase Our pick of the images in Bird Photographer of the Year 2021

NEXT ISSUE ON SALE 15 JULY

45

28

22 42

NATURE ZONE 68 Life in the wild Laurie Campbell on ethics, or the lack of them, in nature photography

GEAR ZONE

REGULARS

YOUR OP

76 The OP guide to…

6 Newsroom

60 Reader Gallery

In the first of a new series, we look at five of the best tents and bivvies

All the latest from the world of outdoor photography

Send us your best pictures and win a great prize

8 Out There

66 Your chance

A look at the best new books and exhibitions

Discover how to get your work published in OP

70 Nature guide 83 Next issue

Laurie’s tips on what to shoot this month

What’s coming up in OP 270

76

72 A moment with nature Andrew Mason comes face to face with an inquisitive young badger

78 Camera test We put the DJI Mini 2 drone through its paces

74 On the wing How Steve Young’s feathered friends kept him sane during lockdown

80 Gearing up The latest must-have kit for photographers

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE Have Outdoor Photography delivered direct to your door and save up to 30%.

See page 52.

86 If you only do one thing this month…

Your stunning atmospheric black & white images, plus our next challenge

96 Where in the world?

Identify this mystery location and win a great prize Outdoor Photography 3

OPENING SHOT Fermenting Fish Sauce

by Chin Leong Teo The pleasures, production and politics of food are documented in this year’s Pink Lady ® Food Photographer of the Year. This photograph by Chin Leong Teo shows fish sauce produced traditionally in clay urns.

Pictures by the finalists can be seen at a free exhibition at the Royal Photographic Society in Bristol from 20 November to 12 December.

© Chin Leong Teo / Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2021

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Outdoor Photography 5

THE LATEST BULLETINS

NEWSROOM CONSERVATION

NEW LAUNCHES

COMPETITIONS

OUTDOORS

TECHNOLOGY

OTHER NEWS

White-tailed sea-eagle © Fahad Alenezi

BPOTY finalists revealed The Bird Photographer of the Year 2021 finalists have been chosen – and a small selection have been released (see page 54), giving enthusiasts a fascinating preview of what’s to come when the winners are announced on 1 September. A cash prize of £5,000 awaits the winner.

More than 22,000 images were entered from 73

different countries. ‘The standard of photography was incredibly high, and the diversity in different species was great to see,’ said Will Nicholls, wildlife cameraman and BPOTY director.

‘Now the judges are going to have a tough time deciding the winner of the competition.’

Now in its sixth year, BPOTY supports

grassroots consideration projects through its charity partner Birds on the Brink (birdsonthebrink.co.uk).

A hardback, 256-page book featuring the winning BPOTY 2021 images will be published

by William Collins later in the year. Visit birdpoty.com for details.

Everest anniversary

Walk this way

The Folio Society is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the earliest British reconnaissance of Everest with a lavish two-volume photography book. Titled Everest, From Reconnaissance to Summit, 1921 to 1953, this all-encompassing collection details five key expeditions, from the first attempted summit in 1922 and the fateful climb in 1924 that claimed the lives of Mallory and Irvine, to Hillary and Tenzing’s triumphant ascent in 1953.

The first volume, A Photographic History, includes 268 images documenting the gorges, glaciers, ice fields, pinnacles and close-ups of the ascents, while the second volume, An Eyewitness History, comprises explorers’ testimony via articles and dispatches, memoirs, official reports and private letters. Both are housed in a pictorial slipcase.

Slow Ways’ website is live! The not-forprofit initiative, designed to create a national network of off-road walking routes connecting the UK’s cities, towns and villages, mapped 7,000 Slow Ways stretching for more than 100,000km during the first lockdown, courtesy of a dedicated team of volunteers.

To find a route, you can use the Slow Ways search box or browse the map – and then download GPX files on to your walking app of choice. All information is free to view, share and download. Share your walks, photos and stories with the hashtag #SlowWays. Get involved at slowways.org.

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Wade Davis, an authority on early Everest expeditions, penned the intro, while Jan Morris, the last surviving member of the 1953 expedition, wrote the preface prior to her death in 2020.

Everest is available exclusively from the Folio Society for £199. Visit foliosociety.com for details.

EDITED BY BEN HAWKINS

Art with a mission

Dylan Nardini wins SLPOTY Dylan Nardini has been named Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year 2021. His winning portfolio includes three images that each depict suitably dramatic views of the Isle of Arran and his local South Lanarkshire stomping ground. The 47-year-old freight train driver believes his passion for landscapes developed while working around the country ‘at every hour of the day’.

‘Knowing that the judges have seen something pleasing in my work is so flattering and has given me a huge boost in what has been a very tough year for so many,’ said Nardini. ‘I’d like to thank my wife Louise and kids Gypsy and Martha for putting up

Arran Light, Isle of Arran © Dylan Nardini

with me going on about light everywhere we go and disappearing early on so many mornings.’

Category winners include Marc Pickering (Landscape Award), Tony Higginson (Seascape Award), Moumita Paul (Urban Award), Waldemar Matusik (Treescapes Award) and Alan Fowler (Your Vision Award).

All winning images will be exhibited in Edinburgh’s new St James Quarter – and selected galleries in the Highlands, restrictions permitting – and published in a limited-edition SPOTY – Collection 7 book, which you can pre-order at slpoty.com.

See interview – page 10

R3 goes pro spec Canon has announced the development of the highspeed and ultra-responsive EOS R3, a professional next-gen mirrorless camera inspired by the EOS-1D series of DSLRs. Although a release date and price are yet to be confirmed, Canon says that spec will include a fullframe BSI stacked CMOS sensor, Digic X processor and 30fps shooting speeds with AF/AE tracking.

However, the most notable feature is an upgraded eye control function, which allows users to select and move AF points using their eye through the viewfinder. This groundbreaking technology was first seen in the EOS 5 way back in 1992 but has yet to make the jump to digital – until now.

The EOS R3 will also boast an integrated grip, Dual Pixel CMOS AF for tracking subjects’ eyes, heads and bodies, and 1D-series water and dust resistance.

Fjällräven has unveiled this year’s Kånken Art backpack. Designed

by Swedish artist Linn Fritz, this is the third version of the Scandinavian outdoor company’s limited-edition backpack, launched annually to celebrate World Ocean Day on 8 June.

Fjällräven aims to highlight the growing problem of plastic pollution in our oceans, encouraging its followers to share their environmental efforts using the hashtag #IRespectNature. Via the company’s Arctic Fox initiative, 1% of sales will be donated to Leave No Trace (lnt.org) and The 2 Minute Foundation (2minute.org), two eco groups already working to reduce plastic waste.

Fjällräven’s Kånken Art backpack will be available from 8 June at fjallraven.com.

Nature hotspots

Birds thrive in lockdown Last year was a bumper time for threatened birds, with many species enjoying a record breeding season, according to a new RSPB report. Highlights include three spoonbill pairs nesting at RSPB Havergate Island for the first time in at least 300 years, 11 young great white egrets fledging at RSPB Burton Mere, and cattle egret breeding at RSPB Pagham Harbour for the first time.

However, not all species prospered. Two male hen harriers, one of which was providing for two busy nests, disappeared, resulting in both nests failing, while no pairs of black-winged stilts were recorded at any RSPB reserves for the second year running.

‘While nature reserves are magical places, on their own they will never be enough to reverse these declines,’ said Martin Harper, RSPB’s director of conservation. ‘In order to stem the loss of nature and help revive our world, governments across the UK need to ensure 30% of land is protected and managed for nature while action is taken to remove the direct threats facing threatened species such as illegal killing or the introduction of invasive nonnative species.’

To read the full report, go to https://tinyurl. com/48d3f8hu.

The UK’s 15 most popular nature photography hotspots have been revealed in a new study compiled by ethical men’s clothing brand Absolutely Bear. The survey analysed hashtag data with the aim of reconnecting urbanites with nature. So, here is the list in full, along with the number of Instagram posts in brackets…

1. Lake District, Cumbria (3,640,121) 2. Dorset Downs, Hampshire (1,031,686) 3. Stonehenge, Wiltshire (801,241) 4. Kew Gardens, London (663,533) 5. Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire and Cumbria (610,447) 6. Loch Ness, Inverness (564,176) 7. Loch Lomond, Southern Scotland (508,420) 8. Richmond Park, London (418,571) 9. Brecon Beacons, South Wales (404,791) 10. Seven Sisters, Sussex (371,730) 11. Giant’s Causeway, County Antrim (307,412) 12. Durdle Door, Dorset (266,193) 13. Ben Nevis, Scottish Highlands (218,041) 14. Eden Project, Cornwall (206,427) 15. Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire (161,773)

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to create the right atmosphere, they shed light on the wrecks, illuminating details that offer insights into life on board, such as engine order telegraphs, radio equipment, personal belongings and decorative features.

Douglas, a historian, goes to great lengths to try to identify each vessel, and his informative captions demonstrate his deep knowledge on the subject. However, the photographs stand alone in this book. Each one represents a voyage that was never completed, often under disastrous circumstances; Ghost Ships is as much a tribute to the many people who perished at sea as it is a record of the shipwrecks.

© Andy Howard

OUT THERE BOOKS The Secret Life of the Otter Andy Howard Sandstone Press Hardback, £24.99 To catch a fleeting glimpse of an otter in the wild is a rare and special thing; to be able to enjoy hours in their company, often in close proximity, is an amazing accomplishment.

Through skill, patience and dedication, Highlands-based photographer Andy Howard has achieved this feat. ‘For me,’ he says, ‘there is little more satisfying than being close to an otter that has no notion of my presence, which allows for intimate observation.’

In his new book, which follows The Secret Life of the Mountain Hare (2018) and The Secret Life of the Cairngorms (2019), Howard opens up the world of otters to us through some of his most memorable encounters. He reveals how these fascinating animals hunt and play, the beauty of their movement, their fierce battles over territory and how they raise their young.

Most of the images are from Shetland and Mull, showing how the otters interact with the kelprich, rugged coastal environments they inhabit and in which they are so well camouflaged.

There is also a separate section on the sea otters of Vancouver Island in Canada.

Well-written, informative and wonderful to look at, The Secret Life of the Otter is an essential book on one of our most captivating and endearing animals. It is also a masterclass in wildlife photography, offering inspiration about what can be achieved with finely tuned fieldcraft skills.

Ghost Ships of the Baltic Sea Photography by Jonas Dahm; words

by Carl Douglas Max Ström Hardback, £35 In Ghost Ships, Jonas Dahm and Carl Douglas combine their diving and photography skills to take us to the depths of the Baltic Sea to reveal some of the many thousands of shipwrecks that lie untouched on the seabed.

The vessels – which include 17th-century military vessels, elaborately carved 18thcentury ships and warships from the Second World War – are miraculously preserved due to the unique properties of the Baltic; its waters are too cold and brackish for the shipworm (Teredo navalis) to thrive.

The photographers’ aim is to give the reader a sense of what they feel when they visit the ships.

The images are printed full-page to immerse the reader in this eerie, deep-sea landscape, with no distracting text (captions are confined to the end of each chapter). Using the darkness

© Jonas Dahm

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New Beginnings Edited by John Ash and Paul Gotts Standard book £15 (plus £2.95 postage) from newbeginnings.crd.co John Ash and Paul Gotts have channelled their book-making skills into an interesting new project. With the easing of Covid restrictions and the prospect of better times ahead, they asked six fellow photographers to make some images around the theme of New Beginnings. The resulting work is now available in the form of a book, with a limited-edition handmade version (£125) and prints also for sale. All proceeds will go to mental health charity YoungMinds.

The photographers who took part are: Tim Allott, Susi Petherick, Valerie Dalling, Jan Beesley, Andy Holliman and Andrew Atkinson.

There are some intriguing responses to the theme, from Atkinson’s 10-frame series showing a tulip’s evolution from bud to bloom, to Allott’s images celebrating the successful restoration of the UK’s peat bogs. Two of the more abstract and unconventional image sets come from Dalling, who was inspired by the gritstone crags of Curbar Edge in the Peak District; and Beesley, who found solace in the trees.

All captured in April 2021, the photographs offer a snapshot of life during a transitionary period as our freedoms are restored and the landscape reawakens. Complete with personal statements from the photographers and a foreword by Doug Chinnery, this is a book that comes with a message of hope while supporting a very worthy cause.

© Tim Allott

EDITED BY CLAIRE BLOW © Nicholas Roemmelt (Germany)

EXHIBITION WITH A DIFFERENCE

EXHIBITIONS Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020 National Maritime Museum, London To 8 August The shortlist of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021 is set to be unveiled in June, and the new exhibition will open in September at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. In the meantime, you can see the winning images from the 2020 competition at the museum.

From distant galaxies to our very own Milky Way and neighbouring planets, the 32 pictures on display reflect our enduring fascination with the night sky. Highlights include The Green Lady by Nicholas Roemmelt (pictured), which won the Aurorae category. rmg.co.uk Pete Davis: The Expressive Land – Seen Through a Glass Screen Ffotogaleri y Gofeb, Machynlleth, Powys To 25 September Pete Davis began his photographic career working in advertising and fashion, but since moving to rural west Wales in the late 1970s he has successfully combined landscape photography with teaching (including 18 years as senior lecturer in documentary photography

at the University of Wales, Newport). Over the past 30 years he has travelled extensively around the UK, Europe and the USA, undertaking various projects. The Expressive Land (also available in book form) features images from several major bodies of work made during this time, with a particular focus on the sometimes-intangible relationship with the land and those who have lived and worked within it over the centuries. Taken with a large view camera, the photographs, a mixture of black & white and colour, are displayed alongside Davis’ notes made on location, giving insights into his working methods. ffotogaleriygofeb.co.uk

Ancient and Remarkable Trees of the New Forest New Forest Heritage Centre, Hampshire 19 June to 18 July For the last five years David Russell has been documenting the oldest and strangest trees of the New Forest. And this summer, his largeformat photographs can be enjoyed at the New Forest Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst. Russell’s aim with the project is to increase people’s appreciation of the woodlands of the New Forest, which have survived centuries of exploitation and are now under new and increasing threats

© Pete Davis

Seedscapes: Future-Proofing Nature Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter To 5 September Following its debut at Bradford’s Impressions Gallery, this enlightening exhibition highlights the current biodiversity crisis and the global efforts that are underway to safeguard vital plant species from extinction. It features the work of five artists – Dornith Doherty, Sant Khalsa, Chrystel Lebas, Heidi Morstang and Liz Orton – who have collaborated with leading biologists and ecologists to explore the theme. The work on display includes Doherty’s Archiving Eden project comprising her photographs of seed banks from around the world – from an antique wood-panelled herbarium in St Petersburg to a high-tech lab in Brasilia; and Morstang’s film taking the viewer on a mesmerising journey to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Arctic Norway.

Seedscapes is an Impressions Gallery touring exhibition curated by Liz Wells in association with the Dick Institute and Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery. rammuseum.org.uk © Liz Orton

Untitled from Splitters and Lumpers, 2012.

from climate change, disease and development.

Reflecting on a year overshadowed by Covid-19, he also hopes to highlight how important these peaceful, natural spaces are for our well-being. newforestheritage.org.uk

© David Russell

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In conversation with

Dylan Nardini British landscaper Dylan Nardini has just scooped two national awards in quick succession for his stunning images of his local Scottish wilderness. ‘It all went a bit crazy,’ he says.

Interview by Nick Smith

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Summer mist

TOP STRAP here’s something reassuringly old fashioned about Dylan Nardini’s landscapes. There’s a simplicity to them that speaks of a photographer that gets into the right place at the right time of day in the right conditions. The compositions are meticulously crafted with strong lines. His colours are subtly muted.

In fact, there’s nothing fancy in a powerful portfolio that gets the job done, tells you what the Scottish landscape is like. The images seem so fresh because, such is the 48-year-old Scottish photographer’s passion for scouting off-the-beaten track locations, you’ve probably never seen these views of Scotland before.

