Wandering thoughts and musings.

Since starting my photography journey just over 3 years ago I have been aware of the video dial and buttons on my various cameras, but ignored them. As a total beginner in "serious photography" it was enough to learn aperture, depth of field, white balance etc, without having to worry about video as well. However, after starting a 6 month study sabbatical focussed on digital imaging theory, I found enough time to try out the scary video functions. My first video. At this sta

For the last 12 months or so I have been privileged to watch various grey herons as they go around their daily business. At first glance they appear to be calm, serene, and the epitome of grace. However closer observation soon reveals that they also have a voracious appetite combined with a wide variety of tastes. A grey heron standing proud. A grey heron contemplating breakfast. As someone who is learning about wildlife as I am going along I had assumed that as herons hang a

Having started to learn photography at the end of May 2023 my third year anniversary last week was rewarded with some fantastic weather. Coupled with the fact that sunrise in the UK is before 5am at this time of year, I am often getting up at 3am to be in position for the sunrise and golden hour. At times this is a very painful experience but has led to witnessing some amazing sunrises and wildlife behaviour. Sunrise over Staveley Nature Reserve. A hare being illuminated by t

While exploring different techniques for creating masks in darktable, the latest YouTube video by Ian Worth popped up, talking about the new DXO PhotoLab 9. Since I had recently purchased DXO Pure Raw 6 to enhance darktable's noise reduction capabilities, I almost did not watch the video as I know that darktable is on par with any paid alternative. Getting dry after having a wash. Being a fan of Ian Worths work I watched the video anyway and was immediately taken with the use

I have been busy for the last few months both upgrading this website to a new more flexible hosting solution, and in starting to learn the basics of digital imaging theory. The latter may sound horrendous but is actually fascinating, and has allowed me to start using image editing software with more understanding. Since the beginning of my photographic journey I have used the open source darktable software to manage my images, complete basic cropping, and to append a watermar

Since being bitten by the nature photography bug in May 2023 I think I have only had one week where I did not get "into the field" to take photographs. This changed in January of 2026 which gave us almost a continuous month in steel grey skies, intense rain, and dense fog. I have learned to deal with each of these weather types individually, but not when all three exist at the same time. Eurasian Wigeon on a cold January 3rd 2026 The only exception to this was the third of Ja

As regular readers of this blog will know I have been trying out a lot of new gear over the last six months. The switch from full frame to micro four thirds (MFT) has been a game changer in terms of the extra reach, and in my experience at least, has made negligible difference to my ability to operate in low light. Before I sold my full frame gear to MPB I took it and the MFT kit to a local hide just before dawn. A quick unscientific comparison between the two suggested tha

After my flurry of purchases in August when switching from full frame to micro four thirds I have been learning the vagaries of my new equipment. Despite buying three excellent OM M.Zuiko lenses (the 12-40mm F2.8, the 40-150mm F2.8, and the 100-400 F5.0-F6.3) I soon noticed that it was the 100-400 staying welded to my camera. As with the Canon R6 Mk2 and Sigma 150-600 contemporary lens, I was too nervous of missing "wildlife opportunities" to risk experimenting with the other

In a very exciting period I have been lucky enough to switch to the micro four thirds system in the form of an OM1 Mk 2 with 3 lenses, acquire a 15" Mac book Air 2025 for image editing, splash out on a DJI Action 5 Pro camera with DJI mini mic's, and evaluate various photo editing software before settling on my original choice of the open source Darktable. Needless to say I also had to sell my Canon R6 Mk2 and full frame lenses to help pay for all this extravagance, getting

After 18 months of using a full-frame Canon r6 Mk2, usually coupled with a Sigma 150-600 Contemporary lens, I decided it is time for a change. The OM1 Mk2 (top) compared to the Canon R6 Mk2 Until I saw a YouTube video by Waterfall Joe I had not realised that the OM series of camera's were weather sealed to a certified standard. Given the obvious savings in size, weight, and the outstanding image stabilisation system, it was an easy choice to make the change. A juvenile blac

After a very dry but not very sunny spring in North Yorkshire, and several weeks of a dry and dusty summer, it is not surprising that the local wildlife has not been feeling particularly energetic of late. However a couple of days of thundery downpours has certainly changed that for the better. A windswept grey heron just after a down pour One of my regular sunrise visits to the High Batts Nature Reserve luckily coincided with a few hours break in the very welcome rain las

For my first two years as a photographer I had my hands full simply learning to keep the subject in frame, in focus, and if extremely lucky in a good range of colour. With all that in mind it was an simple decision to ignore the issue of "digital development" and shoot in jpeg. A moorhen shot in RAW with basic noise reduction in Darktable. With a Ph. D. in Physics and experience in environmental data management, I have always been IT "literate", working primarily with the Lin