I have recently been asked to assist a student by sharing some of our travel experiences to help her with a college project.  The result being that I have spent a good two hours this evening re-living some of my most favourite travel memories and experiences from my most beloved destination…Africa.  I cannot think of a nicer way to spend a snowy Saturday, housebound evening.

I will be sharing some of these reflections via our Taraji Blue blog over the weeks to come, in the hope of whisking us all away from this British Winter into a far more exotic and alluring destination.

I hope you enjoy the journey…watch this space.

Late in 2011 we spent some time at the South Lakes Wild Animal Park . They had a open weekend when it was free to visit, so along we went. We’ve been before and do appreciate the open layout of the park. Macaws fly free, lemurs roam in huge open areas alongside tourists and emus watch you from a distance, approaching you at their leisure.  It’s a good and reliable environment to test new photography equipment. It was, therefore, one of the locations chosen to test my new Canon 7D and our new 70-300mm Canon L lens.

I spent a lot of time with the Macaws which perched high in the trees towering above the park. That’s when I captured the shot above. I managed to frame the concealed macaw through a gap in the branches and chose my moment.

The image below is a close up of a lemur. It was as curious about me and I was of it. The mutual trust between human and animal allowed me to capture this portrait.

We do find that taking picture of animals in captivity is a good way to hone skills and practise ahead of any big photography trip we’re planning. Other test shots taken in captivity are available in our on-line ’captive gallery’.

We waited with bated breath until BBC’s Frozen Planet came out on blu-ray and we have now watched a couple of episodes, but I have had to lock it away for a wee while – it’s dangerous stuff! The credits had barely rolled for episode two and Ali and I were knee deep in Antarctic brochures that had conveniently landed on our doorstep that day

The footage is powerfully jaw dropping and immensely beautiful, it transports you to a simpler but more beautiful place…one which challenges the senses and sets your adrenaline going – how can you not be tempted?!

For us, it brings back memories of a very precious trip to Antarctica in 2006 and stirs a longing for the Arctic which is entirely the fault of  an opportunistic and half price trip to Greenland in 2010.  I have shared some of our favourite polar region photos in this blog today. Others are available in our Antarctic and Arctic photo galleries.

Above: A monochrome of a mountain in Lemaire Channel (AKA Kodak Channel) Antarctica.

Below: Icebergs in RØdefjord, Scoresbysund, Greenland.

You know me – I am never happy unless the next project is on the go, and with my love for macro photography becoming a constant obsession I have started to wonder what the ‘next big challenge’ is.  I have settled upon the theme of movement.

As noted in a previous blog post it’s been a popular theme in a lot of competitions recently, and it is something that seems relatively easy, but takes considerable skill. With my new Canon 7D I decided it was just the challenge I needed, so I swotted up on my camera manual to learn about the settings available to me, set my camera to TV (shutter priority) mode and off I went.

A steady hand, favourable light and bountiful wildlife at local wetlands proved just the right mixture of education and inspiration. When focussing on waders, geese and swans I was utterly surprised to see a rabbit hop out of the river bank and dash across a low stone wall. I barely had time to register its presence, let alone steal a shot. So I was quite happy with the above result.

After years and years of attempting pin-sharp shots, it’s not easy to forget what you have learnt to try and capture movement. It requires you to re-think settings, composition and focus. But it’s fun!

The image above was taken with a Canon L 100-400mm lens at 400mm, f5.6, ISO 250, exposure bias +1/3 EV.

Several more movement images are available in our dedicated online gallery. I hope you enjoy them and welcome your feedback.

Happy Christmas from TarajiBlue. We hope Santa stuffs your stocking full of photography treats

We hope you all have a well deserved break and enjoy the festive period with your nearest and dearest.

See you in 2012 for more photography and travels.

Into The Arctic from Alistair Knock on Vimeo.

In 2010 we were fortunate enough to seize an opportunistic half price holiday to the Arctic with Gap Adventures. What we  witnessed in Spitsbergen and Greenland was at once life enhancing and bewildering. The memories we have are re-lived by us regularly and they continue to fuel our wanderlust for the polar regions. The sense of place and isolation was immense, as was the beauty that surrounded us.

Greenland was a  particular surprise. It’s huge – everything is magnified … size, colour, shape and form, it’s like no where I have ever seen before. Icebergs tower majestically, blue skies meet glass -like lagoons and oceans.

We were so fortunate with the weather, everyday the sun kissed the snow capped mountaintops surrounding us, creating incredibly beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Bare-armed we drank cold beers on the boat’s deck with new friends in the afternoon sun, watching icebergs and glaciers pass us by. Every minute in this wonderful environment became a legend that will stay with us forever… We cried, laughed and celebrated with friends onboard at morning, noon and midnight.

Sleep was brief, for the excitement of the environment and the promise of the next day could not come soon enough. When we did finally drift off to the ebb and flow of the gentle tide, we were awoken by announcements that the Northern Lights were dancing overhead.

