Grassholm Island ~ half way there...

One of the lesser visited of all the Pembrokeshire Islands, it sits roughly ten miles from the mainland. It’s a small rock in the middle of nowhere but plays a very important part to one particular species of bird; the Gannet. Grassholm Island serves as a breeding site for 39,000 pairs of the birds, and supports around 10 percent of the world population. It’s the third largest Atlantic Gannetry in the world behind the Scottish islands of St Kilda and Bass Rock respectively.

Grassholm Island

From afar this island appears half white, the is mainly down to the mass of Gannets tightly packed into one small piece of rock.

Get to know your neighbour...

Taking flight

You don’t realise how large these birds are until your up close, with a wingspan up to 2 metres in some cases these are seriously big birds to be amongst.

Wide wingspan

Gannet with Seaweed

They are stunning looking birds, extremely sleek and streamline – perfectly made for flying miles on end above the water and plunging in head first at great speed into the sea for fish.

Gannet Portrait

Gannet ~ Floating on the ocean

Long distance cruiser

Effortlessly cruising

All in all great trip and definitely recommend it to anyone. Thanks to once again the crew of the Dale Princess & Dale Sailing http://www.pembrokeshire-islands.co.uk

I tried something new. Here we have the War Memorial at Freshwater West. Again using Stellarium, made sure I would be shooting the right direction and time to capture it along with the composition I had in mind in relation to the monument’s position.

One image is the stars exposure, 25secs @ f/4, ISO 3200 to maximise light = more stars. Then another separate exposure for the memorial itself, lit up over a similar exposure time (but lower ISO) with a handheld torch from camera left.

Then merged in Photoshop. Really happy with the outcome and meets what I envisaged before getting to the location.

Milky Way ~ Freshwater West War Memorial

One more thing I’d like to add is that when I was at this location reading through the memorials on the cenotaph and looking at the wreaths is that we should never forget the soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom

The Royal British Legion ~ Wear your poppy with pride

All photos on this page taken with Canon EOS 5D Mark II & 17-40mm f/4L

Florence on Father's Day

She seemed extremely intrigued with the flowers!

Florence on Father's Day

Florence on Father's Day

Florence on Father's Day

All photos taken with Canon EOS 5D Mark II & 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

After having previous work featured in PhotoPlus this year and living in the beautiful Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, I was asked by PhotoPlus to be the pro on their “PhotoPlus Apprentice” feature. It’s a been a few months in the making and thankfully the weather was kind to us.

Reasonably early start ready to catch the first boat over with newly acquainted friends Peter & Jeff from PhotoPlus and Keith, the apprentice. The main task for the day was to tutor Keith on techniques how to capture coastal birds in flight and Skomer’s inhabitants are no exception. Puffins, Razorbills, Guillemots, Manx Shearwater, wide selection of gulls and more are found in abundance on this small island off the Pembrokeshire Coast. After a steady boat trip across to the island we headed for The Wick which is a small cliff bay where the majority of the Puffins found on the island reside.

Puffin ~ Fratercula arctica

Here we could get up close to the Puffins and go over some good techniques for wildlife & bird photography in general such as always focusing on the eye, try to get eye level with your subject to create a more intimate image (in this case lying on the ground to get the best angles) and also trying to make the subject ‘pop’ out of the image by isolating the subject from any distracting backgrounds. By following these simple rules it makes for a much more interesting and cleaner image.

Puffin ~ Fratercula arctica

Puffin ~ Fratercula arctica

We met up with the warden on the island (great bloke) midday and then headed to another part of the island to capture some different species of birds, here we spent quite a while photographing the birds in flight. A rather more tricky style of shooting to master, but by going over more techniques & settings with Keith, and setting the cameras up to capture these fast moving creatures; we both came away with some great images at the end of it.

Puffin ~ Fratercula arctica

Razorbill ~ Alca torda

Puffin ~ Fratercula arctica

I’d like to thank PhotoPlus magazine; Peter & Jeff for inviting me to host their featured shoot and their hospitality throughout the day. Also thanks to Keith for being a great guy and ‘Apprentice’, glad you had fun and learnt some new techniques to take away with you for future.

Final shot consists of 88 x 30 second (exposure time) images stacked to create the trails then a separate image shot with different settings for the Burial Chamber itself has been composited in to make the foreground. Lighting consisted of a quick flash with the torch but mostly Mr.Moon did the rest.

