In my garden at home in Worcestershire, there is a bush which bears copious quanitites of ultra-red berries every year.  Don’t ask me what it’s called, I’m no gardener.  Well, that’s not strictly true – I do drive around it on the mower in the summer.  Anyway, back to the point….this bush has been visited EVERY winter for at least 8 years by just one bird …….

This heavily cropped pic was snapped (and, yeah, yeah – it’s not the best image, I know, but this is not my favourite genre and my kit doesn’t do it justice!) using my 100-400L zoom at full stretch with a 2X convertor on a Canon 5Dii.

I am told by my good friend and manic bird photographer, Ron Jones, that it is a fieldfare. (As an aside, you should see Ron’s bird shots: wow!)

So, what’s the point, I hear you ask?  Well, it’s just that this one bird separates itself from what is a flock of about 50 and takes guard of the bush, defending its position quite viciously against insurgents from its and any other species.  The berries seem very plump and attractive to birds in the garden but from blue tit to magpie, all are repelled by Genghis Fieldfare.  OK, now I haven’t gone as far as attaching an identifier to the bird’s leg so I cannot be absolutely sure that it’s the same bird every time but I am pretty darn confident of this.  What is even more strange is that the rest of the fieldfare flock stays away – you might expect a load of birds with similar taste to descend and strip the bush in minutes but no – one bird pecks away at the berries every day for about a fortnight until the bush is bare.

Can anyone explain this behaviour?

Last night saw me at the dress rehearsal of ‘Aladdin’ at the Market Theatre, Ledbury, where a band of merry AmDrams were polishing the edges of their latest production, about to go ‘live’.  I was there to help out friend and fellow togger Pat who normally handles the camera at such events, but is tied up in dimmers and gels and other such ‘LX’ stuff.  The brief was to (a) get a few FOH shots (Front of House for you non-luvvies) and (b) record the grease-painted grimaces of the various genies, Twankees and other thigh-slappers treading the boards for the next cuppla weeks.

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried capturing images of peopl leaping about a stage – it ain’t easy!  Whilst the lighting might appear bright to the audience, this ain’t necessarily so: a few kilowats of fresnel spot are soon lost when spread around the place, especially when they’re covered with the dark green gel used to convey a grim scene.  So a challenge was afoot: how to capture adequately sharp images in such poor condittions.

Now, I’m the very satisfied possessor of a Canon 5Dii and also I robbed the local bank to buy one of those famed 70-200 f/2.8 IS ‘L’ Mkii telescopes.  These two beasties in combination are a formidable pair indeed.  The full-frame 5D has astonishingly good pixel noise performance even at higher ISO’s: the 70-200 looks like something from Patrick Moore’s private collection (kidding only – it’s pretty light and manouverable) and the two coupled together can cope with the proverbial black cat in a coal cellar at midnight.  So I whacked the ISO up to 3200 and found that – worst case – I was getting a 250th out of the machine, easily enough to provide some good sharpness.  Naturally, at its widest and longest, the lens was giving me a DOF about two cigarette papers thick but even so, by picking my spot (the auditorium was empty – it’s a dress rehearsal, remember) I was able to get folk aligned on the focus plane without too much trouble.

My son Rich Thompson is in his own right a formidable landscape photographer (I have NO IDEA where he gets his skill from, but take a look at www.fotoz.co.uk if you want a peek) who also owns a 5D.  As he lives locally, I called him up and scrounged the use of his camera for the night – I bolted my 50mm f1.4 to his box and this filled in nicely where the 70-200 ran out of widness of angle. I will admit, though, that having two 5D’s dangling from your neck – one with the the solid lump of glass that is that 70-200 – does nothing for the curvature of one’s spine.  Don’t let anyone tell you that photography doesn’t require fitness: it just isn’t true.  I was physically worn down by the experience!

I did attempt a few shots with 24-105 and a 17-40 zooms but their widest apertures were a measly f/4 demanding more ISO (and – even on a 5D – unacceptable noise) or slower shutters, neither of which fitted the scene.  A waste of time even trying!

So all in all it was an interesting experience.  Oh no it wasn’t you say?t!  OH YES IT WAS – HE’S BEHIND YOU!!!  etc.. Such chants washed over me thankfully – I’ve never been too much of a fan of traditional panto and remain so after last night! But, photographically, it was an interesting challenge and one for which I was glad of the opportunity. If that makes sense……..

A week ago (3rd Jan) a couple of friends Peter Warner and Malcolm Porter from Beacon Camera Club, Malvern joined me on a trek south to Portland Bill, an island off Weymouth on the Dorset coast.  I had been watching the weather forecast like a hawk because a couple of days earlier it was noticeable how the isobars were bunching up on Carol Kirkwood’s charts.  The map looked like a venetian blind on Monday, signalling to Anyone Who Knows that rough weather is brewing up.  Now, I am reasonably well-known for being a wave-worshipper though I prefer to pray from a distance – I’m not much of a swimmer and my appearance in a wetsuit is not something of which I am greatly proud!  All the signs were right, so, it had to be done: we piled 3 people and 50 kilos of photo kit into the car at 08:30 and beetled off south.

