This weekend certainly proved to me that Dogs can learn new tricks! I have just returned from the Lake District where I had the pleasure of sharing the weekend with the Search and Rescue Dogs Association of England (SARDA) for their winter training event. It took place near Keswick although the leaders set out a number of training areas across the Northern Lakes areas.
Although I have had the pleasure of attending the training events before but this time because I was staying with them I could see the various stages in the Search and Rescue Dogs life, from initial training through the stages of training to the fully assessed dogs.
The above image shows one of the youngest puppies going through the agility training on a very frosty morning.
The puppies stayed close to the training base where they, Sorry their handlers were put through a series of agility and obedience training sessions. While training for the older / more qualified dogs took place at various areas around the Lakes. On Friday I was taken to an open hillside near Stonethwaite where the dogs had to search the moorland for a number of hidden ‘dogs bodies’. The handler is tasked to search small areas without knowing the location of the Dogbodies. At this stage the dogs and the handlers are competent with searching large areas, but will not be told how many people are hidden in the area (if any) or where they are. If they complete this stage they will be given a pre-assessment test, on successful completion they are ready for their assessment and ultimately they are fully assessed dogs and can join the Search and Rescue teams.
- Ben a fully trained dog of the North Tyne Search and Rescue Team.
On Saturday I went to an area of Whinlatter Forest where the training took place in a mixture of open woodland and dense conifer woods.
- Richard Hey (Swaledale MRT) works his new dog to search a frosty hillside.
This provided a different type of landscape for the dogs to search and provided a challenging test for the handler as they had to follow the dogs through the woods.
- Richard Warriner and Elf (Derby MRT) searching a frosty woodland track.
The last of the training concluded as the suns rays broke through the trees and made an atmospheric image as we walked out of the woods.
- Dave Benson and his two dogs caught in the sunlight in Whinlatter Forest.
So a big thank you to all the organisers and handlers for inviting me to the training weekend and making me welcome and well deserved congratulations to all the handlers who were successful in their gradings.
Te see more images from the week-end CLICK HERE.
To read more about SARDA CLICK HERE.
I went to the RPS Northern area, lecture by wildlife photographer Andy Rouse. To sum up – ‘THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHIC LECTURE I’VE EVER SEEN’ he was that good and so were his photos.
What impressed me the most was his obvious enjoyment and passion for the subject and his down to earth delivery style. He came across as slightly mad (never a bad things even for a West Ham FC fan) a ‘hugger’ of all things wildlife (his description) and also a great photographer (although he gave no technical information at all). He was more interested in telling the audience about the wildlife and how to enjoy being there not just taking the photo. The best comment of the night was when he asked ‘Do you want me to tell you the technical details about each photo’, when the reply came back as ‘YES’ He said – ‘It was taken with a ….. camera and a …..lens’ Why do you want to know any more, thats not important. The importance is why I took it and what I wanted to show. That was the best knock down to all those camera buffs (not photographers) who debate the merits of Nikon v Canon and F2.8 or F11.
If you ever get the chance to see him talk then make the effort, he is simply that good!
To visit his web site CLICK here.
I’ve just got back from a great short break in the Yorkshire Dales. We stayed in Wharfedale just outside Grassington and mananed to get in some good walks in the neighbouring Dales.
The first walk was in Ribbledale, in the shadow of Whernside and Ingleborough. The weather was not good for walking but great for photography -the wind was blowing and kept bringing sunshine and showers in waves, making for changeable conditions.
After a day off due to consistent rain our next outing was in Malhamdale. It might be the busiest of the Dales but by going to Goredale Scar rather than straight to Malham cove we managed to keep away from the crowds. In fact it was only on reaching the limestone pavement above the cove that we met the throngs of day trippers – still I didn’t feel out of place posing for a photo at the base of the cove on route back to the car park and a cup of coffee.
The last days walk was the best of the week, it was warm and sunny with just a slight haze in the afternoon. We stayed in Wharfedale and did a circular walk from Coniston to Grassington, keeping to the tops on the way out and returning via the riverside walk. By keeping slightly off the tourist routes we almost had the hills to ourselves and only sawa about four people all morning – although the riverside was busier with several families exploring the autumn colours along the route.
On a photographic note all images were taken with a Canon 5D mark 2, and 24-105mm lens with ND grad filters to balance the sky and foreground. The light was bright enough to handhold and still get an aperture of f8.0 as I don’t like carrying a tripod at all times – I’ve asked my wife and she wont carry it either!
I’ve eventually got round to catching up with my images from last week and to complete my blog about the Scotland landscape workshop I want to show some of the people who accompanied me and the conditions we found ourselves in.
The above image was typical of the week, full waterproofs for both us and the cameras and of course wellies or boots and gaiters.
Even then at times it was easy to forget about the wet – or Ron could anywhere. Above is when he forgot he wasn’t wearing wellies and he stood on a rock in the sea and forgot that the tide came in behind him.
