Nature requires a little bit of patience but can be really enjoyable

Capturing stunning images in nature requires a little bit of patience but can be really enjoyable. This image was taken at a local fishing pool during the height of COVID-19 lockdown, by using my 'exercise' allowance, I often took a walk with my camera to the local pool and kept my eyes peeled for any photo opportunities.

This was the perfect time of year to visit the local nature pond

This was the perfect time of year to visit the local nature pond, there were lots of geese, swans and ducks with their young and being in lockdown.

Many families out having some fresh air and feeding them so they were up close to the banks of the pond, making them easy pickings for a would be passer by who just happens to have his camera with him, armed and ready to shoot!

It was nice watching the young playing together and staying still long enough

It was nice watching the young playing together and staying still long enough, they stopped being wary of you brandishing your big black camera and started to interact together, play if you will (Though I don't speak duck so can't really tell what they were doing).

Either way, they made for very willing subjects and getting down low to the edge of the bank, I was able to get the images to feel closer to the subject rather than towering above and shooting from upon high.

Capturing families together also made for a good framed shot

Capturing families together also made for a good framed shot, the proud mum at the back keeping a watchful eye on her signets and the signets dutifully staying together.

Though given how nasty swans can be, I'm not sure I'd be getting out of line with mum in such close range.

Again, staying low helps to feel closer to the subjects.

No trip outdoors is complete without a friendly Robin

No trip outdoors is complete without a friendly Robin popping by to see what you are up to. Robins make for great subjects I find as they are very inquisitive and will often stay around while you get your perfect shot. Though in this case, this little one didn't stay very log at all, so I only managed to snap him from the back.

Shot with a low aperture (F2.8), this image shows the soft blurring of the background while having Mr Robin in focus, this helps to separate the noisy background from the subject to really focus the beholders eye.

I love capturing a story with my photography and shots like these

I love capturing a story with my photography and shots like these, especially with a caption are great fun. I imagine this little fella saying "Woah... don't get so close!"

You can almost see his recoil and his eyes turning down looking along his beak. Great expression without any facial movement at all.

Shot at F2.8 1/100 second and an ISO of 80

I'm watching you!

Similar to the previous shot, this one feels like he is peering over his shoulder (If he had one) and rotating his eye to see behind, checking out what is going on. "I'm watching you!" he's saying.

As the photographer, I believe its your job to decide where the eyes of the beholder should focus, that's in part due to framing but also due to the depth of field (focus) and any other distractions that may be in the picture.

Shot at F5.6 1/320 second and an ISO of 80

When taking pictures of flowers, sometimes you can make your images really stand out by adding a little extra detail. I find a little water from a mist spray can make all the difference to the image as you can see in this example. The water droplets add texture that adds depth to the image.

Small but beautiful

Capturing the beauty of flowers can be very rewarding. The good thing about flowers is they tend not to move, so you can take all the time that you need to really work on getting that perfect image. This shot was taken in daylight, using a macro ring between my lens and my camera body (Cheap alternative to a macro lens). The camera on a tripod, I was using off camera flash but you could equally use on camera flash. Again, like some of my other projects, using a high shutter speed and a large F-stop to prevent the light having time to bounce back from the background, making the background appear completely black. This image was taken at 1/250 F22 and ISO 64 using high speed flash.

Forget me not

This shot of a tiny Forget me not, like the shot above, was taken in broad daylight, with a high powered flash to kid the camera into believing it was dark.. Basically the flash does not have time to bounce back off the background to reflect enough light with the high f stop and fast shutter. The water droplets, like the shot above, really add depth to the image and make this such an elegant shot.

High Key shot

My last few images in this feature were also taken indoors. These lilies appear to jump out of the background because of the 'High Key' shot. Taken against a white wall, this image was made possible with some off camera flash to over expose the white wall while giving some light to the flowers. Three flashes were used, one on full power to over expose the wall while the other two on half power lighting the subject (flowers) from each side to reduce any possible shadows.

Taken at 1/125 and F4 with and ISO of 64 this image really emphasises the greens and pinks of the lilies while removing any hard lines between the edges of the subject and the background. The High Key effect really makes the flowers reach off the page in this shot.

High Key shot with extra!

Adding some additional interest with this hair grip butterfly helps this shot to tell a story.

Single lily in bloom

My final shot is a single lily, this time against a black backdrop, removing all of the other distractions from the head of the lily itself to really focus in on the vibrancy of the flower. This shot was taken at 1/20 sec f22 and ISO64.

The natural world has such pleasures if you take a moment to look for it. This image is one that I didn't plan, it just sort of happened when I was looking around the house for something to photograph.

Bonsai - Tiny but beautiful

This one was taken at 1/200 sec at f6.3 and ISO64, I had a black backdrop draped over a chair and used a softbox flash to gain an even light.

Another of my finds around the house was this Venus Flytrap. These are such interesting plants and other than Audrey II from the Little Shop of Horrors, the only carnivorous plant that I know of.

The last one in this collection, this should be called the windowsill collection as all of these are from my son's bedroom windowsill. 

Taken at 1/320 sec at f22 and ISO64, I had a white backdrop draped over a chair with flash on both the backdrop and a softbox flash in front.