Nardini agrees that it’s all straightforward in the sense that: ‘I try to make everything look as realistic as possible. I like to do things in a traditional way. And I’m quite happy to be called old fashioned.’

The South Lanarkshire-based landscaper is third generation Italian, originally hailing from Tuscany, inheriting his family name from his father’s side, immigrants that came to the UK in the early 20th century: ‘Everybody in the west of Scotland knows somebody from Tuscany. That’s the link. I speak a bit of Italian and I did go over there every summer,’ he says, alluding to how life has changed since the lockdown restrictions came into place just over a year ago. Referring to his forename, Dylan says he has work friends who call him the ‘Welsh-Italian’, on the assumption that there’s a parental homage to Wales’s most famous

T

Arran light

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poet. But in fact, he says, it derives from his folk musician father’s love of Bob Dylan (who claims he changed his surname from Zimmerman in honour of Dylan Thomas).

As circular as these associations may appear, what is beyond doubt is that Dylan Nardini has just been awarded the title of overall winner of the 2021 edition of the prestigious Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. The official announcement from the organisers reads in part that the award was for ‘three stunning images shot in the Isle of Arran and in his local area of South Lanarkshire. They include: Arran Light, which captures the dynamics of typical Scottish changeable April weather on the beautiful west coast island; Submerged, a dramatic image of winter light peppering the landscape near Leadhills, the highest village in Scotland; and Vice Versa which is an intimate late autumnal shot of vibrant fallen foliage on cold blue rocks of the banks of Avon Water in Chatelherault Country Park.’

The BBC News website saw a different, more distinctly tabloid-ish headline angle – ‘Freight train driver wins landscape photography award’ – that Nardini finds vaguely irritating.

Understandably, he doesn’t want to go down in history as the train-driving photographer.

‘I think the narrative would have been more interesting if the BBC had said I was a photographer that also drives trains. But the fact that I am a train driver seemed to really click with the media. But it’s not really all that

relevant,’ he says. His frustration gets a little deeper when he explains that he does interviews with journalists who start out with the assumption that photography is just a hobby: the implication being there’s an element of luck involved with his rising to become one of the most talented landscapers in Scotland today. ‘It bothers me a wee bit when they say that. And although I wouldn’t describe myself as a fulltime professional, I’ve put in a lot of thought and effort over the years to get to where I am now.’ This effort has been further rewarded by winning the landscape photography category of this year’s British Photography Awards (BPA) for his image Enlightenment. ‘It all went a bit crazy for a week,’ he says.

While many photographers recall becoming involved in the craft as a gradual process with deep creative roots in their childhood, Nardini can pinpoint the exact moment he became a landscape photographer. ‘It was in 2014 – 100 per cent – when I found myself with a few hours on Croy beach on the west coast of Scotland one March afternoon. The weather was typically Scottish. There was sun, hailstones, horizontal freezing rain and a good stiff wind off the sea, with clouds moving quickly across the sky. I had got hold of some cheap filters, an unsteady tripod and some knowledge of how to shoot seascapes from one of the monthly magazines.

I was all over the place: my filters were wet, the tripod was moving in the wind and my fingers were freezing. But I remember looking up at one point at the driving rain and low soft light

Soft light over Aberfoyle breaking through the clouds and saying to myself: ‘‘This is great. This is what I want to do. Photography.’’’

Nardini admits that he had no idea how naive he really was as a landscaper when he first started out. ‘I’d go to places and take photographs and come back thinking they were great. But what I didn’t know is that

I’d been to a hotspot.’ At the same time, the photographer signed up on social media and, looking at other photography posts of his local area, started to realise, ‘I’ve been there. I’ve been there, too’. And then it dawned on him that ‘everyone’s been there. So that’s when I started doing a bit of research, picking up a few books and going on workshops. That really helped me

to find my own subject matter.’

In describing his work, Nardini uses adjectives such as ‘fresh’ and ‘naive’. ‘What I mean by that,’ he says, ‘is that I have no preconceptions about where I shoot my images. But if a place is popular with other photographers, I’ll tend to stay away from it.’ When he goes on workshops with other people, he’ll be the one photographer

Piercing light

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Autumn twist

Shepherd’s bothie

Road to winter

Winter’s stand

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Vice versa

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Picking out the light that breaks away from the group, ‘not because I’m antisocial or anything like that. It’s just that I want to see something maybe a little different.

What’s the point in standing in a row with other photographers shooting the same picture? I’d get embarrassed doing that. Because I want to do something different.’

Being based in South Lanarkshire plays into his hands in this respect because ‘it’s not an area that’s known for photography. But I’m also looking for what I have to shoot due to limits on my time. There’s a lot of that because I’ve got a young family and I can’t get away for long periods. So for most of the time I’m shooting

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within an hour of my house, or a couple of hours every so often. And if I’m going to give up time that I have so little of, I’m going to do a lot of research beforehand, checking the weather and so on. I’d say that what I’m looking for is light.

That’s the reason I like winter so much. Every moment can be unique. You can have frost, but then two hours later that’s changed. I’m looking for little bits of variation.’

Although keen not to be regarded as the train-driving photographer, Nardini concedes his professional occupation has brought one important benefit to his creative work. ‘Driving a train means that you spend many hours

looking out of a window. That’s the job. Of course, you’re concentrating on your work, but you also absorb a lot of the landscape subconsciously and you get to know what places look like that might work photographically.’

He says the map app on his smartphone is covered with markers of possible locations to go back to one day, with the advantage for him that those won’t necessarily be places that other people will have seen. While his unique viewpoint from the driver’s seat means he’s continually coming up with fresh ideas, ‘for some of my pictures there might be a railway line only ten feet behind me. But no-one can see

Argyle forest that.’ He also thinks his decades of driving a train through the Scottish landscape will have a lasting influence on how he looks at it, as well as being an experience that will stay with him long after he hangs up his driving gloves.

Perhaps the main factor his day-job has brought to bear on his other life as a photographer is that Nardini has, of necessity, remained semi-professional. But he is already planning for the day, not too far down the

track, when he can retire from the job and take on the role of landscape photographer as a fulltime professional. But for the moment, defining his career in terms of such labels simply presents a layer of detail he sees no need to get bogged down in. More important to him is to hatch a plan for a future filled with time to take images. ‘I’ve done a small book of landscapes in the past, which seemed to go down well and people liked it,’ he says. ‘But I’ve got a couple

of ideas for what’s next. I’d really like to do more on South Lanarkshire because I’ve come to realise that it’s a very unknown landscape – people just drive through it on their way to the Highlands. I’d like to put together a nice hardback book on that. But the most important thing is to turn full-time professional.’

To see more of Dylan Nardini’s photography, visit dylannardini.co.uk

Enlightenment

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OPINION ONE MONTH, ONE PICTURE

Pete Bridgwood is in a harmonious mood this month, as he takes advantage of Mother Nature’s artistic nuances to capture rural scenes of heavenly hues and brilliant greens that speak of new beginnings This is usually the most challenging time of year for landscape photographers. The sun is higher in the sky, reducing textural rendering of the landscape, and the long days necessitate early starts and late finishes for those wishing to capture colourful twilight skies. For those of us seeking to create a more soulful statement with our photography, summer storms may bring the occasional possibility of a suitably dramatic cloudscape, but when the weather is ‘good’, those beautiful picture-postcard scenes of green pastures and fluffy white clouds can quickly quieten our visual voice.

Photographing rural scenes in summer can be a challenging but rewarding pursuit.

This Norfolk field offered the possibility of an uncluttered, minimalist composition and the suggested narrative by the tracks was an additional compelling feature, but it was the colour palette that made it feel special.

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This vibrant pear-green crop and yellow track under a muted blue sky resonated beautifully; all that was required of me was to wait until the clouds moved into a pleasing position.

Received wisdom suggests that the juxtaposition of complementary colour pairs – ‘opposites’ like red and green, orange and blue, or yellow and purple – creates arresting imagery. Alternatively, images like this benefit from the ‘analogous’ colour combinations of yellow, green and blue. Analogous colours are similar colours, those that sit adjacent to each other on the artist’s colour wheel, and they have a harmonising effect when placed adjacent to each other. It’s easy to appreciate the similarity between the analogous yellows and greens in the field, but I think any harmony between the blue sky and the green foreground is more difficult to appreciate.

To harmonise effectively, analogous colours

need to be of similar luminosity and saturation; in the landscape, other than in very specific conditions, the brightness of the sky weakens the harmonising colour analogy. We need not worry though, as on sunny days Mother Nature redresses the balance and ensures our efforts are rewarded by illuminating verdant meadows with these uplifting, heavenly hues.

Even on their own, brilliant greens like this speak directly to our subconscious mind – they are a metaphor for life, new beginnings and youthful energy – and when accompanied by such an enchanting yet understated cerulean cumulus backdrop, we don’t need to try too hard to capture the balmy charm of our sun-kissed countryside.

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OPINION

Push back the sandbags How do we continue to develop as photographers? Niall Benvie considers how we can make creative practice more central in our lives Integrity. Now there’s a loaded word. From its Latin meaning of ‘making whole’, the word has acquired strong moral overtones in its everyday use. Similarly, ‘dissonance’ has been wrestled by the psychological community from its shady corner and forced into a public marriage with ‘cognitive’ to characterise the state of holding one belief but having to act in the opposite way.

Nevertheless, these are the words I’ll use because they are useful ones in discussing how we can make creative practice more central in our lives and the rewards we can reap from doing so.

Creative practice is nothing more complicated than doing things with thought, consideration and care (for yourself and others), and remaining in a state of openness to the possibility that they can be done better or differently or more personally. When I teach photography to students, I am very interested to see how much creative practice overflows from the exercise of their discipline (in this case, photography) into

the rest of their lives. At mealtimes, do they pile food high on their plate or arrange it elegantly?

Is there dissonance between the originality of their photography and choice of generic fonts in their captions? How far, in other words, are they willing to allow their creative practice to overflow before they feel the need to sandbag it? I do this, not in any sort of judgemental way, but rather so I can see where I can give encouragement and perhaps even help them to shove the sandbags back a bit further. In truth, many of us need permission to be honest to our creative selves.

When I finished farming in the late 1980s, I decided – because I was fortunate enough to have choices – that I wanted to live with integrity; that is, for my life and work to be as one. My conservation principles had been sorely tried by my collaboration with modern, chemical farming, no matter how many trees I planted to assuage the guilt. I made the pact many of us make when we are young and naive – that doing fulfilling,

honest work was more important than earning lots of money. Well, that plan worked out! This route, without any way markers, can force an extreme form of creative practice just to keep the show on the road and is certainly not for everyone.

I’ve sometimes wondered if it was even for me.

But 30 years on and there’s a certain sense of satisfaction in seeing how things have joined up.

The way Western people tend to compartmentalise our lives into work and play, and a latent sense in many people that this isn’t how they want to live, provides an easy target for all sorts of online lifestyle coaches. Typically, these silver tongues will regale you with their incredible journey from college dropout or addict or victim of abuse to six-figure social media influencer, achieved by doing nothing more than relentlessly following their dream (which also happens to be yours). Why wouldn’t you buy their cut-price tell-all course? Perhaps a few of these people are genuine, but experience and common sense suggests that following your dream (especially when it’s shared by lots of others) is a shortcut back into a regular job for the vast majority of us. But I think that rather than abandoning the dream, allowing it – your creative impulse – to flow more widely into corners of your life you had previously sandbagged may be just as fulfilling and a lot more realistic.

What does integrity-lite look like? It is the deployment of your creative skills and instincts at every opportunity, of finding new outlets for them, of giving yourself permission. Are your hard drives full of wonderful landscape images but indifferent ones of your family and friends?

Of yourself? Invest time in making new ones.

Figure out ‘brand you’ to clarify your values; this can be useful to head off the ill-defined feelings of cognitive dissonance where heart and head are in conflict. Resist the generic at every turn and substitute it with the personal. Engage with other people through your photography. This summer, every second Tuesday evening, we will be making formal portraits of the 200 or so inhabitants of our village in Burgundy. It’s not for profit but it is a great way of getting to know our neighbours.

Bring your sense of composition, colour and light into whatever space you occupy at work and at home. Apply it to how you dress; apply your values to how you eat. And don’t be afraid, ever, to appear eccentric; it’s the opposite of being staid and you will have more interesting conversations with people who understand what you’re doing than you ever will with tutters and eye-rollers.

Who knows when we will be able to travel again as many of us did before the pandemic? But maybe the first journey we need to make is to that line of sandbags and just push it back a bit further.

Your creative practice can start off with expanding your photographic repertoire into fields you’ve not explored before. Forget that new camera – buy some knowledge instead.

20 Outdoor Photography

TOP STRAP

Outdoor Photography 21

The conservation of charity With life inching back to some kind of normality, Tammy Marlar reports on the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, two charities raring to once again open their doors to a nature-hungry public

Left The WWT London Wetland Centre. Right Kew’s breathtaking Palm House, built between 1844 and 1848, is currently closed due to Covid restrictions.

he news bulletins have given us daily graphs and statistics on those individuals with positive tests, numbers in hospital, those who have died, those who have got their first vaccination, those having had their second. The grim effects of the virus on individuals have been told, graphically, on a daily basis. Businesses’ stories have been told too, particularly sectors such as aviation, retail, tourism and hospitality, which have been hammered by the lockdowns. But what of the impacts on those organisations in the business of conservation and nature protection, especially those that open their doors to the public?

T

In addition to a steady stream of tourists, often these places are a vital mainstay for hundreds of thousands of nature lovers who live, like me, in our frantic metropolis.

These oases provide a place for a temporary immersion in nature and are among the very best photographic locations in the south east. However, their business operations have been upended by the disruption, and their conservation projects have been placed in jeopardy.

I’ve talked to two organisations based locally to me in London to better understand the impacts the pandemic has had on them, and how their vital work has been affected.

The first is the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

Left One of LWC’s demoiselle cranes. Right Backlit grasses at Kew.

22 Outdoor Photography

(WWT), which runs the 105-acre London Wetland Centre (LWC) in Barnes, adjacent to the Thames, and the second is the worldfamous Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, a 300acre site upstream of LWC along the Thames

by Richmond.

Wetlands are essential habitat for all life, but they are disappearing three times faster than forests. WWT is a conservation charity working to save wetlands globally for wildlife, people and our planet. It runs 10 reserves across the UK, managing 3,000 hectares of our best wetland habitat, and providing inspirational experiences to encourage people to value wetlands and learn about the amazing web of life they support.

WWT is a nature photographer’s paradise, with birds and other wildlife – including the crowd-pulling Eurasian otters at LWC – as well as an abundance of landscape, flower and macro photographic opportunities. Some of the seasonal highlights currently are the sand martins and swallows, a wide range of warblers (black caps, chiff chaffs, reed and Cetti’s warbler), dragon and damselflies, and marsh orchids.

The impact of the pandemic and the various lockdowns has been significant, with the LWC seeing a massive 45% reduction in visitation in 2020. Visitation to all 10 WWT wetland sites across the UK fell by 43%. The organisation usually welcomes just over a million visitors a year, but in 2020 this number almost halved (576,000). Kew was forced to close its gates on 22 March 2020, and remained closed until 1 June. This was the longest period of closure in its 260-year history, including during both world wars.

However, Kew benefitted from being allowed to re-open in June and did not have to go through the second and third lockdowns, as WWT was forced to do.

Kew, as one of London’s leading tourist attractions, was hit by both international and national travel restrictions, meaning an absence of both overseas and UK-wide visitors. But Kew’s story has been a lot more positive thanks largely to being classed as a ‘botanical garden’ and permitted to remain open, while WWT has had to lock-down and lock-up three times. For many, nature provided a lifeline during the stresses of lockdown and, according to data provided by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, Kew actually increased its visitor numbers overall compared to other partially closed attractions. But even when they were allowed to re-open, the difference in the numbers of day-paying visitors was as much as a 60% reduction year on year.

