FEED Validator

for Atom and RSS and KML

Congratulations!

This is a valid RSS feed.

Recommendations

This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.

line 3, column 0: Invalid HTML: EOF in middle of construct, at line 3, column 9 (19 occurrences) [help]
```
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c59fdb1bfa894db5 ...
```

line 69, column 45: content:encoded should not contain relative URL references: undefined (4 occurrences) [help]

<p style="text-align: justify;">George</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item> ...
                                             ^

line 284, column 105: title should not contain HTML: & [help]

... ack &#38; White Deer Photography 2023]]></title><description><![CDATA[A  ...
                                             ^

Source: http://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog.rss

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[George Wheelhouse Fine Art Nature Photography]]></title><description><![CDATA[I shoot wildlife and nature photos for distinctive, contemporary, fine art prints.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 02:50:55 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Uptripping: Wall Art Prints In Winter Park, Colorado]]></title><description><![CDATA[Uptripping is an independent art and homewares store, run by local artist Shannon Foley Henn, featuring a thriving contemporary gallery.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/uptripping-wall-art-prints-winter-park-colorado</link><guid isPermaLink="false">65e98a30a138251574f0f3b5</guid><category><![CDATA[Art]]></category><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 24 Mar 2024 20:00:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_2b211e31186046e88f6f7ecb41200dbc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[Just a reminder for those in the USA, that you can view and order wall art prints of my photos from the <a href="https://www.uptripping.com/" target="_blank">Uptripping</a> gallery in Winter Park, Colorado.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c59fdb1bfa894db59ca9bf4a62bbc8bc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Logo for Uptripping in Winter Park, Colorado"></figure>
Uptripping is an independent art and homewares store, run by local artist Shannon Foley Henn, featuring a thriving contemporary gallery. They sell unique furnishings and home interior wall art from original designers, creators, and artists. Their products reflect the mountain-lifestyle and culture of the local area.
 
 
<h2>It Started With A Moose</h2>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_2b211e31186046e88f6f7ecb41200dbc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"></figure>
Shannon first contacted me in 2018 when she was looking for a moose photo on behalf of the new local <a href="https://www.fraservalleydistilling.com/" target="_blank">Fraser Valley Distilling</a> bar & restaurant. Moose are common in the area and very characteristic of the Colorado Rockies, so it was a great choice of subject. And this photo proved very popular from the moment it went up. Since then Uptripping have been selling a selection of my prints, including the <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/low-key-moose-portrait" target="_blank">Low Key Moose</a>.
I'm particularly pleased to see this photo's popularity, as I do love moose and their quirky looks, and this is one of my favourite photos.
 
As Shannon puts it:
 
 
<h2>Custom Prints, Unique Framing</h2>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_0b96ff4ce44e44f6b7622f8695da9ad5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Low Key Moose photo framed and on the wall of a home in Colorado"></figure>
At Uptripping they take a personal approach, and as well as offering prints 'off-the-shelf', they can also work with you to create a custom print.
 
Rolled canvas prints are great for those visiting the area, who need to consider luggage space, or have the print shipped home.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ef37a121c41045988eb679ffb47341a4~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Bald eagle photo framed and on the wall of a Colorado home"></figure>
Framed prints and metal prints create large statement pieces, ready-to-hang. 
 
Local framer Suzie, of <a href="https://www.winterparkframewerx.com/" target="_blank">FrameWerx</a> does a fantastic job making one-of-a-kind custom frames for these prints, which again authentically reflect the character of the area.
 
Each of these one-off prints is the result of a collaboration between several local craftspeople, from the printers to the framers and gallery, each bringing their skill and personal touch to the end-product.
 
 
 
<h2>Winter Park, Co</h2>
 
Winter Park itself is a popular ski town in the Rocky Mountains, just West of Denver, Colorado, and just South of the Rocky Mountain National Park. With all kinds of regular cultural & social events, there always seems to be something going on. 
Excitingly, you can also find my photo on the wall of the Winter Park Visitor's Centre. Here's a photo from installation day...
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_736dc5e70cd64fe1ba9305ce3a69fe32~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Installation day for my red squirrel photo in the Winter Park Visitor's Centre"alt="Men up ladders, installing a new framed photo of a squirrel at the Winter Park Visitor's Centre"></figure>
 
I had a trip to visit Winter Park booked myself, in 2020... but we all know what happened there. So I'm keen to go when I'm next able to. I want to catch up with friends, find the moose & elk in Rocky Mountain NP, and the gin & waffles from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fraservalleydistilling/" target="_blank">Fraser Valley Distillery</a>!
 
 
<h2>Other Artists</h2>
In addition to my photos, Uptripping feature the work of a handful of selected artists, each with a distinctive style, and very fitting for the Winter Park area. I just wanted to highlight three of those here...
 
<h3>Linda Israel</h3>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lindaisraelart/" target="_blank">Linda's</a> animal paintings are instantly recognisable, and unmistakably hers. They regularly brighten up my Instagram timeline. Predictably, I particularly enjoy the moose and the bears.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_55e14ac9c1254efda7a76624b05209f7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Linda Israel - At Uptripping"alt="artist Linda Israel At the Uptripping gallery, in Winter Park Colorado"></figure>
 
<h3>Topher Straus</h3>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/topherstrausfineart/" target="_blank">Topher</a> creates impressionist 'digital paintings' of landscapes in his own recognisable style, and produces large aluminium prints for wall art. This image, immortalising the town and surrounding mountains, is called 'Winter Park'.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_5e6f4eec77094630ab398058d28da2b0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_712,h_712,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="'Winter Park' by Topher Straus - At Uptripping"alt="Wall art 'Winter Park' by Topher Straus - At Uptripping"></figure>
 
<h3>Shannon Foley Henn</h3>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/shannonfoleyhenn/" target="_blank">Shannon</a> is the founder of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/uptripping/" target="_blank">Uptripping</a>, and is an artist and painter in her own right. Her iconic 'Après Ski' series is a collection of famous faces from past and present, hand painted, with an unmistakable ski-town twist.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_3d703fd3701741cfa9db650f1d6d531b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Shannon Foley Henn - At Uptripping"alt="Apres Ski series from artisit Shannon Foley Henn, available from Uptripping in Winter Park Co."></figure>
 
 
<h2>Contact</h2>
You can find Uptripping in Cooper Creek Square, Winter Park, Co. If you're in the area, pop in and take a look around. If you'd like a print made for you, or have any questions ahead of time, <a href="https://www.uptripping.com/contact" target="_blank">use the contact form on their website or give them a call</a>.
 
You can also follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/uptripping/" target="_blank">Uptripping on Instagram</a>, where you'll see some of my prints now and again, like in these two...
<a href="undefined"><img src="undefined" width="640" height="640"></a>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsdQ3Icl1AV/" target="_blank">View on Instagram</a>
 
<a href="undefined"><img src="undefined" width="720" height="1280"></a>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CY96wjPB-Ou/" target="_blank">View on Instagram</a>
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Owl and Falcon Studio Photography Shoot]]></title><description><![CDATA[Photos from an Owl and Falcon Studio Photography Shoot. Capturing the character and beauty of these fantastic birds in a studio environment.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/owl-falcon-studio-photography-shoot</link><guid isPermaLink="false">65d32c633adcd8d400d7e165</guid><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Low-Key]]></category><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2024 11:45:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f8ba1d6c4eba430f8ad08d34062c6e06~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[Last autumn I tried something I had wanted to do for a few years; to photograph raptors in a studio environment. I was able to photograph several different species of owl and falcon on the day, but I was particularly keen for the opportunity to photograph my favourite bird of all; the <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/tags/great-grey-owl" target="_top">great grey owl</a>.
I took these photos with <a href="https://captivelight.co.uk/index.php/birds-of-prey-studio/" target="_blank">Miles Herbert</a> at <a href="https://www.libertyscentre.co.uk/" target="_blank">Liberty's Raptor Centre</a>. All of these birds are captive-bred, and photographed under controlled conditions, using two remote strobe/flash lights. This means that I'm able to get the kind of low-light, black backgrounds I'm fond of, without having to coordinate the angle of the sun and a natural dark backdrop, which I normally do for wild/free-roaming outdoor subjects.
 
<h2>Great Grey Owl</h2>
My main motivation for this shoot was to see and photograph a great grey owl up-close, so I'm really thrilled with these photos, especially the first one, which is everything I wanted, going in.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f8ba1d6c4eba430f8ad08d34062c6e06~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Great Grey Owl Portrait On Black"alt="A great grey owl perched on a tree stump with a black background, photographed in a studio"></figure>
 
After securing that great grey owl portrait, everything else I got was a bonus!
I've written before about how much <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/owl-portraits" target="_top">I love great grey owls</a>. They're colossal in size, subtle in colouration, elegant of posture, and to me they embody the spirit of the north. For all those reasons, I find them utterly compelling subjects.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_5c6a28ec789546e88b40aa6ca72bb1db~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Great Grey Owl In Thought"alt="Great grey owl photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
My only regret is that I didn't take the opportunity to get a real close-up of the face. All of my great grey owl photos are full-body portraits. I like the way they came out, but it would have been nice to capture a detailed head shot too. But there are lots of factors to consider in the moment - including where the bird is looking, my angle in relation to the lights, the space around the bird, and keeping the focus spot on the bird's eye. I guess the difficulty of juggling all these factors is what keeps us coming back to try again. There's are so many options available, and so many ingredients for a good photo.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_a84e9c819c194d3ca1efe28a2b0a279e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Great Grey Owl Stare"alt="A great grey owl looking down with intent, photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
The controlled conditions of studio photography can be used to create photos that look like they were taken in the wild, but that isn't the intention in this case. Primarily what I want to achieve from a shoot like this is a similar aesthetic you'd expect from a human portrait session. I want engaging portraits, which show the form, character, beauty, and details of these incredible creatures in a way which is not possible to achieve in the wild. Obviously owls photographed in the dark can look relatively natural, so it does help that this aesthetic is complimentary to the subject - but it's important not to take that further and dupe the viewer into believing you just happened upon this bird in the wild. On the contrary - I'm looking for images where the bird is comfortable, acknowledging the camera (viewer), and actively engaging with the shoot. That's what creates a strong connection between subject and viewer, and it's something I look for in most of my favourite <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/nature" target="_top">nature photos</a>.
 
<h2>African Spotted Owl</h2>
I love the dynamic pose in this one. The owl is present and involved, and the engaging eye-contact is about as close as I'll get to the magic of the famous '<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/sep/20/its-heartbreaking-steve-mccurry-on-afghan-girl-a-portrait-of-past-and-present" target="_blank">Afghan Girl</a>'.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_d214b3b175454f218724395003b53cf0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="African Spotted Owl Portrait On Black"alt="Full-length portrait of an african spotted owl perched on a tree-stump, photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
This close-up is also reminiscent of another photo. Many years ago I photographed an <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/african-spotted-owl" target="_top">African spotted owl on white</a>, so this makes photo completes a complementary pair of contrasting portraits; one on black and one on white.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_d34f3ac92f13459b94cc5f1ff61ba9f0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="African Spotted Owl On Black"alt="Close-up portrait of an african spotted owl, photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
As you would expect, the welfare of the birds was of priority during the shoot. All of these birds were hand-raised and used to people, camera flashes, etc. Each bird was accompanied by a falconer, who is responsible for the bird's wellbeing, and would make sure that each individual was only used for as long as it felt comfortable in our presence. This is an essential part of any ethical animal encounter, and it also ensures that the photos I captured represent an authentic moment, and have a positive memory associated with them.
 
<h2>Tawny Owl</h2>
Tawny owls are native to the UK, and they have a very distinctive call. Sometimes I can hear them from home, which always feels like a treat. Like hearing something from the wilderness, in the middle of suburbia.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_cf3d4fa753984032a070f6cfd061123f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Tawny Owl Side-On"alt="Side-on profile of a tawny owl, photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
OK, I'll unleash my favourite owl fact here; You can tell what time of day an owl is active by the colour of it's eyes. Birds like the great grey owl and African spotted owl, have yellow eyes, and are active during the day, when the sun is yellow. Owls with orange eyes (e.g. <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/long-eared-owl-in-bluebell-woodland" target="_top">long eared owl</a>), match the colour of the sun at sunrise and sunset, so are crepuscular; active at dawn and dusk. Owls with dark eyes like the tawny owl, are nocturnal; active in the dark.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_4d76c34952d1481ca0403212eb745c48~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Tawny Owl Portrait On Black"alt="A tawny owl, perched on a tree stump, photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
For this last tawny owl portrait, I experimented with an 'autumnal woodland' backdrop. It's not really what I set out for from this day, but it offers something slightly different from the other, more stark images against the black.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_19d0d1eb50aa42e4aaf349e56da1ebba~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Tawny Owl Close-Up"alt="A low-light portrait of a tawny owl, photographed with a flash in a studio"></figure>
 
 
<h2>Barn Owl</h2>
In fact this photo wasn't from the studio. We did have some time with a barn owl in the studio, but he didn't seem to want to play ball for me. He was a bit fidgety, so as mentioned previously, if it seems like the bird isn't onboard with it that day, then that's fair enough. But I did capture this photo later in the day, as I wandered around the bird enclosures. It doesn't have the dynamic lighting that the flash provides, but the back background is still achievable using a shaded aviary.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b54253264e7a4b8c84c1748a0bb09f3a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Barn Owl On Black"alt="Close-up portrait of a barn owl photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
 
<h2>Peregrine Falcon</h2>
I'd seen a peregrine in the wild for the first time just a couple of weeks prior to this, so I got a real buzz from seeing one up-close. I found it tricky to photograph, but this close-up shows his features well.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_8ab4a08925d24f0f912b051a4249be87~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Peregrine Falcon On Black"alt="Close-up of a peregrine falcon photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
 
<h2>Kestrel</h2>
Everyone loves a kestrel. They're short-winged falcons, and very agile. They're small enough not to be intimidating, and common enough to see regularly in the wild. This first portrait looks a bit like a corporate head-shot to me. He looks like a very professional business-kestrel. A real go-getter.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_a113ae5009c34cd8b445db6f2e3884cf~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Kestrel Close-Up On Black"alt="Close-up portrait of a perched kestrel, photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
In the next one he shows his softer side, with a little sideways glance.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_1e325bc056ff4cb895f274b5653a573e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Kestrel On Black"alt="A kestrel perched on a tree branch, photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
Visually, I love the combination of the red wing feathers and grey-blue head feathers.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ca8e23fe5a0c46bd971714be983ba030~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Kestrel Back On Black"alt="A kestrel turning to look at the camera, photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
I was keen to capture some with a good view of his back and wing feathers, like these, as they're one of the species' key features, in my eyes. Also the black feathers in the wing tips.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_9fc680c46e024ae5809a750a26f7ead6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Kestrel Portrait On Black"alt="Portrait of a kestrel, with red back and black wing-tips, photographed low-key in a studio against a black background"></figure>
 
That's all for now.
 
I must say a huge thanks again to Miles for helping make this happen for me - especially for fulfilling my request for the great grey owl, which was never a certainty. You can find <a href="https://www.instagram.com/captivelight/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Miles on Instagram</a>, and I recommend the <a href="https://captivelight.co.uk/index.php/birds-of-prey-studio/" target="_blank">studio bird photography</a> experience as something completely different to that of pure wildlife photography.
 
For more of my raptor photography see check out my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/nature" target="_top">Nature</a> gallery, or my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog" target="_top">previous blog posts</a> on the subject.
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Harpa Architecture - Reykjavik]]></title><description><![CDATA[A series of photos of the Harpa Concert Hall, in downtown Reykjavik. 12 photos of this fantastic glass building from all angles.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/harpa-architecture-reykjavik</link><guid isPermaLink="false">65b23da6e530f5acb8ad285b</guid><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><category><![CDATA[Art]]></category><category><![CDATA[Travel / Trip Report]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 29 Jan 2024 08:00:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7b8ec67cc77744eba540c2d17733cd53~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[January seems like a good time to share something a bit different. In this case it's not wildlife, nature, or conventional landscape photography. But it's good to get out of your comfort zone now and again, and I hope you will get something from this departure from my usual subject matter too.
 
