Miles Collins

Watching the skies…..

Here’s a classic to keep you occupied whilst you read….

I now think about light constantly, light, good or bad defines a photograph. It sets a scene and captures a mood. We all need light, subconsciously it affects our mood, maintains our physical and mental balance and provides an energy source for the food we grow and eat. Until I began to take photography seriously I had taken light for granted, the sun served a purpose,that much I knew but I paid it little attention.

Nature relies as heavily upon light as we humans do, it determines their eating habits, sleep patterns and periods of laying low to avoid predators large and small. What fascinates me is how wildlife reacts to the changes in light, whilst the bright midday sun can be playtime for sparrows, finches, squirrels and the like it is a period of rest for deers, hares, rabbits, owls and other predators. Come the early evening however and the scene changes. As the sun begins to set the landscape becomes a hunting ground for a select few and a time for refuge for the rest.

The sun can create some incredible backdrops for the photographer, care must be taken not to shoot straight into its bright light but careful monitoring of its position above the skyline can yield some spectacular shots. Birds of prey are amazing to watch and the early evening light illuminates dusty tracks whilst mice, weasels, rats, voles and shrews scurry for shelter from the hovering menace above….

Into the Sun

The light was changing constantly this particular evening, the fields were alive with the sight and sound of wildlife in a warm early July evening, seemingly unnacustomed to a human prescence each and every one of them made for the shelter of the wheat fields, trees, shrubs and long grass. As the light began to fade I was left with a solitary bird of prey flying so high above it beggared belief that it could spot a small shrew from such a height. If it did then I didn’t see it, I managed to photograph it in the way that I wished; flying high with a glorious Summer skyline behind it…I settled for that, once again it was the background which became the foreground and for that we must give it credit.