And the badly taken boar photos continue... This time, my own fault for having all the wrong settings on the camera. The mixture of ever decreasing light, adrenaline and not knowing quite where the subject matter will appear is a combination I haven't got used to yet. With the sightings continuing as they are though, surely a half decent photo will come soon.
Location withheld.
Another poor boar picture
Worst.Ever.Photo (again)
This picture upload serves as nothing but a reminder for me of what was an incredibly rare and special encounter with a white deer in the Forest of Dean. After a very successful evening watching boar (no photos unfortunately), we came accross a deer stood in the path on the way back to the car. We stood and watched it for 30 seconds or so, when it stepped out of sight, only for a pure white deer to step in to its place. It was only young, and looked very similar in size to the one in this article (although that is in Devon, but it does illustrate how lucky we were to see this). The light was very bad, and taking a photo was an afterthought. Completely forgot about the long exposure time and ended up with this blurred mess. As I said, not a photo, but a personal reminder of a special evening :)
Location (very much) withheld.
Worst.Photo.Ever
OK this needs explanation, because even by my standards, this is a terrible photo. I very regularly go out attempting to photograph the wild boar of the Dean. I've had maybe 10 or 11 sightings. They're notoriously hard to see, and even harder to photograph. Last night I had my camera trained on a spot where I hoped the boar would emerge from the thick trees. Instead, a huge boar managed to silently appear right behind me. The foliage was so thick that he was within touching distance by the time either he or I realised each other were there! I nearly had a heart attack and stood up and backed off, but this boar - unlike any previous encounters - did not bolt for the trees... instead he followed me, keeping just a few feet away. It was very hard to gauge what he was thinking, so I wasn't about to switch from the telephoto lens to get a photo. Eventually I managed to get a distance between us and got this photo - my only excuse is that my heart was pounding and I was unable to hold the camera steady. This was an unforgettable meeting, but not one that I hope to repeat at quite such a close range :) One day, I'll get the photo I've been after....
Location withheld.
Plump Hill sky
The sky didn't look quite as evil as this when I took the photo, but I thought this was a bit more interesting.
Lydney harbour
I've gone way over the top with the HDR processing, but the original picture was so dull and grey. The sky is huge here so I'll be returning for some sunset or storm pictures soon :)
Purple Skies
The final picture from the Symonds Yat Rock set. Had a bit of fun playing with the sky here. It's a great view that doesn't need modifying, but couldn't resist this, and I think it kind of works. April 2009
Symonds Yat Rock panoramic
This was done from a few stitched together photos from Symonds Yat Rock. The original is about 12000 pixels wide, but following this link will just take you to a reduced version of 1500 pixels. April 2009
Symonds Yat
Part of the panoramic view from Symonds Yat. Either side of me are a load of bird-watchers waiting for glimpses of the resident Peregrine Falcons who nest on the cliff-side. April 2009
Symonds Yat
Taken downriver from Symmonds Yat. Very nearly got a wet camera doing this picture! April 2009
Saracen's Head Ferry
Taken after having crossed the Wye on this ferry, following a walk from the Saracen's Head, down the river to Biblins Bridge, and back up the other side of the river. April 2009
Goodrich Castle
This is from inside Goodrich Castle, looking out of one of the windows. The bird was meant to be a bit more prominent in the photo really. June 2008
Fallow Deer
Not a great picture, but I'd been spotted and couldn't really manage much more than this. Taken between Parkend and Whitecroft. April 2009
Easter Island in the forest
These Easter Island heads are at the Wilderness. No idea how, why or when, but they look pretty new to me. March 2009
Fallow Deer
This herd was spotted near to Brierley in the middle of the day. About 6 adult males were there, though it wasn't possible to get them all in the same shot. I managed to watch these for about 5 minutes before they moved on, but getting a decent photograph was difficult without alarming them. March 2009
Cathedral in the Forest
Another part to the sculpture trail in the forest, close to Woorgreen Lake. March 2009
Boar video
By no means a good quality video, but out of the ten or so sightings I've had, its the only other time I've captured boar so far on camera (the first time is shown the previous post, although at a completely different location). There are 6-8 piglets and a couple of adults separated by a fence. They were trying to re-unite with each other when I encountered them, which they did seconds after the video ends.
The piglets appear first to the right of the frame as they try to cross a gap in the fence. It's actually just a gap in the foliage, but the boars eyesight is pretty poor. The adults can be seen looking back at me from the other side (fortunately!) of the fence.
The piglets appear first to the right of the frame as they try to cross a gap in the fence. It's actually just a gap in the foliage, but the boars eyesight is pretty poor. The adults can be seen looking back at me from the other side (fortunately!) of the fence.
Wild boar
Between their medieval extinction and the 1980s, when wild boar farming began, only a handful of captive wild boar, imported from the continent, were present in Britain. The Herefordshire/Gloucestershire population, which is based in the Forest of Dean, originates from one escape of boar of Eastern European origin in 1997 from a farm near Weston under Penyard and another apparently deliberate release near Staunton in 2004 and together now form probably the largest single population in the UK with a total population well in excess of 200 with groups of over 30 having been seen and photographed in several different locations in the forest. More info at Wikipedia.
This sounder consisted of 3 adults, and 6-7 piglets. Location withheld, March 2009
Panoramic Trees
Taken on Plump Hill. One of my first panoramics, consisting of 6 or 7 stitched photos. September 2006
Plump Hill mast
One of three masts on Plump Hill. More will soon appear, courtesy of GCHQ. August 2006
Misty view
Taken from Plump Hill overlooking Gloucester, if it weren't hidden beneath the layer of mist. August 2006
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