Last time I was in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik, I challenged myself to capture some interesting pictures of one of it's more recent architectural landmarks, and a building I enjoy; <a href="https://www.harpa.is/en/about-harpa" target="_blank">Harpa Concert Hall</a>. It's a fascinating building. On the face of it it's a huge glass monolith like many going up around the world. But it's design also leans on the cultural and geological character of Iceland. I think it's a triumph of a design, which quite literally reflects the colours, skies, and climate of it's surroundings. I wanted to capture some of those elements in photos. So I took my trusty 70-200mm lens, and pointed it at the Harpa from several angles.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_63d9d6b6dc624b60a6fbb6958faa8219~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Sun reflecting off the Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik."></figure>
 
I love how the subtle sunlight of the far north bounces off this building, and I'm sure this effect is no accident.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7b8ec67cc77744eba540c2d17733cd53~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Side angles of Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
Harpa was designed by Henning Larsen Architects of Copenhagen and the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c0f56e856d33491d9887abb211f0897a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Glass front of Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
Conceived last century, the project was finally green-lit in 2006, and construction began in 2007 - just months before Iceland's economy collapsed at the start of the Global Financial Crisis of that decade. Construction was soon halted, and there was much debate about whether this was a good use of public money at a time of great hardship for the country. But they persisted, and restarted the project, making it the only active construction project in the country at the time, such was the state of the economy. Harpa was finally completed and opened in 2011.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_970e1930835d4ac4a01d685e3489dd88~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Corner angle of Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
On our first visit, in 2013, local opinion was still distinctly split. It was an unapologetically modern building in the heart of the traditional downtown Reykjavik. More to the point, the project was considered something of a white elephant, with many residents still angry about the spiralling construction costs at precisely the wrong time for the country. But like any classic Grand Designs episode they found the money and it all worked out in the end. And I'm sure Kevin McCloud would speak even more effusively about the final result than I'm able to, all while immaculately turned out in no less than three subtly differing shades of blue.
My feeling from more recent visits is that the building is now where it deserves to be; considered a jewel in the crown of Reykjavik's cultural highlights, with which it is in great company.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7abe2f032d5b48529f50a81c89e89e9b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Side wall of Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
These huge glass windows are structured and shaped in a form which represents the characteristic basalt columns, which can be found around many of the country's iconic landmarks; a relic of the land's famous volcanic history.
From the outside (see above) the tinted glass reflects the moody skies surrounding the city. From inside (see below) the structures appear even more bewildering and mind-bending.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_42609475114145c8ad8252482884746d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Steel and glass wall structure of Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
I don't know how or why this one panel managed to distort and refract the structure of the adjacent wall, but it's an example of one of the many such effects you can discover as you walk around the interior of the building.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_44009ba5803343bb8780fd50aaea171d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Window abstract from Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
Back outside now, and I managed to catch this sun-lit side of the building.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_671b030161c2438293f94f5f872e0534~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Wall of glass, on the side of Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
This next image is another optical illusion. The section on the left looks so much like water, it was tempting to rotate it 90 degrees, to lean into that idea. But it fact it's just another section of the building, once again playing with reflections and organic textures.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_83078eb719cf4bb49af3e677ec720afc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Glass reflections on Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
The name Harpa is a seasonal Icelandic word for early spring, and was one of over 4,000 suggestions submitted by residents.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_68980a7116b8469684bce6f93ba4ffb7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Glass wall panels of Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing this building. It shifts shape as you move around it, and looks radiant in all weathers, as of course it was designed to do, with the Reykjavik climate in mind.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b5618815945f45aba66cb1c188b9de9b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Slanted corner angle of Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
Along with <a href="https://www.hallgrimskirkja.is/en" target="_blank">Hallgrímskirkja</a>, it's now one of the icons of Reykjavik, and it's always a welcome sight upon arrival in the city; letting me know I'm back in my happy place.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_98a7c4c785a94f9cbac60d225bc6f408~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Basalt columns of the Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik"></figure>
 
I hope you enjoyed me sharing something a bit different in this post. This will always be principally a nature and wildlife blog, but I think it's good to take influence from all other forms of art and creativity, and for me that includes architecture. Also, it's been a whole five months since I last blogged about Iceland :-)
Anyway, next time we'll be back to normal, as I've got some bird of prey photos that I'm really excited about.
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Highland Cow Photography]]></title><description><![CDATA[A collection of highland cow photography. These photographs were taken locally, and are available to order as fine art prints for wall art.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/highland-cow-photography</link><guid isPermaLink="false">656493b0832ebcf792658193</guid><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><category><![CDATA[Low-Key]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 11:30:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_015c9eb9de5e4c17a6c25267b35daec9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[Throughout this year I've been working on a highland cow photography project; visiting every few weeks since January. It's been a really enjoyable background project, which has given me the opportunity to see the cows in different seasons, different light, and to experiment with different photographic styles. I figured that now we're at the end of the year, I should finish the project and share the photos.
 
Click on photos to view large, or visit my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/highland-cows" target="_blank">Highland Cows</a> gallery to buy wall art prints.
 
<h2>Low-Key Highland Cow Photography</h2>
This was the one image I had in mind at the start of the year, that I wanted to capture, and I'm thrilled to bits with it. It's gone straight into the <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/highland-cows" target="_blank">print gallery</a>.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_015c9eb9de5e4c17a6c25267b35daec9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow - Side On"alt="Rim-Lit outline of an amber highland cow head and shoulders, back-lit by the sun"></figure>
 
This rim-lit effect is a style I've used before with deer and bears, amongst others, and I particularly wanted to apply it to a highland cow in this posture - with it's head raised, as if proudly posing. I love how the horns puncture the line of back-lit fur with a contrasting texture and colour.
For the last few weeks I've been thinking about writing this blog post, and trying to put into words why I like this style so much, and why I think it's so effective. I think it comes down to 3 reasons:
 
1 - The fur. It's the most characteristic feature of the animal, and the texture is perfect for catching the light as it shines through the shaggy hairs. The colour of the fur is excentuated perfectly by the warm hue of the evening sunlight.
 
2 - Simplicity. I really like to simplify views and present subjects in a clean, minimalist way. I think that when the image is visually quiet, the subject shines with no clutter or distraction, and the overall result is a more peaceful one. Using this rim-lighting technique, the entire animal is represented by the minimum detail of it's key features; shaggy amber fur and long curved horns.
 
3 - This isn't how we see things in real life. This is the one that I've only recently put my finger on. We've all seen cows before. I don't need to share a photo of what a cow looks like. What I want to do is show that familar subject in a way that we don't get with our own eyes when we're out-and-about. I want to present the subject in a way which can only be seen through a camera lens at a particular focal length, from a particular angle, in a particular light, at a particular moment. That's the joy of photography for me; capturing a vision in a way that can be shared.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_e2b4665c9d22423b9a8dab31ae7b957c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow - Side-Lit"alt="A highland cow with large horns, photographed low-key from the front for a dramatic portrait."></figure>
 
The side-lit photo above is another style I love, and I think this one works very well. However, I took one <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/highland-cow-on-black" target="_blank">very similar a few years ago</a> in the Outer Hebrides which I think I marginally prefer.
 
Next is another back-lit photo. With this one I really liked the posture - one which I wouldn't have pre-conceived, but it does a great job of illustrating the shape, angles, and textures of a highland cow in a very minimalist way.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c5c0410861b74e4c996b987e4442864c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow - Rim-Lit"alt="A highland cow with large horns, rim-lit by the sun behind, in Bedfordshire, UK"></figure>
 
 
<h2>Summer Sun</h2>
As the weather got warmer and the trees came into leaf, I wanted to capture some photos that represent those long summer evenings. Writing now, in December, they feel like a long time ago, but I think they're bringing some warmth, even so.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_31cac07ef4bb4c7baa879c29cef69f03~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow - Font"alt="A highland cow with large horns, facing the camera head-on in summer sunlight"></figure>
 
This one's an unconventional framing, but I really like it - again for the warm evening sun.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_1fe11bc7da514b1abf9070cc5bb42274~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow Summer Sun"alt="A highland cow grazing on grass with low summer evening sunlight, in Bedfordshire UK."></figure>
 
Here's an example of one where I could have zoomed in for another low-key minimalist photo, but for a change I've stayed wider to capture more surroundings, and the magic of that light coming in from over the shoulder.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ae7d8fddccac427c92243dc1f48ae366~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow - Back-Lit Field"alt="Outline of a highland cow, back-lit in a field on a warm summer evening in Bedfordshire, UK."></figure>
 
It's fair to say that our use of cattle and livestock around the world is having a disastrous effect on the environment, with around half the world’s habitable land used for agriculture, and 77% of that used for grazing livestock or growing crops for animal feed [<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture" target="_blank">Our World In Data</a>]. However, this site I've been visiting is not one of intensive farming, and in fact it's a great example of using cattle for the benefit of local biodiversity. The land is managed by the <a href="https://www.wildlifebcn.org/" target="_blank">Wildlife Trust</a>, and these cows help fulfill the role that ancient indigenous cattle would have performed centuries ago. It's part of a wider culture of habitat-restoration, which is thankfully being rolled out increasingly across the country, if very slowly. Specifically here, the highland cows' grazing helps to maintain the hillside meadows and grasslands for a multitude of species, including ground-nesting birds like lapwings and skylarks. As well as for the regrowth of rare wildflowers and orchids that are essential for pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other insects. It's really encouraging to see their progress over the years I've been visiting the site, with the species count increasing year-on-year thanks to this considered approach to habitat and land management.
 
 
<h2>Black and White Highland Cow Photography</h2>
As we got into later summer I wanted to go out on those days where we get passing rain showers. The beauty of this kind of weather is that you get interesting cloudy skies, and breaks of sunshine to light the subject. I really like this photo for the breathing space it affords around the cow, with the wide angle taking in as much of the field and sky as possible.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_33e3cd9eea294254832999385e1e1b58~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow & Big Sky"alt="A highland cow standing in a field under summer storm clouds, in Bedfordshire, UK, photographed in black and white"></figure>
 
As with the low-key portraits above, I had the revelation that one of the joys of black and white is presenting images differently to how we see them with the naked eye. These photos look fine in colour, but would be quite literal; with no real creative expression. In black and white they're somehow distilled to something simpler and more timeless.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_9c243e3212294c52983aa8bd7bc76c0f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow - B&W Portrait"alt="Black and white photo of a large highland cow looking at the viewer, in a field, Bedfordshire, UK."></figure>
 
I took these three portrait photos on the same day, and the light was perfect for it. I was really pleased my reading of the weather forecast paid off for once. I think they make a nice set.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_81c3cd2f1d1b4494a41ff8e506c45a2e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow Close-Up"alt="A large highland cow standing in a field under cloudy skies, photographed in black and white, in Bedfordshire, UK."></figure>
 
This last photo was the first one I took, back in January. The highland cow was standing right in the middle of the path, and the light was so nice I decided to zoom right out and get this wider view.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_a39dbcb628e24550aec8819bb7565f11~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow On Hillside"alt="A large highland cow standing on a Bedfordshire hillside, photographed in black and white"></figure>
 
I've really enjoyed photographing the highland cows this year. They've been a favourite subject of mine for many years, and one I'm sure I'll keep returning to in the future. Cows are such charasmatic animals, and I find highland cows in particular, a calming presence. It's easy to see their slow pace of life as one of contemplation and mindfulness. Or maybe that's just me. But I think a good proportion of the photos in this post could be interpreted a moments of reflection.
 
 
<h2>Highland Cow Photography Gallery</h2>
In addition to the new photos shared above, I've also got a collection of previous photos in my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/highland-cows" target="_blank">Highland Cows print gallery</a>. Since we're on the subject, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from there, as a cheeky bonus. These are all images rendered as wall art prints. To see them full size, check out the <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/highland-cows" target="_blank">gallery</a>.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_080868cda2eb45f4ae3f0b6ac54dcabc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cattle Lick"alt="framed high-key black and white photo of a Highland cow going for a characteristic nose-lickHighland cow going for a characteristic nose-lick"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_1698e802a341492eac000b34689ac021~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Half a Highland Cattle"alt="framed photo of a highland cow, close-up, in black and white"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ae802f93b3aa4db380092e4c2c7c0f8e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cattle Bull - On White"alt="Living room scene with a couch, potted tree, and a framed photo of a highland cattle bull on the wall"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_126db4fd0f534a9499871b66e0d40a78~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cattle Bull - Best Foot Forward"alt="Framed photo of a highland cattle bull in black and white"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_9bf854db7c8b415fb23b520dfc215c92~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Cow - On Black"alt="A modern living space with a couch and coffee table, and framed wall art of a highland cow on a black background"></figure>
 
View the print gallery...
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Black & White Deer Photography 2023]]></title><description><![CDATA[A collection of black and white deer rut photos, from my local patch at Woburn, Bedfordshire, in autumn 2023. Part 2 of this year's deer rut]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/black-and-white-deer-photography-2023</link><guid isPermaLink="false">654114b9eaf7ce45d13cf18e</guid><category><![CDATA[Deer]]></category><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><category><![CDATA[Low-Key]]></category><category><![CDATA[High-Key]]></category><category><![CDATA[Wildlife]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 20 Nov 2023 08:06:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_97c15327d1a34a0b80db861d329940be~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[This is the second half of this year's deer rut photos, from my local patch at Woburn, Bedfordshire, in autumn 2023. I was trying to decide how to divide the photos into two blog posts, when I realised that I had ten colour photos and ten black & white photos, so these are all the black and whites. I don't always know what makes me decide that a photo is best presented in black and white, but I'll try to explain that decision for some of these. Generally, I like the more 'graphic' aesthetic of black & white, and the subtle abstraction. They can also work very well for wall art too, as they make a statement without introducing unwanted colour to a room. They also lend themselves well to <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/on-white" target="_blank">high-key</a> and <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/on-black" target="_blank">low-key</a> portrait styles, which I enjoy.
 
<h2>High-Key Portraits</h2>
This is my favourite photo from this year's deer rut, and it's <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/red-deer-stag-on-the-hill" target="_blank">gone straight into my website print gallery</a>.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_97c15327d1a34a0b80db861d329940be~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Stag On The Hill"alt="A red deer with large antlers, photographed on the crest of a hill, in high-key style black and white"></figure>
 
He's a handsome devil, with a nice curve to his antlers, and a unique ear-damage likely suffered in battles with rivals. I love to catch these stags on the crest of a hill like this to achieve the same thing I always strive for (all together now)... simplicity! I don't like complex backgrounds (unless that's the point of the image). Otherwise, I like them to provide a contrast to the subject (either light or darker), and let the subject take all the focus.
 
Because my telephoto lens is a fixed focal-length, I can't zoom in or out, but one option available is to rotate the lens portrait/landscape. In this case I felt that the extra vertical space made the portrait-orientated version a better fit. However, I've also included the landscape version here, as I think that's also a nice photo - it's just a bit of a squeeze.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_44b9f89794804767a451ddff8b9df79e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Stag On The Hill (Landscape)"alt="A large red deer from Woburn, Bedfordshire, photographed in high-key black and white style"></figure>
 
In these situations, the best solution is often just to move my feet, but in this case moving back would have meant that I lost his legs to the hilltop. Also - these moments are fleeting. He stood and looked at me here for less than a minute before he went on his way, and I didn't want to miss the opportunity (or spook him) as I shuffled back.
 
Another deer on the hill here. I think any time I'm shooting a subject against a plain grey sky, it's better to shoot high-key and black and white. Colours can often look washed out and unnatural in high-key photos.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c0154eb55919421f917ede845b3666e4~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Holler"alt="A bellowing red deer, in black and white, from Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
This photo looked fine in colour, but I had a feeling it would look better in black and white because of the high contrast between the back-lit foliage and the in-shadow trees. I took a few photos of this deer here, and this one has the best balance; keeping the deer and his antlers within the framing of the two trees.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ad40f0bbf85d4c8e8af370221e4f6aa1~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer In The Shade"alt="A large red deer shelters from the sun under the woodland trees, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
 
<h2>Low-Key Deer Photos</h2>
On one of my final trips out to the deer this autumn, I managed to capture this 'close-up' portrait using my long focal-length lens. I'm really pleased with it, as it's often not possible to capture deer in such detail. In addition to that, I like the grass he has dangling from this antlers, and the strong directional light which renders him, but leaves the in-shadow background appearing black. Half shaded by a nearby tree, he looks like he's got his own personal spotlight.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_99b8891f9c384655adf5382b1089384e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Low-Key Red Deer"alt="A large red deer with extensive antlers, photographed low-key on a black shadow background, at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
In fact, he posed long enough for me to capture this full-body portrait too. But not all is what it seems here. As mentioned earlier, I'm not able to zoom out for shots like this. So the solution this time was a three-shot panorama; three landscape photos vertically stacked on top of each other, and stitched together in post, to create one giant image. Only possible if I'm able to take all three photos before he moves. Not only does that give me a wider perspective than I could otherwise capture in the moment, but it also results is a very high-resolution image, suitable for very large prints. So it's a win-win!
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b84df48118eb4360a573882d7c1a55d8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Low-Key Red Deer (Portrait)"alt="portrait of a large red deer, in low light, against a dark background in shadow, at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
Another side-lit portrait here, from an autumn sunrise. This felt like a good candidate for black and white as the light was a little more harsh than you see at dawn - with soft warm colours. By this time the light was strong enough to create specular highlights, and a less colourful illumination of the scene. Rather than bump up the saturation slider or try to improve the colours, I prefer to switch to black and white, where the higher-contrast lighting becomes an advantage rather than a shortcoming.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b38106953d6b480ab24bcb5325f6c7c6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Low-Key Red Deer Profile"alt="Low-light photo of a red deer, lit by the sun, against a dark background, at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
What I like most about this photo is that even though the light is strong, it's highly directional, and the deer is facing in just the right angle so that the light covers his face, and catches the fur of his neck in a way which illustrates the texture of the fur as it slowly fades to shadow. It also features another favourite trope of mine; in that you can't see the whole animal, as the non-essential parts fade into the shadow.
 
Next is the most recent in a series of photos I've taken of deer in this posture and lighting. You can see previous versions in this <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/low-key-deer-photography" target="_blank">Low-Key Deer Photography blog post</a>. In this case the deer is a younger individual with less grand antlers, but I like the eye-contact.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c078acdc887049e7a42e9aea47ba1f9c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer on Black IV"alt="a large red deer grazing in low light, with large antlers, at Woburn, Bedfordshire"></figure>
 
In years gone by, I would have under-exposed the background of most of these low-key photos to a greater degree than I have in these photos. I used to insists on an all-black background, so that only the subject was visible, with nothing visible behind them. These days I seem to prefer to retain a little texture in the background. This is for two reasons; It adds some additional texture to the negative/blank space in the images, and also adds a little more context - with a hint to the foliage and surroundings of the subject. I don't know if that's something I'll continue with or not, but for now it's a subtle change that interests me.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b91a1c0aa6724e82b0a8146dd9af87de~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer B&W"alt="A red deer stag lit by the sun, against a dark background, at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
This last photo is of the same deer that started the <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/deer-photography-2023" target="_blank">previous blog post</a>; "The Brute".
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_650b48844cf84ba599f658a635a46c57~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Brute (B&W)"alt="black and white photo of a large red deer bellowing during the rutting season at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
This photo is less contrasty than the others in this post, but I still felt it would be a good candidate for black and white for two reasons. Firstly, I already had two colour photos of this deer from the same encounter, so it's good to mix things up and present one differently. Secondly, I think losing the colour of the background means that it attracts less attention (as it's less brightly-lit), and so helps draw the eye naturally to the (brighter) subject. When colour is involved, tonality is less prominent, but in black and white our eyes are more keenly lead to the brightest parts of the image. The effect also increases the drama of the photo, which conveys the atmosphere at the time I took it.
 
