I felt like a fraud at first, but I returned to the deer meadow in 2021 by train and bike. Last year's prohibitions on the use of public transport for non-essential journeys meant completing the entire 52 mile round trip by bicycle. I can now step off the train and cycle to the nature reserve, but I still get 8 miles of cycling. I am drawn to the meadow in early June because an explosion of wildflowers attracts Roe deer from surrounding land to feed, raise young and establish territory for the rutting season. I've struck lucky with a tolerant older buck this summer (see below). At first, I thought he was the same buck from 2019 and 2020, but they are probably just related. He was a little nervous on the first encounter. The buck got up, ate as many buttercups as he could and moved to a different spot nearby. It's almost as if was hedging his bets. My presence didn't frighten him, but the deer stocked up on energy in case I turned out to be one of the unfortunate recen
Don't miss my roe deer projects from 2020 and 2021 . 23rd May 2019: I was so pleased with the images from my first visit, that I could easily have finished the project in one evening. Temperatures were a good seven degrees warmer inland, reaching 23 °C and the Roe deer were just shedding the last of their thick winter coats. Grass height was still short enough to allow the easy observation of these small deer. The three babies from last year survived the winter; two bucks and one doe. The young buck was quite tolerant of me. When people wandered through the field, the buck went and hovered about the perimeter until they disappeared before returning to grazing on buttercups. Two adult does were present, but neither were pregnant. An adult buck accompanied one of the does. Possibly mistaking her availability, the buck chased the doe around the field in an unusually early display of courtship. My theory is that the doe is infertile, as she was not pregnant in 2018 either. To a
Welcome to my starling murmuration essay for 2020/21. I had planned to photograph something else this winter, but I changed my mind on a whim, after going to Brighton Pier a few days after the second lockdown ended. By the forth visit, I had enough creative images to stop and publish the essay — and the twenty images here are from a total of six trips to the pier . Some of my images are highly unusual, and left me wondering how I even managed to take them. Take the first picture — a night city motion blur shot of birds and light trails from evening traffic. Shots three and four give us an idea of what a starling murmuration would look like, if photographed from within the atmosphere of Jupiter. The monochromatic motion blur images (ten to eighteen) look like they've been sketched on art paper using a pencil. I captured the strangeness of the murmuration, as it compacted into an oval before unravelling like a rope in pouring rain well after sunset, as most other photographers she
Every winter, starlings escaping the harsh Scandinavian winter migrate to the British Isles and other mild European countries. Starlings feed in gardens and farmland in the daytime and gather in huge groups called murmurations over Brighton Pier in late afternoon. Murmurations are thought to serve a number of purposes. Firstly, they are a defensive strategy against birds of prey; each starling monitors and shadows seven of its neighbours and this leads to murmurations adopting a typical fluid movement. Should a predatory bird attempt to intercept a murmuration, each starling in its path will automatically move aside, allowing the adversary to pass straight through. Flying in murmurations generates body heat and the collective warmth of bodies acts as a giant radiator when the starlings roost. Competition for the most sheltered places to roost is fierce and dominant males get first preference. Females and juveniles have to sleep in more exposed spots. Although migrant starlings be
The temperature on December 1st 2010 never rose above -0.3ºC and heavy snow fell across Sussex. I started taking photographs two hours before work, in the afternoon and resumed photography after an early finish due to severe weather conditions. Continuous light snow fell until 19:45, when the powdery snow turned very heavy, dumping 15 - 25cm in just a few hours. I caught the number 6 bus into Brighton city centre, where I spent two hours meeting friendly faces and photographing familiar places in unfamiliar conditions. As I braced myself for a long walk home, I thought I'd pop into Brighton Station on the off-chance that tonight's snow was of the 'right kind'. Miraculously, the 22:34 Southern train to Chichester was on Platform 2. The train crawled up to Preston Park, reversed and struggled along to Portslade. I met Frank on a very cold, snow-swept Hove Promenade. He was out walking his West Highland Terrier. He told me that he owns the Snoopers Paradise on
