Images that inspire me..

Craig Jones is a wildlife photographer  who runs photographic workshops to  the Wadden Sea, this is  where he took this stunning image of a Black-tailed Godwit. He has been able to get up close with this shot, using just enough depth of field to maintain sharpness in the godwit whilst throwing the background completely out of focus, the choice of composition creates immediate impact with no distractions.

Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa limosa

Texel, Holland is the largest of the Wadden islands and is 25 miles long and 5 miles wide, During the spring and summer months thousands of waders migrate here to breed.

Here you can  see and photograph Avocets up close, courting and breeding, as well as the black-tailed godwit. Craig Jones Photography runs photography workshops to Texel to photograph all number of wading birds,as well as Marsh Harriers and owl,  the hotel is on the island providing non-stop opportunities over a 4 day trip.

You can follow Craig on his blog to see the work he does and also check out the other workshops that he runs.

I have been trying to capture Black-tailed Godwits at the Hayle Estuary where this lone one has been seen. The day was slightly hazy with a little wind which has created movement in the water. This was taken using a 600mm prime cannon lens on a tripod, and I have cropped the image slightly, but am still unable to get as close to my subject matter as Jones has in his image.

Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa limosa

The image of the black-tailed Godwit that I took on a previous visit has much more clarity, but was shot with a 100 - 400mm lens, however the Godwit came much closer to the bird hide, the shot was taken later in the day when the sun was higher in the sky and there was hardly any wind.

Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa limosa