Sean Davis Photography UK

November 2024

How time flies and the seasons come and go. It’s the end of October and Autumn is here in full force. The landscape is covered by the warm tones of yellow, orange and red as the tree’s leaves react to the cooler conditions. Many trees have lost their leaves, and the ground is a awash with colour. I think that Autumn must be one of the best seasons for photography. Less harsh light with muted tones and the choice of compositions is endless. Along with the magic colours of autumn comes the abundance of fungi in all its forms and colours. There are many mushrooms that pop up in the grass areas and lots of fungi on the tree’s branches and around the roots. Macro or closeup photography is always good at this time of the year.

This is the time of the year when the Deer start their rutting season. I went to Tatton Park to see the Red Deer but found no Deer rutting yet. There were lots of male deer bellowing so the rutting will happen soon.

As we live in the northern part of England, we will be able to witness the River Salmon jumping the waterfalls as they head up the River Ribble to spawn. They can be seen at Stainforth in Yorkshire.

The red squirrels have been busy collecting and storing nuts and food for the cold winter season ahead when food becomes harder to find. Interesting fact: red squirrels do not hibernate during winter. Think of supporting a worthy wildlife charity like The Penrith & District Red Squirrel Group in Cumbria. They do amazing work! I ran a couple of workshops on red squirrels, and they proved to be popular so I will repeat these in the winter months, hopefully with some snow.

At one stage not so long ago, the red squirrel was found across the UK, but since the introduction of the grey squirrel from America, their habitat is now dominated by the grey squirrels as it is much larger and eats the same food source. As a result, the red squirrels have been forced further north and can now only be found in Northern England and Scotland.

One of the highlights in October was photographing the Bearded Tits at Leighton Moss RSPB reserve. They come and eat at the grit trays to help with the digestion of their food. They do this in the cooler months as they change their diet due to availability of food.

My talks on Birds and Wildlife from South Africa at Whalley, Longridge and finally Clitheroe library and have been well received over the past few months. It was great to meet other like-minded people and share my experiences and photographs with them.

I was fortunate to take a short trip up to Edinburgh and what a beautiful city. On my way back a decided to take the east coast route and headed for Bamburgh Castle but the weather was not great and there was lots of fog, so visibility was poor, but this just gives me a reason to go back in better conditions.

We have been extremely fortunate this year and have been able to see the Northern Lights twice from Lancashire. The last one was on 10th October and was spectacular and the first time that I had the privilege to photograph them.

We have just reset our clocks to British winter time and the shorter daylight hours have started and will present some challenges and opportunities with less hours of daylight.

As I enjoy action photography, I went off to Oulton Park to watch the British Super Bikes and had a great day out photographing, men on their racing machines! Oulton Park is such a great track for photography as you get close to the action.

Woodland

Red Deer

Red Squirrel

Fungi

Northern Lights

Super Bikes

Bearded Tit

August 2024

It’s almost the end of August and summer is still trying to make an appearance. It has been wonderful to have the long light evenings as we get more hours to photograph. We all experienced the amazing Northern lights in June in many parts of the world and what a show we witnessed. Nature is truly amazing.

I have been out and about scouting for new areas for future workshops and visited some of the RSPB’s not too far from me. St Aidan’s certainly is a worthwhile visiting with a large diverse mix of birds. I will go back to visit again and experience the birds in different seasons.

The Short-eared Owls have been very good this year and I have had many occasions to photograph these magnificent birds. They are so graceful in flight as they glide along but can change direction in a split second as they swoop in on their prey.

The Long-eared Owls are back, and I was fortunate to capture some amazing images of them. Their youngsters have started to fledge and have even started to hunt for themselves

The Osprey have been back at their nesting sites since late March have raised several youngsters that have fledged and are flying. They are such a powerful hunting bird and photograph well, when you can get close to them. I spent a morning out on a small boat and had a few interactions with them.

It was good to see the Great-crested Grebe with their second brood of young. They are called Humbugs as they have strips that resemble a Humbug and when very small hop onto mom’s back and are chauffeured around.

As I missed out on Skomer Island last year I made sure that I spent 2 days this year on Skomer to see the Puffins feeding on the sand-eels at the end of June. It was an amazing experience to interact and photograph these beautiful birds. They are such characters.

The Puffins arrived back at Skomer Island and at Bempton Cliffs and the Yorkshire coast in the middle of April but since left to return to the sea until next year.

I am fortunate to have a woodland next door to where I live and have found that we have many birds and several animals there. The woodpeckers have nested and was kept busy by the chick who keeps on calling for more food. There are the other usual woodland birds, wrens, robins, various thrushes, finches, magpies, blackbirds, blackcaps, and others all busy feeding their young. The woodland is filled with the sounds of all the different songbirds and is amazing to listen to, whilst out walking or sitting on a bench.

