John Moncrieff Photography: Blog

Happy New Year

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 19:33:39 GMT

It's been a long time since my last update - work, more work and grim weather have kept the camera in it's bag for too long. Have still managed a few nice Otter and Seal encounters though! Off to Inverness in a few days for some Red Squirrel and hopefully some Red Deer photography.

Belated update

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 14:38:19 GMT

It's been a while since the last update - have been enjoying 3 weeks of holidays, including a trip to Crete and Santorini. Some new photos added of our travels, and a few more wildlife shots have been added too.

Hope to have some nice Grey Seal pup encounters soon as they are now being born nearby...

iPhone

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:08:29 GMT

It's been a while since I updated here - anyhoo, still seeing Otters most days, but not had much luck with the weather and light when it came to photographing.

I have recently got myself an iPhone 4S - it has a very good camera, and some of the apps are great for creative photography, or giving old photos new life. It's not much use for wildlife photography though - which is probably a good thing :-)

Anniversary

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 17:30:48 GMT

Three years today since I got married to my lovely wife, Sharon, without her pestering this website may never have happened!!

Also today, I found out I have a 'highly commended' image in the 2012 British Wildlife Photography Awards - I'm very pleased! Maybe next year I might win something - must keep trying!

Here's the image..

Calm before the storm

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:51:02 GMT

The old saying of 'the calm before the storm' rang true..... after the glorious sunset last night, we have gales and rain today.

Still managed to find an Otter though, and got some great views of Gannets diving very close to the shore.

Here's the silhouette of the remote Shetland island of Foula as the sun was setting behind it.

Upstanding Otter

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 19:43:00 GMT

I had a great encounter with one of my local Otters a couple days ago - it frequently stood up on it's back legs and kept on coming very close to me - curious to the clicking of my camera perhaps. It came so close that I did wonder if it may walk over me as I lay on the rocks.

Another Otter

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 19:33:47 GMT

A very close encounter with another Otter this evening! Had to shoot at ISO1600 to get something near a decent shutter speed - still too slow for when the Otter was moving though. This one has got what looks like a bite to the nose..

Foggy

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 21:47:55 GMT

Finally have some days off! Thick fog and very dull today, so have been editing photos all day and have uploaded a few new ones to the site, including a few from Mallorca.

Had a quick look for Otters after tea and found one in th ebay below the house - still too dull for any decent photos :-( maybe tomorrow will be a bit better!

Here's one from a very sunny Palma...

Another fine day

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 11:47:58 GMT

We are having a rather good summer this year - another bright and sunny day today - a little windy though. At least the wind is in a good direction for otters below the house!

Uploaded more images today of some recent encounters...

Shark!!

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:36:01 GMT

I had a report of a Basking Shark off the east end of Sumburgh airport this afternoon... I headed down immediately, but unfortunately I couldn't see it anywhere. How can I miss a 25 foot long Shark?!

Had to make do with a few Puffin photos, and I also took a few of an Otter on the way home. The Otter ones aren't worth uploading as the sun was against me, and also the wind, which made it too risky to try and get in to a better position. Better luck tomorrow maybe :)

John

Otter And Eel

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:58:47 GMT

Spent a while watching an Otter again today - I witnessed it come ashore with nothing, but it soon appeared with a large Eel! I assume it was something it had stored area - it's the first time I've seen such behaviour. Unfortunately I only managed one photo > http://www.flickr.com/photos/crieffy/7643725058/

Work

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 17:56:03 GMT

Work is not much use for photography :-( Saw an Otter on the way home, but had to do the dreaded Tesco shop instead. One day to go then it's four days off - woo hoo.

Uploaded a few more images today, but still have many more to process to try and fill the site up a bit.

Happy Looking Grey Seal Pup

One year ago

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:05:36 GMT

Around this time last year on the way home from work I had some extremely close views of a pod of five Orcas, or Killer Whales, as they hunted seals close to shore.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crieffy/7605670224/

I also saw an Otter just as I arrived back at the house. No such luck today though - ah well, maybe tomorrow :)

Underwater Otter

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:33:45 GMT

Something a little bit different from an Otter encounter this morning. I had to keep ahead of the Otter due to wind conditions, and wait for the Otter to catch me up. It resulted in some great views! At one point it was so close I couldn't dare take a photo in case the noise scared it off - I was later rewarded with a fantastic view from above as it fished under the water below me. Very pleased!

My first blog posting!

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 12:19:18 GMT

My first ever blog post! Not quite sure what to do with a blog - I will maybe just update it with wildlife encounters and new images??

I'll start with an older image - one of my best Otter encounters, and also one of my favourite shots.

Curious Shetland Otter Cub