This kind of decrease has seen a severe impact on both businesses. For Kew, the loss of income from day-paying visitors, as well as secondary spend from members’ visits over the period, amounted to an estimated £15 million. Kew is financed by a combination of sources, with two-thirds of its annual income coming from memberships, donations, sales and events. Based on these statistics alone, the damage to revenue for charities over this annus horribilis must have taken some financial dexterity to navigate. A significant decline in visitation also affected the organisations’ secondary income: visitors’ spend in shops and cafés on site.

As was the case across all 10 sites, throughout all the lockdowns, but particularly the first, much of WWT’s conservation work on site came to an abrupt

Top White-faced whistling ducks giving each other a scratch. Above A common darter dragonfly.

Outdoor Photography 23

Above A common frog keeping his head above water in a wetlands paradise. Below A helenium flower in late summer at Kew.

24 Outdoor Photography

Above Glorious technicolour during high summer along Kew’s Great Broad Walk. Below The Eurasian otters are a main attraction at the LWC.

Outdoor Photography 25

Above Springtime at the Wetlands. Below The colour king of waterfowl – the mandarin drake.

halt. Vital species-monitoring work was stopped as staff and volunteers were not permitted on site. Measurement is key to assessing whether habitat management and conservation initiatives are proving successful, and revealing any gaps.

Furthermore, accurate data is the keystone to understanding the effects of climate change on migratory species like birds, their adaptations often a direct response to rising global temperatures.

Kew’s ongoing conservation projects, such as time-sensitive collection of seeds and other fieldwork collaborations, were stalled by scientists being unable to go into the field, many having to be on furlough. At Kew’s satellite office in Madagascar, Dr Hélène Ralimanana, who runs Kew’s Madagascar Conservation Centre, says: ‘The virus has caused ill health and much higher prices for essential products, compounding the effects of a continuing drought across the region.

With increasing poverty and food insecurity, there’s been an increase in fires, illegal mining and exploitation of natural resources, particularly forest raiding for fuelwood and charcoal. If the travel restrictions continue, it will have a big impact on biodiversity, because encroachment and illegal activity will increase in the absence of monitoring and patrols.’ The aftershocks of the pandemic for conservation are being felt far and wide.

‘Watching a video really isn’t the same thing as walking in Kew’s 300-acre site or spending peaceful time in one of the Wetlands’ hides in quiet observation.’

Back home, management of workforces was highlighted by both organisations as having a significant impact. After working in the third sector for more than 20 years, I know that moving swiftly and adapting to change is not in most charities’ DNA. This is attributable to governance restrictions, rigid structures that stymie quick decisionmaking and inevitably a lack of capitol to invest in technology and new working practices. Yet both organisations had to service an entire workforce moving to remote working, move to online ticketing and communicate everything clearly every step of the way, both internally and externally. This, together with the management time taken up by furloughing, has been a huge strain.

Once permitted to re-open, ensuring the site adhered to all the Covid health and safety regulations – which were continually tweaked, often ambiguous and inconsistent (verging on non-sensical), and delivered at

26 Outdoor Photography

very short notice – was a major drain both for WWT at their HQ (at Slimbridge), and all the individual centres. The hides have had to remain closed, though they are due to reopen imminently. Measures that had to be undertaken included risk assessments across their operations and visitor experience, increased cleaning routines, hand sanitisers across the sites, one-way systems, screens, a new online booking system and endless briefing to staff and volunteers. And all this with a skeleton staff, many having been put on furlough, and volunteers no longer being permitted on site.

Enjoying these places ‘virtually’ is somewhat of a tall order. Watching a video really isn’t the same thing as walking in Kew’s 300-acre site or spending peaceful time in one of the Wetlands’ hides in quiet observation. But the first lockdown saw Kew’s Instagram reach and engagement increase hugely. Compared to 2019, their reach was up by 43% and engagement 67% (April 2020 vs April 2019). And since the early days of the pandemic in 2020, their Instagram following has increased by a sizeable 27%. Comments on their posts demonstrated how happy people were to see photos of the gardens while they weren’t able to visit in person, offering them a way to connect with nature without leaving the house. Another indication, if we didn’t know already by the rise and rise of Instagram, of just what an important job we have as photographers. Virtual nature: the irony won’t be lost on any of us, I’m sure.

With the summer now almost here, life for both organisations in many ways is inching back to a pre-Covid state. They’ll continue to feel the impacts, and even though they’re now open, as outside attractions, they must still put daily caps on visitor numbers to ensure social-distancing regulations are met to keep visitors, staff and volunteers safe.

So, it’s definitely time to get back to these oases with our cameras, and for us city dwellers, I know we’ll appreciate them all the more for the drought we’ve lived through these last 15 months. Kew has two upcoming events to look forward to that had to be rolled forward from last year: The Secret World of Plants and an exhibition entitled Naturally Brilliant Colour in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, celebrating the spectacular shades of the natural world.

Obviously, for us as photographers, lighting and composition are the lords of our practice.

My third ruler is definitely the colour on my canvas and a defining element of my work.

It will be a wonderful exhibition to visit and I can’t wait to be bathed in colour after so many grey days. wwt.org.uk & kew.org.

Above Kew’s exquisite canvas – a zen moment for a cormorant. Below A Chihuly artwork at Kew.

Outdoor Photography 27

LIE OF OF THE THE LAND LAND LIE

Reach for the skies When fog enveloped the Dorset landscape, Guy Edwardes headed into the woods and pointed his camera skyward, capturing a graphic shot into the canopy

Low cloud and dense fog can make landscape photography a real challenge, especially if you can’t get above it. In such conditions I often head into the woods, where the mist and fog can be an advantage. Without it, woodland environments can be difficult to capture with any sense of depth in the scene. Tree trunks and branches tend to merge together, making the image look flat and two-dimensional. Take that same image in misty conditions and it can be transformed, as the mist provides separation between each individual tree, along with a recession effect that instantly adds a sense of depth that draws the eye through the scene.

Shooting directly up into the woodland canopy with a wideangle or fisheye lens can also lead to some dramatic forest images, as all the trees will converge towards the centre of the frame. This technique is effective when there is colourful spring or autumn foliage. However, it works particularly well when the trees have no leaves, and can be a great subject for those dreary overcast days when you might be struggling to find inspiration. You may also notice a natural phenomenon known as crown shyness, where a narrow ring of clear space forms around the canopy of each tree creating a jigsaw-like pattern.

I discovered this particular tree several years ago and I often return to it – the curve in the

28 Outdoor Photography

trunk really helps to lift the composition. To ensure that it became the dominant tree, I set up close to the trunk and pointed the camera down slightly so the point of convergence is off-centre.

This also allowed me to include more of the backlit trunks as they recede into the mist at the base of the image.

This is one of the few instances where I will sometimes shoot handheld as it can be necessary to use a fast shutter speed to freeze wind movement in the branches. However, on this occasion there was no excuse not to use a tripod as there was no wind! It was important to maintain as much sharpness across the frame as possible, as the fine branches extend into the corners of the image. Using manual focus, I placed my point of focus carefully to ensure I was able to maintain front-to-back sharpness using an aperture of f/11. The Raw file required minimal processing, but the most important step to remember with a high-contrast woodland scene like this is to deal with any colour fringing.

This was easily achieved using the automatic lens correction in Adobe Lightroom CC Classic.

Although I have several versions of this image taken over the years, this is the one where everything came together. Now I just need to return in similar conditions when there is a hoar frost…

LIE OF THE LAND

Outdoor Photography 29

LEARNING ZONE Solitary mining bee peeping behind a pink rose petal.

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TOP STRAP

How to bring wildlife to your garden Our gardens can be safe havens for wildlife, a quiet spot for us to relax and a great place for macro photography. Matt Doogue looks at how wildflowers, ponds and simple fieldcraft can help get you started I’ve been a macro photographer for more than a decade and I’ve travelled far and wide in search of macro subjects, but most of them, you will be surprised to know, were found in my back garden. I once did a challenge where I tried to photograph 100 different species over 100 days in my garden, and I succeeded. There’s so much to find and even the most derelict of gardens will no doubt house some form of arthropod. And the more you grow your garden, the more it will attract.

Gardens are not only great to look at, they are vital for declining wildlife such as bees, and it’s safe to say that having a garden, whether that be your own or a community garden, will boost your mental wellbeing. In fact, simply observing wildlife and spending time in nature has been proven to boost our mood.

Outdoor Photography 31

OPINION LEARNING ZONE just a 1x1m wildflower patch is big enough to attract wildlife. A window box with a sprinkle of wildflower seeds will also work.

You don’t have to be an expert gardener to grow them – you can buy native wildflower kits online and turn your garden into a beautiful spectrum of colour in no time.

I often turn over an area of grass and simply sprinkle the seeds – it’s as easy as that.

In addition, and if space allows, adding a pond will attract amphibians such as frogs and newts, which make excellent photographic subjects. The addition of a water source will attract all different types of wildlife to your garden. As spring arrives, small animals such as damselflies, water beetles and dragonflies will be some of the first inhabitants. As it warms up, water slaters, pond snails and other animals start to breed. Plants, grasses and various mosses will also establish over time, creating a wonderful habitat.

Attracting wildlife Planting native wildflowers is a great place to start and will almost instantly attract an array of wildlife. Oxeye daisy, common sorrel, field forget-me-not, hemp-agrimony and common knapweed are just some of the nectar-rich plants that are perfect for bees, butterflies and a whole host of other pollinators who will find

32 Outdoor Photography

them irresistible. While the flowers provide a feast, the leaves can provide shelter and food to larvae and other smaller insects. In turn, these insects will attract other wildlife who may predate them.

The great thing about wildflowers is they can be grown in a relatively small place and do well in nutrient-poor soils. Even

What makes macro photography special?

Shooting macro photography in the garden is a great way to hone your technique. It’s also an easy way to get a nature fix, which has been hard to come by during the lockdown. Garden macro gives you access to a whole new world in which you can spend hours watching a butterfly flutter from flower to flower, or a crab spider trying to

TOP STRAP

Opposite (top) Common frog in the garden.

Opposite (below) Newt at the side of the pond Above Sawfly larvae at sunset.

Below (left) Green orb weaver spider.

Below (right) Jumping spider stalking aphids.

catch its prey as it blends into its surroundings.

There’s so much to see and discover through a macro lens. I have found that while I’m in my garden I begin to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the real world, my mind becomes calm and I begin to practise mindfulness without even being fully aware of it – and mindfulness is key for a healthy mindset.

As you begin to photograph different subjects, you naturally begin to research what it is you’ve just seen and so you learn not only about the wildlife you’ve discovered but also develop a sense of pride about what’s in your garden. It’s like you’ve been granted special access to watch, study and photograph this secret hidden world.

Best times to shoot Having access to a garden full of wildlife means you can choose what time of day you want to shoot and this allows you to be more creative.

Early mornings are great for roosting

butterflies, sleeping bees and spiders that are just warming up for the day. This allows you to get up close with your macro lens without the risk of disturbing them.

By midday the garden is alive, with bees flying in all directions, spiders on the hunt, ladybirds looking for aphids to feed on. It’s a mini jungle at your fingertips with a plethora of subjects for you to photograph. It’s slightly harder to get up close but the rewards for your patience and skill are worth it.

Evenings can provide some of the most stunning light for your photography. A setting sun can add a beautiful rim light to your

Outdoor Photography 33

OPINION LEARNING ZONE

Top (left) Hoverfly perched on a buttercup.

Below (left) Jumping spider stacked shot.

Right Orange tip roosting in a patch of wild garlic and bluebells.

subjects and the wildlife in your garden will begin to settle for the night, again allowing you to get that little bit closer.

Night can be just as busy as the day.

Wildflowers will attract a large range of moths who will feed and pollinate throughout the night. Try a moonlit safari in your garden and you will be surprised at what you find. The use of a moth trap is a great way to see just how many amazing moth species we have in

34 Outdoor Photography

the UK – some are even bright pink like the elephant hawk moth!

Composition and colour One of the great things about planting flowers in your garden is the colour it brings, and this really helps your photography stand out. I often try to use the flowers to my advantage by taking the vibrant colours they provide as a backdrop.

Sometimes, just having the one colour, for example a pink rose, can really make the colours of a bee stand out. Composition is key, not just in macro photography, but photography in general.

When we lift up that camera and gaze through the viewfinder, we try to capture a

scene that’s both interesting and pleasing to the eye. With genres such as landscape photography, you’re given lots of time and opportunity to compose your shot. However, this becomes more challenging with macro as your subject is usually moving, and if you’re out at midday photographing arthropods then they’re usually moving at quite a pace.

The use of a focal point in your composition is also a top tip for macro photography. In a landscape shot, for example, there could be various focal points without it looking cluttered. In macro, one or two is all you need.

Too many and the viewer’s eye is distracted and so for that reason I mostly choose just one.

TOP STRAP

Isolating the subject within the frame can create an interesting and appealing composition, as can adding in negative space. This can easily be done by having a clean backdrop – a large flower head is perfect for this. You want your subject to be the main focal point and you want the viewer’s eye to be instantly drawn to it.

Macro technique There are many macro techniques to try, from natural light to flash and stacking. I’d always suggest starting with single-frame images rather than stacks. Then, once you’ve mastered that, move on to stacking.

Light is key in all photography so learn how

and when to use flash. You can create really interesting images by placing a flashgun underneath or behind your subject. As a rule, try not to increase your f/stop past f/9-10 – while more of the image will be in focus, it will be diffracted and appear less sharp.

A dedicated macro lens will always be my first choice, but you can achieve magnification with adapters such as the Raynox DCR-250 or by using extension tubes, which are cheaper and really easy to use. Most importantly, be ethical in your approach to all wildlife – be respectful and you will be rewarded with amazing photographic opportunities.

Equipment and technical advice Use a dedicated macro lens – there are plenty of options to suit all budgets Add extra light – an external flash helps illuminate your scene and freeze motion Break the rules – try different compositions Keep trying and don’t be afraid to fail – the rewards are worth it Practise your technique – start with flowers before moving on to live creatures Focus manually – autofocus at high magnification is easily confused Shoot in manual – the more control you have over the camera, the more control you have over the photograph

Outdoor Photography 35

LEARNING ZONE QUICK GUIDE TO…

Blending exposures Due to the limited range of tones that can be captured by digital cameras in a single exposure, it is worth considering blending exposures when faced with highcontrast scenes. Richard Garvey-Williams discusses the options open to us and offers tips for retaining a natural look When viewing a scene, our eyes and brain work together, adapting and compensating so we can perceive detail in both bright and dark areas.

We can incorporate a little of this adaptability into our own photographs.

The simplest option is to modify our exposure to retain detail in highlights and then do our best to bring back detail in shadow areas during post-processing. There are limitations, however, due to tones falling outside the range that can be captured. Also, lightening shadows can result in degradation, which may be apparent in the resulting image.

Gradient filters can work for certain scenes, particularly where the horizon is relatively flat.

For more convoluted landscapes, additional measures may be needed to avoid having noticeably darker hills or trees extending above the horizon. To provide more flexibility and optimal image quality, blending exposures is often the answer. Relying on software to generate high dynamic range (HDR) can result in rather unnatural-looking images. My usual preferred option is blending exposures myself by stacking them as layers in Photoshop and painting on layer masks to bring the appropriate parts of each into the final image. This takes time and practice, but enables you to restore detail in critical areas to the degree required while retaining a natural look.

Left (top) A dusk image of coastline in Greece

derived from five exposures. The two longer ones were applied below the horizon, providing some detail on the rocks and a softness to the water. The other three optimised the colour and tones beyond the horizon.

Canon EOS 5DS with 17-40mm lens at 17mm, 5x exposures at ISO 200, f/13, tripod Left (middle) Three exposures were used to

generate this image of olive trees ‘dancing’ at sunset: one for the bulk of the sky, one to retain some colour and detail around the sun and one to reveal a little detail in the foreground grasses.

