Striving for something more than the half-decent record shot

Photography, as with any other visual art form, hinges on a blend of technical skill and creative vision. While perfection can be elusive and subjective, achieving a “half-decent” photo that captures attention and tells a story is almost always an attainable goal whatever your skill level and with whatever equipment you have. Remember, if you … Continue reading "Striving for something more than the half-decent record shot"

Posted on: 27 January 2025 | 9:35 am

My older photos online

Before my current penchant for avian and Lepidoptera photography, I took a lot of photos of bands at festivals, masses of landscape shots, and a stack of architecture. If you fancy digging deep into roughly a quarter of a century of photography, check out my 500px, GuruShots, and Flickr galleries. I used sciencebase as its … Continue reading "My older photos online"

Posted on: 27 January 2025 | 8:52 am

Bird ID apps

I’ve been using the Merlin bird ID app for several years and often recommend it to friends. It listens to the nature sounds around you and uses AI to identify the tweets, chirps, and whistles of the birds calling and singing. I have a garden ticklist to which I add the IDs the app records … Continue reading "Bird ID apps"

Posted on: 27 January 2025 | 4:26 am

Why I am not using REDNote

REDNote, also known as Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), is a Chinese social media platform. It was launched in 2013. It has hundreds of millions of users. REDNote is a bit like Instagram and focuses on lifestyle topics such as travel, fashion, and beauty. Well used and well liked by young women in China, apparently. When … Continue reading "Why I am not using REDNote"

Posted on: 26 January 2025 | 4:10 am

Paxton Pits Nature Reserve

It’s quite some time since we last visited Paxton Pits Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire, well before the covid pandemic, March 2019, in fact, if my photo archive dates are to be believed and before that January 2018. Tempus fugit, as they say. And, speaking of things that fly and sound a bit Latin, there were … Continue reading "Paxton Pits Nature Reserve"

Posted on: 25 January 2025 | 11:10 am

A Kestrel for a Knave

A Kestrel for a Knave was a book by Barry Hines published in 1968. It was adapted for the Ken Loach film Kes. The protagonist, Billy Casper, was played by actor David Bradley who later had to adopt the stage name Dai Bradley, because there was already an EQUITY member, the RSC actor David Bradley. … Continue reading "A Kestrel for a Knave"

Posted on: 24 January 2025 | 8:32 am

36.0000 years in science communication

I just passed my 36th anniversary in science communication.

Posted on: 23 January 2025 | 7:25 am

The waxing and waning of the Waxwing

In the winter of 23/24 we had a Waxwing irruption. This is a sudden influx in large numbers of a species driven from its usual habitat and habit because of changes in the local conditions. In the case of Waxwings (Bohemian Waxwings, specifically) they spend their summers in breeding grounds in the far north, Scandinavia, … Continue reading "The waxing and waning of the Waxwing"

Posted on: 22 January 2025 | 10:34 am

Counting crows… no… sorry… Starlings

If you’ve been captivated by the starling murmurations this winter, you may be wondering how many birds are in those vast swirling flocks. There’s no easy way to count them on the wing, but you if you can get a decent photo with the bulk of them in the frame, there’s a simple technique to … Continue reading "Counting crows… no… sorry… Starlings"

Posted on: 9 January 2025 | 4:16 am

SWT Lackford Lakes

First trip of the year to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust nature reserve known as Lackford Lakes. 2nd January 2025, glorious sunny day, first such of the year and the first for quite some time. Having seen four raptors on the journey there – Buzzard, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Red Kite – a trek through the reserve to … Continue reading "SWT Lackford Lakes"

Posted on: 4 January 2025 | 10:45 am