ALAN’S BLOG! ALL BLOG POSTS…
Behind the Photo – The Elephant’s Scratching Tree
THE STORY A herd of elephants slowly made its way over the Ol Choro Conservancy Savannah as we sat in our vehicle by this acacia tree. They were roughly heading in our direction, so we decided to sit tight hoping to photograph them as they approached. But, a closer [...]
Behind the Photo – Cheetah & Wildebeest
THE STORY We spotted this lone male cheetah looking to hunt in the Ol Choro Conservancy of Kenya’s Masai Mara in the late afternoon. The plains were full of potential prey, juvenile wildebeests and zebras, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles and impalas. As always, ethics come first and we [...]
Autofocus and Birds in Flight
Updated! Now includes using subject detection and pre-shot with the Fujifilm X-H2S! Many people consider wildlife to be one of the most challenging genres of photography. But that’s a very general statement to make and it is debatable! What isn’t quite as debatable is the challenge of [...]
Seabirds in the City Documentary Trailer
The documentary trailer for the Seabirds in the City project is now online! Seabirds in the City is a long term project I am working on with Dr Helen F. Wilson, Associate Professor of Human Geography at Durham University and Kaleel Zibe, Filmmaker and Photographer. In short, [...]
Martin Mere Mallards
In October, I was pleased to be back at WWT Martin Mere in Lancashire working at their North West Bird Fair. It is an event I have also worked at in 2018 and 2019, doing a mixture of photography workshops and talks over the course of the two day [...]
Farne Islands Wildlife Photography Workshops 2021 (and beyond?)
Sadly, it is looking increasingly unlikely that I will be leading any puffins & seabirds wildlife photography workshops on the Farne Islands this year, and possibly in future years. The National Trust are looking to implement a new centralised booking system for landing trips where bookings can only be [...]
From Adobe Lightroom to Capture One
Please use this blog post as it is intended, an overview of my own approach, reasoning and thoughts. We all work in different ways and I don't present any of this as an absolute right or wrong, we do what works for us - for our own requirements, limitations, [...]
FUJINON XF70-300mm F/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR Lens
Introducing the new FUJINON XF70-300mm f/4-f/5.6 R LM OIS WR lens from Fujifilm! 70-300mm lenses are known for their versatility and flexibility, they cover focal length ranges that are popular with different photographers in varying genres. Certainly wildlife, sports, travel and for some, candid portraiture work too. This popularity [...]
Back Button Focusing and AF-On
Using 'back button focusing' is a technique which often comes up as a subject during my wildlife photography workshops. So, what is it all about and why is it used? Many cameras have a dedicated button labelled 'AF-On' on the rear of the camera. When holding the camera, you'll [...]
FUJIFILM X-T4 ‘Photography in Motion’
At the beginning of March, I undertook a marathon of a journey from Scotland’s Isle of Skye to Kenya’s Masai Mara with a pre-production FUJIFILM X-T4 camera. It was a great opportunity to get a hands-on and detailed look at how the X-T series has evolved and how these [...]
