December 2021 Viewfinder
The weather outside is frightful but the latest Opposite View Wildlife Photography newsletter is delightful 😉
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Well, sort of. Talk of a potential festive lockdown sounds sadly familiar, and who knows how much of a Christmas we will get. I’ll try not to dwell on the current uncertainties in this newsletter; by the time it is in your inbox, the situation will have probably changed again.
Before the current challenges, we headed down to the Lake District at the end of November. It wasn’t a photography trip, rather an opportunity to spend time with my family for the first time since January 2020. While we dealt with the whirlwind of emotions that this meeting brought about, Storm Arwen was blowing outside our holiday let in Skelwith Bridge. Cue the power going out on the first night of our holiday. There was no heating or light for three days, and we were freezing, but we were the lucky ones. As you may be aware, many people remained cut off for several days. A lot was - correctly - made of the human cost of the storm, including the horrendous loss of life, but the cost to nature was also huge. The thousands of trees ripped from the ground were vital to the already fragile ecosystems. Hundreds of seal pups were killed at St Abb’s head, which will affect the population for years to come. The aftermath of the storm may no longer be in the headlines, but the devastation will be felt for a long time - by the local communities and natural world alike.
This isn’t a very cheerful update, is it? Well, after the storm, I put out a trail camera where we were staying, and the videos I captured were a heartwarming tonic. I’ve found trail cameras to be a helpful tool for wildlife photography. So, my latest top tips video on YouTube is all about camera trapping. You can find out more about that below.
If you head over to my YouTube channel, you can watch the videos from my time in the Lake District and footage of my urban foxes. The fox videos were captured by my trail camera in a local spot earlier this year. I had been waiting for the vegetation to shrink back from the cold to redeploy the camera in the same location. As that is now happening, the camera is back in its old spot and is hopefully busy capturing more videos of the foxes and birds. I am looking forward to reacquainting myself with the more elusive wildlife on my local patch during the winter months - when species are much easier to spot, and low light is perfect for photography (when it makes an appearance, of course).
So, on that more hopeful note, I’d love to hear about your winter photography plans, what you’re looking forward to in the New Year and what you think about using trail cameras. Please send me a comment and let me know.
Do stay safe, whatever you’re up to over the festive season, and I hope you have a positive start to 2022. I’ll leave you with a robin in the snow and my best wishes.
See you on the other side,
Rhiannon
Opposite View Wildlife Photography
Through my lens
An uncommon beauty
I am not sure if this common gull is attempting to highlight the dangers of consuming the local shellfish. I have to confess to not noticing the sign before. So, if the aim was to draw some attention to it, it worked!
Species spotlight
Goldcrest - the new nemesis
The goldcrest is Europe’s smallest bird and weighs less than 6 grams. Its Latin name is Regulus regulus, which means “petty king” or “prince”, referring to its golden crown. They are also known as my new nemesis.
Video series: Top tips for amateur wildlife photographers
Using camera traps to improve your photography
In this Opposite View Wildlife Photography video, I share my top tips for using camera traps on your local patch to improve your wildlife photography. SPOILER ALERT: it's surprising how useful trail cameras are!
You may have seen stunning images of elusive wildlife captured using camera traps. These set-ups are often expensive and may not appeal due to the time and skill required to set them up; this doesn't mean you should rule out camera trapping. Although it may not capture high-quality images and videos, using an inexpensive and simple trail camera set-up is worthwhile - particularly if you're short on spare time for your photography.
If you're keen to try camera trapping, my suggestions - based on my own experiences on a recent holiday and with my local foxes - will hopefully give you some ideas.
And finally…
If you’re still trying to get into the festive spirit, take a look at my gallery of wintry images of local foxes ❄️🦊❄️
Keep in touch
Thanks for reading this! If you have any comments or questions, opportunities for photography or if you would like to use any of my images, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
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Brilliant Rhiannon. Loved the videos, really informative blogs.