Argaty Red Kites

A few weeks ago saw me in Doune, by Stirling, where I joined Gloria for a spectacular day at the Red Kite observation hides on Lerrocks Farm at Argaty. The weather was perfect (I'm so tempted to say 'glorious' but I'll resist it as long as I can!), and the Kites were displaying on top form (glorious display?... no, resist the temptation!).



Gloria was with me to learn how to use shutter speed, aperture and ISO together to get good exposures of the birds as they swooped and dived between bright blue sky, bright white clouds and down into the darker vegetation below.



It's a tough assignment for a beginner, but Gloria had already had a whole day of tuition with me previously, plus the booklet I'd written specifically for her to help explain exposures and composition and how to use her own particular camera. So, armed with the basic theories and a bit of previous practice, it was a slightly nervous but brave lady that stepped into the hide with me that morning!

We arrived early so had plenty of time to run through and practise the techniques of changing exposure settings manually, and following a fast-moving subject.



A hot chocolate and biscuit break later and we were ready for the main event. The hide had filled up by now with other eager Kite followers, so we squeezed in together and waited for the Red Kites to arrive.

We were all treated to a very interesting and knowledgeable talk from one of the staff members at the farm before the birds were lured in by the promise of food. Did you know that Red Kites only weigh about 2 lbs? They have a huge wingspan though of nearly 6ft, and that's why they can stay in the air so long without needing to flap about very much!

Another interesting fact we found out was that Red Kites in the UK were almost hunted into oblivion, mainly by landowners who mistakenly believed that the birds would carry off their livestock! How something that weighs as little as bag of sugar would have the strength to carry off a lamb is a bit beyond me, but apparently that's what they thought, and so believed they were totally within rights to bring the Red Kites to the brink of extinction.

The Red Kites we saw were extremely agile and superb opportunists, picking up the food and eating it on the wing.



They will take rodents and small birds, but anything larger is beyond them and they rely on carrion; coming in after the crows have torn open the carcass for them to get in.

The Vermin Acts of the 16th Century listed the Red Kite as vermin, requiring it to be killed without exception. Only a tiny colony in mid-Wales remained, as the Red Kite became extinct in Scotland and England. Thankfully there is now a lot more knowledge about these beautiful birds and the re-introduction programmes are a huge success right across the UK. So close to total annihilation were the UK's population that researchers at Nottingham University discovered the entire population of kites in 1977 were derived from just one female! That really is quite astonishing!! The chap at the farm explained that chicks are now being introduced from other parts of Europe to help re-establish the population and also to obviously help widen the gene pool.

So, no longer seen as vermin, the Red Kites can now be viewed in so many parts of the UK. If you get a chance to visit the Argaty Red Kites, (http://www.argatyredkites.co.uk/) or any other Red Kite feeding station, it is a fantastic... glorious.... experience! If you would like to learn wildlife photography from a leading expert, then Argaty's resident photographer Dean Bricknell gives lessons at the farm. Recently voted 'favourite nature photographer' in the Scottish Nature Photography Awards, you're in great hands!

If you are interested in a 3 day one-to-one tuition with me, then I will be delighted to guide you through all the steps you need to get your camera off the automatic settings and start taking photographs that you can proudly hang on your wall. At just £185 for 3 days (may be consecutive or spread over time to suit you) and 2 instruction manuals written by me specifically for you, it's a great gift for anyone... or even to just treat yourself.

Rebecca, x

Winter in the Lakes.

The English Lake District in winter has to be one of the loveliest places to take your camera for a walk!



You have to be prepared for all weathers for sure, and a steady supply of hotel shower caps is particularly useful... not for me, I hasten to add, but for the camera!! With snow on the hills, ice on the lakes, low evening sun, mist, raging waterfalls and only a handful of other tourists, winter is a very good time to be there! Of course it did rain, and snow, and rain and snow again, but it's all good for keeping the lakes topped up and for bringing some drama into the skies.



Brought some drama into travelling round as well, but how dull things would be if they were always easy!

Of all the places I visited while there, the road from Keswick round via Buttermere and back to Keswick is the one I most want to go back and explore again. Oh, and more of Ullswater, and more of Ennerdale, and more of the Langdales, and the fort at Hardknott...



and Eskdale, and Wast Water, and... well, you get the picture!

I don't know about Hardknott, but those sheep up there are right hard nuts!!



Did you know that the Herdwick sheep will eat their own wool in the winter? They are real hardcase lil lambs!! Snow? Pah, they laugh in the face of snow! Winter? Bring it on!!

