I have been back a week since an awesome 3 day trip to Norfolk.
I had arranged a days one-2-one with Craig Jones a brilliant photographer who I must admit is a bit of a hero of mine, someone that I really admire. Craig proved to be exactly what I had thought, a truly amazing wildlife photographer with excellent knowledge of wildlife, locations, photography and how to stalk wildlife without resulting in disturbance.
We spent time at various locations between Burnham, Holkam and Cley along the Norfolk coast. Craig knew these locations intimately and the resultant wildlife sitings certainly proved that.
First on the agenda was Barn Owls. We started early (5am) setting up on location at the edge of some fields managed for wildlife. Craig knew that there was a Barn Owl roost in buildings nearby and that two owls hunted the surrounding four fields.
The first mornings light was phenomenal but sadly we only got a brief distant glimpse of an owl. The image below, although not a bad image, it was really only taken to show a rough idea of an image both Craig and |I had envisaged with a Barn Owl flying ghostly through the mist. The owl didn’t appear but I guess we can both aspire to achieve the image another day.
Undeterred the evening would produce some sitings.
Craig showed me various locations that he knew along the coast that were particularly good for waders in small harbours, wetlands and finally at Cley. Redshank showed well everywhere we went, with this particular individual displaying in between dodging the local fishermen setting up for the day.
Something I wan’t expecting to see in such abundance was the areas Marsh Harriers. This species seemed to be as connected to this area of Norfolk as the Red Kite is to Stokenchurch in Oxfordshire. This silhouette was taken in between waiting for Barn Owls. This male was one of a pair roosting nearby and busily hunting in the evening light.
Although largely unlucky with images of Barn Owl we did spend a lot of time in the immediate fields and had great success with the local Brown Hare population.
The image above is a particular favourite of mine from the trip. Probably not to everyones taste but I loved the mist slowly rising in the morning occasionally bathing the Hares in a monotone light effect. Both the Brown Hare and Pheasants gently appeared and disappeared in the mist. These images are not converted to black and white but are as taken in the field.
Perhaps my main reason for the trip was to capture images of Brown Hare. Craig showed me a few locations in the area which I returned to over the 3 days and captured reams of images. Craig showed me how to get into position using stalking techniques to move through the landscape reducing disturbance to a minimum. Dressed head to toe in camouflage (thank you Kevin at Wildlife Watching Supplies) we worked are way along field margins using hedgerows as cover to approach the Hares down wind and at the right angle to the light. Settling down into location the Hares soon forget that they have caught glimpses of a moving green blob and they soon move around you undeterred.
Craig and I had various Hares appearing from out of the hedgerows, and rape fields crossing our field of view or bounding down the tractor tramlines towards us.
Craig was very free with his knowledge sharing lots of his tricks, hints and tips to capture great images. Although I say ‘tricks’, Craig is what I would call a wildlife enthusiast first and foremost and photographer second and hence relies largely on spending time out in nature, using a endless knowledge of the species in question to understand how to get superb images.
The image that everyone hopes for and an image that has eluded Craig and I so far, was of boxing hares. We witnessed plenty of this form a distance but the only opportunity to capture it was well after sunrise when the light was harsh and the hares were boxing in a large open field surrounded by local houses. Although not an award winner, both Craig and I liked the fact that it showed a setting that Hares are often found thriving in, close to human habitation.
All in all a fabulous weekend and I have to say I am now a huge fan of Norfolk, somewhere I had not really been too before. Perhaps a trip back for the huge Snettisham wader roosts will be on the cards later in the year or in 2013.
Thank you Craig for a fabulous trip. If anyone reading this wants to see Craigs work go to his website, twitter or facebook pages.
