weekend

I was out and about at the weekend,lovely early mornings with cold clear dawn sky on both saturday and sunday, I headed to the hare fields where there is still lots of action going on. I was lucky enough to have a few close encounters with these wonderful animals, both mornings from 6am while watching hares a cuckoo was calling which made for a lovely backdrop to the scene. In the afternoon i visited one of the local fens and was delighted to find up to five short eared owls still present also a hen harrier and the first swallows had arrived in the area.

Moon and Venus

I was also set on taking a picture or two of the recent lovely conjunction of the moon,venus and jupiter in the evening sky. I decided on a lovely wodland location where there are some very old oak trees to compose an image.There was a lovely bonus while i was there as a barn owl was hunting

the area between the trees and at one point hovered just a few feet above my dog who was oblivious to its prescence. something i may well never see again.

Zoo visit

Took a day to visit London Zoo where i am a member and a place i have been visiting for many years. There have been many changes over the years and it keeps improving and getting better and is a world leader as far as conserving species goes. I havent done any zoo photography for many years, ive decided to venture there again with my camera to see if i can come up with new and intresting images.This visit i became fascinated by my favourite birds the Pelicans they were in a good position and the late afternoon light was lovely. I spent an hour or so by them and managed what i consider to be a few nice images.

Exhibition

From the 21st November to 3rd December i will be holding a exhibition along with my friend Nicola Mclean a very talented artist. The location is The Carre Gallery in Sleaford and will be open daily from 10am to 4pm. If you are in the area please drop by to take a look admission is free.

Puzzle Wood

After months of inactivity, last week made a trip to the Forest Of Dean with my daughter Rhiannon where we spent a magical time exploring Puzzle Wood.It is thought that J.R.R.Tolkien walked here and gained ideas for the woods and forests of middle Earth and once you visit it is easy to see why. Lichen covered rocks and twisted tree roots abound,while bird song is

filterd down from the overhanging canopy. a truly magical place.

Hare watching

Well, disappointing to report that i have been unable to undertake any photography during the last week, haven't even been able to visit Hare watching site.
Hoped this morning was going to dawn bright and clear but alas rain and leaden skies, went for a run with Indie instead through the woods. have added a pic that really follows on from the previous one i posted.

Hares

Spring is in the air out in the natural world, It maybe difficult to leave the warmth of home early on a cold February morning especially before it is even light! but the rewards can be high.
I made a couple of trips to one of my favourite Hare watching areas during the course of the last week to watch and see what was happening in the world of the Brown Hare and was rewarded with views of small groups of Hares interacting such as mate guarding,chasing and a little boxing going on.I am hoping for some bright cold mornings over the coming weeks to try to capture some new and exciting images of these beautiful and entrancing creatures.

Mallorca Trip

Recently spent a few days with friends at a festival in Mallorca,great fun as it was the St Antoni festival lots of bon-fires around the town on the Sunday evening. Monday was the main event with the blessing of peoples animals outside the local church everything from Horses,Dogs,Cats,Rabbits,Ferrets,Parrots,Goldfish to a flock of sheep came past.
The afternoon most of the town walked up into the hills behind the town to eat and drink free red wine supplied by the town council! A tree had been cut down and stripped of its branches, which was to be dragged back into town taking many hours,all the time locals were letting of fireworks(no health and safety here thankfully!)where it was erected and the locals tried to climb to the top of it to win a cash prize,we sat in a local bar and watched all the mayhem go on around us great fun.

