Spot the snake !

I went for a trip to a reptile sanctuary in the new forest today with my diploma class. We didnt expect to see anything as it was too cold. However against the odds my tutor spotted the rarest reptile in the u.k (smooth snake ). See if you can spot it and i will upload the photo with it highlighted either tomorrow or later tonight.

Kestrel

Out for a walk geocaching with the family me and my girlfriend spotted movement. Once i realised it was a kestrel i took my time walking slowly up to it, taking photo with each step so as to get as close and as detailed shot as possible. I was pretty chuffed with the results :).

Herring gull

I recently went on a family Holiday to north devon. The gulls there went crazy for any scraps found left on the beach. I took this as one came in close trying to get to some scraps a family had left behind on the beach.

Richie Porte Time Trial

Although i mainly take wildlife photos, cycling to france to see one of the biggest sporting events in the world wouldn't be complete without photos of the event. Me, my step dad, brother and one of my best mates spent the day walking around Mont saint michel watching various cyclists attempt to complete the tough course as fast as they could. I was lucky enough to get an excellent view of one of my favorite cyclists Richie Porte as he approached the finish.

Welsh River

During my first year of my diploma we took a week long study tour to the north of Snowdonia national park. It had some stunning scenery and amazing wildlife. The rivers seemed to be the controlling factor in the landscape so i used a slow shutter speed and a low iso in order to try and capture the movement and power of a near by river.

Intrigued gull

At Hengistbury head near Bournemouth there is a small cafe which is very popular and as a result it is popular for a lot of opportunists such as this black headed gull, who was flying over to check out what was on offer.

Butterfly on lavender

On a recent visit to my grandads house in France he was showing me the garden and we noticed the lavender was covered in Butterfly's. I couldn't pass on the opportunity to take a photo with such vibrant colours.

Tern.

This was taken at Hengistbury head near Bournemouth. I was there to look at coastal features as part of my countryside management diploma. We were lucky enough to see this amazing bird plummeting into the sea trying to catch a shoal of fish. In the feeding frenzy i was able to get this shot :).

Vole mum

On one of the more unusually sunny days recently me and a friend went to a quiet piece of woodland to see if we could find anything making the most of the sun near our college. We were very lucky to find this little vole. At first we did not realise, but it was actually a mother in its nest (to the left), and it had tiny little pink babies. Of course as soon as we realised we left it alone to take care of its little family. But i was very chuffed with this little snap.

Relaxed fox

After hearing a lot of commotion coming from somewhere towards the back of my garden ( and the suggestion to take my camera down there by my mum) i went up to the the fence and peered through to see a group of foxes and fox cubs. This particular one was taking a moment to lay down in the sun.

Adolescent cygnet

On a walk with the family we met a large group of swans, most of which were young cygnets with their mum and dad.

Common lizard

I was able to photograph a common lizard the other day basking in the heat (well, the English equivalent of heat) of the day. Me and a friend had gone for a walk around the grounds of my college in Hampshire (sparsholt). We often do as it is in a lovely part of the country and is home to some rare wildlife due to the habitats surrounding it. We lifted up a piece of corrugated metal to find this little guy enjoying the warmth underneath. After taking the photo i returned the metal and left it to it, all without it moving a muscle (except the odd eye movement to check us out.