Nigel's  Wildlife  Photography  Blog  :  2012
 
 
 
I would like to take this opportunity to wish a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2013 to everyone who visits  www.nigelspencer.co.uk  
 
 
1st December
 
Christmas Is coming - The Memory Cards Are Getting Fat
 

Yes I know the saying should be "Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat" but in my case, I am about to set off on my next photographic adventure and as a result I hope that very soon.  I have not taken many images recently,and in a few days time, I will be filling my memory cards with images in the run up to Christmas.  Most people who know me, will be aware of the latest project that Sue and I am about to embark on.  We obviously want to see lots of great wildlife, but we also intend to take lots of images and I hope to have a new section in the gallery at the end of 2012.

Further details of our big trip, the species we see, our thoughts, along with some of the photographs we take  will appear in this blog.  So please revisit soon and take a look.
 
And On The Subject Of Christmas.....
 

 

The Long Journey North by Danny Green

It is not always possible to do justice to some images using words, and the 200 pages of images in my friend Danny Greens new book is a very good example of this.
Having seen this book, it should be on the Christmas list of every wildlife photographer.  This book contains pages of stunning images from great locations along with a huge variety of species.

I was lucky enough to be with Danny on a small number of his trips where some of these images were taken.  In my opinion this book now resets the standard for wildlife photography books.  For many years to come, future wildlife photography books will be measured against this work.

For book details, follow this link
http://www.dannygreenphotography.com/pages/the-long-journey-north-book.php
 
 

 

 
Mid November or Movember..... 
 
Its a bit quiet for me photographically at the moment, not been out much recently, but plans are in place for a lot of new images and species in December and hopefully these will appear on this site over the Christmas period.  I have also seen the Green Woodpecker back on my back lawn again yesterday, so fingers crossed that I might get lucky and get a few more shots of him which would be very welcome.
 
 

In the meantime I am taking the opportunity to add a few more images from the past months and years to this site and have recently added a page on Dolphins into the coast gallery including this Bottle Nosed Dolphin taken off the coast of Madeira in September 2011.

I am also adding some other bits and bobs and during the next few months and I m in the process of adding another 100 or so images including some Owls, Swans, Dottrel, and Hawfinch.  As well as birds there will be other images from the natural world including moths, caterpillars, and wild flowers.
On the subject of caterpillars, here is a Privet Hawk Moth caterpillar which I photographed with my good friend Roger Wasley.  It would be fair to say Roger is a macro nut, and we can often be found out with our cameras searching for species to photograph.  He has a good collection of butterfly, and moth images some of which are online at this link below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogerwasley/
 
 
Roger and myself have lots of plans for all sorts of butterfly, orchid, moth and caterpillar photography next year - 2013 the year of macro.  watch this space.
 
 
 
24th October 2012
 
I am member of Market Harborough Photographic Society who are currently holding their annual photographic exhibition.  I am was very pleased that my image of a Ringlet butterfly taken earlier this year was judged "best overall image" in the 2012 exhibition. 
 
 
 
 
20th October 2012
 
A Funny Old Month
 
October is traditionally the month when we all think of autumn...  we think of Deer rutting, of fungi, of migrants arriving from the north to spend the winter here.
The clocks change and the nights get dark.  It starts to get cold and we have the occasional frost.  Not good for are own creature comforts, no longer can we wander about the garden in shorts doing jobs after work.  The chances of summer photography have all but disappeared. Moths have stopped flying, moths generally only fly when the night temperature is 6 degrees or warmer, and butterflies get harder to see.
Those of us who like our macro go out in search of Fly Agaric, Witch's Hat, Amethyst Deceiver, Deathcap, Shaggy Parasol, and all those lovely names....
Halloween, and Pumpkin soup must be around the corner.
 
But October is arguably the time where the colours are arguably at their best; we have yellows, oranges, and browns which always look good when we manage to combine them with some good light.
Added to which, there is always the expectation that towards the end of the month, we may well start to get some wintery weather which in itself is always popular with us photographers.  While many people dread the thought of snow, this is one thing that us photographers really look forward to during the cold and dark months ahead.
 
 
 
 
September 2012
 
Africa Again
 
Way back in 1992, in the days of film cameras, I went on a long safari across Africa and saw some great sights and some great wildlife. As a result I captured many images on film.  As the years go by the memories start to fade, and when we look at digital scans from the resulting slides what ever happened to the quality of the images. Looking back now they are disappointing although at the time they were very pleasing.
 
Fast forward to 2012, and I am luck enough to have have two separate African safari adventures.
Firstly in April, a short visit to the Karoo region of south Africa. This was recently made famous as the backdrop of Coldplay's paradise video.
Then five months later in September a longer visit to the Morami game reserve in Botswana.
so armed with 2 digital SLR's, a collection of lens, and enough CF cards to run a small virtual cloud server, I took the long flights south in anticipation of what was to come. 
 
 
I am one of those people who don't mind what species that I see and then subsequently photograph. I just want to be out there enjoying the wildlife, the views, and hopefully seeing the red light flicker on the back of my camera as some images being are recorded onto my memory cards.
 
But If at the start of 2012, someone was to say to me
"what species would you really want to see and photograph in 2012 in Africa ?"
I would have had no hesitation to reply
"African Wild Dog, Cheetah, and Leopard"
 
 
 
 
More images from my Africa visits along with some African Penguins are in the Africa section of my gallery.
 
No complaints from me.
During these two trips we saw Three packs of Wild Dogs, Cheetah on several occasions, and one Leopard in a variety of differing posses.

Everyone needs some luck sometime, and I am pleased to say we got ours in Morami and the Karoo....
 
 
 
Blog History
 
I used to keep an active blog on my old Website and one of the things I am very keen to do is to get back in that habit and update this blog at least once a month and often more. 
Please revisit and keep an eye on what i have been up to along with my thoughts.
If you wish to comment, please use the Contact Nigel page.