<h2>Cheers to Autumn</h2>
All-in-all, it was a good year for deer photos. I'm happy with what I have both here and in my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/deer-photography-2023" target="_blank">previous post (part 1)</a>. I'm particularly pleased with the first photo in this post because it's hard to get a good full-body portrait of a deer in a strong pose against a clean background, and I love how those high-key photos come out in print.
If you'd like to see more deer photos, I have tons <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/categories/deer" target="_blank">on my blog</a>, and I have a <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/deer" target="_blank">print gallery on my website</a>.
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Deer Photography 2023]]></title><description><![CDATA[New red deer photos for 2023, taken during the autumn deer rut at Woburn, Bedfordshire. Photos available in print as wall art.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/deer-photography-2023</link><guid isPermaLink="false">653f7d1f103f5fb795bd186d</guid><category><![CDATA[Deer]]></category><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Wildlife]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 30 Oct 2023 11:47:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7d82c5a2674247cd824dad11919f9f28~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[It's that time of year again. The nights are drawing in, and the deer are at their most active during the autumn rut. I photograph the deer nearby to me, at Woburn, in Bedfordshire. I've been out photographing them several times over the last few weeks, and I've got a nice selection of shots, I think. This year I've decided to split my deer photos into 2 blog posts. This is the first one, and the second post will be out a few weeks later.
 
This first photo is a deer I've nicknamed "The Brute". He was a bit of a monster. There are times when you see deer during the rut, which seem to be bellowing specifically at you, and this was definitely one of those occasions, as he stared down the barrel of the camera.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7d82c5a2674247cd824dad11919f9f28~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Brute"alt="A large red deer stag with huge antlers, bellowing and looking straight at the viewer"></figure>
 
I love how central and symmetrical the first photo was, but this is the same deer, swung over to his right, to show us his profile too.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_eac6724e075b4b10adee3475f17b78ae~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Brute (Side-On)"alt="A large red deer stag from Woburn, Bedfordshire, bellowing side-on"></figure>
 
This is a different deer now. I liked the light here, in combination with the elegant posture.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_57d0b18ec2904586bfa9284e1e8c185a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Poser"alt="a large male red deer standing in morning sunlight at Woburn, Bedfordshire"></figure>
 
This photo has some great light, but I'm not sure I handled it that well. It's a but contrasty, maybe. But I do like to capture photos that are primarily back/side-lit like this. You get a strong definition to one side of the subject, which fades away across the body.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_6840e43987474a078e6ca7ff64c26390~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Sunrise Calling"alt="A large red deer bellowing at sunrise during the autumn deer rut at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
I like this one because of the warm sunrise light, and the detail in the antlers. You can see that the lower front antlers are damp from the dew on the grass, as he browsed, in comparison with the higher-up antlers, which remain dry. That contrast adds depth to the image, as well as illustrating a background story.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_97fff15456bc4db0b4b37c3e5d19a4c9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Calling Close-Up"alt="A large red deer with extensive antlers, bellowing in low morning light at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
On the colder mornings, it's always great to capture their misty breath, which conveys the classic conditions of the season. For the most part this autumn was very warm, so these opportunities were relatively rare.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7af53b1c6f0640269ae4f530f15d10a0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Morning Red Deer"alt="A red deer stag breaths in the cold dewy morning in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
<h2>Silhouettes</h2>
I do love a silhouette, and I had one sunset where I was able to capture a few nice ones.
I love the peachy tone of the sky in this one, which I think was taken shortly after the sun had gone down.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ee6e2f49e53a425380bde8a7d45e1266~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Sunset Calling"alt="Silhouette of a large red deer bellowing against the evening sky, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
This one was shortly before the sun went down, and to be honest, I'm not convinced the colours look right, but I like the posture of the deer.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_82e03380df474cd5862849eb5b6de3a6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Calling"alt="Silhouette of a large red deer bellowing on the horizon against the sunset sky"></figure>
 
OK, this one's not a silhouette, but it's a demonstration of how much the direction of light matters. These two locked antlers and sparred for a few minutes, right at the last light of the day. You can (hopefully) see the tint of red sunset light hitting their sides, but it's not nearly as dramatic as it seemed at the time.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_99ff8781104c458887b8e5d774123586~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Evening Battle"alt="Two red deer stags engaged in a tussle at last light."></figure>
 
However, I was able to move around and view them from the other side, shooting towards the sunset, for this silhouette.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_497c5bda77ef4237ae051555b9ea60a7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Silhouette Battle"alt="Silhouette of two red deer stags fighting at sunset, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
I think a few years ago, if you'd have offered me this silhouette of two deer with locked antlers in front of a sunset, I'd have jumped at it. But now somehow I just pick at it's shortcomings! There's a lot I'd rather was different about this photo, but ultimately it's a nice depiction of the season, in the kind of simplified way you only really get from a silhouette. 
 
 
Part 2 of this year's deer photos will be coming soon, but this was the thirteenth deer rut that I've photographed down at Woburn, so I have a huge back-catalogue of deer photos now. On my website you can find all my previous <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/categories/deer" target="_blank">deer photography blog posts</a>, or take a look at the <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/deer" target="_blank">Deer gallery</a> to browse my favourites and order <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/prints" target="_blank">wall art prints</a>.
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dolomites 2023]]></title><description><![CDATA[Some photos from a trip to the Italian Dolomites mountain range, in the summer of 2023. Featuring Monte Antelao, Corvara and the Sassongher.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/dolomites-2023</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6515a21bd046b92952d00c38</guid><category><![CDATA[Travel / Trip Report]]></category><category><![CDATA[Landscape]]></category><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 30 Sep 2023 18:00:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_acea9a72212747ee81f18753a863f05c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[Some photos from a trip to the Italian Dolomites mountain range, in the summer of 2023.
I first visited the Dolomites in 2019, and have been keen to return ever since. That was a camping and hiking trip, which I really enjoyed, but such is the convenience and infrastructure there, it's also very easy to have a more relaxing time there - which was the case this time around.
 
<h2>Cortina d'Ampezzo & Monte Antelao</h2>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_acea9a72212747ee81f18753a863f05c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Monte Antelao mountain on a cloudy summer afternoon"></figure>
I love Monte Antelao and I was really keen to photograph it again, after a difficult shoot there last time around. It towers over the Cortina valley bellow, looking every bit the "King of the Dolomites", as it's sometimes known.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_e3ff063e29454fd2a9602c4609e48595~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Close-up photo of the peak of Monte Antelao in swirling cloud"></figure>
Last time I visited, we hiked up the mountainside to a view point at about 5am, and I struggled with the huge difference in brightness between the cloudless sky and the mountain range in shadow. This visit was the complete opposite; taking chair lift rides up the mountain, and photographing in low-contrast, hazy light. Personally, I much preferred these conditions, and the clouds really added scale and drama. I'm really glad I got back there.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_5ff60428966547abb14f4953f69da464~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="black and white photo of Monte Antelao and the north face Laste"></figure>
One last portrait of Antelao, in black and white this time. It's really the classic mountain shape, and very appealing, visually. I think it might be the perfect mountain, and I took so many photos of it, it was hard to narrow them down to just these three.
This photo also gives a great view of the "Laste", as it's known; the steep flat surface of the north face. You'd have to be mad to try and climb it, but apparently people do. 
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ac3c8282f8b24a7891e7bad4b6a9f863~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Dolomite Mountain in cloud with dark sky"></figure>
I've tried and failed to lookup the name of this 'mini Antelao', which is just next door (to the North), straddling between Antelao and Punta Sorapis. Anyway, regardless of my inability to research, I really like this shot. The quickly moving misty clouds combining with the mountain peak and the distant rain clouds very well indeed, and there were just enough gaps in the high clouds to let in some angled sunlight.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_81adc36de6a94670b762d778430c21a8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Croda de Lago mountain range in the dolomites"></figure>
This is the Croda de Lago range, which I feel should be a great shot, but I didn't really nail it on either this visit or the last. Again I've gone form crazy contrast last time, to not enough this time. This attempt has a little drama in the sky, at least.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ffbd05bf702a40dda4887d8766196500~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Dolomite view from Rifugio Pomedes"></figure>
This view is over towards the Cinque Torri area. I liked the green meadows on these lower hillsides, and the relaxing effect of the low-contrast light.
 
 
<h2>Corvara</h2>
Sitting more centrally in the Dolomites, is Corvara, and this town is dominated by the towering mountain behind; the Sassongher. This is a bit of a postcard shot, but very typical of the area.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b881144e60084a88bc13fbd1d5ac4ec9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Corvara and the Sassongher mountain behind"></figure>
 
Channelling my Ansel Adams here, this is another view of the Sassongher, behind the foreground firs.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_877649b8b2e848e4aed4cf5b0e8944ee~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Sassongher mountain with fir trees in black and white"></figure>
 
One thing I like about the lower slopes of the Dolomite mountains is the ability of the pine forest to flourish against such stark surroundings. The deep greens are a great contrast to the trademark grey and yellow cliff faces. I have <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/dolomite-forest-3" target="_blank">another photo</a> similar to this, that I love from my first trip.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b08dca17543c4260893e50ac72f94fb0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Dolomites mountain forest"></figure>
 
This last photo shows an adjacent section of the same cliff-side, taken during the low, angled light of the evening. I find it magical and inspiring in equal measure to think that even in such precarious environments as this, the forest can take root, and provide an entire habitat for a wealth of species within.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_899e6e3e853d4c699266c55ea74ece10~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Cliff-side mountain forest in Corvara, Italy"></figure>
 
<h2>The Laste Word</h2>
I'm sure I'll be back in the Dolomites at some point. It's been popular with Alpinists and skiers for decades, and now it's probably up there with Iceland as the place to visit for European landscape photographers. That's partly due to it's conveniently central location within the continent, but it has many other strong points. You can shoot the icons and the famous locations, but you can also find many hidden, less obvious, or abstract views there. You can also hike as much or as little as you like, due to the accessibility of the lifts and cable cars. Likewise the availability of food, drink, and shelter in the many 'rifugio' mountain huts makes exploration a joy. Just one minor point; If you're one of the many people running a gelato shop in the Dolomites, and you're closing between 12 and 3pm, you need to take a long hard look at yourself and the service you're providing. That's the peak gelato window right there, and they almost all close for the duration. 12:01? No scoop for you!
One thing's for sure though; that when I do return next, I'll probably be going back to enjoy Antelao again, and I can be fairly confident of enjoying it in different conditions yet again.
If you liked these photos, check out <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/landscape-photography-dolomites" target="_blank">my post from 2019</a>, and see how they compare to my first visit.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Iceland - 10 Years On]]></title><description><![CDATA[A celebration of 10 years since my first visit to Iceland, and a collection of landscape photo blog posts I've shared since 2013.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/iceland-10-years-on</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64e5f61d01e325ac486e1fdb</guid><category><![CDATA[Travel / Trip Report]]></category><category><![CDATA[Landscape]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 28 Aug 2023 07:00:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c42b896e8ef44eaa9a3efaee1fa0afb3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[I realised recently that September will mark 10 years since my first visit to Iceland, and a trip that injected a real wanderlust and focus to our travels and my landscape photography journey. That first trip in 2013 was one of the most influential experiences in my life, and prompted us to explore more Nordic countries & northern landscapes ever since, including trips to <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/tags/sweden" target="_blank">Sweden</a>, <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/tags/finland" target="_blank">Finland</a>, <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/tags/norway" target="_blank">Norway</a>, Denmark, and <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/tags/greenland" target="_blank">Greenland</a>, as well as a further 6 return-visits to <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/tags/iceland" target="_blank">Iceland</a> itself. The natural landscapes in Iceland are obviously incredible and make for great fun to photograph, but more than that it's the culture and character of the people and their values which provides the deepest connection, and keeps me so besotted with this tiny island.
 
To celebrate this anniversary I was putting together a blog post of my favourite Icelandic landscape photos, but to be honest, they're already all over several previous blog posts. So I thought rather than repeat the same content again, I'd create a kind of 'Iceland directory' blog post, to provide a jumping-off point to the different Icelandic photo blog posts on my website. 
 
<h2>The South Coast</h2>
<h3><a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/landscape-photography-iceland" target="_blank">Landscape Photography In Iceland</a> </h3>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_bf263481a6ea4c5e8f8c7f59d1eb078a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_600,h_400,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="canvas print of Skógafoss waterfall in south iceland hanning on my living room wall"></figure>
Iceland's south coast is very popular, and certainly it's busiest area, but it's still where I'd suggest first-timer's focus their visit. This post covers the most popular viewpoints, and contains a photo of Skógafoss waterfall that I took in 2013, which now hangs on canvas, on our living room wall.
 
 
<h3><a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/iceland-2020-the-south-coast" target="_blank">Iceland 2020: The South Coast</a> </h3>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_e337522371f6467f8df50f8f4c8457c1~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="glacier in south iceland"></figure>
I spent more time on the South coast in the rainy summer of 2020. These photos are better on a technical level than the ones I took 7 years prior, so that's rewarding, but they're probably less mainstream too. They show another side to the features of that coastline, which always look different depending on the light and the weather.
 
<h3><a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/wave-photography-with-a-painterly-feel" target="_blank">Wave Photography with a Painterly Feel</a> </h3>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_3ab5d1f68bef40a784c5937ddc46adf7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="rough seas at Reynisfjara beach in south iceland"></figure>
A set of photos from a stormy Reynisfjara beach.
This is a notorious black-spot for dangerous tides and currents, and in 2015 we were treated to classic stormy conditions. I decided to take the opportunity to capture some slow-exposures, in the style of classic 18th-century seascape paintings.
 
 
<h2>Highlands</h2>
<h3><a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/iceland-2020-fjallabak-nature-reserve" target="_blank">Iceland 2020: Fjallabak Nature Reserve</a> </h3>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_dbb75ba2d0044317944b7062135d9a35~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_960,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Mountains in Landmannalaugar, in the Fallabak Nature Reserve, Iceland"></figure>
Landmannalaugar and the Fjallabak Nature Reserve are the most accessible areas of the Southern Highlands, but they're still not especially easy to get to, and they offer no accommodation beyond camping or the bleakest of mountain huts. But they're as spectacular as it gets. Twice now I've found myself tired of the practical issues with this area after previous visits, but just as before I'm pining to go back again, such is the draw of this unique landscape.
 
 
<h2>Laugavegur Trail</h2>
The Laugavegur trail is a 55km multi-day trekking trail in the south-west highlands of Iceland. The route runs between Landmannalaugar and Thórsmörk (Þórsmörk). I hiked it with fellow landscape photographer <a href="https://www.elliothook.co.uk/" target="_blank">Elliot Hook</a>, who also shared some great <a href="https://www.elliothook.co.uk/category/iceland/" target="_blank">photos</a> from the hike. We just passed 5 years since this trip, which is insane as it still feels like yesterday. This is one of my favourite landscape photos ever, and we also have this framed at home too.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_54b6c0062cf44debaf25d08dd884ddb0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_872,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Hvanngil Valley Sunset - landscape photo from the Laugavegur Trail"></figure>
This trip really gave me the confidence to up my ambitions, both for what my landscape photography could be, and more-so what kind of adventures I am able to undertake.
 
I shared two blog posts from this epic trip:
 
<h3><a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/photography-laugavegur-trail" target="_blank">Photography on the Laugavegur Trail</a> </h3>
This a collection of my favourite photos from the Laugavegur Trail hike.
 
<h3><a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/trekking-photography-laugavegur-trail" target="_blank">Trekking and Photography: The Laugavegur Trail</a> </h3>
An in-depth blog post about the logistics of the hike with advice for anyone considering trying it themselves.
 
 
<h2>Ice</h2>
After my second visit in 2015 I shared a collection of ice-themed photos, called <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/ice-iceland" target="_blank">Putting the 'Ice' in Iceland</a>. Then earlier this year I shared <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/ice-photography" target="_blank">another ice-based blog post</a>, which featured photos from many of my favourite Icelandic locations taken since then.
 
 
<h2><a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/anonymous-iceland" target="_blank">Anonymous Iceland</a> </h2>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f287d17fb546494c8da48ce2d0e7776f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="volcanic landscape from Emstrur in the highlands of iceland"></figure>
Last summer I shared this post, celebrating the lesser-known places I've encountered in Iceland over the last decade. They're generally quieter scenes than feature in the other posts, some with no proper subject at all, beyond attempting to convey the feel of the place. These often unexpected and unplanned scenes are part of the great joy of Iceland, and why it's so hard to tire of.
 
 
<h2>More To Come</h2>
At the moment I'm focussing on some nature photography portrait projects closer to home (hope to share those later this year), but I feel sure there will be more photos from Iceland in my future, and also from those adventures in countries it has inspired me to visit.
If you haven't already, join my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/mailing-list" target="_blank">mailing-list</a> to get all my photos, news, and blog posts going forward.
 