This time Ron was wearing his wellies, but still ended up wet when he fell in up to his belly, when he tried to rescue a damsel in distress.
Above is me posing whilst crossing a rope bridge in Glen Nevis, I would like it if this was a genuine image of me but alas its the result of some Photoshop skills of a friend and me doing as I was told.
..and finally an image of Duncan McEwan, apart from being an excellent leader of a Photographic workshop he has an uncanny knack of finding good light despite poor weather forecasts. He also seems to be able to float or walk on water (unlike Ron) only his tripod legs seemed to get wet!
Well back to normality but I now know what I should be doing with my Landscape photography. Only time will tell if I did learn anything from my trip.
My last day on the Landscape workshop and although the weather was still grey and wet there was some wind to blow the clouds around and give us a little blue sky. Duncan McEwan took us onto Rannoch moor for another look around the boggy areas and although the famous tree has gone there are enough other trees, lakes and lochs to keep us busy.
The sun didn’t put in too many appearances but when it did the light was golden on the hillsides as the sky was so dark.
I certainly found out that I like vertical landscapes during the course, as I think I took about 90% of all photos in the vertical format. I became quite good at finding foreground interest, either rocks, water or trees, and would find myself in places the others didn’t go as they were all looking for wide landscapes.
We ended the day and the workshop in Ballachulish slate quarry, and explored the rocks for texture and colour.
I thought that I had to take a landscape photo for my last image of the week, so found a colourful corner of the quarry pond and got the most out of the reflections. A fitting end to a very enjoyable workshop.
To read more about Duncan McEwan and see some of his images, CLICK HERE.
Fourth day on the Landscape workshop and another day in wellies and damp socks but enjoying every minute of it. Glen Nevis was the target for today and another new location for me and again one that didn’t disappoint.
A small group of us set off to the head of the glen and a chance to see one of Scotland’s highest waterfalls.
En-route up the gorge there were several smaller waterfalls to see and examine close up for details.
However after a tiring to walk we were rewarded by the sight of the waterfall in all its glory.
We then headed back down the Glen and a quick visit to the coast before the light ended for the day. This was Castle Stalker situated between our base in Ballachulish and Oban. The clouds cleared only for a very short period but never became a great sunset but at least I had a chance to photograph another new location and to get the best viewpoint my wellies got another wetting.
Another dull and damp day in Scotland and yet another Loch I’d never been to, this time we quickly visited Gairlochy, Loch Lochy near Spean Bridge.
. . and then on to Loch Arkaig for a waterfall and a quick lunch break sitting by the loch.
After dinner the light got even duller so it was back to close ups and my normal images.
A trip along Glen Etive was planned for today and again the weather didn’t look good – it was raining as we set off and got steadily harder and wetter as we reached the glen. Again Duncan was hopeful of sunny dryer weather later in the day – he is becoming an even bigger optimist than me.
However the rain did eventually stop and the skies cleared (thanks to the wind) and a great days photography lay in front of us.
One of the best tips given on the course was to bring wellies, and very quickly I discovered how many more places I could get to when wearing them as compared to my normal hiking boots.
I found myself back in wildlife mode today, as one of the group found a slow worm when they were putting their wellies on. So with the help of another in the party we took it in turns to take the photos while the other organised the backdrop.
The final stop of the day was caused when a group of Red Deer came down to the road near my car. Unfortunately being the driver I was the only one not to be able to get to my camera to take photos of the Stag. After about 15 minutes of frustration watching everyone else taking close up images I managed to get out of the car and get my camera and take some photos of the last of the deer as they disappeared on the hillside. Still I’m not bitter or jealous …. honest!
I travelled to Scotland with the RPS for a weeks photographing with Duncan McEwan a renowned landscape photographer.
The weather forecast was bad ‘lots of rain’ but Duncan was hopeful of finding some clear weather to aid our landscapes. As we reached Rannoch I was not as optomistic but as these images show he was right – local knowledge was right again.
Duncan ran the workshop with a ‘light touch’ giving some great advice but not standing over everyone and telling them what to take. He was very supportive to the beginners in the group and there for the rest of us when we had any queries.
Today I learnt a lot about composition and the use of filters and also found some of the well known tripod holes in the area. Day 1 was a success so I’m looking forward to the rest of the course.
After last weeks game in Newton Aycliffe, tonight was the second leg in Newcastle. The Eagles played host to the new boys Durham Wildcats.
Both teams took turns to score and were only separated by a couple of points at the end of the first half.
Ralph Bucci continued to impress as he controlled all of The Wildcats attacks and constantly worried the home crowd.
However the second half was a different matter and the Eagles started to show their class and outscored the visitors, by the end of the game they won the match by 20 points – beating Durham Wildcats 92-72.
To see more of the images from the game CLICK HERE.
