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The weekend of October 15th will see the opening of our new portrait studio, the location for the new studio will be on the upper level at the Cheeky Chimps Funhouse, Haverhill, Suffolk, CB97YH.

There will be lots of opening specials and some great deals to be had, we will be running a raffle over the opening weekend and prizes include a free studio sitting and an extra large canvas, and special discount vouchers. So why not pop down for a look around and a chat, or let your cheeky monkeys go wild in the funhouse.

"The first 10 bookings taken on the opening weekend will receive a free canvas upgrade, pay for a medium and receive a large, or pay for a large and receive an extra large"

Opening times will be 10.00am-5.00pm Friday-Saturday, Sunday-Thursday will be appointments only.

To make an appointment please feel free to pop in or contact us via email or phone. Tel: 01440 705901 Mob: 07931 319023.

I am pleased to announce that we have teamed up with Lavenham Falconry to bring you a chance to photograph some of the most amazing birds of prey from around the world. With a stunning collection of eagles. owls and falcons this really is a workshop not to be missed.

This week I headed off to West Wales for a few days photographing the wildlife of Skomer and Grassholm. This trip was not just to check out the wildlife but also the nearby facilities as I shall hopefully be running mini workshops and one to ones there in 2012.

My accommodation was located in Marloes, a small village 2 miles away from Martins Haven the boat departure point. Before leaving I had looked at several guest houses and B&B’s before deciding on the Foxdale guest house, with a vast range of accommodation to suit all budgets I thought that this would be the perfect place to set up, and wasn’t disappointed. The owners Martin and Victoria made you feel extremely welcome and food was tasty and great value for money, with a fully licenced bar and restaurant you didn’t have to leave the site although there is a lovely local pub just a couple of minutes walk away. Rooms were clean and again good value for money, or if you are happy to camp then all the facilities you would need were there. www.foxdaleguesthouse.co.uk

This is probably the most popular island trip and is best known for its thousands of Puffins that return to their nesting sites on the island from April onwards. With a short 15 minute boat trip you can’t help but be impressed from the minute you set foot on the island, it really doesn’t take long before you start snapping away with the camera. The Island isn’t huge but will take you a few hours to walk around and is well worth the effort, apart from the obvious wildlife on the island the scenery is beautiful so I would recommend taking a wide angle lens in your bag to capture some landscapes.

After spending six hours on the island and photographing some amazing wildlife I headed back to the boat pick up point with memory cards eagerly awaiting to be downloaded. Now as far as photography goes you really don’t need huge lenses to capture the puffins, I took a 500mm with me as well as a 70-200mm and a wide angle lens and have to say that I only used the 500mm a handful of times. For simple portraits of the puffins you can use lenses with a focal range of 24mm to 300mm, although the longer lenses will give you chance to capture a few special shots that can’t be captured with the shorter lenses but you don’t have to have then to get beautiful shots of puffins.

Grassholm

This island is located 11 miles from Martins Haven, I decided to do the trip on a high speed RIB boat and have to say it was fantastic although it can get a little bumpy once you get a few miles out to sea. Un-like Skomer we couldn’t land on Grassholm so photography can get a little challenging at times. Grassholm is best known for its colony of 65000 Gannets, not only will you see thousands of these flying around but you will also get to see then diving for fish. I only took a 70-200mm lens on this trip and it was perfect for capturing the Gannets flying around the boat, getting your shots quickly is required when photographing in situations like this. This isn’t just because the subjects are quick, but when you’re bobbing up and down in the ocean you don’t want to be stuck looking through the view finder for too long or you soon start to feel a little delicate.

Apart from seeing gannets, guillemots and razorbills I was also lucky enough to see several seals and porpoises on the return journey, this was a great trip and one that I would certainly recommend although not for the faint hearted.

2012 Skomer Workshops

I shall be setting up mini workshops and one to ones for 2012, if you are interested in booking a place one of these then please contact me for details. I am more than happy to tailor make packages to suit your individual needs and requirements.