Canon EOS 5DS, 17-40mm lens at 17mm, ISO 100, f/16, tripod Left (below) I could have opted for a gradient filter to retain the detail around the bright sun in this early-morning view towards Saddle Tor and Haytor on Dartmoor. Instead, I simply blended two exposures. Canon EOS 5D with 24-105mm lens at 24mm, 2x exposures at ISO 100, 1/50sec and 1/200sec at f/16, tripod

36 Outdoor Photography

LEARNING ZONE

Above An image of the dramatic pyramidal rock formations at Westcombe Bay in Devon with the three Raw files used to generate it.

I felt it was important to retain a good level of detail in the rock surfaces to emphasise the light from the setting sun reflecting off them.

Canon EOS 5DS with 24-105mm lens at 32mm, 3x exposures at ISO 100, 1/8sec, 1/30sec and 1/160sec at f/16, tripod

Capture considerations

Processing tips Prepare the images, setting the same colour balance and perhaps reducing the contrast along the horizon.

An organised workflow can help avoid mistakes.

I usually stack the darkest on to the second darkest, do what is needed, merge the image and then stack it on to the next one and so on.

Ensure precise alignment of the layers. In the layers palette you can set the blending mode to difference and zoom in on an area with strong textures. Then, with the move tool selected, nudge the top layer in each direction to find the position that makes the texture and edges least apparent. Reset the blending mode to normal

and add a layer mask to bring detail from the underlying image into select areas.

Having selected an area, consider contracting the selection and feathering it. This prevents the effect of your adjustment extending beyond the borders and producing haloes.

Different amounts of contraction and feathering suit different situations. Graduating the transition to some degree by using the gradient tool or simply reducing the opacity of the black brush can also help.

On removing the selection, always zoom in and check the margins. You may need to reverse the effect a little in some areas.

A tripod and remote shutter release help ensure precise alignment of the images when stacked in Photoshop.

Shooting a series of bracketed exposures also avoids the need to adjust and risk nudging the camera between exposures.

Moving elements within the scene can be a challenge. On windy days, shaded tree branches extending into the bright sky area may preclude this approach.

The number of exposures required depends on the scene and your intended rendition of it, but, if selected carefully, usually two or three will suffice.

Outdoor Photography 37

Intimate landscapes Lockdown and illness forced Margaret Soraya to eschew her beloved coastal adventures in favour of a more immersive style of photography that helped her repair both body and mind n the past year, creativity, mindfulness and looking closer to home have become more critical than ever before. We are all so used to the fast pace of life that we don’t always notice the beauty around us. The very act of photography forces you to slow down and appreciate and truly see.

Mindfulness is a state of open awareness and photography could be seen as a physical manifestation of this idea. It’s about stopping, pausing, observing, framing and focusing; noticing the visual elements around us: colours, lines, textures and light. As we set up our tripods, consider aperture and shutter speed and notice the light falling on the subject matter, we are fully present in that moment.

Being in the moment and not thinking about the past or worrying about the future is the core of mindfulness. Returning home more relaxed after shooting is a natural result and this is because when we focus on the beauty and the moment right in front of us, our anxious minds

I

38 Outdoor Photography

are eased. And if ever there was a need for a little more mindfulness in life, it is now.

As the year has gone on and restrictions have continued, everyone has had their own battles to face, including simply missing being able to travel to photograph the landscape. Connecting to the outdoors is something I believe is essential during times of stress and worry. In the 1980s, realising the link between nature and wellbeing, the Japanese developed shinrinyoku, or forest bathing. Studies showed that two hours of mindful exploration in a forest could reduce blood pressure and lower cortisol levels.

The simple method of being calm and quiet among the trees and observing nature while breathing deeply can help us de-stress and boost health and wellbeing.

So, given that we could all use a boost in our wellbeing and a reduction in stress at the moment, the natural process would be to go outdoors. And if we can connect these ideas and use mindful photography along with the

concept of shinrin-yoku, then there is a powerful recipe for positive mental health.

The new problem that has arisen is travel restrictions and how much harder it can be for us to access the sorts of landscapes that we personally connect to in this way. Instead, there has been a need to compromise and to find pleasure and gratefulness for what we do have.

We have been forced to look for beauty in places we would never normally have looked before. To continue practising photography, it has been necessary to look towards photographing genres that we normally wouldn’t and find beauty in local areas. And finding beauty connects us to gratitude, which in turn brings happiness.

All these ideas and concepts begin to come together as powerful antidotes to the difficult times we are experiencing. I hope it highlights how we can put in place some practices to help us through.

My own story of how the pandemic affected

my photography is an unusual one. I live in the most beautiful place in the Scottish Highlands. Relative to the rest of the country, I am less affected by the need to stay close to home. It is possible to walk from my doorstep into the hills where it would be very unusual to meet another soul.

I am a coastal photographer at heart, best known for my soft images of waves and seascapes of the Hebrides. It is where my heart

lies and I will continue to photograph this subject forever as this is where my true passion is. I am also an introvert and someone who needs times of solitude to be creative and feel revitalised. Being unable to travel to the places where I create my work and feel most at ease could have hit me hard last year.

My businesses were instantly impacted and worries mounted up. I got sick with Covid just before lockdown last summer and didn’t recover

as normal. My breathing was affected so badly I was unable to walk for more than a couple of minutes for many months. So, how did I cope with having the one thing I loved, that was my way of connecting to mindfulness, taken away?

I knew it was essential not to stay indoors all the time, so I began to photograph in the garden at the back of the house regularly. We have trees, grasses and broom bushes, most of which I have walked past on my way somewhere else

Outdoor Photography 39

for the past 10 years without a second thought.

I had just bought a Fujifilm GFX 50S and 250mmm lens with a macro extension tube.

And I have always enjoyed photographing details in nature using macro lenses, or simply experimenting with light, aperture and lens combinations to achieve images of intimate landscapes. It is something I have done for many years, but this year it became key to my mental wellbeing. I show my seascapes regularly and these are my main focus, and the intimate landscape work has always just been for me; often a way of teaching photographers to look closer and find new ways of interpreting a scene.

I also find it exceptionally mindful. As you immerse yourself in the scene by literally sitting within it, often lying on the ground, you have to take time to create images such as these; they do not lend themselves to being photographed quickly and I can easily spend two to three hours in one patch of trees, becoming completely engrossed in exploring how changing the angle slightly can affect the image and noticing how shooting into the

40 Outdoor Photography

light can create atmosphere.

As the months rolled on, I began to create a collection of intimate landscapes that show the seasons changing. When winter arrived, like many others, I found lockdown much harder the second time around. For me, it was simply because each year I take December and January as my time to travel to the islands and spend time on my work. Along with the cancellation

of many of my workshops, it was a bitter pill to swallow. Once again, the time to dig deep and be grateful for what I did have was important.

And by now, my health had improved to allow longer walks into the forests behind the house.

The snow arrived and I headed to the woods to capture leaves glistening in the sunshine, with snow still clinging to them, and getting completely lost in this process.

I would leave the woods three hours later feeling exhilarated and excited by my images.

Once again, intimate landscapes became a way of connecting to mindfulness and wellbeing.

I believe we can find beauty everywhere and if you can find a tree or a patch of grass you can create intimate landscapes. quietlandscapes.co.uk

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Krista McCuish Canadian nature photographer Krista McCuish is on a mission to capture the patterns and textures of her local surroundings in Nova Scotia. Nick Smith puts her in the spotlight NS: Your work crosses several styles…

KM: That comes with going with the moment of discovery. I walk along rivers quite a lot – actually, I walk in the rivers – and I notice flow patterns. And so I’ll think of that in a scientific way and it becomes quite technical: how to translate that into an image. But you’re also visualising what you think it could be. I’m so familiar with my landscape that I know that I can take it further and try to do something different. When I see something, and I’ve seen it before, and I’ve tried something before and it didn’t work, I’ll simply try something different.

Nick Smith: A lot of your work has a very biological influence…

Krista McCuish: I can’t really put a single word on what I do. You could call it landscapes or nature still life. But biology, definitely. It’s interesting that a lot of my pictures are about biology, but I’m also interested in geology, and I haven’t explored that with photography, and that’s a goal of mine. There are textures and patterns in geology that fascinate me, as well as botany and marine biology.

NS: Are you influenced by the abstract nature of structure and colour?

KM: I’m naturally drawn to these patterns.

I’m a musician too and so these shapes can

42 Outdoor Photography

seem like music and there’s an analogy: a strong bass line, a melody. I make connections with the textures and patterns. I know that sounds fluffy but it’s true; I make connections with these elements and I never know where the connection is going to come from.

NS: How much does this curiosity come into your work?

KM: It’s a big factor. I like to know how things work and what they’re called and if I can eat it. There’s a need to know, a passion to know, and I’m very passionate about my time in nature; I lose all track of time and it just takes over. I need to know everything about it, and I need to be totally immersed.

NS: How did you become a photographer?

KM: I discovered photography as a child when I was enthralled with seeing and making images, and realising what I could do with them. It took me a while to learn how to put creative intent into my work while also expressing all the things I wanted to say. In high school, I bought my first camera, and my next-door neighbour was an art teacher who had a darkroom in her basement. She taught me the elements of that, and it just kind of went from there.

NS: But you’ve not always been a photographer?

KM: I’ve had a lot of fallow periods because I never decided to do photography as a fine art degree. I went into science: I have so many different interests that it’s hard for me to focus on just one. But now I have managed to focus all my interests into photography as a creative outlet. Photography has become much more serious for me as I’ve got older.

It feels like something I need to do

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Krista’s top tips One thing I never go on a shoot without is…

Anticipation of possibilities, much like a child who notices things with a deep sense of wonder.

My one piece of advice would be to…

Discover where your passions are, then you will naturally bring a unique sensibility to your photography.

Something I try to avoid is…

Being satisfied with photographing the obvious.

now, whereas before I was so busy with my career and raising a family.

NS: What’s with the smartphone photography?

KM: When I go out into the landscape, I don’t always take a camera and so the iPhone becomes a way of snapping an idea. Then I can go back with a ‘big’ camera later if I want to explore that idea more. Last week, I took a picture on my phone that I liked better than the one I took with my camera. That happens.

NS: You use the word intuition a lot – why’s that?

KM: Because my work is intuitive. I just go with what feels right, for example the square format. But I also go back to places time and time again. Just recently I’ve found a tree where I want to photograph the bark textures. I’ve been there five times and I’m still not happy with it. Also, I don’t get to choose the time. I rarely get the chance to work in the early morning or evening, and so I do a lot of my photography at midday. But I do favour cloudy days when there’s diffused, flat light. One day, the conditions will be right and I’ll get the picture that I want.

To see more of Krista’s work, visit kristamccuish.com Opposite (top) Resting place Opposite (bottom left) Autumn keeps giving Opposite (bottom right) Hearing through the eyes Right (top) Spring ice Right (middle) Forest urchins Right (below) Leaves and layers

Krista’s critical moments 1984 First 35mm SLR camera and B&W darkroom technique

2005 Switch to digital photography with a Canon EOS 5D

2012 Immersion in photography history and built a library of photo books

2018 Featured photographer in On Landscape

2019 First solo exhibition, Cold Snap, of ice macro/ intimate landscapes

2020 Second solo exhibition: Winter Blues

Outdoor Photography 43

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LOCATIONS GUIDE 3

VIEWPOINTS

2

We want to see your best shots from around the country. Each month the winner will receive a fantastic £200!

Turn to page 66 for submission details.

1

Cliffs of Moher County Clare

2

Brothers Ridge Highland

3

Balnakeil Bay Sutherland

4

River Ouse East Yorkshire

5

Woodbury Common Devon

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1

5

ACCESS RATING These are based around an ‘averagely fit’ person.

Below are loose guidelines to what the ratings mean (N.B. they are assigned by the author and not verified by OP. Walk distances are one-way only):

1/5 Easy access. You can pretty much get straight out of your car and quickly be at the viewpoint via good quality paths.

3/5 Medium length walk of up to about two miles, over quite easy terrain.

4/5 Longer length hike 2/5 Gentle walking is involved, which may be on mixed quality paths.

up to about four miles over mixed terrain, possibly with some quite steep gradients.

5/5 The most difficult access. Long hike over challenging terrain (e.g. mountains/summits/steep coastal terrain); or involves travelling over particularly extreme ground (e.g. scrambling on rocks/exposed coastal paths or mountain ridges) over any distance.

VIEWPOINTS WINNER TODOR TILEV todortilev.com

Cliffs of Moher, County Clare he Cliffs of Moher are located at the south-western edge of County Clare, Ireland. They are about nine miles long, rising to over 210m above the stunning Atlantic Ocean. Roughly midway along the cliffs sits O’Brien’s Tower, a round stone tower built in 1835.

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How to get there: From Liscannor, take the R478 towards Doolin (north).

After about four miles you will reach the car park.

What to shoot: Breathtaking cliffs and seascapes.

Other times of year: Any time of the year, but for spectacular sunsets, autumn and winter are best.

Nearby locations: Fanore beach (12 miles); Poulnabrone dolmen (19 miles).

WIN £200!

We want to see your pictures of great photography locations around the UK and Ireland.

The best Viewpoint of the Month will win £200.

See page 66 for details.

Congratulations!

Todor Tilev wins a fantastic £200 for his stunning photograph!

Distance: 4 miles from Liscannor • 7 miles from Lahinch ACCESS RATING

46 Outdoor Photography

Outdoor Photography 47

48 Outdoor Photography

VIEWPOINTS

Debbie Stevens debstevens.co.uk

Brothers Ridge, Highland orth Glen Shiel Ridge, also known as the Brothers of Kintail, has a steep ascent to its ridge, but you are rewarded with stunning views in all directions. There are a few choices of ascent routes on the southern slopes to reach the ridge, so the walk can be extended for a longer day out. Once on the ridge, the path is easy to follow and offers many interesting craggy coires and peaks for a variety of compositions. There is a choice of mountain ranges to capture: South Glen Shiel Ridge, the Five Sisters of Kintail and down towards Glen Shiel.

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How to get there: Take the A82 from Fort William and turn on to the A87. After 28 miles, and one mile west of the Cluanie Inn, parking can be found by the bridge. One option of ascent is to follow a path up the east side of the Allt Coire Tholl Bhruach and continue north of Coire na Cadha towards the south ridge of Aonach Meadhoin.

What to shoot: Dramatic peaks, wonderful glens, distant mountain ranges and stunning ridges.

Other times of year: With its 360-degree views, this ridge offers wonderful vistas throughout the year.

Nearby locations: Eilean Donan Castle (10 miles); Loch Cluanie (10.5 miles).

Distance: 30 miles from Invergarry • 51 miles from Fort William ACCESS RATING

Mark Ferguson markfergusonphotography.co.uk

Balnakeil Bay, Sutherland he Kyle of Durness flows into Balnakeil Bay, with Faraid Head peninsula to the east and Cape Wrath to the west. The bay has a three-mile stretch of sandy beaches with extensive dunes. There is an historic church ruin at Balnakeil.

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How to get there: From Inverness, take the A9 north to Tain and then take the A836/ A838, passing through Lairg and Laxford

Bridge, to Durness. The turning for Balnakeil is on the west side of the village, down a single-track road.

What to shoot: Wide sandy beach with large wind-driven sand dunes; nearby church ruins with graveyard.

Other times of year: Summer evenings are good for sunsets; winter is good for distant views of snow-capped peaks.

Nearby locations: Kyle of Durness (3 miles); Loch Eriboll (6 miles).

Distance: 2 miles from Durness • 98 miles from Inverness ACCESS RATING

Outdoor Photography 49

David Henderson River Ouse, East Yorkshire

he town of Howden, which rubs shoulders with the UK’s largest power plant at Drax, lies in the shadow of the M62 motorway and is close to Goole Docks, may not appear to be an obvious choice for photographic utopia. However, with a little imagination, the nearby landscape features can be used to interesting effect along the easily accessible banks of the Ouse.

