News: ISLE OF MULL, APRIL 2011
03rd May 2011
This is the first news/blog article on the website and describes a week photographing on the Isle of Mull during the w/c 18th April 2011.
ISLE OF MULL, APRIL 2011.
Otters, Eagles, Puffins and missed shots.
We visit the Isle of Mull on at least 3 occasions a year, spring, summer and autumn and this was our first trip of 2011. I usually start with a list of subjects to photograph for each trip but as the list relies on animals and good light the list usually gets shortened but this week turned out to be exceptional as far as the weather and I was able to tick a couple of birds off the list. The list is quite seasonal and certain mammals like Deer will have to wait for later in the year (horns to grow back). I will never be happy with the Eagle and Otter pictures and they always take a fair proportion of our time but one day I will capture a decent shot and one day I might win the lottery! . Anyway here is a brief description of the weeks photographic activities.
We do not plan very far ahead and instead of our usual base in Gruline on Loch na Keal we ended up on the banks of Loch Scridain in an old fisherman’s thatched cottage.
Home for the week(photo:Rachel Jones)
Loch Scridain is in the south part of Mull and is currently the best base for observing Otters at the moment. It is also a good location for Eider at the East end (Loch Beg) and like all the sea lochs has a sizable population of Divers (Loons).
The cottage is a small but cosy building and is situated approx 30 metres from the shore and about 250 metres from a Heronry nesting in bank of trees. At this time of year the sun rises above the mountains at the eastern end of the Loch at about 6am and during this week gave exquisite views down the Loch on a mirror calm surface.
Loch Scridain, Sunrise
From a wildlife and landscape perspective early morning always gives either the most activity or the best light of the day and on the Monday morning I decided to go and see if there were any divers close to the shore in good light... I found a Great northern diver not too close but since I was there I lay down at the water level and started taking a few shots of the diver. Using a right angle viewer you look downwards into the camera which enables you to photograph at the water level and it was in this position that I saw the diver look into the sky and then make an emergency dive. Although I thought this was strange it wasn’t till looked up from the camera that I realised there was a Juvenile White tailed Eagle circling over its head at about twenty feet.
Panicking I tried to get a shot of the bird, but with the right angle attachment attached finding the bird turned out to be a farce (you look down and not at the subject)and whilst I was slipping on the wet rocks and pointing the camera at the sun I discovered that looking repeatedly at a low sun through what is effectively is a telescope leaves you slightly disadvantaged for trying to locate a fast moving object flying round in circles.
Discouraged by the disappearing diver and no doubt amused by the weirdo swearing, rubbing his eyes and doing a fair imitation of break dancer, the Eagle disappeared over my head and left me waving the lens about with a couple of frames of an eagles wing tip. Five minutes later and more composed I was back with the diver who performed the same trick of making a dive for it. On this occasion I thought I was ready for it, and seeing the eagle I whipped off the view finder and searched the sky for what I thought was going to be a peach of a shot. Nothing... the Eagle had disappeared and left me rubbing my eyes again questioning what I had just seen. I looked up and down the Loch and eventually looked behind me to see an Eagle leaving its perch in a tree behind me. Disappointed at the lack of photographs but encouraged by the amount wildlife on the loch I looked back to the diver to see it some half a mile off shore.
Giving it up as a bad job I stood up and saw to my left a seal watching me about 30 meters away, now I know that I have a strange imagination but I was sure that he was shaking his head in disbelief.
Seal , watching an unseasonal pantomime on the shore.
And so the rest of the holiday continued in the same way, some ventures were successful but unfortunately some were just as unproductive. On the isle of Mull there are some " hot tickets " when it comes to photography, the top in my opinion is the “Mull Charters “ boat trip to see the White tail Eagles and amongst the others is the trip to the Treshnish Isles to see the Sea birds. Puffins are an easy win and if you cannot get a good image of a subject sitting still only 2 metres away you need to throw away your camera. The Eagles however are a different proposition and the difference between capturing a stunning image and an out of focus patch of shoreline is a bit tenuous.
You don’t need a lens this long for this job; I was actually trying to get some flight shots. (photo:Rachel Jones)
3 trips on the " Lady Jayne" and possibly 3 images of the Eagles that I was" okay" with was not the fault of the skipper but the duffer behind the lens. Day one did not go too bad with a reasonable image of the bird about to pick up his lunch. Day two was a disaster with a flat clam and bright sun I managed to loose the focus on the descending bird (groan). Day three on the boat was a completely different day with a strong wind adding a bit of drama which resulted in a more moody picture of the bird working for his lunch. A second visit to the boat by the Eagle for seconds was thwarted by some anti-social seagulls that pinched all the fish.
Photographing an otter whilst lying in a puddle.(photo:Rachel Jones)
The Eagles were one thing but the otters were another, we were staying on Loch Scridain which was providing the most consistent otter views that week, unfortunately the otters popularity turned Loch Beg into a circus where people with no concern for the animal just wanted to get closer and although understandable their actions were making it impossible to stand back and photograph the animal relaxed in its own environment.
A Vole taking advantage of the crowd around the otter, not a Kestrel in sight.(photo:Rachel Jones)
First light gave the best chance of seeing the otter at peace and coinciding with high tides it also gave the best light and reflections for landscape pictures. The week was a sensational week for good light and warm weather which does not always mean that the wildlife will play ball but a full week of good weather on the isle of mull was certainly a new experience for us.
Wildlife highlights for the week were certainly the Eiders and Puffins. The Eagles are the real crowd pullers but I never get to enjoy them as I am too busy trying to keep them in focus while they either circle or descend at high speed.
