Hello All,
Wow, what an interesting weekend I had and although it didn't go to plan (as usual) it was very enjoyable! So in pictures and words here's a quick run down.....
My weekend was planned around trying to get some decent pictures of a Kingfisher which has eluded me so far. You might remember but I posted a little while ago that I had been given a tip off of a great "Kingfisher spot" by a friend of mine and after several weeks of trying and many long hours I drew a big fat 'HIGGY ZERO!'
From this disaster I followed up by failing on my quest with badgers and of course that darn buzzard who I see all the time but just won't 'pose' for the camera!
Having located the above mentioned badgers set situated in a small wood around large pond, I spent many hours down there with absolutely no luck! I was however overwhelmed by the richness of the bird life witin this wood so told my 'Kingfisher' friend about this little unknown gem. He went for a visit last week which prompted an exciting phone call where he relaid to me his fantastic morning trip to this wood where he spent a ages watching a Kingfisher!!!....He even described the exact spot where I could set the camera up and get a "perfect picture" as there was a small island of stones in the middle of the pond with an old branch sticking out which it was using as it's perch to hunt from!.....
Excited???....You bet and in true Higgy fashion I packed the car and come Saturday drove straight down there. Parking the truck up I couldn't get everything unpacked quick enough! Over the gate I went and hiked across the field, only to get half way across and find this lot and some of their mates running at me!...
Last time I was there the field was empty and as it is very large I was stranded with no where to go!......Following some quick thinking a bit of shouting and a lot of waving my tripod around like a Samurai sword they stopped and decided to just stalk me the rest of the way in stead!....Whilst this was happening my friend 'Harry' the buzzard flew over and I'm sure he was laughing at me again!
Finally, down at the lake I settled myself in and waited for the turquoise & orange beauty to turn up and pose nicely for all my lovely expensive and high tech camera gear....and waited....and waited...2 hours...waited... You guessed it....NOWT!!
Three hours into my mission I did have a stroke of luck as whilst waiting a Tree Creeper landed on the Oak tree I was hiding behind and was literally only two feet away from me (what a pretty bird!) Unfortunately 'higgy's luck' struck again and as I was using my 300mm lens I was to close and couldn't focus on it!!!.....had I been quicker to react I could have taken my mobile phone out and probably got my best ever bird shot!!! LOL
Over four hours later all I had in the bag was my 'end of the day picture'...It really was getting really late at this point and dark!....
Sunday I knew would be better and the excitement got the better of me and bizarrely I was awake just after 5am! Well not one to waste an opportunity I was out of bed and heading for the wood by 5:20am! When I arrived it was still dark and I opted to follow the hedge line along in the next field to avoid waking & spooking my new best 'bullock' friends and frightening away anything else which might be out and about at this ridiculous hour!
Thinking about my past photography failures I set the camera with my 'low light' settings and proceeded across the field. I didn't get any more than 100 yards when a fox came out of the hedge and proceeded to casually 'stroll' across the field, obviously on his way home, belly full from a nights hunting.....panic stations...no time for tripod...clang...right down on your belly camera ready....snap, snap, snap...three quick shots like a professionally trained SAS sniper.....
DRAT!!!......FUZZY FOX!.............
I think my 'low light' photography needs some work!!???....
Any way forget about another failure, the sun is rising so for a change a 'start of the day' shot this time...
7am, it's going to be hot and sunny and I'm behind my favourite Oak tree camera on tripod focused on the perch, there is now way I can fail in my mission this time is there??........
10:30am....movement across the pond....here we go camera ready......"oh drat, MOOR HEN!.....
Midday and still nothing, I'm not sure who is border now, me or that darn stick I've been staring at for the last five hours!!....To top it all 'Harry' has flown over several times and I've missed it as the cameras either been on the tripod set up or as I get it ready he flies back over into the tree canopy!!!....."Damn Buzzard!!"
Now I'm at the stage of about 12hours into this farcical 'Kingfisher' hunt now and I've just about had enough of it, my backs in agony, my eyes hurt and to just about sum it all up I've got sunburnt on my leg but it's just a lovely even 2" band around my knees where my wellies and shorts didn't quite meet!!!....how sexy!! LOL
"That's it I've had enough can't take it any more"....teddies firmly out of the pram!!.....grab the camera and I'm off for a walk to stretch my back....
"Hey there's Harry"......"drat not got my tripod!"....."oh well"....Snap....Snap....Snap....
The end to a great weekend......THANKS HARRY!!!!.....
Thanks aiki very kind of you.
Jenny can I employ you to advise me how to make millions??? LOL
Writing a blog that becomes popular (and there's a LOT you can do to get more people to read your blog!) is a good step if you're serious about wanting to do a book, as you'll be able to show a potential publisher that you have already attracted a readership, and also that you can do self-publicity. Getting publishers to agree to take on a book with a strongly personal slant is difficult unless you're already 'known', but not impossible :)
My blog: http://mazzaswildside.blogspot.co.uk/
My Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124028194@N04/
Aiki, sounds like you also have knowledge of this subject? Your blog is amazing and you have 42 followers (sorry 43 now!!) I can't seem to get followers on mine, what's the trick then?
higgy50 said: Aiki, sounds like you also have knowledge of this subject? Your blog is amazing and you have 42 followers (sorry 43 now!!) I can't seem to get followers on mine, what's the trick then?
Thank you, I'm now following yours :) (though I can't see a list of followers on your blog anywhere - maybe you do have others but don't know it?)
I haven't made much effort to get followers on my blog, as it's really just for fun, but I would say the trick is really just to mention it a lot! and put links to it - on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter if you use them, on forums like this if it's allowed (as you already do, and so do I, but some forums aren't keen on this).
Also, look around for blogs that you like, follow them, leave comments. When you do this, people will very often reciprocate, and by checking out their blogs you'll find new blogs to follow, and the more you follow and comment on, the more will follow you in return. This year, make Christmas cards out of your own photos, and write the url of your blog on the back. Tell your friends you're hoping to get lots of followers, and invite feedback about what would make the blog more enjoyable for your readers. It's really just putting yourself about a bit, to put it crudely :)
I'm a bit out of date Higgy but I know enough to know that blogging is a very good first step nowadays so take Aiki's advice. I do know someone who has had a "real" book published after an agent picked up her blog and liked what she was doing.
What I meant about patterns emerging after writing for a while is that you may begin to seecertain issues or themes keep cropping up and then you can use that to create a framework on which to hang your stories.
I am hoping to go on a series of workshops in the near future to find out how to use Facebook, Twitter and youTube to get publicity or to get a name known and build a following.
This is really for business purposes but if I find out anything useful I'll let you know and pass it on!
Jenni
PS None of my clients are millionaires (yet) but I am quietly proud of one or two businesses that have almost a decade of trading behind them!!
God gave us two ears and one mouth for a very good reason!
Well a massive thank you to you both! Lots of good advice there even if we did go off subject a little! I think that this should have been of interest to others reading it also so hopefully no one minds us 'straying' off subject a little!