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How to get there: From Hull, take the M62 to junction 37 then turn left for Goole. Go straight on at the roundabout towards Rawcliffe, over Boothferry Bridge.

Continue straight on at the small roundabout, then after a short distance turn right to park on small road (there is a space to park near a litter bin). Walk back to the bridge and look for the gate in the Ferryboat Inn car park that allows access to the River Ouse.

What to shoot: Riverside scenery and wildlife on the tidal banks.

Other times of year: Year round.

Nearby locations: North Cave Wetlands (11 miles); Spurn Heritage Coast (45 miles).

Distance: 2.5 miles from Goole • 27 miles from Hull ACCESS RATING

Brian Carroll Woodbury Common, Devon

oodbury Common in East Devon is a Site of Special Scientific Interest with sea and river views, an abundance of wildlife and plenty of walking trails. It is also rich in history, with an Iron Age hill fort (next to the B3180 road on the edge of the common). Much of the area is covered in mature oak trees, but the view looking east across the heathlands is reminiscent of the African savanna.

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How to get there: Coming from Exeter M5 junction 30, take the A3052 towards Sidmouth. After five miles, turn right at the Halfway House pub on to the B3180 towards Exmouth. After two and a half miles, there is a car park next to the castle on the left.

What to shoot: Panoramic views and mature oak trees; birdlife such as Dartford warbler, stonechat and kestrel.

Other times of year: Early in the year when the gorse is in flower, and autumn when the leaves turn red.

Nearby locations: Fire Beacon Hill (5 miles); River Exe (8 miles).

Distance: 5.5 miles from Exmouth • 8 miles from Exeter ACCESS RATING

50 Outdoor Photography

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INSIDE TRACK

Learning at the feet of the masters Emerging from the hibernation of lockdown seemed like a fine opportunity to get rid of a build-up of photographic stagnation by going on a field workshop. As Nick Smith recalls, the impulse came from watching a famous guitarist in London years ago...

It was in my pre-lockdown past life when I found myself in formal evening attire at a swish gala dinner in the Savoy Hotel on London’s Strand. And nothing could be finer, apart from the fact my importance to the hosts was so tangential that I’d been unceremoniously dumped in the cheap seats right at the back. Once upon a time, I’d been a freelance photographer on one of the charity’s projects in Botswana and, given that my invitation had arrived indecently recently, I was clearly and obviously an afterthought, brought in to replace one of the no-shows.

Not that it mattered. I’m always happy to put on the nosebag in the pursuit of meeting interesting people. But I was so far out of the action I might as well have been (and jolly nearly was) in the kitchens. There was nothing behind me other than an empty forsaken stage, while in front, on the other side of the cavernous ballroom, almost in the county of Surrey, were the great and the good, rattling their tiaras and having a smashing time. Among them was the guitarist Brian May, which surprised me because in terms of celeb status he was head and shoulders above everyone else there. The only conclusion I could draw was that he might be the evening’s entertainment. But that seemed too much to ask.

The cheese was dispatched and the coffee served while somebody not-very-interesting at the lectern announced that we should swivel around in our seats as there was a special treat in store for us. I politely did as asked and there on stage, no more than a few feet away from me, was the legendary guitarist. The house lights dimmed and May performed a solo arrangement of John Barry’s theme to Born Free on an acoustic guitar. To get what happens next, you need to know one thing, and you may wish to imagine another. First is that I’ve played guitar all my life to varying degrees of success, and while I’m not much of an enthusiast for Queen, I know a guitar virtuoso when I see one. And here was one of the finest.

Second, through the mere act of sitting at the maestro’s feet and watching, I ingested in five minutes more than my entire knowledge of a quarter of a century. Just think what could be learned had that guitar been a camera…

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I was on a Zoom call with a photographer friend of mine whingeing balefully about how I’d taken so few photographs recently I was beginning to think that I’d forgotten how to do it. His response can be paraphrased as follows: rubbish, of course you haven’t, you just need to rub off a little of

the rust and get back into the field. The best way to do that, he said, is with an expert. So unimpressed was I with my friend’s advice that I dismissed it utterly and instantly. That is until he sent me a link to the website of a local professional landscape photographer, with the words: ‘This guy’s brilliant. He does workshops. Give him a call. It will do wonders. You’ve got nothing to lose.’

To say that I was trepidatious as I loaded up the car and headed for the meeting point at Rhossili, right on the western tip of the Gower peninsula, would be something of an understatement. In our paranoid post-lockdown dawn, what concerned me most was that Mike would think me either an idiot or a fraud or both, especially as I’m a bit suspicious of this kind of practical tutorial approach. There was some nice light breaking over the estuary, so we decided to stop for lunch and sat on a limestone outcrop drinking coffee from our flasks, watching the guillemots and razorbills, shearwaters and petrels. I hoped that opening my mind to the procedure would be as easy as opening my sandwich box.

Sitting there in the stiff coastal breeze, I realised that what was so interesting about wanting to be ‘taught’ was that while I definitely felt as though I knew what I was doing, there was an equal and opposite realisation that I did not. And here was a professional who had a clear vision of the craft but didn’t seem to be in any haste to ‘teach’ me anything. It was an odd balance: he was aware that I have plenty of field experience but was wondering why I needed his help in the first place. But we grew into it: as the day wore on, we companionably toured the coastal beauty spots of Three Cliffs Bay, Port Eynon and Cefn Bryn.

As the conversation deepened, we decided the way to recover our mid-season form was to get into the countryside more, to take advantage of these new-found post-lockdown freedoms no matter how temporary they may be. In doing this we would reconnect to the landscape, which was more important that reconnecting with the camera, we agreed. We also thought it important not to take too many photos too soon. In that we had succeeded, as neither of us had so much as got their camera out of its bag that day. Driving back across Gower I realised the real value of the experience came precisely from not shooting anything, and that it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about a camera or a guitar, sometimes you’ve just got to listen to the experts.

Outdoor Photography 53

Bird Photographer of the Year 2021 Celebrating the beauty and diversity of birds, the sixth edition of this prestigious competition attracted more than 22,000 images from around the world. In anticipation of the winners’ announcement in September, here are some of the finalists that caught our eye.

© Gábor Li/Bird Photographer of the Year

Above Shag

Gábor Li Last summer, while on a family holiday in Croatia, I spent time photographing shags.

One of my goals was to take a photo of them underwater, but it was a lot harder than I had anticipated. Although they didn’t care about me when they were on land, they were much more cautious when they were underwater.

I didn’t want to bother them, so my tactic was patience. I waited in the water for hours, next to the rock where they were roosting and close to where I had assumed they would jump and submerge. But, in contrast to my expectations, I found they swam away to find a group of fish and only then would they dive. I was starting to lose patience and almost gave up.

However, eventually my persistence paid off:

54 Outdoor Photography

encouraged to dive by a nearby swimmer, one of the shags jumped into the water in front of me and dived after a few metres. I followed the bird under the water and took a few pictures of it almost blindly. I was very happy with the result. My favourite thing about this image is that you can see the sparkly spot lit by the setting sun where the bird submerged.

from a human perspective. Regardless of how you view what’s going on, it certainly makes for an interesting photograph and a moment in time in a duckling’s life captured for posterity.

Opposite (below) American oystercatcher

James Wilcox Opposite (top) Mallard duck

Zdeněk Jakl I took the photograph on a pond in a beautiful park in a quiet part of the city of Prague. As a family of mallard ducklings swam past me, one of them began to chase a fly. It highlighted the fact that the instinct to feed is a powerful force even in the young, but of course the behaviour itself was comical

My favourite time of year is when the American oystercatcher chicks hatch. I love getting to the beach at sunrise to watch and photograph family interactions. This young oystercatcher is old enough to forage but still relies on its parents for food because its beak hasn’t developed the strength to open the shells of molluscs and crustaceans. This shot was taken in between waves, with the wet sand providing a bit of up-lighting.

PHOTO SHOWCASE

© Zdeněk Jakl/Bird Photographer of the Year

© James Wilcox/Bird Photographer of the Year

Outdoor Photography 55

Left (top) Southern rockhopper penguin

Mark Sisson Southern rockhopper penguins are among the most resilient birds I have spent any time with and watching their exploits, as they return from fishing expeditions to take over nesting duties, is alarming and awe-inspiring in equal measure.

On this particular evening at one of their colonies in the Falkland Islands, I tentatively made my way down cliffs – whose ascent and descent the birds made look so easy – and awaited the returning birds. I knew that preening is always the priority on reaching the safety of land and that, given the orientation of the site, a silhouette image might be possible.

I stopped-down my aperture to help highlight the subtle lens flare on this bird as it stood on a rock. As the penguin bent over in the course of preening, it seemed as if he was bowing to the sun itself. © Mark Sisson/Bird Photographer of the Year

Left (middle) Black-tailed godwits

Anupam Chakraborty Here we see two black-tailed godwits engaged in a fierce territorial battle, the location for this being an area of prime habitat in India’s beautiful Manglajodi wetland. Why were they fighting? As they are seasonal migratory visitors to my country, and don’t nest here, the fight obviously had nothing to do with establishing and protecting breeding territories. Instead, each bird was fighting to maintain its predominance over feeding grounds and trying to fend off rivals who would compete for the same food. Captured at the moment of contact, the godwits were attacking each other with their long beaks and gangly legs.

Left (below) Squacco heron

Aguti Antonio © Anupam Chakraborty/Bird Photographer of the Year

© Aguti Antonio/Bird Photographer of the Year

56 Outdoor Photography

Squacco herons are migrant summer visitors to Italy and are found on well-vegetated ponds and wetlands, habitats that satisfy their dietary requirement for fish and amphibians. Although inclined to stand motionless for extended periods of time while looking for prey, they are capable of bursts of activity when the need arises. Such was the case with this individual and, captured in flight, it resembles a goalkeeper trying to make the ‘save’ of his life.

Right (top) Swallow

David White Swallows have to be one of my favourite birds, and my entire family await their return in spring with nervous excitement. Will they arrive this year...? Then there’s the joy of that flash of steely blue as they return to the same stable on the farm; the one where they nested last year, and many years before that. This photo was taken from inside the building, using a remote trigger to fire the camera, which was situated at a safe distance just outside the window. The aim was to time the image-capture to coincide with the swallow flying through the window and I am proud to have achieved my goal.

Right (middle) Atlantic puffin

Øyvind Pedersen This photo was taken on the bird cliffs of Hornøya Island in Norway, back in April 2018. It shows two puffins, who started a brawl that continued down the snowy slope right in front of me. My goal for this trip was to try to get some images of fighting puffins on snow and in that regard my quest was a success. I was really lucky, and my patience and persistence paid off. These two puffins battled for several minutes, with feathers and snow flying everywhere. It was a fantastic experience – for me, if not for the puffins.

© David White /Bird Photographer of the Year

Right (below) Gentoo penguin

Tom Schandy Gentoo penguins began surfing long before the first humans latched on to the craze.

This image was taken at Carcass Island on the Falkland Islands, where the birds have no option but to surf if they want to get ashore.

If the waves are a decent size, you can see the birds ride or surf on the top of them.

It is a thrilling behaviour to watch, and a rewarding one to capture photographically.

© Øyvind Pedersen/Bird Photographer of the Year

© Tom Schandy/Bird Photographer of the Year

Outdoor Photography 57

Left (top) Eurasian nuthatch

Mark Williams This nuthatch was photographed in my garden using rear-curtain flash synchronisation. I attract birds to my garden using feeders, and peanuts are the food that nuthatches cannot resist. The timing and method of capture were crucial to the success of this image. The initial exposure captured the movement of the bird while the flash, fired at the end of the exposure, freezes the bird in flight.

Left (middle) Mute swan

Diana Schmies

© Mark Williams/Bird Photographer of the Year

Mute swans typically don’t breed until they are at least three years old. But it is not uncommon for elements of courtship behaviour to be seen earlier, as happened with this couple.

Apparently not concerned by the age difference, this adult male was intent on wooing an immature female, and his interest appeared to be reciprocated. Classic courtship rituals were performed, like raising the necks and turning their heads sideways while keeping their breasts pressed against each other.

Even though photographing these displaying swans on a misty morning required planning, a little luck was also needed when it came to the birds aligning parallel to my camera.

Left (below) European shag

Brian Matthews

© Diana Schmies/Bird Photographer of the Year

Is there any food left? In this image, a hungry juvenile shag literally dives down its mother throat for more fish rather than waiting for it to be fully regurgitated. It was taken on the Farne Islands, one of the most accessible puffin islands in the UK. A short boat trip from Seahouses in Northumberland drops you into a world of puffins, guillemots and ravenous shags. Spending time with this family, I managed to get some great behavioural shots.

The Farne Islands aren’t just about puffins!

The winners of Bird Photographer of the Year 2021 will be announced on 1 September.

A book featuring the best images from the competition, published by William Collins, is available to pre-order at birdpoty.com © Brian Matthews/Bird Photographer of the Year

58 Outdoor Photography

READER GALLERY Each issue we publish the best images from those submitted to our Reader Gallery – turn to page 66 to find out how to enter your work. Here is this month’s winner...

60 Outdoor Photography

READER GALLERY

Winner Ceri Jones I have been interested in photography since my teens, when I found an old enlarger in my dad’s garage. I started processing B&W images and taking pictures using a Zenith E SLR camera. But college and other interests meant I stopped my photography and never really picked it back up; that is until my wife bought me a digital camera for my 50th birthday.

My interest in photography was reignited when I began attending my local camera club: Whitchurch Hill Camera Club. I now have around 20 years’ experience using Canon SLR cameras. My passion is to capture beautiful light, whether I’m shooting landscape, macro or abstract images.

My portfolio is dominated by woodland

photographs, as I live close to the beautiful beech woodlands of Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Hometown Reading, Berkshire Occupation Retired Photographic experience 20 years

Outdoor Photography 61

READER GALLERY

62 Outdoor Photography

READER GALLERY

Outdoor Photography 63

READER GALLERY

Submit your best images and win great prizes.

This month’s winner receives a pair of Keen Tempo Flex WP Mid boots, worth £130!

The new Tempo Flex boots feature Keen’s innovative new accordion-like Bellows Flex technology to enable hikers to move with less effort, leading to many more miles of comfortable performance during outdoor adventures. In addition to this energy-saving insert, these great looking boots feature a rip-stop upper with TPU overlays for durability, a Keen Dry waterproof and breathable membrane, and a super rugged All Terrain outsole to deliver excellent traction on the toughest terrains. Available in men’s and women’s versions.

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64 Outdoor Photography

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£1299 Fujifilm XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR Lens The XF 18mm f/1.4 R WR Lens is a 27mm-equivalent wide-angle lens that is wellsuited to documentary, travel, landscape, nature, architectural photography, and even astrophotography.

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GET INVOLVED

Your chance to take part See your work in print + win great prizes!

Online submissions!

Go to outdoorphotographymagazine.co.uk READER GALLERY

ONE THING THIS MONTH

If you only do one thing this month…

Atmospheric Black & White In issue 266 we asked you to send us your best black & white photographs and your submissions were of an exceptionally high standard.

Here’s our winner, Diana Green, who receives a pair of Cooph photography gloves, and our superb runners-up. For details of our next challenge, turn to page 95.

WINNER Diana Green Dawn Flight. Whitemill, Sturminster Marshall, Dorset. As the sun broke through the fog, the perfect stillness felt timeless and eerie. I lined up the shot of the mill and reflections, and the peace was broken by a trio of ducks flying noisily into centre stage.

Nikon D850 with 24-120mm lens, ISO 200, 1/250sec at f/11

Outdoor Photography

IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING THIS MONTH Enter our Patterns in Nature photo challenge and you could have your image published in issue 272 of OP. Plus, the winner will receive a fabulous softshell jacket from Trekitt – the Rab Kinetic 2.0, RRP £185 (for men and women). See page 95 for details.

66 Outdoor Photography

Outdoor Photography 87

Winner Ceri Jones

READER GALLERY Each issue we publish the best images from those submitted to our Reader Gallery – turn to page 66 to find out how to enter your work. Here is this month’s winner...

