Snow and some birds

I have managed to get out to wave the camera at some birds this year with a particularly productive short session at Salthouse on the 2nd January.  I woke that morning to find a fresh coating of snow, so headed to the beach to play with the Snow Buntings and Teal there.

Click through for more images.

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Adobe Lightroom 3 beta

In case you haven’t already read it elsewhere, Adobe have announced the Lightroom 3 BETA.  You can read more and get a copy at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3/

Warning - this is a beta so if you try it out, make sure you are playing with COPIES of your photos.  Adobe released it for public feedback, including discovery of bugs.

Highlights in this first release:

Built with performance and image quality in mind
Improved noise reduction (seems to be colour noise only)
Improved import experience
Improved watermarking
More web publishing options (e.g. direct management of your flickr photostream)
Exportable slideshows, with audio

The previous betas have seen new features added to later releases, so I expect a few other things in the coming months.

I will be posting some more detailed information and thoughts on my blog over the next few days.

In the meantime, Tom Hogarty has started a list of resources on the Lightroom Journal.

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At the duck pond

I recently spent a morning at Bradgate Park to photograph the deer.  It is a bit early for the rut but I got a few images I am pleased with – I’ll post those soon.

On the way back to the car, I couldn’t resist creating some images of the Mallards from a very low point of view.   I also managed a few images of the resident male Wigeon – see more by clicking through.

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Norfolk and Wheatears

I spent a day in North Norfolk, hoping to catch up with some waders and ducks in flight at Cley Marshes.

Well, the best laid plans and all that!  Not a lot of either within camera range and Salthouse beach car park was very busy with people.

I bumped into Nigel Pye and we spent a few hours with a couple of Northern Wheatear at Salthouse.  Click through to see more.

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And a Black-headed Gull.

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Bits and bobs

I know, this blog is like waiting for buses…nothing for ages then two posts in a day.  To be honest, I am not sure where the past month has gone!  I have been spending more and more time on my new commercial photography business, which is why I haven’t been dedicating much any time to nature subjects since being back in the UK.

Wondering why I have lead the post with a very average image of Great White Egret?

It is a record image of a very scarce bird in Northants (pretty scarce in the UK for that matter), which I managed to get excellent views of at Pitsford Reservoir this week.  It was feeding just in front of the James Fisher hide but frustratingly obscured by reeds most of the time!

Finally, Gene McCullagh has started a new feature on Lightroom Secrets - “Spotlight” – to introduce people who contribute to the Lightroom community.  I was very pleasantly surprised to find I was the first person in the Spotlight!

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