Forgotten Little Creatures

Hello and welcome to the Forgotten Little Creatures launch post!

Although I am only really launching this project now, I have actually been working on it for a while gathering images to have something to launch! This is a project that I have been thinking about doing for quite a while now and with other major project commitments now completed I can concentrate on this. 

So what's it all about? 

It is a celebration of the smaller things we share our world with, so although it is called Forgotten Little Creatures there will be images of wild flowers and other plants in there as well as invertebrates and reptiles. It will come as no surprise to many of you that I love insects and the challenge they present, not just photographically but also in terms of getting people to maybe not love them but have an appreciation for them and their importance. 

What Is The Plan? 

Well, I am looking for the project to culminate in an exhibition of work with the potential of an accompanying book in 2016. This won't be just an exhibition (and book) of pretty pictures it will be filled with funny stories surrounding the images and how I took them along with information about the species. The images won't be the standard identification images, they will be artistic and creative aimed at making the viewer think about the whole picture rather than just the main subject.

Why Am I Doing It?

Over the last few years I have become increasing fascinated by all the smaller things that I see people walk past, in particular insects and snakes. So, over several months I challenged myself to just photograph and enjoy these smaller species and the enjoyment I got from spending time with them has ultimately lead to this project. A huge part of this project is about raising awareness of the smaller things around and the important role they play in the ecosystem and ultimately our lives.

What's Next?

Well, over the winter months I will be making lots of plans in preparation for next spring, in the meantime here is the promotional video for the project.

I hope that you will take this journey with me as I document the lives and beauty of all the smaller things. I will post regular updates and images from the project and towards the end of next year will post information about the exhibition and talks.

At the moment I am still looking for an exhibition venue, so if you are able to help in any way I would really appreciate it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and I hope that you enjoy the images and videos to come.

Victoria 

Spring is here

Hello everyone,

Spring must be here, saw my first swallow today! Hope everyone has been enjoying the lovely weather we've been having here in Somerset over the last few weeks, I have certainly used it to get out and about with my camera to work on a new project which is all about Somerset. The last 6 weeks or so have been very busy here's a bit of an update of what I've been up to.

The Photography Show - Great success, really enjoyed talking to people about my work on the Manfrotto Stand as a Manfrotto Ambassador and also chatting to people about the products and why I use the items that I do. Met some fantastic photographers and had a great time catching up with old friends and making new ones. For anyone that was able to catch my talk thank you, if you didn't manage to catch it I have some talks coming up this year which will follow a similar theme.

Adders - For many years I have wanted to see and maybe photograph adders in the wild here in Somerset, I know of some good sites elsewhere in the country but the challenge was to find them at home. So I started doing some research and found a couple of potential sites to start looking, I have been to these locations a couple of times now and every time seen adders which is a promising sign, but they have also been great for other wildlife so I will definitely be looking at making them a regular stop during the next few months. But enough of that here are some pictures form those first few visits. 

My Coffee Stop in Shepton Mallet - I've very happy to say that I have been invited to exhibit some photos at My Coffee Stop in Shepton Mallet, they now have seven (6 from Somerset & 1 from Romania) mounted and framed images up on their walls and they are all for sale. A huge thank you to them for asking me to exhibit. 

Finding My Creativity - I have found myself a bit up and down the last few weeks with my creativity, but it seems to be flooding back now and I have been trying some new ideas and techniques. So far I have only been able to test these out on an oil beetle and some common whitlow grass but I am looking forward to exploring and pushing the boundaries even more this year both with plants, insects and other species that I may come across. So here are a few images taken in the last few weeks, hope you like them. 

New Badger Collection - In June we will be launching a brand new badger collection, we are still working on the items but here's a sneaky peek at the smaller items that will be included. 

A few dates for your diaries:

Burnham-On-Sea Camera Club Talk

Flowers & Plants through the Year
Tuesday 6th May, 7pm - 9pm
Bay Centre, Cassis Close, Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset, TA8 1NN

Spring Creative Nature Workshops

Do you fancy learning to be more creative with your photography or just have the confidence to do it?
Well this workshop is for you, I'll share some of my top tips, tricks and ideas to create very different images of common subjects. It is a workshop so most of the day will be spent outside trying out these ideas and discussing the results.
Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th May 10am - 4pm (both days exactly the same)
Shepton Mallet, Somerset
£60 per person (includes tea, coffee, cakes and lunch) max of 6 people per day.
To book follow this link: Spring Workshop

Pop-up Shop

Black Swan Arts, Frome
16th June - 28th June
We will be open every day, times to be confirmed
Sunday 22nd June we have booked the Tower room for talks and drop in sessions, details of which will be confirmed shortly

Autumn Creative Nature Workshops

Do you fancy learning to be more creative with your photography or just have the confidence to do it?
Well this workshop is for you, I'll share some of my top tips, tricks and ideas to create very different images of common subjects. It is a workshop so most of the day will be spent outside trying out these ideas and discussing the results.
Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th September 10am - 4pm (both days exactly the same)
Shepton Mallet, Somerset
£60 per person (includes tea, coffee, cakes and lunch) max of 6 people per day.
To book follow this link: Autumn Workshop

Mid Somerset Camera Club Talk

Creative Nature
Tuesday 30th September, 8pm
Tor Leisure, Street Road, Glastonbury, BA6 9EF

Castle Cary Gardening Club Talk

Natural World Through My Lens Talk
Thursday 2nd October, 7:30om
Methodist Schoolroom, Caslte Cary

When I get home I will be working re-designing my blog to fit in better with my website which I have been adding more photos to over the last week and also redesigning mum's website so that everything fits in together ready for some exciting news in June. 

