Another trip to Sheffield
This week I had a long weekend , just as there will be next weekend with the Easter Bank Holidays, so you would think that would offer additional opportunities for getting out to do photography. Well as is often the case life got in the way, with jobs to do around the house on both Friday and Saturday , neither of which had particularly good weather. So Sunday I was determined to go out , but where to head to. Initially I headed out to look for Raptors, Birds of Prey , setting off to an area that normally I see a few Kestrels or the odd Buzzard, however not one was to be seen - possibly as I was slightly later than usual getting out (the old bed being a little too comfortable).
Disappointed but with improving light I made the decision to go to look to photograph Kingfishers once more, hence the trip to Sheffield. The trip over the moors to reach the location was beautiful , but presented no new photographic opportunities so I didn’t stop on the way.
Arriving at the location I parked up and walked to the first pond where the Kingfishers are normally active , again normally is what I said there as I got that feeling today was going to be one of those days where the subject I wanted to capture just didn’t appear. Ok , onwards to the next pond and here surely they must be…well no, again no Kingfishers. So I sat myself down and busied myself photographing the Mallards and Mandarin Ducks , all of whom seemed to be curious as to what the heck I was doing there and tried presenting themselves in the best light.
Anyway I decided , no Kingfishers then surely there must be some Dippers slightly further upstream (or anything other than Ducks) , so I walked upwards through the parkland alongside the brook searching for subjects , had I been looking for some intimate landscapes then the dappled light through the trees would have offered many opportunities , but sadly few wildlife subjects. Upon reaching the Cafe in the park I sat , had a coffee and thought of my next steps. Head further up the park or walk down to one of the other ponds…
Choosing the latter of the options I headed back down the park but on the opposite side of the brook and reached a third pond , here finding another photographer and finally Kingfishers , a Male with his brilliantine colouring and a female , beautiful in her own right. The behaviour was fascinating in that the male was fishing and then taking the fish to the female who for the most part was hidden from view, before he once again took up a perch to hunt. Here, however came the issue that due to the time of day , my error for starting at the wrong location, the sunlight was almost directly behind and above the birds so silhouettes were the order of the day. I spent several minutes chatting to the other photographer and gaining some valuable knowledge to use next time.
Moving on I retraced my steps back to the second pond I had visited and having sat for a few minutes was rewarded with the Male Kingfisher perching on a branch for a few seconds before taking to flight and heading away. I moved position to a little further along the pond and once again spent time focussing on the Ducks , which as I had now sighted my primary subject seemed much more appealing so I attempted to capture them in better light and position - given this is a public park I took the decision not to lay fully prone on the bank of the pond (as my wheezing and struggle for breath may have caused someone to dial for an ambulance) and instead got as low as practically possible. Almost immediately to be disturbed by well meaning people walking through asking about the photography…and of course had I seen the Kingfishers..
It was here that a young photographer joined the increasing numbers of people and also asked about the Kingfishers , and after some time chatting showed some of the most incredible photographs that I have seen from one so young…I gave my advice as to ways to present the images to a wider audience - which they do fully deserve and chatted as we both headed back to the first pond I had started out at. Here the Kingfisher was once again hunting although the placement of its perches often meant that the background showed us to be in an inner city park area.
Anyway , ultimately I got some images that I can work with and met two very very good photographers on the day, both at the opposite ends of the age spectrum, which truly shows how such an interest can bring generations together - I hope at some point to bump into both of them again….
