Birsa Zoological Park is a great place to see and photograph animals and they are playing a big role in the conservation of these animals. This is one of the largest zoos in India and it is just 14km from Ranchi. I had visited this park over two days as I felt one day was not enough. However the entry fees are not expensive but since I had a tripod and a large telephoto lens, it cost me an extra Rs.1000 but in the end it was well worth it and also it goes for good cause.
Since I was in Ranchi to meet with some family members, I wanted to visit a few places in and around Ranchi. One of these places was Patratu Dam which is a short drive from the main city. This is a good place to watch migratory birds however during my visit to this place, I only saw Siberian Gulls. Photographing these birds was a challenge due to shooting handheld from a moving boat.
Peak District is another place that I have visited multiple times and is a good place to photograph landscapes and wildlife. Wildlife can include red deer, various birds and other small mammals. I have not yet explored most of Peak District but I intend to do so in the future. It is spread across six counties: Derbyshire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, South Yourkshire and West Yorkshire. Not only for photographers, but is good for day hikes, mountain biking and also for running or jogging across its landscape. I myself have done some long hikes in the peak district which involved 7 to 8 hours of walking. There are shorter hikes as well that one can do. However here I am sharing a short selection of photographs of the Peak District taken during 2018.
Dorset is a nice place to visit and it is a good place for the landscape photographer. In 2017, I had made three trips to Dorset mainly in the summer months. There are various locations to visit here. The places I had visited on my frequent visits were Corfe Castle, Swanage beach and pier, the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, Kimmeridge bay and Portland. Here is a small collection of my best photos from the area from long exposures to sunsets however there is alot more to explore and I feel my favourite destination is Durdle Door in Lulworth and it gives plenty of landscape opportunites during the different seasons.
I had visited Perch Rock Lighthouse in November which is in New Brighton in Merseyside. I had arrived mid afternoon by train and it was a 10 minute walk from the station to the lighthouse. On arriving at the beach, I setup my DSLR and tripod and I took a couple of test shots from different angles and locations just to see what framing looks good and what framing does not look good.
During Mid October I had visited both Richmond and Bradgate Parks to photograph and experience the Deer rut. This natural event happens every Autumn season and is the most important part of the year for the deer.
Lyme Park which is located near Stockport is a short train journey away from where I live and it forms part of the Peak District. I had visited here just last September mainly to photograph Red Deer which is the largest land mammal in the UK. October is the peak time where the Deer rut takes place across various parks in the UK and I will be visiting Richmond Park and also Bradgate Park which is not only good to experience the Deer rut but also good for bird photography. Overall this was a great experience to observe and photograph Red Deers in large number up close. However during Deer rutting season, getting very close to male stags can be quite dangerous as they are high on testosterone and very aggressive.
I had booked a trip to Bempton for two nights during the first week of August mainly to photograph Puffins, Gannets and other seabirds around the RSPB Bempton site and also do some landscape photography which you could read here. However I decided to further check out other places around Bempton and on doing so, I came across a blog post titled “A guide to photographing Flamborough Head“.
I was impressed by the images and I took this as a photography challenge to visit those spots and a few more and photograph them and for this reason, I then planned to stay for an additional 3 nights.
Having visited RSPB Bempton Cliffs early August, here is a selection of images taken over the few days I was there. It is home to not only Gannets but also Puffins however Puffin numbers are less in August since they go out at sea and return early spring. Gannets remain until October. There was also some sighting of Tree Sparrows and other common birds such as Blackbirds but did not get to see any Hares or Barn Owls as they are resident to the area. The nature reserve is located on the Yorkshire Coast overlooking the North Sea.
I had decided to visit Hoo Farm which is a small zoo located in Telford. They do have a number of captive birds and animals and they play an important role in conservation. I have visited the zoo on two occasions mainly to photograph wild badgers from a hide located within the zoo. There is a badger sett within the zoo where a group of badgers reside forming an underground network. Every Saturday the zoo organizes a badger watch from within the hide from 5pm to 8pm. There is also other wildlife to be seen as well like foxes however on both occasions, the foxes did not appear. The first visit was good as I got some good sightings of the badger and was the first time I had ever seen a badger.
