November 2024 Viewfinder
Nature’s fireworks put on a late display in this month's Opposite View Wildlife Photography newsletter.
They say “Better late than never” but, in this case, a little earlier in the month would have been helpful.
If you read last month's newsletter (thank you!), you will remember that I had recovered from COVID-19 and avoided Storm Ashley, but all that had resulted in a lack of wildlife encounters. Well, November has (mostly) been a repeat of October. At the beginning of the month, I caught a stinking cold that sapped my energy for over a week. Last weekend Storm Bert arrived, and there was a lack of photography opportunities all month due to lack of time and an excess of not-great weather. Deja vu, anyone?
By telling you this I am getting my excuses in early rather than trying to initiate sympathy. Due to the lack of encounters and an absence of inspiration, I have to admit to not writing any new blogs this month. Instead, I’ve trawled through my archive and found a couple of blogs to reshare here, with the reasons for including them outlined below. I hope you enjoy them.
Typically, my only bloggable wildlife encounter this month came too late for me to be able to write about the experience. It happened on a lunchtime walk during frosty conditions. When I began writing these monthly newsletters, I promised to share some of my ‘best failures’. The image below is one of those with the magpie performing the perfect photobomb. He/she is a blur because I used back button focus to lock onto the fox in tricky lighting conditions. I'll share more about these magical, if somewhat frozen, moments next month and some of the more successful images (although you can get a sneak preview if you head over to my image galleries). I was delighted that this fox could relax with me standing close by - it was the perfect cure for my numb fingers and toes!
Earlier this month - well, back in October, to be exact - the nightly explosions started as we entered the season that is Bonfire ‘Night’. The letting off of fireworks is supposed to be for Guy Fawkes night but tends to spread to the rest of the month. I will be honest and say that I would prefer banning fireworks outside of organised displays for the sake of wildlife, pets and anxious people. Instead, I want to spend November focusing on the colourful nature that can brighten the shift from autumn into winter.
So, I will leave you with the best photo I have for the theme of 'nature’s fireworks' this month. I captured this image on a damp and dull walk in Dawsholm Park in Glasgow, where a small population of ring-necked parakeets thrive. As a non-native species, they are not entirely welcome, but they certainly brightened my day and reminded me of my time living in south London - where these birds are a common sight. The ring-necked parakeets are colourful, noisy and divisive - much like the fireworks humans have been setting off all month.
Best wishes,
Rhiannon
Opposite View Wildlife Photography
Through my lens
Wild women don’t - What is stopping female amateur wildlife photographers?
On BBC Breakfast this week, they announced the shortlisted images for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s People’s Choice Award 2024. During the short article, they interviewed Sue Flood, whose image Icy Repose was one of those shortlisted (congratulations Sue!). During the conversation, they noted that hers is the only shortlisted image taken by a female photographer. That got me thinking about a blog I wrote a while back, which I am resharing here.
I opened up a new document on my phone in 2021 and typed at the top: Why are there fewer women wildlife photographers than men? It was International Women’s Day, a missing woman was front-page news and as the questions around women and wildlife photography had been floating around my head for a long time, I thought it would be as good a time as any to start addressing them. I jotted down a few ideas and shared a post on the SheClicks Facebook group to ask other female photographers what they thought. More notes.
Then the body found in Kent woodland was confirmed as Sarah Everard’s. I closed that document and did not reopen it. The limitations for women doing activities like wildlife photography felt secondary to the raw reinforcement that we can't even risk walking home alone.
On International Women’s Day 2022, I decided to reopen those notes.
I’d love you to read the resulting blog and leave a comment, either here or on my website, and if you identify as female or male. I look forward to hearing what you think.
Species spotlight
Waxwing - the bohemian berry bandit
Last November, we were treated to a ‘waxwing winter’ as bohemian waxwings arrived in the UK in huge numbers. I haven’t heard of any sightings this year yet, but I hope the waxwings - like everything else this month - are running a bit late. In some winters, we only receive a handful of these birds, with sporadic sightings. While in other years, vast flocks can descend - as was the case in 2023.
In this blog, I celebrate these charming berry eaters and share how to find and photograph them when they return to us for the winter.
And finally…
One of the points that was made at the WildPhotos conference was that we should all be keeping our websites up to date with our latest images. With that in mind, and because I’ve let you down on the blog front this month, I’ve added some new galleries to my website. There are more galleries on the way, so please keep visiting my website to keep up to date.
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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