60 Outdoor Photography

READER GALLERY Send us your best outdoor images, and if you’re chosen as our winner you’ll receive a superb prize. Our next winner will receive a pair of Keen Tempo Flex WP Mid hiking boots, worth £130!

I have been interested in photography since my teens, when I found an old enlarger in my dad’s garage. I started processing B&W images and taking pictures using a Zenith E SLR camera. But college and other interests meant I stopped my photography and never really picked it back up; that is until my wife bought me a digital camera for my 50th birthday.

My interest in photography was reignited when I began attending my local camera club: Whitchurch Hill Camera Club. I now have around 20 years’ experience using Canon SLR cameras. My passion is to capture beautiful light, whether I’m shooting landscape, macro or abstract images.

My portfolio is dominated by woodland

photographs, as I live close to the beautiful beech woodlands of Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Hometown eading erkshire Occupation etired Photographic experience ears

Outdoor Photography

GET INVOLVED

OP COMMUNITY

COMPETITION

Join the OP community on our social channels where you can see what we’re keen to share in the world of outdoor photography.

Keep right up to date with news by ‘liking’ OP at facebook.com/ outdoorphotographymag Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/opoty

Where in the world?

If you can identify this ancient dolmen you could win a Syrp Genie Micro smart remote, worth £139!

Built thousands of years ago, dolmens are thought to have originally been burial chambers – but where in the world would you find this one…

a: Poulnabrone, Ireland b: Lanyon Quoit, England c: Sorginetxe, Spain The answer and the winner’s name will be revealed in OP 272.

You can enter the competition online at outdoorphotographymagazine.co.uk, using Burial269 as the code, or send your answer to opcomp@thegmcgroup.com, stating Burial269 as the subject. Alternatively, drop it in the post to: Where in the World – Burial269, Outdoor Photography, 86 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1XN. The deadline for entry is 30 July 2021.

THIS MONTH’S GREAT PRIZE SYRP GENIE MICRO

Worth

The Syrp Genie Micro is an all-in-one smart remote for mirrorless and DSLR cameras.

The device allows photographers to control their camera directly from Syrp’s free intuitive smartphone app, available for both iOS and Android. Designed to minimise the set-up time for time-lapse and video, the Genie Micro slides easily on to the camera’s hotshoe and allows you to set up a variety of different shots while also controlling camera settings, such as ISO, aperture and shutter speed. The Genie Micro works with most Canon and Nikon cameras, and additional compatibility with Sony and other cameras will soon be possible.

For more details visit syrp.com.

£139

OP 266 WINNER

Find us on Instagram at instagram. com/outdoorphotographymag

In issue 266 we asked you to identify the emerald island in the image below.

The correct answer is:

b) Rarotonga, Cook Islands Shutterstock.com

ENTER ONLINE NOW! Where is it?

Congratulations to our winner!

Tony Hill from West Sussex

EMAIL ENTRIES

96 Outdoor Photography

WHERE IN THE WORLD?

SOCIAL HUB

Tell us the location on page 96 and this month you could win a Syrp Genie Micro, the all-in-one smart remote for mirrorless and DSLR cameras.

The device allows photographers to control their camera directly from Syrp’s free intuitive smartphone app, available for both iOS and Android.

Please send your views, opinions and other musings to markbe@thegmcgroup.com, or send them online or by post. If your letter is thoughtful and engaging we’ll be delighted to share with all our readers.

Please limit your letters to about 200 words or under and be aware that your words may be edited before they are used in the magazine.

For more details visit syrp.com.

We are unable to accept speculative submissions via email, so please do not send work in this way, unless requested to do so by a member of the OP editorial team.

Send via post or online instead.

WEBSITE SUBMISSIONS You can send us links to your website, for us to view your general work only. Please note that strictly no correspondence will be entered into regarding website submissions. Send the link to opweb@thegmcgroup.com.

PLEASE NOTE Due to the many submissions we receive from our readers each month, if you have not heard from us within 10 weeks (except for Viewpoints) then it is unlikely we will be using your work in the magazine on this occasion.

GMC Publications cannot accept liability for the loss or damage of any unsolicited material, including slides.

VIEWPOINTS WINNER TODOR TILEV todortilev.com

Cliff oher County Clare he Cliffs of Moher are located at the south-western edge of County Clare, Ireland. They are about nine miles long, rising to over 210m above the stunning Atlantic Ocean. Roughly midway along the cliffs sits O’Brien’s Tower, a round stone tower built in 1835.

T

Ho e here: From Liscannor, take the R478 towards Doolin (north).

After about four miles you will reach the car park.

Wha hoot: Breathtaking cliffs and seascapes. ear: Any time of the Othe ime year, but for spectacular sunsets, autumn and winter are best.

Nearby locations: Fanore beach (12 miles); Poulnabrone dolmen (19 miles).

EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS If you would like an exhibition or event included in Outdoor Photography, please email markbe@thegmcgroup.com at least 10 weeks in advance. You can also submit it online through our website.

NEWS STORIES

WI 200!

We want to see your pictures of great photography locations around the UK and Ireland.

The best Viewpoint of the Month will win £200.

See page 66 for details.

Congratulations!

Todor Tilev wins a fantastic £200 for his stunning photograph!

Distance: 4 miles from Liscannor • 7 miles from Lahinch ACCESS RATING

46 Outdoor Photography

Outdoor Photography 47

Is there a current and time sensitive story you’d like us to cover in our news pages? Please email details to markbe@thegmcgroup.com or submit it online at: outdoorphotographymagazine.co.uk/ contact-us

VIEWPOINTS

WRITE FOR US!

We want to see up to 10 of your best digital images from your favourite UK and Irish viewpoints.

If one of them is selected it will be published in the magazine, plus there’s £200 up for grabs each month for the winning image. You can submit online at: outdoorphotographymagazine.co.uk Don’t forget to include your name, daytime contact number and email address.

And please include camera data for each image submitted.

We are always on the lookout for inspiring new features. If you have a great idea for an article then please send a short outline (no more than 60 words), plus five high-res JPEG images for our consideration.

Outdoor Photography 67

LIFE IN THE WILD

Truth and honesty Do bigger prizes attract more unscrupulous photographers? Should social media platforms flag up images of dead or captive animals? Laurie Campbell explores the ethics of 21st-century nature photography Renowned nature photographer Eric Hosking, who specialised in birds, was arguably the first professional of his kind in the UK when he started his career in 1929. In his autobiographical book, An Eye for a Bird, he wrote that there were ‘bird photographers’ and ‘photographers of birds’. With the latter, he was referring to those who understood little, and cared less about their subjects than they did about obtaining a photograph of them. If anything, the situation is now worse and seems pervasive in all genres of nature photography.

With so much being written in the intervening years about the ethics of nature photography, there seems little more to add, other than there are always going to be those without scruples who will behave badly and tarnish the public’s perception of the majority who are involved in just about any activity.

Perhaps the question to ask now is what exactly is it that drives more ‘nature photographers’ to behave in this way than in the past?

My own suspicions are that a combination of things is to blame: the natural urge to be

68 Outdoor Photography

competitive, tempered by societal changes that have encouraged a faster pace of life where a must-have culture has evolved and the desire to stand out from the crowd and gain recognition is all-important. Rushing and forcing nature is rarely a good idea and in the haste to get ‘the shot’ this is where I believe most of the damage is being done.

Social media platforms such as Facebook present the perfect opportunity to showcase photographs, but it is sad to see examples of how careful navigation around the algorithms that govern exposure have been used to generate as disproportionate a number of likes as possible for mediocre images and those that may have been achieved through questionable practices with the aim of obtaining that wow factor. Good photography shouldn’t need any of this and is able to stand on its own merits.

Simply being dishonest is just as bad, and with photography competitions now attracting ever greater numbers of entries, it is predictable how this translates into a greater number of rotten apples prepared to cheat. With

competitions that have earned a worldwide following, such as Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the stakes couldn’t be higher and it was only a matter of time before someone was called out, with the first transgression in that competition being discovered in 2009.

Aptly dubbed Wolfgate, it resulted in a photographer being stripped of the overall title after it was discovered that the image of an Iberian wolf leaping over a gate at night was in fact staged, using a zoo animal. A second winning image, The Night Raider, was disqualified from the same competition in 2017 Below I shot this staged scene of a dead mole specifically to demonstrate how easy it is to produce a convincing image of this species.

It works because their eyes are naturally tiny, eliminating an essential clue. The practice is rife, and on the first of a screen-filling page of Google Images I identified 12 out of 21 images as being fake. Nikon D3 with 200mm f/4D IF-ED macro lens, ISO 200, 1/2sec at f/29, tripod, cable release, mirror-lock

Above This is an uncropped image of a wild golden eagle photographed from a hide under a Photography License. Images like this are very rare but can be achieved in moments with a captive falconer’s bird. Nikon D3X with 500mm f/4G VR lens, ISO 200, 1/500sec at f/5.6, tripod, cable release, hide when it was revealed the category winning image of an anteater by a termite mound beneath a starry sky was, in fact, of a stuffed anteater.

Both images were very convincing and I don’t mind admitting that the one of the anteater fooled me too, or more correctly, myself and a panel of fellow judges who earlier that same year had convened to judge the prestigious Asferico International Nature Photography Competition near Venice. Unfortunately, the yearbook for that competition went to print before the WPY exposed the image.

So where does this leave us now, and does anyone really care? My hope is that many of the platforms used to inadvertently promote images that attempt to deceive the viewer or involve the use of unethical practices are made more aware.

A captioning system that declares the use of dead or captive subjects would be nice too.

And, of course, we should all care.

Too good to be true Photographs of wildlife that look too good to be true usually have a certain feel about them that always tends to raise suspicion to an experienced eye. Most major photography competitions will include a biologist or someone from another scientific background on the judging panel to vet images. The fact that some competitions insist on seeing the original Raw files of images that have reached the finals speaks volumes, yet it is amazing to see what still gets entered, despite the clarity of competition rules.

Sadly, the decline of experienced picture researchers across much of the publishing industry is lamentable and hasn’t helped. Like photography, picture research is a craft that needs a good eye and cannot be taught. In the days of film, picture researchers stayed in the industry longer and so were more experienced and able to spot suspect images. Nowadays, just about anyone can go online and quickly find an image of just about anything – chosen at face value, no questions asked.

The use of captive subjects is rife and in North America, so-called game farms exist primarily to provide ‘models’ for stills photographers and the film industry to hire

by the hour. Typically, these models are large carnivores such as wolves, grizzly bears and mountain lions. The resulting images may have that deceptive, sanitised look about them, but many publishers fall for them because they know they are always going to sell more of their products. Some are not even biologically accurate and an image of an African lion in a snowy setting against a backdrop of the Rocky Mountains comes to mind for all the wrong reasons.

Perhaps worst of all are the kitsch, sensationalist and unlikely images of small animals that first appear on social media platforms. Many of these are quickly snapped up and circulated by unscrupulous press agencies to less discerning publishers of anything from newspapers to wall posters and greetings cards. Many of us will have seen examples of those images of small frogs ‘riding’ on the backs of large beetles, or perhaps amphibians and small reptiles in staged poses, embracing each other. For the harsh reality, think strong glue, broken limbs and whatever else it took.

The market for these types of images really shouldn’t exist, but that’s human nature for you.

Outdoor Photography 69

NATURE GUIDE

Laurie’s seasonal highlights Left Watery environments always add another dimension to photographing any subject in nature and with the flowering of aquatic and marginal plants of freshwater wetland plants reaching their peak, now is a good time to photograph them.

Water lilies are an obvious species to cover and I devoted a whole column to photographing this species in OP 89. Look for potential in the less obvious species such as this image of branched bur-reed (Sparganium erectum) that possibly wouldn’t look out of place in a book about exotic Amazonian rainforest plants.

Nikon D3 with 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-D macro lens at 122mm, ISO 200, 1/25sec at f/14, tripod, cable release, mirror-lock Opposite (top) This is a good month to photograph so many species of wildflowers that it’s difficult to know where to begin. For something a little out of the ordinary, think about taking up the challenge to head to the high uplands and mountains to photograph alpine plants. Fortunately, because of the exposed nature of the habitat, most are low-growing, creeping plants, such as this mountain azalea (Loiseleuria procumbens) and so are less affected by movement when shooting long exposures.

Nikon F4S with 60mm f/2.8 AF-S macro lens, Fujichrome Velvia 50, 1/8sec at f/22, tripod, cable release, mirror-lock, diffuser Opposite (middle) I’ve mentioned numerous times in this column about my dismay at seeing so many images of Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) hovering directly over the photographer, taken at close quarters with a wideangle lens. The inevitable result is always going to be that of an angry and disturbedlooking bird. Better instead is to seek out ‘offduty’ parents taking time out to rest and preen on the outskirts of the nesting colony. Time spent keeping low with a long lens will always result in images of more relaxed birds behaving naturally.

Nikon D3S with 500mm f/4G VR lens and 1.4x teleconverter, ISO 250, 1/640sec at f/6.3, beanbag Opposite (below) The mounds of wood ant (Formica sp) colonies of various species are mostly constructed of pine needles and as tempting as it is to get close to photograph the inhabitants swarming over the surface on sunny days, spending time trampling all around the base is obviously not a good idea.

Far better is to identify pathways radiating out from the nest mound used by foraging workers.

Many of these lead to the nearest tree where, conveniently, it is less damaging and more comfortable to photograph individuals scaling the trunk from a standing position.

Nikon D300 with 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-D macro lens at 180mm, ISO 250, 1/200sec at f/20, handheld, diffused flash

70 Outdoor Photography

More seasonal subjects Flora

Northern marsh orchid Nikon D7100 with Laowa 15mm f/4 macro lens, ISO 250, 1/160sec at f/11, handheld Pignut (Conopodium majus) – a widespread member of the carrot family that badgers dig up to feast on the nut-like tuber underground.

Northern marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella) – a frequent plant of damp roadside verges. Look for colonies within easy walking distance of the nearest lay-by.

Mountain pansy (Viola lutea) – look for these growing in upland pastures. Confusingly, they can be either bright yellow or purple.

Fauna

Large white butterfly Nikon D4 with 70-200mm f/2.8 FL lens at 200mm, ISO 800, 1/640sec at f/11, handheld

Large white/cabbage white butterfly (Pieris Brassicae) – a frequent visitor to gardens, with the caterpillars of this species being the bane of many gardeners.

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) – newborn calves at this time of year are best left well alone. Better to wait a few weeks until they are mobile.

Arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) – primarily a northern species that occurs in two colour phases – light and dark – that can cause confusion with identification.

Outdoor Photography 71

A MOMENT WITH NATURE

72 Outdoor Photography

The waiting game Fortunate to have a huge badger sett close to home, Andrew Mason has spent hours watching and photographing its inhabitants. Here he recounts a recent close-up with a curious cub

efore I captured this shot, I had been lying for several hours in the grass near to one of the entrances to a badger sett located in a small copse in a field that I can see from my home. The sett has been occupied by a clan of badgers for many years, and successive generations have dug ever more intricate underground tunnels and chambers, depositing the spoil on to the surface in great piles, making it one of the largest setts I know. In front of me, the last light of the setting sun fell on three young badger cubs as they went about exploring the world above their sett. The cubs were born just a few months earlier in an underground chamber in the sett and, until recently, had been confined to a subterranean existence.

One of the cubs was a little bolder than the other two and suddenly decided to come for a closer look at the strange new object that had appeared in its territory. As it approached me, it puffed up its fur in an attempt to make it seem larger and more intimidating. This did not work; instead, the cub made itself even cuter and more adorable.

Over the years that I have photographed the badgers that live in the fields around my home, I have developed a great love of them and cherish every moment I have been fortunate to spend with them.

Young badger cubs can be incredibly curious and, unlike most adult badgers, can have little fear of humans. There is something incredibly special about having a truly wild animal approach you in this way.