It took us 3 hours to get there: it would have been quicker but for a couple of diversions due to wind-felled trees.  I couldn’t help but be troubled by the conflict of emotions – sorry for the poor bu**ers caught up in fallen-down branchiness but egged on by the prospect of what the breeze would be doing to the sea.  We were not to be disappointed.  Arriving at the Bill, we were greeted by horizontal rain and at least a force 8 gale.  Bonus – the car-park machines refused to accept our dosh! We strolled (or rather, leaned) our way down to the rocks in front of the lighthouse to seek out the best splashers and a spot to watch from.   The last time I visited Portland Bill was a couple of years ago and at that time the tide was out and the sea was calm-ish, allowing a scramble down the rocks to get a good angle on Pulpit Rock – this pic shows the scene then (2009)…

On the latest trip, however, the tide was high, precluding any forays down towards the water.  In fact, we were pretty much pinned to one location, clinging to a big rock to prevent being blown away.  Man, it was cruel – I have never been in wind like it!  I managed to secrete my camera bag in a relatively dry place – I have a Lowepro ‘wet’ bag with waterproof zips, which is great.  Except, of course, you can’t take pictures with your camera in its bag – you have to open it at some point!  Picking that moment wasn’t easy, what with spray from the waves being a constant irritant.  I managed to catch a few seconds without a deluge and primed the ol’ 5Dii for action with my trusty 17-40L.  The good thing about this combo is that it’s pretty much proof against the weather, with loads of rubber seals in the gaps and a nice gasket between the lens and the body.  I’m not saying I’d be happy to dunk it in the briny but knowing that splashes will be deflected harmlessly is right useful in these conditions.  I decided that I would resist the temptation to change lenses ‘mid shoot’ – a mirror box full of salt water would hardly be much fun, now, would it?

We decided that the best place for a snap would be on the base of Pulpit Rock (next to the leaning slab in the pic above)  so, after 10 minutes of bracing against the wind I picked a spot which would give a good view of the rocks in front of the lighthouse whilst at the same time affording some shelter from the wind and waves. Nonetheless, getting to that spot demanded a sprint across open territory close to the sea - this imposed the requirement for courage, bearing in mind the strength of the wind! I pointed this out to my mate Malcolm and whilst I was looking the other way, he scrambled down to the slab and scuttled across to my chosen vantage point – cheeky monkey!  He was quickly followed by some guy from Oxford who we’d met earlier – I guess he’d decided that his manhood was in question if he didn’t ‘take the plunge’, if not literally.  I continued to watch for a minute and was rewarded (heh, heh!) with the sight of a massive breaker showering the pair of ‘em (Malcolm’s the one on the left)!

My laughter subsided when I realised that if I was going to get ‘The Shot’, I was going to have to do the same as them. So, there was me wondering if I was man enough, with camera under coat and heart firmly in mouth, stepping out onto the gangplank.  Yeah, yeah, I made it. In the 5 minutes I was there, the sun came out and my good luck was balanced by divine compensation - I got absolutely drenched, head to toe, camera and all.  Fortunately me ol’ 5D was unscathed by this but it took the rest of the day in the howling gale for me to get dried out.  And doesn’t that sea water sting your shaving nicks!!?

Lunch at the cafe next to the lighthouse (yes, open and serving to 50 on the 3rd. Jan!) was a welcome warm-up and the afternoon was nowhere near as eventful or photographically rewarding as those 5 minutes spent cowering behind pulpit rock.

I pressed the button a couple of hundred times but in reality I brought back only one adequate shot, though actually it’s a stitch of two and a little bit of another, composited so as to get the right ‘feel’.  I reckon it was worth it!  Taken with a Canon 5Dii with a 17-40L at f/8 1/640th, ISO 400

Observations of the day?  Some obvious, others not – good ‘wet’ clothing is essential – after returning from this trip, I invested in some new stuff – a Berghaus ‘Carrock’ Gore-tex jacket and over-trousers, bought in Black’s sale (watch their window: they’ve just gone into administration and bargains may well be afoot!).  Forget the brolly – it’ll only end up inside out. Turtle fur for the neck, Thinsulate bonnet for the bare patch. Gloves if you can find some good ones with no fingers – you’ve buttons to press, remember. Half-a-dozen ‘E-cloths’ to clean your lens – I’ve not found anything better, ever. One wasn’t enough, I was wringing it out after ten minutes. Oh, and when you get home, wipe over everything twice or thrice with a damp rag to get rid of the seawater residue.  This is particularly important with regard to aluminum items, like your tripod – corrosion will set in by morning if you don’t do it.

A cracking day out was had by we three.  Malcolm even claimed to be corrupted by the occasion, wondering how he can ever top the combination of adrenalin and photography experienced on ‘The Bill’.  And it all happened just in time to produce some useful shots for the Club’s ‘Weather’ competition.

A good mate of mine and a bl**dy skillful snapper, Rich Ellis, visited Porthcawl in South Wales on the same day.  His experience is detailed in his blog at http://ellisimagery.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/storm-force/

Finally, uncertainly, I get around to creating this blog.  Whilst I am a devoted technophile, I have fought shy of embracing the world of the blog…up until now, that is.  Maybe it’s due to the confidence level that I possess as to how my musings will be received – I know a whole load of stuff about photography, but does anyone else want to hear about it??  Eventually, I have convinced myself that all that effort spent in filling a cranium with optical and photographic guff should be put to some use.  This hobby (livelihood?) of ours can get pretty obsessive, y’know, and a lot of people are in the trap. You only have to look at how many DSLR’s are sold to realise that many, many folk are following the same trail, some succesfully, others not so.  Therefore, I offer my synapse sparks to anyone who can be bothered to read them – my plan is to share my knowledge and experience with those out there in InterWeb land and perhpas to cause some amusement along the way. Dryness is not for me, you will discover!

So, if you have read this far and find that what I have said appeals to you, comment on what you see here and call back now and then.