One of the unexpected, and maybe even slightly guilty pleasures of the Lakes (though I'm certainly not embarrassed to say I love trains!!) is found at the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.



A narrow gauge railway trundles you along through the countryside between the high mountains of Eskdale and the coast at Ravenglass...



...or the other way about, whichever your preference! It is such a great wee thing, so well managed and lovingly maintained, it is truly delightful. I will certainly return to the Lake District as soon as there's a chance. I love it, whatever the weather!

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Sian Rocks!

We had such a laugh with Sian and her mum Sandee a couple of weeks ago.

Sian is so full of fun and at just 10 years old (though nearly 11 now!) she didn't need any encouragement to be playing around with the drum kit or the electric guitars! None of us know how to play, (and I guess if you know anything at all about instruments, then you'll see in the photos that we clearly don't know how to play!), but it was all just for a laugh anyway.

Sian has the most amazing collection of clothes and we wanted to show off her style as well as her spirit. We started off with her jumping onto the beanbag to get things warmed up and to get her laughing, then it was a quick change and onto the drum kit.

A couple of electric guitars and a cloth cat later, we moved into fashion and set up as if backstage at a Galliano show... not that any of us have been backstage, front stage or anywhere near a stage at a Galliano show but hey, we were enjoying ourselves in our own fanciful way!

We rounded the shoot off with a William Morris print tapestry, Sandee joined Sian for a few shots, and then it was into the much-needed coffee and choccy cake!!

Thanks to Sian, Sandee and Niaesha for another great day.

Sian rocks!! :-D x

Rebecca, x

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/

Back Again!

Well, it's been a pretty unpleasant few months on a personal level, and I certainly won't bore you with all the details but suffice it to say I'm back on my feet and looking forward to moving ahead, picking up the camera and getting back into the studio! Never mind about counsellors and treatments and all that nonsense, there's no therapy quite so complete as a good dose of photography!!

It's not just the joy of looking at a photograph, or a landscape or a bonny face, but it's the whole thing. It's the thrill of the chase... wanting an image that you have in your head and working out how to make it happen, then actually making it happen!

I know that I have so much to learn still in this business, but I can honestly say that I truly don't think I will ever be bored. It fascinates me on so many levels. It satisfies the scientist in me, the artist in me, and, I'm actually proud to say... the geek in me! What else can give you a combination of educational and technical challenges alongside a perfect excuse to go birdwatching, being out in the fresh air ambling about the countryside... and combine that with a passion for people and a desire to help them feel good about themselves? I suppose there are plenty of things that can do all of that, but for me, photography is the therapy I need.

It's always held a fascintion for me, from the days when dad had his dark room in the cupboard upstairs, bewildering and astounding me as pictures emerged dripping from those baths of strange solutions. I remember when we got our first camera and took it outside to capture the fun of playing in the street. It was around the same time as we had our first pair of rollerskates... there's a picture of one of us (may be me, may be my twin sister) skating down the road with arms outstretched in a wild and rather out-of-control manner! It's also obviously one of our earlier attempts at photography (again, maybe by me, maybe by my sister or perhaps our brother);the skates look great but anything from the neck up is completely out of shot. Hey ho.

The technical side of taking a photograph fascinates me too. I always wondered about f-stops and focal lengths and shutter speeds, it was a total mystery to me... but what's a mystery apart from a riddle that has to be solved? I didn't grow up watching 'Scooby Doo' to not be excited by a mystery (or a big pile of sandwiches!!!). These questions are now answered and I have a reasonable grasp on the subject, but it still excites me and I still get fascinated by the different effects you can achieve by fiddling about with manual exposures. I'll never know enough about it and I really don't think I'll ever get tired or bored of learning and pushing forwards with it. Of course I probably won't have many friends left, but those who really know me don't seem to mind too much that I'm a complete and utter nerd.

No longer embarrassed by my penchant for cheese and pickle sandwiches, or birdwatching, or my glasses that sit sideways across my face 'cos I sat on them... all this is a part of who I am, and I'm happy with that. So, after a wee break to sort out some things away from photography, I'm back again and back in therapy... photographic therapy! Ah, that's better :))

So, do you want to see just how geeky I am? Here's a pic I took on my mobile phone while out with the dog...

The long shadows caught my eye and I played about for ages trying to make my own shadow look like a tree or a giant or whatever other shapes I could throw!!! Oh dear, how old am I? Made me chuckle anyway. The dog thought I was clearly bonkers and left me to it but I was having fun. Just using the mobile phone, but a camera is a camera and I've been having a huge amount of fun with the phone just recently! More on that later...

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk