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.
The British Wildlife Centre is a mini zoo that houses wildlife native only to Britain. This is located on the outskirts of London in Lingfield, Surrey. They organize photography days when the zoo is closed for the public. The photography days are mainly catered towards hobbyist photographers. The experience boasts of taking advantage of natural settings, a small group and a peaceful environment and here we get the opportunity to photography a number of mammal species and owls some of which are hard to observe in the wild. Here I am showcasing a number of photos where I was able to get some portrait shots, behaviour and action shots. For this wildlife shoot, I used the Canon 5d Mark III and Tamron 150-600mm G2 telephoto lens.
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.
Norfolk is a great place for birding and wildlife photography in England. I had visited Norfolk earlier this month mainly to photograph common seals but there are lots of opportunities for wildlife.
Blakeney Point is a nature reserve in Blakeney village in the county of Norfolk. During the summer, many common seals assemble at Blakeney Point to give birth to seal pups. I had planned this trip a few months back and decided to visit in July. At the Blakeney Point, there are not only common seals but also Grey Seals and various seabirds such as Sandwich Terns and Oyster Catchers.
Leh, Ladakh is one of the most scenic and photogenic places in India. Leh was the ancient capital of Ladakh and now in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Leh has a lot heritage sites and monasteries and is mainly dominated by Buddhism. The best time to visit Leh would be between April to September. I have myself visited Leh 4 times. It is not only a place where people go for treks and expeditions but also a great place for sightseeing and interacting with locals. One word of advice when visiting Leh is to rest on the day of arrival since Leh is 3500m above sea level. One can get high altitude sickness so it is best to acclimatize slowly at this altitude.