-
George
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_e32dd5ce53b8485a8bb53365de0d5cda~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Super-Wide Framed Print of "Hvanngil Valley Panorama", from the Laugavegur Trail, 2018."alt="Framed Print of "Hvanngil Valley Panorama" photo from the highlands of Iceland"></figure>
 
 
 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Owl Portraits]]></title><description><![CDATA[I've got a new photo of my favourite bird, the great grey owl. This post features a couple of new photos, and some of my favourites.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/owl-portraits</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64bf9b6bb20690dd20887ac2</guid><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><category><![CDATA[Low-Key]]></category><category><![CDATA[High-Key]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2023 07:00:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_1350e59699894aad91fd4b3097e11a7e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[I've got a new photo of probably my favourite bird, the great grey owl.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_1350e59699894aad91fd4b3097e11a7e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Great Grey Owl"alt="portrait of a great grey owl against a dark woodland background (Strix nebulosa) ."></figure>
 
I took this photo last year, and have spent several months debating the visual style I wanted for it.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_4f2114485c474358b87a8d057b271874~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Great Grey Owl - On Black"alt="a low-key style portrait of a Great Grey Owl (Strix nebulosa)."></figure>
Originally, when I took it and first processed it, I was after a photo of this beast-of-a-bird, in the classic <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/on-black" target="_blank">low-key style, on black</a>. I've decided to include that original-intention version here also, in case you're interested. Normally I prefer this 'studio portrait' look, but with this photo, I prefer the version with less contrast and a hint of it's woodland context. You can decide for yourself whether I've picked the best one or not.
 
Great grey owls are largest species of owl by size, and they live in all the cold parts of the world that capture my imagination such as Scandinavia & Canada's boreal forest. I've been fortunate enough to see this 'phantom of the north' in the wild a couple of times. Both in Finland and both unfortunately only brief, road-side sightings. This photo is of a captive bird, in the UK, that I photographed at a UK conservation centre, but I'd love to photograph one in the wild some day.
 
 
<h2>More Owls</h2>
I thought while I'm sharing that new one, it was a good time to share some more owls from over the years. This first one is one that never fitted into any previous blog posts. It's a barn owl from <a href="https://www.teachingtalons.co.uk/" target="_blank">Teaching Talons</a>; a local animal encounters & education company. Previously I shared the <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/tags/teaching-talons" target="_blank">low-key photos I took of their animals</a>, but as a high-key portrait, this one never got it's moment in the spotlight. I like it though. It has a kind of graphical quality to it, like a <a href="https://www.benrotheryillustrator.co.uk/" target="_blank">Ben Rothery</a> illustration, whose work I adore.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_bee8ff72411d4e73b67fdcc8c4e9bb9b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Barn Owl - On White"alt="portrait of a barn owl (tyto alba) against a white background"></figure>
 
Sticking with Teaching Talons for a moment, this is a Southern White Faced Owl. I got a <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/low-key-nature-photography-owls" target="_blank">good set of photos of this one owl</a>, who seemed to be loving the opportunity to model for us.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ebe19c62628344ef91a988eadf6bb33f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Southern White Faced Owl - On Black - Lean-In"alt="portrait of a Southern White Faced Owl against a black background"></figure>
 
Back in 2014 I was living the dream on a photo day at the <a href="https://britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/" target="_blank">British Wildlife Centre</a>, photographing this long eared owl in a bluebell wood. As the light dappled through the woodland canopy, a spotlight passed over this bird as he perched on a wood stump, leaving the background in relative shadow. If you follow this blog regularly, you'll know that this situation is like catnip to me, and I quickly snapped away. Props to the bird for the death-stare too. You wouldn't want to be a vole in that woodland.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_6193e8a7dc0f4242a77763c295290538~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Long Eared Owl - In Bluebell Woodland"alt="Long Eared Owl - In Bluebell Woodland photographed at the british wildlife centre"></figure>
 
Another shot from that same day at BWC, and a close-up of another native species; the tawny owl. This time he's perched in a hollowed area of a tree, keeping an eye out.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_18c6f6305b9e40308af58012467a7422~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Tawny Owl"alt="tawny owl in the hollow part of tree, in a bluebell wood, uk"></figure>
I'm pleased to say that a similar photo of mine features on the home page for <a href="https://newwoodlands.org/" target="_blank">New Woodlands</a>; a charity supporting tree-planting in the UK. Check out their website for more information and why this is so important.
 
I'll finish with this guy. He's an African Spotted Owl. I love the expression on him, and his nonsymmetrical 'ear tufts'. I normally strive for symmetry and 'perfect posture' in my portraits, but it really does help when the subject presents themself in a different way, compelling the final image to reflect their own personality.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_22a60c64b5864e08a2e670edc3ddc559~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="African Spotted Owl - On White"alt="high-key portrait of an African Spotted Owl on a white background"></figure>
 
They're not ear tufts either. Like all owls, his ears are on the side of his head underneath his facial disc feathers, which act like a satellite dish funnelling sound to the ears. You can see that 'facial disk' in all owls, but most clearly in the great grey owl - the best of all the owls.
 
<h2>Prints, Obvs.</h2>
You can order prints of some of these photos from my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/nature" target="_blank">Fine Art Nature gallery</a>, and if you can't find the one you want, just <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/contact" target="_blank">get in touch</a>.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f4ecbd8471ae432c81a0bc946b8f2208~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Framed Print"alt="Framed print of my African Spotted Owl on a wall with some spare frames below"></figure>
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Chimp Portraits]]></title><description><![CDATA[A pair of low-key portrait photographs of chimpanzees, taken at my local zoo. Sharing now after inspiration from Chimp Empire, on Netflix.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/chimp-portraits</link><guid isPermaLink="false">648c689df9b6cdf78ebb090e</guid><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Low-Key]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 18 Jun 2023 15:09:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_857bcba7b16a4e009ede9a4732185741~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_667,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[I was watching the excellent <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81311783" target="_blank">Chimp Empire</a> on Netflix recently, and with all the fantastic close-ups in that series it got me hankering to photograph some chimps. Then I remembered I'd photographed some before - at my local zoo - ten years ago. So I dug into my Lightroom library and there they were.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_857bcba7b16a4e009ede9a4732185741~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_667,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Chimp Portriat #1"alt="A male chimpanzee photographed in low-key style against a black background"></figure>
 
As a species, Chimpanzees (& Bonobos) are our closest living relatives. That doesn't mean, as some like to infer, that we evolved from them. More that we branched from the same common ancestor species, around six million years ago.
 
For a really fantastic visual exploration of evolution, check out the <a href="https://www.onezoom.org/life/@=770315" target="_blank">Tree of Life at One Zoom.org</a>. I could get lost in that for hours.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_54556ce983a247e29bf09db77d154eec~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_750,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Chimp Portrait #2"alt="A male chimpanzee photographed in low-key style against a black background"></figure>
 
In all honesty Chimps are not one of my favourite species. Their society is dominated by politics, anxiety, and violence; all well explored in <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81311783" target="_blank">Chimp Empire</a>. It's very clearly a snapshot of our own relatively recent past, and in many cases, present. And for me that's what's interesting about them as a photographic subject. Such is the similarity in facial structure, posture, gestures, etc., We see ourselves in them more readily than in other species. And that's what all my portraits are attempting to do. With chimps, that comparison comes very easily to both photographer and viewer.
 
I recommend <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81311783" target="_blank">Chimp Empire</a>. The scale of it was vast, and the story, cinematography, and attention-to-detail mind-blowing. I would have loved more of it, to be honest. I hope there'll be another series in the future. It's also from the same director as the Oscar-winning <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81045007" target="_blank">My Octopus Teacher</a>, which I recommend even more highly. One of the best documentaries I've seen.
 
-
George
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Puffin Portraits]]></title><description><![CDATA[Portrait photos of the icon Atlantic Puffin, which I've been fortunate to see at UK shores, and at Látrabjarg in the Westfjords of Iceland.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/puffin-portraits</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6472130e519014c161b7d606</guid><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 29 May 2023 09:34:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_751774e311754d38b8bd8b518b0fe77f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[As summer rolls around, I miss my trips to our UK seabird colonies, and in particular the puffins, which are great fun to watch, hear, and capture in photographs. At some point, I'll get back to them, but in the meantime, I've got a few photos from the archive that I never got around to sharing before - starting with my new favourite...
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_751774e311754d38b8bd8b518b0fe77f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Puffin Head Shot"alt="A puffin portrait photograhed against a black background"></figure>
I like this one because the framing and two-thirds angle is so much like a corporate head-shot. It's formal, but with a splash of character. He looks like the new head of Sales, who's out-of-his-depth on day one. I like it a lot.
 
This second photo is from the same trip, to <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/puffin-photos-2017" target="_blank">Skomer in 2017</a>. 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_d802ffd31d344b86a7ed8239b238add3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Puffin on Peach Sky"alt="atlantic puffin against a peach coloured sunset sky"></figure>
 
<h2>Icelandic Puffins</h2>
A couple of years ago, we visited the Westfjords in Iceland, and Látrabjarg; one of Europe's largest largest sea cliffs, and sea bird colonies. In true Icelandic style, the weather was rubbish, and I couldn't get any portraits like those above, but it was fun to capture some wider shots of the rugged environment they call home every summer.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_55fd1434d3d343dc9297464b2fa77244~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Puffin on Cliff"alt="an atlantic puffin on Látrabjarg cliff, in the westfjords of iceland"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c3f67ce5bcf345ae87fa3d575232f62d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Puffin on Cliff-Top"alt="an atlantic puffin on Látrabjarg cliff, in the westfjords of iceland, with the ocean behind"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_776fc2efcf7f424cbddc13fa45308146~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Atlantic Puffin"alt="an atlantic puffin on Látrabjarg cliff, in the westfjords of iceland, looking out to sea"></figure>
 
<h2>From My Website</h2>
If you're up for more Puffin portraits, check out my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/nature" target="_blank">Fine Art Nature gallery</a>, where you'll find the following favourite puffin photos, amongst others.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_096c96ab24a248e0aa3494373a6ae235~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Puffin on White"alt="high-key portriat of an atlantic puffin, framed on the wall of a modern home interior"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_d485c4115a734f02ba884c43af9eaa58~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Puffin On Black"alt="low-key portrait of an atlantic puffin against a black background"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_d4994ee7b2794c4482a1b3f03f4497cb~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Puffin Sunset Portriat"alt="framed photo of an atlantic puffin, on the wall of a home"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_aa5768742be64fc6b0a652140ec4e76f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Low Light Puffin"alt="framed photo of a puffin on a dark wall, above a sofa in a living room"></figure>
 
 
I'd really like to get out to a puffin colony again next year. There are several around the UK. But we'll have to see what's possible, as I juggle other priorities. Until then these photos still provide great memories, and represent some of my best UK wildlife photography.
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Two Red Deer Photos Added To The Website]]></title><description><![CDATA[Two new photos for my Deer gallery, which are now available to order as wall art prints. One in low-key style and one in high-key style.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/two-red-deer-photos-added-to-the-website</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64452e690a7cef55c6b9cd13</guid><category><![CDATA[Deer]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><category><![CDATA[Low-Key]]></category><category><![CDATA[High-Key]]></category><category><![CDATA[Wildlife]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 24 Apr 2023 10:00:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_553d37f828ae4f99842a5165fe574f02~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[It's a shorter blog post this time, just to announce that I've recently added a couple of photos, new to my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/deer" target="_top">Deer</a> gallery. One on black and one on white.
 
<h2>Red Deer In The Dark</h2>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_553d37f828ae4f99842a5165fe574f02~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer In The Dark"alt="A red deer in low light from the setting sun, in low-key style against a black background"></figure>
I took this photo one evening. I'm always looking for deer in this kind of low light, illuminated against a background in shadow. On this occasion I was particularly lucky with the angle of the light, which cuts across his body in a lovely, dramatic way, and brings out a lot of detail in fur and antlers. <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/red-deer-in-the-dark" target="_top">Now available in print >></a>
 
 
<h2>Red Deer Prince</h2>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_0cdb05ae140c4696a62d4e0435285e51~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Prince"alt="a large male red deer, with impressive antlers, photographed in high-key style against a white background"></figure>
This is a younger red deer, with a more slight figure, but an impressive rack of antlers all the same. In a few years he could be ruling the roost, but for now he struts his stuff on the fringes, without directly challenging the older 'kings' of the herd. As a character, he was bold, and walked right past me on his way. As always, I was able to capture this apparently close-up portrait from a safe distance, with a long lens. As he turned his head slightly to get a good look, he adopted the perfect posture for a portrait, while offering a great angle on those antlers. What I most like about this photo is the eye contact and the openness of the pose - like he's knowingly posing. That's my favourite way to photograph animals, and it's true of both of these two. I retained a subtle tone in the background on this one, to reduce the contrast slightly, and keep the image from looking too stark. <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/red-deer-prince" target="_top">Now available in print >></a>
 
 
<h2>Red Deer Prints</h2>
I took both of these photos in 2021, during <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/categories/deer" target="_top">a very productive autumn</a> for me, and with so many deer photos to deal with at the time, these two simply slipped through the net. But on subsequent revisits through my back-catalogue, they consistently stood out as favourites of, and also as strong representations of my work, which should be on my website. They also fit well in my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/on-black" target="_top">On Black</a> and <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/on-white" target="_top">On White</a> galleries, to complement my existing collection of <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/deer" target="_top">Deer Photography</a>.
 
Now they're on my website, these photos are available to order in print, for wall art. Like all the photos on my web <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries" target="_top">galleries</a>, they're available as <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/prints" target="_top">Fine Art Prints</a>, <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/prints" target="_top">Canvas Wraps</a>, or <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/prints" target="_top">Rolled Canvas</a>.
 
Here are some renderings of them as prints...
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_e3c51afde31d488aa8c7e7dd431c0137~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="a modern living space with red deer print wall art, a chaise-longue, and shelving unit."></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c4c4c984c5814b02ba795ee4e21a6362~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="artists studio equipment sitting on a shelf beneath a canvas print of a large red deer on a black background."></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_665e9216846c4af7bc2fa311a4746e55~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="A framed photo of a large male red deer, with large antlers, in high-key style on a white background."></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_5bc8320dd4654966a58fbe0f8ca4f633~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="A light living space featuring a contemporary wall art print of a red deer, in high-key style, framed on the wall above a dressing table."></figure>
 
-
George
 
<hr>
<h2>Featured Photos</h2>
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[In Celebration Of Seasons]]></title><description><![CDATA[Enjoying the four seasons we get in the Northern hemisphere, that drives the constant progression of nature's annual cycle.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/celebration-of-seasons</link><guid isPermaLink="false">640ef8e838d91752ac7b9dda</guid><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Landscape]]></category><category><![CDATA[Wildlife]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 27 Mar 2023 10:30:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_200a462b9d314193bfa68c26759b05f2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[As we move into spring, I thought it would be a nice time to acknowledge how lucky we are in this part of the world to have four distinct seasons. I find the constantly progressing seasonal changes to be life-affirming, and inspiring. In the busyness of everyday life it's easy to overlook the refreshing change of scene they usher in.
 
I can imagine many people would prefer to have summer all year round - or at least for longer than we do get it in the UK. But personally, I'd find that dull. I really value the slow march of our tri-monthly window dressing. It keeps you on your toes, and when I'm bored or out for a walk, I like to look for evidence of where nature is in it's annual cycle, and to look for clues to it's readiness for the next transition. It's a great mindfulness exercise for mental health; experiencing life in the moment and tuning into the progress of the seasons. From budding trees in February & March, to amber autumn ferns, and right through to the gloaming of the winter solstice. The seasons track time consistently, always hinting at what's coming next, like a real-life season-finale cliff-hanger.
 
This blog post celebrates the joy of the seasonal changes we experience, and some of my favourite seasonal photos.
 
<h2>Winter</h2>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_24c328939aa34802a68f41e2c643fad1~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer - Blizzard Portrait"alt="Close-up photo of a red deer stag with antlers, in the snow, with trees behind, taken in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
I took this deer photo one January, a few years ago. Sadly, we don't get snow as regularly as we used to, so this is now an increasingly rare opportunity. I spent hours out in the sub-freezing weather that day. My feet were like ice by the time I got home, but it's a memory that's stayed with me ever since. It's always worth going out and getting wet and cold. Then you get home, warm up, and down a stodgy pudding - maybe fruit crumble. That's a proper winter experience.
 
I'd love to live somewhere with a few months of snow every year. The photo below depicts a harsh winter, in Finland. I like the graphic nature of this image, and the way that the snow on the ground and in the air simplifies everything. It just makes me want to be there, walking with the sound of snow under foot.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_54b89087087843a0bf432cd1b9b73c6a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Tunturiaapa Mire in Snow"alt="dead fir trees in winter snow, in Tunturiaapa, Northern Finland."></figure>
 
Back home now, and another winter favourite; grey seal pupping season. The UK is home to 95% of Europe's grey seals, and witnessing a colony in winter is one of our great wildlife spectacles, in my opinion.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_29ce0ba4d06e42e78deb97c027edf841~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Grey Seal Pup"alt="A grey seal pup laying in on its back on a Norfolk beach, in black and white"></figure>
 
I've frozen my hands and feet on a blustery winter beach enough times to recall it very well. It's not everyone's idea of fun, but you really know you're alive when you do these things.
 
By late February, there are signs of spring on the way. I like to check the trees I walk past, and by this time of year they're full of budding leaves. They look ready to go, but they show remarkable patience; waiting until the day-length reaches their required trigger-point. For me, seeing those budding trees is a sure sign spring is just around the corner. 
 
