Alan Mackenzie Photography

F inding original compositions from unused van tage points is becoming increasingly difficul t, g ive n the popularity of the South Downs as a photographic subject . Like any other area of life, landscape photography can be very compet itive, ruthless and territorial and I've had a few negative experiences with people who would eat themselves if they were made of chocolate . Happily, during  the last two years, I have been granted access to several estates b y enlightened landowners . U ntil recently, all of these estates have been wooded areas on the H igh Weald. I am ple ased to say that I now have kind permission to enter private land on the South Downs . Under the right weather conditions, my job as a landscape photographer has become a whole lot easie r now that a range of new vantage poi nts have become available. The farmer has informed me that Fallow and Roe deer are present on his land. Red deer were observed a few years ago . I normally have to travel well into S...

I always take a week off every year to photograph what I regard as the symbolic end of winter - when bar e, sorry looking woodlands are transformed by a dazzling combination of vivid bluebells and fresh green leaves. Winter is a prison of introspection and alienation from my preferred outdoor life. Entering a bluebell wood in late April is my first taste of freedom in several months. I can become completely absorbed .  But while it is easy to photograph bluebells, it is difficult to photograph them well. Many photographers get carried away, giving little thought to composition, light and perspective and are unsurprisingly disappointed with their results. B luebells are delicate flowers , which show up best in early morning or late evening sunsh ine. Flower heads are quite widely spaced apart, requiring standard to long focal lengths to comp ress the perspective. High levels of contrast in bluebell woods present s a challenge for exposure. To correct this issue , I use ...

April can be a difficult month. The days are getting longer, but the forests are still bare until the end of the month. We've had some lovely evenings recently, but I've just sat at home, unable to decide what to do. An evening on the South Downs, overlooking Kingston Ridge was just what I needed to gently ease me back into photography. The great thing about this location is I can pick a composition I like and wait for the light to change. You may recognise the windmill scene from last September. How the landscape changes over the seasons! And the windmill is now complete. Most photographers would use 300mm and 500mm lenses for wildlife, sports or photojournalism, but long focal lengths are ideal for the gentle, rolling South Downs landscape, where the vantage point may be a mile or two from the scene.

Intentional camera movement (ICM) is a well established photographic technique. I've seen numerous examples on Flickr and elsewhere, some very well done and others poorly executed. For a successful image, I like to strike the right balance between detail and blur. For starling murmurations, the birds must be in focus and the shutter speed should not be set too low, otherwise blur will be so strong, that any sense of motion will be lost and the viewer may struggle to identify the subject. When photographing static subjects, I will place the camera on a tripod and open the shutter using a remote controller. For half a second, the camera is kept still to record fine detail, before I gently sway the camera vertically, taking care to prevent the tripod feet from hitting the ground. The result is a finely detailed image, with sleek, blurry lines, free of jerkiness.

While so many of us salivate at the latest, high-tech camera equipment, it's easy to overlook non-photographic accessories, such as a torch, multi-tool and footwear. I'm a wildlife and landscape photographer and as such, I often find myself in the middle of nowhere in total darkness. The terrain I work on is often muddy, rocky, uneven and prone to flooding. Natural hazards and pests may be present, especially during summer. Here is an overview of the essential accessories I use, with recommendations and commentary on quality standards. It is not definitive and alternative choices are possible, but I can only write about the equipment I've used. Xtar B20 Pilot II torch: I often find myself finishing a shoot at sunset in the middle of remote forests. Not only that, I have to negotiate unlit, narrow country lanes on foot. I need a bright, reliable, waterproof torch, with a good throw and wide coverage. The torch has to fit into my pocket, but be powerful enough to g...

Here are my favourite shots from 2015. The photo I think everyone will like is the first - I posted it to the Flickr Y our Best Shot group and I'm hopi ng the Flickr curators select it for their blog this December . I like the Roe deer buck in the forest best. I had seen and missed him before and purposely revisited the forest to locate this si ngle Roe living in isolation. My favou rite experience was watching the sun rise in Dockey Wood, Bucking hamsh ire, having spent the entire night 'Foreign Legion' style out in the open. Interestingly, Fallow deer on the Ashridge Estate don't appear to be frightened of humans, unlike Fallow anywhere in Sussex, which tend to bolt immediately.  2015 turned out to be a year of amazing and sometimes strange coincidences; I randomly bumped into the parents of two school friends in the middle of nowhere. It had b een 25 years since we last spoke, but we remembered each other well. They also own a country estate and very kindl...

I reached a turning point at the end of last winter. I felt that my starling work was becoming stagnant. Too many efforts were an attempt to recreate my best sunset murmuration shots from 2011 - 2013 , many of wh ich are one-offs , when everything seem ed to come tog ether in a fra ction of a second. In many ways, blurmurations, taken using a slow shutter speed, are equally hard to pull off. Not every winter afternoon in Brighton produces ideal conditions for fast, action shots. O ften, the sun is obscured by mid and high level clouds, which result in a blown out solar disc. The best weather for high speed action is either sunny, clou dless conditions or sunshine and showers for a dramatic backdrop. Ideal conditions for blurmurations are either overcast skies and gale force winds or sunless skies, with patches of blue and magenta. I've thoroughly enjoyed my adventure into more unpredic table, experimental waters. I shall take a short br eak now , pour myself a wee dram and r...

A crowd had gathered around a washed up Guillemot on Brighton beach. Frequent storms during winter 2014 weakened many sea birds, causing them to get stranded on beaches around the English coast. Many casualties were covered in oil. Rather than use their initiative and find a solution, the bystanders faffed about. Some filmed the bird on their smartphones; others talked at length about doing something, but then failed to act. Humans may think they have freewill, but it is well established that they behave in highly predictable ways, especially when in groups. It is common for people in a group or a crowd to ignore a str icken person or animal and carry on regardless . This phenomenon is called the diffusion of responsibility . It happens regardless of personality, culture or socio-economic status. We are all capable of walking past someone who has collapsed in the street. I decided to phone the RSPCA. In the meantime, a man stood by, idly allowing his son to threaten and throw ...

I'm pleased to say my photo of the starling murmurations features in this month's Brighton and Hove Calendar. O ne of my sunflower images will feature as t he main picture for June... in the Brighton & Hove Calendar 2016 . It is currently for sale in Churchill Square, Brighton at a stall near Zara. It is also available to buy online or at Brighton Photography, 52-53 Kings Road Arches, Brighton, BN1 2LN.

Autumn is always a busy time for me. Not only does autumn produce a rich palette of colours, it is my last chance to enjoy the outdoors in comfortable temperatures and reasonable daylight hours, before the short, dreich days of winter. This year's locations include Friston Forest, a small woodland on the Sussex/Kent border and a private estate on the High Weald, which is adjacent to one of my favourite forests in Sussex. I enjoyed watching Fallow deer from afar, while they were taking part in the rut. The deep, belching groans from bucks could be heard from all parts of the estate. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any photos worthy of being shown. The estate is a hive of activity, as the owners are building a country house in the grounds. My week off coincided with half term and deer in the neighbouring forest were frightened off by incoherent sounds from dogs, children and adults who are several decades from reaching maturity. I like to photograph a particular woodland...