Sparrow at Hemingby Lane
I park my bus at the Council Yard on Hemingby Lane in Horncastle. This location is purely for security reasons due to the Locked gate & CCTV cameras covering the entire site, ensuring the vehicle insurance is being protected. There is a family of Sparrows in the various hedges around this site, and they are really quite vocal. The sunshine brings them out during the summer months, where they just sit and chirp away. I have so many photos of these little critters, but picked this picture because of the backdrop of the Council Office block. There is nothing unusual about the settings, which Aperture Priority selected for me. This was captured hand held (no tripod).
OM-D E-M5 mkiii ~ f6.7 ~ 1/125th ~ ISO64 ~ 286mm
Sun Dappled Pigeon
I have taken lots of pictures of pigeons over the years, but I'm usually dissapointed with them. However, I quite like this unusual shot of a pigeon I caught in a tree outside a holiday cottage I stayed at in Norfolk. As the sun's dappled rays shone through the branches of the tree just outside a bedroom window, I happened to be in the right place at the right time. The settings show the focal length to be 300mm, which meant that I was fully zoomed in with my 75mm-150mm lens, and had activated the 2X Teleconverter too. Resting my elbows on the window sill, I managed to capture this, hand held.
OM-D E-M5 mkiii ~ f6.7 - 1/125th - ISO200 - 300mm
Gilbert
Let me introduce Our Community Cat - Gilbert. He is, strictly, my neighbour's cat, but we have all adopted him. Roughly speaking, it has taken over a year for him to trust me enough to come near, but now he gets closer to get his treat of Dreamies while I sit out in the garden. According to my neighbour, Gilbert used to be mis-treated at his previous home, and took him a long time to feel at home here. He can often be seen sunbathing on my neighbours Land Rover roof, or my shed roof (which is where this pictures was taken). For those who don't know, you can tell Gilbert is a proper Tabby by the "M" marking on his forehead, which all Tabbies have. Although this was taken at a focal distance of 300mm, it was still captured Hands Free, which was helped by the shutter speed of 1/250th second.
OM-D E-M5 mkiii ~ f6.7 ~ 1/250th ~ ISO800 ~ 300mm
Male Blackbird
Horncastle is home to the Wolds Wildlife Park, run by Andrew Riddle & Partner Tracy. There are some amazing animals inside, but also some great views from the road running next to the park. This picture of a Blackbird was taken while on a walk down the road next to the park. I intended getting a few images of animals such as Highland Cows, Donkeys, & various other creatures, when I came across this Blackbird sitting on an overhead cable. It stayed in place while I took the shot, but I made sure I caught it before it flew away by using a 1/800th second shutter speed. It was a bright, sunny day, so an ISO of 200 was sufficient. A Hand Held capture at a focal distance of 300mm was made fairly easy by the Aperture Priority Mode.
OM-D E-M5 mkiii ~ f7.1 ~ 1/800th ~ ISO200 ~ 300mm
Dragonfly
As you may have already noticed, I have taken a lot of pictures at the same location, which is on the outskirts of Horncastle, namely, Horncastle Community Woodland. This is no exception because I have found it to be a great location for various types of Dragonfly. This one is called a Red-veined Darter. It is a fairly common species around Europe, & is seen frequently in many places around the UK. Taken with my first camera, the PEN PL5, I managed to get a great hand-held shot by shortening the shutter speed to 1/320th second. Although this image could be technically classed as a Close Up photo, it is still eligable to be displayed in the Wildlife catagory.
Olympus PEN PL-5 ~ f6.3 ~ 1/320th ~ ISO200 ~ 78mm
Chaffinch
We're back at Horncastle Community Woodland for this picture. For more than a year, I have spent a lot of time here, taking pictures of various wildlife, from birds to butterflies, from frogs to ladybirds, plus many more. I have learnt that a small tub of bird food can make the difference between getting wildlife to stay for a few seconds, or missing the shot because they have dissapeared. This Chaffinch stayed just long enough for me to capture the stunning colours. Being only a few yards away, my OM-D figured out that a shutter speed of 1/80th second would be enough to get a sharp image. I consider myself quite lucky to capture this bird because there aren't many around this woodland. There are mainly Sparrows, with a few Magpies, and during the winter months, some Robins can be seen hopping on the fence. I can only presume that it liked the food I was supplying.
OM-D E-M5 mkiii ~ f6.7 ~ 1/80th ~ ISO250 ~ 264mm
Young Reindeer
Amongst a field of Reindeer, stood several animals with the start of antlers. These, possible teenagers, were extremely curious when I turned up with my camera, although they still wouldn't get too close. I had to zoom right in to 300mm to get a decent enough image to view, even though they stood reasonably still while I took the shot. These stunning creatures can be seen at Baumber Walled Garden. The location is a bit off the beaten track, but is well worth the visit if you're in the area. Not only are there a field of Reindeer to see, there are the usual Country Wildlife, such as Pheasants, Butterflies & a stunning Garden. The Garden and the dirt track to get to it are all on the land owned by Sturton Estates. It also encompasses several farms & plenty of working fields which are used for arable farming. Picking an image to submit here took a long time to deliberabte because I took so many, all of which I really like. I managed to get some extreme close ups, some group shots of many reindeer, but I chose this one because it shows the fur on the antlers, confirming that he is still so young. As Reindeer get to mature, the fur on the antlers dissapears, and they become hardened bone.