 
<h2>Spring</h2>
A favourite season for many, where landscapes are transformed green, and nature imbues positivity across the board. Right now many of the trees in our area are adorned with catkins; a precursor to the imminent arrival of those leaves, which won't be long now.
Personally I just can't think of spring without going straight to bluebells. They're one of my favourite subjects for landscape photography, and they epitomise the season for me. They're another British speciality, and I strongly recommend getting out for a walk in a bluebell wood if you can. It's multi-sensory experience. This photo is a favourite of mine as it's multi-shot <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/panoramas" target="_blank">panorama</a>, so it's huge and packed with little details.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_200a462b9d314193bfa68c26759b05f2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Spring Bluebell Woodland"alt="a carpet of bluebells feels the first warm rays of sun, in Buckinghamshire, UK."></figure>
 
I guess the springtime wildlife cliché would be hatching chicks or fluffy bunnies. At this time of year, I prefer my bunnies in chocolate form. After all, it's important to eat seasonally. Photographically, there's another member of the Leporidae family I enjoy, and that's the brown hare. They're more active in spring, with their 'boxing', and easier to see than in summer, when the long grass / crops provide keep them hidden from sight. I took this 'close-up' with a long lens, and I really like how it captures the physicality of that wiry hair, and the thought behind that huge eye staring back.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7fd5b835e03545bb8645d2e703c962f2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Brown Hare Close-Up"alt="frame-filling close-up portrait of a brown hare, in Suffolk, UK."></figure>
 
In spring 2020, during the golden age of covid lock-downs, I amused myself by collecting and photographing freshly-sprung leaves from our local area. At the time, <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/spring-woodland-photography" target="_blank">I was creating single 'leaf portraits'</a>, but at some point since then I decided to combine them into a collage image, along with the tree name, and scientific species name. I don't know why. We have plenty of tea towels as it is. But I found it satisfying to do, and pleasing as a result.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_289f0d99f6d54d8180ff0e741d079bdd~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Spring Leaf Collage"alt="A collection of leaves from British trees in my local area"></figure>
 
<h2>Summer</h2>
Many nature, and particularly landscape photographers go into hibernation during the summer. We don't like the light, you see. But more recently I've begun to enjoy the lush greens and the busyness of nature, particularly in the early summer. In the last two years I've been out to catch up with the red deer, as they grow their enormous antlers at incredible speed. I've got <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/summertime-deer" target="_blank">a few nice pictures of them at this 'velvet' stage of the year</a>, but I think this one is my favourite. The colours are muted, and the textures likewise. I sometimes like a portrait that tells its story without eye-contact.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ee48d340eaf4401ea17e2306fd9c95b0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Spring"alt="a large red deer with antlers in mid-growth (velvet), in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
In my opinion, the best wildlife encounter in the UK is available during the summer months, when half a million Atlantic Puffins come ashore to raise their chicks. I'd also have puffin colonies up there as my favourite destination for British wildlife photography too. I haven't had a chance to visit in the last few years, but I hope to return one day. Puffins make great company for sunrise or sunset, however exhausting those times are during high summer.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_73537431718446b1b0d28deee29ce827~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_960,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Puffins at Sunset"alt="puffins standing on the cliffs of Skomer Island, Pembrokshire, Wales, UK"></figure>
 
Another midsummer adventure I've enjoyed was back in Finland, where I was <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/brown-bear-photography-trip-to-finland" target="_blank">photographing brown bears</a>, in June 2015. Within the vast Finnish Taiga forest, there are many areas of grassy marshland, which flower in June to create this 'cotton-grass' effect, creating the perfect surroundings to photograph bears.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7be90c431aa7404ab9ad93146f5b5274~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Bear in the Cotton Grass"alt="a large european brown bear looks up from the cotton grass meadow, in Northen Finland."></figure>
 
By the end of the summer, I'm thoroughly sick of the heat, the trees and grass are a pale imitation of their springtime hue, and I've been to enough BBQs to tide me over until next year. I'm just not a shorts and flip-flops guy. I miss wearing my boots. My lovely brown boots.
 
<h2>Autumn</h2>
As soon as temperatures will allow, I'm back in my boots, and feeling more like myself again. I reckon autumn is my favourite season. It's my busiest season, photographically, and I'm always ready by the time it comes around.
The <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/tags/rut" target="_blank">deer rut</a> is a great time to photograph red deer, when they're most active, and I've taken most of <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/deer" target="_blank">my best deer photos</a> during autumn.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_931ab0aaed574c4e91990e2c4c02bd6c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Portrait"alt="A large male red deer head with huge, complex antler structure."></figure>
 
The sights, smells, and feel of autumn are what make it the most rich, vibrant, and cosy season. When cold, damp nights, transition to warmer sun-lit mornings, we get mist and fog, adding an extra layer of atmosphere to everything. A good day for me, would be walking around an autumn woodland, brushing my boots through a kaleidoscope of fallen leaves, damp undergrowth, and crackling twigs, getting home tired, and warming up with a thick hot chocolate.
This is a view from Loughrigg Fell, in the Lake District. It's a popular spot with photographers, which is often best at sunrise. But this is the hillside at sunset, which I think reflects the classic colours of the season.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_69465489ff92456e8f0d5318eca38e3e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Loughrigg Fell Sunset"alt="light rays cover the valley and trees in the lake district, England."></figure>
 
Returning to the <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/autumn-leaf-photos" target="_blank">leaf project</a>, this is the autumn collage. Again, I'm not sure what the end goal is for this, but I like them all arranged and categorised like this.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7e69659f1be149b3b2333590467f7be6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Autumn Leaf Collage"alt="A collection of autumn leaves from British trees, found in Flitwick, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
Four roughly equal seasons are normal to me, but of course it's not like that all over the world. Further north, spring and autumn get more and more compressed; dominated by the extremes of the cold, dark winter and bright, mild summer. I think I'd be OK with that, though I'm sure those long winters drag. And I'd struggle with the constant sunlight in the summers. In the tropics; the central band around the earth, the climate is warm all year round, and only two seasons are in effect; the wet season and the dry season. You hear those terms often enough, but I find it hard to imagine what it must be like living in those environments. For me, the regularity of the changing seasons keeps me in touch with the real world - outside home life, work life, the internet, etc. The constant march of nature's progression, appears to be an instinctive annual body clock. And the pacing is perfect; by the time each season comes around, I'm ready for it, because it's been just the right amount of time since we last experienced it.
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Big Cat Photography]]></title><description><![CDATA[Photos of Lions, Lynx, Tigers, and Mountain Lion, that I've taken both recently, and in the past. Available as wall art prints.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/big-cat-photography</link><guid isPermaLink="false">63ea64621802edbfb9577dca</guid><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Low-Key]]></category><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 20 Feb 2023 08:00:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_1d8b915ecfba4f85adbb1b0ef4651f23~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[I've had three lion photos ready to share for a while now, but I thought they seemed a little lonely to share in a post on their own. But more recently I photographed another big cat I really like; a lynx. So here's a set of seven new lion and lynx portraits, along with some bonus big cat content afterwards, for fans of all things feline.
 
<h2>Lion</h2>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_1d8b915ecfba4f85adbb1b0ef4651f23~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Lion Portrait"alt="CLose-up portrait photo of an African Lion, with large soft mane."></figure>
 
Probably my favourite lion photo I've taken to date. I've always struggled to photograph them for one reason or another. They've just never seemed to play ball in the past.
 
This particular lion was rescued from a circus, when animal circuses were finally banned in the UK, a few years ago. He's now living a much happier and fulfilled life, with others of his kind. It's beyond me how circuses were allowed to use 'performing' lions for so long - it feels a concept from the 1920s, but in fact it went on for almost 100 years after that - and still does in some parts of Europe.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_258051c1a1a24d6687996e0856a11ecb~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Lion - Front On"alt="Lion facing the camera against a black background"></figure>
 
I'm very grateful though, that I'm able to see such animals in zoos and wildlife centres in the UK. It occurred to me as I was thinking about this post, that I've never seen a big cat in the wild - and probably never will. The wild cats in the places I've visited (UK, Scandinavia, North America) are incredibly secretive, and rarely seen by anyone. I guess there's always the chance I might get to go to India or Africa at some point, but it's not on the cards for the foreseeable future. I've written about <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/zoos-and-captive-wildlife-photography" target="_blank">Zoos and Captive Wildlife Photography</a> before, so I won't repeat too much of that. Suffice to say that when run responsibly, I think they provide an incredible opportunity for everyday people like me to come face-to-face with an animal they would otherwise never get to see. Those experiences are priceless for adults and children, especially those growing up in countries and regions like the UK which eradicated all their large native predators centuries ago.
 
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b3121c30c7b94ed59ef99d8840965452~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Lion - Front On"alt="Close-up portrait of an African Lion against a dark background"></figure>
 
On the day I took these lion photos he broke into a roar on a couple of occasions, and it was unlike anything I have experienced in years of seeing lions on TV. I was two or three meters away from him, and he was generating a sound that penetrated everything around him. The ground was shaking, even the air seemed to be shaking. For me, the accessibility of these captive ambassadors of their species is vital in a world where people live less and less connected to nature. There's simply no replacement for that experience, to get people engaged with wildlife and conservation.
 
<h2>Lynx</h2>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_a003eb8bf85743dbaaa1dc81e1d061d3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Lynx Sunset"alt="A Eurasian lynx standing in the warm light of the setting sun"></figure>
 
Lynx are a species native to the UK, and much of Europe, Russia, and Canada. They've been absent from our island for a long time, but there's a growing movement to reintroduce them here. I for one, would love to see them reintroduced, both for the good of the ecosystem they form part of, and for the positive feeling that would create amongst all those living here. Unfortunately they don't offer the tourism attraction of some other species, since they're so secretive, they'll never be seen. But there are plenty of countries showing how we can live alongside them. And I know I'd be happier going to sleep at night knowing they're out there.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b62efbfa31c84541a22b9fdce567132b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Casual Lynx"alt="A lynx laying down, with its head up, looking at the viewer"></figure>
 
I took these photos late last year, and it's actually one of my favourite times to visit wildlife centres for photography. Firstly, they're not too busy, so the experience is more enjoyable. But also, the early sunset times can overlap with opening times, so you get to shoot through the golden hour.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_58cdcbad811d4ab2a0e250e944ffdfc8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Posing Lynx"alt="a eurasian lynx standing against the soft warm light filtering through foliage"></figure>
 
In truth, I'd have preferred a side-light rather than these back-lighting conditions, but what can you do? The light on the lynx itself (I've re-phrased that, so I don't get bogged down in trying to work out the plural) is fairly flat, with only a little reflected light on its face. Which is certainly not optimal. But on the other hand, the light twinkling through the foliage behind does add something very pleasing to all of these portraits.
Gosh, they've handsome devils.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ac700ee41b7d44c78358ca9ed8e97671~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Lynx Portrait"alt="A lynx sitting up, facing the camera, with yellow back-lit foliage behind."></figure>
 
<h2>Bonus Content: More Big Cats!</h2>
Some from the archive here. First, a cat almost as mysterious and secretive as the lynx. They go by many names; "Cougar", "Puma", or more commonly these days "Mountain Lion". This photo is now over ten years old, but I've rarely shared it, so it's nice to give it a proper outing in a blog post.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_11f9018833fe4627acff87d2c7c0e2d5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Cougar Portrait"alt="A mountain lion (cougar) faces the camera, making eye-contact for this close-up portrait photo"></figure>
 
This black & white tiger photo has been on my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/bengal-tiger-yawn" target="_blank">website print shop</a> for some years, and was an early foray into low-key nature photography, but I still like it.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_33bcd300e49c46c19a085b79900f980f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Bengal Tiger Yawn"alt="black and white photo of a bengal tiger with jaws wide open as it yawns, on a black background"></figure>
 
The last one is another oldie, but I love the pose in this one. He really does seem deep in contemplation here, and the curve of the subject, and weight of composition really works for me.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_aef03c1d0d774bb3bc4e2a6850553a32~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Bengal Tiger Profile"alt="side-on photo of a bengal tiger, photographed low-key, against a black background."></figure>
 
That's it for now. As I said, I've never been anywhere to see cats in the wild, and have often struggled to photograph them in captivity too, so they've been a tricky subject for me. But they're a perennial favourite, and a subject I'll always go back to.
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ice]]></title><description><![CDATA[Nature photography blog post about ice. Photos of glaciers, ice bergs, and ice caves. Taken in Iceland and Greenland.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/ice-photography</link><guid isPermaLink="false">63badf40698bbd1572f0500f</guid><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><category><![CDATA[Landscape]]></category><category><![CDATA[Art]]></category><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 2023 08:00:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_9de1f11535db4b52be93542518bdd79e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[I've got some new photos to share of one of my favourite subjects; ice. So I thought I'd make it a proper blog post and throw in some old favourites too.
 
I think since I first fell in love with the landscapes of the north of the planet, ice has been an enduring muse. I like the way its form can vary so greatly, and its appearance can change almost instantly, depending on the light. On damp, overcast days, glaciers will glow blue. In sunrise & sunset light it will reflect the golden hues. And the direction of the light makes a huge difference too. We can see the same piece of ice from two angles, and get a strikingly different perspective on it, depending on how the light is sweeping over and through it. This post contains a set of photos from several trips over the years, in many different conditions, to show ice in its varied forms.
 
<h2>Glaciers</h2>
Glaciers are huge stores of ice, formed by annual snowfall compacting under its own weight, after centuries of build-up. It's hard to imagine them flowing like rivers, but that's what they do. And this shot illustrates why. The front wall of the glacier stands 20-50 meters out of the water, and the glacier rises several hundred meters behind it. The weight of all that ice behind powers the movement of the glacier forwards.
I like this photo because it shows the height and the depth of the glacier, with each layer experiencing different light and weather conditions.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_cf2efbe993ea4cb394678be6fc8e1125~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Layers of light and Ice"alt="Layers of light and Ice at Fjallsjökull Glacier, in South Iceland"></figure>
 
This is an aerial photo of a glacier in <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/aerial-photography-greenland" target="_blank">Greenland</a>, in the evening sun. What I like here is the contrast in colours between those surfaces blanketed in sunlight and those that are in the shade. It also illustrates the interesting geological process of shifting layers and crevasses within the glacier.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c181d96684b14ae0941c9b849f01930c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Sunlight on Glacier"alt="midnight sun paints the glacier gold"></figure>
 
Those crevasses and layers are even more starkly illustrated in this wider shot, looking out from the glacier itself, and down the ice fjord which ultimately takes the ice out to sea
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_04b3ff509701460db4ca24bf6262eef4~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Jakobshavn Glacier"alt="Jakobshavn Glacier in West Greenland in the midnight sun"></figure>
 
The direction of the light is crucial. From most angles this meltwater pool on the Greenland Ice sheet glows azure blue, but with the bright summer sun in the sky behind, every patch of mist and water in view is painted gold, in contrast to the blue of the shaded ice.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_9a6730f315c143b0ba17a5afbbd40f76~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Gold & Blue"alt="the inland Greenland ice sheet glows gold in the sun and blue in the shade"></figure>
 
Some close-ups of glaciers now, and the classic misty, overcast Icelandic weather creates some of the best conditions to see the deep blues of a glacier. Icelandic glaciers often feature layers of volcanic ash mixed in with the ice, from eruptions of centuries past. I used to dislike that, but now I enjoy the extra dimension it adds, and the story of the landscape that is woven into its appearance.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_1aabb6ea8f1b491884906e4d37a6af26~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Crumpled Ice"alt="layers of ice at the end of a glacier in south iceland"></figure>
 
This is a close-up of the same glacier as the first photo in this post, taken 5 years prior. On this occasion the fog was rolling in, obscuring the higher layers, so I focussed on the front, where the light seemed to be highlighting the giant ice lollies which form the lower regions, ready to collapse into the lagoon at any time.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_0feaa97c7be74418856249252e673e0d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Fjallsjökull Mist & Layers"alt="close-up of the ice at the front of Fjallsjökull glacier in south iceland"></figure>
 
 
<h2>Ice Bergs</h2>
Once those building-sized 'ice lollies' are eroded from the front of the glacier, they drift out to sea, creating all kinds of abstract shapes as they go. I took each of these ice berg photos on a trip to <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/greenland-nature-photography" target="_blank">Greenland, in 2019</a>.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_985978a6e4844ceba4420024ab176d83~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Ilulissat Icefjord Portrait"alt="the Ilulissat Icefjord, full of glaciers, in Disko Bay, West Greenland"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_faacf1c1adcd461f926ca6b6dc19a6e3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Fulmar Against Ice"alt="A northern fulmar flying past a large glacier in Disko Bay, Greenland"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_e2dd9ea847144c2f82791303c6479f3d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Light & Shade"alt="sunlit edge of a glacier in contrast to the shady blue ice, in Disko Bay, Greenland"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7a31a5c37be34a49b1ae2e7ff267bd1f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Blue Ice Abstract"alt="abstract nature photography from Disko Bay, Greenland"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7d7020cabefd48559e009531300f7583~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Frozen Wave"alt="The edge of a large ice berg, in Disko Bay, Greenland"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_95777ac491f0475e818a8db559457cf3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Ice Mountain"alt="a fulmar gliding past a huge rolling glacier in Disko Bay, Greenland"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_5f08fade84574cc8afbcfb95e355ce6e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Ice Berg Portrait"alt="a large ice berg floats out to sea, in the evening sun of Disko Bay, Greenland"></figure>
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_a131f5dff31b49e2bb5c75442ff5013a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Misty Disko Bay"alt="a large sheet of ice floats past the coast of Ilullisat, with the mountains of Disko Island behind, in West Greenland"></figure>
 