Carreg Samson Startrails

Quite happy with the outcome considering and there will be more images from this project of various other megalithic structures around the county given the Star Trails treatment over the coming months!

Blue Tit

Coal Tit

Blackbird

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Coal Tit

Moorhen

A Nuthatch! It’s a first for me, always wanted to capture one of these little fellas – didn’t think they’d be hopping about 10 feet away though!

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Waxwing ~ Bombycilla garrulus

They travel in flocks and tend to arrive in the far north and east of Britain around October time and slowly drift southwards over the course of the winter clearing berry bushes as they go. They tend to prefer ornamental berry trees like Rowan & Cotoneaster which is why you’ll mostly find Waxwings at non-birdy places including car parks and peoples’ gardens.

Waxwing ~ Bombycilla garrulus

They’re also extremely obliging so getting a good, close view is easily achieved. The waxy tips on their wings are actually the extended shafts of the feathers, and the number seen will identify the age and sex of the bird, ranging from none on young females to eight on adult males. Extremely pleased we saw them as I’ve wanted to capture them for ages and another life tick on seeing them!

Waxwing ~ Bombycilla garrulus

Yet another rainy and sunny mix of weather along with near gale force winds greeted us on our decent of the “Bridge over the Atlantic” to the Isle of Seil. Seil, one of the Slate Islands, is a small island on the east side of the Firth of Lorn, 7 miles southwest of Oban, in Scotland. Heading towards it’s most south-westerly point, Easdale we stopped off at Ellenabeich Bay for some photos.

Ellenabeich Bay ~ Isle of Seil

There were some big waves coming in from the Atlantic, which revealed a rather wet looking creature bobbing up and down. It was an Otter! Only on day one of our trip and we’d bagged an Otter already! After some careful creeping about the rockpools we set up and waited for it to come ashore.

Otter ~ Ellenabeich Bay, Isle of Seil

Video to follow…

Highlands

On the sweeping drive up to Glen Coe from Tyndrum on the A82 you pass the huge expanse which is Rannoch Moor. This desolate plateau is like a woodland graveyard, made up of ancient forests, lochs, peat bogs and streams that cover over 12800 acres and at points, reach elevations of over 384 metres in height. The major lochs of Rannoch Moor are Loch Laidon, Loch Ba and Lochan na-Achlaise.

Lochan na h-Achlaise

Travelling up towards Glen Coe we stopped off at Blackrock Cottage on the link road to the GlenCoe Ski Centre. This lovely little self catering cottage lies at the start of the Buachaille Etive Mòr. It is a very photogenic viewpoint and a scene that’s been captured a million times by passers by.

Blackrock Cottage

Further along you take the left road down towards Glen Etive. This road meanders for some fourteen miles to the head of Loch Etive (where we captured the Red Deer.) Near the beginning of this “Road to No-where” the River Coupall crosses, and it’s here where there’s a series of cascading waterfalls in the shadow of the mighty Stob Dearg mountain at the head Buachaille Etive Moor.

Stob Dearg ~ Coupall Falls

Mull

Caught the earliest ferry over to Mull from Oban at a very dark 7am. Lovely calm crossing watching the sunrise over Oban but with winds being Northerly, the addition of an icy jag to the wind to keep you awake. The ferry route goes through the Sound of Mull passing the very fresh looking, Duart Castle along the way. The name Duart comes from the Gaelic words “Dubh Ard” (black point). This castle dates from the 13th century and was probably built for the MacDougalls. In the late 14th century, it became the seat of the MacLean Clan when the tower house was added.

Duart Castle ~ Mull

Looking East towards Linsmore Island at sunrise.

Linsmore ~ Layers

Ariving at Craignure we headed south to Grasspoint to try and see any Otters and/or Sea Eagles. No otters but did have two passes by what looked like a Juv. White Tailed Sea Eagle! After coaxing a stubborn Highland Cow out of the road, we continued west towards Loch Buie & Loch Scridain always on the look out for wildlife & birds.

Pennyghael, Loch Scridain ~ Maol na Coille Moire

Loch Scridain ~ Mull

Heading over the Ardmeanach Peninsula, through the onslaught of torrential showers then intense autumnal sunshine we descended down to Loch na Keal. One of Mull’s largest sea lochs and a hotspot for Otters.

