David Gifford's Photoblog

Living in the Hills

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:32 +0000

The camera can distort reality in many ways. In this photo, the 'mountain' in the background is actually the island of Foula, made to look much bigger and closer by the effect of the telephoto lens.

Dolphin Encounter

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 23:49 +0000

I enjoyed watching two White-sided Dolphins in Weisdale Voe last Friday evening (3rd Sept) - but these two kayakers had an even better view!

Bonxie

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:48 +0000

Another photo from my trip around Noss aboard the Dunter III, this time of a Great Skua, also commonly known by their Shetland name 'Bonxie'. Around half of the world's population of Great Skuas breed in Shetland.

Don't let the tranquil image fool you - these birds are powerful, ruthless and often aggressive scavenger / predators. Check out Brydon Thomason's article about Great Skuas on Visit.Shetland.org

Dew

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:35 +0000

Another photo of the morning dew on the grass in our garden, taken quickly before I went to work.

I haven't tried to identify the insect, but did manage a shot of it before it flew away – click to view close-up photo of the fly.

Peerie Jewels

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:04 +0000

The morning dew on a bright September day.

Autumn Otter

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:24 +0000

An otter grooming in the warm afternoon sun.

Autumn Evening

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:14 +0000

First really fine evening for some time. However, the nights are drawing in quickly now in early September, and so I used panning and a relatively slow shutter speed to capture these Ringed Plovers flying in the twilight. Hopefully the result captures some of the atmosphere.

The best wildlife spot of the evening though was undoubtedly bumping into Simon King and Marguerite.

Gannet and Chick

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:12 +0000

Another photo from my recent trip around Noss aboard the Dunter III.
The spectacular gannet colony on Noss is a sight not to be missed. The ancient sandstone cliffs, 181m at their highest, have weathered and sculpted into ledges and balconies - a perfect nesting place for gannets.

Evening Fishing

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:24 +0000

Had a beautiful evening for a trip around Noss with Seabirds-and-Seals. Whilst waiting for a Basking Shark to re-surface, I noticed and snapped this fishing boat (LK 268) surrounded by Gannets. More photos from the trip to follow.

Black Guillemot

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:49 +0000

Had another brilliant day with my cousin Keith photographing seabirds from his boat. Among the many species was this Black Guillemot (known in Shetland as a 'Tystie'), who appeared to have bitten off more than it could chew!