 
<h2>Close-Ups</h2>
I took this one in 2013, the first time I visited Iceland. I've never known whether to describe it as '<a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/minimalist-nature-photography" target="_blank">minimalist</a>', or '<a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/abstract-nature-photography" target="_blank">abstract</a>', but neither seem quite right, so I didn't include it in either of those recent blog posts. But I like it. I suppose it could be called a 'study'. I don't know. I guess that's why I take photos. I'd rather show something than try to explain it. It's best viewed large, if that's an option to you. You get a real sparkle from the bright specs amongst the largely black volcanic sand.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_acc8749f5da74a8d866d712bb254fced~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Blue Ice on Black Sand"alt="A lump of ice on the black volcanic sand beach of Jokulsarlon beach in south iceland"></figure>
 
This one's the oldest photo in this post, and I took it near home, on a cold morning when I was out looking for deer. Needless to say the deer hadn't read the script, but there were a few long strands of grass which had collected hoar frost like this, and I set my attention to capturing a close-up of that.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_5b9d9b3afc6e4d64975457a87c07d0f8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Frosted Sail"alt="Hoar frost on a peice of grass, in Bedfordshire, UK."></figure>
 
 
<h2>Ice Caves</h2>
From the oldest to the newest. I took these photos last year. The attraction of visiting this popular ice cave in Breiðamerkurjökull, Iceland, is the combination of abstract shapes and changing light. Every visit is different, and indeed the ice cave itself collapses every summer and reforms every winter, so it's entirely unique each year. I just love the play of light on these surfaces.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_38eaef8800ad455ba726c1b27613efac~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Ice Cave Wall"alt="Ice abstract, from Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland"></figure>
 
Here, the sun shines through the wall of the cave, illuminating the sculpted surface and the varied thickness as the ice.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ef1c6566aca64180916cdcd88e5c17f7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Sunlight Through Ice"alt="sunlight penetrates the wall of a ice cave, in Vatnajökull national park, iceland"></figure>
 
This one looks like the sea, to me.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_9f2478dd62444d189db9eee4e5fc60c6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Frozen Ocean"alt="Ceiling of an ice cave, in Breiðamerkurjökull, Iceland"></figure>
 
The last one is a rare people-photo, and features my wife gallantly posing like a boss at the opening of the cave, as a curtain of meltwater falls behind. This wasn't one of those photo tour set-up shots, where someone poses for five minutes in a predefined spot, and everyone takes the same photo. We had literally seconds to take this, unplanned, after the rest of our guide group had moved on, so I'm really thrilled to have got all the settings and timings right.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_9de1f11535db4b52be93542518bdd79e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Ice Cave Entrance"alt="an adventurous hiker standing at the entrace of the Breiðamerkurjökull ice cave"></figure>
 
 
<h2>Price Freeze</h2>
Speaking of ice, the good news here is there's currently a price freeze on all wall prints from <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com" target="_blank">my website</a>. I tend to revaluate my print prices at the end of each year, as I plan for the next. This year, despite ridiculous inflation and rising printing/shipping costs, I'm keeping prices the same as last year. They're not cheap, by any measure, but it's important to me to keep my prints affordable, so I'm going to absorb those cost increases for the time being. If there's a photo in this post, or my main <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries" target="_blank">image galleries</a> that you'd like on your wall, you can buy online or <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/contact" target="_blank">get in touch for more info</a>.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Autumn Deer Photography 2022 (Part 2)]]></title><description><![CDATA[Photography of the red deer rut, from Woburn in Bedfordshire, in autumn 2022. Some nice portraits, lovely trees, & wall art prints available]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/autumn-deer-photography-2022-part-2</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6389cbd746cdcff9bda65648</guid><category><![CDATA[Deer]]></category><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><category><![CDATA[Wildlife]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 05 Dec 2022 08:01:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_cfb596e1ec1b405e9cb2ba554365f3d2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[Yes, it was another bumper crop of deer photography this year, so this is the second half of the photos from this autumn. <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/autumn-deer-photography-2022" target="_blank">Part 1</a> featured foggy mornings and green foliage. Part 2 contains photos primarily taken in the latter half the of the rutting season, as the sun rises later, and the colour palette becomes much more golden.
 
<h2>Hazy Sunrises</h2>
It's great to be up and about on a cold autumn morning, and seeing these big old stags parading around and bellowing as the sun comes up.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_97aab6fd3b3f46ab83f21425646cf90e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Morning Call"alt="a large red deer bellowing at sunrise on a misty morning in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
I'm not really happy with the defined line of dark trees running across the photo above. It immediately signals that this is a man-made environment, and it's unhelpful aesthetically, too. Maybe I should have led with a stronger image. Well, there are some nice ones to come.
Below, it's the same deer, and I'd angled myself around to use the sun to obscure any sign of that background. That works, but now the whole this is a little washed out, and it's not very easy to see the stag in the end. But I quite like the subtlety of that result.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f7424e023423421e8023df0d048d7d80~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Morning Call II"alt="A large male red deer stag bellows in front of the rising sun, on a misty morning in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
<h2>Black & White</h2>
After a colourful start, we're going in the opposite direction, to some black and white portraits. I really like the posture of this stag, and the look he gives. I might add this one to my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/deer" target="_blank">Deer print gallery</a>.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_0811572a340b40f0a7722976258078c2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Prince"alt="high key portrait photo of a red deer stag with large antlers, on a white background. Taken at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
Sometimes, with a long enough lens, the deer will graze close enough to me for a shot like this. I've tried a few over the years, and they haven't quite worked out. It's easy to end up with an out-of focus head, motion-blurred antlers, or untidy legs But this one's good I think, and his look to camera was perfectly timed; capturing a brief connection. I do wonder what he makes of us.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_dcc885db3df34ac08e40b2e68a39ad55~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Grazing Close-Up"alt="a grazing red deer looks up to the camera, in this black and white photo from Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
Here's that sparring match from the previous blog post, but this time in black and white. I think this is probably the best frame of the tussle, where you can see each stag attempting to force the other backwards, while retaining eye contact with each other. They mean business.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f1b4d32fa5bb40fc81dbb1cc90c09616~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Sparring Red Deer"alt="Two red deer engaged in a battle of strength during the rutting season at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
Relatively close-up again here. It's hard to describe the sound of a red deer bellow. It's kind of like a cross between a cow moo and a chain-saw ticking over. And this particular stag was down the chainsaw end of the scale; really deep, so you could feel it through the air. For quite a while I kept this one in colour, but I was never happy with the colours in it, and when I converted it to black and white, all that distraction was gone, and we're left with a simpler image - which is usually my target with nature photography.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_29920037becc4834994aa9d8c3796bb3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Tony Belleow"alt="Black and white photo of a red deer bellowing, at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
I like this one too. Sometimes the light is just right for emphasising the highlights of a subject like this. In colour it actually washes out the saturation of those highlights, which diminishes the result. But in black and white it concentrates the attention on those points of detail, and contributes to the result. Again, I'm banging on about simplicity, but I like the lack of any other focal point or distraction - despite the deer not being that large in the frame. And the background is nicely textured, without being distracting; owing to the fact that it's not getting any direct sunlight, unlike the subject. Yes, nice one.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b8576b9a44de4f97aa4fd0a04a3e5c6d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Roar in Black & White"alt="black and white photo of a red deer roaring, at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
This is another attempt at something similar to above. It's a matter of taste but I think it's slightly less successful. The trees in the background are more distracting, and the light is less focussed. It's a slightly less concise, less tidy image.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_640a474490494839948b0a0892416ab8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Call of the Wild"alt="black and white photo of a red deer calling, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
<h2>Sika & Fallow Deer</h2>
As well as red deer, <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/tags/woburn" target="_blank">Woburn</a> is home to several other species, including these sika deer, which originate from east Asia. They're smaller than the reds, but quite charismatic in their own way. I like to photograph them when the opportunity arises.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_fdcd97a525fe45bd86c8d2aa02952955~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Sika on Alert"alt="sika deer at Woburn Deer Park, in Bedfordshire, UK."></figure>
 
I like the angle on this chap, and the autumn colour in the background.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_3a67ba4b7d5f4c2c9e856aa209f0d0ec~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Posing Sika Deer"alt="a sika deer standing in front of the autumn trees"></figure>
 
This fallow deer was the only deer I photographed on this visit for sunset. The sun was setting to the side, and I couldn't get an angle to include both the deer and the sun, so I went for the silhouette against the blue sky once the sun was down and the sky takes on this rich twilight blue. I spent quite some time scrabbling around in the mud, at the cost to what little dignity remains, in order to frame up his antlers without any intersecting twigs, leaves, or branches from the tree above - which would have rendered the whole shot useless. Fortunately, the deer stood almost entirely still for a good 20 minutes, during this process, enabling me to keep working away at those angles. I'm also very conscious about legs in silhouette photos too, as they can often look awkward or three-legged, if there are any overlaps.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_24ef784f433a42d5bd70a91d6e9efde9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Fallow Silhouette"alt="silhouette of a fallow deer, at Woburn Deer Park, in Bedfordshire, UK."></figure>
Fallow deer are easy to recognise, as they have flat, wide, 'palmate' antlers, a little bit like mini moose antlers. They were introduced to the UK by the Normans, back in the day.
 
<h2>Autumn Portraits</h2>
We'll end with a little colour. It was a fantastic autumn for colour this year, on account of our good old friend; the climate crisis. It dealt us a powerful summer heatwave, which crippled parts of the ecosystem, and caused many trees to abandon the season entirely, casting their leaves off early. The earthworms would have been loving all the leaf litter around, but for the fact that the ground was too hard for them to penetrate, and reach their amber prize. So by October we were left with a lot of yellow and orange leaf coverage on the floor, as well as the colourful leaves left on the trees. And if you're lucky with the light, you get that extra splash of gold over everything...
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_b72d5c658393430c828a5d8eee35747e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Autumn Roar"alt="red deer roaring in autumn woodland, at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
Well, we saw one just like this, in black & white earlier. It was a different frame, but the same deer in the same place. Here I think colour works best. This image is about the colour of the autumn foliage and warm side-light as much as it's about the deer.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_9c1d8232874740579923b05e47349ee0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Autumn Calls"alt="red deer bellowing in the autumn light, at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
I just thought this was an interesting angle, as it's not often a deer will approach me directly. Of course I'm using a long lens (500mm at this point), so he's not as close as you might think. His low head doesn't exactly make for a triumphant posture, but I like the direct approach and the eye contact. Again the bed of fallen leaves makes for a really nice setting.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_bc21ca0a32324953aafecd51b1e2ed8f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Approaching Deer"alt="a red deer stag walking towards the camera during the red deer rut, at Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
Oh, now then, this is more like it. One of my favourites from this year, for sure.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_cfb596e1ec1b405e9cb2ba554365f3d2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Autumn Red"alt="Red deer in autumnal surroundings of Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, UK"></figure>
The photo above is a classic example of recognising an opportunity as the deer approached from the right, and getting myself in position with a nice supporting background - in case he stops to take a look at me - which they often do. I took two or three frames as he paused for a couple of seconds, and this was my favourite. Front leg slightly raised, reflecting the fleeting moment of pause, and the classic combination of bold-looking posture and cautious hesitation that makes deer such an interesting and relatable species for us. I think there's something innate in our DNA and our evolution that puts us in tune with animals from the deer family, which we've been living alongside for millions of years. Maybe that's why I find them so engaging time after time.
 
<h2>End of Another Year</h2>
Can you believe it? This will be my last blog post for 2022. I'm pleased to have managed another year of writing a blog post each calender month, which is the task I set myself each year. And come the spring, I'll have managed that for a full five years straight, which will feel like quite the achievement, given everything else going on in life, and the fact that I'm really more of a picture guy than a writer. So yay me.
And how about you? Hope all is well. If there's a subject, species, location you want to hear more about, let me know in the comments.
I think January's post is going to be appropriately ice-related. Until then, have a great Christmas. If you want any pictures of deer or anything else, you know where I am.
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Autumn Deer Photography 2022 (Part 1)]]></title><description><![CDATA[Photos of red deer from autumn 2022, in Woburn, Bedfordshire. Misty mornings, amber sunrises, and roaring stags.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/autumn-deer-photography-2022</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6374be27dea399f421ef119f</guid><category><![CDATA[Deer]]></category><category><![CDATA[New Photos]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Wildlife]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2022 08:01:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f52655cade264fcdb057acf0df668bc9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[Autumn deer increasingly feels like the highlight of my annual photography cycle. Even in years when I've had several trips overseas it's always been good to return to photographing a familiar subject in my local patch. Deer are something I can really specialise in, and revisit over-and-over. I spend most of the year looking forward to the autumn, when the deer are most active, thinking about ideas to try next time around. Then the time arrives, and it flies by in a blur of misty sunrises, striking sunsets, dewy grass, tired legs, and hot chocolate. Then I find myself whittling down the photos, deleting all the blurry and dull ones, processing the ones I like, and looking forward to sharing them with the world. And here we are!
Overall it went pretty well for me this time around. Not as many close encounters as <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/low-key-deer-photography" target="_blank">last year</a>, but I got some interesting photos to add to my back-catalogue of existing <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/categories/deer" target="_blank">Deer Photography</a>. I've split this year's haul into two posts because there were slightly too many to cram into one.
This photo is the first frame I took at the start of autumn, shortly before the sun came up.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_3085b21bdd01436a998c7e0794049657~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Dawn Deer Encounter"alt="a large red deer buck, with large antlers, in a field at dawn, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
I wasn't to know at this point, but this individual was to become something of a regular model for me over the following couple of weeks.
 
As the sun did come up a couple of deer locked antlers for a scuffle, and they went on to test their strength like this for some time, allowing me to take plenty of photos.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_a2d6f33ebd50424f8c734495f1891058~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Sunrise Scuffle"alt="Two red deer fighting, with antlers locked, at sunrise, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
It's slightly disappointing that these photos don't really reflect the seriousness of this fight. It looks quite tame here, but they weren't holding back. Meanwhile I was scampering around left and right, trying to keep the sun behind them, because I love the effect of this warm back-lighting, especially when there's a hint of mist, like there was on this occasion. These conditions both help for visual interest, while also reflecting the classic seasonal atmosphere.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_e6657ec228484f4ebe6fb85b7eb3fa85~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Engage"alt="Two red deer stags locking antlers to fight in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
As the sun rises further the light can get a bit harsh, and I no longer want any sky in the photo, due to the high contrast it introduces; being so much brighter that the subject I'm shooting. But we can still benefit from that warm colour by using the back-lit trees and damp grasses which catch and diffuse the light.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_ddeaa9fdacdb4062a9ebedbf9026a4f2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Morning Deer"alt="A large red deer, back-lit in front of some trees, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
Here the light is more harsh than I'd usually shoot. In truth I was walking back to the car by this point. But the combination of bright low sun, mist, dew, and back-lit leaves was too much to resist. Especially as it framed this more peaceful scene of a grazing red deer stag accompanied by two of this year's fallow deer fawns.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_9f145bd0b403468ca9db9771c4f78831~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Crisp Autumn Mornings"alt="a red deer grazes in the morning sunshine, with two fallow deer fawns, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
It's beginning to feel like the whole UK nature photography community only really kicks into gear when we get some mist. And it's true, it does help to add atmosphere, and simplify images. But I have to say I think I'm done with photographing deer in the fog. They're a lot more cautious when one of their defensive senses is compromised. And to be honest, I'm not sure I've ever really captured a genuinely interesting photo of a deer in the fog. But here's the best I managed on a difficult, tiring morning.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_557400cc60bc4ed8b891d28dbc6ecbdc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Foggy Deer Portrait"alt="A red deer under the trees on a foggy morning, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
OK, this is more like it. I enjoy the <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/environmental-deer-portraits" target="_blank">scenic photos</a> I've taken in the past, but there's nothing like making an actual connection with an animal, and capturing that two-way experience. This was a complete fluke encounter, and I lucked out with the sun in the trees behind.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f62defc7c97d4b3c8e8d9f3ec1c49a0b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Deer Stare Down"alt="a large red deer stag with large antlers, in the trees and ferns, in Woburn, Bedforshire."></figure>
 
I visit the nearby <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/categories/deer" target="_blank">Woburn Deer Park</a> for my photos, where they roam some 3,000 acres across several environments from grassland to hillsides, woodland, and ferns. The photo above was a rare opportunity to encounter a deer in the ferns, but it was the first of a few this year, including the next couple, too.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f2a229502fce4d83be15ad9b89957b27~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Sunlit Deer in Ferns"alt="Sunlit red deer with large antlers, in the ferns of Woburn Deer Park, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
I use a tripod when I photograph deer, which seems to be a minority choice. I very rarely see other people lugging a tripod around. And it's easy to see why. It's cumbersome and it slows me down - missing moments sometimes, as I faff with the legs or adjust the height to frame a shot. But personally, I have no choice. I was blessed with the slight frame of middle-distance athlete, but all the limb-strength of that wildebeest calf the lions single out early doors. My camera and lens of choice combine at a weight of over 3kg, and my little arms simply can't hold the thing steady. But despite the practical obstacles, using a tripod does provide some pay-offs that most deer photographers must lack. It enables me to shoot sharp photos in lower light than those hand-holding, and I can also frame up a shot like this one below, and then sit and wait for the deer to bellow, knowing I have the camera fixed, ready to capture it. For those with the choice, there's no wrong or right, but I feel like I get more benefits from the tripod than I do drawbacks.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_375bf8c70d484fdba7b2f296176a301e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Roaring From The Ferns"alt="A roaring red deer in the ferns at Woburn Deer Park, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
<h2>Deer of the Year</h2>
Last year <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/low-key-deer-photography" target="_blank">one individual took the spotlight</a>, including posing for <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/red-deer-on-black-iii" target="_blank">a photo I'd waited ten years to take</a>. This year, it was this recognisable stag that I encountered on several occasions (including the photo at the top of this post), and he proved very compliant, posing for several photos. I nicknamed him "John Deer".
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_75d2590f42534e3283464b3201b500a7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="John Deer"alt="A red deer with large curvy antlers and a sandy coat, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
He's got lovely curvy antlers, with those three identifiable double-points on the right-hand side, as we look. What separates him most from the other deer is his light, golden coat. Next to other deer, the colour was quite noticeable. For the benefit of anyone else from my generation, he reminded me of Sandy the horse from 'Dogtanian'. And yes, I'm still dropping Dogtanian references in 2022.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_fbc07fc8edf547bb92dc395c776aa464~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Foggy John"alt="A red deer in the fog, at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire"></figure>
 
For the photo above I was faffing with the tripod again to make sure I framed him in the middle of the golden yellow tree behind him. I'm sorry I don't have any photos framed any other way, to illustrate the point, but for me the combination and overlap of the colours in this photo are so important. It just wouldn't have worked if I had John half overlapping with a tree the same colour. The very thought of a sandy/gold subject in the middle with a gold background one side and green background the other makes me shudder. Always watch your backgrounds, folks.
 