July was a busy month with many birds fledging and leaving their nests and starting out in life which meant getting ready for the migration back to Africa and other places.

There have been many new indigenous trees planted in the woodland area which is great to see.

There are signs that a badger or fox has been in the woodland and speaking to some of the other residents they say they have seen the fox around. That’s great news and I will set up some trail cameras to see what I can find. I have seen the Roe deer several times and will hopefully get to photograph them at some point in time.

The flowers don’t stop blooming as we have had the buttercups and daisies popping up in lawns and on road verges. The invader Himalayan Balsam is everywhere, and it pink flowers cannot be missed. It’s wonderful to have seen a carpet of colour since February and this should continue until the end of summer.

The black berries bushes are found along many woodland tracks and I have been picking black berries and making some great breakfast accompaniments with them.

As the days now start to shorten we will see the signs of Autumn approaching over the next two months and see some amazing colours in the landscape.

Photography allows us to capture today's experiences and turn them into tomorrow's memories !

Great Grebe & Humbug

Humbug

Great Grebe & Humbug

Osprey

Puffin

Puffins

Puffin

Pufferling

Puffin

Puffins

Razorbill

Yellow Leg Gull

Highland Coo

Caterig Foss

Long Eared Owl

Juveniel LEO

Crackpot Falls

Gargrave

Stone barns

Blea Tarn

Rydale

Bempton Cliffs

Barn Owl

Kestrel

Long Eared Owl

Little Owl

Tawny Owl

Red Grouse in the Heather

June 2024

It’s almost the end of June and summer is starting to make an appearance. It is wonderful to have the long evenings as we get more hours to photograph. We all experienced the amazing Northern lights earlier this month in many parts of the world and what a show we witnessed. Nature is truly amazing.

I have been out and about scouting for new areas for future workshops and also visited some of the RSPB’s not too far from me. St Aidan’s certainly is a worthwhile visiting with a large diverse mix of birds. I will go back to visit again and experience the birds in different seasons.

The Short-eared Owls have been very good this year and I have had many occasions to photograph these magnificent birds. They are so graceful in flight as they glide along but can change direction in a split second as they swoop in on their prey.

The Long eared Owls have also been out I was fortunate to capture some images of this beautiful owl.

The Osprey have been back at their nesting sites since late March and have eggs on the nest and it won’t be long before we see some chicks. They are such a powerful hunting bird and photograph well. I will hopefully have a workshop coming soon on Ospreys.

The Puffins are back at Skomer Island and at Bempton Cliffs and the Yorkshire coast. I am looking forward to hosting a Puffin workshop on the Yorkshire coast.

As I missed out on Skomer Island last year I wanted to ensure that I did not miss out again this year and so I am off there for 2 days to see the Puffins feeding on the sand-eels at the end of June along with other birds.

I am fortunate to have a woodland next door to where I live and have found that we have many birds and several animals there. The woodpecker is nesting and being kept busy by the chick who keeps on calling for more food. There are the usual woodland birds, wrens, robins, various thrushes, finches, magpies, blackbirds, blackcaps, and many others. The woodland is filled with the sounds of all the different songbirds and is amazing to listen to whilst out walking.

There have been signs that a badger has been in the woodland and speaking to some of the other residents I saw a fox early one morning whilst out walking. That’s great news and I will have to set up some trail cameras to see what I can find. I have seen the Roe deer several times and will hopefully get to photograph them.

The flowers don’t stop coming as we now have the buttercups and daisies popping up in lawns and on road verges. It’s wonderful to have seen a carpet of colour since February and this should continue until the end of summer.

I had the oppurtunity to visit Oulton Park to watch the Ferrari challenge and what a great track. Alos experienced Land Yachts for the first time at St Annes on the Lancashire coast.

Photography allows us to capture today's experiences and turn them into tomorrow's memories !

Black Grebe

Juvenille Coots

Black Grebe

Juvenille Blue Tit

Juvenille Chafinch

Dipper

Great crested Grebe

Black Headed Gull

Northern Shoveler

Reed Bunting

Jenny Wren

Juvenille Robin

Spotted Woodpecker

Tree Creeper

Sparrowhawk

Long Eared Owl

Lady Beetle

Male Broad Body Chaser

Female Broad Body Chaser

Long Red Damselfly

Azur Damslefly

Harvest mouse

Hover Fly

Leaf

Buttercups

Blackberry Flower

Ferrari Challenge

Land Yachts

April 2024

Its already the start of spring.

How time flies! We are already seeing signs of the change of season as I have seen the Snow Drops out in bloom followed by the Wild Daffodils and now the Tulips and the carpets of Bluebells have started. Even though it’s been a very wet start to the year hopefully we will get a break in the weather and see some sunshine. The Cherry Blossoms and other flowering trees are out in bloom and look magnificent.