Update: When you've finished this gallery, move onto my project for 2020/21 . Welcome to my winter starling murmuration project. The photo essay is a dying art, so please encourage me to produce more like this, by leaving a comment at the bottom. You don't even have to login. Your name or an alias is better than posting as Anonymous. Starling murmurations are one of the most mesmerising sights in the natural world. Every winter, starlings escaping sub-zero temperatures in Scandinavia migrate to more temperate European latitudes. The south coast of England is mild throughout the winter, although the weather can be very wet and windy at times. The birds spend daylight hours in parks, gardens and farmland. Every afternoon, they gather in their thousands to form shape-shifting, fluid murmurations, before roosting for the night, underneath Brighton Pier. Anyone in the city centre at around 07:30 in December will be startled by huge flocks of starlings making their way back to
I will remember 2012, as the year in which I became a true wildlife and landscape photographer. I've wanted to specialise in these fields since the age of 18; for want of the correct equipment and knowledge of wild animal behaviour, I dared not call myself a specialist photographer. Equally, 2012 saw my interest in photography become a social activity. Among others, it was nice getting to know Alex Lawrence , Andy Bertram and Finn Hopson , after bumping into them at various locations around Sussex. I would like to thank Alex, in particular, for his kindness, in lending me the Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM and the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM MKII for months at a time. The optical quality and focus accuracy of these lenses is second-to-none. Using them has been the turning point of my career; since everything counts in large amounts, I will now save for a super-telephoto prime lens of my own. If 2012 was the year of wildlife photography and social activity, it was also the ye
Obviously, 2020 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons and wherever you are in the world, I hope you stay safe and receive a vaccination soon. I was unlucky enough to suffer fever, body aches, a dry cough, loss of taste and smell and confusion back in March. An NHS laboratory test in November confirmed the presence of Covid-19 antibodies in my blood. If there's a silver lining, I still had antibodies (at the time of testing) some 8 months after recovery and they should confer at least some immunity until I receive my vaccine. Since I am on the priority list due to my job in adult social care, I expect to receive my first jab in the new year. Sadly, not everyone was lucky enough to recover unharmed. I have met several older adults, who nearly died from Covid-19, along with younger people in my age group, who display symptoms of 'Long Covid'. 2020 was a year in which many of us attended more closely to our health. I dropped 17 kg using diet and exercise and this w
Thursday 8th November 2012: An estimated ten thousand starlings gathered around Brighton Pier at sunset this afternoon. I had little time to grasp the sheer magnitude of the display. Within fifteen minutes, my 16GB memory card was full up. The murmurations can only get bigger and more spectacular each afternoon, as thousands of starlings arrive in Brighton for the winter. ------ Wednesday 14th November 2012 : One would normally expect clear skies to be accompanied by cold, crisp weather, but today's maximum temperature of 12.5 °C was an exception to the rule. Unfortunately, clear skies don't provide any kind of dramatic backdrop. Therefore, despite taking 600 shots, only one was good enough to show other people. After the standards set last Thursday, keeping up with expectations is becoming increasingly a challenge! I was delighted to meet Fine Art and Photography student, Suzanne Carr on Sunday afternoon, after being contacted by email. Suzanne is in
My image of the Seven Sisters is to feature in Peace Camp 2012 , part of the London 2012 Festival , culminating in a series of encampments at various locations around the British coastline. Theatre director, Deborah Warner and actor Fiona Shaw are working in collaboration to produce a series of coastal installations, from Cornwall to Sussex and Wales, Northumberland, Scotland and Northern Ireland. "Designed to be visited between dusk and dawn, Peace Camp is a poignant exploration of love poetry and a celebration of the extraordinary variety and beauty of our coastline." Peace Camp 2012 . My image will advertise Cuckmere Haven, the nearest Peace Camp installation to the London 2012 Games. I expect the image to gain wide exposure, owing to the proximity to London. Peace Camp 2012 runs between 19th - 22nd July and entry is free.
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