Glynn Hobbs - imageweaver

Every now and again, I get a surprise visitor over our garden. This week, I was lucky enough to be able to photograph a local 'Little Owl', that is now hunting during the daytime, in order to feed its new born chicks.  I have also been visiting our local lake, in the hope of being able to capture the Herons and Egrets, that would normally be in situ at this time of year.  Sadly, they have both been absent so far, but I live in hope that they will show up soon. The surprise of the week however, was this French 'Mirage' Jet , that gave me a low level view, whilst sitting in my hide!  I heard it coming, but had no idea if it would pass in front, overhead, or behind me.  Fortunately, it came into view directly in front of me and gave me the opportunity to capture this one shot.  I had managed to crank up the shutter speed to 1/3200th of a second, but all other settings were programmed to shoot the Owls that I was watching.  As such, i'm pretty happy with this shot!

As a wildlife photographer, I am always looking to find a different view, or angle to photograph my targets.  Water, always adds something to pictures, but sadly, I do not have a pond in my garden.  So, w hat do you do, when the weather is awful, no wildlife about, and too dull to photograph much?....... make a 'Reflection' Pool!  This Greenfinch, was soon on the scene, tempted by the sunflower seeds. A reflection pool, is any body of water that will show a reflection in its surface and can be used to enhance the shot of any chosen target.  In my case, I wanted to photograph the birds in my garden, from a different perspective and I needed it fast, cheap and effective! With the shops still closed due to the Corona Virus, this meant searching the shed and garage, for any materials that might allow me to produce something that would work. It did not need to be big; just large enough to allow me to frame the subject and show its reflection in the final image.  Mai

Some mixed weather during the past couple of weeks, has made it difficult to get decent images. Days of hot sunshine and 30 degrees, followed by days of heavy rain with thunder and lightning, has resulted in me wearing just a pair of shorts one day and full wet weather gear the next!   I also invested in a pair of 'waders' recently and have been making good use of them in our neighbours lake, to get shots of recently hatched Damselfly. Wildlife photography, is about putting yourself in some extreme places, to get the shot! Of course, my camera gear has had to deal with the same conditions, so thank goodness, for waterproof camera and lens covers, tripod leg protectors, and my waterproof hide etc. For me, the highlights have been capturing the rare and elusive 'Turtle Dove'; insects in the early morning rain; the surprise attack on a Sparrow, by a Magpie (which sadly ended badly for the Sparrow); watching the fascinating Crab Spiders, capturing their prey;