ISLE OF MULL, APRIL 2011.
Otters, Eagles, Puffins and missed shots.
We visit the Isle of Mull on at least 3 occasions a year, spring, summer and autumn and this was our first trip of 2011. I usually start with a list of subjects to photograph for each trip but as the list relies on animals and good light the list usually gets shortened but this week turned out to be exceptional as far as the weather and I was able to tick a couple of birds off the list. The list is quite seasonal and certain mammals like Deer will have to wait for later in the year (horns to grow back). I will never be happy with the Eagle and Otter pictures and they always take a fair proportion of our time but one day I will capture a decent shot and one day I might win the lottery! . Anyway here is a brief description of the weeks photographic activities.
We do not plan very far ahead and instead of our usual base in Gruline on Loch na Keal we ended up on the banks of Loch Scridain in an old fisherman’s thatched cottage.
Home for the week(photo:Rachel Jones)
Loch Scridain is in the south part of Mull and is currently the best base for observing Otters at the moment. It is also a good location for Eider at the East end (Loch Beg) and like all the sea lochs has a sizable population of Divers (Loons).
The cottage is a small but cosy building and is situated approx 30 metres from the shore and about 250 metres from a Heronry nesting in bank of trees. At this time of year the sun rises above the mountains at the eastern end of the Loch at about 6am and during this week gave exquisite views down the Loch on a mirror calm surface.
Loch Scridain, Sunrise
From a wildlife and landscape perspective early morning always gives either the most activity or the best light of the day and on the Monday morning I decided to go and see if there were any divers close to the shore in good light... I found a Great northern diver not too close but since I was there I lay down at the water level and started taking a few shots of the diver. Using a right angle viewer you look downwards into the camera which enables you to photograph at the water level and it was in this position that I saw the diver look into the sky and then make an emergency dive. Although I thought this was strange it wasn’t till looked up from the camera that I realised there was a Juvenile White tailed Eagle circling over its head at about twenty feet.
Panicking I tried to get a shot of the bird, but with the right angle attachment attached finding the bird turned out to be a farce (you look down and not at the subject)and whilst I was slipping on the wet rocks and pointing the camera at the sun I discovered that looking repeatedly at a low sun through what is effectively is a telescope leaves you slightly disadvantaged for trying to locate a fast moving object flying round in circles.
Discouraged by the disappearing diver and no doubt amused by the weirdo swearing, rubbing his eyes and doing a fair imitation of break dancer, the Eagle disappeared over my head and left me waving the lens about with a couple of frames of an eagles wing tip. Five minutes later and more composed I was back with the diver who performed the same trick of making a dive for it. On this occasion I thought I was ready for it, and seeing the eagle I whipped off the view finder and searched the sky for what I thought was going to be a peach of a shot. Nothing... the Eagle had disappeared and left me rubbing my eyes again questioning what I had just seen. I looked up and down the Loch and eventually looked behind me to see an Eagle leaving its perch in a tree behind me. Disappointed at the lack of photographs but encouraged by the amount wildlife on the loch I looked back to the diver to see it some half a mile off shore.
Giving it up as a bad job I stood up and saw to my left a seal watching me about 30 meters away, now I know that I have a strange imagination but I was sure that he was shaking his head in disbelief.
Seal , watching an unseasonal pantomime on the shore.
And so the rest of the holiday continued in the same way, some ventures were successful but unfortunately some were just as unproductive. On the isle of Mull there are some " hot tickets " when it comes to photography, the top in my opinion is the “Mull Charters “ boat trip to see the White tail Eagles and amongst the others is the trip to the Treshnish Isles to see the Sea birds. Puffins are an easy win and if you cannot get a good image of a subject sitting still only 2 metres away you need to throw away your camera. The Eagles however are a different proposition and the difference between capturing a stunning image and an out of focus patch of shoreline is a bit tenuous.
You don’t need a lens this long for this job; I was actually trying to get some flight shots. (photo:Rachel Jones)
3 trips on the " Lady Jayne" and possibly 3 images of the Eagles that I was" okay" with was not the fault of the skipper but the duffer behind the lens. Day one did not go too bad with a reasonable image of the bird about to pick up his lunch. Day two was a disaster with a flat clam and bright sun I managed to loose the focus on the descending bird (groan). Day three on the boat was a completely different day with a strong wind adding a bit of drama which resulted in a more moody picture of the bird working for his lunch. A second visit to the boat by the Eagle for seconds was thwarted by some anti-social seagulls that pinched all the fish.
Photographing an otter whilst lying in a puddle.(photo:Rachel Jones)
The Eagles were one thing but the otters were another, we were staying on Loch Scridain which was providing the most consistent otter views that week, unfortunately the otters popularity turned Loch Beg into a circus where people with no concern for the animal just wanted to get closer and although understandable their actions were making it impossible to stand back and photograph the animal relaxed in its own environment.
A Vole taking advantage of the crowd around the otter, not a Kestrel in sight.(photo:Rachel Jones)
First light gave the best chance of seeing the otter at peace and coinciding with high tides it also gave the best light and reflections for landscape pictures. The week was a sensational week for good light and warm weather which does not always mean that the wildlife will play ball but a full week of good weather on the isle of mull was certainly a new experience for us.
Wildlife highlights for the week were certainly the Eiders and Puffins. The Eagles are the real crowd pullers but I never get to enjoy them as I am too busy trying to keep them in focus while they either circle or descend at high speed.