Although badgers, with their distinctive black and white markings, are one of our most iconic and recognisable animals, they are rarely seen, let alone photographed. Sadly, badgers are not universally loved and have a history of persecution and, more recently, have been culled in an effort to control bovine tuberculosis in cattle.

Over the past 10 years I have lost track of the time I have spent trying to photograph my local badgers.

On most evenings they either fail to appear before it has become totally dark or emerge above ground too late to photograph them in natural light. This particular evening was a rare one, where everything came together. With the cub coming closer and closer, I was lost in the moment as I tried to stay as a calm as possible while making my images.

B

Outdoor Photography 73

NATURE ZONE STEVE YOUNG

On the wing Steve Young’s first lockdown was soundtracked by an operatic wren and frequented by a bemused robin chick called Tufty. Without his feathery friends, he may not have survived with sanity intact Lockdown continued into May 2020 and by a miracle the weather was still mostly good, with lots of warm, sunny days that were perfect for my continued early-morning ‘breakfast in the garden with lens by my side’ vigils.

I have to confess I saw very little early in the morning that didn’t stay until later in the day, apart from regular sightings of a grey heron that flew over and then appeared to drop down into one of the more distant gardens, presumably where there was a pond.

The early starts did get me out of bed though, with some sort of target to aim for during this very strange time.

As the season progressed, so did the display and mating habits of the regular garden birds, culminating in the usual blue tits in next door’s nest box (never mine!) and blackbirds attempting to nest in my ivy, while a pair of robins could be seen flitting to and fro with food nesting somewhere a few gardens away.

The first sign of breeding success was a small bunch of feathers that appeared on my roofed garden bench (my wife informs me this is called an arbour). It was early evening and I just happened to glance down the garden and saw a small bird perched on the top.

Looking through my 300mm lens, I could see it was a very young robin with tufts of feathers sticking from its head. I took a few photos and then moved slowly closer, but I needn’t have been so cautious, as not knowing what a human was it showed little fear and stayed in the same spot while I snapped away.

As is the case with many young birds, it had left the nest too early and couldn’t really fly, more of a flutter as it eventually moved

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Tufty the robin With a bewildered and bemused look, this very young robin appeared in my garden in the early evening, and was immediately christened Tufty.

into the safety of the ivy. Tufty became a regular over the next few weeks, often joined by two siblings being fed by the parents.

Another feature of the early-spring lockdown was the presence of both song thrush and a wren that took up residence in my garden. The thrush sang from gardens a few doors away and was lovely to hear, but the wren sang from just about every perch possible in my own garden and was deafening at times. For such a tiny bird it has a very loud volume and was a delight to listen to, but was incredibly difficult to photograph.

It either had branches across it or was too high in the tree or every other reason you can think of to stop me taking a decent shot, but as usual with bird photography patience did pay off and it finally perched nicely in my crab apple tree and let me snap away for a few minutes.

By mid-May, lockdown was almost over, the diary was put away (but only for a while as it turned out) and life continued normally. My garden had saved me; I really don’t know what I would have done in my old house with just a small yard to photograph in. No doubt a daily walk and survey of the local park would have got me through the seven long weeks, but it wouldn’t have been much fun.

Singing wren I finally managed a nice image of my resident wren when it chose to sing in the open for once.

My garden, where I got to know my birds so well during lockdown. It’s only small, but over 50 species have been recorded in it or flying over.

The bench where the young robin favoured is at the bottom, and among the ivy, blackbird, robin and dunnock have nested over the years.

BIRD OF THE MONTH

Above Singing blackbird A familiar sight and sound during spring and summer is a male blackbird in song.

Left Young blackbirds Sadly, both parents of these three young blackbirds disappeared, leaving them to fend for themselves. Luckily, they were old enough to just about do so, but did stay together for a few weeks feeding together.

With more than five million breeding pairs, the blackbird is one of the most common sights in gardens around the country. The male’s black plumage and wonderful song are familiar to all and even the female’s brown plumage is readily identifiable. Young birds are plentiful at this

time of year and have a habit of leaving the nest before they can fly, so little bundles of feathers with a startled expression may suddenly appear on your lawn and then hop away to the nearest cover they can find. Leave them and the parents will find them.

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY TIP

Robin feeding young Soon (honest), all this year’s images, like this robin feeding young, will be filed with all my other robin photos so they can be found easily.

Buzzard My buzzard images tend to be dotted around in various folders as they are usually taken when one flies over while I’m out photographing something else. Soon, they will all be together in their official Raptors folder.

I spent a lot of time during lockdown sorting, deleting and labelling hundreds of photos. It’s a job I try to keep on top of, but usually end up leaving just that little bit too long, even though I know it has to be done.

After browsing through folders, I realised that original downloads into Nikon View from 2018 were still on my laptop, never mind most of 2019 and all of 2020, so it was time to face up to the task and

start labelling and moving to my hard drive. I also set myself the task of clearing all my phone photos, downloading, labelling and filing – now that was a long job.

But it is far easier to find everything if they are all in the same place and now, they are, apart from 50% of 2020’s snaps. And all of 2021’s.

Oh well…

Outdoor Photography 75

GEAR ZONE

The OP guide to… tents and bivvies With the golden hours found at either end of the day, making sure you’re on location to catch the best of the light can be tricky. The answer? Lay siege to your photographic quarry by camping out in the wilderness.

Ben Weeks rounds up five tents that will protect you and your kit while you lie in wait

Vango Banshee 200 Best for photographers on a budget Vango’s Banshee is something of an icon in the wild camping world.

Offering a great combination of price, weight and protection, it’s part of the recommended equipment for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme and the first tent purchase for many campers. A two-person tent, the weight (2.4kg) and the space can be shared. Alternatively, it makes a roomy bedroom for a single occupant, offering plenty of space for camera and camping gear inside. The outer flysheet and inner tent

Robens Voyager 2EX Best for sitting out the wet weather Danish outdoor gear brand Robens appreciates that adaptability to weather is an essential part of exploring and photographing the outdoors. The Voyager 2EX is a fairly hefty (3.2kg) two-person tent that benefits from having its load shared. But what it lacks in svelteness it more than makes up for in weather protection. The outer flysheet and inner tent can be pitched together with colour-coded poles, making the operation simple. The flysheet is tough and robustly waterproof and the Voyager has been tested in winds up to 168km/h. Best of all, the extended porch area not only offers plenty of storage room for camping kit and camera gear, but also provides a space in which to cook, read or even set up a tripod. This luxury makes it possible to take photos from inside the tent when the weather forces a stay under cover or the cosiness of a sleeping bag is just too warm to leave. £280 robens.de

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pitch together with a single pole, making erecting the tent a quick and straightforward process. There’s a doorway on both sides of the Banshee, which is convenient for two people sharing and offers more porch space for storing gear or hunkering out of the wind. Importantly for use in the changeable UK weather, with multiple pegging points and a rain and wind-tested design, the Banshee is a stable and protective shelter. £135 vango.co.uk

EDITED BY BEN WEEKS

Rab Ridge Raider Bivi Best for keeping weight to a minimum Bivvies are something of a Marmite option. For every person that loves the lightweight approach and convenient pitching, there’s someone who dislikes the lack of space for kit and the feeling of sleeping in a body bag.

With a low pole hoop over the head area, the Ridge Raider does feel a little less coffin-like than simple bag-type bivvies, but there is only enough room inside for a sleeping mat, a sleeping bag and a sleeping person. Any extra kit – including photo gear – has to be left outside (although you might be able to squeeze a camera in) and protected from the elements independently. But the convenience of a bivi comes in how little weight it adds to your kit (890g) and the ability to pitch it almost anywhere.

Not only does it require less flat space than a tent, it’s also less dependent on guy lines and pegs, making it an easier pitch on hard, rocky ground. £350 rab.equipment/uk

MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2 Best for warm-weather nights out Despite its slightly comic name, the Hubba Hubba is a serious tent. A favourite of long-distance backpackers around the world, this tent has plenty to offer the camping photographer too. Two doors offer plenty of porch space for boots or backpacks while the surprisingly spacious interior is high enough to sit comfortably while reading, eating or editing photos. At 1.7kg, it’s light for a two-person tent, a result of the large amount of mesh used in the inner tent, which also keeps the Hubba Hubba well ventilated. This design rules out use in the coldest or wettest conditions, as does the inner first pitching; the interior of the tent is vulnerable to rain until the outer flysheet is pulled over it. On hot summer nights, however, it’s possible to do without the flysheet altogether, sleeping in the mesh cocoon with a view of the stars above. £455 msrgear.com

Hilleberg Soulo Best for year-round, all-season use Hilleberg is both the Rolls Royce and Land Rover of tents. The craftsmanship that goes into its design and build is second to none, and the result is a range that includes some of the toughest tents available. The Soulo is a case in point. This one-person tent has been created to survive the worst the weather can throw at it and has been tested in some of the harshest environments around the world, from Arctic blizzards to Welsh downpours. Its free-standing design makes it structurally self-supporting, with the guy lines adding tethering and wind resistance rather than actually keeping the tent upright, and its robust construction is tremendously strong. Such quality comes at a price; it’s fairly weighty for a oneperson tent (2.4kg) and its price tag will put it beyond many budgets. But for photographers who are out shooting year-round in all weathers, camping accommodation doesn’t get any more reliable. £790 hilleberg.com

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GEAR ZONE

DJI Mini 2 Increasingly, drones are being adopted by photography enthusiasts as another useful tool. There have been great strides in miniaturisation and ease of use in recent years, but typically the smaller drones can suffer from several drawbacks. Fergus Kennedy took the DJI Mini 2 out in a variety of situations Guide price £419 (basic package), £549 (Fly More Combo) Contact dji.com

Below (left) This little drone had no problem dealing with sub-zero temperatures.

Below (right) The three-axis gimbals can allow sharp shots even at shutter speeds longer than a second.

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DJI’s Mini 2 follows on from its Mavic Mini and has a very similar form factor.

Crucially, the weight is just under 250g, which puts it in a class of drone exempt from many of the distance restrictions imposed by the new EASA regulations that recently came into effect, such as the 50m clearance from uninvolved people and buildings, and 150m from congested areas.

The drone is of the typical folding design and is very light and compact, comfortably fitting into a jacket pocket.

The remote control is significantly bigger and heavier than the one that came with the Mavic Mini, but it has the advantage of a large battery, allowing prolonged charging of your phone while in use during flights.

For those not familiar with this class of consumer drone, most use your phone as a display for the drone’s view and to adjust settings. It’s held on the controller with a special clamp and connected by USB. The basic package includes only one

LIKES Compact size and light weight Good image quality for size Great image transmission quality and range 4K video

DISLIKES No obstacle avoidance Occasional gimbal twitches

battery, so if you’re planning multiple flights per session, it makes sense to invest in the Fly More Combo, which includes a USB-C triple-charging hub.

In terms of the specs of the drone itself, the Mini 2 boasts a maximum flight time of 31 minutes. In practice, you’re likely to get more like 25 minutes, but this is still a very respectable figure.

Maximum wind speed is quoted as just over 10 metres/second, or 22mph.

While less than you would expect with a larger drone, this is very good for a model of this size – just don’t expect to

be flying it in gale-force conditions.

One significant improvement over the Mavic Mini is that the Mini 2 now comes with Ocusync transmission.

What this means in practice is greater range and a more dependable picture transmission. The Mini 2 does not have built-in obstacle avoidance, a feature that is found on many models of larger, more expensive drone.

The camera has a 12-megapixel 1/2.3in sensor, which is slightly larger than what you might find in a typical modern smartphone. It has a 24mm equivalent lens with a fixed f/2.8 aperture and is mounted on a three-axis gimbal. You can control all the relevant camera settings such as shutter speed, ISO, white balance and exposure bracketing from the phone app. You can choose to shoot Jpegs or Raw (DNG format) still images, and up to 4K 30p video.

Flying the Mini 2 down by the coast, I found it straightforward to operate and stable in flight thanks to the

DRONE REVIEW

Top With a fresh breeze blowing, I had a few issues with gimbal twitches, but still managed to capture this top-down panorama.

Above (left) One of the joys of such a small drone is the ability to take it on treks to remote spots.

Above (right) Raw image capture allows you to raise the exposure in darker areas of the image and maximise dynamic range.

GPS/Glonass satellite stabilisation.

In moderate winds, I did notice the gimbal start to twitch, particularly with the camera pointed straight down, presumably when it reached the end of its travel due to the drone being at a significant angle to fight the wind.

I tested the return to home feature, which worked as advertised and I had no issues with image breakup when operating within a clear line of sight to the drone. However, it should

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Sensor 12MP 1/2.3in CMOS Lens 24mm equivalent /2.8 ISO 100-3200 Still image format Jpeg and DNG Raw Video 4K up to 30fps, max 100Mbps Max. flight time 31 minutes Max. range 10km Dimensions 131x81x58mm Weight 249g

be noted that being small and light grey in colour, it’s easy to lose sight of the drone, even well within the 500m maximum horizontal distance allowed in the UK. Another thing I really liked about the Mini 2 is that it’s really quiet compared to many other drones, causing minimal disturbance to other people in the vicinity.

Back in front of the computer, I loaded up a variety of images. For a drone of its size, the quality was good.

They won’t rival what you might get from a 1in or larger sensor, but that is hardly surprising. Viewed at full resolution on a large 4K monitor, they looked very nice. When you zoom into 100%, you can see that slight smudginess often associated with smaller sensors, and there is some noise when you boost the shadow areas, but it’s a solid performance in its size class.

The video quality is also very

acceptable given the sensor size. As might be expected, as the light drops, image quality suffers more than it would with larger sensors. However, I was able to get acceptable image quality by keeping ISO around 800 and using a longer exposure time.

Provided it’s not windy, you can use shutter speeds of over a second and still achieve sharp results, but as with most cameras it’s worth taking several shots to ensure you get a sharp one.

FINAL WORD The Mini 2 is a solid performer at its price point. It makes a number of significant improvements over the original Mavic Mini and would make a solid choice for both beginners in drone photography as well as more experienced users looking for a second drone for portability and making the most of the sub-250g rules.

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Craghoppers NosiLife clothing Heading to an insect-prone environment? Craghoppers’ NosiLife Active and Lifestyle ranges combine lightweight stretch fabrics with insectrepelling technology to keep you warm, comfortable and free from bites.

The Active range includes the NosiLife Pro Active Trouser, featuring articulated knees and RFID protected pockets, and the NosiLife Vitor Jacket, with its one-handed hood adjuster and four pockets. The Lifestyle range includes the more casual NosiLife Calhoun shirt for men, which features a cooling collar and security pocket, and the utility NosiLife Rania Jumpsuit for women, with its SolarShield collar, roll-up sleeves and self-fabric belt. Both ranges will be launched in the summer.

Guide price £TBC craghoppers.com

Cokin NX-Series filter system Cokin has launched a 100mm filter-holder system specifically for wideangle/long-exposure landscapes. Made from premium aluminium, the NX-Series holder is compatible with Cokin’s previous Nuances filters and adapter rings and can even accommodate other manufacturers’ 100mm filters, including Lee’s Big and Little Stoppers.

Filters are housed in protective metallic frames, available in three sizes (100x100mm, 100x143.5mm and 100x150mm), which are guided in and held in situ by ball bearings inside the holder’s frames.

Cokin claims this system not only increases the angle of view, but also reduces vignetting. While individual items will be available separately, five NX-Series kits will also be sold, with each kit comprising wallet, cloth, adapter rings, adapter ring cap and relevant filters.

Guide price £220 (starter kit) nx-series.com

GEARING UP Inspiracles Photography Inspiration Cards Invest in inspiration rather than gear with Inspiracles’ Photography Inspiration Cards. Already a massive success in Germany, where over 36,000 decks have been sold, Inspiracles features ideas and exercises to help you learn and get creative while doing, with each card comprising an inspirational prompt to trigger your imagination, pro tips for photographic implementation, and examples to use for extra inspiration.

