A week at this time of year on Mull can bring all seasons!
Category: Articles
Mull – Part Four
Iceland Gull
On the Saturday we arrived, whilst in the hide at Fishnish we got onto a second winter Iceland Gull whilst scanning the 80 or so gulls around the fish farms a couple of hundred meters or so off shore. It gave fine scope views but was far to distant for any photography.
Mull – Part Three
Mull – Part Two
Gannets of Bass Rock
Bass Rock
The wind had been up, it had rained for the last few days and we were not hopeful that our longed booked trip over to Bass Rock would go ahead.
An Island one mile off shore in the Firth of Forth and three miles from our departure point at North Berwick, Bass Rock is a place like no other I’ve ever been to.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Ynys-hir
The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is not an easy bird to see or photograph. I’ve been to quite a few locations over the years where they are known to breed (and it’s never easy to be 100% sure of that!) but never even caught sight of them. ‘A shy bird of the high canopy’ is often how bird books will describe them.
Greenland White-fronted Geese on the Dyfi Estuary
When Tom Kistruck, the RSPB warden at Ynys-hir, told me that the most recent count of the Greenland White-fronted Geese on the Dyfi estuary, not far from the town of Machynlleth, had grown from the eleven that had been reported before Christmas to thirteen, I had a feeling that the number might prove to be as unlucky as I’d been the previous couple of days. I’m not generally a superstitious person but at times like this you sort of begin to wonder.
Ruskin and Brantwood – A bit of a Pilgrimage
A few days up around the Lakes saw us once again visiting Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin. Not only is it full of artwork from Ruskin and his contemporaries, along with all sorts of paraphernalia related to an incredibly eclectic life, but is spectacularly situated on the shores of Lake Coniston.
Iceland 3
Iceland for me was beautifully articulated by one of my favourite nature writers, Jim Crumley. He was referring to Skye in his book, Barn Owl, when he said,
Iceland 2
Sort of Chronological from the time spent in Iceland. Second set today. These give a little more context to the images that are making up the folio. A bit of a flavour as to where both Brendan and I were working.
From the new Folio – Iceland 1
I’ve been out and about a bit in the last few months, infact I managed to find myself in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in four consecutive days last month!
Mull – Swallows and the Art of Flying
For all the spectacular and heady wildlife Mull has to offer, the photographs I’m perhaps most pleased with from my last trip are those of a bird I always enjoy working with, and one that continues to challenge; the swallow.
Golden Eagles on Mull
My brother Phil had just come back from Mull and had told of a golden eagle eyrie very close to the single road that runs through Glen More. He’d also been lucky enough to see it take a live lamb off the hillside in front of the eyrie and return it to the then small eaglet sitting tight and out of sight in what had become known as the ‘smiling rock’, due to the shape of the crag under which the eyrie lay.
Mull 1
It’s been a good while since I last posted a blog but a recent trip to Mull, and devouring ‘The Eagles Way’ by a favourite nature writer of mine, Jim Crumley, has made me think about getting ‘something out there’(funnily enough another title of one of Crumley’s twenty five or so books!)
Ghosts of the Restless Shore
One of the things that has helped me during my period of depression was having to do some work on a project that I was committed to prior to my illness. At times I had absolutely no interest in going out with the camera but forced myself to do some work.
Elvis on an iphone – part 2
Elvis on an iphone – Part 1
We took the first year USW photojournalism students to the Elvis festival in Porthcawl on the weekend. We did the same last year, it’s a really good introduction for them to get used to communicating with people and most folk are ‘up’ for being photographed.
When Light is Magical
There are a few occasions when light seems more, much more than simply the everyday occurrence that we take for granted.
Enys Gardens – Cornwall – Bluebells
Walking Through the Sands of Time – Part Four
From Aisndale to Southport completed the Sefton Coast path on day four and saw a full complement join us for another day of learning, talking, discussing and listening.