2014 in images

It's always a good idea to look back at your photographs at the end of the year. I decided to pick a 'Top 10' by creating a Smart Collection in Lightroom, with a capture date of 2014 and that I had given 5 stars. I then chose my favourites from these, adding them into the Quick Collection.

I struggled to get the collection down to ten but was happy enough with twelve and have decided to present them here in the ways of a 2014 calendar.

January

Shoveler at Elmley RSPB Nature Reserve, Kent

 February

Lone tree near Sheepstor, Dartmoor, Devon

 March

Seascape at Porth Nanven, Cornwall

 April

'Over the last' - Aldington Point-to-point, Kent

 May

Redshank, Elmley RSPB Nauture Reserve, Kent

 June

Common Spotted Orchid, Bonsai Bank, Kent

 July

Elika

 August

'Painting the moor' near Gidleigh, Dartmoor, Devon

 September

Mark Cavendish leads the peleton on the Dartmoor stage of the Tour Of Britain

 October

Red deer, Richmond Park

 November

Sea Hurricane at Old Warden, Bedfordshire

 December

Helen

Deer rut at Richmond Park

Back in mid-October I visited Richmond Park with a few friends with the aim of photographing the red deer rut. We arrived sharp at 7am to coincide with gate opening and within a few minutes we saw a number of stags near the side of the road, before parking up in one of the designated car parks.

The light levels were very low, which gave us time for a coffee before we headed off into the park. Quite by chance, we appeared to be in quite a good location, with a number of groups of hinds being guarded by stags (or harts as they are also known). There was little activity early on, with most animals sitting down, which gave us some opportunities for group shots and to familiarise ourselves with their behaviour.

After a while, and as the light improved, I became aware of some activity about 500 metres away in one of the open areas. There was a small group of hinds and a couple of stags in close proximity so we headed off in their direction. As we got within a few hundred yards I took some shots of them in the long, autumn-coloured grasses.

At this point we spotted a couple of young stags posturing and starting to lock horns. It was not a violent interaction - just a couple of 'teenagers' sizing themselves up.

By now the light had improved and there was more activity as other stags made their way into the area. At one point a stag trotted over from the distant woodland but, when it got within 20 metres of one of the dominant males, it turned and ran away.

Despite a lack of real clashes between the stags, there were still lots of photo opportunities.

We spent the next hour or so photographing a stag and a group of about eight hinds as be worked his way around them to ward off others.

My two favourite shots of the day are of the hart bellowing against the autumn colours of the trees.

With the last one I was lucky enough to capture the moment when a pair of starlings decided to settle on the stag's back.

All in all, a great couple of hours photography and something that I would like to repeat.

The Isle of Mull

Introduction

Just a short ferry trip from Oban on Scotland's West coast, the Isle Of Mull is a great location for an early summer break. My wife and I first visited the island way back in 1994, returning in June 2010 for a week, based in the small village of Salen. We were blessed with fantastic weather and did plenty of walking and a few boat trips during our stay.

We got off to a fairly slow start to our break - partly to recover from the long drive up from Kent - visiting Torosay Castle on our first day, having lunch in the tea room.

Torosay Castle

Torosay Castle grounds, with Duart Castle visible across the bay

A major part of our holiday plan was to revisit the Treshnish Islands ('A' on the map below) and Staffa, which lie to the West, between Mull and the islands of Coll and Tiree. We did the boat trip on our 1994 holiday but it lashed down with rain and was so windy that we could not disembark at Staffa. Thankfully the weather gods were on our side this time.

Staffa

Staffa is famous for its basalt columns and 'Fingal's Cave', where the waves have eroded into the rock. The boat moored here for about an hour, allowing one to walk into the cave and look down on the columns below.

Staffa, with its basalt columns

View across the contorted columns to our boat

Lunga

The day-trip allows one to spend about 2 hours on Lunga - the largest of the Treshnish Islands - which is best known for its colony of puffins, but is also home to breeding guillemots, razorbills and shags.

Head detail of a nesting shag

Razorbills scanning the sky

The birds on the colony are constantly looking skywards, scanning for predators such as arctic skuas which patrol the skies looking to pick off a lone chick.

One of the disadvantages of visiting in the middle of a cloudless day in the middle of the year is that the sun is very high and bright in the sky. This makes getting exposures very tricky, particularly as backgrounds are varied. I kept an eye on my histograms, compensating up and down as necessary.
 

Puffin; note the reflection of its feet on its lower abdomen

Puffin preparing to go to sea

All these bird photographs were taken with a 500mm and, whilst this focal length is necessary for the shags, razorbills and guillemots, one can get within a few feet of the puffins and a 200-300mm lens would be ideal.

Puffin without a care in the world

Puffin head detail

Other wildlife

There are no nature reserves as such on Mull, although one is never too far from wildlife. Red deer roam wild on the hillsides and you'd be fairly unlucky if you did not see a few individuals on a visit.

Red deer watching my every move

Juvenile common sandpiper

This common sandpiper (juv) was sitting on a stone bridge that crosses one of the many small streams that lead down from the mountains.

White-tailed eagle

One of the big conservation successes in recent years has been the reintroduction of White-tailed eagles to the Western Isles, with Mull being a stronghold. This is the UKs largest eagle, with a wing span of around 2.4m (dwarfing the golden eagle).


On our last day we booked up a boat trip on Loch na Keal with the aim of photographing these birds fishing.

White-tailed eagle circling above our boat

White-tailed eagle with a fish in its sights . . .

... and safely in its talons

Next time . . .

There is much more to Mull than its wildlife and I'd love to go back in early or late winter to do some landscape photography.