Here's John on another occasion. These are exactly the conditions I like to look for. Angled sunlight on the subject, but not on the background. But something here doesn't quite add up. It might be his posture. I don't really like the back-left leg, and he's looking at me as if to say "Not you again". Which is a shame because I thought we were mates. But I think the light isn't quite right either. Maybe it was just a little too late in the morning, and the light was too contrasty. But still, it's a nice shot, and one I'll continue to take in future.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_071e547f12f1483fbff31bd9af8c855d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer Spotlight"alt="a red deer in the morning sunlight, against a dark background, in Woburn, Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
This photo was a few minutes later, as he moved into shade, and then back to half-sunlight. I prefer this one because it's more of a subtle light, and the angle better shows the curves and angles, creating a more three-dimensional result.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c9d62bbe5caa4c18827a9f1274dcf53c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"></figure>
 
This is probably my favourite photo of this blog post, when I managed to capture John Deer in a soft morning light, which almost seemed like it was created solely for him.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f52655cade264fcdb057acf0df668bc9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Red Deer in Wood & Ferns"alt="a red deer amongst the trees and ferns of Woburn Abbey, in Bedfordshire."></figure>
As I framed it up, I was influenced by <a href="https://naturephotographeroftheyear.com/previous-editions/npoty-2020-results/" target="_blank">a photo by Roberto Marchegiani, which won the 2020 Nature Photographer of the Year award</a>. Influence is an interesting thing in all forms of art, and I take my inspiration from everything from other photos, to films, adverts, music, psychology, and low-budget 80's cartoons. But I found the tone of Marchegiani's "Jurassic Park" photo immediately striking in it's muted colours, and framing through the forest. I love the combination of grey & greens he used, and that photo has lodged itself in my mental pinboard of inspirations ever since. In reality, my photos (above and below) are quite different to his, which is of course a good thing. I'm seeking to build on my influences, rather than lean on them, but I think it would be unfair not to acknowledge them, and also take the opportunity to point you towards his photo, if you haven't seen it before.
Personally, I'm really chuffed with these two. Visually they strike a tone which I think is new to my previous <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/deer" target="_blank">deer photos</a>, taking in the more dense areas of woodland and ferns, and the soft, direct sunlight was just perfect for this warm spotlight effect. The results almost have a dream-like quality to them. In fact, speaking of which, the setting also brings to mind the background scenery and staging of Maurice Sendak's illustrations from Where The Wild Things Are.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7cffd43d7777413d80e3bf21cf133466~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Where The Red Deer Are"alt="a red deer bellowing amonst the woods and trees of Woburn Deer Park, in Bedfordshire."></figure>
 
So that's the first half of this year's red deer photos, and the end of the 80s references for now. These were all captured relatively early in the season, when things are quiet, peaceful, serene. That is until the rut really kicks into gear, which is where we'll pick things up next time around.
 
If you like deer photos, you can check out <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog/categories/deer" target="_blank">more blog posts here</a>, and a <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/galleries/deer" target="_blank">gallery of deer photos available to order as wall art prints here</a>. If you don't like deer, you've done well to get this far, so thanks anyway.
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Anonymous Iceland]]></title><description><![CDATA[Landscape photos taken off the beaten track, away from the honey-pot locations, showcasing the quiet character of Iceland's landscape.]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/anonymous-iceland</link><guid isPermaLink="false">63551340881f165207500088</guid><category><![CDATA[Landscape]]></category><category><![CDATA[Travel / Trip Report]]></category><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 30 Oct 2022 12:00:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_68409dfd0b0947c08aa6a8af9497ff6f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[Iceland is a country that keeps drawing me back. Both for the landscapes and the culture. And it's also a popular muse for tourists and landscape photographers alike, due to its many popular geological wonders. From waterfalls to volcanoes, Iceland has more than it's fair share of popular photo hotspots. Over the ten years I've been visiting, I've captured my fair share of those postcard images, but there's another side to Iceland that I'd like to share today. The quiet, hidden, anonymous Iceland. Scenes which are either unrecognisable, locations not widely known, or otherwise rarely seen online - but which convey the essence of the Icelandic landscape.
 
Not all of these photos are unrecognisable to those who are familiar with the area in which they were captured. Locals and frequent visitors may well recognise some landmarks in there. But they're all landscapes taken off the beaten track, away from the honey-pot locations, and they showcase the character of Iceland's landscape generally, rather than championing one stand-alone subject.
 
I'm going to keep the text to a minimum, because this post is all about the feel of the Icelandic landscape, and I want to present the photos like one long stream of consciousness. Take a moment to wind down, and enjoy the colours, clouds, mountains, and the feeling of Icelandic nature.
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_3ee8877e5f3542db8188789bbf3b6601~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Icelandic Fjord"alt="A large rock beside an Icelandic fjord, with small daisies growing amongst the stones"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_3e228461182649c29424843e57823b49~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Mini Waterfall"alt="A small waterfall runs through the mossy Icelandic landscape"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_fc78cccbfaa94994a119a9f665ddcc48~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Fjordland"alt="A small town at the bottom of a mountain, in the Westfjords."></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_7900835f84ab4984a299554357df83d6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Peaks"alt="moss-covered mountains in the Icelandic Highlands"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_d76f02000b9b4bf1a56960f136d572a5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Mountain Lake"alt="A lake sitting in the middle of the Icelandic Highlands, surrounded by mountains and moss"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_a189391475fc414591dc8f9deede615b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Icelandic Highlands"alt="Misty sunrise in the icelandic highlands, featuring mountains, ash, and lava"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_0c1fcea65c304a979fe8114fd3606f8f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Rivers"alt="Large expanse of the Icelandic Highlands is covered in sprawling rivers, weaving between the mountains"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_144f60caff814cdd885685e1ae02f0e2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Mossy Peak"alt="A small mountain, capped with snow and moss, with a mossy landscape in the foreground."></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_1be2da6bdd8c45ba9109a6f3abb1135f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Green Valley"alt="A mossy green valley in the Icelandic Highlands, with small rivers running through it"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_4346cf202ce741b988067fcc62149bc5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Meltwater Stream"alt="A fast-flowing stream running out of the Highlands of Iceland, and away from the mountain on the horizon."></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_c878ca7150d546b2aa3340a9a2d1ed71~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_886,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Desert"alt="Ash and lava desert, featuring mounds and mountains covered in snow and moss"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f287d17fb546494c8da48ce2d0e7776f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Volcano Desert"alt="a large volcano sits behind a pile of ash in the desert of the Icelandic Highlands."></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_4155a05d7bb64249a2a8f9c490479f6c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="A Slice of Iceland"alt="the slope of an icelandic hill, formed of ash and lava rock, covered in moss"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_3b8bd4b5d9b64c2e835232fdbc4e48d3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Lava Sculpture"alt="a pile of lava, set into rock in the icelandic highlands"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_bb0c236d89234778bcc59ef2c081de74~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Rainbow Valley"alt="Sunrise light on the mossy landscape of the Icelandic Highlands"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_8e4d5327f6f14074a4d0ca2b278fcb5f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Highland Sunrise"alt="Early morning rays of light reach the peaks of a mountain in the Icelandic Highlands"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_a4059b260ecf4389b645db1ea516a81e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Fjord Moss"alt="Incredible yellow moss on the mountains surrounding an Icelandic fjord"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_d5e6b99158514b518dc8ed9cf9781d1f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Fjordside Colour"alt="yellow moss and rocks in the Westfjords of Iceland"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_5d35680e785244b78b801b06a2b917a3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Gloomy Skies Over Mossy Mountains"alt="Dark storm clouds move in over an Icelandic mountainside"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_2f219253f0bc4faca028b6e213337d01~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_800,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Storm Clouds in Low Light"alt="storm clouds hang over a mountain range in West Iceland"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_0599d49fc26e4de6a5ae80136b2493aa~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Hit The Coast"alt="Black sand of a beach in Southern Iceland"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_bd0bcc5fabc34d858291e2b6d82302e0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Distant Peaks"alt="Big moss-covered mountains in the Icelandic Highlands"></figure>
 
 
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_87493a02502f4aa38e949879fb4b2d35~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Tumbling Glaciers and Jagged Peaks"alt="a small sight-seeing plane flies through Thorsmork in Iceland, beside the mountains and glaciers"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_68409dfd0b0947c08aa6a8af9497ff6f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Snow-Capped Moss Mountains"alt="Snow-capped mountains on the edge of the Fjallabak Nature Reserve, Iceland"></figure>
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_2903127907e9479a8611d22166113dc7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Icelandic Postcard"alt="Sheep, cotton grass mountains, and dark skies, in the Highlands of Iceland"></figure>
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Photography and Social Media ]]></title><description><![CDATA[This is a long-read, deep-dive into the subject of social media for photographers. How it works, how it doesn't work, and how it should work]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/photography-social-media</link><guid isPermaLink="false">631b4cc911f135dc3d4939f6</guid><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><category><![CDATA[Long Reads]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 30 Sep 2022 16:02:57 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_fd6e8ec1df8140c99e7acee38b079e38~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[I've been meaning to write about social media for a while, and now seems a good time to discuss it. For photographers, social media is in a state of transition, with Instagram particularly on the wane, and users migrating to Vero (again).
This is a long-read deep-dive into the subject, and a bit of a grumble too. Because I don't think the major social media platforms are really working for us.
 
<h2>What Do We Want?</h2>
Largely speaking, photographers use social media for two main reasons;
<ol>
<li>To get some eyeballs on their work.
We put a lot of effort into making nice photos, and even the introverts among us would like to think that other people would enjoy seeing them too. For more commercially-focussed photographers it's also an affective marketing tool.</li>
<li>To mix with 'our people'. Nature photography can be a lonesome pursuit - which is one of the attractions of it - but it's also nice to dip into a familiar community when you want to, for feedback, ideas, and interaction with like-minded people.</li>
</ol>
 
<h2>The Problem With Social Media For Photographers</h2>
Photography provides content that people enjoy, and it's one of the core media that drives traffic on a platform, whether it's viewed directly or via shares/retweets, etc. Good photography is an asset to the platform, and having it on their site enables companies to attract and retain users. And if the content creators leave a platform, users are left with a timeline full of ads, suggested posts, and village notices. No content = no audience for advertisements. So the guiding principle of any social media is good content. However, the actual content creators are often offered a pretty raw deal.
 
<h3>Fighting the Algorithm</h3>
When I post a photo on Facebook or Instagram they only show that photo to around 5-10% of the people who follow me. And I might not be the best at using social media but it's not just me. Photographers, creatives, and small businesses everywhere are experiencing the same proportion of exposure - to those users who have explicitly clicked a 'follow' button to see posts from us in the past.
Meta say that it's algorithm is tuned to show people what they want to see, with a bias on content from close friends and family. The trouble is that when people see a nice photo I've posted, and they decide to follow my page - they don't realise that my posts will slowly be phased out of their timeline if they don't perform sufficient interactions with them to coax the algorithm into showing them more. That's not great for them, and it doesn't work for me either. It's increasingly not worth the bother.
 
<h3>Gaming The Algorithm</h3>
It is possible to increase your 'Likes' and exposure on social media by looking at what the algorithm wants, and serving that up. For some people this might come naturally, especially if you're outgoing. But for many, the idea of posting several times a day, asking inane questions at the end of posts in order to provoke comments, or sharing video clips, etc - that just doesn't feel authentic to me. And I won't misrepresent myself for the benefit of exposure. But many do - whether it's driven by profit, pride, ego, or desperation, lots of photographers feel they have to play the game in order to get their photos seen. So the effect of the algorithm is to create a two-tier system; rewarding those who play, and punishing those who stay true to their principles.
 
<h3>External Validation & Competitiveness</h3>
This isn't exclusive to photography, but it's pretty clear that social media encourages both the need for external validation (seeking 'Likes' for the benefit of self-esteem), and a kind of social / professional jealousy, which leads to an unhealthy competitiveness. These are both well-known traps, but they can be very problematic. If you find yourself posting on social media in the hope of getting a reaction, or x number of 'Likes', just ask yourself if that's a helpful mindset.
 
<h3>Homogenisation</h3>
An issue affecting the creativity of photography is that on many social media platforms, popular images have become increasingly homogenised because certain subjects / styles are popular (e.g. lone trees, or girls in yellow jackets in front of waterfalls). That generates a culture of photographers reproducing those cliches in order to attain 'Likes' from the masses. In turn, that also makes it very difficult to succeed on social media if you do something more creative, quiet, or introspective. And I'm not even close to being an extreme example of that. I feel for others who are doing more out-there stuff. It's just not going to please the algorithm, and their posts aren't shown to people. So creatively, it can be negative for the photography community.
 
<h3>Image Quality</h3>
On a technical level, photos on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, are compressed and scaled-down to the point where they can look pretty dreadful. That's done to reduce the storage space on their servers, and to increase loading-speeds. But the <a href="https://www.jotform.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-image-compression/" target="_blank">lossy compression methods</a> and reduced resolution create an experience which is so far below the standard that a good photograph deserves to be shown, or needs to be seen to be enjoyed at it's best.
 
<h3>Image Size</h3>
Many photographers - certainly those shooting for fine art and wall art will carefully compose details within the frame, that are simply lost at such small viewing sizes. As a rule of thumb, images that are full of detail and multiple points of interest are best taken in large, whereas small viewing sizes are best suited to graphically simple images. So this fact creates a strong bias for simple images, for social media success. Some of my images are very simple. But it's not helpful for photographers and artists to have to operate in a system with this kind of bias, as it shapes the kind of photos people start to take, and diminishes the importance of those which don't suit the format. Apart from anything else - having your photo shown in a scrolling timeline, 2 inches wide, for half a second is far from the ideal presentation.
 
<h3>Links</h3>
Facebook & Instagram make it very difficult to link to blog posts, or photos on my site (where they look much better), because they don't want users leaving their platform. Facebook shows posts with links in them to even fewer people, and Instagram doesn't even render clickable hyperlinks. Simply because they want people to stay on their site for as long as possible - to harvest more data, and show more ads.
 
<h3>Promoting One-Dimensional Accounts</h3>
Lastly, it's very hard to get any traction without effectively being a single-issue party. One of the classic lines of advice for online ventures is to be precise in your subject - because amongst the billions of online users, every niche has it's audience. In my case that advice might sound like "Be the deer guy". Or "Be the dark images of animals guy". Or "Be the guy who keeps going to Iceland". The trouble is that, as much as people resonate with a one-dimensional product, I'm actually a human with a broad range of interests. And I don't want to be the anything guy. I want to share photos of deer, photos of cows on a black background, and photos of glaciers, and that just doesn't work well on social media. The person who followed me for deer doesn't want to see Icelandic glaciers, and the person who followed me for woodland landscapes doesn't want to see another damn cow portrait. So that's an issue for those who cover a range of interests.
 
 
<h2>The Problem With Social Media For Everyone</h2>
The key take-away, which is relevant to any free web-service, is the old adage...
This is to say that free services like Facebook operate principally in the interest of their advertisers and data-clients, not their user base. We're nothing more than hamsters in wheels to them. <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2017/05/06/the-worlds-most-valuable-resource-is-no-longer-oil-but-data" target="_blank">In 2017 data overtook oil as the most valuable asset in the world</a>, yet we still hand it out like party favours.
 
Every time we look at a social media stream, we're shown something uniquely generated by AI in milliseconds, to curate the world as it determines we should see it. It creates your bubble, showing you posts you are likely to interact with, painting you a crafted picture of the world. The algorithm doesn't care what is true, or what's real, it just shows you things it thinks will engage you, to keep you on the site longer, to harvest more data, and show more ads. We all know that's it's not a true reflection of the real world, and yet the bubble manages to pull the wool over our eyes because it's so effective.
 
Renowned computing professor <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001216k/episodes/player" target="_blank">Stuart Russell relayed a parable</a> about how AI solves problems in ways we wouldn't expect. He recalls the example of how social media AI algorithms were given the objective of curating user's social feeds in a way which keeps them on the site/app longest. The designers expected it to learn to predict the posts that a user is most likely to enjoy, and show them those. Instead it learnt that users with more extreme views are more predictable in their actions, so it chose to encourage extremism and amplify anger; thereby moulding users to be more predictable. Problem solved. And that genie is not going back in the bottle - it's too effective. Sites like Twitter in particular, exploit this precise solution - exacerbating problems in society as a side-effect. Think about the last time you shared or commented on a post, castigating something you dislike, disagree with, or find politically abhorrent. It works. It drives engagement.
 