Partial Eclipse

Took a peek out of my bedroom window around 6:45am and realised there was an outside chance that this mornings partial eclipse of the sun maybe visible as it rose above a nearby woodland.Walked with Indie to where i thought a good viewpoint maybe wanted to have a tree or two in the foreground to give the picture some depth, the dawn sky was spectacular and around 8:15 the Sun began to creep above the trees veiled by a thin layer of cloud that i feel added to the amazing site of the eclipse.Within an hour a we were engulfed by a short lived blizzard but by then i was back home with a hot cuppa and pics safely downloaded.

winter frosts

The extreme winter weather we are currently experiencing has led to many birds turning up in unexpected places, i had a wander through my local park yesterday and came across a Green Sandpiper feeding in a shallow stream, Four Waxwings flew over and a Green Woodpecker was searching for food near to a children's play area.
The best photo opportunity was of a Heron standing sentinel like on the grass against a frosty backdrop, so braving the freezing ground i crawled as close as i could to get a few pics. The Heron is one of the main reasons i became interested in wildlife many years ago and i still love them and they always remind me of our ancient past creatures the dinosaurs.
I took Indie for a walk into the local woodland and it was like stepping through the wardrobe and into Narnia, the hoar frost turning the woods and surrounding landscape into a magical wonderland.

London

My favourite city in the world is London where there is enough of intrest to fill several lifetimes, i never get tired of visiting and have many places there that are very close to my heart this is just one looking down towards Ludgate circus with the iconic shape of St Pauls rising into the dusk sky. Inside St Pauls cathedral is Holman Hunts painting called 'The Light Of the World' one of my favourite paintings,i recently sat admiring it for an hour lost in its exquisite beauty so if you ever get to visit St Pauls find a few minuets to see this wonderful piece of British art.

Waxwings

Exciting news we are expecting an influx of WAxwings to arrive in Britain for the winter,some of these beautiful birds visit most years and can be fairly elusive but this year hopefully many thousands will make the journey down from scandinavia and provide much excitement and happiness to many birders and members of the general public alike. Its been three years since my last sighting which was at dusk just near to where i live in Bourne but alas they moved on the next morning before i could photograph them. This picture was taken in Stamford a few years ago the birds were very obliging for a couple of weeks. Keep on checking berry bushes as they can turn up almost anywhere and there have already been a few sightings of birds flying over the Bourne area.

Red Kites

After a few weeks of photographic inactivity I've at last been out and about with my camera again,last Saturday dawned bright and clear and had a touch of the chilly winds of the coming winter about it.
I was out as soon as possible into an area that is a particular favourite of mine the light was perfect and i was lucky enough to come across a couple of Red Kites that were enjoying the sharp breeze and performing their spectacular aerial manoeuvres after a while i was able to get into a good position for a few photos.

Hare watching

August arrives and as the harvest begins i like to get out to my favourite Hare watching areas to see whats going on, its a good month to see action as you still have the chance to see boxing taking place and the viewing is easier as the landscape takes on a more autumnal appearence as crops are gatherd.
Ive been for a couple of walks with Indie this week and seen several Hares including some beautiful young ones as they explore the hedgerows and fields where they live.

Astronomy pics

Spent yesterday afternoon revisiting an old friend Comet Hale-Bopp, ive lots of happy memories of nights out in the Lincolnshire countryside finding good dark locations to attempt to photograph this spectacular visitor to our solar system,the one ive posted was taken in Bourne Woods. I will be adding more photos of the comet and some other astronomy pics to my website www.tonybates-outside-in.co.uk shortly.

Poppy pics

Out bright and early today with Indie before the heat of the day set in walked along the side of the river Glen whose banks were thick with poppies in places which are also known as thundercups !
Indie who has his own section on my web site had a great time in the cool morning air while i took a few pics.

Devil Screacher

Last night spent a wonderfull couple of hours watching one of my favourite birds The Swift as they chased and screamed, all to soon these birds will be heading south again, so im hoping to get some pics to add to my web site and to put into one of my slide shows that feature these birds that are steeped in folklore and superstition.

Barn owl hovering

A recent evening visit to a local meadow near Bourne Lincolnshire resulted in great views of a hunting Barn owl.

For more owl pics see my web site

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my new blog site for Outside In.

Here you will find information about me, Tony Bates, and my photographic work.

Through my skill and patience I hope to capture exciting images that will bring our wonderful world into your home.