I spy...

Meet Max. Max is a Ragdoll cat and totally lives up to the breed name. He is soft and fluffy, sweet natured and prefect for cuddling, which he adores. He has one of the loudest purrs I have ever heard! Another trait of the breed is the colour of their eyes. They are blue, like deep pools of cool water you could just dive into. Gorgeous.

Henry

Meet Henry. He is a bouncy little Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever puppy and he is mine. How could I resist taking some photos of such a little cutie?

I bought him home when he was just nine weeks old. He was a little bundle of fluff who just wanted to chew my foot and missed his brothers greatly. He is about 23 weeks old now and has settled into his 'new pack'. He is clever, quick, playful, naughty, funny, stubborn and eager. He loves peanut butter and sausages (even both together!) and walks. He gets way over excited when he meets new people and dogs and my cats think of him as that great annoying lump in the house, though he is actually very good with them even if he does always want to play when they don't.

Having pets myself I understand that they are part of the family. Pet portraits are one of my passions and photos of a beloved family pet make great gifts. I'll leave you with just one more photo of Henry, for now, but I am sure you will see more of him here as he grows up to be a handsome boy.

Fun-by-the-Sea

Sometimes I get asked to do a photo shoot which is fun with a capital 'F". I was recently asked to photograph a young girl with a big personality and bags and bags of energy. I travelled to a little seaside town called Weston-Super-Mare for a shoot by the sea. The day was overcast but warm and so I suggested we went down to the sea front and found some great spots to take photographs.

 Like most children, this little girl had so much energy and so it soon became clear that standing still and posing was not an option. She was always on the move and so I set up some scenarios to shoot as I wanted to capture her personality. The first shot was taken with the pier in the background and I just love the way she is swinging on the railings, and the second shot was taken on some decking by the sea front. I asked the girl to do some star jumps for me and to make them BIG. She did a fabulous job of them I think!

She was a complete natural in front of the camera and loved having her photo taken which made her a real joy to photograph. The shot above was taken during an unguarded moment when she was laughing with her mum (out of shot to the camera's left). I did take a few that were more posed but this one was my favourite of these  - there is real fun in her expression I think. When we stopped for refreshments I discovered where she got her energy - chocolate cake of course!

I think it is really important to keep any portrait shoot fun and relaxed and so I have always favoured the lifestyle shoots on location, but this little girl made it so easy. We had a blast hanging out by the seaside.

Dori

I come from a background in theatre where I worked in stage management and lighting so I have heard the saying "Never work with children or animals' often enough. So I should know better right? Fact is that I am an animal lover though. I grew up surrounded by various animals and have my own small menagerie, so it is only natural that I love to photograph animals.

Our pets are part of our family and so I offer pet portraits at Imaginography. Recently I had the pleasure of photographing Dori, an extremely affectionate and bouncy spaniel. The shoot was outdoors at a spot where Dori often enjoys her walks with her owners. It took a few attempts as Dori was more keen on exploring everything going on than posing for the camera, but I got some nice portrait shots of her, relaxing beneath a tree. Every few seconds though it was too much for her and she would have to come and see the camera, or her owners. The most important piece of kit to have in your bag when shooting animals (apart from the camera!) is patience. We were certainly rewarded with some adorable photos!

The Lily Pond

Whenever I go out for the day, invariably my camera goes with me. You never know when a shot will present itself and quite frankly I enjoy taking pictures. It's also good to keep practicing my art and keep pushing myself to improve. This photo of a duck in a lily pond was taken recently on a day out visiting an arboretum. This little pond lay at the end of a path and was surrounded by Japanese Maples. It was a gorgeous day and quite idyllic. I watched the ducks for a while but it was this little one, sat on his own amongst the lily pads that caught my eye.

I was pleased to find out recently that this photo won a bronze award in an International competition. I used my 70-200mm f2.8L and kept the aperture wide to blur the background lily pads.

Beauty on the Wing

I am incredibly lucky to live relatively close to three Bird of Prey & Falconry centres. I adore Birds of Prey and think they are incredibly beautiful to look at and watch in flight. I visit these centres fairly often and of course, my camera is always with me. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of my most recent photographs from recent trips to The International Birds of Prey Centre (http://www.icbp.org/) in Gloucestershire and the Cotswold Birds of Prey Centre (http://www.cotswold-falconry.co.uk/) near Moreton-in-the-Marsh. Both are excellent centres, committed to the well being of these birds and their conservation.

On both trips I used my EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM lens. I find that it is a perfect lens for photographing birds that are perching or being handles as you don;t have to get too close and risk spooking them and it is also great with a x1.4 converter for capturing the birds in flight. I must admit a 400mm (or larger) would be preferable sometimes for catching the birds as they fly but if you watch and catch the moment I have found the focal length I work with to be fine, especially if you know where to position yourself so you can catch the birds as they come into land or catch their 'prey'. Check out the photo of the vulture in flight (above) to see my point.

Other than kit, I recommend patience which is a must when photographing all animals. Try and watch the subject for a while to see how it behaves. I like to try and capture aspects of their behaviour too and it is important to check your shutter speed if you want to try and freeze the motion, however, a little wing blur in flight can give the impression of movement. Take care though to ensure the bird's eyes and head are completely in focus unless you want to blur the whole image in an 'artistic' manner.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these images and that they might inspire you to go and visit a Birds of Prey centre near to you and take some of your own photos. Remember to always be respect of the birds though as some of the birds can be highly strung. If a bird seems upset, move away until it settles down.

To get the best shots, talk to the staff and ask where is best to stand for the flying displays, but make sure you do not get in the way of the birds flight. I love photographing these amazing birds and I'm planning my next trip back to the ICBP already.

Castle shoot

My preferred style for portraits is informal and natural and so I mostly like to shoot outdoors using natural light rather than stick to the confines of a studio setting. Of course, the downside to this is that I am not in control of the light and sometimes it can be very changeable! On this particular day the sun was quite strong, causing all sorts of shadows through the trees, but then clouds would cover it and the bright light would vanish in an instant.  The upside though, is that I can photograph clients in cool locations.

These two shoots were taken recently for a writer and the location of a ruined castle was perfect for them. My favourite is the first photograph as I love how the stone changes from the moss and lichen encrusted green and black to the red stone further up the tower. Finding the hole in the wall where the stones had been taken or fallen away was fantastic and just perfect for the shot. It actually made a great place to stand as there was the remains of an old spiral staircase which had obviously been built into the wall at a later date when the castle was further fortified.