Amongst the relatively harmless ads we're shown, our bubble is also hijacked by nefarious organisations and nation states to disseminate disinformation, create divisions, incite violence, and swing elections. The most high-profile case was the use of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-scandal-fallout.html" target="_blank">Cambridge Analytica's data on millions of Facebook users, to affect the Brexit and Trump votes</a>. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/world/europe/uk-russia-report-brexit-interference.html" target="_blank">Russian state</a> was also found to have used Facebook for the same end, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/14/russia-us-politics-social-media-facebook" target="_blank">as part of a longer campaign to undermine democracy generally</a>. It's frightening to think that this tool exists, and is <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/08/kreps-social-media-helping-undermine-democracy" target="_blank">still in use today by Russia</a> and China, as well as the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-62674860" target="_blank">USA and UK, which were recently found to be running propaganda campaigns overseas via social networks</a>.
 
On a more personal level, we know that social media exacerbates feelings of inadequacy, isolation, fear, as well as creating distractions, FOMO, anxiety, depression. Seeing the edited highlights of the lives of 100 people we don't really know isn't very helpful, and we're far better off devoting our time and attention to real life, and the people we actually care to spend time with.
 
 
<h2>The Choice Of Platforms</h2>
Back to photography - what are the options?
 
<h3>Facebook</h3>
Facebook, undoubtedly has the widest audience, with almost 3 billion users. It's a mainstream platform, and it's probably the most effective for sharing photos with those outside the photography community. However, as mentioned previously, it also has a reputation for exploiting/leaking personal data, and for allowing disinformation campaigns that are extremely harmful to wider society. But, on the plus side, it does have a semi-decent facility that enables you to schedule posts to both Facebook and Instagram, which makes posting easier. So, every cloud.
As a user I struggle with Facebook's disregard for personal privacy. I'm shy. I don't want everyone I'm friends with to be shown something I've 'Liked' in their timeline, with a little note saying "George liked this!" every time I do anything. It makes me want to hide away and never 'Like' or comment on anything - which is has been my position with Facebook for the last several years. I don't have the app on any devices, and I only log into it from a specific browser, when I need to. What with that and the more sinister data-misuse, I really want to close my Facebook account altogether, but I'm only able to share photos to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WheelhousePhoto" target="_blank">my photography page</a> if I have a personal account.
You would think that social media companies would value people who are effectively generating their content. However, with Facebook restricting my posts to just 5-10% of the people who have followed my page, the futility of it is nudging me closer and closer to feeling able to close my Facebook account for good.
 
<h3>Instagram</h3>
Instagram is in a bit of a state of limbo; torn between the photography user-base it grew from and the shiny new video consumer-base. To me, it feels like a generational shift. After the millennials grew up with the original photo-sharing Instagram - making it what it was, Gen Z is more video-focussed, and Instagram is having to pivot to retain their target age-bracket at the expense of users now at the upper end of that demographic. In 2021, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557942/instagram-no-longer-photo-app-video-entertainment-focus" target="_blank">Instagram's head announced that</a> "Instagram is no longer a photo sharing app", signalling a switch to focus more on video. And they're desperately copying features from the likes of Snapchat, Tick-tock, and BeReal, but in doing so are losing their core audience. It's a shame, in a way. Instagram is becoming a bit of a ghost town. Most of the photographers still using it are the ones whose business plan relied on it, and haven't yet adapted to the change. Many of the photographers I enjoy have pretty much stopped posting on it, and the vast majority of my timeline is just ads, viral videos, and suggested posts.
Let's face it, Insta was never a great platform for viewing photos, what with the focus on mobile, and issues with aspect ratios. But it is where the photographers were, so it was at least reliable for a photography community, and some great photos. My guess is that users will come back in the future, but for now it's kind of a cultural desert.
 
<h3>Twitter</h3>
I think of Twitter like the ticker-tape scrolling along the bottom of the screen of a 24-hour news channel. It's great for releasing information and announcements, but it's ephemeral stuff, lost within a very short amount of time. I've never had much interest in my photos from Twitter. It does suit some people though, and for a while it played host to some interesting discussion, on landscape photography particularly. I guess it's another platform where shyness is a bit of a barrier to entry. Like with Facebook, I'm always hesitant to post a reply or join a conversation on Twitter, because that reply will be shown to everyone that follows me, irrespective of context and interest. I don't like things I say to one person being broadcast so publicly, so I just tend not to join in. It feels like shouting across a crowded room. But for the outgoing, it can be a good platform to get your work seen.
Of course in the last couple of years Twitter has been rife with grifters shilling NFTs, but that seems to have died down for the moment. In their wake I think it's become a little more pleasant, and feels more like a community again, but many that were turned off by NFTs don't seem to have come back.
Probably the main problem I have with Twitter is the way its algorithm continually drags me into political stories and injustices in a way I really don't need, and I quickly end up feeling sad and angry about issues over which I have no control. I want social media to be a positive place, and Twitter is rarely that, so I often actively avoid it.
 
<h3>TikTok / Twitch / Snapchat</h3>
Sorry, I'm too old for any of these.
But I would add a note of caution about TikTok, as it's a Chinese company, so extremely vulnerable to coercion and misuse by the Chinese state. This risk of state interference is the reason why the UK government is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/huawei-to-be-removed-from-uk-5g-networks-by-2027" target="_blank">banning integration from Huawei in the UK 5G networks</a>, and why US, UK & European government agencies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/13/us-government-bans-kaspersky-lab-russian-spying" target="_blank">banned use of Kaspersky AV software</a>. More recently <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62410234" target="_blank">the UK Parliament closed it's TikTok account</a> for the same reason, shortly before <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62544950" target="_blank">Chinese tech companies were forced to pass data to their government</a>. TikTok have also been <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/26/21304228/tiktok-security-ios-clipboard-access-ios14-beta-feature" target="_blank">caught recording the contents of users' clipboards</a> (text you've copied, including passwords), even when it's only running in the background, and after they had previously claimed they would stop.
 
<h3>YouTube</h3>
I think YouTube is probably the most effective platform for building a following among other photographers, but it's also by far the most hard work. Making videos and editing them is an extremely demanding and time-consuming process, and it requires a whole skill-set of its own. In most cases, the skill and demands of providing a good YouTube channel are such that those who succeed effectively have to transition from a photographer first, to a YouTuber first and photographer second. But if you have the time, skill, and inclination, YouTube is a fantastic way to gain a following.
Personally, I have no interest in putting myself in front of people on video - So it's not for me. But I do enjoy watching a handful of photographers, for their insights, process, opinions, and for a slice of the outdoors when I'm stuck at home.
 
<h3>Flickr</h3>
Sorry, what year is this? I actually loved Flickr. It's <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/old-man-george" target="_blank">where I first started sharing photos</a>, back in '06, and I found a community of supportive, creative, and inspiring people that helped grow my interest in nature photography. But Facebook came along and blew it away, and a decade later Flickr was still going, unchanged, being passed between owners like a difficult teenager moving from care-home to care-home. It's now in the hands of <a href="https://www.smugmug.com/" target="_blank">SmugMug</a>, who seem well-intentioned, but not willing to modernise it. Instead making it a paid service, and not one that will ever attract a mainstream audience for anyone's photos. Anyway, <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/flickr-hibernation" target="_blank">I've written about this before</a>, but all that said I don't think it's too late for Flickr to turn things around, with the content and user-base they have. But I have little confidence they will do that.
 
<h3>Vero</h3>
Vero is a relative newbie, which first attracted a migration of users leaving Facebook after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and is now enjoying a second wave of users leaving Instagram. It's founded on the principal of no ads, no selling data, and no algorithm. That means two things; The users are the customer, so you can trust that it will be developed and operated with user-satisfaction as a priority. Secondly, the lack of an algorithm means that when I share a photo, it will be seen by anyone who follows me. That shouldn't really be so unusual, but in social media these days, it is.
The question is then, if they're not selling data or ads, how is it funded? So far, it's free, but at some point it will become a paid service, costing "around the cost of a cup of coffee per year". I think that's good value for a social channel that offers privacy and respect to it's user base. They also earn a little money from referral links - so if I post a link to a product on the website of a major retailer, and a friend clicks that link and buys something, Vero will collect a small referral fee. Again, I have no problem with that as a funding model. They also have excellent privacy tools for both connecting with others, and when posting something - providing a simple slider to select the audience you're posting to.
But the golden boy, Vero, is not without controversy. It's founder has been linked to some kind of mistreatment of employees via a previous company, and amongst its diverse team of developers, some of them are Russian, which has raised the same concerns of potential state interference and coercion as described previously. Personally, allegations against the founder won't concern me unless evidence emerges to implicate his responsibility. And although any source code moving via developers in Russia is a concern, I think the risk is low in this case.
Anyway, a couple of friends recommended it, so I joined a month or so ago (<a href="https://vero.co/wheelhousephoto" target="_blank">find me here!</a>), and so far it's been like a breath of fresh air. It's been really refreshing to find so many of the nature & landscape photographers I know and respect on there, and many more that are new to me. I've found the UI a little buggy, and not always intuitive, but I think that will improve.
In many ways it feels like Flickr used to feel. The image quality is superb, and there's no politics - just positivity. It genuinely is a nice place to spend time. But it currently also has the same achilles heel as Flickr; the only people on there are photographers. None of my family are on there, and I don't think anyone outside the photography niche really has the incentive to join (besides data privacy and mental health, but who cares about them). So I have my doubts about it ever going mainstream. I'd like it to, but I think it's more likely that either mainstream social media matures to a paid service at some point, and becomes more like Vero (removing it's USP), or it never gathers the momentum to really take off, and simply dwindles in the shadow of the social giants. Which would be a shame, but ultimately the most likely prospect. My hope is that like small political parties "moving the needle" of popular opinion, fresh services like Vero can demonstrate to the likes of Meta and Twitter what people want from their social media platforms, and encourage them to evolve. To me, that's the true purpose of Vero. It will either persuade the existing major players to change, or it will provide the idea/basis behind the next platform to spring up, which does dominate.
 
<h3>Glass</h3>
I don't use <a href="https://glass.photo/" target="_blank">Glass</a>, but it looks like a combination of Flickr and Vero. It's another subscription service, promising no algorithm and good data security. It's only $30 a year, but without any kind of 'freemium' model, the whole thing lives behind a paywall, so it's impossible to really know what it's like before you stump up the cash. That's a massive barrier to entry. And like Flickr, it's only aimed at photographers, so it will never attract a mainstream audience like Vero has the potential to. But, if you're looking for a photographers-only hangout, I expect it's an excellent evolution of Flickr, albeit with a far smaller user base.
 
 
<h2>Social Media vs Blogging</h2>
In the early days of Twitter and Facebook they were known as 'micro-blogging'. They provided the Pick 'n 'Mix version of blogs; sharing just a sweet handful of content from each user, without the bulk of a full meal. But no man can subsist on a diet of 99% sugar - believe me, I run it close. And the sugary approach of social media definitely <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jan/02/attention-span-focus-screens-apps-smartphones-social-media" target="_blank">has a negative impact on our attention spans</a>. So I think there's still a major place for blogs in addition to, or instead of social media. Blogs are a slower-pace, rewarding attention-spans, richer content, and offering more context alongside photos. And they're not all as long and wordy as this post.
As a consumer, I subscribe to several photographers' blogs and mailing lists, and it's a great way to see photos shared in a collection together, along with some background info and the creator's thoughts, plans, and self-critique. You also get a proper sense of the person behind the photos. The size & quality of the images is always better on a blog too. Personally, I much prefer it to the Pick 'n 'Mix of social media. 
As a photographer, I prefer to share photos on <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog" target="_blank">my blog</a> for all those reasons, plus the posts actually hang around. They have a long life-span on my website, and continue to attract interest years after I posted them. You certainly don't get that with a Tweet. What's more, your photos reach the people who subscribe to your <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/mailing-list" target="_blank">mailing list</a>, rather than being at the mercy of an algorithm, which might be tweaked to refocus on something else at any time.
For me, both subscribing to and <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog" target="_blank">sharing blog posts</a> are part of a long-term intention to slow down, be more focussed in what I'm doing, and engage with things properly. It's an active reaction to the short-termism and throw-away culture of social media, and I recommend it.
 
 
<h2>What Should Social Media Be?</h2>
Ten years ago, the social media space looked a little like the 90's dot-com boom. Under the guise of connectivity and positivity, there was a huge land-grab going on as firms competed for more users and data. They expanded rapidly, almost completely unregulated, and have now grown into powerful dystopian corporations, creating an evermore fragmented and divisive society. Something has to change.
You might be reading this thinking - no, I like social media - I love seeing what my friends are up to, and it gives me a great opportunity to share my life with people I would otherwise never encounter. That may be true but it's failing most people, as well as wider society, so there is a great deal of room for improvement.
 
Here are some things I'd like to see from social media...
<ul>
<li>Primarily, a positive space for sharing and communicating with friends, family, and like-minded people, companies & organisations. </li>
<li>A security-lead approach, preferably with servers in the EU, where data security laws are the strictest in the world.</li>
<li>A simple data policy that users understand, and which respects the rights of those users. With an easy way to see what data is stored on you, how that is used, and how to opt-out.</li>
<li>If it costs a little bit of money, to pay for running costs, staff, and innovation, is that so bad? There are currently 2.9 billion Facebook users. If each of those paid just a coupe of dollars a year, it might save us paying with our privacy & personal data. Crucially, it would also make us the customer - providing an incentive to social media platforms to prioritise making them a better place to be.</li>
</ul>
 
Boy, what a rant! Probably my most ranty post in 10+ years of blogging. Well done if you stuck with it. Hello again to those who just skipped to the end :-)
 
Next month I'll post something positive, I promise. Some new photos, maybe.
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Collaboration with Global Animal Welfare + Win A Print!]]></title><description><![CDATA[I'm pleased to announce a new ongoing collaboration with wildlife charity Global Animal Welfare. And I'm donating a print to their prizepool]]></description><link>https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/collaboration-with-global-animal-welfare-win-a-print</link><guid isPermaLink="false">630b83ddb35f707247c66197</guid><category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category><category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 29 Aug 2022 08:57:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f966a59d33a94ac0aff1730197b7178d~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_834,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>George Wheelhouse</dc:creator><content:encoded><![CDATA[I'm pleased to announce a new ongoing collaboration with wildlife charity <a href="https://globalanimalwelfare.org.uk/" target="_blank">Global Animal Welfare</a>.
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_f966a59d33a94ac0aff1730197b7178d~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_834,al_c,q_80/file.png"alt="Global Animal Welfare logo"></figure>
As <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/post/nature-photography-environmentalism" target="_blank">I've mentioned previously</a>, I'm keen to put my photography to direct use to help the causes I believe in. So it was wonderful to be contacted by Nic, from Global Animal Welfare to talk about what I could do to help. We have a few ideas in the pipeline, but first, here's a quick intro to the charity and what they do, from Nic herself...
 
 
Personally, I’m excited to be able to use my photography for a positive cause. Global Animal Welfare provide invaluable knowledge and know-how to organisations that care for and rehabilitate vulnerable animals, empowering sanctuaries to offer their animals a happy life, and the best chance of a release back to the wild. They’re a small team of dedicated experts and animal-lovers, and I’m thrilled to be able to contribute to the positive impact they are making.
 
 
<h2>Footprints</h2>
I like to think that my photo prints, as wall art, are brightening someone's day; reminding them of a place they visited, or an animal they identify with. And I don't underestimate the importance of the regular subtle benefit they provide - bringing nature into people's homes and filling a space with an image they love. It's incredible to be able to do that.
I've also got my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/footprints#GetOneTree" target="_blank">Buy-One, Get-One-Tree</a> scheme, where I plant a tree for every print sold, and over the last year or so I've been applying increasing scrutiny to the <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/footprints#Sustainability" target="_blank">sustainability</a> of my print supply-chain, the papers I use, and the delivery of those prints. These environmental considerations are of great importance to me, and all part of what I call my <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/footprints" target="_blank">Footprints</a> commitment. So I'm pleased to be able to add <a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/footprints#GlobalAnimalWelfare" target="_blank">Global Animal Welfare</a> to that ripple of positive impacts my photography leaves behind.
 
 
<h2>Win A Print</h2>
Global Animal Welfare are currently running their annual <a href="https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/globalworkoutforwildlife2022" target="_blank">Global Workout for Wildlife</a> fundraiser, and this year the winner will receive a print of my photo "<a href="https://www.georgewheelhouse.com/photos/brown-bear-close-up" target="_blank">Brown Bear Close-Up</a>". A bear seems most appropriate, as the core of the team from Global Animal Welfare have a background in working bear rescue centres.
The print is 20x15 inches, on A2-sized, fine art Hahnemühle photorag® paper. It's my favourite paper to print on. You get a superb textured finish from it, with almost a painting-quality to it. It's a heavyweight paper, from sustainable FSC sources, it's vegan-friendly, and is manufactured using 100% renewable energy sources.
To win this print, head over to the <a href="https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/globalworkoutforwildlife2022" target="_blank">Just Giving</a> page for more info. And be quick - the event closes in September!
<figure><img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2eabea_88753b1f1f194fe9979888d7e80e6c6d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png"title="Brown Bear Close-Up"alt="20x15 inch print of a brown bear, on sustainable Hahnemühle photorag® paper."></figure>
To learn more about <a href="https://globalanimalwelfare.org.uk/" target="_blank">Global Animal Welfare</a>, and the valuable work they do, have a look at their website.
 
-
George]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

Download the "valid RSS" banner.
Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)
Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

<a href="http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=http%3A//www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog.rss"><img src="valid-rss-rogers.png" alt="[Valid RSS]" title="Validate my RSS feed" /></a>

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=http%3A//www.georgewheelhouse.com/blog.rss

Home · About · News · Docs · Terms