Gallery: April in Ealing
April is cherry blossom (sakura) month in London. And it has been a wonderful spring for blossom on the street trees of Ealing.
Gallery: seeking geometry in architecture
Architecture could be said to have begun with geometry. Since earliest times, builders have imitated natural forms, such as circles. Pattern can be found everywhere in nature, and nature knows what it is doing; geometrical shapes are not only pleasing to the eye, they provide strength.
Gallery: reflecting on birds
Maybe a desert isn’t the obvious place to look for bird reflections, or indeed reflections of any kind. Deserts are dry, no? And the Atacama Desert in Chile is especially so. In fact, it’s the driest non-polar desert in the world, and has had no significant rainfall for 400 years. And yet, the shallow waters of its barren salt flats offer picture-perfect reflections of feeding flamingos.
Gallery: some birds that eat fish
I sat motionless on the deck of our beautiful bungalow at Souimanga Lodge in Senegal. The Pied Kingfisher on the nearby fence gripped his just-caught fish in his long bill. I hoped to see him flip it and swallow it; my camera was poised to capture the moment. But suddenly the fish flapped its tail and twisted out of his grasp. Fish gone, the bird flew off, and I like him was left ruing the one that got away.
Gallery: Seeing the world in black and white
The world as we see it is full of colour. So it may seem counter-intuitive to take black and white photos, but by draining an image of colour you can draw attention to its other qualities. Texture, contrasting tones, patterns and shapes can all be more obvious in a monochrome shot.
Gallery: beautiful blooms and bees in close-up
When photographing flowers I like to get really ‘up close and personal’; to peer deep into their hearts. And if an insect such as a bee wants to join me on that adventure, so much the better.
Gallery: Seeking patterns in nature
‘Nature does not turn out her work according to a single pattern; she prides herself upon her power of variation.’
Sometimes the most effective photographs of natural subjects (plants, animals, even entire landscapes) can be achieved by getting so close that the subject’s outline disappears.