Abstract Fish

These images were taken at Slimbridge wet lands trust,

Big Goldfish taken with a Nikon 10.5mm lens

Both of these images were taken inside the tropical house at Slimbridge Wetlands Trust, the end of the lens was only centimeters from the fish I am not sure who was more interested in who, me in the fish or the fish in me.

I love the way that the fish are frantically swimming or each other

see other entry’s about this day

7D , Visits , Heather Angel ,

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Heather Angel and Slimbridge

On Friday the students spent the day with Heather Angel, at the Wetlands Center at Slimbridge, Gloucester. Professor Heather Angel has been associated with the University of Nottingham and Biological Photography for twenty years. Heather spent the day talking about photography how she takes pictures, asking the students about their projects and their future plans. The weather was very good to us, which made the day even more enjoyable

This time of year is a good time to see sand martins, common chiffchaffs, northern wheatears, barn swallows, Mediterranean gulls and black-headed gull, arriving in April are the warbler’s cuckoos, common redstarts, whinchats, yellow wagtails and a few hobby.

photographing birds at Slimbrdge

 

Heather Angel talking to one of the students

 

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Visits for the MSc Biological Photography

One Week in the MSc

Next week, in the MSc Biological photography and Imaging there will be one of the most eventful weeks that we have had this semester. Tuesday we have Geoff Espin coming in, Geoff has been photographing Orchids for most of his life, the vast knowledge that he has just on this one subject is beyond most humans brain capacity. Geoff has a vast knowledge on macro photography and tips, tricks for using flash in the field. Wednesday Philip Songhurst will be in, one of the items that Philip will be covering is the interactive apps, plus he will be covering ethical marketing. Wednesday afternoon Marcin Jamkowski and Michael Barnes will be visiting. Both Marcin and Michael are Knight Fellows from the class of 2009-10 at MIT. Michael is a television producer and writer whose work has appeared on television both here in the UK and in the USA. Marcin is a writer he has worked in Africa (Mali, Morocco, Madagascar, Egypt), Amazon Sources (Peru), Belize, USA, Korea, and Russia and all over Europe. Marcin is working for National Geographic Poland – as the Editor in Chief. At the end of the week when we visit Slimbridge WWT you meet the worlds best know female marine biologist, photographer, writer of many books and naturalist Professor Heather Angel

MSc Biological Photography & Imaging

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Heather Angel Tips

Softboxes to Go

Using diffuse flash outdoors

Unless I am working in a cave or at night, I don’t use flash outside as a prime light source.  Often  nothing beats natural light for taking flowers and other facets of the natural world; but there are times when shadows need to be in-filled. A big plus point gained by using a reflector is that you can see the effect before releasing the shutter, but on windy days, it can be a liability. I discovered the Honl Traveller 8 Softbox last year. It has an 8 inch (20 cm) diameter circular diffuser panel and having used it extensively in the UK, China and South Africa, I would never venture out without it. I use it to in-fill taller erect backlit flowers in a border where there are too many plants to use natural backlighting as the sole light source. Light from the Honl Softbox gives a much wider spread and softer light than the Sto-Fen Omni-bounce and hence casts softer shadows to inner parts of the flower; yet it also adds a certain crispness to floral parts compared to shooting in natural light, which perks up the definition of macro shots. It weighs a mere 3.7oz (105g) and folds flat in my camera photopack.

10 Species Back from the Brink

Animals that have escaped extinction

WWF have listed 10 animal species that were on the brink of extinction before habitat protection, hunting control and captive breeding programs helped to redress the balance. Photography plays an important part in public awareness of endangered species – both in their native countries and worldwide.

1 Amur tiger  2 Gray Whale  3 Southern White Rhinoceros  4 Black Rhinoceros  5 African Savannah Elephant  6 Mountain Gorilla  7 Saiga  8 Indian Rhinoceros  9 Golden Lion Tamarind  10 Przewalski’s Horse

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