I have been busy with finding new locations to photograph and been travelling around the countryside. I am so fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of England as I am an hour from the Lake District, and hour from Yorkshire Dales, an hour a half from the Yorkshire Moors.

The coastline is also very close by, and I am excited as the sea birds are starting to make their return to land to breed. Yes, the Puffins, Razorbills and other sea birds are all back.

I am excited about hosting two workshops in May to Cumbria for the Red Squirrels and then in June going to Bempton Cliffs for the Puffins and Razorbills.

I have had some great photographic opportunities in the past two months and with the Short-eared Owl, Buzzards, and Kestrels only a few miles from home has been wonderful. I have seen the Red Squirrels twice and visited the Lake District several times. Its good to hear that the Osprey are back and they are on my list of birds to photograph in the next few months.

We have gone through the lambing season with lots of lambs in the fields. It wonderful to wake up in the morning jump on my bike and within 200 yards I am greeted by lots lambs running in the fields. I stopped outside a farm gate where I met a farmer and asked if I could take some photographs of the day-old lambs. It was a great experience.

I have been on many walks around the area where I live, and I was pleasantly surprised that the Tolkien Trail is close by. It’s a small world as back in South Africa I stayed at a Boutique Hotel in Bloemfontein that was the birthplace of JRR Tolkien (The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings) and then now I live next to the Tolkien Trail in England the area where the beautiful scenic landscape inspired Tolkien with his writing.

So, here’s to the start of Spring and longer days of daylight and many photograpic oppurtunities.

Photography allows us to capture today's experiences and turn them into tomorrow's memories !

Tolkien Trail

Cromwell Bridge

Tolkien Trail

Sand Martins

Lambs

Lamb

Hedwick

Blue Bells

Crab Apple

Daffodils

Gisburn

Blea Tarn

Lake District

Blambling

Sparrow Hawk

Kestrel

Bull Finch

Curlew

SEO

Buzzards

Red Squirrel

Redpoll

Wet Robin

Spotted Woodpecker

January 2024

Welcome to my first blog.

This is a short history of how I got involved in Nature & Wildlife Photography. I am originally from South Africa and now resident in the UK.

In 2015 my wife and I decided that we would visit Namibia for our anniversary, and I was excited with the prospect of being able to photography some of the most amazing landscapes, animals, places that Africa has to offer.

Namibia is one of those places that needs to be on your bucket list! Its very hot, vast, beautiful and incredible. Only 3 million inhabitants live in Namibia and covers 824,292 km2 that’s 3,6 people per km2.

Only challenge was that I just had a Nikon 70-300mm lens for my trusty Nikon D300 and this was not going to work well for the 12 day road trip we had planned. So, I decided to hire a long lens from my local camera store (Tamron 150-600mm) as it was the most reasonable option. Then, a photographic customer of mine, approached me wanting to sell his Nikon D3s and I jumped at the opportunity and the next thing I had a great camera and lens for the trip. As a novice using a long lens, it looks much easier to use than you think. I really enjoyed getting to understand the lens and camera on this incredible trip.

Here are a handle full of images from the trip.

The camera store had a great offer on, that if I bought a Tamron 150-600 lens from them in 30 days, I could claim back the rental fee against the purchase and so my journey with long lenses began. My photography has evolved over the years and that all came from talking to an old acquaintance Jay, one day, about the new lens and camera setup I had and that I wanted to learn more about photography.

Jay Van Rensburg is an award-winning photographer and runs several businesses including the Wildlife Photographic College. I clearly remember our first bird outing together when we went out one very cold morning (-4°c) to Marievale Bird Sanctuary to show me what bird photography offered. That morning changed the way I saw the world and was the start to my journey to capture and share wildlife images and my techniques with you. He can be found on Facebook & Instagram – Jay van Rensburg – Jaywildpix

I have travelled to many destinations across Africa with Jay over the years and what I have learnt is that it’s not about what equipment you have but rather about your passion and understanding for photography that matters. Get to know your equipment extremely well and learn to use what you have first.

Yes, for wildlife and bird photography the right equipment helps a lot, but as you get better at your craft and you evolve as a photographer, so you will upgrade your equipment. Remember a better camera or lens is not going to make you a better photographer! It’s the ability to capture an inspiring image that will make you a better photographer. The camera is just tool to help you become better at your kraft.

For me Nature and Wildlife photography has created many great friendships, like Jay, over the years and the key is that we all share our experiences and how we do things, with each other. It’s great to be able to bounce a question off your friends and get a friendly answer back.

You will meet some of these photographers that have inspired me in future blogs.

Photography allows us to capture today's experiences and turn them into tomorrow's memories !