After what seems like a long time in the planning, this month sees the launch of 2020VISION, Britain’s most ambitious photography-based conservation initiative ever! 20 of the country’s top wildlife and nature photographers have come together with leading conservation partners to document the value of restoring Britain’s battered ecosystems. Over the course of 20 months, the 2020 Phototeam will carry out 20 flagship assignments, which demonstrate the link between healthy ecosystems and healthy people.

The project website has gone live today and will be officially launched at a landmark conference in Edinburgh on April 19, attended by many of Europe’s top conservationists and policy makers.

To find out more about this exciting project please take at look at www.2020v.org

On Monday and Tuesday this week I was out with Photo Plus magazine helping to shoot their Apprentice feature, which involved imparting my vast photographic knowledge onto two local photographers keen to improve their skills. Suffice it to say that it didn't take long but hopefully they went away with more than cold feet! So, thank you to Paul and Dave from Photo Plus and to Adrian and Heidi my willing apprentices - if nothing else we enjoyed several very welcome hot chocolates!

For those of you seeking some pearls of wisdom (I'm not sure why you're here in the first place) then you may be interested in a feature in the latest Practical Photography magazine (March 2010) in which I give supposedly expert tips and advice on winter wildlife photography. You'll be helping drag the UK out of recession if nothing else!

The old adage of the camera never lies was never really true and certainly isn't in today's digital age, so how sure can we be that what we are looking at in a picture is the 'truth' and does it matter? The controversy surrounding this year's winning image in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year would suggest it does matter. Very much. And I would certainly wish to know the authenticity of any given image. But what about the odd tweak here and there in Photoshop? Film stocks like Velvia have long been altering the look of an image so what's the difference? The problem as I see it is that now no-one can be sure that they are looking at a 'straight' image for all sorts of reasons and this, I believe takes away from genuine photographic, and more importantly fieldcraft, skills. Many would argue that it's the final image that matters. I'm not so sure.

Perfect conditions for winter walking in the Cairngorm mountains don't occur that often so last Saturday we grabbed the chance to make the long walk up onto Briariach. At 1296m, this is the UK's third highest peak but what makes this peak so special are the spectacular views across to Ben Macdui (1309m) and Cairn Toul (1291m) and beyond, down the Lairig Ghru and into Deeside.


The walk is not overly difficult but involves a fair walk in and then a steady pull out of the Lairig Ghru up onto the broad plateau of Sron na Lairige and then a final short climb up to the summit. Things were going pretty well until we made it onto the plateau where upon we were engulfed in thick mist and cloud billowing over from the south side of the hill. Visibility was poor, navigation potentially hazardous and the prospect of a decent view minimal. But we decided to crack on for a further 15 minutes and re-assess the situation. By now we were only maybe 30 minutes from the top so having found the main path we pushed on with little expectation of seeing much. As we neared the top, blue sky became visible and I could just make out Ben Macdui poking through the mist. Much of the view southwards was still obliterated but gradually the mist began to peel away to reveal the summit peaks of Cairn Toul and The Angel's Peak.


We had already taken longer to reach the top than expected and time was short but I shot continuously for 30 minutes or so in all directions and every few yards as we descended, but with a 3 hour walk ahead of us and no head-torches (big mistake!) I had to reluctantly drag myself away. By 1630, the light was getting gloomy and we still had to negotiate the ice-coated giant boulders of the Chalamain Gap. This was tricky enough in the light on the way up, but in almost complete darkness it was not a pleasant prospect. We reached the gap by 1700, gingerly made it through and trudged the final hour back to the car somewhat relieved. Next time I'll remember the torch!

For the last three months I have had an occasional sighting of a short-eared owl hunting over some rough grassland. The sightings have been brief and irregular and whilst it's been great to see what is my favourite bird, I didn't really consider there was much chance of securing any images. But over the past week I've seen the owl several times and just a few days ago I saw three hunting over the same area suggesting that they may have bred close-by.


After watching them on a couple of evenings I noticed that one bird landed on a particular post on several occasions so I decided to chance my arm and set up a hide. With a multitude of posts to choose from I didn't really get in the hide with much expectation of getting any shots but you never know. The first evening was dull and no birds showed up at all but the next night the conditions were perfect with beautiful backlighting. With only a narrow window of light I was willing the owl to land. It eventually did but not on the post I wanted and 15 minutes after the sun had set. I was happy enough with the second prize but having seen the potential I wanted more!



So, the following evening I repositioned the hide slightly to give myself a better view and tried again. I'd barely set-up and settled down when from nowhere the owl landed on exactly the post I had focused on. I couldn't believe my luck and with trembling hands rattled off several frames. The owl left to continue hunting and I was able to get a few flight shots with the low sunlight glowing through the owl's almost translucent wings. Then just as before it returned onto the same post and unperturbed by the noise of the camera, settled for more than 5 minutes. An evening of photographic heaven!