Each deck includes 56 extra-large cards (twice the size of playing cards) along with 10 cheat sheets to get you started. Three English-language decks have been launched via Kickstarter: the Classic edition, which covers all aspects of photography; the People edition, for enthusiasts wanting to improve their portraits; and the Landscape edition, for OP readers looking to dial up their outdoor creativity.

Guide price £TBC inspiracles.com/kickstarter

Gitzo Ball Head Series 4 Gitzo has released a heavy-duty tripod head for your outdoor telephoto exploits. The Ball Head Series 4 has been specifically designed to provide stability when using longer focal lengths and, despite weighing less than 1kg, boasts a payload of 30kg, easily supporting a DSLR or mirrorless camera with 400-600mm lens. With its friction control wheel for precise adjustments, and bubble level for true horizons, the new head is designed to work alongside Gitzo’s Series 4 and 5 Systematic tripods and is available with lever or screw-plate lock configurations. It can also withstand temperatures from -30ºC to 70ºC – perfect for next time you’re in Death Valley or the Arctic Circle.

Guide price £459.95 gitzo.com 80 Outdoor Photography

Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM Sony’s FE 14mm f/1.8 G Master Prime has been designed for landscapes, architecture and starry skies. This compact wideangle measures just 83×99.8mm and weighs 460g, with 14 elements in 11 groups, including two XA (extreme aspherical) lenses, two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lenses and a Super ED glass element for suppressing chromatic aberration and flare. Two XD (extreme dynamic) linear motors allow for quiet and speedy AF, even at f/1.8, while innovative features such as a focus-hold button and Linear Response MF allow for a higher level of precision and customisation.

Guide price £1,400 sony.co.uk

MindShift Rotation Backpack Series Need a wideangle prime with super-fast aperture? The Fujinon XF18mm f/1.4 R LM WR offers a 35mm equivalent focal length of 27mm and weighs just 370g, making it perfect for outdoor adventures where size and weight are crucial considerations. The optical arrangement comprises 15 elements in nine groups, with three aspherical lenses and one ED lens, while a linear motor provides nearsilent AF. The lens is weather sealed along its metal barrel and also features an A (Auto) Position Lock, which locks the aperture ring in place, and a minimum focusing distance of 20cm. The filter thread is 62mm and the barrel measures 7.56cm in length.

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, which saw the project funded in less than four hours, Think Tank has unveiled the latest generation of its innovative MindShift Rotation series of backpacks. As before, the big USP is the quick-access rotating belt pack that houses camera bodies, lenses and accessories, and this time designers have integrated a magnetic closure on the lid, making access even speedier. MindShift Rotation backpacks are available in 22l ($250), 34l ($300) and 50l+ ($430) sizes and each features the same camera belt pack, 10-point harness system and weather protection. They can also carry a tripod, hydration reservoir, ice/ mountain axe, trekking poles and extra camera gear via a MindShift Stash Master (from $55).

Guide price £879 fujifilm.eu/uk

thinktankphoto.com

Fujinon XF18mm f/1.4 R LM WR

Samyang AF 12mm f/2 E Look to the stars with Samyang’s first AF wideangle prime for APS-C mirrorless cameras. With a 35mm equivalent focal length of 18mm, the AF 12mm f/2 E is an upgrade of the Korean manufacturer’s popular manual-focus 12mm f/2 and is aimed squarely at astro photographers in need of wide apertures and high resolutions.

The AF 12mm f/2 E is equipped with five special optical elements, a newly developed STM and a minimum focusing distance of 19cm. It also features all-metal housing, weather sealing and rear glass protection, and measures 59mm in length and weighs 213g, making it the smallest and lightest AF 12mm on the market.

Guide price £360 intro2020.co.uk

RF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM RF 600mm f/4L IS USM

Canon RF lenses Canon has also announced three RF-mount L-series lenses for serious enthusiasts with seriously large wallets. The RF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM (£12,450) and RF 600mm f/4L IS USM (£13,410) are optically and mechanically similar to their popular EF cousins, but with enhanced optical IS up to 5.5 stops, three manual-focus speeds, two storable focus presets, and fluorite and Super UD glass.

Also an EF upgrade, the RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM (£1,480) is being touted as the world’s first AF ‘macro’ lens with 1.4x magnification. New features include an adjustable spherical aberration control ring, which allows users to vary the look of the background and foreground bokeh. canon.co.uk

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WILD PHOTOGRAPHY HOLIDAYS

Remarkable Iceland – Confirmed Departures Start July 2021 Great news for lovers of out of this world landscapes, the Land of Fire and Ice has been granted a spot on the UK green list. Think surreal volcanic landscapes, vast black sand deserts, geothermal bathing, luminous iceberg lagoons, spectacular waterfalls, immense glaciers and steaming geysers. Ready for an adventure?

www.wildphotographyholidays.com

NEXT ISSUE Outdoor Photography 270 | On sale 15 July EDITORIAL Editorial Mark Bentley, Claire Blow Scott Teagle markbe@thegmcgroup.com Designer Toby Haigh

ADVERTISING Guy Bullock gmcadvertising@thegmcgroup.com 01273 402855

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PRODUCTION Production manager Jim Bulley Production controller Scott Teagle Origination and Ad design GMC Repro. repro@thegmcgroup.com, 01273 402807 Publisher Jonathan Grogan Printer Precision Colour Printing, Telford, 01952 585585 Distribution Seymour Distribution Ltd Outdoor Photography (ISSN 1470-5400) is published 13 times a year by GMC Publications Ltd. 86 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1XN. Tel 01273 477374 © Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd. 2021

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© Andrew McCarthy

Your guide to photographing dippers Master the art of shooting woodland Tips and advice for wild camping Outdoor Photography 83

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ONE THING THIS MONTH

86 Outdoor Photography

If you only do one thing this month…

Atmospheric Black & White In issue 266 we asked you to send us your best black & white photographs and your submissions were of an exceptionally high standard.

Here’s our winner, Diana Green, who receives a pair of Cooph photography gloves, and our superb runners-up. For details of our next challenge, turn to page 95.

WINNER Diana Green Dawn Flight. Whitemill, Sturminster Marshall, Dorset. As the sun broke through the fog, the perfect stillness felt timeless and eerie. I lined up the shot of the mill and reflections, and the peace was broken by a trio of ducks flying noisily into centre stage.

Nikon D850 with 24-120mm lens, ISO 200, 1/250sec at f/11

Outdoor Photography 87

ONE THING THIS MONTH Left (top) Laurence Thurlow Scout Scar, Cumbria.

Fujifilm X-T3 with 16-80mm lens, ISO 160, 1/640sec at f/11 lauriesphotos.co.uk Left (middle) Alan Thomson Between lockdowns in 2020, a road trip to the Scottish Highlands took us to Loch Assynt and the ruined Ardvreck Castle, which stands on a rocky promontory jutting out into the loch; it is just a short walk from the road. It was a beautiful day with many people enjoying the sunshine and precious freedom of being outdoors.

Canon EOS 6D with EF 24-105mm lens, ISO 400, 1/250sec at f/6.7 Left (below) Colin Rooke This was taken at St Hubert’s Church at Idsworth in Hampshire. I visited shortly after the surrounding rapeseed had been harvested, but there were still nice contrasts in the grass, along with some eye-catching tracks running through the field. That evening, I was fortunate to be able to capture some dramatic and fast-moving clouds which hung low in the sky.

Olympus E-MII with 12-100mm lens, ISO 200, 1/640sec at f/8 Opposite (top) Mike Hall Dingle peninsula, Ireland. Arriving on a typical Irish weather day, I captured this scene as the light was beginning to break through heavy rain and blustery winds.

Nikon D4S with 16-35mm lens, ISO 500, 1/100sec at f/14, panorama from 3 stitched images Opposite (below) Dave Kitson The lone tree at Half Tide Bay, which lies between Oddicombe and Babbacombe, Devon.

Nikon D810 with 16-35mm lens, ISO 100, 30secs at f/11

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ONE THING THIS MONTH

Outdoor Photography 89

ONE THING THIS MONTH Left (top) Hans Broeksteeg This photo was taken in Veluwezoom National Park in the Netherlands. The dark streaks of the rainclouds combined with the light of the rising sun and the lovely shape of the tree was the reason for capturing this scene. I just waited for the clouds to be in the right position to balance out the image.

I love these rainy weather conditions.

Nikon D850 with 70-200mm lens, ISO 64, 1/200sec at f/8 hansbroeksteeg.nl Left (below) Jade Rogers Teignmouth, Devon. A stormy evening stroll on the seafront.

Fujifilm X-T3 with 18-55mm lens, ISO 2500, 1/2sec at f/8 Below Tim Gould Sunlight was filtering through the clouds and catching a rain shower near Porth Cwyfan in Anglesey. It took several attempts to catch a breaking wave in the patch of sunlight.

Nikon D750 with 70-200mm lens, ISO 200, 1/160sec at f/8 Opposite Richard Freeman Trees on Castle Law, Perthshire. As it was a foggy day, I set out for the woodland on the local hill. As is often the way, the fog was a bit of a disappointment once I was enveloped by it. However, I thought this view had potential as it was helped by shooting into a weak sun. Also, the trees were on a steep bank, and pointing the camera down at an angle level with the slope gave an interesting composition.

Canon EOS 5D MkIV with 24-105mm lens, ISO 100, 1/13sec at f/11 richardfreemanfoto.com

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ONE THING THIS MONTH

ONE THING THIS MONTH Left (top) Paula Cooper Venetian sunset, Italy. This was taken from the Rialto Bridge, Venice, in winter as the sun was setting.

Panasonic Lumix G9 with 14-140mm lens, ISO 400, 1/640sec at f/7.1 Iceniphotography.com Left (middle) Tim Pearson Swanland Dale, East Riding of Yorkshire, on Christmas Eve morning, 2020. I was out at dawn, intending to photograph the bare trees at the local dale. When a heavy snow shower blew in, I sheltered behind a farmer’s slurry tanker at the top of the dale and quickly composed this image looking down the valley, with the snow sweeping across from the north. The snow and higher ISO give a great atmosphere, but it was so cold!

Nikon D850 with 24-70mm lens, ISO 1250, 1/40sec at f/5 Instagram: @Tim_pearson_wolds_photo Left (below) Mitchell Pearce If you want atmosphere, Whitby on the north Yorkshire coast has it in abundance.

I converted this image to black & white, highlighting the white rails to help lead the eye to the foreboding light tower on the pier.

Canon EOS 40D with 33mm lens, ISO 100, 1/80sec at f/16 Opposite (top) David Hughes I took this photo on a trip to Deadvlei in Namibia, where its ancient dead camel trees create the most amazing shapes.

Canon EOS 700D with 18-55mm lens, ISO 200, 1/320sec at f/11 Instagram: @david.n.hughes Opposite (below) Wiebke Schröder We had visited Dyavolski Most (Devil’s Bridge), an arch bridge over the river Arda in Bulgaria. On our way back home, following what my friend calls the scenic route, we were surprised to spot crepuscular rays. So, we stopped, of course, to take some photographs.

Pentax K-3 with 12-24mm lens, ISO 100, 1/40sec at f/8 lilleulven.com

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ONE THING THIS MONTH

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ONE THING THIS MONTH

Above Phil Bloxham A couple of miles north of Abersoch, North Wales, are the remnants of an old jetty that used to serve a now disused quarry. It is a wonderful, peaceful location, well away from the popular end of the beach and, at dawn, untrodden. A grey start to the day made for an atmospheric black & white shot.

Canon EOS 5D MkIII with 24-70mm lens, ISO 250, 13secs at f/11 philbloxham.myportfolio.com

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Below (left) Jayne Winter I came across this scene during a walk in rural Worcestershire; I liked the way the infrared renders the barley and the leaves almost white, adding to the atmosphere.

Nikon D80 (infrared converted) with 12-24mm lens, ISO 400, 1/1000sec at f/13 (-1 stop) jaynewinterphotography.co.uk

Opposite (top) Kevin Scott This was taken from Elgol, Skye, in November 2020. It was my first visit to Elgol and I wanted to capture the darkening skies over the Cuillin.

Nikon D800 with 24-70mm lens, ISO 50, 0.4sec at f/11 kevjscott.co.uk

Below (right) Geraint Evans ‘Mind the Gap’. The Chevin, West Yorkshire.

Hasselblad 501c with 80mm lens, f/2.8, Pancro 400 film flickr.com/photos/126232476@N06

Opposite (below) Doron Talmi Spanish moss at a cypress swamp is backlit by the morning sun above a solitary kayaker.

Canon EOS 5D MkIV with 100-400mm lens, ISO 400, 1/320sec at f/11

ONE THING THIS MONTH ENTER ONLINE NOW! Your next challenge Patterns in Nature This month we are asking you to send in your observations of patterns in nature – from details in macro subjects, such as plants and flowers, to patterns found in bigger landscape vistas. The winner and runners-up will be published in issue 272. To submit your images, go to outdoorphotographymagazine. co.uk/submissions.

The closing date for entries is midnight on 18 July 2021.

See page 66 for more details and terms and conditions.

Enter and you could win a RAB Kinetic 2.0 jacket, worth £185, courtesy of Trekitt

Trekitt is your friendly independent online outdoor retailer – if you’ve got a query, they're happy to share their unbiased knowledge with you.

Want a waterproof that's noiseless?

Then why not try a softshell? This June issue brings with it British summer weather and all its unpredictability, so the prize for our Patterns in Nature competition winner is what Trekitt considers the perfect jacket for this time of year: the Rab Kinetic 2.0, RRP £185 (for men and women).

Mark Trepte of Trekitt says: ‘This waterproof softshell is stretchy and comfortable. It’s also surprisingly quiet and is super breathable so you won’t feel the need to take it off and risk over-cooling, making it a proper “point and shoot” jacket’.

Find out more at trekitt.co.uk

Outdoor Photography 95

COMPETITION

Where in the world?

If you can identify this ancient dolmen you could win a Syrp Genie Micro smart remote, worth £139!

Where is it?

Built thousands of years ago, dolmens are thought to have originally been burial chambers – but where in the world would you find this one…

a: Poulnabrone, Ireland b: Lanyon Quoit, England c: Sorginetxe, Spain The answer and the winner’s name will be revealed in OP 272.

You can enter the competition online at outdoorphotographymagazine.co.uk, using Burial269 as the code, or send your answer to opcomp@thegmcgroup.com, stating Burial269 as the subject. Alternatively, drop it in the post to: Where in the World – Burial269, Outdoor Photography, 86 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1XN. The deadline for entry is 30 July 2021.

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THIS MONTH’S GREAT PRIZE SYRP GENIE MICRO

Worth

The Syrp Genie Micro is an all-in-one smart remote for mirrorless and DSLR cameras.

The device allows photographers to control their camera directly from Syrp’s free intuitive smartphone app, available for both iOS and Android. Designed to minimise the set-up time for time-lapse and video, the Genie Micro slides easily on to the camera’s hotshoe and allows you to set up a variety of different shots while also controlling camera settings, such as ISO, aperture and shutter speed. The Genie Micro works with most Canon and Nikon cameras, and additional compatibility with Sony and other cameras will soon be possible.

For more details visit syrp.com.

£139

OP 266 WINNER In issue 266 we asked you to identify the emerald island in the image below.

The correct answer is:

b) Rarotonga, Cook Islands Shutterstock.com

ENTER ONLINE NOW!

Congratulations to our winner!

Tony Hill from West Sussex

‘Best Photo Lab Worldwide’ Awarded by the Editors of 26 International Photography Magazines TIPA World Award 2013, 2017 and 2020

Luke Stackpoole WhiteWall Ambassador WhiteWall Ambassadors are among the most respected, talented, and influential professional photographers in the world, and they rely on WhiteWall‘s gallery quality services for their exceptional artworks. Discover unique photo products, made in-house at our facility in Germany, such as the original photo print under acrylic glass with floater frame from our in-house manufacture.

WhiteWall.com Berlin, London, Paris, New York