Wildlife photography lucky moments

Most of the time in wildlife photography to get good shots it takes a lot of planning and investing lots of your time, other times it's just look. This was one of those lucky moments.
I was having a walk around my local nature reserve and as I approached a nest box a pair of Blue Tits weren't happy, at first I thought they were just warning me off but then realised it was a Stoat that the Blue Tits were trying to warn off. Sadly I think it was too late for the Blue Tit chicks. I managed to grab a few shots of the Stoat as it exited the nest box. Not so lucky for the Blue Tits.
Again taken with my Olympus EM1 MKII and Panasonic 100-400mm.

Trip to the barbers required

I think a lot of people know how this horse feels, I never noticed the moustache until I got home and started processing this photo.
Taken with the Olympus EM1 MKII and Panasonic 100-400mm.

Roe Doe in evening light

Here's another one from my recent evening stroll around my local nature reserve. The Roe Deer is back-lit by the low summer evening sun.
Another one taken with the Panasonic 100-400mm lens, my favourite walk-around wildlife lens when paired with the Olympus EM1 MKII.

Summer evening light on Elder

I had a walk around the Rusland Valley the other evening and liked the way the late evening golden light was catching this elder tree.
I was looking for wildlife photos at the time so had the Panasonic 100-400mm lens on my Olympus OMD EM1 MKII, this was taken at 124mm

Summer landscape

Summer isn't the best time of year for landscape photography, but it doesn't stop me trying.
We went for a walk around Elterwater on a hot summer morning, the harsh sunlight wasn't the best but I quite like the way the shadows in the foreground seem to point to the Langdale Pikes.

Be prepared for failure and frustration

As a wildlife photographer one thing I've learnt is you have to be prepared for failure and frustration. I'd guess 90%of the times I go out taking wildlife photos I go home without getting photos that are better than the ones I already have in my portfolio. It's very rare you get the perfect light, nice background and willing model, most times you think things are stacked against you.
This is one recent example when things didn't go my way that ended in frustration. On a walk around a local nature reserve I could hear the small birds alarm calling which usually means there's a predator about. Sure enough I spotted this Tawny Owl in a tree only 20m from me I had to be quick and managed to fire off a couple of shots before the Owl took flight. I thought I'd managed to get the photos but when I looked on the back of the camera found that at the critical moment the blustery wind had blown a branch in front of the owls face, these photos would be going in the bin.

You have to learn to put the failures behind you and persevere because the more hours you're willing to invest in your photography the more likely it is you will get that odd moment where everything falls into place, and those moments are worth waiting for.

Macro is not all bugs

I thought I'd try something different with the Olympus 60mm Macro lens.
This is the close-up of a Persian buttercup (Ranunculus asiaticus) on our allotment, another five image focus stack.

Getting down and dirty with the bugs

Another shot taken with my new Olympus 60mm Macro lens.
It's amazing what you find when taking photos with a macro lens, you have to get down and dirty to get to eye level and quite often get bit but it all adds to the excitement.
I'm loving the Olympus 60mm macro it's so small and portable when coupled with the Olympus EM1 MKII.