OM-D E-M5 mkiii ~ f6.7 ~ 1/200th ~ ISO 200 - 300mm
Highland Cow
This picture was taken on the same walk near Wolds Wildlife Park in Horncastle, where I captured the Blackbird above. There are several fields adjacent to Hemingby Lane, where many creatures reside. I'm not sure how this one saw me (or maybe just heard me walking past), but it looked at me straight in the eyes as I raised the camera. I had to use a fairly fast shutter speed because it was constantly chewing, but the 1/320th second shutter speed worked well to capture a closed mouth. The ISO of 200 was enough to counteract the fast shutter speed, giving a mouth which is sharp.
OMD EM5 Mkiii ~ f6 ~ 1/320th ~ ISO200 ~ 187mm
Swans at Sotby
While transporting a regular passenger from Horncastle to her home in Sotby, I spotted these swans on a small private lake, tucked away behind a small copse. I was really impressed that these paired swans were there on many occassions, so I decided to venture out there on one of my days off. Driving as near as I could, to a grass verge, I walked to the lake were the swans were still enjoying the beautiful water. I'm not sure why the water came out such an amazing shade of blue, but it really gives some contrast to the image. At f8, I got enough Field Of Focus, while the ISO of 400 let in plenty of light. Because the birds were moving a lot from the movement of the water, I had to take the shutter speed right up to 1/800th second to prevent any blurring.
OMD EM5 Mkiii ~ f8 ~ 1/800th ~ ISO400 ~ 300mm
Yorkshire Sheep
On one of my holidays to other parts of the United Kingdom, I visited Yorkshire, well, Askrigg to be precise. This is a rugged part of the County, with rolling hills & some bleak landscapes. It also makes for some amazing scenery & wildlife photographs. Although this picture made it look like it was a nice day, it was pretty chilly. These sheep are hardened to all types of weather and temperatures, and he looked like he was taking it all in his stride. Setting my camera to Aperture Priority gave great settings for the light & possibility of movement in this shot.
OMD E-M5 mkiii ~ f5.6 ~ 1/250th ~ ISO250 ~ 60mm
Lincoln Red
For those Meat Eaters looking at this, the Lincoln Red is a locally Revered variety of Beef, often costing a lot more than the average cut of beef in the supermarkets. The Lincoln Red is mainly only sold in Quality Butchers, hence it's above standard reputation. This is what it looks like while it's still maturing in the fields. I think you'll agree that it's quite an attractive beast. The farm which breeds this species is based in Hemingby, and can be seen whilst driving through the village. Taken with my first camera, the PEN PL-5, I managed to get a good image at the low speed of 1/80th, which surprised me because of the constant chewing in progress. f8 allowed the animal to be in focus, whilst still having a pleasing amount of Bokeh in the background. Because the colour of the animal is quite dark, an ISO of 800 allowed me to collect more light in the RAW capture.
OMD E-PL5 ~ f8 ~ 1/80th ~ ISO-800 ~ 150mm
An Ant
I couldn't complete a range of wildlife pictures without adding this one. Although this is, technically, a Macro image, it still falls into the catagory of Wildlife. I used my strongest Macro Tubes for this picture, ensuring I got as much in focus as possible by trying to keep the lens parrallel with the ant body. The apature of f4 ensured that as much light was getting in as possible to keep the image bright. The ISO setting of 800, again, brightened the RAW image, making it possible to edit it more easily than would be possible with a .jpg capture. Because the movement of creatures like this is so irratic, spontanious and quick, a shutter speed of 1/160th second had to be set. The thing that always fascinates me is that the abdomen is shiny, with tiny hairs on, but the rest of it's head and thorax look Armoured. If you look carefully, you can the reflection of my camera in the abdomen. This was another great opportunity at Horncastle Community Woodland, where there are always lots of chances to capture unusual images of wildlife.
OM-D E-M5 mkiii ~ f4 ~ 1/160th ~ ISO-800 ~ 40mm
Canada Goose
One of my favourite fishing venues is Froghall Fisheries at Legbourne near Louth. There are some great Carp in their 3 lakes, the grounds are well kept and always tidy, and they have an excellent tackle shop and cafe. All in all, this place has the full package for a day's fishing. The icing on the cake is the varieties of wildlife around the lakes, from ducks to geese, from song birds to bees and butterflies. I always take my camera gear when I go there for the day. This Canada Goose stood still long enough for me to get a decent capture, although I took all the necessary precautions by setting to 1/800th and ISO 800, just in case of sudden movement of this unpredictable creature.
OM-D E-M5 Mkiii ~ f8 ~ 1/800th ~ ISO-800 ~ 300mm
Peasholm Squirrel
I have always loved watching squirrels, but capturing them is another story. I have tried at Kenwick Park near Louth, but not had much success. However, on a trip to Scarborough in Yorkshire, The squirrels in Peasholm Park are quite tame, and often come close for a nutty treat. This is my favourite part of a Scarborough trip these days, although, I have always loved this town anyway. I first discovered how tame they are when I followed another (probably local) man, who had a bag full of Monkey Nuts. He crouched down with a nut in his hand, and the squirrels just came up to him & took the treat. Not wanting to be classed as a stalker, but, I followed this guy around for a while, as he fed them, and I took pictures.
OM-D E-M5 Mkiii ~ f4.5 ~ 1/6th ~ ISO-800 ~ 60mm