"Kingfishers"

Those that know me will know that i have a love of kingfishers, for many years i have enjoyed watching and photographing these amazing little birds. Anyone who has tried to photograph these will know how frustrating it can be yet for some reason we keep going back, our hunger to get that image that we have in our mind forces us to return. Trip after trip we eagerly download our images in hope that we finally have it, yet it's never quite perfect.

We look at our shots and wish we used a quicker shutter speed, we wish they would dive in the spot that we have spent hours focusing on, we sit there wishing that we had more reach to save us cropping into the image. Those that use a 300mm lens wishing they had a 500mm, those that use a 500mm lens wishing they had an 800mm. As photographers we always want that little bit more, but personally as a wildlife and nature lover I'm content in just seeing them.

Years as a photographer and I still haven't managed to capture that shot that's sitting in my mind, but every time I watch them diving, feeding and flying I feel privileged to have seen what has to be one of our most amazing native birds in action.

So do I feel that I will get my shot? One day maybe, but for now I'm more than happy to keep trying.

The 1st Linton Zoo Workshop of 2011 was held on May 6th and what a great day it was. We were all treated to some fantastic weather and the animals all played their parts. All the attendees went away with some great images and heads full of useful information and tips to help progress their photography.

Unfortunately those wishing to book a place on Julys workshop will find that it is now fully booked, there are still places left for Septembers but please book early to avoid any disappointment. For full details of these workshops or if you would like to put your name down in case of a cancellation please contact myself or the zoo.

We have now changed suppliers of frames for 2011 and we are pleased to be able to supply a complete new range. All frames are of the highest quality and come complete ready to be hung. Frames are solid wood and each one comes fitted with glass and not cheaper styrene/plastic glazing. We can supply frames in various colours including Black, Natural and Antique as standard, as well as a choice of colours we can can also supply many different sizes. We spend a lot of our time making sure that all materials and products we use are of the highest quality whilst still giving great value for money.

Why not come vist us on Facebook, keep up to date with all the latest news of where we are, what were doing and the latest special offers. Just click on the link below and join us on Facebook today.

With our pet photography becoming more popular by the day we have had many requests to photograph your animals in action, not a problem for us we are more than happy to attend a location or event where we can catch the moment.

So whether you want a photo of your dog dozing or your horse jumping weve got it covered, please contact us for full details.

Due to the huge success of our Linton Zoo Photography days in 2010 we have now set a further 3 dates for 2011.

The days are limited to a maximum of 10 photographers per day making sure that each individual gets the full tuition they require and the shots that they want, it is advisable to book well in advance to avoid disappointment.

Places for these workshops are available now from Linton Zoo and can be purchased as a gift if required.

For full details of these workshops please visit www.lintonzoo.com or phone 01223 891308.

We would like to thank all those that have supported us over the last year, 2010 was another fantastic year for us with more wildlife images getting published and all workshops and tutor days being extremely popular. 2011 is looking at being even better, four trips have already been planned covering wildlife from several countries and new services will also be on offer in the New Year. We exhibited and sold at several functions and events this year and will be returning to our regular exhibitions in 2011 as well as several new locations. So for details on whats new for 2011 please visit our website throughout the year.

Congratulation to Chris Humphries on winning the 2010 Linton Zoo Photography Competition, the winning image of a leopard gecko was taken by Chris on a close up session on one of our 2010 workshops. I would also like to congratulate all of those that entered as there were some fantastic images and choosing a winner wasn't easy.

This just goes to show its not always the bigger animals that make the best images. For details on workshops at Linton Zoo in 2011 please contact myself or Linton Zoo at www.lintonzoo.com.

I am pleased to announce that several of my images will be displayed at Lindsell Art Gallery throughout 2011, these will mostly be landscapes and native wildlife found in Britain. For full details of images being displayed please feel free to contact me or the gallery.