Top Five Nature Photo Books

So slightly different to what i normally do but heres my Top Five Nature Photography Books
these are books i've looked at and thought would be useful to other nature loving people.

 Joe Cornish: A Photographer at Work

I've met Joe a couple of times and his thought process and patience for photography is incredible. This book gives you a unique insite to his mindset about landscape photography around the UK.

Buy it here

BWPA: Collection 1 & 2

Show casing the very best of British wildlife photography this photo book dosent distract with large amounts of text just a very high standard portfolio of work.

Buy it here

Wild Seas Secret Shores of Africa : Thomas Peschak

Probably my favourite Underwater Photographer Tom has a mastery of underwater photography getting interaction shots with his subjects in situations you wouldn't think possible, a must for any underwater photographer!

Buy it here

 Freeze Frame: A Wildlife Cameraman's  Adventures of Ice - Doug Allan

Last week Doug gave a talk to my Uni and after working in the wildlife filming business for over 30 years mostly with the BBC on series such as Blue Planet, Life and Life in the freezer hes got a photo or two to put into a book!

Buy it here

 The Invisible Wildlife Photographer: Bence Mate

Known for getting into Wildlife Photographer of year several times and his unique and inspiring images this book showcases a range of his work mostly his improvised hide work.

And lastly heres my attempt at a book not being published this is the end process of a year long project into Freshwater fish in the UK's Rivers it will how ever be visalbe along with prints and many other nature photographers work as Nature Exposed

Rosemullion, Cornwall

Rosemullion is on the Helford river in Cornwall and joining fellow Nature Exposed Photographer Ben Protheroe we looked around the shore and rockpools for subjects to photograph. Ben concentrated on macro above water while i looked at fisheye under the water a personal favorite of mine!

Cornish sucker fish (above) are quite abundant in the rockpools of the south west and are quite unusual among fish as they dont have a swim bladder.

Edible crab 

Taking a break from the rockpools i noticed quite alot of flowers near this coastal location and as its something i very rarely photograph thought id give it go with some surprising results for me!

if your good with plants id welcome the id as i havent a clue what the bottom one is

Taken not far away this video shows me rockpooling and snorkelling at Pendennis, Cornwall

Hints -

- Be willing to work with others with the rockpooling i knew quite alot of the species where as ben knew the area well so team work can benefit both parties!

- Watch out for the tide coming in it can come quick another reason for a partner!

- Crabs have claws and aren't afraid to use them wear gloves for them!

www.jackperksphotography.co.uk

Bissoe visit with CRAG & Cornwall wildlife trust

Getting in contact with local groups is incredibly beneficial to the nature photographer as theirs wealth of knowledge to be had with in them so acting on this i went to a reptile & amphibian survey day at Bissoe valley nature reserve in Cornwall not far from Truro and owned by Cornwall Wildlife Trust. The wildlife trust is a great organisation to get involved where ever you are in the country and would highly recommend getting involved with them! the other organisation there today was CRAG (Cornwall Reptile & Amphibian Group) who monitor the herptiles around Cornwall.

Duncan (centre) the warden for Bissoe taking us around the reserve and its many ponds home to Palmate newts, Grass snakes and  Toads.

Pete one of CRAG'S volunteers with a damsel fly

 One of the many Palmate newts found during the survey

 While the volunteers look for amphibian life this Common Toad sits by the pond with its tadpoles

After this herptile filled morning i then went to slow worm site not to far away to try my look for some legless lizards and found a healthy population basking in the april sunshine.

Hints -

- Get involved with the Wildlife Trusts! or other organisations like ARG, RSPB and The National Trust
- Know what species are likely to be in the area

Minnow Madness!

April is here and love is in the water for the fish population at my local brook! i put away the fisheye lens and cracked out the 60mm macro for a change to document something a little different Minnows!

The Common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) is a tiny fish that lives in clean, clear streams in large shoals and the males have vivid colours across there bodies which is what i wanted to get.

 A rush of testerone in the males causes the bumps on its head called tubercles

They may be ready to breed but not stupid they hide near stones to avoid predators

Stoney Cove Diving

Stoney cove is a large freshwater dive site located in Leicestershire that holds a few species of fish like pike, roach and perch as well as the endangered White clawed crayfish. i was looking to photographing mainly pike and crayfish although the water was 7 degrees so most of the smaller fish and crayfish had gone to deeper water waiting for hr shallows to warm up.  

This video is shot on a GoPro with a eye of mine housing of the dive and little bit of comedy to!

because of the sunshine and it being a sunday the lake was very busy this meant the water was quite crowded and bit murky so the photography side of things didn't go quite as well.

Hints-
- Try going mid week when their are less people in the water
- Sunny days are best to maximise the amount of natural light
- Approach the fish from below slowly for best results

Underwater Swans

Taking a break from the fish i decided to have a crack at something a bit bigger! Swans are great subjects to work with, allot of photographers start with them as their size and confidence makes them easy to work with. Going to my favorite location Colwick country park the swans where more then friendly!

Showing how close you can get them

Over/under shot

Hints -

- Take a bit of food to encourage them closer bird seed is best to use as it makes them put their heads below the water

- Although swans are mostly harmless be aware if they have cygnets are show major signs of agression 

For more swan images check my site out below!

Swan images

Garden Amphibians!

Been home now for a couple of days and decided to get a shoot or two underway! I've always had a intrest in reptiles and amphibians and this is partly why i made two wildlife ponds at the bottom of my garden many years ago that now boast a collection of frogs, toads and newts all ideal subjects for me to photograph!

Having booked a macro flash kit out i was able to get close to the subject (60mm macro) and light it. the rain had helped quite a bit as this made them come out a bit more. By far common frogs are the most numerous species around with a few pairs of toads and for the first time some smooth newts were also present.

 Common Toads

 Common Frogs

Smooth Newt

I used a tank (i'd recommend glass but i used plastic) for the underwater shots though im hoping to use the underwater housing to actually get them in there environment.

 Hints - 

- Wet your hands before handling amphibians and make sure there not great crested newts or natterjack toads as its illegal to handle these without a licence! 

- Flash really helps bring the subject out in the tank and with experimentation can work effectively

- Conditions are important in very dry weather they are more likely to be near water whereas today with the rain they were quite spread out around the garden. 

If you enjoyed this blog id recommend Neil Philips work who specialises in Tank photography

http://www.uk-wildlife.co.uk/uk-wildlife-blog/

also a video from a earlier blog featuring palmate newts in Cornwall

FOR MORE HERPTILE IMAGES CHECK MY SITE OUT BELOW

UK Herptiles