I said it was a life-enhancing experience, but I would go as far to say it was also life changing. When you see what we saw, you cannot help but change your perceptions on the world. It alters your very soul.

This is why, for the last 14 months, TarajiBlue have been working on a documentary of the Arctic. Featuring footage shot entirely on location, and with an original and exclusive score from Alistair Knock, it’s been a labour of love and one that we are eager to share – not only with fellow passengers of the MS Expedition, but also with friends we know, and friends we are yet to make.  We hope, that by sharing this footage, we can share the incredible beauty of the Arctic and help the world to realise why we must protect this most precious and fragile resource for future generations.

Our documentary is called ‘Into the Arctic’ and it is freely available to view on Vimeo. We would really love to hear your feedback – please do let us know what you think, both of the feature and of the Arctic itself.

As much as I adore the manatees, elephants and big cats of the this world (heck, I have even become a twitcher), there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a spider. Not only are they incredibly intricate and stunningly beautiful to photograph, they also create what I consider to be one of the world’s most beautiful structures…the web.

This love has not emerged overnight - far from it. But over the last few months I have been studying these most fascinating of creatures at home and abroad. I thought my love for them was sealed when I discovered the giggly wee fellow in France – but it was not until a wintery weekend in Yorkshire that  I fully appreciated these incredible creatures.

Whilst wandering in the forest of Fairburn Ings, Yorkshire (a RSPB reserve),  one misty afternoon, my attention was grabbed from sky to ground as I noticed hundreds upon hundreds of stunningly beautiful dew laden spider’s webs, bouncing light around like crystals.  They were on trees, holly bushes and formed a bejeweled carpet under my feet. I did not hesitate to grab my macro lens and jump right in. These images (above and below) were my results.

Both photos were taken with a Canon EOS 7D with my EF 100mm macro lens at f/2.8, ISO 640. On a misty, winter’s afternoon it was quite dark in the undergrowth, hence the need for a higher ISO than usual with my macro shots. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Additional macro shots are available in our online macro gallery.

I like this shot – it doesn’t pretend to be anything. It’s what it is … a captive owl’s failed attempt to escape. It is symbolic and representative and I think it works really well in monochrome. I even like the blur – it’s indicative of the speed and strength of the attempted escape – the tension in the rope is testament to this.

I guess it could be quite a depressing shot too – such a wonderful bird tethered up for man’s pleasure. It says a lot about wildlife conservation and education, and causes the viewer to ponder the scene and circumstance.

That’s why it is my photo of the week.

At the 2011 Wild Photos conference all speakers were asked to reveal the image they wish they’d taken. I thought this was a great idea and one I’d start to emulate on this blog.

Quite appropriately, I start this series with an image revealed at the conference as a winner of the Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year in the Urban Wildlife category. It’s called ‘Boy Meets Nature’ and it quite literally took my breath away when revealed on the big screen.

The photographer is the very talented scientist turned photographer, Alexander Badyaev (USA).   The image was taken in the type of ram-shackled cabin we all dream of owning in North America. The family would visit and Alex became enchanted with the bats that feast on the white moths surrounding the cabin at specific times of the year. It took Alex a few years to figure out how to capture both the bats and moths in photos, and during this time he had a new addition to the family  i.e. the boy in the picture who seemingly shares his passion. The child was supposed to be asleep and not feature in the picture, but I think it is glorious and timeless that he did pop his head up into the shot his Dad has spent years planning.

I love the juxtaposition of rodent and child – not a mixture you’d ever dream of putting together, but that is why it works so well. Alex has done an amazing job to capture both the child’s and the bat’s expression- almost mutual appreciation and curiosity. It’s a perfect medley of human and nature and one I could only ever dream of capturing. I REALLY, REALLY wish I had taken this shot.

I really am not! The landscape is nothing more than an environment or scene setting for my wildlife photography.

However, I do love the thrill of wildlife photography, the adrenaline rush it provides and the challenges that come with photographing wildlife.

I also adore the tiny wee new world that macro photography opens. It’s like wearing a pair of prescription lenses for the first time: you see detail you’ve never seen before and as a result, you see the world in a new light.

In direct contrast, landscape photography is static and I find it a little boring … So why is it that I always seem to turn my eye to some scenic shots during wildlife and macro photography sessions? I often find myself thinking ‘Oh, that’s pretty, I’ll take a quick picture’….and then the resulting photos often end up being some of my favourite shots.

Take, for example, the image above. This was taken with my macro lens (Canon EF 100mm) during a wildlife photography field trip. I saw the wind turbines on our walk back to the car and thought they might be worth a quick shot, but in all honesty I could not be bothered to switch lenses and thought a quick photo with the macro lens might suffice. Despite the lack of effort put into this shot, I love the results.

Now in my defence I did think carefully about the composition – I waited until the foreground was correct and the light maximised…but otherwise I did nothing but point and click with the ‘wrong’ lens and expected nothing spectacular. I was proven wrong!

Maybe, just maybe, I am a closet landscape photographer? Hmmmm.