Snipe

No Otters unfortunately but did catch a Snipe nestled between some pebbles and saw some of the best rainbows we’ve ever seen!

Scarisdale Rainbow, Loch na Keal ~ Mull

We then travelled via Gruline up to Tobermory. A lovely little fishing town at the foot of a very steep road down to it – and more rainbows!

Tobermory ~ Mull

That pretty much was the end of our day on Mull, headed back to Craignure to catch the ferry back to the mainland in some lovely evening light.

Duart Castle ~ Mull

We will be back, not only as we missed some of the island out due to time constraints, but more for the wildlife & landscapes. The sheer abundance and beauty of it all never fails to amaze you. The light and weather changes every second and shows something all to familiar in a whole new light. I think you could probably never get enough of Mull, there’s always something and somewhere new to explore and for that it never fails to meet it’s expectations. Magical & Magnificant Mull.

This is what the stags have been building up for all year, to show the rest who’s boss and who gets to mate with the most hind’s. Throughout the trip so far only produced glimpses on the highest of hills of these creatures. The roaring, echoing around the Glen’s and Loch’s, warning other’s of their presence and stature.

Red Deer Stag ~ Cervus Elaphus

So after seeing them in the hills of Glen Coe a few days before hand, we’d thought we’d venture down Glen Etive to see if they could be found. The Glen Etive road meanders for some fourteen miles to the head of Loch Etive, where it ends in a turning circle & car park near a ruined pier, and that’s it! The road down Glen Etive is the original “road to nowhere”.

Stob Coir'an Albannaich, Glen Etive

The single track road first leads you down the south eastern flank of the ridge of Buachaille Etive Mor. As soon as you are out of sight and sound of the main A82 across Rannoch Moor the sense of retreating into another place and time begins to build. The first half of the Glen is a steady descent of an open heather-clad valley. The character changes at the southern end of the twin mountain ridges of Buachaille Etive Mor and Buachaille Etive Beag. The southern half of the glen is more enclosed and wooded, and all too soon you find yourself at the road’s end.

This is where we caught our first glimpse of a stag and his harem, very close to the road feeding in some bracken. So we found a lay-by and sneakily exited the car and managed to rattle off some shots.

Red Deer Stag ~ Cervus Elaphus

Red Deer Hind ~ Cervus Elaphus

As we watched these feed, the deer shuffled back down through the Glen into pasture land nearer the river. After a quick U turn we caught back up with them feeding in the fields below the road. On exiting the car, the noise was immense – at least six stags dotted around the Glen, all roaring and bellowing out their voice making the Glen into some kind of amphitheatre of testosterone. It was late afternoon by now and as the sun broke through, it had that lovely Autumnal golden light filtering through. I did some filming here as well and the heavens opened! The rain didn’t last long thankfully…

Red Deer Stag & Harem ~ Cervus Elaphus

Red Deer Stag Roaring & Harem ~ Cervus Elaphus

As the he was herding them towards the river we managed to find a gate to jolly over down a gravel track, luckily this lead down alongside their field and lower as well which I wanted to get a more eye level shots. Well what can I say, the feeling of being so close to these very obliging powerful mammals at such close quarters in such beautiful light and surroundings made a sight to behold and confirms my love for the Scottish Highlands even more…

Red Deer Stag & Harem ~ Cervus Elaphus

Red Deer Stag ~ Cervus Elaphus

Red Deer Stag ~ Cervus Elaphus

Just after taking these shots the sun disappeared behind the clouds and light was poor but thankfully I’d manage to capture a lot of shots & film (footage soon) of this majestic creature in it’s natural & beautiful surroundings.

Lochan Urr, Glen Etive

Glen Etive, now officially my new favourite place on Earth, it’s got it all!

Video soon…

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Porth Lleuog

St. Davids Head and Ramsey Island

Whitesands Bay

Coetan Arthur is impressively situated in the shadow of Carn Llidi on the hillside close to St. David’s Head, it is the collapsed chamber of what is presumed to be a passage grave which also has a round barrow. The barrow has since eroded, leaving the somewhat stone skeleton of the chamber. The massive capstone measures approximately twenty feet by nine feet and is supported on one side by an orthostat approximately five feet in height.

Coetan Arthur ~ Carn Llidi

Coetan Arthur ~ Ramsey Island