Right I best go pack so that is all from me now for a few weeks as Chris and I take off to South Africa on Tuesday until early May to go see some penguins and other smaller critters! I will be trying out the SIGMA 120-300mm f2.8 DG OS HSM lens during this trip and I'm really looking forward to testing it out and seeing what it can do. I will let you know how it performs along with some images on my return. 

Bye for now

Victoria 

Poppies

Hello! I have to say I am loving this great weather we're having here in the South West at the moment I've been out most days with my camera exploring new areas and new subjects reigniting my creative side and popped down to visit my friends at Secret World. I certainly have a lot of images to go through now ready to share with you, so I've decided on several short, image rich posts dedicated to the different subjects and outings I've so far managed to get in. Now I know it might seem a little early to be thinking of Christmas especially given the weather, but that it what we have been doing. Mum and I are busy getting stock ordered and made ready for the Autumn and Christmas run of craft markets which include some brand new small gift sets, a new range of cards and a Borneo 2014 calendar (will be pre-order only details to follow shortly).

First up are poppies, something that I have been wanting to photograph for a long time but always seem to miss the flowering but with everything being a little bit later this year has worked in my favour. I jumped in my car and headed just over the border into Wiltshire to a small field of poppies in lovely afternoon light armed with just a couple of lenses and a bottle of water. Up until now I have never photographed poppies so didn't really know where to start so jumped in and took a few general images to begin with.

From there I went for some more artistic images of a single poppy flowers and unopened flower heads and even used back lighting to highlight the tiny hairs on the stems. So here are some of my favourites from my afternoon with these iconic British flowers, I hope you like them, they have all been taken with a Canon 7D with a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens by far my favourite combination. If you are interested in more technical details just drop me a message and I'd be happy to share. 

 

I have to admit flowers have not been a major subject of mine until now but having the chance to go to town on just one subject at the time I am really enjoying the challenge and will definitely be visiting this location again next year and for the first time ever these will be offered as a pack of 6 cards including envelopes with 2 of each of the following 3 images priced at £5 per pack from craft markets (list is now available on my website) or through the shop on my website priced at £8 or £10 depending on where you would like them posted, will be available in about a months time:

This is not the only new card selection available, there will also be British wildlife, British flowers, Borneo and orang-utans more details to follow in a future post, currently busy processing the images ready to send off to the printers for proofing. 

So this is it for poppies, still to come are orchids, insects, deer fawns and hedgehogs and full details of all the new card packs available and the 2014 calendar. It is also time for me to head back out to Transylvania for another 2 weeks in the field, don't forget to follow my stories from the field on my National Geographic Explorers journal, just posted a new article about a visit to a bear sanctuary. 

Stories from the Field

That's it for now, next post in a few days, time to start packing! 

Apple Blossom, White bluebells & 1st trip to Romania

After the wedding and honeymoon there have been a few quiet days to unpack, ease back into life gently, ok not the last part! Chris was back to work straight away as was I preparing for my first trip to Romania to head up the research but more about that a little later. 

I had a couple of weeks at home to get some photography in and I made the most of the bumper crop of apple blossom this year. I don't think I have ever see it so vibrant and smelly so strongly in my life and there was a lot of it too! Not one to miss an opportunity off I went with camera and macro lens in hand ready to get creative and here are just a few of the images (there will be more uploaded to my website in the coming weeks):

 

I do hope that we get the right weather and a good crop of apple this year there is nothing quite like picking an apple straight from the tree and eating it there and then! But it was not just the apple blossom that caught my eye, we have some stunning white bluebells in the garden as well and these (had we had a spring like 2012 were going to be a additional to my wedding bouquet). Not to worry, I now had a great opportunity to spend several days photographing these beautiful flowers. I have been trying to let my creative juices flow more with my photography as this is what I really enjoy and on this occasion I don't think I took a standard image, so here are just a few of my white bluebells:

 

 And my personal favourite which I have called "wedding bells"

I had a lot of fun getting creative with these flowers and love the results, as always you can see all the technical details for these images on my website where you can also purchase them in various forms. Unfortunately for now although I am busy taking photographs (when it's not raining) I cannot share them directly with you, but I can share the link to my National Geographic Explorers Journal on which I am posting photos from the National Geographic funded research in Transylvania, Romania. We are a team of four conducting the research and you can meet three members of the team along with an introduction to the work we are doing and also the area in my first post. I will be posting fairly regularly and this is the only way to keep up to date and see some of the incredible images being produced, so here is the link:

National Geographic Explorers Journal

I am currently in Romania and will be returning home on 19th June to continue with my work and also working on the identification work for the project. Hopefully I will have more images and news from my work soon. Until then, enjoy the sunshine I hear the UK is getting at the moment!